Disclaimer: "I want it that waaay" - Backstreet Boys. I couldn't resist. Oh yeah. I just quoted a boy-band. Please, someone, slap some sense into me...Anyway. Yeah. Avatar: The Last Airbender, unfortunately is not mine. Backstreet Boys song "I Want It That Way", fortunately is not mine. Enjoy.
"Katara, it's getting late. Maybe you should start dinner now," Aang suggested.
"Alright. If you're hungry."
"Thanks, Katara. Can we have fish tonight?" Aang asked cheerily.
"Sure, I'd be happy to make whatever you want," she said, wearily, thinking of the rice soup she had already made, sitting in the kettle. Aang didn't notice that she sounded tired, but it seemed that way to Zuko.
"Leave the dishes you guys, I'll do them. Toph, why don't you and Aang go Earthbend?" Katara suggested.
"Are you sure, there are more tonight than usual. Don't you want some help?" Toph asked.
"No, no. Really. Go. I'll take care of the dishes," Katara insisted, already grabbing them and stacking them above her own.
"Alright," Toph shrugged.
Together, Aang and Toph left the fireside, and Sokka excused himself from the table. None of them noticed the sadness in her eyes as she picked up the dishes one by one and brought them over to the creek. She had said she wanted to do them, but it didn't seem that way to Zuko.
She told them she gave the last of their money to the little boy at the market. Everyone was furious with her. They asked her to do one thing and she couldn't do it. No one took into account the fact that she was the one who did everything, and she didn't bring up that point either. They couldn't understand why she did it. They thought she didn't care about their cause anymore; favoring someone else's needs over that of the Avatar's.
But all night while they were mad at her, she sat beneath the moon smiling up at it. It was almost as if she didn't care that they had no supplies or money left. They thought she didn't regret her decision to give their money away. But it didn't seem that way to Zuko.
He kissed her. He couldn't watch as he kissed her. It should be him kissing her. He lingered there for just a moment longer, and then pulled away. He watched as her face reddened and became alarmed. She backed away quickly.
"I'll…I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said. He turned away and left her there, a silent tear tracing a trail down her cheek.
He thought she had enjoyed it. But it definitely didn't seem that way to Zuko.
"Katara, you can't seriously tell me that you are in love, with him!" her brother exclaimed.
"Sokka, I can't believe you would think that!" she yelled back.
"I saw you kissing him."
"No, I did not kiss him. He kissed me!"
"I'm gonna kill that sonofabi—"
"SOKKA!" she screeched. "You will not do one thing to him!"
"Why not?" her brother challenged.
There was quiet. "Because I already took care of it," she lied. "He won't bother me anymore."
"Are you sure?" her brother asked, relaxing a little.
"Yes. I told him it would never work out between us…and that I just didn't feel the same way."
Her brother may have bought the lie, but from around the corner, Zuko was sure she didn't really feel that way. And when she joined him, they both knew the lie was just that—a lie.
A/N: So I thought it might be interesting to write from Zuko's point of view; how he sees Katara dealing with the group. And I wanted to target how much she's the mother/maid of the group and how no one really appreciates all that she does--except for Zuko of course because he is fabulous and is always watching Katara and such. Do you guys get the ending? I had my sister read it and she was kinda confused...
r.e.v.i.e.w. preferably with challenges and the like.
