A/N. I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender

Groaning, Katara opened her eyes.

Tui and La, it was still early… Feeling with a hand next to her, the space on her left was cold, meaning that Aang had been up for some time. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up, and stared at the wall, where there were now some small dents, probably from them throwing their shoes at it last night.

Spirits… That had been so awkward, listening to what had happened in the room next to theirs… The waterbender had hated how her brother would always talk about oogies whenever she and Aang had given off… well, vibes. But now, she understood. It was horrible. But in all seriousness, they should have thought about it, and stopped when they were asked. It had been only when Toph had interfered that the two lovers had stopped their rather loud… activities.

Glancing to the other side of the bed, she saw how Aang's pillow was propped up against the headboard of the bed. Frowning, Katara took a second look, and realized that normally, if he was asleep, the airbender preferred to lay completely flat. Meaning that he hadn't slept… Or at least, had awoken before he needed to and had been thinking, sitting with his back supported by the pillow.

Had he been thinking about what had happened last night? Katara smiled, remembering the soft words they had spoken. It felt surreal to be married to the airbender… But they were married! Casting a look to the small bedside table, she saw the necklace he had given her lying there. Should she… No. Better not. She would have to go into town today to get supplies, and she would be wearing her Fire Nation disguise, meaning that any water tribe accessories were off the table. And again… It would be better if no one knew. Their secret.

Theirs and theirs alone. No one had to know, at least not until the end of the war.

Stepping out of the bed, Katara shimmered out of her blue dress that she had been wearing last night. It was easy, as the clasps on the side were still open from last night. Not that something had happened, thanks to Sokka and Suki.

As she pulled on the Fire Nation clothes that lay behind the screen in the corner of the room, she could smell the scent of the theatre in them. Shrugging the top in place, she tried to ignore the rather unpleasant memories from the play. Who cared? The theatre had been a good thing! It had been there she decided to throw caution in the wind. And it had been a good decision. Smiling to herself, Katara opened the door and began to walk down the stairs.

How early was it? If Aang was out of bed, it meant that Zuko would be too. They would probably be training as the firebender had seemed rather serious about training and getting a plan to fight Ozai. But honestly… What could they do? They were six people against the world… And it was not like the Fire Lord could do anything else to hur the world than he had already done. Sure, he would try to use the comet to defeat Aang, to remove the last threat to his regime…

He would use the comet to hurt Aang.

That was Ozai's plan!

Just like them… he would think Screw the world! Maybe not in that exact phrasing, but the idea was the same. Only Aang could still stop him… And the Fire Lord wouldn't stand a chance against the Avatar, master of four elements. Only the comet could give him a chance! That was Ozai's plan!

He would hunt them down on the day of the Comet! Of course, it had to be it! He would know that a baby in the Water Tribe would only be able to be a threat after at least fifteen years! And in the meanwhile he could conquer the North and South. Without Aang, all his plans would be easy to make reality.

Only Aang stood in his way!

Grabbing the railing of the stairs, Katara felt light in the head for a few moments. That had been the reason for the announcement yesterday at the end of the play! Ozai and Azula were searching for Aang, and didn't know where he could be hiding. They would know that he was still around the Fire Nation, to try and fight them once more, but where exactly, they could not know. But if a description was given to the whole population of the Fire Nation… disguised as a play… And a reward was promised for anyone with information about such a group of people…

Taking the last few steps, the waterbender found herself in the common room. The door stood open, and she could hear the soft crackling of fire in the courtyard. So, Aand and Zuko were indeed training, and judging by the lack of explosions, she would guess that it was a rehearsal of forms the airbender already knew. Meaning that it was still early in the morning, probably an hour after sunrise.

"Sis!" A surprised voice came from one of the cushioned sofa's, and her brother's head perched just above it, eyebrows raised in surprise to see her.

