.

Chapter 4: The Future

Katara reentered the theater just as the curtain was falling on the second act. Everyone got up from their seats, stretching their limbs. Zuko's scowl was more pronounced than usual, and he stood with his arms rigidly folded.

Sokka noticed her just as they were trooping out to the inside hall, and said brightly, "Did you get me my fire gummies?"

"No," Katara said shortly.

He studied her face briefly. "Fine," he said. Then added in a mutter, "You don't have to bite my head off."

The act would have ended with losing Ba Sing Se, and the atmosphere was slightly somber. However, as they all came to stand in a cluster outside Suki was looking smug, if slightly bemused. "It seems like every time there's a big battle, you guys barely make it out alive," she commented. "I mean, you guys lose a lot."

Sokka folded his arms. "You're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did!"

Katara wasn't sure Sokka should be joking about that, and Suki indeed suddenly wasn't smiling. She stared Sokka down, like a bull-lion deciding whether to charge or not. At last she said, without a trace of humor, "Are you trying to get on my bad side?"

Sokka seemed to know he'd crossed a line, and he pulled back, hands raised. "I'm just saying…"

Katara wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself. The others were all congregated in a line along the wall, Zuko sitting down, his shoulders stiff and tense, hood of his cloak low over his head, while Toph stood casually beside him, relaxed.

Sokka and Suki were apparently quick to make up, as when Sokka suddenly wanted to go backstage, Suki seemed more than happy to use her years of Kyoshi training to get Sokka's actor some better jokes. As the two of them left together, Katara went to stand at the balcony railing, overlooking the room below. Cheerful chandeliers glowed warm and yellow above, while lush red carpets lay over marbled floors. Fire Nation nobles chatted casually in clusters, all smiling brightly, and discussing the play.

More than ever, Katara wanted to leave. The whole thing was stupid—all these people, standing around having a good time when their nation was burning villages and killing people. But, she knew she had already been outvoted.

"Geez," Toph said as Sokka and Suki disappeared around a corner, "everyone's getting so upset about their characters." She added to Zuko beside her, "Even you seem more down than usual, and that's saying something."

"You don't get it," Zuko grumbled. "It's different for you. You get a muscly version of yourself, taking down ten bad guys at once, and making sassy remarks."

Katara had been hoping Toph would get a taste of her own medicine when the ridiculous version of her character was introduced—unfortunately Toph might have loved her actor, a giant buff guy who apparently saw the world around him through supersonic screeching, most of all.

"Yeah, that's pretty great," Toph agreed.

Zuko continued in a low voice, "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life, and shoves them back in my face." He was half turned away from Toph, squinting hard at the floor. "My uncle, he's always been on my side, even when things were bad… He was there for me, taught me so much, and—how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret, and I may never get to redeem myself…"

Both Zuko and Toph seemed to have forgotten Katara was there, and this didn't sound like something she ought to be hearing. Katara was already quietly slipping away along the railing, descending the stairs, until the sound of their voices faded behind her.

She stopped at the first landing, and turned her eyes once again to the room below.

When will I be ready?

She could understand Aang's reluctance. His fear of—doing something he had to live with later, and regret. Zuko lived with regrets, and they had to be painful, made all the more so when he had to relive them again. Just because she was okay didn't mean Aang would be—maybe she shouldn't have been so harsh. He needed understanding and support now more than ever.

She glanced up and saw Sokka and Suki returning above, Sokka looking smug, as though their expedition had been a success. They were waving at her that the next act was about to start. Reluctantly, she ascended back up, and followed them back into the theater.

"Anyone seen Twinkle-toes?" Toph asked as they sat down. "He's gonna miss all the best stuff."

Katara tapped her fingers against her knee in restless agitation. A part of her wanted to go find Aang and make up—but every time she thought about it, she found her frustration rising again. She felt bad that their conversation about before the invasion had turned into a conversation about Ozai—but she wasn't going to apologize. Not for what she had done, and not for thinking that Ozai needed to be stopped.

She continued to stew, thoughts chasing each other in circles, and she was still stewing when Aang finally returned partway through the act. She avoided his eyes, and he avoided hers, going instead to sit in the row behind them with Sokka and Suki. He was silent as Sokka enthusiastically recapped everything that had happened.

Unfortunately, Aang had arrived just in time for the play's rendition of the invasion. Katara grimaced as her actress self and Aang's stood atop a submarine prop—that the playwright could possibly know about that might have been the most disturbing thing so far.

