THIS IS IT! The big reveal. Lot of things happen here. Not gonna say much, except, I hope this answers your questions. More details will come later, but for now, you will know a lot of what has happened.
Chapter 18
Zuko lowered himself in the bathtub, his taut muscles easing with the warm water lapping around him. Closing his eyes, he dipped down, letting water engulf him. This morning, when he had woken up, he had no idea that he would be sleeping in a completely different part of the country. After being informed of the impromptu holiday, Zuko had hemmed and hawed, trying to remind everyone that the Water Tribe assassin was still in jail and they were nowhere close to figuring out what message to send Hahn, without upsetting the delicate balance of the World Peace. Iroh waved a hand, claiming that politics would still be there when he got back. One week wouldn't stop the world. Knowing a lost argument, he had done some quick thinking and had managed to wrangle a few things from his office, before Iroh had barged in and practically shoved him out.
They had bid a somewhat hasty farewell to family and friends. The situation had been explained to Izumi and Bumi, and while neither of them seemed overly thrilled by the idea of them taking a vacation by themselves, they both had wished them well. Kya, however, had NOT been happy. She had made her displeasure known, very vocally. It had taken a combination of bribery (Ice pops by Suki), distraction (Metal bending by Toph) and some cajoling (by Hakoda) before the girl had let go of the monkey-hold she had Katara in.
Using the child's distraction, they turned to walk. Before they could start climbing, though, Azula called for Katara, who turned around. His sister thrust a parcel in Katara's hands. "in case of emergency," she said cryptically and walked off. Katara had shared a perplexed look with Zuko, who shrugged. The two climbed the gangplank and turned to wave at their loved ones. Kya had waved a teary, pouty farewell. Katara had alternatively worried and felt guilty over leaving her kids alone. Zuko had listened and made the appropriate noises.
As the ferry sped over the water, Zuko felt his stress, tension, and pressure ease away. The farther he went from the palace, the farther the mantle of 'Fire Lord' went from him. Landing on the beaches of Ember Island, he realized that he had truly needed this, despite his mixed feelings about the vacation. On one hand, he intended to use this vacation to try and figure out what had happened to Katara. On the other hand, he was a little scared of the strange feelings about Katara that were budding in him. Maybe this was a good time to clear out the fucking quagmire that was his and Katara's relationship. All in all, though, Zuko was glad he had agreed to this scheme. At that moment, in the tub, he was something he had not been in years. Just Zuko. Not the Fire Lord. Not Ozai's son. Not a father. Not a monarch. Just Zuko.
He broke the water surface with a gasp, feeling more relaxed than he had in what seemed like forever. He climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel. He caught his reflection in the mirror and realized he needed a shave. A faint stubble was darkening his cheeks. He wiped his face and neck and was about to start on his back when he heard a scream.
Katara!
Panic rose within him as his mind painted pictures of her being attacked, or in the throes of panic. He wrapped the towel around his waist in a hurry and darted to her room. The sight that greeted him was both relieving and anticlimactic. She stood at the side of her bed with the contents of her bag strewn all over. She was gaping at a red cloth in her hand, her eyes wild.
"Katara? Is everything okay?" He asked, feeling a twinge of worry.
She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. It took her moment to school her features before she said, "No! I'm going to kill them. Suki, Toph, and Ty Lee. I. Will. Kill. Them."
He frowned, only now realizing that water was still dripping from his hair. He gathered them in his hand, it had now grown down to his mid-back and gave it a bit of a shake. He missed his short, messy hair sometimes, but then, he could not cut his hair even if he wanted to. The hair of a Fire Lord carried many symbolic significances. The topknot symbolized their lineage as royalty, which was why for him and Uncle cutting it off at the Earth Kingdom had been an act of rebellion. The long hair symbolized the prosperity and stability of the nation. Once, it had also symbolized peace. In fact, centuries ago, when the Fire Lord wanted to declare war with a country, they would send a lock of their hair as a message. Sozin had done away with that when he declared war against the entire world because he couldn't send his hair to every little village in the world. He'd have to go bald. Thus, while the 'peace' part was lost, the rest of the symbolism remained.
He gathered his hair and squeezed some of the water on the floor, evaporating it with his foot, and walked into the room. "What happened? What did they do?"
"This!" She said and held up a piece of red cloth.
What could be so offensive about a piece of cloth? He wondered as he grabbed it from her to take a better look.
Oh.
