Dawn broke hot and early over the Fire Nation. Akame had risen at sunrise as usual, a full day of chores ahead of her now that the palace was relatively empty. Her first task was to clean Lady Katara's room from top to bottom in her absence, which would likely take the better part of the morning. Not that it was particularly dirty; in fact Lady Katara had kept the room quite tidy. But it was customary to 'deep clean' every room whenever its occupant was away, and the Head of Staff made no exceptions. Even the Fire Lord's room would be scoured in his absence. Akame would likely assist with cleaning the Royal wing later, as she had the clearance to enter, but as she was still technically assigned to the Master Waterbender, Katara's room was her top priority.
She made her way to the guest wing, enjoying the solitude and quiet of the early morning. Now that the Ball was over and most of the guests had gone home, the castle was far more peaceful, and that was how Akame preferred it. She liked her job, but when big events came around, she always found it difficult to find a moment to sit down. Everyone employed in the castle was expected to pitch in to prepare, regardless of rank or job. But now it was business as usual, and they could all take a break.
Akame entered Katara's room and immediately crossed to the bed, stripping the bedding first so it could be washed. She tossed the crumpled sheets into the hall, then turned back into the room to grab Katara's gown so it could be properly cleaned. As she headed towards the closet, something caught her eye. Folded over the back of her vanity chair were a delicately embroidered tunic and an expensive silk robe. She couldn't recall either piece of clothing having been in the closet before. She approached the vanity and pulled the tunic off the back of the chair, inspecting it. It was definitely not hers; it was clearly a man's tunic. Looking closer at the embroidery, she recognized it as the Fire Lords. She turned her eyes to the robe, feeling the rich fabric between her fingers. It was definitely Fire Lord Zuko's as well.
She smiled to herself; Akame had long suspected there might be something between Lady Katara and the Fire Lord, but this seemed to prove her suspicions. Though just how the Fire Lord's clothing ended up in Katara's room, she wasn't too sure. But she knew she needed to return the clothing to the Fire Lord's wardrobe before one of the other servants found out and started to gossip. She grabbed the tunic and robe, then left the room and headed towards the Royal wing. With any luck she could just sneak them into a pile of laundry unnoticed and return to the guest wing before anyone spotted her. Unfortunately she was not so lucky; Akame had made it halfway down the hall when another one of the senior staff headed out of the Fire Lord's room. She spotted Akame, and approached her with a quizzical look.
"Akame, you aren't done Lady Katara's room already, are you?" the woman asked.
"No…. um…. I found these mixed in with some of her laundry and I wanted to return them," Akame lied, holding out the tunic and robe.
The woman took them in her arms, inspecting the fabric to confirm they belonged to the Fire Lord. She looked back up to Akame with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that's suspicious," she said.
Akame blinked at her, feigning an expression of confusion.
"I was just coming to find you actually, so your timing is quite impeccable."
"Coming to find me? Whatever for?" Akame asked, now genuinely confused.
The woman reached into a pocket on her apron and pulled out a delicate hairpin, then handed it over to Akame. "I found this on the floor of the Fire Lord's bedroom. It was resting just under a table, so I can only assume it had been knocked there by accident. It looks…. Awfully similar to the one Lady Katara was wearing at the ball, does it not?"
Akame could tell she already knew who the hairpin belonged to, and she knew that by returning the tunic and robe, she had just confirmed the suspicion festering within the other woman. She knew it would be pointless to lie.
"It… does. I mean, it is. Lady Katara's, I mean," she said, tucking the hairpin safely into her own pocket.
"Well then. That mystery is solved," the woman said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Akame knew that she would tell half the staff by the afternoon, and the rumors would spread like wildfire, but there was nothing she could do. With a small sigh, Akame nodded. "Well, I should get back to my work… thank you for returning the hairpin. I will ensure it gets back to Lady Katara."
With a small nod of parting, she turned and headed back towards the guest wing, trying to think of how she was going to tell Katara about the inevitable rumours before she heard them for herself.
XXXX
Katara awoke late in the morning, a grin plastered to her face. Sokka had been up and digging around in the cupboards for a midnight snack by the time they had returned, so Katara and Zuko were forced to retire separately. But they were both giddy with happiness, and relieved to have finally sorted out their relationship. Katara had been up for hours after settling in, thinking of her move to the Fire Nation and her future with Zuko. She wondered where she would live, what she would do. But most of all, she wondered how her friends and Zuko's people would react.