"I just wanted to let you know, Aang," said Katara's actress self, "that I'll always love you." She paused. "Like a brother."

The actress playing Aang beamed back, punching the air. "I wouldn't want it any other way!" They shook hands genially, before actress Aang held out her glider and was lifted off into the air.

Katara fidgeted, feeling the heat rise in her face. She peeked at Zuko and Toph for their reactions. She at least expected a teasing grin from Toph.

However, if anything, Toph looked bored, and Zuko's expression didn't change, his arms still folded as he gazed down at the stage impassively. Was the play so ridiculous that they just assumed this was completely made up? Or was the fact there was something going on between her and Aang such old news to them they didn't even care enough to drop a snide comment?

Katara didn't look to see Aang's reaction, but she folded her arms, slumping down in her seat just a little.

When the invasion happened and actor-Zuko joined the team without much fuss or fanfare, Sokka stood up.

"I guess that's it," he said, stretching. "The play's caught up to the present now."

"Wait," Suki hissed, grabbing him by the shirt and hauling him back down. "The play's not over!"

"But it is over," Sokka said, frowning. "Unless…" His face scrunched up in a strange, ominous way. "This is the future."

Katara stared at the stage. The future. Everything that would happen, that hadn't happened yet. The final battle with the Fire Nation. Aang's fight with Ozai. She wondered if the play would change its mind, and she and Aang would get together after all. She sat forward slightly, interested in spite of herself.

A large lantern trailing a cutout of flames drifted by overhead, the arrival of the comet. The actor Zuko confronted pink Azula, and the two hurled streamers that substituted for firebending. Blue and red snapped at each other—then fluttering cloth backgrounds of fire seemed to shoot up in a row from the stage floor, obscuring actor-Zuko from view. "Honor!" he shouted one last time, before he fell through a trapdoor in the stage, disappearing from view.

As actress Azula bowed to the audience in victory and cheers rose up around the theater, the team all looked to Zuko. He sat frozen in his seat, hands on his knees, staring at the place his actor had gone.

Next was Aang's battle with Ozai. Ozai sat in a throne lit with a sudden spotlight, his hands folded in his sleeves. Beneath the slowly moving lantern of the comet, he climbed to his feet—the actor, his face painted and garish, was a towering man, with a long narrow beard.

In some of the most impressive effects so far, the ends of Ozai's snapping streamers sent bursts of smoke curling into the air. The actress Aang was lifted over Ozai's head, and landed opposite him, blue streamers bursting from the ends of her staff in an approximation of airbending. She spun them in elaborate patterns, advancing on Ozai. He raised his hands, more red streamers flying around them. The actress was lifted into the air again—only this time when she landed, Ozai extended his hands, and an enormous sheet dyed in a fiery orange-red tore forward.

Actress Aang spun around in the air, as the giant sheet wrapped around her again and again. She cried out in a sustained note of despair—before collapsing slowly and dramatically to the stage.

"It is over, Father," said actress Azula smugly, having suddenly reappeared on stage. "We've done it!"

Actor Ozai raised a fist in triumph, his overpainted face ghastly and cruel in the harsh play lighting. "Yes, we have done it. The dreams of my father, and my father's father, have now been realized!" As he spoke, a platform rose beneath his feet, raising him into the air, as fluttering sheets of orange shaped like flames shot up from the floor all around him. A giant Fire Nation flag unfurled itself behind where he stood as he spread his arms wide. "The world… is… mine!"

The audience burst into cheers and applause, some climbing to their feet, hands in the air. However, amidst all the tumult and impressive effects, Katara's eyes remained fixed on the small figure on the stage, still wrapped in the orange sheet.

They were all quiet as they made their way out into the balmy evening. Even Sokka didn't try to crack a joke.

"That... wasn't a good play," Zuko said finally.

"You said it," Toph agreed.

"Horrible," Suki added.

"At least the effects were decent," Sokka offered, though only halfheartedly.

Katara glanced at Aang, who was walking ahead of them. She wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what. Any anger, resentment over the fight, had gone—yet she still couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. Because now, more than ever, she needed him to take down Ozai when the time came—because she couldn't bear for what happened in the play to happen for real.

Katara,wrapping her arms around herself, looked away, staring off into the darkness.

