Genre: Angst/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort

Rating: T (for mentions of self-harm)

Summary: Zuko and Katara talk about something surprising they have in common. (Bechdel/Reverse Bechdel Tests, zero of six criteria reached)

Katara is woken in the night by a sound outside her door - a footstep. Usually she's the one creeping around at night, so this is different. She slides out of bed silently and creeps to her door. A flash of red catches her eye - Zuko? What's he doing up this late?

She decides to investigate. She follows him closely. He seems...distracted. In the light of the moon, as they move out to the patio, she can see dark lines on the skin of his arms. He starts rifling through their supplies, and she sneaks up behind him.

"What are you doing?" she accuses.

He whirls, guilt written clear on his face. "I - um - I - do you have any bandages?"

Bandages? That might be an allusion to the lines on his arms. Now that she's up close, she can sense it's blood. "You...you cut?"

The question takes him by surprise - so much so that he tells the truth. "I - yea. I just - need some bandages."

She sighs. "Come over here," she says, waving him over to one of the benches and taking out her waterskin. The water glows a little as she takes it out and focuses on channelling her healing energy. "Just relax. I'll have this fixed up in no time."

"You're not - you're not going to..."

"Judge? No." She paused, and then said what she'd never thought she'd say, especially to Zuko. "I used to do it too."

He looks up at her, confused and relieved all at the same time. "You...why?" is all he eventually says.

She shrugs. "I just...I don't know. It was like my brain was numb - still is, a little. I couldn't feel. I didn't know if anyone else had suffered the same thing, and I had to be strong for my tribe, and I couldn't turn to Sokka because - well, he was Sokka. One day I accidentally cut myself with an ice form I was trying and, well... It made me feel better." She was done with about half of the lines - Zuko must have had a really bad day.

He nods in agreement. "For me...for me it was fear. I was always on the verge of panic, and it was worse when people were around, especially my crew. I accidentally cut myself in practice and realized that I could use pain to make myself feel better. When Uncle found out, he thought I was punishing myself. Made me promise not to do it again, to tell him if I was feeling guilty for something, but that...that wasn't why I was doing it."

She'd gotten another quarter done while he was rambling. "Almost done. What prompted it this time?" He winces, and she realizes her mistake. "I mean - you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just...I just wanted to know."

"It's fine." He waves her off with his good arm. "I just had a little panic attack for no reason."

"Mm." It's good to know that none of them caused it - unless he was lying? But no. Zuko was a terrible liar. She'd have been able to tell.

Katara finishes the rest of of Zuko's lines and stands up. "That's all of them. Now go to bed - you need your rest."

"So do you," he points out.

"Yes, and I'm going back to bed too. No 'extra practice,' now."

"You know about that?"

"I know everything," she says, pushing him gently towards the door. "Go to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

So, I'm starting a new challenge based on the Bechdel Test, which goes something like this: 1) There are at least two women, who 2) have a conversation about 3) something other than a man. For each requirement to be fulfilled, all the preceding requirements need to be fulfilled as well. The Reverse Bechdel Test is the same, but with the genders reversed. I'm going to be writing stories at each level of neither, one, or both that specifically try to break expectations of how feminist/equal each requirement would imply. It's going to be a fun ride.

Also, that went way longer than I expected. These two had a lot to say.