Day 3 : Jealousy

"Why.. did you have to buy... so much... stuff!"

Katara paused, turning to watch the grumbler. A deep, woven basket rested on her hip. "Quit whining!" she teased. "You're the one who ate most of the food, so it makes sense that you're the one who has to carry most of it back."

"Yeah," Zuko snorted, hefting the pack higher onto his back. "I'm also the one who has to pay for it." Katara pretended she couldn't hear him.

As they left the outskirts of the village, a small dog tumbled out of the bushes onto the path in front of them. "Oh, look! A puppy!" the basket forgotten, Katara raced to his side and scooped him up. "Look, Zuko, isn't he the sweetest little thing?" She tickled his tummy, and he licked her fingers, her hand, and then reached for her face.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Adorable," he huffed, his voice tinged with annoyance and... something else.

"Toboe! Toboe!" A small girl and a smaller boy raced up from the direction of the village. Katara's warm smiled made the children grin as well.

"Is he yours?" she asked kindly. They nodded shyly. She held him out, and he lept into the girl's arms, his tail wagging, and proceeded to cover her whole face with puppy kisses.

The two children laughed. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" They cried. The boy peeked up at Zuko who was scowling back at him. He turned away quickly, racing back down the road with his sister and the dog.

Katara watched them, her face glowing with an emotion Zuko remembered seeing long, long ago...

He grunted. "Let's go." He walked on quickly, and Katara hurried to catch up. She watched him from behind, thoughtful.

Before long, they came to a curve in the road. There was a large shade tree and a few rocks scattered under the branches, as if it was made for weary travelers. "Zuko, let's stop for lunch." Katara walked under the tree and sat gracefully on the highest rock. "You look beat," she added, motioning for him to join her.

Zuko stood in the blazing sun, panting. "I'm fine," he wheezed. "I don't need to take a break!"

Katara raised an eyebrow. Her shoulders shrugged. "Have it your way," she said, raising her arms as if she was a puppeteer.

Zuko's eyes widened. "Katara, no, don't, don't do it, please, Kat-" His body stiffened, his jaw snapping shut. Awkwardly, he walked towards Katara.

She grinned, her eyes glinting like a feral cat. She took the heavy pack off his shoulders, and pointed for him to sit.

"Do you want a melon?" she asked, then threw it to him. It bounced off his shoulder. "Oh, oops!" She waved her hand, and Zuko's body was his own again.

"How did you do that?" he exploded, jumping up. "It's not even a full moon! It's not even nighttime! Plus, we have to keep goi-"

She stuffed a peach in his mouth. "Less talking, more chewing," she commanded before digging into her own fruit. "Besides, the fruit was starting to spoil out in the sun."

They sat quietly for a few moments.

"Mrow!"

Katara, who now sat on the ground leaning against Zuko's rock, looked up at him. "Yes?" she asked.

He blinked, then scowled. "What, by the Great Dragons, makes you think that I would say-"

"MROW!"

They both looked up. A small, thin, dust-colored cat sat on a branch in the middle of the tree. "Oh, no, Zuko! Look! She's stuck!" Katara lept to her feet. "Help me up," she ordered, her eyes still on the cat.

His scowl deepened. "I had no idea you were such a bleeding heart," he muttered, lacing his fingers together to make a step for her foot. As she stepped up, she flicked his forehead. She had heard him. She pushed up on his head, and put her other foot on his shoulder. Zuko's face was burning red as she clambered over him and swung up into the tree. "It's a good thing you're tall," she said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to save her!"

Calling gently, she coaxed the cat into her arms. "Hey, Zuko! Can you catch?" She sat on the lowest branch - a few feet over his head - and let the cat fall into his outstretched arms.

Zuko bit back a cry as the cat's claws punctured his skin. It crawled up his arm, sat on his shoulder, and started cleaning itself.

"Aww, it looks just like a pirate bird!" Katara laughed, jumping lightly to the ground.

Zuko plucked the feline off his shoulder. "Dumb cat," he muttered.

She watched him with sharp, green eyes and gave his face a quick, rasping lick. Leaping to the ground, she padded over to Katara, who held out a piece of fish from the packs. "Here, sweetie," she called, her voice soft and kind.

Zuko watched her face as, once again, it turned gentle, her face glowing with... with love. It was as if she was completely unguarded, radiating her love to the stupid animal in front of her. Her eyes met his, and her smile was brighter than the sun. He looked away sharply, his cheeks pink again.

The cat licked up the morsel, and then licked Katara's fingers before springing away into the bushes. "I think she liked you." Katara stood and reached for the pack.

"Wait, what are you doing?" She looked at him.

"Well, it's not fair for you to have to carry this huge thing the whole time, so I thought-" Zuko swung his arms around the straps and hefted it onto his back in one fluid movement.

"Fine," she snapped, grabbing the basket. "Have it your way. But don't come crying to me it you pass out."

