before the storm

A messenger arrives early the next morning, sent on behalf of the Earth King himself. Katara, Aang, Sokka, and Toph gather around the massive dining table.

"It says it'll take a week for the Dai Li agents to gather the necessary information," Sokka reads, squinting at the elegant calligraphy. "Spirits, why all this fancy embellishment? How can anybody read this?"

"Let me see it," Aang sighs, holding out a hand. "You should see the calligraphy the Elders use. It's like they dip a spider-fly's legs in ink and let it dance on the parchment." He lays the paper flat on the table, eyes scanning the page. "They're being interrogated, but so far all they've been able to ascertain is the obvious- that we were there targets, and then Kuei was next."

Toph releases a snort. "Didn't make it very far," she sneers.

"They made it far enough," Aang mutters under his breath. Then, louder, "It says that Kuei and his advisors will meet with us once the Dai Li have gathered the necessary information."

"And how long is that going to take?" Sokka grumbles.

Days pass without word, and the intervening time sets Katara, Aang, and Sokka on edge. Toph swears she's ready to fight again at any moment, eager to show the Red Lotus the price they'd have to pay for a piece of her, but Katara doesn't miss the firm, demanding way her bare feet make contact with the ground when she steps outside the house. Searching for people that feel a little too suspicious. Sokka is cautious, too, but he takes a more conventional approach: scanning crowds for assailants, planning less busy times to visit markets or libraries.

Aang displays the most change. Before, the Red Lotus was little more than a nuisance to him- an irritation more than anything else. Now, they're a fully-fledged threat, one that clearly has the full gamut of his attention. His fingers drum nervously on the table at mealtimes, and he carries a stark tension- a bow string pulled taut, ready to spring to action. The span of his shoulders stiffen at unexpected noises or movement, and his eyes jolt to her first. Always her.

She doesn't know what to make of that. Her wound was the result of inattention- and she'd be the first to admit it was a mistake borne of carelessness. But, does Aang doubt her ability to defend herself?

Stop being stupid, she tells herself angrily. He's just worried.

For all her internal pep-talks, she finds herself ill at ease. If Aang is so worried that his first thought at the hint of danger is to look out for her, then he's not taking care of himself. She doesn't doubt that the Red Lotus would be more than happy to remove her from the picture, but she's not the one they're actually after.

It becomes clear that they need to address it late one afternoon, as she and Sokka sit under the shade of a cherry tree during Aang's Earthbending lesson. Despite the late season, Ba Sing Se's unbearable heat rears its ugly head, and when the lesson ends, Aang stumbles over to sit down beside Katara, his soaked shirt in one hand and his body all but dripping sweat. He flicks a pebble at her in greeting (she dodges and rolls her eyes), and Sokka- no stranger to their antics- finds an excuse to leave them to their own devices, under the guise of discussing Earthbending mechanics with Toph.

"Why don't you use your elbows more often?" he demands seriously.

Toph is stupefied by the question.

"I'm just saying, it's a strong, hard part of the body- I feel like it's underutilized."

That sparks an argument (good-natured, of course, but an argument nonetheless) about what Sokka does and doesn't know about Earthbending. Katara and Aang cackle as Toph delivers a particularly fierce insult, until a large pillar of stone, still standing upright after she thrust it into the air as a technique demonstration during her lesson- finally gives in to gravity and topples slowly toward the ground.

Sokka yelps, dances out of the way. Toph points at him and laughs.

Katara watches it fall, bracing herself for the noise, but Aang is angled away from it, can't see it. When the pillar hits the ground with a jaw-chattering rumble, he dives to her, rolling over her and hiding her body beneath his. Her back meets the grass with a thud that knocks the wind out of her, and her lack of breath is a condition made worse by his weight settling firmly on top of her.

He draws away the instant he realizes what happened, cheeks a furious red.

"Geeze," Toph snorts. "Take a breather, Aang."

He mumbles something under his breath about needing to go wash up, and darts back into the house, slamming the sliding doors shut behind him.

Katara stands slowly, brushing grass from the seat of her pants. "Toph, please," she sighs, unable to even formulate a sentence to scold the Earthbender.

