Day One
Aang sat curled in the windowsill of his lavish hotel suite, his thoughts preoccupied with events that had happened a day earlier. He knew that he was supposed to be listening to the monks as they briefed him on the press conference he would be having later that evening but, as he stared out the window of his hotel suite, he couldn't keep his mind from drifting. Katara. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything of real importance since their literal collision in the hotel lobby the previous afternoon.
His fascination with her went far beyond her outward appearance, though he had to admit that she was pretty. Very pretty. However, there was something deeper, intrinsic and almost otherworldly about the pull he felt towards her. He had recognized the feeling almost from the instant they collided, but he had known for sure when he looked into her eyes. He knew her. They were connected in a profound way, but how that was possible Aang didn't know. Unfortunately, as a result of how events had played out, Aang didn't think he would have the opportunity to explore that connection either.
About a split second after Katara had boarded the elevator, he had been discovered and hauled back to "the safety of his suite" so that he could be lectured for two hours on the dangers of his impulsivity and irresponsibility. For Aang, it was the same song, different day. He knew that he was hardly what the monks had anticipated in Roku's successor but he was the avatar they had. Consequently, they were determined to mold him into what they thought he should be. Aang, on the other hand, was determined to stay exactly who he was…a carefree, sixteen year old boy with an unbridled spirit. The two goals, of course, were diametrically opposed.
When he had evaded his handlers the day before, he had done so with some half formed planned to temporarily seek refuge on his parents' farm just outside of Ba Sing Se. He planned to stay there long enough to say his goodbyes to them and retrieve his beloved sky bison and then he was going to make a new life somewhere else entirely where no one knew his name or his identity as the avatar. All of that had changed when he plowed into a sassy waterbender with the most expressive blue eyes he had ever seen. After that, Aang was pretty certain he wasn't going anywhere…except to follow her around like a lovesick puppy.
Now the likelihood was that he would never see her again. He had been dragged away and given no opportunity to leave her a message about where he had gone. When he managed to sneak back down to the lobby later, she had already gone. The only thing Aang had to show for his daring was a heavier security detail.
One of the clerks had mentioned to the monks that some "crazy young woman" had come to the front desk with the claim that she was friends with the avatar, but that she had seen through the ruse and turned the girl away. Aang had only been able to make out bits and pieces of the story from his hiding place behind the wall that separated his room from the others, but it was enough. The monks had quickly dismissed the girl as yet another one of his rabid fans, but Aang was sure the girl in question had been Katara.
He had promised her that he would stay put and he had inadvertently broken that promise. Based on that promise, she had returned to the lobby only to find him gone. But she hadn't immediately given up. Instead, she had gone so far as to hound the desk clerk for information on his whereabouts only to be stonewalled in her efforts. In the end, she'd been practically kicked out of the hotel for her trouble. It was probably extremely unlikely that they would cross paths again and, after the unceremonious way she had been treated on his account, Aang wasn't entirely sure that she would want to…
The sudden clap of a hand slamming against a table surface snatched Aang from his musings. "Aang! Are you listening to me at all? You haven't heard a single word I've said, have you?"
He snapped erect at the sharp admonishment, caught off guard by Monk Choden's altogether rare explosion of temper. "No, I haven't been listening! I mean, yes, I have! I mean…you were saying?" he finished sheepishly.
Monk Choden regarded him with a disapproving frown, deepening the vee in his bushy uni-brow. "This is serious, young man," he intoned brusquely, "You are in training to become the sole protector of the free world and the keeper of peace and order! It might behoove you if you left off in your daydreaming for once and paid attention to the matters at hand."
"Tonight you're presenting me as Avatar Roku's successor," Aang sighed with youthful impatience, "Other than standing there and smiling like an idiot while reporters snap my picture, I don't know what else you want me to do."
"Some restraint and dignity would be welcome," Choden sniffed, a comment which earned murmurs of agreement from his fellow monks, "You cannot continue on as you have been…running away and disappearing whenever the whim strikes you. There are very real dangers out there for you, young airbender. These days are treacherous. You must be cautious, modest and mild-tempered."
"In other words, you want me to stay isolated, quiet and boring," Aang surmised with a sullen frown, "Oh, goodie. Can't wait."
"It is for your protection."
