Day 23: After the Rain
Katara hates the rainy season in the Fire Nation. It is quite ironical, since she's a waterbender, but she can't help it.
It's not that she doesn't like being surrounded by her element all the time or even getting wet, when she's outside, but she doesn't like the darkness the clouds bring with them. It's wonderfully light and warm when it's sunny in the Fire Nation, and in Katara's opinion it could stay like this forever.
Not to mention that the rainy season in the Fire Nation doesn't mean nice, gentle rain. No, it means storms, tornados and hurricanes. The trees all fall, the wind is so strong, and the rain patters against the roof, as if it would crack any second. To make it short, Katara is afraid of it.
She flinches at any too loud sound which comes from above, and she hates to see the flash of lightning.
Usually, it's still okay, though, because she's never alone. There are always people who she trusts around her.
But Zuko is not here. He's gone to Ba Sing Se, and since Katara was ill when he left, she couldn't go with him. Now with all the storms, it would be too dangerous to travel to the Earth Kingdom.
Katara still meets with Mai sometimes, and she knows the servants and guards around the palace, as well as the nobles. But none of them gives her a feeling of safety. Whenever Zuko is gone, Katara starts missing her friends more.
When he's there, Katara can lean on him, she can meet with him, and the absence of her brother, Aang, and Toph doesn't feel so suffocating.
Katara decides she doesn't like it in the Fire Nation. It's a country of extremes, and extremes only. It's too hot, too humid, too stormy, too windy, too rainy, and too smoky. It is too much of everything, just like the people here.
Everyone here is always extreme. Mai is extremely apathetic, the servants are extremely friendly and obeying, the nobles are extremely annoying, and the guards always stand extremely stiff.
And Zuko... He's just extreme. In everything he's doing. He's extremely disinterested in tea, and he extremely loves his uncle. He has an extreme hero complex, honour complex, and a father complex. Since Ursa returned, at least his extreme mother complex became less, but there's nothing about Zuko that Katara doesn't consider too much. The warmth of his gaze, the tenderness of his smile, the safety she feels, whenever he's with her. The way he gets irritated, or annoyed, how he sometimes looks like a tired parent, or how soft his hair looks.
Staring out of the window, Katara frowns. Wait, what about how angry he can be? How irritating and arrogant? How extremely easily he can get her hopping mad. Yeah, he's extreme in everything. In his good and bad qualities.
Licking her lips, Katara tries to think about her friendship with Mai, and how it had started, because Katara had been angry at Zuko. It had been right after Mai's and Zuko's last breakup, which was now almost two years ago.
Mai had only come to the palace to throw some knives at Zuko's curtains, when she had seen Katara already flooding the Fire Lord's rooms.
Now, Katara can't even remember why she had been angry at Zuko. But she remembers that she immediately forgave him, after he had come to her to ask about his flooded room. He had been steaming, looking frightening, but although the almighty Fire Lord had been made fun of, he hadn't done anything to her. Not even demanded some punishment or amends. A few days later Katara had brought him his favourite cake and apologised. He had only smiled and said it was alright.
Slandering about Zuko had been what had brought Mai and Katara together. Mai held still some anger at him she needed to deal with, while she realised what a bad boyfriend he had been, and Katara was easily getting irritated with Zuko.
Maybe she just missed hanging with a girl, or she noticed she didn't like Zuko, but slandering about him felt good. As if things would suddenly be right again.
Thinking about his good qualities and about the fact his extremeness sometimes matched hers was certainly not appropriate.
Biting her lip, Katara starts to play with a strand of her hair.
With time, Katara and Mai stopped slandering about Zuko. They still did, whenever Katara was mad at him, but it wasn't their main topic anymore. When Katara didn't get reminded of Zuko's bad qualities all the time, she started to think more about his good ones. And to like them. And to accept his bad qualities.
A part of her wants to tell him what she just discovered. She is a friend who accepts even his bad sides, just like he's doing with her.
She sighs. But he won't come back until the rainy season ends, and she wants to tell him about her discovery personally.
Time passes, weeks passes, and Katara continues hating the rain and thunder, especially the lightning, and continues meeting with Mai, some nobles, and going into the city. She writes letters to her family and friends, some to Zuko, although she wonders if the letters even make it out of the Fire Nation with all this wind and rain. She doesn't receive any answers.
There is a festival in the capital, when the rainy season ends, but this year it takes a bit longer. The festival is held under tarps and umbrellas. Katara thought that the sun would finally come out again after the festival, but no.
It's two weeks later, when there's the first full dry day in months. And five days after that, the first full sunny day graces the Fire Nation with its light and warmth.
