Disclaimer: The following characters do not belong to me. :D There ya have it.
Katara pulled her hair down for the night.
"What a long day," she whispered.
Everyone had been relatively quiet and drawn away from the conversation for the rest of the afternoon. By the time dinner rolled around, no one bothered to strike up any small talk, and the room was filled with unspoken thoughts. Katara, fed up with the lot of them, retired to her room after an hour of staring at the backs of their eyelids in the lounge. The rest followed suit.
She blew out her candle and nestled into her covers. She wasn't the slightest bit tired; her mind made sure to keep her awake. Her thoughts raced, and she was barely able to keep up.
xxx
Zuko crawled out of his bed, tugging on his shirt and shoes. His fingers fumbled as the rush from his anger overtook him. He couldn't rest until those knaves were brought to a reasonable punishment.
Unbeknownst to Katara, Zuko had overheard a few of the healers discussing the gang that had attacked Zuko. In hushed tones they described the boys in detail enough to cause Zuko to smirk to himself. Apparently, the group toured the city by night, as well, and finding them again would be as simple as listening for the thieves to crash into shops, pillaging.
Zuko lithely stepped out of his room into the hall. As he passed Katara's room, he couldn't help but to pause. She had offered to help. He wanted to take her up on her offer (having a partner had never occurred to him), but putting her in any danger struck him as unfair and wrong. So he continued out the apartment and into the drowsing palace.
xxx
Katara heard Zuko's door slide open, his footsteps padding the floor, and pause outside her bedroom. She held her breath, waiting for him to enter and ask for her assistance, but to her extreme disappointment, he didn't. Instead, she heard him tiptoe away, leaving her with a whirlwind of emotion. First, she was angry with him for deciding to go alone, without her, but this very thought sparked an emotion at the opposite side of the spectrum: gratitude. He had chosen to continue without disturbing what little safety she had.
But nothing never really seemed to deter Katara, and she grabbed her cloak and shoes before speeding into the night after him.
Navigating the palace was simple. Every other column sported a glowing torch. However, once she slipped past the guards at the front gate and into the city, her path became a little more challenging. Not only did she have to avoid the common obstacles of the streets in pitch blackness, but she also had to find Zuko.
She stumbled over abandoned vendor carts, desert-cats, buckets of water for ostrich-horses, ostrich-horses themselves, and various pots. With every rustle, she cursed herself for making so much noise. If she located the thieves before she found Zuko, she wasn't sure she could hold up against them. It had been a long while since she'd had to defend herself, and sparring alone in her room hardly did any justice to her water bending.
Ahead in the road she heard voices, loud and laughing. Her heart quickened a beat, and her feet came to a stop.
Where was-.
A pair of arms whipped from the shadows to her left and pulled her aside. Against her will, she shrieked, and in consequence found her mouth covered with the crook of her captor's arm. She struggled for a few, panic-stricken moments before hearing the voice in her ear.
"Katara! Shush!" Zuko pleaded.
She relaxed, and he released her from his grasp.
"What are you doing?" he whispered, pulling her further down the alley. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"I… I was going to find you…"
"I left you back at the apartment for a reason! I didn't want you to get hurt!"
"You couldn't hold them off alone the first time; what makes you think you can do it this time?"
"Your support is very helpful."
Three figures passed beneath the moonlight at the mouth of the alley, and Zuko and Katara reached out to each other's arms instinctively.
"Where'd that come from?" One of the ruffians called. "I heard it this way…"
"It was a lady, too." Another answered sorely.
Zuko tightened his grip on her wrist and jerked her behind him. Katara complied, holding his shirt in her fists to keep him from darting out and doing anything stupid.
"I heard someone down this way," The largest pointed into the shelter of their hideout.
Zuko tugged Katara closer to him and leaned in to whisper, "On the count of three, we rush them."
He pulled away, tensing to strike, but she pulled him back. "No. Wait until they get closer. We'll take them by surprise."
Zuko glanced into her face and caught the glint in her eyes. He took a breath. For once, maybe he'd actually listen to someone else. After all, wasn't this the girl that had managed to escape from him with every attempt he'd lopsidedly thrown? He nodded to her and waited for her to call the first move.
