Convergence of Destiny Chapter 15, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Katara and Zuko sat cross-legged across from each other on their bed roll in their room, hands linked in silent support as they talked over everything they knew about their bond.

They had both finally remembered to discuss the strange dreams/memories they had experienced sleeping next to each other. Zuko was silent after hearing Katara recount the memory she had experienced featuring Princess Azula, so the Waterbender was filling the silence with her own thoughts about the dream her boyfriend had had.

"You know, one of my best memories with my mom was going penguin sledding with her that dayㄧI barely remembered what happened before that at all," Katara mused. Since her mother's death, the Waterbender had idolized Kya in her memories, her mind blocking all bad thoughts of their relationship. Now that the memory had resurfaced, she could recall feeling so angry and hurt that day, left on the dock, and how scared she had been when she had been falling toward the cold, dark water. But nothing had upset her more than her mother's anger and panic at her powers. Katara was a girl who thrived on approval of others, and no opinion was more important to her than her mom's. Kya's reaction had not failed to make her feel 2 inches tall despite how powerful she had felt in the moment she was bending. Wanting to please her mom and forget the event all together, Katara had spent the years leading up to and directly following her death denying her abilities and being horrified when they embarrassingly reared their ugly head. She was terrified of bringing the threat of grey snow and black Fire Nation ships cutting through the fog on her Tribe.

She was terrified of herself.

So Katara had done her best to forget this memory, except for the good parts, and it looked like Zuko had done the same with his own. The Prince was staring unseeingly into the darkness.

"Iㄧ," he paused to let out a long suffering sigh, "I can't believe even my own sister is out to get me." Katara flinched at his cruel laugh.

"They don't deserve you Zuko," she said, gripping his hands. He ripped them out of her grasp, abruptly standing up.

"I just don't get what I ever did to them," he bit out as he paced. "What did the world ever do to them?"

His knuckles were white as his fists clenched and unclenched, beginning to smolder. Katara stood up to approach him cautiously as he closed his eyes, face pinched in obvious pain. Zuko opened his eyes, however, when he felt the Waterbender's arms wrap around his torso.

I'm angry at them too, but we'll never have the answers to those questions, Katara said firmly. We have been given a gift, with this bond. We have the ability to change the course of the future. And now, we have been presented with a choice.

Zuko's body was still tense in her embrace, but he was now breathing deep calming breaths. It's just, everyone expects me to fix this. My father and sister made my life a living hell for years. How am I supposed to beat them? How are we supposed to save the world? Katara moved around to face him slowly, resting her hand on his scarred cheek.

"We can either take our fates into our own hands and use our gift to make the world a better place, or," Katara caressed the Prince's face once more as he closed his eyes, "we can become like them. We can let our anger consume us until we're just as bent on revenge."

All the breath and anger went out of Zuko in a warm sigh as he sunk to his knees on the bedroll, Katara following him. The Firebender lay down as he stared unseeingly at the stalactites dotting the roof of their cave room. Katara brushed a gentle finger across his cheek to wipe away the lone tear that had collected there.

"I want to hate her, I want to hate my father too," Zuko said unsteadily, "and some part of me does. But a part of me still loves them, still wants to be together as a family," he smiled ruefully. "This is just another part of my stupidity. Who doesn't hate someone who burns half their face off?!"

Katara grabbed his hands before he could cover his face and brought them to her lips.

Don't be ashamed, they're still your family, she smiled cruelly. Besides, I have more than enough anger on your behalf to make up for it.

Zuko pulled her into a kiss as Katara tried to evaluate the satisfaction she felt at admitting how much she hated Zuko's father and sister for how they had treated him. The Waterbender had long known she had a vindictive streak, but she received satisfaction like no other at the thought of revenging all of Zuko's pain and hurt. The bond amplified all aspects of their personalityㄧnot just the good ones. She needed to be stronger than her anger, as much as she wanted to face Azula with her new skills, and try her best not to let it overcome her and cloud her judgement.

