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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 33965 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: The Legend of Korra, any historical figures or events, or easily recognizable persons, places or things. I make no profit from this work of fanfiction

Chapter List
- 249
- 250
- 251
Chapter 247
Katara picked up Zuko’s underwear, placed a leg in each hole and pushed upwards as far as she could. She stood in front of him, lifted each leg and worked the briefs upward until they were just below his buttocks. Zuko wriggled a bit and was able to get them high enough to cover his genitals but not completely up. He shifted forward so his legs were completely off the bed. The tingling got worse with each movement.
“My legs are still sleeping. I can’t get up yet, Katara. I’ll just lie back down. They can poke at me once I wake up,” Zuko replied yawning.
Katara eyebrow furrowed and she looked behind him to check his bandages. They were soaked. They were soaked and his legs were numb. She asked tiredly “Zuko do you mind if Dr. Toshio comes over here and checks you?”
“For what? My legs just went to sleep,” he replied nonchalantly.
“Zuko, you promised to let them check you before and after if we had sex,” Katara argued fearing his numbness was more severe than the normal loss of circulation.
“I know but that was before I knew I’d feel so much better. I don’t need the doctor. I just need a nap and to have sex again,” Zuko said allowing his hand to creep up her thigh.
Katara knocked it away, “Don’t be stupid. You need to be checked.”
“I feel fine. Or at least I would you’d stop bossing me around and let me go to sleep,” Zuko said closing his eyes and leaning sideways to go to sleep once more.
Katara stomped her foot and began screaming, “Well die then, Zuko! You say all this shit about me not leaving you and to escape if anything happens to you but you won’t even take care of yourself! We are close to the desert and nowhere near water! How in Koh’s name do you expect me to fight when soldiers come after me once I escape? I should have just done a better job killing myself then I wouldn’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to me if you continue to refuse treatment and aren’t around to look after me anymore!”
“I don’t even know why I bother! I already know what will happen to me! There’s only one use for a whore! I may as well go lie down naked in the middle of the street!” Katara yelled angrily as she turned away from Zuko.
The grip on her arm was surprisingly tight.
“Don’t say that!” Zuko barked as he used her arm as leverage to bring himself to his feet.
“Don’t say that about yourself! You are not a husband! I am your whore!” His tone was hostile, his pupils were dilated, his words were mixed up and slurred but he still tried to take a step towards her.
Instinct kicked in and she caught him as he fell. Katara’s arms wrapped around Zuko’s back. He screamed as her hand moved upward against his open wounds scraping off bloody bandages and immature scabs as she reached up to support his neck with her forearm. Her fingers latched onto the hairs on the back of his head and her grip on his torso tightened as his weight became too much to bear. Zuko was so much larger and heavier but she managed to stay between him and the floor. She saw stars dancing on the ceiling before submitting to the overwhelming urge to shutter her eyelids.

Dr. Toshio was the first to react. He was already yanking down the blankets when Zuko began screaming. He knocked away the privacy screen and caught the fireball thrown at him.
“You made me kill her! You didn’t want us together so you made me kill her!” the prince yelled as he tried to get up and lift the Waterbender.
Ty Lee peeped around the curtain at their auras, “She’s breathing.”
“Huh?” Zuko questioned.
“She’s breathing. Look at her chest; it’s rising and falling. She’s breathing,” Ty Lee said pointing to where Zuko was still laying on top of Katara.
He looked down, “I don’t see it.”
“That’s because you’re crushing her. Get up,” Ty Lee said calmly walking over and helping him to sit up. “See she’s breathing. What happened? Did you fall on her?”
Zuko nodded. Ty Lee had always been nice to him and Katara except when she thought he was being cruel to Mai. His voice sounded broken as he spoke, “She called herself a whore and I got angry. Not a whore. Wife. Mine.”
Ty Lee tilted her head to the side, “If she’s your wife then wouldn’t that make you her husband?”
Zuko nodded.
“If I was Katara and you were my husband, I’d be upset if I saw you in that condition. Doesn’t seeing her like this upset you?” she asked kindly using the same type of logic necessary to deal with her stubborn five year old sister.
“It does, but I can’t fix her,” Zuko replied shifting his whole torso from side to side as he eyed Ty Lee for signs of trickery.
