Author's Note: Good LORD this chapter was hard to write! Sorry that Zuko's half is more like 3/4 of this chapter, but I am just done with it. I wrote a first draft then I didn't like it so I scrapped it and I was super busy last week so just HERE, take this hot mess of words and feelings and word vomit. Also, thanks for being patient with me, loves 3 I have the next chapter basically written so it should be up sooner than this one was.

Also, PLEASE STICK WITH ME the moment you all have been waiting for is coming up soon! I can't wait for you to read it :D

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own avatar or its characters blaaaaaaah blah blah

Zuko had been too busy serving the pompous nobles to talk with Katara. As he refilled the goblet of an old man with a long, scraggly beard the color of dirty snow, he shot a glance at her. She was sitting with her brother, mother, and father at the head table in the front of the room. There were two more couples at the same table, obviously Northern by their heavily adorned clothing and pinched faces that seemed to be constantly sneering. Katara was listening to a broad man in dark blue robes, but Zuko could tell she wasn't at all interested in what he had to say. At that moment her gaze flickered out across the room and fell on him. Her eyes widened, then narrowed, and Zuko felt a chill run down his spine.

What have I done now?

She turned to her father, said something to him, then stood up.

Zuko, who had been watching this whole exchange, hadn't realized he was still pouring wine in the old man's glass until he jumped back, swinging out his arms and knocking the jar out of Zuko's grip.

"You stupid fire brat!" the old man exclaimed, glaring at Zuko. "Look what you've done!"

The man's place at the table was saturated with dark red wine that had cascaded from the goblet, to the tablecloth, to his lap.

Zuko stared, wide-eyed. "I-I'm so sorry, sir." Not really. "I'll go get some towels." Zuko hurried out of the room to the utility closet down the hall where the staff kept extra towels and linens. But, as he was about to turn the corner, someone grabbed him from behind.

Surprised, Zuko's hands immediately grew warm with the quickening of his heart, ready to fight. But it was only Katara.

"We need to talk," she said, and pulled him around the corner.

"Agni, Katara, you scared me." He cast a glance around, making sure nobody had followed them. She was supposed to be at the feast and he was supposed to be getting towels. Surely someone was going to notice their absence.

"Sorry," she said half-heartedly. Then, "Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Zuko froze, all fear of getting caught together being overwhelmed by an entirely different kind of fear. Don't panic, he told himself. There are plenty of things she could be hinting at. Don't assume the worst.

"I don't know, is there?" he hedged. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't play stupid, Zuko."

"I'm not playing stupid," he shot back, only realizing after he said it that he'd insulted himself. Katara hadn't noticed, thankfully.

"You knew about Toph and didn't tell me?"

Oh, he thought, relieved. That. That's not bad at all. "You found out?"

She sighed heatedly. "Yes, I found out. It was kind of hard not to when she was beating up the thugs that attacked me. It couldn't really be avoided."

Zuko frowned. "You got attacked?"

"That's not the point. The point is, she told you and didn't tell me. Why?"

"She didn't say—I mean, she didn't tell you why she told me?"

Katara's eyes narrowed. "No…should she have?"

"No!" Zuko insisted, too quickly. She eyed him suspiciously. Idiot. "No, she—it's just that, one day I saw her earthbend, you know, and she couldn't really deny what I saw, so she told me. That's all." His rambling lie seemed to convince her, though she still looked upset. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't really my secret to tell. You know how dangerous it would be if anyone found out…."

"I know." Katara glanced away, and Zuko's heart finally slowed to an almost-human pace. He heard chattering down the hall towards the ballroom, but so far no one had ventured any further. This was a delicate conversation, and he didn't want any inquisitive ears listening in. Katara was biting her lip, her face closed off, and Zuko put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't take it personally. Seriously, you know how Toph is."

"Yeah. I guess so."

He didn't want to go back necessarily, but there was an angry Northerner with wet pants waiting to chew him out. And she was supposed to perform soon, anyway.

"Is there anything else you need to talk about?"

Katara shook her head, though she seemed upset.

"Are you ready for your performance?"

"I think so. I'm just nervous."

He squeezed her shoulder reassuraingly and said, "You're going to be amazing, Katara."

A small smile cracked her stony expression. Zuko felt his chest warm.

"Let's hope the nobles are as generous as you."

The nobles. Those rich, stuck-up Northern snobs. Katara would be lucky if they didn't heckle her out of the room. She had described in detail their behavior at the war meeting, how they had talked about the fire nation, the way they got each other worked up. It sounded absolutely terrifying, and now she was going to have to stand in front of them all, knowing what they thought of her. He wasn't surprised to see apprehension all over her face.

