Avatar the Last Airbender: Wherever You May Be

A/N: Yeah, flashback chapter! So, everyone who wanted more details about what happened before gets their answers in this chapter…well, at least Zuko's side of the story. Katara gets her own version of the flashback later in the story since you can't have Katara thinking in Zuko's flashback and vice versa. Man, did that take a few attempts at editing to make sure it didn't happen!

Thanks to my reviewers, I appreciate any that get written, otherwise all I have to go on is how much 'Traffic' my story gets and that doesn't provide all the important information. Also, um, if you want a response, let me know in the review okay? I can never tell what's a rhetorical question or one that wants an actual answer or if you want me just to review in response to your review. If confused…that makes two of us.

Anyways, read the early posting (since last time I said around V-day weekend), but I figured this is as good as time as any! And since this is the posting during the VD weekend, use protection so you don't get the other form of VD (aka venereal disease!).

~ Stargazer

Wherever You May Be

Chapter 2

~sSSs~

"Zuko!" Snapping his head up in surprise, Zuko squinted as the sunlight hit his eyes from the window before standing from behind his desk to see the person who just burst into his office without knocking. Surprisingly, despite being Fire Lord and having two posted guards outside his door, a lot of people had the tendency of just bursting in unannounced.

"Katara," he answered as he was able to see the waterbender clearly. She smiled at him as she stopped in front of his desk, hands fisted on her hips. She was dressed in the Fire Nation style to fight the heat and humidity but he saw most of the articles were in the light blue color of her own nation with just the edges and under layers in red. "Interesting clothing."

"Uncle Iroh had them ordered for me for when I visit," Katara explained and Zuko sighed at the comment. He didn't know how or when it had happened - it probably started with Toph - but everyone had started calling Iroh 'Uncle' after the war. It was a little disconcerting, but Iroh seemed to enjoy it so Zuko had let it go. "So, Fire Lord, are you too busy to visit for a while, or should I wait for dinner?"

"Trust me, I can visit," Zuko told her, shrugging out of his robe and tossing it on top of the reports he was reading over and signing. Nothing was due immediately and he hadn't seen Katara or anyone else for over six months, so they could easily wait. "Is anyone else here with you for this unexpected visit?"

"No, not this time," Katara said as the two, plus the unseen body guards that always followed Zuko around, left his office and strolled through the palace. They chatted about what had happened since they had last seen each other, Zuko jealous of the stories Katara had to tell him.

After the end of the war Katara had traveled with the rest of the group for almost two years on behalf of their respective countries as well as the Fire Nation to promote peace. Sokka finally returned to the Southern Water Tribe following that and took Suki with him. Zuko had visited them during their wedding on the third anniversary of the war and had been the laughing stock as he claimed to slowly freeze to death during the visit. Firebenders were more susceptible to cold weather than they let on: if they spent too much time their bending could even be severely affected.

Shortly after that Sokka and Suki had become chief ambassadors between the Earth Nation and Southern Water Tribe and were frequently traveling between the two nations. It didn't hurt that Toph had become a member of the Earth Nation Senate, as well as a personal advisor to the Earth King when she was in Ba Sing Se. She was still the best earthbender in the world as even Aang was unable to pick up the subtleties of metalbending and held her position through a combination of fear, awe, and her up-front attitude about everything.

A few months after Sokka and Suki's wedding Katara had made the decision to travel on her own, separate from Aang. Zuko had never heard the reason for the two to break up but when everyone had gathered six months ago for the four year anniversary the two had acted like there was nothing wrong so he hadn't brought it up. Now Katara was an ambassador, one that worked for all the nations so it wasn't uncommon for her to be halfway across the world at any time.

It seemed more interesting than sitting inside a palace day after day, Zuko thought, almost wishing for the days he spent traveling the world.

"Why so gloomy all of a sudden?" Katara asked as she twisted to walk in front of him. "Don't tell me my story about the koala sheep was that bad. I even got Sokka to snort yak milk out of his nose with it."

"I did not need to hear that," Zuko grumbled to her as he tried to banish the image.

