Song Name: Ordinary Day
Singer/Band: Vanessa Carlton
Story Title: Ordinary Day
Rating: T
Pairings: Zutara -shiesawayfromflyingobjects-
Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful song by Vanessa Carlton, nor do I own any characters or themes from Avatar: The Last Airbender by Nickelodeon.

A/N: Meh, I first attempt at a drabble...and a Zutara at that. Erh, please excuse the messiness. I promise they'll get better! And this will be a song-fic drabble series, with all sorts of pairings and what-not. Please review! Thanks, enjoy!

Ordinary Day

'Just a day,
Just an ordinary day.
Just tryin' to get by.'

Katara awoke slowly. Her head was in pain, her ribs bruised and her muscles tense. It had not been a pleasant night. Aang, Sokka, Toph and Katara had been chased mercilessly through the night-time hours by none other than Zuko himself, and everyone had been in rough moods balancing on a sliver of string. But now it was morning, a fresh day. She looked over the campsite, her cobalt eyes meeting those of large brown ones. Appa was wide awake, and he seemed tired as well. He let out a yawn, and slowly Katara stood and stretched.

"Good morning Appa," she breathed, stretching. Aang lay snuggled in Appa's fur, deep in sleep. Beside him lay Sokka, mumbling something about man-eating vegetables. Katara snickered at this, but stood. "I'm going to go try and get some breakfast. Stay here and watch the boys, Appa!" And with that she picked up a brown bag in which Sokka had bought at some Earth Nation town, and passed by the rock-formed tent in which Toph had created before falling asleep.

As Katara entered the surrounding forestry, revelations from the night before flashed behind her eyes. The struggle to stay awake, to stay alive. The fight she had with Aang. She shivered; she never wanted to have a fight like that with him. He didn't need that right now. He was stressed enough with trying to learn his earth-bending. They were on the outskirts of the Fire Nation, come to think of it. On an island a way away; Aang had wanted to get a fire-bending master quickly so that right after he mastered earth-bending, he could begin on fire-bending.

Katara sighed at this thought, picking a few berries from a near-by bush. She remembered the crazy Earth Nation general that they had met more than a month ago, and how stressed Aang had gotten. She was afraid that he was going to be that stressed again, and she didn't think she could straddle that along with trying to keep peace in the camp. Something snapped at her right, and Katara swung around, her cobalt eyes searching the area around her. But she shrugged, and by habit she patted the water canteen at her side. It was empty, but if anything was following her, it didn't know that.

And so she continued through the forest. To the next bush, a few yards from the camp. Then to the next. After a few bushes, she came to a stream and bent down to fill her canteen. That's when she realized that it was utterly silent. Crouching down by the water, she lifted her head to gaze at the trees curiously. It was early morning, was it not? Surely birds would be singing and animals would be scuttling about. Her muscles tensed, and that's when she felt a pair of eyes watching her. Her face shot down, her cobalt gaze catching those of gold.

'Just a boy,
Just an ordinary boy.
But he was looking to the sky.'

He seemed not to make a move, and he moved his scarred face upward to the sky. "Perfect morning, is it not?" His voice was cold and promising, and that frightened Katara to death. She slowly raised her delicate form upward, glad that she had found the stream. She thought it rather silly of him to choose to show himself here, when she actually had a means of attack.

"Yeah, it's just peachy…" growled Katara, eyeing him quietly. She wouldn't make a move until he did. She slipped the canteen into her sash, locking it in place. Her muscles were tense, but the sound of the bubbling stream seemed to relax them at the same time, and that confused her. "Now, be a good little Fire Nation Prince and scamper away."

He looked at her in mock bewilderment. "What, you do not like my company?" He asked. His gold gaze did not falter; it was unlike anything Katara had felt before, and she felt uncertainty rise and old emotions bubble forth. No, thought Katara. She stepped back, not moving her eyes from him. She didn't trust him. Didn't trust him at all. Never would she trust him. But he looked at her in that same way, his eyes not leaving hers as she managed to take a few steps back. But as if by reflex he took exactly the same amount of steps, keeping the same distance between them. She was near the trees, and he was now standing in the stream, a smirk on his face.

