Hello everybody! I am here. I was so motivated by your lovely reviews and I had a bit of time on my hands, I managed to put this chapter together for ya'll. It a longer one too (longer than the usual anyway). I hope that's okay and thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you like it. Without further ado, chapter 10

Chapter 10: Everywhere

I squint as the door slams open before closing my eyes again. The noise rings in my ears, but it's too comfortable to wake up. Tugging my pillow closer, I mumble into the fuzzy fabric. So warm. Go away, Momo. Stop making so much noise.

"Aang! Katara! Zuko says he-"

I sigh. Groggily, I sit up, "What?"

Suki's eyes are wider than saucers as she stands behind Sokka. Unbelievably, his eyes look like they might just melt from their sockets. Mouth unrealistically agape, he sputters wordlessly. Bemused, I rub my eye following the path of his pointed finger.

Oh.

My pillow.

It's not a pillow.

I feel my face heat up. The bed shifts as Katara begins to wake up. I make quick work of slipping my robe back over my shoulder as I try to process the situation. I'm supposed to say something, right? This looks weird, right?

Toph pops her head between Suki and Sokka, "Hey, what's taking you guys so long?"

"What's going on?" Katara asks, sleep lacing her words as she sits up, "Aang?"

"What's going on? What's going on?!" Sokka exclaims, "Zuko said we could talk properly about what to do next in the war room, so I came to get you guys, but instead..."

Suki's hand on his shoulder quiets him down as she intervenes, "Did you get a chance to finish your healing session?"

She looks at both of us as she asks. I nod and Katara answers with a yawn, "Yeah, we talked a little and fell asleep apparently."

Suki quirks an eyebrow and Sokka frowns, arms crossed. Still, he relaxes when Katara stands from the bed and walks to my side. Gently, she peaks at my burn under my robes. Sighing, she holds my cheek, "Try not to push yourself, will you?"

I grin, "Yes, Sifu."

"I hate to break whatever is going on here," Toph starts sarcastically, "but sparky isn't exactly known for his patience."

"Oh right, sorry."

As we walk away from the room, Sokka pauses. A pensive look lingers on his face as reaches for Katara's arm, "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up."

Suki squeezes his shoulder, gazing at him meaningfully. He smiles reassuringly. I look at Katara who stares at Sokka questioningly. Taking my arm, Suki says, "Alright, don't take too long. Zuko might just explode on you."

Toph smirks, "On second thought, maybe you should take your time Sokka."

Sokka scowls as she walks away and we follow behind her. I glance back at Katara remembering the warmth of her embrace. Heat spreading across my cheeks, I look at the floor ahead of me. I don't even know when we fell asleep. This is so embarrassing. I frown, Katara seemed so unaffected by it though. Maybe because it doesn't mean anything to her. I know she said she was confused, but the way she rejected my kiss...Ugh, I was an idiot. She clearly didn't want to be kissed. Still, I guess I thought that it may change her mind. Stupid, I know. Confused doesn't mean no, but it also doesn't mean yes.

"So, what were you and Sugarqueen doing that had Snoozles in a twist." Toph asks, "Must have been something if your heart is racing like that."

I rub the back of my neck, "We were sleeping."

"Just sleeping?" Suki asks with an eyebrow arched challengingly, a little smile tugging at her lips.

"Yes." Abruptly, I change the conversation as we round a corner, "What exactly does Zuko want to talk about anyway?"

Standing down the hall, Zuko answers, "You'd know by now if you'd come sooner."

I pout, "But I'm here now."

He sighs, but there's a hint of amusement in his gaze. Without another word, he turns around and leads us into the room. It's dark save for the wall of fire lining the front of the room where the Fire Lord should sit. I think back to a similar room, on the day of the Black Sun. Fire Lord Ozai...WHERE ARE YOU? The desperation and helplessness I felt then rush in as if I were experiencing it now. Looking back on it, I wonder what I would have done then. Had he been surprised...had we had succeeded on that day...would I have been able to kill him? Truth be told, I'm curious if it would have been better that way? At least back then, I might have had an excuse. Back then, there really was one option. Still, come think of it, I don't think I really thought of what I was meant to do. So, even if we had succeeded in surprising the Fire Lord back then; perhaps, it was for the best that it happened how it did. Maybe, for the sake of the world, living with the regret is simply part of the job.

I turn to Zuko, "Well...it's cozy?"

"Try lying to me, why don't you?" He says unamused. I shrug.

He motions us to take a seat around the table. Rather than taking his seat on the thrown, he sit at the foot of the table with us, "I don't have a lot of good memories here, and the ones that I do are bittersweet at best...I want to make this room become a place of change. I thought bringing you guys here was a good way to start."

