Legal necessities: I don't own the Avatar franchise.

098. Vulnerable- Zukana- ZukoxKana

After the Fire Days Festival.

Alternate ending to chapter 16 of The Two Souls: Flowing Water. No need to read the other Fanfic. But if you want to know who Kana is, go read that. Or don't. It doesn't matter.

"Look," Kana snapped, "I know you don't want to be here, but you could at least respect the fact that these performers bring culture to your people, who are far away from their homes."

"I didn't mean it in that way, Kana."

"Whatever," she hissed while placing the gold mask back over her face, "it's getting late, maybe we should just go back to the ship."

"No." she looked at him in – what he suspected – a surprised manner, "you're right. We're going to stay until the end of the festival." She continued to stare at him, and he could see her blue eyes sparkle through the holes in her mask. With a shrug she walked away to another attraction, and soon Kana is as bouncy as ever, happy to be at the Fire Days festival.

They didn't stay until the end of the festival, because at one point both admitted they were tired. On their walk back, Kana wouldn't stop nudging Zuko until he said that spending his time there wasn't as completely boring as he had thought. She accepted these words with a laugh, and his lips perked up just enough to be considered a smile.

He had a sudden idea, and couldn't help but act on it. She was following him without really thinking about it, so when there was a turn on the trail leading to the beach of a river, he took it. By the time Kana realized they weren't going in the right direction, they were already there.

"Where are we?" Kana gasped, staring at the gently flowing river with wide eyes.

"I wanted to make up how I made you feel at the festival, and I thought the best way to do that, would be to take you swimming."

"Zuko… I- I can't."

"What?" he snapped, turning to glare at her.

"It's just that I don't think…"

"I didn't have to do this," he snarled, "the least you could do is show some appreciation!"

"It's not that I'm not grateful!" Kana exclaimed in surprise, "It's because I don't want to go swimming!"

"You're a Waterbender, why would you deny the only chance you have at getting in the water?" he hissed.

"It's because- it's because of my back!" she shouted at him, "you're not the only one who have scars, Zuko!" he just stared at her blankly, and she couldn't stand it. "You wear yours on your face, a constant reminder. But even without seeing them, I always know they're still there."

"Why- how did…" Kana watched as he stuttered, and closed her eyes in pain before opening them and letting out a breath. She gazed at Zuko uncertainly, then turned around, showing her back. He just watched as she brushed her brown hair over a shoulder, stiff with tension. And before he knew what was happening, the light blue cloth dipped, showing her tanned skin.

"What are you doing?" he yelped, making her stop for a fraction of a second before letting the blue fabric fall to her waist. Her arms came up, and she slowly pinched the white bindings to expose her skin. And as he stared at her bare back, Zuko's nose flared, and he let out a steam filled hiss. Five jagged, thick lines trailed down her skin, reaching like greedy fingers to her waist.

Her head was bowed, and he knew her eyes were pinched shut in vulnerability. He quickly shed his own shirt, allowing his scars to show in the bright moonlight. "Kana, look at me." He said in determination. She did as she was told timidly, peaking at him over her shoulder.

Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. Thin lines traveled all over his skin, none were as severe as her own, but there were still quite a lot. She turned all the way around, shirt precariously pulled back up as she walked forward.

Zuko turned around to show her the longest, and nastiest of scars, and she ran her hand over it slowly. "How?" she asked quietly.

"It was a training accident when I was learning to use the dao swords."

"Why didn't you use practice swords?"

"Because it wasn't the same thing, you only learn in real situations. I will never make the same mistake I did then."

"Ya…" she murmured, stepping away from him.

"Kana, what happened?" he asked, cupping her chin, and forcing her face up so she was looking in his eyes.

"It looks like we both have daddy problems." She laughed darkly, making him rip away from her. "What Zuko, did you think you were the only person with family issues?"

"Let's go." He growled, bending over to pick up his shirt. Kana stared at him for a second before shaking her head. She hadn't meant to hurt him, but she did. Without a word she stripped out of her dress, and hopped into the chilled water. She stayed beneath the surface for a few seconds, then pushed back to the top.

Zuko was staring at her underneath the tree, the darkness obscuring his expression, but his hand was clenched tightly around his red shirt. "Thank you for taking me here, Zuzu. I'm sorry I wasn't appreciative."

He was still for a minute before walking over to her, getting to his knees. He reached down, pulling her up, and kissed her on the lips. Her breath shuddered out in surprise so he moved away. "These," Zuko murmured, trailing his fingers down her back, "don't mean anything."

Without out warning she rose from the water, pressing her lips to his while pushing him down. She pulled away suddenly, and brushed a light kiss against his scar. "Neither does this." Zuko reached up, and pulled her back down to meet his kiss.

If anyone has requests for any pairing with Kana or a situation you want to see, feel free to ask. I will be more than willing to do them.