A/N: Again with the slowing down of reviews! Honestly, you guys. I'm putting a lot of effort into this story and I'm really disappointed by the lack of response. Need I remind you that I take questions and even plot suggestions?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but any original characters you might run across.

Shaping Destiny

By: RupertLover09

Summary: Destiny is a funny thing, you never know how things are going to work out… Things change and people change.

Chapter Ten: Angst

Recap:

"Aang…Zuko and I have something we need to tell you."

Katara's words echoed too loudly in the room, ripping her apart as they bounced back to her ears. At that moment, all she wanted to do was run and hide; all she wanted was to leave the situation untold. She'd seen Aang hurt so many times, a few of those times she had been the one hurting him. Never had she been able to cope with the anguish that filled his face and glinted at her through his eyes. She always felt obligated to apologize or fix her wrongdoing. Katara didn't know how Aang was going to take the news and that was what worried her most. The hand Zuko had placed on her shoulder tightened momentarily as if the firebender was lending her the support she so desperately needed at that point. She leaned into his side, closing her eyes and breathing deeply as his arm slipped around her shoulders. Warmth invaded her veins and the scent of burning wood and something else entirely Zuko flooded her nose.

Aang was looking at them innocently when Katara opened her eyes. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration. She really didn't want to have to say it. Couldn't the airbender just infer what she was trying to say from how she and Zuko were standing? She knew for a fact he wasn't stupid. Maybe he was just too innocent.

The Avatar scratched his bald head as he waited for her to continue speaking.

Swallowing hard, Katara opened her mouth. "You left," she stated. "You left and you didn't even bother writing to tell me you were okay, not once. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

"I was trying to promote peace," Aang said insistently. "I was really busy!"

Katara shook her head. "You pushed me to the side, Aang. Just because I didn't want to be with you in that way, you got childish and you ran."

"Because I didn't know why! I was trying to give you what I thought you wanted because I thought we were in love!"

The arm around Katara's shoulders tightened considerably and Zuko's hand grew warmer. Placing a calming hand atop her firebender's and feeling the heat die down a little bit, Katara frowned at Aang. "You honestly thought that?"

"How could I not? We always said it!"

"Really, Aang? We always said it?" Katara was ashamed of the disdain that filled her voice, but now that it was out in the open, she couldn't take it back. Biting her lip, Katara shrank into Zuko's side.

Slowly, ever so slowly, comprehension dawned on Aang's boyish face. "You never said it back!" he exclaimed, accusation ringing out in his voice.

"I do love you-" she began.

"Then how come you never said it?!"

"Because the way I love you isn't the way you want me to love you!" Katara said, exasperated. "I kept telling and telling you that I wasn't sure, Aang, and you kept pressuring me to be with you! Did you think that I would just go along with it? I felt so obligated; like I had no choice but to be with you because every time I tried to tell you how I felt, you sent me on a guilt trip!"

"Then how come you never said anything?" Aang shouted.

Katara noticed Zuko's back become perfectly straight as he stiffened next to her. "Don't raise your voice to her, Aang," he growled.

"This doesn't concern you!" Aang rounded on Zuko. "I don't even know why you're here!"

"This concerns me more than you know." Zuko's voice was low and as exasperated as Katara's. "And I have every right to be here."

The airbending monk scowled at the older male and turned back to Katara. "Tell him to leave," he demanded. "Our relationship doesn't concern him."

Katara stepped unwillingly but necessarily out of Zuko's protective grasp, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare tell me what to do. I have spent the past two years doing everything you've asked of me and helping you save the world. Don't you think it's time you listened to me? I never said anything because I knew you wouldn't listen; you still aren't."

Aang stared at her, his mouth agape.

"You left, Aang. You left and I was free to do with my emotions as I pleased. But even when you were gone I felt guilty; I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I still don't. But I know that I can't avoid it." Katara turned and held out a hand to Zuko. He looked somber yet angry, but his amber eyes softened when they met hers. He slipped his hand into hers, their fingers intertwining. Katara looked back at Aang; understanding was slowly sinking into his mind and he looked hurt and enraged. "Zuko and I went to find his mother. I can't really explain what happened or how I feel, but…I'm happy." She smiled up at the Fire Lord and his crooked trademark grin flitted over his face.

"Well that's great," Aang spat, fury twisting his features. "Thanks for leading me on and then betraying me, Katara." Her name oozed out of his mouth coated in venom. "It makes me feel so much better than you're happy with…with…him."

Wind was swirling violently around the room. Katara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder, worry marring her face. "Aang-"

The infuriated Avatar shrugged her hand from his shoulder. "I'm leaving," he growled, sprinting from the room. The large wooden doors slammed behind him with a last powerful gust of wind.

