AN: this chapter contains some sexual scenes and descriptions. Rated M for a reason, so please read with care and caution. Otherwise enjoy!

CHAPTER 6

After a lot of traveling, Zuko's feet became increasingly sore. He was looking forward to when they would finally reach their destination, wherever it was. It was harder for him, not being in control. He was so used to being the man who received groveling, not produced it. But he'd never let his impatience be heard. He was a prisoner, but Zuko still held onto the pride he had remaining, plus he didn't want to upset Katara and the others for being a whiner.

Fortunately, they finally stopped to set up camp at the new location Katara had led them to. Of course, for her sake, it was located close to a large body of water and not too far off from a local town. She must have been planning to restock on supplies.

Zuko stood and watched as everybody began to set up their tents. Some men had their own, but others were willing to share, while some of the men didn't even bother with a tent and preferred to sleep outside at night. Zuko felt a bit awkward, as though everybody had forgotten about him, which tempted an easy escape, but that probably would've put him in a more difficult situation. So instead, he waited until they remembered to tie him up again. On instinct, he looked over his shoulder to see that Katara was staring at him, as though she was reading his mind. Zuko studied her gait as she strolled over to him and looked him up and down.

"I'll give you a tent." She said, but Zuko wasn't sure if she was making a statement or asking a question. He gave her a look that asked her to clarify. "I won't have you tied up again unless you give me reason to. There are a couple of tents over there that still need to be set up. If you can get your hands on one, you can have it." She turned to walk away, but backtracked and added one more thing before going, "Don't take advantage of the leeway I'm giving you Zuko."

He nodded silently. He didn't need to be told twice. Once Katara had walked far enough away, he made his way over to the extra tents and started work on setting up his own. He was rather excited to be able to have a sense of privacy again, even if his tent was going to be surrounded by dozens of others. He would've liked to place his farther off from the rest of the group as Katara seemed to do, but he remembered what she advised him and wasn't going to risk messing up the privileges she was giving him.

He reminded himself that although he was trying hard to gain back Katara's trust, he was still his own person and was not going to let Katara make a mindless sap out of him. They'd become friends eventually, Zuko knew. She was already starting to warm up to him, but he had to play his cards right and do whatever she said until she liked him enough that he could decide things on his own. He'd be lying if he said he didn't imagine what a future with Katara would be like. They had the potential to be an unstoppable team, both being physically strong and strategically smart, but she was never going to let it happen if he didn't work hard to get her to warm up to him. Zuko didn't like being pushed around, but he knew that if he put up with it for only a little while longer, he probably wouldn't even be considered a prisoner anymore.

After putting up his tent, Zuko immediately crawled inside and set up an area for sleeping. He'd managed to scavenge up a pillow and a few blankets along with the tent and counted himself lucky that so many of the earthbenders preferred sleeping without them. As soon as he laid himself down, he was out cold. He knew he was physically exhausted from all the traveling, but Zuko hadn't realized the effects of the mental strain that he was being put through. He hadn't gotten a good amount of sleep in what seemed like ages and his body was now making up for it.

From a distance, Katara watched as Zuko fixed his tent and crawled inside. Since the tent material was rather thin she could see his silhouette from the outside and knew that he'd fallen asleep as soon as he'd entered. It was fine with her for now. He'd been through a lot in the past couple of days and he needed sleep if he was going to be of any use to her in the future, but she wasn't planning on treating him like a guest either.

As soon as Zuko woke up from his long nap, Katara put him straight to work. It was a trade-in for no longer having to be bound all of the time, which Zuko was fine with. At least this way he was getting exercise and was able to occupy his mind easier. Most of the time he gathered firewood, but every now and then, Katara would have him help to prepare the meals with her, which he preferred much more. Although they rarely spoke, Zuko enjoyed being able to sit with Katara and chop carrots, or stir the pot, or whatever she needed him to do. It was peaceful for him, as though they were working together as team, even if it was just cooking.