The rest of the day was filled with other incidents of Katara showing off her caring nature, from putting a flying fish back in a lake to pulling a thorn out of a bear's paw to helping a mother saber-toothed moose lion give birth to finding a lost baby turtle duck to healing a sick wild ostrich horse.

The sun was setting, turning the sky a magnificent bright orange and coloring the clouds and fluffy pink. They had almost reached the air temple, and Zuko was ready to go lay down. "Katara, I'm warning you," he growled, "if we have to stop to help anybody else I'll-"

The sound of a child crying in the distance. She looked at him for a second, her eyes pleading, before dropping the basket and racing after the cry.

"No, wait- Katara!" Zuko huffed, dropping the pack on the ground before plopping down next to it. Here we go again... he thought, rubbing his temples. That woman was just too good for her own good.

The bushes across from him rustled, and Katara walked out slowly, carrying a teary young boy. "There, there," she cooed. "It's all right. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you here." The boy peeked at Zuko before burying his face in her shoulder. She looked down, her eyes worried, before turning to him. "He was just sitting out there in the brush," she explained. "Nobody was anywhere near him. I couldn't even pick up a trail or anything."

Zuko nodded as the boy whimpered into Katara's tunic. "Shhhh," she soothed, stroking his hair, her face and voice soft again. "Don't worry, he's not as mean as he looks."She glared at Zuko, who rolled his eyes and dug through the pack."Can you tell me where your family lives?" she coaxed. "Can you tell me where your mama and dada are?" Zuko saw the boy shake his head, his black hair bouncing. "Can you tell me anything at all?" He shook his head again. Katara nuzzled her forehead against his, grinning, and he copied her. He reached out, patting her face, and she played along. His giggling reminded him of Azula when she had just been born, still innocence and happy, playing games like this with his mother... their mother.

"Here," he said, shoving the bread roll he had dug up between them. The boy looked at him for a few moments, then took the bread slowly. As he munched, he kept his dark eyes on Zuko.

"I think he likes you," Katara murmured.

You've already told me that one, he thought, scowling and turning away.

"What wrong?" she asked.

"We should be back by now," he said darkly. "We don't have time for you to stop and help every single thing we see on the side of the road!"

"Hey, I'm sorry, but the saber-tooth moose lion was kinda in the middle of the road-"

"That not the point!" he snapped, his face flushed. "You just have to stop and be friends with every cute little thing you find!"

Katara grinned, guessing this was about more than just their frequent stops on the way back. "You know, the first cute little thing I found just so happens to be the one that's going to save the world." Zuko's face got redder. "Besides, I can't help it! I'm a healer! I'm not going to let those that I can help suffer!"

"Tell that to the fire benders you've taken down," he muttered, but Katara was playing with that kid again.

She froze suddenly, one arm wrapped around the child that sat in the dirt in front of her. "Listen," she hissed. The boy continued to play with the rock he found. Zuko crept closer to them, straining to hear. He pulled the rock out of the kid's mouth. "It's a woman," she said, standing with the child in her arms. Walking cautiously, they stepped onto the path together.

The woman was a good 20 feet away, her back turned to them as she called out. The boy started to squirm, so Katara helped him stand. He took off towards the woman as fast a youngster still learning to walk could. He gave a loud cry, and his mother turned. She had his face shape, his hair, and his eyes. Her faced flashed from terror to pure joy as her son waddled up the road to her open arms. "Oh, thank heavens!" she cried, her dirty face streaked with tears as she bundled him up in her arms. "Oh, my love!" She kissed his head several times, and the boy gave happy giggles.

Katara and Zuko slipped back into the bushed, preferring to remain unnamed in the rescue of the small boy. They sat close to each other, shoulders almost brushing.

"So tell me, Zuko," Katara said. He looked down, only to find that she was practically on top of him. "This whole day, while I was helping out all of those woodland creatures," she purred. "And especially just now, with that little boy. Were you, maybe, just a little bit... jealous?" There was less than an inch of space between their faces now. Zuko chuckled.

"Only a little," he whispered just as their lips touched.

Zuko and Katara arrived back at the air temple early the next morning.

"Wow, you guys were gone a long time!" Aang greeted them, hopping up until he was almost on top of Katara. "What happened?"

They exchanged a look, Katara moving closer to Zuko. "Well, ah, we were... held up," she stammered.

Zuko snorted, getting into the act. "Yeah, quite a few times. Katara just couldn't' help herself from helping every injured living thing along the way."

Katara looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "I was even able to mend a bruised pride," she teased coldly.

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Aang gushed, not noticed the intertwined hands of the pair.

"Yeah, I guess," Zuko scoffed, sounding like his old self.

Feet shuffled, and soon Zuko found himself soaked in the fountain. "Water benders," he grumbled. "Bleeding hearts one second, murderers the next."