Katara wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, but it felt...right. She looked up at Keiji, who was pointing out different shops she might like.

"-and that one is an antique store. It imports all kinds of things. My mother used to go there every day and look for new things they had brought in."

"She, used to?" Katara asked, timidly.

"Yea, she doesn't anymore. My dad made her stop. Our house was so full of antiques, she could have opened up her own shop!" He lauged, and Katara grinned. He turned around to wave at someone and Katara let out a sigh of relief when he turned. She didn't want him to suffer like she did.

"Katara!" She looked up and saw Sokka running to her. She dropped Keiji's arm and luckily, he caught on. She plastered on a smile and waved to her brother.

"Hey Katara," he said, finally reaching them. Immediately, Keiji stepped up to Sokka and held out his hand.

"I'm Keiji. I noticed you wore a boomerang?" Sokka looked surprised at this, and then he grabbed Keiji's hand and shook it like he would a long-lost friend.

"Sokka, Southern Water Tribe, and yes, I do have a boomerang strapped to my back... made of seal bone and painted by one of the best Southern Water Tribe Warriors," and they walked forward, deep in covnersation about different techniques and different kinds. Katara couldn't help but notice the glint of excitement in Keiji's eyes. She let them wander ahead and she walked around the main street, looking at the different vendors, who all offered her samples. Everything she tried, she liked. A lady offered her a whole apple, and Katara nodded, thanking her over and over. Such generosity was not to be found in Ba Seng Se...

"Are you... having fun?" a voice asked behind her. She glanced behind her, knowing who it was. Zuko.

"Will you leave me alone?" she said angrily. She attempted to walk away, but he followed.

"Can we talk about something?" he asked.

"About what? What an idiot you are?" she asked, whipping around. She noticed he was gazing at something across the street. She followed it, and saw Sokka and Keiji pointing in a window.

"Him," Zuko said, turning to look at her again.

"It's nothing. We're just friends," she said, blushing a little. She turned back around, but walking a little slower this time. "But... he is kinda cute," she mumbled to herself, just loud enough for him to hear. Zuko shrugged.

"Okay, just wondering." He started to walk away, smirking.

"You-you're okay with me liking him?" she said, turning around.

"Yea, it didn't take long for me to get over you. After all, it was just a little fling, right?"

He turned and walked away, but Katara's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about his eyes. How... hurt they looked...

A little fling?

They all met again for a nice big lunch. No jerkey or recently picked berries were in sight, and in their place was beautifully cut hams, and perfectly rounded loaves of bread, and fruits of all sorts, some the group couldn't even name. Immediately, their troubled thoughts were pushed aside. Aang forgot about his failure in finding Sanjiv, Katara's confused thoughts about Zuko were forgotten, and Zuko's confused look was replaced with a content and hungry look. Katara briefly wondered whether he enjoyed the food more than her. He had been pretty mad at the market that day. She absently pushed Momo's paw aside from reaching her plate. She looked down and something clicked.

"Where's Appa?" she asked.

"Oh," Aang said, although him saying anything was pretty impossible through the food shoved in his face, "He ish at the shtables."

Katara nodded, not wanting him to continue. She didn't want him to choke or anything. She looked up at Zuko. They caught each other's gaze, and she looked away first. She felt his eyes linger on her for a while longer, and she felt like smacking him. What gave him the thought that he could stilll look at her? He didn't deserve it after his smart comment earlier...

"So, Sokka, how do you like Keiji?" she asked, poking at her food with a fork, trying to hide her evil grin. The air suddenly got tense as Zuko stopped eating and looked up to stare at her.

"He is great! He knows a lot about boomerangs, almost as much as me, but you know how it is, I have had all these years, and him being so busy ya know." Sokka seemed really enthusiastic.

"Busy? What's he been busy with?" Katara asked, forgetting her little game. Sokka looked up and stared at her for a second.

"Oh, well, he is going to war in a couple of weeks," Sokka explained slowly, "He has been planning it for all of his life."

Katara stood up immediately. "Excuse me," she whispered. She sorely wished she hadn't had asked Sokka about it. Did everyone have to be apart of this war? She turned on her heel and walked into the courtyard. They watched as she sat down on a bench and stared at the ground.

"Girls," Sokka muttered and he and Aang went into a deep conversation about a new topic, and Iroh continued to eat. Only Zuko noticed the slow and steady fall of Katara's tears.

Katara made a mental list of things to hate:

The world, Ozai, her judgement, Zuko, she hated a lot of things at that moment. She heard a door slide open, and then she hated Zuko even more.

"Go away. Don't you know that I don't find you comforting? You are just some annoying jerk who is...annoying me more than every other jerk does. That makes you on top of my list," she hated how he ignored her.

