No.

Katara stands gobsmacked with Ozai's blade jutting straight out of her chest. Her eyes meet Zuko's, wide and wet with terror; the world drops dead around him. All sound has disappeared from the fight except for a chilling high pitched ringing. Zuko can't feel his feet, his legs, his hands— his body goes numb as blood drips from the corner of Katara's mouth.

Ozai rips his blade back out of Katara's chest, and her legs wobble briefly before she tilts towards the ground. Zuko runs for her as fast as his feet can carry him, watching her fall in slow motion as the world blurs to grey. Dimly he registers when Azula thrusts her own blade through their father's chest, hopefully right through his heart, but his attention is focused solely on Katara. He skids on his knees and manages to catch her just before her head hits the ground. The bloody water pervading the battlefield seeps through his clothes and chills him to the bone.

"Katara!" His voice wobbles, and his hand shakes as he brushes wet strands of hair off of her rapidly paling face. "Katara, please, stay with me," he gasps around ragged breaths. This can't be happening.

"Zuko…" Katara's glowing eyes roll lazily up to meet his. Her voice is gurgling around the blood that continues to seep from her mouth. Her legs are bent at an awkward angle, and Zuko does his best to cradle her to his chest despite how his body shudders.

"It's okay Katara—" tears fall from his eyes and drip onto the soft skin of her face— "it's going to be okay, we'll—"

"No, Zuko—" She turns her head and coughs up more blood. "'m not gonna make it."

"Katara, please…" She blurs in front of him through the haze of his tears. "Don't say that, we can figure it out—" She shakes her head. A sob rolls up his throat and falls from his lips like a heavy stone.

"'s okay, Zuko…" Somehow she manages to raise her hand; he takes it and gently presses it to his scarred cheek. It's much too cold for his liking. "Love you…"

"I love you so much, Katara…"

He can't hold back anymore— ugly sobs wrack his body, making him acutely aware of each wound he's sustained in the battle, each dark red mark that will become another scar too add to his growing collection. Azula shouts something beside him, but her words don't matter. Katara bleeds into his shirt, his pants, his hands; he's covered in it, the liquid nightmare warm and wet on his skin. He swallows past a gag that tries to crawl up his throat as even more blood— why won't it stop, it needs to stop— darkens her lips and drips down her face.

Splashing sounds approach him from behind, and suddenly Sokka is kneeling across from him. His hands are bloody, there's red splattered across shirt and dappling his unbound hair, but his face is almost as pale as his sisters; the trail of red born from his hairline is vivid against his skin. His wide blue eyes— so like Katara's— meet Zuko's.

"Sokka, I'm so sorry," he chokes out. "I couldn't— I wasn't fast enough, I—" Sokka shuffles so that his knees touch Zuko's underneath Katara's body. His friend's shaking hands move to cup his sister's face, and Katara's eyes blink open, dazed and unfocused.

"Sokka…" She coughs, and again the dark blood pours from her mouth.

"Don't—" Sokka's words are barely audible. "Katara don't leave me, please— I can't— you can't leave me too, Katara—" Zuko's face is wet and strained, and his sobs start anew along with Sokka's.

"'m gonna see mom, okay?"

"No, no! Katara, please!" Sokka lowers his head down to touch his forehead to Katara's. His tears mingle with her blood. Bile crawls up Zuko's throat, acrid and bitter. "You can't— you can't go! Just hang in there, okay? We can fix you, we—"

"'s okay, Sokka…" Her eyes flutter closed. "Love you…"

"I love you, Katara. I love you so much. Please…" Sokka's voice trails off in a whisper.

Katara's hand goes limp against Zuko's cheek.

"No! Katara, don't go! Please! Katara!" Sokka's voice strains over the words, but Zuko's ears are filled with a horrible ringing that is all too familiar.

He feels the presence of his friends crowded around them; Ty Lee and Aang sob from somewhere behind him. Toph has dropped down to her knees and is crying with her face pressed into his shoulder. Suki hangs onto Sokka, a bloodied hand covering her mouth and staining her cheeks, and Mai sniffles from where she stands beside Suki. If he could feel anything at all, he'd be surprised when Azula kneels next to him and places her hand on his back.

