A/N: Due to issues with my schedule, I'm being forced to move today's triple update to the day after tomorrow. My three AP teachers decided that now as a good time for tests and papers and homework galore. I've barely had time to work on this chapter! I've been taking sporadic breaks from my sixty-question take-home test for AP Microeconomics to write and you don't even want to know how my paper and my science lab are going. Not to mention that my room looks like Aang threw a fit and airbent a tornado in here. I've been itching to write all day, though! So here is the product of my procrastination…
Shaping Destiny
By: RupertLover09
Summary: Destiny is a funny thing, you never know how things are going to work out… Things change and people change.
Chapter Thirteen: A Liaison, a Letter, and Frustration
Katara was restless. The air in her room was stifling and there wasn't even a breeze to disrupt the still, scarlet curtains that hung at the open archway that led to the balcony. She could see the full moon and she could feel its power pulling at her. For once, the waterbender wasn't in the mood to bend. Surely, though, a quick dip in the ocean wouldn't hurt.
With a disgruntled and slightly put out sigh, Katara shoved back the silk bed covers (which were doing nothing to keep her cool) and slipped out of the canopied bed to put on one of her old, worn traveling robes from the early days of the gang's adventures. It was a little small and a tad bit short, but it would do for a simple walk down to the docks.
She slipped out her door, flushing when a guard cast her a disparaging glance.
"I'm just going for a walk," she explained.
The guard looked at her for a few more seconds then turned to face forward again, boredom taking over his features. Katara took the opportunity to dash down the otherwise empty hallway, the ocean currents calling to her as she ran light-footed over the marble floors. She skidded around corners and unoccupied rooms to a back entrance.
The outside world was silent, save for the sound of chirping crickets and the occasional call of a cat owl. Grass masked Katara's footsteps as she skipped over the ground to the beach. The sand was cool and damp under her bare feet and she wasted no time in finding an empty dock from which to dive into her element. Katara shrugged off the old clothing and stood there on the dock in her wraps before she slipped a foot into the water to test out the temperature. Despite the night air (or perhaps because of it), the water was warm and she dived in, lithe body cutting through the seawater like a knife. Surfacing, she shook her long tresses out of her eyes and stared up at the full moon, eyes wide and drops of water slipping over her skin.
"Do you always swim at midnight?"
Katara smothered a smile as Zuko's deep voice cut through the relative silence. Her heart lurched in her chest, but she didn't turn to face him.
"Do you always follow people around?" she shot back.
"I've been out here for hours."
"I didn't see you."
"I like to lurk in the darkness."
Katara chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. "You lurk, huh?"
"It's one of my many talents. Fire Lord, swordsman, firebender…lurker." Zuko laughed abruptly. "I'm a jack of all trades."
Smiling and bending the seawater from her skin and her wraps, Katara turned to face him. He was staring out at the dark waves, arms crossed over his bare chest and a light smirk on his face. His eyes met hers and her breath hitched in her chest again.
"But I am ready to forgive you."
Strong, comforting arms wrapping around her…the warmth of his body…twin intakes of breath…two sighs…golden eyes never straying from her as she walked away.
Katara's heart hammered away in her chest at the thought of that day. How the mere memory could still draw that strong of a reaction from her, she didn't quite know. It was one of those feelings that refused to go away, and Katara didn't want it to. She eased herself up onto the dock, sitting herself down by Zuko's feet.
"What are you doing out here at this time of night?"
"I could ask you the same question."
She shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."
Zuko nodded and sat down next to her, reclining back on his elbows. "Understandable. How is helping Suki plan the wedding going?"
"It's not," Katara said with a frustrated sigh. "Suki and Sokka can't decide on a location. Sokka says they should get married in our tribe, Suki says Kyoshi Island. If they can't decide on a location, Suki and I can't start planning anything. Traditions are different in both places and we don't want to offend anybody by having a Water Tribe wedding on Kyoshi Island or a Kyoshian wedding in our tribe. It's not a risk anybody's willing to take; especially my dad."
"Your dad?"
Katara nodded. "He's afraid that if we offend someone, they'll use the wedding as an excuse to start a revolt."
"I can't imagine somebody basing a revolt off of a wedding."