"So…I shouldn't tell you about the pack of skunk-wolverines that attacked Sokka and Suki?" Katara grinned and Zuko sighed. Katara flew into a detailed story that ended up with Sokka stuck in a tree in the middle of the night, naked, where the Kyoshi warriors found him in the morning. Smiling for what felt the first time in weeks, Zuko sighed as they stepped outside into the small personal garden that was reserved for the royal family and guests. The guards stopped outside the garden and took up their position as the two benders went to the small pool where a gaggle of turtle ducks was splashing in the water.

"I miss sunlight," Zuko groaned as he simply allowed himself to spread out on the grass. He would return to being a Fire Lord soon enough he knew, so he let himself enjoy this short break outside of normality. "So, what brings you here Katara?"

"I need a favor," Katara said as she sat next to Zuko, smiling at him. "I'm heading to Omashu and Ba Sing Se, but I need help with something beforehand."

"As long as it's not trying to figure out another one of Bumi's weird trading policies. The last one gave me a headache and took a month to decipher and then he completely voided it, on a whim."

"No, nothing like that. I've been asked to join a group of the Earth Nation royals to travel around and talk with the villages about how everything has been going," she explained. "The only problem is that most of the area we'll be traveling through is the northern desert."

"Hm mm," Zuko murmured as the sun slowly heated him up.

"So, not a lot of water is going to be available."

"Hm mm."

"And there have been reports of bandits attacking travelers."

"Hm mm."

"And we won't have a lot of soldiers traveling with us because it's a good will thing."

"Katara, you're a Master. Why are you worried about not having soldiers available?" Zuko asked slowly before opening his eyes as the turtle ducks suddenly started quacking in a panicked manner. He paused seeing the entire pond essentially floating above him in the middle of the air, some of the lilies still drifting in the water. "Um, Katara?"

"Think hard, Zuko," Katara reminded him sweetly and Zuko glanced away from the water long enough to see her smiling sweetly at him, something that always caused him to break out in a cold sweat. Not because she was smiling, but because her eyes were narrow slits of ice glaring at him from within heavily lashed eyes. She seemed to have perfected it during the years since the Western Air Temple he noticed dimly before returning his attention to dilemma at hand.

"Desert travel? You're worried about not being able to bend if you get attacked," Zuko rushed out and sighed as Katara finally returned the water back into the empty hole in the ground.

"I always knew there was a reason why we let you become Fire Lord." Katara grinned at him as the disgruntle turtle ducks flew back to the pool. "I was wondering if you would be able to teach me enough about sword fighting that I can still fight in case we get attacked and water isn't available."

"Can't you just, suck it up from the ground?" Zuko asked, knowing Katara could pull the water from plants and trees.

"I tried," she explained, pulling a small amount back from the pool and sending it over to a group of flowers wilting under the sun. "It's too deep for my powers to reach it."

"Why not have Sokka teach you?"

Katara snorted and sent him a look to which Zuko shrugged. Sokka had become a master in his own right with the sword after the war, so it was surprising Katara wouldn't go to him.

"I did. Do you know what he told me?" Katara said then deepened her voice to do an impression of the teenage Sokka that had Zuko grinning. "'All you do Katara is swing and hope to the Spirits you actually hit something. Also, I highly recommend you keep a hold on it.'"

"He never was a good teacher," Zuko suddenly recalled, remembering the extremely brief time that Sokka had tried to show him how 'Boomerang' worked. It was along a similar line of Katara's actually.

"You just throw it and it comes back right to you…Huh, wonder why it didn't work. Oh, well, go get it Jerkbender!...It's not that far down to the bottom of the cliffs!"

"It's amazing that my brother is still alive and whole," Katara muttered, shaking her head as she smiled softly. "Anyways, I asked Suki next, thinking she could show me something. The minute Sokka heard though he freaked out and said she wasn't touching anything sharp until the baby arrives."

"Baby?" Zuko asked in surprise and Katara grinned at him.

"She was three months pregnant when I left, so she's about four months now I think," Katara told him and Zuko absorbed the information. "Sokka was going between panic attacks and more panic attacks."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Not at all. So with Suki unable to teach me that only left Ty Lee," Katara said before shivering. "I didn't bring it up. I didn't think I could handle that much time with her, even with growing up with a chatter box like Sokka. So with them out of the way, that only left the 'oh so famous' Blue Spirit to teach me."

