Thanks for the reviews!

Oh, and in this story, Azulon is NOT Ozai's blood father and Iroh and Ozai are not blood related.


The two teenagers had been avoiding each other for the past two days, Zuko had been quite okay with it whereas Katara on the other hand was about ready to lose her mind. It wasn't so much that he wasn't talking to her, it was more the fact that nobody could talk to her. She needed companionship and at this moment she really did miss her brother terribly. She sat on her bed and leaned back against the fluffy pillows with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her chin nestled in the ditch made from her knees and she stared towards the end of the bed without really seeing it.

The girl was not exactly thinking about anything in particular, she was having one of those moments teenagers have when they just wander away, not fully aware of what is going on around them, but also forgetting their thoughts seconds after they think them. Sort of like a deep waking dream is what she was in, and she gently began to rock back and forth, her unseeing eyes never leaving their spot at the end of the bed, and never once did she allow herself to blink.

Something was eating away at the outskirts of her mind and she knew she was forgetting or not thinking about something. But what? Her hand unconsciously went up to push a strand of hair out of her face. The involuntary action seemed to bring her back down to Earth for she finally allowed her eyelids to blink, and her eyes began to wander as they grew bored with having to stare at the end of the bed while Katara was dreaming.

Oh! She slapped her forehead and a laugh escaped her throat. It's my birthday today! If she had counted the days correctly... She went back mentally, counting the days that had passed since she had been kidnapped. Yes, she was right, today she turned sixteen. Who knew... the thought went unfinished mentally. Who knew one year ago that she would end up in this situation? Kidnapped, alone with Mr. I-Couldn't-Smile-Once-Even-If-My-Life-Depended-On-It on an island for at least three more weeks. Her mother was dead, murdered- Katara shuddered and shook the image of her mother's bloody body from her mind. She didn't want to cry anymore, she didn't want to revisit the past and have to relive that horrifying moment that she knew had scarred her for life.

Before she was completely withdrawn from the memory though, she could not help the one little tear that slipped from her eyes. She wiped it away after it had traveled halfway down her cheek then stood up. This was much too depressing. She would rather the boy yell at her again then sit alone in this room another minute.

It was early in the evening, maybe five or six o' clock, Katara didn't know, she hadn't checked. Her alarm clock she had long since given up on as it would only blink the same time all day. She stood up and made her way across the floor towards the door and peeked out before she stepped into the hallway.

The boy was nowhere to be seen. She never knew where he went in the afternoons. His daily routine seemed to be wake up, drink tea, train, then disappear for a few hours, and turn up again in the evening scowling just as much as he was when he left. Katara wondered if he ever left the island during the times of his absence. Maybe he has a boat somewhere on the island... The thought was a fleeting one, she knew the possibility was very slim indeed but it gave her an excuse to get out of the house and explore the beach.

Katara returned to her room and looked in the closet for something to wear besides sweats. She found a pretty simple white dress, it was strapless and came down to her knees, opening in a loose skirt. She smiled, this would be a nice birthday present to herself. Once she had it on she looked in the mirror and took her long brown hair out of its ponytail, watching as it splashed down onto her shoulders then fell past them to her hips. Silently, she was grateful that the girl who lived here before her wore the same size as she did. Then she made her way quickly out the door and down stairs to the kitchen.

...

Once the sweet salty sea air kissed her face, Katara closed her eyes and smiled; silently grateful she was so blessed as to be able to visit this little piece heaven, even if the circumstances were those that they were.

She stood atop a dune facing the vast and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful azure ocean. This time as she gazed upon the ancient beauty, it seemed even more amazing than the first time. The hostage chuckled softly as she thought that maybe it was just her being sentimental due to her older age. Whatever... she though carelessly, it was beautiful day, the sky was absolutely clear and cloudless, the weather was deliciously hot, and the sand felt like warm weightless clouds beneath her feet.

How long she stood there, with her arms spread eagle style as she let the warm summer breeze pat her cheeks and play with her loose chocolate tresses, she didn't know, nor did she care. Her heart longed to share this moment with someone, anyone.

After what could've been minutes, seconds, or hours later, Katara opened her eyes and sighed. A perfect day, but she was all alone. Sadly, she put one hand on her other arm in front of her and turned to walk down the beach. The playful breeze accompanied her, teasing her hair or tugging at the skirt of her dress.

