AN: Well, hey there! I actually got this story updated in a timely manner. This chapter is more comedy-fluff then anything, and the characters might seem OOC, just a warning. But overall I think it's a good chapter... I'll let you decide!

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING

Chapter 25: Reflections (In every sense)

The walk back to the beach house was a long one. It had started out as the Gaang sharing their views on the horrible play. It started out light. Zuko had begun by saying "That…wasn't a good play."

Various noises of agreement were heard, then Sokka said, "The effects were decent."

"They should have paid more attention to the story line. You can have a play with the best effects in the world, but if the story makes no sense you may as well be using a card-board box." Toph chimed in. When she sensed everyone was looking at her, she addressed them, "What? My mother likes theater. That's something she said."

Katara shook her head and turned around to face everyone. She walked backwards so she could keep up with them. "Ok. None of that ending was true. Mai is not gonna kill us all, and Ozia is not going to win."

"Is that wishful thinking or are you actually confidant?" Zuko asked as he slowed down as to match her pace. She looked at him openly.

"I know we will win. We have Aang on our side and our own skill sets. We've taken down Mai before. We can do it again!"

"Look," Azula began, moving up to the front of the group, "While I am usually all about battle plans-making sure all loose ends are tied- we don't even know that this is going to happen. Mai, working with the Fire Lord? That can't be true. Even if she lost her mind, she would never work with him, she hates politics. That play-write probably just needed a dramatic ending."

Katara nodded, but felt no real assurance. It may have been all part of a really horrible play, but if the Fire Nation thought it was a plausible ending, then it was a possibility. She turned back around and glanced out at the ocean line that they were walking parallel to.

Azula followed the waterbender's line of sight and came to rest her gaze on the water. She rushed past her brother and hooked her arm with Katara's. She glanced back at the rest of their group, "You all go ahead. We'll catch up later."

Before Katara could protest, Azula was dragging her off towards the beach. She stopped trying to detach herself from Azula as soon as her feet hit the water. The pull of her element instantaneously soothed her shaken nerves and she took a deep breath.

Azula lit a small flame in her hand, giving them light to see by-Katara really didn't need it. As long as she could feel the water pulsating around her, she could tell where she was going.

"I used to come out here and walk along the beach when I was younger and couldn't sleep. My uncle said my restlessness was strange for a firebender. He told me that it's usually only waterbenders who couldn't sleep well with a full moon out."

Katara glanced up at the sky, seeing the bright orb hanging out in the open. Like with the water, she could feel the pull, could snese it's calling. She smiled. "Maybe you were meant to be a waterbender and your genes just got messed up. That would explain why you bend blue fire." She thought out loud, inclinging her head towards the flame in the other girl's hand.

Azula looked at it for a moment. "Strange indeed. I should take Aang up on his offer to help me find out why I'm different once he gets the ability to go back into the… the Avatar state, was it?"

Katara nods, "Yes. You seem so sure that he'll be able to pull it off. That we all will. Why are you so confidant?"

"I have faith in my own abilites as well as everyone else here. If there was any group of teenage masters that would be able to defeat the most threatning Firebender in the world, it would be us. I'm not just saying that to gloat, either."

"We are pretty spectacular if you think about it."

"How long did it take you to become a master?" The question seems to come out of no where, but Katara answers easily as she recalls everything she learned over the past half year.

"Just a few weeks. I was master by the end of winter this last year. Why?"

"It took me a few years to get to where I am now. I just want to know how you got there so fast." Azula admitted. She found she was slightly jealous of her counter part. She became a master of her element in under half the time it took Azula to become a master in hers. Half of half the time!

"Sheer determination not to die in a war at 14 and my rage-filled hate of sexist tribe members definatly helped." Katara mused as they continued making their way down the sandy shore.

"Rage-filled… what do you mean 'sexist tribe memebers'?"

