Opposite Elements

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, for it is clearly property of Nickelodeon/Viacom/MTV.

Notes: Oy.

--

“Katara!”

Aang ran up the waterbender and wrapped his arms around her. Once he pulled away, he gave her a big grin. “About time you came home! We’re just about ready to eat.” The airbender glanced at the empty hall behind her and raised his eyebrows. “…Where’s Zuko?”

Katara’s arms tensed, and her eyes instantly darted to Toph, Suki, and Teo. They were standing behind Aang, awaiting her return with him, and shaking their heads furiously.

“Uhm, I don’t know,” she said quietly, returning her attention to the airbender.

“Really?” Aang asked, “I thought he was with you?”

Katara sidestepped around Aang and walked towards the rest of her friends. “Well, no... Isn’t he here?” she asked, trying her best to sound genuine.

Toph turned towards Aang and let out a frustrating grunt. “I told you Twinkle-Toes, Zuko left early this morning to get some flowers or something for his headache, remember?”

“Oh,” Aang mumbled softly, sounding slightly disappointed, “I forgot.”

Sokka appeared from inside the temple carrying a fresh pile of wood. “Zuko left this morning?” he asked as he placed the wood in the fire pit. “It’s almost sundown; don’t you think he’d be back by now?”

“Zuko’s a big boy, I think he can take care of himself,” Suki said as she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. Sokka jumped, surprised by the sudden touch, then relaxed into her embrace.

Katara smiled at them, and then turned her attention towards the setting sun. She watched as the stars pricked at the darkening sky, and the slight rise of the crescent moon, now filling as the days passed. She stood there for a long moment, blocking out all sounds of conversation that drifted behind her. The night seemed to pull at her, and Katara stepped out onto the stone veranda that overlooked the river below. Her senses filled with the noises of the night, and the silent rush of the river that she couldn’t see.

The swift, yet smooth movement of arms wrapping around her waist had the waterbender jumping out of her skin.

“Ah! What?” Katara reeled around and found herself facing Aang, who had awkwardly snatched his hands back at her reaction.

“Er, sorry,” he said, his cheeks reddening. “I uh…just thought…”

“Thought what?” Katara demanded, attempting to smooth down the goose bumps that had formed on her arms. “You scared me! Please don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry!” Aang apologized, “I just… I know Sokka and Suki both like it, and I thought…”

“-Aang.” Katara stated his name firmly. She didn’t know what to say to him, and just wanted him to stop talking.

Just at that moment, a rope was uncoiled from the cliffside above out of the corner of Katara’s eye. She recognized it instantly, and welcomed the distraction as a dark figure slid down it, and swung his way onto the veranda.

“-Hey guys, Zuko here!”

“Hey Zuko,” Aang and Katara replied in unison, though the waterbenders tone was way more enthusiastic.

Aang was still standing too close for comfort, so Katara took a step away and greeted the firebender at the far window. “So,” she began, “heard you went out for flower petals?”

“Yeah,” Zuko pulled a white flower out of his shirt pocket and waved it in the air. “My headache was gone by the time I found it, but just in case, I have a backup.”

“Great,” Aang muttered stoically, which caused both Zuko’s and Katara’s eyebrows to rise. The benders stood there in awkward silence, Aang waiting for Zuko to leave, Katara waiting for Aang to leave, and Zuko just wanting to put something his stomach before he passed out.

“So…is dinner ready?” Zuko asked as he pulled at the rope and began to recoil it around his arm.

“I’m not sure; I’ve been standing out here the whole time. Hey Aang-“ Katara turned to the airbender and smiled. “Do you mind checking?”

The blank expression on the Avatar’s face seemed to melt at the sight of Katara’s smile. He couldn’t help but return the gesture, and give her a wave. “Of course, be right back!” and he slipped back inside.

Katara waited a moment until the Avatar’s steps faded in with the voices from inside, then whirled around to face a disheveled-looking Zuko.

“Smooth,” Katara spoke softly, and smiled as she did so.

Zuko couldn’t help but return the gesture, realizing that this must be how Aang felt every time Katara smiled. The sudden thought made him feel uneasy and warm at the same time, but he didn’t let it falter his expression. “How long have you been here?” He asked.