...

Hakoda had checked into a motel somewhere in downtown Los Angeles, just as he was settling in a knock came at the door. Immediately, he was on his guard as he was not expecting anyone and it was too early for maid service.

"Who is?" he asked reaching into back pocket for reassurance.

"It's me," came the youthful reply of-

"Sokka?" Hakoda hurried to the door and threw it open to see his first born son standing there, his hands in his pockets and his face set in an unusually serious expression. "What are you-,"

"We need to talk dad." He said firmly in a tone Hakoda recognized as one the boy had inherited from his father.

The older man frowned but then moved out of the way for his son to enter. "Why did you follow me?"

He asked once Sokka was inside and the door was once again closed and locked securely. The boy ignored the question as he pulled out a chair and sat then turned to face his father. "Who kidnapped us? And why?" he asked in a voice that meant the question could not be brushed aside.

Hakoda sighed. He'd tried to keep his past secret from his family, only Karena had known anything about it for he was so ashamed of everything he had done. But now as his son watched him with those big inquiring blue eyes, he knew he had to come clean finally and tell him everything. So he sat down, his fingers pushed his dark brown hair back and he faced Sokka, "It's a long story son."

"Tell me." The boy demanded. Any other time, Hakoda would have scolded Sokka for speaking to him in such a way. But this time, he only sighed again and began his narrative.

"A long time ago, when I was a boy, my parents were killed in a plane crash. I was only six, maybe seven years old then. I was sent to an orphanage and I hated it there. I never did quite fit in, for years I was looked down upon, scolded by the nuns bullied constantly by the other bigger orphans until finally I couldn't take it anymore, I ran away."

Sokka moved as to get more comfortable in his chair and Hakoda paused to look at his son. He never thought he would ever have to tell this to him, but then Hakoda knew by now that the future is never certain. He continued on.

"For weeks, I stole food and money to keep myself alive, often sleeping on the streets or in overcrowded shelters. Then one night, When I was maybe eleven years old, I was caught stealing food from a homeless man. The man was drunk and smoking a joint of weed and he had reeked so much when he lifted me by my shirt, threatening to break every bone in my body..."

...The man's rancor breath fell like poison against young Hakoda's skin, making his eyes water unpleasantly. The man was hideous, his rags were greasy and dirty from years of being worn and never washed, his face detestably unkempt and covered in dirt and grime. The man's eyes were stained red and yellow from all the smoking and drinking he had done in his life, and now, they were glazed over as he threatened Hakoda.

"You little puke, think you can steal from me and get away with it? No siree, I'll break every bone in that pathetic little body, I'll hurt you so bad you'll wish you'd never been born!" His laugh cackled disgustingly from his throat and Hakoda got the feeling along with fright that this man had lost his wits years ago.

The man threw him to the ground and kicked the boy in the side before he was able to get up and run away. Hakoda folded over and the man laughed even more maniacally and continued to kick him, enjoying the feeling of now having influence over one after so long of being the lowest of beings on the Oakland food chain.

"You gonna steal from me now boy?! Huh?! HUH?!! HUU-," THUMP! Followed by the loud THUD of human flesh hitting the ground. Hakoda uncurled from his protective ball, trembling like mad and he looked up to see not the gross homeless man towering over him, but a boy about his age, looking down at him with a smirk at his lips.

The boy was holding a metal tube and Hakoda looked at the piled of rags that was the hobo and saw blood forming a puddle around his head. He trembled even more as he looked at the boy, not sure whether to trust him or not, but then he extended his hand towards Hakoda in a gesture of friendship. He took it, and the boy pulled him up.

"Thanks." He mumbled as he uselessly wiped the dirt from his already dirty clothes.

"You looked like you needed some help," the boy's voice cracked a little more than his own, a sign that he was close to puberty. When Hakoda faced him he sized the boy up and knew he was doing the same. The boy was taller than him by a few inches, he was also built to be a big man when he grew up though now he was still just a skinny preteen. He had golden eyes such that Hakoda had never seen before and they almost scared him. His skin could have been very pale but he couldn't tell as he was coated in a layer of dirt.

