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.๐ฉโก๐ช...chapter fourteen...๐ฉโก๐ช.
It was in the early twilight hours that Katara woke up, her mouth dry. There was a comfortable, stuffed feeling inside her, which made it hard to get up for that glass of water she needed. Instead, she sank deeper into the warm blankets and decided she would just lay there for a quiet moment, enjoying the feeling of ease and togetherness, Toph's breathing steady and slow next to her. Even Sokka's snores didn't damper her awakening spirits. With a content sigh, she finally rolled over and dipped her toes off the bed, giving her friends a warm look as she perched on the edge.
On the other side of the bed, Aang had rolled over to claim the empty space on the end, one foot poking out from under the pile of blankets. Toph and Sokka were similarly accounted for, limbs loosely draped over each other, only...
Zuko was no where to be seen.
Katara tried to ignore the suspicious flare in her chest that expanded outward like a soaked sponge. She shook head instead, padding over to the window to look out over the cityscape. The hazy light from sunrise was only just beginning, basking the world in a gentle glow as the moment swelled. The tile in her hands was cold and smooth as she rubbed her thumb over it.
As her family peacefully slept on, Katara poked her feet into a pair of fuzzy purple slippers the Titans had donated and shuffled out of the room. She turned back around to close the door as silently as she could.
She didn't have to walk far.
Sitting with his back against the wall, Zuko was resting his head on top of his knees, looking small and young. The cherry-red hood was pulled over his head, obscuring his expression as he hugged his knees close to his chest. Katara didn't know how to describe what she was feeling right now; the unthreatening view, though vastly different than what she was familiar with, unhelpfully overlapped with her memory of Ba Sing Se, and the terrifying almost-tragedy that still even now squeezed her heart painfully tight and raw.
"Good morning," she delicately told the open air. When Zuko didn't move, Katara awkwardly leaned against the wall, standing next to him and feeling weird as she towered above his curled form. Maybe some part of her delighted in seeing the Fire Nation prince brought so low, but an even bigger part of her, overflowing with empathy and hope, didn't know what to do with this kind of power. Would it make it worse or better if she slipped into a crouch next to him?
"Couldn't sleep?" she tried again.
Zuko sighed into his knees, scrubbing the back of his hand over the unscarred eye. His voice was flat and maybe even a little frustrated, "No."
"Ah," she answered. When there was nothing else forthcoming, she continued with only some hesitation, "I actually, well, I wanted to talk with you. About yesterday."
"Okay," Zuko said.
Katara looked down at him, but he was busy staring at the floor, his eyes half-lidded.
"Okay," she repeated and then just took the plunge, sliding down the wall and resting her hands on her knees as she perched there, staring out into the dim, empty hallway. She purposely didn't look at him, struggling to find her words, "There had just been, so much going on. I don't think I really know what was happening until, wellโ and then, you were you, the real you I mean, and falling, and I couldn't think, it was just so muchโ"
"Katara," he interrupted, and she heard him shift, fabric rustling, "I'm not mad. I understand."
She blew out an explosive sigh and turned her bright eyes onto him. Zuko flinched back, not expecting her teary-eyed anger, and then she felt even worse. "That's the problem. I was faced with an impossible choice, and I chose wrong... and you almost paid the price."
Zuko's face was looking a little panicked, and at the sight, she smiled wetly, wiping away the few stray tears with her fingers. "I'm sorry, Zuko."
"It's okay," he said, holding his hands out but not sure what to do with them, so instead he just kind of fluttered around her, doing nothing.
"It's not," Katara argued, but gave him a faint smile anyway. "To be honest, some part of me is still mad at you. I think maybe you really have changed, I do, but I'm so scared to be wrong again, and I don't know if I can handle that uncertainty right now."
Zuko swallowed his I understand, knowing Katara would not appreciate it.
This was the first time he really felt like she might give him a chance to prove himself. Gone was the wintry threat "and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore" and the cold, icy glares she would send him over the nightly campfires at the Western Air Temple. Now, it was just the two of them, leaning against the metallic-sheened wall, dressed in alien hand-me-downs, lost to their own home world. But they were also giving each other the chance to overcome their fraught history, and for that, he was eternally grateful.
Zuko was not going to let it slip away. "Thank you, Katara."
