Night Changes Many Thoughts

K—romance—one-shot

Takes place between Chapter Four: Unwelcome Visitors and Chapter Five: Restlessnessof the fanfic “Scars of the Past”. Zuko and Katara talk about their childhoods late in the night. One-shot, so I’m not going to get into depth about it. Zuko/Katara

Disclaimer:

I do not own “Avatar: The Last Airbender” or anything pertaining to it. The following is based off of characters and concepts from the show. The phrase “night changes many thoughts” was borrowed from The Lord of the Rings.

Night Changes Many Thoughts

Katara was restless. The others were asleep on the ground nearby, all except Zuko; the Firebender was laying on his side on the far edge of camp, his back to her. He still had the habit of sleeping away from the others. Katara trusted him, but she wished he would open up to the others so they would come to trust him too. She knew things about Zuko that the others didn’t know, and might never know. She remembered what she’d thought of him before she realized what his life had been like. It’s amazing how one thing can completely change your perception of someone.

Zuko was alone. Alone without family or friends, forbidden to ever return home. Well I am your friend, Prince Zuko, and you won’t be alone anymore,the Waterbender went and sat down near him and watched as he tossed and turned in a fitful sleep. He seemed to be having a nightmare, though about what, she couldn’t guess. He muttered something in his sleep, but she failed to discern the words.

It was cool for the time of year, and the Firebender shivered in his sleep. Katara took a blanket from her pack and draped it over the sleeping prince. Zuko jolted at the touch, but then pulled the blanket about him. The Waterbender observed in silence and sighed softly as she turned to go back to her sleeping bag.

“Thanks, Katara.” She turned and smiled gently at Zuko who was sitting up now.

“Your welcome,” she replied softly. She came and sat down beside him, staring into the embers of their campfire that had now burned low.

“You know,” she said after a long while, “when I was little, especially right after Mom died, I used to have the most awful nightmares. I could never remember what they were about; I’d just wake up screaming. Sokka and I shared a room back then, and he used to put his arms around me and tell me that it was just a dream, that everything would be okay. And I’d beg him not to ‘let the shadows get me’. He didn’t quite know what I was talking about. I don’t think I did either, but I would beg him to stay awake and keep the shadows away. And he would stayup with me for the rest of the night while I slept. And I don’t know why, but as long as he was alert and watching, the dreams never came.”

“I don’t have any brothers,” Zuko said. “Just Azula. But my cousin, Lu ten, might as well have been my brother. I followed him everywhere when I was little. It was him who taught me the sword. I remember, he used to get me into the worst sort of trouble…but he was always there to get me out of trouble again.”

“What happened to him?” Katara asked softly, detecting a note of sorrow in his voice.

“He died,” the Firebender replied simply. “He was killed in the Siege of Ba Sing Se.”

“I—I’m sorry,” she said, looking away in stunned silence as the truth of the matter hit her: Zuko’s cousin had been killed by Earthbenders, just as her mother had been killed by Firebenders.

And it was brought home to her that night, that War is a costly thing. Firebenders were being killed just like other benders were.

She and Zuko had something in common. The War had cost them someone dear to them. And now they were working together to end it. War was a terrible thing, but it had brought them together. Fire and Water. Sun and Moon. Opposite forces working together to end this War that was tearing their world apart.