I had promised lemony catharsis in this chapter, but it didn't work out organizationally speaking. Which is why I posted a double chapter. I hope you like it!

CH 29 | A Little

Like Toph, Katara had already packed for what she suspected would be a mostly outdoor, and mostly cold winter camping week. Unlike Toph, she had also been obliged to change out of a bloody sweater and now sat cross-legged on the floor, working over her battered fist.

Her stomach lurched into an upsetting whorl when Aang's honeyed tenor called down from the top of the stairs. Leaning upside-down over the banister the way only an airbender (or a contortionist) could, she could see grey eyes full of meaning glancing down into her bedspace from above. "Katara, do you have a minute to talk…outside?"

Here it comes.

"Y-yeah, sure. I guess we probably should." Katara responded. Her stomach remained twisted in a mess of guilt, anxiety, and unexplained irritation.

They made their way out to the front stairs, steeling themselves near Appa, who dozed comfortably on the sidewalk, listing slightly into the narrow street. Bat-haired Mrs. Meng glared from her upstairs window. Katara hugged her arms and avoided Aang's eyeline, her cheeks burning. Conversely, Aang stood uncharacteristically rooted, facing her with only a gentle pause before broaching, "I know we don't have enough time right now to talk about everything that we probably should. But I didn't want to set out without at least checking in with you—are you okay?"

Katara raised her brows with soft surprise and appraised his expression. His question was genuine, and he flitted from one of her eyes to the other, studying her reaction. "I'm fine…more embarrassed than anything…" she started as she shifted her weight anxiously between her feet. "I'm sorry Aang…I don't know what came over me. She just got under my skin."

"Under your skin? You broke her nose. Do me a favor and warn me if I'm ever getting under your skin…"

"I know. I'm sorry, really. Is—is she okay?"

"Do you really care?"

"No." Katara confessed to Aang's quiet sigh. "But I care that I drew attention to us, and I wish I hadn't done it so publicly. Are you angry with me?"

It was Aang's turn to shift his feet, torn between his natural discomfort with such a direct question and his desire to keep their relationship honest and unencumbered. "A little?" he admitted. His face looked more sad than heated though, Katara noted with another gut twist. She would have preferred to see rage in his eyes rather than the disappointed dullness that sat in them now.

Katara didn't want to make excuses, but found herself compelled to explain anyways, "s-she knew things about me. It was like she was in my head, saying things that I've never said out loud to anyone. She made me feel like a lot of the things I worry about were true—especially about you."

Aang nodded and swallowed audibly. "Azula has a special talent for taking a thread of truth and weaving it into a tapestry of lies. But that thread is still there…I'm not a perfect person by a longshot. I've made a lot of mistakes in the past. Are you angry with me?"

Katara nodded honestly. "A little. I'm upset that I still don't know where we stand, Aang. I'm scared because I feel like I could go all-in, even knowing that it's not reciprocated…I-I hate feeling so irrational. And you could just give me an answer, you could just—but then you went with her, and I just felt, I felt-" Katara's pitch inclined with renewed anger, so she paused to breathe.

"I'm sorry" Aang said. "I don't want to make you feel that way. I want to give you answer, but I'm scared too. I mess things up, and I can't mess us up. Because it is reciprocated. I am all-in, Katara. Can we try again"

Can we try again? The deeply buried memory flared up from Katara's psyche. Her heart swelled in agreement.

"Then prove it and start showing me."

"I will. Can you stop beating people up now?"

"I will."

The couple paused and exhaled hard in tandem. "Can we be angry and still hug?" Aang asked. She nodded and embraced him tenderly, winding her arms around his hips and nuzzling against his chest where she was comforted by his stoic heartbeat. She rubbed his lower back soothingly. Likewise, he leaned his on top of hers, stroking her hair comfortingly and drawing a reassuring breath full of her flowery scent.