She sniffled. Instead of answering, she pulled something free from her skirt pocket and held it out to him. He looked down. Between her fingers was Uncle's White Lotus tile, chipped a little in the corner but still just as familiar as always. He took it carefully with both hands.
"Uncle gave it to me," after I hired a bunch of pirates to help kidnap you and the Avatar, he didn't say.
Katara sent him an amused look. "I didn't know you played Pai Sho. Are you any good?"
Zuko scoffed. "No. Uncle told me," and here he lowered his voice into a wise-sounding grumble, his voice gruff, "Prince Zuko, the White Lotus tile alone is not usually a powerful piece, but together, with the right strategy, it can be unstoppable, or something like that. He never did give me the rest of the set."
Katara snorted. "Are you sure that's what he said?"
"Maybe?" Zuko shrugged, "Uncle was always trying to teach me Pai Sho strategies, but at the time, I had, uh, different priorities."
She hummed thoughtfully, "Sokka's only played once or twice but he's pretty good. You should think about practicing with him after all of this is over."
His voice was a little distant when he replied, "Yeah, maybe."
Katara smiled over at him, that spongy, festering worry gone for now. Instead, she felt warm and rested. She stood up, "I think I might start on breakfast. Do you want to come with me?"
Zuko shook his head. "I'm going to meditate. It helps with... yeah. But after...? Is that okay?"
She nodded once, saying, "I hope you have a nice meditation."
"Thanks," he mumbled, and then she was off, stepping surely down the hallway and into the living room where the sunrise was gifting golden streams of light over the stacked, silver city. With yesterday's storm gone and the living room back to its mostly-pristine condition, it seemed like they were off to a good start.
To fresh beginnings, Katara thought, as both a wish and a promise.
She found some frying pans and stew pots and then set to work; she had a ten-person crew to feed, and she was going to make it into something luxuriously delicious.
It was about thirty minutes later that Zuko found her, humming a Water Tribe lullaby that Gran Gran would sing during the lonelier nights and flitting in and out of the kitchen. Noodles were boiling on the Titan's sleek black-topped hearth oven, fried eggs sizzling and popping like firecrackers on two nearby pans.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Zuko asked, standing there looking hopeful and very un-prince-like with his ruffled bedhead and casual outfit.
Katara gave the eggs a little shake. There was already a fruit salad on the table, full of fresh, ripe, and vibrant foods they hadn't been able to afford in far too long. It felt like she was making a feast, so used to rationing their portions and limiting their supply runs. "Um," she threw a thoughtful look around, "You could set the table?"
Zuko cast his own assessing gaze across the tidy space. Even the broken window had been repaired, which was actually kind of insane. The Titans must have been up all night cleaning. "I can do that," he said, but didn't make any move to do so. Katara added a dash of pepper and waited. "I could also... I used to work at a tea shop in Ba Sing Se with Uncle. Before Azula found us."
Oh, Katara thought, suddenly remembering that fateful moment. A sliver of ages old doubt pinched her: had they honestly been trying to make a life in the Earth Kingdom city?
Zuko was still talking, "Uncle was usually the one brewing the tea 'cause he was pretty good at it, I guess, but sometimes when it got busy he asked me to help out. I only got a few complaints in the beginning, and I'm much better at it now, I promise."
"Sure," Katara permitted, hiding her smile as she pulled a box of pre-mixed pancake batter down from a side cupboard. She looked over her shoulder at him, unable to read the instructions on the back anyway. He was still standing in the middle of the room, motionless, so she clarified, "You can make the tea."
Zuko blinked a couple times. "Oh, sure, I mean, yeah! Yeah, I'll go ahead and do that."
It took Katara a second to understand his surprise. At the Western Air Temple, she had scorned each of his attempt to help with dinner and even breakfast, worried he would try to poison them to steal Aang away. As they stood here together, in this odd, futuristic building, she realized that the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.
It was crazy to think that just last night another person wearing the firebender's face had almost killed them all, had almost killed Zuko, but here she was, making breakfast with him. The intrusive thought was darkly sobering and her smile slipped away. She opened the mechanically-grey ice-box to focus on something else, finding a package of tofu and something that looked like skinned fish.
As she set the food on the counter, Zuko said, unprompted, "My first ever batch, this one Earth Kingdom noblewoman told me my tea tasted like the underside of a camelephant."
...What?
"She said she wanted a refund and a free fruit pie for her and her friends, but this was when I worked at Pao's tea shop, and he was pretty cheap, so he just had me remake it instead."
