Disclaimer: I own nothing.
KataraxMakko
Prologue: Alive
His arrows flickered once before going out again.
"You have to hurry!"
"I know that, Sokka—don't rush me and don't yell at me!"
"Guys! We don't have time for this. His pulse is still weak! Sokka, Your Majesty—keep directing Appa. Katara, focus on healing Aang!"
She took a few deep breaths and turned him over. He flopped against her; she couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
And his wound...it wasn't a gash or a deep cut or anything like that. It was like something had torn through his body. His flesh...it was like a something had ripped through him. She couldn't see it being patched well. If...when he got better, he would forever have a hole in his body. She could just tell.
"Okay...hand me the bottle." Toph did and Katara gripped it like her life depended on it. The water still felt as cold as it did the day it had been given to her.
She had never been so thankful for learning how to heal, for being able to make water coat her fingers and turn blue.
Her hand pressed against Aang's back and ran over the hole that Azula had left on him. Back and forth and back and forth, over and over, from where it was deepest to where it receded. She kept repeating the same phrase, "Spirits help him," in her head until they all seemed to blur together. She must have been done that for...a minute? Two minutes? Five? Why did it seem like time was stretching out this one moment?
She could hear the wind blowing around her as everyone sat in silence on Appa's back. No one wanted to be the one to ask if the water had worked.
It wasn't working.
It's not going to work.
Aang's gone.
He's gone.
He's gone.
Azula and Zuko...they killed him.
He's gone. He's gone. He's gone. He's gone. He's gone.
She felt the sting in her eyes as tears gathered and slid down her face. It was hard to breathe...she didn't do well with death and Aang knew that. She didn't understand why he was doing this to her. She didn't understand why he was like this in her arms, a doll, a boy that had been living.
No one spoke as her sobbing got louder.
She hugged him close to her as the tears fell more and saw a blue glow through her blurred vision.
He's moving.
He was moving in her arms...and he was smilig at her.
The Reunion
Katara lifted the gray shirt the seventeen-year-old was wearing and saw much of the same she had seen on the rest of her body: band-aids and tape and gauze. Scratches. The older woman's hands ran on a frayed edge of medical tape on her side, looking at the young girl's face for any indication of pain. Her brow crinkled and her fingers twitched to move, like it had when Katara had examined her legs and arms, like she was trying to move away from the one causing her pain, but other than that, nothing.
A small hum came from her throat.
Had Korra been awake, she might have told her that this is was not the best circumstance she would have liked their reunion to fall under. Suddenly rushing from the White Lotus fortress and traveling atop BaoBao for two days without even a chance to visit her parents to see if they wanted to bring something from home was not how she had pictured her student promising to be stay safe and be careful.
And her student would have smiled sheepishly in return at the joke and told her that she was sorry, but it was still great to see her.
She would have probably agreed and told her it was great to see her too, all things considered.
"These cuts and...bruises are...a week old, yes?"
"Yes." Tenzin answered her.
"They've been slow to heal..."
"Most of them are injuries from the other fights she fought before she had been caught by Amon. He's a very brutal opponent, Mother."
They always were. Katara pulled her eyes away from the sleeping figure and looked at the wall of people that had followed her into the girl's room upon her arrival.
"Has she moved at all?"
"She did the first day once or twice. But since then, she's been...sleeping." Pema said that almost like a question, like she couldn't be sure. The pregnant woman looked for confirmation from her family, Lin, and Korra's friends, the...brothers and the girl.
They nodded.
Katara nodded, brushed away stray hairs from Korra's face, much like she used to do when the girl was smaller and would catch a fever. She noticed the seventeen-year-old had gotten a few scratches on her face and burn marks around the corners of her mouth. She had been yelling fire again.
"Did she express any kind of pain—well, great pain that first day?"
"Yes. We gave her sedatives. It's had to have worn off my now, but she hasn't moved since the second day. We keep thinking that when she does, we'll have to her another sedative to her from moving too often."
She knew the young Avatar better than that. "You mean, you would have forced her to take the sedative to keep her from moving."
"Yes," one of the young men answered. Red scarf, hands stuffed in his pockets, tight eyebrow line, eyes cast to the floor.
"Mother, was Father like this the first time he entered The Avatar State?"