“I can fix her,” Ty Lee replied. “I can fix Katara. Dr. Toshio can fix you then neither of you will have a reason to be upset and you’ll both be happy.”
“I know how much you like to make Katara happy,” Ty Lee added sweetly.
Zuko nodded.
“Good, I’ll be right back,” Ty Lee said going to get a wash cloth and basin.
Zuko allowed himself to be examined as Ty Lee dampened the towel then began gently dabbing Katara’s face. She continued to so do, slowly waking the Waterbender until Toshio and Mu nodded they had stopped Zuko’s bleeding. She allowed water to soak into the towel then slowly let it drip into the hand holding the back of Katara’s head. She made sure to hold her at an angle that didn’t allow Zuko to see the water was glowing as it healed a small lump.
“See Zuko, you’re making Katara very happy by allowing yourself to be treated. Doesn’t she look happy?” Ty Lee said as the Waterbender gradually came to.
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m very happy,” Katara said groggily as Ty Lee winked at her.
Ty Lee smiled, “Mu you should go ask the hotel people for lots of clean fresh water and fresh linens. I’m sure Katara would be very happy if she and Zuko bathed and had a clean place to lie down. You should also go to the restaurant and get some of those little desert pastries.”
“Ask Ming if we can have a few of her tea leaves as well? The kind she made for me and the Ursa House when I explained what it was,” Ty Lee added.
When she noticed Toshio’s eyes narrowing at her she added, “It’s really good tea. Her little boy likes oranges and moonpeaches but they only get them when the traders come. She dries the peels and mixes it with a little cinnamon and white tea leaves. It reminds me of when we were little and would play at Grammy Nima’s house when her fruits trees were beginning to ripen.”
Zuko smiled and babbled, “We did have fun back then. Remember when Quanli climbed to the top of the biggest tree? Then you and Azula tried but got scared halfway up. Father had to climb up and get you.”
“Yes, I never thought I’d see Cousin Ozai climbing a tree or that he could do it so well,” Ty Lee added.
“Grammy Nima taught him,” Zuko before closing his eyes and laying his head on Katara’s calf, “I wish I was still little. Father was nice, Mom was alive, and all of us were happy then.”
Katara continued to lay with her head in Ty Lee’s lap allowing her discretely place water on her aching head. She knew the other girl was also doing some type of chi manipulation without her permission but she didn’t stop her. The pain was slowly going away and she was starting to feel better. It reminded her of the Air Nomad healing technique Aang had tried to use after he burned her.
It probably was the Air Nomad healing technique Aang had tried to use.
Aang had explained that unlike Water Healing which was done at a physical level Air Healing was done at a spiritual level and helped the soul to forget it was ever wounded. The physical injury and scars remained behind as a reminder to be cautious but there were no lasting psychological effects to drag down the soul rendering it incapable of bending. She wondered how Aang would feel if he knew one of the girls who had pursued them so doggedly had a better mastery than he did of some of the finer nuances of his culture.
She was still pondering the merits of going against Zuko’s wishes and telling Aang that he wasn’t the last Airbender when Mu returned. He wasn’t alone; Ming was also with him. He carried a tray of food while she carried a tray containing a tea pot and the leaves they requested. The two them arrived before the fresh water they’d asked for so Ming offered to come back and prepare the tea after they bathed. The tea had to be prepared a specific way so the dried fruit peels wouldn’t overwhelm the delicate leaves. Ty Lee took the others to her room to see if they also felt as creeped out as she did to give Katara and Zuko privacy to bathe.
Katara reluctantly sat up when a second knock on the door signaled the water had arrived. Aang was right about Air Nomad healing. She was more relaxed than she could remember being since being captured. When the others returned Zuko was less grouchy but still somewhat out of his mind. Toshio left once he confirmed Zuko was no longer a danger to himself or others but Mu and Ty Lee remained to watch Ming prepare the tea.
She had promised to perform a proper Earth Kingdom ceremony. Zuko and Mu had never seen one but Katara wanted to see how it compared to the ones she saw in Omashu and Ba Sing Se. Both preparers had made the same claim before doing vastly different things. Mu and Ty Lee rearranged the room so the coffee table was closer to the bed so Zuko could participate without being moved. He was laying contentedly across the bed with his head in Katara’s lap.