He was looking at what the Fire Nation called, 'lotus petals' – a special line of clothing that had only one purpose. In his hand was a blood-red garment that ended before it even began properly. The garment and he was using that term generously, was supposed to hang from the wearer's neck by a thin string. Black piping outlined the breasts, most of which the garment would leave exposed. A line of lace ran from the base of the breasts, all the way down to where the crotch would be. The back was a crisscross of thin strings that was meant to hold the cloth in place.
Heat crept up his cheeks and he cast a look along the bed, hoping against hope that this was the only salacious piece of clothing. No such luck. Every single bit of clothing strewn on the bed was the 'lotus petals' clothes.
"Wow. T…They…uh… didn't pull any punches, huh?"
Katara slapped her hands on her cheeks, shaking her head. "What were they thinking?"
Zuko raised his brow, his lips twitching slightly. The embarrassment of the moment had given way to hilarity in his mind, "Do you need me to spell it out for you?"
She threw him a dirty look, and snatched the cloth from his hand, "No, Zuko. I can hazard a guess."
"Well, this is what happens when friends pack bags," Zuko said wisely.
"Yeah? Well, Sokka packed yours."
Unbidden an image came to his mind. One that had haunted his dreams for days. His eyes widened in horror and he spun around to run to his room. He could hear her tread behind him as they entered the adjoining room.
"No tigerdillo pants, Agni, please no tigerdillo pants," Zuko muttered as he tried to undo the strings of his bag, his trembling hands making the task difficult.
"Tigerdillo pants?" Katara said, sitting on the bed. "Do I want to know?"
"No, you don't," he said, shaking his head. "Actually, on second thoughts… no. You REALLY don't."
With a giggle, Katara flung the pillow at him, which hit him square on the face. Evidently, this holiday had loosened her inhibitions too. He was happy to see glimpses of the Katara he knew.
"Very mature," he scowled. "What the hell? Why can't I open this?"
Katara cast a look and said, "Ah, Water Tribe knots. You can't open them."
Zuko rolled his eyes, "What's the point of a knot if no one can open it?"
"I didn't say no one can open it," she answered smugly, "You can't open it. I can."
"Really?"
"Yes. I will open it if you tell me about the tigerdillo pants."
"Open it and I'll tell you."
She grabbed the bag and undid the knot deftly. "Now tell me."
Zuko sighed as he opened the bag, "I accompanied Sokka for a shopping trip before his wedding. Before buying, tried on and showed me a few things."
Katara snorted, "Tigerdillo pants being one of them?"
"An image for nightmares," Zuko grumbled as he pulled out his clothes, each more outlandish than the other until finally, he found the offensive pants he hoped wasn't there. Katara grabbed the brief, a tigerdillo striped pants, and burst out laughing.
"What the hell is this?" Katara chuckled. "Is this Sokka's idea of romance?"
Zuko shook his head, "I admire Suki more and more every passing day."
She dumped the pant on top of the heap, still giggling.
Zuko flopped on the bed next to her, "We don't have clothes to wear."
Struck by a sudden inspiration, Katara ran back to her room and was back with the parcel Azula had given. "This classifies as an emergency."
She pulled the string apart and opened the paper, to find two pairs of red tunics and black slacks that looked like they'd fit them.
"I never thought I'd say this, but thanks Azula," Zuko said, picking his clothes to put them on. He walked behind the wooden partition that allowed him to change, "Don't peek."
"Haha," she said, in an exaggerated laugh, "How did she know we would need this?"
He walked out of the partition, tying his belt on the tunic, "She's known Ty Lee all her life. I'm sure she guessed it."
"Well, it takes care of tonight," Katara said, "But what about the rest of the days that we are staying here? We can't possibly be wearing all that."
"There is a market nearby," Zuko said, gathering the ridiculous clothes and stuffing them in the bag, willy-nilly. "We'll go there in the morning and grab something."
Katara nodded, folding the paper of the parcel neatly. As he watched, she kept folding the paper over and over. Something about the action didn't sit right with Zuko. It looked too much like an anxious tic. He dropped the shirt he had been holding, (yellow with blue sequins. Really, Sokka? Really?), and kneeled in front of her, covering her hand with his. It didn't escape his notice that she didn't flinch. Like she had not in the garden when he had grabbed her shoulders. Back then, he had attributed it to her anger, but now, she was relaxed and cracking jokes. And she still had not flinched. His confidence was bolstered. Maybe, sometime in this holiday, he could give her the scrolls he had brought along with him. Maybe he would get the answers he sought.
