"Do you have to go?"

Aang kissed her on the forehead, having to bend his tall frame almost in half to reach her, his beard scraping against her cheek. "Yes. The world won't save itself, Katara." He gave her a small smile before glancing over her head towards the back of the stony cliff-side room of the Western Air Temple. Katara's bed, while large, took up only a fraction of the open room. "Zuko's going to keep you company. Make sure you get better."

"Babysit me, you mean." Katara grumbled, squirming further under the thick blankets piled on top of her plush bed. "I'm fine, Aang, really. I don't need to be watched."

"You're not being watched, Katara." Aang said gently. "I just don't like the thought of you being alone while you're not feeling well."

Alone time sounds so good right now, Katara thought. "When will you be back?"

"I'm not sure." Aang's cheerful smile faded slightly as his eyes darted towards her 'companion' again. "I'm sorry." He kissed her on her lips. "Please think about what I said. At least consider it." He whispered.

"Okay." She sighed, clearing her throat, trying to get rid of the tight feeling. "Just…be careful."

"Always." Aang stroked her hair and nodded to Zuko before he walked towards the end of the room where it overlooked a steep cliff. He shook his glider, releasing the wings that allowed him to soar across the sky. He turned, giving her one last smile. "See you guys later." He leapt off, plunging down before rising sharply, flying east along the river's path below.

Katara sighed and pulled the blankets over her head.

***Line break***line break***Line break***

"You really should be resting."

Katara rolled her eyes at the scratchy, hoarse voice that came from behind her. She was digging through the incredible amount of scrolls lodged in one of the many otherwise empty rooms of the Western Air Temple. She and Aang had retreated to the remote island temple at the beginning of the summer three months ago, hoping to rest and recover from nearly eight years of peace-keeping. When the war ended with Zuko's ascension to the throne, she and Aang had travelled the world, settling debates and trying their best to keep the peace between Earth Kingdom citizens and Fire Nation colonists. It was not an easy task. Even now tempers still ran hot in some of the denser parts of the cities where Earth Kingdom families that had lived on their streets for centuries came in conflict with new Fire Nation 'intruders.' Feelings ranged from welcoming to barely concealed resentment to outright hostility.

She and Aang had been enjoying their time away from the politics. Well, Aang had been. Katara was restless without a purpose, and she and Aang were having trouble finding topics to talk about without all the action moving around brought. And then she had gotten sick with the coughing sickness two months ago, and Aang had set her to bed rest. She had thought it would be a break from the empty silences that stretched between them but instead he had chosen to stay at her bedside. She realized she wasn't well, but she could move. She wasn't helpless. At night, she had taken to roaming the empty halls while her paramour of eight years slept. She had found rooms and rooms of artifacts, many filled with dust-coated clothing, paintings, sculptures, and scrolls, and had spent most of the nights studying them before sneaking back into bed before Aang woke up.

This journey of Aang's was supposed to be her opportunity to reflect and figure things out in her own mind about how she felt, what she wanted to do now, what she wanted her future to be. But Aang had recruited his friend, Fire Lord Zuko, to keep an eye on her. She had been disappointed; she would have liked the time alone to read, write, just think without being interrupted. But the way Aang had explained it, Zuko needed a break as well.

"How did you find me?" She asked, clearing her throat. The coughing sickness had mostly passed, but she was left with a gunky throat and a headache. The healers Aang had brought had told her it would linger for a little while, but that ultimately she'd be able to heal on her own. There was no medicine that could help; her body would fight it off the best.

Zuko shrugged but didn't answer further.

"Aren't you getting too old for that whole 'stoic and silent' thing?" Katara snapped, slightly harsher than she meant. She had wanted some time to herself, not this baby-sitting Aang seemed to think she needed. Like a helpless girl.

Zuko shrugged again, not moving from his place leaning against the doorframe. "How are you feeling?"

She sighed, looking over at him. He had changed so much from when they had first met. She knew, deep down, that his inside-self had changed as much as his outside, but sometimes she still felt slightly distrustful of him, just a little. She knew it was unfounded, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't telling her something, that he was keeping something from her.