As Katara expected, Ming’s ceremony was also different. She placed the water on to boil then sat cross-legged at the coffee table. She rubbed the leaves and fruit peelings between the palms of her hands before placing them in the pot. One by one she clasped everyone’s right hand so they each held a bit of the tea grit. She poured the water into the pot and they all held hands as it steeped.
Ming spoke to them, “Tea is the drink of brotherhood. One person grows the tea while another crafts the pot. We would not have it if not for our mutual efforts. Just as well all have remnants of the same leaves in our hand, and the same aroma fills our noses. When we imbibe the tea it will taste different to each of us even though it takes the same path inside our bodies. Let us remember this moment and the tea we share. No matter where life takes us it all began in one place and for one joyous moment we were all together.”
Ming let go of the hands next to hers and poured a small bit of tea to the person at her left and her right. She passed the tea pot to her left and told Katara to do the same then pass the pot to her left. When the pot came back to her, Ming poured a small bit then passed the pot to her right. It made another circle before everyone’s cups were full.
Ming smiled, “The tea has circled us three times. During that three times we have all served each other and graciously accepted the other’s gift; likewise the spirits will thrice bless us and we will bless each other. Let us drink while remembering true happiness comes from service and friendship.”
Zuko who had watched the proceedings warily allowed Katara to help him take a tentative sip. He frowned, took another then asked, “Are you sure this is hot leaf juice? It’s good. You should meet Uncle. He’d adopt you and make you official Princess of Tea or something after we depose Father and he becomes Fire Lord.”
Ty Lee’s jaw dropped and Mu’s eyes widened. Ming dropped the cup she was lifting. Katara caught the tea before it could burn Ming. She put it back in the teapot having no way to repair the shattered cup. Zuko was openly speaking of treason.
Katara quickly began making excuses for him, “He’s out of his mind. He doesn’t know what he’s saying. He would never-”
Zuko interrupted her, “Yes I would, and you’re going to help me. We’re going to-”
Mu shoved a pastry in his mouth before he could incriminate himself further. “Lady Katara is right. Zuko is clearly out of his mind. He’s undergone medical treatment and it is the drugs talking.”
Ty Lee finished her tea then politely excused herself, “I think I need to go lie down. I’ve expended a great deal of energy at the Ursa House and I fear I’m having hallucinations.”
She bowed to Zuko, Katara, Mu, Ming, and the giant orange rabbaroo before extending her arm to it and escorting it out of the room. Zuko’s eyes scanned the room, “I don’t see an orange rabbaroo. I see a wrinkled old lady wearing a blue dress and red robes. She’s standing next to a tall wrinkled guy with a top knot and pointy beard.”
“They look familiar,” Zuko said leaning forward and almost falling face first off the bed and onto the table.
“Oh I see,” Ming said quietly to humor him. “I am glad all of you enjoyed my tea. I must go retrieve my son. I’m afraid that if he wakes from his nap while I am away my mother will allow him to help in the restaurant. I always feared the Fire Nation would come to this place and ruin our lives but I never imagined it would be this way. Apparently my busy little boy reminds several soldiers of sons and nephews they left behind; they are all spoiling him. The townspeople already see me as a bad influence for their daughters. If he calls another soldier “Papa” or “Uncle” I fear that I will be lucky to be looked upon as only a slattern.”
Mu took one last look at Zuko. He was still conversing with the familiar imaginary people. When he heard Zuko mention the names Nini and Roku he quickly excused himself in favor of helping Ming clean up the broken glass and carry the trays back to the restaurant. He had insulted Katara. The ghost of Fire Lady Nini was not known to show mercy to those she felt were guilty of wronging her people.

Nini and Roku remained with their mutual descendant a bit longer. Zuko was still talking to them only now he was being more respectful as he asked them to confirm that he had correctly guessed their identities.
“Reminds of you Soizin, doesn’t he?” Roku asked amused.
“He reminds me of both of you,” Nini replied exasperatedly.
“Really, how so?” the former Avatar inquired as Zuko began wildly guessing why they had come to visit him.
“The boy is stupid,” Nini said brusquely to the man she loved like a grandson. In spite of her words she smiled at him, “Come along brat. He is in good hands. We are no longer needed here.”
Roku nodded, “Honorable Nini, I know it is beyond the scope of our duties as guardians, but I would like to check on Aang.”
“Like I said, stupid,” Nini muttered while shaking her head as she allowed Roku to deliver her to his successor.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story