Pre-reading: I actually wanted to wait writing any Avatar fic (without my OCs, of course) until the finals, but I just couldn't resist to write a tiny Christmas fic. My first Avatar fic starring the original characters! And oy, is it hard to keep them in character. I hope I managed, but then again... If someone tells you to say something without thinking, you automatically start thinking. I hope it doesn't work the same with telling myself I must keep them in character as much as possible.
Anyway, this is placed in an Alternate Universe (AU for short). You could place this in the middle of the Western Air Temple episode, actually, but I think it's also understandable if you haven't watched it. Or at least, I hope so... However. I placed the characters in our time, but I was too lazy to make up a whole new background story to fit in this time just for three pages of fanfiction. If I ever continue with this, I might make up stuff about why Aang is special, about Zuko's roots and Ozai's 'mission' and stuff like that. I just left it open for own ideas in this fic. I hope everything is clear, though.

Zuko, Katara, Toph, Aang, Sokka, Avatar: the Last Airbender © Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Nickelodeon, Viacom

A Very Merry Christmas To You, Too

As soon as he entered the party hall, he realized he didn't belong here. Not really, anyway. The ones who had organized it had seen him as an enemy for so long, that he hadn't known what to do when he'd received the invitation for this Christmas party. His first thought was that it was a stupid prank, so he hadn't responded to it. But a week ago, he'd received a reminder saying that if he didn't respond this time, either, he'd be expected at the part at 8 o'clock.

And for some reason, he was there indeed.

He touched the bowtie around his neck, felt slightly awkward. His uncle had helped him picking his clothes, but as he looked around, he noticed he was dressed a bit too formally compared to the others. Then again, maybe Sokka wasn't a good example to follow. The guy just gave him a nasty look as he passed him, followed by a quick 'oh, hello'. Zuko felt even more insecure as he replied with 'good evening'. So he wasn't welcome here, after all. Not that he could really blame them.

"Hello."

He looked up in surprise. The voice who'd greeted him was pretty harsh, as if the owner felt forced to say the word. And the person behind the voice wasn't really looking at him as if she was glad to see him. But he was rather surprised to see her, at least like this.

Katara was for once dressed in a dark shade of red, and it suited her very well. She'd undone her usual braid, and her long, dark hair curled over her shoulders. Behind her ear, there was a beautiful red rose. Overall, she was just pretty… pretty. And it confused him. He couldn't really say why, but for some reason, she took his breath away.

He didn't have the same effect on her, though. "Just to let you know, it was Aang who invited you," she coolly remarked. "So don't think this makes all of us friends. I'm not going to forgive you that easily." The stern look in her eyes forbade him to protest, and she walked off as silently as she'd walked to him.

He was disappointed, although he knew he wasn't reasonable. What else could he have expected? It wasn't as if he and Katara had a great friendship. The one time that they really talked, the one time that he felt he had her sympathy, he'd blown it himself. It had been wrong to follow his sister, he knew that now. But at the time, he had thought it would be the right decision.

Why had he decided to show up here again?

She couldn't help but looking back at him once or twice as she sought for her friends. She was so used to seeing him as an enemy, especially since he'd betrayed her. It was just difficult to try seeing him as a friend now, but then again – no-one really saw him as a friend as of yet. He'd turned his back on his father and sister and tried to join them, but they didn't really accept them. Thinking about it, that couldn't be easy for him. It was admirable he was trying to fit in, even though everyone was so obviously turned against him…

Ah, there she went again, feeling sympathy for him. How many times did she have to be disappointed before she'd finally learn her lesson? She wanted to take care of the people who needed her, but she hated it if they turned their back on her just like that.

"So, Zuko showed up after all, huh?" a girl next to her grinned. Katara had to look twice before she recognized Toph. She was dressed in a golden gown and for what probably was the first time of her life, she didn't wear her hair in a bun. It was carefully combed and tied together with a dark red ribbon, attired with several bells without the clappers. Katara highly doubted she had chosen this outfit herself. The almost blind girl pulled a face now, as if she could read Katara's mind. "Yeah, I know. Jingle bells, jingle bells," she sighed, pointing at the bells. "It was certainly not my idea, I'm telling you. Well, answer my question."

"You already heard him talking, Toph," Katara smiled. "Don't play dumb. I know your hearing is exceptionally great."