"You an orphan?" the boy asked after a moment of studying him. Hakoda nodded. "Same." The boy replied. He never said how his parents died and Hakoda never asked. "I'm Ozai."

"Hakoda."

... "And after that, we became close as if we were brothers. We looked out for each other always," Hakoda chuckled at the distant memory. "Well, it was more him watching back and making sure I never got hurt or killed. But he helped me survive, without him I would surely be dead.

"Then came the day we were both around fifteen years old or so, we met Azulon. It was an accident really, we walked right into the middle of a drug exchange. We were lucky, Azulon seemed drawn to us, he had a son but the boy was a chronic daydreamer despite his best efforts to turn him into the leader he wanted him to be. So he adopted both me and Ozai."

Hakoda paused here and frowned as he remembered his days living with Azulon. "I think he only wanted to adopt Ozai, the only reason he took me in as well is because of Ozai," he shook his head. "Anyway, he taught us the ways of gang life, and we, Ozai and I, both loved it. Gangsters could do whatever they wanted to do, go where they wanted to go, nothing and no one could stop them or tell them what to do. And everyone was so afraid of us, we never got in trouble and if we did we easily were able to get ourselves out. We loved that power and that freedom."

Hakoda now stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he shamefully remembered the things he's done. "Neither Ozai nor I knew our birthdays, so we made it the day we were adopted. Around our twenty-first birthday, Azulon was killed by one of his rivals. Shot six times in the chest. After that, Ozai naturally took over. We both knew Azulon favored him over me but I didn't care so much, Ozai seemed to take to the game better than I did."

He paused and took a breath before continuing again. "For ten years, Ozai was the leader of the gang, he took over more territory than Azulon ever did and became the most powerful gangster in Oakland and possibly even the West Coast. And I was his first in command, almost his partner though I took orders from him and he took orders from no one. For ten years we ruled as the two most powerful men in California. Then came that day I would never forget, the day I decided I to leave my old lifestyle behind and change for the better." He smiled and Sokka knew the day he was talking about. "I was in my car, driving around just to get away from my hectic life for a while. And that's just how i met her..."

... Hakoda had left the gang for the day, he hadn't told anybody where he was going or that he was going, he only woke up early in the morning and decided he wanted to take a very long drive. So he decided to go out to the countryside, the part of California that was rolling golden hills, endless blue skies, and soaring oak trees. The part of California where a man was able to breath.

He had come to his favorite place, atop a hill on the side of the road where he was at the edge of a valley. He'd discovered it on one of his escapades as he was driving down to Morro Bay. He had taken a different route this time going the longer way so as to experience more countryside. What he found had been so incredibly breathtaking he had stopped his car just to stare.

The road sat on a cliff, below it stretched a valley of lush green hills and giant clusters of trees stretching away until they stopped somewhere in the horizon and there sat the ocean so far away one would have though it was a part of the sky were not the setting sun reflecting off of it, creating a brilliant display of warm hues of violets, crimsons, corals and yellows.

Now he sat on the hood of his car and watched the display all over again, this time it seemed all the more magnificent than the last.

"Amazing isn't it?" the voice had caused him to jump and he turned around quickly to see a woman, maybe in her mid to late twenties, looking out towards the sunset just as he had. How could he not have her heard her drive up? Then he noticed the bike parked behind her and he slapped himself mentally. Oh...

"Yes it is," he said and his eyes moved from the bike to her face. As they did so, his eyes widened and he forgot how to breathe. Never had he beheld a face so flawlessly perfect, with her tanned skin, big blue eyes and long chocolate brown hair, he knew then and there that she was the reason why he had wanted so much to come there that day. Silently, he thanked his instincts for being right this once. The woman noticed him staring at her and she took her gaze from the horizon to look at him.

"What?" she asked with a smile at those perfectly shaped lips.

Hakoda found himself blushing like a love-struck teenage boy and he looked away quickly. "Sorry," he murmured. "When I saw you I just-," he stopped embarrassed with what he had been about to say but the woman only smiled more and approached him.

"You what?" she asked in a curious tone. "You can tell me I won't laugh."

Hakoda looked at her again. "I thought that..." he blushed again and the woman came closer so that she was only a few feet away from him.

"Yes?" her voice was like music, or maybe it was just him. He didn't know or care, it was a beautiful sound either way.

