Chapter 5

Author's Note: In this chapter I delve a little into the past relationship that Katara and Zuko had in this AU. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle alludes to the potential existence of this relationship, although the author left its details very vague. The details I have added here are entirely my own.

The Resistance cleared out the food stores to celebrate the greatest victory they had yet achieved: the Avatar was no longer a dreaded weapon in the Fire Nation's horde, but a new recruit to their cause.

A few of the freedom fighters brought out instruments and began to play. As soon as he heard the music, the Avatar stood and offered his arm to Katara. "Take my hand," he whispered, and they shared the first of many dances. The airbender moved in a way that no one there had ever seen, perhaps a fashion from the previous century, but his girlfriend was able to keep up, delighting him and all who watched them. The party went long into the night.

Katara hovered next to Aang for hours, until he waved her off and told her to catch up with her friends. He could tell she needed some space to rekindle those relationships without worrying about his comfort. She was working to ensure he felt very welcome, and his outgoing nature further endeared him to the freedom fighters, but he was also very aware that these people did not yet know him. Would they welcome him and celebrate him if they knew what he was really like?

The secret shame that Ozai had planted inside made him doubt it. A part of him felt separate from the festivities, especially as the night wore on, and he withdrew a little, standing apart from the others with his drink.

That was where Zuko found him. The firebender cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry I kidnapped you. I know now it was wrong."

Aang shrugged. That first day out of the iceberg felt like ancient history to him; he had nearly forgotten about the incident and had certainly never expected such an apology. "Your father told you to capture the Avatar. That wasn't your fault. When I thought of you, it was with sorrow for your situation, certainly not with a grudge for your actions." The unkind words that Ozai had used to describe his firstborn had perplexed him. He pursed his lips, rather than hurting the other young man further by repeating them. "I only wish Zhao hadn't taken me from you. I have a feeling things would have been easier for me that way. Even if you had taken me back to the Fire Nation, and Ozai had adopted me—"

Zuko cut him off. "I wouldn't have been able to sit by and watch my father abuse you. Uncle would have been there too. He would have spoken up for you. Not that my father ever listened to either of us. We probably would have had to help you escape."

Aang sighed. "But then Katara wouldn't have been my waterbending teacher. She is…..worth everything I suffered."

"She is." Zuko inclined his head, mildly impressed at the sentiment. "I trust you'll treat her as she deserves."

"I plan to devote my life to it," the airbender vowed.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by the younger man's earnestness. He swallowed and made an awkward admission. "You know she and I…."

"She told me," the Avatar nodded nonchalantly. "Was it serious? On your end, I mean?" Something about the utterly unthreatened, almost dismissive tone implied that Katara had told her new boyfriend that her old boyfriend meant nothing to her.

"At the time, I guess." Zuko acknowledged with a shrug, and looked out into the distance. "We were teenagers, comrades in arms. We fought a lot. Now I think we were too alike, and that made us a bad fit. It was over long before she went to the Fire Nation. And now, compared to what I have with Mai…."

Aang smirked. "That's basically what she said. It doesn't matter. I'm sure we'll all be great friends." He clapped Zuko on the shoulder. "To tell you the truth, I'm just glad I'm not here to kill you!"

Zuko chuckled. It seemed the airbender could find humor in almost anything. The Resistance needed people like that. "Not quite as glad about that as I am. Do you want another one of those?" He gestured to Aang's empty bottle. At his nod, Zuko turned and led the way back to the gathering.

Toward the end of the night, Katara found one of the only people in the group who she didn't know well, and sat down next to her. "Seems like you kind of took my place around here."

Mai gave her a sidelong look. "Do you mean in the Resistance, or in Zuko's bed?"

Katara's eyes widened at the unexpected bluntness and her tone took on a prim inflection. "In the organization. Rescuing fugitives was the kind of job I used to do, but you accomplished your task very ably."

"Even though your boyfriend put a wrench in my plans." Mai reminded her.

"It was important to him to return to the Southern Air Temple to mourn his people."

"Rituals matter. I respect that. But if you two hadn't shown up here soon…."

"I know what your orders were." Katara acknowledged smoothly. "Anyway, you got Sokka away safely. Thank you for that."