She climbed out of bed and got dressed, slipping on a bathing suit under her clothes and braiding back her hair. Once she was ready for the day she left her room and followed the scent of food towards the dining room. Aang was missing, but otherwise she was the last to arrive. Sokka was already halfway through his breakfast, and Suki and Ty Lee were casually chatting about the play. Zuko looked up at her with a grin as she slid into the chair beside him, reaching over to grasp her hand briefly under the table.
"Where's Aang?" Katara asked, filling her plate.
"He said he had something he needed to take care of… something about a festival or something. But he said he would be back in time for our bonfire tonight," Toph replied, picking her teeth with her fingernail.
Katara rolled her eyes, but couldn't bring herself to be too annoyed. She was happy to hear he was at least going to come back, so maybe her outbust had gotten through to him after all.
"So what's the plan for today then?" she asked, changing the topic away from Aang.
"I thought we could go check out the local market for a bit. We can pick up food to cook on the fire tonight," Zuko suggested.
"Goo'ideh," Sokka said, through a mouthful of food.
Everyone stared at him for a moment before Suki translated. "He said 'good idea'. It would be fun to check out the market here; I bet it's a lot different from the one in the Capital."
Zuko nodded. "The Capital has more imports from the other Nations, so it has a wider variety of things available, but the smaller villages tend to have local, handmade things. Ember Island's market is really popular with tourists, because they have a lot of handmade jewelry and such. You can find some really interesting things."
"Pass," Toph said, getting to her feet. "They're all the same to me; I'd rather explore the Island for a bit."
"Oooh, that sounds fun! Can I come too? I've been to this market hundreds of times," Ty Lee asked.
Toph shrugged. "Sure, if you want."
Ty Lee jumped up excitedly and rushed to Toph's side. They both gave a wave to their friends, and then took off.
"Well, I guess it's just the four of us then," Suki said.
"That just means we will get to decide what we eat tonight," Sokka replied with a grin.
Once they were all done eating, the four of them headed out the door and towards the village. Suki kept shooting knowing looks towards Katara, who blushed every time she felt her friend's eyes on her, but she couldn't help but smile anyway. Zuko had noticed too, but he at least was better able to mask his expression. He didn't mind that Suki knew that there was something between himself and Katara, but he really didn't want Sokka to know just yet. Zuko knew that the moment Sokka found out, he would start to act all 'big brothery', and he didn't want to deal with that just yet. Zuko was more focused on how to tell Aang, and that was something he still had no idea how to do. He had a sneaking suspicion that Aang wasn't quite over Katara yet, as much as he insisted he was, so it was a difficult thing to bring up.
They walked into the market together, and immediately started attracting attention. Even dressed down and without his crown, Zuko was quite recognizable, and considering the popularity of the Ember Island Players and their play, it was not at all surprising that Katara, Suki, and Sokka were instantly recognized either. Thankfully most of the people in the market were keeping a respectful distance, but that didn't stop their eyes from following the group as they walked between the stalls of fresh produce and handmade trinkets.
Katara's attention was drawn to a stall selling delicate gold jewelry, and she wandered over to take a closer look. She greeted the woman minding the stall, and began inspecting an ornate necklace with bright red gems. It was lovely, but too large and busy for her tastes.
"Excuse me... are you Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe?" the woman suddenly asked, drawing her attention back to the stall owner.
"Oh! I am, yes. But 'Katara' is fine," she insisted, giving the middle-aged woman a warm smile.
"Oh my… it is an honour to meet you, my lady! I am Setzu. I am not sure if you would remember, but you saved my brother's life! We are very grateful to you."
"I did?" Katara asked curiously.
"Yes! He was one of the villagers who were captured by that witch, Hama," Setzu explained.
Katara felt a sudden chill. She remembered Hama vividly, and to this day she had not fully shaken the trauma her encounter with her had left. She had not used Bloodbending since the end of the war, but every full moon she was painfully reminded that she possessed such a dark power. As her strength grew with the phases of the moon, she could feel the water flowing through the people around her, as if tempting her to fall to her darker gifts. She had always resisted, but she knew she would likely spend the rest of her life doing so.
"Well, that wasn't just me," Katara said, trying to shake her unhappy thoughts. "Toph was the one who found them all in the mountain."
"But you are the one who defeated Hama and ensured that she would never abduct anyone else. My brother told me all about it."