The pounding in his skull barely registers past the numbness that pumps through his veins. Sokka's pained sobs drive the loss even deeper, a metal stake in his chest, a gaping wound to match the one that marks the woman he loves. Reluctantly he shifts Katara's limp body into Sokka's arms. His feet are numb beneath him, but it doesn't matter. None of it matters.

"Brother." Azula speaks up from his side, and he turns to see her melancholic face. Before she can continue he pulls her into his arms and buries his face in her neck. "It's over, Zuko. He's gone." Her words aren't the comfort he wants them to be. "I'm sorry."

Endless minutes pass while they sit on the wet ground and mourn. Blood makes his clothes stiff and heavy; he wishes he could tear them off and burn them, destroy the consequences of the battle Ozai had waged against the world without its people even noticing. How many people died for his violent cause? How many families would never see their sons and daughters again? How many children will grow up without a parent, just like he had? Just like Katara had. Azula holds him tight; her arms are the only thing keeping his quivering body from slipping to the ground and sinking into the earth.

"Guys…" Ty Lee's shaking voice manages to get his attention, and he pulls away from Azula to look at her.

He follows her trembling hand with his eyes, and his heart almost stops in his chest when he looks down at the water. A single, glowing tendril slithers towards Katara's body and begins to wrap around her limp hand. Sokka gasps, and all of their heads turn towards where it leads back to: The Source. The sparkling water that flows down from the top— so high that it seems to come from the heavens themselves— is now glowing white. The glow spreads slowly throughout the entire clearing, filtering through the blood in the water and leaving only light in its wake. More luminous filaments reach toward Katara to wrap around her body, tangling in her hair and weaving between her fingers.

"Sokka," Zuko croaks as he makes eye contact with his friend. "Bring her to The Source."

Sokka nods, and they all rise on shaking legs to make their way towards the base of The Source's massive trunk. Shining water reaches up and continues to work its way over Katara's body. It slides over her dangling legs, reminding Zuko of the strange vines back in the swamp.

By the time they reach the cradle of roots that bind The Source to the earth, Katara's limbs are mostly covered in shifting, shimmering rivulets. Sokka drops down and gently lays his sister into the pool of water collected at The Source's genesis. At first, nothing happens. Katara's hair splays out around her head like an earthen halo, and dark blood stains her too-pale lips. Her clothes soak up the water, and the glow follows. Light sews itself into her tunic, seeps into her every pore as it crawls up her body. It closes around her wrists and ankles, sealing her limbs in a cocoon of brilliant white. The water stitches itself closed over her chest, seeping deep into her wound, and glides up her neck and into her mouth. It's a strange sight— probably the strangest thing Zuko's ever seen. But he isn't worried or scared. In fact, as the water closes over Katara's forehead and takes her completely in its embrace, it almost feels like a comfort.

The water is so bright that it's turned opaque, and Katara's entire body is hidden from view. It pulses, a living thing, as it's drawn more and more into her dark skin. The whole group holds their breath, unsure if The Source is claiming what was once a part of it or if something else is happening entirely. The water thins, and Katara's whole body lights up, so bright that Zuko has to close his eyes and shield them from the radiant water. When the light fades, he tentatively opens his eyes.

Katara lies in the same place as she was, but her wound is gone. Her clothes are clean and mended, all traces of blood washed away with the sacred water. The color has returned to her face; her cheeks are flushed and he sees her eyelashes flutter. Her chest rises with a deep inhale— the rest of them exhale along with it. Zuko's heart picks up a rapid pace as Katara's eyes open. For the span of a breath they glow white, before fading back to their normal luminous blue.

"Katara?" Sokka's shocked whisper sounds far away through the incessant gallop of Zuko's heart in his ears. The blood whooshes in his skull in a torrent of life. She's alive.

Katara wets her lips, and her eyes dart around before landing on her brother.

"Sokka? What…" her voice crackles like she hasn't spoken in years. Her eyes widen, and her hands fly to her chest as she sits up rapidly. Her fingers poke and prod at the place where, moments before, a gaping wound had adorned her body. "What happened? I thought I— oof!"

