Family:

Blue clashed against gold in yet would turn out to be another epic battle of the mind. Besides water and fire, insults were being thrown around like it was their element. Together, the two were at home, arguing, fighting, and causing chaos in their little family.

Water splashed against the ground as it began to circle the bender. It came to its call immediately, ready to be on the offensive or defensive at a moments call. Any onlooker thought that the girl maybe angry with the boy. But one certain Earthbender knew better. The unblinking eyes of the Blind Bandit looked off somewhere to the left of the two fighters, but she knew that the two were really dancing.

Fire crackled and sparked in every direction, one false move and there could be a wild fire that consumed the whole temple. But the bender controlling the dangerous element was nothing less than a master. His gold eyes held those blue ones as she shot water at him. His pale hands caused the fire to whip in front of him—the steam causing his eyes to water just a little.

When it cleared, she was in front of him. A snarl on her face as she shot water at him, with a short breath, she was able to turn it into ice. It snaked around his ankles and hands, and froze him where he stood. His black bangs fell into his face as he fell to the ground. Hands rushed out and he was able to push himself back up, breaking the hold on him.

He glared and with a twist of his wrist, a kick at the dirt, and a twist of his head a circle of fire appeared around the girl. Moving his hands closer together, he was able to push the flames closer to the blue-eyed girl. Her eyes widening in fear as the flames licked at her feet.

"Are you scared yet?" he asked.

She scoffed, trying to access her water. But one wrong move would cause her to get burned. "You don't scare me yet, Zuko," she snapped.

The man—no boy—tilted his head back and laughed. It was a pleasant sound that brought butterflies to the young waterbender's stomach. He walked closer. With each step, the fire grew lower, and she was able to move her arms at one point.

He roughly grabbed her arms, before she had a chance to bend her way out of there. Leaning up to her ear, he hissed, "You have every reason to be scared of me, Katara." He pulled away and then left the girl standing there, blinking stupidly.

The blind girl laughed a little as she watched the waterbender. Finally, Katara snapped, "Toph, you speak of that to no one."

"Don't worry, Sugar Queen, I saw nothing," she replied as the older girl stomped off.

Time was counting down. There were only days before the comet arrived. Tempers were running high, the team was nervous, and questions were being asked. No one was beginning to doubt Aang, it was just getting harder and harder to think that the war was going to end in their favor.

But it had to. If the war didn't end in the good guys favor, the Avatar would be killed and everyone who helped him along the way would either join the same fate… or something far worse than death.

Sokka was telling jokes again, Suki was hanging on his words, laughing when appropriate, and Toph was rolling her eyes—when she wasn't focused on picking the dirt out of her toes. Aang was lying on top of Appa, enjoying the time off from training. Katara had been distance from the group since her return. She'd come out to cook dinner and then retreat back to her tent and fall asleep before anyone knew that she was present.

And that's what she was doing now. Her blue eyes were focused on the soup before her, and hardly anyone noticed that she was there. But one pair of golden eyes has sought her out. He had been waiting for the moment when she would be there.

"Katara?" he called out.

She looked up; her eyes shaded black from lack of sleep. The smile that would have been there was now gone. Her eyes held nothing, no happiness, no sadness, not even hatred. Zuko wished to bring back the emotion that those blue eyes once held, the eyes that he—as much as he hated to admit—started to fall in love with.

"What is it, Zuko?" she answered.

The rest of the gang looked up and saw the waterbender. Aang jumped off Appa and began to rush towards the girl. But just as soon as he thought it, Toph, Sokka, and Suki had stopped him.

"Lets go spend some family time together, Aang," Sokka said, throwing an arm around the young boy. "Maybe we can work on your plan for the Fire Lord."

Both Suki and Toph nodded, but not before Aang threw in his objection. "Sokka, Katara and I—"

"It can wait, Twinkle Toes," Toph said. "I think those two need some time alone." Aang shot one last fleeting look at Katara, but followed the members to his new family.

