Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, and I didn't in chapter 1 either, so don't go getting any ideas.
A/N: HOLY COW I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! I thought I subnitted it but apparantly not... anyway, this is a fluffy little one, even though it narrates a character death. Next one I'll try to make neither fluffy nor angsty, because people seem to get annoyed at those the most. It all depends on the song. Also, last time I got the Hate Me lyrics off a website that censored them, so for further reference, I will not be censoring them, but I'll put a rating before the fic. So, R&R (for those of you who don't know what that means, read and REVIEW), and enjoy!
Rated: PG for violence. Don't jump down my throat for rating it PG for G-rated violence if that's what you think, though.
Chapter 2: My Heart Will Go On
Every night in my dreams,
I see you, I feel you.
That is how I know you go on.
Katara picked up the bouquet of Panda Lilies that had been lying on her bedside table. For a moment, she stared at the bed. She slept alone in it now. She remembered when Zuko's warm frame was always there, and when at night when she couldn't get to sleep, he would hold her in his strong arms and she would listen to his heart beat until finally sleep came. They had moved in shortly before the war, but she still treasured what little time she had with him in that house. She looked at herself in the mirror and remembered when she would wear explosions of color every day, because she liked the reactions people got. Now she was afraid to stand out without him there beside her, and she wore black. People just walked by her now, and she faded into a blur.
She walked to the back of her house. It was large and spacious, but she hated it. It was cold and empty and lonely, but she couldn't move out because everything reminded her of Zuko, and she couldn't let that go. She made her way through the woods and followed the well-trodden path that led to where Zuko was buried.
A silent clearing, the filtered through a canopy of green leaves, and the sky showed in places, a serene blue. It was wet from rain, and she knelt by his grave. She didn't care that she was dirtying up her pants; she sat down in the mud anyway. She tenderly set the bouquet of Panda Lilies by it and removed the old, withered ones that had been there before. Not ready to leave, she fingered the familiar inscription, 'For one whose love was greater than life, may he rest in peace.' His name and dates were under that. Seeing his name, something stirred deep inside her heart.
Far across the distance,
and spaces between us,
you have come to show you go on.
She remembered when he died, she remembered why he died.
flashback "You're too tired to keep going," Zuko told her. "I have to get you out of here."
"Don't be ridiculous, of course I can!" she lied, panting. But Zuko had already taken her hand and was weaving his way through the crowd, heading for the palace. She tried to keep up, but didn't have to for very long. Before he could get ten yards, a voice rose up through the crowd.
"Going somewhere, Prince Zuko?" Zuko whipped around taking a protective stance in front of her. She squeezed his shoulders and pressed close to him when she saw where the voice had come from. It was Fire Lord Ozai.
"Hello, Father," Zuko hissed. But Ozai did not stop to chat. He began throwing attack after attack at his own son. Zuko pushed Katara aside and began to deflect and dodge them. They were going so fast that Katara couldn't follow the action completely. They both benefited from Sozen's Comet, so each attack was getting rapidly stronger. But then Ozai turned on Katara and aimed an attack at her. Zuko's eyes widened and he leapt in front of her to intercept it. /flashback
"I'm so sorry Zuko," she whispered. "It's all my fault."
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
He had taken a fireball to the chest. Ozai was two hours from his prime. Zuko had never had a chance.
flashback Katara knelt down at Zuko's side. There wasn't a battle raging on all sides; the fate of the world wasn't at stake here. All she could think of was Zuko. "Zuko…" she whispered. He was still alive, but his breathing was shallow and ragged, and the burn had gone far beyond just his skin, blood was gushing out of his side in a ceaseless tide, but she couldn't believe that he would die. "Zuko, stay with me. I'm going to heal you, you're going to live, just hold on!" She tried to heal him. She tried to cover his wound with her water, but there wasn't enough.
"Katara…" he coughed. "Don't. I'm going to—"
"No!" she cut him off fiercely. "You're not! I'm going to save you!"