Zuko pulled away from their kiss to look her in the eyes. "You better not risk your safety," he told her seriously. "We wouldn't want the future Fire Lady being harmed." She stared at him in surprise, dodging the kiss he tried to plant on her cheek. Zuko frowned as he pulled in her close.

Moments like this are when I know you're perfect for the throne, he explained as he pulled back to caress her face. You kick my ass in gear when I'm down, you are fiery and passionate and caring, and smart all at the same time.

"You would be a perfect ruler. If you're going to be with me...then you'll rule next to me," the Prince said matter-of-factly. Katara was still lost in confused thought, not responding to the soft kiss he placed on her lips. He frowned as her face remained clearly unsure.

I can't do it without you...I can't be without you, Zuko admitted silently, then he smirked. If we're being honest, you would be a better leader than me anyway. You lead this group well, you lead your tribe well, he chuckled to himself, really, I'm sure you would be the one pulling the strings.

As they continued to talk late into the night, Katara deftly avoided any further conversation on the topic. It was impossible, no Fire Nation citizen would want a Waterbender as their Fire Lady.

Despite all this, she found herself fantasizing as they finally lay down to sleep about what living in a Palace would be like, what being royalty would be like. Could she really do it? Could a girl like her from a tiny Tribe like her own really become Fire Lady one day?

No, she thought to herself firmly to quell any further questioning of the idea. Instead, Katara focused on more pressing matters. They were in the middle of a war, and she needed to keep her eye on the prize.

Though Zuko had closed his eyes next to her, Katara could easily tell he wasn't sleeping. He must be able to feel the incessant tingling of the bond as it refused to settle, despite how close they were cuddled together on their sleeping pad. She wiggled out from her spot, slightly trapped under the Firebender's heavy arm. Her mind had whirred with a plethora of thoughts, but there was one in particular.

...Zuko? His eyes snapped open, struggling to focus on her in the low light of their cave room.

Should we...meditate? Together? He lay there silent for a moment, and for the first time, she sensed hesitation from him in taking the next step in their relationship. Their chi seemed to be subconsciously trying to converge whenever they were near each other, but what would happen if they finally made the connection?

The silence stretched and the bond only tingled more demandingly. Finally, the Prince gripped her hand and closed his eyes. He didn't speak, but he didn't need to as their breathing easily found synchrony. The bond flared with warmth between them, their chi mixing slowly, taking the path of least resistance and spooling together like tide pools in the surf.

Eyes closed, the pair wouldn't notice the slight glow that covered the room. The bond satisfied, they were asleep in seconds.

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While Katara was thinking murderous thoughts about the Fire Nation Princess, said Princess was thinking murderous thoughts about others.

Well, not murderous thoughts in particular, Azula thought to herself as she made her way to the Capital City Prison.

It had been almost a week since Azula had been back in her homeland, and things had been...quiet. Too quiet, if she was being honest.

When she had brought back her traitorous Uncle and informed her father of the capture, she had expected him to question his older brother. She had a wide spy network already established among the prison guards for the occurrence of that eventuality.

According to her spies, however, he had never showed.

Azula paused in her thoughts. Every 5 minutes, a guard patrolled exactly a yard away from where she was currently standing. She had 33 seconds before the next man on shift arrived, and the guard, Li Nao, was not one of her spies, so she would need to approach this cautiously.

Though the Princess loathed the thought of hiding, she loathed the thought of giving up leverage unnecessarily even more. Though Li Nao was not one of her spies, she knew...enough about him to ensure he behaved. His wife, 2 daughters aged 5 and 18 months, his elderly parents who had retired to Ember Island, and pet komodo dog were all counting on him of course.

But Azula didn't know how many times she would have to visit the prison, how many times she would have to keep her identity hidden and where that information about Li Nao might prove more useful. So she hid, flipping her body agily into the rafters of the roof covering the pathway, hiding in the darkness just as the guard passed by underneath her.

After allowing enough time to pass, Azula dropped to the ground to continue on to her destination and once again lost herself in her thoughts. Her lips formed into a frown.

