Silk
"OOMPH." Their tiny raft bumped into a rock a few ways away from a small island. Zuko, who had been sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, trying to stay awake to watch over the sleeping form of his uncle, jerked his head up and shook the sleep from his eyes. He took a moment to soak in their new surroundings, then, noticing the island about a half a mile away, guided to raft towards the beach, hoping that maybe he and his uncle could find some sort of respite from the past two weeks they had been out at sea.
When he finally reached the beach, he dragged the raft with his softly snoring uncle away from the water and lay down exhaustedly on the soft sand. The last thing he knew was the moon that was nearly full was shining down on him wrapping him in a comforting embrace of silver light. Then sleep crept upon him and stole him away to a dark dreamless realm, with no fire nation, no avatar, and no war, just a soft peaceful sleep.
"MAN I'm starving! When are we gonna stop we've been flying since yesterday!" Sokka complained loudly. The gang had been fleeing Azula for the past two weeks after meeting up with her, Ty Lee and Mai in the last town they had stopped in.
"Seriously Sokka, you've gotta get a grip on your hunger issues. You're the reason Azula found us in the first place!" Katara said annoyed.
"They woulda found us sooner or later, and we were low on supplies!" Sokka retorted standing up.
"Yeah, because you eat too much!" Katara shot back standing up as well.
"Sugar Queen's right you do eat too much Snuffles. Now stop rocking the bison I feel sick enough as it is." said irritated little Toph with her arms folded across her chest and her unseeing eyes staring towards them.
Sokka turned on her, "Hey, I-"
"Guys! Stop it I see an island ahead of us we could stop there for the rest of the night!" Aang yelled from Appa's head.
Sokka huffed but sat back down muttering to himself something about annoying little sisters. Katara threw him an angry glare then sat on the other side of the saddle next to Toph and looked up at the moon. It'll be full tomorrow night, she thought. She turned around and leaned over the edge of the saddle and stared down at the ocean. The light from the moon gave it a dark mysterious blue look that captured her gaze and held her mesmerized. She sighed deeply and rested her chin on her hand as she watched the gentle waves teased around by the wind.
"AAAA!" Appa landed heavily on the beach and Katara jerked awake unaware that she had even fallen asleep.
"Land finally!" Toph jumped out of the saddle and kissed the ground over an over again.
Appa groaned. "Hey! You try flying around in the total dark on a giant fluffy stink ball and see how you feel!" She snapped at him.
"Really Toph, must you be so mean?" Aang asked patting Appa's side. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah ya do," he said answering his own question, "Okay you guys, lets- uh, guys?"
Sokka and Katara were already fast asleep in their parkas and Toph was in the process of building her tent. Momo was nestled in Appa's fur and purring softly in a pleasant dream.
Aang shrugged. "This works!" He jumped into Appa's fur and snuggled close to him for warmth. "G'night Appa," The bison's snores answered him and Aang smiled. "G'night Toph."
"Whatever you say Twinkle Toes," she answered from within her tent. In a matter of a few minutes, the weary travelers were all fast asleep.
"WELL done brother. I knew you would choose wisely."
"No! I thought you'd changed!"
"You thought wrong."
That look she gave him, her eyes full of anger, frustration, hurt,-regret?
"Go! Save the avatar!" The look he had given him! His eyes were so hard and cold, a look he hoped never to get again from his uncle.
"TRAITOR! As long as I am alive, brother, your days are numbered!"
Hot blue light shot from her fists, hot blue light- "AAARRGGG!!"
Zuko's eyes shot open and he sat up abruptly panting heavily a cold sweat broke out all over his body. He reached up and touched his unscarred cheek reassuringly and sighed deeply then glanced over at his uncle. He continued to snore contently; totally unaware of the current state his nephew was in.
Zuko stood up and stretched, the moon was lower; dawn would come in about two hours. He checked his uncle again before he started out down the beach, maybe a nice long walk, and the soothing sound of the waves moving back and forth, to the beach, and back to the ocean, would calm his jumbled thoughts.
" I lost my mother to the fire nation!" Tears poured from her eyes and down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I guess that makes two of us." his voice, soft, sad, pain- longing?
She looked up with surprise and sniffed.
"No! I thought you'd changed!"
"I have changed." His voice was soft again, but not the same as before. Hot bright flames shot towards her, and then she saw again, an instant replay in her mind, the image of her mother, burning alive. She screamed.
"MOM NO!" She woke up breathing hard and shivering from an internal cold.
"Katara?" Aang stared at her with big concerned eyes. She slowed her breathing and forced a smile.
"Just a bad dream Aang, go back to sleep." she said soothingly. He looked at her uncertainly.
"Are you sure?" he asked
"Yes I'm sure. I'll just take a little walk to clear my head; I'll be back soon okay?" she said.
"Be back soon, And-" he blushed slightly, "just make sure you're better when you get back."
