I am SO sorry for posting this one late. It grew way too large for me to finish yesterday. But I think this one was worth the wait. I suspect a lot of you will really enjoy today's story. That being said, I wrote it in like two days so it's VERY rough around the edges. The pacing is terrible, the flow is choppy, and the dialogue is awkward. If you're looking for something polished, look elsewhere, my dudes. We die like men, today.


Day Eighteen

Diplomatic Solution


"Sokka, get this thing off me right now. I'm not kidding around."

Katara gave her brother a look blacker than night. She was not impressed. Not in the least. Rather, she was furious.

Sokka withstood her look of murder and shook his head. "Nope. We had a talk and we all agreed that this was the best, most diplomatic solution to your problem with Zuko."

Beside him, Aang nodded seriously. "Sorry, Katara, but we couldn't think of any other way to make both of you happy. You want to make sure that Zuko doesn't try anything funny and he," he pointed at Zuko who was standing silently beside her, "wants an opportunity to earn your trust, which he can't do if you're just going to stalk away whenever he tries to talk to you. This is really the only way to give you both what you want."

It took all of Katara's willpower not to snarl at Aang. She knew he was just doing what he thought was best, but this plan of theirs was absolutely bonkers. Not to mention the worst thing that could ever happen to her. Controlling her rage as best she could, she said hotly, "You think this will make either of us happy?" She lifted her wrist, which was encased in a hard leather cuff attached to a length of sturdy cord and waved it demonstratively. "Tying us together with a bison tether?"

At this point, Zuko, who had been standing by unsurely while she argued with her brother and Aang, finally deigned to speak up. He didn't look any happier than her to be essentially cuffed together. "There has to be a better way. You can't seriously expect us to live like this."

Sokka crossed his arms and shook his head. "The tether's long enough to give you an ample range of motions. And we've already agreed to remove it for Aang's lessons."

"But…!" Katara protested, taking a step forward. "But what about sleeping? What about using the bathroom? What about bathing?"

Beside her, Zuko nodded vehemently.

Aang shifted his weight to one side and scratched his head. "Can't one of you just stand outside the door while the other uses the toilet? It doesn't seem like much of a problem to me."

Sokka nodded. "Yeah. And we can move Zuko's bed to your room to solve the sleeping problem."

Katara bristled in outrage. "You want me to sleep with him?!" she shrieked. "Absolutely not! I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing!"

Sokka waved a hand dismissively. "Sleep in the same room with him. Not with him."

This differentiation did nothing to sooth Katara's ire and she let her brother know this by reiterating her refusal to be in any way a part of this horrid, terrible plan. "No way! I won't do it. This is madness!"

"Listen, Katara," Aang said in his sage voice. "You just have to stand it until you and Zuko learn to get along. After that, we'll take the cuffs off and you two can go back to your separate lives." He tilted his head then and offered the two of them a grin. "Think of it as a team building exercise."

If Aang thought that would make her feel better about the situation, he was sadly mistaken. However, it was becoming clear to her and he and Sokka were going to stick to their guns on this one. The only way she was going to get out of this was by doing as they asked. They'd left her no choice in the matter.

Exhaling a rough sigh, Katara turned her steely gaze on Zuko. To his credit, he met her gaze without flinching. "Fine," she said without inflection. "I'll learn to get along with you." She turned back to Aang and her brother then and her eyes narrowed angrily. "But let me be clear about one thing. Zuko and I will never be friends."

Her bit said, Katara turned on her heel and marched off down the corridor toward the common area. Unable to do anything else with their wrists tethered together, Zuko followed.


Day One

Morning

Katara tried not to flush in embarrassment as she and Zuko walked into the common area. The moment they entered, all eyes turned on them. Haru, Teo, and The Duke stared at them with wide eyes and she saw them whisper to each other too softly to hear. Suki smiled apologetically at her from the cooking pot where she and Chit Sang were just finishing up breakfast. Nearby, Toph had her head turned in their direction and Katara could see a wide grin growing on her face. She had no doubt Toph would give her no end of hell for this. The last person she looked at was her father, and when she turned her gaze to him she found him wearing a bemused expression. He was looking between her and Zuko with a single raised eyebrow but he said nothing. Katara didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed by this.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the happy couple," Toph was the first to vocally acknowledge their entrance. "You guys seem closer already."

Katara shot the small earthbender a heated glare which was wasted on her.

"Sorry, Katara," Suki apologized as Katara joined her by the pot. "I knew you wouldn't be happy, but we all agreed that something needed to be done. Hopefully this will help the two of you come to an understanding."

Katara said nothing to the short-haired warrior. She simply nudged her aside and took over scooping the morning's porridge into bowls. She needed to feel like she was in control of something.

Zuko wisely remained as far out of dodge as he could, opting to sit beside Chit Sang while she worked. Normally, he would offer to help, but even he could sense that today was not a good day to press her buttons.

Noon

"Alright, you two! Bonding exercise number one starts now. I won't stop even if you cry!"

Katara shot a glance at Zuko as he took a ready stance as far from her as the tether would allow. Across from them, Toph had collected a pile of rubble which she'd explained she was going to throw at them until they, in her own words, 'made nice'. Katara wasn't sure how exactly having rocks thrown at her was supposed to change her feelings for Zuko, but Toph had made it clear that this was happening whether she liked it or not.