"Can't you? The world's not exactly a happy place yet."
"Still," he turned his head to look at her, "it's not as if Sokka and Suki are trying to offend anybody. Two cultures coming together? I can't imagine why anybody would be mad about that, especially since your tribe and the Earth Kingdom were allies in the war. Can't they just…combine traditions?"
Katara shook her head and groaned. "Don't think I haven't suggested that. Suki is all for it, but Sokka thinks it's too simple."
"He would."
"That's not even the worst of it," Katara continued, on a roll now that she had somebody to talk to about her frustrations with planning her brother's wedding. "Suki thinks it would be a good idea to have Aang marry them because he's the Avatar, but Sokka won't hear of it."
"Why not? Isn't Aang his best friend or something?"
"Sokka is a drama queen and, apparently, he knows what Aang tried with me and now Sokka wants nothing to do with him."
"That's great," she heard Zuko mutter. Immediately, she followed his train of thought. If Sokka was mad that Aang- the Avatar- had tried to be with her in ways that she didn't want to be with him, what would he say when he found out about her relationship with the Fire Lord? The two relationships were entirely different, but Katara wondered if Sokka would see it that way.
"Don't worry about it," she assured the raven-haired boy. "I don't think Sokka will be too mad about us. We have feelings for each other, you know? Although…," Katara bit her lip, wondering if what she was going to say was a good idea. "I think that we should tell him before he finds out for himself. That way he's less inclined to hurt you."
Zuko laughed and sat up. Katara felt his hand slide into hers. She kept her eyes riveted on the water as a thrill- the same thrill that usually overtook her but never got old- raced up her spine.
"You really want to tell him?"
"Of course I do," she squeezed the firebender's hand. "You know that."
"We could…tell everybody. Sokka, your dad, Suki…even Uncle," he suggested, seeming slightly worried as he spoke. Katara wondered if he thought she would blow up again, like the previous afternoon. She smiled and stood up, tugging him after.
"What?" he asked.
"Come swim with me," she attempted to pull him toward the edge of the wooden planks, but he stayed put, his strength winning out over hers. Katara turned back to him, arching an eyebrow.
"I don't swim, Katara. Being fully submerged in water makes me…uncomfortable. I can't bend in water."
Katara smiled. "Well, that's why you've got me. Now come on, it's just one swim." Without looking back at him, Katara released his hand and dived into the water once again, relishing as the cool liquid flowed around her body.
A few seconds later, the water warmed up a little bit and the waterbender smiled to herself as she reached out for the young leader's hand, propelling their bodies off into the darkness surrounding them.
Zuko scowled and scraped sand off the bottom of his feet before he put on his boots. How the little specks of dirt were still sticking to the bottoms of his feet, he didn't quite understand. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he'd woken up on the beach with Katara curled in his arms. The firebender scratched his head, dislodging more specks of sand. He could remember their talk and the fact that she had suckered him into swimming with her, but he couldn't for the life of him remember falling asleep there on the beach.
The pair had slept through breakfast, and Zuko wondered why nobody had gone looking for them. Shouldn't it raise some sort of alarm that the leader of the Fire Nation had gone missing? Or maybe someone had gone looking for them, found them, and decided to let them be. It didn't seem likely, but Zuko was far more comfortable with that conclusion than the one that nobody had been worried. He shrugged the matter off (though it still niggled at the back of his mind) and entered his study to see a messenger hawk perched on the back of his chair. Frowning, he pulled the missive from within the cylinder on the bird's back and shooed it out the window.
Wrapped around the scroll was a green ribbon. Zuko raised an eyebrow. A letter from Toph? He unfurled the paper.
Sparky-
I'm writing this letter through Teo. Twinkle Toes and I just ran into him. I'm on my way back to you and Sugar Queen and whoever else is there. I'm fed up with trying to cheer up Baldy when all he does is mope around and deny the truth when I tell it to him. I should be there in a few days, so there's no need for you to write back. Also, it's just me and Twinkle Toes and he's uncomfortable reading anything addressed to me from you or Sugar Queen.
