Chapter Text
Serie: Avatar (La Leyenda de Aang | La Leyenda de Korra)
Autor: Leah
Advertencias: Alternate Universe in the other chapters, changes from canon, maybe OC (I haven't written about both for a while)
Pareja: Zutara (Zuko & Katara)
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The kinda love that you only find once in a lifetime
The kind you don't put down
And that's when I called you and it's so hard to explain
But in those photos, I saw us instead
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The snowflakes fell slowly in front of her face as her tired eyes slowly glimpsed the figures of all the members of her tribe walking back and forth, running, preparing, setting up the festival that was soon to come; She chuckled softly, amused as she watched some children stumble and fall after pretending to fight with swords made of dry branches, vaguely reminding her of Sokka when he tried to learn how to use weapons, back when he was nothing but a child trying to understand the world.
So many years had passed since then, so many things, too many things to even begin to remember; She still missed him, of course, her brother was a constant void in her heart just like the loss of her husband had been: Aang was a sweet memory that she had glimpsed more than once in some of Korra's mannerisms as she watched her grow.
But she couldn't see the young girl anymore, who had also gone to the spirit world so long ago with her partner, leaving her own mark on this great world.
She was alone, theoretically speaking, well, she had formed many bonds in her home and beyond, but at this point her bones weighed heavy and so did her thoughts, she knew that her time was running out, she could feel it as naturally as breathing, like her own water bending.
Life had given her a lot, had given her a long time, even...
-Katara, everything is ready to go.-
The male voice behind the door made her turn, older, grayer hair was as obvious an indication as her own, the only thing left of her past at this point: Zuko; She smiled a little at the elderly man, who still, with years and experience behind him, had that glow of genuine affection he had developed over the years when he became part of her team.
Well, that affection had always been there, from the moment he threw himself without much thought in front of that deadly lightning bolt that Azula had thrown at her.
One step, another step, quite slow while he offered her his arm with the natural courtesy that could only be attributed to someone who had been the leader of their nation: by now they were the only two left from the team who still naturally saw each other. Toph had also left a long time ago, in a painful goodbye that struck her heart like an epiphany, just as it had when she lost her husband and Sokka.
However, she knew that the three of them had been happy, and although she had wished she wasn't the last one left, she knew that her role in this life was to accompany each of them at the end, enveloping them in her love.
Of course, maybe this time it was the other way around, considering what she herself was feeling inside.
-If we leave now, we should arrive by sunset- the man added, directing her towards the huge dragon that crouched subtly to allow her to climb aboard: Druk alone was a majestic creature, independent of the natural affection he had developed for Appa.
With the help of the former Fire Nation regent for too many years, she climbed aboard, before pouting as she had done once as a young woman. "To think I would need help to ride a flying creature, at least the former Fire Lord is a gentleman," she commented, causing the man to look at her, first strange, before realizing that she was just teasing him and laughing too.
They were old, it wasn't the same anymore, but it certainly felt warm and comfortable to fly on Druk's back while he made sure she didn't fly off due to some oversight.
It wasn't the first time, since they had discovered themselves alone, they had decided to interact more again, at least occasionally she had accompanied Zuko on his travels to maintain balance, which was nothing more than an excuse to see how the rest of the world was doing now that she genuinely had nothing else to give to it.
And... it was on those trips that maybe that thing that had always been there reignited, soft, slow, with a calmness that only experience and years could deliver.
He glanced at the man behind him, with the wrinkles marked and the spots on his own skin. - She had loved her husband, of that she had no doubt, she loved her family, her children, and grandchildren (whom she had recently said goodbye to, foreseeing what would happen, and although it had hurt them, they understood). But she couldn't deny to herself that perhaps under different circumstances, with some gentle change in the domino effect that was the destiny of each person, her fate might have been different.
Yes, she knew that part of her heart had always harbored a different feeling towards the man who had been her enemy for so many years, the one she had to learn to know and forgive, the one who, today, in her last years, had come close again to honestly express everything that had been kept inside her.
She knew he felt the same way, and although at first she thought he was failing Aang's memory, something told her that he himself would have understood, that he understood, because Aang had always been the wisest of them all, and he knew better than she did that his heart, so accustomed to loving everyone, could perfectly well love someone else without this being the greatest of sins, without the love he had held for so many years being less pure or less sincere.
So, having Zuko by her side had given her happiness in these last times anyway, as if life wanted to continue rewarding her to allow her to enjoy feeling this kind of love before she inevitably had to rest completely.
And that was the most obvious thing, when both landed on that small island located almost, in the middle of the world, with a meadow of flowers of so many colors that it was simply impossible not to get lost in the unreal beauty that was the change between that place and the sea stretching into the distance.
He helped her to get down with the same care he helped her to get up, and as she felt her body heavier and heavier, she allowed herself to lean on him in a warm and comforting hug.
Sometimes she wondered if perhaps her destiny had always been him.
Perhaps, in reality, their souls were destined and simply the anomaly that was the 100-year war was what changed the duality they were used to, allowing their bodies, minds, and hearts to discover love in other arms. - Aang, Mai; Giving them that warm feeling even though both knew, without really knowing it, that genuinely what should always be joined was water and fire.
The moon and the Sun.
She chuckled softly at her own analogies as she cuddled up to Zuko's side, both sitting on a blanket he had brought, with the dragon dozing a little further back amidst all the colorful flowers.
At least she felt at peace despite the tiredness, despite her eyelids slowly dropping, regardless of feeling her breathing becoming heavier: she felt at peace, she felt calm, she felt accompanied and loved, especially by the hand that gently stroked the side of her body.
For a moment, she even felt young again as she looked up, and she noticed, he was looking at her, with love, with adoration, and with much pain.
Both knew what was happening, both were clear about it, so much so that he leaned in, kissing her lips softly and lovingly, embracing her tighter as she let herself go by that feeling of inner peace, of absolute rest after the display of affection.
Yes, maybe here it couldn't be as much as both would have wanted it to be, but something told her that later, down the line, it would be different.
She just had to close her eyes and… wait.
Wait to find out if it genuinely was with him that she was timeless.
-I love you, Katara.-
It was the last thing she heard before the world lost meaning.
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And somehow I know that you and I would've found each other
In another life, you still would've turned my head
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