It had been almost a year since Katara left the Southern Air Temple. Her return had been an awkward at first; everyone was shocked to hear that she and Aang had broken up. But her family was supportive and were thrilled to have her back with them. She had spent much of the passing months training novice Waterbenders, and teaching her more advanced students how to heal as well. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed teaching, and she awoke every day eager to watch her students progress even further. She had also spent a great deal of time with her father, finally getting the chance to form a stronger relationship with him and making up for all the time they had lost while he was off fighting the Fire Nation.

Sokka had been spending a lot of time at home as well, spending the says with their father and preparing to take over as Chieftain some day. Hakoda was still in perfect health, and he had led the reconstruction efforts of the Southern Water Tribes, but he still had a lot of wisdom to pass on to his son, and he had already missed so much time with his children because of the war. He was taking advantage of every moment that he could, passing on knowledge and skills, or merely getting to know the people his children had become.

Sokka and Suki were still together and as happy as ever, despite the long distance between them. They visited each other often, and Katara always loved when Suki came to stay for a few weeks. The two girls had grown very close, and they both appreciated having each other to confide in. Katara was certain it was only a matter of time before they married, but she wasn't certain how they would make that work. Once Sokka became Chieftain, he wouldn't be able to leave as often, and he certainly couldn't move to Kyoshi Island. But Suki was still leading and training the Kyoshi Warriors, and Katara knew that she would not want to give that up. Suki was proud of the Warriors, and proud to be one.

Katara woke one morning bright and early. She and Sokka both had a day off, so they had planned to take Suki out to one of their favourite fishing spots. It was rare that they were all together and all free at the same time, so they were looking forward to spending a day together. After dressing and getting ready for the day, Katara set off to breakfast, finding Suki, Sokka, and Hakoda already sitting around the fire and sharing a meal. She smiled and wished them all a good morning as she sat down, moving food on to her empty plate, and began to eat.

"Good morning Katara! I hope you slept well," Suki replied. "We have a busy day ahead of us!"

"I did! And I'm looking forward to it. I haven't been fishing in ages."

"Me neither!" Sokka said through a mouthful of food.

Katara and Suki rolled their eyes at each other, suppressing laughter.

"Well it might be your last chance for a while," Hakoda said, looking up from a letter he was reading.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him, and he responded by handing each of them what appeared to be an invitation, written on thick, red parchment in gold ink. Katara took hers and read it over quickly.

By the request of Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation,
You are hereby invited to

The Five Year Anniversary Ball

To celebrate the end of the Hundred Year War,
A grand ball will be hosted at the Fire Nation Royal Palace
On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the end of the war.

Please send your response as soon as possible,
Detailing the date of your arrival and the number in attendance.

Katara looked up at the others, excitement growing within her. The anniversary of the end of the war had been celebrated every year of course, but never quite to this extent. She supposed five years was a milestone anniversary however, so it made sense to do something grand this time around, and she certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to see all her old friends and allies from the war. She assumed most of the people she had met during their journey to defeat Fire Lord Ozai would be invited, and she couldn't imagine why they would not accept. It was a great opportunity to check out how the Fire Nation had changed, and to catch up with old friends.

"Oooh, a party! We're gunna go, right? We have to go," Sokka said excitedly.

"Of course we are. We will probably be gone for a couple of weeks though, so I will have to rearrange some things, though I am sure the Southern Water Tribe will be fine without us for a while," Hakoda replied.

"I haven't been to the Fire Nation since the end of the war… it will be interesting to visit again," Suki said, reading over the back of the invitation for further details.

"Katara, this came for you as well," Hakoda said, handing over a letter.

She took it, recognizing the seal on the letter as Zuko's, and she fought to suppress a grin. Suki cast her a sidelong glance, a smirk settling across her lips. Katara stood, ignoring her friend's assuming gaze. Suki often gave her these looks whenever she got a letter from Zuko or when his name popped up in conversation. She never quite seemed to believe Katara when she insisted they were just close friends, so she had simply taken to ignoring the suspicious glances.

"I'm going to go read this before we go so I can send a reply back with our confirmation for the party," she said, then hastily turned and left the hut without waiting for a reply, taking off into the snow.

She walked for a while, heading out towards her favourite spot to be alone. It was a little rocky cliff overlooking the ocean, about a ten minute walk from her village. She often came to the spot to read Zuko's letters, having developed a habit of reading them in privacy, but she also spent time there when she simply wanted to be alone. When she arrived, she climbed up the rocks, settling herself onto a large, flat stone and leaning back against the cliffside behind her. Once settled, she broke the seal on the letter and unfurled it.