"Your definition of 'protection' feels like a prison to me."
"That is just the type of attitude I mean," Choden huffed, "You have been bestowed with a great honor and yet you treat it as a burden."
"My apologies, Monk Choden," Aang murmured contritely, "I don't mean to be disrespectful or ungrateful."
"We don't want to confine you, Aang. We want you to behave as the avatar you were born to be," Choden emphasized.
"You see, that's the thing…just because I was 'born to be' the Avatar that doesn't mean I feel like I am," Aang argued, "You tell me that I'm supposed to protect the world and make it a safe place for everyone, but it's not even safe for me right now. Benders are being targeted and discriminated against. It's getting so that we're not allowed to even bend in public places anymore…sometimes not at all. How am I supposed to protect the very people who are trying to hurt me?"
"No one said that your responsibilities would be easy ones. That is why you must speak with King Kuei and convince him that this new law he means to pass is wrong," Choden said.
"And how do I do that?" Aang cried, "I'm a sixteen year old kid who doesn't even have his driver's license! I don't know anything about politics or being the avatar! Why would he listen to me at all?"
"You are no sixteen year old child, Aang. You are a timeless being who has existed since the world's beginning. You are the Avatar. King Kuei will listen to you."
"I appreciate that you have so much confidence in me, Monk Choden…but I don't feel the same."
"You will…with time." With a reverent bow, he gathered up his robes and turned for the door that adjoined his suite with Aang's. His fellow monks fell into step behind him. Before exiting, however, he stopped to address Aang one, final time. "Meditate on the matters we have discussed here today. Try to consider the seriousness of your position, Aang. You carry the burden of the world on your shoulders."
Aang scowled in his wake. "Yep, because telling me stuff like that makes me really eager to do this job," he muttered glumly.
He hopped from the windowsill and then crossed the room to fling himself across the expanse of his king-sized bed. With a low groan, he turned his face into the mattress and tried not to give into the urge to cry. But it was a difficult thing to do. As nurturing as Gyatso had been throughout his transition, his seasoned mentor could not take the place of his beloved parents. He couldn't substitute for the loving home that Aang had known. Aang missed that home. He missed his parents. His missed Appa.
Everyone kept telling him what a great honor he had, but all he truly felt was confined, lost and incredibly lonely. The first burst of hope he'd had in weeks was when he collided with a feisty waterbender by the name of Katara. In just ten minutes of conversation, he had smiled more with her than he had in the previous two months. It had been the most free he'd felt in quite a while.
Aang sat up abruptly and stiffened his shoulders, blinking back the frustrated tears that had formed in his eyes. He had two choices set before him. He could be an obedient little Aang and stay in his room until the press conference or… He could be proactive and take as much control of the situation as he could. The latter won out fairly easily. Aang had never been one to wallow in self-pity.
Maybe he didn't have the freedom to comb the streets of Ba Sing Se looking for Katara, but that didn't mean he couldn't hang out in the hotel lobby in the hopes that she might show up again. After all, she had come there for a job interview. If she was hired on at the hotel before he left for the North Pole at the end of the week, there was a good chance he might bump into her again.
With that hope already blooming wildly in his heart before he'd given any real thought to the feasibility, Aang grabbed up his light, hooded jacket from the floor and his glider before making a mad dash for his door. The instant he yanked it open, however, he came face to face with the armed guard who had been stationed right outside of his room. He favored the man with a disarming smile. "Hiya, Moku. How's life treating you these days? You're looking fit. You been working out, huh, buddy?"
"I can't let you out, Aang," Moku sighed, not at all cajoled by the young Avatar's flattery, "You know that."
Aang wiggled his brows conspiratorially. "So don't let me out then," he wheedled, "Escort me instead."
Moku narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "To where?"
"I'm not going any further than the lobby." When Moku continued to regard him warily, he held up his right hand in solemn vow. "You have my promise as the Avatar."
The guard rose from his perch with a heavy grunt. "Don't make me regret this, kid."
He decided to hang out in the hotel restaurant, which was adjacent to the lobby and provided only a large glass partition to separate the two. Aang deliberately took a table nearest the window that overlooked the entrance so that he had a bird's eye view of everyone who came and went. He hardly seemed aware of Moku's penetrating stare as he quietly nursed his cherry coconut smoothie and watched the entrance with all the concentration of an experienced hunter.