"Katara?" Zuko tried again.

"I don't want to talk about it," she answered, stirring the soup with her bending.

"Is there something to talk about?" he countered, flinging his hair off his scar. "Or is it your actions?"

"There's nothing, Zuko, so drop it," she snapped.

He smiled. A look of annoyance had appeared in her eyes. Even though it was brief, it was still there. He sat down on the ground, leaning against the small rock tower that Toph had created. He looked up into the sky. A small star peaked out against the colors from the setting sun. His eyes then looked down to Katara; maybe a different approach would work with her.

"So, Sokka's right, we are kind of like a family," he said, crossing his legs at the knee. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but this way; he wouldn't have to see her blue eyes. "Look at us, we have everyone. The tough young sister, the little brother, the big brother who needs to protect everyone and of course the girl next door."

"Okay, I'll bite," said Katara, looking over. "What are you talking about?"

Zuko peeked around his leg. There was that hint of annoyance. "Our little family, the one that you and Sokka started. So, I suppose that would really make you two the parents. But for incest sake, we'll say Sokka's the cool Uncle."

She raised an eyebrow, causing him to switch positions. His legs were folded nicely and he leaned forward. There was a smile on his face, one that she couldn't help but be wary of.

"That would make you the mother," he paused to think. "Though I suppose your children are a little strange. So, if thinking that Sokka is the cool uncle, that would make Suki the strict aunt."

Her hand rushed up to her nose. She was able to cover up her small smile with a sneeze, but Zuko knew better. He returned his leaning position, his hand now stroking his chin. He looked over at Katara and saw that she had began to stir the yellow soup once again.

"But where does that leave your father, my uncle, and your grandmother?" he pondered out loud. "Well, Uncle Iroh is clearly the crazy uncle that everyone loves to have at parties, but is really driven nuts by. And your father, I guess is the grandpa that everyone loves. And your grandmother…" he paused.

She let out a sigh, probably thinking of the home down south. "Zuko, are you just trying to get me to open up about my problems?" she asked. "Because, I told you there was nothing on my mind."

"I guess, your grandmother would have to be the great-grandmother who doesn't approve of anything," he continued on. Then his widened and he let out a loud dramatic gasp. "My sister!"

"What? Where?" Katara said, rising to her feet.

"Well, I guess we can disown her. She is crazy after all," Zuko continued. "Same goes for my father."

The prince continued to ramble on and on about the family that Katara had started—therefore making her the mother of it all—he had lost interest in what she was actually doing. She lifted off the pot and placed it to the side, waterbending enough into bowls for the missing family members. She had taken it to the group, and when she returned, he was still rambling on.

Finally, she sat down next to him, and placed her head on his shoulder. He shut up and looked down at her. She finally had a look of content on her face. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around her.

"You're forgetting someone?"

"Oh yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"You." She kissed his cheek and stood up. "I don't know how you did it, maybe you've been hanging around Sokka too long, but you've helped me a lot more than you know."

She turned to go into her tent, and Zuko stood there blinking his eyes a few times. He stood up, getting ready to follow her, but paused at the food that was placed in front of him. He picked up the bowl and held it up in a form of thanks.

"What am I then?"

"I would have to say, the boyfriend to the mother." She giggled a little before letting the tent swish close. A second later, her head popped out and she said, "Thank you."

Zuko flinched. It wasn't from the wound that his crazy sister had inflicted. No, it was from the red handprint that he was now supporting. Maybe telling Mai that he was no longer interested was not the best case. He couldn't help but think about the final battle with his sister, how he had jumped in front of Katara to save her. Even though he considered the Water Tribe girl to be family, he was still in love with her, and couldn't change that.

"I liked your speech," a voice said. "Maybe when you've got time between all the paper work, meetings, and remodeling, we can do an activity together."

Looking up, he saw the blue eyes of Katara. "Do an activity?"

Katara's cheeks flushed. "Yeah, you know at a place and time. If you're not too busy."

