Zuko groaned in frustration. He had only been good for an hour and already everything had gone horribly wrong. All his plans turned upside down, which was the reason Zuko never bothered to plan in the first place. Except this time he did. It was even a good plan. He prepared a war balloon full of supplies and hid it at the edge of the city. He even packed Iroh's brass teapot and a selection of his favourite tea-blends. All he needed was to free Uncle and the two of them would have been on their merry way to the Avatar who naturally would have been happy to get the chance to learn from as great a firebending teacher as the Dragon of the West. Maybe even happy enough to let Zuko stay and help.
Instead, he was too late, Iroh broke himself out without leaving his nephew a message and Zuko was a fugitive traitor prince all by his lonesome self. Not that he blamed his uncle. In Iroh's place he wouldn't have wanted to see him either; probably ever again. Which is why Zuko decided to go for the grand rescue gesture. But Uncle didn't need him, surely never had. Maybe except that one time when he was taken by the earthbenders almost naked.
Well, there was no turning back now, he made sure to burn every bridge when he walked away. Zuko had to face the Avatar's group by himself and convince them somehow to let him join. The eclipse ended, firebending was back on and by the sounds of it, the invasion was failing. It was time to get out.
Zuko reached the rock where he hid the war ballon. He noticed something blue lying on the ground nearby. Zuko went to take a closer look and his heart stopped for a fearful moment when he realized who it was: the Avatar's waterbender. That was bad. Really bad. He leaned closer, putting his hand above her mouth. Luckily, she was still breathing. Zuko let out a relieved sigh; that was good.
Maybe saving the girl was his first chance of really being good. Zuko scooped her up and lifted her into the basket of the balloon with a grunt. He hopped in, released the ropes and the balloon took off just in time to see the Avatar's bison disappear on the horizon towards the setting sun. It looked like they were heading to the Western Air Temple. Zuko followed them at a safe distance. Once the direction was set, he turned his attention back to the girl. He had to try to wake her up to make sure she had no concussion. Zuko pulled out his waterskin trying to splash some water on her face.
-0-
Zap. A spark jolted Katara awake. She felt fresh breeze, which was probably a good sign. Her last memory was fighting the firebenders in the chaos of the withdrawal, then falling. She got knocked out probably, if the pain in the back of her head was any indication.
As her eyes fluttered open, instead of seeing Aang or Sokka, she found herself to be staring into Prince Jerk's familiar yellow eyes.
"Ah, you're awake, good," he smiled at her with relief which made her wonder if this was a weird hallucination. She had never seen him smile - his facial expression usually ranged between an angry snarl and a sullen growl.
"You zapped me," Katara moaned, touching her buzzing head. It was the latest addition to her long mental list of grievances against him.
"Uhm. Sorry," he muttered looking at his hands in embarrassment.
"Here…this may help," He lifted something into Katara's line of vision and she had to bite her lips not to laugh in his face. Giving water to an angry waterbender. He was an even bigger idiot than he seemed.
"Whatever your plan is, it's not going to work. I'll never lead you to Aang," she hissed narrowing her eyes.
Zuko frowned and scratched his head. "Actually, what I wanted to say is…"
Katara had no intention of waiting for what he wanted to say. She had to act fast before he realized his mistake and took the water away from her. She summoned the element to her hand and lashed out with a sharp water whip.
He ducked instinctively and the water whip went straight past his head, slashing right through… oh spirits … Katara didn't realize they were in a balloon. And they were losing altitude fast.
Zuko jumped to his feet and tried frantically pumping more heat into the furnace but it hardly made any difference. The hot air went straight through the damaged material. The basket was spinning out of control as the ground - the line between shimmering blue water and black land - was getting closer. Katara summoned a large wave just as they crashed into a beach to soften their landing. The impact lifted them both from the balloon. Zuko somehow managed to wrap himself around her, as they rolled down the shore, soaked, limbs entangled. They came to a halt when they bumped into the rocks, Zuko's back and shoulder taking the brunt of the impact.
"What are you doing?" Katara asked angrily.
"Trying to make sure you don't get crushed." Zuko replied calmly as if he had regularly been in the business of saving people, instead of chasing them around the world and attacking them.
