Kataang Stories

Date Night in the Fire Palace

It was date night, and Aang was nervous.

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Suki were staying in the Fire Nation palace to meet with Zuko regarding development plans for Republic City. Sokka had only recently came up with the name, and they were all buzzing with the potential of what this city could be.

The evening was bright with stars, the sky a swirly mixture of orange sunset fading into the blue hues of the oncoming night. It was beautiful. The streets were alive for the Fire Festival, the once-a-year event that even Zuko seemed to speak highly of. When Zuko told them about it the day before, Katara grabbed Aang's hand and looked up at him, her eyes excited and pleading; of course, Aang promised her that he would take her, just the two of them. How could he say no, especially with those eyes? He almost found it amusing, the power she held over him. He was the Avatar, the deity of the earth, yet a simple glance from Katara and he was falling to his knees.

The meeting had just been adjourned, the Gaang humming with excitement for the future.

"Man, can you guys imagine what this could be, a city of people from all different types of nations? This has got to be the coolest thing we've done yet," Sokka beamed, clearly still running on the high of being responsible for the naming.

"Sokka, we literally saved the world," Katara reminded, her arms crossed on her chest.

"Yeah, yeah. That's old news. This, is the future..." Sokka swept his arms wide, a vision of buildings as far as the eye can see, full of people and shops and homes. For a second, he imagined himself as king of this new expanse.

"It is pretty exciting. It gives us a lot to look forward to," Suki chimed in, grinning at Sokka, fully envisioning his imaginations (delusions?).

Zuko shook his head, but tried to keep an even tone. "You guys clearly have no idea how hard it will be to develop a city, let alone run it. I don't mean to dampen your mood, but it's not all fun and games. There's real people you have to-"

"Zuko, we get it, you're a leader of a nation, blah blah, Fire Lord stuff. Come on, this is going to be so cool!" Sokka squealed, Suki and Katara lovingly shaking their heads at his reaction.

Aang smiled at Sokka. "Zuko is right, you know. There's going to be a lot of responsibility for us. We have a lot of work to do to make this a city for everyone." Zuko gave a short nod. "But, Zuko, let us be excited for now. We're changing the world, again! I think we deserve to be hopeful about it.

Zuko slightly rolled his eyes, but gave in. "Alright, I get it. Thanks for coming today, guys. I'm heading to Mai's for dinner. Let the royal guard know if you need anything before bed. You should have plenty of food and towels in your rooms, I made sure they stocked up."

The crew said goodbye to Zuko, and Katara started a conversation with Sokka and Suki. While they spoke, Aang walked up to Zuko.

"Hey, wait, actually, I do need help with something." Aang asked, Zuko raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, Aang. What is it?"

Aang attempted a lower voice. "I'm taking Katara to the Fire Festival tonight. Can you help us with disguises? We just want to be normal. Any tips of what to show her? I want to make sure that the night is perfect."

Katara glanced up at Aang and Zuko talking, hiding her smile as Aang failed to lower his voice despite acting secretive about his conversation. She sometimes wondered if Aang remembered that he had airbender lungs.

Zuko noticed Katara's gaze and smiled at Aang. He put his arm on Aang's shoulder and led him away from the group, out of earshot. At least Zuko remembered Aang's lungs. "I've got you, no problem. I'll have an assistant deliver some clothes. As for where to take her, try Lin's. They have the best dumplings in the city, and the balcony looks down onto the festival. They even have vegetarian dishes. They also serve the best wine, if it's that kind of date. You should try a few of their different varieties."