They never talked about that day. They went on around each other as if it had never ever happened, but Katara had never forgotten. That day had been as unexpected as him showing up at the Western air temple and saying he wanted to teach Aang firebending. Two and a half weeks after Zuko showed up the day they never talked about happened. By that time everyone had settled into a routine around the temple. It was a mind-numbingly easy routine that Katara had learned to live with. In fact it was nice it was the most normalcy she had since the war started, or it had been before that day they never talked about.
It was mid morning in the Western air temple breakfast was over and everyone was in various stages of getting ready for the day. Toph was shaking dust out of her hair. Suki was sewing a patch into her pants. Katara could see Zuko out of the corner of her eye practicing his firebending forms. His focused golden eyes burned with an intense fire as he went through each form. If he messed up at any point he would stop mid form and start his routine all over again. He was like a perpetual motion machine from the moment he got up until he lie down in his bed roll at night he was moving.
She pulled her eyes away from Zuko and dropped a pair of Pipsqueak's socks into the waiting laundry basket below. According to the chore wheel it was her week to do laundry. She'd gotten the idea of a chore wheel from Tong the mayor of Chin village. Everyone complained about the wheel at first, but in the end they went along with it because it was easier than if they didn't. That was why she had said yes when Aang had asked if she was OK with Zuko joining the group. It had made more sense to say yes than no. There was no one else to teach Aang fire bending. They needed Zuko.
It wasn't until that day that they never spoke of Katara realized that Zuko needed them too. He stopped his bending routine at that moment and looked across the temple at her. Their eyes met, and as Zuko stared at her, she knew that he had not forgotten that day either. She knew he thought about it during certain times only to tuck it safely away at the back of his mind like she did. Katara dropped the last piece of laundry in the basket. Once she dropped off everyone's clothes she had to get ready to go berry picking. It was the perfect time of year for dragon plumberries. The large sweet purple plumberries grew high up in the branches of tall treasure trees. The only way to successfully reach them if you weren't an airbender was flying up to the tree tops on the back of Appa. She picked up the basket of laundry ready to start her round of deliveries, but stopped when she saw Sokka walking up to her with Suki a few steps behind.
"There's been a change of plans with the plumberry picking." Sokka said.
"Make that a change of people." Suki said as she caught up to Sokka she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Zuko is coming with us."
"What? Why?" Katara almost dropped the basket of laundry.
"He mentioned that dragon plumberry picking was a happy childhood memory. He doesn't seem to have many of those so I asked him to come along."
"Is that a problem?" Sokka wanted to know.
"No, I just wondered why he wanted to come along, berry picking doesn't seem like something Zuko would do."
"Don't worry. He's apparently good at it." Sokka assured her.
Katara was not assured. As she got ready to go berry picking she wondered how often Zuko thought of that day. It was almost like what had happened back in Ba Sing Se because somehow she was drawn to him with out much effort. For the second time in their life they had touched one another. He was so close to her even closer than they had been back in the crystal catacombs. This time he'd been the only one to talk, and he'd only spoken at the end of their encounter.
"Thanks, Katara. I'd better go now." He'd run off after speaking to her. Literally ran from her as if she was a saber-tooth moose lion and he was a rabaroo. The next day she'd gotten up and started her day like normal. Whenever Zuko passed by her she didn't look at him and he did not look at her. They ate dinner side by side that day and when their elbows had touched by accident they'd nearly jumped ten feet away from each other.
"This is so stupid." Katara said to her reflection in the mirror. "We can't keep walking around like that day never happened." She was resorting to talking to herself. This was how dire her situation had become she was having full on conversations with herself. "The worst part is I can't be the one to bring it up." She gave herself one last look over in the mirror and thought if there was one plus side to this whole fiasco it was she looked better than she felt. Knowing she couldn't hide in her room forever she stepped into the main entry way of the temple.
Zuko was there and he nodded at her and she nodded back. "I guess we're the first ones ready."
"Looks like." She replied and sat on the edge of the fountain. A moment later Zuko joined her and sat next to her but left enough space for another person to sit between them. Katara push and pulled the water in the fountain.
"Ever had dragon plumberry jam?"
"What?" Katara's head whipped around towards Zuko. Out of all the things she imagined the two of them having a conversation about this was not it. "I mean no, why?"
"I used to make it with my mother."
"Oh." Katara thought back to the day when the two of them where trapped in the crystal catacombs together and Zuko had told her that the Fire Nation had taken his mother too. He had never elaborated on how. "Is it good?"
"It's delicious. I know how to make it if you or anyone would be willing to try."
"Sounds nice." Despite the conversation being perfectly normal it was one of the most bizarre she'd ever engaged in. After what had gone on between them on that day they never spoke about she wondered how in the name of the Spirits Zuko could sit beside her and calmly talk of plumberry jam.
"You can also make tea from it's flowers."
"That's nice." She replied. If he didn't shut up about the berries Katara was going to drown him in the fountain.
"Ready to go?" Suki asked.
Zuko jumped up. "Ready!"
"All right then let's go!" Sokka said.
The scarf Katara tied around her hair ruffled in the slight breeze along with the rest of her clothes as Appa ascended towards the top of the tall treasure trees.
As Sokka loosely held the reins he sang a traditional Southern Water Tribe hunting song. "Through the fields of barren snow ice fishing we will go. Over the mountains and under the sky is where our fish will fry. Oh fry fish fry beneath the morning sky. Oh fry fish fry beneath the evening sky. Oh fry fish fry beneath the midnight sky."
Katara did not join him in his little ditty though she knew the song by heart. She was still trying to figure Zuko out. He was sitting next to her but like at the fountain he'd left enough room for another person to sit between them. Did this mean he wanted to talk to her about that day or was he trying to show her that he didn't want to talk about it? She was so confused. How could he not want to talk about what happened between them on the day they never talked about.
He had been sitting on the edge of the temple. His legs had been hanging over the edge his feet crossed at the ankles. His legs were in the sunlight but the rest of him remained in the shadows. Katara had a bucket of dirty dish water she was going to throw over the edge but stopped when she heard Zuko crying. She remembered how his shoulders were heaving up and down and his hands had been buried in his hair. She even remembered the little details like how tufts of his hair had stuck out between his fingers. He must of sensed her there because he turned around to look at her, but didn't stop crying. His tears were only able to fall from his right eye. Katara swallowed the lump in her throat and sat next to Zuko. Tears of her own coursed down her face, but she had not said a word and he did not ask her to leave.
Zuko continued to cry. Still Katara didn't say a word she wrapped her arms around him as he cried, and seconds later he wrapped his arms around her. She could not say how much time passed as the two of them sat there in the fading sunlight of the day.
"Thanks, Katara. I'd better go now." He ran away from her. The tear stains on her shirt hadn't even had time to dry. For the second time he had ran away from her after showing his heart to her. She wanted to kill him for it she wanted to kiss him for it.