"Not exactly...Your father had been injured when he had entered The Avatar State and entered a coma for a few weeks. The fact that Korra wasn't injured and acts the same points to fatigue in some ways. I'm sure that for someone like Korra, who has been inching into the more spiritual aspects of being the Avatar, going into its full state suddenly has taken a large toll on her body. The bruises she's sustained on her haven't helped either. They're the most important thing to consider because minor cuts and bruises received in the Avatar State are healed quickly.
"...My diagnosis is that Korra is attempting to use the state to heal her body. Of course, because she isn't yet an expert, she hasn't been able to perform it so well, which is why she kept coming in and out of it...
"She needs help healing herself."
The room was silent.
"...What does that mean? How can we help her?" The girl asked.
"Don't worry, dear, I can heal her. I will need her to be submerged in water to do so, but it will be a simple process from there.
"Of course, I need to get settled before we begin. If some of you would like to escort me to my quarters so that I may do so, and the rest prepare a bathtub, I would appreciate it."
Emerged
She finally stopped walking. This was it, what she had seen up above. "Sokka, bring him over here!"
Sokka was walking, albeit slowly with Aang in arm. He had shifted his body in his arms three times and Katara was already annoyed—she didn't like it. First it had been a cradle, then like Aang was a baby doll, and then over his shoulder. That made her the angriest; he couldn't have been that heavy.
Her brother shivered as he stepped into the water. "Here? Katara, the water is cold."
"I know; it's cold everywhere. That's what happens when the water is outside."
"Katara, we barely avoided getting caught flying around here by the Fire Nations soldiers to get over here. And Aang is in a coma—we need to get him to a safe place. Chameleon Bay is our destination, remember?"
"I remember! But, Aang still needs to be healed and even though the Spirit Oasis water helps, I need a lot more water to do it. I'm thinking, maybe, maybe if we can get him inside of something or somewhere that has a lot of water, I'll be able to heal him faster. Even just for an hour a day."
"But Katara—"
..She walked into Korra's room to see that even though she hadn't woken up, she had company.
The young man from earlier, the one with the scarf, stood at her arrival. He was tall. "Master Katara—"
"Oh, I am not so wrapped up in my title that I demand everyone to say it all the time. For anyone who is not my student or a fellow master, my name is 'Katara'."
"And then I use the Spirit Oasis water to heal him at night."
"Katara—"
"I know, but you've only allowed us to stay at one place for a little bit. And I know that it's because we're still trying to get away, but he needs to stay in water for longer. I want him to stay in water longer. I'm looking after him and I say that it's important." She kneeled inside of the stream and felt a new wave of chills, but tried her best to adjust.
"...Katara."
She smiled at the young man. "Now, you are..."
"Mako."
A Firebender name, and a very strong one at that.
He began to bow, but stopped when he saw her hand extended out to him. He took it. His handshake was strong, confident and warm. Very warm.
Of course.
"Nice to meet you again. Are you here to tell me where Korra will be taken?"
She didn't want to be questioned about what she was doing. She just wanted to help Aang however she could. Aang was...a friend.
"Yes. The Air Acolytes have been carrying buckets—water from some drums from the Northern Water Tribe."
"Ah, yes. Those. I remember them."
"Oh...they're putting the water into one of the tubs inside the Woman's Bathhouse. ...And I'm here to help you carry her there."
"...Just you?"
"...Yeah."
She smiled. "Okay. Mako, please. Now that I know our destination, help me carry Korra to it. Please try to keep her blanket on. It's cold out there."
He followed her directions, dipping Aang's body in the water. She reached out to cradle him and have his head on her shoulder, making sure that too much water didn't splash his face. Arms clenched tight, she placed her hand on his back. The wound was still fresh, but was healing.
She tried to remind herself of that whenever she saw it and felt like crying.
He didn't flinch, didn't move. Heart beating in her chest like a drum, she willed her palm to turn blue and she watched as the water around them slowly began to glow.
He nodded and leaned down towards the bed, hovering over her. Katara watched the way he acted, the way he lifted the blanket to gently place it down again. For a Firebender with such a strong name, he was modest; there was a bit of color to his cheeks as he spied Korra's semi-bare legs.
...She'd have to have a discussion with Pema later about maybe not having Korra in such a small pair of shorts. It was winter after all.
But he wrapped the fabric around her and slipped his arms underneath the back of her knees and shoulders. He shifted backwards slightly and rested her head on his chest.
Their walk was short and silent, and the bathhouse was abandoned.
"Have her face away from the faucet...Now, lower her gently. There...that's it." She didn't move to reach her student yet, just stood patiently as she watched Mako bring a stool close to her. "Thank you." She settled unto it and dipped her hands in the water. It was perfect, room temperature.