Confused and amused by his behavior, Moku asked, "What's with you lately?"
Aang didn't even spare him a glance when he replied, "I don't know what you mean."
"You've been wilder and crazier than usual…and that's saying something for you."
"Well, the fact I have to leave my parents and my home in four days and I have no idea when I'll see either again has a lot to do with it."
"But haven't you done that before?" Moku wondered, "I thought you had been dedicated to the Southern Air Temple and that you lived there until you were twelve."
"I was…I am," Aang explained, "But that was different. I wasn't isolated from my folks then. I could see them whenever I wanted. We even traveled together. But this is different. The monks say that I must be secluded while I learn the three remaining elements. It's a very spiritual process and I can't afford to be distracted."
"How long does that usually take?" Moku wondered.
Aang shrugged. "It depends on the person. It took Roku nine years to master them all." He shuddered at the thought before taking another sip of his smoothie. "That's definitely not going to be me."
"You know…" Moku began in a pensive drawl, "…this transition might not be so difficult for you if you stopped being so resistant to it."
That comment had Aang making a skeptical face at his keeper. "How much did they pay you to tell me that one?"
"I'm serious. I know this isn't the greatest situation and you feel like you're in a prison most of the time, but life is what you make it, Aang. If you keep acting like being the Avatar is the worst thing to ever happen to you, then it will be…"
Aang slowly rose from his seat, clearly distracted by something going on near the entrance of the hotel. "Moku, hold that thought," he said, already snatching up his glider and scrambling from the table, "I'll be right back!"
He was only vaguely aware of Moku dogging his heels as he quickly shouldered his way through the restaurant patrons and practically sprinted across the lobby foyer just as Katara started to push through the revolving doors. "Katara, wait!"
She froze and whipped a startled glance over her shoulder at him, her pretty face wreathed in a relieved smile. She didn't really have time to lament not wearing something a little dressier than jeans, sneakers and a Ba Sing Se University sweatshirt because she was so overjoyed at seeing him again. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you! It's been a nightmare trying to get you a simple message."
Knowing very well that Moku was hot on his heels and this unexpected meeting would likely end before it even began, Aang closed the distance between him and Katara, never once breaking his stride. When he reached her, he snagged hold of her wrist and dragged her through the revolving doors, ignoring Moku's bellows for "security" as he did. Katara stammered out her confusion.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Are you afraid of heights?" Aang countered quickly, his eyes darting between her face and the men currently rushing forward to apprehend him.
Katara looked at up him with a befuddled frown. "I…what…am I what?"
"Never mind…no time to figure it out," he said, throwing open his glider and pulling her against him simultaneously, "Just hold on tight and don't look down!"
"Aang, what are you…?"
The rest of her words were snatched from her throat in a startled scream as they were suddenly airborne, soaring high above the milling pedestrians on the sidewalk below. Paralyzed with fear, Katara tightened her grip on Aang's neck and buried her face deep into his collar with a low squeal. "You are completely insane!" she growled into his throat, "What are you doing? You're going to get me killed!"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm making a getaway." Katara's grip became even more vise-like. "Would you relax? You're cutting off my blood supply. I'm not going to drop you."
"You'll forgive me if I'm not brimming with confidence right now," she retorted tartly, "You didn't even give me any time to prepare!"
"It was an emergency. This was probably going to be my last chance to talk to you," he answered her above the wind. He angled a crooked smile down at her. "I had to take it."
Katara resisted the impulse to soften at his smile but it took a lot of effort. "Where are you taking me?"
He gracefully maneuvered them through towering skyscrapers and high-rise apartment buildings. "I don't know. I hadn't thought past snatching you and running away."
"You do realize that what you've done constitutes kidnapping, right?" she mumbled into his throat.
Aang chuckled. "Yeah…sort of… Are you going to press charges?"
"That depends on how soon you set me back down on the ground."
Heeding her implicit warning, Aang scoped out a safe place for them to land before finally bringing them down on the low rooftop of a nearby building. The instant he did, Katara stumbled away, clearly relieved to be on the ground once more. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, "They were coming for me. I had to think fast."