"Go away," she said coldly, "leave us alone. You shouldn't even be after us; shouldn't you be running from your crazy ass sister or something?"

He looked at her in utter amusement, but then as if to keep the 'calm' mood he looked up at the sky with a sigh. "Who told you that she was my sister?" he asked, remembering the day that they all fought together against Azula at that abandoned town.

Katara stiffened, not knowing if she should answer. But she might as well. "Aang did." Silence fell on them both, and Zuko's gaze stayed to the sky, as if he were thinking deeply. What did he want anyways? Why did he need Aang so badly, when he was a fugitive as well? Running from his own father; it mad her sick to even think about it. Why did he even want to go back in the first place?

'And as he asked if I would come along, I started to realize—
That everyday you find, just what he's looking for,
Like a shooting star he shines.'

"I'm sorry." Now he was looking at her, watching her with that cold gaze of his and Katara found she could not look away. What did he mean by that? He had said it with a new tone, so sincere that it frightened her. "I'm sorry I nearly burned you at that town." She was still silent and he sighed, looking away and Katara found she longed to feel his gaze on her once more. "I was afraid I would lose Uncle. Now I know by what you meant, you can heal."

Katara looked at him cautiously, and she nodded. Yes, she can heal. Did his…what did he call the man?...uncle still need healing? She knew that it was traitorous, but she could never let someone die knowing that she could have healed them. "I want to make it up to you. Come with me." Katara was caught off guard and even found herself staggering backward a little into a tree.

Katara shook her head. No, she wouldn't have that. What was there to make up for? "I don't need you to make up for anything, Zuko." He flinched as she used his name without the title; he needed to get used to that. "I don't need any Fire Nation help. Just leave us alone, and that is the way you can make up for it!" And she spun around and raced away. Zuko watched her in silence, watching as she vanish through the trees, running back to the camp. He smirked slightly and looked back up at the sky. I'll be watching, he thought, and disappeared through the throng of berry bushes.

'He said take my hand,
Live while you can
Don't you see your dreams right in the palm of your hand?'

Katara sighed. It was getting to be dusk, and she could still not throw off the feeling of watching. She would throw glares like daggers into the trees, sending Zuko silent threats and warnings. Dare he show himself like this? She hadn't told any of them anything of what had happened or transpired between the two.

Sokka had been studying his sister all night, watching as she sent glares into the forest. What had happened when she was in the forest? It was as if she had a silent grudge on the trees and the living creatures in it. "What's the matter, Katara?"

Katara didn't say anything, she just poked the fire. Toph and Aang had not returned from their practice, but somehow she felt that Zuko was not here to threaten them. She let out a sigh and shook her head, still staying silent. A rustle came from behind her and instantly she swung around, water whip at the ready. But Toph entered with a moaning Aang behind her.

"How was the practice?" Katara asked, quickly slipping the water whip back into the canteen at her side.

"I am in pain," Aang complained, settling himself next to Katara.

Toph sneered, and stomped her foot, creating her own little stool out of stone near the fire. "Oh, buck up, Twinkle Toes. Pain means your learning!" Her sneer turned into a terrible grin as she looked at Sokka—more like straight past him. Her gray eyes seeing something that no one else could.

Katara was still silent as she stood and handed the two newcomers their dinner. "I'm heading in early for the night." And with that she pulled her sleeping bag toward Appa who lay near the trees, and settled deep in his fur. She heard someone whisper something to her, but she could not make it out for soon sleep overcame her fully.

Katara looked down from atop Appa's saddle, loving the feel of wind through her braided hair. A triumphant grin spread across her lips, and this did not go unnoticed by her brother, who had been keeping a serious eye on her ever since she had gotten back from getting breakfast the day before. She had been quiet for so long, it worried her. Katara was sure Zuko couldn't follow suit while they were on Appa, and she fell back against the saddle.

Suddenly Aang's voice was loudly calling to his three companions. "There's a small town over there. We need to stop for supplies, and we can get some normal food." Katara nodded, and Sokka agreed that it was a good idea. Toph didn't say a word, nor did she give any recognition that she was even listening. She had been studying the way Katara's silence had taken on so quickly. Something was wrong, and she couldn't figure out what.