No one has been playing their role correctly recently, she thought, cursing not only Zuko and her Father, but her beloved friends Mai and Ty Lee, the stupid Dai Li, and all her incompetent servants and spies.

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Everyone was the enemy. This was a lesson Azula knew well, but she was still constantly having to relearn it in all it's different iterations. Zuko was an idiot, that was certain. It had become clear that her Father's ego had grown past allowing the man to see logic, and he was slipping. Mai and Ty Lee were growing soft, and every last servant, spy and Dai Li agent could simply be bought by the highest bidder. No, she could trust no one but herself.

A distant bell tolled from somewhere in the city as Azula's leather boots crossed the threshold of the most secured part of the prison. The guards thus far had either been avoided or were secretly loyal to her, but the guard standing around the corner outside of her beloved Uncle's prison cell would need to be handled carefully. There was no way to avoid him and every reason to get him on her side. She could easily spin the leaking of these meetings to make her look the part of doting daughter, eager to interrogate her Uncle who was surely thirsting for his rightfully deserved throne and make sure her Father's safety wasn't at risk, but there was always a better way to go about things, and keeping her Father in the dark about these particular meetings was the better way.

Azula made her way around the corner to her destination and, careful to keep her footsteps even and unhurried, she plastered a large, Ty Lee-like smile on her face. She directed that bright smile at the guard, wiggling her perfectly manicured fingers at him in a familiar wave.

"General Yang! How are you?" The Princess asked warmly. She smiled inwardly at the open look of surprise on the General's face. He had been disarmed rather easily.

The first step to defeating someone? Keeping them off-balanced.

General Yang recovered from his surprise quickly to bow respectfully to the royal. "Princess Azula," he gasped, eyes lowered in deference. Azula smiled acceptingly at him.

"It must be such an honor to be trusted to guard the famed Dragon of the West," she said lightly, injecting just the right amount of manufactured awe and respect into her voice, "Warden Poon must hold you in high regard."

The older man's chest puffed slightly with pride as he gave her a pleased smile, relaxing at her words. "That is very kind of you Princess, but it's not a very hard job. The old man seems to have lost his mind anyways!" He gave a full belly laugh that slowly petered out as he realized she wasn't laughing with him. Azula waited patiently for him to become silent before her previous warm smile abruptly fell.

Too easy.

"Firelord Ozai sentenced my esteemed Uncle to the high security prison himself," she looked at the General from under her lashes. "Are you suggesting the Firelord had a lapse in judgement?" she asked sweetly. Yang was frozen to his spot as Azula slowly strode towards him. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

"I hope not," Azula answered her own rhetorical question as the General continued impersonating a fish, "because such behavior would be rather untrustworthy….it might even considered to be treasonous...Would you say so?"

A bead of sweat appeared on Yang's forehead as his face began to take on a gray pallor. "What do you want?" he asked angrily. Azula snickered lightly.

"What a silly question," she smirked, "I don't want for anything. I am given them." She grinned at the man. "So the question should be: what can you give me?"

The General's jaw clenched in anger as he refused to rise to the bait. She smiled inwardly once again. Yes, I like his spunk.

"No answer?" she asked lightly. "That's okay, I'll share it with you just this once."

Suddenly, Azula lurched forward to grab the high necked collar of the guard's armor to wrench him closer to her, throwing him off balance. She grinned at him once she had him in position, berry red lips stretching threateningly over pearly white teeth. The General glared at her, but didn't make any attempt to escape his fate.

It's much easier to get things done when you don't give people the option to refuse.

The Princess let him sweat for a minute before she let her trap spring. "Luckily, there is an option other than you facing one thousand fire lashes for treason," Azula said lightly, ignoring the widening of Yang's eyes. "You will be guarding my Uncle every night for the next two weeks. I may come to see him, I may not. You will make sure the way is clear and no one hears about this." She released his collar, finally letting him straighten up. Yang was clearly surprised that this was the only request the royal had for him.

"You just want me to...let you in and not tell anyone?" He asked cautiously, still tense at the relatively simple request.

