Check this shit out! Only took me 9 days this time. Woo. And also sad, more sad. Dark. Twisty. You know.


CHAPTER 35

Katara woke up rather slowly. It had been weeks since Aang had fallen. Weeks. And she spent every spare moment at his bedside. Which would explain why she was waking up in his window seat, sore and hopeless.

"Katara?"

Her head snapped up expectantly, but no… it wasn't Aang. Toph was in the doorway, frowning at her in concern.

"Katara," she repeated quietly. "Come eat something."

Katara just shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chin. "Later…" she said brokenly. She heard Toph sigh and leave. Katara groaned. She needed something to eat, something to drink. She needed to wash her hair, go out and stretch her legs, waterbend. She hadn't left the house since they returned from Ba Sing Sei. Not once. She'd slept some, eaten some, but not as much as she should.

She couldn't bring herself to go through the motions of her everyday life. Not while he was just lying there.

"Uhm…"

Katara glanced up, expectations low. Nobody was at the doorway. But that had to mean…

"Where…" Aang murmured, still unmoving. She gasped and flew from the window seat to his side.

"Aang," she whispered frantically, taking his face in her hands. "Aang, can you hear me?"

"K…tara…" he attempted, voice cracking from lack of use. One of his eyes opened cautiously and she felt tears in her eyes.

"Aang," she breathed. "Oh, Aang, you're awake!" She didn't know what to do with herself.

With a grunt of effort, Aang tried to sit up. Katara reached out instantly to help him, setting him up against the headboard. He sighed heavily and finally opened both eyes. It took him a second to find focus, but when he did it landed on her. He smiled weakly.

"Katara," he whispered.

"Aang," she sighed again, relief washing over her face. "I'm so…" She shifted, clearly wanting to hug him, to hold him, to wrap her arms around him and take a deep breath of him and… but she stopped herself. Even after his near death, even after his weeks of unconsciousness, even after her missing him so much it hurt her physically, she couldn't forget that before all of that, they hadn't spoken a kind word to each other for days. She exhaled slowly and looked down. "I'm glad you're awake."

Aang swallowed hard and looked around. He was in his bed, in his room, alone with Katara. He looked down at himself and found he was stripped down to his pajama pants and covered in bandages. They were all over his torso and shoulder and up from his left foot to his knee. His eyes widened.

"What… what happened?" he asked quietly. Katara bit her lip.

"You… Azula, she…" she stammered.

"I went down," Aang cut in lowly, looking at his hands. "I think… I think she killed me."

Katara glanced up at him. "I um… I brought you back," she whispered. His gaze sharply met hers and she looked down again. "With water from the spring at the Northern Distillery."

"You… you brought me back?" Aang repeated, gazing at her. "Even after…"

He trailed off, leaving a deafening silence between them. Katara twisted her hands in her lap.

"Of course I did," she said, very quietly. "No matter what happens between us, I could never just let you… without even trying to… I couldn't just…" She closed her eyes, and Aang noticed for the first time that she looked very different from the last time he'd seen her. There were bags under her eyes and her hair wasn't in its usual impeccable condition. Her clothes were wrinkled, her lips were dry, her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. He swallowed hard. She was beautiful.

"Katara, how long have I been like this?"

She sighed again, not looking at him. "About four weeks."

Aang was floored. Four weeks. "Four weeks?" he repeated incredulously. He ran a hand through his hair in agitation, staring blankly at the wall. She just watched him silently. He sighed heavily. "You've been here for most of that time, haven't you?"

Katara didn't respond. She looked away from him.

"Katara…"

"Don't," Katara said firmly, glancing up at him. "Don't ask me why. Don't tell me I didn't need to, because I did. I needed to be here." She took a shuddering breath and looked down again. "I needed to know you were okay, because if you weren't and the last thing I said to you…" She exhaled heavily and closed her eyes. "I just… needed to be here."

Aang couldn't take his eyes off of her. He felt like something inside him had just snapped in two, and he couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Try not to move too much, you might strain your injury," she said flatly. "Is there anything I can bring you?"

