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Borealis: A Zutara Story	By : jaded_priceless Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Views: 34026 -:- 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
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Chapter 312

Katara led Zuko to the kitchen where Fan had been stationed. The old cook pointed to a table in the corner and Katara led Zuko to the bench. He was still staring at the vial when Fan placed food in front of them. He muttered, "Thanks".

Katara lifted the odd shaped object he'd placed before her and took a tentative bite. It was meat and potatoes baked in bread. It wasn't as seasoned as most things he cooked but it was still flavorful. Katara took one look at Zuko and understood. This like the rice stuff was easy to digest but designed to sit heavily on upset stomachs. She placed the one she'd just bitten in front of Zuko's lips and he took a small bite.

Fan set down a pot of tea and Katara recognized the scent of peppermint and ginger. She poured a small amount into a cup and lifted it to his lips. "Zuko, can you open the vial?"

His hands were shaking as he passed it to her. She placed her left hand around his right to still it then slowly unscrewed the lid. She bent a small drop into the second cup and covered it with tea. He wrapped both hands around the vial after Katara recapped it. He continued chewing and swallowing as Katara fed him; his eyes never left the vial. He frowned briefly but made no complaint when Katara gave him the drugged tea. Together they finished both plates of food and the pot of tea.

Katara thought he'd fallen asleep when he spoke, "Fan was Dr. Amayu in Ba Sing Se?"

The old cook inhaled deeply. He'd wondered when or if the doctor would reveal that particular secret. He shook his head, "No child. She had decided on a medical career and was in the mainland for training. If she would have been in Ba Sing Se you would never have met her; she would have died alongside Lu Ten."

"They were close?" Zuko asked quietly.

Fan nodded, "Like sister and brother. The three of them were inseparable. Wei broke off first to go to the cavalry then Amayu went to medical school. The first day on the ship she told me she hated to hear your footfalls as you were walking. You walk like him but you're taller so your stride is longer and the sound of them hitting the ground is different."

"Why didn't she say anything?" Zuko whispered.

"Why didn't Bong Cha?" Fan questioned in return as he packed a satchel of food for them to take back to the room.

"They don't want me. I'm a poor substitute for him," Zuko whimpered before tightening his arms around Katara and laying his head on her shoulder. She caressed the side of his face.

Fan placed a hand on his shoulder, "We live in a cruel and dangerous world, Zuko. Sometimes people don't say anything because if they did it would mean there was one less person watching over you from the shadows."

He patted Katara's shoulder next, "I'll have Kentaro help you get him to bed. I'm glad you're here for him this time."

Katara didn't miss the bitterness of his tone or the bite in his last two words. She placed the vial in her pocket and stood. She helped Zuko to his feet then placed her arm around his waist. She placed the satchel around his neck and stated, "Thank you for the food. There's no need to trouble Kentaro, I have him."

The cook watched as Zuko placed his arm around Katara's shoulder and leaned heavily on her as they disappeared down the hall.

~*~*~

Two hallways later Katara was regretting her prideful decision. The medicine was working and Zuko was getting heavier with each step.

"What's wrong with Cousin Zuko?" a small voice asked.

Katara paused and looked around his bulk. Seon and Aki were coming down the corridor leading to the stable. Katara wasn't sure how to answer that question so she went with the generic, "He's not feeling well."

"Neither is Dad," Seon whispered quietly.

Katara felt her load lighten as Aki slipped beneath Zuko's other arm. The next hallways were easier to navigate with his help. Seon walked ahead once their room was in sight. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Dad gave me these today and told me to use them to look out for my siblings."

Katara hadn't spent much time with the boys but she recognized their expressions as ones she'd seen after the raid and several times during their journey. It was one of lost and confusion marking the tragic and abrupt end of childhood. She figured their presence would be just as good for Zuko as his would be for them, "Do you want to come in?"

Katara led Zuko to the couch and placed the satchel on the table. She sat beside him as the younger boys settled into nearby chairs. Katara adjusted to give Zuko enough room to stretch out as he curled around her. He belatedly acknowledged the presence of his younger cousins between the fluttering of eyelids, "Hey you two. Have you eaten? Katara fed me."

