This is my first Avatar fic, so any con-crit is welcome! I really enjoy thinking about what goes on between scenes in stories, and Avatar is no different. So, this fic will cover holes from the end of "The Western Air Temple" to the end of "Sozin's Comet". Though I plan on Zutara overtones, I will be sticking to cannon. That means nothing will happen to conflict with the facts the show has given us :)

Please comment! Compliments make me want to type more, and constructive criticism makes my story better!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, etc.

In Between

01. The Western Air Temple

She couldn't believe it, she just couldn't.

Katara was walking down the stone halls of the air temple, face flushed and body shaking with rage. How could the others trust Zuko after everything he'd done? And the nerve of that lying hot headed fire nation prince! Did he really think she'd buy this new act, after what happened under Ba Sing Se? Did he think she was stupid? The only stupid thing she did was trust him in the first place! And the others, all taking his side! She would make sure that nothing happened to her friends, even if they were too blinded at the moment to see through Zuko…she could. She already had experience with his lies. And it was her job to protect the others. Someone had too.

She turned the corner and ran into her brother. He was walking away from that idiot's new room, she realized. He quickly apologized before realizing where she was headed and why. He sighed and held up his hands to stop her from continuing as she tried to side-step him.

"Katara…"

"Not now Sokka," she tried to walk past again.

"Katara, I know how you feel, but…"

"No! You have no idea how I---"

Her brother grabbed her by the arms to stop her from trying to fight her way past, "Katara, please just give it a chance, ok? It's what Aang thinks is right, so we have to try."

She turned away from him, staring at the ground, but didn't say anything.

"Promise me you wont try to make him leave, at least."

Katara stared at him defiantly, angry tears filling her eyes, "If he hurts Aang…"

"He'll never get the chance! Give us more credit," Sokka gave her a reassuring smile, "he's alone, do you really think he has a chance against team Avatar?"

Katara pulled back from his grasp, "I wont take chances. I wont trust him. Not again."

She forced her way past him before he could say anything else, ignoring him calling her name in exasperation, and went to Zuko's doorway. He was unpacking his things, with his back to her. 'Rather trusting of us, isn't he?' she noted bitterly, leaning against the doorway. She didn't know what she was going to say or do, but she knew she had to say something. After a few minutes, Zuko finally seemed to notice her and looked up. The jerk even gave a small smile as he stood up, obviously thinking she was there for some friendlier reason.

Digging her nails into her arms in order to control her rage, Katara stopped him in his tracks with her harsh tone, "You might have everyone else buying your 'transformation', but you and I both know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slip up, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang… and you wont have to worry about your destiny anymore, because I'll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there. Permanently."

Shocked, Zuko stared back sadly at her, unable to say a word as she whipped around and stormed out from his room, slamming the door behind her. He wanted to stop her, he wanted her to trust him…but he understood why she didn't. He would have to earn her trust, and the trust of the others as well, very slowly. They had very good reasons to have reservations about him. He himself was still shocked by how the past few months had shaped him.

He sat on the bed with a heavy sigh, dropping his head into his hands. Even now that he knew he was in the right place, knew that he was on the right side…he couldn't help but question his position in the bigger picture. How would things have turned out if he had stayed on the Avatar's side under Ba Sing Se? If he had let Zhao take Avatar when he captured him, instead of saving him as the Blue Spirit? What if he had never even been banished…would he still be here? Would he still have made it to the side fighting against his father?

He looked over to the picture of his uncle. No, his uncle would have made sure he was here, no matter what. His uncle had seen this moment coming for longer than Zuko even cared to think about. And this time, he wasn't going to let him down.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Afraid that it may be Katara, returning to just go ahead and off him, Zuko cautiously got up from the bed and slowly opened the door. It was Aang.

"I saw Katara leaving from this direction, and thought I should make sure you were ok. I know how it is to be on the receiving end of her anger, and it isn't fun. Do you mind if I come in?" the young air bender asked with a warm smile.

"N-no! Please!" Zuko stuttered both out of relief and nervousness at the same time. Though he certainly didn't think Aang would hurt him (and he certainly wasn't as terrifying as Katara at the moment), the Avatar was the only reason Zuko was here. He was not only grateful for receiving this chance, but he was also quite keen on not ruining it.

"Thank you for offering to teach me."

"No! I mean, it's nothing. I should be thanking you. For giving me this chance, that is. I really don't deserve it, and I know none of you really trust me, and I understand why of course…with the whole 'chasing you all over the world and trying to capture you' thing…and I know Katara wants to kill me, and probably isn't the only one. But I really do want to help! I've seen what this war is doing, and I want to stop it… And…" Zuko trailed off, realizing that he was rambling stupidly. To his surprise, the Avatar laughed.