000 ooo 0o o000o ooo0 oooo 0000 o00 o0o0o oooo000 oo0o0 oo

It had been an awkward, shuffling flight that left most of the gang on edge. Appa grumbled more than usual and neglected the turbulence in protest of the weight of five adults and their baggage. Sokka and Aang had argued over a myriad of logistical problems, not least of which included the Avatar's insistence that they bring Gladys with them.

"We're overladen as it is, this is literally the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen packed for camping."

"Blue Ribbon, Sokka. Blue Ribbon! I have a waiting list for her pollen samples. I will not leave her unattended!"

Now Sokka sat in the saddle holding the plant in his lap, cursing under his breath. "Stupid Avatar…Stupid Plant…"

Toph and Katara too, had serious misgivings about the mostly catatonic prince who Aang had yet to fully explain, and who kept listing between them. Every time he lurched towards Toph, she gave an annoyed sigh and poked him back towards Katara, inciting a squabble.

"Stop poking him in the face. So rude!" Katara complained.

"It's not like he's aware. I don't want a stranger drooling on my shoulder, thanks." Toph retorted.

"Guys…can you just…" Aang called from Appa's head while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know, Aang. Can we just know why the Fire Prince is going camping with us even though he can't eat on his own?" Toph quibbled again. It wasn't entirely true—what made the prince even more mysterious was that he wasn't in a strictly vegetated state. If you pulled him, he would walk. If you put food in front of his mouth, he would oblige. Otherwise, there didn't seem to be anyone home behind his eyes. Before sending Team Avatar on their earthbending bootcamp/warrant escape/fighting force recruitment tour however, Iroh did take the time to warn them that unprompted, Zuko would probably sit listlessly until he died of dehydration.

"I told you, Toph. There isn't anything wrong with him, physically. I mean…obviously something is wrong, but it isn't physical. The doctors just haven't been able to snap him out of it. I think Katara can."

"I think you've put way too much stock into my abilities" Katara complained. "It seems like his is more a case of Resignation Syndrome. There's no cure for it. And even if I do manage to bring him back, being in this situation for six years is practically unheard of. I don't know what kind of state he'll be in."

"I just feel like everything is going to work out" Aang replied positively. Even Momo, who was balled up in the hood of his sweatshirt chittered sarcastically at the airbender's unflappable optimism. "And if you can't get him back, then we bring him home no worse for wear. And if you do well… I can't imagine he'll be less fit to rule than Ozai and Azula are."

"Training a puppet leader to install who will bow to the Avatar. That's surprisingly cronyist of you, Aang." Sokka called from the back.

"Ugh. Don't even joke Sokka. He goes to Iroh and you know he isn't like that. Zuko will be whatever he will be. It's better than taking no shot at all."

Sokka didn't disagree with his reasoning, so he shrugged and tried to ferret into the food bag for jerky only to be rewarded with a slap to the hand administered by his sister. "Ow! Dammit Katara, I'm hungry!"

"Positive Vibes, People!" Aang called over the arguing siblings, annoyance biting his tone. "We're coming in for landing."

000ooo00 ooo000oo o ooo o0o0o0oo0

Appa graced the shore of a beach forest just as the sun sat cradled in the waving horizon. It was a shallow coast with irony waves chopping down in the rising tide and crashing more rocks and pebbles than sand. While not a beach particularly comfortable for sunbathing, the endless array of rounded stones formed a shimmering rainbow of agates, quartz, and freckled jaspers that yawned out under the breaking swells.

"Wow" Sokka murmured, genuinely impressed.

"Aang, this is gorgeous!" Katara exclaimed.

Aang helped Toph down the saddle and grinned widely, pleased that the long day had been worth it.

"This is a great place for earthbending" Toph remarked once she'd stomped around a bit. "There's a canyon back there and we have practically everything on the hardness scale to work with."

"And the forest provides natural cover. How'd you find this place, Aang?" Sokka complimented.

Aang led Appa on foot up a bubbling creek that bled from the forest and out into the ocean. He gestured for his friends to follow. "My mentor brought me here once when I was little. It's so beautiful that I never forgot it. There's a really great place to camp up ahead with some waterfalls."