Whenever he wasn't doing errands, Zuko took any opportunity he could get to sleep. Although he was basically doing the same humdrum activities everyday now, he found himself more exhausted than ever before. He was becoming more accepted into the group, but Zuko still worried over what his future had in store for him. He was still a prisoner after all, and he was sure the Fire Nation was not going to be exceedingly thrilled to see him back if he ever escaped. When he boiled it all down, Zuko was really left with nowhere to go, and the thought scared him. He'd been on his own before, but it didn't go well and it wasn't something he wanted to experience again. He was nervous that he was going to be a prisoner forever, but at the same time he was scared of what would happen to him if he was ever released.

Thankfully, the other soldiers were adapting to Zuko quicker than he expected. They reminded him of his own men in a way. They were obnoxious and rude, but loyal when it came down to it. They weren't the brightest men he'd ever met, but they made for good conversation and were able to get Zuko to laugh every now and then. It was a step to the kind of relationship he hoped to have with Katara someday. One were they could talk for hours on end and it would've felt as if no time had been wasted. And even though she seemed to be warming up to him step by step as he'd worked for, a close relationship like the one he had in mind didn't seem too probable. Katara had known some of her soldiers for years and she didn't hold a great friendship with them either, so then how good of a chance did Zuko have?

One morning, Zuko arose from his tent to see that Katara was issuing out haircuts to some of the men. Apparently, she would hand them out every now and again since long bangs often impaired the soldiers' ability to maintain keen awareness during battle. She'd splash some water through their hair to get it wet and would then proceed to trim it carefully with a knife. Zuko watched as she took precision in her work. She didn't just butcher about and cut away any loose strands she laid her eyes on, she ran her fingers carefully through each lock, checking to make sure that she cut it at the right place, at the right angle. Zuko could start to feel himself getting jealous. Considering he wasn't a soldier and would never be fighting with them, Zuko doubted that Katara was going to take time out of her schedule to play around with his hair.

"Zuko, get over here." She called to him and motioned for him to sit down in front of her. He was seriously starting to worry that she actually could read his mind.

He didn't dare speak a word of objection and walked over to her. Like a little kid getting checked for lice, he slumped down in front of her and she ran her hands over his scalp, looking to see where exactly he needed to be trimmed. She then bended a handful of water, which was warm to Zuko's surprise, and mixed it in with his follicles, soaking it just enough to make it easy to cut. Her hands gracefully rummaged over his skull and Zuko could feel chills running up his spine. Delightful goose bumps started to protrude from his skin and he couldn't help but to close his eyes from the sensation. He had to fight the urge to whimper out in pleasure.

As she gently sliced his hair shorter, Zuko could feel his insides start to stir aroused, and he was pretty sure that it was soon going to show on the outside as well. He had to fight to keep his heart rate and breathing under control. He wasn't sure if Katara had noticed, but if she had, she was probably having a fabulous time driving him to insanity. He wanted it to be over as much as he wanted it to never end. As soon as Katara had cut her final strand and backed off to inspect her work, she gave him a nod of approval, signaling that Zuko was free to leave. Swiftly, and without so much of a whisper, Zuko strode back to his tent. As soon as he entered, he collapsed on the cot and gave a loud groan filled with both desire and confusion.

Fortunately, everybody left Zuko alone for the rest of the day and he was able to get in a couple of naps before dinner. Even though a reasonable amount of time had passed, Zuko still couldn't shake the desires that arose from before and after they finished eating, he crawled back into his tent and waited for the others to fall asleep.

Eventually, when everything was quiet, Zuko slowly and silently traced his fingers up and down his abdomen. He could already start to feel himself get excited. He swiftly slipped off his pants and undergarments. The slight breeze felt good against his naked body as he gently placed the tips of his fingers on his rising shaft. Trying to imitate the elegance and care that Katara had given to his hair, he stroked himself up and down, lingering on the places where it felt best. He traced the blue vein that had protruded out of his length at some point during his teasing, and his fingertips made their way to the head, drawing circles around the tip as his other hand softly massaged his testicles.

