Chapter Text
“I just said I was confused!”, Katara shouted and ran away. Distantly, she heard Aang say “I’m such an idiot!”, but that didn’t change anything. She had to get away, to put distance between him and her. She knew Aang felt more than friendship for her, but to think that he would ignore her boundaries was a shock. Finding a restroom, she washed her mouth and the first sob escaped her.
The betrayal Katara felt hurt. Aang had abused her trust and overstepped her clearly set boundaries. She covered her mouth to stifle the sobs. Did Aang even love her? Was he so certain she would be the ‘Avatar’s girl’, that he was confident and self-assured enough to just kiss her? Did he think a kiss could sway her? It was gross, and humiliating. The ‘Avatar’s girl’ - what an objectifying ‘title’. Not Master Katara, but ‘The Avatar’s girl’, was that what she was supposed to be? How has it come to this? How has it come to the point where the entire world expected her to fling herself into Aang’s arms?
Katara wiped her eyes. What about her opinion? Her feelings? Did they not matter? She blew her nose and once she had deemed herself presentable enough, she left the restroom. She felt nauseous thinking about returning to her seat and after checking the time, there were still a few minutes left. Katara needed some fresh air, so she returned to the place she had found Aang. Exhaling in relief, she found he had left.
The moon looks beautiful in the sea, Katara thought as she admired the shimmering reflection. In the beginning, she might have felt the first, tender, fragile beginnings of love for Aang. Aunt Wu’s confirmation that she will marry a powerful bender had strengthened those feelings a bit. In the end, however, the buds had withered. It was a slow process, but Katara could not imagine Aang as a life partner. He was too dependent on her, and while his childish attitude - He was 13, for Spirits’ sake - was entertaining, she found him lacking in total. What had dealt the final blow and had cemented the fact that Aang will just be a friend had been, hilariously, Azula.
There were so many powerful benders in the world. Toph, Azula, Aang, and Zuko, now that he no longer got his strength from anger. And not to mention how many benders Katara didn’t know. Aunt Wu had merely said ‘a powerful bender’, not ‘the most powerful bender’. She would marry someone else, not Aang. Someone who was on her wavelength, someone -
“Katara? The play is about to continue.”, Zuko said from behind her and she jumped in surprise.
“I’m not sure I want to see it anymore.”, Katara admitted. The play was terrible, and now there was the issue with Aang.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes I am. The play is just not to my taste.”
Zuko grimaced. “No surprise here. But it’s not much longer. A third is left, so we should be done in 20 minutes.”
Katara laughed and walked past him. “Did you study the pamphlet?”
“No, I didn’t.”, Zuko smiled, and it turned wistful. “My mother was an actress. I know some stuff about theatres. Come, the others are waiting.”
Wordlessly, Katara trailed after him. Sometimes, she wished they could talk about their mothers, but she senses it was a sensitive topic for both of them. When they were about to enter the room to get to their seats, Katara hesitated for a second. Zuko noticed, looking at her. She knew he hadn’t bought her answer, and would probably address the issue later again when he deemed it appropriate.
To her surprise and relief, Aang sat in a row behind them. At least he was out of sight. The rest of the play was depressing and uncomfortable, ending with Ozai’s victory, of course. Everyone was glad when it was over and after a few more complaints, the Gaang decided to go to bed. It was late, and they had much training to do tomorrow. No one addressed the tension between Aang and Katara, especially from Katara’s side. Though if it was due to obliviousness or simply not wanting to address it now was unclear.
*
Katara frowned when she entered her room - which was next to Aang’s. She quickly dressed for bed, but left a candle burning. She waited for a few minutes, wondering if Zuko would come, but when he didn’t, she laid down. Sleep evaded her though, and she shot up when a faint knock was heard against her door.
“Katara, are you awake?”, she heard Zuko ask and she replied with a “Yes”. Zuko entered and quietly closed the door behind him. He sat down next to her at the edge of the bed.
“I wanted to see if you’re alright. You seemed a bit…off, after the break, and you didn’t interact with Aang at all.”
“Aang kissed me.”, Katara blurted out and burst into tears. Zuko opened his arms and she crawled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“I - I wanted to check on him, because he left angrily. We had a small fight, he called me the Avatar’s girl and kissed me.”, Katara sobbed and Zuko’s arms tightened around her.
She didn’t know when Zuko had become a source of comfort, when his embrace and warmth had become a safe haven, but it felt so good for once to be comforted instead of being the one who offers comfort. Their relationship was evolving, and even though neither had said anything yet, they both were aware that the other knew. Perhaps that was another factor why Aang kissing her upset her so much.
It all spilled out of her and Zuko simply listened. Yes, he was not always good with words, but he was a fantastic listener and when he comforted, or attempted to, Katara knew it was sincere. She felt his anger rise and when she was done, he lifted her bridal-style.
“Zuko, what are you doing?”
“If you don’t mind, we’ll switch rooms tonight.”
“Zuko, Aang might have kissed me without my consent, but he is not one to sneak into a girl’s room at night.”, Katara argued, before she relaxed. “Still, it would be…nice. At least for this night.”
“However many nights you need.”, Zuko promised and adjusted his grip before extinguishing the candle.
The house was quiet and dark when Zuko carried her down the corridor to his room. Katara felt the tension in his body, felt the anger radiating off of him, but he said nothing. When she glanced up at his face, he was frowning - an all too familiar sight, which had grown strangely dear to her - and seemed deep in thought.
Katara opened the door and he set her on the bed and sat down next to her.
“Katara?”
“Yes?”, she asked. In the candlelight, his golden eyes seemed to glow. He took her hands in his.
“You are not the Avatar’s girl. You are not anyone’s girl. No matter what anyone may think, you owe Aang nothing. You don’t owe him your love, nor your life. You don’t owe the world anything. This is not some…romance novel where the hero gets the girl. You are real. You decide who you give your love to and whom you’ll spend your life with. Aang made a grave mistake by overstepping your boundaries, and he will have to accept that your trust in him is bruised. You are Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, master waterbender, healer and fighter. No one can take that from you.”
Katara sniffed and wiped away her tears, which had begun to roll down her cheeks once more. Zuko’s gaze was unwavering and sincere when he carefully flicked away a stray tear. Katara nuzzled into his warm palm.
“Thank you.”, she whispered and Zuko smiled.
“Always.”
He yawned, and Katara followed suit. He chuckled.
“We should head to bed.”, he said and got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.”
Before he could leave, Katara grabbed his wrist. Zuko looked at her in surprise.
“Stay?”, Katara quietly asked and Zuko laced their fingers together.
“Always.”
Katara smiled, her heart light and her mind at ease. Zuko disentangled their fingers to dress for bed and slipped next to Katara under the covers. Naturally, they found their way to one another and she rested safely encased in his arms. However, for a few seconds, Katara was lost in thought before she craned her head to look at him.
“Kiss me, please?”, she asked quietly and Zuko smiled softly.
“Always.”
The kiss was soft and gentle, fit for the drowsiness slowly draping over the two. Zuko was eager to erase all traces of Aang on her lips and Katara readily reciprocated his affection. She snuggled against his chest and was close to falling asleep when a thought came to her.
“Don’t kill Aang tomorrow. We need him.”, she tiredly jested and Zuko snorted.
“I’ll do my best.”
With a flick of his wrist, the room was plunged into darkness and sleep came over them at last.