Title: Captive Audience

Author: Burning_Ice

Rating: T

Summary: After taking the scarred Prince up on his offer to be their captive in the Western Air Temple, Katara finds she has been assigned the most unpleasant job imaginable.

Prison Guard.

Pairing: Zutara.

Note: This fic runs under the assumption that the Gaang took Zuko prisoner when he offered himself up in the Western Air Temple.

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Disclaimer: Avatar is owned by Bryke and Nick. Not me. I know right? Wtf.

I am not making any money on this, I do not claim these characters as my own, it's purely fan made.

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Chapter 3:

"Ugh!!" Katara leaned out of the mouth of the cliff and looked up, peering through the darkness, "Well, that's just great. This is all your fault, you know. Everything you touch just crumbles to dust."

Even though she was livid, she had been all business popping his arm back into place and then helping him ice his back. Unfortunately, as the minutes wore on, she was becoming increasingly agitated. It was like she couldn't sit still, she was practically trembling with the desire to scream at him. How dare he?! An ASASSIN?! How dare he?!

The space was not wide enough to sit cross legged with his back to her, so Zuko had opted for laying down on his stomach, his still bound hands laced under his chin. It was too low of a ceiling for him to stand without hunching over and that made his body hurt even worse, and the chunks of ice melting on his back stayed in place better if he was reclining.

"Didn't you hear me?!" Katara seemed to grow crosser at the lack of response, "I said that it's your fault!!"

"I agree with you."

"Well . . . that's great, what do we do now?!" She shifted taken aback, and took a step out onto the cliff face patting at the rocks, looking for handholds.

"Trying to climb back up in the dark would be suicide." He advised, "I say, wait for the sun to rise."

"You mean, stay here for the next several hours with YOU?!" Katara jutted her chin out in a most unladylike manner, "I'd rather risk falling."

"Suit yourself."

"You're not going to try to stop me?!"

"I would if you were serious."

"GET BENT!!" Katara kicked the side of the wall. Why wasn't he insulted?! Was she so much of a stupid peasant that he wouldn't even be insulted that she didn't want to be around him?! "Well . . . That's just great!! Our friends think we have fallen to our deaths, Combustion Man may or may not be defeated, I'm freezing my toes off in my pajamas, and stuck here with you!! How could this get any worse?!"

The words had barely tumbled from her lips when a huge craggy bolt of lightening sliced the sky in two, and a peal of thunder followed, moments later. Almost instantly, the clouds that had covered the moon opened up, torrent after torrent of raindrops sheeting down to meet her. The soft light dwindled to shreds, and cast them both into an unnerving darkness.

Pivoting and sweeping her arm up over her head, she bent the drops away from her, then leaned out, trying to shout over the sudden clamor.

"AAANG!!! AANG!!" Katara yelled until she felt herself starting to go hoarse.

"You know, Toph can probably feel us right now if her feet are as good as I think they are. They'll probably come get us soon."

"Shut up!" Katara whirled on him, exasperated and terrified, "They'd have to fly down on Appa and then she would get totally disoriented and lose us, don't you know anything?!"

Zuko winced, abandoning the ice and rotating onto his back, propping himself up to look at her with his slanted yellow eyes. Straightening two fingers, a small petal of flame pierced the darkness, throwing the rocks and dirt into a warm, flickering, orange half-light.

"I didn't think so. I mean, who hires an assassin that they can't call off? An idiot like you, that's who." Katara huffed, bending the rain into a sheet of ice she molded over the opening in a makeshift door to keep the rain from blowing in and freezing them further. Maneuvering to find a good spot, she managed to sit leaning sideways against the wall. She curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees, it was cold, and she was no longer in the mood to boss Zuko around. Since he controlled the heat, he had the power, and she had no intention of giving him the upper hand by asking for warmth that he could choose to withhold.

"Can you take these damn things off now?" he moved to a squashed, uncomfortable kneel and held out his wrists.

"No." Katara replied.

"Why not?!"

"Because!"

"You're withholding my freedom because you're mad about something that has nothing to do with me!" he protested.

"You HIRED Combustion Man!!" Katara actually had to reach out a hand and steady herself on the wall with the force of her yelling, "It's TOTALLY to do with you!! YOU'RE NOT TRUSTWORTHY!!! You're not honorable, you'll never be honorable, you'll never even be a good person. No wonder both your parents are ashamed of you, the world would be better off if you were dead."

He winced at that, his cheeks flushing in shame, and the flames in his palm extinguished. In a remarkably childlike motion, he turned and hid his face from her, he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of seeing that she had touched a nerve.

She probably is ashamed of me. Zuko thought, All this time, she has probably been hearing about all the horrible things I've done and felt responsible.

"I really messed up," was all he offered from inside the little protection his arms offered against the verbal assault. Begging seemed to get him nowhere, he was out of ideas. She hated him. She would always hate him. ". . . and in case you haven't noticed, I fell out of the building too. I got what was coming to me."

"You're . . . you're a jerk!" Katara seemed to be out of insults, and now that her anger was nearly spent, her huffiness was almost laughable.

"If you say so." He was careful to keep his tone apologetic.

