A/N: This is part iv, the continuation of 'Stranger'.

Separate

(v) cause to move or be apart.

۵

"Sokka!"

"Miksa!"

The Water Tribe teenager bounds off the boat and drops his satchel, immediately wrapping two strong arms around the Fire Prince.

"It's been too long." Sokka pulls back, holding the firebender at arm's length. He inspects Zuko's wiry frame. He seems thinner somehow, but Sokka chalks it up to the heat until he feels the sinewy muscles hidden underneath. He Sokka raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "You haven't gone all preppy fire boy on me, have ya?"

"Never."

The two break apart, sharing a private laugh, and clasp each other's forearms. Zuko smiles; it stretches across his face. It feels like it's been forever since he last smiled. It's damn good to see his friend again.

"Great, cause I brought some fun stuff for us to play with." Sokka roughly claps Zuko's back and grins. "I'm sure we can get into lotsa trouble around here."

"Just like old times." Zuko smirks and then glances around. Someone's missing. "Where's Katara?"

"She's coming. She's just being all girly, taking her sweet time." Sokka waves his hand dismissively and then brings an arm up to shield his eyes from the glaring sun. "She doesn't exactly like the heat."

Zuko scratches behind his ear. "Yeah, it takes a while to get used to it."

"Finally!" Sokka turns, facing the boat. "Took you long enough!"

Zuko turns around to see Katara daintily step down the stairs off the ship. He takes in a deep breath and holds it. She looks different somehow; her hair is longer and her eyes are brighter and her face is leaner and her curves—well, she has curves now—are full and defined and in all the right places. His jaw drops open. She's stunning; not at all the little girl he remembers.

"Katara?" Zuko lets out his breath and stumbles forward, offering her his hand to help her off the dock.

"Miksa!" She dives straight in his arms and he catches her. Her satchel bounces off her back, pitching her forward while reeling him back. "Tui and La, how I've missed you!" She cradles her face into his neck for a moment before letting him settle her back down on her feet. Her hands reach up to cup his cheeks, her thumbs rubbing along his jawline. There is such tenderness in her eyes that it makes his ears flush a bright pink. "You're so tall now, and your hair!"

Zuko swallows hard and his eyes dart to-and-fro, looking anywhere but at her. He can still feel the softness of her touch on his cheeks, long after her hands have drawn away. "Yeah, thanks." He runs his fingers through his hair. "You're, uh, tall too."

Katara eyes him oddly, or maybe he's just reading into things because the weird look instantly vanishes and she is smiling brightly again, nodding her thanks.

"C'mon, take us to this splendid palace of yours, Your Highness." Soak barrel-rolls his right arm in an absurd flourish before bowing formally to Zuko. "Gotta any grub?"

Zuko laughs and punches Sokka in the arm. The younger teenager grunts in response, rubbing his arm, and Zuko laughs even louder, glad of the distraction. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll enjoy the meat here. Did you bring—"

"Right here," Katara interrupts, holding her satchel in front of her. "Sea prunes on ice, with Gran-Gran's recipe."

Zuko's smile breaks out into a toothy grin. "Great. C'mon—" he waves them forward and points to an elaborate carriage "—let's get you guys settled in."

This is going to be the best summer he's had in years.

۵

"Ugh. I am so full."

Sokka is sitting on Zuko's bed, happily patting his distended stomach while Katara glares disgustedly at him from the settee.

"It's no wonder," she says, her feet swinging off the end of the divan. "You were shovelling food into your mouth like a drowning man gasping for air. I thought you were going to choke."

Sokka sticks out his tongue at his sister, eliciting another wicked frown, and she folds her arms beneath her now ample breasts. Zuko turns away with a blush, busying himself with his hands. He shouldn't be looking at Katara that way; she's like a sister to him.

"You eat like a pig, you know that?"

"Pigs tend to chew," Zuko comments idly from the settee. "I'd say he eats more like a turtle duck."

Katara snorts but quickly reins herself in, an almost imperceptible frown curling at the corners of her lips. "No one seemed to like the stewed sea prunes I prepared. Maybe I did them wrong."