"No no, I'm fine," Aang replied, finally finding his voice.

Katara shook her head a little. "No, you're not," she sighed. Aang didn't respond. "Just… call if you need anything." She got to her feet and stretched, joints creaking audibly. Aang watched her silently. She paused a moment and turned to him, hesitating for another second before reaching out and brushing the shaggy hair from his brow. Before he knew it, she had bent down and kissed his forehead, whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay," against his skin, and was out the door.

Aang stared at the doorway she had occupied just moments before. His head was pounding and his throat was dry. With a groan, he buried his face in his hands. Four weeks. Time had never slipped away from him like this before. His thoughts went back over Katara's words, looking for something… something that had bothered him…

"I needed to know you were okay, because if you weren't and the last thing I said to you…"

Aang frowned, blinking through the gaps in his fingers. What was the last thing she said to him before he went down? He squeezed his eyes shut. Concentrating right now was like trying to catch smoke in his hands. His mind was full of fog and… sewer water…

He sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain in his muscles. He remembered the panic those last words had instilled in him.

"Fine. Well then you can just take yourself right out of my life."

Another long sigh and he fell back against the headboard. How long had they been fighting? It must have been just a few days, but it felt like ages. And now, apparently, things still weren't fixed.

But Katara… she'd spent four weeks at his side. If that wasn't an attempt at reconciliation, he didn't know what was. He sighed. Whatever it was, he knew one thing. He couldn't take this much longer.

0000000

Katara was sitting in the kitchen, elbows on the table, head in her hands. She didn't know where Sokka and Toph were, but they weren't the problem right now. How could she have been so cold to him? Why was she still angry?

He was probably thirsty, sore. Most likely confused. He said he was fine, but she knew better. He could feel the tension between them and he just wanted her out of the room. She shouldn't have…

Katara let out a groan. Things had changed in the past four weeks. A lot. She had to tell him, fill him in on everything. After all, this was his war too. But she just couldn't bring herself to get to her feet. Spirits, she was tired…

"Katara?"

She glanced up to find Sokka and Toph walking into the kitchen together. She frowned.

"Where were you two?"

They both shrugged.

"Outside," Sokka said seriously. "You know, where everyone else is. Come on Katara, you have to get some fresh air."

"Well I probably will be," she sighed. "Aang's awake."

"What? Really?"

Both of them left the kitchen as suddenly as they had come. She could hear them talking excitedly, glad to have Aang back. Katara let her head drop onto the table with another groan.

"When did my life get so complicated?" she sighed.

"I'd say it's when you made it this complicated."

Katara glanced up in surprise. Her father was just sitting down at the table across from her. She frowned at him and dropped her head back onto the table.

"I don't want to talk about it," she grumbled.

"Well too bad," he replied lightly. "I talked to Billie."

Katara glared up at him. "And?"

"She said you're having boy problems."

"…That's all she said? No specifics?"

"Of course not, Billie wouldn't betray your trust like that. But please, a rock could figure out you have Gyatso's boy in your sights."

Katara didn't respond. She just growled at him.

"Look, I know I'm the last person in the world you want to talk about this with…"

"Second last."

"Hm?"

"You're not Sokka, are you?"

Hakoda let out a laugh. Katara just sighed.

"I wish Mom was here," she said quietly. Hakoda leaned forward, brushing some hair behind her ears.

"I know, kid," he said quietly. "We all do. But eventually, we've all got to stand up on our own two feet and face our problems alone."

Katara was once again silent. Her father knew it was because she didn't want him to hear that she was crying.

"You'll be fine, Katara," he murmured. "You always are. You're a fighter."

She heard his chair legs screech as he got to his feet and left the room. Katara sighed again, using her fingertip to bend the three lone tears that had fallen to the table.

"I always am," she whispered.

0000000

"Hey Twinkle Toes! What are you doing up and about?"