The air is pushed out of her lungs as Sokka takes her in a tight embrace. Katara's hands tighten in his shirt as he sobs into her shoulder. Zuko doesn't want to question everything that just happened; Katara looks as if she'd never left, as if she hadn't crossed to the other side and left them all to mourn, and then come right back like it's a trip she makes every day. His heart can't decide if it wants to pound itself out of his chest or freeze up entirely, and the internal battle is making him dizzy. She's alive. The words pulse through his head, flowing in and out like the tide. He's not even sure if what he's seeing is real until Katara opens her eyes and looks at him over Sokka's shoulder. She's alive.

For a moment that stretches the length of a lifetime, they just stare at each other. Zuko takes in every facet of her blue eyes, the places where they glow the brightest, the flecks of darker blue within the whole. He memorizes the bow of her eyelashes, the way they brush her cheekbones when she blinks. He traces the subtle lines on her face with his eyes, the crease between her brows and the thin line near the top of her forehead that will one day become a wrinkle. The curve of her lip is a cresting wave, her cupid's bow a rising sun. The tears fall before he even thinks of blinking them back, and when Katara stretches her arm out toward him, he gratefully falls into the awkward shared embrace. It feels like coming home. She's alive.

The rest of the group is soon huddled around them— even Mai and Azula— to share their tears. The shock of everything that's happened in the last few minutes— few hours, few days, ten months— crashes down on his back with a startling intensity that shakes Zuko to his core. Holy shit, we did it. The responsibility sloughs from his shoulders like a layer of dead skin, and the absence of weight is palpable. A shudder of relief passes through him, and he feels it echo throughout his friends. It's over. It's finally over.

After what feels like a lifetime, they pull apart. All of them except for Katara are still spattered with blood and sporting various injuries, the worst of which is looking to be Toph's. The smell of burning flesh is stuck in his nose; he doesn't think he'll ever forget it.

"Um… what are they doing?" Ty Lee sniffles and points vaguely towards the forest. Zuko turns to see a fair amount of soldiers just… standing around. Staring at them.

"I told them to stand down," Azula says, her demeanor just slightly more rattled than usual. "Father is gone, and since Zuko was removed from the line of succession, they're my soldiers now."

"Wow." Sokka sits close to Katara's side with his arm still around her shoulders. "So, does that mean you're the queen of Ember now?"

Azula looks at Zuko, and he gives her a small nod of encouragement. "I believe so, yes."

"Woah." Toph winces as she rises. "Does that mean we can get out of here?" Her face is paler than usual; she's lost a fair amount of blood, and he realizes that she must be in incredible pain. Not for the first time, he's in awe of how tough she is.

"Toph!" Katara goes to the other girl's side, prompting the rest of the group to rise. "What happened?"

"Oh, you know, just a flesh wound." She lets out a pained hiss as Katara exposes the messy, bloody wound, shoddily cauterized by Zuko in the heat of battle. "I had Sparky put some heat on it to stop the bleeding, but it doesn't feel great."

Katara stares at the wound for a long moment, the crease in her brow belying her worry. She looks down at the water beneath her feet, back to its normal crystal clarity, and then back up at Toph's injury.

"Katara, I appreciate you taking an interest in my health, but this shit isn't going to heal itself."

"No, it's not…" Katara mumbles before drawing the water up to cover her hands.

"Sugar Queen, I don't think—"

"I'm just going to try something." Katara stops in her advance toward Toph's wound to look at her. "Do you trust me?"

Toph nods her head, and Katara presses her sheathed hands to Toph's side. She lets out a pained grunt, and then a long sigh. The water on Katara's hands has begun to glow, just like it had when it enveloped her in its healing light and brought her back to life. They all look upon the magnificent spectacle, and when Katara pulls her hands away, a gasp echoes throughout the group. Toph's wound is gone completely, save for a pale pink scar almost the same shade of Toph's skin.

"How…" Toph pokes at where her wound was, and doesn't flinch. "How'd you do that? What just happened?"

"I don't know." Katara inspects her hands as if the answer is written in the lines of her palms. "I just acted on instinct."

"It's The Source," Ty Lee says, voice overflowing with awe. "It blessed you when it brought you back. Your aura… it's more shimmery than it was before. I think you have another gift."

"Another…? Can you even have two gifts?"