"Here it comes!"

Katara had no more time to question Toph's plan because suddenly bits of temple were being hurled at her with enthusiastic abandon. Katara yelped as a chunk of stone shattered near her feet and she was forced to jump out of the way when another came hurtling right at her chest. She managed to dodge the lumpy projectile, but her movement caused the tether to strain and she heard a cry of surprise as Zuko was tugged along with her.

The rocks continued to sail at them and both Katara and Zuko struggled to fight them off with the tether yanking them this way and that. Several times, Katara was nearly pulled into the path of an oncoming rock because Zuko was attempting to dodge the other way. Getting fed up, she growled at him and yanked her arm hard, causing him to stumble and nearly get hit. Zuko righted himself and scowled back at her. "What was that for?"

"That was for pulling on me!" she shot back.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't pull on you if you didn't insist on being as far away from me as possible!"

Katara bristled. "Me? You're the one staying away from me!"

"Only because you'll bite my head off if I come any closer!"

"Children!" Toph called over top of them. "Quit squabbling and get dodging! Momo and Appa could do a better job than you two are right now. Jeez, are you guys allies or aren't you?"

At Toph's admonishment, Zuko snapped his mouth shut and Katara saw his jaw square into a look of resolution. Exhaling a sigh, he moved in closer until the cord fell slack against the floor.

Toph nodded in approval. "That's better. Now try again."

This time when Toph's rocks came flying at them, Zuko made a conscious effort to match her movements. When Katara dodged left, Zuko did the same. When she used her water to swat a rock away, Zuko stayed close so as to not limit her range of motion. This simple adjustment did wonders to make the trial more palatable. After a few minutes of this, Katara begrudgingly decided that if Zuko was willing to put aside his pride to work together with her, it was only fair that she do the same. She began mirroring his motions as well and soon they fell into a something of a rhythm.

Now that they weren't fighting just to dodge the attacks, they were able to move onto the offense, slowly gaining ground with each leap, dodge, and strike until they were within range to counterattack. When they breached the five foot mark, however, Toph abruptly stopped. She dropped her arms, allowing gravity to pull the rocks back down to the floor. "That's enough for today," she announced without preamble. "Good work, you two."

Katara and Zuko relaxed out of their fighting stances and shared a confused look.

"That's it?" Zuko asked uncertainly.

Toph placed her arms behind her head and shifted her weight onto one hip. "What? The goal was to get you guys to work together. You did. If you want me to keep throwing rocks at you, I'm totally willing to, but I figured you guys would have, like, other plans for your day."

Katara hurriedly shook her head. "No, you're right. Zuko and I have tons of plans."

"Yeah. Tons," Zuko agreed without needing to be prompted. Clearly he didn't relish the idea of dodging rocks all day any more than she did.

Toph smirked. "That's what I thought." With that, she walked away, leaving Katara and Zuko to their own devices.

Afternoon

Katara peeked over the top of her book to see what Zuko was doing. She hoped to find him up to something nefarious but he was just reading a crusty old scroll with a bored expression.

Disappointed, she went back to her own reading. The book she'd found was a bound collection of old Air Nomad pie recipes. It wasn't the most riveting read, but it was sort of fun to learn about Air Nomad cooking. She'd already found several recipes she'd like to try if she could get her hands on the ingredients.

After a few more minutes of perusal, she again looked up at Zuko. Surely by now he was doing something dastardly.

He hadn't moved. He was still reading quietly, his expression betraying no hint of any evil plotting. Katara's eyes narrowed in frustration.

Without warning, Zuko's eyes flicked up from his scroll to look at her and his expression turned to one of annoyance. "Would you stop scowling at me? That's the sixth time in the past ten minutes."

Katara felt her cheeks heat at being called out. Covering up her embarrassment with bluster, she said, "I'm just checking to make sure you're not up to anything."

Zuko gave her an incredulous look. "We're in a library. What am I going to do in here? Plagiarize?"

Katara humphed petulantly and returned to her recipe book. After a drawn-out moment, she said, "I wouldn't put it past you."

Zuko just rolled his eyes.

Evening

Katara stared hard at the second bed that had been placed in her room just a couple feet away from her own as if she could somehow will it out of existence.

This was really happening. She and Zuko would be sharing a room from tonight on.

Putting on her most furious face, she whirled around and gave Zuko the coldest of murder glares. "If you even think of—"

"I'm not going to do anything," Zuko declared in a flat voice before she could even get her warning out. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her levelly in the eye, challenging her to try accusing him of anything untoward.

Katara shut her mouth and merely glowered back. She hated to give Zuko credit for anything, but of all the evil things he'd done, it was true that he'd never struck her as a sleaze. She supposed everyone at had least one redeeming quality. She gave him a warning glare anyhow before marching across the room—pulling Zuko along with her—to her bed. There, she pulled off her boots one by one and unwrapped the sarashi from her arms. That was as far as she'd go in unclothing for the night. No way was she taking off any more in the presence of her most hated enemy. Not that she could take off her tunic with the tether in the way, regardless.