"Are you going to do everything I tell you for the rest of the war?!" She demanded suddenly, crossing her arms as a dry, bitter smile brushed her lips.

"I told you, I want you to trust me."

"And, if I tell you to run naked across the Western Air Temple?!"

"Yes..." It was a lie, but Toph was several hundred feet away, and wouldn't call him on it. He knew he wouldn't, he was pretty sure he wouldn't . . . well . . . he hoped she wouldn't ask, "Yes, But I wouldn't like it."

"Yea right, we both know you like it." Katara accused, jestingly and offhandedly. Unlike him, due to her shorter stature, she could stand fully straight in the fissure, and she took full advantage of it, looming over him, her hands on her hips.

"That's stupid."

Although they were in darkness, Katara must have heard something in his voice.

"Spirits . . . " She blurted, "you DO like it." This time, she was dead serious, the taunting cast in her voice had vanished. Instead, her voice filled with wonder at the sudden understanding she had reached.

"No!" Zuko protested, it had never occurred to him that the enjoyment he was feeling was anything other than karma; of everything suddenly rebalancing. He re lit the flame in the palm of his hand, suddenly he really wanted to be able to see what she was up to.

"Tui and La!" She continued, ignoring his objections, "You're a misogynist!!"

"It's masochist." Zuko corrected her, then hastily added, "and I'm NOT."

"Was that why you wanted me to hit you, you sick freak." Katara pushed him hard in the chest, in a masculine confrontational way.

"I wanted you to hit me so you would feel better." Zuko explained, "So you could outlet some of your anger!"

"Of course, because in your twisted, depraved mind, I'm the only thing that matters, right?"

"Katara, I'm not sure you understand the concept of masochism quite right . . ."

"Oh, and you do?!"

"Er . . . No?"

"Were you sitting there crossing your fingers that I would ask you to lick my boots . . . or . . ." Katara frowned, she wasn't sure what else masochists did, and she only knew that much from a joke Toph told once. She wasn't about to let Zuko know that she was so inexperienced though.

"Give me a whipping?" Zuko supplied helpfully.

"Yes. Whipping. Well, you can forget it!!" Katara shoved him again, this time he let her topple him from his knees to his back, "You're vile. On every level! You're dishonorable, your personality sucks, your face is marred, and you can't even make love to someone, you're too deranged." As she listed his faults, she ticked them off, one on each finger.

The tirade seemed to be over, and he could hear her lapse into a snit. Her profile was illuminated in the window, and her feminine nose was thrust high in self righteous disgust.

"You're wrong," Zuko muttered softly, more to himself that to her, "I can bring enough passion to the bed for two people." The way he said it, she was sure it was true, that he knew it from experience, and once again, the small plume of pity ignited in her chest.

The more Katara thought about it, however, the more appealing the situation became. As she stewed, she thought about what she wanted. She remembered Pakku, and how he and his pupils had treated her. She thought about Sokka and how she always had to clean for him, how she was practically the groups unspoken babysitter, mother, and maid. She did feel a certain thrill when she bossed him around . . . and he had offered himself as a prisoner. He had taken enough prisoners himself . . .

He knew what he was getting into.

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...

Whatever sympathy he had been getting from the gang had dissapeared with their trust in him. Sokka and Haru were glaring angrily at him, Aang looked disappointed, and even Toph was shaking her head, her milky eyes downcast. Besides the huge scar on his back from Azula, the Avatar was sporting a healing split lip, and there were huge purple shadows beneath his eyes. Zuko suspected he had spent the whole night awake, worrying about Katara.

The Water bender in question had her back to him, she gazed out across the saddle and into the distance. Absentmindedly, she sucked on her teeth, her eyes narrow. Whatever she was mulling over, he doubted it boded well for him.

Once they had disembarked and met up with Teo and The Duke, she made a big show of fussing over Aang, asking him if he was okay, and if he hurt terribly. She practically showered the boy with affection, but didn't seem to notice that it was being taken in a different spirit than it was given. It only took a minute for Zuko to realize that the boy had a crush on his water bending Sifu. The whole melodramatic show, he suspected, was supposed to make him feel guilty, and augment the group's disdain.

The courtyard was rubble by then. Most of the columns had fallen, but it looked as though Toph and Haru, and probably Aang had started tacking the major supports back together.

"I'm fine, Katara, they're just bruises." Aang told her sheepishly as, in a rather impressive display of bending, she pulled water out of the air and engaged it. It glowed softly in her hands as she pressed them onto her friend and ward.

"YOU STUCK AN ASSASIN ON US!!" Sokka finally yelled, suddenly and out of nowhere, making the whole group jump.

"We have to do something, He can't be allowed to roam free." Katara snapped, and to Zuko's disappointment, nobody argued this time. Not even Toph.

"Yea, but the other building is ready to come down. Thewalls are just too weak." Teo reported, "I suppose we could move his things to one of the undamaged cells here but . . ." Everyone fell silent again, and Zuko suddenly felt very tired. Being hated by your friends put the weight of the world on your shoulders.

"There is a small detaining facility in the temple." Aang spoke suddenly, looking around for reactions.

"Wait a minute!" Sokka's voice cracked, "You're telling me that there is a prison in the Temple?! Why didn't you mention it earlier when we were making a Zuko-proof room!!"

