Chapter Ten

Avatar Kyoshi: Awkward moments sort of make my life. And yes, there will be a moment of tension breaking. Not saying it will last.

Patty cake rocks: Nice review.

Kiaraaa: I love Kyochi so much; he's such a good sport. Thanks for reading along with me!

Xxwesalxx: Aw, thank you! Kyochi is probably one of my favorite characters. (Just saying)

Guest: You anger me. What exactly are you suggesting? I'd love to have a conversation with you, but it appears you don't have an account.

So I'm writing this chapter in hopes that it's better than the last one. Let's just see, shall we? Y'all have a great week between the time I upload this and chapter eleven!

BUZZ IMPORTANT MESSAGE BUZZ So I'm not sure how exactly I'm going to do the holidays. I mean, I love holidays. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, hands down. So I'll try to mix it up but parts of the story will get mildly religious and I'll do my best not to make a Mary Sue out of any of the characters (any more than I probably already have, anyways). Okay, thanks for listening. On with the show!

Also important: There's a little flashback of Katara's to before her parents left for the army. It has a few Hawaiian words, so I'll put up the straight up English version at the bottom of the chapter.

We see water as a calm element, easily adapting to problems and a key factor in our lives. We perceive it as predictable and soothing. But this is the brighter side of water. The same element brings death and destruction, in the form of tsunamis. Water is a raging force, with tide predictions fluctuating and mainly inaccurate. Water is independent, with the abilities to put out fires, soil land, and mist the air. We see air as the element of freedom, but no one can own the sea. There are no lines in the ocean, because the water is too fickle and uncontrollable to be tamed and mastered. No, water is not soothing. Water is a powerful beast, passing off as a beautiful, settled masterpiece.

Walking into the gym, Katara breathed in the pungent smell of sweat. "There's nothing better than the smell of ole' B.O. at twelve o' clock at night." She said, punching Kyochi in the arm with a gloved hand. Midnight practices are the best. You learn to train on low energy. If you doze off during a match, you're done for. Having already dressed at Katara's house, Katara and Kyochi went straight into the empty gym floor.

Kyochi got low to the ground. Getting at an angle towards Katara, he watched as her body tensed and relaxed. She's going to kick my ass. Throwing a purposefully weak punch towards her stomach, he waited until it got her attention and threw up his knee to land a blow in the back of her knee. Listening to her curse, he smiled. I'm going to pay for that one. Staying close to Katara, he put his hands high and waited for her move.

Katara watched warily as Kyochi kept his hands high. He never lands the first hit. I'm off my game. Stepping sideways, she caught Kyochi's hand as it swung out towards her. Balling all but two of her fingers, she hit his elbow hard with her two knuckles. Stepping back, she watched with amusement as his arm fell numbly to his side. Moving towards Kyochi's useless arm, Katara sank into an even lower stance. Getting too low for anything but an awkward punch, Katara's attention went to Kyochi's legs. A solid kick would make me lose my advantage. Waiting for his kick, Katara sprang the moment Kyochi's knee moved. Picking it up in the crook of her elbow, Katara used her other shoulder to push Kyochi off balance. Toppling over, Katara rolled off of him, grinning. "I win."

Kyochi groaned. I remember when I used to be able to beat her. Back in the day, I wasn't permanently in pain. "One more round?" He asked hopefully.

Katara grinned devilishly. "Well, duh."

Katara woke up late, passing up on her morning workout. I mean, we practiced last night, so I'm fine for this morning. Realizing it was later than she had actually planned to get up, she swore. Maybe I should have put on an alarm, to be actually able to WAKE UP ON TIME. She was a light sleeper, but was already tired from not getting a lot of sleep for two days straight. After pulling on some clothes and pushing her hair into a messy bun, she ran downstairs and grabbed her keys. Guess I'll grab some food at the Jasmine Dragon.

Zuko watched as Katara walked into the shop. He saw as the girls who hit on him relentlessly glared at the blue eyed girl. Her hair was up in a bun, and she was wearing leggings and a rolled up denim shirt with boots. Even on a day without her trying at all, those girls absolutely hate her. She seemed oblivious to all of the attention she was getting while she fished something out of her bag. Walking over to her, he put on a serious face. "What would you like to eat today, Beautiful?"

