Disclaimer: I don't own AtLA. That's about it.
A/N: Takes place during 'The Southern Raiders.' The first night at the new camp.
Katara walked through the camp, making sure everyone was asleep. A light wind blew in from the nearby crashing waves. She folded her arms to keep the cold from permeating too far past her clothes. The light sounds of Sokka and Toph snoring set her at ease. She circled the camp once more to return to her own tent. A single, tiny sound she probably imagined stopped her in her tracks. She closed her eyes to listen. There it was again!
She made her way over to a stone wall, courtesy of one twelve-year-old earthbender. Zuko wasn't in his tent after all. She can't think of anything to say. She stood there and watched him for what seemed like the longest time. Maybe he didn't notice her. Her sigh promptly broke that theory.
His shaggy hair did nothing to hide his forlorn appearance. Those shimmering lines on his face confound her at first. Tears. He had been crying. She never realized he was capable of something so…human.
"Do you ever get the feeling no one knows you exist?" The question came from out of the blue, his voice soft.
"All the time," her reply tumbled out before she could call it back.
She stepped closer to him and set her hands on his chest, let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Everyone hates me. I know they do," he shook his head, didn't meet her gaze.
"No one here hates you, Zuko," I don't.
"I always mess things up. I make friends and they like me at first but then it all goes wrong," if it was any other time or place, she would be mocking him, he was sure; "It always goes wrong."
Katara tried to think of the right thing to say, "You doubt yourself too much. You think you'll make a mistake so you end up pushing people away." She won't apologize or forgive him. She had yelled at him a couple hours before, but for now she didn't want to think of herself as the caue of this.
She stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. For comfort, she reasoned to herself. He returned the hug without much resistance. They stay that way for a few long moments. Maybe longer than they should have. Both let go at the same time. She fled; turned back to him at the edge of the shadowy wall.
"You're great," she smiled and fancied he did the same.
The following morning as she packed for an impromptu trip, he said the same two words to her in passing.
A/N: Please review.