"I'm just glad we could help the villagers. Nobody deserves to go through what they did."
"Considering you were an enemy of the Fire Nation at the time, you sure did help a lot of our people," Zuko's voice said suddenly from behind her.
Setzu's eyes widened slightly, and she greeted Zuko with a respectful bow.
Katara looked up at him with a smile. "I will help anyone in need, no matter who they are. I can't just sit by while innocent people suffer."
Setzu glanced between the two of them with a raised eyebrow, and smirked. "You would make a magnificent leader, my lady. Perhaps someday you will get a chance to prove that?"
Katara turned her eyes back to the woman with a slight blush, pretending she did not understand her implication. "I appreciate the compliment, Setzu. Though I don't know if I would be any better than anyone else; I just do what I think is right."
"She's quite modest, isn't she?" Zuko said to Setzu with a smile.
Katara blushed and turned her attention to the jewelry before her, trying to ignore his jests. Her eyes fell on a pair of gold bangles, encrusted with small, red jewels. She picked them up to take a closer look, admiring how the jewels seemed to flicker like flame as they caught the light.
"These are beautiful," she said, slipping the bangles onto her wrists to see how they looked.
"Thank you my lady! My husband and I design and make all of our jewelry together. I'm sure he would be just as honoured as I am to hear you like our work."
"They suit you," Zuko added. "You really do look amazing in Fire Nation clothing."
Katara blushed again, trying to hide a smile. So far they were not doing a very good job of keeping their relationship a secret. She changed the topic to enquire about the price, and after a few minutes she and Zuko wandered away from a waving Setzu, Katara wearing her newly purchased bangles.
"You know, if you don't want the entire population of the Fire Nation to know we are together, you might want to flirt a little less in public," Katara said, smirking.
"I never said I didn't want them to know," Zuko replied slyly.
"What are you going to tell people anyway?"
Zuko shrugged. "The truth, I suppose. Once we tell our friends and family, I will have it announced to the public."
"That sounds romantic," Katara laughed.
"It's protocol. Any major news is announced to the public in a 'royal proclamation' so all the citizens are kept informed, and they have been very interested in my love life. It makes sense though; they are curious to know who might be ruling beside me as the Fire Lady one day."
Katara stopped walking as his words sank in. She obviously knew that he was the Fire Lord, but she never really considered the fact that she might one day be the Fire Lady. Logically she knew it was possible if they ended up marrying, but somehow the thought had never really sunk in until she had heard him say it.
Zuko turned to her with a quizzical look. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… I just… never really thought about that possibility."
"What, the possibility that you might be Fire Lady someday? I can guarantee you it will be on everyone else's mind from the moment we announce our relationship, from the citizens to the council. But… if you don't want that… if you're second guessing this, I understand. I don't want you to feel pressured."
Katara smiled warmly at him and took his hands gently. "I am not second guessing this. I guess… the reality of what my future could be just hit me as you said it. I never imagined in a million years that I could possibly be the Fire Lady. If you had told me that 5 years ago, I would have thought you were crazy."
Zuko laughed, then looked around for a moment before pulling Katara out of the middle of the market and into an empty alleyway. Without warning, he pressed her up against the wall and kissed her hard. Katara melted into his kiss immediately, returning it with vigor. She wrapped her arms around him, winding her fingers into his hair. Zuko moaned softly against her lips, letting his hands drop to her waist to pull her close. As his hands roamed her body, she found herself wishing he would never stop. She knew it was probably too soon to think of marriage, but she also knew that she loved Zuko. If he proposed to her now, she knew she would accept without hesitation.
After a few minutes, Zuko reluctantly pulled away, giving her a final kiss on the forehead. "We should stop before we're caught. I especially don't want to get caught by your brother," he said with a chuckle.
Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah… he would probably freak out. I know without a doubt that he will be happy for us, but he needs to have his moment first."
They laughed, then straightened themselves up and left the alleyway, looking for Sokka and Suki, both wearing sheepish grins.
XXXX
Once they had all met back up at the house, the seven of them wandered out to the private beach. Zuko started a bonfire and they all settled in around it, roasting meat and vegetables over the flames on sticks. Toph and Sokka had scoured the beach for driftwood and dragged it back through the sand for everyone to sit on, and Ty Lee had brought out a few blankets to lie on the sand as well, so overall it was rather comfortable. For the first time in ages, they were able to just sit and relax, and even Aang's spirits seemed lifted.
