#evil!katara

[waterfire1848]

@stardust948

Part 2!

In the time of Aang and Sokka being knocked out, the Water Tribe completely takes over the Fire Nation, drowning most of the small islands and taking control of all their factories to make themselves weapons. Azula and Zuko get word a couple weeks after the WT takes control about what happened and it causes them to go to Kuei and demand that something needs to be done. Knowing now that they are literally the last stand against the WT, Kuei agrees to stage one final desperate attack. The day after he agrees to this, Sokka and Aang both wake up. Zuko takes Aang aside and tells him about what happened but this is also the time when Aang realizes that he no longer has his bending. Meanwhile, Sokka and Azula talk because Sokka saved her life. (Azula: Why? Why not join your sister and go home. Sokka: My dad...he isn't the best guy and I figured that out too late. Now my grandmother has been taken prisoner and my nation has conquered yours. Azula: There was nothing you could have done to stop the Fire Nation from being conquered. It's not your fault. Sokka: Thank you. Azula: But don't think that means we're all going to suddenly accept you with open arms. You have a LOT to make up for. Sokka: I know. All I ask is the chance to make up for it. Azula: Well, I guess throwing yourself in front of an attack to save me from getting stabbed by your sister is a good start towards getting that chance. Sokka: Start? Azula, smirking: Fine. You can have a chance. Sokka: Thank you. Azula: Not that it'll matter. Sokka: Why wouldn't it matter?) Azula tells Sokka about Aang and Sokka goes running off towards Aang, yelling and asking if he ever learned waterbending. Aang says no and Sokka reveals that since he never did he can still waterbend because that chi path was never unlocked (I don't know).

Sokka starts teaching Aang what little waterbending he knows (which isn't a ton being a non bender and all but some)(he’s also taking it easy because that’s what you do after you’ve been stabbed). While they do that, the Gaang also tries to figure out the best time to attack the WT. Sokka suggests going after them during the winter solstice. Since it's such a huge celebration and the one time they bring out Tui and La, all eyes will be on them and there will be fewer soldiers guarding the nation and the royal family. Sokka also provides them with information for how to go around the soldiers and get to the royal palace from behind. No one guards there because it's all just a giant frozen tundra, unless you have amazing equipment and are okay with the very real possibility of starving, freezing or being eaten then no one is going to get through that. The Council of Five takes the information and uses it to plan for an attack during the winter solstice. Since it's better for them to be there during the attack, the Gaang decide to fly over and stay in the WT until it's time for the attack.

They arrive in the North Pole (which is where everything is located for the WT) and start hiding out in different location, slowly getting closer and closer to the tundra while the EK comes up from behind, ready to meet them so that Sokka can guide them through the tundra. While in the North Pole, Sokka and Azula grow closer and closer especially when Sokka continues to show how trustworthy he is. (Sokka: Look! Look! You guys have to try this! Toph: What is it? Sokka: Seal jerky! It’s delicious. Aang: Ummm….maybe I’ll sit this one out. Sokka: Right. Uh-Oh! Try this. It’s called Mooncake. Aang: Mmm!! This is amazing. Sokka: I told you. Azula: You eat this? Sokka: Yeah? Why wouldn’t I? It’s delicious. Azula: I figured a prince would have more of a….fine dining experience. Sokka: Well, I did, but I also just ate regular snacks whenever I could. This was one of my favorites. My mom used to bring us down here and she’d….uh…. Azula: And she’d? Sokka: Sorry, I forgot.) Sokka and Azula bond over their love of WT food and Azula grows to really enjoy some WT activities such as penguin sledding, hunting and seeing the animals (despite what she says Azula find the orcas and leopard caribou so cute and loves listening to Sokka info dump about them). The two are also there for each other when it becomes too much to be in the WT (for Azula because she’s literally in the nation that killed her mom and for Sokka because he misses his home but know he’s not coming back anytime soon). (And yes both Sokka and Azula suck at flirting).

Throughout this time, the Gaang is also able to see more of the WT and come to understand why the war was starting and continued. It was started because the WT didn’t believe they could fully live off the land, at least to the same degree people did in the FN and EK, and when no one helped them, they grew angry and attacked. It was then continued because of Kya’s death and the inability of the royal family to process that grief. Despite what Katara and Hakoda have done, Aang does understand what grief can do to a person and is inclined to at least talk to them to see if there’s a chance they can end this without anyone getting hurt. Sokka doesn’t think there’s a chance of that but be also doesn’t want to hurt his sister and father (he’s split). Eventually, they arrive at the spot and meet the EK army.

