A/N: Hey guys. I know this is super early, but I just thought I'd give y'all a bonus chapter this month. I actually quite enjoyed writing a longer chapter like the last one with multiple storylines that converge at the end, and (though it took longer than I would've like) I'm going to try to do that more often. Also, as some of you on the Kataang Discord may know, I had a competition today (which my team got 1st in!) which is why this is a little later in the weekend than I expected.

I thought I'd do a few review responses:

TheLoneReader34: Thoroughly enjoyed your input. I feel kinda called out (in a good way) about the flashbacks thing. My avoidance of them has been quite a conscious decision because I'm not entirely sure what to write but I do want to incorporate those in more. I definitely didn't plan this story out as much as I should've and at this point, I'm just kind of writing whatever comes to mind. As for the raids, Aang's past, and Aang and Zuko's previous friendship, I'm going to try and address most of those in this chapter but please let me know if it isn't enough. Sometimes I forget that you all can't read my mind so I don't incorporate as much detail as I should. Thank you for your review and constructive criticism, genuinely!

EngeHWSW: Don't worry. This is 150% Kataang. As for the others, Katara still has quite a lot of unresolved anger and hurt towards the others. A couple of arcs with a Zutara friendship and Maiko reunion are yet to come before any happens on that front. Thanks for your review!

Ashley Barbosa: Yep, there is definitely going to be some forgiving and overall reconciliation in the next few chapters. Thank you for your review!

UGudBroXD: Please pay attention in class but I'm honored lol.

Quick note: Azulon does not exist in this story for the timeline to make sense, but, without further ado, the story.

Chapter 27: The Fortress in the Woods (Continued)

Last Time:

"It really hurt- my brother, Suki, Toph, and I all used to be really close, but they just abandoned me. Like I was nothing..."

The waterbender looked around and realized the shocked looks around her and quickly tried to apologize.

"I'm so sorry I brought down the mood, guys. I didn't-"

Both boys shook their heads.

"It's fine, Kat. Really. I just- you got through the whole thing."

Aang smiled at her.

"No crying. It just- it made me happy to know that maybe, just maybe, you're really healing from this."

Katara smiled a little, tears in her eyes from her boyfriend's sweetness for once, and not her story.

"Yeah. I guess I am."

"I-if it helps, Katara, I can kinda relate."

Aang and Katara both perked up.

"My mom- she abandoned me when I was little. Left Azula and me with our dad who hasn't exactly been the greatest parent. I spent so long trying to blame her, being angry at her. My uncle put me in therapy and in a way, though I'm still hurt, of course, I've kinda come to terms with it. Come to terms with the fact that I may never know why, but it did happen and maybe there was some good that came out of it."

The three looked at each other and smiled.

Something new forged in that hideout that day. A bond that would carry through until they were on their deathbeds. They may have all started pretty broken- Zuko from his parents, Aang from his people, and Katara from her friends and family, but at the very least, they were healing. They were healing together.

"So... my turn?" Aang inquired after a period of silence.

Katara and Zuko both nodded, glancing at the other quickly for approval.

"Okay... hmm..."

"Alright, Zuko-"

The firebender's head perked up at the mention of his name.

Aang quirked an eyebrow playfully.

"What the hell made you decide you wanted to join our side?"

Zuko sighed, leaning back against the trunk of the tall oak tree.

"It was a combination of things, really. I don't know. I just- you know Aang, we hung out a lot without Azula right?"

The airbender nodded.

"I don't know, it just always felt like there was a side that I got to see of you that no one else really did. A nicer side, if that makes sense? I mean we weren't exactly the nicest people."

Katara scoffed, her eyes flicking to the penguin on her left forearm as she muttered under her breath.

"Understatement, if you ask me."

Zuko winced as he continued.

"Seeing you do all that, not being afraid to be who you were and standing up to Azula- as in my crazy lightning bending maniac of a sister- like that..."

He looked at Aang peculiarly, as if trying to figure him out.

"It made me feel like a coward, to be honest. I mean, you, no offense Aang, didn't have a lot other than us. I mean, sure Gyatso's great but your people are gone. You don't have a lot of other family or friends. No one else to have your back."

"And then there was me. I had it all- a girlfriend, Uncle Iroh, all the fame and wealth that come with being the Firelord's son and I just couldn't do it. I did nothing to earn my place and yet, there you were, taking that step and looking happier than I've ever seen you."

Zuko turned to Katara, smiling slightly.

"Thank you for that Katara. Really. Of all the people I've met, Aang is definitely the one that deserves to be happy."

A small smile graced the waterbender's face as she took Aang's hand in her own.

"Now that's something we both can agree on," she murmured as she gazed at him with adoration in her eyes.

"So yeah. I was tired of feeling like Azula's servant. Tired of being mean to kids for no reason other than they weren't born into the right family. Tired of having to put up this charade. After three years of feeling sick as fuck, getting out finally felt like a relief."

Aang grinned, fist-bumping the firebender.

"Good for you, man. I'm proud of you," prompting the smallest of grins from Zuko.

"Alright... next victim!" Aang quipped.