She's waved off with a scoff, and a moment later, Katara knocks on Aang's door.

"Come in," he calls.

When she pushes the door aside, she finds him sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed, his shirt laid out on the ground beside him to dry. Nimbly, she steps around it to sit down beside him, and they hover in silence for a moment. She's not sure what she's supposed to say- what she planned to say when she came in here in the first place- but he speaks before she has the chance.

"I'm sorry," he blurts. His eyes are fixed on his bare feet, still filthy from the yard.

"It's okay. I'm just worried... I know it's not in your nature, but you need to think of yourself first," she murmurs.

A bitter laugh. "I am."

She frowns in confusion, but he doesn't elaborate, and she takes a deep breath before continuing. "I've noticed a change in you since my... injury. I'm glad you're taking the Red Lotus more seriously, but they're not after me- they're after you. I'm sorry for what happened in the City Common. I'm sorry that it made you feel like you need to protect me first-"

"Is that what you think?"

All the sudden, it seems stupid, this idea, and she stammers to defend herself. "Well, I just- you know, in the yard just now-"

He cuts her off. "I can't help it."

"What- the yard-?"

"The yard- the City Common." He picks at lint on the carpet. "I don't want you to get hurt. I can't... bear that again."

She flushes, ashamed. "I'm sorry- it was an accident, he caught me by surprise. In the future I'll be more careful-"

"That's not what I meant," he sighs. "You could wear the thickest padding under the heaviest armor, and I still don't know if it'll make a difference."

"Why not?"

He draws one hand down his face. "The Red Lotus was likely already targeting you for being my Waterbending Master. Now-" Molten silver darts to blue, then quickly away. "I made a mistake- more than one. The market... I haven't lost control like that in a long time. It's dangerous. Whenever I do, people often... die."

His shoulders shrug, but Katara knows that underneath the veneer is a deep, heavy shame.

"I'm still learning to make peace with it," he continues after a moment. "To accept that there are some mistakes I can never fix, that all I can do is dedicate the rest of my life to making sure it never happens again. And then, at the market..."

She shifts guiltily, and their shoulders brush. What is there for her to say? The last thing she's ever wanted was to be the catalyst for such a major mistake.

His eyes are on hers, and behind them is a whole monologue- a thousand things she knows he isn't saying aloud. "I've made it more dangerous for you," he murmurs. "And I don't think I can stop."

She doesn't know what that means. Doesn't know how to move out of this moment, doesn't know if she wants to.

He gives her a ghost that crooked smile, and she makes a noise she's never made before when he reaches for her. She draws in a ragged breath, and his hand passes by her cheek, up into her hair. A rustling there, and when he brings it back, there are several blades of grass pinched between his fingers.

She leans away with a grimace, pats at her braid self-consciously. "How long have those been there?"

"Since you came in."

"So, you let me..." A scowl, and she stands suddenly. "You..."

She's still spluttering when Toph wrenches the door open. "Hey, you two. Long Feng's called a meeting. Cover up the love bites and let's go."

The Earth King's throne room could easily fit the entirety of the Southern Water Tribe. The decorated pillars and excessively high ceiling make Katara seethe with irritation at the sight of it- the thought of all that money wasted on twenty-five flashy marble and onyx columns instead of charitable causes for the Earth Kingdom people that clearly need it. She keeps her eyes firmly fixed on the Earth King's bear to avoid thinking about it.

Long Feng, the Dai Li Captain, bows officiously as they approach. He makes Katara uneasy; he has the shifty eyes and obsequious nature of a person who's waiting for an opportunity to snatch the rug out from under everyone. He's nothing if not thorough, however, and his report is delivered with the measured tone of someone that has the utmost confidence in his information.

"It took some... convincing, your Majesty," he crows with a cruel smile. "But the Red Lotus members captured in the square finally revealed the information we were looking for."

Kuei scratches Bosco under the chin, glances at his advisor with mild interest. "What did you discover?"

"Their plans, and their plan origins," Long Feng answers briskly. "As you already know, after their attack on the Avatar and his companions, it was their intention to make their way into the Palace, and attack your Majesty as well. Some members were departing the market to do just that when the Avatar removed them from play."