Confused, Katara looked quizzically at Zuko before realizing a table of five snotty looking girls was glaring at her. "Well you're delicious, but you aren't on the menu. Can I have a bagel and a coffee for the road, along with you?" She flirted, batting her eyelashes shamelessly.

Zuko pretended to write down the order. "Sure, I'll come with you. And I'll give you the bagel and coffee for free, just for being so gorgeous." He said seriously before hanging up his apron, grabbing the food, and escorting Katara out of the door.

In the car, Katara burst out laughing. "You should have seen t-t-their faces… l-l-like they'd been hit by a TRUCK!" She breathed out, barely managing to clear the parking lot. "That was amazing." She said, looking at Zuko for a split second. And you're sort of amazing. Keeping that thought to herself, she absentmindedly looked out at the barren trees on the edges of the road. "So what are you doing for Christmas?"

Zuko smirked a little and shook his head. "I don't celebrate Christmas. My family isn't that religious, for the most part. But we do pass around presents around New Years. What are you doing?" He said, trying to change the subject. Mom used to love the holidays. She'd make the entire house smell like a tree.

Katara smiled. "Well, we're going to Makahiki back in Hawaii- Sokka, my grandmother, and I. It's like the Hawaiian New Years. I'll be back before the year ends, I guess." She said dreamily, fiddling with her dog tags. I'll get to see everyone from the tribe. I haven't seen them in ages. "It's a great time to go surfing in the Islands. Do you ever surf?"

"No, I'm not a huge fan of the water." Zuko said disdainfully. Who would like the water? It's cold and dark and you can't see anything in it. "So are your parents going to go with you to Hawaii?" He asked obliviously.

Katara stiffened visibly at the steering wheel. "No, they aren't." She said roughly, ending the conversation. How dense could this idiot be? "Are your parents going?" Well no, they aren't! Driving into the school parking lot, she flew into a parking space. "See you at lunch." The girl mumbled.

Sitting down at the lunch table beside Katara, Zuko tried his best to ignore the cold shoulder that Katara was giving him. Wonder what I did this time. As time had told him, Zuko wasn't always the best with women. Maybe I should figure out what I did. That's a good idea. "Katara, are you okay?"

Katara looked at him, irritated. "I'm perfectly fine. It's not like you did anything." She gritted out, stabbing her salad. Seriously, this guy has a problem. "Are you okay?"

Toph rolled her eyes, in disbelief at what her friends were saying. They fight like an old married couple. "Can you guys just go out already?" She asked, frustrated at the obvious chemistry the two had. I've like Aang for forever, and these two have barely known each other for four months and they're both into each other. They need to take a hint!

Katara and Zuko wrinkled their noses, as if they had never thought of the idea before. Date her? Yeah, right. Zuko was a jerk. He can go kiss Mai for all I care. Katara has about as much interest in me as I have in her. We would never work. Guys are a waste of time and I don't want to end up with another Jet. She's a flight risk.

Sokka laughed. "Toph, you're crazy. They'd get along about as well as Aang and Suki would. I mean, my little sister would never like Zuko." He said, sure of himself.

The whole table laughed quietly. "Yeah…"

Working alone in the bakery, Katara slaved over one of her macadamia nut pies. I remember when Mom taught me how to make these.

"Makuahine, what are you making?" Katara asked her mother, standing on her tiptoes to see the dish on the windowsill. "Kakamahine, it is a macadamia nut pie." Kya said, taking it off the windowsill to show it to the six year old Katara. Adjusting her flower necklace, she knelt down beside her daughter. "Would you like to know how to make them, Katara?" She asked tenderly, stroking her daughter's face. Nodding her face eagerly, Katara grabbed her apron and tied it behind her back.