"I was glad to do it. Especially since he got my best friend out of that place."

"Ty Lee, right? Do you think they're serious?" Katara wondered.

"Hard to tell with her." Mai admitted. "She's flighty. While a relationship lasts, she's all in, but as soon as it ends, she's over it. She thinks your brother is fun, but she said the same thing about Aang two years ago."

Katara nodded, and was silent a moment, then took the conversation back to Mai's opening line. "Well, I wouldn't say Zuko was fun…."

Mai laughed, which made Katara laugh too, her nervousness turning to a kind of embarrassed relief.

"I mean it! We spent half our time arguing!" Katara insisted between giggles.

"Oh, I believe that." Mai sipped her beer.

"And, um, we never…." The waterbender blushed and looked down into her drink.

"I know." Mai smirked. "Your loss."

Katara definitely did not want to hear any details there, so she changed the subject. "So you grew up around his family."

"I knew them before things got really crazy. Before Ozai became Fire Lord."

"What was it like then?"

"They were happy, if you can believe it. Mostly. Now that I look back on it, I think Ozai and Ursa's relationship was pretty empty, but not in a way that a kid would notice at the time. And Ozai picked on Zuko a lot, but at least then his mom was there as a buffer."

Katara nodded. That fit with what Zuko had told her about his childhood. "What about Aang? What was it like for him?"

Mai raised one eyebrow at her. "You've seen his back?"

Something broke inside Katara, and tears pricked her eyes at the thought of everything her beloved had endured. "But was anyone ever kind to him?"

"Sure, sometimes. Just often enough to keep him going." Mai shook her head. "But not often enough to explain how happy he is. I don't know how he kept it from changing him. He must be some kind of saint."

Katara sighed, love flooding her with warmth. "He's wonderful."

"Aang's a nice guy." Mai agreed. "I really would have hated it if I'd had to try to kill him."

"He would have hated it more."

"Probably."

"And you couldn't have done it. No one could." Katara spoke of Aang's prowess with an assurance that approached awe.

"I know that. I've seen him train. That's why I said 'try.'"

"You haven't seen him recently. Not since he mastered water." Katara reminded her.

"Oh, so you're really just bragging on your own teaching skills?" Mai teased.

"She has plenty of cause for bragging," Aang's fingers touched Katara's waist, as he appeared just behind her. "Best teacher I ever had."

"Thanks, sweetie," Katara murmured, sinking back into his arms. "I lost track of you. Have you been enjoying the party?" He nodded, brushing his cheek against her hair.

Zuko sidled up to Mai, whose hand slipped out of her drooping sleeve, and into his. "We were just catching up." The firebender explained. "The last time I saw Aang, I was quite a different person."

"You're different from even just a few months ago, Zuko." Katara observed, looking contentedly at her ex, with her boyfriend's arms squeezing her waist. "You're happier."

"I'll take credit for that," Mai said with a smug sideways glance at her boyfriend, "but I doubt his change is as dramatic as yours, Aang. It's not just your hairstyle either. You seem taller, but I think it's more a change in your posture than actual growth."

Unsurprised with this assessment, the airbender took a deep breath, then exhaled with a grin. His arms gestured expansively to the congregation of happy rebels sharing food and fellowship under the open sky. "I'm free," he answered simply.

Raiden met his girlfriend Akane at their favorite restaurant near the docks. They were both in uniform, because they'd been on duty earlier that day, but they'd left their armor and weapons back in the barracks. After a quick kiss in greeting, the couple ordered their usual noodle dishes and made small talk about friends and commanding officers.

"I have news," Akane said nervously, her udon bowl half finished.

"So do I," Raiden grinned, setting down his chopsticks.

"Well, um, your news is probably better than my news, so can I go first?" She asked, wringing her hands.

"Ok," he agreed, a little wary.

"My unit is being deployed."

"Oh," He looked down at the table, deflated. "Where?"

"A tour all over the Earth Kingdom." She swallowed, her brow furrowed. "Two years."

That's it, then, isn't it? He slumped. That kind of separation was a death blow to most relationships.

