Originally published September 19, 2012

"Transformation"

Then he moves again. He rises over me, a second sun, and fills me with light and heat. We are a study of contrasts—hard to soft, fair to dark, frantic to smooth—and yet there is something about the fit of us that makes me realize neither of us would be quite right without the other. ~ Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

Katara helped Zuko slowly lie down on the roof. Blood was soaking through his ripped shirt. Katara tried desperately to collect enough water from the rain around her and guide it to Zuko's stomach; she might be able to close up the wound, but she didn't know how to heal such severe internal damage.

"How bad am I?" Zuko asked in a strangled voice.

"I can't say for sure," Katara said, almost whispering because her throat felt so tight. Zuko seemed to take this as confirmation of what he'd suspected.

"I've ruined everything," Katara sobbed. "None of this would have happened if it weren't for me …"

"Katara," Zuko said, and the tone of his voice made her fall silent. "I would rather die now, having you with me, than live to be a hundred and never meet you."

The tears flowed freely down Katara's face, mingling with the rain.

Had it really been that same evening when they danced together? It already seemed like a distant memory.

"I want to see your face," Katara said flatly. She carefully lifted his head up and untied the back of the mask. Then she lifted it off, exposing Zuko's face to the rain and night air. She gently pulled back the hood of his bodysuit, letting out his black hair. She traced her fingers over his skin and scars, as though trying to memorize his face.

"I used to get so angry, I broke all the mirrors, except for the magic one. I don't care about it anymore," Zuko said. "Except … I wish I could be better, for you."

Katara shook her head. "You are the most beautiful man I've ever met," she said passionately, her voice choked with sobs.

Zuko stared, blinking at her. Then he smiled in spite of himself. "Remember when we all made a wish on the New Year log?"

Katara smiled tearfully, almost glad that he was trying to distract them. "Yes."

"You said we weren't supposed to tell each other what we wished for. But, I want you to know … you were my wish."

Katara's breath caught in her throat. "Oh, Zuko …"

"I was selfish, Katara. You changed me, more than you'll ever know, but I was still selfish. That night, I knew you must have wished for your freedom, I actually thought about it … but I wanted you here, with me." His voice was bitter. "After all that, I still cared more about myself than about you."

"You're mistaken on one point," Katara said, finding her voice again. "I didn't wish that I would be free."

Zuko looked surprised and puzzled. "You didn't?"

"No. My wish was that I would find my destiny, whatever it may be. You know that I was still uncertain about my future – I didn't know whether or not I would leave one day, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to anymore."

"Really?" Zuko looked pleased, though his eyes were sad.

Katara nodded, and hesitated. "You see, I was starting to think … maybe … you were my destiny."

Zuko was silent for a moment, absorbing this. So Katara did feel for him the way he felt for her.

"Say something," she begged.

"Maybe it's better this way," he murmured. "At least … I got to see you, one last time."

"You can't die!" Katara said desperately. She looked at the shards of porcelain just a few yards away, with Sokka standing over them, unable to help either his sister or his friend. "Yue just sacrificed herself for you—for us—if you die now, it will have been in vain …" She stopped, remembering something.

Katara reached under her shirt and pulled out an amulet on a chain. She wore it so often, she had almost forgotten what it was for. She uncorked the small flask and bended the small amount of water out.

Katara closed her eyes. "Thank you, Yue." Her friend had saved Zuko twice.

She guided the water to the wound on Zuko's stomach. "Just a second …"

Zuko was trying to hold on, but he was slipping; his eyes were heavy and started to close. Then, the water entered the wound, as though his body was absorbing it. Zuko winced; then his body relaxed, but still moved, breathing, pulsing with life.

After a moment, Zuko inhaled, slowly, deeply. Then he released his breath, a sigh of relief. Katara gasped slightly, almost afraid to hope.

Zuko's eyes fluttered open again. "Katara," he said, his voice stronger now.

"Zuko!" Katara all but flung herself across him, hugging him even as he lay on the ground. Zuko moved his arms over her, holding her against himself.

"Thank you," Zuko breathed.

