A Path Strewn With Thorns

DISCLAIMER: Avatar is not mine (sob) and never will be. I also took a line from Andrew Davies.

NOTE: Wow. I can hardly believe this. The last chapter is finally here. This is historic. This marks the first time I've ever finished a multi-chapter fan fiction. Yay. And in less than a month, too! Deadlines are really effective.

Whew. This chapter was draining to write. A lot of drama. Sorry if it's a little sappy but I did try to put humor into it as well. Some measure of sap is necessary to resolve certain issues. And sorry if Zuko was a little (!) out of character in this story. But then again, he was really out of character in the Western Air Temple so I was just playing at it from there.

No official shippings but you're free to interpret this as you will.

CHAPTER TEN

"Welcome back, you guys…eww… what happened? You all look worse than death."

It was a miracle that Sokka survived the blasts of all four elements. As he recovered for the attack, he muttered, "Non-benders, we're always the victims."

Haru was coming out of his room when he met the quartet and greeted them cheerfully.

"Hey, you guys looked like you had a rough night," said he and he was met with four eye bag-laden glares which seemed to say "Don't even think about it." He raised his hands in defense and walked away slowly and carefully.

Teo and the Duke had seen what happened so they made the wise choice of being quiet and merely watching the four exhausted travelers sit on some of the rocks which served as chairs in the temple. They sighed deeply and loudly.

Sokka approached them, a bit warily, and took a good look at each one of the benders. All of them had bags under their eyes. And all of them seemed to have, at one point, cried a great deal. Sokka was surprised to see even Zuko show some signs of having mourned. They were all visibly weakened. Toph was lazily swaying her legs but she didn't have as much energy as usual. Katara seemed too weak to bend some water to her lips so she merely grabbed a cup of water that was on the makeshift table and drank deeply. Aang looked terrible as if he had gone and invaded the Fire Nation all by himself. And Zuko looked ready to drop dead at any moment. His cheeks were also severely bruised for some odd reason.

The Water Tribe warrior put his hand to his chin. What were these people doing last night? He was about to ask them out loud when he noticed that all four benders had fallen asleep in their seats. Sokka smiled. Let them rest, he thought, they'll have a lot of explaining to do later.

LATER…

"You faced the Face Stealer?" Aang asked with delighted incredulity. Then he grinned at Zuko and said in his mock-paternal way, "I always knew I had it in you, my boy. You make your great granddaddy proud."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Toph smirked, "It never gets old."

"Never," said Aang with a wide, toothy grin.

"So, wait a minute," Sokka interrupted, eager to make a contribution in the discussion, "you were able to look emotionless and blank until dawn. How did you do that? I mean, you're probably the most expressive person we've ever met (at this point Sokka tried an impersonation of Zuko before he joined them) I must find the Avatar to restore my honor."

Zuko smiled. He wasn't the worst person at impersonations after all. The firebender then replied, "It was easy. I just imagined I was Azula."

The others burst in laughter. As Sokka wiped the tears from his eyes, he said, "Good one, Zuko."

The firebender gave an appreciative nod.

"Katara still refuses to come out and chat, huh?" asked Sokka, on a more serious note, "What happened to her, anyway?"

Aang and Toph looked grave. They hadn't told Sokka or Zuko what transpired during the darkening of the moon. Zuko didn't remember anything other than his own experience in the Spirit World and his return so he wasn't aware of Katara's dirty deed. So the firebender was also curious as to the waterbender's strange confinement.

"She'll tell you herself when she's ready," Aang said simply. He was still angry at her for what she did so he didn't feel up to talking to her at the moment.

Seeing Aang's serious expression, Sokka nodded. Then, an idea dawned on him and he said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes,

"But she'll have to cook dinner sometime. I'm starved. I mean, we had to eat leftovers for lunch while you guys were resting. Zuko, do you mind calling her please?"

Zuko looked startled. The Water Tribe boy seemed to be joking but when Sokka repeated his request, Zuko obliged by standing up and going to look for Katara. Why he of all people was commissioned to do so was incredible, though.

"What are you up to, Sokka?" asked Toph when Zuko was out of earshot. Aang was just raising his eyebrows at his friend.

"Oh," muttered Sokka in a mock-sinister way, rubbing his palms together, "you'll see."

In another part of the temple, Katara was looking down from an ancient balcony at the deep gorge below. She was still so ashamed of her stupidity and immaturity. She couldn't bring herself to face the others, most especially Zuko. For all her threats and distrust, she had proved to be the least trustworthy person of all.

She was eternally grateful for the fact that Zuko's spirit was able to return to his body. Because if he wasn't… she would never forgive herself. Not that she was doing any of that at the moment. The only reason her eyes were dry now was because her tear ducts had exhausted themselves. But she knew that no amount of tears could justify the terrible thing she had done. Its gravity outweighed anything he had ever done to them.

The guilt and self-loathing she felt was akin to what she felt when she had first bloodbended. The image of Hama's face as she smiled with triumph was enough to send chills down Katara's spine. The old lady had won again. Katara closed her eyes.

Her reverie was interrupted by someone's arrival.

"Hey," Zuko said tentatively, unsure of how to start a conversation with the only member of the Avatar's group who couldn't forgive him. "Your brother sent me to call you and .. um…" Zuko shuffled his feet. This was so awkward.

Katara couldn't look him in the eye so she faced him with her head bowed. He mistakenly took this as a sign of her continuing hostility. He sighed.

"Look," he began to explain, "I'm really sorry for attacking you in Ba Sing Se. It was wrong of me and I cannot justify it so I will only try to atone for it in any way I can. I know that my judgment did falter in that instance and I'm heartily sorry for it." He paused and waited for her response.

Katara's eyes were starting to fill with tears again and she was biting her lip. Once again, Zuko mistook this for anger towards him. He rubbed his nape in nervousness.

"I know that apologizing can never be enough," he offered, "so I'm prepared to do anything I can to make it up to you."

Still her silence. Damn, he thought, this would be a lot easier if she yelled at me or threatened me. Anything. Not this weird, uncertain silence.

"And I'd just like you to know," he continued, trying to keep the conversation (which was more like a monologue) alive, "that I wasn't lying when I was talking about my mother."

Katara stood very still and she ventured a small glance at him. Though her eyes were shining, she was finally looking at him and Zuko took this as a sign of encouragement.

"She left us six years ago," he narrated, a little more at ease, "and my sister and I were told that she had died. That was what I believed. But on the day of the eclipse, my father told me that she had been banished for a treacherous act. She did this so to save my life. My grandfather had ordered my father to kill me so that he would experience the same pain Uncle Iroh experienced when my cousin was killed. My father said that he would have done it if Mom had not interfered. And he told me that she might still be alive. So I am determined to do the right thing by helping the avatar fulfill his destiny so that when I face her someday, she will have a reason to be proud of me."

As he finished his speech, he felt his eyes fill with tears. He had never told anyone this before and the effort and emotion were overwhelming him.

"Sorry," he said, wiping his tears, "I've never really told anyone that before."

He was so busy trying to hide his emotional outburst that he failed to notice that Katara, now with tears flowing freely down her face, had taken a few steps towards him. She fell to her knees, and he, not knowing how to react, knelt down as well and tried to steady her as she trembled with sobs.

"I'm so sorry," she choked, "I didn't know…I've been such a fool… I'm so sorry…"

Now this reaction seemed quite unexpected to Zuko. He didn't know what to do so he just whispered soothingly, trying to calm the mourning waterbender.

"I'm sorry," she continued to babble, "I'm sorry… I've been so stupid…Can you ever forgive me?"

"For the death threat?" he replied, trying to make the conversation a little more lighthearted, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. I've survived worse, believe me."

Unfortunately for Zuko, his feeble attempt at a joke only worsened Katara's guilt so she exploded into another round of sobs, making him feel all the more uneasy. Damn, Zuko, he reprimanded himself, You made it worse? You really suck at this.

"You mean you don't know what I did to you when you were in the Spirit World?" she asked incredulously and ashamedly.

"What are you talking about?" he asked more out of curiosity than anything else.

Katara took a deep breath. He deserved to know the truth.

"I…"

"She did what?!"

Two pairs of hands clamped over Sokka's mouth. Aang looked angrily at him and Toph put a finger to her lips to indicate silence.

"Any louder Sokka and they might actually hear us," Toph said sarcastically. The three of them had been sitting behind a large pillar a few feet from the balcony where Katara and Zuko were talking.

"Sorry," Sokka mouthed. It was his idea to eavesdrop, after all. But instead of being amused at his sister's embarrassment, he was more serious than ever. Aang and Toph were also uncharacteristically grave. They had expected Katara's confession, not Zuko's. Now more than ever they felt so ignorant of the firebender's life.

They continued to listen intently.

After Katara had finished explaining, Zuko was still and silent. Seeing his unreadable expression, she became guiltier than ever and this manifested itself in another round of sobs. She must have cried oceans by now. He had not stopped steadying her but she could sense a significant change in his demeanor.

"I know, I know," she said, trying to get him to react, "I have no justification…it was an arrogant assumption based on a failure to understand Aang's true meaning… I'm so sorry… And I know that you have all the right to never forgive me…and I will accept it…I know what I deserve…"

"No," Zuko said, suddenly looking calm. He helped her up and they both faced each other. "If there's anything I've learned from all this, it's that everyone deserves a second chance. There is no such thing as an unforgivable act."

"But.." she protested.

"We've all made our share of stupid choices in life," he continued, "but this doesn't give anyone the excuse to hold grudges forever. All this bitterness, hatred, and misunderstanding have caused the war to last as long as it did. If anything is to change, we should all learn to forgive each other and forgive ourselves. Besides, you may have blocked the gate but it was your voice which called me back here. So, can we be friends?"

He extended his hand.

Katara was shocked. She did not expect something like this to come from Zuko, of all people. He was perfectly right, of course. She nodded and shook his hand.

The eavesdroppers were similarly shocked. They were using all their powers of self-restraint to keep from audibly manifesting their surprise.

"Somebody slap me, I think I'm dreaming," Sokka whispered.

"Me too," Aang agreed. And although Toph felt similarly incredulous, she did them both hard slaps.

The two boys winced as they held their sore cheeks, throwing glares at Toph who merely shrugged. But the three of them continued listening.

"Well," Zuko finished, "I'm not really good at giving speeches. Maybe I've taken after Uncle somewhat."

"Thank you," was all Katara managed to say. Then, she offered, "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to make it up to you?"

"No, no," Zuko said, but a mischievous thought came to him, "although…"

"Well?" Katara asked expectantly but warily. He was getting that glint in his eyes not unlike the one Sokka got when he had a weird idea.

"You could let me cook dinner for a change," Zuko replied sheepishly.

Katara's eyes widened. Just when she thought he couldn't shock her any more than he already did, he went and did it again.

Her eyes narrowed. "Do you have something to say about my cooking?"

"No, no. You cook extremely well. I just wanted to help. I had to learn to cook when Uncle and I were traveling around the Earth Kingdom so…"

Katara smiled, for the first time in days. "Before I answer that, could you help me with something?"

"Sure," Zuko said. Katara whispered something into his ear.

"What's she saying?" Sokka, Aang, and Toph strained to hear. In fact, they were all so engrossed in trying to eavesdrop that they were too late in noticing the little fireballs and water whips that pushed them out from their hiding place and in front of the triumphant forms of Zuko and Katara.

"Well, hello there," Aang said with a guilty grin. "We were just strolling by when…"

"Nice try, Aang," Katara answered.

"Looks like you guys are friends already," teased Toph.

"So Katara," said Sokka, trying to divert their attention, "what is your answer to the burning question: Will Zuko cook us dinner?"

"Well," Katara mused.

"I insist," said Zuko confidently.

"The man insists," Sokka pointed out.

"Why not?" Katara replied with a smile and a look that told the three eavesdroppers (except Toph but she could sense it) that their punishment would come later.

LATER…

"Ok, Katara, we're sorry we eavesdropped," recited the three offenders, tears in their eyes (except Toph but her mouth was watering as well), "now can you please unfreeze us so that we can eat dinner? The smell is sooooooo enticing and we're so hungry."

"You are forgiven," Katara said smugly.

Three servings of dinner later…

Sokka happily chewed on his sixth piece of roast duck and said, "You doh, I neber dot I'd day dis but…"

"Swallow your food, Sokka," Katara ordered, so her brother followed.

"I never thought I'd say this but," he continued, "I'm so glad we've added you to the group, Zuko!"

-fin

All this would not be possible without the support of everyone who has ever left a review or alert to this story while it was being written. So let me give due recognition and gratitude to the ff:

Those who reviewed: silkeknuts, NebuNeferu, Psycho Demon-Witch, PhantomWriter2.0, Silver Fox Trot, Ieyre, kitkat1327, ElementUchihaMaster, Sayle, Music is my BFF, SunSetSoItSeems, MoonlitInuko, anny, SALAMANDA, Itai Silver Eyes, Alexandromeda Cullen II, MastaDrumma22, Bob the Chicken Nugget, Laura (and thanks for the cookies  ), mysterywriter5775, wicca in training, Tera Earth, noian, pachysam, Pinnacle, Tege, timtomtim, MylittleDomino, Yume111, Sokkantylee, lw, fabwishes, thexgreatxtriplexcx, Akriloth Warrior, and everyone else who leaves a review from now on! Your feedback has been extremely helpful!

Those who added this story to their Favorites: 1. Alexandromeda Cullen II2. BLfromGM3. ElementUchihaMaster4. Itai Silver Eyes5. Kirai-Ninja6. L-V-C7. Music is my BFF8. Sakizm9. Sayle10. crazyzukofangirl128011. kitkat132712. purplehairedpunk13. tobias's wings 14. MastaDrumma22

Those who added this story to their Alerts: 1. 1gokataang2. Akriloth Warrior3. Alexandromeda Cullen II4. AnimeOtakuBara5. AnneTanquam6. Bladesong807. DyerFire8. ElementUchihaMaster9. Felineneco10. Itai Silver Eyes11. Kakashi's Rose12. Kirai-Ninja13. Lady of Fire and Darkness14. MastaDrumma2215. Music is my BFF16. MylittleDomino17. NebuNeferu18. PhantomWriter2.019. PrecursorQueen20. Punker8821. Tera Earth22. Zuzu Fangirl23. iamtheblindbandit24. kitkat132725. mystery writer577526. sokkantylee27. thexgreatxtriplexc28. timtomtim29. tobias's wings30. whatsername91131. wicca in training32. yume11133. zara2148

Thank you for all your support, everyone! On with Season 3!