Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the last airbender. I idolize the people who do. I am not responsible for any trauma you may experience when reading this piece of purely fan-made fiction.

A/N: okay, here goes: It must have been 1 AM when I wrote this. Seriously. It was a couple months ago before the boiling rock came out. It was probably inspired by Rashaka's fic, Heartbeat, but it has a different point. I don't really remember. It was one o'clock AM. I can't remember this kind of shit. xD

I really tried to get to the root of Katara's anger here. And the line, "No good deed goes unpunished," just kind of stuck with me when I was half asleep and had no willpower to keep from writing it all down. It's a little bit off, but otherwise good. I am always writing fanfics when I am really tired (because that's when I get creative) so as a result they come out a little...all over the place.

So anyways, I wrote a oneshot and I have been dying to post something lately. I start summer school next week and I want to get all my fanworks out before I run out of time :(

So here it is: No Good Deed.

"Oh, don't worry about her. She'll get over it."

Lies.

Zuko is sick of lies. He has just sacrificed a life of royalty to come live in some run-down air temple and be treated like dirt. Of course, the others have been perfectly nice. They treat him like family-something he had only experienced a couple of times in his life. The Duke and Toph both look up to him. Sokka almost treats him like a brother would. It's just her.

Zuko refuses to use her name. (He has barely talked to her since his arrival) If she doesn't respect me, I won't respect her, he thinks to himself. She pushes a bowl of rice into his hands angrily, with a scowl that contrasts the kindness of her usual physicality. Never mind the fact that every time he sees her face, he wants to smile. Or the fact that she looked so great in the light of the moon. Or the fact that he loves the sound of her name.

…Katara

Yes. He likes that. The softness of the word makes him reminisce back to her peaceful expression as he left her unconscious on the grass of the spirit oasis. It brings him back to the caves under Ba Sing Se, and a time when she had been unconditionally kind to him. When she offered to heal him. He can hardly believe the same girl is the one insulting him now.

"The spirits know you're only here to get your family out of the picture before you seize all the power you can."

Ouch.

Every person around the campfire stops with a spoonful of food suspended halfway to their mouths to stare at the girl in blue.

Before anyone can make a response, she places her half empty bowl on the ground and stands up.

"I am taking a bath. Nobody bother me. Good night."

Toph and Sokka share a look ("Was that Sugarqueen?" "Where did that even come from?"), before continuing to eat in awkward silence.

It takes one loud belch from the Duke to bring the normal energy back.

But still, as people settle down and lay out their sleeping bags after the meal, one has not completely brushed aside Katara's latest tirade.

"She'll get over it."

…

She won't get over it, Zuko thinks. She's never gone this far before. It had always just been petty jabs towards his bending or lack-there-of. May be one or two about his choice of attire in Ba Sing Se ("Y'know, that apron really suit you."). She had almost gotten over the fact that (gods forbid) the enemy was in their midst and eating the food she cooked. Something had set her off this time.

...They had been discussing war tactics yet again...on another tangent..."He told me when I was leaving. Trying to get me to stay. My mother was never dead after all. She was banished. Like me."

Damn it.

"That's something we have in common"

He has to talk to her. As he hears snores come from the others, he lifts himself silently off his bedroll and creeps off towards the rooms (No one really sleeps there anymore), knowing where he can find her. Zuko lets his thoughts stray as he navigates through the darks hallways.

Why is he doing this? To apologize? Why should I apologize? I haven't done anything wrong. She should be happy for him. She should apologize to him.

He raps angrily on the door to her assigned room before opening it, original intentions lost.

"What do you want?" She asks in a somewhat disgusted tone. He misses the worn out quality and sadness in her voice.

"What do I want?" he scoffs. "What do you want from me?"

She starts to sit up from her position on the bed (lying on her back over the scant covers). His reply had been angrier than she's heard from him in a while. She looks at him silently.

He goes on. "I have been nothing but civil since I got here. I gave up so much and I'm being treated like dirt. What in hell is your problem, Katara?"

There is a shocked silence from her after hearing her name come out of his mouth. Then she talks.

"My problem," she says steadily and quietly, "is you. And I don't care how much you gave up to be here. You know damn well that you should have done it before."

"I told you, I'm sorry about that. I made the wrong choice, yes, but I had my reasons-"

"Yeah, I get that. You wanted another taste of your 'royal' life. Well excuse me." She is standing now.

"Listen, I'm trying to be nice here; I'm trying to make peace-" He takes a step towards her.

"And I was trying to be nice too Zuko!" She starts to yell. "But, it didn't help much did it?"

At this, Zuko is out of responses. Instead of talking, he sighs and takes a moment to look at her. He notices that her eyes are red and puffy, as though she had been crying. They are narrowed at him in a fierce glare.

"Being nice won't change anything." She starts out calm but her voice starts to shake and crack with her next words. "I've done nothing but forgive and forget all my life and I always end up losing.

"And you've been a complete bastard since day one and there's still a chance you can find her." Pools gather in her eyes, but she stands tall despite them, her arms folded over her knows who she is talking about. He realizes what she wants.

She takes a step forward, still standing tall as if she is above him, somehow. He remains silent.

"I'm glad I didn't heal your damn-" He grabs her by the wrist and pulls her into an embrace. After just a brief moment, he takes a step back, holding her at less than an arms length away.

It is her turn to stare. Her cheeks now have a slight red tinge to them. He holds her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

He feels her shaking. Tears roll from her eyes. "We needed you. We could have won."

He knows what she is talking about. "I was blind and stupid. I will never turn my back on you again, Katara." She blinks.

Katara.

Her eyes harden in the space of a second and she shoves him off of her. Her breathing is uneven as she looks up at his shocked expression. There is a moment of tense silence.

He takes this as his cue to leave her room, but something stops him a step away from the door.

"No good deed goes unpunished, Zuko." He hears her breath hitch. Her next statement is half-hearted and weak.

"You of all people should know that…get the hell out of my room."

He sighs and looks back at her desperately (I had hoped you wouldn't hate me this much) before walking out the door.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this :) It's a little sad, and a little OOC and a little...mood-swingy, but it's something. Things have kind of slowed down since Sozin's Comet came out. STAY STRONG! (Did anyone notice Zuko's little smile in Boiling Rock, right after serving tea to Katara? It's so cute xD)

There are more oneshots to come! I may end up just adding it to the same place. I'm not sure.

REVIEW!

Fishy