It was mid-afternoon by the time that Katara and the gang had reached the outskirts of the town. Suddenly Katara stopped the group and faced them all, her eyes narrowed as she studied the group. They were like the black hog-sheeps in the white hog-sheep herd. They would be spotted so quickly that she wouldn't have time to say, 'Aang'. The group stopped and stared at her curiously.

"Put these on," she pulled out the black cloaks and threw them at each member of the group. Sokka gave her a curious look. "Do you see us? Look what we are wearing! Aang is wearing Air Nomad attire, Toph is in her Earth Nation clothes, and we are adorned in the Water Tribe outfits! We will be spotted and captured within minutes of entering the town."

Aang looked at Sokka, and Sokka looked down at Toph who merely looked past Katara in dim curiousness. "Alright, sounds good," Aang said as he slipped the black cloak over his head. Everyone followed suit.

Katara nodded, fixing Aang's hood to hide his arrowed head. And then she turned to Sokka and pulled his hair from the warrior's wolf-tail. He started to let out a complaint, but she frogged him in the arm. "Anyone who was seen us before would recognize that stupid ponytail even through the hood!" He was silent. She looked at Toph and smiled, for Toph was already fixing her cloak around her body.

Then Katara held the cloak between her legs as she slowly lifted her hands and pulled her hair from her braid. It would be harder to keep the hair hidden beneath the cloak in the braid, and people (i.e: Zuko) would be able to notice it. She pulled her fingers through the long, light-brown locks of hair and then threw her head over and shook it out. Aang watched with his mouth hanging open, and Sokka, his eyes dim with uninterested amusement, shut it with one finger under his chin. Then Katara pulled the cloak over her head, and over her hair.

"Right, let's go."

'And as he spoke, he spoke ordinary words
Although they did not feel
For I felt what I had not felt before
You'd swear those words could heal.'

They entered the town like any normal people, and they passed countless Fire Nation soldiers but they merely tipped their heads without any suspicion what-so-ever. Finally, Aang turned to the group with a grin, but Katara quickly intervened "Time to split up!" Aang pouted, knowing what Katara was going to say. "Look, I am the only one who really knows anything about fruits and vegetables around here. How about I go and do that, and you guys go off and find some meat and fish."

"Someone should stay here with you," Aang said quickly, right as Sokka was about to say the same thing. Katara smiled and shook her head, placing a few coins in a separate pouch and handing it to him.

"Don't waste the money like the time you bought that whistle, okay, Aang? Don't worry; I can take care of myself. We'll meet back here when the sun passes behind the trees." And with that Katara turned a corner and onto a street filled with vendors, ready to start getting some real food. She didn't feel any eyes watching her, and she was sure they had lost Zuko. Besides, she felt safe with all these soldiers around. Even so, she kept her hood over her head and continued walking. She stopped at a vendor and looked at the fruit curiously, and soon lost herself to the time and to the shopping.

By the time the sun was at the center of the sky, Katara had bought tons of fruits and veggies, and she felt she had done the shopping for the day. She began her way back down the street, when something caught her eye. It was a lovely necklace, and though it adorned the Fire Nation symbol and was a bright red, it was beautiful and captivated her. That's when she felt an arm around her waist and a hand over her mouth, and she was dragged into a near-by alley.

She looked at her captor, but she already had an idea of who it was. "Zuko."

"Did you really think you could hide yourself from me under that silly cape, Katara?" he asked as he swiftly removed the hood of her cape with one free hand.

She held her breath. He actually said her name; he didn't call her by his usual nickname: 'water peasant'. He noticed this and smirked, and repeated her name at a whisper into her ear. "Katara." She pushed him away, giving him the 'what-do-you-want?' look.

"Katara, please, let me pay my forgiveness in some way." What was he getting at with this? It was as if he was a completely changed person! She didn't like this new Zuko at all. "Katara," he said her name again and she felt a smile tug at her lips, familiar emotions filling her cobalt eyes, "you have no idea…what…I mean…" he stumbled on his words, and she realized he was trying to confess something. She looked at him, and she felt something she had not felt before, and it frightened her. "Look, its been a pain not seeing your face." Katara took in a deep breath, "I've been searching for some reason as to why this is so. I get irritated because I can never find you, and then I get irritated because I am irritated over something so silly!"