Katara raised an eyebrow, " In the Northern Water Tribe? They have a strict and long-standing view of what women in society should look like. To them, we eaither spend all our time keeping house and making babies, or training to become healers if we can bend. When we got there to find Aang a master, I was excited because I thought I would find one too. Turns out the master bender there refused to teach women. I was really angry and challenged him to a fight. I actually held my ground for a while against him. He ended up beating me, but agreed to teach me because he found out my grandmother is the woman who ran from an arranged marriage with him years ago. I had no idea. He ended up letting me learn along side his students and I beat everyone there-not to gloat, those boys just didn't know how to fight. Master Pakku is actually the one who ended up giving me the title of Master after the seige Zhao enacted."

"Wow. I didn't realize women didn't have equal rights wherever they went. But that's amazing that you beat everyone of those boys and then some-all to prove you were the best."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was to prove I was the best. I just really wanted to learn how to use my element in combat. Healing is of course a useful tool, but I don't want to be a doctor." Katara said, wrinkling her nose at the prospect of spending all her time in a healing hut. How boring.

Azula smirked, "Enjoy bringing the hurt more then helping it go away?" She laughed as Katara lightly shoved her, muttering a 'whatever' as she plopped down on the sand. Azula also sat, looking out over the water.

"What is it like in the Fire Nation then? Aren't women allowed to be Fire Lord's too?"

Azula nodded, her flame casting a strange glow over her features. "They can. We definetly have more of an equal place in society and politics. But it hasn't happened in a long time."

"Your mother wasn't the Fire Lady?"

Azula shook her head at that, recalling her father's coronation day. "She disappeared before Ozai really came to power. No one really knew how or why. But then, when Zuko and I were facing our father, he told us what happened to get her banished."

Katara remembered, Zuko had told her. She wanted to ask Azula if she missed her mother. It seemed like Zuko did, but given the circumstances that made it possible for Zuko to open up about the topic made Katara think it was a bit of a sore spot-possibly for the both of them. She didn't want to hit any nerves.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. Azula turned to look at her head on. "So. What was the matter with you after the second intermission?"

Ah, so it was Katara's nerves they were going to hit.

"I…don't know what you mean."

"I may not be Toph, but I can tell you're lying. I also happened to notice a very gloomy looking airbender. What went down?"

Katara sighed and drew her knees up to her chest. Azula wasn't going to let her off easy.

"I…Aang tried to kiss me."

That tripped the Princess up. "What!? Wait-back up a moment. He tried to kiss you?"

Katara had pulled back at Azula's little outburst-noticing her flame grew in size slightly- and wondered why she was so upset. It's not like Aang had tried to force a kiss on her.

"Yes. I caught him before he could though."

"Well, did you tell him it was wrong?"

"…yes?"

"Is that a yes as in yes or a yes as in no?"

"My yeses always mean yes, so yes."

"Yes?"

"Azula-Yes! I told him it was wrong."

"Good."

"…is that all?"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Well then what?"

"What exactly led up to that?"

Katara rolled her eyes and thought back. She had gone out looking for him, found him on the balcony. He threw a fit because of how awful the play was. He had wanted to know if what actress-her had said to Actor-Zuko about real-Aang being like a brother was true. She had danced around the answer, not wanting to hurt him-although she did give him a good excuse- to not be focused on such things right now. He didn't listen to her when she said she was confused after he accused her of having feelings for Zuko. She had closed her eyes for a second and he dove in. They had gotten into an argument and she left.

Huffing, she said, "I found him, he was upset about the play. I was trying to calm him down, he was really upset. I thought it was just about the fact that he was played by a woman, or that the details of the play were all wrong, but then he brought up that it seemed like I had feelings for your brother-in different words- I just told him I was confused and he just tried to kiss me."

Azula looked personally affronted. Katara jumped to Aang's defence, no use turning the Princess against Aang yet again. "It's not his fault! I mean…Not really, he's just so young! And he's probably never liked anyone in his life and-maybe he's confused! I don-"

She was abruptly cut off by Azula slapping her hand over her mouth. "Shh. If you don't blame him for his actions, then why were you so put-out earlier?"

Katara thought for a moment. It was exactly the same thing she had done right after it had actually happened. She had been trying to convince herself that Aang wasn't to blame for doing what he did. But if that was the truth, then why did she feel almost the same as she felt about Zuko after he picked Azula's side in Ba Sing Se? Ok, it wasn't that bad, but she still felt betrayed.