Now as prepped for bed as she was going to be, she settled under her covers and promptly faced the wall, determined to become unconscious as quickly as possible. If there was no option but to share a room with Zuko, then she might as well go to sleep so that she didn't have to look at him.

Through the movements of the tether, she felt Zuko make his own preparations for sleep. She heard him place his own boots on the floor followed by the rustling of blankets as he slipped into bed. She felt the tether pull as he attempted to face the opposite side of the room and she joined him in sighing in resignation when it proved to be just a little too short. Great, now he would be staring at her back all night. That was just what she needed; the cherry to top this sundae of misery.

Eventually, even with the knowledge that Zuko was most likely watching her, she did fall asleep. It was a restless, wary sleep, but it was better than nothing.


Day Two

Morning

"So, how'd our Siamese twins sleep last night?"

Katara dropped her chin and slowly turned from the cooking pot to level a forest-withering glare at the far too peppy earthbender. Toph wore a shit-eating grin larger than Aang's arrow and though Katara was sure Toph could sense exactly how unimpressed she was by the gibe, she didn't seem bothered by it.

"Whew! Someone's in a foul mood this morning," the small bender said joyfully.

Katara couldn't deny it. Last night had been hell. She'd been tugged nearly off her bed in the middle of the night when Zuko had rolled over in his sleep, and when she'd tried to wake him to make him turn back over, she'd startled him into sitting up abruptly, causing their heads to bash together. After that, they'd spent twenty minutes arguing over whose fault it was, followed by another twenty in which they glared at each other across the gap between their beds. This only ended when Katara's exhaustion finally got the better of her and she passed out.

"What about you, spice lord? No comment?"

Zuko sat as far from Katara as the tether would allow him, holding his head in his hand. Katara had to admit that he looked just as bad as she did, though she would never say it aloud.

"No."

Toph just shrugged at his clipped answer and then turned to call back the rest of the group gathered. "I think it's working."

Noon

"Alright. Team building exercise number two!" Aang announced to the gloomy pair standing sullenly beside each other across from him by the temple's fountain. He wore a large, optimistic smile which he turned back and forth between them as if showering them in his good cheer would cause them to catch it.

"Please don't say it's more training," Katara said, deadpan. She was way too tired to deal with dodging rocks today.

"It is!" Aang declared brightly. "Positivity training. I want the two of you to sit across from each other and you'll take turns listing the other's good points."

Katara couldn't stop her eyebrows from shooting up in surprise. "What?" She looked at Zuko then and her brow furrowed. "But he doesn't have any good points."

Zuko promptly crinkled his nose in offense.

"Sure he does," Aang stated before they could start an argument. "Come on Katara, you're a master at seeing the good in people. This exercise should be easy for you."

Katara frowned. She wanted to continue to protest, but instead she pursed her lips. She couldn't let Aang down. "…Fine."

Doing as instructed, she and Zuko settled onto the stone ground across from each other. Zuko stared directly into her eyes, unblinking, and Katara did the same. What followed was a drawn out staring contest both were determined to win.

The contest was ended by Aang who stepped in between them and levelled both of them with a disapproving expression. "Come on, guys. You're acting like kids. The two of you are never going to resolve your differences if you don't try."

Katara's cheeks heated in shame at being called a child by Aang. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes and cleared her throat. "You're right. We should be fully capable of handling ourselves like mature young adults." She opened her eyes and met Zuko's gaze, challenging him to prove her wrong.

"That's the spirit," Aang said, his good mood returning. "Then why don't you start, Katara? What's one good thing about Zuko?"

Curses, she swore in her head. Aang wasn't supposed to pick her first. Her mouth thinned into a line as she attempted to think of even one good thing about the teenager sitting across from her. Zuko watched her patiently, his golden eyes looking right into hers. She watched his eyebrow slant just slightly in a look that said, I'm waiting.

Katara's own eyebrows twitched in response. Oh, how she hated him. "I guess if I had to pick one good thing about Zuko…" she started, wishing she could swallow her own tongue, "it's that even if he's an underhanded, backstabbing scoundrel, he's terrible at lying."

Aang scrunched his brow in disappointment. "That's the best you can do? Come on, Katara."

"What?" she protested. "It's a compliment. I'm saying that if nothing else, he's honest."

Zuko didn't look any more impressed than Aang. "…Thanks?"

Aang sighed. "Alright, Zuko. Your turn," he said, choosing not to fight any further.

Katara fought a grin. She was all prepared to turn Zuko's smug look from before back on him, but to her surprise he answered right away. "Your bending," he said simply. "You're really good."

To say she was blindsided was an understatement. Katara blinked, then she blinked again. When she'd gathered her wits, she tentatively asked, "…Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah." Looking suddenly bashful, he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head and added, "I…like fighting with you."

For the second time, Katara felt heat rise in her cheeks, but this time it wasn't from shame. "Oh. Um, thanks." To think Zuko actually thought she was a worthy opponent. He'd always lorded his skill over her in the past.

Aang smiled brightly. "That was perfect, Zuko. You're really getting this." Turning back to Katara, he said, "Okay, your turn again."