His hair was long and glossy, brushing against his shoulder blades in a long sweep, partially tied up in an informal knot to keep it out of his eyes. His scar was the same, though the redness had faded with age. He was predatorily handsome, with flashing golden eyes, high cheekbones, and pale skin contrasting sharply against his dark hair. He was dressed in simple linen pants and a silk tunic overlaid with a black vest. His golden belt looked strangely empty without his dirks, and his worked leather boots looked dull compared to the fancy black boots she used to see him in at the world council meetings. He looked comfortable, languid.

"I feel fine, Zuko." She said, a bit kinder. He was here for the same reason she was, she remembered: sometimes the world was too much. "Who's watching over your people?" She smirked as he gazed over at her with cool politeness. "I know you. You wouldn't just leave them by themselves."

"My Uncle." He answered, slowly walking across the stone room to stand over her. He reminded her of a tiger when he walked, graceful and powerful. Dangerous. "What are all these?"

She shrugged. "Scrolls. They're mostly maps and old paintings of the scenery. Nothing really secret or clandestine."

Zuko's mouth curved up the slightest bit. "I don't think airbenders do clandestine." He settled down beside her in a crouch, unrolling the nearest scroll.

"You really don't have to watch over me." Katara said, hoping he took the hint. "It was really nice of you to come, and I don't mind you staying here but-" she was interrupted by a fit of coughing, having to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the loud sounds. She knew they sounded bad, but she could feel that her chest wasn't as tight as it was even a day ago. She fell back from her position on her knees, landing hard on her rear.

Zuko was on his feet in an instant, tugging her up with him. "C'mon."

"I'm fine." She sputtered, wiping the phlegm from her mouth. "Really. I want to keep reading."

"I'll bring them to you." He insisted firmly, leading her back to her bed. His arm was firm around her shoulders, warm against the cool dampness of the room.

Katara expected him to pull back the covers and guide her gently in like she was a fragile doll, the way Aang had done. But instead he simply left her as they entered her room, saying he was going to get her a glass of water. For the first time in what felt like weeks, Katara put herself into bed.

When Zuko returned she was sitting up, glowering at the blankets spread across her lap. She saw him glance over her from head to covered toe. She frowned at the look in his eyes; what was that? She recognized concern, but there was something else buried in the bright golden depths. Katara wondered what he saw when he met her eyes. Did he see just the Avatar's girlfriend, like the rest of the world seemed to? Aang's tag-a-long woman that could heal and supported or parroted whatever he said. She hadn't used her bending for anything other than healing in a long time. Months. Not even a single water whip.

Or did he see her as the girl he had known years before? Before they were the heroes of the war? Before he was the Fire Lord and she was Master Katara? When Aang was two and a half feet shorter and Sokka wasn't the chief of the South Pole and Toph wasn't in charge of the Dai Li branch in Omashu.

Or did he see her as a new person? She knew she looked different from when he had seen her six years ago at the last world council meeting she had attended. She had…grown. Certain parts of her were different, parts that she had wanted to explore with Aang but they never seemed to get around to it. She wondered sometimes if it was because of his culture; she didn't know what the airbenders' stance on non-marital relations were. Her hair was different: no more hair loopies. It fell in waves and bounces down her back, occasionally braided away from her face or into a coil. For the moment she had tied it in a long tail on the side of her head so it wouldn't hurt when she lay back against it.

"Here." Zuko said softly, handing her the cup of water. A mass of scrolls were bundled under his arm and he dumped them on the bed beside her. "I'll check back on you later."

"You're not going to stay with me?" Katara asked, startled. Aang hadn't left her side for a moment.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, a doubting edge to his voice.

"No." She said quickly. Too quickly, she realized, as his face darkened to a frown. "I mean, I don't need you to. I'm fine."