"Man… this brings back memories, doesn't it?" Sokka said, inspecting the crisping meat on the end of his stick before taking a bite. "We haven't sat around a fire like this in years. Though back then, we had to be on the lookout for Fire Nation jerks waiting to ambush us… no offence."
Zuko smirked and Ty Lee gave him a dismissive hand wave; neither of them took any offence in the slightest. They were both fully aware they had fought for the wrong side for far too long.
"I'm just sad I missed it all! Suki has told me so many stories of your adventures, and I missed all the fun," Ty Lee said with a sigh.
"Well, you were in prison for all the adventures I was a part of," Suki replied with a laugh.
"And it wasn't all fun," Aang interjected. "We struggled a lot too. We lost a lot of battles before we won the war."
"I missed a lot of it too, to be honest. Once I joined up with them, most of the running and hiding was over with. It was just training and preparing," Zuko added. "Katara, Sokka, and Aang were in it from the very start."
"Well technically so were you," Katara replied, casting him a cheeky smile.
Zuko frowned, looking slightly ashamed. "Don't remind me."
"Aww come on Zuko, don't feel bad. You're not a jerk now," Sokka said cheerfully, causing Suki to elbow him in the ribs.
"What he means to say is that you did the right thing in the end, and that's what matters," she said, casting her fiancé a glare.
"You were never a bad person Zuko, you were just lost and misguided," Toph added.
"Still, I wish I could go back and do the right thing from the start, instead of trying so desperately to win the approval of my psychotic father."
"But going through all that made you the person you are now," Katara said, briefly letting her fingers graze his. "I doubt you would be half as compassionate nor half as strong if you had gone down a different path."
"We all made mistakes," Aang said suddenly, his expression dower. "I'm sure there are things all of us wish we could go back and change, but in the end we all ended up here, so what's the point of dwelling on the past? What matters is the person you became."
Zuko smiled at him, and nodded. "I guess we are all better people for our experiences. At least I know now who I am, and I am not willing to compromise my beliefs or go against my conscience ever again."
"I wish I had that much clarity…" Aang muttered.
Everyone looked at him and fell silent. He shrugged and turned his attention to his food, suddenly very interested in cooking.
"What do you mean Aang?" Suki asked, prodding him.
He shrugged. "I dunno. I haven't really felt like myself lately. Well, not for a while actually."
"How so?" she asked, encouraging him to open up.
"Well…" Aang looked around at his friends, all of whom shared concerned expressions. He sighed. "Well I guess I sort of forgot how to be me. I am so busy all the time and I never get the chance to just be myself anymore."
"Aang, no offence, but that is total crap," Zuko said, causing everyone to look up at him in surprise. "You don't let yourself have time to be yourself; that is the problem. You bury yourself in your duties as the Avatar and push away all the people who know the real you. Even the past week, we have hardly seen you, and this whole trip was supposed to be about the seven of us spending time together. I realize being the Avatar is a demanding job… trust me, I have some experience with demanding jobs. But you have to learn to make time for yourself, and for the people who care about you."
Aang was silent for a long while, staring into the fire and contemplating Zuko's words. Nobody spoke, but they all looked between one another in a silent appreciation for Zuko's blunt call out. They all agreed, and they had all been equally annoyed at Aang's frequent negligence. So they were glad someone finally had the courage to address it directly.
Finally Aang looked up from the flames and around at his friends, wearing a somber expression. "You're right…I guess becoming the Avatar changed me. At the end of the war it was necessary to focus solely on my duty; there was still so much to do even after I defeated Ozai, but once things started to settle… I didn't know how to go back to being myself, or how to stop being the Avatar. And the more I pulled away from all of you, the harder it was to be myself. You are all so sure of who you are, and I guess I was ashamed that I only know myself as the Avatar these days. So I hide in my work to justify it."
"Aang… if you were losing yourself, you should have just talked to us. We know the real you, and we can help," Katara said, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "We all love you, and we are here for you. After everything we have all been through together, I would go so far as to say that we might even know each other better than we know ourselves. I know all of you have seen things in me that I didn't realize were there, and I know I have given pep talks to pretty much everyone here at one point or another. That is what friends do; we find the best in each other and make sure we are reminded of it when we start to doubt ourselves."
