Chapter 12
Following all the explosive excitement of the morning, Katara didn't leave her room again until later in the afternoon. When she did, she behaved very much in the manner that Zuko had expected her to behave, doing her best to avoid remaining alone with him and always making sure that Suki or Ty Lee were close by. At first, she hadn't even allowed herself as much as to look at him, but fortunately as time passed, she began to feel more comfortably and engaged in small talk once again, and Zuko made sure that she didn't feel like he was going to bring up the events of the previous night, especially the kiss.
While Zuko was still pondering how to melt the ice between them, it was Ty Lee who suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. "Hey guys?" she asked with that trademark grin of hers. "How come we've been here for more than a day... and we haven't had a beach party yet!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.
"That would be amazing!" Suki nodded eagerly, but then stopped herself from getting too excited, remembering her obligations as she gave Zuko a pleading stare.
"I don't see why not," he shrugged, glancing at Katara, the waterbender appearing a little conflicted again. "Remember that secluded bit of coastline you can get to from the other side of the estate?" Zuko smiled at Katara. "The one we used while hiding from the Fire Nation forces during the war? I remember you used to have a lot of fun on that beach. And so did you, Suki."
"Absolutely, that's why I want to go back," Suki beamed happily. She reached out to Katara, taking the other girl's hands and pulling her out of her seat. "Come on, Katara, say you'll come with us, it'll be so much fun!"
"Sure, I will," Katara smiled at her friend, then turning her smile at Zuko.
"Great!" Suki exclaimed, dragging Katara away with her. "Come, help me grab all the supplies we'll need. Ty Lee? Ty Lee, where did you disappear to again? I need you to find the kuai ball net!"
Zuko simply leaned back in his folding chair, listening to the excited chatter of the three young women in the background. On one hand, he felt himself incredibly lucky, even blessed. He found himself at a splendorous estate at perhaps the most remarkable resort location in the world, in the company of a girl he was developing a frighteningly powerful crush on, accompanied by his two favorite bodyguards, close personal friends and simply overall a pair of amazing girls.
And then, on the other hand... the girl I'm crushing on is the Avatar's girlfriend. She's dealing with massive amounts of guilt, because she clearly has something for me as well. I'm risking my relationship with Aang because of all this. And I've just made my position as the Fire Lord far less secure by sending Mai away. That's... wow, that's a pretty disastrous summary, when you think about it rationally. I bet my uncle and the rest of the White Lotus Order will be impressed once they hear about my... unique methods of governing, Zuko thought, inwardly rolling his eyes.
Then again... what would really change if I did something that would make Katara leave now? Zuko asked himself. We've set these events in motion, and I feel like it's too late to try and stop them. The only thing now is to follow through, see what happens, and then try to deal with it. Gah... when I put it like that, it really sounds like a terrible plan, doesn't it?
Shaking his head in frustration and deciding that he had done enough grim thinking, Zuko rose from his seat and went inside to help the others to gather all the supplies for their beach party. It didn't take long for everything to be collected and their little group of four made their way down a narrow cliff-hidden path to the beach. Thicker clusters of palm trees surrounded this part of the beach, providing an ideal isolated spot far away from the eyes of other inhabitants of the island. They all laid out their beach towels to claim a spot in the dark volcanic sand, but only Zuko remained lounging on his towel, Suki and Ty Lee immediately starting to set up a kuai ball court, while Katara dashed off to plunge into the pristine blue waters for a refreshing swim. Afterwards, she decided to remain in the water, bending herself a nice little raft of ice which she then used to ride the waves with remarkable grace and agility, her laughter and cries of excitement tugging at Zuko's heartstrings. He decided that if for the rest of his life he could just lay there and watch Katara riding the waves, dominating her element like some kind of an enchanting water spirit, he would die a very happy man.
By the time Katara had had enough of fun and games in the water and had returned to join the rest of them, Suki and Ty Lee had just about finished their work on the kuai ball court.
"So!" Ty Lee called out to both Katara and Zuko, resting on their beach towels. The girl was grinning broadly, spinning and balancing the ball effortlessly on the tip of her index finger. "Team Kyoshi is challenging Team Bender to a game of kuai ball! Will you accept this challenge?"
Zuko looked at Katara, only to be met with uncertainty. "Do you remember the rules?" he asked.
"I think so, but that's not the problem," she replied simply. "I'm just... not very good at it. Don't you remember?"
"I don't remember you being bad at kuai," Zuko shrugged. "Sure, we didn't play all that much, but I recall you were at least decent. I mean... Sokka was just, ugh," he winced at the memory. "And Toph..."