"Hm, surprising he's here. After the way you treated him," Toph now remarked. "I mean, not to make you feel guilty or anything, but I was practically the only one who didn't judge him right away."

"You weren't that fond of him anymore when he burnt your fingers with that match," Katara tried to defend herself, but she knew Toph was right. She herself was the one who'd turned him down the most as he tried to explain he had really changed now. She'd heard that message one time too often.

"That was an accident, and you know it. I shouldn't have tried to grab that candle right before he lit it," Toph grumbled, "though I'll make sure he'll pay for it someday. Oh, by the way – Aang was looking for you."

Katara sighed a relieved breath. Finally, a change of subject. "Where is he?"

"You're asking me, a blind girl?"

"Toph, please…"

Thoughtlessly, he wandered off to the garden. He didn't really care where he was heading to – nobody seemed to care, so he didn't care, either. It was cold outside. Snow had been predicted for that night, but he couldn't be bothered with a white Christmas.

Why couldn't they at least try to forgive him? He knew he'd made mistakes, that he'd betrayed their friendship at a crucial moment. He shouldn't have chosen to go with Azula, he knew that now. He wanted to be his complete self, to prove that he wasn't as bad as they thought he was.

Who was he kidding? He didn't mean 'them', he meant Katara. He'd hurt her the most, if he could even call it hurting. After all, he hadn't hurt her in a physical way. Could he call it hurting her if they hadn't been friends to begin with? She had seen him as her enemy, so she couldn't have been hurt by his betrayal… His own thoughts started to confuse him.

He looked up, just in an attempt to put his mind at ease. A small twig hang above his head, above the door. He couldn't help smiling. Mistletoe. He'd better get away from it – one could never know for sure, after all. Not that he expected a girl would like it to stand underneath it with him.

He had no idea how long he'd stood there, in the middle of the garden. All he knew is that he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.

"Zuko?"

He was startled, but he tried not to show it. "Katara? What are you doing here in this cold?"

She merely shrugged as she joined him and looked up to the sky. A full moon shimmered there and was reflected in her blue eyes. "I like the cold," she remarked. She wore a warm coat now, so she was probably safe from that cold. And then she added, a bit dreamily: "it's a beautiful moon tonight… And it seems like we're getting snow, doesn't it? A white Christmas."

She was talking about nothing, really, but at least she was talking to him. "Yeah, I heard something in the news about it," he replied. Simultaneously, he could slam his forehead. What was he thinking, talking about the news!

Katara sniggered. "Yes, that's true, it was all over the news. White Christmases are rare nowadays."

He shrugged and was silent. He had to know – he had to know why so suddenly. "Why do you want to talk with me now, Katara?"

"Oh, well… It got hot inside, so I went out," she hastily said. "And there you were, so… I talked to you."

For some reason, he didn't buy that story, but it was fine. At least they were talking – that was a start. Not that the subject of their talking was that interesting. Snow that hadn't fallen yet wasn't exactly his idea of the first topic he wanted to discuss.

"Why did you come?" she now suddenly asked. "I mean, I can't get myself to think you liked the idea of coming here, but yet… here you are."

"I think I was hoping for another chance," he muttered, staring at his feet. "Since I blew the last one."

Katara was silent for a while, as if she was pondering something. "I'm trying to understand you," she eventually confessed. "I really do. And I think I can, but – I'm just afraid to be disappointed. I hope you don't blame me for that."

"I understand…"

She weakly smiled. "I hope that this time, you won't run off to the other side mere minutes after those words."

She still didn't dare to trust him. "Listen," he tried again, "I've changed. I realize I've made quite some mistakes in my life, but…"

"Save your breath, Zuko. I heard you the first time," she replied, but her voice had softened and wasn't that harsh anymore. Even though her words were unfriendly, her voice certainly wasn't. And neither was her face. "Everyone makes mistakes in their life, I know that. And Christmas is the time of peace on Earth – you were going to say that, right?"

He raised his eyebrow: he hadn't even thought of that. Was she implying that he came to this party, out of all possibilities, simply because he had hoped for the Christmas thought? He hadn't thought of it, in all honesty, but he suddenly realized it surely seemed that way. "I didn't mean that, I swear…"

"You came to our Christmas party, Zuko," she sighed. "Of course you thought of that."

He sighed, too, and realized this was of no use. Another futile endeavour.

She noticed how his face fell, and immediately felt guilty about it. Maybe it was a bit harsh to say it like this…

Why was she dragged along in his story again? She shouldn't have listened to Toph's talking about how she had judged him. She'd been sunk into thoughts while she'd gone to find Aang. He'd wished her a merry Christmas and she'd returned the wish, but she wasn't there with her thoughts. And so, quickly after, she'd wandered off to look for Zuko. And she'd found him, as she'd looked through the window that offered a view to the garden. She'd felt sorry for him, to see him alone in the cold, outside, and not just outside of the party. She'd seen him, and she'd wanted to talk to him. It wasn't like in her lame excuse, that she'd only talked to him because he happened to be there. She'd willingly decided to go out for that purpose.

"I'm sorry," he now suddenly whispered, "for everything."

His words startled her from her thoughts, and she looked up to him. His expression showed true regret, nothing that indicated he would do something like he'd done before: betraying her sympathy for him. The previous time… When she'd inquired about the scar that covered a great part of his face. She realized it wasn't his only scar. Maybe it was his only physical scar, but mentally… And she also realized something else now. In the past, his actions – even though she hadn't appreciated them, to say the least – had often made her forget about that scar. Was he trying to do the same with his other scars now? Did he want to hide them, forget about them, make a new start by apologizing?

"I'm sorry, too," she suddenly heard herself whispering. She felt how blood rushed to her cheeks as she'd said that, and she quickly turned away from him. "I, eh, I'd better get back inside. I think I hear Sokka calling me…" It was a simple lie, of course, but she'd suddenly gotten way too self-conscious to continue this conversation.

"Okay. I'll be outside for another while," was Zuko's soft response.

As she walked through the door, something fell on her head. She looked up in surprise, then noticed the twig that had fallen off of her head as she'd moved. Mistletoe. She weakly smiled as she picked it up and twirled it around in her hand for several times. Even though it was just a small twig, it still had its own beauty…

She slowly turned around and looked at Zuko again, pondering for a while. "Ehm…"

"Katara, it's snowing!" he suddenly remarked, a whole lot brighter than he'd been several seconds ago. But that brightness had already disappeared as he added: "oh, never mind… you probably can't hear me since you went back inside."

That did it for her. She turned to him and walked back to him for the second time that evening. On her way, she indeed felt soft snowflakes dropping on her face. "I heard you," she smiled, when she'd gotten close enough for him to hear her.

He was genuinely surprised by her presence. "What…"

She now took a quick decision: she grabbed his hand, pushed the mistletoe in it and looked up at him. "Please accept this as a token that I want to believe in you this time," she told him. "That I want to believe you can really change. Let's say the Christmas thought is a good excuse to start, but that I could have started on any other moment."

He smiled, a bit hesitant still, and then opened his hand.

She noticed his astonishment when he discovered the mistletoe, and she quickly added: "we're not standing under it, so don't worry about eh… that." She was now the one in tension, because after all, Zuko had a much higher status than she had. He probably got much more expensive gifts from his family…

But to her relief, he now truly smiled. "Thank you. I'll treasure it."

She smiled in return. "Merry Christmas, Zuko."

She'd already returned to the door as she heard footsteps behind her. "Zuko?" She felt how her pulse was racing as he suddenly grabbed her hand. She didn't look up, knowing he was facing her back now, and wondered what was next to come. It wasn't much, but it meant a lot.

He softly pinched her hand and held it a bit longer than appropriate, before he eventually whispered: "a very merry Christmas to you, too…"

Author's Notes: Sorry for your outfit, Toph. I just wanted you to say 'Jingle bells' in your own sarcastic way.

I really had to hold myself back with the mistletoe, I'm telling you! Haha. I'm quite a romantic, so I was really eager to let them kiss, but I realized in time it wouldn't be logical. So, this fic is the start of a friendship or maybe more.
I hope no shippers are offended by this ship. If you want to, you could see this as the start of a friendship and nothing else between Katara and Zuko, which is what I think will happen in the actual series. But since I'm a Zutarian, I see much more behind it. But you don't have to if you don't want to.

Everybody happy? Yes? MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! And a happy and healthy 2008 in case I'm not posting any more before the 31th of December.

Thank you for reading and see you soon!