"Apparently." Toph laughs and shakes her head. "I mean, you just healed my nasty stab-wound-slash-shitty-burn— no offense, Zuko—"

"None taken."

"So I'd say that's another gift."

Their collective discovery hangs in the air between them, passing from one person to another through a series of curious and disbelieving eye contact.

"Well, who else is injured?"

Soon each of them is waiting for Katara to heal their injuries. When Zuko steps up to Katara and she lays her hands on his bleeding shoulder, he rests his forehead against hers. The muscle and skin of his shoulder stitches itself together underneath the bright glow.

"I thought I lost you." His voice cracks, fissures running through the foundation of his composure.

"Remember what you told me?" Katara looks up into his eyes. "We're going to be together, Zuko. No matter what happens."

She takes his face in her hands and guides their lips together. More tears collect in his lashes and trail down over his cheeks, streaking the grime that clings to his skin. The rest of the world quiets around them— his awareness shrinks to Katara's plush lips, her warm hands at the base of his neck, her soft cheeks under his calloused palms. He can't tell if the wetness he feels on his cheeks are his own tears, or if maybe Katara is crying too, but none of it matters. What matters is here, pressed up against him, cradled in his hands like the greatest treasure. Her skin thrums with life, each beat of her heart a reminder that she's here, real and solid in his embrace. The world will have to pry Katara from his cold, dead hands if it wants to take her away again. She's alive.

"Remind me to never doubt your intuition again," he mumbles into the space between them, and Katara laughs. He wants to catch the sound, put it in a locket to hang around his neck and keep close to his heart.

"If you two are done, we have some things to work out now that this is all over." Mai's monotone voice breaks them apart, but Zuko keeps his arm slung around Katara's shoulders.

"She's right," Suki says as she surveys the space around them. "Now that this is all over... what's going to happen to us?"

Silence hangs around them, clinging to the coppery scent of blood that still wafts through the air. It mixes with the ever present smell of flowers, wisteria and dogwood blossoms aromatic as they collect in the water at their feet.

"Well," Azula starts. "I know I'm going back to Ember. I'm the queen now, after all." She puts her hand on her hip and inspects her nails with an air of nonchalance that would be strange for anyone but her.

"Are you going back too, Zuko?" Aang looks at him with wide eyes, but Zuko knows his answer before it even passes his lips.

"No. I have no desire to go back there. What about you?" He doesn't want to assume that Katara wants him to go back to her village, even if she'd said that they would be together. Living with someone is a life altering decision, one that he knows he's ready to make, but doesn't want to pressure Katara into.

"I'm going back to Yangchen with Ty Lee." Aang smiles at Ty Lee, who rests her head against his shoulder. "It's safe there for Othered, and it's my home. I can't wait to tell Gyatso about all of this!"

"Well, I know I'm not going back home." Toph interjects, and splashes the water with her heel. "No way in hell I'm running back to my parents. I think I'm going to wander around a bit, see where I can get into the most trouble." Her smile can only be described as wolfish, and Zuko can't help but laugh.

"Will you be coming back home too, Sokka?" Katara sounds hopeful, but her shoulders sag the tiniest bit when Sokka turns to look at Suki.

"For a little while, yeah. I want to see dad and Gran Gran again. But after that…"

"We want to go back to Kyoshi." Suki steps in and takes over for Sokka. "But we'll spend some time with your family before we go." Katara lets out a heavy breath under his arm, her relief palpable. "I don't have any family back home; it's just the warriors waiting for me, so I can take my time getting back."

"What about you, Mai?" Ty Lee asks. "Will you go back to Shu Jing?"

Mai shrugs. "Probably, yeah."

"You could come back to Ember. If you want, that is," Azula offers, a surprisingly authenticity in her voice causing Zuko to pause. "It might be nice to have someone around that I can trust."

"Sure, why not." Mai sounds as cool as ever, but he sees the twinge of relief that crosses his sister's face.

"I'll work on making Ember safer for Othered." His sister turns to him with a determined look in her amber eyes. "It'll take time, but I want you to be able to come back." She glances at Katara, and he thinks her smile is less of a smirk than usual. "If you want to, that is."