Sokka guides the EK through the tundra, facing only a few bumps in the roads, edited they arrive at the royal palace just as the ceremony begins. Realizing that they’re being attacked, the tribe’s main focus is protecting Tui and La so there’s less defense surrounding Katara and Hakoda. Katara instantly runs off to attack the incoming invaders and begins bloodbending them without wasting a second. A blast from Azula forces Katara to release her hold and a rock over her eyes from Toph keeps Katara from bending. She can still waterbend, and does, but she can’t aim anymore and ends up hitting a few of her own people. (Azula: Did you mean to stab your own people? I wouldn’t be shocked. I mean you did stab your own brother. Katara: It was meant for you! I won’t miss this time, ashmaker!) Sokka joins the battle with Azula against Katara while Aang, Toph and Zuko go after Hakoda. The WT army, being in their native element, is a good match against the EK but they were also very much caught off guard and it allows the EK to take advantage of that surprise.

(Split into two) With Hakoda, Aang is trying to convince him to end the war and to stop the fighting, arguing that Kya wouldn’t have wanted this to happen. Hakoda refuses to listen to Aang and says that the world needs the pay for her death. Meanwhile, Azula and Sokka are fighting Katara and doing a better job of stopping her. Katara does get the rock off her eyes but Azula and Sokka are moving too fast and hitting her with too many attacks for her to bloodbend. Katara gets the chance to attack Sokka again but when she does all she can see is her mother and can’t bring herself to hurt him again. (Katara: Get out of here, Sokka. I’m giving you a chance. If you leave now and don’t return then I won’t look for you. Sokka: You know I can’t do that, Kat. Katara: Sokka, please, I can’t-…..we have to do this. Sokka: No, you don’t!) Azula also steps in with her own advice about her mother’s death. Together, they’re able to convince Katara to stand down and the three go after Hakoda. All together, the Gaang defeat him and his soldiers and bring the war to an end. Because of her role in the war, Katara is put under palace arrest (get it🥲) and Sokka takes over as ruler in the WT with Azula going between the FN (which has been…un-flooded) and the North Pole.

Sokkla Opposite AU, where Sokka is the banished Water Empire Prince looking for the Avatar and Azula is the last firebender of Hira'a who just found a boy inside a volcano.

Hello, @stardust948 !!! (BTW Love this reverse AU!)

1. Azula grew up in Hira’a because that’s where Ursa took the children and fled to when the Water Tribe attacking (very big mistake making your main city basically in a bowl). Iroh, Ozai, Lu Ten, Azula and Zuko were living their lives in the royal palace when the WT attacked and Ursa took the kids and fled to Hira’a which is where they’ve spent most of their lives (13 years). Ursa never stopped telling her children stories about Caldera and a time before the Water Tribe attacked and the Avatar which Azula rejected by Zuko was mesmerized by. Azula never really thought the Avatar could be alive and instead wanted to focus on defeating the Water Tribe so that they could go home. Iroh, Ozai and Lu Ten all never come to Hira’a so Ursa has no clue what happened to them but, shortly before Aang comes, she’s killed by the Water Tribe (who are looking for any remaining members of the Royal Family). Azula is the last firebender left in the area and feels the weight of this everyday. One day, she and Zuko are by the volcano (Zuko: Yeah. The Water Tribe would never look for two firebenders near a volcano. What a crazy idea. Azula: Zuzu. Zuko: Yes? Azula: I will know you into the active volcano. Please shut up. I’m trying to focus.) Of course he doesn’t shut up, Azula gets made and a familiar airbender pops out.