Her eyes closed.
The chi she gathered in her fingertips grew into its glow slowly. To her, at this point in her life, it was still amazing how her old eyes could still be fascinated in watching it spread and grow. It blanketed Korra's body, creeping in either direction to her toes and over her ears.
"Wow."
His arrows were glowing, almost the same color of her hands and she was excited as she could be. It had been a week since the last time she had seen them do that. And it was the first sign he had given to her that she was doing something right in being forceful...
She looked over to see Mako staring at her work, her blue chi lighting up his face. "Mako, I will be doing this for about an hour. If you have something to do, please feel free to do it, and meet me here by then or get your brother to meet me here."
"...I don't mind waiting; I don't really have anything to do."
Katara tried to hide the smile that was fighting to be shown, but she wasn't as successful as she should have been. "Alright."
And she would have to question someone—maybe Pema again, or one of the elder lady acolytes, maybe Chun was he best choice—about Korra...and this Mako.
There was just something a bit too noticeable about how he had handled her...Like she was fragile, lighter than air...
Changes
"Is that...hair?" Toph rubbed her hand over his head.
It had been two and half weeks. They were back in Chameleon Bay, something she knew made Sokka happy. Aang was getting better. His arrows had begun to glow the moment he was placed in the water and before she could gather her own chi...something that made her happy.
She had barely seen Toph; their patterns had been a bit out of sync: Katara was up in the morning, healing Aang still; and Toph was up at night, her abilities put to much better use at night, when they tried to move; and Sokka slept periodically throughout the day and night, fishing for food and ready for when Katara needed Aang to be carried when the sun was up, and stayed awake all night with Toph, sword in hand.
"Yeah." Her hand reached up to finger the thin hairs on his head. Seeing the way it sprouted over the tail of his arrow like grass was almost funny. She had come up with a few quips she thought he would have liked to hear.
"What color is it?"
"...Black."
"Hmmm. That almost doesn't seem to match—you know, given Twinkle Toes' personality."
"...You're right."
Childhood Story
"...The one thing she kept forgetting to do was return the plates back to the kitchen. And I was already suspicious because the way she had been acting had been going on for almost a week. I had no idea what was running through her head, and I couldn't understand why she thought I wouldn't notice her poking out her stomach on purpose. Plus, I had an angry kitchen staff to worry about. So, finally on the fourth night, I decide stay up to follow her.
"And she comes out of her room when it's mostly lights out, dressed like she's going outside which explain why her clothes had been wet. And she makes her way outside and starts tiptoeing towards the stables and goes inside. I follow and it's easy because she wasn't really looking around her at that point."
Mako smiled, stared at the topic of conversation as she laid in the tub. It had been the third day and she hadn't awoken yet, but her fingers were moving and there were twitches in her face. Those were improvements. "What did you see?"
"Well, I first heard her talking, murmuring, as if someone else was in the stables with her, which is impossible because the only thing in the stables are hay, sleeping air-bison, and bags of air-bison food, but it still worried me. So I drop my sneaky act and come upon her and she tries to jump up, but she can't. I move closer to see what she's been doing, and in her lap, I see this huge ball of white fur."
"Naga."
"Yes, Naga before I knew her as Naga. At the time, she was just a polar bear-dog pup. And Korra looks at me and then back at Naga and then back at me, and she just starts crying and begging me not to take her away..."
Unhappy
Katara laid Aang across the bed, the captain's quarters. It was better than what they had been doing, having him sleep outside and wrapped up on blankets or on Appa's head, which was soft, but didn't exactly beat a bed.
She was glad that Aang's safety was a sure thing now. But for everything else, she wasn't happy.
Her dad was here. They had found them, him and the rest of the soldiers, but she wasn't happy. He had noticed a Fire Nation boat in the water before they had reunited. He and Sokka—Sokka, actually—had come up with a plan to take it and had been successful in executing it, but she wasn't happy.
Deep, deep down she felt like maybe part of her was...glad her father was safe.
But...outside, on her face, where it mattered the most, she wasn't happy.
Her hand touched Aang's, and she stared at his sleeping face. She smiled as his fingers curled around hers.
And she wished he was awake so she could be happy about him and forget about how she was so unhappy now.
肥皂劇/Soap Opera
She had been here close to a week, had spent time healing Korra with Mako in that time, and had finally spoken to Chun and then Pema when she was free.