After they had made the pie, though it wasn't as good as Kya's first one, Katara and Kya sat down on the large hammock behind her porch. "Katara, you know I have to go to be a koa for our country, right?" Kya asked the small girl. "Well, your father and I might be gone a long time. You'll stay with your kapuawahine, and it won't be the same dear. I'm sorry. But you'll still have your hoaloha Kyochi, and your kakuiakane." She said, switching in between Hawaiian and English. Katara started to cry. "Mommy, I don't want you and daddy to go." She said, clutching her mother close. Kya smiled. "But we are mo'i, and we are kama'aina your father and I. and so are you and your brother. But no matter where I have to go, we'll always be ohana. And remember this, Katara. All of this is for you." She said, braiding Katara's hair. Katara looked at her mother. "What about Sokka?" She asked, feeling bad for her brother. Kya shook her head. "You two are my keike, and I love you and your brother so much. But this- she said, showing her the dog tag she had hidden underneath her dress- is for you. I know you'll understand one day." Kya said, watching as Katara fell asleep.

Ten years had passed since then, but Katara still wasn't quite sure why her mother had done what she'd done. Why did you and Dad have to go? Why did you have to die for me?

Zuko parked his car in front of Katara's bakery. He still wasn't sure why Katara was angry with him, but he figured that if anything would make her happy, it would be a fuzzy blanket and a laptop with all of her favorite movies. Opening the door to the bakery, he found Katara sitting alone, back facing him. At first she seemed okay, but then he noticed her shoulders heaving up and down and realized she was crying. Walking over to her, he sat down on the floor beside her and draped the blanket over both of them. Seeing that Katara was crying too hard to care, he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his chest.

Katara knew it was Zuko that was holding her. At first she thought it was Kyochi, but Zuko smelled like tea and bonfires. She just cried for a while in his arms, letting it all out. Hearing Zuko mumble something, she realized that she might have been crying longer than she thought and sat straight up. Seeing his laptop and the movies, she grinned weakly. "Are those for us?"

Zuko grinned. "Yes, they are. I've got some great ones- the Godfather, Star Wars, Inception, Alien, Indiana Jones, Jaws, the Thing, Jurassic Park, the works. Name it and I'll pop it in." It wasn't like Zuko was Katara's best friend, but he knew that she'd want to act like she wasn't just crying for fifteen minutes straight. Just please don't complain that I didn't bring any movies that came from a Nicholas Spark's book.

Halfway into the second movie, the Thing, the bakery was long closed and the lights were off. Zuko, having never seen the movie, was absolutely terrified. Practically sitting in Katara's lap, he watched the movie through his fingers. Jumping at every single noise in the movie, he was practically sweating.

Katara watched the senior with amusement. "You know, we could watch another movie. It is sort of scary." She said, gesturing at the blood dripping onto the floor on the laptop screen. "We could watch Indiana Jones. That isn't too terrifying for little ZuZu, is it?"

Zuko ignored Katara's jeers. Curling even tighter into a ball, he cringed as the monster was undoubtedly attacking a man. "This isn't funny at all, Katara. He's obviously getting EEK!" He screamed as the monster attacked another man from behind a wall. WHY DID I NOT BRING THE NOTEBOOK WHY DID I NOT BRING THE NOTEBOOK!

Katara laughed for the first time that night. "You know, I'm pretty sure Netflix has some Disney movies." She offered, twirling Zuko's hair with her fingers. He is the wimpiest person I have ever met. Honestly, I'm pretty sure Sokka would handle the movie better. Looking down at Zuko, she wondered what she'd done to deserve him. He's too good to be friends with me, even if he's too scared to watch this movie.

Zuko took a big breath and sat straight up. "Why would I need Disney movies? I'm not scared of some movie. I am a man!" He asserted, using an especially deep voice. Grinning, he looked over to Katara, who was looking at him too. Leaning in closer to her for some unknown reason, he felt himself have an urge to kiss her. And from the way she was looking at him, he guessed she wanted to kiss him too.

A knock on the door broke them from their trance. Walking over to the door, Katara turned on the lights to the bakery. Unlocking it, she saw Sokka waiting outside. "What on Earth do you want, kakuiakane?" She asked, sort of irritated. It was getting to the good part! The movie, I mean.

Sokka blinked a couple times. He hadn't heard Katara speak any Hawaiian in years. Not since mom and dad left. "Please ho'omo'a, Katara! I'm so pololi!" He whined, realizing that it had been just as long since he had spoken their native language.