"You." She squinted her eyes to Sokka, and saw him nearly shrink into himself, "You really had to do that, didn't you? You had to keep us awake… with your oogies." She took a step towards him. Of course, Katara wasn't going to be angry with him, but he didn't need to know that… yet.

"Hey! Oogies is my word…" Sokka lifted a finger but flinched away when he saw her look.

"Do you know where I want to ram your word? I had to listen to you… doing… that." The waterbender shuddered, thinking back to the Oh Sokka's that had filled her nightmares that night.

"Hey, I had to do that too!" Her brother objected, but seemed to realize his mistake.

"Oh. When?" She crossed her arms over her chest, pointing her chin up. Now, she had him. She and Aang had always been careful not to be around the others whenever… doing that.

"I… I know I interrupted you two several times!" Sokka pointed an accusing finger at her, and Katara tried to look menacingly at him. But failed utterly as she realized that it was true… In the Air Temple, she and Aang had been doing… something… when her brother had come to talk to them.

"I… I don't know what you are talking about." She managed to pick her arrogant stance up once more, jutting her chin out in an attempt to sound more intimidating.

"Wait… That's true?" Sokka sounded appalled. Glancing at her brother, Katara realized he had just been guessing when he had said that. Tui and La, he was getting on her nerves, which were already on a short fuse thanks to a restless night!

"I don't have to explain myself to you! You never heard a thing! I had to listen to you moaning and groaning!" There, now she sounded disgusted. But she had every right to be! Who wanted to hear that!

"Good morning to you both." Sounded an amused voiced behind her, and, whipping her head around, Katara saw Sui stand near the stairs, a bashful expression on her face. Wrinkling her nose when she saw that the Kyoshi Warrior's hair was a mess, and that there were purplish spots in her neck from what Katara would assume were her brother's… efforts.

"Morning." She muttered, not looking the girl in the eyes.

"Morning…" Sokka repeated after her, but it sounded different. Katara had to physically refrain herself from shuddering, because it sounded flirty… Her brother was openly flirting, in front of her. And to add to the awkwardness, Suki answered…

"Well, hello you…" It sounded so seductive that Katara couldn't help but stick out her tongue in disgust. It was childish. Sure. Her friends had certainly had to endure worse when she and Aang had been… less sure around each other, having to say sentences with double meaning to test each other out. But this? This was just a whole other level of awkward.

"I… I'm going to watch Aang and Zuko. Air Head said something about special techniques this morning!" And gone was Sokka, disappearing into the courtyard with a head as red as the clothes Katara was wearing.

The waterbender shook her head at how shy her brother was being, certainly after what had happened that night. But she wouldn't judge. She still remembered the day after she and Aang had done it for the first time. The airbender had gone to the Eastern Air Temple, and their goodbyes had been… well, bashful. She could still conjure up the image of a red-cheeked Aang, standing next to Appa, leaning on his staff and casting furtive looks her way, with an expression in his eyes that left little to the imagination.

"Katara?" Suki's voice reminded her that there was someone else in the room. Scrapping her throat, she turned around to her friend, and smiled.

"Do you need… you know… that tea?" She asked, trying not to sound too disgusted.

"Yeah, if you don't mind…" The Kyoshi Warrior smiled, sitting down at the table in the room. The table had been set for breakfast, and three plates had already been used, so clearly. It was just the boys who had been up, leaving Toph asleep. Thank the Spirits. Katara doubted she would have been able to take the moral high ground with the earthbender around.

Opening one of the cupboards, the waterbender pushed around several pots and pans before finding the small bag. She had not put it back in her bags the last time, a few days ago… In case she would need it again. Of course, ever since that night they had gone to the town, and had been separated from the others for a whole blessed evening, nothing had happened… Because some had manners and didn't keep others up with their activities.

"I saw Aang from the window upstairs. He looked much calmer than yesterday." Suki spoke up, and Katara kept her eyes to the kitchen counter, where the tea pot stood. Filling it with water from the basin, she nodded.