Katara favored him with a sideways glance. "When you say 'they,' you mean the people who were chasing you yesterday afternoon, don't you?"
Aang scratched behind his ear, suddenly self-conscious in her presence. "Uh…yeah."
She pivoted to face him fully then, her expression a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Why didn't you tell me that you were the Avatar?" she demanded bluntly.
"It's not exactly my idea of an icebreaker," he joked.
"I'm being serious."
He slumped forward with her insistence, any hope he had that his identity wouldn't be an issue between them dying a quick death. "I didn't tell you I was the Avatar because I never wanted to be," he told her softly, "I spend most of my days pretending it's not true."
"But…but…don't you feel like it's an honor?" Katara wondered in surprise.
"No. Not so much."
"I don't understand. Why not?"
"It's complicated."
Katara, however, was not that easily deterred. "You just kidnapped me and subjected me to cruel and unusual punishment by dangling me a 1000 feet in the air," she said, incurring Aang's sharp burst of laughter, "The least you can do is explain to me what you mean by that."
Aang sighed, hardly invulnerable to her coaxing smile…and somehow she knew it. "I didn't find out I was the Avatar until three months ago," he confessed, "Before that, I lived with my parents on a small farm just outside of Ba Sing Se. I spent the first 12 years of my life living at the Southern Air Temple while I trained to master airbending. Once I had, the monks let me leave to live with my folks full-time."
He smiled at the memory. "That was the best…time…ever. But all of that changed when they told me I was the Avatar. I had to leave my parents again, only this time I can't even see them like I did before. Nothing's been the same since."
"No wonder you said you felt trapped in your own life," Katara murmured, "I guess in a way, you kind of are."
Aang toed the gravely surface of the rooftop. "Yeah…everyone keeps telling me that being chosen by the avatar spirit is an honor and a privilege. I'm still waiting for it to feel like either one though." Realizing that he was meandering down self-pity road and not wanting to continue, Aang deftly changed the subject. "Okay, now you know what brought me to Ba Sing Se…what about you?"
"Me?" Katara bleated, as if the idea of talking about herself was a foreign concept.
He grinned at her. "Yes, you. Now it's your turn to provide a life history."
"There's nothing to tell," she replied with a laconic shrug, "I grew up in a small village in the South Pole and three weeks ago, I came here to live with my brother while my application to Ba Sing Se University is pending."
"That's it? There are plenty of universities all over the world. What made you choose Ba Sing Se? Was it your brother?"
"That's part of the reason," Katara hedged, "It wasn't really my idea to enroll. It was my Dad's. He thought I needed a change of scenery."
"Why's that?"
A haunted looked shadowed the usual brightness of her blue eyes. "My mother died last winter…ovarian cancer. I haven't been dealing with that very well."
All teasing vanished from Aang's features. "Katara, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize. You came to Ba Sing Se to find some perspective and peace and, instead, I've just brought you into the middle of all my chaos."
She offered him a small smile. "It's okay," she reassured him softly, "Besides, I think I kind of needed to be shaken up a bit…and you definitely did that."
In an instant, Aang's crooked smile was back and punctuated by a rosy blush as well. "Eh…I try." His expression became positively shy, however, when he asked her, "So does that mean you're still willing to have tea with me? I haven't forgotten, you know."
"Oh, Aang, you don't have to do that. It was an accident."
"What if I want to do it?" he emphasized and then he sweetened the deal by adding, "I know a great place…best tea in the city."
Katara bit back a girlish giggle. "Okay. You've convinced me."
"There's just one, teensy tiny catch…" he inserted delicately.
"What's that?"
"We're going to have to fly there."
She tipped a grim glance over the edge of the roof before looking at him again and inhaling a deep breath and squaring her shoulders in anticipation of what was to come. "Bring it on."
He took her to a place in the middle ring called the Jasmine Dragon. She was a little concerned when they arrived and found the place closed for business, but Aang didn't seem bothered by that fact. Katara quickly learned the reason why. It rather became apparent that he was a regular there because the instant he tapped on the glass door and announced himself, the owner let him in and greeted him with a very big and very warm hug.
"Aang! It's so good to see you again. I thought you would leave the city without saying goodbye."