"I thought you were an angel." Cursing himself for how incredibly stupid he sounded, Hakoda blushed again and even more when he heard the woman giggle. "You said you wouldn't laugh," he complained slightly hurt that she was amused by his feelings.

She shook her head and covered her mouth to stifle her giggles. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you," she said apologetically. He looked at her again and saw that she really was sorry, and she was still smiling at him. He couldn't help but match her smile. "What's your name?" she asked folding her arms across her chest.

"Hakoda."

She tasted the name on her tongue. "Hakoda..." she nodded as if in approval. "I'm Karena."

... "After that day, I would drive everyday, three hours to that very spot at sunset just to see her again," he chuckled softly at the memory of his late wife. "I fell in love with her that day."

"Everyday we met, we talked more about ourselves and our lives, I felt so comfortable around her, I found myself telling her all about me, even the part about me being a gangster. She was mad at me after I told her, and she stopped coming for then next few days. But I kept returning hoping she would forgive me. And she did come back, but this time, she took me on a drive with her to show me just what it was my gang had done to the city." Hakoda shook his head at the painful memory. "She took me to a rehabilitation center, and to an orphanage. More than half of the children there could not live with their parents because they became addicted to drugs. Then she took me to the hospital and I saw firsthand what happened to children whose mothers had done drugs while they were in the womb.

"I had never felt so horrible in my life, after the trip, I promised her that I would try to get out of the game for good." The memory of the night he had told Ozai he wanted out returned to him and he shivered involuntarily. "I brought the subject up to Ozai during a drug exchange but he dismissed it and said we would talk later. Later never came. Little did we know, the client we were trading with was an undercover detective. He had been on mine and Ozai's trail for two years and now he finally caught us. I was able to escape, but that meant leaving Ozai behind.

"After I left, I claimed a new identity, I never existed in papers because I lived on the streets as a child and Azulon never legally adopted me. So I became Hakoda Long, an immigrant from Malaysia, and I had a fresh start, a chance to start all over from sctratch. When I left, I had taken three hundred thousand dollars in drug money, I went to college, I married your mother and I really thought I had left my old life behind me," he shook his head sadly as he remembered crying over Karena's lifeless form. "I never anticipated any of this happening." He looked at Sokka and saw that his son's eyes were wide and shining with tears. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart Sokka. This is all because of me and I will fix it I promise."

At first, Sokka didn't say or do anything. Then he got up and hugged his dad round the neck. "And I'll help you dad. You're not alone in this."

A few tears squeezed their way out of Hakoda's closed eyes and he smiled softly.

...

The sun was beginning to set in the horizon and Zuko decided it was time for him to return to the house. He always enjoyed coming out here to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the ocean. It helped him to relax, to unwind and meditate, to forget that there was a crazy captive awaiting him when he returned. Actually they had been doing a great job ignoring each other and Zuko was quite okay with it. The flaming feeling from their last encounter had faded away and Zuko told himself it was gone completely, though he was still very afraid of running into the girl again.

As he turned down the beach the wind played with his hair, teasing it across his face and in his eyes and he pushed his hair back thinking somewhere in the back of his mind that it was about time to cut it. When he looked up again, his heart stopped in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat.

Only a few meters away from him there walked a beautiful creature along the beach. She was wearing a white dress and her long brown tresses were tossed to the side with the wind. Her lips held a small smile as in her eyes he saw a far away distant look as if she were remembering something pleasant.

Zuko's eyes widened as he realized it was the girl he was keeping captive. What the hell?! He didn't remember her being this beautiful! Or perhaps he did, but it was not all in his face the way it is now.

The girl turned her gaze away from the ocean sunset, and her eyes settled on him. Zuko felt himself blush and he hoped he was too far away for her to see it. The he saw her smile again. What is with her? As she made her way towards him Zuko wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to run, to hide to get away before she reached him, but at the same time, he wanted even more to see her closer, to talk to her, to hear her talking to him, to see her smile as she looked at him...

"Hi," he almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice, he didn't remember her getting this close to him.

"Uh, I mean um..." he blushed and this time he turned away and let the wind blow his hair in front of his face so that she didn't see it.