She sighed and removed Azula's hand, "I just don't think he understands the full scope of how his actions could effect other people. He's just a kid. I mean, we're not much older then him, sure, but I don't think he knows what he did was entirely wrong. He's had no one to teach how to navigate th-"

As soon as the word 'navigate' came out of Katara's mouth, Azula put her hand back over it. "Don't worry, I got the Sparrowkeet and Buzzardbee talk a long time ago, I don't wish to re-live it." She removed her hand, "But it does sound like he was mislead. Maybe not by you… after he tried to kiss you what did you say?"

"That I was confused, and he said he thought it's what I wanted-"

"There! What would make him think you wanted that?"

Katara blushed and was glad Azula's light didn't allow it to show, "W-well, he did kiss me at the invasion."

"…are you serious."

"Well, that time we all thought we were going to die so-"

"We think we are all going to die now! That doesn't make it ok!"

"Azula-relax, you're going to set the beach on fire!"

Azula huffed and extinguished her flame. "Ok. So we know that he tried to kiss you because he has terrible social skills-"

"Hey-"

"Shush I'm not finished, terrible social skills, he kissed you once before and he thinks it's what you wanted, yes?"

"Why are we analyzing this, I-"

"Yes?"

Katara sighed again, "Yes."

"Right. Now let's back up a bit more. You said he thought that you had feelings for my brother?"

"Yes."

"Do you?"

"What!?"

"Do you have feelings for my brother? Zuko? The tall one with dark hair, big scar over his left eye? Wouldn't shut up about honor for over three years? That brother?"

"I know who it is, I just… That's one of the reasons why I said I was confused."

"Right, so you might."

"I don't know!"
"Let's put that on the back coals for now, so we know he's jealous."

"Who?"

"Aang."

"Jealous?"

"Yes. Of Zuko."

"Why would he be jeaous of Zuko?"

"Because Aang thinks you are being won over by Zuko."

"Well then I'll just tell him I'm not-"

"NO!"

"…well ok…why not?"

Azula thought fast-she couldn't let Katara know she was medling. "…Because you don't even know for yourself if that's true, and you don't want to lie to him. Besides, telling him there was no competition would only add fule to the flames of his lust for you."

Katara gave the other girl a disbelieving look, "Aang is not lusting after me, he's 12!"

"Any 12 year old can think that way."

"He was raised by monks."

"My point still stands. Regardless-what he did was wrong, and it was right of you to tell him so."

Katara groaned, "Then why do I feel like the bad guy here?"

"Because you squashed a young child's hopes and dreams, good going."

"Azula!"

"I'm teasing. Look, it doesn't matter because you were right, he can't be focused on things like romance right now. He needs to concentrate on being able to take down Ozai."

"That's what I tried to tell him."

"We will have to find a way to get it into his brain that he can't have you right now."

"..or ever" Katara muttered to herself, that same strange voice popping into her head again. Azula caught on.

"So you're not at all interested in him?"

"I-I didn't…I-erugh! I don't know right now! I keep telling you people I'm confused!"

"Well, I'm not going to force any kisses on you, don't worry, I'm just trying to help you work through your confusion."

"You really should stop spending time with my brother, his sense of humor is rubbing off on you. Actually, you two would be cute together, please-spend all your free time with him!"

It was Azula's turn to blush, "I could say the same about you and my brother!"

"I thought you were trying to help me work through my confussion about all this?"

"Right." Azula shifted so her legs were beneath her. They would have to start heading back soon, the others would start to worry.

"We need a game plan, one that gets Aang's focus off you and onto the battle field, and one that solidifies it. Esspecially if you don't share his feelings."

"I don't want to hurt him, Azula." Katara suddenly sounded tired, like this whole ordeal was draining her. That was bad, if she was drained then she would be off her game, then the ending of that play could very well become a reality.

"You don't have to. You just have to show him that you are not interested in him."

"How do I do that?"

"Kiss Zuko."

Katara hopped to her feet as though the sand had just turned to lava. "WHAT!? Azula are you insane? What makes you think that will solve anything?!"

Azula also stood. "Well, it would show Aang that you're off limits and it might help you sort out your feelings for my brother."

"Ok, one, That would never work! Aang would just be hurt and heart broken and unable to focus on anything. And two, I don't even think Zuko shares the same feelings I do."

