"The Proposal"

Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body—he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous leverage—a cruel body.

His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Katara spent the night studying the waterbending scroll and practicing the moves, since her bending was stronger at that time. She slept late in the morning to catch up on her sleep, and then passed the time alone by reading the book that Professor Zei had given to her.

Her imagined adventure into the Si Wong Desert was halted when she heard a knock on the door. Katara reluctantly put the book down, wondering who could be calling on her now. She opened the door slowly, peeking out to see who it was.

"Hey," Jet said, smiling at her.

"Hi," Katara said automatically.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Um …" For a moment Katara hesitated. She didn't want to imagine Sokka's reaction if he found out she had let a boy in their house, unchaperoned. But … she wanted to talk to Jet, too.

After Sokka had left and she could be by herself, Katara had brooded over the matter for a long time. She couldn't deny that she had enjoyed their kiss. And maybe there was some attraction between her and Jet. But … something was still holding her back. Maybe it was his general "bad boy" persona: a tall, dark, strong, handsome brute, wild and daring and fearless. It was enticing, but there was a feeling of something wrong about it.

In the end, Katara simply decided that she would have to talk to Jet. She would explain that she was confused and unsure of how she felt about him, and ask that they take things slow, if anything.

"All right," Katara said finally. "Come on in." She stood aside to let Jet enter. "Um … would you like some tea?" Katara didn't want to give Jet any more false hope, but she didn't want to be a rude hostess. Besides, making tea would give her something to do – and an excuse in case she needed to get away from Jet.

"That would be nice," Jet said, sitting down at the table. Katara bustled around the kitchen area, boiling the tea and getting out the server.

"Have you had any problems with the pirates?" Jet asked conversationally.

"Not since yesterday," Katara replied, pouring some jasmine leaves into the water. She brought the tray over to the table and sat on the side diagonal from Jet.

"I guess I should start with what happened yesterday," Jet said.

Katara nodded. "I wanted to talk to you about that, too."

"I liked it. A lot," Jet said. "And I like you a lot, too."

Katara took a deep breath. "Jet, listen," she said. "I liked it too, but … I just don't know … how I feel about you," she finished lamely. "I'm sorry, but right now, I'm just confused."

"I'm not," Jet said. He squeezed Katara's hand and looked earnestly at her. "I want to hold you without the fear that you'll pull away. I want you to be with me all the time."

Katara stared at him. This wasn't going at all the way she'd meant it to.

"It's too bad your dad is away," Jet said. "I would have asked him about this first."

"You can ask Sokka. Except he's left for Omashu."

Jet shook his head, taking Katara's left hand in both of his. "I don't want to wait," he said, almost whispering.

Katara felt her heart beat rapidly. "Jet, what are you …"

Jet held her hand to his chest. "Katara," he said softly, "I've known a lot of girls, but you're the only one I liked. You're fun, caring, smart, beautiful …"

Katara could feel a blush creeping across her face. She smiled faintly, but she still had a worried, uncertain look in her eyes.

"… you know what it's like to lose someone you love."

They looked at each other with mutual sympathy and understanding. Katara had lost her mother, and Jet had lost both of his parents.

Jet reached out and touched her face. "I don't want to lose you. I want to be there for you. I want you to be there for me."

Katara frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I brought you something," Jet said. He stood up, and Katara did the same. He walked around Katara; she started to turn, but he said, "No, stay where you are."

Katara felt a rising anxiety in her stomach as Jet stood behind her. What was he doing?

She felt Jet's hand reach around her neck. For a wild moment she thought he was going to strangle her; then she felt the necklace he was fastening around her neck. She gasped, reaching up and feeling the carved pendant. A betrothal necklace.

Katara turned around. "Jet—"

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'll make sure the pirates don't hurt you—or anyone for that matter. We can have our own tree house apartment at the hideout. And later we'll have a bunch of little Freedom Fighters—you're so caring, I know you'll make a great mother."

"Jet, I … I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll marry me," he urged her, leaning in closer.

"I'm sorry, Jet, but I … I just don't deserve you!"

Jet started to pull her in for a kiss, but Katara pushed him away, hard. Jet looked bemused. "What –"

"Jet, this is going way too fast. You haven't even asked me! You haven't let me get a word in edgewise!"

Jet put his hands on his hips, looking annoyed. "All right; what do you want to say?"

Katara looked taken aback at this, but then the words came tumbling out of her mouth. "I hoped we could talk this over, like normal, rational people, but you just can't stand waiting. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want to marry you? What possessed you to make such a presumption?"

Jet stared at her, his mouth open slightly.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with my life, Jet. Maybe someday I'll have a family, but I don't want my life limited to that." That didn't sound right – she couldn't explain it in a way he would understand.

Jet looked hurt and angry. "Katara—"

She reached up behind her neck and unfastened the necklace. She pressed it into his hand. "I'm sorry," she said, looking at him with her eyes full of sorrow. "Maybe someday I'll feel differently about you, but right now, I just can't work out how I feel. Sometimes I like you a lot, and other times I really resent you." She stepped back and ran her fingers through her hair, clearly agitated. "When … when we kissed … if I gave you a false impression of this relationship, I'm very sorry."

Jet stepped forward, and for a moment Katara felt frightened. He towered almost a foot taller than her, glaring down at her. "I put my faith in you. I thought …"

"Then you're a fool." As soon as the words were out, Katara wished she hadn't said them; but what else could she do? There was no way she could marry Jet. She had to end it, now.

Jet grabbed her arm, hard. "Katara –"

"Let go of me," she said in a low voice.

"No."

"Let GO!" With her free hand Katara swiftly bended the tea out of their cups – the waterbending scroll had really helped her improve – and blasted it at Jet, pushing him back and soaking his shirt and hair. "Get out!"

Jet glared at her, his face dripping with tea. He shoved the necklace into his pocket and opened the door. "This isn't over," he swore. Then he slammed the door behind him.

Katara locked the door, then went to her bedroom and watched through the window as Jet left the house and went back into town. When she was certain she was alone, she went outside; she felt like she needed to get out of the house. She was still trying to process what had just happened. Jet had some nerve …

The more Katara thought about it, the angrier she became. Jet had come to her when she was alone, when Sokka was away and couldn't stick up for her or back her up. How dare he …

Katara sighed and flung herself backwards onto the grass, staring up at the sky. The weather had cleared up after the previous night's short rainstorm. With so few clouds, the sky seemed so expansive … what lay beyond the horizon? She enjoyed reading about warriors and explorers, but the stories also made her restless. She wanted so badly … but she didn't know exactly what it was she wanted. Adventure? Love? She would have to find out for herself.

I want my destiny, she realized. And I'll have to go out and find it.

Her wistful thoughts were interrupted by a loud, familiar roar. Startled, Katara sat up and saw Appa flying down until he landed in the field.

"What are you doing here?" Katara ran up to the bison and was startled to see that Sokka wasn't in the saddle. The hot-air balloon was still strapped down, but Sokka was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Sokka?" Katara asked, panicked. "What happened?"

Appa moaned in response, a mournful sound that filled Katara with fear. "Oh, we have to find him, you have to take me to him!"

She quickly took the hot-air balloon down and stored it in the cellar. She only stayed long enough to get her cloak, in case night fell before she returned – hopefully with Sokka. Then she climbed up onto Appa, and let him lead the way.

Disclaimer: The lines "What possessed you to make such a presumption" and "I put my faith in you/Then you're a fool" are paraphrased from the 1994 movie A Miracle on 34th Street, directed by Les Mayfield, screenplay by George Seaton and John Hughes. I know, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Beauty and the Beast; I just liked that dialogue and wanted to use it.