On returning to the house, everyone split up to go to their respective rooms. Katara headed back with Suki, and after getting dressed for bed, she laid down, staring at the wall, hoping to get to sleep as soon as possible, though not having much hope.

She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder, and she tensed.

Suki sat back, face apologetic. "Sorry," she said. "Just—wanted to make sure you were okay. You've been quiet."

Katara hesitated. She opened her mouth to say she was fine—however, she was suddenly struck with the notion that it would be nice to have someone to talk to. So far she hadn't been able to untangle her many conflicting thoughts and feelings just keeping them locked up in her head, so maybe getting them out into the open would somehow make things more clear.

Katara sighed deeply, and, sitting up, she hugged her knees to her chest. "Aang and I... we got into a fight."

Suki blinked, surprised. "What? When?"

Katara shook her head. "Near the end of the second act. I left early, and then we were talking… and…"

"About?" Suki had been sitting with her back to Katara, legs draped over the opposite side of the bed, but now she turned, pulling one knee up onto the bed and leaning forward, giving Katara her full attention.

Suki's tone was sympathetic and understanding rather than prying, but Katara picked at the bedding self-consciously anyway. She wasn't even sure where to begin. She had never had this type of conversation with anyone—while she might have had a few female friends in the South Pole from some of the other villages, she hadn't always seen them often, and she had never had anything like this to talk about back then anyway. And she wouldn't go to Sokka or Toph for love advice any day of the week.

Katara looked away, deciding to start with the other part first. "I think Aang wants me to be able to tell him he won't have to kill Ozai. Or he just wants to put off the fight until he figures out something else. The Air Nomads believe all life is sacred and—he can't stand to betray that."

"But you can't tell him that," Suki completed.

Katara shook her head. "How can I?"

"That's hard," Suki said slowly. "But it's not your fault."

Katara sighed deeply, drawing her knees a little closer. "But… with Aang and me… it's more complicated than that."

Katara felt heat rising in her face again. She pulled at the silk sheets. "Before the invasion... Aang... he..." She hesitated. "...Confessed his feelings to me."

When Suki made no immediate response, Katara couldn't help it, and peeked over at her.

Suki was staring at her in surprise, her mouth open. Her jaw moved as though to say something, but nothing came out.

Katara continued, "I haven't given him a straight answer."

"Oh," Suki said finally. "And… how do you feel?"

Katara shook her head. "I don't know. That's the problem. I just... I'd rather focus on the war, and when it's over figure it all out then."

"That makes sense," Suki said cautiously. "I guess it probably is hard for him to wait. It would be hard for me. But you can't rush yourself either."

"I feel like I should know," Katara continued, so softly she could barely hear the words herself. "I… care about him. A lot." She stared at the wall, gripping her knees. "That moment, after Ba Sing Se, and I really thought—thought he was dead—it was like losing my mom again."

Katara shook her head. "But—I'm still not sure. If it's like that, or not."

Suki considered. "Have you… tried thinking about it in a different way? Like—how you would feel, if he went out with another girl?"

"I'd be mad," Katara admitted. Really mad. A boiling lake of rage, complete with exploding volcanoes around it.

"And that's not an answer for you?"

Katara shook her head. "I feel like if any guy told me he liked me, then turned around and started paying attention to someone else, I'd feel the same way. I mean, if I really didn't like him, maybe I'd be relieved, but—I mean—"

She couldn't seem to be able to put what she was trying to say into words, but Suki seemed to understand.

"I guess maybe it does kind of feel good, to have someone like you," she said. She added with a hint of a smile in her voice, "...Find you attractive. Then if they were to just turn around and act like it was nothing—that would be—well, it would feel like it was never important to him at all."

Katara sighed, looking away. "But—that's selfish. Maybe… maybe I just want to think that I like Aang. So that I don't have to admit to myself that I could be like that."

Suki shrugged. "You can't help how you feel, even if it's selfish. But once you know, then you can figure out how to deal with it. I mean… look at me."

Katara was still staring at the wall, but now she did look over, curious. "You?"

Suki blinked, and looked as though she regretted saying anything. However, at last she sighed in defeat. "Oh… it's nothing. Only, Princess Yue in the play—who I guess turned into the moon spirit or something—well..." Her eyes drifted toward the tall window, the moon still glowing outside. "Sokka told me once, long ago—that there was someone important to him he wasn't able to protect. I realized watching the play that it was her—Princess Yue."