A bit of precum escaped and Zuko's breath started to hitch. Having teased himself enough for the night, he secured his grasp around his now fully erect shaft and began pumping up and down. His hand was smooth and he knew how to be delicate, but Zuko couldn't help wanting it to be Katara's hands around him instead. He imagined her seductively milking him of all his worth, and from there on he couldn't control himself any longer. He pumped faster and harder as he envisioned himself and Katara fumbling under the sheets, her kissing his neck as he stroked his fingers up and down her back. He thought about what it would be like to grind himself into her, to be able to thrust in and out of her as he pleased while she called out his name in ecstasy.

He had to fight the desire to moan out her name. It was going to be hard, but there was no way he was willing to risk getting caught. He tried to control his breath as he felt himself getting close to ejaculation. His mind was fuzzy and his vision was blanking white as he felt himself nearly explode from pleasure. He felt a slight gurgle in the back of his throat and heard a short, sweet groan escape his mouth as he finally came and the cum spurted out onto his stomach. His body relaxed from its tensed state and he collapsed backward, his head thudding against the pillow beneath him. Although he was light headed, he was able to clean himself up a bit before plunging into a state of relaxation and bliss.

The next morning Katara walked out of her tent with good news for her men. She was going to give them the day off to go into town and enjoy themselves. The heavens knew that she needed it too. She had been a little reckless yesterday as she gave Zuko his haircut. She found herself taking more time to do his than any of the other men's'. As she was running her fingers over his scalp she felt the strange urge to press her front up against his back and run her hands over more places than just his head. She had desperately hoped that he hadn't noticed, but her worries only increased when he nearly sprinted away after she had finished.

Allowing everybody to go into town would give her some more time to clear her head. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake thoughts of Zuko off of her. If she got too close to him, she almost broke composure, but if she kept him at a distance, her urges only increased tenfold.

That bastard just has to make everything so difficult. She thought. He's probably doing this to me on purpose.

Zuko was surprised to hear Katara claim that the men would get the day to do whatever they liked. Of course, he wasn't sure that this included him. He looked at her questioningly and she gave him a small nod of approval in return. He felt a good amount of gratitude. Perhaps all his effort was finally getting him somewhere with her.

Zuko walked with the other men into town and observed all the store names, looking for one that he'd be interested in. One of the Earth Kingdom soldiers named Chin, who Zuko later realized had been one of the soldiers who had accompanied him to the river a few weeks prior, came up and slapped Zuko on the back. He pulled out Zuko's palm and placed a few coins in it.

"Ready to have some fun?" he mused.

"What is this?" Zuko asked, looking at his hand.

"Just some money to treat yourself with. Don't worry, you don't have to pay me back. We've all seen how much you've been helping around. Katara's really been using the prisoner thing up to her full advantage."

"She's not that bad." Zuko replied.

"I guess not. But it'll be nice to finally see some other girls besides her huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Where do you think you're following everyone to? When a soldier gets the day off, he doesn't go straight to the mall does he?"

Zuko understood now. Of course he knew where they were going. He was being lead to a whore house. He'd seen his men go into them any chance they could whenever they'd traveled through a populated area. Admittedly, he had joined them on occasion, but it wasn't something Zuko took a lot of pride in, it had really just been to let out whatever pent up anger he had been harboring that week.

It was like being swept up in a wave. They practically carried Zuko into the brothel. It smelled like they always do: full of sweat, alcohol, and grime. Zuko searched around for an exit as a tall, red-headed woman came up to him and placed a bony hand on the back of his thigh.

"Are you looking for me?" she whispered into his ear.

