Filler... Sorry it took so long, I don't do well with filler.


Chapter 21

Zuko sadly brushed the hair from her face. The meeting today was almost a complete disaster, and they hadn't even made it back to the Fire Nation yet. The worst had still to come. Still, Katara had been having nightmares, night after night. He assumed it was the same thing but Zuko didn't really know. How could he? It's not like she talked to him about it or anything? No, she definitely didn't talk about it, but it wasn't all that hard to guess. Her quiet whimpers, and cries didn't prove anything. There were some nights she subconsciously reached for her new necklace, the idea should make Zuko smile, proud. But instead his heart clenched, usually when she reached it was to give a firm jerk on the thin metal. Her fight with Aang left a lasting impression on her, he could see it.

She whimpered, tossing painfully to her right, the gesture raised a stab in heart. Was Aang right? They were going way too fast. He knew it, but Zuko didn't want to live without her. He knew the expression in Aang's face when he looked at her. Aang knew he'd lost something special. Could Zuko live without her? His sturdy arms tried to circle around her slender waist, they'd only started sleeping together since they'd been away, in the Earth Kingdom. Even still, laying next to her pulled all the sleep from his eyes.

Zuko buried his face in her hair, trying to drown out the sound of her inaudible sleep cries. He couldn't live without her, he wanted to—needed to protect her from whatever shadows sat in the corners of her mind… Her mind. What was in her mind? What was she thinking? For as long as he could remember Zuko knew she could, and would always talk to him. Memories of before their friendship were nothing more than a painful blur of deceit and betrayal, but she shone through those memories like the rays of the moon on a black night.

"Zuko…"

"Yes Katara?" Nothing, she was merely talking in her sleep, mumbling remnants of the dreams beyond. She didn't tell him about her dreams, every night it was the same thing, but she didn't tell him. Zuko'd told himself over and over and over that it was just stress, once they were back home maybe she'd relax, open herself again. Was that even possible? Did she see it as her home now? What if she longed to be back on the frozen ice-caps? Aang was right, they weren't matched, they were rushing too fast into something intended to last a lifetime. What if she didn't feel at home? What if she wanted to go home, back to frozen ice-caps, of unknown waste? How did they even manage to grow food there? There was no dirt. Was the dirt-less wasteland more appealing to her then here?

The thought of losing her though, was unbearable, he didn't even want to think of it. How could he?

Katara woke in a stick sweat, moist from the heat of Zuko's breath down her neck. Again, endless faces and countless untold fears assaulted her, robbing the night of sleep. Night after night it was the same thing, each time Zuko asked, every time she told him nothing was wrong, he'd never understand.

How could he?

Suddenly Katara was feeling so hot, unbearably hot. She had to get out, she needed air. Sliding out of Zuko's lax grip was difficult enough, she almost debated not leaving, staying in his comfortable grip. Still, with a stifled sigh she slid away, stopping momentarily at the door to glance at his sleeping form. The gradual rise and fall of his chest, the hard angles of many years of hard work—he hadn't given up his bending, that's for sure—even the star-burst of a scar, he was perfect. What was more important, he was good to her. Since she'd decided to stay with him, he'd been nothing but amazing. And now, they were planned to get married, she agreed to forever. A risk sure, but she'd spent years waiting already, she didn't want to do it again. She as going jump while she could. But right now she needed air, with a reluctant sigh she left the small frame of the door.

The air was cool against her skin, the metal of the ship was hard and unforgiving under her feet. Absently her fingers went to the metal disk at her neck. Katara wished she could see it, everyone else got to, but she didn't. From the brief moments she had been able to she knew how much work went into the piece. Zuko had told her he carved a piece of wood, sent it to Toph who somehow used her sight by vibration and mimicked the size and shape. Katara didn't know how but she did amazingly, the final step was bending the thin band of metal around her neck. It wasn't moving any time soon.

Before she knew it Katara had reached the very edge of the ship, the railing no wider then her wrist. It was so slow, traveling by boat, time had already passed an entire day and all she could see was ocean. There were several times she debated jumping in and just getting lost in the water, just because she could. What's the worst that could happen? If Katara wanted to she could control the ocean. A smile crept to her cheeks, could she? Curiosity got the better of her as her long brown arms lifted in front of her.

Instantly the pull of the ocean was felt on her, radiating from her shoulders, down through her arms, tingling through her wrists, over her palms and into the very tips of her fingertips. The power even oozed out through her fingernails. Carefully her muscles twitched into place, as she felt the fibers of her own energy mix with that of the water. She could do it, if she wanted to.

"Katara?" The threads of her control broke as her concentration fell to threads. Zuko, he probably followed her, maybe he wasn't as asleep as she thought. "You ok?"

Please don't do this, she wasn't up to it, "I'm fine." She snapped.

"You sure?"

