Sorry for the wait in this one. I got a little wrapped up in some other fandoms, included Legend of Korra (which is awesome, for those of you who still haven't gotten around to it), and ended up getting sidetracked. Prepare for a chapter heavy in dialog and angst…sorry about that.
XXXXX
As Zuko began to wake up the following morning, he was first aware that he was sitting up, not lying down. Which was odd. And that his neck and back hurt, presumably from falling asleep propped up against what felt like a tree. And what the hell was the weight on his legs?
He cracked his eyes open and was surprised to see Katara using his lap as a pillow. He frowned down at her, trying to blink away his confusion and piecing the previous night back together.
Ah. That was right. His gaze traveled out over the water and settled on the ship. They had struck a wreck and had to evacuate. He looked back at Katara. If it wasn't for her bending skills, they probably would have lost their ship.
Gently, he reached forward and pushed her dark hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She was still deep asleep, curled up against his side. His hand remained on her hair, running the waves of it through his fingers. It was surprising how she could bind it all into a slim braid, with how thick it was…
Awareness suddenly came to him. What was he doing? What were they doing? It wasn't appropriate for the two of them to be away from the rest of the crew and so…intimate. What would the crew think, if they saw them together like this?
Zuko quickly withdrew his hand and glanced over at the camp. It was just before dawn, and he didn't see anyone moving out and about. The few men he did see were prostrate on the ground outside the tents, apparently having fallen asleep where they lay.
Relieved, Zuko turned back to Katara and carefully began drawing himself away, easing out from under her. She didn't even stir as he cautiously took her head and lowered it to the grass. Zuko blessed his luck and got to his feet.
Alright. Well. What did he do? Maybe he should slip back into his tent and pretend that they hadn't spent the night together. No, Iroh would have known he wasn't in the tent they were sharing. He could pretend he had fallen asleep outside with the others. Sure, that would work.
But…did he leave her there? Carrying her back to camp didn't seem like a good idea. Should he…get her a blanket or something?
No, he rationalized. It was almost time for the day to start, she would be fine alone. He looked down at her for a few moments longer, than began walking in the other direction.
Moving through the camp, Zuko was reassured to see that he had been right and that no one was awake, besides himself. He could have just picked a spot on the ground behind the tent that was appointed to him and Iroh and pretend to wake up with the rest of the crew…but instead he kept walking. Past the camp, past the ship boats that had been pulled up on the small bit of beach, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Katara.
When he finally walked far enough away to reach another small grove of trees, Zuko stopped. His sore back and neck were bothering him, and he began to shake them out, sighing.
What the hell was he getting himself into?
He had been stupid the previous night. His intentions had been completely innocent when he had sought her out, wishing to get away from the rowdiness of the men.
But he wasn't thinking. He shouldn't have allowed himself to fall asleep. He shouldn't have allowed her to fall asleep. He should have escorted her back to camp when she began dozing off, not let her fall asleep snuggled against him! If anyone had seen…first it would be just laughing jokes, nothing more. Or maybe the men would have pretended that they hadn't seen anything. But they would have started to pay closer attention, put his and Katara's relationship under scrutiny, made it awkward for both of them. Because if the crew suspected anything was happening between the two, they would have been bound to report it.
The future bride of Ozai could not be suspected of…dallying with anyone, least of all the Fire Lord's own son.
Zuko groaned and ran a hand over his scalp, scuffing the hair that was beginning to grow back. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He hadn't been thinking at all. Oh, sure, he had gotten up in arms when he suspected Katara of having a sweetheart at home, citing that it wouldn't be appropriate…but he hadn't considered that he could be considered much of the same, depending on his behavior.
Zuko couldn't imagine the repercussions if people began to believe that he and Katara were…involved, but it wouldn't be positive. And a cold fear struck him as he imagined his father's reaction. It wouldn't matter to the Fire Lord whether or not something truly did happen between his son and the future bride…but he would not put up with the dishonor, the rumors that his very own son had taken what was supposed to be his.
Zuko swallowed hard, remember the searing pain from when his father had branded his face all those years ago. That would probably feel like nothing, compared to…
Zuko shook his head and stopped that line of thought. There was no point in thinking of things that would never happen. Because they wouldn't. He wouldn't allow it. He could certainly be Katara's friend, but he could be nothing more. And it wasn't as if he wanted to be anything more, anyway. Right? Zuko expected to feel reassured at that thought, but instead he felt his stomach knot up.