The stick had been delivered, now for the carrot.

"There is always a reward to be gained for those who serve, wouldn't you say?" Azula asked. She tittered when the General hesitated at answering her, and lightly stepped around him to her Uncle's cell door. "Besides, I am confident you'll do well; great punishment is always waiting near great reward."

With that, Azula gestured expectantly at the door, causing General Yang to fumble for his keys. His hands shook a bit as he flipped through the ring before finding the right one, missing the key-hole several times before he got it on his fourth try. Yang opened the door to the dim cell for her, bowing as she moved under the door way.

The room was a far cry from any royal upbringing in the Palace. The tiny cell had no window, so the air in the room was disgustingly stagnant. The gray, cinder block walls were moist with mold from the humid climate of the Fire Nation. An abandoned tray of food lay next to a dirty foot, attached to a similarly dirty leg that belonged to her Uncle.

In the dim light of the cell, she could just barely make out General Iroh's intelligent golden eyes glinting in the darkness. His grey hair hung limply around his face, stiff with dirt and grease after not having a proper shower in the month since he had arrived in his home country in chains. Azula caught the details that the ageing General seemed to be trying to hide: the shrinking of his large belly because of nutrient deficient prison food, the quiet hum of pain when he shifted slightly to look at his niece's face.

Said niece stared at him, calculating. This part of the plan had always needed to wait until she saw her Uncle face to face, so she could accurately identify the mask she should be wearing. Her Uncle had always seen through her like no other, privately counseling her mother to be weary of the Princess, even when she was just a child. Uncle Iroh was the one person she had never tried to trick. Not only had she never needed to, but he somehow always saw it coming.

Now, Niece and Uncle stared at each other cautiously, each trying to feel out the older man was in prison, he should be no threat. But Azula could see that same intelligence in her Uncle's eyes she had seen when she was younger and, for once, she hesitated. Taking over the Fire Nation, betraying her family members one by one, it all sounded well and good until one was standing in front of someone, a family member, trying to decide whether to set a trap or not. And now, standing in front of her Uncle at 2 AM in the morning as the result of her own elaborate plan, Azula's goals sounded more exhausting than ever before.

The two stared at each other for several more seconds. It was up to Azula to decide how this would go, this she knew. She had brought this man to his knees on several occasions, not just because of her skill, but because he hadn't been expecting it. Even though the General could see how rotten she truly was, he couldn't help but hope things would turn out differently, that she would shake off the shackles of her royal family's war campaign and magically become a better person. And, depending on what she did here, in this cell, she was teetering on the brink of no return.

Azula smiled sinisterly as she jumped off that figurative ledge.

"Good evening, Uncle."

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Zuko resisted the urge to cover his face with his hands as he stared disbelievingly at Sokka.

"Sapphire and Wang Fire? Seriously?" He glared at the Water Tribe warrior. This was the genius planning mind in charge of the invasion of one of the most militarily capable nations in history?

Zuko should have known something like this would happen if Aang decided to attend school. In his short time with the group, he had noticed they had absolutely no problem detouring from their actual mission of saving the world from Fire Nation domination, and they loved to diverge from the plan in the most ridiculous of ways. Frankly, the Firebender was surprised they hadn't been captured yet.

If it were him, he would never have indulged in this silly plan. They should keep moving, making it harder for his murder-bent sister to catch up with them. Aang should be practicing his Firebending forms and his Earthbending could still use some help, and he and Katara needed to practice this form of convergent meditation to see if they could unlock any further powers of the bond. Zuko wanted to say all of this out loud, but looking at Aang's hopeful face and big gray eyes, he could easily see why the others found it hard to say no to his shenanigans, and he quickly found himself roped in with his girlfriend to play the role of Aang's parents for a conference.

A stupid decision, if he was being honest with himself, since it was that particular decision that had lead him to his current predicament: trying to knock some sense into a Water Tribe boy who had never been in the Fire Nation for any length of time and clearly didn't know what names were acceptable and believable.