The three thieves kicked their way further into the alley, shouting for the pair to show themselves. Their distance closed, and Zuko grew more anxious with each of their steps. Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Katara pushed him forth, screaming, "Now!"
As expected, the thugs didn't expect the torrent of water to plummet on top of them, or the flash of silver swords to swing threateningly close to their obnoxious noses. They stumbled back, and for one glorious moment, Zuko basked in the realization that he and Katara were beating them back.
Then the earth rose from its quiet state and became a shower of pain.
Four solid walls enclosed Katara in a seven foot high box. She threw her fists on them and shouted as loud as her lungs could muster, but nothing she did could crumble her prison walls.
Zuko's attention was temporarily overthrown by her capture, and he faltered. In one single moment, his offensive position was stripped away and he was, literally, eating dirt. He tried to push the hefty earth bender from his shoulders, but he didn't budge. His wriggling only summoned the heavy club that the leader sported, and Zuko had the pleasure of greeting it. It cupped his chin to meet the cold eyes of the same man who'd first struck Zuko a few hours prior.
"Gentlemen," the man chuckled after searching Zuko's face for a few minutes, "Gold has just leapt at us from the shadows. May I introduce to you, the prince of the Fire Nation."
Zuko braced himself to call the fires of fury and relinquish them upon the thieves set upon him, but before he even could focus his fury into a tangible element, the club swung upward and crashed upon his head, leaving him with a substantial lump and state of unconsciousness.
xxx
Katara threw her weight into the sides of the dirt box. Her shoulders, she thought, must have been bruised, but the premonition that Zuko was now being tortured beyond human limits drove her insanely guilty. She should've told him to forget them completely! He seemed to listen to her, so why hadn't she given the right advice?
"I'm sorry…" she muttered, slumping against one wall.
Her water, although buzzing at her side, she was afraid to use. She knew full well that she could slice through this prison and come to Zuko's aid, but it was the question of, where would the broken pieces of earth fall? On top of her head, no doubt. Suddenly, an idea struck her that did not require her bending.
She put her back to one wall and began to climb up the sides with her feet firmly pressed to the interior. The top welcomed her with its portrait of inky black sky. She finally breeched the top and tumbled to ground, landing unmercifully on her backside.
She rolled over and groaned, peeling herself from the ground and beginning to sprint back to the palace. She'd already considered trying to find them, but the chances of her doing so and rescuing Zuko were slimmer than if she had the entire gang to back her up…
xxx
As usual, Aang's insomnia led him into the lounge, where he curled into the cushions of the sunken couch. He was tempted to call on Katara, but the thought of her panicked, painful eyes kept him away. He didn't want to make her anymore uncomfortable than he already had.
He hated himself for ruining their friendship. Why had he even considered vanquishing such a strong, beautiful relationship for a chance to…what? Kiss her? Aang buried his head further into his arms. He knew now what really mattered. He only wished he could turn back the pages of their history just a little to repent his selfish pursuits.
Momo hopped onto his shoulder and began to chitter in his ear.
"Not now, Momo. I just need to be alone." Aang brushed him away.
Katara burst into the room, half tearful.
"Katara?" Aang jumped to his feet.
"Zuko…" she gasped, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. "He's gone! He's gone! They took him! I don't know where he is! Aang, you have to help me! I tried to get away, but I couldn't. They trapped me. I-."
"Katara." Aang gripped her heaving shoulders. "Slow down… What happened?"
"We don't have time! We have to leave now! They'll take him out of the city, and… And… I don't know what they'll do, Aang… It's all my fault." She collapsed onto his shoulder.
"What's she blubbering about now?" Sokka whined. "Did something happen to her poor-." He froze, seeing the tear stains she was making on Aang's shirt.
"Zuko's gone." Iroh said numbly.
"We… we have to hurry…We have to go now…" Katara answered brokenly.
Aang released her embrace. "Let's go."
xxx
"Katara, you go that way. Send up an ice spear if you find them. Sokka and Iroh, you two head up that way. Send a flare if you find him. I'll-."