"Did she like it?" Katara asked, more invested than she had expected.
"She spilled it on my shoes and said she wanted to speak to my manager. Uncle remade the tea, and Pao took the orders out of my paycheck."
"That sucks," an unfamiliar voice said, and the two benders looked towards the door. Cyborg waved a metallic hand at them, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your story, but your old boss sounds pretty lame. The customer isn't always right, despite how the saying goes."
Zuko shrugged, unbothered. "Yeah."
Cyborg looked back at him, and then his grin stretched a little wider, still companionable but now with a touch of a friendly challenge. "I don't think we've formally met yet. Name's Cyborg."
"Zuko."
"Good to finally meet you," Cyborg returned, and then swept a hand over their prepared or in-progress dishes. He pretended to not notice the way Zuko's stiff posture seemed to relax a little when both Cyborg and Katara looked away from him and towards the expected meals. "What else are you making? Looks like a lot of work for just two people."
So as the minutes ticked by, their breakfast expanded from fruit salad, fried eggs, and noodles to include fried fish balls on a stick (a Water Tribe staple), waffles (courtesy of Cyborg using the pancake mix a little... differently), a mung bean and tofu curry (or a variation of it, from what Zuko could remember from the airbender scrolls and how they had to use what they had on hand), and tea.
"Raven's tea is usually darker and more grey," Cyborg noted, but he was sniffing the air appreciatively. "Hers usually smells kinda like creamy vanilla, but yours...hmm..."
Zuko stoically waited for him to find the words, trying to not look too nervous. Katara peered over Zuko's shoulder. The tea in the pot was a very Fire Nation colored red, notes of cinnamon and ginger twirling upward through the steam.
"Very bold," Cyborg decided, tapping his chin. Zuko perked up proudly.
"Is it done?" Katara asked, already reaching for her cup.
"Wait, there's one more ingredient," he told her, plucking an orange peel from the nearby plate and poking it full of a few cloves. He held it over her filled cup.
"Now?" she needled.
And then Zuko's hands were on fire. Katara startled backwards with a surprised shout, and Cyborg yelped, flailing. Zuko dropped the hot slice into the teacup and said, "Okay, now it's ready."
"A little warning, man," Cyborg huffed reproachingly, but he was laughing as he pulled his own serving free. Katara turned to give Zuko a dirty look, but he only smiled back at her serenely, clearly very happy with his little trick. Katara allowed it, covering up her smile with a daring sip.
"Huh," Cyborg considered.
"What does that mean?" Zuko asked, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "Is it bad? Do you hate it?"
"It definitely doesn't taste like the underside of camelephant," Katara baited, blowing at the warm steam instead of looking back at him. She could practically feel the temperature in the room rising. "So there's no need to call for your manager this time."
For all Zuko had changed for the better, patience was still not his strongest suit. "Just tell me what you think of it!" he exploded.
Cyborg raised a hand in surrender. His smile softened as he smacked his lips together, trying to give the tastes their true worth. "It tastes a little complex. There's a lot of different flavors working together. The goji berries pack a nice punch with the ginger."
"I like it," Katara stated simply, shrugging when Zuko's narrowed gaze landed on her. He blinked, surprised.
"Oh."
"Me too," Cyborg said, taking another sip. "It's a little confused, but it has heart!"
"What?" Zuko said, perplexed, and he looked down at his own cup. Uncle had taken to calling the drink red-blooded nephew tea after him, so he wondered what it meant that they both seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.
"Ahh," Katara sighed into her drink, "This makes me miss my tribe's stewed sea prunes."
"They tasted like this?" Cyborg asked, surprised. Zuko took a sip of his drink, basking in the explosion of flavor, while also watching Katara curiously over the rim.
She laughed, shaking her head, "No, not at all. Stewed sea prunes are much saltier: the fruit is dried and boiled to make this stew that is both blubbery and chunky, and it's so good, I swear."
Zuko made a face, but Cyborg was nodding along, thinking aloud, "Sounds like you might like a mollusk dish. Tastes kinda like a clam or an octopus? Do you have those where you're from?"
"Like a purple pentapus?"
"Or an octopus-monkey?"
Cyborg didn't seem to know how to respond, his expression flitting between horrified, amazed, and unendingly curious.