Katara pushed him away and jumped to her feet."I'm not crushed. Now get off of me. And stay away. I have enough water here to bury you," she motioned to the ocean.
Zuko scrambled to his feet as well; his soaked hair sticking in every direction made him look like a wet boarcupine. "I wasn't going to attack you. What I was trying to say before you wrecked my balloon is that I've changed. I'm good now." He placed a hand on his heart in a gesture of contrition.
Katara stared at him in disbelief not knowing whether she should cry, laugh or attack. "You are good now."
He nodded earnestly. "Yes, I realized that I was bad before and did some things I probably shouldn't have."
Right, understatement of the year.
"Like stealing my mother's necklace?" Katara couldn't help bringing up her greatest grievance against him.
He looked indignant at the accusation, but he kept his voice level. "I told you before. I didn't steal it. I found it… Anyways, it doesn't matter. I was on the way to join the Avatar and was going to give you a lift since you…"
This time Katara didn't even try to keep back the sharp laughter. "Have you lost your mind? How would you even think any of us could ever trust you again after everything you've done?"
"I told you, I changed. I'm not that person anymore," he raised both his hands.
"We've heard that before and look how that turned out for us," by which she mostly meant herself. It was her and her only who was stupid enough to ever trust him. She was going to tell Aang to give him a chance before he jumped in the fight in the Crystal Caves and attacked them. Attacked her. Well, never again.
Zuko looked away and bowed his head. At least he looked ashamed.
"This time it is different," he said quietly.
"Oh, this time is different?" Katara yelled. How did he have the nerve. She summoned some water to her hand and pushed a forceful blast in his direction. "Go away. I don't want to see you again."
Zuko fell down into the sand looking at her with a mixture of surprise and resignation. She expected him to jump to his feet and fight, but he stayed down and curled up into a ball waiting for the next strike. Something twisted inside Katara. Her rage was justified, but she couldn't bring herself to strike him again - not when he was down, not defending himself. It confused her. She let the water splash into the sand and turned away.
Zuko got to his feet, sighed and walked away, which was not an easy feat, considering the barren black beach they crashed on was tiny, surrounded by sharp, vertical cliffs in every direction. The firebender stared at the rocks for a moment then seemed to reach a decision. He moved up the cliffside like a spider-monkey, finding handholds and footholds where there appeared to be none. Katara let out a sharp gasp when he seemed to slip for a moment, but he caught his balance and disappeared out of sight.
The beach felt oddly empty without him.
-0-
Being good was an unmitigated disaster so far. It seemed like all he managed to achieve was a record number of failures:
He almost got killed by his father He failed to free uncle His balloon was wrecked He was stuck on an island with a waterbender who hated him (with good reason) He had no idea what to do nextZuko looked around at the top of the cliff. It was a generous overstatement to call the barren rock an island. It was smaller than the garden of the Fire Nation palace, and had no vegetation or any apparent source of water. They would have to find a way off it very fast if they didn't want to die, but the sun was setting, so they would have to survive the night somehow.
He climbed back down the vertical cliffside. There seemed to be just a hint of relief flickering in Katara's eyes when he landed next to her into the soft sand, which immediately turned into an angry glare.
"Where are we anyways?" she asked, her voice cold.
"On some island. Or a barren rock more precisely," Zuko clarified.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, I can see that. Which island?"
"How should I know?" Zuko shrugged.
"Isn't this your country?"
"There are 3072 islands in the Fire Nation," Zuko recited like a school boy. It was one of those useless things they drilled him with endlessly as a kid during lessons when he was staring out the window wishing he could be outside playing or sneaking around.
"Are you sure it's not 3073?" Katara asked sarcastically.
Zuko blinked and scratched his ears. "Well, unless there was a new one forming since I went to school. Most of them are volcanic, so they are changing constantly."
"Of course they are. This whole spirit-forsaken land is just ash and flames. In any case…" she picked up a stick and drew a line in the sand dividing the tiny beach in half. "This is my part of Nameless Island. You better stay on your side or..." she pointed threateningly to the water. Zuko got the picture.
The rule was ridiculous, but a good person probably wouldn't point that out. Well, Uncle was the only good person he knew and he never argued with Zuko when he went around shouting unreasonable rules on his ship, which was twice a day on average. He had been such an insufferable jerk, he realized with shame.