There were a few noteworthy things about living on Air Temple Island she had noticed and had confirmed.
Mako reminded her of Zuko in some ways, except he was admittedly less brooding. It was more like he was a young man of few words. Which was good. She could understand how that and the moments he actually spoke, and gave someone his full attention, could be attractive to some girls—maybe Korra.
It was certainly true for the girl she had met the first day, Miss Asami Sato. Apparently, and according to Chun, he and Miss Sato were an item. Katara had to take Chun at her word; there was nothing she herself had seen between them indicating that fact. They sat together in the Dining Hall, but they didn't speak too often to one another. They walked together, but they didn't seem to speak to one another then either nor did there seem to be comfort in the silence.
...There was always a hurt look on Ms. Sato's face whenever he walked away from her, frustrated.
It was a look Korra recognized.
She noticed, in the moments when she and Mako weren't with Korra in the bathhouse and she was with her student in her room, he walked past Korra's doorway often. Sometimes he had excuses; other times, he stumbled through until saying something short and then walking out. And still more times he sat outside of the room long enough to be asleep when Katara finally emerged from the room on her way to bed herself.
She noticed that her grandchildren seemed to go to Mako the most when they wanted to know if Korra was okay or if they were allowed to see her if they promised not to make too much noise. (That had nothing to do with Miss Sato, Mako, and Korra exactly, but it was still very cute. And she was all too happy to realize that when he wasn't around, she was also number one on the list for the moment.)
And she noticed that the younger brother, Bolin, was the one cursed to be caught in the middle of it all. He and Miss Sato, when left alone to their devices too often, spent time together. The latter seemed to be always asking questions or pouring out her soul to the former. That pattern seemed to change slightly whenever the brothers were together: Bolin asked questions and made suggestions and Mako...avoided them.
"Pema, I don't understand how you seem to manage so well with everything that seems to be happening around here." She and her daughter-in-law were having tea and listening to the radio. They had figured out that less emergency broadcasts occurred on one station at night.
Katara found it sad that the Republic City skyline was less well lit since the arena had received damage, but still, she enjoyed the enjoyed the company of Pema and her soon to be new grandchild brought to her.
"You mean, the soap opera that seems to have be taking place in my home?"
She laughed. "Yes."
Pema smiled as well. "Ohhh. It's hard to ignore. The last few weeks have been...interesting..."
"And where does Korra stand in the middle of this?"
"...She likes Mako. It makes sense in a way: a girl, miles away from home, where there are boys everywhere, and she winds up at the feet of one of the the most talented Pro-Benders in the league."
"Really?"
"He hasn't told you?"
"No. Not yet. My stories about Korra have taken precedent as conversation."
"Well, apparently, that's what he is if Tenzin sharing Pro-Bending stats are anything to go by...I caught her asking Jinora and Ikki for advice a while back," she shook her head slightly at Katara's laughter. "I know. I set her straight, but I haven't exactly had the chance to ask how it turned out. I'm assuming not too good..." She sighed. "The hormones running rampant around here seem to be bigger than when Tenzin and I were dating, doesn't it?"
"It does. But I believe that was because all the players didn't live here together." Katara swallowed the steaming hot liquid, hiding her smile.
"Yeah...that's true. I don't think the island would have been left standing had Lin lived here when Tenzin and I first got together." She stiffened a bit as the baby kicked. "No, no I'm okay." She took another sip of her tea. "I can say that since it's started, I haven't missed my stories on the radio so much."
They laughed.
To Care for The Avatar
"...Is it always so...hard?"
"Is what always so hard?"
Day eight.
They, she and Mako, had been talking, but not about happy things. Korra and him caught by Amon's forces; the way they had been treated, him having to watch her kick and fight and the tears in her eyes when the monster's hand had touched her, and the destruction Korra had caused. She knew that had Korra left the Avatar State then and heard of the way she had acted, she would not have been happy. Korra, she was grateful to know, still believed in strength, not the violence that came with it.
"Doing this. Taking care of them. The Avatar. Was it hard taking care of Avatar Aang whenever he got hurt in the Avatar State?"
"Aang was only critically hurt once in the Avatar State. And yes, it was hard. You've already experienced eight days of this; I and my friends and family went through it for weeks." Her hands moved in the water, brushed against Korra's mouth. The burn scars were gone and the bruise on her side would be healed today as well. "But the one time he was hurt worried me. I have only been so scared for so long a few times in my life, and Aang being hurt was one of those times."
