Katara sat on the forest floor, a multitude of fabric surrounding her. "You're honestly telling me you don't know how to sew?" she demanded, frowning at a slightly sheepish Suki.
"I'm a Kyoshi Warrior. Housekeeping isn't exactly in the requirements," the girl replied with a shrug as she looked over the piles that surrounded Katara. "If you really want me to try…" she offered, but Katara quickly cut her off.
"No thanks, Suki," she interrupted. Then, she sighed. "This is going to take forever," she muttered under her breath, glaring at the offending fabric.
Toph snorted. "Don't look at me," the girl said, raising her hands in the air. "Blind, remember?" she reminded the other girls, waving a dirty, calloused hand in front of her face for emphasis.
"I didn't ask you," Katara replied, wearily resigning herself to days of sewing. And nothing but sewing. Katara suppressed a shudder. Sokka's pants were bad enough, but this…
"Iroh might be able to help," Suki suggested from where she leaned against a tree.
"That old nut?" Toph replied, though not unkindly. "The old man was Prince of the fire nation. You think he'll be able to sew any more that Hot Shot can?"
"He doesn't seem spoiled," Suki defended herself. "And he can cook, so maybe…"
"Yeah, whatever Fan Girl," Toph muttered under her breath as she plopped to the ground and dug her toes deep into the dirt.
"We really need to work on your hygiene," Suki noted wryly, and Toph grinned as she burrowed her toes deeper into the earth.
"Nah, I'm fine."
"You're covered in dirt," Suki pointed out.
"I like to think of it as a healthy coating of my element," Toph retorted, and Suki sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Yes. Real healthy," the warrior replied dryly, and Katara sighed sharply.
"I'm trying to concentrate!" she exclaimed, and the bickering girls fell silent as they glanced over at the water bender uneasily.
"What is up with you, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Nothing."
Toph scratched at the inside of her ear, ignoring Suki's noise of disgust. "Listen, Sweetness, your vibrations are crazy today. What the hell happened back there?" the girl asked, wiping her finger on the front of her shirt. Katara grimaced.
"There was a raid! Duh!" Sokka exclaimed, butting into the conversation. "R-A-I-D. Raid. You know, when the fire bending jerks terrorize people?" Sokka said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he casually leaned against a nearby tree.
"Gee, I didn't know that," Toph replied dryly, and Sokka frowned.
"Well, I guess growing up so sheltered kind of dimmed your awareness to things," he noted, stroking his chin in a manner befitting a well versed scholar. He dropped his hand upon feeling two pairs of eyes boring into him, and hearing a sharp sigh from the blind girl. "What?"
"You're an idiot," Toph muttered, pushing herself off the ground and wiping her grimy hands on her already filthy tunic. "An absolute idiot," she grumbled to herself, shaking her head and walking back towards the fire.
"I'll have you know that I'm a…" Sokka shouted at Toph's retreating back, but was interrupted.
"Tactical genius," Zuko finished for him, smirking. "Yeah, we've all heard that one." Toph snickered, and Suki stifled a giggle.
Sokka glowered, and swung his gaze to his sister. "Aren't you going to defend me?"
Katara looked up from her sewing, a needle in her mouth. "Why?" she asked around the needle, managing to sound genuinely confused. Sokka threw his hands up in the air, and glanced over to the campfire.
"Are you going to make dinner?" he demanded, jerking his thumb to the empty pots.
Katara raised a brow. "Are you going to sew?"
Sokka's face became a mask of disgust. "Absolutely not," he replied vehemently, and Katara shrugged her shoulders before pushing the needle through the thread again.
"Then I guess I won't be able to cook for you," she replied simply, and Sokka whimpered. "If you want dinner, make it yourself."
"But I want meat."
"We have dried meat."
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Fresh meat," he replied, shaking his head as what he believed to be his little sister's stupidity.
Katara glanced up at him briefly. "So?"
"So!" Sokka exclaimed. "So! You're the one that catches all of the fish around here!"
"Your point?" Katara asked, this time not even bothering to look up.
"My point is that you need to get me my dinner."
"Why don't you try hunting?" Katara suggested, and Toph burst into laughter.
"Hunt? HIM?" she managed past her laughter, and Suki rolled her eyes and touched Sokka's arm in sympathy.
"For what? Groundnuts?" Aang joined in, and Sokka smacked his forehead with his hand.
"Always with the groundnuts! What's wrong with you people? They're perfectly nutritious and…"
"Just admit that you can't hunt," Toph said, and Sokka scowled.
"Never."