"How are you holding up, Katara?" he asked gently.
"I'm okay," she replied in a somber voice.
"I know you probably don't like this arrangement –"
"No Zuko," she cut him, her eyes fixed on his fingers on her hands. "I wanted to come here."
Huh? "Really?"
She nodded. "Look, I know we decided that we shall remain friends and all that, but whether we like it or not, things are not the same anymore. They will never be. We can't fool ourselves saying we are just going to be friends like we have been for so long. We have to talk. There is a lot we both need to unpack."
Zuko nodded and pulled the paper out of her hand. He sat down next to her and said, "I agree. We have to find a new normal. We have so much to talk about. And here we can do that without any interference."
"Your hair is dripping water on the bed," Katara said suddenly. "Didn't you dry it properly?"
Zuko gave her look, "I was drying up when someone screamed bloody murder."
She chuckled, "Sorry about that. Here, let me."
For one wild moment, Zuko thought she meant to dry his hair with a towel and the thought sat like a hollow in his stomach. But then, she twirled her fingers and pulled the water out, directing it to a potted plant in the corner. Right. She was a Waterbender. How did he forget that? What was I thinking?
"Are you okay? You look… strange."
"I'm just tired," He said more gruffly than he intended to.
"Long day," she said, nodding in agreement. "I'll head to bed now. Let's go to the market tomorrow morning?"
"Sure. Good night, Katara."
"Good night, Zuko."
The air carried a smell that made Katara's mouth water. Next to her, Zuko walked with a slouch, a hood pulled over his head. He had, apparently, taken to carrying this hood with him whenever he wanted to remain undetected in public. This was the only item of clothing that he had managed to grab before Iroh had practically shoved him out of his office and into the carriage. Katara had tried to tell him that he wouldn't need the hood, he had not needed one in Ember Island back when he was a wanted fugitive. He had, rather high-handedly, answered that he was a much more known face now. He did not fancy being hounded. If she wanted to go to the market, this is how they would go. Or he could ask their security to go and grab the clothes. Katara had quickly nixed that idea and thus, here he was, in a hood drawn over his face, his stooped shoulders making him appear smaller than he was.
"What's that smell?" Katara asked. "It smells yummy."
Zuko sniffed the air and said, "Fried Parsin fish. It's actually quite delicious. You want to try?"
Katara's eyes lit up, "Yes please!"
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed her hand and said, "Come on."
The sudden contact had not startled her. For reasons she could not fathom, his touches did not startle her. Not when he had steadied her after Ty Lee had crashed into her, not when he had grabbed her shoulders in the garden, not the night before, or even now. It was strange, and Katara couldn't help but wonder why this was. She allowed him to lead her as they weaved through the crowd, all of whom seemed to be dressed in brightly colored clothes. The streets were packed, and it seemed festive, "What's happening?"
"It's the Summer Solstice festival," he explained. "They celebrate it in a big way here. They say that Fire Lord Aziman was born in Ember Island on the day of Summer Solstice. He was the one that made Ember Island the holiday destination it is today."
They reached the stall from where the intoxicating smell was wafting. Zuko used a lower, heavier voice to order two fishes.
That voice is quite sexy.
The thought came from nowhere, startling her. She was glad that he was not looking at her, for embarrassment colored her cheeks. He was ordering fish, for Tui's sake! She blamed the tawdry trio for the wayward thoughts in her mind. Zuko showing up in her room wet and, in a towel, had certainly not helped.
The problem was, at the heels of these thoughts, though, came horrific images that suffocated her. Dread was snaking up her spine. Katara scrunched her eyes shut, breathing deeply. No. She had come here to exorcise her demons. She won't let them overtake her.
"Katara?" Zuko's low whisper broke her thoughts, and she found him looking at her quizzically. "Do you want to go back?"
She shook her head, gritting her teeth against the onslaught of bitter memories. She grabbed a plate from his hand and thanked the vendor. Zuko led her away from the bustling crowd to an alley that was somewhat isolated. There, he leaned against a wall, removed his hood, and said, "This fish doesn't have many bones, except the center one. You shouldn't have any problems eating it."
His statement jolted her to the present and she looked at him through narrowed eyes, "I grew up in the South Pole. We mostly ate fish. I can handle this."
He grinned, "You never know."
Katara broke off a piece of white meat and took a bite. Flavors erupted inside her mouth. She shut her eyes and said, "Mhhhh. This is so good."
"I thought you might like it," he said, sounding rather pleased.
