Ok, admittedly, this genre is very new to me, but I am touching on a subject that's close to my own heart – abusive marriages. It's a common topic in the society we live in sadly and so many people are going through it that we don't even know about. From Broken Flames to this, I have decided to follow my instincts and take a darker route to Aang's characterisation. You may consider this story to be a semi-prequel to the Legend of Korra, but I would just like to do a trigger warning to anyone who has suffered from relationship abuse, please proceed with caution. This is also for June of Doom Day 16 with the prompt 'At least it can't get any worse'
1. The Last Night
On that night, everything changed. Katara had felt the distance between her and Aang growing. She had felt it for a while, but they had a family. They had children and because of that, she always told herself she had children. At least it couldn't get any worse than it already was, but the control was getting too much. She was getting tired – she was not just made for sitting in her tribe and healing, she never had been even as a child. Aang should have known this – he had known her fighting spirit since they were kids so why did he just expect her to crush that?
As much as she loved her three children – she just didn't know if this was something she could do. It was never about she wanted – Aang could do whatever he wanted, he could travel the world, flirt with other woman while all she felt like was a forgotten piece of furniture.
Tenzin was only 2 years old, and her leaving would be hard on her child, but she was losing sight of herself. Aang never argued with her, but he made it hard for go against him and have her own wishes. How had they become like this? If she was honest, maybe they had always been, but he had needed her back then – he had been alone, he had lost everything, so she had ignored the controlling tendencies. She kissed Tenzin on the forehead.
"Mommy will come back and get you, sweetie, once she finds a home to stay in," Katara said softly. She had already packed her bags and written out a small note for Aang. She couldn't do this anymore. She headed to leave but a voice stopped her.
"Mom, where are you going?" It was her 8-year-old daughter Kya and Katara sighed a little. She should have known nothing would slip by her daughter. Kya out of their children had always been the most similar to her in personality. She just wasn't sure how she was going to get her to give up and go back to her bed.
Katara bit her lower lip before moving to hug Kya. "I need to go to Sokka's house for a little bit. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'll explain later I promise."
Kya frowned at this, hugging her Mom back. "Ok I won't ask questions, Mom but I'm coming with you, or I'll wake Dad up."
Kya had always been smart for her age and Katara sighed. If there was anyone she could trust with this, it was Kya. Besides, she didn't want Aang to wake up because this time, she was done. This time, it would result in a fight, and she didn't want her little girl to see that, no matter how she felt right now.
"Alright," Katara said softly. "But quietly, ok, sweetie?"
Kya nodded and Katara quickly put a few of her daughter's clothes in her bag before taking her hand, leading her outside. She hated that it had come to this – she hated what this might do to her children – what it would do to her after 11 years of marriage – she had been 21 when she had married Aang. When she had Bumi, she had just turned 22. How would Bumi respond to this when he woke up and found his mother gone? Aang had always been dismissive of him, favouring Tenzin because he was picking up quickly on the airbending while Bumi was a non-bender.
"Sokka was a non-bender too," Katara had reminded him once after she had found her son crying alone at night. "You didn't have an issue with it then."
Aang sighed a little. "Katara, I don't have an issue with Bumi. And you know I respect Sokka but being a bender does make us more useful and important. Besides, all my people were gone. If this new baby doesn't turn out to be an airbender, I really will be the last one."
While Katara understood that one, it was not Bumi's fault that he was not a bender. Her own father had never thought of Sokka as less than herself despite her being the waterbender in the family. But she had to do this for Bumi's sake too – she had not done enough to protect her 9-year-old son for the neglect he faced from his own father.
She was lost in thought as she rowed the boat towards Sokka and Suki's house. Where did she go from here? Sokka would always welcome her in his house, but could she really tell him the details of everything without ruining what was once a beautiful friendship between him and Aang? Her hand shifted to her arm where she knew the bruise was still present. Aang didn't get angry often but when he did, he would shift into the Avatar state and while he apologised for hours afterward, it did not take away the damage already done.
Kya's head rested against her chest and Katara wrapped an arm around her daughter as they arrived. The tides weren't rough, so it wasn't too long a journey from where she and Aang lived. She knocked on the door with her free hand but to her surprise, the person who opened it was not her brother. It was Zuko.
"Katara? Hi," Zuko said softly. "Hello there, Kya, sweetie."
Katara frowned. "Zuko, what are you doing here?" She internally winced at how she sounded but as much as she appreciated Zuko as a friend, she did not need an audience right now. Zuko must have sensed it in her tone because his normally pleasant face fell into concern.
"Jin and I were just visiting," Zuko admitted. "She was insisting to discuss some baby names with Sokka and Suki but…Katara, is everything ok?"
An odd sort of loneliness enveloped her when Zuko said Jin was needing a second opinion on deciding a name for her unborn baby. Her and Zuko had probably discussed it while Aang had decided the names for their children, even saying he picked Kya for her because he cared. She had appreciated it then but now she wasn't so sure. No, stop, you're not jealous of Zuko and Jin. What happened to you is your own fault. You chose Aang. This is on you, not on anyone else.
Still, she forced a smile on her face. Not in front of Zuko.
"Everything's fine," Katara said softly, quickly covering Kya's mouth who had been about to say something. "Can I come in?"
