The Art Of Finding Each Other (Zutara)

The Aftermath

Chapter Text
It had been almost a week after Team Avatar celebrated their victory at The Jasmine Dragon.

Now everyone, except for uncle Iroh who stayed at Ba Sing Se to take care of his tea shop, was back at the Fire Nation Capital, settling down as honorable war heroes.

As war heroes they would have a more crucial part to play in politics and decision making. This included working alongside new Fire Lord Zuko to bring back normality and formally end the war. There was a ton of work to do: council meetings to attend, peace treatments to prepare, arrangements to be made, ministers to discuss with and legislations to approve of.

The first couple of days everyone was just trying to manage all the changes at once, their new responsibilities but also their newfound freedom. Breakfast and dinner were the times to enjoy together, apart from all the meetings and councils. During their spare time, the routine changed up from day to day.

They liked having a place to go home to, even if it was the heart of the Fire Nation. Some stability was needed after being on the run for so long. Maybe they would go back to traveling soon enough, who knew. But for now, they were happy with their newly found routine and responsibilities.

It was a Friday night and Katara was getting ready. She was going to eat dinner with everyone and later go out with Aang. He had told her he wanted to go to the theater to watch a funny play and laugh the week off.

Things were good between them, but Katara still felt weird about the way their relationship had progressed. Everything had happened a bit too quickly for her taste, it felt like a confusing blur. Now, they were like the unofficial couple of the group, well, if you could count Mai and Zuko as official or even stable.

The situation was confusing at the relationship department, except for Sokka and Suki. Katara couldn't help but envy how easy it felt for those two, always seeming to be on the same page.

After the kiss on Ba Sing Se, Aang seemed like the happiest boy on earth. She was truly flattered by it. But, was she the happiest girl? She still didn't have an answer for that.

The girl was just about to get out when she felt a knock on the door.

"Hey, are you ready for dinner ye- Whoa, you look splendid!" Suki said.

"Thanks." She had indeed dressed up a bit nicer than usual, with a deep blue dress she had bought back in Ba Sing Se.

"What's the occasion?" Her friend looked curious.

Katara felt her cheeks turning a tad red. "Oh, nothing special. Aang insisted on going to the theater in the city and I thought dressing up a little would be appropriate."

"So you and Aang, huh?" Suki laughed as she teased her friend.

"I guess... I'm taking things slow. We both are." She honestly felt confused. Were the two of them really taking things slow? Shouldn't she be absolutely excited? Shouldn't she want to talk more about Aang?

Her friend didn't seem to notice the troubled expression that momentarily crossed her face. "Sure, sure. Okay, hurry up, we are late for dinner".

Suki left the room and Katara quickly followed after her. She didn't want to miss dinner with all her friends, her peculiar little family.

Everyone else was at the salon, already sitting down for dinner but still waiting for the two girls. Katara and Suki arrived just when they were about to start without them.

"We're sorry! We're here! Katara was just too busy being pretty," Suki playfully said as the two of them sat down.

The rest of the group laughed at her remark and welcomed them to the table.