It was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly setting into the seemingly endless ocean. Ember Island was beautiful at this time of day and the peace and tranquillity of its surroundings gave Katara the space she needed to think and reflect.  The rest of the gaang were sleeping further inland but for some reason she could'nt get to sleep, so she decided to come out here to gather her thoughts. Silently she sat on the edge of the sand and looked out towards the horizon.

“May I join you?” Zuko asked. Although the two of them had never been as close as the other members of the gaang they had a mutual understanding of each other and a new found respect towards one another.

“Yeah sure.” Katara replied without turning to face him. The salty air caressed her face and she sighed. So much had happened over the past year. She had become a whole new person, more determined and headstrong than she could have ever been if she had stayed in the South Pole. Zuko sat down beside her. Not close enough to make the two of them uncomfortable but just enough for the two of them to notice each other’s presence.

“It's beautiful. Isn’t it?” Zuko said looking in the same direction as Katara. Although there was still so much to do in order to restore balance to the world, for the first time in a very long time, he had found peace within himself. He had begun to see the world in all its splendour and beauty. The once angry and frustrated boy had grown into a stronger and wiser man.

“Hmm" Katara replied, still not looking at him. The gentle waves softly washed over her feet and her hair rippled softly in the wind. She stared at the vastness of the sea and took joy in listening to the rhythmical pulse of the waves crashing against the shore. She loved the ocean and its raw beauty began to remind her of how much she was missing home. Water was her element and here in the heart of the Fire Nation she felt as though a large part of her was missing. She sighed again and rested her head on her knees.  

“Are you nervous?” She asked Zuko flatly. “About tomorrow, are you scared at all?” Although she herself was used to this kind of silence before battle she had a feeling that Zuko was not. Although he, like the rest of them was going to face a powerful enemy, unlike them, they were his family. Azula was his sister and regardless of everything that had happened she felt that the potential events of the next day were beginning to play on his mind and he needed someone to talk to.

“I don’t know.” Zuko replied. “I’ve prepared myself for whatever is going to happen tomorrow but I still have this fear of the unknown. My sister….Azula is smart and I know that she’s prepared something for us that we haven’t thought of. I….”

“It’s alright to call her your sister.” Katara said. She looked into his eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. “She may be part of your family but don’t think that any of us judge you by what she has done. Like you said, you’ve changed, something that must have taken a lot of courage and we thank you for it. You’re a good person Zuko. Never forget that." She smiled, removed her hand from his shoulder and went back to staring at the sunset.

“Thank you.”  said Zuko.  

“For what?” Katara asked puzzled.

“For giving me hope. I’ve noticed that you always seem to know exactly what to say to make everyone feel better and, although you may not realise it, we all really appreciate that. You give us all hope Katara, that things are going to work out.

She smiled. “Yeah, I just seem to love hope." She chuckled to herself.

“No no, what I mean is that you help us to see the brighter side of things.” Zuko said sincerely. He was never any good at expressing himself and this time was no exception."

“What you mean is I take bites out of the silver sandwich?” Katara said while laughing slightly harder.

“Sokka promised he wouldn’t tell.” Zuko grumbled. “When he wakes up I going to…”

“Thank you Zuko.”  Katara said while placing her hand on his shoulder.

“For what?” he asked.

She looked at him and smiled. “For making me laugh, I really needed that.”

And with that she got up and walked over towards her sleeping bag. It was getting dark and the last few traces of the suns rays could barely be seen over the edge of the horizon. Zuko turned back and watched her walk away. Katara, sensing that she was being watched turned round to face him and for a moment, their eyes locked. They both smiled and then turned away from each other, glad that neither of them were able to sleep that night.