He~ey! I'm not dead! Really! I'm not! I swear!
It was a good dream, up until that point.
It had been surreal. Katara was floating in a place reminiscent to the spirit world. She concentrated, and her body floated down to the forest floor. In the distance, she saw Aang as he landed and closed his glider.
She ran toward him, calling his name, but he didn't seem to be getting any closer. "Aang! Aang!"
She stopped short as Toph came into view, walking up to him, saying something Katara couldn't hear. Aang laughed soundlessly at whatever Toph had said, and much to Katara's surprise, leaned down and kissed the blind girl full on the lips. They then proceeded to get a little more intimate, making Katara blush as she looked away.
"Aang..."
She smiled a little sadly. It was good to know he had grown out of his childish crush, especially now that the war was over. He had been twelve years old (well, one-hundred and twelve, but that was beside the point), and had fallen for the first beautiful girl he laid his eyes on, much in the style of a twelve year old boy testing the waters. Now he was seventeen, he and Katara 'dating' for too long. They would never have moved past the 'kissing and light touching' stage in their relationship, and honestly, Katara would have felt awkward with Aang.
Now, this was a dream. Somewhere in her subconscious, Katara knew that, and it made no sense for her to be sad and accepting that Aang was with Toph, since, saying as how it was a dream, he was still with her. And yet she was. When Katara woke up she may have to talk to him about that. Hmm...
In the mean time, Katara started wandering around the blurry forest-dream-world her subconscious had created. Trees, trees, more trees, the colors reminding her of the forest Jet and his Freedom Fighters had lived in. And then she was there.
Jet swung from branch to branch, using the odd hook-swords he was proficient with. Katara doubted many people could handle them as well as he did, he who seemed to be born to use them. But nevertheless, Katara stared warily at dream-Jet with tight eyes. He had betrayed her in this forest, and although he had redeemed himself so thoroughly under Lake Laogui, this version of him may be as she had remembered before.
But Jet never came down. He just continued on, swinging through his forest, that almost smug smile on his face. No fire nation soldiers traversed the forest, Katara didn't know how she knew, but she did, and she saw two people, a man and a woman, walking away in the distance. Jet was moving toward them, and not once did he look away. She knew he would overtake them.
Katara watched him disappear, slightly confused, slightly surprised, but mostly relieved. She didn't know if she wanted to see Jet again, dream or not. Not after Laogui, after his sacrifice.
And then she was in Haru's village. But she wasn't. She was there, she recognized it, and Haru and his mother, but she wasn't there. People walked through her like she was a ghost, only there to watch. She watched Haru, and deciding she didn't have much else to do, followed him as he went about the day. He was older than she remembered him being, so she supposed it had been around five years since she last saw him, so it was understandable except that this was a dream. He bought some food from one of the farmers, and spoke with a man who greeted him on the street. Katara had started spacing out, looking out at the sea, watching the waves push and pull when something from the conversation caught her attention.
"...still seeing that Aimi girl, eh?"
Haru blushed and ducked his head a little, embarrassed. "Yeah. I'm planning to propose to her soon."
The man laughed and slapped Haru on the back, congratulating him as Katara stared in shock.
Haru, too? It seemed everyone she had ever had feelings for were moving on, moving away. She suddenly felt very alone. It had been a good dream up until that point. But now Katara felt sad, alone, beaten, like she had aboard the metal ship the firebenders had kept the earthbenders on. She remembered those Fire Nation soldiers and officials. They had been rude, crass, and smelled like coal.
Katara found herself in a forest, different from the one she had met Jet in, this one being dark and green. On the horizon, smoke trickled up into the sky, and the smell of burning filled her nose.
Katara had been around many firebenders during the war. Young, old, women, men, and each had their own kind of scent. The children often smelled of fireworks or candle flame. Women smelled like cinnamon and perfume, sometimes of volcanoes. The men differed much more, usually depending on social class, or where they worked. Some smelled like gunpowder, causing Katara to wrinkle her nose in disgust, others like ash, or the unpleasant scent of burning and destruction. Still others smelled like cooking meat or the acrid scent of lightening that left a bad taste in her mouth. She remembered one in particular who smelled like hot tea, a memory that made her smile.
But the scent of the firebender who slipped arms around Katara's waist from behind was that of campfire smoke, warm, pleasant and comforting. It was a scent that surprised (this dream was full of surprises) and unnerved Katara in how well she knew it, and how much it made her feel safe, happy. Initially the thought that a firebender was grabbing Katara had frightened her, but then she recognized who it was and relaxed because she knew Zuko would do nothing to hurt her.