Impulsively, he took her hand. "If any of them say anything, just let me know and I'll spit in their drink."

A laugh bubbled out of her throat and she pulled away to cover her mouth. She met his gaze with smiling eyes. "Promise?"

"By my honor," Zuko swore, putting his hand over his heart.

"I'm holding you to that." She winked and left him standing in the middle of the hall with a thundering heart. Zuko waited until she had disappeared down the hall—and his face stopped burning red—before he emerged and went back to the ballroom.

Jin intercepted him before he went to Old Beard Man and started mopping his crotch. "I took care of it. Kya thought it was best to reassign you to table 12."

Grateful, and embarrassed, Zuko agreed at once. The nobles at table 12 had already finished eating, so Zuko filled their goblets and retired to the row of chairs in the back of the room where the servants who weren't actively working could sit and wait to be useful again. Zuko chose a chair in the corner and made himself comfortable; he wasn't planning on getting up for a while. A few moments later Orchard sat next to him, going on about some noble who had stubbornly insisted on boiled sea prunes, rather than steamed, and absolutely none that had been harvested with harvested with a non-organic net, which of course Jin didn't know what kind of net had been used, and blah blah blah. Zuko eventually tuned her out, opting instead to watch Katara out of the corner of his eye as she took nervous sips of her water.

Jin was still talking a few minutes later when Katara got up and moved to the center of the room. The Emperor stood and silence instantly fell over the room. He briefly introduced Katara and announced that she would be performing a traditional Water Tribe dance. He hardly sounded enthusiastic, but Katara didn't seem to notice. She was kneeling on the floor, her eyes trained downward, entirely focused.

The Emperor returned to his chair and Zuko heard a few impolite snickers from men in the audience as Katara moved into her first stance. He made a mental note of which ones for later, when he refilled their drinks. However, a few seconds into her routine, the room went silent in awe.

He had seen her perform part of the dance before in the training room. If he had thought it was beautiful then, this performance was indescribable. She moved with certainty and strength, the water heeding her every command subserviently. She showed no signs of nervousness or hesitation. Zuko was transfixed on her every motion. Orchard didn't say a single word, which was a testament to Katara's ability in and of itself. Most importantly, the nobles seemed to be struck speechless, too. As a stream of light blue water ran the length of the room, encircling a few tables in a complicated pattern, some of them even clapped. Katara pulled the water back around her and made it erupt like a volcano, striking Zuko with its familiarity despite being a completely different element. After what looked like a particularly complicated move, a small smile broke loose on Katara's face, and Zuko's chest swelled with pride. Not that he could take any credit for what she was doing—simply because she was more incredible than she knew.

A few moments later, Katara collected all the water into a gigantic, fluid ball that hovered above the crowd. Even though it looked effortless for her, Zuko couldn't imagine the physical strain. With a flourish of her arms, the water blasted upwards, and then exploded into millions of snowflakes that gently floated down to the tables, dusting the guests in a fine layer of pure white snow. Orchard held out her hands to catch the tiny gems and even though it melted before it got anywhere near Zuko, he thought it was one of the most beautiful things he had even seen.

Katara dropped to one knee, signaling the end of her performance. He expected the room to break out in applause. Instead, there was a beat of silence, a hesitation of praise, before one of the men at the head table—the one Katara had been talking to earlier—clapped softly. A short and gentle applause followed, and Zuko looked around incredulously.

"They really won't give her a chance, will they?" he said, mostly to himself.

"I guess not," Orchard replied anyway, her voice sad. She was clapping louder than any of the surrounding tables, and Zuko joined in with her.

Katara stood slowly, her face unreadable. She gave a stiff bow and returned to her place at the table. She wouldn't even look up. He knew she was upset, though she would never let the nobles know. Or her family, for that matter. Kya was speaking close to her, a hand on her shoulder, but Katara simply shook her head.

Zuko felt his fists clench. He wanted to stand up and scream into the face of every single Northerner until his breath gave out. He settled for 'accidentally' overturning three more goblets of wine.

Soon after, the royal family vacated the room and the rest of the guests followed them while the servants cleared and dismantled the tables to make room for dancing. Zuko snuck out with the last few nobles who filtered out into the hall and made his way down the servant staircase. He was supposed to meet up with Sokka soon to help him prepare for the ball, but he hoped he could catch Katara before anyone realized he was missing.

The Emperor exited his room and Zuko pressed himself flat against the wall, hoping he would go the other direction. He peeked out after a few moments into the now-empty hall and made his way to Katara's room. The guards, he knew, were waiting just around the corner to escort the rest of the royal family back upstairs, so he made sure he was quiet when he knocked on Katara's door.

To his surprise, she wasn't the one to answer. Toph opened the door, and before he got even a word out, started closing it.

