Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Smile Because It Happened ❯ Chapter 18

 A/N: This is the last update y'all will get for a while- I leave for my new job tomorrow bright and early at 4 AM and won't be back home until probably close to 7 PM... and this will be the norm for the rest of the workweek.  So my time for writing will be SEVERELY shortened.  Please be patient with me in regards to updates, as I don't know how my schedule will work out so that I can return to my Dungeon to continue the story.

Also, I apologize in advance if anyone seems OOC in this chapter.  I tried to keep them IC, but with a migraine and low blood sugar, I think I may have made a few errors. :(  Again, I am very sorry.  This chapter may get edited later.

Chapter 18

 

Aang carefully placed Guru's body in an empty alcove in the monks' burial tomb. Wrapped in funeral cloths he had managed to find in the old preparation room, the old man was finally back among his friends.

 

Toph stood just inside the door, very much aware of how arid it was in the room. “This room feels different,” she remarked.

 

“It's specially made,” Aang replied in a quiet, respectful tone. “Earthbenders helped to build this Temple centuries ago… and this room has a unique purpose, so special stone was used.”

 

She ran her hand over the wall briefly, assessing its material. “Yes, I can see that. It traps moisture inside and moves it outside.” Her hand dropped. “But why keep it so dry?”

 

Aang finished praying for Guru and turned around, his face shadowed. He gestured at the piles of aged, fraying, and brittle cloths lying in multiple alcoves. “It is our way to send our deceased back to the air,” he told her in monotone. “Just as Firebenders cremate their dead. How Waterbenders go back to the sea. And Earthbenders return to the ground.”

 

She tilted her head. “I don't understand.”

 

He shifted his stance and moved his arms in a circular motion, bending up a huge vortex of air that stirred up centuries-old dust. The dust swirled around the room, climbing ever higher until it escaped from a vent-like egress at the peak of the ceiling. As the dust continued its ascent, Aang left the room, pulling Toph behind him. He turned and closed the door, sealing it with the air-triggered locks.

 

“What did you do? I couldn't sense what you were doing, other than bending air.”

 

Aang didn't reply right away as he walked listlessly away from the burial tomb. He didn't stop until Toph put a hand on his arm, forcing him to come to a halt. “Twinkletoes?”

 

He glanced at her, unable to stop the tears from falling. “I… I sent the remains… of those who had been mummified there… back to the sky.”

 

“Mummified?”

 

He took a shaky breath. “When a monk… dies… his body is wrapped in special cloths and placed in that room. The stones in there remove all moisture, so the body doesn't… decay. Instead it… dries them out… and returns them to dust.”

 

“So when you bent all that air in there… you were sending the remains of people you knew back to the sky?”

 

He couldn't do more than nod once. “And Guru Pathik… is back among his friends.”

 

Toph stepped closer and placed her hand on his chest- she was too short to reach his shoulder comfortably. “I'm sure he's grateful,” she told him quietly. “But you shouldn't feel so guilty.”

 

He no longer wondered how she knew how he was feeling. She always knew. “I should've been here,” he managed to choke out. The Airbender fell to his knees, unable to support himself in his grief. “I could've protected him from Azula. He didn't have to die like that…”

 

Toph knelt in front of him and crossed her arms. “Stop it. He was old. And he was accepting of his death. There was no regret in him when he died. I promise you that. He must've done whatever it was that he had stayed around here alone for so long for and was understanding of his fate.”

 

Tears dripped off his chin and landed delicately on the stone in front of him. “It's not fair,” he whispered. “With Bumi gone… he was the only one left… who knew Monk Gyatso… and the other monks… as I did. He was the last link… to my past.”

 

Toph leaned forward and braced her hands on his shoulders. “The past is over, Twinkletoes. Everything moves forward.”

 

Aang lifted his head, ashamed of the tears that refused to stop. “Toph…”

 

She gave him a small, understanding smile. “I'm here for you. You can cry like a baby if you need to.”

 

I'm here for you.

 

I'm here for you.

 

You've always been here for me… haven't you…?

 

Maybe it was the overload of emotions running rampant inside him: rage at Azula, anger at himself, grief over Guru, sadness for Zuko, regret towards Katara, confusion about Toph… Yes. Maybe that was the reason. Too much going on at once. But somehow… he didn't believe it.

 

So, he kissed her.

 

He kissed her hard.

 

Toph's eyes flew wide open as Aang pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers, seeming intent on releasing his frustrations on her. And she understood his need, if not the ultimate reason why.

 

Well, hell. What does a girl do in a situation such as this?

 

.o(O)o.

 

“Katara, let me in.”

 

A decidedly feminine snort sounded from the other side of the cabin door. “Absolutely not.”

 

“Woman, if you don't let me in of your own accord, I'm going to break the door down.”

 

“The door is steel,” she pointed out, her voice muffled by the barrier between them. “Good luck to you.”

 

“Would you rather I melt it?”

 

A pause. “You wouldn't dare.”

 

“Let me in and we won't have to find out.”

 

He heard the soft click as the bolt lock was released. The door creaked open slightly and a suspicious blue eye peeked out at him. “You're stubborn.”

 

“You are the last person to call someone stubborn.” He nodded at her. “Can I come in now? I don't appreciate having the crew speculating as to why I'm demanding entrance if they should catch me here.”

 

Katara opened the door further and gestured grandly for him to enter. “As you command, your Highness.”

 

He lifted his eyebrow at her as she closed the door behind him. “'Your Highness'? That's the best you came up with?” He shook his head in disgust. “I guess I should've expected less, what with your peasant upbringing.”

 

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “If you keep acting like the spoiled, pampered Fire Lord you are, then I'll call you one.”

 

“I told you- to you, I'm only Zuko.”