"No, dudes, he said octopus," a young voice corrected, and then there was a fat, green, thing in the middle of the room, eight skinny tentacles waving back at them. Zuko stumbled back with a cry, flames sprouting from his hands like twin daggers.
"No, no, he's friendly," Katara hurried to say, while at the same time Cyborg cheered, "Beast Boy, you little twerp! Good morning!"
Zuko stared, but obediently vanished his fire when all the beast did was bonelessly wiggle back at him. The eight-legged (but not-a-pentapus) shifted into a young, green teenager with a wide, fanged smile and a round face. "Hi dude!" he said happily, before his easy-going expression faltered, "Oh, wait, you're a prince, right? Should I bow or something?"
"We should probably get introductions out of the way," Katara realized.
"Uh, no, no bows," Zuko answered, adding a flat shrug as he finished, "Besides, I think I was disowned, so..."
"Oh, wow, I'm so sorry to hear that," Beast Boy replied, genuinely sympathetic.
Zuko didn't seem to know what to do with that, his face scrunching up awkwardly. "Yeah, well, he was a pretty horrible dad anyway."
Katara scoffed, her mood souring at the thought of the Fire Lord. She had never really thought about what it was like for Zuko, being raised by the most evil man in the world. Maybe it explained some things. "And also a horrible person," she sneered, getting up to busy herself with their finished dishes instead. They did still need to set the table.
"Here, let me help," the green changeling said, taking the plates from her. He tossed over his shoulder, "I'm Beast Boy, by the way! Nice to meet you, Zuko!"
It wasn't long before the rest of their friends joined them, some sleepier than others, but all with open arms and friendly smiles. With the table set and the food prepared, there was only one thing left to do: eat.
"Ohhhhh, is that fried fish? Don't mind if I do!"
"Can you pass the salt?"
"Huh, I like this bumpy bread! What was it called again?"
"Waffles, dude! One of the greatest foods ever!"
"We have the waffles!? Oh, hurrah! Next we must try my home world's dish, glorrk! It is a most marvelous addition to mealtimes, with flavors like the sushi and the ice cream!"
"NO!"
"No thanks."
"Umm, maybe next time, Star."
"Wait... Does it have meat?"
"You really don't want to know."
"No, it is made from a Tamaranean fungus."
"So it's vegetarian?"
"Don't get any ideas, Twinkletoes. Just eat your leaves and tofu."
"Happily!"
"So... who made the tea?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Zuko did."
"Hey!"
"It's good."
"Oh... thanks."
Raven toasted him with her cup of tea, the bags under her eyes less pronounced now. It was odd, having the boy from the mall (but not actually) sitting across from her, picking slowly at his fruit salad and blinking in confusion as he listened to Beast Boy explain why waffles were the superior meal to an interested Sokka and a politely bored Katara. They had done introductions before sitting down, and it had gone well. Easy. Smooth. Almost like the past battles were being tucked away in a corner to be forgotten. And maybe that was for the best.
"So..." the boy said and stabbed a slice of grapefruit with his fork. He grimaced at it. "...You're magical, huh?"
Raven slanted her head. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Zuko nodded and looked away. "Nice."
"Oh my god," Cyborg said, leaning back on his chair to give Raven a bemused look. "You could at least talk about the weather or something, instead of whatever this is."
The ex-prince turned to the high-topped windows, squinting. The midday sun was bright, surrounded by a blanket of blue sky and the occasional feathery wisps of cirrus clouds. "The clouds look pretty?" he tried.
Raven took another sip of her drink, huffing a silent laugh. "Leave him alone," she told her teammate, before turning back to Zuko, saying wryly, "You don't have to force yourself to make small talk. I actually like the quiet. It's a rare commodity around here."
Zuko gave her a small nod.
"Okay okay," Cyborg relented raising his hands in surrender and turning back to his conversation with Toph. He didn't wait more than a second before launching right back into it.
The blind girl cocked her head, nodding along as he gabbled on about steel-enforced rings and wired-somethings, and then she was slamming her hands on the table and announcing, "Your fancy tech sounds great and all, but watch this, Metalman."
Without any more forewarning, Toph raised an outstretched hand, and Aang's spoon โ topped full with seasoned tofu and only inches away from his mouth โ went spinning free, pulled away by an unknown force. She seamlessly grabbed it by the handle, but the food went flying, hitting the grey wall behind them and sliding down with a sad sploot!