"No boys allowed, Sparky."

He stuck his foot in between the door and the frame to keep it open, wincing when she just shoved it harder. "Agni, Toph, really?!"

"Toph, cut it out," he heard Katara say from inside. She appeared behind the girl wearing a thin robe wrapped tightly around her body, and pushed Toph aside.

"Sorry about that," Katara said, closing the door behind her so they were alone in the corridor.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, getting right to it.

Katara nodded unconvincingly.

"You were amazing. Honestly. Those Northern snobs are just prejudiced, sexist idiots."

She gave him a small smile, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks, Zuko." Her arms were crossed over her chest, one of them holding her robe shut where it dipped low—

Zuko looked away, fully aware of the blush across his face. "Um. So, you're—uh—getting ready for the ball?" He wanted to punch himself in the face. Can you sound more stupid?

"Yeah, Toph's helping me. Speaking of," she tilted her head, "aren't you supposed to be with Sokka right now?"

"Uh y-yeah," he stammered, still unable to look at any part of her body without lighting up like a firecracker. "I guess I sh-should go. I just wanted to tell you that, you know…you did good."

He felt something touch his shoulder and finally peeled his eyes away from the wall. She squeezed his shoulder, full-out grinning. One hand was still wrapped around her ribs and the other was now on him, leaving the top of her robe ostensibly wilted. His whole face caught on fire.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." With a knowing smirk she went back into her room, and Zuko fell against the wall, his eyes wide, stuck staring at nothing. He realized with a kind of pleased resignation that if he was going to go dumb every time she showed the smallest, most insignificant amount of interest in him, that he was seriously done for.

A loud thud from down the hall made him jump and he turned to see Sokka peering at him from behind his door.

"Zuko? Is that you?" he screeched, his voice grating on Zuko's ears. He sighed, mentally preparing himself for the next 30 minutes of dressing and undressing and complaining and arguing, but found, as he walked towards the Prince's room with a spring in his step, that not even Sokka could ruin his good mood.

"Toph, you've done enough, go away!" Katara yelled at the door, watching her reflection in the mirror struggle with a particularly tough knot. After she had closed the door on Zuko—her heart still fluttering from her boldness—she had rolled her eyes through a series of pointed innuendos from Toph. Then she had spent 20 minutes forcing her lady's maid into a gown, telling her repeatedly that no, she couldn't wear pants and no, she couldn't go barefoot. On a whim, she had asked her friend to help put her hair in a bun, but was now bitterly regretting that decision as she tried to undo the otter-penguin's nest that was now her hair. That's what I get for asking a blind earthbender to help make me look nice.

Of course, the earlier events of the evening hadn't helped her mood at all. Although seeing Zuko had alleviated some of her frustrations from dinner, she couldn't shake the feeling of failure that had been hanging over her.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. That the nobles would be floored by her performance? Give her a standing ovation? Finally accept her as their future Empress? Sure, she had done well—she only messed up at the beginning the second movement, and it was hardly noticeable to anyone who didn't know what to look for—but it hadn't been a performance to heal thousands of years of prejudice. She was beginning to think there was nothing she could do to win them over, no matter what Zuko said.

She really did appreciate his support, though. Her mother had congratulated her similarly after she returned to her seat, and her father had even grunted some vague compliment at her before returning to his conversation with Kanook, but none of it was enough to ease her discomfort. Toph had simply told her to "suck it up, Sugar Queen," which was probably as close to empathy as she got. But then she had tried to do Katara's hair, and it was like everything that had happened that day became too much, and Katara had thrown Toph out of the room. She hadn't been too mean, but she was obviously frustrated, and the fact that Toph wouldn't let her alone just added fuel to the fire.

There was another knock at the door and Katara groaned, getting up and stomping over.

"Toph, please just—" she started as she opened the door.

Her mother stood on the other side.

"Oh, mother," she said, flushing red. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were—well, you know."

Kya just smiled. "May I come in?" Katara nodded and let her pass. Then she sat at her dresser again and surveyed the damage while her mother paced the room. In addition to the big knot on the top of her head, now there were also random, frizzy pieces of hair sticking out haphazardly. She sighed, dragging a hand down her face.

"Can I help?" Kya asked, appearing behind Katara in the mirror. She nodded gratefully and handed her a white-bone comb. Katara watched as Kya carefully coaxed the hair from its precarious position and ran the comb through it, easing the knots and taming the rough curls into gentle waves. Her mother's fingers massaged her scalp and Katara's eyes slid closed. She was completely at ease, all the nerves still in her stomach from dinner evaporating with her mother's soothing touch. She couldn't remember the last time they had been together like this. Sure they had trained and eaten meals in the same room, but right now, in this moment, Kya was not a master waterbender or an Empress: she was just a mother.