He didn't have time for this. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Zuko returned to camp.
XXXXX
Katara opened her eyes and stared at the grass for a few seconds, then gave her body a great big stretch and rolled onto her back. Ugh, why had she fallen asleep curled up like that? Her back was going to bother her all morning now.
She squinted up at the tree branches above her. Hadn't Zuko been with her last night? He was gone now. It was nice of him to leave her there in the middle of the night while he left for the comfort of his tent.
Well, maybe he hadn't wanted to wake her up. Katara wasn't sure if she would have woken him if he had been fast asleep beside her. And perhaps she should thank him. Last night had been the first night she hadn't had some sort of nightmare about what had happened between her and Zhao.
She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, since she wasn't even sure if she should, but lately she had been thinking about it a lot. The nightmares weren't always that terrifying, usually she just woke up unsettled, but it had really gotten under her skin.
Katara had never thought of herself as defenseless. As weak. In any confrontation, she had always been able to protect herself if there was serious danger. Take away her water, and what did she have?
Bloodbending, the dark part of her whispered. You are never truly defenseless.
Katara scowled. No. She never wanted to do that again. When Zhao had attacked her, had pinned her down, she hadn't been able to fight. The terror that had threatened to overwhelm her rang in her memory. She never wanted to make someone else feel that betrayal of their own body, whether they were trying to hurt her or not.
Oh really? Are you just going to rely on the mercy of stronger men, then? What would of happened to you, if Zuko had not saved you? You had a piece of that mirror. Would you have sliced his throat, killed him, instead of merely stopping him with bloodbending? Is that how far you'd go to keep your morals?
It had been too early in the day for bloodbending, she wanted to argue, but her mouth ran dry at that idea. She did have that shard in her hand. Would she have tried to kill him?
Well, this is why she was having Zuko train her. So she would be able to get out trouble without harming others, without resorting to the most dangerous weapon she had. Gaining strength from that thought, Katara shoved that ugly part of her mind away.
She sat up, trying to finger-comb her hair as she looked around. It looked like the men in the camp were just beginning to wake, just like her. Hoping her hair didn't look too wild, Katara got up and walked over.
One man was squatting by a small fire, cooking up some sort of breakfast. The smell of food was quickly making everyone pick their heads up. He looked up and smiled at Katara when she sat down to help him.
After all the men had risen and been fed, a small party was put together to travel to the next town. Iroh went with them, leaving Zuko and Jee in charge.
Once he had seen his uncle off, Zuko turned to see Katara standing knee-deep the water, hands working quickly to braid her hair. He hesitated for a moment, then walked over. "Um…"
She didn't hear him, slowly raising her hands. Zuko watched as the water shifted and rippled around her, then began to stream away from her legs. The rocks under her shoes were revealed, leaving a dry perimeter of about two feet around her.
She looked over her shoulder when Zuko called her name. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"I wanted to check out the boat we hit," she told him. "Want to come with me? A firebender might be useful, it might be too dark for me to see down there."
"You're going to…walk out to the sunken ship?" Zuko asked, incredulous.
"Well, yeah. Wouldn't you like to see it? I mean, I could swim, but there's the whole problem of having to breathe. If I walk out, I won't have to keep going back up for air."
"I guess," Zuko said hesitantly. He stepped into the water, and in three strides moved into the bubble Katara had created for herself. It was eerie, when his legs suddenly hit air instead of water. She smiled when he stumbled slightly, then turned away from him and started walking away from shore.
Zuko kept close on her heels, staring as the water crept high and higher. The hair on the back of his neck rose as it reached over his head, and then suddenly met, enclosing him and Katara completely.
"You okay back there?" Katara smirked over her shoulder. "You're breathing down my neck."
"What? Oh." Zuko hurriedly backed off her.
Katara couldn't help but giggle. "Calm down, I'm not going to drown you."
"I didn't think—"
"I'm teasing you, Zuko. Chill." Katara paused and pushed the water back more, giving them more room. "Better?"
Zuko glared at her back, not saying anything. He'd like to see how comfortable she'd be surrounded by walls of fire on all sides.
They continued walking, and slowly Zuko's apprehension died down. This was actually kind of…amazing. He marveled at it. Here they were, two people, walking along the bottom of the ocean. And Katara was acting as if this was nothing special.
He turned his head up to gaze above them, watching as the light rippled and wavered. They must be at least thirty feet under now, and the light was beginning to dim. He raised a hand and generated a flame so they could see.