Somewhat subdued by Zuko's actually nice comment, Katara sucked up her pride and gave the task some proper consideration. After all, what would it say about her to be out-niced by Zuko? She'd never be able to live with herself. After a moment, she said, "I suppose you're pretty good about helping out. I mean, when Toph first joined us, it was like pulling teeth to get her to do anything, but you make us tea and you always offer to help. That's pretty cool, I guess."

Katara had to fight not to feel just the smallest bit charmed when a tiny, pleased smile appeared on Zuko's face. It struck her in that moment that Zuko actually had a rather nice smile—on the rare occasions he chose to wear one.

Aang beamed. "That was way better! See? I knew you could do it."

Now it was Zuko's turn again, and this time he took some time to think about what he wanted to say. Katara could see his brain working behind his eyes. After a moment, he said, "You have a lot of compassion." He looked down at his lap and Katara saw his cheeks dust pink. "You offered to heal my uncle once, and…I'm sorry I yelled at you for that. You also offered to use your spirit water on me…before." He peeked up at her a little uncertainly. "I was really surprised. And touched."

Once again, Katara felt warmth rise within her. Normally, she'd get angry at Zuko for reminding her of his betrayal, but he sounded so genuine just now that the anger flickered out as soon as it appeared.

"Wait, you were going to use your water on—"

"You were? Really?" she asked overtop Aang.

At Zuko's nod, Katara scooted a little closer and furrowed her brow seriously. "Then, why did you attack Aang? If you hadn't joined Azula, we would've beat her and I could've healed you."

Zuko's expression turned uncomfortable and he turned his face away to look at the fountain. "I don't know."

Katara's frown deepened and she leaned forward. "What do you mean, you don't know? If you don't know, then how I can be sure you won't do it again?"

Zuko whipped his face back to look at her. "Because I won't," he said insistently.

Katara shook her head. "That's not good enough, Zuko."

Zuko opened his mouth to retort but he was stopped by Aang who stepped between them and held his hands out for silence. "I think that's enough for today, guys. I don't want this to turn into an argument. You've both said a few good things so let's just leave it here."

At Aang's request, Zuko shut his mouth. He looked like he wanted to defend himself still but he curbed the urge. Katara also wanted to keep pressing him, but she knew Aang was right. They were just going to argue if they kept going. Reluctantly, she nodded and said, "Fine. We'll continue this another time."

Aang smiled, clearly pleased by their cooperation, and stepped back so that he wasn't standing between them anymore. Clapping his hands together, he said, "Great! Then this team-building exercise is finished. Good job today."

Katara and Zuko both nodded and stood. Katara snuck a glance at Zuko that for once was devoid of overt hostility and Zuko did the same. They had an odd moment of sort-of connection in which they simply looked at each other, then they broke it at the same time and followed Aang back to the common area. It was time for Aang's firebending lesson.

Evening

Katara hummed as she stirred the night's stew. She was in an oddly good mood after Zuko and Aang's bending lesson. Perhaps it was because she'd been able to use her temporary freedom to have a nice bath. She felt refreshed and positive. Even being bound to Zuko again wasn't bringing her down.

Zuko also seemed a little less prickly than usual. She had him chopping onions, a task he'd set to gladly, seemingly happy to have finally been given a chore. Suddenly, Katara found herself wondering why she'd been so against putting him to work before. Not liking him didn't mean she couldn't extract some labor out of him.

Perhaps their positive moods were sensed by the others, because tonight everyone was gathered round the cooking pot. Chit Sang and The Duke were having a discussion about flame newts while Sokka, Teo, and Haru argued about the details of some mechanical contraption Sokka wanted Teo to make. Her dad and Suki were listening to Toph and Aang talk about earthbending practice while Suki finished chopping potatoes for the stew. All in all, it was a much nicer atmosphere than that morning.

Katara's pleasant mood persisted through dinner, though it soured a bit when it came time to retire for the night. Once again, she sighed bitterly as she and Zuko entered her room. It was going to be another long, restless night.

"Alright," she announced, turning around to address her unwilling roommate. "Tonight, we're just going to suck it up and face each other. That way, if one of us turns over, the other won't be pulled out of bed." She gave Zuko a pointed look to make it clear that by 'one of us' she really meant him.

Zuko looked like he wanted to fight her—restart their argument from last night—but he held his retort inside and nodded.

Agreement made, the two benders made their night preparations and crawled into their respective beds. Facing Zuko brought back memories of the previous night when they'd glared themselves to sleep. Looking back on their behavior, Katara felt just the slightest bit foolish. She still stood by her argument, though. Last night's head-bashing fiasco had definitely been his fault.

Five minutes later, it appeared that neither of them had found sleep. They just continued to watch each other impassively. Finally, Zuko broke the long silence. "This is weird."

"Yeah, this is weird," Katara agreed without hesitation. "One of us should turn over."

Zuko nodded. "Then I'll do it. I'm the one who turned in my sleep last night. This way, if I do it again, it won't affect you."

Katara nodded her agreement. Seemed like sound logic to her.

Without another word, Zuko flipped onto his other side, leaving her to stare at his back. Without the pressure of his eyes on her, she was at last able to get comfortable enough to fall asleep.