"Katara... uh, I know you mentioned the raids. I'm not hugely up-to-date on any of that so why the initial grudge against Zuko?"

Katara snorted.

"You say initial as if it's gone now. But fine. Let me set the scene..."

Katara stretched, leaning back as she began to speak in a mocking narrator voice.

"Twas many and many a year ago in a kingdom of the sea-"

"Isn't that Annabel Lee by Poe?" Aang interrupted.

"Shush! I'm narrating."

"Fine, fine."

"As I was saying, twas many and many a year ago, in a kingdom of the sea. That's the Water District, in case you weren't paying attention. It was a few years after the Air Nomads went into exile. The Fire Nation thought they had gotten rid of the Avatar so they, led by Zuko's dad, Ozai, went after us to find the next one."

"Allegedly," Zuko muttered, earning a glare from Katara.

"They had just about captured every Southern waterbender. I don't know why but somehow they knew there was still one waterbender left: me. They went house to house, breaking down all the doors and interrogating everyone who the last waterbender was. I made the mistake earlier that day of waterbending in our backyard, so they knew there was a waterbender at our home, just not who."

Katara hugged her knees to her chest, staring intensely at the bird near her shoulder, inked in black and white, as she got lost in thought.

"My dad was at work," she said quietly. "My brother and I were playing upstairs. We heard him come in. I saw him because I needed some water. My mom told me everything would be okay. I believed her."

"By the time we heard the door close, it was too late."

Katara traced the lines of the beak and then the feathers.

"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me," she whispered harshly. "Sorry if I don't immediately trust someone who has that kind of evil and hate running through their blood."

"No, Katara," she blinked back the droplets pricking the corners of her eyes. "Not now. Not here."

She felt one stray tear fall past her cheek.

"Traitor."

The three sat in silence for a while.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know I can't take back the hurt my family has caused you- caused both of you. But I would like to try and still be friends. If it helps, hell, I hate my family too! Everyone except my uncle and cousin before he... well, you know."

All three nodded in unison, sharing a common, unspoken understanding of the death and devastation the Fire Nation had inflicted upon them.

"So my turn now?" Katara asked after a length of silence, both boys nodding in response.

"Okay. Wow, this did get really deep and nosy, huh?"

They all shared a short chuckle, staring intently at the waterbender.

"Um, okay, Aang. I already know what I want to ask you both but while we're on the topic of the raids and stuff..."

Aang grimaced, seeing where the question was inevitably going.

"You want to know about the Air Nomad situation. Alright. Where to start?"

Aang did a short lip-trill, lost in thought.

"Well, it all started about 15 years ago. It was right after Avatar Roku's death. Zuko's grandfather, Sozin, wanted to share 'the Fire Nation's glory with the world.' Roku, rightfully so, thought Sozin was crazy and tried to put an end to it. After his death, Sozin made plans with Ozai- Zuko I see you opening your mouth to say 'allegedly' and damn, that Fire Nation propaganda really got to you, huh? Ozai did it. Get over yourself. Anyways, as I was saying- Sozin made plans with Ozai to find and destroy the next Avatars until the cycle returned to fire once again."

"They waited about 5 years, enough time for some of the Avatar's bending abilities to form. They captured all of the Air Nomads. Since the Air Nomads were already pretty isolationistic, not a ton of people noticed anything different, although they had their suspicions. They created an Air District in the city, but it was just a ploy for concentration camps. They kept all the Air Nomads there and watched all the kids really closely to see if they displayed any talent for the other elements."

Katara raised her hand.

"Yeah, Kat?"

"How did you and Gyatso escape then? And what happened to all of them?"

"I'm getting to that. The Fire Nation ended up releasing the Air Nomads, at least those who survived, since they couldn't find any potential Avatars. They assumed the Avatar ended up dying of starvation or something and moved on to the Water Tribes to find the next one."

Zuko furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

"Little did they know that the monks had had their suspicions about such a move for a while, and I was hidden with Gyatso in a secret location about 6 months before their first attack. The monks and Gyatso tried to get the other nations on board with launching a defense, but they weren't convinced. It took the raids on the Southern Water Tribe for the Water Tribes to come to their senses and for the Earth Kingdom to realize they were next. After that, some of the monks and the other nations worked together to take the Fire Nation down. Or at least, weaken them as much as they could."

"And if my father was really part of this, why didn't he go down along with Grandfather Sozin?"

Aang shrugged.

"They never had any concrete proof. They didn't want to cause an uproar by imprisoning a man who could very well be proven innocent in court."

"And the other Air Nomads?" Katara pushed. "What happened to them?"

"They went into exile somewhere in the countryside. All the monks, my friends, everyone. Even I don't know where they are." Aang smiled sadly. "It's for their own safety. Gyatso and I are the only ones here."

"That's so horrible. I'm so sorry, sweetie." Katara shook her head vehemently. "No one deserves to go through all that."

She took the airbender's hand in hers and pressed a kiss to the tip of the arrow.

"I love you, you know?"

Aang sighed, squeezing her hand gently.

"I know, sweetie. I love you too."