"The Blue Spirit, huh?" Zuko asked, frowning as he avoided looking at her. "I heard he was wanted by the Fire Nation. Do you know where to find him?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Katara eluded, smiling at him. "So, think he's willing to help?"

"I'll see what I can do," Zuko told her before shrugging. "It's hard to get away for a visit let alone training."

"I can make time for you," Katara promised and Zuko knew that if anyone could, it would be Katara.

sSs

True to her word Katara was able to arrange enough time for them to both spar and for Zuko to teach her sword fighting. It was hard for the first week, Katara reacting on instinct several times when she panicked. She had spent so much of her life relying on her bending abilities Zuko figured, that in this new method of fighting where pure physical strength meant almost everything she found herself at a horrible disadvantage.

After over four years since originally meeting, Zuko topped her by a good half foot now, not to mention the fact he was easily fifty to seventy pounds heavier than she was. But, he was also good enough of a teacher to make sure she knew when to use her agility to her advantage, even against a stronger opponent. This led him to landing on the dirt more times than he ever cared to count and having to tolerate the guards' chuckles at Katara's friendly mocking.

They sparred in the morning with bending, before the rest of the palace rose. Zuko ordered the guards to stay off training grounds where they fought, more for their own safety than anything. Though their spars never got to the point of being dangerous, they had both seen what had happened to those who had stood too close to fights and were caught off guard. It also allowed them to speak freely as they danced around each other in the enclosed courtyard Zuko had built out of the old Agni Kai battle ground. He had brought in material so all benders would be able to fight here so Katara had an endless of supply of water at her will to use during their fights.

During that time their friendship also grew, to the point where they felt like they had known each other for most of their life, rather than the short time that they had. Secrets and stories from their childhoods were exchanged over fire and water, over plates in empty dining halls, and at night in the private garden. They talked about the world and the changes that were taking place, the good, the new, and the failures. They also learned that friendship didn't mean agreeing on everything the other person said and several hours of silence before making up, even if it would only be a temporary truce.

Zuko found himself talking to Katara about his mother more than he had to anyone else, maybe because she knew what it felt like to lose a parent. He told her about Ozai's refusal to tell him anything about the time around her banishment, how his sister had started crying out for their mother in her cell begging for forgiveness, and his own fear that he would never know what happened to her. He told her things about his childhood that even Mai didn't know and she always had the right words to give to him, not the pity so many before her had given.

Looking back on it, there was little doubt in his mind why he fell in love with her, even if he didn't see it right then.

sSs

"So, how's the wedding coming?" Katara asked one day during sparring and Zuko froze before ducking the sword rapidly approaching his neck. He stumbled from the uncoordinated action, his own sword knocked clear from his hand from the blow and landing with a loud clang as it hit the ground. Thankfully he didn't fall over and as he straightened up he saw Katara frowning at him as she lowered her sword. "You okay?"

"Fine," Zuko said, waving her off as he went to retrieve his sword. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he turned to see Katara waterbending her own sweat away and drying her hair that had started to stick to her body. The summer heat was always bad in the middle of the afternoon; even his guards had shed their heavy layers and stood in what little shade they could find. They hadn't even looked up at his stumble and Zuko was rather grateful. Katara had picked up quickly at sword-play and he was thinking he would have to switch to his broadswords to keep their matches even. "Why are you asking about the wedding all of a sudden?"

"I don't know," Katara said as she slipped back into the guard position, shifting her feet wider to the proper stance. Zuko imitated her position and they started sparring again but moved at a slower pace so they could talk without running out of breath. "It has never come up during dinner with you two and it seemed strange to me I guess."

"How so?" Zuko asked before taking advantage in an opening in Katara's stance to swing his sword towards her unprotected stomach. She back-peddled to avoid the blunted tip before executing a rather impressive flip to move her out of Zuko's reach. Straightening, she pushed her once again damp hair from her face as she went into the offensive, pushing Zuko back with quick footwork that had him stumbling yet again.

"Well, when Suki was getting married to Sokka, every time I saw her she was talking about everything," Katara explained as she maneuvered Zuko into a corner before lowering her sword as he nodded in acknowledgment to her capture. "I mean, even Sokka talked about their marriage. But, you and Mai don't even talk about the engagement and it's only been what, seven months, since you were engaged?"