She sighed. "I know that's in the past. But—I couldn't help but wonder, just for a moment. Would he rather she be here, instead of me? Am I just a backup choice?"

Katara let her arms fall from her knees, She turned more fully toward her, forgetting about herself and her own problems for the moment. "Sokka only knew Yue a few days," she said slowly. "And when we went back to Kyoshi Island later, I know he was disappointed not to see you…"

Suki shook her head again, quickly. "I know. It's awful and petty for me to think that way, when Sokka was the one who lost someone he cared about. I don't really believe that, and I didn't dwell on it. I just mean—you can't help your feelings, even if they're selfish. But once you let yourself know what they are, you can decide what to do with them."

It wasn't bad advice. But it still wasn't an answer, either, at least not for Katara now. Because she didn't know. "What about you and Sokka?" Katara asked. "When did you—know? How you felt, I mean."

Suki laughed. "Well, at first I thought he was just some dumb good-looking guy who thought he was a lot funnier than he was. But—the fact he was able to change his mind, and admit he was wrong. I realized there was a lot more to him than that." She shrugged. "I guess I didn't know if anything would come of it—I didn't even know if we'd ever meet again. But I always hoped that we would."

Katara wasn't sure about the good-looking part, but she didn't comment. Suki's description sounded closer to Katara's relationship with Jet than with Aang—a mysterious stranger, an instant attraction. But that was part of the problem—she didn't feel exactly the same way with Aang as she had with Jet, and she couldn't figure out if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

"Well," Katara said at last. "Thanks anyway, Suki. I guess I'll… keep thinking about it."

She turned away, and laid herself back down, facing the wall.

She expected Suki to get up, to go off to say goodnight to Sokka like she always did. However, she didn't move.

"Katara," she said at last, her voice soft in the quiet. "I know you probably don't want to talk about this. But—but, do you think, you might be confused about your feelings for Aang, because—"

Katara felt her stomach tighten, a hard knot. Her fingers closed convulsively on the silk sheets. Because of what you did. Because you know he doesn't agree with it, and if he thinks about it more, he might still change his mind anyway.

"—you might still have feelings for Zuko?"

The room was silent for about ten seconds. All had seemingly stopped in the world.

"Feelings for—" Katara started. She found herself sat up again, not quite sure how she had gotten there. "Feelings for… Feelings for—"

Her voice, which seemed to have temporarily deserted her, suddenly came back with a vengeance. "How could you think—I never—what are you—"

Suki put up her hands defensively. "But I mean, I thought you said—"

"I don't have feelings for Zuko!" Her voice had risen, cracking like Sokka's always did when he was trying to argue a point and failing. Then she glanced at the walls, dearly hoping no one had heard that. She dropped her voice and hissed, "Why would you even suggest—"

"But—" Suki said, hands still raised. "In the crystal catacombs, didn't you tell him—? In the play, you said—"

"The… play?" Katara repeated, faintly.

Suki was apologetic now. "Well, in the play, you told Zuko you found him… attractive. And when he said he thought you were with Aang, you said Aang was like a little brother to you."

A lot of things were suddenly starting to make sense, and she wished they didn't. "Ugh!" Katara threw up her hands, burying her face in them.

"I didn't think anything of it at the time," Suki began. "But I just thought—you know, if the part about you and Aang was kind of true—you seemed so angry with Zuko at first, like maybe if he was an ex—"

Katara shot Suki a glare out of the corner of her eye. "That. Did. Not. Happen. Never, in a hundred, thousand years—"

"Okay," Suki said quickly. "Okay. I believe you."

Katara laid back down, glaring at the side wall again. Her face might as well have been on fire, she wondered that it didn't burn off completely.

At last Suki said awkwardly, "Um, okay. I think I'm—just going to go say good night to Sokka now. Then we should try to get some sleep."

Katara didn't answer, just continued to glare.

Suki slipped eagerly out of the room.

Katara drew a deep, steadying breath through her nose, then let it out again. At least she could be thankful she had missed that part of the play. Those were nightmares she could definitely live without.

Still her mind lingered, on all the half formed thoughts and feelings she couldn't quite define. Suki was right—if she could just understand them, define them to herself, then maybe she could figure out what to do with them.

As she drifted off, she wondered what Aang was thinking about now. And if he was as confused and lost as she was.

Katara awoke far too early the next morning.