"Toph is blind, Zuko!" Katara glared at him.
"Oh... yes, I suppose that would be unfair to compare," Zuko blushed with embarrassment. "Well, I'm not going to force you if you don't want to play. But we can't have a game unless you play."
"Oh, say you'll join us, Katara, pretty please!" Ty Lee begged, making puppy eyes at Katara. Zuko had to admit, it was extremely effective. Saying 'no' to Ty Lee definitely felt as bad as kicking a puppy. "Suki and I tried so hard to set up the court!" she skillfully added the extra twist.
Katara's heart was definitely not made of ice. There was absolutely no way she could deny Ty Lee's request. "Oh, very well, I'll play but you must promise not to laugh at me!" she added firmly.
"There will be nothing to laugh about, Katara, trust me," Zuko smiled at her as they both got up and walked over to join Suki and Ty Lee at the net.
Ty Lee was by far the best kuai player amongst them. Her circus acrobat background enabled her to perform moves that many professional kuai players would have been jealous of. But Ty Lee was also exceptionally sweet and compassionate, as well as a good sport, so even though she could have scored a lot of easy points by purposefully targeting Katara who was the weak link in her and Zuko's duo, Ty Lee instead chose to mostly pepper Zuko with her attacks.
Zuko considered himself fairly skilled at kuai ball, definitely superior to both Katara and Suki. But he could not hold a candle to Ty Lee's skill, struggling to cope with her offence. When he did manage to keep the ball in play, Katara actually did fairly well to then set up his next attack, which Zuko tried to aim at Suki as much as possible. It wasn't that Suki was a bad player, far from it, she was both agile and exceptionally quick, but she had a tendency to be overly aggressive and try to go for angles that simply weren't there, probably trying to impress her girlfriend a bit too much.
Katara had enjoyed a rough start after Suki had nearly knocked her out of the court, and then a few fumbled passes made her and Zuko's team fall helplessly behind. She seemed a little nervous and her movements felt stiff, but a couple of decent plays later Katara seemed to regain her confidence, loosening up and starting to enjoy herself. It wasn't enough for her and Zuko's team to recover and they blew the first match by the score of 5:10, but the second game they played was much closer and towards the end, both teams were tied at eight apiece.
That was when Suki caught the luckiest break of all. Her smash from way back of the court was heading straight for Katara who looked prepared to easily handle it. However, the ball dipped suddenly before crossing over and caught the top of the net, slowly rolling over and hitting the ground on Katara and Zuko's side of the net. Having already reacted to the initial attack, Katara could not readjust in time and was forced to flail helplessly in the sand, growling in frustration as the ball toppled to the ground agonizingly close to her.
"That was pure luck!" Zuko called out, tossing the ball back over the net for Ty Lee to serve.
"And luck is always on the side of the winners!" Suki laughed back, probably relieved that her risky attack had paid off. "Come on Ty Lee, it's all on you now!"
"Don't worry, Suki, I've got this," the other girl laughed with a mischievous wink, making Zuko wonder what sort of tricks Ty Lee was up to now. "Watch this!" she called out, tossing the ball high up in the air, then taking a huge leap and sending the ball crashing down on Zuko's side of the court.
It wasn't the most difficult of serves that Zuko had been forced to deal with during their matches, but Ty Lee had put it dead center of the court. As shouting "I've got it!" Zuko leapt for the ball, he realized that Katara was shouting and doing the same as he was. They collided with considerable force and crashed in the sand together, a tangled heap, while the ball struck the court uninterrupted, much to Ty Lee and Suki's loud cheering.
Once Zuko had come to a standstill, he realized that he had become completely entangled with Katara. Her arm and leg were trapped under his body, and as a result she was lodged firmly against his chest. While her closeness and the feel of her silky skin was absolutely dizzying, Zuko realized that the weight of his body was likely causing her discomfort and he shifted slightly so that she could remove her arm and leg. But even if he had expected her to disentangle and then separate as quickly as possible, Katara seemed a little entranced and slow in actually getting off of him.
"We didn't get it," she remarked with a shy smile, for a moment remaining sitting astride of him, but then slowly moving away.
"No... I don't think we did," Zuko managed, trying to steady his racing heartbeat, which was a near impossible task considering how arousing Katara's proximity was.
"You guys up for another rematch?" Ty Lee called out to them as they both rose from the dark volcanic sand.
"No, I think Zuko and I need to reevaluate our strategy," Katara shook her head.
"You do that while we're going for a swim," Suki cried, tugging on Ty Lee's arm. "Come on, last one in the water is a lame turtle-duck!"
