Zuko tries not to be jealous. Really, he does.
But he just can't help the envy he feels as he watches his sister train.
She moves through her firebending forms with twice the amount of grace and confidence then he had had when he had been seven. She never gets discouraged, she never messes up.
Her bending is perfect. Father even thinks she might be able to bend lightning in a couple of years.
A selfish part of Zuko hopes she can't, because so far he hasn't shown any signs of being able to produce lightning.
He sighs. He'll just have to train even harder so that he can stay on top of his own bending. It would be horrible if she out ranked him when he was the older sibling.
Master Chang Lee, Azula's firebending trainer, suddenly barks at her to correct her stance.
Zuko glares at this man from the side of the training area.
Zuko greatly dislikes Master Chang Lee. Something about him is off, despite the fact that he's considered one of the greatest firebenders in the world, a trainer who only trains the elite.
Azula doesn't like him either, which is why she straightens up and coldly tells him that he should correct his stance. She then turns and exits the training area without as much as a look over her shoulder at her trainer.
Zuko scans the side of the training area, making sure to study the shadows. Prince Ozai usually made a point to watch his daughter's training sessions.
Prince Ozai hadn't bothered to watch his son train in over a year.
Someone lays a gentle hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention. Zuko turns his to see Lu Ten staring down at him with a grave expression.
"Zuko…" he trails off. He sighs. "Come on."
Zuko gets up and follows his cousin out of the training area and into the palace. "What's going on?" the nine year old asks warily.
Lu Ten shakes his head and says nothing.
They walk into the library and Zuko finds his mother in tears.
There is something unsettling about seeing a parent cry. Zuko is reminded that his mother, who is normally so happy and caring and giving, can be hurt by the world just as potently as he can.
"Mom?" he calls out fearfully, quickly making his way over to her. She looks up at him, her cheeks stained with tears, clutching a scroll.
A scroll with a Southern Water Tribe seal.
Dread crawls up his stomach and into his throat.
"What's going on?" His voice goes high with fear. "What happened?" He reaches for the scroll but his mother jerks her hand back, not allowing him to see it.
Terrible scenarios cross his mind.
Someone's dead. He knows it.
He starts to cry and he hates himself for doing so. Men aren't supposed to cry.
He reaches out and clutches his mother's hand. She's shaking. "Something bad happened," he chokes.
Please don't let it be…
His mother is soothing the hair away from his face. "It's Sokka and Katara's mother, sweetie. It's Kaya. She's…she's gone."
And then his mother is covering her face with her hands and letting out sobs and Zuko is practically beside himself with all kinds of terrible emotions he doesn't understand and he can't see because of these stupid tears—
Lu Ten scoops him up with ease and takes Zuko back to his bedroom where he sits with him for a long time, rubbing his back and saying comforting things.
When the tears and the hiccupping finally subside, Zuko is furious with himself.
And not because he had cried.
And not because he had failed when it came to consoling his mother.
It was because a large part of him (larger then he would admit) had felt pure relief when his mother had said that it had been Katara's mother and not Katara herself.
The weather is starting to become warmer.
Zuko asks if Katara, Sokka, and Chief Hakoda will come to visit like they normally do.
His mother shakes her head and offers him a sad smile. "I don't think so sweetie."
Two weeks after that another scroll comes from the Southern Water Tribe.
This time his mother lets him read it.
They're going to come because they all need to get away. Also, Katara is bringing a friend.
Zuko quickly rebukes himself for feeling irritated.
But who was this friend?
Zuko watches them get off their ship with apprehension.
He watches Chief Hakoda and Sokka step onto the ramp. Chief Hakoda is offering everyone a bittersweet smile while Sokka stares at his feet.
Zuko fixes his eyes behind Sokka, looking for the person who would surely be behind him. He steels himself, knowing that there will be another girl (hopefully not a boy) with Katara.
He sees her behind her brother. Her eyes lift up, searching. She finally spots him and meets his gaze. Her expression is sad, but she tilts her lips up in a tiny smile, just for him. As she starts to make her way down the ramp, a great black wolf emerges behind her with the most piercing gray eyes he's ever seen.