"I know I'm not comforting, and I know I'm an annoying jerk, but I thought I could maybe change that. And before you say no," Katara closed her mouth, "I want you to listen." He sat down next to her, and she looked down. She had lied. He was kinda still comforting. She couldn't help but open up slightly.

"Katara, I'm sorry. I really mean it too. I wish," he paused and looked away, ashamed.

"You wish what?" she pressed.

"I wish our circumstances were different. I wish I would have done it differently. I missed you," he whispered. He really was apologizing!

"Missed?" Katara whispered. He looked up at her.

"I wish I could still want you, but I'm smart and I know what's best for both of us. I know I can't... be with you ever again," Katara looked up as he said this, "Keiji seems like a nice guy."

"Yea, I think he is," Katara whispered, her lips aching for his. Zuko shook his head and stood up before she could tell him anything. Like how she still loved him. How she wished their circumstances were different too. How good he looked when he was concerned.

"No more Katara. You are lying to me and yourself," he opened his mouth to say something else, and she noticed his hand twitch as if he wanted to reach out to her. He shook his head and turned without a backward glance.

Katara leaned back and stared up at the sky.

"Boys..."

There was a soft knock on Katara's door, and she hopped out of bed to open it. Then she heard the three words that would start their next journey.

"Uncle is sick." She stared at Zuko for a long, hard moment. He was her friend. Friends were allowed to help friends right? She pulled on a robe.

"Sick? What do you mean sick?" she asked as he shuffled uncomfortably. She was in her pajamas...

"He has a temperature and a nurse said it was slowly increasing. He is coughing and... I don't know what to do." Katara nodded and started to walk around Zuko to his room, but he stopped her.

"Thanks Katara," he whispered and she looked down, removing his hand from her arm.

"I'm not doing this for you, it's for Iroh."

"I need a cool rag and I need... water." The nurse nodded and went off, leaving Zuko and Katara alone for the first time since they sat on that bench, which was a week ago.

"Where's Sokka and Aang?" Katara asked nervously.

"Sokka bit me and Aang told me to ask you for help," Zuko said, relieved she wasn't asking him other, more annoying questions.

"Sokka... bit you? Nevermind, I don't want to know." She frowned at Iroh who was now shifting. Zuko walked over to him, and Katara couldn't help but see how worried he looked.

"Uncle?" Zuko whispered. Iroh looked up at his dear nephew.

"Lu Ten! Are you ready to go fishing? The key is to find the perfect spot on the lake," Iroh smiled up at Zuko, who was looking quite horrified.

"No, Uncle, it's me, Zuko. You're nephew?"

"Zuko? Oh, I am sorry, it is almost healed. Why aren't you packing? We are to leave for our trip in a few days, and..." Iroh looked up at him, smile fading, and he grabbed Zuko's wrist. "You look so much like hm, Zuko. But promise me you won't be..." Iroh's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell asleep, Zuko with a horrified look on his face.

"Uncle? Uncle!" Zuko called, dropping to his knees. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"He's just sleeping," Katara said softly. He lay his forehead on the bed and shut his eyes.

"Why? Why did you leave me?" Zuko called softly.

"He's just resting Zuko..." she said, sitting next to him.

"No, you," Zuko said, turning to look at her. She gave him a shocked look.

"Zuko I didn't-"

"I love you Katara, and you, you threw me away! Didn't you feel anything for me?" His voice raised slightly at the last part in a desperate attempt to make her understand. She still gave him the same shocked look.

"Zuko, I don't think-"

"You're right, you don't think. You didn't stop to consider that I loved you and treated you with so much more are than I thought I was capable of. You never considered that I wanted to comfort you as much as possible, even after you decided to hate me!"

"I don't hate you!"

"Oh really, why? Isn't that what happen's? Why don't you hate me for doing the right thing?"

"Because..." she stood and threw her arms into the air in frustration. "I love you too, you idiot!"

Zuko's mouth dropped open and his eyebrows shot up. The maid walked in and saw the frazzled pair.

"Should I leave?" she asked quietly.

"No, we were just going to take a walk," Zuko said, never looking away from Katara's wild eyes. He stood and grabbed Katara's hand. The maid nodded and watched as they left.

"Young love," she whispered, shaking her head.

A/N: Kudos to whoever knows what one of the lines I used is from. This chapter is dedicated for a reader (and a friend): zoebabii328. Thank you for the support and the love, and, well.

YOU ROCK!

Thanks to everyone who reads!

Thank you Mike, for creating Avatar, and thanks to all the writers (can't think of their names right now) but THANK YOU!

Also, if any of you are illustrators and have a deviantArt account and like my story and would like to illustrate it, I think that would be friggin awesome, so just PM me, and I will do whatever I am supposed to do...

THANKS FOR READING!