His hand skimmed along the surface of the water, close to touching it, but not quite. "I can understand that."
"Mako, the thing that I have learned is while it is hard to care for them, Aang and Korra, they know how much we struggle to do so, and they try their hardest to end our worries. Even during the times when it seems they're not around and we worry the most. They are always trying their hardest to come back to us."
He would learn that about five hours later when he would come to say goodnight and see Korra turning over in her sleep on her own. "...Is she really?"
"Yes, and has been for about half an hour now." Katara stooped down to pick up the pillows the teen had kicked off. "She's never really been a still sleeper. I was just about to ask someone to call you..."
Her Name
She had only been gone an hour or so, for groceries. She didn't understand how that much time away could cause people to rush up to her when she returned.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong! Nothing's wrong." Toph said. "It's just Aang..."
She began to walk around the earthbender, intent on getting to Aang's room. "How can nothing be wrong with Aang—he's still not moving!"
"He moved!"
Her head whirled around to face her old friend. "...What?"
"Yeah. You know how he wasn't moving before? Well, he moved a little bit while you were gone. And," she neared Toph when she had beckoned her to do so and turned her ear trying to figure what was so big it had to be a secret.
"He started whispering your name."
She blushed.
Epilogue: The Awakening/Worry II
Ten days since her arrival and two days since she had left the South Pole, Korra finally opened her eyes, the blue orbs trailing the bathhouse ceiling before staring down at herself. They blinked wildly as her mind and her body began to catch up in its process of figuring out where she was and what she was doing.
Katara could only imagine how strange it was, finding herself clothed in a bathtub full of glowing blue water. But she was grateful that she hadn't jolted up and splashed her. Still, that wet wolftail of hers was sending beads of water across the front of her tunic.
"Why am I..." Her blue eyes looked over at her. "Master Katara?"
"Good afternoon, Korra. I'm happy to see you." Her arms emerged from the water, ready to receive the hug that she was due.
"I'm happy to see you too." She moved, brought herself up and stared at herself. "I'm on Air Temple Island."
"Yes, you are. You've been away for about a week or so."
"You've been healing me." Her arms tightened their grip slightly damping the front of her tunic even more. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, my dear Korra."
"Korra."
"...Mako?" Korra let Katara go. She began crawling back in the tub, almost climbing out before she seemed to remember what she looked like. Her face was turning red. "Why are you here?"
"Mako has been helping me heal you."
She looked between the two of them, confused. She spent water over the side of the tub as she tried to reach for her teacher. "Wha—Where are you going?"
Katara looked behind at the two of them. "I spread the news that you're okay now. Plus, you need warm clothes and food." She smiled as Korra's stomach rumbled and made itself known. "Mako, help her get out of the tub." She didn't turn back to see what was happening as she stepped out.
She did leave the bathhouse, but she lingered outside a bit. The air was cool again. There was going to be snow once more.
There was the sound of splashing water and talking. Korra asked a lot of questions like always. Mako seemed to be used to them too; he answered them, didn't fuss as he passed her the towel, caught her up on things.
And then there was silence.
"...I'm happy you're safe."
"...I'm sorry...You were worried about me again, right?"
"Yeah, I was. But, Korra. It's okay. You're safe now. Everybody's going to be happy to see you."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I keep making you worry. If I had known I would have—"
And there was a smacking sound...smacking sounds.
Aang had cut her off with a shake of his head. "It wasn't the Water Spirit that brought me back. It was you. Katara, thank you..."
Caring for The Avatar
Whew!
This is a sequel to the previous oneshot. It's long—I know, but I hope you enjoy it.
It follows the layout of "The End of Monumental Things" in that are mini ficclets in here. And the idea of this...I had been wanting to make a KorraxKatara-centric fanfic for awhile, but had had problems trying to write it. But in writing "Worry", I suddenly had inspiration. I think having the aftermath of Korra first reaching the Avatar State told through Katara was cool. And it just seemed to open up more when I realized that this would be her second time healing a wounded Avatar; I had an opportunity to fill in all those weeks we missed from The Last Airbender when Aang was hurt and Katara was healing him.
As far for some of the stories like "Childhood Story" and "肥皂劇/Soap Opera", they were a "killing two birds with one stone situation. I had had also juggled ideas of having a KorraxNaga and a Pema story and this just seemed to go so well.
That season finale has got to come. I'm super duper stoked.