"Yeah, Katara was pretty angry! So was Sokka, come to think of it. They can get pretty worked up, you know," he chuckled again before noticing Zuko's dejected look. He quickly sobered and turned serious, "But I trust you Zuko. And I know the others will too. Eventually."

Zuko gave him a skeptical look, "I don't think Katara will ever forgive me."

Aang gave him a sad smile that made him look far older than his 12 years. It still unnerved Zuko sometimes to remember that this boy, supposedly the most powerful person on this planet was only 12...and carried so much responsibility, "Katara doesn't hate you as much as you think. Or even as much as she thinks probably. She's just tired, and weary, and doesn't want to lose anyone else to this war."

"And I'm one of the reasons she's lost so much," Zuko added dully.

"Yes. You are. But so am I, and she doesn't hate me."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. What could the Avatar have done to make anyone, especially Katara, suffer?

"What if I had never run away, and gotten frozen for 100 years? Her and Sokka's mother might still be alive, they might still have their father, she wouldn't have had to come on this dangerous journey…this war may have never started in the first place. But you can't dwell on the past. I learned this the hard way. If you keep regretting your past actions, you'll never move on. Just make the best of it, and learn from your mistakes. It's all you can do," the boy gave a reassuring smile before turning to leave, "Dinner will be ready in about an hour."

The door shut behind Aang, leaving Zuko alone with his thoughts once more. However, his former adversary had left him with new things to mull over, and by dinner he was determined to prove himself to the others.

The young Avatar was much wiser than he seemed sometimes.

Dinner was a rather awkward affair. No one said anything, except for the occasional weak attempt to start conversation, so the meal ended rather quickly. No one had said a word to Zuko all night, so he was surprised when he heard a rough voice call him, "Hey, hothead! Yeah, I'm talking to you, your majesty."

Zuko looked up to see the earth bender looking at him expectantly, "H-huh? Me?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Who else? I want to go back to my room, and you're going to carry me."

Zuko paused for a minute, before remembering exactly why she was making this request.

"Of course!" he said quickly, jumping to his feet so fast he became dizzy. He rushed to the girls side and picked her up, "Um…where…"

"I would tell you, but since I can't really see anything anymore…"

"Er…right…"

"I'll go with you," said a voice behind Zuko that made him freeze uncomfortably, "I need to work on healing Toph's feet more, anyway."

Katara walked up to the other two and venomously hissed, "It also wouldn't hurt for me to make sure you don't do anymore damage on the way."

"Ouch. Sugar queen, you better be careful or I'll have to think of another nickname for you," Toph remarked in surprise. She knew Katara didn't like Zuko, but this was just plain uncharacteristically bitter for the older girl. But said older girl ignored her, turning sharply towards the staircase that led to Toph's room without another word.

Zuko hurried behind her, trying to think of something to say. Anything to say, when the girl in his arms leaned up to his ear and whispered, "Don't try too hard, Sparky, and don't be so nervous. Your heart is beating so hard I'm surprised you haven't keeled over yet."

"That's easy for you to say!" he hissed, "She isn't about to kill you!"

"And why do you care? She wont really do anything as long as Aang's around. Besides, she didn't like me at first either!"

Zuko looked down at her in surprise, and she smiled, "She liked to think she's all kind and accepting, but she can be even more stubborn that me sometimes! Don't let it get to you."

Zuko smiled too, just as Katara whipped around to give them a suspicious look. She paused like she had something she wanted to say, but eventually only said, "This is her room."

Zuko walked in and set Toph, who thanked him, on the bed. He stood there for a second, but before he could do or say anything else, Katara snapped at him, "Ok, you did your job. You can go now."

He had no choice but to leave. "Well, bye then…goodnight…," he walked out and closed the door softly behind him. Katara immediately got to work on the other girl's feet.

"I understand why you don't like him, but do you have to be so hard on him?"

"Yes."

"Why can't you just give him chance?"

"I already gave him one. He'll have to work hard for another one."

"No one's perfect."

"He burned your feet."

"He's trying to help Aang."

"He's tried to kill Aang hundreds of times now."

"You'd make a good earth bender."

"What?"

"Because you're so stubborn."

"You're one to talk."

"I'm not the one wasting all of her energy on being horrible to someone who just wants to help."

Katara stood up quickly, letting the water she was using splash onto the floor, "I don't care if you all think I'm being irrational. You'll thank me for it later. He can't be trusted, and besides, why would I want to trust him? He's just an arrogant, spoiled, jerk who's dedicated him entire life thus far to ruining the lives of others. What reason do I have to even want him on our side?"

She stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind her, tears of frustration streaming down her face.

"I can tell your lying, Sugar Queen," Toph said to the empty room, "I don't need my bending to tell that you didn't mean that."