Katara quickly pecked Aang's cheek, giving him one last sympathetic glance before turning to Zuko.

"Okay... Zuko. To end this fanfiction chapter on a hopefully lighter note, how the hell did you two become friends?"

"I'm sorry to end this what?" Aang asked incredulously.

"To end this get-to-know-each-other session. Why? What did you hear me say?"

"I- Did you just say-? You know what? Never mind. Go ahead Zuko."

"Ok then."

Zuko smirked at Aang.

"Wherever shall we begin? I do believe it all started with the fateful egg custard tart."

Aang and Zuko both chuckled.

"Ah yes, the fateful egg custard tart that the servants got me for the first day of summer camp. If you ask me, worst decision they ever made," Zuko deadpanned.

"Anyway, so I have this egg custard tart right? It's sitting right in front of me, I'm alone at this table, and I get up to get a fork to start eating. I come back and suddenly, the tart is not in front of me, there is a strange boy with weird tattoos sitting at my table, and aforementioned boy is staring at the tart- which by the way, is now in front of him- like it is the only thing in a hundred-mile radius."

Katara laughed, knowing all too well her boyfriend's love of egg custard tarts.

"So naturally, I ask this guy what the hell he's doing with my tart, and you'd think he'd just walk off, right? Nope! Not Aang."

Aang snorted.

"Actually, Sifu Hotman-"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"If I remember correctly, you said, and I quote, 'Uh, hey,' and I said, 'Hi,' right back, and then you just stared at your noodles."

"I did not!"

Aang and Katara both gave him a look, knowing how much that sounded like him.

"Ok so maybe that's how it started but I didn't stare at my noodles the whole time. Also, if I remember correctly, it was dumplings, not noodles."

Aang rolled his eyes.

"So anyways, I do ask for my tart back. I'm like, 'Hey, that's my tart.' So Aang's like-"

Zuko cleared his throat.

"'Oh? Really? I'm so sorry!'" he overexaggerated in a high pitched giggle, prompting a barrage of cackles from one very amused Katara.

"Okay, in my defense, I was like 13 at the time, okay?"

"So this is, like, one of those big tarts. Like 8 inches across, right? So I start to cut it into slices, and I swear Aang is giving the tart the biggest puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. Like he is staring, dare I say, forlornly at this tart. So I, being the incredibly kind person I am, give him a slice."

Aang rolled his eyes, hovering his hand near his mouth to whisper to Katara.

"Actually he had started to eat his like 3rd slice before asking me 'uh, you want a slice?' to which I, of course, nodded because it's an egg custard tart- I mean, come on- but-"

Zuko glared at Aang while Katara struggled to hold in her laughter.

"Ahem. She asked me the question so let me answer, thanks."

Aang held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say Hotman."

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"So anyway, we eat the tart, and lunch ends. Right before we leave, this guy says, 'You know what? I think you're a really nice guy, Zuko. We're friends now!' and dashes off into the sunset. After that, he kept sitting at my table and trying to get me to talk. Begrudgingly, I did so, and we kept in touch."

Aang nodded approvingly, but Zuko smirked. The story was not over.

"Now, imagine my surprise on the first day of 11th grade, I see this one little kid I made friends with in middle school wave to me and sit next to me, as if nothing had changed, and then casually bend all four elements in a matter of minutes."

"All four, Aang? Why though?"

Aang grinned sheepishly.

"Well, Ty Lee wanted to be able to say she got her tongue stuck to ice before summer ended, so I froze her water. Sokka told me about this legendary earthbender, Toph, who actually helped teach me earthbending in the first place, and she wanted to make sure I hadn't gotten rusty. Then Zuko was just being annoying so I lit his pizza on fire and then used airbending to blow out the flame."

Katara's eyebrows raised higher with each sentence.

"In Aang's defense, the fire actually improved the taste of the pizza."

All three benders snorted, shuddering when they thought of the cafeteria food at Four Elements High.

Suddenly, Aqua began to play.

I'm a Barbie Girl

In a Barbie wo-o-orld

Life in plastic

It's fantastic

"The fuck, Zuko?" Katara laughed.

Zuko groaned, gritting his teeth.

"Azula's prank, I assume. One sec."

He swiped the black screen, accepting the call.

"The hell do you want? Oh. Damn, is it 5 already? Alright. Yeah. Mhm. Fine. See you at home."

Zuko turned his phone off, pulling his hoodie back on.

"That was Azula. Dad wants me back. Says he has a 'talk' for me. That'll be fun."

Aang took a quick glance at his watch and then at the sky.

"Looks like we should all be heading back actually."

He stood up, stretching, and then helped Katara up too.

"We uh... we should do this again," Zuko whispered shyly.

"Yeah," Katara smiled, latching onto Aang's arm.

"I may not entirely trust you, Zuko, but this was fun. I think we could definitely be good friends someday."

Zuko and Aang grinned, the latter pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's temple.

"Glad to hear it, Katara. See you guys later."

And the three parted ways, for once quite hopeful of the future.

A/N: Waow. So that was long. ~2600 words. Please let me know if you liked it and know that I'll try more frequent and longer updates. As always, please review!