That smell. The smell of fire, burning, spreading, feeding on wood. It was a smell he knew very well. He was a fire bender, after all. He was, indeed, a fire bender.

But that smell, it was always so uninviting. He always ran from the smell of burning. Well, he was taught to run from the smell of burning. Burning wood. But not now, no, now he couldn't run, and wouldn't run. So he sat there, captivated, watching the glow of the fire.

Being a banished prince, he never thought he would be able to feel so welcomed again. Sitting by the fire, surrounded by people who were at least making the effort to trust him; He finally felt at ease. He let out a sigh of hot breath, the air bended the flames away from him.

"Zuko." Sokka's hesitant voice broke the silence. He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. He had nothing to be hesitant about, even though this whole situation was incredibly awkward. "Since you're living with us, you're going to have to eat like us…"

Sokka took a large bite into the moist opossum chicken and dangled the leg over the fire in front of the fire bender's face. Zuko, however, remained unstirred. His golden eyes reflected perfectly the image of two camp fires, one in each pupil. Sokka turned to Aang and begin to rotate his finger in small circles on the side of his head and mouthed the words "Crazy boy." Aang muffled a giggle.

A flash of fire light twinkled in the blind earth bender's eyes. "Let me take care of this…" She grunted. With a small slide of her foot, Toph sent Zuko flying into the air, bolted upwards by a spontaneous rock which jetted out of the ground where he sat.

Screaming, he landed on his back and let out a small cry of pain. Laughter arose around the circle as Zuko lifted his head and shook it furiously. He rubbed the back of his head and blinked rapidly. He could see the laughing figures in a blur. All were laughing merrily, except for one. There was a girl.

There was a girl with long brown hair that hung loosely, except for a small part where her hair was tied in a neat bun at the back. She did not laugh. She merely sat, one arm hugging her knees, the other grasping her small blue necklace, a necklace Zuko knew all too well. She was glowing with fire light, all but her face, which remained darkened in a shadow. There was a look of anger on her face, but in her sapphire eyes, there lied the perfect images of two camp fires, one in each pupil. Zuko dreaded what thoughts were running through her mind, behind her sapphire eyes.

Katara was furious. She was more than furious, she was enraged. She wanted to kill him.

I hate him she told herself. She forced it down her throat. She had never hated anyone, so what made him so special? As Zuko lay there, she stole a quick glance at him. His rough hands, his long black hair, his handsome figure…she hated it. Her skin grew hotter, her breathing became heavier. She was filled with a feeling she had never felt before: passionate hatred. For fear of explosive shouting, she kept silent, staring at the fire. Sometimes, he would glance at her, and her skin would grow hotter. She remained quiet, glaring at him when he wasn't looking.

Toph rubbed her feet, satisfied, and giggled. "Lemme tell you something, I do that a lot, and no one EVER gets used to it." The gang nodded in agreement.

In a desperate attempt to fit in, Zuko let out a small chuckle which was followed by "Ow…" He brought himself up to a sitting position and dusted off his pants. He flashed a look at Katara.

For the first time since she had threatened him when he became Aang's fire bending teacher, their eyes met. Of course, it was only for a brief second, but for a brief second, Zuko was able to feel the full effect of her sapphire eyes. He could feel the warmth creeping up his cheeks.

His golden eyes, like flames, connected with Katara's. Her eyes grew, and for one second she wished that she was blind. She quickly turned away, her cheeks burning. Her frown grew her eyebrows bended. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him looking at her. It took him a few seconds before he turned away.

"Haru!" the Duke squealed. His helmet was hiding his eyes. "Tell everyone about the really cool room we found today!"

Haru twittled his thumbs. "Well, I'm not so good at telling stories…"

"Aw come on! You remember all the details!" The little freedom fighter wiped his nose with his hand.

"Yeah, Haru, you're pretty good at remembering stuff." Teo said. He shifted his body in his wheel chair.

"Yeah Haru, tell us!" chanted Aang, who was drawing pictures in the earth around him.

"No, I would ruin it," Sighed Haru. He began drawing in the earth too.

Katara was becoming annoyed, even more than she already was. "Haru, come one, tell us…please."

She spoke. Her voice seemed so new to Zuko, since he hadn't heard her speak in days. Others seemed surprised and turned to her. She was now rocking back and forth on the souls of her feet.

Katara shifted her eyes to look at Haru who needed her encouragement. She faked a smile and nodded her head for him to start. Haru blushed. "Well, if you say so…"

Zuko watched their interaction and couldn't help but to roll his eyes at the sight of the googly-eyed earth bender. There were obviously some mixed feelings going on between the two, yet Katara seemed to not notice. She merely faked a smile, and continued to stare at the fire. Zuko found it quite interesting to watch.