"I was so worried …" Katara pulled away slightly, wiping her now happy tears out of her eyes. "I didn't tell you …"

"What?"

Katara swallowed. "I love you, Zuko," she whispered.

Zuko's smile vanished, and he stared at Katara. "I didn't realize it until today—or maybe it was earlier, but I was afraid to admit it …"

"Stop." Zuko's voice was gentle. "You don't have to explain. It doesn't matter. Because … I love you, too."

Above them, the objects still on the balcony looked back at the fire lily. The last wilting orange petal broke off and fluttered down onto the table.

Katara stared at Zuko. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't just shock of what he said; she was staring at something else, something she didn't understand.

He sensed it, rather than felt it. He hadn't felt anything when the spell was cast upon him, when his physical appearance had been altered so dramatically. But now he realized what was happening.

"You've done it." Zuko said in awe.

"I'm not doing that." Katara sounded frightened, staring at Zuko's glowing skin. No, not all of his skin—the markings on it. They were fading … healing.

While Zuko was undergoing this transformation on the outside, he had something like an epiphany inside. He understood, then, that the enchantment had made his visible features mirror the state of his heart. His heart had been completely cold, and so he had been made ugly. But now, Katara had changed him, and his ugliness was fading, as though washed away by the rain.

Katara stood and took a few steps back, looking at him uncertainly. Zuko stood up slowly, feeling his strength returning with the Spirit Water's help. He looked down at his hands; they were unblemished—not as though there had never been a wound, but as though it had healed.

Rather than reach for the magic mirror, Zuko brought his hands to his own face. There was something—the skin around his left eye and on his cheek still bore a scar. But the rest of his face was smooth.

Finally he turned and looked at Katara, letting her see who he really was.

Katara stared at him, as though she didn't know what to think. He was handsome—beautiful, even—but she barely recognized him now.

Zuko came over to her slowly, his hands clutching his shirt in excitement. "Katara … it's me."

She studied him, as though searching his face as well as his soul. Then she hesitantly raised her hand and touched the scar around his left eye. His eyes were the same gold they had always been.

"It is you!" Katara said joyfully. Her hands slowly explored his new face—or old face, however you looked at it. She stopped when Zuko cupped her face in his hands, looking at her with more happiness and tenderness than she'd ever seen in his expression.

They kissed, and it was passionate, deep, and pure. It was fire flaring up in a blaze; it was water swelling and breaking on a shore, a never-ending cycle of movement. They could have sworn that at that moment, they felt the whole world transform.

They only broke apart when they heard someone shouting. "Zuko!" It was Iroh, shouting from his perch on the balcony above them. But his voice was stronger and somehow different from the one Katara had gotten used to. They looked up, and saw not a candelabrum, but an elderly man with a long gray beard, dressed in Fire Nation robes, leaning over the railing.

"Uncle!" Zuko looked ecstatic.

"He's human!" Katara said, stating the obvious.

"Come on!" Zuko took her hand in his; together they climbed up the slating to the balcony outside Zuko's room. Zuko and the old man embraced, laughing for pure joy.

"You did it!" Iroh said, looking at Katara over Zuko's shoulder.

The telescope, featherduster, piccolo, and wardrobe were all there; but Katara had barely looked at them before each of them suddenly changed, faster than her eyes could register. Suki shrank, while the others grew, until they were all around the same height as Zuko and Katara and Iroh.

Chief Arnook was a tall middle-aged man in Water Tribe clothing.

Aunt Wu was an elegant old woman in luxurious golden robes and painted facial features.

Ty Lee was a young woman with a long brown braid, dressed in a pink costume almost fit for a circus.

Suki was about the same age, in a green dress that made up the Kyoshi Warrior uniform.

"Look at us!" Ty Lee cried, putting one arm around Suki and another around Aunt Wu.

"Where are the children?" Aunt Wu wondered.

"Here!" Aang and Meng rode in on Momo the footstool. They got off quickly, realizing what was about to happen. The teacup and the doll spun and grew into a boy and a girl before everyone's eyes. The two of them looked at each other.

"Aang!"

"Meng!"