"Nah—" Zuko shakes his head vehemently "—they're just an acquired taste. Fire Nation people tend to be, uh, picky with their food."

He wrinkles his nose, glad his sister and father had the decency to leave the table before opening their mouths to retort with scathing insults at their guests. Luckily they were too wrapped up in heir business and Azulon, which immediately excludes him.

"I think you did a great job, Katara." He offers her a winning smile. "I, for one, loved them. They reminded me of home."

Katara returns his smile ten-fold. "Then I'm glad."

"Speaking of home and family," Sokka interrupts on cue, "yours is kinda . . . odd."

"You mean cold and uncaring?" Zuko supplies deadpan, and Sokka nods.

"Yeah, those were the adjectives I was looking for."

"Your uncle seems sweet," Katara adds softly, her smile not quite as bright.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy. Talks in proverbs a lot. Can't understand what he says most of the time. Tea, tea, destiny, tea." Zuko smirks. "But he's the only one who really seems to care about me—around here, anyway."

Katara reaches over and places a slender hand on his knee. "Well, I'm glad you have someone here for support. You know you always have us back home."

Zuko feels the tips of his ears burning again and he swears Katara's hand is somehow burning through the fabric of his clothes. Why is he feeling this way, like every touch she gives sends an electrical current through him?

"Your sister's kinda hot," Sokka says out of nowhere, causing Zuko and Katara to turn and look at him agape.

"Sokka!"

"My sister's kinda crazy, too," Zuko adds bitterly. She is always trying to compete with him even though he can't be bothered. What's the point? He doesn't care about the crown or Ozai's approval.

Katara's hand is on Zuko's knee again and he glances down at her. Her eyes are so blue, deep as the ocean, and he finds himself lost in them.

"So, Zuko . . ." She seems to be tasting the name in her mouth like sour milk, much like he had years ago. "Do you still not remember anything?"

He shakes his head. "Nope, which makes living here all the more worse. My father and sister can't stand me, which is fine because I can barely stand the sight of them. Not a lot of family dinners, if you know what I mean." He sighs. "And my grandfather—well, I rarely see him since he's been so ill. He doesn't seem all that impressed with me either, and my father seems to think it's my fault."

Sokka snorts derisively. "Your dad sounds like a jerkbender."

"Sokka!"

"I'm just calling 'em like I see 'em." He raises his hands in acquiesce, but Katara is still scowling, and she abruptly turns back to Zuko.

"How's your firebending training coming along?"

Zuko smiles. Count on Katara to change the subject when it gets too uncomfortable.

"Good. Uncle is an amazing teacher, when not speaking in proverbs. I have much better control of it now. I feel—I feel at peace." He looks down at his hands and then over at Katara's, remembering when he burned her. "It's not so much a curse anymore, y'know?" She nods in and he touches her hand for a half-second, glad there are people out there who really do understand him. "So how has your waterbending been coming along?"

"Great now." She removes her hand from his knee and he frowns at the loss of contact. "At first Dad wouldn't let me go to the North Pole but Gran-Gran convinced him by coming with us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, I went with her." Sokka proudly points at himself while still reclining on Zuko's bed like a beached whale. "Thought I could maybe teach those Northern chumps a thing or two—maybe learn a few things from them."

"Did you?"

He shrugs. "A little. There were quite a few jerks there, but I did meet this really hot—"

"Sokka!" Katara interrupts hotly. "This is my story!"

"Sorry, sorry." Sokka brings the ridge of his hand to his mouth in a conspiratorial manner. "I'll tell you more later tonight, bro." He then makes a curt motion at his sister. "Go on."

"Thanks." Katara rolls her eyes but continues, "At first Master Pakku wasn't going to train me because they don't train girls—blah, blah, blah—but then Gran-Gran gave him a talking-to and—"

"Turns out Pakku and Gran-Gran used to be betrothed!" Sokka sits up on the pillows. "Gran-Gran was originally from the North Pole! How wild is that?"