As the two giggling bodyguards crashed into the water, Zuko returned to perch on his beach towel, hoping that Katara would join him instead of seeking distance. When Katara walked past her beach towel, Zuko instantly assumed the worst, but then with relief he realized that she was simply heading over to the supply pile to pour herself a glass of fruit juice. And not just for herself as she filled two glasses and then used her waterbending to cool the drink, forming cubes of ice inside the glass. Wordlessly, she returned to where they had laid out their towels, smiling as she passed one of the glasses over to a grateful Zuko.
For a while they simply sat there, nursing their drinks, watching Suki and Ty Lee splashing in the water and listening to their giggles. A while later, Katara finally spoke. "I'm sorry about the whole situation with Mai," she said quietly.
"Don't be," Zuko shrugged. "Whatever may have happened with Mai, I think it simply hastened the inevitable."
"You really believe that?" Katara watched him with a curious look on her face. There was a tinge of relief to her voice. "I'm still worried about the political implications, though."
"I think Mai overestimates the influence her family wields," Zuko snorted. "With some extra caution, I should be able to counter anything they might try. Though perhaps I should consult Uncle Iroh for advice first."
"I wish he was in the capital with you," Katara sighed. "I know he seems happy in his tea shop in Ba Sing Se, but I can't help but feel that you would benefit from his insight."
"I would love for him to be here, but he says that he can help me even more by remaining in Ba Sing Se," Zuko replied. It didn't seem as if Katara quite understood what he had meant by that, but this was not something that Zuko felt he wanted to explain right now. The real reason for Iroh's stay in Ba Sing Se was that his uncle could gather information at the very heart of the Earth Kingdom, as well as coordinate the White Lotus network. Uncle Iroh was proving to be a highly valuable source of information and he had already on several occasions tipped Zuko off about potential trouble brewing.
"I suppose," Katara admitted with a sigh. "I hope I'm not crossing any lines by saying so, but... I was wondering if you don't actually feel really lonely in that big royal palace. Only Azula and your father are physically close by... and they're not much of a family," she frowned deeply. "I had expected that your mother and her new family would have moved in with you in the palace."
"My mother tried to settle in the palace," Zuko replied. "She tried for many months, but I could see that everything she had gone through there was reopening too many old wounds. I couldn't stand seeing her unhappy and trying so hard for my sake, so I sent her back to Hira'a. I am making sure that her family does not lack for anything, and I often visit her, Noren and Kiyi. I... probably should make another visit soon. It's been almost a month."
Katara didn't reply, simply looking at him slightly pensively. "As for what you said earlier..." Zuko continued. "I... suppose I do feel a little alone at times. Fortunately, there's always something to do. Anyway, I'm not the only one parted from my family... you probably miss your father as well."
"Yes, all the time," Katara agreed eagerly, smiling as she drifted back to her memories, though there seemed to be something else as well, some more conflicting emotions under the surface. "At least I got to spend time with him while visiting the South Pole."
"That time when you returned to find it already rebuilt?" Zuko inquired.
"Yes... and I found out that my father had become the Head Chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe! Zuko, he had an office! My father had an office! In an almost palatial government building!" Katara exclaimed, sounding partly proud and partly frustrated. "Just imagine my shock... and on top of all that, he had begun a relationship with another woman. This Northerner by the name of Malina."
"Oh," Zuko winced in sympathy. He had read reports from the South, but they hadn't painted things quite like Katara was describing, nor did they include information about the personal affairs of Katara's father. "I am starting to understand why you feel so conflicted and unhappy when speaking about your return to the South Pole. And you probably didn't get to spend as much time as you would have liked with your father."
"No... something was always getting in the way," Katara sighed. "And I don't just mean Malina. She's actually not that bad... for a Northerner. But with everything that had happened… I just felt out of place. So, when you asked me if I missed my father, yes, I do. But do I want to return to the tribe to spend more time with him? I'm not so sure..."
"I wish things stood differently," Zuko spoke earnestly.
"Yes, so do I," Katara nodded. "Still... thank you for caring, Zuko. It means a lot."
"I must thank you for the same," he gave her a supportive smile. When she didn't shy away from his stare, Zuko felt emboldened enough to take her hand in his, and she appeared comfortable at the touch, not pulling away. "Thank you for being here, Katara."
"I-..." she began, but then quickly turned away, removing her hand, noticing that Ty Lee and Suki were walking back towards them. "Shall we humble a pair of arrogant bodyguards at kuai ball?" she turned back to him with a mirthful smile on her lips.
"You bet," Zuko grinned, rising to follow her.