"Just about," Zuko told her as he looked away.

"I'm not trying to pry, Zuko," Katara claimed as she stepped in front of him, tugging her hair free of the braid she had pulled it into while training. "But you and Mai, you guys…you love each other, right?"

"Of course," Zuko replied immediately. "I just asked Mai if we could put off getting married immediately because of the rumors of rebellion on the eastern islands and in the Earth Nation."

"Okay," Katara said smiling before handing him her sword, hilt first. "I'm going to go clean up."

Nodding, Zuko watched Katara exit the training ground as she chatted with the guards before disappearing from sight. Turning, he put away the swords and grabbed the clothing he had shed before heading over to the guards. He had enough time to clean up as well before meeting with the governors of several Fire Nation towns that were being hit with draught and needing supplies.

Looking down as he turned a corner he was pulling his hair free of his topknot when he suddenly heard someone running towards him. Looking up in time to see a blur of red appear he grunted as the person ran straight into him, knocking him to the ground with their momentum. Glancing at familiar brown hair he looked up to see Katara staring down at him in surprise, her breath coming out in the short pants.

"Sorry!" she said scrambling off him as quick as she could only to cause Zuko to grunt as her elbow nailed him in the stomach as she straightening herself up. Taking her offered hand he quickly gained his feet to see Katara blushing, but it might have the exertion of their sparring that caused her cheeks to be pink. "I just remembered that I forgot to tell you something!"

"Which was…?" Zuko prompted as Katara fell silent before smiling at him as she snapped back to attention.

"I'm heading off in a week," she told him and Zuko stilled the hand he had lifted to push his hair from his eyes in surprise. "I got everything set up this morning down at the port, but I forgot to mention it to you. So, see you at dinner tonight!"

Running off the way she had come, she turned a corner before sticking her head back to yell down the hall at him: "Go wash! You stink worse than Sokka after the skunk-wolverines."

"I do not!" Zuko yelled back, offended as his guards chuckled behind him and several maids giggled as they walked by.

sSs

"Hey," Katara said, looking up in surprise a few days later as he walked into the sparring area. She was halfway through a bending technique and Zuko watched the water pause in midair before she sent it back to the pools lining the training ground. She rose from the position and smiled at Zuko as he joined her. "Missed you yesterday. What happened?"

"Some meeting that I ended up needing to go to," Zuko told her as he adjusted his sleeveless training shirt, scowling when he realized he had skipped a loop and had been walking around for half an hour with it wrong. Katara laughed and before Zuko could react she stepped up and quickly unbuttoned his shirt. The actions caused her fingers to lightly graze his chest on several occasions and Zuko was startled by the sensation that ran through him at the innocent action. Before he could place it she had finished, patting his chest quickly. "I'm not a child."

"And yet on most occasions you act like one," she taunted him as she grinned up at him. "You even pout when you lose like Sokka."

"That's taking it too far," Zuko protested and slipped into a fighting stance. Katara laughed and pulled a large bubble of water to float in front of her, slipping into her own stance. "I guess that means you need to be taught a lesson."

"I'd like to see you try!"

The two launched into the battle, fire and water flying through the air. Before long steam filled the small area, plastering their clothing to their skin as the two moved around each other. During the battle each came close to winning several times without succeeding and both were sporting burnt, wet clothing and multiple cuts from where a few attacks had landed.

"So," Zuko panted as the two circled each other, tossing light attacks at each other. "How many more days until you leave?"

"Four," Katara said, sending a water whip at him that he blasted with a fireball. "Don't want me to go?"

"Yes," Zuko said without thinking and Katara froze halfway through another attack. The attack went wild and Zuko heard Katara cry out in surprise as it caught him on his scar, sending him stumbling to the ground. She ran over to Zuko who had his hand pressed to the wound, feeling blood coat his hand and drip down his cheek, dazed a little from the hit.

"Zuko, I am so sorry!"

"It's fine," Zuko tried to reassure her, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. "Head wounds always bleed more even when they're not that bad."