Aang looked up in surprise. It couldn't have been much past dawn, but Aang had been unable to sleep and found himself out in the kitchen. It had been a struggle walking in there by himself, but that old airbending staff he'd liberated from the library made a good walking stick. It was now leaning in the corner of the kitchen near the doorway in which Toph and Sokka were standing.

Aang frowned. "Why were you two up so early?" he asked, yawning.

They both shrugged. "There's been a lot going on here in the past four weeks," Sokka said flatly. Aang's frown deepened and Sokka sighed. "I guess Katara hasn't filled you in then."

Aang looked down at the table. "Nah, we haven't really had a chance to talk," he muttered. He hadn't spoken to her once since he'd woken up yesterday. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was hiding from him. Sokka and Toph sat down at the table with him and Sokka rubbed his tired eyes.

"Look, things have changed," he said, throwing caution to the wind. "Azula controls the Prohibition Officers now, so Ba Sing Se has pretty much fallen."

"Oh," Aang sighed.

"Yeah," Toph consented. She too sounded tired. "The Dragons are getting brazen. I mean, if they weren't to begin with. Most of Omashu is down for the count too. I'm afraid the Riversiders' sphere of influence is shrinking."

"This is all my fault," Aang groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I should have stopped her."

"Aang, she shot you in the back," Sokka pointed out, a note of disgust in his voice. "There's no accounting for people like that."

"I see them out the window, you know," Aang said suddenly, his voice low and a dark crease in his brow. "The Riversiders who have been injured or killed, fighting the Dragons. I see them being carried to the infirmary down the lane." He clenched his fists on the table. "It could be one of you next, or it could be… Katara." He shook his head and got to his feet, firmly planting his staff against the floor for support. "I can't let this happen anymore. It's getting out of hand."

"Aang," Toph began, but he was already limping out of the kitchen. They heard his bedroom door slam. The two of them shared a look and another shrug.

Aang, on the other hand, was surprised to find his room occupied. Katara was sitting in his window seat, one finger tracing spirals on the glass. She glanced over when his door slammed behind him. She briefly met his eyes.

"You really shouldn't be on your feet so soon," she said quietly. Aang slowly sat down on his bed, leaning his staff in the corner. She could feel his eyes on her. She sighed. "I uh… need to check your bandages."

Aang glanced down at himself and was startled to see the bandages on his foot were turning red. He could only assume the same of his back. The next time he looked up, Katara was seated beside him on his bed, and he swallowed hard.

"Just relax," she murmured, not meeting his eyes. He nodded silently as she unwound the red-stained cloth from his back. He could see her biting her lip and he knew immediately that she blamed herself for what had happened to him. He opened his mouth, prepared to tell her that it wasn't her fault and she did more than he deserved by saving his life, but something stopped him. He was trying to figure out what that something was when her hand, enveloped in cool water, came into contact with the sore skin of his back. He screwed his eyes shut against the sudden stinging sensation, and she saw it immediately, steadying her other hand on his chest.

"Relax," she whispered again, focused so intently that she didn't seem to realize that this was the closest they had been in more than a month. He seized the opportunity to take a deep breath, catching the scent of her hair. Spirits, he loved that smell.

"Katara," he blurted, taking hold of her wrist and gently pushing her away from him. She met his eyes, confused. "It's okay… I can finish up myself."

He didn't know what compelled him to say it, but he certainly hadn't anticipated the look of hurt and betrayal that crossed her face. It was brief, but he saw it, and it seemed to squeeze the air from his lungs.

"Oh," she said at length, once again refusing to meet his eyes. "Sure, of course, I'll just…" She got to her feet, fully intending to leave the room as fast as she possibly could, but he didn't let go of her wrist.

"Katara, stop, it's not that I don't want your help," he said hastily, trying to catch her eye. She stared hard at her feet. "It's just… everyone around me is in danger because of me and I just…"

"Stop," she cut him off, her hard gaze now directed at him. "Stop doing this, please. You promised me you wouldn't just shut yourself off again."

"Well that was when I could think of how happy I made you," he snapped without thinking, finally releasing her wrist. "Now we just make each other crazy."