“Not long, I actually just got back. Which leaves me to ask…” Katara looked at the firebender from head to toe, and did her best to suppress a laugh. “…did you run to get here?”

“What?” Zuko asked as he ran his free hand through his hair. This caused small twigs and leaves to fall out and land on his shoulders and the stone floor at his feet. When Zuko finally looked down at himself, he realized that he was literally coated in dirt and mud, and this caused both benders to break out into hysterical laughter.

“Well you should have seen yourself this morning!” Zuko gasped between bits of laughter.

“What do you mean?” Katara attempted to control her breathing, but fell into a fit of giggles instead.

Zuko clutched his stomach as the image of Katara filled his head. She had hay sticking out of her hair in all directions, and Zuko’s eyes began to water.

“When you fell off Appa’s saddle, it was classic!”

“-You fell off Appa’s saddle?”

It was Aang, and he stood at the stone entrance to the veranda, staring at the pair with concerned eyes.

Katara forced herself to calm down, letting a hiccup escape here and there, while Zuko wiped his eyes and looked down at the floor.

“Oh, uhm, it was a long time ago Aang,” Katara muttered as her eyes drifted to the floor as well.

Aang let the silence settle, and shrugged. “Ok, well, dinner’s ready,” then walked away.

Zuko and Katara followed the airbender and took their seats around the fire. Katara sat between her father and Suki, while Zuko took a spot directly across from her. The Duke, Teo and Haru had serving duties that evening, so they cooked and prepared everyone’s meals. Toph for once was sitting next to Zuko without Teo attached to her hip. She was blabbering away about some invention Teo had been working on, and Zuko was smiling and listening patiently.

The meals were quickly passed around, almost dangerously, with the three boys tossing plates to their owners so they could sit down and eat as quickly as possible. Once all the food had been handed out, everyone settled in to light conversation

Katara noticed Zuko’s insecurities appear again when he received his plate. Toph’s attention had turned to Teo, and the firebender couldn’t sit still. His eyes darted back and forth between his food and Aang, and he fidgeted with his tea cup, absentmindedly sending the contents into a full boil.

“I’ve been meaning to talk with you all,” Zuko suddenly shouted over the chatter, maybe a little louder than necessary.

Everyone stopped eating and stared in his direction. No one said a word, and the entire group seemed to be frozen, eyes glued to the firebender.

Katara saw the comfort level of the group drop, so she took it as an opportunity to speak. “What did you need to talk to us about, Zuko?” The waterbender asked lightly, her eyes concentrating on the prince.

Zuko placed his untouched food on the ground and cleared his throat. “Well,” he began, “We’ve been hiding here for a long time, and I think it’s time that we move out, and find a new place to hide.”

Groans and comments of disapproval suddenly erupted from the group. The uproar brought Zuko to his feet in an attempt to defend himself.

“Azula will find us sooner or later, and I suspect she’ll be here any day now. We should leave while we have the chance! The more we keep moving, the safer we’ll be.”

Katara launched up to her feet, and Suki and Toph did as well.

“I agree with Zuko!” Katara yelled, and this brought the rest of the group to silence. She had nothing else prepared, and attempted to step out of the firelight, but Suki’s hand caught her back.

“We’ve overstayed our welcome,” Suki spoke confidently, and made sure she caught everyone’s gaze. “We’ve also been very noisy, and we keep forgetting that we’re not out of earshot of the Fire Nation.”

The Duke very patiently raised his hand, and Suki called on him.

“If we leave, where will we go?” he asked, his voice suddenly smaller and quieter than usual.

Everyone looked at Zuko, and he had a slight look of defeat apparent on his face.

“We don’t have very many options,” Zuko began again. You could tell he had been thinking about this for a long time, and Katara wondered why it took him so long to finally bring the topic up.

“There’s the ancient city of the Sun Warriors, but that’s a matter of whether they accept a large group. It would be a huge risk for them to take us in.”

Sokka whipped his hand in the air, and Zuko pointed to him. The warrior sighed heavily and was sure to meet everyone’s gaze, including his fathers. “I hate to say it, but Zuko’s right.” Sokka looked at Teo and Toph from across the fire, “But, I don’t think we can all go together.”

