Chap. 13

The Fruits of Love

"Look, I saw him throwing a fireball at Aang. What was I supposed to do?" Sokka protested once again.

Sighing for the third time in twenty minutes, Oscuridad said, "Sokka, I understand that having Zuko with us now is difficult for you. But you are going to have to learn to accept this, or things like this are going to keep happening."

"Why? Frankly I think you guys are overreacting." Tierrra said. "He wanted to protect Aang. What's wrong with that?"

"Maybe Sokka is isn't the only one we should be talking to." Agua said, as the other Knights turned to face their brother.

"Aw come on guys, I'm not wrong here." Tierra said in protest. "Zuko is dangerous. Keeping him here is a risk to Aang."

"Finally, somebody else is sane around here." Sokka said.

"Yeah, but it isn't you two." Luz said. "Zuko may be dangerous, but right now, he is someone we have to trust. He can't go home, and Iroh won't train Aang without him. He's been trying to earn our trust for a week, but you two refuse to change your opinion of him. Instead, all you do is wait for the first opportunity to bring him down because you've already chiseled your opinion of him in stone. No pun intended, Tier."

"Look, the point is this." Desierto said, coming to the front. "Sokka, you are young and headstrong, so we can excuse you a bit. But you have to learn to trust others, and believe that people can change. And Tier, you've been through enough to know that even the most evil people can be redeemed. So, try to be adults here, or I swear, I will rip your throats out in the middle of the night."

Both Sokka and Tierra gulped at that. "Wait, what are you scared about?" Sokka asked, turning to Tierra. "You're immortal, you can't die."

"No, but he can feel all the pain of getting his guts torn out before they grow back." The wolf replied. "And he knows I'll do it if I have to, don't you?" he asked, with a glare at the dog. Tierra muttered a reply, but did it looking at the floor. Seeing that, Sokka nodded his head so fast that it looked like it would fly off.

"Well, thank you Des, for that pointed, if somewhat disturbing lecture." Fuego said, gingerly clapping his brother on the back.

"Don't feel too bad kid. All of Des's speeches end like that." Tierra said to Sokka.

"Has he ever gone through with his threats?" Sokka asked. At that, Tierra coughed and looked to the side. As Sokka paled, Bosque shook his head and said, "Well, at least that's over." Of course, the second he said that, Iroh and Toph walked into the room and the old general said, "Aang just stormed out of the house and ran for the marketplace. He looked quite upset."

"Bosque, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, never say anything is over because something else will happen!" Oscuirdad swore. Turning to the two Masters, the bat asked, "I don't suppose you two have any idea why he stormed out?"

Iroh shook his head, and Toph answered, "No, I haven't heard anything from him since training. Do you think something there upset him?"

"Frankly, if he can stand you yelling at him, I can't think of anything else that could've upset him." Sokka answered. Toph glared at the Water-Tribesman, but before she could give a retort, Katara and Zuko burst into the room and Katara asked, in a very urgent tone, "Did Aang come through here?

"Actually, Iroh said he just left." Hierro said. "Why are you looking for him?" But instead of answering, Katara put her hands over her face and said, "He must be so confused and angry; with Appa and everything else… oh God, what he's going to do?"

"Katara, did something happen between you three?" Iroh asked, noticing the girl's state. "If so, I think you need to tell us about it."

But Katara was too worried about Aang to say anything clearly, so Zuko answered his uncle. "We were talking in the back room, and well, there was an accident, and we fell onto each other. Then the Avatar walked in and saw us. He became very emotional and ran out."

"Um, that doesn't make any sense." Toph said. "Why would seeing you two fall onto each other make Aang angry?"

"You'll find out when you're older." Iroh replied.

"Well, it wasn't just that." Katara said, as she began to calm down enough to talk clearly. "When we fell, well, the way we fell, we kinda….." at this point, both Katara and Zuko began to blush, but Hierro was shrewd enough to figure out what they were trying to say. "Is falling into each other a better term for what happened?" the spider asked.

Katara nodded, which produced sighs, gasps, and much shaking of the head. It also produced Sokka jumping to his feet and yelling, "Katara! You kissed a Firebender?"

"Sokka it was an accident." The young girl insisted. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

"Yeah well, it isn't going to happen again." Sokka said, as he grabbed Katara and pulled her away from Zuko. "You stay away from my sister from now on." Sokka swore at the former prince, who stood there with an expression halfway between bemused and angry.

"Sokka, stop it!" Katara yelled, as she pulled away from Sokka's grasp. "What happened with me and Zuko isn't important. We need to find Aang."