Suki smiles, "That's pretty thoughtful, Zuko."

Ever so serious, Zuko nods. However, a soft pink blush stains his cheeks. He looks among us, "So, before we start, where are Sokka and Katara?"

"The solution to all your problems is here," Sokka exclaims from the double doors. Beside him, Katara rolls her eyes.

Zuko sighs, "Just sit down."

A hand over his heart, Sokka mopes, but takes a seat next to Suki. Katara takes the empty spot next to Toph. I turn to Zuko, "Alright Hotman, what's the plan of action."

"First of all, don't call me that. Second, I don't know."

"You..." Toph drawls, "...don't know? Perfect."

Zuko scowls, "I've sent word to my Uncle to see how Ba Sing Se is doing, along with Hakoda and let them know Ozai has been defeated. The only plan I have right now is becoming Fire Lord though frankly I think my uncle is better suited for the role than myself."

Everyone nods understanding. I raise my hand hesitantly, "Uhhh, so can someone explain what I missed?"

How they forget I wasn't even there is beyond me. Did they even notice I was gone? I hold my sigh, to be fair, we were under a lot of stress.

"So, basically we went looking for you and ended up finding Zuko's uncle, Piandao, Bumi, Pakku, and Jeong Jeong of all people." Sokka exclaims. I nod still not understanding. Katara, as if sensing my confusion, tells him, "Aren't you missing something?"

Sokka scratches the back of his head, "Oh yeah, Pakku is our grandfather now."

"Wait, really?" I blink and he nods enthusiastically.

"Yeah, apparently they met again and he made her betrothal necklace and everything!"

"That's amazing! Congratulations!" After all these years, Pakku got his happy ending. It truly is possible to love someone a life time. I risk a glance a Katara. The thought excites me as much as it terrifies me.

"What Snoozles here forgot to mention, is that these old guys are all part of this secret society: the White Lotus. Iroh got them all together to take back Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation."

Suki picks up from where Toph left off, "We originally wanted to find you, so Zuko took us to meet this lady with a Shirshu."

I nod, "June."

"Yeah," Suki confirms, "But her Shirshu couldn't find you."

I turn to Toph as she adds teasingly, "Luckily, Zuko loves his uncle."

Sokka snickers, "I still can't believe you kept your uncle's stinky sandal."

"Okay, this isn't about me!" Zuko groans, a light blush coloring his cheeks, "The point is: my uncle didn't want to be Fire Lord and he suggested me. What do you think?"

It takes me a second to realize he expects an answer from me. I feel everyone's attention fall on me as well. This isn't my decision to make. Regardless of whatever, Zuko is a prince and honestly, there's no one else I'd trust more than him. I smile, "I think you'll make a great Fire Lord, Zuko."

His shoulders relax ever so slightly, "Thanks, Aang."

Katara, who has been quiet for the most part, asks softly, "What about you, Aang? How did you end up with Ozai?"

Four pairs of eyes look at me intently. Running away sounds really nice now. I grimace, not an option to flee now though. I square my shoulders, "I kind of sleep walked—er, swam—onto this island of sorts."

Suki mumbles shocked, "Sleepwalking?"

"You mean to tell me," Sokka begins skeptically, "Before the comet, sleepwalking yourself to an island was the thing to do?"

"Well, it's not like I could control it." I add sheepishly, "And I did get advice from my past lives."

"So, that's what helped you make a decision?" Suki asks, curiosity shining in her eyes.

I look down at my fingers, thumbs fiddling. My chest throbs uncomfortably. No Suki. Not entirely. It was impulse. Killing Ozai is the ultimate punishment, an easy (yet hard) means to end a problem, but not the only solution. My eyes harden. I don't look up at them when I answer, "Ozai did."

"What? Don't tell me he just surrendered when he saw you go Avatar State?" Sokka asks.

I scoff, "He'd still be alive had he done that."

I close my eyes. They didn't deserve to live in my world. His maniacal laughter rings in my ears as Suki asks, "What exactly...?"

"Wait," Toph cuts her off, "I thought you couldn't go in the Avatar State?"

My body runs cold. I feel oddly present as memories playing in my mind are translated into words, "Ozai shot lightening and I redirected it, but he managed to shoot a large burst of fire at me. I ended up falling off the edge of where I was. Thankfully, I was able to bend some water and break my fall, but let's just say I was starting to panic. One thing and another, I hit my scar on this rock and that seemed to unblock the Avatar State. I can now control it. And that's what happened."