The light bounced off the water, creating walls of mirrors around them. Katara stopped, surprised, and unable to see in front of them.
"Oh, sorry," Zuko mumbled, and dimmed the flame.
A smile split Katara's face as she spun around, watching as the firelight glinted off the water. "Don't apologize. It's…beautiful."
Zuko couldn't help but stare at her face, which was light up with awe. He felt a strange twist in his chest as he watched her, and he couldn't describe it. What he was feeling, what was happening…it couldn't be labeled.
He felt as if time had stopped, that this wasn't actually happening. Perhaps he was dreaming, that he hadn't woken up this morning. Because surely something like this couldn't happen in real life.
The more he thought about it, the more unreal it seemed. A firebender and a waterbender, standing on the bottom of the ocean, surrounded on all sides by glittering walls. And the waterbender was the most interesting, most fascinating person he had ever met. She couldn't be real. No one could be as smart as she was, as brave, as gorgeous, as amazing.
An overwhelming urge to touch her surged through him. He swallowed hard and tore his eyes away, studying his feet. Stop that, he thought to himself.
"Oh!" Katara drew his attention back. "I think…this must be what the ship hit."
He turned to see what she was looking at. Katara was bending over a large structure of metal, the tip of which was buried in the sand. Zuko followed it, where it angled up and continued off out of view of their air bubble.
"This almost looks like…"
"A command tower," Zuko answered, narrowing his eyes. "Much smaller than ours, but it could be."
Katara faced where it led off to, and took a few steps back. She raised her arms, then spun forward. The bubble doubled in size and the walls of water rippled and wavered, now enveloping a large sheet of metal that sat on the ocean floor.
"We've reached the ship," Katara said with a smile. She pushed the water away even further, so that the top of the side came in view.
Head titled back, Katara examined the scene. It looked as if the watch tower had been knocked off when their ship had collided with it. It was hanging off the side, warping the railing where it had fallen. Truly, it was merely a glorified crow's nest, as there was no roofed structure atop it, just a circular plane of metal with short walls. The side that Katara could see, the side not buried deep in the sand, was crumpled in and dented, presumably by being run into by their ship.
"Zuko, does this look like a Fire Nation ship to you?" Katara asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"I suppose so, the architecture is similar" he answered, hoping she hadn't noticed him staring at her. "It's a bit hard to tell from here."
"We can fix that." Katara put a hand on the tower, then hopped up on top of it in a crouch. Zuko quickly moved forward to steady her as she swayed. Once she had made sure the water wouldn't cave in on them, she grinned down at Zuko. "Thanks."
A heat that had nothing to do with the flame in his hand crept up his neck as he removed his hand from her waist. He mumbled something in reply. Katara began to carefully ascend the tower, and once she was enough distance away, Zuko climbed up after and began to follow.
"Well, I guess there's our answer," Katara said when she jumped down onto the ship.
In the dim light, she could make out a large flame, the symbol of the Fire Nation, painted onto deck, reaching from one side to the other. The ship itself wasn't that large, easily half the size of the one Katara and Zuko had been traveling in. As Zuko jumped onto the deck, Katara froze the water surrounding the ship, then lowered her arms. "Zuko?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Could you make that a little brighter?"
Zuko complied without comment, and both were silent for a moment as they took in the scene before them.
With the stronger light, they could now see the damage. The fallen watch tower was the least of this ship's problems. Deep gouges marred the paint on the deck. Varying sizes of earth, some boulders, others fist-sized rocks, were embedded in the metal, tearing holes right through the deck in certain places. Farther down the ship's length was a cabin, and the door was punched in. A skeleton dressed in the ragged remains of a Fire Nation uniform was propped beside it, slouching against the wall.
Zuko moved closer, carefully skirting a hole in the deck. A quick peek inside revealed another skeleton, the clothes so deteriorated he couldn't discern Fire Nation or not. "Goes without saying, Earth Kingdom attack," he said, toeing a rock that had seaweed attached aside. "Probably years ago, telling by the bodies. Though I guess that being exposed to sea life would speed up deterioration."
"Is that what you think?" Katara asked, tone strangely calm.
"Well, of course. Look at these boulders! They must have attacked from the shore, catapulted them onto the ship." He turned to Katara, and faltered when he saw her face. Her brows were drawn together, and her mouth was tightly pursed. "Katara? What's wrong? Is it the bodies?"