"Yeah… he and I had a… a talk." That was the best way to describe it. Suki didn't need to know that by talk, Katara meant a marriage. Spirits, she still couldn't believe it, truth be told… She and Aang were married.

"Do I need to get another cup?" Suki laughed softly. The waterbender turned around, a frown on a her face, but when she saw the Kyoshi Warrior chuckling softly, she understood.

"No… we weren't in the mood… Thanks to other people."

That was not technically true. She and the airbender had been doing stuff… But had been rudely interrupted by noises.

"Ah… Sorry about that then." Suki looked at her with a sympathetic look. Katara just nodded, knowing that it wasn't something to be ashamed off or having to apologize for.

"You can boil it, or drink it cold. I would say, just drink it and be done with it." She handed her friend the kettle with the water and the herbs, "It tastes rancid, but it does the trick."

"Rancid?" Suki opened the lit of the pot and sniffed, making a face, "Spirits, what did you use?"

Katara sat down, frowning, in front of the Kyoshi Warrior. Well, she had been using the recipe in the book… But if there were better methods, she was all ears. It had proven difficult to stop whenever she and Aang were doing it, and drinking this horrible concussion every time was nearly not worth it.

"Well, I found a recipe in… in a book." She admitted, gazing into the open pot. As she looked at the liquid, Katara remembered the taste on her tongue and shuddered. Sure, she had found it in a book, but Suki didn't need to know what that book was.

"Thanks, as long as it does the job." And without further ado, Suki put some in a cup and drank it all, in one go. Katara watched as her friend closed her eyes firmly, stuck her tongue out and nearly gagged.

"Spirits, you need to get better stuff… When we were at Ba Sing Se, one of the girls had this tea that actually tasted good." The Kyoshi Warrior spoke and Katara couldn't help but wonder how much experience Suki actually had. Not that it was important, of course, but the waterbender wouldn't mind some more information about it… What people liked, and didn't like. The book was really good to know different things… But experience was always better. And if she and Aang would manage to get away tonight… Well…

"Sure you didn't do anything… And if you did, I'm sorry for ruining it?" Her friend put the cup down, grabbing a bread bun that lay in the basket on the table and began ripping it in two. Katara sighed softly, trying not to blush at the idea of what had exactly happened last night, and she took a peach in her hands, rolling it from one to the other.

"You didn't ruin anything." The waterbender shook her head. Technically, it was true. Their marriage had been over when Sokka and Suki begun their… adventure.

"Good."

Katara looked down at the peach in her hands. Letting it roll in the other hand, she frowned. It was still unbelievable to her that they had actually married each other last night. Not because it sounded so far-fetched, marrying Aang… Rather, she felt her fears creep up again. But as Zuko had said yesterday in the theatre, it didn't matter anymore. After Aang, she would be the most looked-for person in the Fire Nation, married to the Avatar or not. Everyone in the country knew what she meant to Aang now… And it would be used against them if they didn't win.

But Ozai would try and find the Avatar during the comet, she was sure of it. It was the most logical choice! Sozin had used the comet to wipe out the Air Nomads, but that had just been… collateral damage. It had never been his goal to kill all the Air Nomads. Just one.

And to make sure to kill the right one, he would have to kill all the children in the temples… And the monks and nuns were sure to defend them… And it had been possible that the Avatar was hiding among the people living beneath the temples…

So, the Air Nomads had been collateral damage… She knew that. Aang probably knew that, even if he would rather not think about that. In a way, him being the Avatar had meant the death of his people… But now? Now, there would be no need for killing a whole people. Just one.

"Suki?" She whispered, knowing that she sounded slightly miserable.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, concerned.

"Zuko said we should be thinking of a plan, right?" A plan to defeat Ozai. But… Well, she had a plan forming, but it wasn't exactly defeating the Fire Lord…

"You have an idea? Sokka has been breaking his head over…" Suki looked at her, and realization dawned on her face, "Oh… You have one, but not a good one, right?"