"Maybe if Ember starts treating Othered a little better, more places will follow their lead!" Aang sounds optimistic, but Zuko doesn't want to get his hopes up.

"Well, if that's all..." Azula surveys the scattered soldiers standing aimlessly around The Source. "I should probably round up what's left of the army."

Her words prompt them all to take a better look around the clearing they occupy. There are still bodies lying at random intervals, some piled on top of each other, most unmoving. Katara sets out to heal whoever is still alive, and Azula gets Suki's help to round up the remaining soldiers. The rest of their group begins to disperse to help find any more wounded, but Sokka stops Zuko with a hand on his shoulder.

"Zuko…" he trails off. Zuko isn't really sure what to say either— Katara had died in his arms. They had mourned together for her, cried together and bled together and travelled together as family. "You should come back to the village with us." Sokka's blue eyes are soft when he looks into them. "I know Katara wants you there… and I want you there too. You're family now." Tears well in Zuko's eyes; he sees them mirrored in Sokka's before he's pulled in for a sturdy hug.

"If you two are done being sissys," Toph calls out from where she is trying to lift a groaning soldier off the ground. "Do you think you can lend us a hand? These bastards are heavy!"

Xx

Mai and Azula leave first. The remaining soldiers have all been healed by an exhausted Katara, who is now resting against the roots of The Source. Zuko hugs his sister for a long few minutes before she leaves.

"I'm so proud of you, Zuli." He doesn't use the nickname often, but he feels like it's appropriate now. He doesn't specify why he's proud— he doesn't need to. Azula had survived Ozai's abuse for three years without him, had betrayed their father in order to protect Zuko and the world from his wrath, and had then killed the King of Ember and immediately ascended to its throne. It would be an accomplishment for anyone, but seeing his little sister grow into a confident woman before his eyes conjures a soft affection in him that he knows she'd scoff at.

"Shut up, Zuzu." There's no venom in his sister's voice, and their embrace lasts for a beat longer before she pulls back. "You are welcome back in Ember, you know. I figure you won't want to come, but still." Azula smirks and looks at Katara. "You're going with her, right?"

Zuko chuckles and rubs the back of his neck. "I think so, yeah. If she'll let me, that is."

Azula shakes her head. "You are so dense, you know that?"

"Hey, I resent that."

"Of course she'll have you, dumb dumb. It's obvious how much she loves you. Stop doubting yourself for once and just… do what your heart wants you to." She grimaces and shakes her head as if she's bitten into a lemon wedge. "Uhg, all these loving words are making me sick."

He chuckles again and rubs her hair, and she swats him away with a smirk. "Be safe out there, okay? Write me when you get back to Ember."

"Yes, yes. I can handle myself, you know." She waves him off, but gifts him with a real smile before she walks off.

Mai and Azula disappear into the forest, the dregs of Ember's mighty army following along, and the clearing is quiet once again. It's strange how used to the noise he had become in the hours since they'd gotten to The Source, and stranger still that it's been less than half a day since they've gotten here. The scene still inspires awe, even in its tattered state. Grasses and flowers are tamped into the ground beneath the ever present layer of water, the remains of their battle still haphazardly strewn across the space in the form of abandoned weapons and orphaned armor. They hadn't known what to do with the mess of bodies, but after they had retrieved any survivors, The Source had taken care of them. The dead had simply sunk into the ground, disappearing in a cloud of bright water and ceasing to exist. The Source connects them all, tethers the whole world to itself, creates life and, apparently, reclaims it in death. Silently they were all thankful for it. The soldiers that had lived witnessed the otherworldly vision of The Source burying the dead, and Zuko hopes that instead of inspiring fear, the sense of peace pervading the area had helped them realize that The Source plays a bigger role in the world than people truly realize. Maybe things can be different in the future.

They stay the night there, cradled in the roots of The Source. Zuko pulls Katara into his arms as soon as they lie down to sleep, verdant moss under them softer than any bed he's felt in the last ten months. She sleeps peacefully, but he keeps himself awake and commits every part of her face to memory. He traces her brow with his finger, trails it down her face and over her cheekbone, down the length of her nose, around the curve of her lip and back up her jawline. She doesn't stir, and he doesn't wake her. Bright moonlight catches on the dark strands of her hair as he cards his fingers through them. He breathes her in, lavender and thyme and a hint of vanilla. She's a goddess in her own right, ethereal and soft in the moonlight, blessing him with each exhale against his chest. Her breath imbues him with life, an all-encompassing bliss dependent on the rise and fall of her chest. The excitement and terror of the day catches up with him, and drags him into sleep with his lips pressed against Katara's crown.