Katara immediately convinces Mai to spend the day with her on the beach. Finally, Katara can enjoy her element again, and she missed the sun and the heat so much!
After growing up in the South Pole, Katara thought she would hate this weather and love the stormy season, but she had been so wrong.
The rainy season is sad and dark. It feels lonely.
With the sun shining, Katara feels so comforted and warm all the time. She doesn't have to worry about freezing to death anymore at all.
Mai isn't interested in doing anything, but that's fine with Katara. They talk a bit, then both want to do something on their own. Mai reads a book, and Katara goes swimming, then she builds a sandcastle.
The day rushes past, and before Katara knows what's going on, it's evening and time to go back. The sun is slowly setting, and Katara's stomach growling, as she says goodbye to Mai in front of the palace gates.
Before Katara goes to her room, she walks to the kitchens to get a plate with fried dough sticks and exotic fruits. It's more of a breakfast meal, but Katara has discovered that she loves sweet things in the evening.
Nibbling at a fried dough stick, she nods to the guards in front of her room in greeting, smiling through the dough.
When she opens the door, she's... surprised? Shocked? Blown away? Confused?
There are red and blue rose petals lying on the floor, leading to the door to the patio. Next to the rose petals, candles outline the way she should go. The candles are red and blue, too.
Katara contorts her face. Oh no. Some poor guy fell in love with her and will now try his move. Sighing, she walks on, wondering who this will be, and how she will let him down. She doesn't want to hurt anyone or be cruel. She knows how heartache feels like after Aang and she broke up, after all.
Stepping out on the patio, she can see that her admirer is broad built and tall. He has straight black hair, falling onto his shoulder blades and pale skin, which she can see on his hands, which are clasped behind his back. He stands stiffly and in a wide stance.
Katara sighs
Great. This guy looks important. He probably won't take a 'no' that easily.
He must have heard her, because he turns around then to look at her.
Katara almost lets her plate fall to the ground, as her jaw goes slack. She stares with wide eyes for probably too long, then she clears her throat. "Are you in the wrong room? Or wrong patio?" she quickly and nervously adds. Damn, why is she nervous? She takes a deep breath to calm herself and her speeding heart.
Zuko grimaces. "No. I'm on the right patio."
Katara raises her eyebrows. "Uh-huh." Suddenly she realises that she's only wearing her swimsuit with a large silk shawl wrapped around her hips. Her swimsuit doesn't show her stomach, as do those of many others, but she still feels a little too naked. Not like Zuko looks anywhere he shouldn't look, but just standing in front of him gives her goosebumps, makes her stomach dance, her heart race, and her mouth dries out. Her head feels light. This is another extreme thing about him. He always makes her feel so many extreme things.
"Uh, Katara, listen..." He scratches the side of his head, and Katara wonders if he didn't cut his hair in the Earth Kingdom. It hadn't been very long, when he left. And now it was almost as long as her own. His hair must grow incredibly fast.
"While I was gone, I missed you. And I wondered why, because it was very strange, and I didn't expect to feel like this at all, but I realised that I like you. I like you more than just as a friend. And I invite you to this," he points at a table, on which a candle holder, plates and cups are set. "As a date, and I want to ask you if you'll give me a chance."
Katara's eyes are still as wide as saucers, as she observes the Fire Lord in an awkward and inferior position. It almost looks like he's afraid of her.
Swallowing, she tries to process all this. Zuko likes her? Like likes likes her? How? What? Why? Since when?
Looking at the table, she smiles at how thoughtful everything seems to be planned, and Zuko is not so well known for planning well. And maybe this isn't planned well, after all.
They haven't seen each other in months, and Katara could already have a new boyfriend or she just forgot how Zuko is. But for him to directly ask her after he noticed that he likes her like that is typical behaviour of his. Extreme.
Katara is happy that Zuko is back. She feels safe again. But she doesn't know...
Studying him, she imagines how it would be to kiss him, or to sit next to him on a couch with his arm around her shoulders, how it would be to hold hands with him.
Her stomach flutters in an excited way at those thoughts, while her head is full with blood that is pumped so fast by her heart, and then there's this connection between them, drawing her closer. It's nothing physical, only psychological. But it's this part that convinces her the most.
She blushes fiercely. "I'll give you a chance," she says, then puts her plate down on the table. Throwing her arms around Zuko, who is smiling happily, she buries her face in his chest. "Welcome back, by the way," she murmurs.
"Thanks," Zuko repeats, and hugs her back, holding her tightly until Katara's doughs sticks are all cold and soft instead of hot and crispy.