-Zuko and Katara if the little scene while they were imprisoned in Ba Sing Se got a little more.. Interesting before they were interrupted. There's some sadness. There's some sex. Theres some of everything. Obviously it's rated M for mature, so be just that about the content. I love feedback and ideas, so don't be shy!-

"The Fire Nation took my mother."

Katara's words rung in his ears as he prepared himself to speak. The green crystals glinted around them, and the idea that they were locked away in prison would hardly occur to you. It was a beautiful, grand place; but that didn't mean Zuko was grateful. He was in here with Katara, the waterbender from the Avatar's gang of friends, and he didn't know what to say to her, when she talked to him. She mentioned her mother; that the Fire Nation took her away from her. Well, that was one thing Zuko could sympathize with. Maybe he and this girl weren't quite as different as he had first imagined. Katara had turned around after she lashed out at him about her mother, and her knees pulled into her chest, face hidden behind her knees as she cried. The sounds of her sobs echoed in his ears, and a small part of him felt bad. He was never a bad person; never so bad a person he wouldn't feel sympathy for a person crying. But he would've left her respectfully in peace, had he not been phased. But he was. He turned to her.

"I'm sorry. That's one thing we have in common." He replied, his voice it's usually steady calmness, but his eyes traveled over her, as if he were analyzing her for any movement whatsoever, wanting to see if she'd turn around to face him. To see that maybe they weren't so different after all. Because in his eyes, they weren't. They were opposites in many ways, yes, but they were also similar in ways; especially similar in their struggles. It's what made it not so hard for him to find a newfound respect for Katara. She was a strong bender and well..

He stopped himself there

He shouldn't be focusing so much on her. Even if he was locked in here with only her for company, she as the enemy. He shouldn't be thinking about her so much.

She turned, wiping her eyes as they met his. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before." She apologized quietly, sniffling as she turned, her blue eyes looking it'll his gold ones. He wanted to explain.. To TELL her.. To make her realize he had a hard childhood too. They he grew up without his mother. That he wasn't just a horrible person who wanted to capture Aang and turn him over to his father. He wanted his honor back. It was something she might not understand; but Katara wasn't like him. Even if she didn't understand she would respect him for the things he knew he needed to do. Wouldn't she?

Maybe he was focusing too much on her. And on her opinions.

Why did he care anyway? It was only.. Katara.

Only Katara.

It was Katara. Why did she suddenly matter so much?

It was just that

No 'at least you know what happened to your mother'. No 'at least you have your father who actually loves you'. Nothing like that. He didn't want her pity. He didn't want that. He just wanted to level with her, he.. Almost cared what she thought, and how she saw him

It was strange to come to terms with it, but he was beginning to care. He didn't know why know, because he never had before.

"It doesn't matter." He replied simply, and he wondered why her voice was so soft before. Was she.. Scared of him? Scared to speak out loud?

No, he dismissed that idea quickly. She was scared of getting too emotional and breaking down again. She'd cried in front of him once, and she probably didn't want to do it again. He'd always seen Katara so strong and capable; even if she was always on the other side and always fighting against what he was fighting for. Seeing, more so hearing, her cry was.. A change. He felt awkward but also closer to her. Not that she could feel any sort of close ties to him after everything that happened in the past.

"It's just.. Whenever I pictured the face of the enemy, the only one I could see.. Was yours." She replied, eyes averting from his. He didn't feel flustered, or annoyed or angry or any emotion he usually felt being around Katara, or any he felt around someone who he'd begun to feel less hostile towards. Just.. Calm. Level. He tried not to show it, but he was surprised how quickly she began to trust him, to feel like she could sympathize with him and that the were.. Similar.

"My face? I see." He murmured in reply, his eyes still not meeting hers. How could she picture anything less? With the strikingly gold eyes, face burnt to a crisp and curled into a permanent grimace; how could he not be the poster kid for the enemy? He was just the antagonist. Just the bad guy. But he wasn't a bad person. He insisted upon that he wasn't.

He wasn't a bad person

He wasn't a bad person

"No, no that's-that's not what I meant." She told him, stumbling over her words a bit. She was trying not to offend him; not many people did that. Azula wasn't afraid to tease him and brazenly point out his shortcomings and his mark. She wasn't afraid to make him feel like he was worthless. And his father wasn't too coy about treating him that way either.

His mother, his connection to Katara on an emotional level. She was the one who treated him well, and he had no idea where she was. It was all too convenient that the only person who truly loved him had disappeared, and he was truly alone. Uncle cared about him yes, but it was nothing that could replace parental love when he was in such a position that THAT was what he needed. Maybe he was so vulnerable that he was focused on WHO that affection came from, rather than the affection and the appreciation in itself.

Maybe it didn't matter who cared for him. Maybe care in itself was all that really mattered

And the most caring, most loving person he could think of was sitting right in front of him.