"Well," Aang laughed nervously, "I didn't agree that locking him up was the safest option then."

"And now that he's almost killed us all for the millionth time, you agree." Katara snapped, her voice was sharp, but lacked the usual venom it did when it was directed at the Fire Prince.

"Well . . . yea."

"Okay, Toph? Haru? Why don't you take him down there with Aang." Sokka cut in, trying to break up the fight before it began.

"But-" Katara protested.

"Look here Honey-suck-le," Toph snapped back, "I'm the greatest earth bender in the world, I can handle it. Why don't you go splash in the fountain and cool off?"

Katara's eyes crossed and focused on the dirt covered finger pointing at her nose, and she humphed, but didn't protest. Zuko sighed, how were they ever going to defeat the Fire Lord if they were constantly squabbling amongst themselves? Even Azula kept her friends in a more united front.

"Katara can go instead of me." Zuko glared over at Haru, apparently chivalry wasn't dead.

"Alright, I'll show you where it is." Aang said in a manner meant to pacify the group.

"Maybe you should just give us directions." Katara countered, glancing viciously at Zuko.

"Alright, it's west on the canyon side of the temple, You better take Appa with you." Aang advised, but didn't elaborate.

"Let me get my water skins and we'll go."

The dungeon, of sorts, hung like a birdcage off the cliff side. It was only one story, but featured the same upside down ceiling-floor as the rest of the temple, instead of a square wall though, there was a straight row of bars, separating the balcony from the cells with a stone wall on either side and one in the center. Zuko supposed there were four cells, each with three walls and a row of bars facing out. The only access to it originally must have been glider and sky bison. Sometime later, someone must have constructed a link. A completely unusable rope bridge swung in the wind, half it's supports severed and hanging like marionette strings.

The Water Bender glanced at the earth bender, then they both clamored up onto Appa. Zuko found it was a lot harder to get up when he didn't have a full range of motion in his hands, and by the time he had rolled ungracefully over the pommel, Toph and Katara were trying to conceal their sniggers.

"What's so funny?! He asked, defensively.

"Appa, Yip Yip." Katara shook the reigns, and the beast bellowed and took off.

"Hey Sweetness, so, what happened in the cave all night? I felt all sorts of stomping vibrations." Toph asked

"Toph!" Katara glanced over her shoulder from her seat on Appa's head to stare at the younger girl, exasperated, or possibly annoyed "Why does it matter?"

"Just curious," Toph told her vaguely from where she sprawled on the saddle, her legs spread, when it was clear that Katara wasn't going to talk, she oriented on Zuko, "Well Sparky?"

"Nothing happened. We waited."

"That's it?!"

"Well . . ." Zuko scratched his slightly stubbled chin, all this time away from his razor was earning him a five o'clock shadow, "She helped me pop my shoulder back into it's socket."

"And, You didn't help her pop anything?" Toph's voice was unreadable. He couldn't tell if she was teasing him or if she was probing, wanting to protect her friend's honor.

"Toph!" Katara spun, her cheeks flushed, As she turned, she yanked the reign, and Appa banked hard to the right, lowing a complaint, "Stop that this instant!! It's bad enough you were randomly yelling his name all yesterday afternoon to startle me."

"Hey, I just wanted to know!" Toph defended, "Last time you guys were in a cave together, well, apparently, you bonded."

"There wasn't any bonding last night." Katara snapped, they had reached the building, and she guided Appa in a circle around it.

"Well, too bad, I was hoping for some bondage." Toph cleaned her ear with her pinky, her voice still unreadable.

Katara had come full circle, and Zuko was glad when she changed the subject, "There is nowhere to land."

"Really?"

"Looks like we'll have to jump . . ." Katara glanced at Toph, "Maybe you should stay here with Appa, Toph."

"Why?!"

"The thing is hanging from a bunch of chains and cables, it's swinging back and forth." Zuko described, "You're not actually going to leave me in there?"

Katara rolled her eyes, but Toph looked unsure.

"Hey, Sparky, lower me onto it, I can tell you if it's safe or not." Toph stood and swung a leg over the saddle and leaned forward, arms outstretched, as though expecting to be pushed.

"Er, maybe I better, Appa . . . stay." Katara instructed, and the sky bison grunted loudly and undulated it's tail.

Carefully, the water bender grabbed Toph's forearms and lowered her down, never actually releasing her in case the building gave. Her feet swiped the stone and she wriggled her toes against it experimentally.

"It's fine guys, the integrity of the building is good, it wiggles a bit when the wind blows, but it was made like that to scare the prisoners, it wont go crashing into the canyon for a few hundred years at least." She called back.

"Alright then, Prince, after you." Katara dug a foot into the rail of the saddle and pulled her back up in one swift, seemingly effortless move. Zuko was impressed in spite of himself, Katara was stronger than she looked. She hadn't even hesitated to consider asking his help. His eyes went from her to the platform. As he watched, a gust of wind hit them and made the thing wiggle back and forth. It held steady though, not a single chip of paint or roof tile dislodged. Taking a deep breath, Zuko stepped back, then ran and jumped, easily bridging the small gap, and landing in a crouch by the ancient bars.