"So you admit it!"

"What?-NO! I-" Katara stopped and sighed, "Like I said. Confused. This would not help matters. Gosh, you're just like Toph. Have you two talked about this?"

"Not yet. And don't worry about my brother not sharing any feelings you may or may not have for him. I can tell you that he-"

"Stop! I don't want to know."

"Why not?"

Katara, in her distress, spun around herself once until she faced Azula again, "Because I don't want to be even further confused, and knowing how your brother feels about me-if anything at all- would just make it worse. I'm not kissing Zuko, I'm not saying anything to Aang. Stop trying to be my relationship guru!" Katara huffed, panting slightly. Then she recalled something both she and Azula brought to light, "And if Aang isn't supposed to be focused on anything romantic right now, what makes you think anyone else should be?"

Azula stepped closer to Katara and looped their arms again as they started to walk back up to the house. "He has a larger role to play. Not that our's are any less important, but he can't afford to be distracted by anything. Us more seasoned worriors can handle it a bit better. But look, if you don't want to kiss my brother, then don't."

"Thank you."

"I'm just glad I got you to admit you feel something for him." Azula smirked.

"I am done with you."

/\

Back at the beach house, the rest of the Gaang was getting readyfor bed. Sokka was in the washroom, washing off the sweat and grime from his face after walking around the market that day. Zuko was also in there, standing in front of the wall length mirror that was placed above a trough-like sink area. Sokka looked at the prince curiously as he stared at himself in the mirror, looked away, turned and looked again. He repeated this three times before Sokka asked him what he was doing.

"Uh, Zuko? You do realize you won't gain any more grey hairs within three seconds of turning away from the mirror, right?"

Zuko startled a little, as if just noticing the other boy was there, and turned to look at him directly.

"Yeah. I'm just…examining something."

"…your scar?"

"Yeah."

"Don't get me wrong, it's interesting to look at-very shiny- but haven't you had three years to look at it?"

Zuko rolled his eyes as he turned back to the mirror, "During one of the intermissions, a kid ran by and told me it was on the wrong side. That just got me thinking. I don't know if Katara told you, but I used to think this scar defined me. Like it was my whole identity. I know lots of people are aware I have it- but the fact that someone thought it was on the wrong side just…I don't know. Maybe people don't use it to define me as much as I thought they did."

"Well, that's true. When I was describing you to Toph I didn't even mention it. I just called you and 'Angry jerk with a pony-tail'." Sokka laughed.

"Like yours is any better." Zuko retoted, leaning further towards his reflection.

"Hey, that's kind of like what Katara said when I said it the first time."

Zuko stopped short. "Katara…defended my hair?"

"Well…more like used it to prove that mine was no better. If I recall correctly, she asked me, 'What do you have against pony-tails, pony-tail?' I-of course- had to correct her and tell her it is a worrior's wolf-tail. Nothing else!" Sokka punctuated his statement by dropping his fist into his other hand.

Zuko smiled-partly because Sokka was starting to pick up on Azula's traits- and partly because the thought of Katara talking about him at all made him feel something weird in his chest. A pleasant weird, but weird nonetheless.

At that moment, he heard the two girls he had been thinking about enter back into the house.

"…et him up with Toph!" That was Azula.

"For the love of- give it a rest Azula!" Came Katara's exasperated voice.

Zuko glanced to Sokka and in an instant the two boys had their ears pressed against the crack in between the door and it's frame.

"Rest-now I know I've heard that term somewhere before…"

Sokka could picture Katara rolling her eyes at the princess' antics.

"You are impossible. And it's not like that would work anyway!"

"Why not, opposites attract. You of all people should know this."

Sokka froze. Just what were they talking about. Opposites attracting? Why would Katara know more about this then most? Zuko's thinking was along the same line, though he had an idea as to what Azula thought Katara's 'opposite' was.

"What makes you say that?" Katara asked, their voices getting closer to the bathroom as they moved down the hall towards the stair case.

"You know you feel the pull. I can see right through your little act. You're not fooling anyone. Except maybe Aang. Even Toph knows how you feel about him."

Zuko-unbidden- felt something in him tighten. Who was 'him'?