The last thought she had as dreams took her was that Zuko actually had quite a nice back.

Midnight

Katara was abruptly startled awake by a yelp from the bed next to hers. Groggily, she blinked the sleep from her eyes as her brain tried to figure out what was going on.

"Katara!" she heard Zuko hiss in the dark. "Katara! Wake up!"

Becoming more alert at the sound of her attachment's voice, she looked behind her to find Zuko with his arm stretched over the side of the bed, his whole shoulder dangling over the edge of the mattress. Only then did she realize that she'd shifted in her sleep to hug the wall. Quickly, she pushed off the wall and rolled back over, much to Zuko's relief.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. Well, now she just felt silly. She'd given him such a hard time about moving in his sleep and now she'd gone and done the same thing.

The two of them settled back into their original positions and Katara was glad when Zuko chose not to lord her sleep-rolling over her, though she imagined he felt pretty smug right about now.

It took a little longer for sleep to take her this time. She watched Zuko's silhouette in the dark and thought about the lengths he'd gone to not to engage her during this whole dumb plan. He was really doing his best to play nice with her and she was beginning to feel a little bad about her behavior up till now. As she waited for sleep to claim her once more, she made a promise to herself not to be so short with him tomorrow.


Day Three

Morning

The next morning, Zuko had another lesson with Aang, leaving Katara free to do some laundry before breakfast. As she washed everyone's clothes in the fountain, Suki helped her by pinning the wet garments up on a makeshift clothesline. Katara could've easily used her bending to dry the clothes in a snap, but Suki was insistent on the clothesline, saying everyone liked putting on fresh, sun-warmed clothes.

"So," the Kyoshi captain spoke as she hung up a pair of Sokka's socks. "It's day three now. How're things going with Zuko?"

Katara hummed absently. "Fine, I guess. He hasn't tried to betray anyone yet, though that may just be because he's attached to me nearly 24/7."

Suki looked back at her over her shoulder and raised a brow. "You still think he's going to?"

Katara shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know what goes on inside his head."

"You spend just about every moment attached to him. I'd think you'd know him better than anyone by now."

Katara just shrugged again and continued her washing. She didn't have an answer for Suki. It's not like being attached by a cord meant she could read Zuko's mind. All she had to go on was past experience, and her past experience with Zuko was betrayal.

"Well," Suki said after a time. "I'll give you my opinion, for what it's worth."

Katara actually paused her scrubbing to look back at Suki. "Oh? And what's that?"

"I think Zuko's a bit rough around the edges, but after seeing him encourage Sokka at the Boiling Rock, I know he's a nice guy deep down."

Katara took a moment to think about this. She too had once suspected Zuko of being good at his core. It was why she'd offered to heal him in Ba Sing Se. For all the times Zuko had tried to capture Aang, he'd never tried to seriously hurt them the way his sister had. Even at the south pole, he'd honored his agreement to spare her village in return for Aang. She'd never got the sense that he wished harm on anyone. Katara had thought, just like Suki, that deep down, he wasn't so bad. But then he'd betrayed them in Ba Sing Se and sent an assassin after Aang and that image of him, as someone who was maybe not so different than they were, had shattered into a million little pieces. Those acts had proved that somewhere in his mind, he'd been able to justify killing a child.

Anyone who could make that decision once was capable of making it again.

"Yeah," Katara said, offering Suki a wry smile. "I thought so too, back in Ba Sing Se." Her expression darkened then and she added, "But even if there is good inside him, there's darkness, too. The problem is that I can't tell which is stronger."

Suki was quiet for a time. Her lips pulled into a frown and she seemed to be thinking long and hard about the matter. Katara was about to go back to her washing when the Kyoshi captain finally spoke again. "I wasn't there when you guys fought Zuko in Ba Sing Se, so maybe I'm not the best judge, but I was there when Azula attacked him at the Boiling Rock. I watched them fight, and I can tell you that there was no love lost between them that day." She turned her back on the laundry line then and placed her hands on her hips. "If you're worried that those two are still secretly allied, then don't be. At the very least, I can tell you that's not the case."

Katara watched the other girl for a moment, taking in her self-assured posture and knowing look. Her resolve faltered somewhat under Suki's display of absolute certainty. If Zuko really wasn't allied with Azula like she said, then that did lend credibility to his claim that he'd left the Fire Nation. Azula had been the deciding factor in his decision in Ba Sing Se. She'd been the one to convince him to return to the Fire Nation. If he wasn't running with her anymore, then maybe he really was on their side.

She wasn't ready to throw aside her suspicion just yet, but it was something to think about. "I'll make a note of it," she said at last before turning back around and resuming her washing.

Noon

To Katara's dismay, Sokka was the one to designate himself as their team-building instructor for day three. She watched her brother with an air of unease as he paced back and forth in front of them, looking them up and down in an appraising fashion.

"Alright, what strange activity are we going to do today?" she asked dispassionately, hoping just to get on with it. Zuko seemed to agree. He was wearing a look that said he'd rather be anywhere else.

At once, Sokka stopped his pacing and his face lit up in a smile. "I'm glad you asked," he announced, lifting a finger skyward. "Because I've just decided on the perfect bonding activity for today."