Teo rolled closer to the flames and caught everyone’s attention. “Some of us can return to the Earth Kingdom,” he said, and glanced slightly to Toph. Katara realized that he was making the decision of splitting the group so no one else had to. “Haru and The Duke can come with me.”

“-I’ll come with you,” Hakoda spoke, looking between Sokka and Katara as he did so. “I’m a chief without an army, I feel I can do more good in the Earth Kingdom, and help bring fighters together to end this war,”

“Me too,” Suki jumped in. “My warriors are out there somewhere, and this is the perfect opportunity to find them.”

Zuko raised his hands up in the air, and this silenced the complaints that were ready to happen.

“Wait, this isn’t fully our decision, but also the Avatar’s.” Zuko’s golden eyes turned towards the Avatar, “Aang, what do you think?”

Everyone’s eyes shot to Aang, who hadn’t touched his food, and seemed to be clutching his staff tightly. Without rising, he simply lifted his head and nodded once.

“The decision has already been made. The sooner we leave, the better. I’ll take the first group to the Earth Kingdom tonight, then return and take everyone else to the Fire Nation.”

Murmurs and the clinking of plates and cups was the only sound that followed. Everyone else sat down to continue eating, and Zuko watched as Katara moved to her father and collapsed into his arms. Hakoda did his best to comfort her, and Katara did her best to be strong. After sharing a few words that the firebender couldn’t hear, Hakoda gave his daughter a kiss on her forehead, and she returned to her spot to finish her meal.

Suki and Sokka were unusually silent, but the latter kept glancing towards her, waiting for her to become less-occupied and concentrated with her food. When Suki finished eating, she quickly rose and glided to the washroom to clean her plate, avoiding Sokka’s piercing gaze the entire way.

Toph was silent as well, but Teo continued to speak with her, pretending not to notice the sudden change in the earthbenders attitude. When they finished their meal, they left their plates by the fire and rolled down the hall towards the stables. Katara and Zuko watched them carefully, and once the couple was out of sight, they diverted their eyes to each other. The waterbender gave a sad smile, and Zuko sighed heavily, both of them realizing that this decision would be affecting Toph more than any of them thought.

“Well, better get packing,” Haru spoke loudly, and the The Duke followed him. Hakoda rose and gave his son a pat on the shoulder before leaving. That left Katara, Zuko, Aang and Sokka alone at the fire, staring into the dancing flames, lost in their own thoughts.

“…are we doing the right thing?” Aang suddenly asked, then taking a bite out of his lettuce wrap.

Sokka didn’t reply, and instead leapt up to his feet and stomped off toward the washroom. The rest of the group winced internally, and did their best to shake off the uncertainty.

Katara scooted next to the airbender and wrapped an arm around him. “We were never meant to be such a large group. Plus they may be able to find more troops in the Earth Kingdom.” The waterbender squeezed Aangs shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.

“Ba Sing Se has fallen, but the people won’t stay,” Zuko added. “If they can escape, Hakoda can find the refugees and help them. Teo, Haru, and The Duke know the Earth Kingdom best out of all of us here, and Hakoda will need their help too.”

“But what about Suki?” Aang asked, his eyes darting to where Sokka once sat.

Zuko sighed and climbed to his feet. “That’s her own decision,” and without another word, walked away.

Katara smiled at the airbender and helped him to his feet. “Everything’s going to be ok, now let’s get you and Appa ready to go.”

--

Everyone seemed to be packed and ready to leave in an hour. Haru, The Duke and Hakoda sat on their packs impatiently as final food arrangements were prepared by Suki and Katara. The Kyoshi warrior was silent the entire time, as if fighting an internal battle with herself, and Katara couldn’t help but notice that the girl was on edge.

“Suki, can you please be a little more…gentle?” Katara asked, eyeing the bread that Suki had just ferociously torn apart with her hands.

“Oh, sorry.”

“We have knives you know…”

“I know,” Suki sighed, then wrapped the bread as gently as possibly in cloth. “I’m just all bent out of shape about this trip.”