"Hey! No bending at the table!"
"Dude," Beast Boy shouted, flailing his hands. Toph slanted her head in his direction, her grin proud and devilish. "That was just like in Clash of the Planets! It was like you were using your mind to control it, that was so cool!"
"...Doesn't Raven kinda do the same thing, though? But just with more glowy black light?" Sokka noted, but went ignored.
"Were you able to sense the metal even though it was in the air?" Robin asked, an assessing expression on his face. He swapped a look between all of their new friends before facing Toph, "I thought you used, uh, seismic sensing?"
Toph shook her head, preening, "Nah, I'm just that good."
"It was a neat trick," Robin allowed with an amused smile.
Despite the hero's lukewarm response, Toph's smirk widened anyway, saying, "I'm easily the most powerful one here." She cracked her knuckles, and the invitation could not get any more clear.
Katara sighed loudly, rolling her eyes, "Toph."
Cyborg spluttered, reminding her, "Hey, we said two out of three."
"Yeah, and you lost but I still met your friends. So now you have to show me how you did the explosion thing and, hmm," Toph pursed her lips, and while she thought, Cyborg's expression turned more and more nervous. After an excruciating wait, she loudly proclaimed, "I want a statue."
"Toph," Katara repeated, and it sounded both shocked and completely done with everything. "You can't just ask for a statue! We're guests here!"
"I just did, Sweetness. Well?"
Cyborg stared her down. Unseeing, she blinked back at him.
"Done," he agreed, never one to back down from a challenge. Robin groaned into his food. Toph whooped and threw Aang back his spoon. The airbender quickly snatched it in the air, reaching over the fruit bowl to grab it before it could hit Sokka in the face. "Because I'm going to win," Cyborg told her, in case she was under any other false assumptions. She scoffed disbelievingly.
"How could this possibly go wrong?" Raven intoned into her cup.
Starfire laughed joyfully, clapping her hands, "This is most exciting! I look forward to watching this test of the skills!"
Sounding a little entertained by the whole exchange, Robin said, "Actually, that's a good idea." Something about his curious tone had the rest of his team looking back at him.
"What is?" Beast Boy asked around a mouthful of cinnamon-topped waffles. "Cyborg getting his butt kicked?"
"You want us to show you what we can do," Sokka answered. He crossed his arms and gave the benders in his group a cautious look.
Robin smiled at him. "Yes. And I also want to see how well we can work together as a team. All of us."
"Even me?" Sokka interrupted, surprised.
Before the Titans leader could do more than open his mouth, Aang consoled, "Of course you're included, Sokka!" With a sudden cringe, Aang looked over at Robin, somehow sounding both contrite and threatening, "He is included, right?"
When Sokka glanced at him to confirm, he nodded. "Yes."
Sokka tapped a finger to his chin. "You would know," he agreed, nodding. Robin looked back at him, waiting patiently. "Okay, I'm in."
"Me too," Aang said, laughing.
"Wait, does Twinkletoes get to use just air or all the elements? Cause that's cheating."
"No it's not, Toph! You just don't want me to beat you!"
Katara smothered a laugh, leaning back in her chair to send the Avatar a meaningful glance. "I'm surprised you're not against this. It's basically more training."
"Hey," Aang argued, smiling back at her, "I have some pretty great Sifus. More training sounds fun!"
Though he had been mostly quiet throughout the late breakfast, Zuko didn't seem to mind interrupting to say, "Then I think we need to make our lessons more challenging for you."
Aang winced at the implication. Zuko gave him a crooked half-smile, and that was all it took for the Avatar to brighten back up, teasing back, "I bet I'll beat you too, Sifu Hotman."
Robin looked to Katara, following along with the easy back-and-forth of Team Avatar, while also still keeping track of the non-answers. "How about you, Katara?"
"Please, you must join us in this activity of bonding!"
"Alright, yes," Katara answered, giving Starfire a soft smile at the other girl's friendly enthusiasm, "I really wasn't planning on saying no."
"Great," Robin said, giving each and everyone of them (his team included) a look, unreadable except for the excited-readiness in his stance. "Let's fight."
.๐ฉโก๐ช...๐ฉโก๐ช.
Author's Note: Aaaand, I'm back to work & grad school, so updates are going to be a bit slower now, boooo. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, though, and wishing y'all a promising new year! Posted 1/5/24.