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The scene that was playing out now seemed more like a dream than reality. It was a few days after the comet, a few days after they had defeated Ozai and ended the war, a few days after they had spread the good news and given declarations to the people of every nation. They were all together, sitting in a room with tatami mats and beautifully polished wood.
Prince Zuko, who had once been reluctant to serve tea, was now happily serving everyone: his uncle and friends, people he cared about. None of them, aside from Uncle, were Fire Nation, he mused. Who would have thought?
In exile, the prince of the Fire Nation found himself a new family, consisting of two Southern Water Tribe siblings, one a goofy but competent warrior, the other a beautiful and competent waterbender, a Kyoshi warrior, a blind girl from a prominent Ba Sing Se family who could not only bend earth, but also metal, a feat no other earth bender had ever accomplished, the last flying bison, a lemur, and of course, the last airbender in the world, who also just so happened to be the current Avatar.
Ozai had wanted his son to capture the Avatar but instead, he joined the Avatar, becoming part of the most diverse and strongest group the present world had ever seen. Their group represented the future. He could see it now, one day there would be a great city, like Ba Sing Se, and people of all nations, bender and non-bender alike, would reside there.
Iroh sipped his tea peacefully. Toph lounged idly nearby him. Sokka drew a picture depicting the gang’s victory. He had many skills but drawing was not one of them. Suki giggled. Aang and Katara joined in the laughter and merriment. Their journey had come to a close and they were all together. It was a moment none of them wanted to let go of. They were all from different places and had different duties. They would have to go their separate ways.
Aang was the first one to slip away. At some point, amidst the merriment and relaxation, he stepped outside, taking a moment to be with his thoughts and enjoy the view of the city. Katara was the first one to notice his missing presence and guess where he would go. Aang’s eyes lit up when he turned and saw her approaching.
“Katara,” he said softly. “Aang,” she smiled. There was a short silence as they both took in the view together.
“You’ve grown so much, Aang. I’m really proud of you. You know, I never gave up hope that one day the Avatar would return and when I found you in that iceberg, I felt like it was destiny. I always believed that you would save the world one day.” She pulled him in for a hug.
As they were hugging, Aang looked up and drew his face to hers but she pulled back suddenly and there was water in her eyes.
“Aang, I love you and I always will…but not in that way.”
Now, Aang appeared to have water in his eyes too. “I thought…I thought we were gonna be together. I’ve loved you since I first laid eyes on you, Katara. You’re the one who brought me back to the world and I can’t imagine being in this world without you. I don’t understand. We’ve kissed so many times. We defeated Ozai and the war is over. What’s wrong? What’s missing?”
Katara began to weep. “You deserve so much, Aang, especially after everything you’ve done. I’m so sorry for disappointing you like this. I’m so sorry for ruining your celebration.” She ran from the balcony, heading straight for the bathroom so that she could compose herself privately and not draw the attention of the others.
Meanwhile, Aang remained on the balcony, alone just like he was before Katara had entered, and he wept too. How ironic that after defeating Ozai and ending the war, he felt more forlorn than he had felt in a long time. He wept for his people, who no longer existed, for his terrible fate, and for the fact that even though he did everything he was supposed to do, he still didn’t end up getting something he really wanted - a romance with the girl he loved.
He heard footsteps. Did Katara return? He looked up. No, it was Toph. She stood leaning against a column, wearing elaborate green robes, with her hair done up in its usual style.
“You know, twinkletoes, you deserve a lot for saving the world but girls aren’t prizes.”
“Huh?” Aang wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked up. “What are you talking about, Toph? Katara is my best friend. I don’t see her as a prize. I genuinely love her.”
Toph sighed. “Look, twinkletoes, no one doubts that you love and care for Katara but at the same time, you’ve always kind of put her on a pedestal. You also haven’t always taken her feelings into consideration and you know she’s very complicated, emotionally.”
Aang rolled his eyes. “Since when are you such an expert on people and emotions?”
Toph laughed. “Since always, you just haven’t been paying attention. But I’m not here to make you feel bad, twinkletoes, quite the opposite actually.” She went and sat on the ground next to him. “You probably noticed my crush on Sokka, right?”
Aang looked surprised. “Your what?!”
Now, it was Toph’s turn to roll her eyes. “You really are oblivious, twinkletoes. But yeah, I had, what I thought was a very obvious, crush on Sokka. I think we both can admit that those Southern Water Tribe siblings have a lot of charm.”
“But Sokka loves Suki and Suki loves him and they’re perfect together! How could you like Sokka?”
Toph snorted. “As I’m sure you know, we can’t exactly control who we like. And I agree with you, Sokka and Suki are perfect together and Suki is my friend so I’m happy for her and Sokka is also my friend so I’m happy for him! My point is that you will be perfect with the girl you like who likes you back and I’ll be perfect with the boy I like who likes me back. Maybe perfect isn’t the right word, but we’ll suit each other and be happy and that’s what matters.”
Aang listened and contemplated. He wondered if Toph had another talk with Uncle Iroh recently.
“Might I remind you too, we’re only thirteen years old! We have our whole lives ahead of us! We probably won’t be getting married until we’re in our twenties or thirties.”
Before Aang could speak, Toph interrupted him - “and don’t you dare say you’re actually 113 years old because that doesn’t count!” The avatar did not protest and they both laughed a bit.