Aang grimaces at the phrasing. Katara resists reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"Spirits!" the Earth King says. "Can you imagine? Again, you have my thanks, Avatar Aang."

Aang inclines his head. "I'm relieved for your safety, your Majesty, but I apologize for the damage to the City Common. I can-"

"Nonsense!" Kuei chirps. "I've been meaning to have the city planner look at that old eyesore, anyway. A water feature in the center- maybe of Bosco! Long Feng, summon the architect in so we can-"

"My report is not finished, your Majesty," Long Feng interrupts with scarcely concealed irritation. "There is further information which your Majesty will find valuable."

"Very well. Continue."

"As you already know, your Majesty, when the Red Lotus organization originally surfaced, I had my Dai Li agents' do some digging. Their initial assessment revealed a disjointed, disorganized attempt at resurrecting a failed state in the Fire Nation," Long Feng drones. "However, recent information has revealed that while their main goal has not changed, the lack of organization has been rectified. New leadership, perhaps. Whereas once they could scarcely manage a simple assassination, they're now planning- and very nearly successfully executing- large scale attacks such as the one in the City Common. They're cleverly managed, too- no one member is capable of revealing too much information. All parties have specific missions, but even within the party, that mission varies from person to person, and, as a rule, the details are not discussed between members. A genius move," he admits begrudgingly. "It is difficult to avoid capture, and without the Avatar's intervention, we likely would only have succeeded with a few of them before they were killed or escaped. Thanks to my agents' efforts, late last night, we were able to glean the origin of the attack."

The Earth King gestures for him to continue.

"Your Majesty will no doubt be as alarmed as I was to discover that the order for this attack originated within the Fire Nation. From the Fire Nation Palace, itself."

A sharp intake of breath from Aang. "Were you able to discover any names- any points of origin more specific than the Palace?" he demands. "The Palace is almost as massive a complex as this one- thousands of people employed there, and that's not even including the Royal Family."

Long Feng shakes his head grimly. "I'm afraid not, your Holiness. This was the best my agents were able to get before- well, let's just say, this was all we were able to ascertain."

Sokka crosses his arms over his chest. "It may sound counterintuitive," he rumbles, "but I think our best move would be to head straight there. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I understand, but at least we might get the chance to extinguish the fire altogether."

Aang nods, but before he can speak, the Earth King leans forward in protest. "But you can't leave before Bosco's party! The invitations have been sent already, and you're a featured guest!"

Katara grits her teeth. Aang isn't a sideshow, some attraction to bolster the main event.

"The graduating class from the University will be in attendance, too," the Earth King adds, almost as an afterthought. "The top five percent receives invitations. Surely, you wouldn't disappoint them?"

That tell-tale vein pulses at his temple, but Aang is nothing but polite when he murmurs, "Remind me again of the party's date, your Majesty?"

"Four days from now."

Aang smiles, but it's more like a baring of his teeth. "Of course, we'll attend, your Majesty. But I'm afraid we must depart the very next morning."

Kuei beams.

The next four days are a blur. They pack for the Fire Nation- light, at Sokka's recommendation. "We don't know what we're walking into," he reminds them grimly. "I don't want to be stuck unpacking bags in the courtyard when the Fire Lord sends his Royal Guard out to murder us."

"Iroh isn't involved," Aang repeats for the twentieth time, his teeth grit with irritation. "He was placed there by Roku after Azulon was deposed. He wouldn't support an entity that undermines his authority at Fire Lord, or condone any action that puts me or anyone else at risk."

"Unless that's what he wants you to think," Toph mocks from her reclined position on the couch. "Ooh, intrigue-"

Aang picks a peach from the basket on the dining table and lobs it at her. It splats across the Earthbender's forehead, and she topples off the couch with a grunt.

"Alright, for now, we'll give Iroh the benefit of the doubt," Sokka says, ignoring Katara's snickers as Toph scrambles back onto the couch, wiping peach juice from her forehead. "But, he has a younger brother, a son- nieces and nephews-"

Aang scratches under his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think Lu Ten would do anything like this, either. You'll understand when you meet him. But, I met Ozai once, the first time I went to the Palace. He's not the friendly type, that's for sure, but that's not an admission of guilt."