Her friend.
She doesn't cry as much as he thought she would. He's a little relieved by this.
She is still very, very sad.
He devotes himself to one purpose: cheering Katara up.
They read nothing but Painted Lady scrolls. He tells Katara her favorite stories. He makes sure the head cook knows not to make anything but traditional Water Tribe foods for the both of them for the rest of the summer. They play her favorite games. He teaches her how to climb trees. He makes her about a million crowns made of flowers.
But at the end of the day, no matter how happy it might have been, she remembers that her mother is not there.
Zuko can't sleep.
He was reading, but his eyes have grown too tired. He's lit a small candle on his bedside table so that his room is somewhat illuminated as he lies in his bed on top of his covers.
The night is cool, but Zuko still can't get comfortable enough to fall asleep. He tosses and turns until finally he sits up and leans back against a mass of pillows, frustrated.
That's when he hears it.
Someone bumps into the wall outside of his bedroom door, and then he hears the muffled crying.
He bolts out of his bed and rushes across the room before slowly opening the door.
Something growls at him through the dark.
"It's okay, Nukka," a cracking voice tries to soothe.
Zuko lights a flame in his palm and holds it up.
Katara and her wolf are there by his door and from what he can see Katara has been crying. A lot.
"Are you okay?" he asks softly, knowing that she isn't but unsure of what he should do.
"I just…Sokka wasn't in his room," she says, voice strained. "And my dad is sleeping and I don't want to disturb him." She lets out a choked noise that kills him. "I didn't want to be alone," she sniffs.
Zuko pauses, considering. After a moment he backs up and opens his door a little wider. "Well, you can stay with me for a little while, I guess. Until you're feeling better."
She stares at him for a long moment before nodding and stepping into his room. Nukka eyes him before padding through the open doorframe, following Katara.
Girl and wolf climb up onto the bed and after brief hesitation Zuko does the same. Katara is sitting at the end of the bed, one hand wrapped around the bedpost. Zuko sits in the middle, watching her with a careful eye. The wolf lies in between them, head resting on her massive paws.
Katara stares down at her hand in her lap, tears glistening in her eyes. Zuko doesn't know what to say. He feels helpless. He hates this.
The light from the candle flickers. There are shadows everywhere.
Finally her face crumples and his friend, Katara, starts to weep. She turns and buries her head into the wolf's neck, sobbing.
Zuko freezes, trying not to panic. He doesn't want Katara to cry. He doesn't want her to feel sad.
Tentatively he reaches out and lays a hand on top of her head and stokes her hair. It's what mother used to do when he'd cry.
This startles her and she looks up, glistening eyes wide. Instinctively he swipes away a tear with his thumb, his other fingertips trailing along her soft cheek.
Then he pulls away and they stare at each other. The candlelight makes everything a deep shade of gold.
He rests his hand on the wolf's neck, running his fingers through her thick fur, turning his eyes away from Katara's.
A moment later his fingers brush up against hers. Hers stay where they are, but he hesitates because this is starting to go a little beyond him. Then he moves his hand back, heart beating faster than normal.
Their fingers intertwine.
The next morning Zuko wakes up to a face full of black fur. He scrambles back, surprised. Nukka lifts her head and sends him a pointed look before putting her head back down.
Zuko is at the front of his bed, Nukka beside him, and on other the other side of the wolf Katara is sprawled out, sleeping.
Zuko sits up and peers over at her. Her face is smooth and serene. He hasn't seen her look this peaceful all summer.
The fierce urge to guard her overwhelms him. He leans back against the headboard of his bed and calmly watches over his bedroom, determined not to allow anything to disturb her.
When she finally wakes, what seems like hours later, she looks like she's feeling better.
She takes in her surroundings calmly before giving him a shy smile.
He blushes for what feels like no reason at all.
"You want to get breakfast?" he asks, already planning all their activities for the day.
She nods.
As they walk to the kitchens she refuses to let go of his hand.
A/N:
Oh god you all hate me now. D:
Review anyway? :D