Akane was the first real girlfriend Raiden had ever had. Before her, he had had lots of short flings with shopgirls and waitresses, picking up a new one and dropping her every month or so. The problem seemed to be that he was too easily bored. The more he learned about a girl, the less interesting he found her. He didn't want to be the kind of guy who cared more about the chase than the enjoyment of a relationship. He didn't see women as conquests, but he was uncomfortably aware that he was acting like someone who did.

So he'd decided to break that pattern. He left the shopgirls alone and pursued Akane, a different kind of woman, a fellow soldier. She'd kept his interest longer than anyone else ever had: eight months.

And now, she was going away. Raiden noticed he felt disappointed, but not devastated.

"What about you? What's your news?" She inquired, eyes desperately hopeful.

"I'm getting promoted."

"Wow! Congratulations! You'll look so good with those bars on your shoulder for lieutenant first class!" She enthused.

"No, I'm going to be captain of the guard." He corrected her, a bit uncomfortable with the sudden leap in position. Piandao should have been more subtle with his nepotism.

Her jaw dropped and she sat back in her seat. "That's amazing." She breathed.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"Does that make you the youngest captain of the guard in history?" She wondered.

"Youngest since Izumi's time," he answered. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

"A captain has a private apartment, and a salary that can support a family," she said carefully. "Maybe this means I should…."

His eyes widened as he realized she was about to propose increasing their commitment. He imagined himself stuck in an apartment with her, bored out of his mind.

"No, you shouldn't!" He covered her hand with his. "You always wanted to see the world," he reminded her. Her adventurousness was one of the reasons that she had kept his attention so long. But if she was willing to give that up so easily, then maybe she wasn't the girl he had hoped she was.

"That's true. I did. I do." Akane rallied. "We're going to spend some time in the Si Wong Desert and the Great Divide," she added brightly.

"See? I would hate to hold you back from that." He justified himself, relieved.

"So we'll write, and wait?" she asked hopefully.

If he had just hurt her by telling her he didn't want to share his captain's apartment with her, then he wasn't going to compound the pain by ending things, even though it was clear to him now that it was inevitable.

"Yeah," he smiled, squeezing her hand. "Two years will go by before we know it."

The servants were finally finished moving her things into the Fire Lord's bedroom, so Azula went in to sleep there for the first time. She slowly wandered around the room, reminding herself she was allowed to touch things now, they were hers. There were ancient swords, priceless paintings, and other historical artifacts. On a shelf, she found a bottle of fine wine. Her father had always made a big deal of breaking out this expensive bottle on special occasions, with trusted friends, and men he hoped to impress. She'd always been curious about the wine, but never invited to participate in those late-night gatherings of old men. "I'm the one in charge now," she said aloud. "There's no one to tell me I can't have any." She picked up the bottle and took a swig.

The first half of the bottle went down sweet, making her feel warm and cozy. She kept drinking.

The second half was a wild ride. It took the ground out from under her, so that she stumbled around, disoriented, while believing she was dancing a most graceful waltz.

The whole world seemed brighter, and she discovered a new level of brilliance inside herself. She felt utterly amazed at the intricate perfection of every thought that came into her inflamed brain. She had the most wonderful ideas! She had to share them with her ghosts.

"The Avatar is half spirit, isn't he? I can't believe I've been neglecting all of the possibilities his other nature opens up! I should kidnap him into the spirit world, and separate him from his precious waterbender that way!"

Father gasped. "Not even I am that cruel!"

Ty Lee looked confused. "What would you do there?"

Azula shrugged. "Dance?" She executed a clumsy step, and actually giggled when she had to catch herself at the last minute. "Have a tea party? Assign him a bunch of endless tasks? Does it matter?"

Mai looked at her like she was crazy. "Who do you think you are, a giant worm with a disgusting, alliterative name?"

"Maybe you should stop drinking, honey," Mother suggested softly.

The whole while, Aang was quietly panicking in a corner, hugging himself and rocking back and forth.

When she finally passed out, she had a nightmare in which adorable but fierce monsters popped out of red and white balls and attacked her. She woke with her sheets tangled around her tighter than a straitjacket, with a splitting headache.

She threw away the empty bottle, and told the butler never to serve it to her again.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Leave me a review if you liked it! Next update on Friday.