"I'll be right back Toph, then we can see about making a better bridge." Katara soon followed, and without protest, Zuko followed the girl still clad in her night cloths into the nearest cell.

"Sit down." She told him, pointing to the wall.

Zuko sunk to the ground, his back against the cool stone. Katara picked up the chain that linked the manacles and threaded it through a lock in the wall. She didn't look at him or speak to him, her lips pursed in distaste.

"Katara." He caught her wrist as she leaned back and held fast, even though she grabbed at his fingers, trying to pry them off. "Last night . . ." he let the thought trail off, unsure of exactly what he wanted to ask.

"Let me go." She told him coolly, abandoning his hand and uncorking her water skin threateningly.

"When will you be back?" Zuko didn't like the air bender's idea of a prison. It rocked back and forth like a half sunk galleon.

Katara yanked her wrist from his hand, and turned on her heel, strutting out without a word, tossing her long brown hair behind her.

...

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...

How many hours had it been? He had dozed in and out, his wrists dangling limply by his ears in their restraints. His right leg had fallen asleep, his stomach growled, and the wind howled as it whisked past. Something smelled good though, his nostrils flared, even before his eyes opened.

"It's too late today for Fire bending. Everyone is exhausted and sore from rebuilding anyway."

He turned; Katara was leaning against the bars. She had changed out of her pajamas and washed up. She was back in her normal travel cloths, several skins of water piled on the floor around her.

"Tomorrow morning." She continued, "Will that be sufficient?"

Zuko nodded, twitching his fingers and then hooking them into the chain so the weight of his arms no longer rested on his bruised wrists.

"Hungry?" the question was accentuated by the tiniest dip of her head.

"Yes."

Katara produced a covered bowl of rice, meat, and vegetables from amidst her water skins and brought it over to him. Taking off the lid, an onslaught of steam rose, filling the small windswept room with a most delicious smell. As if on cue, his stomach growled, and his arms strained forward above him as far as their tethers would allow.

She made no move to unhook the restraints, and after several seconds of pointlessly groping the air, Zuko whimpered. Every time he leaned forward as far as the bindings would allow, she would pull the morsels just out of his reach. It reminded him of how Azula and Ty Lee used to play 'keep away' after they had pilfered his favorite toy. This however, exceeded any of the cruelty that she had shown, at least then it had only been trinkets.

"Unbind me!" he snapped, "Or are you planning on torturing me too?!"

"Of course not." Katara curled back her lips and bared her teeth into something that might have been a smile. She shifted to sit on her knees between his, and held out the bowl. Zuko crinkled his nose in dismay.

She expected him to eat like a dog!

Zuko looked from her to the bowl, then back at the steaming food. He would need to eat it soon if he wanted it to be hot . . . After a deep breath, he closed his eyes and swallowed his pride. He had thought begging in the Earth Kingdom was bad, at least he could eat like a man and not an animal. At least there nobody knew he was royalty.

He kept his eyes on the plate before him, his face heating. He had been pampered for weeks at the palace, and was unused to this level of degradation. He could not, however, deny the slight clenching of his abs, or the anticipation of the unknown.

Katara had to admit, there was something erotic about watching the high and mighty prince eat like a cur from her hands. He even sounded the part, small snorts, and loud masticating emanated from him as he tried to breathe through the food. Katara wasn't sure why, but every time his tongue darted out, or his lips moved a shiver of heat rocketed down to her lap. She fought the urge to slam the bowl of food up into his face in retaliation for the unaccustomed sensations. He was already buried to the nose, all she would have to do was bend her elbows a tiny bit . . .

She snapped out of her daydream when something wispy wilted onto her forearms, The kneeling Prince, his arms stretched to their limit in the restraints had slumped over, his hair tickling across her wrists.

"Are you finished?" She asked, and watched as the shaggy head shook back and forth in a no. "Then hurry it up."

He did not, however, move to obey, instead, he hauled himself back up to look at her from beneath his bangs. Rice still stuck to his mouth and nose, and he turned to his side, wiping his mouth on his upwardly stretched sleeve. Most of it was knocked off, but some of the more resilient bits still clung to him.

"Is Aang alright?" he asked finally in a tone laced with shame.

"Yes, just a little scratched up." Katara responded, "It was actually Sokka that struck the coup de grace." He really did look genuinely sorry, but she knew too well how the regret could turn to betrayal.

Without another word, the Prince lowered his head again, orienting again on the bowl she held cupped in her hands.

Katara hated it, the way she seemed to spiral back and forth between anger and pity. She knew he couldn't possibly be doing it on purpose. He didn't know her well enough to play her in such a way, but nevertheless, she felt as though he was doing it consciously. She felt like even though he was the one tied up, he had her on an emotional leash. One yank from him and she was angry, then another sudden yank and she was sad, then again, and suddenly she was feeling guilty. Again and again he seemed to lead her in the dance, spiraling around the emotions wildly, and she worried that soon she would become dizzy from it, and soon, she would fall. All he needed was one opening, and then he could strike.