She stared at him, her eyes blazing, and she bit her lip in what Aang guessed was an attempt to keep herself from shouting at him. She just shook her head and looked down again. Without another word, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Aang, ignoring the pain in his back, buried his face in his hands.

0000000

It was nearly dusk, and Katara hadn't heard a sound from Aang's room. She was distraught and upset, but she was still worried about him in his weakened condition. So she made a plate of pancakes around dinner time and knocked on his door, fully intending to just give them to him and leave as fast as possible. But there was no answer.

"Aang?"

Still nothing. Katara swallowed hard and opened the door.

The plate shattered on the floor when Katara saw his empty bed and open window.

"No," she said to the empty room. Panic flooded her, making it impossible to think, to move, to breathe. "No."

In a flash, she was running down the hall and out the door of the house. "Sokka, Toph, where are you?" she shouted, her voice echoing over the quiet distillery grounds. "Appa, here boy!"

She needed Appa, he would be able to track Aang's scent. But Sokka and Toph had taken him for a walk nearly an hour ago. Where on earth could they be?

Deep in thought as she was, she ran right into her father as she tore across the grounds. He caught her before she managed to run off.

"Whoa there, what's the hurry?" he asked seriously.

Katara turned wide eyes up to his and he could instantly see something was terribly wrong. "Appa," she panted. "I have to find Appa, he can track him down, he'll know where he is-"

"Know where who is?"

Katara stopped as though her breath froze in her chest. She bit her lip, and all of a sudden Hakoda saw tears in his daughter's eyes. He frowned and took her firmly by her shoulders.

"Aang's gone, isn't he?" he said quietly.

Katara's jaw tightened and her hands clenched into fists. She looked at her feet, shaking her head. He heard her sniff and watched in surprise as she swiftly wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.

"Katara, please," he said seriously. "I haven't seen you cry in six years, you have to help me out here."

She shook her head again. "I don't understand," she whispered brokenly. "How could he just leave?" She gasped in another shuddering breath, finally looking up at him with tears in her eyes and running down her face. "How could he just leave me?"

Hakoda let out a sigh and pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a hug. He let her cry out all of her tears into the front of his suit, shushing her. Katara was so strong, so proud, she had grown into such a beautiful young woman, he often forgot she was still his little girl.

"He didn't leave you, sweetheart," Hakoda murmured. "He could never leave you. The boy, for better or worse, cares about you too much. He'll be back."

"Spirits, Dad, he makes me so crazy," she cried into his jacket. "But I can't stand the thought of being without him."

Hakoda blinked in surprise. How could he not have noticed that his daughter had gone and fallen in love? But before he could put voice to these sentiments, the large, bouncing figure of Appa the sheepdog came barking into view.

"Appa," Katara exclaimed, immediately dropping to her knees and grabbing onto his collar to keep him still. Sokka and Toph followed him shortly. "Where the hell have you been?" Both of them shrugged. Katara scowled up at them. "You two keep disappearing together," she pointed out lowly. Toph pursed her lips and tapped an irritated foot on the ground, but remained as silent as Sokka who just tugged rather uncomfortably at his collar. "Oh never mind, we have to find Aang."

"What? Aang's gone?" the exclaimed in unison.

Katara ignored them. "You can find him, right Appa?" she said quietly. Appa tilted his head to the side and barked. Katara sighed and straightened up. She patted her knees. "Okay Appa, go find Aang!" she shouted, and pointed. Appa blinked, sniffed the ground, turned in a circle, and barked again. His tail started wagging. Katara looked over at Sokka.

"Go get your truck and follow me," she said in a rush, and just like that she and Appa were running toward the gate of the distillery.

Toph cast a worried glance back at Hakoda. "I'll go with her," she said, taking off after the rapidly retreating figures of Katara and Appa.

Sokka was about to go get his truck when Hakoda stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "You watch out for her," he said seriously. "And Aang. Okay?"

Sokka nodded seriously. "Don't worry, Dad. I always do."