Secrets Kept

ONE

Katara dreams of blinding lightning, of energy being sucked out of the air, of getting to Zuko too late.

She dreams of burning skin and hollow eyes.

Katara dreams of blue agony ripping from the chained girl, fire gushing from her cries as she fights with herself.

Katara dreams of Azula.

She doesn't wake with a yell anymore, instead it's a sharp intake of breath as she opens her eyes, exhaling slowly as she closes them again. Sweat slides down her temple and loose strands of hair stick to her skin. The Fire Nation summer surrounds her. But it doesn't bother her as much as she thought it would, the palace is made of high ceilings and tiled floors, keeping the heat at bay and her dreams encased in her room.

___________________________

It's been a few weeks since the end of the war, a few weeks since Zuko had become Fire Lord.

After the Agni Kai, Zuko and Katara had waited for news of Aang as the rest of the nation flurried around them. Zuko had given one order - stand down, retreat, await further instructions - before he collapsed, Katara's healing hands glowing on his torso.

A day passed.

Then another.

Then, finally, a messenger hawk landed, everyone was safe, everyone was alive.

"You should go." Zuko had said one day as Katara's fingers lingered on the star shape wound on his chest.

She shook her head, she knew her voice would give away how badly she wanted to go, how badly she wanted to see with her own eyes that they were okay.

"They'll be here soon." She said, not meeting his gaze.

She wondered if Sozin's comet had changed them the way it had changed her. She wondered if it had also burnt away any innocence they had left, like it had left her full of ash.

The day before Zuko's coronation Katara sprinted across the front entrance of the palace as Appa landed just inside the gates. She reached her family just as they hit the ground, she didn't even wait as she scaled the sky bison and flung herself at Sokka, slowing momentarily to stay away from his still healing leg. They were a tangle of limbs and tears as they clung to each other, gasping for breath.

"You're here." She breathed, making memory of how he smelt like sea water and smoke.

"You need me," he replied, pulling her away to look at her. "And I will never turn my back on you." He repeated words from what seemed like a lifetime ago.

The group huddled together on the saddle, tears and laughter as they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

They were alive.

They had survived.

_____________________________________

Zuko dreams of running. He dreams of falling just as the streak of blue energy slips over him and hits it's target.

He dreams of the sound of dead weight hitting the ground behind him and the malice laughter from his sister.

Zuko dreams of Katara.

Zuko wakes with a snort, falling forward from his sitting position, catching himself before his face hits his desk.

He didn't mean to fall asleep.

The dreams he had before the day of Black Sun were bad enough, they eased as the Gaang accepted him and disappeared completely when Katara had forgiven him. But the urge to see through the night followed him back home and he hadn't realised the nightmares had come back until it was too late.