2. Sokka was banished by his father because he’s a nonbender. (Kinda hypocritical since Hakoda’s a nonbender too but…) Basically, Sokka was scarred and banished because Hakoda wanted Katara to take charge. He believed that she, being a girl in the Water Tribe, would be far more easy to control when she was on the throne as opposed to Sokka. So, Hakoda tricks Sokka so that when he goes on a traditional hunt, Sokka is attacked by a polar bear dog and blinded in one eye and returns home empty handed. Hakoda regards this as Sokka’s failure to show he can’t lead (he can’t even catch some food for a family. How is he expected to lead a nation?) and banishes him to find the Avatar. When Sokka sees the light coming from the Fire Nation island, he knows that this is his moment. (Sokka: Gran Gran, do you know what this means?!?! Kanna: That we have to go to the land where 80 degrees is their record low temperature?). Sokka’s scar is three long scratches over his eye and he can’t see out of it, so he relies on his other eye and good hearing to detect things. Also, because of his lack of bending, he’s become an expert in weapons and hand to hand combat which aids him greatly in an initial fight against Zuko (which he wins easily) and he doesn’t get to fight Aang because the airbender goes with him without issue (Aang: I bet none of you Water Tribe soldiers have ever fought an airbender before…)

3. When the Fire Nation was attacked, firebenders fled all over the planet and were hunted down by the Water Empire. Realizing they were weak, a good number of firebenders took whatever resources they could find and fled to the old Sun Warriors civilization. Azula and Zuko, being former royalty, were able to get that information and tell Aang about it so he can learn firebending (I changed the cycle. It’s now air, fire, earth and water). However, to throw Sokka off their trial they have to make a couple stops in the Earth Kingdom first. (Azula: I’m telling you, based on how Aang flies that water prince won’t be able to track us. Aang: What do you mean how I fly? Azula: We literally flew across two islands then flew back to both of those islands. Aang: Seems normal to me Azula: Yeah, no one is figuring out our pattern.) In the Earth Kingdom, they find Mai, who also fled with her family but they went to the Earth Kingdom. Mai is still trained as a markswoman but now she’s also helping the Yuyan archers. (Zuko: MAI! Azula: Your girlfriend is alive after all. Aang: Girlfriend? Azula: Mai and Zuko were inseparable before the Water Tribe attacked Caldera. They literally did everything together. Zuko: What?! No, we didn’t. Azula: Okay, we’ll pretend. Maybe we can also pretend the sky isn’t blue, Appa isn’t big and the Water Tribe doesn���t suck too. Zuko: 😡 Azula: This is only proving my point). Mai agrees to join after realizing where they’re going and what they’re trying to do.

4. Bato is a bit different from Zhao. He’s a family friend, but also Bato doesn’t just tell Sokka not to try and capture Aang. He gives him a chance but when Sokka can’t, he steps in and tells Sokka to remain put while he handles it. (Kind of in a…. ‘You’re my kinda sorta nephew’ way). Would you believe that Sokka doesn’t listen? Bato figures out where they’re going and that that’s the hiding place of the firebenders. The Water Tribe empire sends as many ships as possible and attacks while Azula, Zuko and Aang are there. When they arrived to the Sun Warrior’s home, they met Ty Lee who became a sort of spiritual person since her time in Caldera and is very closely connected to the dragons. When the city is attacked, she and the dragons emerge to protect the people and one of the dragons is shot down. The Water Tribe has GREAT respect for the spirits but they don’t really care for the first benders of other nations so killing a dragon is not a big deal to them. You know who it is a big deal for? Aang. While Aang attacks the Water Tribe, Ty Lee sacrifices herself to become the second dragon and maintain balance. (Sokka: Bato! Bato! Bato, hardly breathing because the dragon drove its claws into his chest: Hey, Sokka. Sokka: BATO! Bato, don’t worry. We’ll get a healer and- Bato: Don’t. I’m okay. Sokka: The blood coming out of your body would say otherwise. Bato: Sokka, I don’t know what you know about your father’s plan but promise me you’ll stay safe. Sokka: I- Bato: Promise me. Sokka: I promise. Bato: Good. Good….Sokka: Bato?…Bato…😭) (Hakoda: Ugh! Advisor: Sir, I- Hakoda: Get Katara! Advisor: But the princess- Hakoda: Get her! Tell her that she has her first mission. Bringing her brother back and killing Team Avatar. I have a feeling her newest skill will be very useless for that.)

