CHAPTER 21

"There has to be some way to end this now Uncle." Zuko rubbed his eyes and rolled his breakfast around with his fork. "It's unnatural for a war to go on this long."

"These things take time Zuko."

"It's been going on for over 100 years now. I think the world's waited long enough."

The old man scratched at his chin. "Then what do you plan to do about it Prince Zuko?"

Zuko dropped his fork and attempted to massage his temples. "I don't know." He moaned. "They are my family, but they've got to be stopped."

"And what will you do to stop them?"

"I don't know!" He slammed his fist down on the wood table, but regretted it immediately. "I don't know…"

Iroh sat back and watched the internal struggle overtaking his nephew. Such a subject was hard for Iroh to discuss as well, as they were just as much his family as they were Zuko's, but the pressure imposed on the younger general to become the next Fire Lord clearly still hung heavily on his shoulders.

"What did Miss Katara suggest?"

"I haven't really talked about it with her. I kind of want her to just focus on healing right now."

"That's good… yes that's good, but when the time comes you have to discuss it with her. From what I can see, she's playing as much of a part in this as you are."

"I know Uncle."

Zuko slouched slightly in his seat by Katara's bedside while she slept. Turning his head to catch the view outside the window, he could see the yellow outline of the sun around the trees that blocked it. The wind blew cool and soft, but managed to pick up a light layer of dirt from the garden and spread it into the air like dust. He thought it smelled like the sea even though the coast remained miles away.

"You have something on your mind."

He hadn't even realized that she'd woken up. She still laid peacefully in the bed, her pillow shaping comfortably around her head. Her face had returned to its normal plumpness and the light pink tint began to return to her nose and cheeks. He leaned down and stole a kiss before she could say anything more.

"Go back to sleep." He commanded.

Her eyes shot him an annoyed squint in retaliation. "I can only sleep so many hours at a time Zuko." He watched her lips tug into a small frown. "What's going on?"

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know what to do."

"About what?"

"The war." He stared at his fingers. "I don't know how to stop it."

Her eyes widened a little at his words. He'd never been so forward when discussing the topic.

"There are no definite answers when it comes to war Zuko."

"I wish there were." He scooted closer to her side and placed his palm on the inside of her thigh. "I don't want this to happen to you again."

Katara huffed and rubbed some gung from her eye. "Well, we know the KK is waiting for us to rejoin them. Once we do, we can figure out something from there."

"Like what Katara? What are we going to do? Demolish troops one by one until there's literally no one left to fight? I don't think that tactic has worked for anyone before." He heard his own voice cracking and coughed in attempts to hide it. "It helps out the cause, but it's not going to put an end to anything in the Fire Nation."

"What are you saying? You want to go to the capital?"

"Frankly I'm surprised you haven't suggested it yet."

She picked herself up on her elbows, watching him with concern. "I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with that…"

"I still don't know if I'm comfortable with it," he could feel his heart lightly thumping against the inside of his chest. "but what else are we going to do?"

She eyed him questioningly. "I've never seen you so eager about this before."

Zuko took a breath. Perhaps it was time to confess. "I want…to have a normal life with you- if you'd allow me to. I don't always want to be running; whether I'm being chased or I'm one doing the chasing. I mean, I'd follow you anywhere and you know that, but I'm so tired Katara." He didn't look up to see her reaction; his focus remaining entirely on his palms. "I don't know if it's what you want too, but I just keep dreaming that you and I could have something so much better…something easier. And I'm never going to be able to settle down and have peace until the war is over and we're not constantly hiding anymore."

She took in every word he said. His voice continued to shake the more he spoke and Katara couldn't help but love him for being so vulnerably honest with her. He hadn't realized it, but his leg was rapidly bouncing up and down, waiting for her response. And what was her response? She did love him and wanted him to be as happy as he could possibly be. To be truthful, his speech made her feel more guilty than anything else. She hadn't realized how truly exhausted he was of following her around. It wasn't like he had many more appealing options, but she felt disappointed in herself for assuming that he found happiness in the same ways that she did. And he deserved more. He'd waited long enough for a normal life. It only made sense that he would desire a life that was never really available to him, and now that it was finally possible, Katara could only encourage him to go after it.

And she would go with him too. If they really could put an end to the war, then she wouldn't really have anything to keep fighting for. She had thought about going home, but the idea wasn't as tempting as it should have been. Staying with Zuko on the other hand somehow felt right. But that didn't stop the fact that he was still heir to the throne. If it came down his father having to be killed, would Zuko even be allowed to live the normal life that he wanted?

Regardless of how things ended, Katara knew Zuko was right. The war couldn't end if they didn't take more serious measures to stop it and they couldn't keep waiting on someone else to get the job done for them. And honestly, she was getting tired of hiding too. Maybe it was finally time to finish what she and Aang were supposed to do four years ago.

"I don't want to hide anymore either." She answered him at last. "But I don't think you and I are going to be able to do this by ourselves."

"No. You're right."

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Everything's going to be fine." She smoothed her palms over his shoulders to stop his body from humming. "Let's go figure something out."

Katara wasn't sure how much of a plan they'd be able to come up with had Iroh and Piandao not agreed to help them. Their knowledge was indispensable. Between the three men there was little chance that they wouldn't be able to sneak into the palace. But they still needed more help and Katara was more than willing to send messages to Toph, Sokka, and the KK requesting their assistance.

And although their plan was coming together, she couldn't help but worry about Zuko. It couldn't have been easy for him to make the decision to finally stand against his family, but she wouldn't address it with him in front of the others. Somehow she could tell that he was struggling. He seemed to lose himself in deep thought more and more with the passing days, but even though they never spoke of it, he knew that Katara understood him in return. Even though Zuko still held fond memories of his family, he knew they would never willingly stop the war or step off the throne. There was no other way but to remove them personally himself. He cared for Katara and his Uncle more than he cared for his father and sister and if this is what he had to do to ensure their safety and happiness, he'd go through with it.

In the evening the four of them sat at the kitchen table, mainly awaiting the responses of Katara's extra help. While Piandao and Iroh seemed to ramble on about the old days, Zuko kept his eyes on the woman across from him. Her long brown hair lay tossed over her shoulder, leaving the other one completely bare for him to admire. Her pointer finger drew circles around the rim of the cup in front of her. Yes, it was worth it. He'd put an end to the war for good if it meant that he's be able to see her like that every day.

He recalled a conversation he'd had with Iroh. How he'd try to help stop the war and avoid being Fire Lord all together. There was no way that he and Katara would be able to live quietly if he took the throne after his father, but he'd figure something out; he'd find someone who would do the job much better than he ever could. Originally, he had asked Iroh to take his place, but the old general had refused, saying that the nation needed someone younger with new ideas. "You must do what you know is right Zuko." He had said.

The sound of a glass being set down on the table snapped Zuko's attention back to the present. He smiled as Katara looked at him curiously and mouthed 'love you' to him before anyone else could notice.