AN: Nothing much to say. I hope this is a fast enough post for all you who said I was cruel. That was never my intention. But here's the next chapter and it's all Zuko/Katara. Enjoy!

Disclaimer/Digs around in an old box/ Thingy, whoseits, whatsits, thingamajig, doohickey…hmmm, no Avatar. I guess I don't own it.

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Katara pushed herself to the surface and blinked the water and salt out of her eyes. There was some one on the shore but her eyes were still blurry. "Sokka?" No answer. She drew he hand across her eyes to clear the water away. The figure on the sand came into focus and her eyes narrowed. "Zuko."

"Not very smart to leave yourself open like this. Especially considering the outcome of our last battle. Don't you know, little girls need to be protected?" He smirked as he watched her wade to the shore.

The smirk didn't last long though. It slipped as she fully emerged from the water. Her quick swim had left her clothes clinging to her, rather revealingly. A slight flush touched his cheeks and he averted his gaze as she bended the water out of her clothes.

"I don't need any help to beat you." He turned back to her and looked her up and down. Her clothes and hair were now dry and her eyes burned bright with determination. "What are you doing here?"

His smirk returned. "Just taking in the sights."

She flushed when she realized what he meant. Her eyes narrowed and she gathered a globe of water in her hands. "I'll ask you once more. What are you doing here?"

"Do you think you can challenge me, little girl? You must have a short memory because I remember winning our last fight. Let's see what you've done this past week." He dropped into a fighting stance.

She was furious. How dare he, pompous ass. I'd like to wipe that smirk off his face. She threw the ball at him. Knowing he would dodge it, she didn't waste any time. A large wave rose behind her and crashed towards him.

He brought up a shield of flame that dissipated some of the water. The rest knocked him off his feet. He rolled, avoiding a particularly vicious water whip. He surged to his feet and ran at her, flinging fire as he ran.

Katara narrowed her eyes. I don't think so, not this time. She brought water around her, creating a shield so strong that he couldn't penetrate it. He needed to change his tactics. He dashed to the side and sent a wave of fire blazing towards her.

She dissolved her shield and whirled out of the way, sending a geyser of water surging towards him. He barely managed to get out of the way. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. He ducked and a water whip snapped over his head. She's surrounded by her element. A spear of ice grazed his cheek. It's a full moon. He ducked and rolled out of the way of her attack. And she's pissed.

Katara saw his smirk and grew even angrier. She let out a frustrated cry and brought a wave down of him. He didn't have time to move and was knocked off his feet. As soon as his back touched the sand, she froze him in place.

The ice covered his entire body to his neck and his wrists. She stood over his immobile form, breathing heavily from the fight. He couldn't move his arms to bend, his hands couldn't reach the ice, and his head was forced down on the sand. "I'd say I won this round. Now tell me, what are you doing here?"

He gritted his teeth and tried to melt the thick sheet of ice encasing him. He concentrated on slowly raising his body temperature so that she wouldn't notice. "What do you think I'm doing?"

She drew a small sphere of water and knelt by his side. She searched his face, his eyes, but the coldness wasn't there anymore. There was still determination and honor but no longer that soul searing pain. "I don't know. If you wanted Aang, you'd have had him by now. If you wanted to hurt us, it would've happened already. I don't understand you."

He tried to squirm out of the ice and she tensed but relaxed again when it held. He glared at her the best he could from his current position. "I don't need you to understand me, Katara." She was surprised to hear her name on his lips.

"I may not understand you but I respect you. You're a good man; determined, intelligent, honorable. You know how to fix what's wrong with the world, you know what needs to happen. Why don't you do it?" Her voice lowered, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "Have you changed? Am I just not seeing it?"

Suddenly, the ice around him shattered. He was on his feet again in an instant and so was she. But she didn't need to worry. Exhausted, he fell to his knees in the sand. First the fight then the slow build up of power had left him drained.

Instinct overcame Katara's good sense and she rushed to his side. The healer in her pushed to the surface and she began to heal the few small wounds he received during their fight. Afterwards, they both remained kneeling in the sand, close to each other.

"I'm still fighting a war." Katara watched him closely, waiting for him to continue. "I'm fighting for me, for my crew… for home. I can't let this world be destroyed."

"Zuko?" He turned and his molten eyes burned into hers.