Zuko moved over and placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. His heart began to beat faster. His fingers moved up to the necklace that she always wore. The soft silk of the band still held after all she had been through.

"Are you going back to the South Pole?"

"Yeah, not for a couple of days though. Sokka wants to look for his boomerang and sword," she answered. "It feels like it's been years since I've been home."

He looked away. "I know the feeling. We're putting Azula in a maximum security cell at the Boiling Rock."

"She's family."

"She's insane."

The two stared at each other for a moment. Katara sighed and shook her head. "Family should be close by. What about your father?"

He looked at her. "Why are you so curious about my family?"

She turned to him and touched his scar. "Because your real family is going to be gone for a long time. It could be years before we see each other again!" she shouted. "And all you care about is if your father is nearby and where your crazy sister is!"

"My father has information about my mother," he said.

Katara gasped. "Zuko, I had no idea."

"On the Day of Black Sun, he had told me that she had been banished. I need to go out and find her. To see where she is. And he has information about her!" Zuko shouted. "Can you see why having my father close by is so important?"

Katara sighed and walked out the door. "But you're still loosing the only real family you ever had. Sokka, Aang, Toph, Iroh, and I all leave on the same day. You will truly be alone."

She walked out and didn't look back. This caused the prince—now Fire Lord—to scream in pain. He launched a fireball at the picture of his father. Grumbling to himself, he rubbed the red print on his cheek and then touched his scar. The only girl he had let touch his scar and possibly walked out of his life—maybe forever.

You rise with the moon, and I rise with the sun.

As pretty and poetic as that sounded, it was annoying—but it was the truth. Zuko was up and waiting for Katara outside her door as soon as the sun was up. He was dressed in the clothes he had worn during the traveling. He had thought about it all night, and decided that maybe it was time he took his support on the road.

The council wouldn't agree of course. But that could be easily justified by saying he was helping the South Pole rebuild itself, and then he'd travel to Ba Sing Se to help them regain a strong government. From there, he'd go out and see what other Earth Kingdom towns and cities needed help in the recover.

"What are you doing?" Katara snapped. She hadn't used that tone since he had attempted to join with the Avatar. "I expect you to be in meetings all day, that way Iroh, Aang, Sokka, Toph and I can leave in peace."

"I can't allow my family to leave. My father will be hear when I return, and my sister is still insane," he started. "But I need my cool Uncle, and strict aunt, and I need the young siblings who are annoying. But most of all, I need the girl who is a mother to all, even me."

"Zuko!" she gasped, looking offended. "That's what I am? A mother to you?"

She turned to walk down the hall, her bag over her shoulder, and her braid resting on her back. She didn't even look back. He ran after her and grabbed her shoulders. He turned around and pulled her close, closing the gap between their lips.

He was the first to pull away and turned to go and visit those who had yet to wake. She grabbed his hand, stopping him. "I'm thinking that wasn't a goodbye kiss you give a mother."

"Well, ever mother needs a father. And I was thinking, that maybe I could go and meet your family. Properly this time, and I could try to help rebuild what needs to be rebuilt at the South Pole," he said, flushing.

"And?" she questioned. "This isn't just a political move?"

"Partially, but I also don't want to let my family go. We're family, we need to stick together. But I want to support my girlfriend (and eventually, my wife)."

She flushed and flung her arms around his neck. She kissed him for a second time, and pulled him off towards Sokka and her father's room. Her fingers intertwined with his as she rushed down the hall.

"Uh, Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?"

"To properly introduce you to my family," she said smiling.

"Sokka's going to kill me."

K15: I know it's been a couple days late, but this is for Zutara week day one!

Zuko: Couple days at least.

Me: Yeah, anyway, I'm still working on Running from Fear itself, and I'm almost finished with that chapter. So, now I'm off to finish Zutara week day two! Maybe I'll be caught up by the time the day is over. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, I enjoyed the chapter. Please review. Later. K15