"Whatever," he muttered. He had to convince her to cooperate somehow, but it was better to pick up the discussion the following day after a good night sleep.
Luckily, the broken pieces of the balloon were mostly on his side, so he busied himself salvaging anything he could, taking inventory of what they had. He still had a spy-glass and his swords, plus two waterskins, Uncle's favourite brass teapot - a bit bent from the crash, a couple of wet maps, his dagger, some rope. The food bag got soaked, turning most of the fireflakes he packed into a disgusting mush.
"Would you like some food?" he asked, holding out the bag to Katara.
She glanced at the unappetizing fireflakes with disgust.
"I don't need your stupid Fire Nation food, I'm perfectly capable of making my own," she spat angrily and marched into the waves, bending furiously. She looked magnificent as she manipulated the water with ease, her dark brown wavy hair swept by the wind. Zuko realized that it was more than just fishing, it was a demonstration meant to intimidate him. It kind of worked too. Soon she returned triumphantly with two shiny silver fish and plopped down on her own half with a frown.
Zuko bowed his head to hide his amusement under his hair. Good people did not point out smugly that she did not have a knife to clean the fish or spark rocks to make fire. Good people instead tried to help out selflessly, which is what Zuko did.
After picking up some flotsam wood, he lit a small fire right on the line she drew, careful not to cross it accidentally. He tossed his knife over to Katara's side. She bit her lips and hesitated for a moment. Hunger seemed to win over pride, so she picked up the knife, cleaning and gutting the fish with expert movements and cooking them over the fire. She tossed back his knife wordlessly, one of the cooked fish skewered on it.
They ate in silence. It was flavourless, but much better than the seawater-soaked fireflake mush. Zuko tossed over one of the waterskins to her side and laid down in the soft sand, turning his back to the her. He pretended to sleep, but was just watching the moon reflect on the water through his eyelashes, trying to figure out his next move. Uncle used to resolve disagreements over noodles and tea, but Zuko doubted it would work with Katara. In any case, he had neither of those things.
Being good was the hardest thing ever.
-0-
Katara woke to the sound of feet pattering on the wet sand. The sun was already bright and she blinked a few times to adjust to the blinding light.
Zuko was standing in the water, stripped to his pants, revealing his lean muscular back. Wait, she did not just notice the attractiveness of Prince Treacherous' body. That's definitely not what she was doing - it was purely an objective observation, measuring up her adversary. With her objectivity restored, she could not help noticing the ugly purple-blue bruises around his shoulder, probably from the impact of the crash. Maybe she should heal those, after all he took the hit for her, she thought.
Katara sat up and spotted a neat row of oysters placed on the dividing line, like an offering. Zuko returned holding a teapot. Katara flashed back suddenly to the bizarre sight of seeing him in a tea shop in Ba Sing Se in an apron with a tray. Thinking of Ba Sing Se made her angry again and reminded her why she could not trust him.
"What is this?" she asked coldly, pointing at the line of shellfish.
"Breakfast. You said you didn't like Fire Nation food, so I figured I'd get something else. Though this is technically Fire Nation waters so I guess that makes these... " He trailed off. What an insufferable blabbermouth he was. He rubbed his neck nervously. "I used to collect them with my cousin. They are really good."
"I didn't know you have a cousin."
"Had," he corrected her.
Katara was about to make a sharp comment about one less murderous royal, but something in his eyes held her back. She recognized the grief and sadness.
"Oh."
Katara turned her attention back to the neat row of oysters. She couldn't remember anyone other than Gran-Gran ever bothering to make breakfast for her after her mother's death. It was an oddly caring gesture from an angry jerk. She picked up one of the shellfish, and slurped out the flesh. It was surprisingly pleasant, slightly salty, slightly tangy flavour.
Zuko in the meantime tried to fasten the waterskin to the spout of the pot. Once he was successful, he began heating it up by placing his palms on either side of the teapot. Wait, he could do that? Katara always thought that firebending was giant explosions, but this move was rather nice, almost domestic.
"What are you doing? A tea party?" Katara frowned.