Deciding then and there that she would have to take control of the situation, she dropped the bowl, letting it clatter and roll away on the floor. It was empty anyway, but in an almost canine manner, Zuko whined and strained after it. Katara grabbed his chin and pulled his head up, forcing him to look at her.

Keep it cool . . . she chided herself, taking a deep breath, then another, and counting them, don't let yourself get angry, he manipulates you when you're angry.

Zuko glanced back and forth, waiting for something to happen, when nothing did, he licked his lips, trying to dislodge any grains of rice that he had not yet shook off.

"Here is how it is going to work." She told him, her gaze locking with his, "Sokka, Haru, and I are going to alternate shifts here with you. Because of my bending, I have the night shift from the eleventh hour to the seventh, then Haru and I will take you to Aang for his lesson in the morning. Since Sokka sleeps late and hunts during the day, Haru has the morning shift, from the seventh hour until the third past noon, then Sokka will be here from then until it's my shift again, do you understand?"

"I know how shifts work." Zuko replied, "I lived on a boat for two years."

Katara let go of his chin in disgust and brushed the rest of the rice off his face in a movement that was more of a slap than a wipe. Zuko winced and tried to shield his eyes with a shoulder. As he watched, Katara snatched up her water skins and flopped down against the wall opposite him, glaring angrily.

...

...

...

"Hey! Zuko, wake up."

Groggily, the Fire Prince raised his head, and then immediately regretted it. His neck twinged from sleeping with his head dangling, and his shoulder still ached. Blinking several times, he saw Katara crouched in front of him, sleep circles dark under her eyes. Had she stayed up the whole night watching him? She must have . . .

Reaching up, she removed the chain from where it was latched to the stone wall, and the Prince's arms dropped limply to the ground. He bit his lip at the sudden prickling sensation of the blood rushing back into them. Unsteadily, he twisted around, his stiff limbs unwilling to cooperate.

Why did I offer myself as a prisoner?! He chided himself, Why?!

Surprisingly, a outstretched palm lowered itself in front of his face, and Zuko stared up at it, following the lines of muscle and cloth to first elbow, then shoulder, then finally, Katara's exotic face. As he watched, her lips pressed together in annoyance, and she jerked her hand in place, drawing his attention back to it.

It was an invitation to touch her, one of the first she had given, and Zuko didn't dare refuse it. Clasping her hand with both of his, he let her help him to his feet. As he uncoiled, his joints popped, and although it didn't exactly hurt, he cringed at the sound.

"Appa is just outside." Katara informed him curtly, "Are you ready?"

Zuko nodded, reluctantly letting go of her hand.

Haru sat on the beast's head, absentmindedly stroking his moustache. Appa hovered serenely in place, but the beast's eyes followed them as they clamored onto it's back.

"Yip Yip . . . You look tired, Katara, did you sleep at all?" Haru asked, concerned.

"No. I'll go to bed when Aang's lesson is over." She tried to stifle a yawn, but couldn't, so masked it as a sigh instead.

"Aang is on the west facing fifth floor balcony, is that a good place for practicing fire bending?" Haru asked, steering into the building.

"That's fine." Zuko agreed, happy, at least, to be out of the prison.

They landed quickly, and dismounted. Instead of heading straight out onto the balcony, however, Haru beckoned the Prince towards the building. Zuko followed, jogging to catch up, Katara falling into step behind him.

"Where are we going?" she asked, "Aang is out on the terrace."

"Yes," Haru nodded, pushing one of the larger doors in the hallway open, "But I'm sure Prince Zuko would like to wash up and eat first."

They filed into one of the larger bathrooms, the tiles of the floor were still in good shape, and the fountain in the middle flowed with fresh water. It was a sight for sore eyes, and he was eternally grateful to Haru. He was pretty sure Katara would have kept him from the bathroom for as long as possible, just to make him beg for the trip.

"Katara!" He turned and saw the earth bender trying to shove her back out the door, "This is the men's room, wait outside!!"

"But-"

"Why don't you go get some rest?" Haru was wheedling her down, "I bet it was cold in the wind all night, a bowl of rice would be great right about now." With that, the water bender allowed herself to be brushed out the door, but Zuko would wager anything she was hovering near the door, waiting for any excuse to barge back in and smite him.

Haru at least was trying to be pleasant. He followed the man code to the letter, sitting in silence and feigning disinterest in the whole affair until Zuko came up to the sink and started splashing bended hot water on his face and up his arms. The brunette handed him a bag with some soap and a cloth in it.

"That's got to be pretty convenient." Haru was staring wistfully at the steam, "We always have to boil our water over the stove,"

"We have to build our houses by hand." Zuko replied, soaping up his face, "Do you have a razor?"

"A what?"

"Yea, stupid question." The prince swept his hair up out of his eyes, and dried his face off. It felt good to be clean again, the dust of the dungeon plus his own teenage skin was starting to catch up with him.

"Katara isn't usually so angry . . . she was really nice when I first got to know her."

"How was that?" Zuko asked, curiously.

"In prison." Haru sighed wistfully, his green eyes becoming vacant as he relived the memory.

"I remember, on the barge. I found her necklace."

"Well, she was really nice back then, these days she is so fierce . . ." Haru leaned in, with a conspiratorial smile.

