Hello! Well, this is my first Zutara fic! (cheers enthusiastically)

Okay, so hopefully everyone understands the "anti-Zutara" concept for the first couple of chapters. Hey, it's natural. Katara doesn't believe that Zuko's changed after everything he did to them, and yeah. If you grasp the anti-Zutaraness, I'm sorry that you had to read my little spiel there.

By the way, the lyrics are from the song "One Thing" by Finger Eleven. It's a pretty good song. Check it out sometime, yah?

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender, its characters, or its themes. I also do not own the lyrics used. All credit goes to the creators and artists.

Oh, by the way, this is dedicated to my friend Sam, the ultimate Zuko fan!

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Chapter 1

/Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line
It's nothing I planned
And not that I can
But you should be mine
Across that line/

The storm was relentless that night. Thunder clapped and echoed ominously, and lightning shot across the sky. The rain was in a constant downpour with no signs of stopping anytime soon.

As everyone peacefully slept, there was one person who was not at peace. Zuko was tossing and turning in bed. The bolts of light flashed through his window, illuminating the pitch black bedroom. With a groan, Zuko rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The one time that he wanted a decent night's sleep was rudely interrupted by the thunderstorm.

Figuring that lying there awake was pointless, Zuko sat up. As he yawned, he stood and slipped his robe over his nightwear. He then put his shoes on and snuck quietly out of his room.

Normally, the others would have been sleeping outside. However, due to the terrible weather, they were slumbering inside the walls of the Western Air Temple. Zuko was in luck, for outside was where he was planning to go.

The thunder had increased in volume. As Zuko stepped outside, a roaring boom echoed through the valley. Zuko did not flinch at all. He was too exhausted to notice. Yet, he figured that he had to find something to keep him awake.

Zuko stepped out from under the protective foundations. He gradually began to get soaked with rain. Each drop was freezing cold, and they drilled into his uncovered skin. Zuko could not care less. The shock of the iciness would wake him.

His trick worked. After a few minutes, Zuko retreated back under the covering, shivering from head to toe. He could have taken a breath and exhaled some fire to warm up. He rendered that useless, for he was just going to go out in the rain again.

Zuko stepped out, this time more cautiously. The streaks of lightning seemed to be closer than Zuko thought, and the last thing he wanted was to get struck by lightning.

He inhaled deeply and thrust his arms out in a series of controlled motions. With each punch, a stream of fire came out. The rain was coming down so fast, however, that the flames were immediately doused. Yet, this was Zuko's method. If he could not emit a fire strong enough to overcome the rain, then he needed to practice more. The punishment for not beating the rain was to stay out in the rain longer.

Zuko continued for a long time, until he felt everything below the waist go numb. He scurried back under the roof, his teeth chattering furiously. This time, he lit some fire in his hands and massaged his toes. After a few minutes, the feeling came back.

But, as he sat there, Zuko did some deep thinking. He thought about the recent rescue mission that he and Sokka did. They risked everything to save Sokka's father and the leader of the Kyoshi warriors. They even managed to recruit another prisoner, Jit Sang. It was a dangerous task, but it had finished successfully.

Zuko thought just a little bit back, where Sokka and Katara reunited with their father in an embrace. It was a very touching sight, to see such a great family together again. At the time, Zuko knew why Sokka was so determined to save the Water Tribe leader.

Suddenly, all of his focus was on Katara. His thoughts were taken back to the first day he was there, and everyone had just accepted him as Aang's firebending teacher. He remembered when Katara came into his room and threatened him, with no fear in her eyes.

"If you make one step backward, if you do anything that will hurt Aang… I will make sure that you don't have to worry about your destiny anymore."

Zuko shuddered, for which he could not blame the cold. That memory was chilling. He had never seen Katara so hateful, so distrusting, and so… bitter. It had shocked him, and it still did. Yet, he knew now: if he made one wrong move, Katara would kill him.

Zuko returned to his room to find his swords. He came back out into the rain and trained with those. He had not used them in a while and found no excuse to use them, but practice made perfect, he supposed.

All he kept thinking about was that family embrace.

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/If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing
Just for one thing
If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn't that be something/

"Uh, Zuko… are you alive?"

Zuko's eyes fluttered open to find Aang, Sokka, and Toph surrounding him. Zuko licked his lips and cleared his throat. He had fallen asleep right outside, and his clothes were still drenched.

"You must've slept all night in the rain. Hope you don't get a damn cold." Toph remarked, offering her hand. With a small smile, Zuko took it and was lifted to his feet. He still did not fully appreciate the earthbender's strength. It was something to be admired.

"Are you sure you're in enough condition to teach me today?" Aang asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. No worries." Zuko assured his student. The huddle joined the remaining crew around the fire. Three bags were overflowing with a variety of fruits, and ten slabs of fish were sizzling over the fire.

"Who got all of this food?" Zuko questioned in amazement.

"Son, apparently you don't know waterbenders as much as you think you do." Sokka's dad replied with a grin. Everyone laughed along with him. Zuko shrugged and kneeled down beside The Duke and Haru.

"Would you help me to know better?" Zuko asked. The group fell silent. No one had a clue that Zuko wanted to learn about the waterbenders. Katara glowered at him in disbelief, thinking that he was just putting on a show. Yet, Zuko was far from joking.

"Sure. Sokka, care to explain to your comrade?" Hakota said. Sokka nodded and stood up to look professional.