Katara sighed. No, it wasn't a good one. But it was the only one she could imagine making any sense at this moment.

"I think Ozai will come for Aang… In a week, when that comet comes. He will surely try to eliminate Aang. What if… What if he hides? Just that day? He can fight Ozai any other day, and win… But during the comet? He won't… He won't…" She didn't finish, feeling the hand around the peach began to shake.

He won't stand a chance against Ozai then.

"Katara…" Suki's laid a hand over hers, "If it comes to that… Aang's firebending is not bad at all I hear… And his bending will also be fuelled by it. But our plan is to fight him before, right? It has to be." The waterbender knew that it was meant to reassure her… But still. She knew Aang. He would not hide, even if she asked. He had hated hiding in the Fire Nation until the invasion…

He wouldn't hide. Not from this… The airbender had made it abundantly clear that he would never choose the world over her or his friends… But he didn't mean that. Katara was sure of that. At least, he meant it in part. Sure, he would fight and try to protect them… But he wouldn't care of the cost. He would get himself killed if it meant to them to be safe…

And that was exactly what the Fire Nation wanted him to do. That was why Ozai had ordered the soldiers to capture her.

"I know… But what if we can't fight Ozai before? He is surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers. Even one group as strong as ours could break through to the Fire Lord against those odds… No, the only way is to try and get him out in the open." Katara straightened her back, and whipped her eyes dry. No way she was going to be a weak mumbling mess when Aang was in danger. No.

She would do whatever it took to keep him safe. Even if it meant putting her own feelings aside.

"And Ozai will only be in the open… when he knows where he can find Aang." Suki added, apparently realizing what that meant.

"Exactly. Zuko and Sokka, when they realize this, will surely try and convince him that they need to attack Ozai just before the comet. As that moment will be the only time Ozai will be vulnerable. Out of the palace, searching for the Avatar. And… And I need you to help me convince him to hide." It sounded cowardly, but it wasn't like that. No… Aang would never be able to defeat the Fire Lord during the comet, and attacking said Fire Lord just before Sozin Comet was cutting it short. Too short.

She wouldn't allow that.

If needed, she would do anything to keep the airbender away from the fighting… Just that day that was. Just because she knew that the day of the comet would be the most dangerous moment for him. Katara knew, better than most, that keeping Aang from fighting was a lost cause… But she could at least make sure it wouldn't be too dangerous.

As long as he didn't fight Ozai on the day of the comet. That was all she asked for. All Katara wished.

"Katara… We can try, but I can't promise anything will come from it." Suki sighed, clearly agreeing with her in a soft, gentle voice. The waterbender nodded, as the Kyoshi Warrior stood up and smiled once more at her before turning towards the open door. Glancing outside, Katara saw the flickering of the firebending, and heard her brother, although she couldn't hear what he was saying exactly. It sounded like encouragement.

Sighing, Katara slumped down on her chair, knowing that it was no use. Aang would go fight the Fire Lord… He had promised her that last night. And knowing him, he would do so. He always did what he promised… And the others would find the idea of attacking Ozai just before the comet appealing, because the Fire Lord would probably be in the open then… They would argue that it was worth the risk. And the waterbender knew that it was true… To some extent. But that didn't mean she was happy about it.

She knew she was slightly biased when it came to Aang fighting the Fire Lord. Katara would prefer it didn't happen at all, that the war ended without her friends or her… husband… It still sounded weird, but good at the same time, having to fight to make it happen.

Was it so much to ask for, for Tui and La's sake? That the war wouldn't be their burden to bear? That Aang could live a life of peace and happiness? That Sokka didn't have to be the warrior he was? That Suki wouldn't have been imprisoned, and probably tortured? That Toph could do whatever she wanted? That Zuko wasn't a prince of a nation that had committed crimes against everyone for a whole century?