"Why do I have to have a partner?" Sokka moaned. "Just because I'm not-."
"You have to make sure I keep up. Now with all due respect, stop complaining, and let's go." Iroh replied hastily, pulling Sokka into a run surprisingly agile for his size and age.
Katara gave Aang one last, hopeful, grateful glance. Aang pushed her in her respective direction.
"Go. We don't have much time." He whispered.
She nodded and sprinted away, with Aang watching every footfall.
"Good luck," he muttered, before taking flight.
xxx
Katara found herself lost in a labyrinth of empty alleys, and had it not been for her frantic movement, her mind would've plunged her further into confusion. Every other breath she alternated between thinking of Zuko's fate should she not reach him and what she could've done to prevent this. In a bout of frustration, she forbade herself to think these things.
"I'll find him." She ordered herself. "I will find him."
Just as before, she heard a distant crash of a shattered door, and she sped off in that direction. She snuck up on the group as they were loading crates into a cart from what looked to be an official building. She didn't have to wonder long what they were doing, however, because she saw one haul an unconscious guard from his post and dump in the adjacent alley. The other two gang members didn't slow their haul.
"How much did you say the Fire Nation will pay for these explosives?" one asked.
"A good fee," the other answered. "How dumb is the Earth Kingdom anyway, to think they can take away explosives from fire benders?"
"Pretty dumb." They both shared a dim-witted chuckle.
Wanting to waste no more time, Katara uncorked her water skin and threw an ice spear high into the air. With a twist of her nimble digits, the ice spear burst into splinters, signaling both her friends and the thugs.
"Hey!" they called and rushed towards the cloaked water bender. "What are you doing?"
Katara started to race back around the corner, only to lead them into a dead end before sprinting to their cart. Zuko had to be around somewhere…
Before she was even within grasping range of the cart, a low-flying stone smacked her side, and her legs buckled beneath her.
xxx
Aang saw Katara's signal and his heart skipped several beats.
Maybe splitting up had been a bad idea…
He dipped his left wingtip of the glider into the current, swinging back around to give her help. He landed on a building above the chaotic scene below him. Sokka and Iroh had arrived before him and were swinging fire and boomerang at the bulky earth benders. Katara was sprawled out on the ground behind the earth benders, clutching her stomach. Aang gasped and jumped down to her.
"Katara?" he whispered, trying not to draw attention to himself.
She drew several breaths through her teeth and jerked her head towards the cart. "Look in the cart… I think Zuko's in there…"
Aang hopped to his feet and leapt onto the cart, pushing the crates open one by one.
"Get away from there, baldy!"
Aang dodged several attempts to knock him away from the contraband, and continued to pry open the crates.
"Aang! Switch me places!" Sokka bellowed.
Aang threw a gust into the thieves, pushing them off of their feet for a moment, and he jumped off of the cart to help Iroh and a recovering Katara to take them down. Sokka proceeded to unceremoniously kick the boxes in the cart to the ground. After heaving a particularly heavy one off, a groaning, bruised Zuko spilled onto the dirt. Sokka shook his head.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to hide in crates full of stolen explosives?"
Zuko flashed his teeth in a snarl. "Get these cuffs off me, you idiot."
Sokka held up Zuko's limp arms to inspect the iron cuffs. "I could try beating it open…" Sokka raised a club.
"Do it and I will kill you." Zuko stated coldly.
"Then you'll have to wait until the big kids get done fighting." Sokka dropped Zuko's arms back onto his chest.
Zuko pulled himself upright and watched the others dance around flying rock. Finally, after seeing Katara get slammed with a second crippling blow, Zuko struggled to his feet and hobbled to her side. She was shaking fuzzy black spots from her eyes when Zuko dropped to his knees in front of her and presented his bounded hands.
"I need some ice." He said. "Then I can help you."
Katara blinked several times before she could comprehend what he wanted. She bended some water from her pouch and froze the metal cuffs. Sokka, appearing at Zuko's side, offered his boomerang's assistance.
"I'll just smack it and the ice will crack."
"No. You won't get that thing anywhere near me! I'll find my own way to break it off." Zuko replied haughtily.