Katara's sigh was audible through the partially open door, "Azula, I told you to drop it."

"I'm sorry, I can't now that I know a perfect match is in the making. It would be perfect, Air and Earth, Fire and Water-"

"Sword and crown?"

Three people simotenously blanched at those words.

"What?"

"You want to go on about how Aang and Toph, and Zuko and I would be such perfect couples- have you ever thought about yourself and my brother?"

There was a moment of silence in which some delicate thought processes were made.

Katara's was somewhere along the lines of boisterious manical laughter and the sinking feeling that someone was watching them.

Azula's was trying to process what had just been said-her fetiuge from the day's end and still getting over that cold did nothing to help her thinking speed- and trying to form some witty comeback.

Sokka's was ranging from over-protective-brother-mode, to Oh My Unagi that makes so much sense, to Why Hasn't Azula Responded With The Affirmitive Yet?!

And Zuko-poor Zuko's- was basically white noise along with a few images of a certain waterbender wearing the Fire Lady's crown he had previously tried to burry in his subconscious.

Slowly, Zuko and Sokka turned to look at one another.

Sokka then procedded to make some spastical gestures in the direction of the two young women who had stopped in the hallway.

Zuko glared at him and held a finger to his lips. He wanted to hear what they would say.

After another 30 seconds of blank silence, Azula sighed and said, "If you won't admit your feelings outright, then I should mine. Who am I to be a hypocrite. Yes, I have thought of it."

Sokka could have died.

He actually lurched backwards, cuasing Zuko to reach out and stop his fall. No way was he going to be outed because Sokka couldn't fathom that Azula liked him.

Wow, that was a weird sentence.

Katara laughed victoriously and gave an excited "Yes! I knew it!" While Azula grabbed onto her arms.

"Shh. Not so loud! The walls still have ears, remember?"

"Right, right. Let's go to bed, I've had enough revelations for one day."

"Didn't you already suspect that I liked Sokka?"

"Well, hearing you confirm it makes it more real…"

The voices of the girls faded away and Zuko and Sokka sat frozen against the door for what felt like forever, waiting for the footsteps to fade completely.

Once they did, the boys sprung up and apart.

"Dear ocean's did that just… did that just happen?" Sokka asked, gripping at his hair.

"Uh-huh." Zuko smirked, laenaing back against the sink. Sokka eyed him curiously.

"Why aren't you freaking out? You heard what they were talking about! We should be fighting each other in protective-older-brother fashion, or you should be on cloud nine over the fact that my sister likes you too!"

"She never said that. Azula just said we would work together. That's what Azula does, she medels."

Sokka grabbed the older boy by his shoulders.

"Zuko, think about it. Azula said she wouldn't be a hypocrite, meaning she wouldn't keep her feelings a secret like Katara so obviously is. Opposites attract? Fire and Water? Ring a bell?!"

Zuko shrugged Sokka's hands off and moved to leave. "Sure."

"You can't just ignore this! Azula is right- you two would be perfect for each other!"

Zuko turned to look at Sokka, "Why are you encouraging this? You're her older brother, shouldn't you be waving Space Sword in my face and telling me to keep my hands to myself?"

"One," Sokka said, holding up his finger, "Like I said, Azula was right. Older brother protective-ness aside, I know what's good for her. It's what makes her happy, what makes things easy for her when she has the weight of everone else's problems on her shoulders. That thing happens to be you. Haven't you noticed? She lights up like the fire you bend when your'e around!"

Zuko opened his mouth, but Sokka cut him off, "Shush-I'm not finished. Two, right now it's coming to a point where it's going to be either you or Aang. And for as much as I love the kid, he's not what Katara…I don't know, wants-no needs. He's not what she needs. She mothers him. He's strong and powerful but he can be a liability, and I don't want him to become that for her."

"…And if she becomes a liability to me?"

"You can handle it. Something tells me you already do."

Zuko thought back to the spar day at the temple. How he had chosen her over Azula that time. How he had dove into her, keeping rocks from crushing her. How he had tried his hardest to back her up when she faced Yon Rah.

Something told him Sokka wasn't wrong.