Almost instantly, guilt crowded into the waterbender's mind and she bowed her head dejectedly. She hadn't meant to hurt him so horribly. She hadn't meant to lead him on; she'd just meant to give him what he'd wanted. Tears blurred her vision and she buried her face in Zuko's chest, hands fisting his red and gold tunic as she tried to fight back the sobs that were trying to tear their way out of her throat. The firebender's arms enveloped her in a protective, loving embrace.

"I hurt him so horribly…" Katara choked out. She sank to the cool, marble floor and Zuko sank with her, pulling her into his lap.

"It's going to be okay, Katara."

One of the traitorous sobs managed to escape her mouth, followed in quick succession by more. Tears rolled hotly down her cheeks, soaking through the material of Zuko's shirt, salty as they slipped past her lips and down her chin. Never before had Katara felt so guilty. She didn't understand how, even after she had tried to spare his feelings, Aang could still try to send her off on a guilt trip and succeed.

Zuko's calloused hands rubbed small circles on her back and he murmured nonsensical words of comfort in her ear as she sobbed harder into his chest. She didn't know how long she cried. Time ceased to mean much of anything after her tears worsened. When she pulled away, Zuko's voice had long since faded into nothingness and the moon was high in the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

The raven haired boy shook his head, wiping a stray tear away from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Don't apologize, Katara."

Katara sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the junction of his neck and shoulder. "Thank you, Zuko," she murmured.

Zuko pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Are you okay?"

"I will be."

Toph sat outside of her rock tent, bored and lonely. She didn't know why she'd followed Aang when he stormed out of the throne room; she didn't know why she'd gone with him when he'd packed his things and gotten on Appa; she didn't know why she'd tried talking to him when he'd only shut her out; she didn't know why she cared so much.

And she didn't know why she was so secretly pleased that the airbender was officially single.

A week had come and gone since Katara had spilled the beans. Toph had heard her best friend's speech and had to admit that she'd been impressed. Sweetness could really deliver one hell of a speech when she wanted to. She'd be a great candidate for Fire Lady if she could speak like that to the people of the Fire Nation. Not that Sparky would let any other girl be Fire Lady; he seemed pretty serious about Sweetness.

Toph didn't know where she and Twinkle Toes were right now. He hadn't told her where they were headed, and she had a feeling he hadn't even known. The soil beneath her didn't feel like that of the Earth Kingdom and there was definitely no snow. This left her only option to be the Fire Nation; but if she was on an island or the mainland, the blind earthbender wasn't quite sure.

Just like she wasn't quite sure where Baldy had gotten off to. He'd just up and disappeared out of her range of sight this morning and hadn't been anywhere near it since. He was probably brooding in some remote corner of the forest they were in. Toph let him be. It was his business if he wanted to mope around or not; she wasn't going to interfere. He needed time to sort his feelings out and to stop being so volatile. She'd never seen him quite so angry.

Appa was somewhere to her left, at least fifty paces away and asleep by the sound of his loud breathing. Momo was curled up at her side, chattering every so often. Toph wondered the last time either animal had been bathed; they reeked.

A loud screech and the distinct sound of a bird landing on a log across the way knocked Toph back to the real world. By the sound of its call, the bird was a messenger hawk. Toph frowned, wondering if it was Sparky or Sweetness sending messages from the palace. She got up from her spot by her earth tent and wandered over to the bird. It squawked at her as she groped for the canister on its back.

"Oh, shut up," she mumbled to the disgruntled bird, opening the canister and pulling the scroll from inside. The ribbon tied around it felt familiar, and that meant it was probably Katara's. Toph clumsily reattached the lid to the canister and shooed the bird away. It disappeared with a rustle of wings and Toph crossed back over to her tent, feeling for the edge of the paper scroll. She found it and ran her hand along the seam, looking for the seal that accompanied the ribbon, something that Katara had done for the past year so that Toph would know if the missive was from her or not. Upon finding the wax, Toph traced the pattern and her mouth set into a grim line. It was from Sugar Queen sure enough. The pattern in the wax was the imprint of the pendant on the waterbender's necklace.

Toph placed the scroll beside herself and sat back to wait for Twinkle Toes to get back to camp.

Katara still wasn't back to normal, as was obvious to anyone with eyes. Zuko had eyes so he knew to let her be. He could tell her heart was healing from the beating Aang's words had given it. She was hardly ever free from the confines of her room and her eyes were dull. Zuko let the waterbender take her time; he was in no hurry. He knew that the more healed she was when she finally was ready to come back to their relationship, the better it would be for the both of them. It wasn't that they weren't together -they were- it was that Katara simply wasn't healed so Zuko had insisted they take a short break until she was better. She had reluctantly agreed.