Dear Katara,

I'm glad to hear that things have been going well for you. Those Waterbending students are lucky to have such a talented and compassionate teacher, and I am sure they are learning a lot under your tutelage. I don't think I would have the patience to teach anyone… you were always far better at instructing than I was.

I assume you got the invitations to the ball, and I just wanted to write and expand on the invitation a little. I know you all have a lot going on at the moment, but I was really hoping that we could get everyone together for a little longer so we can all catch up. At the very least, I would love it if you came for a longer visit. This party is going to be chaotic, and I would hate it if I didn't get the chance to actually spend time with you. That is… assuming you are coming at all. I know the journey is a long one, but I really would love to see you. It has been far too long.

I should let you know that Aang has already confirmed that he will be in attendance. He said he is unsure if he can stay longer than a few days, but I think if you, Sokka, Suki, and Toph all say longer, he will feel compelled to do so as well. I hope that isn't going to be too awkward for you though. I know you haven't really spoken to each other since you broke up, but he seemed to be fine with seeing you, so hopefully he is over it now. Sometimes it's hard to tell with him.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and if you are coming, let me know when you plan to arrive and I will make sure to have everything ready for your arrival. I really hope you decide to come. Honestly, I am sort of dreading this party, and I would really appreciate having a friend I trust there to help get me through it. You know I'm not the greatest at talking to people, and there will be a LOT of people in attendance.

Hopefully I will see you soon, and I look forward to your reply.

Yours,

Zuko

Katara finished the letter with a grin on her face, and quickly re-read it. Of course she had every intention of visiting for the ball, but Zuko's extended invitation caused excitement to bubble up inside of her. There was no way she was passing up the opportunity to spend some time extra time in the Fire Nation, nor was she about to pass up the chance to spend some real quality time with Zuko. She had been longing to visit him ever since they had started exchanging letters and confiding in one another, and the idea of spending an extended visit there thrilled her.

She pocketed the letter then quickly climbed down from her perch, jogging across the snow back towards the village. She found Suki and Sokka easily; they were preparing the fishing equipment while waiting for her to return. They both looked up as they heard her crunching footsteps approach, and Suki gave her a suspicious look upon seeing the grin on her face.

"Oh good, there you are. Are you ready?" Sokka asked, oblivious to his sister's sudden excitement.

"Zuko has invited us for an extended stay! He wants to get everyone together so we can all catch up," Katara said, ignoring Sokka.

"Everyone, huh? Funny that he invited 'everyone' through a letter solely addressed to you," Suki said, suppressing a smirk.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. It will be nice to spend some time with everyone," Suki replied, deflecting the question.

"Yeah! I haven't talked to Toph in ages, it will be nice to hang out with her for a while," Sokka said, not cluing in to his girlfriend's insinuation.

"Well that's settled then. I will write back to Zuko and let him know that we are coming. I'll figure out the details with dad," Katara said, turning back towards her hut.

"Uh, Katara?" Sokka called, stopping her in her tracks.

She turned back around. He waved a fishing rod over his head, reminding her of their plans.

"Oh… right. Of course… I will talk to dad after we get back," she said with a slight blush. Reluctantly Katara joined them, eager to return and sort out the details of her trip to the Fire Nation.

A few hours later they returned, carrying several large fish. As soon as they had unloaded everything and gotten cleaned up, Katara had taken off to discuss the details of Zuko's invitation with her father. They talked it over through dinner with Sokka and Suki, and finally as darkness fell, Katara had the chance to pen her reply.

Dear Zuko,

I was delighted to receive the invitation to the ball, and even more so by your extended invitation. I have been wanting to come visit for some time now, and this is as good a time as any, especially if we actually manage to get all of our friends together. Sokka and Suki are eager to make the trip as well, and they look forward to visiting.

I talked over the details with my dad, and we have decided that we will arrive a week before the ball. Sokka, Suki, and I will stay an additional week afterwards, if that is alright with you. My father will head back home after the ball though, as he doesn't want to be away for too long. Hopefully that isn't too much of an imposition. I will be sending our invitation responses along with this letter, so all the details should be attached.