Give her all my love, would you (and by "love" I mean an affectionate elbow to the side. Although, knowing you, you'll be all snuggled up with her in a closet somewhere)? And, also, if Snoozles is there give him some, too (preferably not the kind you give Sugar Queen).
- The Blind Bandit
P.S. Oh, and now Teo knows about you and Sugar Queen. Sorry. Got any plans to tell the world yet? I think you should, just to get it over with.
Zuko cracked a smile. Toph would be Toph no matter the situation. He rolled the scroll back up and tucked it away in a drawer then pulled a stack of papers in front of himself.
The perks of being Fire Lord, he thought to himself sarcastically.
Katara frowned as Suki and Sokka launched into another argument about the location of their wedding. She pinched the bridge of her nose as a her head began to ache dully. It was a subconscious habit that she had picked up from Zuko; she never realized when she was doing it. It was funny, she thought, how couples started acting similar after awhile.
Time was inching slowly by, seeming to pass with every short, sporadic burst of a cooling late-fall breeze that was gusting occasionally about the palace. For Katara, time could not possibly pass slower. She could only hope that her wedding (should it ever come) would not pose such an issue as Sokka's and Suki's so early on.
"Katara, what do you think?" Sokka prompted.
Katara groaned. "I told you, Sokka. It's not my decision where you two get married. And I already told you that I think you guys should just combine traditions."
"It's too simple!"
"It doesn't have to be complicated, Sokka!" Suki shot back, sounding exceedingly irritated. "There's nothing wrong with combining traditions!"
Sokka retorted with something that Katara didn't hear as she buried her head in her arms, frustration making her headache worse. By the time this was over, she wouldn't even want to get married herself and Zuko's little Fire Sages would just have to cool their jets. She frowned, wondering if it was possible to fire the Fire Sages. They didn't seem like very helpful people. What kind of so-called advisors forced the leader of their nation to get married? It wasn't that Katara wouldn't want to marry Zuko (it was actually a very appealing idea), but the timing just wasn't right. How could the Sages expect that of Zuko? Katara wondered if they would want him to marry some Fire Nation girl with good standing. Some nobleman's daughter who knew the ins and outs of court life, who had been raised in the Fire Nation and knew how to carry herself and how to act among the other nobles.
Someone like Mai.
Katara grit her teeth, blocking out the arguing couple and concentrating more on her thoughts. If she had to fight tooth and nail to get her way, the last person she would see Zuko marry (if she didn't first, because, really, it was appealing to her more and more the more often she thought about it) was Mai. She had borne witness to that breakup and the resulting temper tantrum that the usually stoic and bored Mai had thrown when Zuko had said there was someone else, and it hadn't been very pretty.
The waterbender's eyes widened.
Someone else…
Had she been that someone else?
Preview
Zuko shoved yet another treaty to the side. It landed in the pile he had labeled "I Don't Care Right Now" in his head. The majority of papers that had come across his desk since he'd entered his study that morning had ended up in that pile. The firebender rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands. His eyes were tired and his topknot had been pulled a little too tight that morning.
The door to Zuko's study flew open and his head snapped up. He blinked up at a flushed Katara who, despite her scarlet cheeks, was smiling brilliantly. His heart stuttered in his chest.
"I was that someone else, wasn't I?"
Zuko frowned, confused. "What?"
The Shaping Destiny Playlist
Theme Song: "Everything" by Lifehouse
01. "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch
02. "The Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin
03. "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin
04. "So I Thought" by Flyleaf
05. "Faint" by Linkin Park
06. "Just Friends" by Jonas Brothers
07. "Lovebug" by Jonas Brothers
08. "You Had Me from Hello" by Kenny Chesney
09. "A Little Bit Longer" by Jonas Brothers
10. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance
11. "Everybody" by Keith Urban
12. "Better in Time" by Leona Lewis
13. "Love Remains the Same" by Gavin Rossdale
A/N: Sorry it's so short, but if I'm doing the triple update for you all in two days, I'm shortening the chapters a bit so I can string out the story some. Plus, the story is easier to write this way. Shorter chapters mean I have a longer time to integrate everything I want to. Longer chapters equal me having a hard time to keep this story as long as I want it to be because all the info is crammed into one chapter.
Please review! You will make my absolutely crappy day so much better if you do!