The Avatar, however, did not.

All of the sudden, it seemed that Haru had all the confidence in the world. He stood up and began to speak. "Well today, as Teo and I were walking, rolling along we -"

"I WAS RIDING ON HIS SHOLDERS!" the Duke shouted in excitement.

"Yes, you were." Haru shuffled his feet. "Anyways, so we came upon a large door. It was really big, and it had these two large curled up air pipes hanging on it."

"Just like the doors of the sanctuaries at the Northern and Southern air temples!" Teo exclaimed and turned to Aang, who had stopped his drawing. His ears perked up. "And…" Aang whined.

Haru cleared his throat. "Well, of course, we couldn't get in to the room. The thing is the Duke thinks that he heard voices, coming from the inside." This caught everyone's attention, even Katara turned to look at the story teller. The Duke grinned widely.

Aang stood up. "What kind of voices?" The Duke stood up, taking over for Haru, who quietly sat down.

"They were girls' voices, and they were quiet, almost silent," Said the Duke.

"Women… they must be air benders," Said Aang. He couldn't remember ever seeing a woman air bender. By the looks of the others, they all seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Wait, so how come we haven't seen any female air benders before?" Sokka managed to get out with a mouth full of food.

"Because they were all sent here…to the Western Air Temple…" Aang's eyes widened with realization. "Who knows how long they have been hiding there!"

"Do you think we should talk to them?" Teo piped in.

"Yeah…" Said Aang hesitantly

"Wait a second, Twinkle toes," Toph piped in, "Maybe we shouldn't. They haven't seen other people in a really long time, and I doubt they want a bunch of lunatics barging in on them like this."

Aang looked away from the fire, pondering. He knew everyone was waiting. Everyone is always waiting for the decision of the Avatar. He turned back to the group. "I'll think about it. But right now, I'm gonna hit the sack."

Sokka let out a yawn "YEP! Sounds good to me!"

Zuko sat and watched as everyone proceeded to get up. The Duke stretched his tiny arms and let out a small yelp of a yawn. All stood up, except for the girl. The girl with fire in her eyes.

Zuko stood and watched Katara as he slowly walked away. Her shadow was long, there were flames flying too near her face, yet her eyes remained glazed. He was intrigued by the sight. He was pretty far away from the fire, yet he watched her, still. She was like a stone. He opened his mouth to say something, but his feeble words were interrupted by Aang's. Zuko crept behind a tree, and watched.

"Hey," said Aang.

Katara sighed. "Hey…"

"So, why are you still sitting here?"

I don't know.

"Katara?"

He startled her. "What? Oh, right." She fiddled with her hair nervously. Zuko had a sudden memory of Katara with her hair loops. She was always fiddling with them.

"What's wrong?"

I can't stop thinking about him. Katara shook her head

"Is this about Zuko?"

Her eyes widened. She turned to her friend. His eyes were so welcoming. She couldn't help but grab him in an embrace. "I…I just don't want him to hurt you…like he hurt me… I just, can't trust him… I almost hate him. I don't know why I can't just forgive him." She let out a sigh.

Zuko looked away in shame, but only for a second.

Aang hugged her back for a few moments, and then let her go. She immediately turned to the fire, fixated. He was running through her mind. Zuko ZukoZukoZuko…

Suddenly, she felt something. Warm lips on her cheek. Warm, smooth, lips graced her cheek.

Aang got up. "You worry too much…" He giggled. He waited for her response, but didn't get one. He left, putting a small finger to his lips, and smiling. He admired at how smooth he was.

Katara felt the heat in her cheeks. All her life with Aang, she had been denying his feelings. He loved her, more than anyone else in the world, and she would deny this because she could not return that love to him. Every day was a battle with her feelings. She'd wake up and decide that she loved him, but go to bed feeling that she didn't. She was his teacher, his mentor, his best friend, his mother. She was nothing more than that.

When he kissed her, her cheeks grew red…red with embarrassment, because she could never love him like he loved her. Only how a mother loves her child.

Now Katara closed her eyes and felt tears slide down her cheeks. She wanted Aang to understand, but he didn't. She was losing hope. And some day, he would get hurt, because she would love another. Another tear fell. Her eyes welled up as she opened them slightly.

Zuko sat fixated from behind the tree. For such big eyes, she cried small delicate tears. Sudddenly, he realized how long he had been sitting there. It was in that realization that fatigue overwhelmed his body. He slowly got up, careful not to make any noise, and ran quietly back to his room.

The girl with the fire in her eyes didn't bother to turn her head, but watched the banished prince run from the corner of her eye.

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EEE first chapter! Okay, so she hasn't fallen yet, but things will work out in my favor. Trust me. They have to, my name is zutara4alwayz… REV-U!