"You know me better than that, Iroh. I wouldn't leave without a goodbye," Aang murmured, "I brought a friend with me today. I told her you brewed the best tea in the city."
Iroh colored and coughed modestly while also regarding Katara with an appraising eye. "Well, I don't know about all that…" he murmured with a widening smile, "So, Aang…what did you say your girl friend's name was?"
Aang shot Iroh a quelling look over the deliberant emphasis he put on the "girl," but otherwise didn't comment on it. His and Katara's flaming blushes were reaction enough. "This is Katara, Iroh. Katara, this is Iroh. He's known me since I was three years old and you can't take a single thing he says seriously."
As Iroh opened his mouth to contest that statement, a young man with unruly hair and an equally unruly disposition came stalking out from the kitchen, his handsome features drawn in a cross scowl. "Did you know that there are stories about you all over the news right now?" he demanded irascibly, "Don't you have a press conference tonight? Can you never go a full day without getting into some kind of trouble?"
"It's good to see you too, Zuko," Aang replied in a dry tone.
"This is no time for jokes," Zuko retorted, "When are you going to start taking your responsibilities seriously and stop playing around, Aang?"
"When you start playing around and stop being so serious," Aang said.
Zuko growled at him. "Ugh…you make me crazy."
Seemingly unfazed by the lecture, Aang turned to Katara and said, "Katara, this is Zuko…my surrogate big brother, best friend and self-appointed conscience. Zuko, this is Katara. Be a good host and say hello."
"Hello," Zuko grunted in accommodation before exploding in a low hiss, "Are you telling me that you are five days away from beginning your training and you're picking up girls? Now? Really, Aang?"
Aang masked his embarrassment and discomfiture behind an alluring smile. "Will you excuse us for a moment?" he asked Katara sweetly before shooting a meaningful glare over at Zuko. "Could I talk to you in the kitchen?"
Katara watched Aang drag Zuko off with an amused shake of her head. "He does that a lot, doesn't he?" she murmured to no one in particular. But when she finally tore her attention away from Aang's retreating back, she found Iroh regarding her with a toothy smile. A bit discomfited, Katara smiled back at him. "Um…hello there…"
"So how long have you known Aang?"
She glanced at her watch and did a quick mental tally. "If I count the ten minutes we talked yesterday afternoon, forty two minutes total."
Iroh's eyes flared wide. "Oh. And he's already bringing you here for tea? Impressive."
"Um…well…I don't know…"
Katara was still fumbling around for some response to that when Zuko and Aang emerged from the kitchen, still bickering amongst themselves. However, when they caught sight of Katara and Iroh watching them, they immediately quieted. Zuko plucked his jacket from a peg on the wall and shrugged into it. "Uncle, I have to go," he said, "Mai, Azula and Ty Lee are waiting for me to pick them up from the mall and if I'm late I'll never hear the end of their yakking." He flicked a glance at Katara. "It was good to meet you," he uttered politely before returning his attention to Iroh, "Try to talk some sense into him while I'm gone, please."
Just when she thought she had the surly young man figured out, however, Zuko surprised Katara by abruptly lurching around to draw Aang into a brief but affectionate hug. "Take care of yourself. If I don't see you again before I get back, I'll find a way to get a message to you," he promised, "Don't worry so much."
"I'll try."
Without another word, Zuko ducked out the door and left behind a curiously despondent Aang in his wake. Katara tugged on his jacket sleeve. "Did you two have a fight in the kitchen?" she asked timidly.
The corner of Aang's mouth turned in a bittersweet smile. "No. I'm just gonna miss him."
Just as Katara started to question him on where he was going exactly, Aang's cell phone trilled to life. He dug it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller id screen. Almost immediately, he expelled a deep groan.
"Bad news?" Katara ventured.
"My dad," Aang clarified with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Katara. I need another minute. I gotta take this." The instant he clicked on the call, Aang was frantically making explanations. "Hey, Dad…Dad…Dad, listen to me…no, I'm not doing that…yes, I know that…no, I'm not trying to send you to an early grave! Would you stop freaking out for two seconds and let me explain?"
Iroh gave a delicate cough to catch Katara's attention. "Since it seems like Aang is going to be busy for a while, why don't I get you that tea?"
"Do you have mint ginseng?"
"Well, of course."
