Zuko rambled around gently with the collar of his sleeve. Why can't Katara just leave him alone he thought to himself? For the past few days the water bender had been throwing insults at him constantly, and she just wouldn't stop. He tried reasoning with her but that helped just as much as trying to ignore her stabs, quite pointless. Every time she felt his presence she would clutch her fists, tighten her stance, grind her teeth, and shoot out nasty insults.
The fire bender would pray secretly that some how she would just ignore him, even that would be much more uplifting than what she did now. He tried fighting back a few times and that was just pointless foolery for she wouldn't stop until she had won, almost like a filthy vermin that needed to be squashed immediately, only instead of using insect repellant she decided to squish the insect with her own hands and make it suffer a painful death. And Zuko knew very well he was that insect.
Today would be a new day Zuko quietly uttered to himself straightening the clothes he had slept in. He ruffled his raven hair out of his eyes and lightly glanced at himself in the mirror. Seeing the scar, though he had probably seen it hundreds of times, still made him cringe. He walked up to the wooden carved door and found a message peeled to the bottom of the door way.
"What could this be?"
Zuko wondered to himself pulling the silver strings that kept the note in tact off. He read the note carefully once, than again, than a third time to secure the fact he wasn't hallucinating. He dropped the note suddenly and paced back and forth pondering its contents for a while in his head.
Katara sat at the table with Aang, Sokka, Toph and Suki. They all ate quieter than normal chopping on the rabbit that was provided by Katara and only the sound of licking lips, snapping tounges, and tearing of meat echoed the table that morning. Katara thought gently about what she had said to Zuko earlier this morning. She wondered if he had read the note yet, and almost hopping he didn't, she wanted to sneak back in and steal it away where no one could read it.
On that note she had kind of confessed to Zuko that she was still incredibly mad at him for what he had done to her, and still didn't forgive him, but admitted she was wrong for judging him so crucially and being a complete jerk.
Every one else didn't see him the way she did and didn't understand. For a while in the crystal catacombs she really believed him and thought he had feelings too. The water bender even liked him and thought they were… well… friends. All of that has changed now ever sense he betrayed her breaking her trust along with her heart. She can never trust him again with that same strand of hope, let alone like him. Katara promised herself she would never be broken hearted again, and swore that she wouldn't let him interfere with the world's last hope along with her heart if her life depended on it. She just couldn't bear to be toiled with again.
"What are the plans for today?"
Aang broke the silence seemingly as the others drifted out of there day dreams and began to focus once again on something other than cleaning their plate off.
"Umm, I don't really know? This is a first."
Sokka scratched his head wondering when was the last time they didn't have some where to go or someone to see. It made him little over whelmed and anxious at this sudden loss of order.
"Wait does anyone know where Zuko went?"
Aang continued on ignoring Sokkas remark. The air bender was actually quite surprised to realize that he hadn't seen Zuko the whole morning, where as he usually was the first riser. Aang examined Katara's dress admirably seeing the leather sash he had given her slung over her thin waist, a purple blouse laying nicely underneath matched with a long thin blue shirt. Her hair was rumpled up and her ice blue eyes driven with determination.
"Katara, is anything the matter?"
Aangs tone drifted into the air almost half heartedly. Katara looked up and slung her position back almost defensively to meet her air bending friends gentle eyes. Seeing this she slouched back again helplessly and began to shake her cold, sea blue eyes.
"No, I'm just a little up tight these days I guess."
Katara's smooth voice beckoned softly. She excused herself quickly and pushed in the hard wooden chair.
She began to walk down the dark hallway heading to Zuko's bedroom. She could feel his presence as she slowly turned corner to find her outside his corridor. The water bender, having a record for being fearless and confident, was scared. She didn't want to face him really, but she forced herself to. She knocked on the cold, hard surface of the door. She could feel her cheeks burning wildly as she knocked again this time being a little reckless and impatient.
Zuko opened the door slowly, still in instinct wanting to hide in his bedroom so Katara could never find him. But that was silly now sense Katara kind of sort of apologized. The next step was her forgiveness, but even Zuko knew better than to wish above his limits.
He lightly glanced at Katara's admirable choice of outfit today. Her dark chocolate brown hair sat lovingly on her thin shoulders and her ice colored eyes danced as she stared into Zukos own.
Katara suddenly realized her action and dropped her eyes to the wooden floor beginning to talk.
"Um I'm sorry if I woke you but the lamb I cooked is going quit fast and the others were wondering where you might be." The water bender tucked her hair behind her head and cursed loudly in her head for her lack of confidence. Silence enriched the room as Zuko's mouth twitched in a small smile.
"Why are you smiling?'
Katara's blunt words intoxicated the room.
"It's nothing really, I just I haven't ever heard you say your sorry to me before"
Zuko laughed to him remembering the girls back at his old house in Ember Island who would admire him and his muscles and whenever they would say something to him there words seemed quit similar to Katara's just then. He was certain that any minute she would go back to her defensive stance and bolt out insults after insults. His jittery nerves resembled one who had just went in after shock after a big disaster.
"Now don't go getting a big head about!"
Katara angrily corrupted tightening all the muscles in her body. Yep, same old Katara. I just blinked rapidly, almost feeling as if I was thrust upon a rollercoaster of emotions and strapped next to me was Katara.
"Sorry, but I don't want you to think I'm just one of your servants or something you can order around."
The water benders eyes glanced inside his room almost secretly hoping he would let her inside. She twisted her hair and began tapping her foot impatiently. Zuko could hardly believe what was going on and was a little unsure of what to say, along with scared.
"No, I don't think of you like that. You're the only girl I know who could probably send a full grown man crying. Trust me, I had some experience."
Zuko's hands shook as he said this a little nervous this joke would somehow a fend her. To Zuko's surprise she burst out in uncontrollable laughter. He started to nervously laugh too until finally they were on the floor laughing.
It actually was nice to see Katara's warm side, the side she showed to most everybody else except Zuko. But Zuko hoped that maybe he could relate to Katara in a depper level too. He knew one thing, and that was he had felt something more than just friendship in the deep catacombs.
He felt as if for the first time in the world someone could relate to him and he didn't have to earn some ones love like he had with his father. He felt free to express his feelings with Katara and get beyond the status that water and fire were enemies. And when he let her touch his sacred scar sparks surely flew and he knew from fairy tales he had once read as a child that the prince was to kiss his love and they would be together forever but instead the avatar and his uncle stormed in and ruined all that might have been.
Aang glared at him trying to wash away any hope he had with Katara. And when she left and glanced back at him wanting to say so much and wishing that what might have occurred would have. But even Zuko could not bare what was to happen next. He betrayed everyone who had loved him unconditionally and worst of all he betrayed himself. That is the very reason why he can never hope to be something more to Katara, because he had killed that hope that very night. He locked this memory up in the very back of his brain so he would not be able to pull it up again for a while. It pained him deeply to remember what he had lost that night. I didn't matter anyway, he had Mai right. But even Zuko who had grown up living in his own very lies and choosing to believe him knew that this was a lie.