Seon and Aki exchanged looks while elbowing each other. Aki whispered "You don't think she really fed him do you?"

"I think she did," Seon replied as Zuko closed his eyes and snuggled against Katara's chest.

Katara ran her hands through Zuko's hair as his eyes closed then repeated his question, "Did you two eat?"

The boys shook their heads. Katara pointed to the bag in front of them, "There's food in there. Fan made it. Help yourselves."

Without further encouragement the two boys dug in. Seon set his food on the table, licked his fingers clean then opened what Katara thought was a closet door and pulled out a tea set. Aki dug into his coat pocket and pulled out tea leaves. To their surprise Zuko muttered, "You really are royalty. Uncle carries tea."

"Really," Aki uttered around a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, he started after he poisoned himself drinking some wildflower. He was pretty good identifying the right plants until then," Zuko mumbled.

Water dripped from the pot as Seon carried it from the bathroom and gave it to Aki. He placed his hands on either side of the pot and slowly heated it until the water inside boiled. He poured three cups and had picked up another when Katara said, "We'll share one."

The boys watched in awe as Katara bent tea to her lips and Zuko's. They nudged each other again this time with a small amount of disappointment since tea floating through the air wasn't as definitive as sharing a cup. Their speculations were soon put to rest as Zuko pressed his lips against Katara's. The two kissed slowly before breaking apart.

"Katara will you read to me? I want to hear Kuzon."

"I only have it in Water Tribe."

"That's fine."

Katara slid from beneath Zuko to pick up her beloved book. She opened it reverently and began reading the words her mother read so often to her. Zuko drifted off once more but Katara kept reading. Aki's eyes had closed but Seon's eyelids were still fluttering. She wet her lips with cold tea and reminded herself of what Zuko had done for her people each time her mind conjured thoughts of blasphemous actions and treachery.

Careful not to jostle Zuko Katara reached behind her and set the book in the desk drawer she'd retrieved it from. She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She woke slightly when Zuko began twitching and began quietly singing a lullaby. He stilled and she fell asleep once more.

"Katara! Nooooo!"

Zuko's screams were the first to rend the air. They were followed by Aki's and his fire. Katara easily suppressed the younger boy’s flames and doused him with water to rouse him as she rolled over onto Zuko to stop his flailing. She sat on his torso and caressed his face, "I'm here, Zuko. I'm here. Wake up, I'm here. Wake up, I'm here. I'm safe."

When that didn't work she called water to her hand and pressed it against his head. It glowed blue as she whispered, "I'm here, Zuko. I'm here. I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm okay. Wake up, please wake up."

"Katara. Katara. Noo, Katara, noo, Katara, nooo. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Katara, noo, noo. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Katara pressed her lips against his and caressed his face as he sobbed, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Pol and that woman. I couldn't make it in time. He...he... Before she killed you...he...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Zuko. I'm fine. I'm fine. You didn't let them hurt me. I'm okay. You protected me. I'm okay," she whispered against his lips while pressing water against his forehead.

She pressed her lips against his once more, "I'm okay, Zuko, I promise. I'm okay. I'm safe."

She slid further down his torso and pulled him up so that she was straddling his lap. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held him close so his face was buried in her neck. "I'm okay, Zuko. I'm okay. You protected me."

Zuko's arms tightened around her and he blubbered, "You're okay?"

"Yes, Zuko, I'm okay," Katara assured him as he pressed his face against hers.

"You're okay? You're alive? I didn't let you die?" his fingertips danced over her face, through her hair as his mouth descended on hers. He kissed her greedily, lips, cheeks, chin, nose, forehead, neck, ears, as his hands pinched, caressed, and explored the places his mouth was unable to go.

She placed her hands on his chest and gently pulled away, "Zuko, we're not alone."

He blinked slowly and looked around the room, "Is Mom here?"

"No Zuko, she's not here," she said quietly. "But Seon and Aki are."

"Seon and Aki? Why would they be here? Where are we Katara?"

"We're at the Northern Air Temple," she explained.

"Oh, I came here looking for the Avatar and didn't find him. I went to all of the Air Temples and didn't find him. I didn't find him until I went to the South Pole," he leaned his head against her shoulder, "I saw you. I saw you before I saw the Avatar. I had to stop and stare you were so pretty. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as pretty as you. Why are you so pretty Katara? Jun was right, you're too pretty for me."

