Katara watched as Iroh and Asami mounted up on Oogi. In a flash of memory she saw Aang lounging on the back of Appa after some trip or other, sunlight glinting off his bald head, both his arms around a pile of sleeping children. Something twisted in her chest. Katara had learned long ago that the only way to survive life married to the Avatar was to stubbornly assume that everyone was fine unless shown proof to the contrary. Given the constant danger that he, and by extension she and their children, had been in, any other way of being would have driven her crazy with worry. Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin were therefore fine.
Katara shook her head and the image cleared. Instead, Iroh sat awkwardly on Oogi's neck, his long legs splayed out on either side of him. He'd gotten so tall! She didn't like thinking how old that must make her. It was striking how much he looked like Izumi, too, especially in build. She was glad to see him filling out a little as well, though he still didn't eat enough. Katara suspected he worked too much. She wasn't sure what it was that made him drive himself so hard. Of all of Izumi and Honora's children, he was the only one who always seemed to have something to prove, though she had no idea to whom.
The girl, Asami, was still on the ground, arms crossed, and seemed to be lecturing him about something. Katara had always liked Korra's pretty friend, and over the past two days her opinion had only gone up. It was obvious that she was very intelligent, but she'd impressed Katara more with the way she, like Iroh, tended to put others first. There were entirely too many selfish people in the world already. At the spirit portal and after, and then again on the city walls, Asami hadn't hesitated to do what was necessary, whether it meant putting her life on the line, shouting orders, or leaving the battlefield entirely. Even the way that she'd come to the South Pole, seemingly at the spur of the moment, spoke to her quick understanding of what was needed to protect her friends. There was a pragmatism about her that Katara found refreshing. Iroh could certainly do a lot worse. Especially if he stopped being stupid.
She shook her head. She didn't know what was wrong with either of them. It was clear as day to her that they liked one another quite a lot, and not just as friends, either. She didn't think they had been more than passing acquaintances before they had left on their trip, but Katara knew as well as anyone how traveling together could make you see someone in a new light. And they seemed to suit one another, too; both bright and confident, Asami's quick wit and cool-headed approach matched by Iroh's quiet passion. But so far, nothing much had come of it. Asami remained aloof, almost oblivious, even though to Katara, Iroh's interest was painfully obvious. Iroh himself had actually shouted at her, declaring the whole thing impossible, despite the fact that Asami's eyes tracked him wherever he went as if she were worried about losing something precious the moment her back was turned. Whatever conversation they'd had after she'd nearly caught them pawing at each other in the kitchen, it hadn't been the one Katara had expected. There must be something else going on that she didn't understand.
Iroh, seemingly losing the argument, climbed into Oogi's saddle basket. Asami's mouth curled into a little smile as he turned his back. In love with someone else, he had said? Right, thought Katara. And I'm a moon peach.