The he heard her laugh. It was like music to his ears, he didn't know if it was really like that or if it was just him, nor

he didn't care, he liked it either way. "Sorry," he murmured just loud enough so it was barely audible to her ears.

"For what?" she asked, curiosity dripping heavily in her voice.

Zuko tried hard not to look at her but he couldn't resist, despite how hard he had been trained to avoid temptation, he was never taught what to do if he was caught in this particular kind of situation.

"I- uh, I just... um," he blushed, and she pressed.

"What? You can tell me I promise I won't laugh at you."

As her amazingly blue eyes bore into his he found himself drowning in her gaze. "I thought you were an angel," he said quietly then he forced his eyes shut so that he was no longer under the spell she had cast upon him. But he knew it was too late, all she had to do was get him to look at her.

Then he heard her giggle. "You said you wouldn't laugh," his voice and tone were involuntarily very teenage boyish and he almost slapped himself despite the fact that he still was a teenage boy and he was allowed to sound like one.

"I'm sorry, no I didn't mean to laugh at you," she said and he opened his eyes to see that she truly was sorry, and she was still smiling at him. Why was she smiling at him?! "What's your name?" she asked suddenly and he remembered they didn't even know each other's names.

"Zuko," he said, not sure why he just answered her when he really should be dragging her back to the house. But something made him linger and he didn't know what it was.

"Zuko..." she said his name as if she were tasting it on her tongue. Then she nodded in approval. "I'm Katara."

The sound of her musical voice sent shivers up his spine and he tried hard not to let it show. He cleared his throat. "We have to get back to the house now," he said fixing his face into the same stoic expression he had taken so many years trying to perfect.

She nodded, "in a few more minutes." Then she turned back to face the ocean, and the setting sun.

Zuko, much to his own surprise, didn't disagree. He didn't scowl that she didn't listen to him immediately, and he wasn't mad that she had just undermined his authority. What the hell?! The fact that he wasn't getting mad, was starting to make him mad, but then a part of him took his angry self and stomped it out. He looked at the girl again, she had closed her eyes and was now facing the ocean with her eyes closed and a smile at her lips, the setting sun dyed her dress all the colors of the sunset and he once again found himself breathless and blushing like mad.

The sun was halfway into the ocean and he took her shoulder as to wake her from her trance. But she was already fully aware of him standing beside her and she wasn't startled the way he expected her to be. Instead, she raised her finger to him as to keep him mouth shut and shook her head. "I'm sixteen today, let me enjoy this." With that, she waded into the water until the hem of her dress barely grazed the surface of the water.

As he watched her, he began to doubt his logical train of though, from her amazing silhouette on the sun and her exotically beautiful features, he was sure his father made him kidnap an angel, and he was now beginning to fall for her.

Beginning? Zuko, you already-

Shut it.

But he knew the voice was right and he almost didn't like it. Almost. She had gotten to him.

When the sun had finally disappeared into the ocean, Katara waded back to the beach, her dress was a little wet from the sprays of the water, and the little droplets on her bare skin added to her angelic appearance. As she approached him, Zuko felt something down below his waistline and his eyes widened as he prayed she didn't look down.

"Are you done? We really need to go now," hints of his old impatient self returned with the need to jump into a cold shower.

Katara didn't answer, she only smiled and upon reaching him, she stood up on her tip toes and planted a small kiss on his cheek. This really did not help him with his current dilemma and it took all of his willpower to stop from grabbing her and kissing her back.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Zuko nodded in reply then was about to take her arm and guide her back to the house before deciding against it. Anymore physical contact and he would lose all the rest of the little control he had on his self.

With her in the lead, Zuko followed close behind back to the house, all the while cursing his stupid teenage boy hormones. As soon as they were back at the house he went upstairs and when he was sure she wasn't looking, he ran to his room, stripped off all his clothes and jumped into the shower making the water as cold as possible.

This would not do. This would really not do. Not at all.

There you go kiddos! I hope you liked it! And honestly i got the idea of Zuko having a little problem from Ariel4891's lates chapter of Into the Darkness. I just thought it was hilarious how she put it in there so i was like dude... hmm. ;P

And this chapter is dedicated to my cousin, MusicBender, she turns 16 at the end of November. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLIE!

But anyways, REVIEW PLEASE!