Was it so much to ask that Katara wanted her mother, alive and well? Was it too much to ask to have her friends and family safe?

And was it so much to ask that they wouldn't fight the Fire Lord the day he was at his most powerful, because it was convenient?

There was some noise near the stairs, and, looking up from her thinking, Katara saw a dishevelled looking Toph walk towards the table. The blind girl fell down on the chair that Suki had abandoned… five minutes ago? Katara didn't know how long she had been sitting there, thinking about how unfair everything was.

"Morning." The earthbender grumbled. Katara quickly lifted her feet from the wooden floor, because she was rather suspecting that Toph had been training her senses to be able to feel emotions, even through the wooden floors.

"Hey." She answered, trying a smile, even though she wasn't feeling happy, or even close to it to be honest. Which made her sad, because after what had happened that night, she didn't want to be sad… He wanted to laugh, to smile and to shout it from the rooftops. But instead, she felt sadness and apprehension at the coming days.

"What's up with you? Had a rough night?" The blind girl wiggled her eyebrows, and Katara tried very hard not to punch her in the face. Not because it was Toph, but rather because it was not the right thing to say at this moment.

"No." She answered instead, grinding her teethe together to make sure she wouldn't say another word.

"Lie. I can feel you through the chair Sweetness, no use hiding it. What's up?" Toph grabbed the bread and ripped it to pieces, and put one in her mouth. The waterbender shuddered, looking at the blind girl who was munching happily, and loudly, on her food.

"I had little sleep." She answered. That was true, so technically, Toph wouldn't be able to sense that it was only a half truth. Yes, she had not slept well, but that wasn't the reason of her bad mood.

"Yeah, logic. Never thought Meathead would have it in him to fuck a girl like that." Her friend laughed, making a rather obscene gesture with a finger and a piece of bread. Katara rolled her eyes at the display, but felt her spirits lift slightly at the fact that someone as down to earth as Toph wasn't worried at all at this moment. It was… soothing. Something she would never have used to describe the blind girl.

"But then again, he and Aang had a little talk in the temple…" Toph grinned at her, and Katara felt her cheeks heat up, just a bit. What was that? Had… Had her brother seriously asked Aang for tips? Sure, it wasn't that surprising, seen that he was the only close friend of her brother that actually had experience… But that experience was with her. So Katara had never expected her brother to as the airbender about it.

"And if Twinkles gave him those ideas… I'm so glad I never heard you two doing it." The earthbender continued.

"Aang doesn't… Oh, spirits. You know what, I'm not even going to answer that." Katara sighed, standing up. If she was able to see that Aang was advancing nicely with his firebending, perhaps it would sooth her creeping misgivings about fighting the Fire Lord.

"Sure Sugar Queen. We'll talk about it after the wedding night, alright? Seen what you two are planning." Toph suddenly sounded a lot less teasing, even if her words could be interpreted as a joke or as a way to tease her.

Katara turned back to the blind girl, mouth wide. So, Toph had realized what the necklace meant. At least, what it meant now that Katara had it back in her possession.

"We're not married!" She defended herself, before groaning. She had made a mistake. A big one. Toph had never said they were. She had only alluded to the fact that it was possible.

Looking at the earthbender, Katara first saw confusion, then realization… And finally, the biggest grin on her face that she had ever seen. And the waterbender didn't know what to think about it. Usually, when she grinned, Toph was planning the worst prank or joke ever imagined. But now… it had a softer side.

"Lie." The grin became even wider.

Answers:

Alyssa: Good to see that you caught up! Hope you liked the chapters! I'm moving on to the end now, and I have been working on the sequel to this story!

Rak: I didn't want to put in a smut chapter, and I wanted to let Sokka and Suki have their moment too, even if I wasn't going to show it. But yeah, imagine being cockblocked by your own brother or friend in the room next to the one you were planning on having you wedding night in…