Katara sat up as she woke with a start, holding a hand up to her pounding heart. She looked around and saw Aang asleep next to her, breathing steadily. As she watched him sleep, she wondered why she was so sad the dream wasn't real, until something hit her. She loved Zuko. And that fish they had for dinner probably could have used another ten minutes to cook.
*oOo*
It happened one at a time.
First she and Aang broke up due to long-unresolved issues, and by the next week, he and Toph were a couple. It was actually kind of adorable. But that didn't stop Katara from trying to stay as far away from them as she possibly could, and that meant leaving Aang's home at the Southern Air Temple. She said her goodbyes and left on Appa, sending him back to Aang and Toph when she had procured an ostrich-horse.
Travelling across the Earth Kingdom, Katara found herself tracing the path they, Katara, Aang, Sokka, Appa, and later Toph, had taken. She soon came to the Forest. Jet's Forest. Looking around, she supposed it wasn't much different from other forests, honestly. It had less splendor without the enchanting red color of autumn to accent it. Stopping at a small stream, she searched the treetops as the ostrich-horse drank, not sure what she was looking for.
Katara didn't find anything in her search but the empty shell of the Freedom Fighter's hideout, abandoned due to Jet's leaving and the end of the war. She was saddened at the sight, remembering a time when boys sailed through the branches, flew by on the zip lines. But it was a sight that brought her joy too―joy in that, for a while at least, the world didn't need any Freedom Fighters. Feeling more content than she did entering the forest, Katara saddled up and left, trying to ignore the ghost on the edge of her vision as it swung through the trees on hooked blades.
Eventually Katara wandered to Haru's village, completely on accident. What she found when she got there was a wedding going on, and from the looks of it, it was Haru's wedding. Without speaking a word to anyone in the village, Katara turned her mount around and left. Katara didn't really know what she was doing. She had been going through a funk ever since leaving the Southern Air Temple, and she had a feeling it had to do with Zuko. More than once she had woken up and jumped up in her bedroll, screaming into her pillow that she loved him. Honestly, she had no idea how to deal with it. She also had no idea where she was wandering, but she was surprised when she stopped outside a tea shop in Ba Sing Sei, the Jasmine Dragon. How had she missed going through the city gates? Seriously, with the war that had recently―even if five years a bit long―ended, the guards would still be edgy and―
Meanwhile, the guards at the front of the city were still getting over the fact that Sifu Katara, the woman who had taught the Avatar and helped save the world, had been at the city gates. And the look on her face...so focused, so intense...it made them wonder what kind of mission she was on, to be so concentrated that she hadn't seemed to have heard them. It was all they could do to call a fast order to open the gates before her ostrich horse ran into them.
―where was the security? Honestly. Someone would have stopped her. Anyway, Katara dismounted from the animal she rode on and decided that visiting Iroh wouldn't be too bad. He had taken a vacation from the Fire Palace, coming here to work in his tea shop, despite what it did to his employees. Everyone was twitchy when the Fire Lord himself boiled their tea and cooked their food. Not that Iroh minded. Or noticed.
She walked in, and immediately her body relaxed as the scent of tea hit her nose. Underneath the strong scent, she could just make out the distinct smell of firebender on the air. Katara went to a table and sat down, a smile on her face that she had been missing the feel of.
She stopped a waiter passing by her with a smile.
"Pardon me, but could you please ask Fire Lord Iroh if he has time to chat with an old friend?"
The waiter blinked at her for a moment before he recognized her and gaped.
"S-Sifu Katara! Y-yes, of course!" He said, bowing, before rushing off to the kitchens.
Katara settled back in her chair, getting comfortable, before frowning and sitting up. Hm. Maybe she should have gone back there. Was that too rude? Would she be imposing? She didn't want to look so conceited as to announce her presence and expect the Fire Lord to come to her. Maybe she should...?
She was interrupted in her thoughts by a bang and a clatter before Fire Lord Iroh stepped out of the kitchen area, a chefs apron on over a common earth peasant garb, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. She smiled as he came out with a huge grin plastered over his face, looking around for her before walking over to her table.
He sat down with a laugh. "Ahh, Katara! How good to see you again! How long has it been now? Five years?"
She laughed with him and shook his hand over the table. "It's good to see you too, Fire Lord Iroh. How have you been?"
He waved his hand, saying, "Oh, forget the formalities, I get enough of that at the court. I'm here to have a good time, run my tea shop (into the ground, apparently-honestly, is everyone this jumpy? I swear, one of the waiters dropped three teapots within the span of an hour!), and get away from palace life for a little while. I must be giving the council back home a heart attack with the sudden disappearance, but they could use some excitement! And to top it all off, their Prince isn't even there to manage things for them!"
Katara blinked at the laughing man. "W-what? You mean Zuko isn't at the Palace?"