"And three? I know you're all about honor. You would probably chop your own hand off if you touched her. So yeah, I'm not worried."

Zuko roled his eyes. "Right, well. I can't say the same for you so-"

Without warning, he grabbed Sokka by the tunic and shoved him against the wall next to the door. It was all for show, he would never hurt the boy, but the shocked look on his face was priceless.

"You hurt my sister, it'll be your hands that come off."

"Right-ok, I hear ya, loud and clear-you can let me go now."

Zuko smirked and relased the worrior.

"And you know, I'm not worried about that eaither," Sokka began, dusting himself off, "Because I know for a fact that if I do anything to make Azula uncomfortable, she could char me to a crisp with just a look."

"Good, then you know your boundries." Zuko said as he moved past Sokka. "Goodnight-"

"Wait! You never told me what you thought about Katara."

"What's there to think? I'm not going to push her nito anything. Her feelings about this come first. I don't want to ruin what friendship we finally have by forcing her into confessing to me just because I want to feel validated. That's not what friends are for."

"…but you do want her to confess?"

"Goodnight Sokka."

/\

Katara couldn't sleep.

She had tried, but ended up tossing and turning so much she was afraid that Lu Ten's bed would break, and Azula and Zuko would come rushing in thinking they were under attack.

Her restlessness stemed-not just from the full moon above- from her conversation with Azula playing on a loop in her head. Which led her to thinking about her conversation with Aang. Which led to her thinking about the near kiss miss that followed. Which looped back to her thinking of her conversation with Azula and trying to break everything down and mash it all up again into a semi-understandable picture that just had mixed and muddied colors.

Katara huffed and kicked her blankets off. This wasn't her. She wasn't some ditzy little girl that giggled and gossiped over boys like so many of the younger girls in her tribe did during the winter nights. She was a woman, a worrior, master waterbender, teacher to the Avatar for moon's sake! She shouldn't be worked into a mess over boys. She had a war to think about, to plan about! She could think about boys after the war.

Except she couldn't. There would be work after the war. Re-building, re-connecting. She wouldn't have any time for romace.

But she wanted it. What healthy teenage girl didn't? Well, she shouldn't say that, there were pleanty of girls out there who knew they would be just fine without any romantic attachments, and they were happy about it.

Oh, how she wished she could be like that right about now.

She was sure everyone expected her to end up with Aang, anyway. He was on his way to being a hero. In all the romance scrolls, the hero got the girl. She was sure she would be expected to follow him around and help him re-build, it was what would be best for everyone. For Aang.

But for her?

Sighing, she slipped off the bed and made her way over to the large window that over-looked the beach.

Much like earlier that night, she looked up at the moon.

Words that Sokka had said Suki told him rang through her mind. "I am a worrior. But I'm a girl too."

Was it really possible to be both, to have both? Suki had made it seem possible, but then she left. Yue had given up everything she had for the better of the world. Toph was too young to care, and Azula seemed to think she could pull it off but had made no move to do so.

Where did that leave her? Could she be different? She wanted to be.

She needed to clear her head.

She padded out of her room and down the stairs all the way to the kitchen. Maybe some tea would help soothe her into sleep. It was worth a shot.

She stopped short just outside the large kitchens. Someone was in there. She could tell by the light spilling into the hallway.

Well, misery loves company.

She quietly made her way in, moving towards the burning plates near the back. She was surprised to see a pot was already sitting on one of the plates, steam billowing up from the spout of the teapot. She tilted her had as she approached it.

"Couldn't sleep?"

She jumped slightly at the voice coming from the left, though she expected someone to be in here. She turned and looked into the face of who she was intruding upon.

Zuko.

"I was getting restless. Full moon and all." She excused herself. She didn't need to know he was one of the factors that played into her sleepless night.

"So I was right, you do rise with it." He said as he came to stand next to her.

"Just as you rise with the sun," She sighed, too sleep deprived to feel awkward in his presence after her conversation with his sister, "I just came to get make some tea. Maybe it will help me sleep."

He gestured to the pot on the hotplate, "This is almost finished, if you want some."

She glanced to it, "What blend is it?" She asked, lifting the lid to peer inside.

"Gensing. My uncle's favorite."

She put the lid back down and looked to him, "You miss him?"