As predicted, Katara was waiting for them right by the door, her shoulder blades and left foot pressed against it, arcing her into a sort of vertical bridge asana. Her lower jaw was jutting out as it usually did when she sulked, and she was swaying back and forth impatiently.

"Finally!" She grumped, pushing off from the wall, "Finish your snugglefest in the boy's room?"

"Snugglefest?" Haru sounded amused.

His tone seemed to disengage the water bender, and she exhaled sharply and stomped on ahead. The two boys had to practically jog to catch up, and by the time they reached her, she was waiting with Aang.

As Zuko watched, she fished in her bindings and pulled out the keys to the manacles.

"Drop to your knees and show me your hands." She ordered, one toe tapping on the floor in front of her, as though he didn't know where the ground was.

Glaring, the Prince dropped to the floor. Being obedient in front of his new pupil and rival, was different from when it was just her. As he raised his arms up to her, rotating his wrists so that the keyhole faced her, his cheeks reddened, and he stared resolutely at the ground between her feet.

The metal clinked open, revealing a bracelet of bruises on each wrist. They were almost black from taking all his weight and hers after the fall. Zuko cringed, raising a wrist to inspect it, then rubbing it furiously, as though the marks would just smudge off.

"Those look painful!" Aang gasped, looking at Katara accusingly, "Why didn't you heal his wrists last night? He got them catching you, didn't he? Wouldn't it have been fair to heal him?"

Katara shrugged, "I helped him with his shoulder." It was all the defense she offered to the interrogation.

"I think we should get started." Zuko cut in, before the debate could wind up into a fight.

Katara and Haru seemed appeased by this, and the two of them shuffled off to the other end of the balcony, out of ear shot, but still close enough to intervene if anything happened. Zuko rubbed his temples, it would be hard enough teaching Aang without Katara's eyes heavy on his back the whole time.

Glancing at Aang, the little boy didn't seem any better. He shuffled his feet back and forth, and his face was pale.

"I know you're nervous, but remember… fire bending in and of itself is not something to fear." Zuko told him, trying his best to sound comforting.

"Ok. Not something to fear."

"But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino!" Zuko raised his voice, to make his point. If the kid got so much as a singed nose hair, he knew Katara would make him pay for it in blood, "Now show me what you've got. Any amount of fire you can make."

It was pathetic, a thin wisp of smoke rose from the Avatar's fingers. Aang smiled nervously, and scratched the back of his head.

"That's it?! I thought this stuff came naturally to you!"

"Maybe I need a little more instruction. Perhaps a demonstration‌?"

"Good idea. You might want to take a couple steps back." Zuko glanced at Katara and Haru, who were chatting with each other, and crossed his fingers that they could see it was just a demonstration.

Slowly, he inhaled, and then reached for his inner fire, channeling it out his arm and into the atmosphere with his movement. The result was hardly better than Aang's attempt, but the boy grinned and applauded.

"Really great, Sifu Hotman!"

"What?! What was that!?‌That was the most pathetic fire bending I've ever seen!" Zuko shook his hands, as though they were the problem.

"I thought it was . . . nice." Aang shrugged then looked down at his toes.

It had been difficult before to conjure up the flames, but he had blamed it on his situation, on the fall, on the cuffs. Rapidly he began bending again, going through several sequences he had learned, easy moved he had mastered as a child. Each failed as spectacularly as the last.

"Why is this happening‌?!?" Zuko demanded, not directing it at anyone in particular.

"Maybe it's the altitude." Aang suggested, "Or your wrists, or maybe you're just tired."

"I guess it could be." Zuko agreed, but he felt ill at ease, "You're probably right. Well, I guess we'll start with basic stance . . ."

"Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerk bending‌?" Sokka had moseyed over, carrying several bowls of rice and fruit.

"Get out of here!!"

"Calm down! Jeez! I was just kidding around." Sokka placed two plates on the floor nearby, then took the other two in Katara and Haru's direction, "Ha! Jerk bending, still got it!!!"

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Since Katara was asleep, Haru seemed to take it upon himself to show Zuko around the buildings properly. After he had had the tour, the Earth Bender helped him ferry his things from the crumbling ruin of the inverted pagoda he had been staying in. They even found a large tarp to pull across the bars like a curtain to help repel the wind. Zuko was relieved to move his things, although his clothes he could live without, he didn't want to lose the picture of his uncle, or the crown the man had given him.

After that, He, Haru, and the Duke had continued scavenging the temples for anything useful. Since the Avatar's friends had escaped straight off the battlefield, they had little more than the clothes on their back. They found a battered rice pot and a few moth eaten blankets, but nothing really useful. He had the feeling that the boys were mostly trying to keep him away from Aang and Toph as they earth bent.

Although the bender was nothing but nice to him, Zuko was relieved when he switched off and Sokka took over. Something about Haru unnerved him, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Sokka had parked himself in front of their makeshift cooking fire pit, and was using the blade of his boomerang to gut and skin his kill. It seemed he was too fond of his sword to use it for such menial tasks.

Zuko hung back, absentmindedly fingering the links of the chains that bound him. Sitting alone gave him a good chunk of time alone with his thoughts, and he used it to fret about his bending. Why was it so weak? As the sun set, Teo joined him, wheeling through the rubble, a sack of uncooked rice and a pot balanced in his lap.