Katara looked down and she found that his arms were pressed against the wall on either side of her face, and that his forehead was nearly touching hers as his golden eyes looked into hers.

'And as I looked up into those eyes
His vision borrows mine.
And to know he's no stranger,
For I feel I've held him for all of time.'

"Tell me you haven't felt the same way."

She was silent for a long time. More than once had she had dreams of falling in with him, of letting him capture her and then take her on adventures. Many times she dreamed of doing things with him, that she had planned to do only when she was safely married. It had scared her, every time she had awakened from those dreams. It had scared her to know that her inner being cared this much for a traitor.

Slowly she looked into his eyes, and she saw all the pain that was held in them. Those golden eyes, so fierce. A permanent fierceness that came from a hard life of running and hunting and fighting and surviving and lying. She felt pity, but what's more, she felt as if she knew him. No, she didn't know him. She was him, in one way or another they were more alike in so many different ways. It frightened her, but she considered embracing it. "I can't deny it," she said with a shrug, as if it were a casual thing, "not anymore."

'Please come with me,
See what I see.
Touch the stars for time will not flee.
Time will not flee.
And you must be'

Zuko's eyes widened in excitement, something Katara had never seen emitted from him before. He took her hand and began dragging her to the back alley, but she dug her shoes into the gravel of the pavement, confused. "Come with me then. You wouldn't have to run, where we are going. We can stay together, travel together! No more running!"

Katara looked at him in utter, horrified amazement. "What do you mean?" She grabbed his other hand in hers and stopped him from walking. She looked his golden eyes and held his gaze as she began to speak, "Zuko, we are both running. From the same thing, and we will never be able to stop. Where I am now, I run from many people and I run to my destiny. Its intertwined with the Avatar's, with Aang's! And then, if I go with you, I'll still be running. I'll be running from everything I've known to come to love, and I'll be running from your sister. You are a fugitive, just like me." She released his hands, shaking her head as she backed away.

"Katara…" he said in fright.

"Katara!" more voices. It was Aang's, and Sokka's, and Toph's. It was voices from those she loved and cared for. She looked at Zuko and then back at the busy street, torn. She loved Zuko. She gasped. She loved Zuko.

She heard Zuko curse and she looked at him curiously. In a flash he was in front of her and his lips were on hers, light as feathers, and then they were gone, he was gone, and there was darkness. "I'll have my eye on you," he breathed, his voice echoing in her mind.

'Just a dream, just an ordinary dream.
As I wake in bed
And the boy, that boy, that ordinary boy.
Or was it all in my head?'

Katara snapped up from her sleeping bag, taking in breaths of air at a time, gasping for air and looking around. She was lying on Appa, safely wrapped in her sleeping bag. Sokka lay on her right, his back to her but she could hear him mumbling in his sleep. "Come back here Momo, that's my…" his voice trailed and loudly, in a drunken voice he called out, "pink clowns!" Katara looked over to her left and smiled at Aang's sleeping form, his arm was reached out toward her, but it was not draped over her in any way. Toph lay beside Aang, a small, content smile on her face. Katara faintly noted that Toph's fist was clenching onto Aang's Nomad shirt. She smiled and looked around her. They were all sleeping on Appa, and it seemed dawn was approaching soon.

It had all been a dream, she realized. She smiled slightly and ran a hand over, what she had expected to find her braid, but instead realized in shock that her hair was down. Had she let it down before she fell asleep? She looked around, and that's when a pair of golden eyes met a pair of cobalt blue ones and locked on.

'Did he ask if I would come along
It all seemed so real.
But as I looked to the door,
I saw that boy standing there with a deal.'

Katara smiled slightly as his hand went out to her, and she looked around her once more at her friends. She slipped off of Appa, and he only registered this with a muddle groan. She slipped away, grabbing his hand as he led her off into the woods. Only for tonight, she thought. Then we can talk. Only for tonight, she thought, and then I can wake up.