I finally raise my head, but refuse to face anyone. Suki stares with disbelief. Toph's eyes are wide open. Even Zuko looks disturbed. Sokka and Katara share a look. Hoping to end the conversation there, I try to think of another topic, but my head is full of the fight. The amount of times I almost died. The panic I felt thinking I might fail the world. To my misfortune, Zuko questions, "Were you in the Avatar state when you..."

"Yes," I answer blankly.

"Were you in control?" Katara's voice is filled with concern as she asks.

"Completely. I was angry. I couldn't let a man like that continue living," My voice is hoarse and turns into a whisper, "I was wrong and I will regret it for the rest of my life."

There's a beat of silence and Katara begins, "Aang-"

"No, Katara." I tell her firmly, "You saw him, I'm sure. I choked him before I killed him. Those bruises on his neck are my hands. I was angry. I had no right-"

"You're the Avatar," Sokka strongly intervenes.

I glare at him, "That doesn't mean I can kill people left and right, Sokka."

"I think," Suki watches me with gentle eyes, "what Sokka is trying to say, is that as the Avatar, you will always look out for the best, for the world. In this case, it was killing Ozai."

"Yeah, Twinkletoes." Toph nudges my arm with her elbow almost comfortingly, "You didn't have another choice."

You're wrong. I want to tell them that. I want to tell them about the Lion Turtle. I want to tell them how scared I was. I want to say how alone I feel even if I know I'm not. I know they love me. I know they have my back, but I'm afraid. I'm sad. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I cross my arms, "We should focus on Zuko's coronation."

Zuko clears his throat, "I was thinking of inviting people from all four nations..."

Like that, we begin discussing inviting our friends and family for Zuko's big day. Who knows where the Earth King went, so there's that. And, Azula went insane apparently, so that's a thing. At some point, I start feeling drained and far away from the room. We're going to wait to hear word from Iroh and Hakoda before moving forward, but in the mean time there will be preparations. There's a lot coming. I just hope I can keep up.

Suki

"What are you thinking?"

I lean my head on his shoulder as he watches the turtle ducks, "He's hurting Sokka."

His arm wraps around my waist. Back and forth, he rubs his thumb soothingly there, "He'll be fine. Aang, he's a strong kid."

"Is he?" I ask him whilst watching the ducklings play.

"What? Strong? Definitely."

I sigh, "No, a kid."

Sokka chuckles, "He acts so much older than he is sometimes, I forget he's only twelve."

"We...the world...can we call him a child?" I'm no longer speaking to Sokka even if the words go to him, "We're stealing his childhood."

I frown, "Spirits Sokka, he's twelve. We've asked a child to save the world...and he did it."

His eyes widen, "When you put it like that..."

I think back to breakfast, watching Aang struggle to even eat. Panic, at the thought of talking to us. I face Sokka, his blue yes watching me helplessly, "We have to be there for him."

He looks away ashamed, "Katara, is usually the one that can get through to him."

"Katara, is going to have a hard time."

"What do you mean?" He asks confused.

I love him to pieces, but sometimes I just don't understand. I stare pointedly, "You can't be that blind."

His expression doesn't change, "He loves her."

"Love?" he asks dumbfounded, "That's a strong emotion."

"Yeah, I know," And so does anyone with the emotional range higher than a teaspoon.*

"And Katara?" He asks, "Does she feel the same?"

"I don't know." To be honest, I really don't. Sometimes, I think she might. Sometimes, I think she's just used to looking after him. For someone so emotionally available, Katara is a mystery in this scenario to me. Curious, I ask, "What do you think?"

He ponders for a moment, "Katara...takes care of people."

That isn't the answer to my question. I raise a brow. He turns to look at the ducklings, "To Katara, taking care of those she loves is second nature. She acts first and thinks later. So Aang, if she has romantic feelings for him, I don't know...However, unless he's told her how he feels, to her, in essence he's still is that goofy kid that wormed his way into our hearts."

"What about the way she was with him this morning?"

"What way?"

I look at him exasperated, "The way she held his hand, how she looks at him?"

"That's just Aang and Katara." He shrugs.

Aang and Katara. That's just Aang and Katara. He doesn't speak anymore, lost in thought. I let him be and come to the conclusion, that some things are just meant to be, let be.

I hope this was to your liking! I have general idea of chapter 11, so I hope you look forward to that. Do feel free to review, as you guys probably know by now, I love reviews!

Quote of the Chapter:

Life, in great happiness and in despair, doesn't stop. Life is always moving. As such, it feels like everything comes from everywhere: at once.

-Pyrenees

*Suki's thoughts involving emotions and teaspoons is a reference to a conversation between Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter.