Summary: After seeing the The Boy in the Ice Berg, Katara and Zuko both try to come up with reasons why they don't like each other.

A/N: This is my first story for Zutara Week. It's not the best, actually it's kind of bad, but I'm thinking (and hoping) that the other prompts will be better. This one was kind of hard for me. Of course, I don't own Avatar. Otherwise, Zutara would not need a week because it would be canon.

Serendipity

On one side of the beach, Zuko sat on the rocks, gazing out at the ocean. His mind had been in a jumbled mess ever since they'd mentioned the cave in Ba Sing Se, and him and Katara having feeling for one another, in the play and he'd been unable to sleep, so he'd come out there to clear his head.

On the other side of the beach, Katara was pacing anxiously back and forth. She didn't know why out of all the scenes in the play, the one in the crystal catacombs had affected her the most. The thought of her and Zuko being together was ridiculous, so why couldn't she get rid of it?

He was hotheaded. It was almost humorous how easy it was to make him angry. No, you didn't even have to make him angry. He was always angry about something, always yelling. He had absolutely no control over his temper. He could be infuriating and sometimes, she could barely stand it.

She was whiny. She was overly dramatic, overly emotional. She always made too big a deal out of everything. It took almost nothing to upset her. One minute she was happy and then the next she was yelling at you over something insignificant. It got tiring. After awhile, it got very, very tiring.

He was stubborn. No matter how wrong he was about something, you couldn't change his mind. Once he had his mind made up, there was no changing it. Sometimes it drove her crazy. They'd get caught up in such huge arguments over something small because neither of them ever admitted that they were wrong. The difference was, in her opinion, she was never wrong. But he always had to be so persistent. He always had to be so assertive. He never gave up on anything. Come to think of it, it was actually something she really admired about him…

But wasn't something she was supposed to be thinking about.

She was condescending and self-righteous. She treated everyone like a child. She acted as if they were their mother instead of their friend. She was so bossy. Not a day went by when she didn't tell someone what to do. And she always had to be right about everything. She had to win every argument no matter how wrong she was. It was too bad that she was so good at arguing. Though all her speeches got annoying sometimes, she was…inspirational…

But he couldn't think about that.

He was determined. She'd always known that. He'd followed them all over the world trying to capture Aang. But now that she really knew him (and he'd stopped attacking them), she saw his determination as a good thing instead of a bad one. He'd been so determined to join the group and teach Aang that he risked his life trying to fight the assassin he'd sent for them. He'd been so determined to help her that he'd taken her to the monster that'd killed her mother. He'd done everything he could to help her and to prove himself to her. And that meant much more to her than he'd ever know. And that was because, she'd never let him know.

She was passionate. He could see that even when they were enemies. He could see it in her face. He could see it when they fought, when she was waterbending. He could see it when she talked about something she cared about. Just like his drive, was helping to defeat his father, hers was fighting for the people she loved. And that was something he thought was extremely honorable.

He was strong. He had to be after losing his mother and growing up with Azula for a sister and Ozai for a father. He had to be since he'd been banished until he completed a quest that was thought to be almost impossible until recently. And now, he'd been strong enough to do the right thing. He'd given up everything to join them and he'd helped them more than she could say. She couldn't believe that she was admitting this, and if you'd asked her a week ago, she'd even deny it to herself, but the group needed him. Seeing how helpful he'd been to Aang, seeing him laughing and joke with the rest of the group, he'd really redeemed himself. He'd changed.

She was brave. She'd been taking care of her brother since she was young, and he knew how hard it was to lose your mother at such a young age. Now, in her own way, she took care of all of them too. She would never turn her back on anyone who needed her, and she loved to be needed. She held them together.

But, she had Aang. Aang needed her. She knew that. She was sure that she loved him, but sometimes she wasn't sure that it was the same way he loved her. She wanted it to be. Even in the play they'd called her "the Avatar's girl." It felt like that was what was expected. That's what she was supposed to be. She could never have feelings for Zuko. And, even if she did, she was from the Water Tribe and he was a Fire Nation prince. It couldn't work.

So whatever it was that she was feeling for him, she had to forget.

But, he had Mai. He didn't have very many good memories of his childhood, but she was one of them. He wanted to hold on to that. He'd only left her to protect her. It didn't mean that he didn't care about her. She'd been there for him. And he was sure that being a Fire Nation prince he was supposed to marry someone of Fire Nation nobility, like Mai. Not that he thought that Katara was beneath him. In all honesty, he probably didn't deserve someone like her anyway.

So whatever it was that he was feeling for her, he had to get over it.

By now the two had both headed back for the beach house, where everyone would be sound asleep by now. They crept through the dark hallways, hoping not to wake anyone up. It was easier for Zuko since he could light a dim flame in his hand for light. For Katara, it was pitch black. But both of them were too lost in their thoughts to notice each other until they crashed into each other, stumbling backwards and searching for the wall to hold onto and regain balance. Once Zuko had stabled himself, he lit his fire again and helped Katara to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

Their eyes met for a brief second. But considering what they'd been thinking about, they both quickly blushed and looked away.

She was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

"So," he began, awkwardly looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "Some play, huh?"

"Yeah…" she said quietly. The corner of her lips twisted into a smile, but her eyes fixated on a spot on the ground. "Well I should get some rest."

"Yeah me too," he agreed. "Goodnight, Katara."

"Goodnight, Zuko." They were both already hurrying away when she said it, both reminding themselves to forget and to get over it, both trying to fight the feelings that had risen.

But deep down, they knew it was too late. Neither one of them was going to be forgetting or getting over anything any time soon.