Katara smiled semi-genuinely, then got up and started down the beach, breathing in the fresh, salty sea air. Looking at the moon she thought that dawn would arrive in a couple of hours. She removed her shoes and outer robe and stepped into the water. A pleasant shock ran through her body as her skin made contact with the cold. She waded waist deep into the water then closed her eyes and began to practice her bending. She breathed deeply and slowly, counting to nine with each breath until she forgot which number she was on. Soon, her breaths came slowly and easily and all she knew was that she was one with her element. There was no war, no fire nation, and no banished prince hiding behind a log watching her every move.
THAT girl! The one with the eyes, what was her name Katrina, Karenna? No, Katara. He mentally slapped himself. How could you forget! Hold on... why would I remember? Said another part of his brain. He shook the thoughts from his head then scanned the beach for her friends. What for? It's not like you're still hunting them. You can't help them either; they'll never trust you after what you did. But as his gaze fell once again onto the form of the water bender, his jaw fell open as he was captivated by what he saw.
The silvery light of the moon cast itself upon her exposed skin, giving her a mysterious, dream like look. Her body moved gracefully with the water, as if she were a part of the ocean. Each lift of her hands, each sway of her hips, the ribbons of water so smooth and perfect; it all fit together in one silky motion after the other.
As he watched her, he suddenly realized he had moved towards her and before he could turn back, her eyes flew open at the sound of rustling and shifting stones.
"You!" she hissed ferociously when her eyes met his. Before he knew what had happened, she slapped him hard in the face with a water whip, causing him to stumble backwards. "You sick bastard! Aang almost died because you just had to try and gain back your stupid false honor!"
She approached him menacingly, and before he could get up, stepped down hard on his chest and held an ice dagger to his throat. "Give one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat open right now," she spat, her blue eyes were as cold as the dagger she held to his naked neck, the look on her face froze his insides and he felt colder than he ever remembered in his life.
"You have every reason in the world to kill me," he said quietly, "And I have every reason in the world to die."
HUH? This stupid prince never ceases to surprise her. "Don't try anything on me Zuko, I was fooled by your stupid games in the catacombs but I won't fall for them again." Her voice quivered with the coldest of emotions; anger, hate, frustration.
"I swear on my honor, I won't hurt you or your friends." his voice was still quiet and he winced slightly as she pushed the dagger harder into his neck, puncturing the surface of the skin and drawing blood.
"Don't speak of honor, you've already proven multiple times you have none," she snapped. She felt him tense slightly underneath her foot and she tensed along with him, ready for any sort of attack he might have planned.
"Fine!" He swallowed, and his eyes squeezed shut for a quick moment as if trying to suppress- tears? "I swear on the grave of my mother, I won't hurt you or you're friends." He shot her a hard look. "Don't you dare say I didn't love her."
Don't believe him! He used his mother to get to you once, he's doing it again!
If he didn't mean it he wouldn't have just swore on her grave. And look at him, he could have easily gotten out of this position; he's way stronger than you are.
It's all part of his trick! Don't fall for it!
"If you pull anything stupid-" she started.
"If I wanted to I woulda pulled it a long time ago!" he snapped irritably. She pressed the dagger to his throat and ran it downwards slightly. He sucked a quick breath then bit the inside of his bottom lip.
"No offense, but you are in no position to be talking to me like that," she snarled coldly.
"Really?" he smirked then before she could take in another breath, he had her arms pinned behind her back, and he held her down with his knee in her bare back. She gasped in surprise then anger.
What did I tell you!? You can't trust- Oh gods he's seriously gotta stop doing that! Zuko had let her go and then lay back down on the sand looking at her surprised expression expectantly. "You were saying?"
STUPID girl, she actually thought she had me.
He smirked at her silly expression.
Hey, she looks kinda cute when she's mad. He mentally kicked himself. Whoa! Where the heck did that come from?!
"I don't want to hurt you." he said turning his gaze to the moon. He brought his knees up and his arms to the back of his head as if she and him had just been there enjoying a moonlight night. He glanced over at her when she didn't move. "It's kinda cool out. You might wanna put your robe back on."
She gasped and looked down as if just noticing she was only wearing her gi bottoms and a cloth around her upper torso, and then hurried towards her robe, all the while keeping a watchful eye on Zuko.
WHAT is this guy up to? She thought as she tied her obi. Maybe this time he's actually changed.
Yeah right.
Maybe you should at least listen to him. But she remained wary of him all the same. She felt her side to make sure her water skin was full just in case she might need it then walked back to him. His gaze remained up at the moon but she could tell he knew she was there.
"You are so lucky," he said softly. She wasn't sure if he was talking about himself or her. "You're the way you are because of the different people in your life. I'm the way I am because of the people in mine." He sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
Katara looked at him puzzled. This guy seriously needs to stop doing that! "What kind of people would let you become a monster?" she asked him. A pained look crossed his face.
"My mom. When she left me." Katara felt something in her chest twist painfully and she suddenly felt guilty for doubting him.
Wait, you're feeling guilty after what he did? It's his own fault you don't want to trust him. Nevertheless, the feeling in her chest remained.
"The difference between you and me is, when your mom died, you still had people that cared for you. Your brother, as brainless as he is, would gladly give his life for you. And your dad," he paused and looked at her, "you do have a father still, right?"
"I don't know," she said sadly, "He left to fight the fire nation a few years ago."