"I'm sorry I'm not myself," she'd said, her eyes downcast. Then, she'd looked at him, her eyes seeming to pierce right through him to his soul. Behind the sorrow she harbored in her blue orbs was something directed at him that was so powerful it had sent his heart into overdrive. "I really care about you."

"It's okay. I understand. You don't have to keep apologizing to me. I…I care about you, too."

Together, the pair had penned a letter to Aang, expressing their apologies and explaining the things they hadn't gotten to before he had stormed out of the palace. Katara had sealed it with wax and tied a blue ribbon around the tightly wound scroll and Zuko had personally sent the letter, making sure he chose the fastest of messenger hawks. He'd added his own postscript to the letter, asking Aang to quit blaming Katara for what had transpired. The young lord had graciously offered to take all of the blame his airbending companion wanted to place upon Katara's shoulders.

It was the weekend, and Zuko had strictly ordered the servants to let Katara sleep the day away if she chose to do. He had an important meeting to attend to and would check in upon her himself when he got out.

Zuko looked up as the two Fire Sages who had requested the meeting entered his study. "Juro, Weizhe," he said, nodding at the elderly men.

Aang traipsed back into camp to see Toph lounging against her earth tent and bending her meteorite bracelet. The black rock glimmered dully in the dying sunlight.

"Hey, Twinkle Toes," she said, bending the bracelet back onto her wrist. "Nice to have you back. I was getting kinda bored."

"Hi, Toph," Aang replied, sitting down across from her. She reached over and placed something by his knees. When she settled back into her place, he examined the item and sighed deeply. A scroll sat perfect and innocent on the ground in front of him. Katara's seal and one of her blue ribbons bound it together; that made it not so perfect and innocent. Across the way, Toph was picking at her teeth. She stared at him through sightless eyes. Eyes that he had long ago noticed were probably supposed to be green.

"I can read it for you if you want, Twinkle Toes," she offered.

Aang laughed weakly. "I wish you could."

"I could always make something up. Say whatever it is you want to hear."

"That Katara doesn't really like Zuko and that she was wrong and she loves me?" Aang said, bitterly. He missed the disappointed and hurt look that crossed his companion's face. "I wouldn't even try to believe you, Sifu Toph. Just…do me a favor and keep it until I'm ready to read it, would you? I'm going to find something for dinner." He handed her the scroll.

She sighed and nodded, tucking the scroll into her obi. "Sure thing, Twinkle Toes."

Aang smiled grimly and headed off into the forest. He needed some more alone time.

Matters of the Heart

MotH is my brand-new Avatar fic! It's a Zutara fic, and it's going to be amazing, so check it out! I think you'll really like it.

Preview

"They can't possibly want you to step down from the throne!" Katara exclaimed. "You've done so much good for the Fire Nation!"

Zuko grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He could feel a headache coming on.

"What do you have to do to keep it?"

"They're still deliberating," he ground out. "Whatever it is probably won't be pleasant."

Katara snorted in a decidedly unladylike way and wrenched the door of her bedroom open.

"Katara, where are you going?"

"To give those jerks a piece of my mind!"

The Shaping Destiny Playlist

Theme Song: "Everything" by Lifehouse
1. "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch
2. "The Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin
3. "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin
4. "So I Thought" by Flyleaf
5. "Faint" by Linkin Park
6. "Just Friends" by Jonas Brothers
7. "Lovebug" by Jonas Brothers
8. "You Had Me from Hello" by Kenny Chesney
9. "A Little Bit Longer" by Jonas Brothers
10. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance
11. "Everybody" by Keith Urban

And the celebration continues!

One more chapter this weekend a double update for my birthday on Wednesday. Don't forget that the 100th reviewer gets a Zutara drabble series, so review and you might win! Help me celebrate how far this story has come! As of now you've read more than 30,000 words and they seem to keep flowing out of my brain. We're incredibly close to 100 reviews and we're nearly to 6,000 hits. Let's keep this celebration alive! Review and tell any friends you think might want to join in on the celebration.

95 Reviews Reached!

We've reached 95 reviews, and the winner of the Zutarian one-shot is Harlequin Jade. I should have that one-shot posted as soon as she tells me what she wants to see in said one-shot.

Any artists out there?

Hey, so if you're an artist, you know what I would love? I'd love to see your interpretation of the story, be it a scene, a chapter, a moment…whatever. If you've got a deviantart account or if you just want to send me an email with a drawing you've done of something from Shaping Destiny, let me know. I'll post a link in my profile if you've got a D.A. account and you draw something and let me know you've done so. I love seeing how people see things happening in my stories, and this one is no different. As an incentive, I'll pick a winner and write a Zutara one-shot for them.