a/n: oh! what now? second day is in the bag! have a happy zutara week all!

"I've changed, Katara!" Zuko yelled, grabbing her wrist. "Believe me I've changed." He told her softly, trying to make contact with her eyes. The same eyes that had once looked at him and offered to heal his scar.

"I did believe you Zuko, or did you forget?" She pulled her wrist out of his hand. Her blue eyes bored into his. So very different from the ones that had looked into his under the cave. "I'm leaving." She exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

"No," He muttered, as his hand traced his scar. "I didn't forget. I never forgot." He lied down on the bed, which even though it was comfy was not comfortable in the least. It was cold and he was lonely and he felt like the one person who could've understood, the one person who had offered to understand, who had tried to understand, was pushing him away. Now, all she wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible. He breathed deeply into the pillow over his face and felt like maybe he deserved it. For being a bad nephew, for being a bad son, for being a bad Prince. For being a failure in general.

He had betrayed her first after all, and by Agni he was regretting that decision now more than ever.

Katara kicked the water again. How dare he show up? How dare he? After the incident in Ba Sing Se she had never wanted to see him again. Katara was capable of a lot of forgiveness, but she had never had any reason to forgive betrayal. A part of her still hadn't forgiven Jet even though he was dead. Betrayal was a crime punishable by banishment in the Southern Water Tribe. It was a part of who she was. Sokka, while he may not trust Zuko, would forgive him because he hadn't betrayed him. But by Yue she had felt the sting of his betrayal for weeks afterwards. When she thought she could trust him, even just a little bit he had turned his back on her.

"Katara?"

"Yes Aang?" He sat down beside her, dipping his feet into the water.

"Do you really hate Zuko that much?" He asked her, and she almost caved into that doe-eyed stare.

"I don't trust him Aang but I trust your judgment." Katara said, sighing. No matter how much she wished it, her word was not law.

Aang was silent for a minute. "What happened in Ba Sing Se Katara? You won't tell me, but I want to know."

Katara got up and headed for the door. She was almost there when she said "I offered to heal his scar with the Spirit Water, Aang, for a moment I trusted him. And then he betrayed me. I won't let that happen again." She closed the door softly behind her but to Aang it was like she had slammed it.

She leaned against the door for a moment. "Never again."

Zuko paced outside her room. He was nervous and he didn't know whether he should knock or not. She would probably just kick him out. Hell, he would've kicked himself out if he were her too. What he had done was unforgivable. He had betrayed the only person who had ever cared for him and the one person who had wanted to try. He had betrayed his Uncle and he had betrayed Katara. He was such an idiot. He started to leave but the door opened.

"Is something wro- Oh, it's you." Katara didn't look happy to see him.

He feel to his knees in a deep bow. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He just kept repeating it over and over and over again and then he started to cry. Deep sobs that wouldn't stop and he tried to get up but he couldn't.

Katara woke up to the sound of footfalls outside her room. She looked outside. It was just after sundown but she had been tired. They probably needed her to make dinner. Katara put on her clothes and the footfalls continued.

She opened the door, "Is something wro- Oh, it's you." Zuko had woke her up. He stopped still in his tracks for a moment looking like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Then he fell to his knees and started saying "I'm sorry" over and over and over again and then, he started to cry.

Katara was shocked at first. She hadn't known that Zuko could cry to her he was like some sort

of immovable statue. Unfeeling like a statue, but there he was on his knees crying and saying he was sorry. Looking at him She couldn't find it in herself to not forgive him.

Then she recognized the signs. She'd only seen it once or twice. When the soldiers would return home to rest for a few days. He was having a nervous breakdown. She gathered him up in her arms and moved him to her bed. Hugging him and reassuring him all throughout. They stayed like that for the rest of the night. Zuko a blubbering mess and her playing the part of his anchor as he dealt with his guilt.

She was hugging him and whispering to him and reassuring him he realized. Katara who he was almost sure hated him with everything in her was helping him and not taking advantage of his weakness. He tried to pull away, not wanting her to see him like this. She held steady though and he burrowed as deep as he could into her arms, feeling safer than he had in a long time.

Maybe, he thought, he wasn't as worthless as everyone thought he was.

She eventually fell asleep, only waking up when he stirred sometime around noon. He was smiling slightly, not yet fully awake but he opened his mouth to say something.

"I changed." he told her sleepily, and innocent little grin on his face.

"I know," She smiled. "You told me."

a/n: read & review please!