"Yes, it's the bodies," Katara snapped. "And before you think it's some feminine squeamishness, I've seen plenty of dead before. It's the fact that they're here at all. And you just assume that the Fire Nation soldiers were the ones who were attacked."
Zuko was taken aback by her sudden change of mood. "Katara, what…?"
"I guess I shouldn't expect any different, of course you would support your men." She looked down and rubbed her forehead. Her tone softened. "I don't know what I was expecting; ships don't just sink for no reason. And I'm not angry at you. I'm just angry at…everything.
"You don't even seem to be bothered by this. You act as if you see this everyday." Katara sighed and drew her gaze up. "Doesn't this bother you?"
Zuko hesitated before speaking, and then carefully said, "No, not really. I feel grief that men from my nation died, but I don't feel…a personal sadness for this. I didn't know these men, and it happened some time ago."
Katara shook her head. "Well, I grieve for them. All of them. Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom…I don't care, they shouldn't of had to die. And for what, really?" She paused, and then asked him directly, "Zuko, what do you think of this war? Do you support it?"
"I support the actions of my nation," Zuko said stiffly. He had not been expecting a political argument when he had agreed to go exploring with her, and he wasn't sure how to respond to her.
She snorted. "Don't dance around it. Do you approve of the war, or not?"
"You clearly don't seem to."
Katara shook her head at him. "Why can't you just tell me? It's just me and you down here, Zuko. No one else. We've been avoiding this since we met. The reason we're where we are now. We've never talked about it—but I need to know. Do you approve of the war? Do you think that it's the right thing to do? Heck, while we're at it, why do you think I'm here at all? Do you believe that your father really wants peace between our two nations, that he's asking for my hand because he wants to end the war?"
Zuko glared at her. They weren't supposed to talk about these things. It had been a silent agreement between them that they would never bring up these topics, because it might ruin the frail friendship they had been building. It was fine if they argued over simple things, such as hypothetical battle strategy or their favorite piece of literature, but politics? Never. They were too close to the heart of it to be able to disagree and still get along. He was the prince of the Fire Nation. She was the Lady of the Southern Water Tribe. They should be enemies, simply by title. If they ignored that, pretended that the
war didn't exist, then they could be friends.
And now, that they were completely alone, where not a soul could hear their opinions—well, there wasn't any reason not to be honest. Not a single one—except that Zuko had never been in such a situation. He had never been alone with someone who wouldn't condemn him for his beliefs.
Zuko was silent for so long Katara thought he was never going to answer her, and she was about to throw up her hands in disgust when he suddenly broke the silence.
"No."
So simple a word, and it surprised her. Katara stopped, closed her mouth from when she opened it to snarl at him.
Zuko met her eyes steadily, almost daring her to argue with him. "No, I don't. I don't approve of the war. I don't think my father wants peace. I don't think he asked for your hand for the reasons he said."
Zuko swallowed as relief and guilt crashed over him at the same time. "I love my country," he said, sounding as if desperate to convince her. "I love it more than you can imagine. But I do not trust my father. I do not think that he—" Zuko bit his lip, his mind telling him to shut up, stop talking, don't say these things, especially to a water bender! But he had already started, and he couldn't stop. The words began pouring out of him.
"He doesn't love our country. I don't think he's capable of loving anything. He certainly never loved my mother. I think the only thing he cares about is himself, is his power. I believe that even if Azulan, his father before him, had not planted this idea of a war on the world in his head, my father would have done it anyway, merely for the power. The control. That's all he cares about. Not his people. Not his nation. Not his children, not his wife."
Katara stared at Zuko, unable to speak. She wanted to go to him, to calm him down, but she feared if she tried he would only push her away, as worked up as he was.
"You've never met my father," he said to her. "You've heard stories, and rumors, about him, but you don't know him. Nobody does. Not like I do. If he can't control something, he destroys it. Simply because it opposes his will.
"Azula knows that, too. She—I think because she was younger than me, because my father always seemed to prefer her—she accepted that better. She molded herself to be his perfect child. She does not like being controlled, but she did what she had to. And I think she's done it so long that she's accepted that she is a tool for him, and doesn't question it.
"I'm not that lucky, Katara," he said with a sick sort of smile. "I don't like fighting. I don't like hurting people. But I do, because it's what he wants. Because if I didn't, he would do the same to me that he did my mother."