"I can't let my father, the Fire Lord, continue what he's doing. If he isn't stopped, there will be nothing left of this world. Nothing I care about will survive." His eyes were so intense, his voice so serious, that Katara was shocked.

"Are you joining us? Are you joining Aang?" Are you joining me? Her heart quickened its pace and she waited breathlessly for his answer.

"If I was, would I be welcomed?"

She lowered her eyes to the beach and a light blush touched her cheeks. This can't be happening. This isn't happening. This isn't real. It's only a dream. As inconspicuously as she could, she pinched herself; hard. Ow! This isn't a dream.

She looked up to find him watching her intently. "I would welcome you and so would Aang. But Sokka… he would be harder to convince. But what about your uncle, your crew? What about them?"

He reached his hand up and pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers lightly trace her jaw line. Her breathing hitched and she barely stopped herself from leaning into his touch. "They're already working with me against the Fire Lord. We're already working with you, just unofficially. It would make no difference if it becomes official."

She blinked. "Helping us? You mean our last fight? We all thought there was something odd about that but we didn't think…"

"You weren't supposed to. At least, not right away. It seemed like a good idea at the time but, we all knew it couldn't last long. So, what happens now?" He sat cross legged on the beach, looking out over the ocean.

She sat next to him and drew her knees up to her chest. "I don't know. Aang still needs to learn earthbending and to master waterbending. Then he needs to learn fire." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "After that, he needs to get to the Fire Lord."

"What was that about Sozen's comet?" She looked at him, shocked.

"How did you know about that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Every firebender knows about the comet, at least, the noble ones do. What I want to know is, what does it have to do with the Avatar?"

Katara remained silent for a moment. "Aang needs to defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes or all is lost."

Zuko turned to her in shock. "Then what the hell is taking him so long!"

Katara growled at his angry tone. "We would've reached the North sooner if some crazy, spoiled prince hadn't kept getting in our way. Trying to blast us out of the sky every time we turned around."

He clenched his fists. "I'm not crazy and I'm certainly not spoiled. It isn't my fault that you aren't intelligent enough to evade me."

She jumped to her feet in anger. "Why you… you…" She let out an exasperated cry and stormed down to the edge of the water. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. This is going to take some getting used to. "We can't keep fighting. If we keep on like this we'll kill each other before we even speak to Aang."

She turned to find him watching her, like a cat eyeing a particularly tasty morsel. Zuko got to his feet and stalked slowly towards her. She held her ground as he stopped very close to her. "When are you going to talk to him?"

"I don't know. He needs to concentrate right now, I don't want this to distract him. But we can't wait too long or he won't be ready."

"Give him another week. He'll have a better grasp on earthbending and you'll have time to bring him around to the idea."

Katara peered at him closely. "But should I? How do I know I can trust you?"

He gripped her arms and his eyes bore into hers. They stood as they stood in the oasis. "I swear to you, on my honor, that the Avatar, Aang, will not come to harm from me or my men. I give you my oath, Katara."

She held his gaze. "You once told me you had no honor."

He smirked. "And you said that no one could take my honor from me. It was up to me to decide what to do with it. Well, I've decided. I will protect what I care for." He tucked another strand of hair behind her ear then returned his hand to its previous position.

She licked her suddenly dry lips and gently pushed out of his arms. "I should be getting back. They'll be wondering what happened to me." She turned to leave but his grip on her hand stopped her. She turned to look at him questioningly.

"Meet me back here, tomorrow night. We can talk more…about what to do." She nodded and left. Before she was out of earshot, she heard him one last time. "Till tomorrow night, my siren."

A faint blush tinted her cheeks and she ran to the house. Sokka was still on the terrace when she ran up the stairs. "Where've you been?"

"The ocean."

He cocked his head. "What were you doing there for so long?"

The faint blush came back, a little darker. "…bending. I was just, bending." She hurried past him to her room, where she plopped on the bed and covered her eyes with her hand.

This is crazy. But what if it's real? He swore on his honor. But can I trust that? But of that she was sure. He swore on his honor and he would never break that oath.

I believe in him. Now, if only I can convince Sokka… She readied herself for bed, morning would come soon enough. She drifted to sleep, thoughts of her prince echoing in her mind.

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AN: I don't have anything really to say. Tell me what you thought. Review Please!