Iroh glanced over the children with a smile. "I have a wonderful idea," he said, exiting his tent and sparing a wink towards the girls, letting him know that he'd overheard the 'old nut' part of their conversation. "Why doesn't my nephew join you? Between the two of you, you must be able to snare something," he suggested.
Sokka's jaw went slack, and Zuko grimaced. "No," Zuko said simply, crossing his arms over his chest in defiance.
"I am not going anywhere with Angry Jerk!" Sokka exclaimed, drawing his boomerang as he glared at the exiled prince of the Fire Nation. Zuko casually brought daggers of flames to his hands, and lifted a brow as he glanced over the water tribe warrior.
Thankfully, Katara's voice cut through the tension. "I think that's a great idea," she noted, and Sokka whirled around to stare at her.
"What? You don't think I can hunt either?" he demanded, the pride in his voice masking the hurt. Katara sighed softly and shook her head.
"No. I think you're a perfectly capable hunter… in the South Pole. You're just not used to the flora and fauna of the Earth Kingdom. Zuko, on the other hand, is." She cast both boys a seemingly guileless smile. "Besides, the two of you need some bonding time."
"No." Sokka replied, glancing away. Katara quirked a brow upwards, and Sokka stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest.
"I said no, Katara." Sokka repeated, wilting a little under his sister's gaze.
"Don't look at me like that!" he demanded, and Katara continued to stare at him, one brow raised, as though she knew that he would give in eventually.
"I don't care how long you do that! There is no way in the Poles or the Spirit World that you'll get me to go anywhere with that guy!"
------
"How did she get me to go with you again?" Sokka asked gruffly, barely glancing at the teen beside him.
"She kicked your ass," Zuko replied smugly. "Pathetic."
"She kicked yours too," Sokka retorted, glaring at a speck of dirt on his hand and scraping it off with his nails.
Zuko winced a little, and resisted the urge to touch the back of his head, where the water whip had left its mark. It still stung like a wasp's sting, and he was pretty sure Sokka was having an equally hard time with his rear. "She's brutal."
"Yeah. She doesn't even give a guy warning to defend himself! I mean, how rude is that?" Sokka exclaimed, and Zuko nodded once in agreement.
"Very." The two boys glanced over each other warily, surprised that they agreed on something. Then, they both stubbornly locked their gazes on anything but the other.
"So… how'd a spoiled little princeling learn how to hunt?" Sokka asked after a time, his voice subtly mocking.
Zuko squared his shoulders, and glared at the water tribe warrior. "Uncle taught me," he replied, purposefully not rising to Sokka's bait. "How did a boy from the water tribe not learn how to hunt?"
"I did so! I can hunt turtle seals, penguins..." Sokka began, ticking the names of the creatures off on his grimy fingers.
"Penguins?" Zuko asked with a raised brow, barely glancing at the boy beside him.
"I'll have you know that those things move really fast!" Sokka exclaimed. "They're hard to get a good shot at!"
"They waddle," Zuko noted pointedly, and Sokka scowled.
"But fast!"
Zuko quirked a brow but said nothing, scanning the surrounding area for prey. Catching sight of a hare, Zuko crouched low, and motioned for Sokka to do the same. Zuko narrowed his eyes slightly, his attention focused solely on the rabbit's movements. He reached for one of the swords strapped to his back, never removing his eyes from his prey, when suddenly…
"I'll do it," Sokka whispered lowly as he walked forward, his boots crunching loudly over leaves and twigs, alerting the rabbit to their presence. The hare jumped out of range just as threw his boomerang, which became imbedded in a nearby tree.
"You're too loud," Zuko observed with a grimace as he stared at the spot that the hare had been in a few moments before.
"Am not," Sokka protested, stalking over to the tree angrily and jerking the boomerang. However, the weapon held fast, and it seemed that the harder Sokka pulled, the more wedged it became.
"It's because you're impatient," Zuko continued, eyeing the boy with distaste. "You need to be aware of all of your surroundings, and be willing to wait for the opportune moment."
"Yeah, yeah," Sokka replied, only hearing half of what Zuko said through his attempt to retrieve his boomerang. "Patience. Katara tells me that all the time," he added, his face screwing up as he pulled at the boomerang with all of his might. He released his hold with a breath, and then kicked the tree. "Let go of it, will you?" he demanded, kicking it again.
Zuko watched Sokka carefully, observing every insane action that the boy insisted on performing. Despite what his sister said, the young warrior was a fool. He sighed heavily, recalling his Uncle's face, his words on how good and potential rested in each individual. That it simply needed to be pushed to the surface in most cases. He could practically hear his uncle in his head, telling him to do the right thing.