"We won't discount anyone as a suspect."

"I think we're forgetting something," Katara notes.

Sokka frowns. "What?"

"We're going into the Fire Nation to uncover a plot originating within the Palace," she reminds them. "You really think the Red Lotus- or the Royal Family, for that matter- is going to let us waltz in and take over? The last time this happened, a Fire Lord was deposed and a whole regime was exposed. I think it's safe to say that we're going to meet some pretty serious pushback."

Toph shrugs. "Then we won't tell them."

"It'll look too suspicious if we start digging around without a legitimate reason."

"We could say I'm looking for a Firebending Master," Aang supplies helpfully.

"But you've barely started Earthbending," Toph grumbles.

Aang rolls his eyes. "I said we'll say I'm looking, not that I'm training. It'll give us an excuse to talk to people- all kinds of people- without implying that we're on a hunt for suspects."

"It's not perfect," Sokka mutters, "but it'll serve." He claps his hands together suddenly. "Alright, so we have a plan going in, for once. Don't let that make you comfortable. This is dangerous territory. Keep your eyes open. We've made mistakes here that we can't afford to make in the Fire Nation."

A hush falls over them at the weight- the truth- of his words. Katara lets her eyes linger on each of them- taking in their faces, the set of their shoulders, the determination she can see behind each of their eyes. When she settles on Aang, her chest tightens uncomfortably. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, just like Sokka said, and all they can do is hope not to get burned.

The evening of the Earth King's party finds Katara in a sour mood. With such dire circumstances looming ahead of them, the thought of a feast in honor of a pampered king's pet bear seems ridiculous. She fumes in her room, eyeing the only suitable dress she owns with distaste. The sun begins to sink below the horizon, and she can hear Aang and Sokka puttering around in the hall outside her door as they wait for her to finish getting ready.

A knock at her door startles her from her brooding. She stomps over to slide the door open, and starts with surprise when she finds Toph, impeccably dressed in a stunning, sage green qipao, hair perfectly coiffed. A different woman entirely than the dirt-covered gremlin that haunts their house on a daily basis. She holds aloft a box that looks like it cost more than the total worth of all of Katara's personal belongings combined.

"What's this?" Katara grumbles.

The tiny Earthbender grins. "I can feel you pouting in here-"

"I am not pouting-"

"- so I thought I'd bring you a dress from my mother's collection."

Katara shakes her head vehemently. "I can't wear this. It'd get ruined, somehow, and I'd feel terrible-"

"Put on the damn dress, Katara. My mother has a whole roomful of them here; she wouldn't notice even if you did ruin it."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to," Toph answers smugly. "Because I can. And, because I think it's funny when Aang sees you all dressed up. He always breaks stuff accidentally- remember when you showed up before his Master ceremony for Waterbending? I thought Arnook was going to punch him after he broke that ice totem."

A uncomfortable flush climbs Katara's neck. "This time, it's your stuff he's breaking."

All that earns her is a delighted cackle.

Somehow, the Earth King's ballroom is even more ostentatious than his throne room. The entirety of Ba Sing Se's Upper and Middle Rings could fit comfortably in the space, and there's enough food to feed both rings for weeks. Not that she's gotten the chance to eat any of it; the moment she, Aang, Toph, and Sokka entered the ballroom, they're immediately surrounded by the Earth King's guests, each and every one clamoring for attention, for the opportunity to speak one-on-one with one of Kuei's honored guests. A group of Ba Sing Se University graduates manage to separate her from the group, all but cornering her. No matter how many polite attempts she makes to leave, the group continues to pelt her with questions, comments, and compliments. They even follow her when- in desperation- she finally makes her escape, gliding over to Toph when she spots the Earthbender shooing away admirers. When she notices Katara, she rests a delicate hand on her arm to guide her firmly away from a group of over-eager university graduates.

"We'll meet up after the Avatar's speech," one young man calls, smitten.

"I don't think so," is Toph's airy reply.

Katara admonishes her, swatting her on the arm, but the girl just laughs.

"If your night's going anything like mine, all they wanted to talk about was that stupid market fight." Toph says. "One five-minute scuffle and the whole city is acting like they're under siege."

