"So, where are we heading?" Anika asked them.
"We're going to hide out in Ember Island. No one's going to look for us there." Zuko replied.
"Are you sure Zuko? We hid there last time and they might've found out about that." Katara argued with him.
"Look, Azula has more reason to hate being there than me or my father. She isn't going to look for us there." Katara huffed and started bickering with him about anything and everything while Anika watched, amused. It was as if they didn't realize how in love they looked even when they were fighting.
It seemed uncle Iroh had the same thought because he was smiling to himself as he turned around, looking at the map to see where they were. Anika soon got bored of watching Katara and Zuko argue so she ran up to walk with Iroh and Korra.
After a while, the pair stopped arguing and a comfortable silence emboldened them. Katara was the first one to break the silence by bringing up the topic neither of them had dared to talk about.
"So... we kissed." Katara said awkwardly while looking at the ground and walking a little slower so the rest of the group wouldn't hear them talking.
Zuko cleared his through uncomfortably.
"Yeah. We did." He looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Are we going to talk about it?"
"I thought we are." Zuko said, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
Katara mentally cursed herself. Of course he doesn't feel the same way as me. He probably only kissed me because we had almost died.
"I mean, what's gonna happen next?"
Zuko looked at Katara but she was still focused on the ground. He sighed. He knew what he wanted but he also knew what was needed of him. "I don't know. What do you want to happen next?"
Katara thought about that for a little bit. She knew what (or rather who) she wanted, but she also knew that neither of their lives were simple. They had to defeat Azula and Sokka, and if they were in a relationship, it would only distract them from their main goal. And even if they did somehow manage to win, what would happen after that?
Azula and Sokka would be locked away and Zuko would be expected to be Fire Lord. And Katara would be next in line to be chief of the southern tribe. If they were in a relationship then, both their people would certainly revolt.
The idea of being responsible for so many lives when she failed everyone who ever loved her and everyone she had ever loved was terrifying.
She didn't even know if her people would welcome her back. Sokka was a monster to most of them, and she might be considered one as well.
Sokka.
She had failed her brother. Along with Toph, Zuko, and.... Aang.
She had failed Aang.
A tear escaped her eye and then another as she thought of everyone who depended on the avatar, on team Avatar to save the world and bring peace by taking down Ozai.
And because of her, Azula, an even worse Fire Lord had ascended to the Thorne, and the world was in worse shape than ever. She thought back to one of the last words Sokka had said to her.
He had blamed Zuko for the death of Aang, but she knew what he was really thinking. He blamed her and she blamed herself too. Toph probably hated her and she knew she deserved it. She was crying quietly now when she felt a strong but gentle hand tilt her chin up.
Zuko wiped the tears that were rolling down her cheeks silently and pulled her in closer to him. Katara sobbed into his shirt as she hugged him back and held onto him for dead life.
They stayed like that for a few minutes until Katara's sobs had stopped. Then Zuko held her at arms length to make sure she wasn't crying anymore.
Zuko stared at her with a conflicted look on his face before changing his mind and pulling her towards him again, not caring that he had to let her go sooner than later and choosing later would be much harder.
Before he had pulled her in, however, Katara noticed that his eyes were misty. He was crying too. Then something clicked in Katara's brain.
Zuko blamed himself too. He had the same doubts and insecurities as her. He blamed himself for Aang's death because she had used the spirit water on him. She wondered if he even wanted to rule, or if it was just something that was drilled into his mind.
Stop it. Don't get too hopeful. Even if he doesn't want to rile, he still has to. At least I have a choice. I could hold an election for a new chief instead, but he has to be fire lord. There was no backing out. And his people would never accept a waterbender as their Fire Lady. And even if they did, I don't think I could live in the nation that took everything from me. It would be impossible. DAMN IT. Why does everything have to be against us? Why can't one thing in our lives be easy?
Zuko had a conversation about this with himself as well, and he knew what he had to do. It wasn't going to be easy, but he had to do it. He couldn't hurt her anymore. They had to stop before it was too late.
"Katara?"
"Mmh?"
"I'm sorry."
Katara paused for a long time. One last, lone tear evading her eyes. And she whispered "I am too."
And they held onto each other as if they were each others' anchors to the earth and that if they parted, everything would fall apart and they would fade away. Something in Katara and Zuko told them that this was true. This moment would change their lives. They finally started to slowly pull away.
And that was when everything burst into flames.