It Is Tradition

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/54318016.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/M
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty
Lee (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Katara
& Sokka (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Characters: Katara (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Jee (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Sokka
(Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Aang (Avatar),
Toph Beifong
Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), Slow Burn, Eventual Katara/Zuko (Avatar),
Former Mai/Zuko - Freeform, The canon we all deserved but never got,
canon-compliant until the very ende of ATLA and then it's just me and
my keyboard, Emotional Baggage, Everyone Needs Therapy, Katara gets
an ending worthy of her
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2024-03-07 Words: 1,530 Chapters: 1/?
 It Is Tradition
by seethedivide

Summary

"Things used to be simpler. Worse. But simpler."

***

Years later, the world is still struggling to find its footing - and so is Katara. Old traditions
and visions stand in the way of new developments and a healthier, happier world. Sometimes,
people themselves stand in their own way, too.
Katara leaves after years by the Avatar's side, to find her own way. She goes to a place she
has been avoiding for a while now.

"Why and how that place became Zuko’s residence was a question she has been mulling over
for several weeks now. "

***

Fully canon-compliant until the very end of ATLA, and then I ignore every post-canon thing
with a few exceptions. Katara deserved better. Zuko/Katara made more sense narratively.
This is my canon now.
 „It is time for you to look within yourself and ask the important questions! Who are you! And
what do you want from life?”

- Uncle Iroh

Katara wondered if some considered her a traitor for abandoning the Avatar at this particular
time. She felt as if she was. But the many years by his side, and the innumerable hardships
that they have encountered along the way have taught her that though singular people mostly
had a lot of good in them, they often lost sight of it when banded together in a group. There
just was something about masses, something that made them either hate or love, without
reason, and with nothing in-between. So Katara was somewhat accustomed to being either
idealized or reviled, and has learned to, if not to accept it, then to at least ignore it. She had to
do what she thought was right. She could take their hate. The issue was, that she could not
tell right from wrong anymore.

Her decision to leave was not rooted in rational thought, conviction, or even a vague idea of a
greater good, but more so in a violent impulse, an emotion she could not name. The only
thing Katara knew for sure was that she had felt a sense of knee-wobbling relief when Zuko’s
response letter had finally arrived.

Dear Katara.

You are always welcome. Your room will be ready for you, whenever you choose to come.

Mai is traveling to Omashu with her family come the next fortnight. You may take the
zeppelin back, if you wish. Seek them out, they will set everything up.

It’s good to hear from you. See you soon.

Zuko

Something about the letter, short as it was, brought tears to her eyes. It was good to hear from
him as well. So, for lack of a better word, she fled.

A nasty, hurt part of her thought with a sort of vile glee: “If he is allowed to flee whenever
things get rough, so am I.”

She chastised herself for thinking that way, even if her eyes burned with angry tears. She
shouldn’t be like that; she knew better. But there have been a lot of angry tears the last couple
of months, and there were limits even to her patience and good will. Perhaps she even reveled
in her hurt and anger a bit, much as she hated to admit it. Aang would be so disappointed if
he heard her say it.

“He is probably disappointed right now, sitting at the Eastern air temple”, she thought,
clutching Appa’s reins. Whatever he made of it all, he has been kind enough to lend her Appa
to get to Omashu, and that made it somehow worse.

Meeting Mai wasn’t the loveliest of prospects – they never quite learned to get along, though
Mai probably didn’t get along with many people in the first place, not even Zuko, - but it was
still better than the confusion between her and Aang that has been dragging on for over a year
now.

Things used to be simpler. Worse. But simpler.

Katara clutched the reins and signaled Appa to speed up.

***

“Welcome.”

“Hello, Mai.”

Mai looked at her with her usual impenetrable expression that never failed to make Katara
uneasy. Much as she has tried in the past, she has never quite managed to bring Mai to liven
up around her, and sooner or later Katara had to accept defeat. They just weren’t meant to be
friends, or even good acquaintances, and that was fine. Fine. Everything’s fine.
Truth be told, Mai did not look fine.