"I love it!" She devoured the fish in record time, enjoying every morsel of it. "This was so good."
Then Zuko took her by surprise and held his plate of untouched fish out to her, "Here. Have this."
Katara's jaw dropped. "You don't want it?"
"I have had this many, many times," he said, smiling. "You seem to be really enjoying it. So, go ahead, dig in."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Thanks," she said and accepted his plate, finishing the fish in a matter of minutes. She looked up to find Zuko looking at her with a small smile. "What?"
He shook his head, "Nothing. What would you like to do next?"
"Me? I don't know."
He nodded and held out a hand, pulling his hood up with the other. "Come then, let's grab some clothes and then, I'll show you around."
Without the slightest hesitation, Katara took the proffered hand. He took her through the crowd, weaving in and out with dexterity. That reminded her that he had been the Blue Spirit, and for a very good reason. As they walked along, Katara saw Mizu, who was keeping his distance but keeping an eye on them as well. She knew at least four other imperial Fire Benders were following them at a distance. Before they entered the store, Zuko gave her arm a small tug and reminded her that out here, he was to be called Lee. An hour later, they were having an argument.
"There are other colors in the world besides red, black, and gold, Lee!"
"I don't like other colors."
"What's wrong with green?"
"Reminds me of Lee."
"What?"
"That tea vendor in Ba Sing Se," he reminded her.
"Oh, that Lee. Okay, so blue?"
"No. That's your color, not mine."
Katara raised her brow, "Did you just say that's not your color?"
Zuko demurred, "I didn't mean it that way. What I mean is… I have always associated that color with you. Not with me. It's just how it is."
"Okay," she tried not to focus on the butterflies in her stomach and instead focused on pushing some more clothes aside, annoyed with the plethora of red. She found a grey shirt with black and brown pants and decided that finally, she had found something that he would not object to. She grabbed the set and turned, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart gave a wild leap as for a second, she imagined him being abducted but brushed the irrational fear when she spotted Ren, another of the Imperial Fire Bender, standing some way off, examining scarves a little too casually.
"Here," Zuko's voice startled her. Unaware of her surprise, he held out a parcel for her. "This is for you."
"What's this?"
"See it back at home," he said, gruffly.
Katara smiled. That was so typical of Zuko. Whenever he did something nice impulsively, he became grumpy to hide his embarrassment. She handed the clothes she had picked for him and the two made their way out. One of the Imperial Benders took the packets of clothes from them and disappeared in the crowd. Her surprise must have shown on her face because Zuko said, "He will put the clothes back in the summer house."
Just then a loud horn sounded, and someone began to call people cheerily. Zuko and Katara exchanged a quick look and arrived at a mutual decision. They hurried over to the crowd that had gathered around the stage. Five people were going around in a circle, throwing confetti and declaring that they were about to start their play soon. A trumpet call sounded through the air, silencing the buzz all around. Four out of the five dispersed and one of them stood in front. The man cleared his throat and said, "Today, we, the Ember Island Players, gather here to present a small tribute to our beloved Avatar Aang."
Next to him, Zuko felt Katara go rigid. Her face had taken on the pallor of a corpse. Whatever little doubt he had in his mind about her condition not being related to Aang evaporated. He tugged on her hand slightly to get her attention, "Let's go."
"No," she said through gritted teeth. "I want to see this."
"Katara," he whispered. "Don't do this to yourself."
She didn't respond.
"Katara, please, let's go."
"No."
Before he could protest further, a young boy, using a rope to mimic Air Bending, landed on the stage. He put his glider behind his back and said, "I am Aang. I escaped the Air Nomad's extinction with my flying bison, Appa."
"Nice glossing over," Zuko muttered, feeling anger rising within him. As the Fire Lord, one of his first edicts had been that Fire Nation's brutal history would not be trivialized. People in Fire Nation would never be allowed to forget their bloody past. This opening had been a mockery of that edict and he hated it. Beside him, Katara was shaking, looking like she might collapse at any given moment. He draped an arm around her shoulders. Instantly, she slumped against him. Agni! She was so cold. He raised his body temperature, giving her some much-needed warmth.
On stage, the actor Aang was describing how he learned his elements. One by one, actors came on stage, dressed like them. First, it was Katara and Sokka. (They had again glossed over the entire fiasco of Northern Water Tribe siege). Then it was Toph. Lastly Zuko. (They still had the scar on the wrong side. What on Earth?) Then they moved on to talk about how as a group they fought against many evils (again, no mention that the said evil was Fire Nation), until finally, he had brought an end to the Hundred Year War. The troop seemed to be giving entire credit to Aang.