5. Katara in canon was incredibly strong on just a couple weeks of training. Now imagine her with years of training and being okay with bloodbending (yeah....not good). As the princess of the Water Empire, Katara has a military force behind her but chooses not to use it because she wants to move swiftly. To do so, she uses Yue and Suki to help her. Yue isn’t exactly a princess (since only Katara can fulfill that role) but because the Water Tribe is incredibly spiritual, she is held in high esteem for having some of Tui’s life force. Unlike Azula and Zuko in canon, Katara and Sokka get along great. The second Sokka sees Katara he runs over to hug her and ask her how she’s been. Katara really doesn’t have any bad intentions so she tells Sokka about the mission their father has given her and if he wants to help. Sokka grows worried though because he doesn’t have Aang and wonders why his father could want him back without the Avatar. (Katara: He wants you back. What’s the problem? Sokka: I just….I don’t know. It feels weird. Katara: He’s our father. Sokka: I know and I know he just wants what’s best for us both but- Katara: He probably wants you back now because the Avatar is back. Hope will return to the Earth Kingdom and whatever’s left of those ashmakers may come together again. We need our Prince. Sokka: You’re right. Katara: I always am. Sokka: Spirits, I forgot how annoying you are when you’re right. Katara: I’d like to think of it as more….announcing to the world that I’m smarter than you. Sokka: You were right in this one argument. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves). The first time the four meet the Gaang, Katara goes right for bloodbending and bloodbends them all. (Katara: You’re not living up to the legend, Avatar). She only losses because Azula hits her with enough fire that Katara has to back up and they escape on Appa. (Sokka: You learned to bloodbend during the day?!?! Katara: That’s not all I learned. Sokka: What do you mean? Katara: Let’s just say I have a very…creative way to make sure that little firebender and the Avatar never bend a single element again).

(Plus one) 6. In Ba Sing Se, Sokka realizes the truth: that Hakoda doesn’t want him to return and grows terrified of going back with Katara. With very limited options, since Katara is seconds from taking over the city, he decides to switch sides and make a desperate jump to Aang’s team (Azula: Why would you join us? Sokka:….The good of the world? Azula: 😑). Of course, no one on the team trusts him but they’re a little occupied with fighting Katara to really worry about that. While fighting in the final battle, it’s Katara vs Sokka, Azula and Aang and Katara is very angry that Sokka changed sides. She’s angry enough that it throws her off her game and she ends up at Azula’s mercy with a flame to her throat. (Aang: Azula, no! Azula: We have to! If we don’t kill her now then she’ll kill us later! Aang: No! We can’t kill her. Azula, taking her eyes off of Katara: Aang- Sokka, noticing what Katara is about to do: Azula, watch out! *He pushes her out of the way of one of Katara’s attacks and Katara sends an ice blade past Azula and straight into Sokka’s chest. Sokka: AHHHH!! Azula: Sokka!) Katara takes the moment of panic to attack Aang, bloodbending him and Azula down and removing Aang’s bending but being forced to flee (cause….the Earth King has guards) before she can remove Azula’s. Azula, Zuko and the guards get Aang and Sokka to a healer’s room while Katara, Yue and Suki flee the city without being detected. Azula remains with Sokka and Aang while they heal, staying with Sokka until he actually wakes up. (Azula: He saved my life. Zuko: He did. Maybe he has changed. Azula: Zuko: Azula? Azula: No one’s ever….Zuzu? Zuko: Yes? Azula: Nevermind. It’s not important. I’ll talk to Sokka when he wakes up.)

[yourhighness6]

Ugh I will always love the concept of Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko after the last agni kai, mostly because it makes no sense to me that Zuko was able to bounce back so easily after being struck by lightning, but also because the way the show treats bloodbending is just odd to me. It was a defense mechanism created by a traumatized victim of some of the most devastating parts of colonization, and although I understand that Hama was supposed to symbolize the "bad parts" of waterbending and was important for Katara's growth in realizing that the world isn't entirely black and white, its still disappointing to me that the show never explored the gray areas of blood bending, especially since that episode was, as I stated above, about understanding the gray areas of the war. Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko would add so much to the last agni kai in demonstrating that she has truly realized that "good" and "evil" are relative concepts, and Zuko being saved by both a defense mechanism of a survivor of colonialism and a type of bending used to terrorize his people would have even added to his arc, as the narrative required him to save and subsequently be saved by the physical embodiment of everything his family sought to annihilate.