"I'm sorry." he said, "No doubt though, he loves both of you. My father," he paused and tilted the scarred side of his face towards her, "my father gave me this."
He watched her big blue eyes widen and grow even bigger.
That sick twisted evil son of a hogmonkey! His own son! "How could he do such a thing? To his own son! And you still wanted him back?" she asked incredulously.
He nodded. "You have to understand, I was so confused. All I wanted was my father to love me, to accept me and not be ashamed that I was his son." His voice quivered slightly, "It was all false. Somewhere inside me, I knew it, but I wanted it so much to be true, I refused to think about what would happen when I returned with the Avatar." He took in a deep breath and let it out. "Even when Uncle proved that my father would never take me back, I didn't want to accept it. Until it was too late." He shuddered as they both remembered the fight in which Aang was killed. If she had used the water to heal his scar; she bit back the thought. "You're right, I have no honor. Not even false honor."
She rested her eyes on his face and felt something somewhere inside her change. All of a sudden, she was sure he was different; unlike Sokka, her instincts were almost always right. "No," she said softly. She crept towards him until she was right next to him and she touched his scarred cheek. He flinched but didn't pull away. "I was wrong; you have more honor now, than you ever could have received if you had delivered Aang to Ozai."
He put his hand over hers and gently removed it from his cheek as he sat up. "That's what Uncle said. Right now he's all have. All I need. And all I want. When the war's over, and when the Avatar," he stopped himself, "Aang restores balance, I'm gonna buy my uncle another tea shop. I think he'll like that." He smiled fondly as he remembered how happy his uncle had been with their shop in Ba Sing Se.
He turned and saw Katara looking at him with a look so different from the one she had had when she held the dagger to his throat. She's so beautiful. This time, there were no mental kicks or slaps. She is. Her long brown hair had come loose when she had been bending and the wind gently teased it across her face. Her eyes stood out against her dark skin, blue as the ocean and he felt himself slowly being drawn towards them.
She had never really paid much attention to his physical features, other than his scar; she had been too busy loathing him. But now, as she stared into his beautiful golden eyes hidden behind his black hair that almost came down to his shoulders, she noticed that he was actually a very handsome young man. She felt herself blush slightly and a feeling like when she had first met Jet welled up inside of her.
No! Not again!
Zuko saw her eyes shift uncomfortably away from his. Before he was sure of what he was doing, he had her face in his hands and his lips pressed against hers.
He felt surprise ripple through her body, but then she relaxed and kissed him back. She ran her finger through his hair as his thumb stroked her cheek.
No, this is different. Her heart finally exploded in her chest and she felt warmth fill her up from her toes to the ends of each hair on her head.
When they finally pulled away from each other, his hand stayed on her cheek and hers remained in his hair. When she opened her eyes, she saw the first rays from the sun had set a soft, golden glow around him, giving him an angelic look.
"I have to go." she murmured softly but she sat for a while longer, before both of them stood up. "What will you do?" she asked, "Since you're not chasing Aang any more."
He shrugged. "We'll just lay low and avoid Azula until the war is over I guess."
Katara thought for a moment. "You know, Aang needs a fire bending master." Zuko raised an eyebrow.
"I highly doubt they'll want to go anywhere with me," he chuckled, "The best way for me to help him is to avoid him."
"Consider it, they trust Iroh, Iroh trusts you, and-" she caught herself. I trust you? "He really needs a teacher." The sun climbed steadily higher out of its hiding place and Katara imagined they must be all waking up by now.
"Maybe," he said, "I'll talk to Iroh. Then I'll find you guys." Katara nodded then turned and ran down the beach back towards their camp.
"ZUKO What happened! We were still on the water when I fell asleep." Iroh sat up on the raft grinning as his nephew made his way towards him.
"Good morning Uncle," Zuko said quietly sitting at the edge of the raft.
"A very good one I should say- What did you do to your neck?" He asked motioning towards the trickle of blood that ran down Zuko's neck.
Zuko touched it and looked at the blood on his fingers. He had forgotten about that. "I met up with the water bending girl." he looked at his uncle, "Katara." Iroh studied him closely but didn't say anything. "I didn't hurt her! We just talked, about, stuff." His nephew said awkwardly. "She wants you to teach the Avatar fire bending."
Without looking at his uncle, he knew he was grinning widely.
"WHERE have you been? We were worried sick!" Sokka exploded in her face. She pushed him aside and walked past him, leaving him sputtering angrily.
"We, being Snuffles. I told them you were fine, but you know him," said Toph with her usual smirk. Katara blinked at her, she was still a little dazed from her meeting with Zuko. "By the way, who was that you were with?"
"Huh?" Then she remembered Toph could feel these things. "Oh, um, that was-"
"Wait," Toph interrupted holding out her hand to silence them. "Someone's coming. Hey! It's-"
"Aang! I've found you fire bending teacher," Katara said before Toph could finish.
"Really? Who?" he asked excitedly.
At that moment, Iroh and Zuko emerged from the forest as if on cue and Aang's and Sokka's mouths fell open while Toph smirked and Katara blushed madly.
"Um, them."