"She's got a point Twinkletoes," Toph agreed, nodding. "As annoying as Katara's lectures are, she's definitely helped me when I've been down on myself. You all have. So stop being dumb, and talk to us when you need a reminder of who you are."
"You just need to start doing some of the things you used to do for fun! Next time you're in the South Pole, we'll go penguin sledding,"Sokka suggested.
Aang smiled. "I'm sorry you guys. You're completely right… I need to stop trying so hard to be the Avatar and spend more time just being me. Katara… I especially owe you an apology. I ruined everything, and if I had just listened to you back when we were still dating, we might still be together."
Katara shot Zuko a sidelong glance, feeling extremely awkward. She had never loved Aang the same way he had loved her, and she now knew the reason; Zuko had stolen her heart years before she had even realized it. Even if she had stayed with Aang, she never would have been happy, and she was certain they would have broken up eventually either way.
"I'm just glad you are listening now. I hope you get back to your old, happy, fun-loving self, because that is the Aang we all know and love," she replied, trying to deflect the topic of their failed relationship.
"Why don't you come by my school for a while?" Toph suggested. "I know you never really got the hang of Metalbending, so you could practice a bit and see if you can get better. Maybe learning something new will help. And if not, well I'm sure you could still teach my hopeless students a thing or two about Earthbending."
"Yeah, I might just take you up on that. It would be nice to spend some time doing something fun."
Ty Lee suddenly giggled, and all eyes turned to her curiously. "Do you remember the last time we had a beach fire here, Zuko? We were told that Ember Island can smooth away the edges and help people find themselves, and it was as true then as it is now. This place really is magical, isn't it?"
Zuko stared at her for a moment, thinking back to the last time he had heard those words. He had been so full of anger and conflict then, but he had felt more clarity by the time he had left. It was not long after he left the Fire Nation to join the Avatar, and his life had been so much better for it. He smiled at Ty Lee, and nodded. "It would seem so."
They spent the rest of the evening in much higher spirits. Aang seemed to put in a genuine effort to be more himself, and soon enough he and Sokka were cracking awful jokes. By the time they all wandered back to the house to go to bed, they were all in fantastic moods. As Katara changed into her night clothes, she found herself not wanting the night to end, so she rummaged through her luggage and found a short, silky red nightgown and slipped into it, then threw a robe over herself before opening the bedroom door and peeking out into the hall. It was dark and quiet; it seemed everyone had retired to their rooms. She quietly slipped into the hall, carefully closing the door behind her, and crept down the hall to Zuko's room. She knocked lightly, looking around to make sure nobody else heard. After a moment the door opened, and Zuko greeted her with a quizzical look. He let her pass without a word, then quickly shut the door before turning to her with a grin.
"Can I help you?" he joked.
Katara responded with a grin of her own, then slowly removed her robe, letting it fall to the floor at her feet. Zuko's eyes trailed over her body, his cheeks colouring as he registered just how short her nightgown was. He bit the corner of his lip as his eye came back up to hers, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. Katara stepped forward, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him towards her, capturing his lips with hers. He wrapped his arms around her, returning the kiss hungrily. Together they moved towards the bed and tumbled onto the mattress. Katara rolled on top of him, straddling his hips, and then pulled off his shirt. She pushed him back onto the pillows and began kissing his neck. He let out a low moan, and grasped her legs desperately. He let his fingers trail up her thighs and under her nightgown, letting his hands rest on her hips.
"Katara…" he moaned, his grip on her tightening as she gently bit down on the flesh of his neck.
Suddenly his arms wrapped around her and he flipped her onto her back, reversing their position. He grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms above her head, then began kissing her neck in return. She let out a pleasurable sigh, wrapping her legs around his hips and leaning into his lips. He left a trail of kisses up her neck, then returned to her eager lips. He let her wrists go and trailed his fingers down her arms and over her body, causing her to moan longingly against his lips.
"We should stop…" Zuko muttered, capturing her bottom lip between his teeth.
"Uh huh…" was all the reply he got. Katara wrapped her arms around him, lacing her fingers into his hair, and pulled him back into a deep kiss. Zuko smiled against her lips, and let himself indulge in the sensation for a few minutes before pulling away. Katara sighed as he sat back, looking down at her with a burning passion that was barely restrained.
" Too fast… remember?" he said, more to control his own desire than hers.