“Well,” Katara started, “You don’t have to go, you can stay with us.”

“I would, but I can’t.” Suki rolled up the final bread piece and placed it in the bag. “I know I’m making Sokka upset, but he doesn’t understand. My warriors are out there somewhere, and I just can’t leave them rotting in a cell while I’m out playing footsy with your brother.”

Katara winced internally. She found it slightly uncomfortable to talk about Sokka’s and Suki’s love life, especially since she knew absolutely nothing on the subject. The closest she came to liking anybody was Jet, and that still left her feeling bruised inside. She could have saved him at Lake Laogai, and the weight of the spirit water could still be felt around her neck, even though it had been months since the small vial was emptied.

“But,” Katara spoke, absentmindedly reaching for the invisible chain around her neck, “…it’s more than that, isn’t it? You and Sokka, it’s not a game for you, right?”

Suki finished the food and closed the flap on the pack. “Of course not.”

The warrior’s green eyes drifted out the window and adjusted on the specks of stars in the sky. “I’m so worried about being a distraction. He’s out saving the world, fighting for his life every day, and I feel like we’re at a point where we would do anything for each other, even give up our own lives.” Suki’s eyes drifted back to Katara’s, and they were heavy with sadness. “I would never want him to give up his life to save mine, and I don’t want him getting hurt just by having me around.”

“Who said you would get hurt? You have all of us here to protect you.”

“Yes, I know, but don’t you realize? If one of us got hurt, how would we react? How would he react? I think…” Suki suddenly grew quiet, and began to fidget with her hands. She took a deep breath and concentrated on a grey stone that jutted out of the counter. “-I think I love him, but I’m not ready to tell him yet, and I think this space will be good for us.”

Someone cleared their throat in the background, and Katara and Suki both jumped. It was Zuko, and he was waiting patiently at the entrance, leaning lightly on the frame. “Sokka wanted me to tell you two that everyone else is ready to go.”

Suki let out a snort and grabbed both bags of food, then heaved them over her shoulders. “Well that’s just typical of Sokka, lazy, good for nothing, can’t even walk over here to tell us himself…” The warrior grumbled to herself as she left the kitchen and made her way to Appa’s stall. This left Zuko and Katara alone, and the firebender couldn’t help but eye her suspiciously. She still held a shocked expression on her face from the information Suki gave her, and even now it stood unwavering, even in Zuko’s presence.

“Hey, uh, you ok?”

Katara blinked, and her eyes locked with the firebenders.

“I’m not sure,” she said honestly.

“Well, we should probably go say goodbye to everyone, before they, you know, leave.”

“Oh, yeah,” Katara pushed herself away from the stone counter and walked towards the door Zuko leaned on. Before she could pass, Zuko snatched a hand out and blocked her way for a split second. “You know, if you ever need someone to talk to…just to talk, or whatever, I’m…here, if you want.”

Katara looked at the firebender and gave a small smile. “Thanks, Zuko.”

Zuko gave a crooked smile in return, and let Katara pass. He followed her down the shadowy halls to the stables, where everyone leaving was already set in the saddle and ready to go.

Katara was the first to climb Appa and launch herself into her father’s arms. After the short goodbye, she took turns hugging everyone else, and saved Aang for last.

“Fly safe,” was all Katara could muster when she faced the airbender. Aang took her hand and pulled her into an embrace. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Katara was the first to pull away and giving one last smile, slid off Appa’s back. She joined Zuko and Sokka on the floor and did her best to maintain her composure as the group flew away, shouting goodbyes and waving furiously in the process. When Appa was out of sight, Katara was the first to bring up Toph’s absence in the uncomfortable silence that followed.

“Where is she?”

Sokka sighed heavily, his stiff façade melting slightly. “She won’t come out of her room. She didn’t want to see anybody off.”

Katara didn’t reply, and instead took in the silence that followed. The temple seemed to echo eerily in response to the sudden lack of inhabitants. She was so used to it brimming with people, her comrades breathing life into its halls. Without the sound of voices and footsteps to comfort her, Katara felt oddly alone, despite the presence of the two people she was sandwiched between.

“I miss everyone already.”

“Me too,” Zuko and Sokka replied in unison.