The hurt in his expression pulled at Katara's heart strong enough to overcome her discomfort. "Zuko," she whispered, and moved to take his hand.
"No." He shook her off. "I'm not a coward—I'm not doing what he wants just to survive, Katara. I'm surviving because one day, he'll die. Even a man as powerful as him can't live forever, no matter how much land he conquers, no matter how strong his army is. And when that time comes, when he finally dies, someone has to fill that place. And I have to be there. It can't be Azula. Ozai has twisted her around so much she believes his mission—that this war is to share our greatness with the world," he said with a snort. "And there are others, others back in the Fire Nation, that would jump at the chance to be the Fire Lord, should the circumstances be right. To help themselves, not their nation. You saw Zhao, you know how crazy he is. And he's not even the worse of them, Katara. When you get to the palace, you'll see. Backstabbing bastards, the whole lot of them. I think—I think that there must be madness in our blood, or something," Zuko said, sounding almost hysterical at the point, "because we all seem to be a little nuts. The most normal out of all of us is Iroh, and you didn't know him before his family died. He was almost as zealous as the rest of us, and it took the death of his loved ones to calm him down."
He took a deep breath, coming back to himself, back to the point. He turned to Katara. "I need to support this war, and support my father, so I can inherit his throne. I need to fix what my father and grandfather have done. I don't know if I will be able to—the war has already hurt so many, changed so much, but I need to try."
When he finished, he was breathing hard and staring at her. Desperate for her to say something. To confirm his beliefs, or condemn him, anything.
When Katara finally spoke, her voice was soft. "I guess we're not so different, then. Both of us are suffering for the benefit of our people."
Zuko let out a self-loathing laugh. "Yes, but at least you're being brave about it. You're willingly subjecting yourself to a marriage with the man who has killed your people, ordered the genocide the likes of which we have never seen. What am I doing? Absolutely nothing. I'm just sitting around, and waiting for my father to die of old age." He snorted. "No, Katara, we are not alike. You will always be stronger than I ever will be."
"I don't believe that's true, Zuko. And what other option do you have? If you try to oppose him now, it will only create a disaster. Even if you were the one to come out on top, you would face a government, a nation you had taken by force. I think this world has seen enough violence. The natural ending of a life would be the best way to pass power down, so you wouldn't have to fear those loyal to him at your back."
Zuko knew what she was saying was true. He had thought of it many times. Even if, by some miracle, he could best his father—kill?—he would not be able to trust those closest to the throne. He sister would be problem enough, such a sycophant she was of his father, not to mention the council or nobles of the Fire Nation. And the people had been murmuring of the unexpected death of Azulan and Ursa, and Ozai's sudden taking of the throne. It would be best not to make it traditional that patricide was the only way to rise to power.
"Zuko…" Katara licked her lips, then met his gaze. "Can you promise me something? After this journey is over, and after whatever happens happens…I want you to end this war. Can you do that? Can you try to bring peace to our nations?"
"I'll do everything within my power to end this, Katara. I swear it."
XXXXX
As the sun began to sink that day, Zuko found himself in the same position as the previous night, sitting in front of a fire with Katara. Despite what he had decided that morning, about not allowing the two of them to get too close…after what they had talked about on the ship, Zuko couldn't bear the thought of trying to get along with the crew and pretend that nothing had happened.
In an attempt to stick to his promise, he sat on the other side of the fire, and told himself that the second one of them began to yawn or drift off, it was back to the tents.
"They certainly are a little more…rambunctious, tonight," Katara noted, nodding towards the rest of the camp, where some of the crew were dancing and singing around their own campfires.
"They found that one of the barrels of wine had been cracked slightly when we crashed…decided they couldn't let it go to waste," Zuko told her.
"So they're going to drink the whole thing? In one night?" Katara laughed. "They are going to be really grouchy in the morning."
Zuko agreed, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around his knees. Eyeing her across the fire, he ventured, "Katara?"
"Hmm?"
"You never told me why you volunteered for all of this. The way I heard it, the original declaration for cease-fire was meant for the Northern Water Tribe girl."
A sad smile crossed Katara's face. "Well, they never specifically named her, but yes, it was implied that it was her hand that Ozai was asking for. We were lucky, I guess, about that."
"'We?'" Zuko repeated.
Katara nodded. "The princess of the Northern Water Tribe is named Yue. Do you know anything about her?"
"No. I didn't even know her name. I haven't heard anything about her, actually."