[queen-morgana91]

Damn atla fandom is always looking for the yin/yang dynamic and "soulmates" trope when in the canon series it's literally...... Zuko and Aang

I mean, Sokka IS absolutely Aang's best friend and brother, but the soulmates platonic bond belong to them

Enemies to friends, opposite elements in terms of temperament, both related to Roku and Sozin, both have "restore my honor" thing, both have scars from Azula, "the Avatar bring Zuko hope" line etc etc

They are meant to be friends bonded by the universe (Roku and Sozin again, hello?) and their respective paths were constantly intertwined. You learn about their backstories BY PARALLELS, BY DREAMS

“The storm” and "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" are two of my favorite episodes because it really highlights how their fates are intertwined

They are THE narrative foils of the series. From episode 1 until the very end you know they are connected

I mean look at Zuko here

You can’t tell me Zuko didn’t think about this convo/experience in general all the time before switching sides. He’s not angry or disappointed. He looks contemplative, like what Aang said really got to him, even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Aang couldn't never hate Zuko because he knew why Zuko was the way he was and Zuko was obsessed with him for 3 seasons.

In the end they are presented together side by side as the Fire Lord and the Avatar. Their union is what will bring peace

But since it's not a "romantic connection" this relationship is ignored bruh

[demaparbat-hp]

As she watches Lee and Kya avoid each other's eyes from across the room, the phrase comes back to her, swift and silent:

"To hesitate is to lose."

.

As Song treats the victim of an unfortunate interaction with a rare poisonous flower, her day takes an unexpected turn when it becomes apparent that the old man's nephew and her assistant have history.

A vivid history.

[quillthrillswriting]

i'm sorry, but the atla fandom is the only place where i've ever seen people unironically use a 12 year old telling his friend that killing someone out of grief is maybe a rash decision and not healthy to argue that that same 12 year old is being controlling and is an unhealthy partner

you guys know that murder is like....a bad thing....right? especially for a 14 year old? you guys know that revenge murder isn't a healthy strategy? you guys know that anyone who would encourage that is probably actually the unhealthy one in that scenario...right??

[stygiovictoria]

if anyone cares (doodles under cut)

[favlie]

I'm rewatchig atla again and, as expected, i'm full of zutara feelings. Forever hopeful that this time they will be canon. ♥ -- Please do not repost/use without asking first! ♥

[koringus]

In the end love always wins

[kidcaroline]

A reminder that "atla writers were fighting for Zutara" is a bullshit

There are 21 atla writers and only 3 of them supported Zutara. The creators said over and over that they were never meant to happen

Maybe one day y'all will finally enjoy this fanon ship without twisting the canon to your will and bashing the characters 24/7 so atla fandom will finally be less toxic.

[gloomybadger4life]

Who would be the easiest?

Who would be the funniest?

@krista-kritical @chaosmagetwin @ballooo @hikaruthestar @wingchunwaterbender @ziezii @local-enby

[blackfilmmakers]

I hate how Aang is just never allowed to feel bitter about having his culture colonized. Like he apparently shouldn't feel so upset about colonizers that destroy his people's temples and replace it with pipes and smog. He apparently shouldn't feel angry when he learns that they build weapons of mass destruction for the Fire Nation

And then they try to make him out to be an "airbender purist" in Korra and like....he literally wouldn't be like that

"Aang is a bad father because he only paid attention to his one kid that was an airbender" his culture literally involves venturing out to other nations, and he befriends so many people and learn their cultures through these exchanges

If Aang is excited to share his culture, he is literally going to share it with his entire family, whether they are an airbender or not. He is literally excited to show Katara and Sokka how to play airbending games.

And he would want to do the same with the Southern Water Tribe because that's his wife and brother-in-law's homeland. He would take his children to travel around the world with him because that's what his people do

[mugentakeda]

the successful aftermath of the first ever (improvised) top surgery, invented by master katara of the southern water tribe and performed on fire lord zuko (circa 104 ag)

[floof-ghostie]

I might not like Hama as a person, but as a character, she's such an interesting allegory for the perpetuation of the abuse cycle as a result of colonization. She lashes out at Katara for not wanting to learn to bloodbend, which Hama sees as an important skill (intergenerational clash over values, or tradition allegory? Perhaps). She takes advantage of Katara's trust, and hurts her, but in Hama's mind, she's helping Katara realise her full potential. And isn't that kind of reminiscent of how elderly relatives treat their young? Trying to prepare them for the real world harshly, as a result of their own trauma but ultimately causing harm and pain? I think that she represents what Katara could have become had Kya not been there to protect her. Had she not met Aang, and had the Fire Nation arrived before she could meet him.