“Zuko told us you might come. Preparations have been made,” she informed her. Her voice
was controlled, confident. But her eyes… Katara wondered if she was imagining the red rim
around them, as if Mai had been crying. But the future Fire Lady was so very good at hiding
her emotions, so very closeted, that it was hard to tell for sure. Katara felt for her. She bowed
her head.

“Thank you,” she said. “It’s good to see you. What brings you to Omashu?”

“Negotiations. Reparations. My family used to govern this city when our nation took it,
remember? Apologies alone don’t seem to cut it. We are expected to sit at the table and show
our good will in action. Well. Especially considering our ties to the Fire Lord.”

“So… Zuko expects it?”

“Of course he does.”

She looked so much older. Which was a stupid thing to think; they all did. A lot of time has
passed since Sozin’s Comet. But there was just something aged, weary… sad about Mai that
made Katara shrink away, as if in terror. Maybe that’s how she looked to outsiders nowadays.

“Thank you for the accommodations,” Katara repeated.

“The zeppelin leaves tomorrow. You are welcome to stay and dine with us until then.” Mai
turned around but then stopped in her tracks and looked back at Katara. The two women
watched each other for a long moment, and Katara was unsure of what to say. “May I ask you
something?” Mai finally said.

“Sure…” She wasn’t able to hide her surprise.

“You’ve been missing from a lot of the political meetings the last year or so. A lot of people
were wondering where you’ve been. Some say it’s because you were with child. Sounded like
a conspiracy theory to me. It’s not my business, but: Are you coming back? Your absence is
felt.”

Katara let out a nervous laugh. “With child?” If only Mai knew how close to home she hit.
“No, I wasn’t with child, Mai. It’s just been a difficult kind of year…” She noticed that she
hasn’t given Mai an answer. She wished she could, but everything was just too confusing,
even this one conversation.

Mai just eyed her, her expression unchanged, as ever. “I hope you and the Avatar will sort it
out,” she said.

Katara just stood there, watching her leave.

***
She said her goodbyes to Appa the following morning, and the giant groaned in protest – as if
he knew that this was goodbye for a long time. Appa kept nudging her, and softly pushing her
away from the zeppelin. “ No, Appa, no.” Katara hugged the bison’s broad, warm nose and
whispered empty promises.

***

She cried once she was on board, tucked away in her private room, and she kept doing so on
and off until stubbornness won over grief. She had to stay strong. She would see Appa again.
Everything would be fine. But Katara couldn’t help but feel like she was leaving more than
just her furry friend behind. It was as if she left a part of her life, a part of who she was, and
that there was no going back now. She wasn’t even sure what she was expecting at the Fire
Lord’s palace, or where she was to go from there. It just felt… right. She needed space, and
time to think for herself. Why and how that place became Zuko’s residence was a question
she has been mulling over for several weeks now.

It wouldn’t be the first time she visited him, nor was it the first time she made use of his
hospitality to recuperate. They even went to the Ember Island together, once, just the two of
them – until the rest of their former team joined them eventually. That was a few years ago,
and that week was one of her happiest memories in recent history, one that her mind
wandered to from time to time. Especially to one particular moment of it… But it felt
somehow different this time. As if she was breaking the rules.

One evening, it just overtook her – an instinct, an impulse – and she grabbed a scroll, sat
down, and wrote one of the shortest and most confused letters of her life.

Dear Zuko

I know I’ve been absent, and we haven’t talked in a while. I hope I am not overstepping.
Could I come to stay with you for a while? I am reminded of our Ember Island retreat. If it’s
a bad time for me to be at the palace, I am happy to stay there alone. I am alone right now;
Aang has been gone for a while, ever since the last fight.

I hope you are well.

Love,

Katara

It was unfair to dump it all on him, and she spent the next week fretting and regretting ever
taking the brush to write her request. It wasn’t fair to Aang either, who returned the very next
morning and apologized. Told her to do as she thought was right. That he was going to accept
her decision. And then Katara had to explain that she had written Zuko and was planning on
leaving.

The regret on his face was haunting her.

And still, her heart had made a jump when she received Zuko’s letter. It was a relief, holding
something of his in her hands. She felt close to him, then, and she wondered why she had
ever let the distance between them grow in the first place.

When the first Fire Nation islands came into view, Katara’s heart clenched.
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