Iroh shook his head. "No, no, he's―"
Another crash sounded from the kitchen, along with a curse and a voice Katara would never be able to forget yelling, "Uncle! We need you back in the kitchen!"
"Just a minute, Zuko! I'm talking with an old friend," Iroh said with a wink at Katara.
"Uncle! We don't have time for that!" His voice started getting closer and Katara turned to see Zuko walking out of the kitchen. "You can catch up with him―oh, Katara. Uh, hi."
Zuko had reached their table and seen who he was talking to. Suddenly, whatever they so desperately needed Iroh for in the kitchens wasn't so important anymore. Katara had to bite the inside of her cheek―hard―to not shout out her feelings for him.
"H-hi, Zuko. How're things in the Fire Nation?"
"Oh, um, they're fine. Things are going well. We're recovering from the war. Many of the colonists are coming back, though there are still some who decided to stay in the, uh, Earth Kingdom. How are things with Aang? And the Water Tribes?"
"That's good. Aang...he and Toph are...you know...a thing. They got together a little while ago. The Water Tribes are doing fine. We're also recovering, and some of the warriors and benders from the Northern Tribe have come to the Southern Tribe to help rebuild our city, and several women have had children with bending abilities, so waterbending is being reestablished in our tribe and I think I might love you."
Katara saw Zuko's eyes widen and it took her half a moment to realize what she had said before her own eyes widened and slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified that she had said that out loud. When she looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, specifically Iroh, she realized that the Fire Lord had long since gone.
Zuko broke the silence, saying with a hoarse voice, "Do you want to talk about this somewhere a bit more private?"
Katara nodded, her hands still over her mouth, and followed him up the stairs of the tea house and into an office, which looked to be Iroh's. She and Zuko sat down next to each other on a couch in the corner.
"So," he started.
"So."
"Would you mind repeating what you said down there?"
"Um...about Aang and Toph?"
"No."
"Um...about the Water Tribe?"
"Katara."
"Sorry, sorry! It's just this is still new to me. I've never really felt like this...about anyone before."
There was silence for a while as they both stared at the floor.
"Really?"
"Yeah. And that...worries me. I'm not entirely sure about this...love thing. I mean, when I was younger, I was in love with the idea of falling in love with someone, but now I'm not entirely sure. Mostly because if you don't love me, then I'll have fallen in love with someone who doesn't love me, and usually that ends badly, mostly with one person in a depression that borders on suicidal and the other extremely guilty should the first person commit suicide and it's all one big mess and―"
"Katara."
"―if you don't want me to stay then I'll go, really, I will. I don't know if you love me too or not, but I only want to make you happy and I think I could better do that if I stayed and, and―"
"I do."
"―really want to stay with you, whether it's here (how long will you be in Ba Sing Sei anyway?) or the Fire Nation or wherever, but it's okay if you don't want me to stay, I mean, you had that thing with Mai, and how is she, by the way? And I don't want to intrude on that―"
"Katara!" Zuko practically shouted, grabbing her hands. She blinked at shut her mouth lifting her gaze to see that he had been looking at her for a while.
"Um, yes?"
"Calm down. I love you too, so stop that with the suicidal depression. I don't want you to go, I want to you stay. I'll be in Ba Sing Sei for a few more weeks before Uncle and I go back to the Fire Nation to straighten things out with the council. I'd like it if you came with me so we have a chance to try this out. Unless you're needed somewhere else?"
Katara quickly shook her head.
"Mai and I came to an understanding a few years ago, and we are no longer together. She went with Tai Lee to Kyoshi Island and is training with them there. You will not be intruding on anything."
Katara was still a little hung up on the second thing he said, so it took her a little while to process the rest. When she did process the rest, her eyes widened and she smiled broadly at him, who returned it with a small smile of his own.
Iroh hummed happily in the kitchen of his tea shop, glad he had installed those communication pipes in his office.
Song: I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family, version by Kaci
...
Heeey guys. It's been a while. Hope no one dislikes me. This one was kinda hard to write, just because I kept feeling like it was too long and the first part doesn't really stick with the song. I could see this written a different way during a different time period, like when they were at the Air Temple.
First things first,
DISclaimer~!: I own A:TLA not. It is not mine. The characters (besides that Aimi girl!) are not mine. I just mess with what happens in the story and the afterwards. Yeah.
So, uh, yeah. More will come soon. I plan on writing a few sad ones, mostly because I recently came back from a week-long Girl Scout camp trip thing and I notice that all GS songs are either about camping, friends, or DEATH DEPRESSINGNESS DOOM BLARGHLFLARGHL. So. Yeah. Please Review! (Reviewers get virtual cookies)