Have your opinions on Hama, but I think she's a really interesting and complex character who really shouldn't be seen as purely vindictive, or as some kind of hero. There's a lot of nuance we should approach her with.

[queen-morgana91]

tui and la, moon and ocean, push and pull, yin and yang ❤

A reminder that the ocean and moon spirits are the canon yin - yang of the series and the writers knew exactly what they were doing ;)

[demaparbat-hp]

Mutual damage (a WIP)

[zukosdualdao]

the moon will sing a song for me (i loved you like the sun)

zutara month, day seven: divine intervention, @zutaramonth.

summary: when zuko takes the lightning aimed for katara, it takes a little more than her usual healing to get him back from the brink. feat. yue's words of encouragement and empowering influence on katara, medically necessary bloodbending, and a zuko who is too out of it to understand much of what is going on, but that's okay. katara has him.

content warnings: general references to violence and wounds, nothing more explicit than the show.

notes: title is from "the moon will sing" by the crane wives. yes i do too many lyric titles. no i will not stop <3. idk when sozin's comet officially ended but for fic purposes we are imagining the timing makes sense for the moon to be out after the agni kai. two pieces of dialogue were taken from the show.

Zuko groans as he's being turned over. His bones feel like liquid, his skin set alight, his heart like a crater in his chest.

Katara, he thinks, he tries to say, he doesn't know.

Katara looks at him with a worried expression, her lips turned in a frown, her eyes wide with fear and sadness as she presses a watery hand to his crumpled, prone form.

She is worried but alive. She is alive, and if she is here, then she must have defeated Azula.

Katara is alive. That is what counts. This was his destiny, then. To save her.

It wasn't a bad note to end on.

Zuko closes his eyes. There's a hammering thud in his chest. He is so tired. Normally, he'd associate the feel of it with exertion, or else desperation, and he would feel frantic. But he is so tired. He has been so tired.

"No," he thinks he hears Katara say. It sounds like she's underwater, or perhaps he is. "No, Zuko, don't you dare."

He struggles to open his eyes again because he doesn't want her to sound so angry with him and doesn't want her to be sad. It only feels like a moment has passed, or maybe it has been hours.

She is looking up. Pale, yellow light shadows her.

Katara is speaking with the moon.

The moon is also a girl.

Someone told him a story like that once.

A spirit, he thinks a little redundantly, with white tresses of hair and a glowy form and a gentle smile. The moon spirit?

Zuko jerks, a spasm of his body as he lights up again with the pain, and Katara looks back to him, alarmed.

"—but you know another way," the moon-girl insists softly to Katara, whom Zuko looks at as her mouth sets in a thin, determined line. Unless he's imagining it all, which is possible. "And I am here with you now."

After a moment's hesitation, Katara nods and sets her left, water-encased hand against his chest again and raises her other in a motion he faintly recognizes.

"This is going to hurt," she says warningly, sadly. "But it will help. I think. It has to." She shakes her head, torn.

Zuko doesn't know what's going on, but if Katara says it will help, that's all that really matters.

"I trust you," he slurs. Is that him? Does he sound like that?

Katara blinks. Zuko watches tears slip from her cheeks.

And then, it starts. She did not lie about it hurting. Despite himself, Zuko feels his body rising from the ground in pain and panic, and Katara has to keep him pressed down. His blood is boiling, his chest swelling. This must be what dying feels like. But then, he's pretty sure he was dying before. He supposes it's a process.

"—sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry—" Zuko makes out the words, faint in his ears, though Katara sobs them out.

Eventually, though, the beat of his heart evens. His blood begins to simmer down. The pain melts.

He watches as Katara pulls back, resting on her knees. The moon-girl smiles down on them before fading back into being just the moon, high in their war-torn sky again.

Nothing that just happened makes any sense, Zuko decides dazedly. But it was Katara who saved him, and that made all the sense in the world.

"Thank you, Katara," he rasps, looking up at her through heavy eyes. Looking at her made everything in the world seem alright again.

She looks down at him with a soft expression and a watery smile.

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."