"Seriously?! These are perfectly good Fire Nation names!" Sokka insisted, voice going high with indignation. Toph and Katara snickered secretly at his meltdown.

"Can it Snoozles, Sparky wins on this one. Who else would know Fire Nation names better than the Prince of the Fire Nation?" The blind Earthbender asked with a grin. Sokka opened his mouth to argue some more, but Zuko cut him off before he could get started.

"Lee and Liu. We'll be Lee and Liu Chen," Zuko looked to his girlfriend for approval and she nodded at him gratefully, then looked down at herself.

"Well, I guess I should change," she mused, looking at her bare abdomen. Curiously, the Waterbender didn't think many mothers were showing up to school conferences in crop tops. Sokka leapt up excitedly, moving to grab a bag stuffed with straw.

"I got you sis! Pregnant Liu disguise!" He yelled, holding the bag in front of his stomach to demonstrate. "Perfect, am I right or am I right?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "That isn't necessary and it looks stupid!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, quickly making up his mind. I'll be right back, he thought to Katara, not bothering to say anything out loud for the rest of the groups benefit. With that, he turned on his heel and retreated to their room, heading over to his familiar bags filled with his possessions. Zuko dug through the bag of clothes he had brought for Katara, bringing out the first outfit he had picked out for her.

Zuko fingered the gold embroidery. He had picked this dress for his girlfriend because of how noble it looked. Her thoughts had been right about no lady in upper society wearing a crop top, but the bust of this dress gathered at the front to accentuate the waist and dipped low in the middle. The sides of the collar continued far past the normal height of such things, as was in the style of Fire Nation nobility. Zuko shook out the dress apprehensively, inspecting it for imaginary specks of dirt as he delayed bringing it to Katara. He wasn't blind to her lack of response to his desire for her to become Fire Lady the night before, and she had been somewhat withdrawn throughout the dayㄧeven as the bond only pulled them closer together through the convergence meditation. Hopefully this meeting and slight break from trying to figure out their connection and future will relax her a bit, he thought to himself as he gathered his nerve and walked back to the front room where the group was still arguing about what Katara should wear.

Zuko ignored the rest of the Gaang and walked over to his girlfriend. This is another dress I got you, if we just change your hair a little to the style of a married woman, you'll look perfect. The Gaang went silent as Katara took the dress from the Firebenders hand and held it up in the firelight.

Zuko...this must have been expensive...it's too nice for me, her eyes took in the height of the collar and he could practically see the gears in her mind whirring as she used her limited knowledge of the Fire Nation to assess the situation, then she jerked her head to look at him.

This is for a noble woman, she accused. Zuko shrugged.

I bought it for you to wear when I finally get to take you somewhere nice, he deflected. This is a school for the children of nobles and higher ups in the military, you'll fit right in. The Waterbender glared at him.

You got this before we knew we'd be doing this.

So? Zuko shrugged again, aware of Katara's increasing ire, but not entirely sure what to do to stop it. He didn't see the big deal; so what if he had bought his girlfriend a nice thing? Isn't that what boyfriends did?

What if I don't want to be a noble woman?! Katara's face had gone red with anger while Zuko repressed the urge to jerk back and tried to take a calming breath through his hurt and anger.

What? He asked quietly. Is that true? Is that why you're so upset with me? She sighed all of her anger out in the face of her boyfriend's obvious hurt.

No, I─

Whatever she was going to say was cut off by Sokka. "Hey! Stop doing your creepy, spirit mind trick thingy and get ready! You can have your argument later."

In a millisecond, Katara had focused her icy glare on her brother, taking a deep breath to unleash her full wraith on him when Aang interrupted.

"Uhhh, guys?" Aang asked hesitantly, jumping when Katara focused her glare on him. "Uhh! We're gonna be late if we don't leave soon and," he sheepishly scratched his head, "thanks for doing this for me," he said, flashing his signature wide grin. Katara's face immediately softened.

"Sure Aang, let me just get changed," Katara said with a smile just for him. She turned abruptly on her heel, avoiding catching Zuko's eye to retreat to their bedroom.