"There's not much to tell," Katara said. "She's a sweet girl. Beautiful, too, but she doesn't make waves, so I'm not surprised there isn't much talk about her. With all the war meetings, we got to know each other. And, well. She got to know my brother." Zuko thought back to the young man he had seen the day he met Katara. From what he could remember, they seemed to be arguing when she left. "Sokka and Yue…they fell in love."
"Oh." Zuko tried to imagine what it must have been like for her, and for him. Either way, he lost someone he loved. If Katara hadn't stepped up for Yue, her brother would have lost the woman he loved. And because Katara knew that…he had lost his sister.
"Did you know, that the day the messenger came from the Fire Nation was the day Sokka was going to propose to her? He had been planning it for weeks. Remember when I told you about my necklace?" she asked, tapping it against her collarbone. Zuko nodded. "That day he showed me the pendant he planned to give to her. He had been working so hard on it. He had this bag with him, it was full of pieces he had made mistakes on, or didn't like. There must have been dozens of them." A laugh bubbled in her throat, but when it escaped her mouth, it came out as a sob. "I just can't imagine how terrible it must have been for him," Katara gasped, wiping her eyes. "I mean, what could he do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He would have had to watch as the love of his life, this girl he had planned to marry—this sweet, innocent girl—was stolen away. By the man that Sokka has spent his life fighting, the man who was the reason our mother died. Because he couldn't do anything to stop it. He would have to go home, with that stupid bag of marriage pendants, and know that Yue was condemned to life chained to that man. And Zuko, you didn't know her—she would go through with it, she would, because she's strong, in her own way—but she isn't strong enough. I know, I just know, that it would kill her. She loved Sokka just as much as he loved her, and to be taken away from him, and be forced to marry the Fire Lord…it would crush her. Completely destroy her, mind, body, and spirit.
"But I'm strong. I'm strong enough. I can do this. I can do this, if it means that Sokka and Yue can be together." She clenched her eyes shut, trying to stop the hot tears from falling down her face. "All I want is for them to be happy. I just want them to be able to get married, and start a family together. In a world without war." She pressed her face into Zuko's chest, not sure when he had moved to her side, but not caring. "I don't know what Ozai has planned, but I can take it. Because I have to, for them. I can do this. I can."
Zuko put his arms around her, trying to soothe her, running his hand over her hair. He tried to quiet her, but she kept crying. It had been too long since Katara had faced her feelings, and all day emotions had been running high, and now she couldn't stop.
"I just don't want their children to have to grow up like me and Sokka did. Without a mother, with war. We grew up too fast—I just don't want them to have to grow up too fast."
Zuko gently rocked her as his mother rocked him when he was young, quietly shushing in her ear. Growing up too fast. Katara and Sokka weren't the only ones. Zuko wondered what his life would have been like if his mother hadn't died. If he actually had a relationship with his sister, like Katara had with her brother.
Finally Katara cried herself out, and eventually pulled herself out of his embrace. Red in the face from sobbing and embarrassment, Katara rubbed her eyes and nose. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I—I didn't mean to…that wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to see me like this."
"It's alright," he said quietly, rubbing her shoulder. "I mean, it wouldn't really be fair after I had a breakdown you wouldn't either."
She laughed at that, and it sounded awful, all cracked and wet. Katara shook her head. "We really are a mess, aren't we?"
He could have made a joke then, about how looked after crying like that, or how she had gotten his shirt wet. But he didn't. Instead he told her, "Katara, you are strong enough to do this. I don't know anyone who could have done something as brave and as selfless as you have."
Katara sighed, rubbing her face again. "Sometimes it doesn't feel brave or selfless. Sometimes I just feel like a stupid little girl sticking my nose in places it doesn't belong." She turned her dried eyes on to him, now serious. "But I mean it, Zuko. I need you to keep your promise. I know that it's probably too late for us…but it isn't for the next generation. We need to give them a fighting chance."
"I know, Katara. I know. I won't forget."
XXXXX
This chapter may seem a little repetitive, but I've been trying to figure out where to place these talks, because they've been bouncing around in my head for ages, and figured it was about damn time I put them down. Just working out Zuko's plan and motivation, and trying to make Katara realize that she doesn't have to be superwoman 24/7 when she's around Zuko.
I'm doing my best to slowly introduce the Zutara, because while I really just want to toss them together NOW, it really wouldn't make any sense. I tried working in some more substantial relationship stuff, but it felt out of place and I had to delete it. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess.