What Love Is

"You going to finish that?"

Katara glanced up in surprise as his voice reverberated around the empty shop. Zuko stood on the opposite side of the counter, pausing in his task of stacking clean dishes. The waterbender looked down at the cup of jasmine tea—long since grown cold—cradled in her hands.

"Uh, no," she declined, a slow lilt to her tone that betrayed her hazy mind, "I don't think so." She held it out to him.

Nodding compliantly, Zuko took it, dumping the mug's contents into a wooden barrel filled with leftover tea, later to be discarded in the flowerbeds of the courtyard. He then crossed over to the metal dish basin, and proceeded to wash the mug, his back to Katara.

The waterbender sighed, resting her head on crossed arms. The stone counter felt smooth and cool to the touch, and Katara couldn't help but close her eyes. She wanted to sleep…this was supposed to be their vacation, after all. It would only last a week, then each of her friends would go their separate ways again…Mai and Zuko to the Fire Nation, to resume his duties as Fire Lord, Aang and Toph to Ba Sing Se's courts, helping with the tedious process of locating King Kuei and reestablishing his rule, and Sokka and herself to the North Pole, to celebrate the Moon Festival (the day of the Autumnal Equinox, when the days become shorter and the moon prepares to rise for a full season at the poles). The Northern and Southern Tribes would be celebrating together for the first time in over a century, and it would be a historical day of feasting, games, and waterbending competitions (the first Katara had ever been able to participate in!).

As exciting as the upcoming events were, she was increasingly overwhelmed by disappointment in the fact that her friends had their own duties to attend to and couldn't share her joy. One person in particular, she would miss maybe more than the others.

In her mind's eye she still saw his glowing face as he smiled at her, so much emotion in so little of an expression. She was surprised at how easily she could read him now, despite the fact that it had taken her this long to see past his shell and discover that the feelings within him were purely his.

He is the Avatar, a solid fact.

He is Aang, also a solid fact.

That duplicity, Katara found, was almost incomprehensible to many people, including herself. Even the Air Nomads, enlightened as they were, couldn't wrap their minds around the concept. To them, and to most everyone else, he was a spirit in human form, come to save them from destruction.

How short-sighted they were! The waterbender now realized how long she, too, had been a part of that majority.

Flashing suddenly before her eyes came, the haunting memory of icy, frozen walls exploding into thousands of deadly shards beneath the onslaught of fireballs whose flaming tails scorched the air. The trembling figure of an exhausted and defeated boy huddled against the leg of his panting sky bison.

"I must've taken out at least a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there's just too many of them. I can't fight them all!"

"But you have to! You're the Avatar!"

"I'm just one kid."

Emitting a wordless moan, Katara cradled her head in her hands. "Stupid, stupid stupid..." she whispered, cursing her ignorance.

As a child, she'd had starry dreams of a powerful man who'd appear in the nick of time, defeat the Fire Lord, save the world, and be adored by all. But no all-powerful spirit had come and saved the world, it was Aang who had done it. He, a twelve year old boy, with raging hormones and the ability to control the all cosmic energy in the universe...an idea alone which dwarfed his thin shoulders.

Worst (or best...she couldn't decide) of all, this boy, who had defeated Ozai...taken his bending away by wielding the power of the Avatar Spirit, was the same boy who had stood before her only an hour earlier, with a soft, relieved, joyful expression on his innocent face. And had...

He had...

They had...

She could barely think about it. He was the Avatar! Her logic had screamed at her that this was ridiculous, that he had responsibilities, duties! He was the balance that held the world together!

She...she was no more than a water peasant supporting a long-held belief that the world should be at peace as it once had been.

Yet, he had...

She was afraid of this...this love. Back when she had first noticed it all those months ago...

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Oh, I was smiling?"

She had tried to keep herself as distant as possible without being rude. The worst moment of that journey was the moment she realized that her own emotions were shredding the rational thoughts she knew to be necessary.

That day on the subs, the Day of Black Sun, she was overwhelmed. Every boundary, every wall she had tried to build up between herself and Aang was shattered. The euphoria of the moment, the conformation of his feelings, was replaced rapidly with fear. Fear that she would lose him after all they had done together and in spite of every measure she had taken to prevent it.

When the invasion was lost, she had boxed herself in behind steel walls, repelling every advance he attempted, which were rare enough anyway in those days.

When he'd left Ember Island without a trace, just before Sozin's comet was due to appear on the horizon, she'd never felt so afraid in her life. But…she questioned herself, was it herself and the world she was afraid for? Or was it him?

"Ahem."

Katara blinked, the quiet noise echoing through the empty shop like the peals of a gong. Jerked from her thoughts, she lifted her head to see Zuko standing across the counter, facing her, calmly drying clean dishes. Preoccupied with her own mixed feelings, the waterbender missed the glint of concern and empathy in his amber eyes as he regarded her with a narrowed, thoughtful gaze.

She lifted her eyes to his, and held the stare as neutrally as humanly possible. It didn't last. She broke away, staring hard at her limp hands, laced together palm-down on the counter.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you."

It wasn't a question. The straightforward surety of his statement caught Katara off guard, and she blinked up at him. "Who...?" she inquired weakly, although she knew the answer full well.

"Aang," Zuko replied, as if he hadn't noticed her pitiful attempt at evasion. Nonchalantly, he ran a drying rag over the inside of a clay bowl and set it down on the counter beside him, where a neat little stack of identical bowls had accumulated. His lips twitched upward, and the skin at the outside corner of his right eye crinkled in a pleasant smile.

Katara sighed, feeling the uncomfortable sensation as her face flushed. "It's...complicated."

"No doubt," Zuko replied shortly, sweeping the rag over the outside of a tea mug. His eyes flitted toward Katara briefly, before settling to his work once more. The silence stretched out between them.

Katara groaned, massaging her temples. "I just don't know what to think, Zuko," she broke finally, unable to bear the silence. "We've never been more than friends. Circumstances just wouldn't allow it."

Pausing briefly in drying the inside of the bowl, Zuko glanced up at the waterbender, his single eyebrow raised.

Katara's eyes narrowed angrily. "What?"

The firebender only shrugged, and returned to his work.

"You think the confusion between us is my fault?" Katara shot, hackles rising.

Zuko glanced up, placing the mug with the others and reaching for another wet dish. "I never said that," he returned calmly.

The waterbender sighed, irritated with herself for snapping. "I'm sorry. Just…why does this have to be so complicated?"

The firebender frowned slightly, and created a new stack with the dry bowl. "I'm the last one to answer that question."

"You're definitely not the smoothest guy I've ever met," Katara agreed, matter-of-factly. To her surprise, Zuko's unscarred cheek reddened, and she smirked, comforted to know she wasn't the only one lacking in that area.

"Hey," Zuko countered quietly, deviating the subject away from himself, "If you want solid advice, my Uncle's a better pick, in this area or any other. All I can tell you is…Aang really does love you. It's your choice whether or not to return it."

If not for the gravity of her situation, Katara would've laughed at the irony. A couple of months ago, she wouldn't have hesitated to kill this guy on sight. Now, here she was, asking him for love advice. It was almost too weird to be real.

Yet…so were Aang's feelings. So were her feelings. Why was she still denying what was so obvious? How could she? Was it fair to either of them? It wasn't, she was sure.

"Hey, guys!"

Her stomach dropped when his voice, bright and cheery as ever, resounded through the shop. The airbender had slipped in the doorway that led to the stairwell and the second floor. He stood by the cabinets, seemingly content as usual, though his gray eyes bore dark shadows beneath them.

Zuko had already turned around. "Hey, Aang," he greeted with a smile. "Back from the market so soon?"

The airbender chuckled lightly. "With barely anything to show for it. Sokka ate most of the good stuff on the way home."

Zuko laughed, his gaze discreetly darting toward Katara and back.

Oh please, don't say anything… the waterbender begged inwardly, her eyes involuntarily widening, like a goat-deer in the lantern light.

"Need any help with that?" Aang offered, motioning to the stacked dishes.

No. Say no! No! Anything but…

"Sure," Zuko nodded gratefully, waving him over.

Katara shot the firebender a withering glare. Zuko only smirked slyly in return.

Aang took up a position beside the firebender, and Zuko handed him his towel.

"Uh," the airbender blinked, "Don't you need one?"

"Oh, right," Zuko nodded, glancing around. "I'll have to go get another one from upstairs." Inclining his head, he turned toward the door. "Be right back."

Katara's burning gaze bore holes in the wooden door as it clicked shut behind the firebender.

Glancing toward her, Aang flushed, and his ears flared pink. "He's not coming back, is he?"

Tense, Katara crossed her arms, irritated and embarrassed all at once. "I highly doubt it."

"Well," Aang shrugged, taking a dish from the basin beside him, "Might as well finish the job."

He worked in silence for a while, rubbing the dish dry. His brow was knitted as he concentrated on sopping up every drop of water that had dared defile that bowl. Katara watched him until it became too obvious to do so, and then she looked away.

Meanwhile, Aang moved on to the next item, another mug. Presently, he began to hum an indistinguishable tune to replace the uncomfortable silence.

Katara distractedly twirled her finger in a lock of her long hair, looking everywhere in the room but at him. After a long moment, the sound of dishes settling against each other stopped, and Katara stole a glance at Aang, only to realize that he was looking at her.

"You're upset," he stated, discontent.

"No," she denied, but the look Aang gave her caused her defenses to melt. "A little," she sighed, tugging nervously at her hair.

"Why?" the airbender paused in his washing, setting the rag down on the counter. "Was it me? Did I say something? What did I do? I'm sorry if I…"

"Calm down, Aang," Katara held up her hands in appeasement. "You didn't do anything!"

The Avatar blinked. "Oh," he said, somewhat bewildered. "Then…what's wrong?"

Katara sighed, resting her chin in her hands. "I'm not sure."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help…"

The waterbender straightened. "That's just it, Aang, you can't do anything to help. Its not you, it's me."

"You're wrong, Katara," the airbender shook his head.

Katara was taken aback. "What?"

"It is me. I can tell when you're worried about me. But this time it's not just me, is it? It's us. Both of us."

The waterbender blinked, regarding Aang with concern as she affirmed, "It's just…I'm having a hard time adjusting to this. To us. I just need more time to figure things out. I don't know how to act around you anymore. I need a role model."

To Katara's surprise, Aang stifled a laugh. "A role model? Katara," he said, "We don't have to act any differently with each other than we did before."

"But…"

"Listen," the airbender continued, "The monks always told me that love starts as friendship and grows into a specific kind of love. Family love, romantic love, it all grows from the same roots. Friendship is love. Friendship is caring for the other person more than yourself. So is love. And I love you."

Blushing, Katara leveled her gaze with Aang's. His soft gray eyes were tender. He had put his life on the line for her so many times. He had comforted her in her sadness and laughed with her in happy times. He loved her, and she had known that from the very beginning, even though she'd tried to hide from it. The best thing was, she found herself wanting to return the favor. She wanted to protect him like he had and was willing to do. She wanted to comfort him and laugh with him when times were good. And it was that moment, more than any other, that she realized it.

"Aang," she looked at him, her voice wavering with joyful tears, "I love you, too."

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." I Corinthians 13:4-5 & 7-8