The chapter, the last in the fic's main story, begins with the title being incorrectly spelled.
Sokka reveals that since he didn't listen to Mai, he went to tell Kuei what he overheard, and get him to woo Song, with Suki helping him sneak out and Aang covering for them. Katara decides to tag along.
As for Song, she encountered Iroh while she was still upset over what the Dowager said, and he proceeded to offer her good advice and tea, in spite of her preferring to be miserable by herself.
Kuei starts to get cold feet, but Sokka and Suki won't let him back down. Shortly thereafter, Zuko arrives, still angry with Katara, and Song tries to convince him that her face is too splotchy for her to see Kuei. Kuei, however, refuses to leave, and Zuko asks, on Song's behalf, why not. Kuei says that he loves her, clarifying that he doesn't mean Zuko, who quickly excuses himself. With the situation becoming increasingly awkward, Toph takes matters into her own hands, and earthbends Kuei and Song into the ground near each other.
Iroh scolds Toph for doing this, and Kuei insists on being released, but while Toph eels chastened at Iroh's scolding, she only offers to release Kuei once he and Song talk things over. They're able to admit that they love each other, but Song says that her mother-in-law is right and she is not a good queen (which deflates the significance of her refusing the bribe). Sokka boos Song's "sensible" attitude, and Kui says that Song makes someone as "foolish" as him a better person, so he wants her for his queen.
As Kuei and Song set off to have a word with the Dowager, Katara goes to speak with Zuko, but he isn't willing to hear her out. Granted, she does make things a bit worse by accusing him of interpreting her words in the worst possible light, but she has a point- it's quite rude to make assumptions about what someone wants to say, and not even to hear them out when they come to make an apology. Fortunately, while Zuko wants to leave, he can't, as the door gets stuck, so Iroh leaves to go get Toph.
Zuko still isn't willing to hear what Katara has to say, so when he asks why he should listen, Katara blurts out that it's because she loves him. Zuko's unwilling to believe that until he apologizes, at which point he gives her a kiss to forgive her. Katara then shares her epiphany- she knows she can be an idiot, just like he can, but she loves him in spite of that. Katara can't predict the future, and knows even Aunt Wu can't, but points out that she loves him, even if she doesn't know whether it'll be forever.
So here we are, roughly half a chapter from the end of the series, and we're only up to the part in which Zuko and Katara confess to each other- where we would have been back in Chapter 42 of Not Stalking Zuko if Zuko hadn't conveniently forgotten the confession.
Aang shows up and helps Katara and Zuko get out, all the while insinuating that he knows about them. Sokka then reveals that he only told Aang and Suki, and insists that Katara tell her father, since it's her secret. Sokka really should understand that, since Hakoda isn't entirely keen on his relationship with Suki, or Bato's relationship wtihh Ming, Katara would be naturally hesitant to tell him.
Shortly thereafter, Zuko talks with Katara, saying that, much to his surprise, Suki implies that she knew about them. Katara has to admit that she told him, and Zuko while he initially seems to disapprove of her doing so after her "song and dance" about not telling him, he's ultimately glad that she came around. That said, Zuko doesn't want to be around when Katara tells "Sir Hakoda" about them.
Katara goes ahead and does so, and Hakoda's glad that she did, because he was disappointed that she didn't tell him after he heard it from Iroh. Zuko's quite surprised that Iroh knows, but Hakoda isn't. Zuko goes off to see Iroh, and calls Hakoda "Sir Hakoda" once again, something Hakoda "secretly relishes."
Katara, understandably, asks Hakoda if this is it, and he says that while he was upset that she didn't tell her, he's happy if she's happy. That said, he's going to insist on having a talk with Zuko, in spite of how much Katara protests. While this is a step that Hakoda must inevitably take for Zuko and Katara's relationship to go forward, I wonder what happened to his concerns about the viability of their relationship. Meanwhile, Zuko learns that Iroh has known for ages, and so has Toph, which is why she locked them in the pantry. Iroh made sure that the people who do know also learn how to best keep this secret, something Katara's very relieved to hear.
Aang, for his birthday and coming of age day, gives a speech. Rather than talk about the cyclical nature of change, Aang says that some changes are permanent, but believes that just because some people are bad doesn't necessarily man humanity itself is. He brings together his friends, and says that he's learned a great deal from them. He says that six people from different nations came together in spite of their different background, and accomplished a great deal because of their differences, so he invites the rest of the world to do the same. It's an impressive speech, worthy of the inclusion on the Crowning Moment of Awesome page for the series, even if it's the product of the author diluting how much credit Aang gets, and it comes at the tail end of the series.
Katara then declares that this will be her final entry- not only is she not going to stalk Zuko any longer, but she won't "not-stalk" him any longer, so to speak. She's doing this because she can trust him now, and Toph is giving her grief about the contents (or at least what Toph thinks is in it, since she can't read). Katara's reassured that everyone's taking this well, and while Hakoda points out that there will be a great deal against Zuko and Katara, he won't be one of those things.
As for Zuko, Katara knows she loves him, but she's only "sure" that she loves him, noticing that he's not ready to say it just yet. Usually, after a Love Confession by one party of a prospective romance, it's up to the other to respond. If the answer is yes, they get together, and if the answer is no, they move on with their lives. Granted, at this point, there is a lot of unrealized potential in Zuko and Katara's potential, but three (or more) words from Katara would be a small but significant step in establishing them as a couple.
The fic ends here, and the next chapter is a concluding author's note. There is no follow-up to all the unresolved plot threads, no "Not Stalking Firelord Zuko- I Swear This Time!" it simply ends here with little resolution to the romance arc.Zuko and Katara have a good amount of romance as a couple, but given how long they've stood at the cusp of advancing their relationship, almost kissing or confessing their love, I unfortunately have to conclude that this is almost a good fic.
There's a (somewhat) short author's note, so, for the first time in a while (not counting last chapter, which was more a note saying why there isn't a note), I'm going to cover it in its entirety.
The author thanks us for reading all this and apologizes for how long it took for the final chapter to come out, even if it's not as long as Zuko and Katara getting together. To that, I say that they have a long way to go.
The author notes that she dislikes Sokka and Hakoda opposing Zuko getting together with Katara unless they have good reason, so she decided to avoid that.
The author once again says that she likes Aang, but that his character suffers from being the Creator's Pet. She says that he'd be in his element in the post-war peace process, by discussing how the war was ended through collaboration and showing people how to get to peace, rather than telling, as he did in The Great Divide.
The author FINALLY admits that she might have been hard on him, but says that she wants him to learn the lessons he never did in canon. That's all well and good, but there's a difference between learning those lessons and repeatedly being slammed for the faults in his worldview, and giving up his love for Katara, which the author refuses to acknowledge as more than a "childish crush."
In the next installment, I'll share my thoughts on Chapter 28, as well as some concluding remarks about the series.
What I liked
- Katara and Zuko finally reveal their relationship to others.
- Aang's speech about peace.
- One concession by the author that she might have been too hard on him.
What I didn't like
- The payoff to revealing the relationship came off as anticlimactic.
- Too little information on how and why Hakoda came around.
- Zuko came off as far too stubborn and unwilling to listen to Katara.
- Zuko and Katara's relationship ended on too inconclusive a note.