Zuko was left standing there wondering what just happened. He looked to the rest of the group to see if they could shed any light on the situation.

"Hey, don't look at me," Sokka said with a shrug, "I thought girls liked gifts too!"

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Toph sighed as she felt familiar, lighter steps approaching her through the din of all the other footsteps she could feel in the cave. Twinkletoes, she thought grumpily.

The bright side of Sugar Queen being all moody with Sparky all day was that said Queen was eager to be out of the Firebender's presence, and to find a distraction. The Waterbender had sought Toph out after she had returned from the meeting at the school to get ready for the impending dance party. And, though Toph was loathe to admit it, Katara's morose mood had inspired her to offer the one thing she knew would cheer her up.

The opportunity to paint the blind Earthbender's face and style her hair for the party.

Though Toph couldn't see herself and subsequently wasn't too interested in her appearance, she couldn't help but feel proud, confident, and not a little bit smug at the way Katara (and Zuko when he had seen) had complimented her makeup and hair. Even Sokka had commented that she looked different, at the very least.

But the one person who she wanted to notice hadn't said a word.

Toph Bei Fong had harbored a crush on the Avatar since he had confronted her at that first Earthbending match deep under the city of Gaoling. How could she not? As scared as she had been at first to leave home and her parents and everything she had ever known, she couldn't help but feel honored. The Avatar who had been assumed dead for a hundred years was actually alive and had sought her out of all people to be his Earthbending master! He didn't care at all that she was blind, and he even forgot sometimes! And she was only twelve. It was an impressive feat, really it was.

Toph could admit that her surprise and wonder had left her slightly starstruck, and her mind had whizzed at a million miles an hour drumming up the most elaborate fantasies of how Aang might sweep her off into the night (without her parent's consent, how cool) and ask her to be his girlfriend and maybe, just maybe, give her first kiss on the lips.

Then the reality of traveling with the group had made itself crystal clear, and the Earthbender immediately realized Aang was too busy making moon-cow eyes at the Waterbending master who was older—and prettier, she was sure—than her.

So Toph had abandoned her childish —and admittedly naive— fantasies and settled into her role as the tomboyish Earthbending master. After all, the hero always got the girl, and Toph was just not that girl.

Now, everything was different. Sugar Queen and Sparky were in some weird spirit bond and Aang had specific instructions from another spirit to get over it. Was she wrong to think her time was now? Had she had been wrong to get her hopes up?

Those light footsteps had been getting closer and closer as Toph had been brooding, and finally they were right next to her.

"Hey Toph!" Aang greeted her brightly.

"Hey Aang," Toph responded, trying to keep her voice even and unbothered. The music had swelled and the cave suddenly felt uncomfortably warm with all the dancing people. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her skirt as she waited for Aang to get to the point and tried in vain to slow the rapid beating of her heart.

Toph tensed suddenly when she felt the Airbender's warm breath on her face as he leaned closer to her.

"You look different," he observed. She heard his heart beat a little faster as she felt her cheeks warm with a blush.

"Different how?" Toph prompted, still tense.

"Good different!"Aang exclaimed immediately. There was movement; if she knew Aang, it was him rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Y-you look really nice," he stuttered out.

A smile bloomed on the Earthbender's face against her will. "Thanks," she muttered, looking down. The silence between them was filled with tension, the music thrumming along in the background as Toph held her breath, waiting for Aang to speak.

"You like dancing?!" Aang suddenly blurted rather loudly. Toph tried to give an unaffected laugh.

"Sometimes," she said non-committedly. "There's not too many people willing to dance with a blind girl"

"Well I would!" Aang exclaimed, then he quieted down nervously. "I me-mean, I-I would if you want to, I mean that is—"

"Can it Twinkletoes," Toph interrupted with a grin as she stood and grabbed his hand. "Less talking, more dancing."

Toph tried not to smile like a crazy person when he squeezed her hand in return.