Katara shoots Sokka the nastiest glare yet and he shrinks back in half-masked horror. "Yeah, so Gran-Gran left the North Pole because of how unfairly the female benders were treated there. Anyway, long story short, Pakku decided to teach me and he and Gran-Gran are now betrothed!"

"What? I didn't get a letter!"

"I've got it right here." Katara picks up her satchel from the floor and produces a letter, handing it to Zuko. "Gran-Gran wants you to come to the ceremony at the South Pole."

"I'll be there."

"Good," says Sokka, who is now picking at his teeth. "We could use some more testosterone to keep these women in line."

Katara shoots a nasty glare at her brother, who only shrugs, before turning back to Zuko with a contrite expression on her face as she toes the rug.

"Miksa, I'm sorry I didn't write you while I was at the North Pole."

"Yeah, me too," Sokka adds sheepishly. "Chief Arnook wouldn't let us send letters to the Fire Nation."

Zuko raises his hand and shakes his head. He doesn't need to know why; he already knows. The Northern Water Tribe has always despised the Fire Nation, and with good reason. "I understand. I'm just glad you guys are here now."

They both sigh in relief.

"So how good are you at waterbending?" Zuko asks, and Katara grins.

"Want to find out?"

"Sure!" Zuko motions to Sokka. "You coming?"

Sokka shakes his head, turning over on the bed. "I've seen her use her magic more than enough for one lifetime. I'm going to take a nap." He then sits up, pointing a stern finger at Zuko. "Later tonight we're gonna spar. I've got some new moves to teach you."

Zuko grins. "Can't wait."

"I'm gonna need some water," Katara says, looking up at Zuko with those big blue eyes of hers.

"C'mon." He curls his finger back, indicating she should follow him. "I know the perfect place. You'll love it."

۵

Zuko takes Katara to the courtyard, to the pond where the turtle ducks swim. For some inexplicable reason he feels at home here, loved here. It's almost as if a small piece of his past is right here beneath the tree at the foot of the pond. He can't remember what happened here or how he should feel, but it's the only place in this entire nation that makes him feel at peace.

Katara begins bending straight away, flowing from one move to the next, and Zuko is completely mesmerised. She's good, better than good; she's amazing. He really had no doubt that she would be the best, but seeing waterbending in motion is unbelievable. He feels honoured to watch from his humble spot at the base of the tree.

An hour goes by and Katara still isn't slowing down, and Zuko has yet to be bored. Finally, after a few more minutes, she stops, letting the water fall back into the pond. Clasping her hands behind her back almost meekly, she strides forward and sits down beside him, leaning against the tree.

"So how was that?" She sounds slightly out of breath but she is smiling, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Amazing."

"Why don't you show me your firebending?"

He shakes his head and points at the orange sun slowly setting behind the palace, covering the land with a rusted glow.

"I do better with the rising sun. I'll show you tomorrow."

A part of him is afraid to firebend around her, remembering the past, but a bigger part of him just wants this all to be her moment to shine, for her to show him how special he always knew she was. His bending, no matter how lame, would only distract from that. He's content to just sit here with her, watching the turtle ducks swim.

Katara shifts beside him, letting out a soft yawn as her shoulder presses into his arm. "I can't wait to see what you've learnt," she says, and she actually sounds sincere, but then she always was genuine. "I've really missed you, Miksa."

Her last sentence is a whisper. Her head is resting against his shoulder now and her eyes are already sliding shut as she yawns sleepily. The bending probably took more out of her than she let on. Coupled with the long voyage and the fact this is the first time today she's been off her feet, Zuko's not surprised she's so tired.

He lets her rest against his shoulder, content with the comfortable feel of her weight. The gentle rhythm of her breathing is soothing, almost hypnotic, and he can feel the warmth of her breath against his skin. His heart suddenly begins to speed up and he clutches at his chest with mild confusion.

He turns his head to stare down at Katara's sleeping form, which only seems to make his heart beat faster. He frowns, beginning to think that this feeling must be a result the sea prunes. He hasn't had them in so long that his system is no longer used to them. They must have given him heartburn.

Yes, that's it; heartburn.

۵