He nodded once and left, leaving the heavy wooden door open behind him.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

This is what she wanted. This is where she wanted to be, she thought with a happy sigh. After a short nap she had awoken in the afternoon feeling refreshed enough to climb out of bed and head to their kitchen to find a snack. Then, feeling rambunctious and tired of her bed-shaped prison, she had climbed up the steep side of the cliff on a ladder she had built their first month in the temple. It reached up above the caves that had been carved out by the airbenders and into the trees that graced the cavernous roof of the temple itself. Deep in the boughs of the largest tree she had strung a hammock, a wide net made of soft springy rope that sank just a little bit when she climbed into it. It had been her secret escape, a place to be by herself. She had only used it a couple times before Aang had found her, and then she was never alone.

Her empty lunch plate lay beside her on the webbing as she reclined with a scroll about the history of the festivals of the islands and the nearby Fire Nation. She hadn't realized how close they were to Zuko's home, but the scroll detailed several overlapping festivals that both islands celebrated. She opened a new scroll, presumably the one that finished the previous one's sentence, and found it to be completely written in what looked like Fire Nation. She twisted and turned it sideways, but she didn't know how to read it.

"What are you doing up there?"

She peered down to see Zuko standing at the base of her tree, looking up at her with folded arms.

"Reading." She called back down. "By myself." She heard his exasperated sigh and then the sounds of him climbing up the tree. She moved over in the hammock to make room for him to sit. He ascended gracefully, sitting beside her gently; the hammock barely rocked under his weight. The dip he created rolled her onto her side, slightly closer to him. "How did you find me?"

He shrugged, peering over her shoulder to see what she was reading. "That's old Fire Nation."

"I know." She sighed. If he could translate, maybe he was a welcome intrusion. "Can you read it?"

He nodded and gestured for her to hand it over. She did silently, watching as his golden eyes flitted back and forth, his forehead contracting with concentration. Katara closed her own eyes, rolling over to lie on her back beside him, listening to the sounds of the birds chirping in the branches above her. His voice broke the serenity. "Why did you have to come up here to read?" He wasn't demanding or offended sounding, and when she opened her eyes to look at him, he was still concentrating on the scroll. He flicked his eyes from the scroll to her face. "Just curious."

"I don't know." She gave him a shrug of her own. "I just like it up here. It's not confined."

He snorted. Katara looked over at him with a surprised smile; how undignified a noise that was.

"A room in a temple without walls is too confined for you?" He cocked an eyebrow at her as he continued to read.

"After three months of sickness and being confined to a bed, yes." She shot back, sticking her tongue out at him. He noticed but only shook his head at her. "So what does it say?"

"It's about the Midfire Festival, the longest day of the year." Zuko murmured, running a long finger over the parchment. "It's an archaic celebration; the Fire Nation doesn't really celebrate it anymore except on Ember Island."

"What's it for?" Katara asked, absently picking at a thread on his clothes. It stuck out from his vest, wiry and black and stubborn.

"Fertility." She glanced up at him, but he wasn't paying attention to her. "And to ask the spirits for a gentle winter." He squinted. "It says festival-goers wear masks and eat mooncakes, and there are games and dances. The end of the festival was reserved for the 'handkerchief dance.' Men and women would pair up in the center of the festival and dance in the firelight. Those who performed badly were removed until one young man and one young woman remained, after which they would win prizes as well as entertain matrimonial prospects."

"Why isn't it celebrated anymore?" Katara asked. She tugged hard on the thread but it remained in place.

"My grandfather thought it was unbearable." Zuko said, brushing her hand away like a fly. "He decreed that it was outdated and barbaric. Only Ember Island still celebrates it because he didn't want to offend the nobles that live there. Since then, it has never returned to the prominence it had."

"Oh."

"Many of them use the masks as excuses to have affairs." Zuko muttered, rolling the scroll back up. "But it is supposed to be about love, and celebrating the longest day of the year when firebending is at its strongest."

Katara nodded. "When is the festival?"

"Three days." He shrugged at the look she gave him. "I can feel it."

"With your firebending?"

"Yeah." He looked down at her, his golden eyes glittering. "It's strong."

"That's like the full moon and my waterbending." Katara mused, twirling the stray thread on his vest around her finger.

"I remember."

