Zuko lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He'd been like that for hours. Sleep wouldn't grace him with her presence and neither would peace of mind. It seemed like something was just.. off. He sigh in frustration that he couldn't place the feeling.
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face with his hands. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked at the floor for a moment before standing and walking toward his door, grabbing his shirt on the way. He started walking toward the kitchen put froze in front of Katara's door; something wasn't right. He peeked in to see that the bed was still fully made and that the water bender was no where in sight.
He walked into the kitchen and saw that the door to the back porch was cracked open. Zuko crept toward it, half expecting and intruder. When he peeked through the crack, he saw something he was not expecting. A sobbing water bender crumpled to her knees.
"Katara?" He said it before he could stop himself, but he couldn't back down so he opened the door so she could see him. When she looked up from where her face had been buried in her hands, her face was contorted in pain and sorrow.
"Zuko?" Even her voice was etched in pain as she said his name.
"Tara," He couldn't help himself as he went and knelt down next to her, he pulled her close to him and she wrapped her arms around his back and sobbed into his shirt.
He winced at her pain, this was different then when she was sick. Now she was fully aware, now she was choosing to let him hold her while she cried. But he wasn't sure how to help her, when he comforted her before he was simply soothing her as his mother did when he was a child and had nightmares. But now he didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Simply rubbed her back gently with one hand and stroked her chocolate hair with his other.
Suddenly she pushed him away and glared at him accusingly as she scooted backwards.
"Leave me alone," she said icily, but Zuko could see the tears that still flowed down her cheeks and hear the pain in her voice.
"Why?" He said it firmly, narrowing his eyes and she narrowed hers in return.
"You'll betray me," Zuko was stunned. Not five minutes ago he had been feeling conflicted about his choice; and now she, without even knowing it, was throwing it in his face.
"No," He choked it out trying to fight the sudden mixture of emotions that threatened to well up inside of him.
"No?" She scoffed it in anger but he wasn't seeing the mask of rage she usually wore, he saw the raw pain that lay just underneath, "So what, you are going to finish training and go fight on the front lines?" She stood to her feet as she spoke, and when she spoke of the battle field she pointed beyond the trees, "No, you're probably just waiting for your opening. And then you'll finish it." She glared at him, daring him to tell her otherwise. Zuko couldn't answer, for the first time in years, he didn't know what he could say.
Right there, on that porch with the crying water bender standing over him, he made a decision. He wasn't going to fight it anymore. He was going to let the feelings that his trainers tried to beat and burn and scrape out of him come out from their tiny place in his heart. He was going to let himself feel something.
"No." The anger left her face and she looked at him stunned.
"No?"
"No." She looked at him critically, as if trying to decipher the simple answer.
"No." She said it slowly and he saw the wheels turning in her head, "Ok," she finally said, before nodding to him and passing him to go inside.
"Katara?" He said just before she crossed through the door, she didn't turn but she paused, "I don't know who Jet was, but I'm not him." He watched as her head tilted toward the floor.
"That's the problem, Zuko." And with that she slid the door closed behind her and he was alone on the porch. He moved to the railing and leaned his elbows on it. Then he heard a voice whispering through the trees, he strained his eyes to see two people walking back toward the city. One of them was singing a beautiful tune that he'd never heard before.
Can you hear me,
Can you hear them,
Can you hear the lonely voices,
They whisper through the shadows of coming night,
Searching for what they wish to feel inside,
Can you hear them,
Those who wish for love.
Yes short and kind of awkward chappie, I apologize I'm just not really into it right now :/
Don't look for the song or poem on youtube or what ever cause you won't find them they are both pieces of original pieces I'm working on so ya :p
Review!
(And yes Katara was made to look completely evil in the last chapter for a reason, you'll just have to wait and see)
Kmsitterley