Tonelessly, Zuko asked, "And that would be…?"

Sokka clasped his hands in front of him and rubbed them together excitedly. "Well, your first exercise was about learning to tolerate each other and the second was about getting to know each other, so today's activity is going to target the main issue that still exists between you two. Trust."

"Trust?" Katara echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Just what kind of activity do you expect is going to make us trust each other?"

"The ultimate team-building activity," Sokka answered, spreading his arms grandly. "Trust falls."

If her brother was hoping his proclamation would be met with enthusiasm, he was very much mistaken. The moment the words were out of his mouth, Katara groaned. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Trust falls? Really?" Zuko echoed her sentiment.

"Hey," Sokka defended, dropping his arms. "Don't knock trust falls. They may sound lame, but they're highly effective. Today, I want you guys to practice putting your faith in each other the way you would in a real-life battle." Looking specifically at Katara, he said, "This activity is particularly important for you. You need to learn to rely on Zuko as a comrade. If you can't do that, our effectiveness as a team will suffer."

Katara crinkled her nose in offense. Why was everyone always turning this on her? Zuko was the troublemaker. Their team wouldn't have any problems at all if he hadn't come along. She wanted to protest—explain to Sokka that Zuko catching her in a bonding exercise didn't mean anything in the real world—but she reminded herself that if she didn't cooperate, she'd never get this stupid cuff off her wrist. It didn't matter if she hated it. She just had to do it.

"Alright, fine. Let's just get this over with," she relented, crossing her arms petulantly.

Sokka nodded, pleased by her cooperativeness. "Alright. Katara, you stand here—" he grabbed her shoulders and maneuvered her a few feet away from Zuko "—and Zuko, you stand just behind her. Yes, like that. Okay, whenever you're ready, Katara, you can go ahead and fall back. Zuko will catch you."

Katara turned her upper body to shoot Zuko a look. "You'd better catch me," she warned.

Zuko spread his arms demonstratively, showing that he didn't plan to go anywhere. "I will."

Katara nodded and turned back to the front. She counted down from three in her head—three, two, one…

She turned around again. "I'm serious. You better not let me fall."

Sokka made an impatient noise. "Would you just do it, Katara?"

Katara shot her brother a withering look as she faced her body forward again. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then counted down from three again in her head. When she reached zero, she swore to whatever spirit might be listening that if Zuko let her fall he would see retribution on a divine level, then she closed her eyes and allowed her body to tip backward.

For a moment, all she felt was the sensation of falling. Her brain panicked and sent signals to her body to switch into emergency recovery mode. She was all ready to curse Zuko and his whole line for generations to come, but then Zuko's hands appeared on her arms and her weight was settling safely against his front. Relief washed over her. He hadn't let her fall.

The second feeling to strike her, after relief, was the all-around oddness of being touched by Zuko. She'd expected his grasp to be rough and awkward, but in actuality she found herself being held quite considerately. His grip on her arms were gentle and he'd caught her in such a way as to absorb the impact rather than jolting her. All in all, it was a surprisingly not-unpleasant experience.

"There," Sokka said approvingly. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Zuko helped steady her back on her feet and Katara shot her brother a look. "Are we done now?"

To her annoyance, he shook his head. "Not yet. I'm going to have you do three more just like that, then you two'll switch. After that—"

Both Katara and Zuko groaned. So much for getting this over with.

Evening

Katara sighed wearily as she sank onto her bed. That afternoon, Aang and Toph had talked her and Zuko into engaging in a four-way bending battle as a way to spice up Aang's training and while it had been an enriching experience, their audience had voted for her and Zuko to fight cuffed. This was ostensibly to give them another opportunity to bond, but Katara knew it had really just been for the others' entertainment.

The fight had been hard, but she and Zuko had done surprisingly well. After two and a half days bound at the wrist, the two of them had adapted to the tether and it hindered them far less than they'd feared it would. They hadn't won, but they'd put up a damn good fight and that was an achievement in and of itself.

Now, though, Katara was well and truly exhausted and her wrist ached from being accidentally yanked a few too many times throughout the battle. By the looks of him, Zuko was feeling similarly. It was a testament to how tired and sore the two of them were that neither made a fuss about their sleeping arrangements that night. Zuko simply followed her lead, flopping onto his own bed, and the two of them lay in silence for several moments as they unwound from their busy day.

Tentatively, Katara flexed her wrist to assess the damage and she winced when it twinged painfully. It wasn't anything she wouldn't recover from, but it was definitely uncomfortable. She fought not to sigh at the prospect of another night of potentially being tugged around in her sleep.

"Does it hurt?" Zuko's voice interrupted her thoughts, startling her.

Katara grimaced and nodded. "Definitely been better."

Zuko inhaled deeply and sighed. "Me too."

They lapsed into something of a charged silence following this short exchange and Katara bit her lip, wondering if she should swallow her pride and make the suggestion her body was beseeching her to make. She'd nearly given in and was two seconds away from opening her mouth when Zuko spoke again.

"Hey, Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we just push the beds together?"