She certainly looked like an Empress, however. Her gown was elegant and formfitting, the deepest shade of blue one could see without it turning black. Her thick brown hair was gathered at the nape of her neck with sparkling pins holding it together. Her dark eyes were outlined in kohl, making them stand out against her shimmering golden skin. She was so incredibly beautiful. Katara thought that if she could be half as beautiful as her one day, she would be the luckiest girl alive.

"Katara," Kya said, and Katara looked away, afraid she would get chastened for staring. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay."

Kya began pulling her hair into a high bun, expertly inserting pins to keep it in place. Her hands moved like it was second nature, but her eyes were distant, unfocused.

"I just want you to know how proud I am of you."

Katara looked up. This was unexpected. Not only was this an unusual time to bring up such a subject, but her mother hardly ever complimented her. She loved her, of course, but no one in their family really showed affection, and certainly not in the form of random compliments.

Kya noticed Katara's confused look and smiled lovingly. "Not only tonight, although you did act like a true queen in front of our guests. But all the time. You've grown up to be a strong, beautiful woman, Katara. I know I don't say it enough, but I love you."

Kya's hands stilled, and Katara looked at her reflection. Her hair was piled high in a regal updo, with tendrils trailing down her temples, just touching her shoulders.

Her eyes were also watering.

Katara stood up and faced her mother, only just realizing she could look straight into her eyes. When did I get this tall? Kya placed a hand on Katara's cheek and gave her an intense look.

"Please, Katara. I need you to continue to be strong." She paused, looking as if she was struggling to continue. And then she took a deep breath. "There will come a time when I am not around anymore. I need to trust that you will continue to listen to your own heart, and rule your life by it."

What is she talking about? Katara wondered. This conversation was just becoming more and more odd. But she nodded anyway.

"Of course, mother."

The line between Kya's eyebrows softened and she smiled with the corner of her lips. "Good. Also," she said, and reached around to the back of her head, "I want you to have this." She untied her bethrothal necklace from her own neck and draped it around Katara's.

"Mother, I can't—"

"Yes, you can." There was no room for argument in her tone, and Katara quieted. But now she began to worry. Between the conversation and the necklace, something was definintely wrong. She desperately wanted to ask, to figure out what it was, and fix it. Her mother had worked so hard on this gathering, and Katara hated that something was troubling her. She deserved to be relaxed and happy. But she also knew that she wouldn't get anything more out of her mother than what she wanted her to know. She watched her mother's reflection secure the blue pendant around her own reflection's neck, the bottom of it settling in the base of her throat, like it had been meant to find its way there.

Her hands rested on Katara's shoulders, and the two of them stood there, watching themselves, stuck in the moment. Standing side by side, Katara noticed how much they looked alike. The same hair, the same eyes, the same rich skin. But her mother held herself in such a way Katara could only mimic; high chin, straight shoulders, a look that simply bled conviction. Beside her, Katara was an imperfect copy, her edges too sharp, curves too rough.

But when she threaded her hand through her mother's, and Kya smiled down at her, Katara thought it was okay they weren't the same. No one could ever take her mother's place.

Together they climbed the stairs to the second level, where nobles and servants were milling about, waiting for the ballroom's doors to be re-opened. They passed the courtyard where people were hovering by the monument Kya had erected in Reya's memory. It was surrounded by flowers and engraved stones. Katara caught her mother gazing at it as they walked by and squeezed her hand gently.

Hakoda and Sokka were already standing by the door of the ballroom, flanked by advisors and them by guards, chatting with Chief Kanook and Rebekah and the nobles from their tribe who had joined them the day before. Hakoda wore traditional embroidered robes with rich white fur and gold embroidery along the seams. Sokka had chosen a gaudier ensemble, opting for long robes with pearl embellishments and face paint that was far more excessive than the evening called for. Katara fought the urge to roll her eyes.

When the guests caught sight of Katara and Kya, there was an audible gasp. She knew they were all staring at her mother, whose beauty was beyond compare, but she couldn't help but feel beautiful simply by standing next to her. Even her father cracked a proud smile as Kya made her way to him, the look in his eyes one Katara had not seen in a long time. The crowd between them parted as she approached. He held out his arm to her and she took it with a sly look Katara knew she reserved for him and only him. She hadn't seen them this happy together in years, and it made something in her stomach flutter.

Slightly less pleasing, Sokka offered his arm and Katara placed her hand lightly upon it.

"You clean up nice, sister. You actually look like a girl for once!"

"Thank you, brother. I love your war paint. Did you fall into a vat of it?"

Sokka glared at her as the four of them led the party into the ballroom.