"I'm trying to make some clean water for us to drink. I don't think there is any fresh water on this rock," he replied.
That was actually not a totally terrible idea. She always assumed that he was a spoiled prince, who got everything in life on a silver spoon. She wouldn't have pegged him for someone with any survival skills.
"Where did you learn that?" she asked.
"Floating on the sea," he said between gritted teeth without looking at her. He yelped in frustration when the waterskin kept sliding off the spout of the tea-pot.
Katara watched his futile efforts for a while. He was an insistent idiot, she had to give him that. "That's never going to work. Give me the waterskin," she said finally. "Now heat it."
Zuko placed his palms on either side of the teapot and concentrated. Soon white steam swirled in the air. Katara caught it and bent it into the waterskin.
"Oh. Excellent teamwork," he remarked in an upbeat voice. Katara gave him a hostile glare. Just because they made water together for survival purposes, didn't make them a team. She turned her back on him and stomped down to the water, with the best disgruntled Toph-impression she could muster.
Close to the edge of the water, all the wood from the balloon's basket was stacked in a neat pile next to the engine of the balloon which was laid out in pieces. When did he do all this?
"You have been busy. What are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"I'm trying to see if there is anything we can use this for," Zuko pointed at the metal pieces.
"And?" Katara raised an eyebrow hopefully. Maybe he was not totally useless.
Zuko shook his head dejectedly. "I have no idea what any of these pieces do."
Katara grimaced. Typical. Of course, she would be stuck on an uninhabited island with an idiot jerk prince, who possessed no mechanical skills whatsoever.
"Sokka could probably turn this into some crazy contraption," she noted ruefully. She missed Sokka. Even his idiotic jokes. Sokka always had a crazy plan or two, even in the most hopeless situations. Even if the ideas were ludicrous, it was reassuring.
"Sokka?" he asked confused.
"My brother."
"Boomerang guy?" he clarified arching his good eyebrow.
"Yes. Are you daft or something? You've been chasing us all around the world and you don't even know our names?" Katara yelled and the waves rose with her anger, threatening to wash away the neat piles he made.
"I know yours," he said defensively.
Yeah, well, duh . They were locked up together after all.
"Fine. Anyone else?" she challenged him.
"The Avatar," he supplied warily.
"...Aang," Katara corrected him, trying to hold back the angry tears piercing her eyes. "He has a name. You keep calling him the Avatar, like he's some kind of relic. He's a real kid, he's good and kind and he's probably worried about me. Probably even Toph is worried about me..." dammit , she couldn't help it, the tears were flowing. She missed them so terribly.
Zuko shifted from one foot to the other, then he said on a voice that was both scratchy and smoky, but also soothingly warm somehow. "Katara… We'll find them." He said her name in a way like someone trying out an exotic fruit for the first time.
"How do you know?"
"Remember? Tracking people is kind of my specialty," he said with a self-deprecating smile. "And we must get out of here, so we will," he added with a grim determination that felt oddly calming. Katara wiped away her tears.
"So what's the plan?" she asked between sniffles.
"First, we need to get off this island. There is no water or food here. My uncle and I used a small raft made of driftwood to escape from the North Pole, we could do the same," he pointed at the pitiful pile of wood from the basket of the balloon.
"And how did that work out for you?" Katara grimaced.
"It was horrible," he said quietly, his eyes lost in a painful memory. "There were so many dead floating in the water, so much destruction. Then we had no food, no water. Towards the end, uncle lost his consciousness. I thought he'd die. I thought we'd both die. But we made it."
Katara thought back to the North Pole. They were celebrating their victory when the Fire Nation fleet was destroyed, not really sparing a thought for all the dead. It must have been a horrific journey. Or he was just lying to get her sympathy, just like in Ba Sing Se.
"I thought you had a ship," she noted full of suspicion.
"Zhao blew it up," grimaced Zuko.
"Wasn't Zhao also Fire Nation?" asked Katara incredulously.
"It's complicated," Zuko sighed, not volunteering any more explanation.
Katara felt vexed again. "Everything with you people is complicated, and we are the ones that are left to suffer."