"'Scuffle'," Katara repeats in disbelief.

She waves her off dismissively. "I'm sparing you the trouble. You don't want to talk about that fight, anyway."

It's true, she doesn't. She's already spent the majority of her evening forced to recount a blow-by-blow retelling to every wide-eyed minister's wife and enraptured artist. How well she fought, how lucky she is that she isn't dead, how fortunate that the Avatar was there... And all it does is remind her, starkly, of the journey that looms ahead. She bites nervously at her bottom lip.

Her eyes dart over to Aang, similarly engaged with a group of middle-aged ladies, all giggling winsomely and batting perilously long eyelashes at him. He catches Katara watching him, sends her a long-suffering look when a particularly brave woman rests a delicate hand against his partially-bared chest.

"His heart is beating faster," Toph notes diffidently. "Is he looking at you?"

"He's on the verge of getting assaulted by the Secretary of Cultural Heritage's wife, actually."

"Maybe you should go save him."

Katara snorts. "And get mauled myself? I don't think so."

"Spirits, Katara, I'm disappointed in you. And after he broke our fruit bowl just at the sight of you."

Katara often finds herself selfishly grateful for her friend's lack of sight; Toph teases her enough already. If she could see the flush on Katara's face, she'd be even more insufferable than she already is.

They join Sokka at a cluster of nearby food tables- he hasn't ventured further than twenty feet away from any of the tables since they arrived- and he hands them both plates laden with food.

"Thank you, Sokka," Katara sighs in relief. "Those graduates wouldn't let me leave to grab a plate."

He scoffs. "This isn't for you."

The three of them spend the rest of the evening in each other's company, all mutually agreeing that there are times when it is very nice not to be the Avatar. Aang is guided from group to group like a prize trophy, bowing politely and enduring the 'oohs' and 'aahs' and demands to 'bend two elements at once for us, there's a good fellow'. At one point, two noblemen cling to him, one on each arm, tugging him like a rope toy to rejoin their group.

Katara frowns in frustration, but before she can go wave them off, Aang firmly removes his arms, and wanders off to join another group somewhere else. His eyes catch hers as he passes, and her frown deepens.

He's never cared for this. This song-and-dance. The Avatar's public image. It wears on him, and right now, she can see his fuse growing shorter and shorter. She sets down her wine glass and leaves Toph and Sokka to their conversation about mechanical engineering, and glides over to him.

She was right about getting mauled- the men and women currently graced with the Avatar's presence are clearly not pleased that she's come to take him away, but she flashes her most dulcet smile and drags him away anyway.

"Thanks," he murmurs. "I thought I was going to lose it. If I get asked about the Red Lotus one more time..."

She nods- too flustered by the way he still has her arm looped through his, too enthralled by the warmth of his nearness.

"How much longer is this party, anyway?" he asks.

A quick glance up at the clock. "... Four more hours."

"Ugh." He hangs his head. "And I still have to talk to the university students..."

"What if you didn't?" she blurts.

"What?"

A quick look- the flash of blue eyes to silver, the speed of conspiracy. "Well, you were just telling me how you weren't feeling well..."

"I was?"

"And, obviously, if you're unwell, you need a healer."

He catches on. "Of course."

"It's regrettable, really, that you'll miss spending so much time with the future of Ba Sing Se's elite, but your health comes first."

"It'd be irresponsible of me to put it to the wayside."

She grins. "I'll meet you at the Palace entrance in ten minutes. Tell Toph and Sokka where we're going, and I'll inform the Earth King of the regrettable situation."

He's off, weaving through the crowd and even throwing a grimace on his face for good measure. Katara dutifully waits in line to speak with the Earth King. The man is so enthralled with his bear- wearing a ridiculous party hat- that he scarcely hears her, waves her off with a smile and a laugh before turning back to the bear with the doting eyes of a mother over a newborn.

She darts past guards, people reaching out to catch her attention- including those university students again, eyes lovelorn- and before she knows it, she's at the Palace gate, Aang leaned against the thick column, eyes facing the moon.

"Shall we?" she asks smugly.

He offers her his arm again, and they're on their way.