It didn't matter who that person was. It just mattered that they cared

Maybe he needed that

Maybe he needed her

Maybe he just needed Katara to realize he did what he did for a reason that wasn't bad

Maybe he just needed her to realize he was a person

Maybe he just needed her to realize he was a person

"It doesn't matter." He replied, lifting his head a bit to meet her eyes. He stared at her, and he realized how stupid his thoughts had been. She was the enemy. The way she looked at him, it was the look of someone who scarcely respected you. Someone who was only keeping down her raging anger at you because it would be embarrassing as he hadn't done anything. Maybe he was just being fickle and hormonal being the teenager he was. Or maybe he was being hopeful and realistic all at once. Maybe he didn't know what he wanted or what these feelings were

He had no idea what to think

"I used to think my scar marked me. The mark of the banished Prince, forced to chase the avatar forever. But lately I've realized that I'm free to determine my destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark." He murmured, eyes meeting hers. He appeared so stoic and calm, so level and down to earth. But in reality his mind was racing and raving with the thoughts of whether he should just leave, just sit far away from her in the catacombs and plan how to regain his honor, to return to the Fire Nation and return his life to normal. But something had drawn himself to stay with Katara, to not leave her and reject her and forget about the girl he'd seen, young and scared at the South Pole, who'd grown into such a strong woman. Someone he respected as an enemy; as it was the honorable thing to do. He needed closure on his terms with his father and his home, but something was screaming for him to change his views on what he was doing. He didn't know what it was thought

"Maybe you could be free of it." She said finally, and he looked up from the ground he didn't realize his gaze had trailed to until now, his eyes widened a bit. "What?" He asked, and she stepped closer. "I have healing abilities." She explained, but he quickly dismissed this. "It's a scar. It can't be healed." He informed her, but she lifted a necklace around her neck, with an almost triangularly oblong shape at the end. "This is water from the Spirit Oasis. It had special healing properties. I don't know if it would work but.." She murmured, and stepped closer. Her slender fingers let the necklace drop back against her bust, and her other hand lifted, fingers resting gingerly on his scarred face, and Zuko's eyes fell shut as he felt her touch. He wasn't nervous. His mind had stopped racing. He knew if he thought about this too much, he would reject it completely and wonder what in Agni's name he was thinking when decided this, but there was no denying the thoughts. No denying that her offer, so generous and selfless, not even thinking of anything else. This Spirit Oasis water.. If it had such properties like this, it must be special. She had so many other good uses and worthy people of something like that, and she was offering it to him. She was offering to try and heal him of his mark, while they were still not completely friends or even on the same side, not even allies. Enemies. On opposite sides. She didn't even KNOW if the water would work on his scar, and she was still willing to do this.

How many other people did he know that would do something so incredibly selfless for someone they were still currently enemies with, just because she thought he might be trustworthy now that they were being less hostile towards one another?

Nobody

Nobody, none of his family or any of the friends he didn't even have would do that for him.

She was willing to do this, because she was beginning to consider that he might mean something to her

And that was the first time he ever felt like someone might feel that way about him

And it felt good

"Katara." He murmured quietly, the words he wanted to say slipping from his mind, and it seemed he was just trying to test the words on his tongue and out of his mouth. That he knew he never really called her anything but he offensive spat of "waterbender", never thought of her as more than a peasant or a little girl who didn't know what she was talking about, that she was just the avatars little friend and that she wouldn't be any trouble to get around. He couldn't have been more wrong. Katara was so much stronger than he would've ever thought, both physically and mentally. She fought like a warrior, and she definitely was one. She cried in front of the enemy, only to moments later offer to heal something that had pained him so long, something that since the day when he was just that little thirteen year old boy he thought would pin him as bad his whole life.

The way she stared at him, so intently and open. So ready to listen, like she wanted to hear his words and what he had to say and what was on his mind.

And maybe she did

Being around her, it was so different that what he usually dealt with. It was.. Nice.

"Don't think." He told her, and before she could return the promise he spoke so softly to her, he locked eyes with her for a moment as he moved in closer to her, and his lips were on hers, his eyes were closed, and her hand was still against the scarred half of his face. Her fingers tensed against him, but he didn't feel her pull away. No, this confusion and this hormonal impulsiveness that they just needed to air out with something so sudden and passionate; it was shared between them both. Her fingers brushed his cheek and curled to rested under his jawbone, leaning into the kiss, and trying to lean up as much as she could, being shorter than he was. His arms, that had been so awkwardly out at the sides, hovering over her hips as he tried to decide what to do. He'd kissed Mai before.. But he never felt such a nervous jump in his heartbeat, never such the scared feeling in the pit of his stomach that she'd reject him. But she didn't. She didn't and that was what made him not pull away in nervousness. His hands finally settled at her waist, her slender hips making such a perfect fit for his hands, and he pulled her closer, her other hand rested on his shoulder, her head tilting slightly. It was as if they both forgot who they where connected to; this wasn't the enemy. This was a motherless soul who was going through so much, who was so personally affected by this war. Who needed the affection in this way, and who were happy that someone else would give it to them.

Zuko didn't find it hard to accept that it was Katara there, though.

It was Katara

He was kissing her

He was kissing Katara