"I am going to see my children, Iroh, and I am going to make sure they are safe," said Katara. "I would rather not put you in traction in order to do so. I spent a lot of time fixing you up, you know. I would hate for all that to have been wasted effort."

"And Chief Tonraq?" Tonraq had been in pretty bad shape the last time Iroh had seen him. Although Katara said he would be fine, Iroh knew internal injuries were much more difficult to heal than the kinds of cuts and bruises that he and Asami had gotten, even the more severe ones. It was unlikely that he could be left for long periods of time without intervention.

"I'll stay," said Asami. She walked over from where she'd been untethering Oogi. "I can't heal, obviously, but I can at least make sure he stays out of trouble and let him know what's happening when he wakes up."

"No," said Iroh sharply. He wasn't leaving her behind again. "I need you. Katara, I swear that if anyone needs help, one of us will get you immediately. I know some medical basics, and so does Asami. With any luck, we'll have Kya as well. But we can't trade someone who we know needs you now for others who only might. You know that. So would Aang."

The anger in Katara's face faded. She sighed. "I forget sometimes that none of you are babies anymore," she said. She smiled a little. "And Korra will need her father once this is all over, I think."

Iroh nodded, then walked over to the sky bison. He'd never flown on one before, and he wasn't entirely sure how to approach it. He looked back at Asami, hoping for a hint. She was speaking quietly to Katara. As he watched, Asami gave her a quick hug, then started walking back towards him. Oogi grunted softly and nudged his back with his head.

"all right," she said.

"One moment, Miss Sato," Katara called. "I need a word with this young man before we go." She motioned to Iroh, then turned and walked back to the house. He glanced at Asami and shrugged slightly, then followed her. Iroh had no idea what she thought was so important to talk to him about, especially now, but he was in too much of a hurry to argue.

Instead of going back inside, however, Katara walked around the side of the house. They emerged into a small back patio area. A table and a few chairs sat covered in snow. Iroh wondered when anyone ever sat outside at the South Pole.

Katara turned to face him, hands on her hips. "Tell her, Iroh," she said simply.

"Tell her what?" He assumed she meant Asami. There weren't a lot of other "hers" about. But he wasn't precisely sure what the old woman was getting at.

"You know what. I've been watching you. Both of you. I've seen how you look at her. How you listen when she talks. How you bring her up when you talk. Your face when you touch her." Katara raised one white eyebrow. "Did you know that every time I walk away from your Miss Sato, you find some reason to stay behind?"

Iroh blinked, surprised. No, he hadn't noticed that. He was a little embarrassed he'd been that obvious. He'd have to watch himself, even if they were shortly going their separate ways. If Katara had seen through him, Asami probably had too, and she'd been perfectly clear that she wasn't interested. "Don't call her that," he said. "We're friends. That's all."

"You're still a bad liar, Iroh," the old woman said. "I know friends. Friends can care deeply about one another, it's true. Even share an exploratory kiss or two. But just now, she scratched her head and I thought you were going to set the whole world on fire, and everything in it. Does that sound like 'friends' to you?"

Iroh looked down, no longer able to meet her eye. Asami had done far more than scratch her head, but he couldn't deny that he'd overreacted. He'd never felt rage like that before, let alone used it to fuel his bending. In that moment he'd wanted to do nothing but wipe the creatures that had hurt her from the face of the earth. Hatred had filled him, utterly and completely. In retrospect, it had been more than a little scary.

Katara sighed, then shook her head. Her voice was sober now. "I haven't seen blue firebending in over 60 years, Iroh, but I have seen it. I know what emotions fuel it. Yet a wise woman once said that anger is just another side of love, for to be truly angry is to care tremendously. The more violent the love, the more violent the anger."

Iroh felt his face grow hot. There didn't seem to be much point in lying to Katara, then. Apparently, despite his best efforts, he was completely, embarrassingly transparent. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure that he and Asami could even be just friends anymore. It might simply be too hard for him. He sighed and rubbed at his eyes.

"We hardly know each other," he said softly.

"And?"

"And… and I already asked. She said no." He kicked a chunk of ice that had fallen from the roof of the house. It bounced away into the snow.

"I don't believe that. From either of you."

"Leave it, Katara. It's fine. I just need some time, that's all."

"What you need is to get your head out of the snow and talk to her. Perhaps when you both aren't three seconds from death, either. You know, the first time Aang—"

"Not everyone gets to be you and Aang!" he snapped. Katara stared at him. Iroh looked down and saw his hands were balled tightly at his sides. He realized he'd been shouting.

"I'm sorry." He unclenched his fists, then ground the heel of one palm into the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He hadn't meant to lose his temper like that, but he was so tired. "She's in love with somebody else, and I can't do this right now."

He turned and started back to the front of the house.

"She looks at you, too, Iroh. Whatever she may have said, I've seen how she looks at you."

Iroh kept walking.