Path Ahead

Summons

Zuko, feeling like he'd just traveled a gigantic distance, made his leisurely way back to the group. He was just reaching them when there was a rustling from another direction, and The Duke burst out of the bamboo.

"What's a kid have to do to be alone around here?" the small boy complained.

"Why?" asked Teo. "What happened?"

"Kissing!" The Duke announced, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Sokka sat up suddenly, his drink sloshing over the side of his glass. Glancing around to register who was missing, Zuko surmised that Katara had returned and pulled Aang off with her. That would also explain Sokka's sudden, keen interest.

"Kissing?" Sokka repeated. "Was there anything else?"

"Isn't that enough?" The Duke returned. "I didn't stick around to see any more." Zuko coughed in order to avoid openly laughing. He remembered feeling that way about displays of affection at one time. It felt like a lifetime ago, although it had really been more like 5 years. Piandao and Uncle Iroh were looking amused in the wistful, placid manner that Zuko often found so irritating in his elders.

"Maybe I should -" Sokka began, setting his glass down and half rising from his seat. Uncle Iroh, however, stretched out an arm in a restraining gesture.

"Oh, let them be," the old man advised. "They are young and in love. With everything else they have to worry about, give them this." Sokka slowly took his seat again, but he looked over at Toph.

"Toph?" he asked hopefully.

"Don't ask me to do your spying for you," she retorted, folding her feet up beneath her to punctuate her point. Zuko was impressed by this display and wondered just how much she had reduced her sensitivity to what was going on around her. If she were truly blinding herself to respect her friends' privacy, that said a lot about their relationship.

"So, it appears things went well with you, Your Highness," Piandao changed the subject.

"It's just Zuko now, but yes," Zuko agreed. He found an empty patch of ground to sit on and relaxed for the first time in...years, possibly.

"What did you have to talk to Katara about?" Haru asked curiously.

"I needed to apologize for turning on her in Ba Sing Se," Zuko explained shortly. "She forgave me."

"She did?" More than one voice was involved with that, but it was Sokka's that stood out. Meeting the warrior's eyes, Zuko decided he should probably share the rest of what they'd discussed. Sokka had as much right as his sister to know why his mother had died.

"I was surprised, too," Zuko admitted. "Relieved, but surprised. It did take quite a bit of talking. In the process, we also figured out what happened to your mother." Sokka's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" he said, both caution and suspicion evident in his voice. "She was killed by the Fire Nation."

"Yes, but we think we know why." Zuko went on to tell everyone else what he and Katara had been able to piece together. When he finished, the only sounds were insects, birds, and the clinking of Uncle's teacup against its saucer.

"Thank you for telling me," Sokka finally broke the silence. "It doesn't really change anything, but it's nice to know the truth, I guess." Zuko considered mentioning that this knowledge had appeared to change Katara's outlook on life dramatically, but he decided against it. That felt like more of a personal thing, and if Katara wanted to share it with her brother, that was her business.