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Katara sighed to herself as she sat in a quiet corner of the cave away from the rest of the raging dance party. She wasn't really in the mood to dance, and she could see from the fierce glare he was directing to anyone who came his way that her boyfriend felt the same. She sighed again.

The Waterbender knew Zuko was still confused and upset by her behavior early and honestly, Katara was confused herself. What kind of girl got upset at their boyfriend for spending too much money on them?

No, the gifts hadn't made her mad, she hadn't really been mad at all. She was scared, she felt like she was in over her head, and she had lashed out rather than just say—or even just think!— what she was feeling. How much easier could it get?! Katara griped to herself.

She supposed it couldn't be helped. Despite her forced early maturity, Katara was still just a 15 year old girl who had never left home before now. She knew girls in her tribe usually married around her age if a little bit older, and they would have been prepared for years about the thought of eventually leaving home and joining their husband's house.

Except things in her tribe had been anything but usual for a long time. With all the young men off fighting an endless war and so many of their people carted off in Fire Nation raids, their numbers had been dwindling for some time. While Katara had often dreamed of marrying as a young girl, once her mother was killed and the reality of war crept closer and closer, that dream had seemed further and further away. Really, their tribe had been living on the edge of sustenance, and the future was not something Katara often took the luxury of contemplating.

Zuko was forcing her to confront a reality she had never thought she had honestly never thought she would need to confront. Somehow, it was even more daunting then their impending invasion of the Fire Nation. Could she really leave her home forever for this foreign land? Would it be worth it?

Katara sighed. The energy of the bond buzzed all around her, just underneath her conscious thoughts. As she leaned into that comforting warmth, she couldn't help but feel that it was worth it. She couldn't help but feel like at Zuko's side was where she was meant to be. However, another small part of her whispered snarkishly that she was naive, what did she know about being a wife, much less a royal one?

The hard truth of the matter was, despite all of the problems their relationship would cause, Katara knew she would do anything necessary to be with Zuko. As much as she might try and slow things down and second guess herself, in her heart the decision was already made. Her connection with the Firebender wasn't something she would ever give up voluntarily...and I should probably tell him that, she realized with a sigh. Zuko hadn't deserved her anger, and the Waterbender felt she should at least apologize to Zuko for snapping at him so they could talk this out. Katara started to rise to do just that when she noticed the slight tingle of the bond from where it always was at the edge of her consciousness. She immediately looked over her shoulder and into her Prince's golden eyes,

He sat down without invitation. Do you want to talk about it? He asked hesitantly. Katara bit her lip at his tone, beating herself up slightly; all this time she had reassured him that she wasn't mad at him and then she snapped at him without reason and caused the banished Prince to doubt himself again.

Katara scooted closer to the Firebender to take his hand and kiss his unscarred cheek. I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, you didn't deserve that, forgive me?

Of course! You could practically see the tension leaving his body when Zuko kissed her forehead in return. But why were you so angry? He asked confusedly. Katara shook her head.

I realized I'm not angry...I'm scared. It's just—all of this is moving so fast and, she took a breath to try and slow herself down but her thoughts were moving faster than she could keep up with, it's not that I don't want to move fast. We're never just talking about us, we're talking about the fate of a whole nation! We're at war and we could die any day of course I know all of these things, but I'm afraid choosing a waterbending peasant will make things even harder for you when you go back home, and then you'll change your mind and regret saying and doing these things to me and for me, and I don't think I could take that because I like you, I really like you, and not just because we're bonded. I might...I might even, l—

"I love you too," Zuko cut his girlfriend's ramblings off out loud. Said girlfriend's jaw dropped before she snapped it shut.

"Wh-what?" Katara asked wonderingly. "What did you say?"

"I said I love you," Zuko repeated, voice gaining confidence as he took her face in hands and pressed his lips against hers. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to move too fast and scare you. With the bond, everything always feels so easy, but I guess that doesn't mean it's perfect. He smiled wryly, I don't know a lot about relationships and how they work, but I've never had someone felt like this for someone before. I want you, but you're right, I also have to think of my future. It's just, he shrugged, ever since my mom disappeared, I've been looking for something real. Now that I've found it...I might have gotten a little carried away picturing the perfect life I've always wanted, back home and loved by my nation, with you by my side.