"But if you want to keep telling me to stay away from your sister, even though we're all in the same small inn and will be traveling together for a long time, be my guest." Zuko said.

Sokka frowned at that, but before he could say anything, Iroh said, "Katara is right. We must focus on finding Aang. If he is truly as upset as we believe, there is no telling what he may do if provoked. I propose we split up, and search the market, since he headed in that direction."

"Good idea." Oscuridad agreed. "Aang probably wants to look for Appa to take his mind off what happened. We'll split up once we get to the marketplace, but I think some people should stay here, in case he comes back."

"I'll stay." Aire said.

"Me too." Toph said. "That place smells like rotten flowers and animal manure."

"All right. Call us the second he walks through the door." Oscuirad said. "In the meantime, let's go. Maybe we can find him before he gets there."

With that, the group headed out the door for the marketplace. "I swear, this never ends." Agua muttered as they walked the streets. "The second one problem gets solved, we get another one."

"At least this one isn't your fault." Katara said sadly, as she came up next to the cat. "Aang's in this because of me."

"What? Katara, you know that's not true." Agua said. "What happened with you and Zuko was an accident."

"I know, but…… it's just that, I heard him after the training. When I was helping Zuko, I heard ask him if he was ok. I looked over, and saw he was staring at me from the corner of my eye. Then he muttered he was fine and walked off. I think he was mad at me for not helping him first."

"Katara, Aang was in good hands, and you did go to him first." Agua said gently. "I think Aang was just surprised at what he saw. Maybe he was scared that if you and Zuko were together, you'd spend less time with him, and after Appa, that scares him more then anything. You are his best friend, after all."

Katara gave a reply, but it wasn't important. The discussion was already being heard by Fuego and Luz, who listened grimly. As the two Water Masters spoke, the fox and red man looked at each other and nodded. Slowly, they began to fall behind in the procession, until they had fallen back to where Zuko was.

"Can we talk a minute?" Luz asked, once they were close enough to the former prince.

"About what?" Zuko asked.

"Something that needs privacy." Fuego answered, as he gestured to the very back of the procession. Zuko was confused, but nodded, and the three of them slowed their speed, until they had fallen a good few feet behind the end of the procession.

"What is this about?" Zuko asked once they were out of earshot.

"It's about what happened with you and Katara." Fuego answered.

"For the last time, it was an accident!" Zuko said in exasperation. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"And if it happened again?" Luz asked.

"What?"

"Would you ever mean for it to happen again?" Luz explained.

"What on earth are you two getting at?" Zuko asked.

"We know why Aang is so upset." Fuego said. "He has a crush on Katara. He's had it ever since they met, but he still hasn't told her, or anyone else; the other Knights don't know either."

"Then how do you two know about it?" Zuko asked.

"I know how to read the signs, and there have been a few." Fuego answered.

"And I'm the Knight of Light. I can see into people's souls too, but unlike my husband, I can see their hopes and dreams." Luz answered. "I don't pry, but this hope was so strong from Aang I couldn't help it."

Zuko was quiet then, as he absorbed the information. This certainly explained why the Avatar was so upset; someone kissing his beloved would be anathema to him. But that didn't explain the Knights' questions to him. Why would they wonder if he would mean for the accident to happen again…. Suddenly, the answer popped into Zuko's head and he cursed himself for being a fool. Of course, Zuko hadn't had much experience with women; his interest had started about the time he'd been banished, and from then on, he'd ignored it in favor of tracking. But missing something this obvious….

"You're worried that I might be attracted to Katara after what happened." He said. As the Knights nodded, Zuko said, "I don't think that'll happen. It wasn't really that plesant for either of us."

"Really?" Fuego asked.

"I felt her stiffen and started to pull away as soon as it happened. And frankly, I can't explain it, but it felt like….. I don't know, like I was kissing my sister or something."

"I wouldn't broadcast that, but I guess I'm glad to hear it." Luz said. "There would just be so many problems involved with you three if that happened."

Zuko nodded, and at that moment, they heard Oscuirdad say, "We're here." The progression came to a halt, right in front of the bustling marketplace. Turning to face the others, the bat said, "OK, we'll split up into seven groups of two so we cover as much ground as possible." With that, he began to assign groups, pairing up each of the humans with an Elemental, to allow for unbroken communication. In fact, Zuko was the first pick, chosen to work with the bat himself. As the former prince walked over, Fuego whispered to Luz, "Did he tell the truth?"

"Yes." The fox whispered back. "He doesn't hope for Katara, except as a possible friend. And she feels the same way about him."

"Good. I can't see them together myself, but love is a funny thing."