She decided first to get a headstart on breakfast—it was better than lying around, letting her thoughts from the previous day continue to fester. She had failed to draw any conclusions, and that seemed a fair sign she needed to focus on something else for now.

Katara withdrew some of the food supplies Suki and Sokka had bought in town, setting them out, along with a couple of new pots she had found in the kitchen. She decided a juice made from one of the new fruits might add an exotic element—there had been a spiky one that she thought would go particularly well.

Katara slipped outside to the beach, eyes scanning the trees. Even in the light of the silver moon, now nearing the horizon, she couldn't see well enough to pick out the shapes of the fruits amidst the leaves. She might have to come back when the sun was up.

However, as Katara turned to make her way back inside, she noticed a lone figure, standing out on the beach. She couldn't immediately tell who it was at this distance. Aang?

Katara approached, with mingled hope and apprehension. They needed to talk, get things straightened out—much as she was afraid they might just end up fighting again, she couldn't stand to leave things as they were yesterday.

"Hello?" she called tentatively.

The figure turned, and the silver light outlined a familiar burn scar.

Katara stopped. She immediately wanted to turn around and go the other way—however, she couldn't be that rude. It wasn't his fault about the stupid play.

"Oh, I thought you were..." She hesitated, then added, "What are you doing up so early?"

Zuko turned to gaze back out at the waves. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered.

She remembered then his conversation with Toph. "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life, and shoves them back in my face. I may never get to redeem myself…"

Watching the sand for any hidden rocks, Katara made her way closer, until she was only a few paces away. She turned, as he was, to face out toward the surf.

"I guess the play… kind of disturbed everybody," she said cautiously.

He looked away. "I've made a lot of mistakes," he muttered. "But… I guess you already know that better than anyone."

"Zuko—" she began. Ready to tell him that she forgave him, that she was glad they were friends.

However, he pushed on quickly, "I know, I shouldn't feel sorry for myself. We should all be concentrating on Aang. Making sure he's ready."

Katara watched him, though his head was turned away and she couldn't see his face. It was true, they had a battle ahead, and they needed to focus. But she also didn't want Zuko to just tamp down or ignore his own struggles.

She searched for something to say, that might draw him out a little. "You… said before you remembered being happy here," she began. "With your family. What do you remember?"

His head turned halfway back toward her in some surprise, before shifting back toward the surf. Just as Katara thought she might have completely shut him down, he said, "We used to play on the beach, Azula and me. Mother and Father would sit and watch us, until the sun went down. Like I said, we always went to see Love Amongst the Dragons—Azula and I would play out parts of the story sometimes."

His eyes had wandered back to the distant ocean. "Mom loved the play so much she kept some of the masks on display in her room. Once Azula stole a couple of them so we could play out the parts properly—of course, she always had to be the dragon emperor." A smile tugged at his lips.

"That's a nice memory," she said.

Zuko blinked, and he glanced at her, then away, embarrassed. "Sorry," he said.

"Don't be," Katara said gently. "Tell me more about your mother. What was she like?"

He fidgeted with his hands. "She was—kind. My father was usually so distant, and when he wasn't, he'd always make me feel like I wasn't good enough. He was always more happy with Azula. But Mother—always defended me. She… loved me."

He sighed. "Before she left, she told me to never forget who I was. I don't know what she would think, if she could see all the things I've done since then. She would probably be ashamed."

Katara gazed at him for a long moment. At first, she hadn't known what of Zuko's apparent shows of guilt could be trusted, if he meant it, or was just saying it to make them think he had changed. Now that she knew it was genuine, it made him seem more human than ever.

Katara placed a hand on his arm. "Your mother would be proud of you," she said with conviction.

He blinked, startled. He didn't reply, his head still facing out toward the ocean, but his eyes slid toward her anyway.

"You haven't always done the right thing, Zuko," she said. "But you are now." She heard herself adding, "And even if you weren't—doing the right thing, I mean—from the way you describe her, I'm sure she would still love you anyway."

Zuko looked back at her, really meeting her eyes for the first time. And he gave her a hesitant half smile.

Katara stared back at him, smiling. Yet, strangely, the words she had just spoken whispered again in her mind. I'm sure she would still love you anyway...

Something cold seemed to slither its way down into her stomach. As she gazed back at him, her smile slipped.

She turned away quickly. "I should—go start breakfast. The others will be up soon."