“I remember rejecting a girl who liked me once, in a town with a fortune teller. Funny, I never thought I’d find myself in her shoes. I guess, in spite of all my air nomad training, I have forgotten some of my humility. It’s hard when you’re the avatar, you feel like you should be infallible and perfect but you’re just human.”
“Aang,” she used his name now and her voice grew serious, “one day, when you get the girl, it won't be because you’re the avatar but because you’re a kind, funny, caring, amazing person.”
Tears flowed from Aang’s eyes again. “Thank you, Toph,” he said as the tough, earthbender girl embraced and comforted him with a hug.
After a few seconds passed, Toph let go and gave Aang a good punch to the arm, her preferred method of showing affection. “Alright twinkletoes, enough moping! Let’s go back inside and see what other dumb shenanigans Sokka is getting up to!” She winked and grabbed the boy’s hand. He took it and followed after her.
“Toph has really grown a lot too, huh,” Aang found himself thinking, with a smile on his face.
After regaining her composure in the bathroom, Katara still didn’t feel ready to return to the room with everyone. So, she took a walk to the courtyard outside. She planted herself on a stone bench under a cherry blossom tree. She felt guilty for not returning Aang’s feelings but there was nothing she could do to change that and he deserved her honesty. She knew she had a bad habit of coddling him. She wanted so badly to protect him, but romance was the one area where she could not heal the wound in his heart.
Katara started hearing footsteps approaching her. Had Aang followed her? She turned her head to see that it was Prince, no, now Fire Lord Zuko, coming from behind.
“Hey, are you alright, Katara?”
Katara took a deep breath. “No, I’m not alright,” she answered honestly. “Have you ever had a dream come true but not in the way you expected?”
“I hate to bring it up but after I betrayed you in the crystal catacombs and returned home with Azula, that’s exactly how I felt. My fantasy about returning home didn’t match reality.”
“I should be happy because we ended the war and Aang succeeded but I just can’t be the person he wants me to be. I always imagined that everyone would be happy and everything would be perfect after we defeated Ozai but instead it all feels so complicated. I feel so naive and stupid.”
“Happiness and perfection aren’t really attainable. Bringing balance back to the world doesn’t mean making your personal life all warm and fuzzy. There will always be struggles. As for Aang, he knows how hard it is to have to live up to an image. I think eventually he’ll realize that his image of you doesn’t necessarily reflect your desires and he’ll forgive you. He needs some time and space.”
Katara laughed. “You’re starting to sound like your uncle.”
Zuko blushed. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he smiled softly.
“Is there something you wanted to talk about with me? I get the impression you were looking for me for a different reason. Sorry you had to catch me in a kind of melancholy mood.”
Something Zuko had realized about Katara was that she felt anger and sadness quite often and quite deeply, but unlike some people, Mai for instance, she didn’t try to hide it or pretend that she was bored and unaffected. He admired Katara for confronting her emotions. He also liked how they could speak openly with each other.
He would never forget the time he returned to the fire nation and felt so conflicted. He had tried to pour his heart out to Mai, who had simply yawned and callously responded, “I asked if you were cold, I didn’t ask for your whole life story.” She didn’t get it. She had betrayed Azula for him but she failed to reconsider her own morals and values. Zuko realized that he had outgrown her and that she was merely chasing a dream, which did not mean that she was irredeemable. He knew that she would undergo her own transformation but that was a journey she would have to take alone.
“Yes, actually. Sorry, I don’t know if now is a good time but there’s something pretty important I want to ask you but you can take your time thinking about it.”
Katara’s eyes widened with curiosity over what Zuko’s request could be.
“I wish we could all stay together but we all know that’s not realistic. We all have our own matters to take care of. But I was wondering, you and me, maybe the two of us could stay together a little longer. In particular, I have two tasks that I’d like your help with. First, as Fire Lord, I’d like to give reparations to the Southern Water Tribe and make amends with them and second,” he took a deep breath, “it has come to attention that my mother is still alive and I want to find her.”
Now, not only were Katara’s eyes wide, but her mouth was wide open in shock too. “Oh, Zuko, your mother, that’s incredible! We must find her! I’d be honored to help you and I owe you one! Oh and the Southern Water Tribe too, what a great idea! As the chief’s daughter, I think I’m well poised for working on some treaties with you. You know, I love my home and my family more than anything but after traveling the world and being gone for so long, I think I’m meant to go on more adventures. I don’t just have my father, my brother and my Gran Gran anymore, now I have Suki, Toph, Aang, your uncle and you, Zuko. I want to help the people of every nation, not just my own .”
Zuko’s smile widened. “As a Fire Lord who wants to start a new era, I feel the same way. I can’t just stay in the Fire Nation. It’s important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one palace it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other nations and the other elements, will help us become more whole. That’s what my Uncle always says and that’s what I’ve learned over the course of this journey. The era of isolation is over. It’s time to build bridges.”
“Beautifully said Prin…I mean Fire Lord Zuko,” Katara smiled and she could feel the red on her cheeks as she began to recognize and accept the flame in her heart that was burning for a former enemy turned friend.
“Would you like to take a walk and discuss our plans for a bit before heading back to spend time with everyone?”
Katara grinned. “It would be my pleasure.”