Katara looked at her watch and groaned. "One of these days you'll learn to ho'omo'a for yourself, kakuiakane. But Zuko is kono. I'll make a whole lu'au. Not wikiwiki though." She said, excited at the idea of having a big dinner. Turning around, she smiled at the scarred boy. "What do you say, hoapili? Are you pololi?"

Zuko kept his blank expression. He had absolutely no idea what was going on. He knew that Katara's family was pretty native, but he had never heard her switch in and out of languages. "In English, please?" He asked, scratching his head.

Katara rolled her eyes. "You don't speak Hawaiian? The foreigners don't know anything these days!" She complained, grabbing her jacket. "I'm going to make dinner at my place. You're invited to come along."

Zuko hadn't seen this much food in one place since he had lived with his dad. He tried to remember what it was like whenever Ozai had business partners over. He was usually locked in his room, but sometimes he snuck out and peeked at the dinner party. Plates everywhere, people with grim faces. Maids would pick up and put down dishes for the businessmen. They seemed frightened all the time. Whenever he looked at the dinner guests, he was always glad he wasn't allowed down into the dining room.

But this was nothing like what Ozai called a dinner party. Here, you could barely talk over the laughter. Katara had insisted that Zuko help her and her grandmother cook, and Zuko had made foods he didn't even know existed. The entire house smelled like heaven, and most of the dinner was spent telling childhood stories (including one that ended with Sokka having two fishhooks in one thumb). Afterwards, they had all sat out around the fireplace and ate some macadamia nut pie. Even though the Mizus were frequently slipping in and out of languages and Zuko didn't know what the conversation was about half the time, Zuko felt like he was more at home than he had been in a long time.

And it felt pretty good.

I honestly loved that chapter. Don't know why, but I did. Hope I made y'all happy with the little Zutara! It was just for you. If you got confused, I'm going to post the paragraphs with Hawaiian terms with 100% English HERE.

"Mom, what are you making?" Katara asked her mother, standing on her tiptoes to see the dish on the windowsill. "Daughter, it is a macadamia nut pie." Kya said, taking it off the windowsill to show it to the six year old Katara. Adjusting her flower necklace, she knelt down beside her daughter. "Would you like to know how to make them, Katara?" She asked tenderly, stroking her daughter's face. Nodding her face eagerly, Katara grabbed her apron and tied it behind her back.

After they had made the pie, though it wasn't as good as Kya's first one, Katara and Kya sat down on the large hammock behind her porch. "Katara, you know I have to go to be a soldier for our country, right?" Kya asked the small girl. "Well, your father and I might be gone a long time. You'll stay with your grandmother, and it won't be the same dear. I'm sorry. But you'll still have your best friend Kyochi, and your brother." She said, switching in between Hawaiian and English. Katara started to cry. "Mommy, I don't want you and daddy to go." She said, clutching her mother close. Kya smiled. "But we are mo'i, and we are royalty/leaders your father and I. and so are you and your brother. But no matter where I have to go, we'll always be family. And remember this, Katara. All of this is for you." She said, braiding Katara's hair. Katara looked at her mother. "What about Sokka?" She asked, feeling bad for her brother. Kya shook her head. "You two are my children, and I love you and your brother so much. But this- she said, showing her the dog tag she had hidden underneath her dress- is for you. I know you'll understand one day." Kya said, watching as Katara fell asleep.

A knock on the door broke them from their trance. Walking over to the door, Katara turned on the lights to the bakery. Unlocking it, she saw Sokka waiting outside. "What on Earth do you want, brother?" She asked, sort of irritated. It was getting to the good part! The movie, I mean.

Sokka blinked a couple times. He hadn't heard Katara speak any Hawaiian in years. Not since mom and dad left. "Please cook, Katara! I'm so hungry!" He whined, realizing that it had been just as long since he had spoken their native language.

Katara looked at her watch and groaned. "One of these days you'll learn to cook for yourself, brother. But Zuko is kono. I'll make a whole feast. Not quickly though." She said, excited at the idea of having a big dinner. Turning around, she smiled at the scarred boy. "What do you say, close friend? Are you hungry?"

OMG some of the sentences sounded painfully awkward in English. Bare with me, it's getting to the good part! Like, I'm seriously excited. Okay bye guys! Review if you liked it, review of you didn't!

R&R!