He nodded as he moved to a table in the corner she hadn't seen before, "Everyday."

"Is he still in prison?"

Zuko shook his head as she sat down across from him, "No. Azula and I went to break him out right before following you guys. When we got there, the cell was destroyed, a guard was slumped against the wall-nearly unconscious, and he was no where to be found."

Katara's eyebrows rose. She knew Iroh was a force to be rekoned with, even if he didn't look it on the outside. But hearing a first hand account of seeing that power…

"Do you have any idea where he went?"

Zuko looked up to the ceiling, as if it would give him answers, and said, "Not a clue. But I have my theories. Not that it matters. He wouldn't want to see me right now anyway."

"You think he's mad that you sided with Azula?"

"I know he is. He wouldn't talk to me, wouldn't even look at me no matter how often I visited him in prison. I made a huge mistake in not joining you guys sooner. If I had, maybe this could have been avoided."

Katara put her chin in her hand and studied him from across the table, he wouldn't look at her, which was strange. "There is some good that came of it. If you had joined us back then, Azula may not have followed."

Zuko hummed, not really commited to disagreeing with her. Just then, the teapot started screaming and he moved to get it.

He came back a second later with the pot and two cups. He poured tea in both of them and slid one to her.

"Thanks." She said, accepting it. She stared down at the lightly colored liquid, staring at her warped reflection. She didn't realize Zuko was staring at her.

When he spoke, he looked away, knowing she would be looking up at him, "Were you really ok? Earlier tonight, after the second intermission? You seemed kind of out of it."

Katara scoffed and looked back down at her cup, "Everyone keeps asking me that."

When she glanced up to see him waiting for her to elaborate, she sighed and said, "Something…happened. Between Aang and I."

The room suddenly felt very warm to Zuko. Or maybe that was him. He bit back whatever hot-headed retort was on the tio of his tounge and asked instead, "Is everything ok? What happened?"

Katara dropped her head into her hands and let out a sound similar to a growl, "I told him I was confused about…things, the war, everything that's been going on these past couple weeks, and instead of listning to me, he tried to kiss me!"

Zuko noticed there was smoke rising from where his hands were laid on the table, and he quickly tore them away, tucking his chin into his palm. "What did you do?"

Katara lifted her head and picked up her cup, just to give her hands something to do. "I told him off. Told him it was wrong. And it was but…"

"It's not what you want." He finished simply, and she shook her head.

"I don't know. No. It…it's not, but I feel as though it's almost expected of me to end up with him. Even the play kind of hinted at it. And it's plain as day to everyone how he feels about me. And I don't know, maybe it's best for the world if I follow him. Help him re-build."

There was the Katara he knew. Putting her own happiness on the line for the better of the world. But in all honesty-and totally not just jealousy- he could see a world doing just fine without her having to follow Aang around.

"You know that's not true. The world would do just fine if you weren't with Aang. Even if it weren't… Sometimes what's best for the world isn't what's best for yourself. And it may be selfish, but sometimes what's best for yourself is more important. Especially if you play a big part in saving the world, just like you do, Katara. The world can't be saved if you aren't at your best. Sometimes that means putting yourself before it. That is what's best for the world."

"Being selfish?"

"No…Giving yourself what you need, so you're whole enough to give the world what it needs."

Katara sat there and thought for a minute, then smiled, "When did you get so wise?"

He smirked back at her, "I have my moments."

There sat there in silence for a minute, sipping at their drinks. Katara was broke the silence after her cup was empty.

"Thank you Zuko. For the tea and…helping me figure something out."

He raised an eyebrow, "That being?"

She looked at him then, in the semi-darkness. Earlier, she had thought that he and Aang were in a sort of compition for her. She had thought to herself that Zuko would be in the lead, and that thought had been scary.

Now though, sitting here and listening to him make sense of the very thing she had been loosing sleep over, she came to two realizations, one: There was no longer any compition. And two?

She wasn't scared at all.

She answered his question effortlessly now, "That I'm not confused anymore."

So there it is! I like the ending better then anything, but I would love to know what you thought of it! Leave a review and let me know! I'll catch ya on the next one!

Writer Out ~0-0~ Water Tribe