"...Okay," Zuko said, slowly, uncertainly.

Katara strode briskly back up to the house. As she went, she shook her hands, as though she could shake off the sudden nebulous feeling. Like the beginnings of a coming illness, an ache in her head, a chill on her skin. She rubbed her hands over her arms.

"Katara?"

Katara blinked, and she turned back toward the place she had entered the house on the way to the courtyard. She realized she had walked right past someone standing there.

Aang was next to the entrance, his face hard to read in the early morning darkness.

Katara wondered if he had seen her down on the beach with Zuko, and she fought the urge to groan.

"Um, hi, Aang," she said, clasping her hands together nervously. The sickness retreated for the moment, replaced by this newer, more concrete anxiety. She wanted to make up—but she still wasn't sure how to start.

His eyes dipped to the ground, and as he tugged unconsciously at the front of his tunic, he looked as uncomfortable as she felt. Then he lifted his eyes to meet hers, his face set with determination.

Katara knew suddenly she didn't have the energy for a repeat of yesterday, and she heard herself say quickly, "Wait, Aang. Um—I just—I wanted... to say I was sorry for what I said. I know none of this is easy for you. And I know I just made it worse. I'm sorry."

Aang blinked in surprise. Then his shoulders slumped. "I know," he said heavily. "I was just going to say—I'm sorry too."

"I don't want us to fight anymore," she said.

"Me either."

Katara looked at him, standing there in his rumpled Fire Nation clothes, looking like he'd gotten about as much sleep as she had, his wide eyes and expressive face anxious and hopeful all at once.

Katara stepped forward, and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. After a moment, she felt his arms come around her in return.

"Then let's not fight," she whispered in his ear. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah..."

Katara was strangely feeling cold again—and she focused on the warmth of his arms around her, his heart beating close to hers.

However, at last she pulled back reluctantly, though her hands remained on his shoulders. She and Aang fought so rarely—she hadn't realized how much it hurt. Everything that had felt bleak and uncertain suddenly felt okay again.

Aang smiled back at her tentatively. However, then his eyes glanced toward the beach, worried. "Is everything okay with Zuko?" he asked.

Katara fought the urge to wince. So he had been watching them.

"I think so," she said. "I think the play... it just reminded him of a lot of things he wishes he could take back."

Aang nodded slowly. "I know how he feels. I failed too." He watched her a moment, before he gave another hesitant smile. "Katara—I'm glad you and Zuko are getting along now. He wouldn't say anything, but I know... it really bothered him. That you just saw him the same way he was before."

Katara smiled. "I know. I'm glad, too." She hesitated, then added, "Um, Aang? In the play... you know that didn't actually happen, right?"

He blinked. "What happen?"

The heat was rising in her face again, but she forced herself to continue. "Suki said... at the end of the second act... You know, when I was trapped in the catacombs—" She fixed him with a stare. "That didn't happen. That absolutely, positively, in any lifetime—didn't happen."

Aang stared at her blankly for a second. And Katara had to fight a grimace. Had she been wrong? What if Aang had also left the play before that even happened, what if that hadn't at all been the thing that had brought on the conversation on the balcony, and now she had actually gotten him to go ask Sokka or Toph about it—

Aang suddenly grinned, so brightly all his teeth gleamed in the darkness, and for a moment he looked once again like the Aang she had met in the iceberg, happy and carefree and ready to fly all over the world just because it was fun.

"I'm going to learn a lot of firebending today," he said.

"Work hard," Katara said with a smile.

As Aang almost skipped out into the courtyard, Katara watched him go. However, as she watched, the warmth of relief faded slightly, and once again that chill she couldn't explain prickled at her skin. She shook her head once, and followed.

A/N: Girl talk time, guys. (I don't know why this is so painful for me to write, but it is.)

On the subject of Zutara—even though I lean toward Kataang on the fact it's the canon ship, I've always been sympathetic toward Zutara as well, maybe because when I first finished watching the show I was more interested in Zuko and Katara's friendship than in the Kataang romance. Storywise there's just a lot of interesting intensity there. (It doesn't hurt that I also keep finding out literally all my friends are apparently Zutarians.) But, I'll admit I do have a fondness for in-universe Zutara jokes when there's no actual Zutara going on.

Thanks for reading! If you have a moment, let me know what you thought, and hope to see you in the next one!

Posted 10/2/22