"Doesn't make up for the fact that I let that attack hit you," Katara argued as she went and fetched a towel before returning to kneel next to him on the ground. The wound stung as Katara looked at it before she started healing it with her bending and Zuko shivered at the feeling. Getting healed by bending was a rather odd, but he appreciated it knowing it had saved his life four years ago.

"Did you mean it?"

"Hm?" Zuko asked, looking up at Katara. She gently pushed his head back down as the wound stopped bleeding and the skin started to come together again. He knew what she was asking about and sighed. "Oh…uh, yeah."

"Nice to know I don't drive you nuts," Katara told him as she finally lowered her hand, the water falling to the ground as she dismissed it. She picked up a towel and wiped the blood away before lowering the towel on the ground. Zuko looked up as she gently traced where the wound had been, her fingertips light on the scarred skin. "…I wish I could heal old wounds."

"I don't," Zuko told her and lightly grabbed her hand. It wasn't that he didn't like her touching the scar, but he didn't want her to feel guilty that she couldn't heal the marred skin. He looked up to meet blue eyes staring back at him in worry and he smiled at her in reassurance, to let her know he meant it. "Not anymore."

"Then you're better than your father ever was," Katara told him honestly. Staring up at her, Zuko paused before tightening his grip on her hand, pulling her down to hug her. He had heard his uncle make the comment dozen of times, but coming from Katara, from someone who had seen the worst side of him made it more precious he realized. She stiffened for a second before returning the hug and Zuko reluctantly let her go after a few seconds of contact. "Zuko…"

As she pulled back, Zuko reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her hair, the tips of his fingers brushing her cheekbones softly in the process. Katara looked at him in surprise at the action and Zuko watched as she blushed before looking down, as if unable to meet his gaze. She went to stand but Zuko didn't let go of her hair, keeping her in front of him as he stared at her, surprised by his want to keep her this close to him. Wide blue eyes stared at him and before either of them realized what he was doing, Zuko gently pulled Katara down the small space between them to kiss her.

She was shaking, he realized, but she didn't pull away so Zuko pulled her closer, feeling a cool hand brace on his shoulder. As the other landed one his face to gently touch his scar, he was shocked by his need to feel Katara, Katara for Agni's sake, pressed tightly against him in that instant. His free arm wrapped around her slim waist and pulled her to him until she had to straddle his thigh, the rest of her leaning against him in a way that had never felt right when it had been Mai.

He wanted desperately to feel all of her, but kept his hands where they were as Katara's lips finally fell open under his. Instantly he dived in, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, the same feeling when she had touched him earlier returning. He realized it was almost like electricity, causing all of his nerves to feel like they were suddenly standing on end.

Pulling back Zuko looked at Katara, freezing when he saw her eyes immediately fill with tears and fall down her cheeks. She jerked away from him as a hand went to cover her mouth as she stared at him in surprise before turning and running out of the training grounds before he realized what was happening.

"Katara!" Zuko yelled in surprise before rushing after her. By the time he reached the hallway Katara had disappeared and he turned and punched the wall before sighing. He would give her some time then try and talk to her, try to explain why he felt like kissing her when he was engaged to someone else when he himself didn't understand.

-sSs-

I was such a fool, Zuko groaned as he finally left the deck of the ship and made his way back to his room to escape the Northern Sea cold. Reminding himself of what had happened the last time with Katara always made him edgy, but at the same time he felt a mixture of loss and worry. She had left early that day, before he had been able to talk to her and he hadn't seen her in the year and a half since. More than anything he hated that it had to be her being in danger for him to finally decide to do anything about what he felt for her.

Entering his room Zuko flopped unceremoniously on his bunk before closing his eyes. He was getting more worried every day it was taking to find Katara, especially since he hadn't yet even figured out why she was missing. It could be anything from traveling through the mountains and getting stuck by the weather to being attack and wounded.

"If this is karma, my past life sucked," he groaned before rolling over to bury his head in the pillow.

sSSs

Ending A/N: To clarify, Katara is basically a foreign minister (Wiki it for a full description). Also, I'm sorry if the tenses in this chapter got a little confusing, as most of the chapter was set in the past but done from a present state of mind. I know, confusing.

The challenge for Hundred is still going on people! I just need the name and the ability to contact you!

Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon and its creators. I just play in their world.