The Bei Fong estate is nearly empty. Katara can hear a maid- or perhaps, a guard- rustling in the background, but other than that, the normally bustling household is quiet. All the staff are well paid, and that doesn't stop Toph from sending them home early every chance she gets. Tonight must be one of those nights, Katara muses, as she walks down the hallway, Aang at her side. They're not going anywhere in particular, just strolling casually, the freedom of their escape manifesting in a meandering sort of pattern that made their trek home an hour as opposed to the usual twenty minutes.

They laughed and ran, swung around lamp poles and ducked under bridges as guards patrolled above them, but the magic of the hour seemed spent the moment they crossed through the great gates at the front of the Bei Fong's garden. Reality returns here, the stifling comfort of routine. What comes next? A bath, and bed, the night spent tossing and turning because of the way his eyes reflected the little tea candles that floated in the fountain, the way he brushed a stray hair from her eyes and tucked her hand into his, dragging her away with a knowing smile when they heard another couple making their way to the fountain, too.

And then, she'll wake- the magic of the evening washed away, forgotten like misplaced luggage when they turn their sights to the Fire Nation.

"Kitchen?" Aang murmurs, breaking the silence.

She nods- grateful for the excuse to stay with him, even if it's just for a little while longer. They push past the kitchen's open door, hop down the two little steps to the lowered room. It's dark, save for a few candles melting wax into the butcher's block, and there are bao buns and sauce still sitting in the steamer, fresh. The cook must have made them before heading home, and Katara reaches eagerly for one before levering herself up to sit on the countertop.

She's licking sauce from her fingertips when she spies him watching her. The room makes his eyes dark, almost black, but she imagines that if she closed her own, she could see the lantern lights again, the way they reminded her of lightning under a storm cloud. Something builds in her throat, her chest, a barrier that blocks her from speaking, but she thinks that if they stay here in this silence, in this protracted moment getting longer and longer, she'll scream- or do something even crazier.

Aang is looking at her like he knows. Like life is one of Aunt Asuna's romance novels and he could feel the same way, like it could really be that easy, and that's when she blurts the question before she can convince herself not to. "What did you mean when you said you were making things more dangerous for me?" She swallows nervously. "When you said you couldn't stop?"

A look of panic- but he doesn't pretend that he doesn't know what she's talking about. About their shoulders brushing, his hand reaching into her hair, the way his voice wrapped around her. "I don't- it didn't really mean anything."

"It meant something," she insists, a whisper.

"No. Well, yes, just... Come on, Katara. I'm not- I don't..."

"Don't what?"

His shoulders slump, and his eyes drop to the arrows on the backs of his hands, almost gray in the candlelit kitchen. "I can't find the right words."

She frowns, terrified, and then she's barreling past that feeling in her chest, leaving it shattered, because they're alone for once- truly alone- and because she's thought of little else but his voice and the way it caught when he told her four days before, 'And I don't think I can stop.'

"Unlucky," she murmurs softly. "You usually know what to say. When you're with the crowds, or making your speeches, or doing your blessings. You say the right thing- do your perfect smile."

The other smile- the crooked one, her favorite- flashes wryly, there and then gone in a moment, but she keeps her eyes on the floor, because she's finally found the words, and even the ghost of that smile will snatch them right off the tip of her tongue.

"You leave the crowds calm and tempers soothed, except for me- except for the way I can't catch my breath." Her voice drops to a terrified whisper. "When you take my hand in yours- or the way you save the last of the strawberries for me, even though I know they're your favorite." A deep swallow. "The way you asked me to stay."

She knows she's saying too much, and how can they move past it when she can't even look him in the eye? And he's standing there, looking like he's been clubbed over the head, a bao bun still clenched in one fist.

It's like she's falling, and he isn't moving, isn't speaking, so she lowers herself from the countertop. She's not embarrassed, exactly- she doesn't know what to call this feeling. For all intents and purposes, she's flung herself off a cliffside, and the surface of the water is growing closer and closer, and she doesn't know whether he'll catch her, or she'll plunge deep below the surface. Both options terrify her, so she takes a leaf from Aang's book; she's hurries up the two steps to the kitchen door, reaching for it with one hand. Then, she feels him grab her wrist. His callouses are rough against her skin, and she shudders at the contact as she looks down at him, all her breath swirling right under her ribs.