"I want to change that. That's why we need to get back to the Avatar…" he paused noticing her scowl and corrected himself, "to Aang...so I can help him
He seemed earnest enough. But Katara had seen this before, she would not fall for his dirty liar tricks again.
"And how do you plan to help?" she asked suspiciously.
"He still needs to learn firebending, right? I can teach him," Zuko said simply. That was not what she had expected to hear at all. The worst bit was that Zuko was right too; now that the invasion plan failed, that was the only course of action left.
"You are probably the last person he wants as a teacher," she said venomously. Aang was sometimes unreasonably friendly and forgiving, but she doubted that he'd want anything to do with Prince Jerkface.
Zuko bit his lips. "Probably. But I may be his only choice. It's bigger than either of us."
He did have a point. And in any case, it was a decision for Aang to make.
Katara pursed her lips and crossed the line to the pile of wood. "Are you coming? All this talking won't build us a raft."
They worked all day to tie together the raft from the broken pieces of the basket and the float-wood they found on the beach, using strips of the red material of the balloon. They fixed a rudimentary sail on it. Neither of them had much talent for shipbuilding, so the raft did look pitiful, small and flimsy.
"It doesn't have to hold long," Zuko sighed. Well, that wasn't exactly confidence inspiring. "We only have to make it to a bigger island with more trees or possibly people. If we keep going west, there should be some not far from here", he pointed to a black blotch on the soaked maps. Since the ink bled all together, Katara had to take his word for it. She hoped he paid attention during his geography classes at his fancy schools.
-0-
Katara's skeptical face mirrored his own doubts. Their raft was unlikely to last long, but there was no alternative. They had no chance of surviving long on this barren rock and in any case, they were on a tight schedule because of the comet. Katara confirmed his suspicions that the Avatar did not bother to learn firebending, which meant that the few weeks left were going to be a mad dash against the clock. It was worth the risk.
She finally nodded her approval. "Fine. We'll try," then she added after a beat. "Take off your shirt."
"I'm sorry?" he looked at her in confusion. She wanted what? He wrapped his arms around himself defensively.
"I'll heal you," she explained impatiently.
"Oh, it's not a big deal," Zuko shrugged.
"That's for me to decide, since I'm the healer," she narrowed her eyes threateningly. She looked more like a dangerous fighter than a healer.
Zuko reminded himself that good people didn't argue needlessly, so he took off his silk tunic, feeling self-conscious under her scrutiny. She motioned him to lie down on his stomach. He did as was told and rested his chin on his arms, feeling strangely exposed and vulnerable. Despite the balmy weather, his skin was covered with goose-bumps.
She placed her hand on his back; it felt cool and soothing. Something hot coiled inside Zuko at her touch. It felt like he was going to combust. He had no idea if she could feel him the way he could feel her. The notion was mortifying. Good people probably didn't get this worked up from a simple touch, like some perv. Well, the only good person he knew was Uncle, but maybe he wasn't the best role-model when it came to not acting like a lecher. Zuko tried desperately to control the heat, fighting it back, but the coolness emanating from her already gripped onto his chi, linking them together, like two viper-lizards wrapped together in a fight or act of love. It was very difficult to tell the difference with viper-lizards.
"Stop doing that," she scolded him.
"I'm not doing anything," he gritted his teeth.
"You are trying to block me. It just makes this harder for both of us. Breathe and relax," she sounded all business-like.
Easier said than done . Zuko let out a long, controlled breath and let her healing go deeper inside him, soothing, calming, washing over him. The fine hairs on his body all stood up as their chis bonded, curling around each other, like a gold and blue threads, radiating with tension, but also with relief, making him want to laugh and cry simultaneously. He wanted it to stop, but also stay in the moment forever. It was unsettling.
"That's enough for now," she pulled back her hand and he mourned the sudden loss of contact.
Zuko sat up, craning his neck to see no trace of the black and blue bruises.
"Thank you, Katara." His voice came out like a whisper.
"I'm only trying to increase our chances of survival," she shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. But her cheeks were clearly flushed showing that she was not as unaffected as she pretended to be.
Zuko turned away, trying hard not to notice like a good person would how that blush kept crawling down her neckline, toward the V-shaped opening of her tunic.
Their alliance was that of necessity, he reminded himself. He had to keep his objectivity.