Before he could respond, he felt himself being pulled into a separate room. He already knew where this was going. She certainly wasted no time as she sat him down on the bed and began to lift up his shirt to feel his abs. It felt nice enough. Zuko wasn't going to lie, it had been a while since he'd had sex and even though he'd given himself release the previous night, the option of having actual intercourse didn't sound too bad right about then. He handed her the money in his palms and she proceeded to strip down in front of him. She had a dragon tattoo inked on the back of her thigh and up around the curvature of her ass. Zuko didn't know what it was, but dragon tattoos seemed to be a big thing with women; they were always printed somewhere promiscuously across their bodies.

The woman then sat down in his lap and straddled him, touching his newly trimmed hair and running her fingers over his chest. She moved her hands down and stuck them into his pockets only to pull out Katara's necklace from one of them.

"Oh, what's this? You want me to wear this for you?" she asked seductively, but it actually withdrew the opposite reaction. Somehow, within the matter of a second, Zuko went from indifferent, to completely furious.

"Give that back to me. Now." His voice had suddenly become drastically lower and more serious. He was nearly gritting his teeth from the way she was handling it with such carelessness.

She didn't give it immediately back and began to admire it in her fingers, now seeing how much value it held to him. She began to move as if to tie the necklace around her neck, but before she could, he quickly grabbed her hand in his own and squeezed harshly, nearly breaking her metacarpals. She squealed out in pain and when he let go she instantly dropped the necklace and Zuko was able to catch it before it hit the ground. Without another word he got up and trudged out of the brothel as the prostitute screamed curses at him from behind.

Stumbling out onto the streets, it felt good to be able to breathe fresh air again. He was still a bit agitated from the incident at the whore house, but rubbing the necklace helped ease him back into calmness. It felt good to know that it was still safe in his possession.

Zuko walked through the streets of the town, looking for something to buy his time until he looked through the window of a café and saw a rather familiar waterbender sitting at one of the side tables. Feeling brave, he snuck in and slid into the chair across from her.

"You didn't have to tip-toe in; I saw you through the window," she claimed as she looked at him, lifting her tea to her lips.

He smiled to himself, finding himself relieved that he was there, with her, and not at the whore house anymore. She noticed his smile and gave him a questioning look until a waiter came up to them.

"And for you sir?" he asked Zuko.

He couldn't order anything. He didn't have any money left.

"Nothing than-"

"White Jasmine. A little bit of lemon." Katara told the waiter and he walked off. She looked back to Zuko. "It's alright, I'll pay."

Zuko nodded a thank-you and they sat in an uncomfortable silence for a little while as Katara sipped her tea. Finally, the waiter came back with Zuko's order and Katara took the lemon from the side of his cup and squeezed a little more juice into her own tea before putting it back.

"I thought you'd be going with the others. To the brothel." She asked, trying to mask her voice from any interest in the matter. She didn't want to admit it, but the thought of Zuko having sex with a whore made her sad, not angry, just sad. She didn't know why.

"I did go." He responded, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh. . ."

"But I decided to leave."

"Oh?"

Zuko didn't go anymore into it and looked down at his tea, so Katara decided it'd be best for both of them if she didn't press any further. They entered another uncomfortable silence until Zuko took another daring step.

"I'd like to stay with you, for the rest of the day. If that's alright?" He asked, looking up at her.

Katara was pretty stunned by Zuko's request. They had done things together before, like preparing the meals, but that was only because she was making him as a form of punishment. She didn't actually think that he enjoyed spending time with her. It wasn't an easy decision for her, but she ended up feeling that she'd rather have Zuko with her, driving her mad, instead of having him back at the brothel where she'd only get more upset.

"Alright." She sighed reluctantly. This wasn't going to be easy considering the next few activities she had already planned out for herself.

They made their way across town and stopped in front of a bath house. Katara looked over her shoulder at him warily.

"Don't worry." He assured her, "I'm not going to attack you, especially not someplace where we're surrounded by water."

"That's not what I'm afraid of." she replied, uneasy of how her feelings might suffer from spending time with him in someplace as . . . revealing as this. She sighed hopelessly.

What have you gotten yourself into now Katara?