She glanced up at him to see a far away look in his eyes, and she wondered what he was thinking about.

Katara cleared her throat, fending off a coughing fit. "Well, ahem, thanks for helping me translate."

"Of course."

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

"Not a good idea."

Katara jumped with a squeak as Zuko spoke right behind her. She whirled, finding him much closer than she had thought. He loomed over her, like he had been looking over her shoulder at the map spread in front of her. He straightened, raising an imperious eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, hating the hysterical edge to her voice. She cleared her throat. "How did you find me?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not like it's hard." He commented. "But what you're thinking is really not a good idea."

"Why?" She demanded. No use hiding what she had been doing. "I want to go. I want to…to…get out! Go out and not be 'Master Katara, the Avatar's girl.'" She glared at Zuko's impassive face. "If everyone's wearing a mask-"

"You won't know who's under them." He said, a little louder. A little angrier. "Katara, the Avatar is not universally liked. And you've been on bed rest with the coughing sickness for two months. You're weak."

"I am not weak." She growled. "And I'm not sick, and I'm not contagious."

"You're with Aang." Zuko shouted, his calm façade breaking into an angry mask. "Katara, what are you thinking?"

She reared back, shocked by his outburst. He had been controlling himself, she realized, trying very hard to be calm. But he wasn't. He was Zuko. Zuko was never calm. "I don't need to explain myself to you!" She yelled at him, taking a step forward, glaring at his scowling face.

"I'm responsible for you!" He growled, his fists clenching. Now he looked like the disgraced Prince she remembered, instead of the graceful, dignified Fire Lord he had been trying to be.

"It won't besmirch your honor if you 'accidently' lose me." She sneered, trying to brush around him, but he caught her wrists. "Let me go!"

"You'll hurt Aang." He told her, shaking her slightly. "He loves you, Katara. If he finds out you went out dancing at the Midfire festival-"

"I need this." She screamed at him, taking small pleasure in the shocked glare on his face. "I need this, Zuko! I can't stand the silences, the, the not touching!" His grip on her wrists tightened. "I need to feel like I can be a person without Aang. I want to feel like I'm pretty again." She could feel the treacherous tears threatening to fall and she shook her head, sending her curls flying. "Of course I love Aang, and I'd never do anything to betray him. I just…I need to know if I can be me. Without him."

"And this is the only way you can think to do that?" He asked, a hard tone permeating his voice. "By putting yourself in danger?"

"I won't-" The coughs erupted, interrupting her again. She angrily stepped back from Zuko, holding a hand out as he started to advance on her. She bent a stream of water into a bowl and drank it down, gasping. "-be in any danger." She croaked. "Master water bender, remember?"

"That won't save you from everything." Zuko growled, the lines of his body drawn in hard, tense lines.

Katara began to answer, but the coughing took her again, knocking her to the floor with the strength of her chest convulsions. In an instant, a strong arm was behind her shoulders and the bowl of water was raised to her lips. She sipped it quickly, trying to calm her breathing.

"You're not going anywhere." Zuko murmured, and she could hear the concern in his voice. "Just relax."

He lifted her, still shuddering with trying to control the spasms, and carried her back to her bed, depositing her on the soft covers. She curled herself into a frustrated, breathless ball and closed her eyes, wanting the coughs to stop, to stop making her feel helpless.

"I'll be here if you need anything." Zuko said above her. She heard him settle into the chair by the wall near her head and pick up a scroll.

"Great." Katara croaked. "Great."

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

She was crazy. She knew she was crazy. But she was doing it anyway. In the middle of the night she slipped past the sleeping Zuko and down to Appa's stall, climbed onto his bare back and whispered the simple phrase that launched him skywards.

She needed to know. This would tell her, definitively, how she felt about Aang. If there was even a possibility anymore that they were meant to be, this would tell her.

She was going to the Midfire festival on Ember Island.

***Line break***Line break***Line break***

A.N.: Hi all This is a requested story from AeardolHira2078, but I'm excited for it. As always, I appreciated and live for your reviews and comments. 3 ~ Pixie