Katara grabbed Zuko's shoulder. "Just let him. He won't hurt you."
Zuko's attention temporarily swayed, Sokka threw his boomerang against the ice, slicing the metal locks clean off the bands. Zuko jumped, gritted his teeth, and decided to chide Sokka later.
Zuko labored once again to his feet and gingerly helped Katara to hers. He didn't let go of her arms until she'd found her balance, and her head leaned against his shoulder as it spun uncontrollably, threatening to overturn the contents of her stomach.
Sokka's stomach was on the verge of heaving as well. "Oh, get off of her, and go help you uncle!"
Zuko glanced over Katara once more, making sure she wouldn't collapse and sped over to the last standing earth bender.
Iroh and Aang were busy completely subduing the downed thugs, and Zuko took it upon himself to punch the lights from the last man. In a fit of fury, he swung more fire in his direction than he had in months, and the startled earth bender fell backwards. Zuko picked him up by his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall of a building. After shaking him a few times, Zuko pulled back his fist and gave the man his last conscious thought: he hoped his eye didn't turn out to look like the prince's.
xxx
The royal guard pushed the gang into their apartment. "There you go. Now you lot ought to get back to bed. Maybe tomorrow night you won't go sneaking around the city at all hours, causing trouble."
Zuko gave Katara another bitter glare. She shrugged it off.
"Thank you, sir," Aang said, bowing and closing the door behind the guard.
"That ungrateful-." Zuko started.
"Unsung heroes." Sokka sighed. "That's what we are."
"Aang's not 'unsung'! Everyone tomorrow will know how the avatar helped capture the most notorious gang in the city, but no one will know about the rest of us." Zuko replied.
"You've got nothing to gripe about. You got your 'revenge' and your knife back. You'd just better hope no one finds out that they almost turned in the prince of the Fire Nation for a reward!" Katara countered.
"It all would have been just fine if you hadn't tagged along." Zuko snapped, his eyes fixing her with collage of emotions, chief among them: fury.
"I didn't 'tag' along! I helped you."
"If you hadn't gotten stuck in that…box, then I wouldn't have gotten distracted and-."
"Look," Aang cut in. "What's done is done. Let's just go to bed get some sleep."
Katara nodded. "Good night everyone," She said dejectedly and closed herself off in her room.
Zuko stared after her. So… It really hadn't been her fault. He hated leaving her with the pretense that it was.
He muttered 'goodnight' to the others before heading to his room as well. He crouched by his door, listening impatiently as his uncle went to his room. Sokka and Aang exchanged a few more words before each of them shuffled off to their rooms once more. Zuko counted as several more minutes passed, and then he raised himself off of the floor and stepped sinuously into the hall. His eyes were unadjusted to the dark, however, and he found himself colliding with a mess of long hair and silky nightgown.
"Katara!" Zuko breathed, holding her away from him.
She stepped back. "Sorry…I just wanted to talk to you…"
"So did I."
He heard her shuffle her feet. "Let's... go to the balcony?"
Zuko nodded. "Okay."
After a few more bumping elbows and stepping on toes, they reached the balcony doors and piled onto the moonlit pad.
"I'm sorry." Zuko gushed.
Katara stared at him for several moments. "You… You are?"
"Yes. I'm very appreciative that you went after me, but I was… scared for you… And if anything happened to you on my accord, I'd never forgive myself."
Katara nodded, suddenly losing the desire to chew him out and spit his remains over the balcony edge. "That's good of you, Zuko."
"I guess…It sounds kind of selfish to me, though."
She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I was under the presumption that you didn't want me there at all."
"I didn't, at first. But then again, I don't know where I'd be right now if you hadn't come with me." He paused, searching her face. "Thank you."
She smiled. "You always surprise me."
"Why?"
"Your sincerity. I always expect for you to be snide or inconsiderate, but… You're not. Everything you say to me is-."
"The truth."
"And I'm so…honored that you would trust me enough to let me listen."
They smiled easily at one another, bridging one of the last gaps their divided lives held.
A/N
For once, I have nothing to say.