Oh, and I know you think that you aren't good at talking to people, but trust me when I say I know that isn't true. You are a lot more charming than you give yourself credit for, and I know you will be just fine at this party. Though I can't blame you for dreading it; I imagine everyone will want the chance to talk with you, so it will definitely be a busy event. But nothing will stop me from being there, so if you need an escape, just wave me down and I will come rescue you.

I am really looking forward to this visit, and I can't wait to see you! You are right; it has been far too long. It will be great to talk to you in person and catch up properly. There is only so much you can say through a letter, not that I don't enjoy getting yours.

It is late though, and I should get this letter sent so it arrives in time, so I will end it here. I will see you very soon!

Take care,

Katara

Satisfied with her response, she rolled up the letter and gathered together the replies for the ball, before leaving her hut and seeking out a messenger hawk. She walked over to the small rookery and found a hawk that looked big enough to carry the multiple letters. She gave it's feathers a few affectionate strokes, instructing the bird to deliver it's cargo to Zuko before tying the letters to its leg. It gave a squawk of understanding, then took off and flew into the rising moonlight.

Katara made her way back into the village, her stomach grumbling. She had barely eaten breakfast, and she had skipped lunch so she was quite starving. She made her way to huts, finding Suki and Sokka munching away on one of the fish they had caught that afternoon. Katara joined them, scarfing back half her plate before speaking.

"I got the letters all sent off, so we are good to go! Suki, are you just going to stay here and travel with us, or are you wanting to go back to Kyoshi Island before you head to the Fire Nation?"

"I'm actually going to head back early. I've already worked it out with Hakoda; he said you will all leave a few days earlier and take the route that passed by Kyoshi Island so you can pick up Ty Lee and I. I wasn't supposed to go home for a few days still, but I'm going to leave tomorrow instead so I can get back and get a few things sorted out before I leave again." Suki replied, causing Sokka to give her a pouty look.

"I hate it when you leave," he said, enticing a smile out of his girlfriend.

"I do too, but we will see each other again in just a couple weeks this time, and we get to go on a nice, long vacation. I'm sure you will survive until then," she replied, giving Sokka a kiss on the cheek.

Katara smiled at the two of them, but she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Sokka and Suki were so perfect for each other, and she wished she could find someone who loved her the way her brother loved Suki. Aang had always been affectionate, but there was no passion, and that was something she craved. Suki and Sokka were always so excited and happy to see each other, even if they had just spent a few hours apart, and Katara wanted that too. She wanted someone who made her heart skip a beat every time they touched.

"What are you going to do about your students while you're away, Katara?" Suki asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"My students? They don't really need me anymore, to be honest. A lot of my more experienced students have been helping train the novices already, so they can handle it on their own. I mostly just provide assistance in perfecting forms and teaching advanced techniques now. I'll use the next couple of weeks focusing on teaching my advanced students everything I can so they can then pass the knowledge on to the others."

"It's wonderful that you've managed to find and train so many new Waterbenders in the South since the end of the war. Weren't you the only one left before you met Aang?"

"I was, but we have been thriving over the past five years. I'm sure a lot of the new benders were actually just hiding their abilities until now though. Being a Southern Waterbender back then was very dangerous."

"It's weird that everything we did all started when Zuko attacked our village… and now he is the Fire Lord and we are going to a party in the Fire Nation that he is hosting. Life is strange," Sokka interjected, reminiscing.

Katara thought back to that day, recalling how much she had loathed Zuko when they had met. Now he was one of her very closest friends and someone she was very much looking forward to seeing again. Sokka was right, life was strange.

"Can you imagine how different things would be if we had never found Aang in that iceberg?" Katara contemplated. "Or if we had decided not to go with him?"

"We certainly wouldn't be going to a party in the Fire Nation, that's for sure," Sokka replied with a laugh.

"It will certainly be good to see everyone again. I hope it's not going to be weird for you though, seeing Aang again," Suki said, frowning at Katara.

"It might be a little awkward, sure, but we will have you guys, and Zuko, Toph, and Ty Lee too, so it's not like we will be forced to talk to each other if we don't want to. Besides, I still want to be his friend, so this will be a good opportunity to work on that."

"That's a good attitude to have. Hopefully he feels the same way."

"Aang's a big boy, he can get over it," Sokka said, shrugging.

They finished up their dinner and spent the rest of the evening together, planning all the things they wanted to do once they got to the Fire Nation. Eventually Katara wandered off to bed, yawning. As she snuggled under the covers her thoughts turned to Zuko, and she wondered what he was currently doing. Chances were he was asleep, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was lying awake and looking forward to their reunion as well.