Katara nodded, though she was struggling to remember why that mattered. She unhooked her legs from his body, allowing him to roll off of her. He stretched out his arms and she curled up against him, breathing hard. After laying for a while in silence, Zuko gave her a squeeze and she looked up at him with a smile. There was a look in his eyes that she had never seen before; more than the usual longing and happiness she had seen there recently. He leaned toward her and kissed her gently, then searched her eyes with his as if looking for something. Finally he smiled.
"Katara… I love you."
She was momentarily stunned; she had not expected him to say those words so soon, but she was overjoyed to hear them. She grinned up at him happily.
"I love you too."
His smile turned to an equally happy grin, and he kissed her again. "I know we've only been together a couple of days, so I wasn't sure you felt the same way. But I loved you long before now. I've come to realize that with shocking certainty over the past week, and I just wanted to say the words."
"Well, feel free to say them as often as you wish. I don't think it's too soon, considering we have clearly loved each other for years… we were just too dumb to see it," Katara replied with a laugh. "We have a few years of 'I love yous' to make up for."
Zuko chuckled and kissed her again, letting his lips linger against his. "Tomorrow we should tell everyone. I don't want to keep sneaking around and hiding our feelings."
She nodded in agreement, then snuggled closer to him. "Tomorrow then."
XXXX
Katara woke early the next morning, bright sunlight pouring through the window and stirring her from her slumber. Zuko had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around her, and he was still dozing peacefully as she untangled herself from his limbs. She gently kissed his forehead before slipping out of the bed and gathering up the robe she had abandoned on the floor. She slipped it on then returned to Zuko, giving him another kiss. He stirred, and opened his eyes sleepily.
"Good morning," he said through a yawn.
"Go back to sleep; I'm just going to sneak back to my room before everyone else wakes up. I'll see you at breakfast, okay?"
He nodded, and she leaned in for one last kiss before tucking the blanket around him and tip toeing towards the door. She opened it a crack, peeking out into the hall before quietly sneaking out. Just as she had silently shut the door, there was a sudden shuffling noise behind her.
"Katara?" said Aang's confused voice, breaking through the morning silence.
She whipped around, startled by his sudden presence. His face twisted into a pained expression as he caught sight of her; her disheveled hair falling around her shoulders, and her open robe revealing her short nightgown underneath. Katara quickly pulled her robe shut, but it was too late.
"We're you just sneaking out of Zuko's room?" he asked, his voice high and strained with emotion.
"Aang… I can explain…"
"Explain!?" He yelled suddenly, his voice echoing down the hallway. "I think it's pretty clear what's going on!"
"Sssh! Aang, you're going to wake everyone up!" Katara said, looking down the hall fretfully.
"Oh, sorry! Do you not want everyone to know about your secret affair with the almighty Fire Lord?" He shouted spitefully.
"Affair?" Katara hissed, feeling her anger surge. "We are not having an affair Aang!"
"Oh really? Because I have suspected something like this for a while, Katara. And that play the other night confirmed it!"
"The play? Aang, don't be stupid! You know half of the stuff they show is made up!"
"So there was nothing going on between you and Zuko back then? Nothing at all?"
Katara hesitated; truthfully she knew that there had been something between them then, but neither of them had even truly realized it until recently. She wasn't sure if it would be a lie or not if she said no. However Aang took her hesitation as her answer.
"Is this why you broke up with me?" he asked, anger and heartbreak dripping from every word.
"No Aang…. I…"
Just then the door behind her opened, and a sleepy, shirtless Zuko appeared, looking confused. It only took him seeing the look on Aang's face to understand what had happened, and he quickly stepped between the two of them. Aang's gaze shifted from Katara to Zuko, and his fury amplified.
"Some friend you are!" Aang shouted, taking a step towards him. "Is this what all those letters were about? How long has this been going on behind my back?"
Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but Katara stepped forward, her eyes burning with anger.
"Aang, this has NOTHING to do with you! I am not your girlfriend anymore, and I haven't been for over a year! Who I choose to date is none of your business!"
Aang looked between the two of them, seething with anger. He clenched his jaw, shook his head, then spun on his heel and marched into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Katara could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had done nothing wrong, and she knew that Aang was out of line.
She felt Zuko's arm wrap around her shoulder, and she looked up at him, surprised to see he was equally upset. Something caught his attention and he tore his eyes away to glance down the hall. Katara followed his gaze and saw Suki, Sokka, Ty Lee, and Toph all standing in the hallway, watching the scene fretfully.