"KATARA!!!!!"

The prince jumped at the sudden yell. Sokka didn't seem to notice.

"KATARA!! DO WE HAVE ANY MORE VEGETABLES!?"

After a hesitation, a sleepy Katara padded out into the courtyard, her hair loose around her face, and one of the tattered Air Temple blankets tight around her shoulders.

"What time is it?" the question was punctuated by a long yawn.

"Nearly sunset." Teo replied, adjusting his goggles over his face before pouring the rice into the boiling water.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?!?!" Katara's eyes grew wide at the fact that she had slept the light away.

"Well, I went in to get you . . ." Teo told her apologetically, "But . . . you just looked so tired, and you were sleeping so peacefully . . ."

"Of course I look peaceful when I sleep!!" Katara drew herself up to her full height, "That's why it's called 'resting'!"

"Do we have any vegetables?" Sokka asked again, undistracted from his bloody work.

"There are some in the pantry, but we'll have to look for more tomorrow, I found a patch of carrots north east of the big waterfall. If Aang comes by, tell him we're going to start our water bending drills as soon as the moon rises." Katara turned and trotted off to her room to dress properly.

Zuko waited until everyone had settled down for dinner. Nobody bothered to call him over for food, nobody cared whether he ate or not. When they were all chewing amiably, he approached the circle of firelight.

"Listen everybody,I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff." Zuko hung his head in shame.

"Don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff!!" Toph denied almost suspiciously fast, and Zuko made a mental note to inventory his things as soon as he had the chance.

"We moved it, remember?" Haru told him, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the younger teenager.

"I'm talking about my fire bending. It's gone."

"Hahahahaha!!"

Everyone turned to stare at Katara.

"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony. You know… how it would have been nice for us if you lost your fire bending a long time ago‌ . . . maybe when you were attacking me in the oasis, or when you were attacking me at the riverbed, or when you were attacking me under Ba Sing Se?!"

"You're not the only one his decisions have hurt, Katara." Aang reminded her soflty.

"Well it's not lost." Zuko pressed on, annoyed by her invective, "It's just weaker for some reason."

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

"Ouch." Toph muttered slowly.

"I bet it's because I changed sides!!" Zuko exclaimed suddenly. He decided not to add that he was also being ostracized by the group that was supposedly supposed to be the 'good guys'.

"That's ridiculous." Katara placidly raised her bowl of soup to her lips.

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your fire bending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to." Aang guessed, touching his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't know, we have all been hard on him lately." Teo sounded unconvinced.

"Katara has been provoking him an awful lot lately, too." Toph added.

"I have not!"

"Maybe it's because he has been taking it?" Haru asked, "Didn't he used to get mad and fight back?"

" Well, let's test that theory, all we have to do is make Zuko angry… easy enough." Sokka pulled his sword out of his belt and began poking him with it

"OK, STOP IT!!!" Zuko exploded unexpectedly, his fuse spent.

"Well, it's not the anger . . . that's still intact." The Duke mumbled, playing with his food by blowing bubbles in it.

"Only when it's directed at Sokka though," Toph whispered to him, amused.

"Look . . . even if you're right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way." Zuko pinched his nose as best he could with his hands bound, "No other benders use their rage to fuel their fighting."

"You're going to need to learn to draw your fire bending from a different source. I recommend the original source." After dispensing the gem of wisdom, Toph popped a cube of meat into her mouth and chewed contentedly.

"By jumping into a volcano‌?" Sokka asked hopefully.

"An active one." Katara agreed, handing Momo a morsel from her plate.

"No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of fire bending is." Toph rolled her eyes, un amused by the Zuko-bashing.

"So . . . volcano?" Sokka prompted, his eyes glassy as he imagined it.

"No! No volcano." Toph snapped, "That's something you do with virgins, not fallen princes."

"Then what?!" Zuko asked, Toph's suggestion actually sounded feasible.

"I don't know. For earth bending, the original benders were badger-moles. One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave, that's where I met them. They were blind, just like me,so we understood each other. I was able to learn earth bending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, the original earth benders, it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world."

"That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original air benders were the Sky Bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy!" Aang patted his pet fondly.

"Well, this doesn't help me. The original fire benders were the dragons, and they're extinct."

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"You and Aang are NOT going to the sun temple."

Zuko looked up from his revere to study the bender across the cell.

"I don't think we have much of a choice." He replied.

"There is always a choice." Katara snapped.

"You were out voted, let it go. I won't let anything happen to him. I have my part to play in ending this war too. I want my Uncle to take his rightful place on the throne."

"Ha!" Katara stood up abruptly and walked over to his things, and began ruthlessly going through them. "Is that the picture I saw earlier? You carry a picture of your uncle?!"

"Yes." Zuko wanted to protest, he didn't want her to see his things, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was offending him, plus, he was also curious as to what Toph might have taken.

Standing up, Katara swept his long red cloak with gold trim around her shoulders and pulled the hood over her face. Something about her trying on his clothes made his pulse jump; something primal and possessive in his nature. He strained against his bonds.

"Why do you even have these things?"

