Zutara: A Second Chance

Recreated

     The grown-ups in the bunker had all headed out. The Red Lotus was spotted near the bunker, lead by Zaheer, who was looking for revenge. They all went out to fight, and bring them to justice.
     Although trained to fight, the kids were left inside the bunker for protection.
     Opal and Jinora were whispering in the hallways. They had a brilliant idea. They were devising a plan. Once they turned a corner, they stopped short. Eska and Desna were in their way.
     "Eska! Desna!" Opal mused. "What are you doing here?"
     "We got bored in our quarters." Eska said.
     "We thought we'd find something to do." Desna added.
     "Looking for something to do?" Jinora said. "Well, we were on our way to do something. Would you like to join?"
     Jinora told the twins their plan. Eska and Desna thought about it a moment, and sure enough, they agreed to help.
     Eska turned to Opal and looked her dead in the eye. "I don't usually fraternise with my ex's current girlfriends, but this seems amusing." Eska said. Her tone as flat as ever.
     "Uhh, thanks...?" Opal replied. She didn't know Eska dated Bolin. How did Eska even know that she was dating Bolin? She didn't know whether she should be flattered or terrified. Eska's statement sounded like a threat.
     "Great!" Jinora said. "Follow me."
     As the four kids walked farther down the corridor, Toph snuck up behind them.
     "What are you four up to?" She asked.
     "Toph! Uh- we were- uh..." Jinora tried to explain.
     "Yes?" Toph pressed.
     "Were... going for a game of Pai Sho!" Jinora managed.
     Opal had her face in her palm, shaking her head. She knew Jinora made a mistake. The twins just stood beside her, looking at Toph.
     "You should know better than you lie to me, young one." Toph said. "I can tell."
     "Right..." Jinora said, feeling stupid.
     "Oh, well, whatever you're up to, go ahead." Toph said. "I don't really care, I just wanted to scare you kids."
     After that, Toph just strolled back down the corridor. The kids looked at each other in disbelief, then they continued on what they were going to do.

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     "Gran-gran! Gran-gran! Come with me!" Jinora shouted, barging into her grandmother's bedroom.
     "What is it, Jinora?" Katara asked, calmly.
     "There's no time. Come on." Jinora said, grabbing Katara's hand and tugging on it gently.
     "Okay, okay," said Katara. She stood up, and put on her slippers. "I'm coming."
     Jinora lead Katara down the hall, not letting go of her hand.
     "Faster!" Jinora said.
     "Alight, alight, I'm going already. Calm down." Katara said. She had no idea what Jinora wanted, but she was sure it wasn't urgent.
     Jinora stopped in front of a door, and told Katara to go in whenever she was ready. Katara hasn't been in this room yet, but if she remembered correctly, a maid told her it was an empty room. Katara didn't know what Jinora was so excited about it.
     "What's inside?" Katara asked.
     "You'll see," said Jinora. Her tone full of excitement and wonder.
     Katara breathed in, and held the doorknob. She turned it, and opened the door.
     The room's lights were off. It was lit by candles positioned all over the room. There was a large dent on the floor in the middle of the room, it looks like it had been earthbended down. The dent was filled with water. There were paper flowers scattered gracefully around the room. Katara realised at once what this is about. The kids tried to recreate the fireflies story.
     On the opposite side of the room, Zuko was standing across the makeshift 'pond.' A bouquet of paper flowers in his hands. Zuko was smiling softly.
     "The kids made me do it." He said awkwardly.
     Katara stepped inside, and walked towards Zuko. She felt a soft breeze as she did. She turned around to see where the wind came from, and saw Opal airbending behind a room divider at one side of the room. Eska and Desna were there too. And Toph, who eventually stepped out, smiling and nodding.
     Once Katara was with Zuko, he gave her the paper bouquet.
     "What's all this?" Katara asked Zuko.
     "Beats me." Zuko replied, chuckling.
     "I'll come over there and beat you up." Toph said. "Do the thing we told you to. Don't be a wimp."
     "We'll give you two some time alone." Jinora said. Everyone else went out of the room, as if on cue. Once everyone was out, Jinora gently closed the door, leaving Katara and Zuko alone in this dreamy setting.
     "Katara, I-"  Zuko hesitated. "Look, being here with you the past week was magical. So many memories came rushing back to me. You made me feel young again. I know we grew up to be different people, and I know we both have separate lives now. But we can't just sit around, and wait for the grim reaper to come knocking. Our lives aren't over yet. We served our purposes in life, yes. But that doesn't make us useless."
     He reached for Katara's hand, and held it tight.
     "I didn't realise it until recently, but I think, we should give us a try."
     "Zuko, I don't know if it's a good idea." Katara said.
     "Well, how will we know if we never try?" Zuko looked into Katara's eyes, and gave her his winning smile. "I know you will always love Aang. And I will always love Mai. But we've already ignored the call of destiny once before."
     "Our 'ignorance' as you call it," Katara said softly now, stepping closer to Zuko, raising his hand that wad holding hers. "Lead us both to a life with our beautiful families."
     "Something I don't regret." Zuko smiled. "But now, we have children. Our children have children. I love my family more than anything. Now, I'm asking you to be part of that family... I'd make you a betrothal necklace, but I know you love the one you're wearing now."
     "There's probably a reason why we didn't end up together as kids." She said, thinking of a reason not to do this.
     "The ghost of what-could-have-been has lingered around us long enough. Come on, Katara. I know you want to."
     Katara was silent for a few moments. Zuko stared eagerly, waiting for an answer.
     "Well, since the kids worked so hard..." Katara said smiling, leading him on.
     "That's a yes, then?" He asked her.
     Katara smiled, and nodded. Zuko pulled her in for a hug, and kissed her on her forehead.
     The door burst open, and Jinora was jumping up and down. They were apparently listening through the door. Opal was holding a camera leveled at her face, and a flash flickered through the room, capturing this lovely moment. Katara even caught Eska give a little smirk.
     "Good job, honor boy." Toph congratulated.
     Katara and Zuko were laughing softly. They were engaged, just like that. What a story.
     "Gran-gran! Did you like the setup?" Jinora asked. She began to explain how their plan was executed. "Opal and I spent hours folding the flowers. Eska and Desna went to every room in the entire bunker, looking for candles. Then we had to look for small furniture to place the candles on. We had to bring Toph into it so she could earthbend the floor. Then the twins waterbended some water from the sink to the floor. And Opal airbended air around to make it feel like an outside breeze."
     Jinora was done explaining. Katara had to laugh. Her granddaughter was persistent. Probably bored to death, not being allowed to go outside and help.
     "Then they took me, and ran me by the plan. Told me to act sweet and ask you out after all this was done." Zuko explained next.
     "Ha-ha." Desna let out an awkward laugh. "But he ended up giving a marriage proposal."
     "That is funny." Eska said.
     The rest laughed along. They were weirded out by the twins' claims of happiness but with no emotion in their voices. At the same time, all of them were happy that the kids' plan worked.