Zuko rolled his eyes, but nevertheless made his way over to the boy. "Hunting is a lot like life, you know," Zuko said, "Sometimes, the harder you try to at something, and the more you want it, the easier it gets away from you." He stood beside Sokka at the tree, and looked down at the boomerang. "Sometimes, you just need to learn how to let some things get away." He tugged at the boomerang gently, and it fell into his grasp. "And sometimes, a little gentleness and patience does a lot more than anger and frustration can."
Sokka stared at Zuko, his face a mask of confusion, and then he smirked. "You heard that before, didn't you?"
"Uncle's told me the same thing many times. Except he related firebending to life, not hunting." Zuko looked down at the boomerang in his hands, and then over to the warrior standing beside him. "Try again," he said, holding the weapon out to Sokka.
Sokka eyed it, and stared at Zuko in surprise. He wasn't quite as stupid as everyone believed him to be. For instance, he knew that this was more that Zuko simply returning the boomerang that he cherished. This was Zuko, the banished prince of the Fire Nation, offering reconciliation.
If he couldn't get along with Zuko now, how could the rest of the world accept the occupants of the Fire Nation at the war's end? If the hatred between nations existed after Ozai's death, and after the end of the threat of the Fire Nation's militia, there would never be peace in this world. Reconciliation had to start somewhere.
Pushing his pride aside, Sokka accepted the boomerang with the slightest of smiles.
------\
Katara had been mildly surprised that the pair of weary, bedraggled young men had managed to catch anything. However, they had trudged into camp, and although they were covered in mud, each had a prize dangling from their hands. Zuko a rabbit and Sokka a bird. Not quite enough to feed everyone on, but enough to make a decent stew.
Katara pushed her sewing aside, stretching out muscles cramped from holding a needle and closing strained eyes. "Dinner time, I suppose," she said wearily, standing and making her way over to the pair. Iroh, however, intercepted her.
"Nonsense, my dear! You've been working all day. I'm sure that I can handle making some soup," Iroh said with a chuckle, taking Katara's elbow and gently but firmly guiding her over to her sleeping bag. "You must be tired. Why don't you take a nap?"
"I think that sounds like a great idea!" Sokka exclaimed with an exaggerated yawn, plopping down in the space beside his sister. "Hunting is hard work!"
"Teaching you is harder," Zuko replied blandly, and Iroh nudged his nephew with disapproval and Toph grinned, anticipating a fight. Aang winced on the expression on Toph's face and put his head in his hands.
"Here we go again," the avatar muttered, not daring to look at the two older boys.
To everyone's surprise, Sokka laughed. "When you're not experienced enough yourself!" Sokka replied, his arm over his head, a faint smile on his face.
"Excuse me?"
"Please! You missed that rabbit at least six times!"
"Because you made too much noise," Zuko retorted.
The mouths of everyone in the camp dropped as they looked between the two boys who had been mortal enemies several hours before. Katara propped herself up, glancing between the two. "What exactly happened out there?" she asked, her brow furrowed slightly.
Zuko shrugged and sat down, quickly closing himself off again. Katara's frown deepened, and she swung her gaze to her brother, who also shrugged. "We hunted."
"And?"
"We hunted," Sokka repeated, and Katara rolled her eyes before flopping back down onto her sleeping bag, muttering something about 'impossible, good for nothing brothers' under her breath as she did so.
Toph's face clouded, and she too frowned. "Does this mean you aren't going to fight?"
"Too tired," Sokka replied, and Zuko nodded slightly in agreement.
"What? You spend twelve hours with this guy and you're suddenly all buddy-buddy?" she demanded. "Come on! Your fights are what keep this place interesting! You can't back out on me now!" she exclaimed, and Sokka stared at her.
"Ah! Wimps, the lot of you!" Toph exclaimed, waving the boys off with her hand as she stalked back to her rock tent.
Iroh watched the girl go with a slight smile on his face and then turned to Aang. "Come, pupil. We should begin your firebending lessons," he said, and Aang frowned deeply.
"But you're cooking."
"Exactly," Iroh replied with a cheeky grin. "Firebending comes from the breath and the belly, and your belly needs to be full before you can firebend."
"Uh…" Aang's frown deepened and then he grinned. "Okay!" he exclaimed. "So, can I light the fire?" He asked as he ran over to Iroh.
"It is already lit," Iroh replied, gesturing to the roaring campfire. Aang's grin didn't waver.
"So, can you turn it out and then I'll light it? Please?"
Iroh chuckled. "Patience, young Avatar. Patience."
Katara grinned at the exchange, her eyes softening as she watched Aang's eagerness as he diced the vegetables. His hands moved quickly, and his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as it often did when he concentrated. Iroh patted the boy's back with encouragement, and Aang beamed up at him.