"It get's cold at night so far north."

"You know, I bet Toph or The Duke could use it as an extra blanket," She told him, "Why haven't you offered it to them?"

"I haven't had a chance to, Katara."

She lifted the expensive material to her nose and inhaled, her eyelashes fluttering softly closed.

"It smells like sandalwood." She sighed, and then perked up, remembering, "Do you have hair soaps or bath salts?!" Again she began digging through his things, tossing his twin blades aside then his purse and his great grandfather's crown.

"Katara!!" that triggered a reaction, "That's an heirloom!"

"This?" she picked it up and examined it before putting it on top of her head and checking her reflection in one of his swords.

"It's designed for a man." He told her, then added, "Although it does look nice on you. It makes you look like a Fire Nation aristocrat." This was not exactly true, it was old and tarnished, but no need to annoy the temperamental monster. If one ignored the blue short sleeved haori underneath the luxurious cloak, she could pass as a very tanned, field working fire nation girl.

"Oh?" Katara's voice held it's usual sarcasm, "Think I would make a good Fire Lady? Are you taking applications for the job?"

"No."

"Oh, so you're a fop."

"No!"

"I met someone in the Earth Kingdom, we called him foaming-mouth-guy, and HE was-"

"I am not!" Zuko's fingers involuntarily released a small plume of flames towards the ceiling.

Katara raised an eyebrow, then pulled off the crown and sauntered over, dropping to her knees in front of him. She settled herself down, and then leaned in, using the invasion of his space to intimidate him.

"Well, you've never been anything other than well behaved towards me," Katara leaned in closer and closer, until she could see her breath ruffling the tips of his hair, "You're obviously not a gentleman, so that only leads me to one other conclusion."

As she spoke, the moonlight was stifled by a passing cloud. Zuko heard her mutter something and scavenge around for a lantern. She had so strewn his things this way and that, however, that she seemed unable to locate what she wanted.

"Oil . . . oil . . . oil . . ." she was muttering, her fingertips dragging across the piles of discarded garments and personal effects. Finally, her hand closed on the tank, and she began looking for the next item she would need. "Spark rocks . . . spark rocks . . . damn it, there are a million rocks on the floor . . ."

"I don't carry spark rocks, Just bring it over here." Zuko offered, but was greeted with only silence. She had stopped moving, stopped searching. He could almost imagine the wheels in her head turning as she thought about how safe it would be to let him near the oil and weighed it against sitting with him in the dark all night.

A slow scrabbling sound of shin armor against stone greeted him, and he let out a breath, he didn't realize he was holding.

"Alright, where are you?"

"Over here." Zuko conjured a small fire from his fingertips, casting a ghostly wavering light across the whole cubicle. Katara seemed almost ghoulish, shadows taking form between her eyelid and eyebrows, and above her upper lip.

She measured the thick liquid into the lamp, snorting as she spilled it, and then brought it over to him. Confidently, she returned to her kneel, this time loosely straddling one of his thighs and remaining upright for better access to his hands.

"Here, hold it up to my hands." Zuko instructed, leaning back for a better view.

"Which part do you light? It looks like a tea pot." Katara complained, replacing the lid.

"The part that looks like it should be for pouring. Hold that up." Zuko directed, snapping a small tendril of flame into the ether.

She held it under the blaze for several seconds, then pulled it back.

"It's not lighting."

"Make sure there is oil in the tip." Zuko let the flame peter out, it was too much work maintaining it with his rapidly numbing fingers.

Katara closed one eye, then peered down the hollow shaft. Experimentally, she tilted it forward, then nudged him in the ribs with her knee, signaling him to reignite his fingers. Cooperatively, he did so, and with a sudden fizzle, and a surprised cry from Katara, the lantern lit.

She must have jumped. He saw her legs tense, and her torso falter, and the next thing he knew there were several droplets of burning hot oil splattering across his fore arm. He cried out sharply, even though he was accustomed to burns, and strained against the chains.

Katara muttered a hasty, yet shockingly sincere apology, and put down the lamp.

"Bend it off!!"

"I can't bend oil!!!" She replied, "Oil and water don't mix." As she spoke, she pulled his shirt off, and tore it open, using the cheaper fabric of his travel robes to wipe away the scalding droplets meandering down his flesh.

Taking a few deep breaths to balance himself out, the Prince suddenly became aware of three things, one, he had buried his head into the collarbone of the clumsy water bender, two, that she was blowing softly on his burns and summoning water to her to heal him, and three, he was somehow, inexplicably turned on by the whole ordeal.

She was right, the robe did smell like sandalwood, trying to find the original source of fire bending was ridiculous, and he was a masochist. Before her watery glowing glove reached him, he caught her wrist in his unaffected hand.

"Don't bother." he told her in a mumble, "you said it yourself, I like it."

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Oh man, next chapter is going to be fun/hard, depending on how much liquor is in my system when I write it.

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I know, I know, work on N2CTW, I will, but this chapter was so close to being finished I couldn't resist.

Anyway, I always work better when I have a few projects going at once, so when I get writer's block on one, I can leapfrog over to the other for some Zen time.

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Anyways, leave me love and I will return it in full with kinky Zutaraness!!!