"Typical," Katara muttered and straightened. "Let's go. Nothing to see here."
Zuko didn't need to be told twice. He took her hand once again and led her away from the gross display. He didn't even need to look at her to know that she was furious. He walked over to a different part of the market where there was a large fountain. He figured being near her element would help. "I guess we shouldn't have much hopes from an Ember Island Players troop."
Katara's lips twitched slightly in mirth and in a hoarse voice said, "At least they got Aang's gender right this time."
"Katara… Aang… did he…"
"Not now, Zuko," she cut him off, as though she knew what he was going to ask. "Can we go somewhere else?"
"Let's have lunch then."
"Just a little further," Zuko said.
"Where are you taking me?" Katara complained good-naturedly. Zuko had successfully blown away the dark cloud that had come on her upon seeing that little play. A lunch of seafood noodles, a game of target shooting (in which he cheated shamelessly, using Fire Bending) and a game of hoop throwing later, Katara was happier than she had been in a long time. Then, some forty minutes before sunset, he had brought her to the beach.
"Just over this hill," Zuko replied.
"Why?"
"Just come, will you?"
Katara huffed and made a show of rolling her eyes, but followed him, nevertheless. The sun was on the horizon when they reached the top. He led her to the very edge and sat down, patting the place next to him.
"Okay, so what are we doing here?" She asked sitting down.
"Nothing. I just wanted to show you something."
"Sunset?"
"No. I mean, yes, it's pretty stunning, but that's not what I got you here for. Just wait for a bit."
Katara stretched, raising her hands above her head, groaning as her body ached, "I'm getting old."
"Nonsense. You're not even thirty."
Below them, the waves crashed against the rocky outcrop, creating a beautiful symphony. Katara held out her hand and pulled a strand of water to her, twirling it around her. Zuko let out an appreciative whistle from her right. "What?"
"That's impressive."
Katara looked at him nonplussed. "You have seen me play with water like this many, many times."
"It's not what you're doing now that impressed me," he clarified. "We are sitting forty feet above the sea and you summoned the water to yourself without even breaking a sweat."
"Oh that," Katara grinned. "Last I tried, I had successfully pulled water from a distance of seventy feet."
"Incredible! You really are the best Water Bender of this generation."
Katara smiled, feeling a surge of pride swell within her. Coming to this island had been cathartic. The day she had spent with Zuko had helped her a lot in bolstering her courage. She was ready to talk.
"Look," Zuko said, cutting through her thoughts. Following his outstretched finger, she saw something that stole her breath away. The sun had set, leaving behind darkness in which the waves glowed.
"What? What's happening?"
"Bioluminescence," Zuko replied, his eyes on the waves. "Some algae emit light, just like fireflies do."
"It's beautiful!"
The two of them lapsed into a companionable silence as Katara wondered how to start saying what she wanted to. Before she could find the right words, however, he said something. His eyes were still on the waves, his legs dangling on the cliffside when he spoke.
"Katara, can I confess something?"
"Uh… sure."
"You know, I once had a huge crush on you."
If Katara had not been sitting, she would have stumbled. "What? When?"
He turned to look at her, his face a symphony of light and dark, "I think it started in Ba Sing Se. Not sure. Then Wester Air Temple and Ember Island."
It was as though the air had been sucked out of her lungs, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
Zuko shrugged. "I was sixteen. We were in the middle of a war. Plus, Aang had heavily implied you guys were dating. Besides, when Mai came back, I realized that everything I felt for her was far stronger."
Katara dropped the water she had been playing with and held her head in her hands. Unbidden a laugh bubbled within her. A high pitched, uncontrollable, mirthless laugh that robbed her breath. A laugh at her missed opportunities. Laugh at her pain. Her misfortune. She laughed till she could laugh no more. She grabbed her hair in her hands and pressed her palms against her eyes.
"This is too cruel," she muttered under her breath. But as luck would have it, he had heard.
"Katara? What's too cruel? What happened?"
She looked up. Her manic laugh had receded and had been replaced with a look of pain. She swallowed and said, "I had a crush on you too, once."
That was not what he had expected at all. "What?"
She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugged them, and began to rock back and forth. Her eyes were fixed on the crashing waves, "I know for certain it began in Ba Sing Se. Then… you went with Azula. I was so angry with you."
"I remember."
"But then, you got my dad back. Then you helped me with Yon Ra. And that made things a little more complicated for me. I didn't know what was happening."