Katara thought her whole soul would erupt in relief. Zuko had gone and said it, saving her from having to do it herself. "Yes. Immediately,"

As if they were a single entity, the two teenagers climbed out of their beds and Katara joined Zuko at the side of his. Together, they set their hands against the heavy frame and pushed, stone legs grinding against the stone floor, until the two beds were joined. Their task accomplished, Katara crawled across Zuko's mattress back to her own bed and Zuko followed behind her, settling back into his previous position. The two sighed in relief as the tether lay slack between them. Katara didn't even care that she was effectively sharing a bed with Zuko. She'd spent enough time in close proximity to him earlier today doing trust falls that his nearness didn't bother her. Rather, the only thought on her mind was that maybe now she'd finally get a decent night's sleep.

Before she even knew it, her eyelids drooped and that wish became a reality.

Day Four

Morning

Katara awoke early the next morning feeling refreshed and invigorated. The combination of an early night and absolute exhaustion had caused her to sleep like a log. Apparently Zuko was the same because she found him still slumbering soundly beside her. Usually, he would wake long before her and be forced to wait around until she roused sometime later, but today she was the first one up. He must have been even more tired than he'd let on.

It was a little strange seeing Zuko sleep. His face was relaxed and he breathed softly through his nose. He looked innocent and kidlike with his hair splayed on the pillow and his chest slowly rising and falling. He was completely vulnerable right now—she could do anything she wanted and he wouldn't be able to stop her. It made her feel powerful. Superior, even.

These thoughts caused her eyes to widen. Normally, the situation was the other way around. That meant that every other morning, she had been at Zuko's mercy. He could have done anything—tied her up, hurt her, even killed her if he'd wanted to—but he hadn't. On some level, she'd known this all along. It's not like she had no survival instincts. But it was a different thing to see just how defenseless her potential enemy was with her own eyes. It really hit home that if Zuko truly intended to harm her, he could have done it at any time. It would've been the easiest thing in the world to take her out in her sleep, burn the tether, and go after Aang.

The fact that he hadn't really only supported one conclusion:

Maybe... just maybe he really was being sincere about switching sides.

Katara bit her lip in deliberation. Did she dare allow herself to believe that? Could she afford to take that risk?

Spirits, Katara, you're sleeping with the guy. You're already well past this point and you know it.

Katara exhaled a defeated sigh. She supposed there was no point in asking herself these questions now. Whether she liked it or not, the fact that Zuko was here right now, sleeping beside her just like Sokka or Aang might, meant that on some level she had already begun to trust him.

Tui and La, she was such a pushover. Zuko's good behavior could all be part of some nefarious plot and she was walking right into it. He might be playing with her just like Jet had. But, another part of her reasoned, she didn't think Zuko had it in him to behave like Jet. He lacked Jet's overflowing charisma and honeyed tongue that could make anyone rally to his cause.

If Zuko was being genuine, then maybe she should allow him to have a second chance. She'd given Jet another chance and he'd shown her he could change. If Jet could change, then it stood to reason that Zuko could, too.

Katara's thoughts were interrupted when beside her Zuko inhaled a deep breath and his eyes blinked open. He looked disoriented for a short moment but then his eyes found her and she saw him shake off the dregs of sleep.

"Morning," she greeted far more amicably than usual.

Slowly, Zuko pushed himself upward into a sitting position. "You're awake," he said with some surprise.

She nodded and a sly grin stretched across her face. "Sure am. Funny, because I thought firebenders rise with the sun. Weren't you the one who said that?"

Zuko yawned and then levelled her with a flat look. "Well, aren't waterbenders supposed to run on moon power? You conked out awfully early last night."

Touché.

"Please don't use phrases like 'conk out'. It doesn't fit your image."

Zuko's brow furrowed in confusion. "My image?" He crossed his arms and his gaze moved somewhere across the room. To himself more than her, he muttered, "I have an image?"

Katara ignored him in favor of getting out of bed. She shoved him none-too-gently forward so that she crawl past him to the edge of the bed and then slipped off to his protest of, "Hey!"

"Come on, Zuko," she called back to him as she picked up her blue sarashi and began winding them around her forearms. "Let's get moving. Who knows what's in store for us today."

Breakfast

The denizens of the air temple were roughly halfway through breakfast when Sokka nodded to Aang and the two of them stood up. All eyes turned on the duo curiously. Apparently, they had an announcement.

Sokka took the initiative, clearing his throat to draw the room's attention to him. "So, Aang and I were talking earlier," he started, gesturing to Aang with his hand, "and we've been pretty impressed by Katara and Zuko's cooperation these past few days. We think maybe it's time to try removing the tether."

A murmur rose up among the people gathered and Katara looked at her brother and Aang in shock. He was going to uncuff them? Really? She turned to look at Zuko and the two of them wore identical looks of surprise.

"What do you guys think?" Aang directed this question at the benders in question. "Do you both feel like an understanding has been reached?"

Katara blinked, unsure how to answer. Of course she wanted the tether off, but was she ready to openly absolve Zuko of all suspicion?

Zuko appeared to be at an impasse as well. She could see him deliberating in his head.

"Well?" Aang prompted when neither of them said anything.

Finally, Katara came to a decision. Aang and Sokka were giving them the choice to be free. To go back to their separate lives. She couldn't pass that up. "I guess…I could give Zuko another chance."