Katara pinched his good ear. He grabbed and yelped, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I needed to get your attention. You were about to say something stupid and I don't want to hear those types of words about you. They aren't true," she said.

Zuko turned away and he noticed his cousins, "Seon! What are you and Aki doing here? Did you come to help me protect Katara?"

Aki was holding Seon's forearm while lifting and lowering his hand above it. Zuko began mumbling, "He burned him. Grammy Nima told us to do that if we accidentally burned someone."

He touched his face, "Father did that to me after the Agni Kai. I'd forgotten, Father came in when I was sleeping and did that to me."

"It was an accident. Zuko scared me and I woke up bending," Aki explained as he attempted to soothe his cousin.

Katara looked at them, "Zuko trusts you, can I trust you too?"

The two boys nodded and Katara waved them over. She adjusted her position to make it easier to reach across Zuko's body. She took Seon's hand in hers and asked, "Please don't tell anyone."

Two sets of eyes widened as the water turned blue and the burn disappeared.

"It's gone," Aki whispered in awe. "The burn I gave Seon is gone."

Katara nodded, "This is a gift that came with my Waterbending."

This time Zuko spoke, "Please don't tell anyone, especially your Moms, Dads, Grandfather or Grandmothers that Katara can fix people. They would hurt her. They would hurt Katara over and over until she couldn't fix herself again."

Seon touched his arm, his skin was completely intact and he could no longer feel any pain. He knew Zuko was right. His father and paternal grandparents were scientist. His mother was a medical practitioner as well as a scientist. He'd seen her face drawn tight, brow furrowed as she explained through tightly pinched lips, "Sometimes one must suffer to end the suffering of many others."

He grew up listening to her mother and grandmother speaking out against what they believed was a perversion of the healing arts they taught her as she attempted to justify her actions. His mother would hurt Katara. His mother would hurt her over and over again if told her that the kind Waterbender had used some type of water magic to heal him.

He ran his hand over his arm once more and glanced at his cousin, "I promise I won't say anything."

Aki stared at his cousin's arm. He'd felt so bad for burning Seon. Seon couldn't bend. Seon was his favorite cousin and the only one who'd never made fun of him and he'd hurt him. He nodded assent as well, "I promise. I won't tell what she did."

Zuko smiled, "I knew I could trust you. Well I wasn't too sure about you, Aki, but I knew I could trust Seon and he trusts you. I'm happy to know I can trust you too."

"Katara I have to go to the bathroom. Can you bring it to me? That sleepy forget medicine makes me forget I have to go pee. I don't like taking it. I don't like dreaming that you died and I couldn't stop the murderer from taking you away from me. Don't leave me Katara. Promise that you won't leave me. I'll be all alone and won't have anyone if you left me."

"I can't promise I won't ever leave, but I can promise as long as your heart still beats I'll come back. I'll keep coming back until the day it stops beating in my hand," Katara vowed as she placed her hand on his chest. She scooted backwards out of his lap and Zuko clumsily followed her to the restroom.

The more vocal of the two Aki was the one to speak after the door closed and Katara didn't emerge. He pointed while blinking slowly, "She didn't come out. She's still in there with him. He is using the bathroom and she is in there with him. He said he had to pee. She's looking at it. He's letting her see his penis. Oh Agni, what if he doesn't just have to pee and needs to do something more serious?"

Seon smacked his cousin, "Shut up brat. They can hear you."

The door still didn't open and Aki voiced his concern, "We need to get out of here."

Seon nodded, "Yeah."

Seon knocked on the restroom door then spoke loudly, "Um Cousin Zuko, Miss Katara, we're going back to our room. Dad's kinda out of it and Mom will freak if she checks on us and we're not there."

"Okay, thanks for letting us know. Have a good night. If you can, come back and see Zuko tomorrow. He needs to know that he has family who cares for him. Thank you again for helping me with him," Katara replied as Zuko flushed the toilet.

The two twelve year olds made horrified glances and quickly agreed, "This didn't happen,” as they ran from the room.
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Borealis: A Zutara Story