"Katara, listen to me!" he said, his voice growing fainter.
"Please don't leave me like this…" she pleaded, her eyes releasing rivers of tears.
"Listen to me…" he said. "I'm going to die, but hear me now, I will never leave you." His dimming eyes blazed with defiance and he tried to sit up. She gathered him in her arms, gently holding him up.
"You're so selfish," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "You're going to make me watch you die in my arms… you promised we'd be together forever. You promised! You can't go now." He laughed feebly.
"It's time for me to go," he whispered. "But I will never leave you. We will be together forever. Try not to mourn me too much…" He tried to lift his hand to touch her face, but he couldn't muster the strength. Katara caught it in hers before it could fall back to his chest. "I love you, Katara."
"I love you, too, Zuko…" she whispered, and one last look of contentment crossed his face before his eyes closed and the last breath left his body. She pulled him close, disregarding all the blood, and cried into his chest. /flashback
She was crying silently, and crouched down on his grave, as if bowing to it. She needed Zuko more than ever now, and he wasn't there to help her. Not in mortality, anyway.
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're one
He had told her that he would always be there with her, that he would never really leave her. And he had never lied to her. There was no reason that he would lie to her at the very end of his life. She could feel his presence wherever she went, especially when she was here. She couldn't stop the tears from coming, but she knew that Zuko was waiting patiently for her.
Although she knew this now, it had taken her a long time to realize it. After his death, she had become withdrawn and depressed. Nothing her friends could say would make any difference. But eventually, as time had worked its healing magic, her dreams changed from vivid nightmares of him dying before her eyes to beautiful dreams of him in life.
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
She slipped her hand into a hidden pocket and pulled out what was inside. It was a dagger, cold as ice. She had kept it with her, at night sometimes she would hold it, finger the blade, and wonder whether to end her life. But now she knew that that wasn't what Zuko would've wanted, not ever.
It was wrapped in black velvet to hide the cruel silver of the blade. She set it down in front of the bouquet. She wanted Zuko to know that she would never have to use it. And she wanted herself to know that as well.
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Years and years later, Katara lay in her bed. Avatar Aang was next to her, aiding her passage. She knew she was going to die, and she was glad for it, because there was not one single day over the years that she didn't miss Zuko. She had never gotten married or had any children. She'd never loved anyone but Zuko, and never felt like she needed to. Aang was getting on in years now, but he lived longer than normal people, being the Avatar. "When I die, bury me by him," she said faintly, smiling at him.
"Of course," he replied. His eyes were glimmering with sadness. In a time long past, he may have told her adamantly that she was not going to die, or even refused to bury her by Zuko. She remembered when he first found out about them, he was infuriated. He had loved her, and she'd never even seen it, he said. That wasn't true. She did know it, after the time they spent in Aunt Wu's village. In time, however, he had at least come to be able to stand them, and later, when he fell in love with Toph, he was able to fully accept that Katara would never be with him.
"You've been a good friend Aang," she said drowsily. "Such a good friend… I was lucky to have found you. My life would've been drastically different if I hadn't."
"I wouldn't have won the war without you," he said, embarrassed.
"Of course you would have," she said. "I only helped… you had the strength all along… of course you would have…" She didn't get to hear what Aang said next. She couldn't keep her eyes open a moment longer. Through her last breath her spirit escaped her body. When she realized what was happening, Aang had her hand, and was crying silently. She turned away from the sight of her own dead body lying on the bed to see the one person she'd missed so desperately for her entire life.
You're here, there's nothing I fear,
And I know that my heart will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
"Zuko…" she said. Her voice sounded just like it did when she was 22, and without even needing to look at her body, she knew that that was how young she was now, just from how the aches and pains of old age were gone.
"What took so long, Katara?" he asked, his eyes shining with laughter. He stepped forward and extended his hand. She smiled and took it, going with him to whatever lay beyond, finally at peace with herself.