Xx

They part with Toph in Ba Sing Se. It's as good a place as any for her to start her adventure, and she seems interested in the lower tier of the city and all of its nefarious activity. Katara makes her promise to write to them every time she can; Toph dashes her tears with a dirty hand. The group stays the night in order to rest up for the rest of the journey, and Zuko and Katara go on a hunt for a street vendor selling drinks. The seasonal cider-whiskey isn't available, but they get something spiced with cloves and cinnamon that burns Zuko's throat as it goes down. They reenact their previous drunken dance in the privacy of their room at the inn— with a revised ending.

They circumvent the desert, unwilling to go back through the sandy wasteland if they don't have to. Aang and Ty Lee split from them once they get close to Katara's village with an emotional goodbye. Promises to write are exchanged, many tearful hugs are shared, and Ty Lee kisses all of them on the cheek before they go. Zuko hugs Aang for a long time— they vow to get together in six months in Yangchen. He watches the man he considers a younger brother fade into the distance, and wipes a tear from his eye.

It's strange walking back into Katara's village. He had first stepped into the little market square more than a year ago, but everything looks exactly the same. All of the houses are clutching at the last bits of snow from the winter like a woman to her pearls, just as they were when he had stumbled into the village so long ago. Katara's little house is the same as it was— the animals out back only a bit bigger, the garden still sparse in the cold weather.

Katara bursts through the door and falls immediately into the waiting arms of Hakoda and Kanna— they had sent a letter announcing their arrival so that it wouldn't be a surprise, and he's glad they did. Sokka joins the emotional reunion, and tears are shed by all. Speckle saunters into the room, squeaks with excitement when he sees Zuko, and runs to him so fast that his little legs blur. Zuko scoops him up into his arms and buries his face into the cat's soft fur, trying not to cry into the purring mass that is Katara's cat. Did I really miss the cat this much? It's not just the cat; Katara's home marks a safe space for Zuko, the first one he had been able to find since he left Ember. Even his childhood home hadn't been a safe space after his mother died. This house marks a beginning and an end to some of the most pivotal points in his life.

Hakoda and Kanna stay as Katara and Sokka regale their adventure, with occasional input from Zuko and Suki. At one point Zuko's uncle barges into the house, and after a tearful greeting they start the story all over again so that Iroh can hear it too. Zuko looks at the people around him, laughing and crying and sipping jasmine tea in the light of the hearth; his heart is so full that it feels like it might burst right out of his chest. This is what a family is supposed to feel like.

By the time the sun sets, they're all exhausted and eager to bathe and rest. One by one the others file out: his uncle has a room in town, and Sokka and Suki will stay with the rest of Katara's family. In an instant and a lifetime, the house is empty except for the two of them. They sit by the lit hearth, Katara curled up in Zuko's lap and Speckle curled up in Katara's. Warmth wraps around his bones, and his sore muscles finally relax against the worn couch cushions, a year of travelling melting into the fabric beneath him. He breathes into Katara's hair as he runs his hand through it, soft curls sifting through his fingers.

"I want you to stay." The soothing rumble of Katara's voice startles him out of a light sleep.

"You…" His mind takes a moment to catch up to his mouth. "You want me to stay? Like, stay, stay?"

She giggles and turns her face to lay a kiss on his collarbone. "Yes, Zuko. I want you to stay, stay. I want… I want to build a life with you." Her head tilts so that she can look up at him; the staggering love that he's come to expect from her gaze hits him like a tidal wave. It's still hard for him to truly believe that this is his life— that he's found someone who loves him, that she died in his arms and came back right before his eyes, that he's blessed enough to have the opportunity to be with her for the rest of his days.

"I want to stay." He drops his forehead down to rest against hers. The cat jumps from her grasp as Katara turns so that they're face to face. He takes her face in his hands and dives into the glowing blue of her eyes. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."