As Iroh busied himself making Katara's tea and Aang tried to keep his father from having a stroke, Katara took the time to peruse the homey, little teashop. There were only a dozen or so tables inside of the shop. At first glance, it seemed like a rather dingy, nondescript establishment, but as Katara surveyed the Fire Nation memorabilia on the walls and scattered pictures of Iroh's friends and family, she could easily see that the place had character. She was studying one photo in particular when Iroh came to deliver her tea. Katara murmured her thanks.
She took a sip of her tea, humming her approval from the first taste. "Aang was right," she said, "You do brew the best tea in the city."
"Aang is very biased when it comes to those he loves, but I accept the compliment with humble gratitude."
Katara smiled and turned her attention back towards the picture that had drawn her. In particular, she studied the shy little boy, standing between a male and female airbender, with his face pressed into the female airbender's skirts. He didn't seem at all agreeable to having his picture taken.
"That one is Aang and his parents," he explained, "He had only turned three a few weeks before that photo was taken. I met them when they were traveling through the Fire Nation on their way from the Western Air Temple. We became fast friends."
"How did you all end up in Ba Sing Se together?" Katara wondered.
"That was my doing. Tenzin and Lasya were looking for a place to settle after Aang left the temple and I suggested that they come here to Ba Sing Se. After that, Aang and my nephew Zuko became very close and we all became like extended family."
"I know we just met but…I can tell he cares about you all a great deal," Katara said.
"And what about you?" Iroh prodded gently, "How does he feel about you?"
Katara ducked her head with a sheepish blush. "I…we haven't known each other very long. He…he only brought me here because he felt like he owed me."
"My dear, I have known Aang practically his entire life. If he brought you here today, I can assure you that it had nothing to do with repaying a debt."
Somewhat overwhelmed by the idea of the Avatar being even remotely interested in her, Katara quickly steered the topic of discussion around to something that had been niggling at her since before Zuko left. "What did your nephew mean before when he said that Aang had to leave in four days? Where is he going?"
Iroh pinned her with a sharp glance. "He hasn't told you?"
"We…uh…we haven't really had much time for conversation," Katara replied with a sheepish smile.
"I'm sure you're aware of who he is…aren't you?"
Katara choked back a laugh over his flimsy attempt to be cryptic. "Yes. I know he's the Avatar."
"Then you know that he has to train in order to master the four elements," Iroh said, "At the end of the week, Aang will be leaving for the North Pole to begin his waterbending training."
She was still reeling over that revelation when Aang finally ended his call with his father and came over to join them. He immediately noted Katara's stricken expression and gave Iroh the side eye. "What have you been telling her?"
"Nothing terrible. Maybe if you weren't such a troublemaker you wouldn't have to worry so much." He bounced a look between the two young people, very aware of their preoccupation with one another. "I think I'll go get the tea started for the lunch rush," he drawled, "You two, feel free to stay here as long as you like."
With that rather obvious declaration, Iroh excused himself, leaving Aang and Katara to contemplate one another in tongue-tied silence. She was the first one to break it. "So…uh…did you smooth everything over with your dad?"
"Not really. The monks are flipping out over my 'disappearance.' I have to get back to the hotel before this turns into a full-fledged manhunt."
Katara set her cup aside on a nearby table and expelled a disappointed sigh. "I guess this is the last time you and I are going to see each other, huh?"
"I don't want it to be."
She jerked a startled glance to his face. "But…I thought you had to leave soon."
"I do," he confirmed sadly, "But that's not for another four days and I'd like to spend every moment of that time with you, if I can."
Katara could help but smile a little. "And how exactly are you going to do that if you're on lockdown?"
"I have my ways," he replied mysteriously, "But none of that matters if you don't want to see me again, Katara."
She felt her cheeks warm under his boyish scrutiny. "I want to see you again."
"Excellent!" He lurched around and darted over to the counter to find a scrap of paper and a pencil. He quickly scribbled something down on the back of an order slip and brought it over to her. "That's the address where I'll be tomorrow morning. Can you meet me there?"
Katara studied the directions. "I'm still learning my way around the city, but I'll find it. Trust me."
He flashed a charming grin. "Good. It's a date then."
"Yeah…" she agreed with a slow smile, "It's a date."