 

Her eyes visibly softened, but she still huffed indignantly. “Then quit using your title as your trump card for everything around me.”

 

“As my lady commands.”

 

She blushed furiously. “I… I'm not your lady.”

 

“You could be.”

 

Now she stared at him in disbelief. She gave a nervous little laugh. “Quit joking around. You know I'm engaged to Aang. Besides,” she continued, turning to gaze in seeming interest at the Earth Kingdom banner hanging on the wall, “the Fire Nation would never allow it. Especially Mai.” Her oceanic eyes snapped back to him. “You do remember Mai, don't you?”

 

His face was a mask of indifference. “At times I wish I didn't,” he replied, “but there is nothing binding between us. I have not asked her to be my Fire Lady. Despite urgings from the Council.”

 

“Why not? She's been raised in the court. She would make the perfect Fire Lady.”

 

He crossed the room and slammed his hands on either side of her head, effectively trapping her against the steel wall. His golden eyes blazed in the firelight from the torches in the sconces. “Because I only want you,” he growled, sounding every inch the predator. “You're all I've wanted for four damn years. I couldn't get you off my mind then, and I can't do it now.”

 

Katara lifted her chin and met him, stare for stare. “You wouldn't know it from my end,” she retorted hotly. “For three years, I never heard anything from you. No letters. No news. Nothing. The only ones you talked to were Suki and Sokka.”

 

Zuko took one hand and ran it through his already-messy hair before placing it back on the wall. “I was… afraid,” he confessed quietly. “Afraid… you wouldn't be able to see past all the horrible things I've done. What my family's done. Hell, what my entire nation's done. That you wouldn't… feel the same as I do. Because you're with Aang.”

 

“And you're with Mai.”

 

His head came up and she would swear his eyes were on fire. “No. I'm not with Mai. Physically, she is by my side. But my heart… my entire being… is with you.” He sighed. “And I need to know… absolutely… how you feel about me.”

 

Her eyes grew moist. “I can't. Aang-!”

 

“He knows, Katara. Toph told me… he saw us. Outside my mother's room.”

 

She gasped. “But… but he never said anything…”

 

“Come on. Is he really the type who would? Air avoids confrontation- even those of the heart.” His hand came down and he gently rubbed his knuckles against her soft cheek. “He chose to send you with me- alone. Well, except for your brother, who wouldn't know love unless it hit him in the head holding a fan.”

 

Katara let out a faint chuckle. “He is a bit dense in that department.”

 

“Aang knows how I feel about you- and yet he didn't challenge me to an Agni Kai or try to turn me into mulch. He simply… stepped back. To me, that's giving me the go ahead signal from him. All I need to know is how you feel.”

 

Her hand drifted up to the wooden pendant around her neck. “I… don't know, Zuko. I feel… guilty.” Her eyes lifted to his. “He's loved me for so long.”

 

“As have I. But I have something he doesn't.”

 

“An arrogant attitude? A family intent on world domination? An idiot for a fashion designer?”

 

Zuko frowned. “What's wrong with my clothes?”

 

She lifted an eyebrow skeptically. “Come on. Pointed shoulders? You could put someone's eye out.”

 

He glanced down at his tunic. “This outfit doesn't have any pointed shoulders.”

 

“The rest of your royal wardrobe does,” she pointed out. “But we're going way off-topic. What fabulous thing do you have that Aang doesn't?” She poked him in the chest- hard. “And don't you dare say something perverted or I will freeze it off.”

 

His eyes widened slightly, but smirked anyway. He didn't doubt her words for a minute. “Relax,” he murmured. “All I was going to say was that I possess a passion that matches your own.”

 

Katara felt her cheeks grow warm- and other regions as well. “Zuko…”

 

His eyes burned into hers. His mouth was mere millimeters from hers. “Tell me, Katara. Say the words.” He grinned again, radiating pure seduction. “You know, I do believe you're a better bender than I am.”

 

She swallowed. “O-Of course. I'm a Waterbender.”

 

“Exactly. You are the only thing that can douse the inferno you've created. You're practically a Master Firebender with the strength of the fire you're stirred within me.”

 

Her willpower melted at his words- and the burning desire in his eyes. The flames in the wall sconces flared as Katara stepped into his arms, resting the palms of her hands on his chest. “You're a dragon, you know that?” she murmured.

 

“Dragon?” His hands slid down her ribs, spanning her slender waist, and then came to rest on the curve of her hips. Damn, she feels so perfect… “I'm an ancient fire-breathing beast of legend?”

 

“Fire-breathing, yes. But also…” She trailed her fingers up his tunic to where it opened to reveal the skin underneath. “Powerful. Beautiful.” Without hesitating, she opened the garment, feasting her eyes on the pale flesh exposed, and wishing she could enjoy him with all of her senses. “And an absolute predator.”

 

Zuko pulled her closer, nearly groaning as he felt her body press against his bare chest. “Only if you are my only prey.” His lips hovered over hers. “Please. Katara. Tell me.”

 

“You'd consume me,” she whispered.

 

“You've already consumed me,” he replied in the same husky tone. “Tell me.”

 

Sapphire eyes lifted and gazed at him steadily, sparkling in the firelight of the room.

 

“Tui help me, but… I love you… Zuko…”

 

His hand came up to her throat, grabbed Aang's necklace, ripped it from her neck, and threw it somewhere behind him. “I swear, Katara,” he breathed, raining kisses on the skin where the Avatar's betrothal necklace had lain, “I will love you, protect you, worship you, long after we're both gone from this world.”

 

Tears sprung to her eyes at his vow. When he raised his head to finally claim her lips, only then did they escape to slide down her cheeks.

 

Whether they were tears of happiness or tears of guilt, even she couldn't say.