"Look at you!" they said at the same time. Suddenly Meng seized Aang's shirt, pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. Aang's eyes widened in shock.

"Aw, they're so sweet together!" Ty Lee crooned.

Finally Meng loosened her grip enough for Aang to pull away, looking bewildered. "Of all the things you could have done—that was the first thing you thought to do, now you're human again!"

"I thought I might never be able to do that! Of course that would be the first thing!"

Katara couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Come here, you two!" she ordered. The two youngest people ran up to her; Katara was able to hug them for the first time.

Iroh tilted his head at Zuko's face. "Why do you suppose that scar didn't fade?"

Zuko shrugged. "Probably so I don't forget." He didn't mind; he would patiently and humbly bore his scar as a reminder of his arrogance and selfishness.

"What is going on?" Sokka entered the room, carrying his shoulder bag carefully in his hands, looking just as bewildered as he had been the night he discovered the castle. Although then he had been shocked to see that the inhabitants were material objects, now he was surprised to see them as human beings.

"Well," Aang said, "basically Katara saved Zuko with some magic spirit water, they professed their love, and broke the spell that had made Zuko ugly and turned the rest of us into household items."

Sokka blinked at him. "Oh," was all he said.

"Where is my daughter?" Arnook said, his voice shaking just slightly.

Sokka looked half crestfallen, half guilty. He knelt down and laid the bag on the floor, so they could see the porcelain shards he had carried on it.

"Yue," Zuko said solemnly.

Katara spoke up quietly. "She was the one who gave me the water from the Spirit Oasis. If she hadn't … we would have lost Zuko."

"We might have lost you both," Sokka interjected, "if it hadn't been for her."

Arnook looked lost. "Why is she still like this?" he asked, gesturing to the broken teapot.

"I guess … the enchantment can't reverse death," Zuko acknowledged sadly.

"I'm so sorry." Sokka bowed his head in sorrow and something that might have been shame. "I'm sorry I threw her … I … I panicked, I guess … I did what she told me …"

"You helped her save Zuko," Arnook said somberly. "In turn, she saved all of us."

"She's a hero," Katara said solemnly.

Sokka picked up the largest shard, which had been a part of Yue's face. He looked at it wistfully, with something like reverence; then he brought the porcelain piece to his face and kissed it. "Good-bye, Princess Yue," he said quietly, placing the shard back on the bag.

"Sokka." He turned and faced Zuko, who stood humbly before him. "It couldn't have been easy, letting Katara come back. Thank you, for bringing her here."

"You're … welcome." Sokka folded his arms. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're all right."

Zuko nodded in thanks.

The two men shook hands. Katara thought she might burst with happiness, seeing the people she loved most—as well as the two halves of her life—reconciled.

"I guess there's just one thing left," Iroh said thoughtfully.

"What's that?" Aang asked; Meng shushed him.

Zuko knew what they were thinking. And for once, he and Iroh were in agreement.

Zuko took Katara's hand in his, and led her out onto the balcony. The others could still see and hear them.

"You saved my life," Zuko said, sounding both awed and grateful. "And you broke the spell—some of them thought they'd never be human again." He shook his head. "I don't know how to thank you."

Katara hesitated. "Would … well, if Sokka agrees …" She looked sheepish. "Would you take me back? To stay, I mean?"

Zuko smiled, almost laughing a little. "Of course you can. And Sokka's welcome too," he added.

Katara was about to thank him, but he kept talking. "Katara." Zuko took a deep breath. "If there's one thing I learned tonight," he said seriously, "it's that I need you. Maybe you don't need me as much …"

"Yes, I do," Katara said softly. She knew, now, that her heart was here, with Zuko and all the castle's inhabitants.

Zuko took both of Katara's hands in his own. Then, he very deliberately bent down on one knee.

"Katara of the Water Tribe," Zuko said, "will you marry me?"

He half-expected her to be surprised, to hesitate, to say that she wasn't ready.

But what she said instead was, "Yes. I will."

Song: "Home (Reprise)" from the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast.

Disclaimer: The line "You are the most beautiful man I've ever met" is taken from the movie Beastly.