Aang really was a sweet child, although Katara could tell that he was beginning to grow up. Ever since Azula had stricken him with lightning, he'd been different. Sure, he was still Aang, but there was a subtle shift in his personality, and from remarks that she'd heard Toph make, she knew that she wasn't the only one to notice.
He was still childish, true, and ever optimistic, but there was a quiet assurance there that had been lacking before. And a sort of calm understanding, as though he now understood and accepted his role in the world, and had made peace with all that he had lost. It unnerved Katara to see him growing and changing before her eyes.
"You're staring, you know," Zuko said from beside her, and Katara jumped slightly when she realized that he had walked over to sit next to her without any prompting. Perhaps Aang wasn't the only one that was changing. Katara found that she couldn't reply to Zuko's observation, so she settled for a shrug.
Zuko remained silent, although he glanced over to where she sat from hooded lids. Sokka lay snoring from a few sleeping bags down, facing his sister in he sleep. Zuko hadn't quite realized the affection and the depth of love that the boy harbored for his sister until earlier that day. He wondered if Katara knew quite how lucky she was to have an entire family that cared… to have others that cared for her as well.
"Do you… have feelings for him?" Zuko asked, nodding his head towards the bald monk.
Katara smiled slightly as she watched Iroh attempt to teach him which spice was which, and her smile widened when she saw Aang scratch his bald head in confusion.
"He's like my brother," she said after some time, glancing over to Zuko warily. "Why?"
Zuko shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable and wishing that he had never initiated the conversation? Why had he, anyway? Because Katara looked lost and alone as she had several weeks before? Because her family looked out for their own and he wanted to be a part of it? The realization threw Zuko for a moment, and he closed his eyes briefly. Yes, that's what it was. Sokka had been different to him in the forest; had actually treated him like a brother in arms. And for the first time in a long time, he had felt…accepted.
"Zuko?" Katara asked, drawing the boy from his thoughts.
"Just curious," he replied with a slight shrug, covering his previous thoughts with nonchalance, as he often did.
Katara shook her head slowly. "No. I don't. One day, maybe, but…" she sigh softly, and glanced away. "I don't exactly want to jump into another relationship," she said, and Zuko frowned.
"Could I ask you something?" At Katara's nod, Zuko continued. "The guy who hurt you…how badly was he injured after your brother got through with him?"
Katara laughed softly, although the sound came out somewhat strangled. "Sokka didn't really get a chance to go after him. When it first happened, I froze him to a tree, and later on, when I actually started to trust him again… The Dai Lee killed him." Katara shook her head slightly to try and shake the memory of his body, bruised and battered from her mind. Of the trademark smirk that had accompanied a grimace of pain; a gently smile aimed solely at her.
"I'm sorry," Zuko replied, his voice genuine.
"That's Jet for you. Suave, charming, horribly conceited, and totally unpredictable. He went to Ba Seng Se to try to have a fresh start, and he winds up in the same boat he was before: killing. But this time…" she sighed softly and shook her head.
"Jet? The Freedom Fighter?" Zuko asked, the name ringing so many bells in his head that he was dizzy.
Katara frowned and turned to Zuko, giving the boy her full attention. "Yeah. Did you know him?"
Zuko smiled humorlessly. "He tried to kill me."
Katara sighed. "Sounds like him," she replied, staring back into the flames, absently kneading the sore muscles in her hands.
When Zuko took one of her hands into his, he was every bit as surprised as she was. He saw her eyes widen, and he repressed the urge to cringe. "I can do that better," he explained lamely, his voice gruff with embarrassment.
Katara glanced from his eyes to her hand and back again. Then, she nodded stiffly, biting her lower lip, the situation growing tenser by the moment. Zuko raised the temperature of his hands slightly, and massaged Katara's, unable to meet her eyes and kicking himself for acting on impulse.
After a moment, however, Katara relaxed and gave Zuko the smallest of smiles. She decided that she liked this side of him: the spur of the moment, kind hearted boy whom she had only glimpsed briefly through Zuko's stoic façade. "Thanks…Zuzu," she said, her voice as warm as his hands.
A corner of Zuko's lips turned upwards slightly at the nickname, and he suddenly decided that he didn't mind it quite so much as he used to.
"Don't worry about it, Kaya."
------
Sorry about the time between updates. Between taking care of three kids, art school, and working, writing's been kind of put on the back burner.
I know Zuko was completely OOC this chapter, but I'm still struggling horribly with his character. As always, feedback is extremely appreciated. Let me know what you liked, what you hated, and what I can improve on. After all, it is your reviews that shape the chapters!
Sandra