"I'm fine." She took stance again, feeling the ocean under her.

"Hey," He walked closer, trying to slide his hand around her.

"No." She swatted his hand away, water trailing after her accidentally. Zuko sputtered, water dripping from his face and hair. Katara didn't even bother to look at him, "Sorry…"

Katara saw it, Zuko took a deep breath, no doubt centering himself. Was she really being that bad? "I'm sorry" Instinctually her hand went to her head, where did this headache come from? She was being mad and she knew it.

"I know, I get it." His temper was growing as short as the words from his mouth, but Katara just didn't know how to stop it. "Just tell me, what's this all about?"

She merely stared out to the ocean, talking quietly as the wind through their hair, "She said… Save Azula—"

"Please don't do this again." He just wouldn't listen, why didn't he listen?

"She did, you heard her!" Why couldn't she lower her voice? "It's the last thing she said before she died," Why couldn't she say her name. Tylee, she was a person, a real person. At least she was, "She told us to save Azula. You're looking at it all wrong."

"We've been through this over and over. Azula was a villain then, and nothing's changed, she's still a villain. I know you tried, but it didn't work. With enough time maybe, but all that you could accomplish was curing her enough for her to walk out, as crazy as she was before."

"Don't say that!" The waves crashed against the boat with serious force as Katara's temper flared, "She's your sister. And don't tell me you know! You didn't see what I did! You don't know!"

"I know what this is… You've worked so hard for years to save lives that you haven't actually seen death. Katara, people die. It happens."

"And what? You know death because you're Fire Nation?"

"That's not fair."

"No, It's not like your family has killed people for years. It's not like death is new to you."

The crease between his eyes furrowed, Katara knew she struck a nerve. The air through his nose was escaping in visible steamy puffs. A vindictive chuckle escaped her lips as Katara wondered; does the burning hair in his nose bother him? Does he even have nose hair left?

Zuko didn't have anything to say. And Katara couldn't stop. "I bet you enjoyed it. How many people did you kill anyway? Ten? Twenty? A hundred? That would be light work for your family."

"Katara, stop." From five feet away Katara could feel the hat radiating from him, sweat beading on the back of her neck.

Her neck… Suddenly her attention couldn't be deterred to the metal around her neck. Subconsciously her fingers traced around the thin plate at the base of her throat. Suddenly she was feeling so warm again, the heat and her inability to escape it was panicking. "No! This whole time since the fire you've done nothing but talk down to me. I can't take it. If I could I'd give you this damn necklace back." She froze suddenly. What had she said?

His face fell as quickly as hers had, "You-you want out?"

Katara shook her head viciously, "No that's not what I meant. I just, I don't know. I'm scared Zuko. I don't feel like a bride. I feel like a scared kid again. Zuko… I—I…" She was shaking her head over and over, panic from her dreams rushing back again.

Zuko watched helplessly as Katara fell to the ground. He tried again to approach her, hold her. If he could just hold her, maybe he could calm her down. Before he could Zuko felt the disturbance before he could see it. The ocean was tossing painfully against the ship, threatening to tear at the metal walls of the ship. Water spilt over the edges and slithered to her like crystalline snakes.

"Katara?"

Splashes licked at his ankles as the water licked up and around him. Soaking through his clothes and into his bones. The icy, liquid crystals pooled around the girl before him, defying gravity as it crawled up her legs, coating her in a thick glaze. Stepping closer Zuko splashed in the small puddle, not realizing that the gesture started the water, coating his own legs in the filmy glaze.

"Katara." He tried to be a bit firmer in his actions, but he couldn't catch her attention. Panic slid through his core, they were both going to be completely engulfed in the water if she didn't stop.

"Katara!" He shouted, the whole crew had to have heard the cry. The water wouldn't shake, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't brush it off. The substance clung to his skin like magic, a poisonous sludge creeping over his skin.

Something amazingly fascinating happened when the water hit her fingers, gradually the substance started to glow, like the shining of the moon. Had he not been so panicked he would have recognized it, instead all he could focus on was the glowing water, surrounding his entire form. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her do this, countless times she had glued him to walls with solid ice. But this was different, the water wasn't cold, exactly, but it tingled across his skin like electricity.

"Katara…" His voice was soft, broken as the water climbed higher. The last thing he remembered before the glowing light took over his vision was thinking that he was going to drown here.

The water hugged his body like a glove and a lover, and a quiet peace filled him. The sounds of the world were silenced, even his own cries dropped to oblivion. Was this what water felt like to benders? Was this what it felt like inside the heart of a Water Bender? Never before had he felt so connected with the element. Growing up he'd taught to hate it, the Fire Nation was hot, mostly deserts which lent no room for water. Growing up Water Benders were the enemy, a nation rivaling his own in style, and strength. But now the water felt like an old friend, caressing every corner of his skin.

He was going to drown, but he was ok with it.