Zuko's good eyebrow rose in surprise. "Really?" he asked hopefully.

Katara turned back to him and nodded once. "One chance. That's all you're getting."

Zuko's face promptly broke into the most joyous smile Katara had ever seen him wear.

"Great!" Aang announced, clapping his hands together. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Katara flushed in embarrassment as her friends—and family—all burst into applause as if she and Zuko had just won an Earth Rumble tournament. They continued to clap as Sokka and Aang untied the elaborate knots holding their cuffs in place and only stopped when the tether fell to the floor with a soft thunk. Katara and Zuko looked at each other as they rubbed their newly free wrists. It was over. They had their freedom at last.

Noon

To celebrate being a free woman again, Katara cooked up a big, elaborate meal for lunch. She pulled out all the stops, making a big pot of veggie soup for Aang and enlisting Zuko and Chit Sang's help to prepare roasted rabbit-pheasants—courtesy of her dad's hunting—for the rest of the group. The Duke and Toph picked fruits and berries from one of the temple's many overgrown gardens and Suki used the spare pot to cook up some Earth Kingdom sweet rice for dessert.

The meal was consumed with gusto and by the time they finished afternoon had rolled around. Nobody really felt like training after such a huge lunch, so the group decided instead to play some games at Aang's suggestion. The whole afternoon was then spent fooling around and forgetting there was a war going on as members from all four nations raced and competed in Aang's so-called 'gauntlet of fun'.

After so many days being chained to another person, freedom was far sweeter than Katara ever could have appreciated beforehand. If she wanted to walk across the room to grab a meat skewer, she could do so without having to discussing it with anyone first. When she wanted to use the bathroom, she could just go and not worry about pulling Zuko away from whatever he was doing. She could spin in a circle and touch her toes and talk to anyone she wanted to talk to without Zuko hovering nearby.

And yet, the majority of the afternoon was spent at Zuko's side. Perhaps they'd just grown used to always standing within a certain proximity of each other, but even when they tried to go off and do things separately, they always seemed to gravitate back to one another. Whenever this happened the two of them would share a bemused look. It was as if in their minds, the tether still bound them.

Evening

After eating a very light dinner, the inhabitants of the temple finally decided to split up to do their own things. Sokka and Suki went off to have some private couple time while Toph dragged Aang off for some after-dinner earthbending practice. Chit Sang, Haru, Teo, The Duke, and her father also disappeared to engage in their own activities, leaving Katara and Zuko alone in the common area. With no other ideas, they decided to head over to the fountain so that Katara could get a little bending practice in. She'd been slacking in her own training regimen since they'd arrived at the temple and now that she was free there was nothing to stop her but her own laziness.

While they walked, they chatted about their plans for the next day and brainstormed some ways to implement waterbending into Aang's other training exercises so that his skills didn't stagnate. This was something Katara worried about since Aang very rarely practiced waterbending these days.

Eventually, the conversation ran dry and the two were left with nothing to talk about but the elephant-whale in the room.

She looked down at her wrist, now bare, and then to Zuko's swinging lightly at his side as he walked. She should be happy that the tether was gone—and she was, really—but a part of her still hadn't properly come to terms with the change. It felt…not right somehow.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Zuko said what she was thinking.

Katara blushed at having been caught staring and nodded. "Yeah. I guess we were connected by that stupid thing for so long that now our brains don't know what do to without it, huh?"

Zuko hummed in his throat and she watched his hand clench and unclench slowly. The two of them walked in silence for a minute, both thinking about the odd trial they'd undergone at the insistence of their friends.

Unable to help herself, Katara again found her gaze being drawn to the space between them. It felt so open; so empty. The thing that had connected them was no longer there in its place was a hole that needed filling.

Zuko must have thought so, too, because without preamble, he held his hand out to her, palm up in invitation. Surprised and a little confused, Katara's eyes traveled from his hand up to his face and she found him watching her expectantly. Would she take the invitation or leave it? It was up to her.

Tentatively, Katara reached out and grasped his hand. At once, the feeling of emptiness fled. Zuko smiled and curled his fingers around hers.

A feeling of warmth filled Katara, and in that moment she realized that even if the tether was gone, the bond it had created between them persisted.

Mirroring Zuko's smile, the two enemies turned unlikely friends continued their trek to the fountain.

oO0Oo


Welp. I didn't think it would happen, but we've officially got our new longest story in the collection. It's funny because this was yet another prompt that I nearly didn't write for. Somehow those ones always turn out the longest. Huh.

Again, I'm really sorry for the roughness of this one. I don't think I've ever busted out a story of this length so quickly. I was trying as hard as I could to get it out on its designated day and I'm still a little scuffed that I didn't make it. Now my schedule is off and that's going to screw with the next few stories. Obviously, Day 19's isn't going to be posted today and it probably won't be posted tomorrow either because all my free time is going to be spent getting my car serviced. The end of December is always a difficult time due to the holidays so I can't say I didn't anticipate this.

Anyhoo, I'll be trying my best to get the rest of the prompts filled as quickly as I possibly can. I really want to finish by the end of December because I know I'll lose motivation if this bleeds into January. My muse is dumb like that. Wish me luck!