Zuko did not know what to say to that, so he just said, "Oh."
Completely unmindful of him, she continued, "Then… you took a lightning bolt for me. No one ever did that for me. As I saw you fall and lay still, I knew… I knew that… I had fallen in love with you."
Zuko's eyes widened. "Katara," he whispered. "I… I had no idea."
"Of course, you didn't," she said in a low, scratchy voice. "I never told you."
"Why didn't you?"
She breathed in and looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I tried. I came to talk to you. On your coronation day. But I saw you… with Mai."
Zuko looked at her, not knowing what to say or do. Struck by a sudden thought, he tentatively asked, "Katara… are you… still… you know…"
"In love with you?" Katara asked without a shred of emotion in her voice. "I don't know. So much has happened since then."
"What happened, Katara? What did Aang do?"
Her eyes fixed him with a penetrating stare and gave a mirthless, empty smile, "Aang was the one who found me after I saw you. I cried into his shoulder, telling him everything. He told me he understood and stood by me. In Ba Sing Se, when he asked me out, I agreed because I was trying to get over you. It was fine. It was good, we were busy. I had actually learned to love Aang. But then, I attended your wedding. And I realized that I was fooling myself. I loved Aang, yes, but I wasn't in love with him. That was you."
Zuko raised his hand, meaning to give her a hug but she shook her head. "Don't. Please. I need to get it off my chest."
He dropped his hand, something twisting in his chest painfully, making it hard for him to breathe. Unaware of the impact her words were having on him, she continued, "As I saw you get married, I bid you goodbye. I let you go."
"Oh Agni! Katara!"
"Aang heard me say 'Goodbye Zuko' and was not happy," Katara said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Not that I blame him. He felt cheated. But I managed to assure him that I was loyal to him. That I had let you go. I was the one that wanted to get married."
Zuko closed his eyes, trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing.
"Then… Mai died. I was three months pregnant then, but I had not shared the news with anyone. Aang… he saw you hugging me and… did not take that very well. He left. When we returned to the Southern Air Temple from there, I thought telling him that I was pregnant would make him happy. But… Aang… well… when he realized that Bumi was a non-bender, he was convinced he was not his son. His logic? Avatar's son could not have been a non-bender."
Zuko shook his head, the knot in his chest tightening to the point of suffocating him. When Toph had revealed this nugget of truth, he had not realized that Katara knew about Aang's irrational argument. But hearing her say these things ripped through him like shrapnel.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "He would tell me that Izumi was a non-bender. And Bumi was a non-bender. And I had a thing for you. So…. Bumi had to be…yours."
Zuko buried his head in his hands, feeling his body temperature rising with his anger.
"I would have still convinced him, you know. He loved me enough for that… but then… I made a huge mistake."
His head jerked up, breathing deeply to control his rising temper and heat. "What mistake?"
Katara looked away, no longer really seeing the glowing waves. She was looking at things only she could see. "I had a dream about you. For some reason, you were dominant on my mind at that time. Maybe it was the stress of being a new mother. Maybe it was loneliness because Aang was focused more on Air Acolytes. I don't know what happened. But, I did. I kept thinking about you. And then, while Aang and I were having sex once… I… I blurted out your name."
"Shit."
"That… that was it. That's where he changed," Katara sobbed, putting a trembling hand on her mouth, "The sweet, lovable, Aang that we knew… he was gone."
The tears streaming down her eyes wouldn't stop. Neither could she. It was as though the volcano that had been bubbling within her erupted. "It started as constant jibes and accusations of cheating. No matter how much I told him, he wouldn't believe it. Then… it started."
"Did he hit you?" Zuko asked in a low, scared whisper.
Katara sobbed, hiccupping, "Hit me? Yes. Yes, he did. He hit me. He burned me," her voice cracked at this point, "He… he…r…raped me. Over and over and over and over and over again."
In a flash Zuko was next to her, holding her against his chest. Clutching his tunic, she wept. "I…I couldn't… couldn't… do anything to stop it, Zuko. I…I tried. But… I couldn't… I'm a Master Waterbender but…I …"
"He was the Avatar," Zuko said, "He was the strongest bender in the world."
"I… I tried to blood bend him," Katara said, sobbing. "Didn't work. He used the Avatar state to get out of it."
Zuko's grip tightened around her, realizing that he had tears of his own. Her face burrowed in his chest, she let out a howl of pain. A loud, animalistic shriek of pure agony.