Katara wondered how you could simultaneously scoff at the absurdity of a thought and fervently wish it to be true at the same time.

"Never doubt this is real," he said firmly. "I haven't known too much happiness in my life, so I'm not stupid enough to throw away the one real chance I have. I want you for as long as you'll have—" Katara cut off her boyfriend by throwing her arms around him and pressing her full lips against his own.

"I love you too," she breathed. Katara wondered at the warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach and tingling she felt at the base of her spine. She had known she loved Zuko for some time, how could she not love him? The Firebender was so unlike what she expected the Prince of the Fire Nation to be. He was loving and selfless and considerate, but also determined and sensual and educated. The trust he gave her after being betrayed by so many people in his life, mostly his own family members, it felt so precious and rare and perfect. This was a feeling that felt worth it, the kind that she wanted to hold on to forever, Katara realized. And maybe that was stupid and naive of her, but one can't have the answer to all questions before venturing into the unknown, and she wasn't going to waste time second guessing the future when she could live in the now.

And in the now? Zuko had told her he loved her, and Katara couldn't be happier.

"I really like the things you bought me!" she exclaimed as his words caught up with her. "I realized earlier that I want to be with you for a very long time, and if that includes being Fire Lady," she shrugged, "then that's what I'll do." Katara marveled at how calmly she said this, when inside she was still a whirl of warm, fuzzy emotions from Zuko declaring his love for her. In this moment, the bond buzzing in content and wrapped in her Prince's arms, she felt like she could take on just about anything, including a nation.

Suddenly, the couple became aware of a commotion happening in the crowds of students present at the dance party. The kids had cleared space in the middle of the throngs, clearly preparing for a performance of some kind. Katara stood and grabbed Zuko's hand to drag him unwillingly with her.

I don't want to dance with a bunch of schoolchildren, the Firebender complained, but Katara shushed him as they finally reached the center of the group and got a glimpse of what was going on.

Aang and Toph were dancing. Well, not just dancing, Katara corrected herself internally as she watched her two younger friends in slight awe.

They bent opposing elements, but that difference came together in the most beautiful dancing style as Toph slid elegantly and confidently into place and Aang flowed and followed behind her, twisting and moving around her body to the music, at times using his bending to lift her with him as they parted and came back together in perfect synchrony. As the music came to a close, Aang whirled Toph around one last time while the younger girl wore the biggest smile Katara had ever seen on her face. The Airbender dipped her to the final beat. The party was silent for a moment before they burst into applause, Zuko and Katara (and even Sokka across the crowd) joining in with a smile.

Of course, the party dissolved into chaos minutes later and the Gaang was forced to make an impromptu escape into the night on Appa. The chaos was such that Katara never got a chance to talk to Toph about the party.

She couldn't have missed the tiny kiss the blind girl planted on the Avatar's cheek in the moonlight of Appa's saddle, however. She smiled to herself and nuzzled further into Zuko's side.

Katara hoped these good times lasted for a while.

ZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutaraZutara

Author's Note: How did we like Toph POV? I thought it was so stinking cute I couldn't stop smiling while I was writing it. How do we like Azula?

The couple's first little argument. I want their relationship to be very realistic, and in that vein I'm keeping in mind the culture and the times Zuko and Katara exist in. A lot of fics put marrying age at 16 for Katara, and I'm not sure where they got that information but it doesn't sound too far off. And of course, Zuko is to be the Firelord, if everything works out. A young Firelord who just took over his country violently with no heirs and no one in his family he can trust except his uncle. He would need a partner to help him with that, and that's a realistic concern that affects their relationship. On top of all that, they're young and in love, and we know young couples in love aren't know to have the best judgement.

In any event, the number one priority of this story is romance. I don't deal in angst, I can't take it, so it might get a little fluffy. Let me know if it gets too sickeningly sweet (or kinky maybe? How do we feel?), and I will be aware :D.