"I'm afraid," he says quietly.

"Me, too."

He shakes his head. "You don't know what it's been like. All of it, every step. Sitting with you on Yagoda's bench an eternity ago. I thought about you every day, do you know that? Every day. And then, seeing you again... seeing the way you hated me."

Shame like a beast curls in her stomach.

"I couldn't let you go," he breathes. "I still can't. Even when you looked at me like I was the worst thing you ever saw, all I could see was the girl on the bench. Smiling and hopeful. Knowing I helped make her miserable."

She shakes her head. "No- Aang, I'm sorry."

It's true- she means it. It shocks her, because she's never regretted her anger, never felt it was unjustified- never paused, never took a moment to realize that he was just a boy, as confused and hurt about the way things were as she was.

"You laughed in my room, on the boat in Omashu," he says suddenly. "You followed me when I ran out of Gaoling's summit, and you didn't make me go back, didn't reprimand me for spending a few stolen hours on the banks of the river. You saved my life-"

"And you've saved mine-"

He drops her hand. "And you understand me, the way I need to run, the way I still do. And you're running, too. You are," he says when she opens her mouth to argue. "From the North Pole at first, and now the South. You run every time I look at you for a moment too long. You're hiding behind walls and jokes, and I thought... I asked you to stay with me because I thought that maybe we could give each other somewhere to run to."

She's still standing above him, so she can see every part of his face- every part of the expression that tells her that he doesn't know how he ended up here, how he's as lost as her, standing in the candle-bright darkness of Toph's massive kitchen.

He takes a tentative step forward, and when he speaks again, his tone is low, murmured, as if there's something fragile in the room that could be broken by their voices alone. Maybe there is. "We're finally going in the same direction. I don't want that to change- but I'm wondering what I can do about this-" his hand presses against his chest, over his heart- "and still keep what I have. That's what I meant when I said that I can't stop."

Her mind is frazzled- a flock of birds after a pebble is thrown in their midst, wings and colors flashing in a thousand directions. She speaks without thinking. "You can't make it worse," she breathes. "I've already ruined everything."

She's still not thinking when she sinks down to him. When her hands cup his jaw and her lips drag to his. His arms wrap around her waist, and he lifts her off her feet, makes a sound- a groan, a gasp, like relief from agony. One of his hands tugs a fistful of her hair for better access to her lips, and there is one crystallized moment where she realizes that the only thing she feels- cares to feel- is the smoothness of the tile against her back when he presses her against the kitchen wall.

There's a journey down a long, unlit hallway- it could have been miles, but he did all the walking, anyway. She's in his arms, the skirts of her dress hiked up around her hips and her legs wrapped around his waist, as he pushes past his door, slams it closed with a foot before they tumble into the sheets of his unmade bed. His hands are familiar- how many times have they wrapped around hers, how many times has she felt the coarseness of those callouses?

It's the feeling of his bare back under her palms that's new, her fingertips gliding along the scars that mar that broad span of golden skin, and it isn't long before that expensive dress of hers is flung somewhere- in a ball on the floor, or crumpled over the chair at his desk. She can't bring herself to care, because it doesn't really matter, does it? Not with his breath fanning, warm, against column of her neck, or the brush of his lips against curving skin.

He looks at her through eyes that scorch away any question, any uncertainty, and then he's tugging her closer by the backs of her bent knees. Leaning forward to grasp her hands beneath his. Pinning her there, pinning her to this moment, as if there were anywhere else she'd rather be.

His lips meet hers again, her eyes close. A breath in, a breath out. The heat of him, a warmth that curls her toes. She arches her back to press closer, to shred away the last wall, the final facade of separation, a place for them to hide within the shelter of his room.

Safety, peace, space to breathe and nowhere else to run, within the circle of his arms.

A/N: this is NOT the end of this story- but we are going to take a little pause for a while as I finish writing/editing the other chapters. I had chapters written out to 16 but I had to change some things, they didn't sit right with me. But I really appreciate all the reads and especially the reviews, I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this story. Bear with me!