"Well, there are two water tribes. There's the Northern Water Tribe, the bigger one, and the Southern Water Tribe, where we're from." Sokka explained a little too quickly for anyone to comprehend. "The Northern Water Tribe is where most of the politics take place, and it's actually a very clean society. Aang and Katara both mastered waterbending there. Plus, we figured out that their teacher, Pakku, was really me and Katara's grandfather."

"Damn." Zuko commented in astonishment.

"The Southern Water Tribe is really small, but that's where our Gran-Gran lives. Katara was the only waterbender there for a long time. That's where we found Aang and Appa trapped in a huge iceberg. We learned that he was an Airbender and that he had been stuck in there for a hundred years."

"So… technically, you're over a hundred years old?" Zuko turned to Aang.

"Yep." The Avatar responded goofily. Zuko continued to stare at him for a moment. Then, he looked back in Sokka's direction.

"And, I guess I sort of rammed my ship in the middle of the tribe some time ago, right?" Zuko said guiltily.

"That's about right, jackass." Katara retorted.

"Now, Katara, that's not necessary. Sokka has told me about how much this boy has changed." Her father scolded. "It appears that you're the only one who hasn't realized that."

"Your dad's right, Sugar Queen." Toph added. "He's proven himself a lot all ready. Give him a fuckin' chance, will you?" Zuko nodded graciously. Katara folded her arms across her chest and scoffed.

"Ugh, she is so STUBBORN about these things!" Sokka complained.

"What was that?!" Katara snapped viciously.

"That's enough, guys. How about we serve up this breakfast?" Aang intervened before the fight turned ugly. Everyone snickered at Katara briefly.

Slowly but surely, each person grabbed their fair share of food and retook their seats. They all ate gratefully.

"So, Zuko… Sokka told you about the life of a waterbender. What was your life like, being royalty and all?" Toph inquired. Everyone faced Zuko, all intrigued at the former prince's life. Zuko closed his eyes with a frown.

"If you're not comfortable talking about it…" Aang said unsurely.

"No. It's fine. You all deserve to know." Zuko told them.

"Not like all of us want to know, bastard." Katara sneered.

"What did I say, Katara?" Hakota warned her. Clearly ignoring her, Zuko stood up as Sokka had done. He paced around, scratching his head as he did.

"Well, where to begin…" He muttered.

"Just start off from the beginning." Aang suggested. Zuko rubbed his hands together and gazed up at the ceiling. He had never started from the beginning, because his beginning was still too hard to talk about. It involved so many different things. Zuko took a breath and started.

"Okay, here's how it goes. My grandfather, Azulon, was about to retire as Fire Lord. Originally, he wanted to give the position to my uncle Iroh. My father was not the oldest son, but he was going to try and convince Azulon to offer him the position instead of my uncle. However, my mother intervened and proposed a plan so that my father would become Fire Lord. She left that."

"Once Azulon died, my father- Fire Lord Ozai- took the throne. My uncle still remained a top strategic general. Well, once I was old enough, my father allowed me to join my uncle at one of their meetings. They were discussing a plan, one that I wasn't too happy about. Many men were going to die, and it seemed that not one general there cared. I stood up in the middle of the meeting and spoke my mind. Turns out... that was the worst decision of my life."

"My father challenged me, a thirteen year old boy, to an Agni Kai. I refused to fight him because, hell, he was my father! He told me that if I didn't fight him that I would disgrace myself. He said that I would lose my honor. And, in just one move... he gave me this."

Zuko rubbed two fingers delicately over his scar. Everyone had leaned in closer, their eyes wide with shock.

"I was banished after that. Yet, my uncle came with me, and we had survived a lot of struggle to survive as criminals. There was once where my sister, Azula, told me that my father wanted me back. It turned out to be a trick, and that's when my uncle and I had to disguise ourselves as refugees. We were on our way to Ba Sing Se, to hopefully start a tea shop. We soon learned that Azula had formed a ku and was planning to take over the city in the name of the Fire Nation. She and her two friends, Ty Lee and Mai, dressed up as the Kyoshi warriors to gain the king's trust."

Zuko noticed Suki clench her fists.

"Then, I was thrown into the Roads of Destiny, where-,"

"Where you assumed that you had gained my trust, but later on, you let your uncle be imprisoned, and you helped Azula to almost KILL Aang!" Katara shot at him. Zuko's mouth clamped shut. Everyone's eyes were now at a downcast to the floor.

"That, also... was the worst decision of my life." Zuko admitted sullenly. He squeezed his eyes shut. However, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. When he decided to open his eyes, Zuko found Sokka standing next to him.

"That's all in the past. It was the beginning, right?" Sokka said bravely. "Yet, he's proven to be a great addition to this team, a great teacher for Aang, and a bonus."

"A bonus for what?" Toph questioned.

"Well, Zuko's from the Fire Nation! He's lived there practically his entire fuckin' life. He knows that place like the back of his hand, am I right?" Sokka then paused and casted an interrogating look at Zuko. "Tell me I'm right." Sokka pleaded.

"Sokka's right. I'll be a home advantage when we're ready to face my father." Zuko added.

"Sounds like we'll need it." Sokka's father stated. "And we'll be glad to have it." With a smile, Zuko bowed.

"Thank you for your kindness... and listening to my depressing life story."

...

Okay, well, hopefully it looks better edited! Stay tuned for the next chapter! Sincerely, DeathRow609