Thank you for reviewing! Though, more are always appreciated… hint hint. Don't own Avatar, any more than I own Microsoft. Phooey… Anyway, I'm going to try out the whole POV thing in this nice, long chapter.

When I left my room later that night, I wore my new red kimono and Zuko's headpiece. My hair was loosely pulled back at the nape of my neck and I'd left a few pieces dangling down, as well as some around my face to frame it. I'd finally managed to pin the jewelry into my hair so it wouldn't fall off when I did my dance.

I'd tucked my iPod, and portable iPod player in a little bag quickly put together and walked to the deck where we'd be having the music night.

The silk of my clothes rustled very faintly and I my new footwear hardly made a sound. I felt like a completely different person, done up in these clothes; almost like a Japanese princess. I'd put on some thicker eyeliner and a little extra makeup, but not too much so my face still looked natural.

When I walked onto the deck of the ship I spotted Iroh, Zuko, and almost all the crew gathered around a fire set in the middle. The men were already laughing and drinking in the starlight, and a few were singing… fairly horribly if I do say so myself. At least I knew I didn't sound like that, so I felt a little comforted.

As I walked through the men to sit beside Iroh they grew silent as I passed, almost like I was cutting off all sound around me, then began talking softly after I'd gone on.

I was glad it was dark, that way they wouldn't see my blushing face. What bits of conversation I heard was enough for me: "… exquisite…" "… beautiful…" "… a Queen…" yeah it was embarrassing.

What was the strangest, was when I saw Zuko openly gawking at me I felt almost proud of myself for being able to attract attention; glad that he noticed me. But then, I thought what if they're all thinking nasty, perverted things about me? And I felt embarrassed again.

But I didn't let it show: I walked confidently forward, avoiding eye contact, and sat next to Iroh on the opposite side as Zuko. At first, Iroh was speechless, but he quickly recovered himself.

"You look lovely tonight, Kristen. Shall we begin this Christmas celebration?"

I smiled, "Yeah. How about y'all start off with a song and I'll sing the next one. A Christmas song."

"Very well." And he immediately launched into a loud, raucous song about sailing and singing, ironically. After the first few words the entire crew was soon singing along, very off key and bad. But I was laughing my head off anyway listening to the words.

I glanced at Zuko but he wasn't singing. I caught him watching me intently, and when our eyes met he looked away quickly. I could see him blushing even from where I was sitting.

Not long afterwards, they finished the song and had a round of drinks. I passed up the alcohol stuff; I certainly didn't want to be drunk, and I really didn't want to be drunk while singing and dancing. When they'd stopped shouting so much, Iroh had me stand in the middle and sing the first Christmas song.

I was incredibly nervous, but I managed to plug my iPod into the player, turn up the volume, and put the headphones in my ears so I could hear the voices and everyone else could hear the music. (A/N: This probably isn't possible, but what the heck I'm going to do it. It's my story.)

At the first sound of the music, the crew looked around for the sound of instruments, but realized they were coming from the strange box I'd placed by my feet. I laughed a little, then focused on steadying my breathing. I took a deep breath, and burst into song when "Let it Snow" began.

When the song finished, the men clapped loudly and a few whistled and cheered. Iroh urged me into a second song after I caught my breath, and I sang "Grown-Up Christmas List." Afterwards, there was a thoughtful silence as everyone thought about home, families, and the war they were in the middle of. Then they clapped loudly again.

I wasn't nervous anymore, Iroh told me over and over how wonderful my voice sounded, and everyone seemed to like my singing. Even Zuko seemed to be enjoying himself after a few more Christmas songs. I managed to teach everyone "Jingle Bells" which was hilarious to hear them sing, and I laughed so hard after the last chorus I almost fell over.

Finally, I got to my last song: "I'll Be Home For Christmas." When the music started, it suddenly hit me that I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. Putting my entire heart into the words, I sang softly:

"I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love

Even more than I usually do

And although I know it's a long road back

I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents by the tree

Christmas eve will find you

Where the love light gleams

I'll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams

I'll be home for Christmas

You can count on me

Please have some snow and mistletoe

And presents by the tree

Christmas eve will find me

Where the love light gleams

I'll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams

If only in my dreams."

In the silence after I sang, I felt my eyes tearing up and I turned quickly and sat down. Everyone applauded softly, and they soon returned to the merriment of singing and drinking. Almost all of them were tipsy and falling all over the place.

I pulled my knees into my chest and rested my chin on my folded arms, watching the fire sadly. It brought back memories of when my brothers and I would play imaginary games while watching the fire at home, trying to escape the burning logs in our minds.

I want to go home… I miss everyone so much. Why didn't I just stay on Grandpa's porch?

Change POV

Zuko had listened sadly as Kristen sang the song about being at home for her holiday. He understood how she felt, being separated from his family during special occasions and thrust into a totally different world than what he'd grown up in. Sometimes, the only way he could be reunited with his family was in his dreams, all alone at night.

He watched her sit and could see the unshed tears in her eyes, glistening in the firelight. Perhaps if he hadn't understood her situation he would have called her weak and would have scorned her loneliness and tears.

Now, however, he felt like giving her at least a bit of happiness so she wouldn't hurt as much. Zuko liked watching her laugh at everything, she always seemed to be happy and smiling: she was so innocent. But seeing her sad made him feel even worse, like it was partly his fault she was here, so far away from her home and family and unprotected.

He watched Iroh begin a conversation with her, and soon she had put her sadness away, just as Zuko did: hiding behind a mask to protect himself and others around him from the emotions that would affect them all.

After a while, the men called for Kristen to dance as she'd promised. Zuko smiled inside when she blushed and tried to hide her nervousness. She was fairly good at hiding it, but he could still tell.

Kristen set up her music player again, and stood outside the circle around the fire. She stood very still, her arms down to her sides, head lowered, and eyes closed lightly. Zuko gazed at the lines and curves of her face; the way her curly hair turned a pale gold in the firelight and silver from the starlight, the shadow underneath her eyes from her long lashes. He suddenly realized what he was doing and mentally shook himself. What was wrong with him? A single girl shows up on his ship and he starts daydreaming about her! He'd have to make sure he focused even harder on finding the Avatar; he must be going crazy all this time on a ship.

Everyone turned to watch her as the first beats of the music began. (A/N: "China Lily" by Suzanne Teng, look it up on iTunes!) Her arms moved slowly, swaying side to side as she turned in time with the flute and lifting them above her head, then she slowed to a complete stop in a graceful pose, arms poised to one side as the music slowed.

At the first beat of the drums she started again into motion, throwing her left arm out to the side and suddenly her sleeve unfolded and her hand was completely covered by another length of rippling silk. (Think House of Flying Daggers)

Then as the music sped up, Kristen began to spin more frequently, and at every drum beat throwing one hand out to the side so the red silk seemed to explode from her hands. She brought her leg up straight into the air, paused for a moment, then jumped, spinning her body tightly while the silk played our around her like a ring.

All the men gazed entranced as she danced, faster and slower, floating between layers of red silk and spinning so beautifully.

At last she threw both hands out at the same time while bending low to the ground, then flipped backwards to pose gracefully.

There was a long silence after the music ended, then the men erupted into cheers, whistles, and applause even though they were extremely drunk now. Many stood to their feet clapping, including Iroh and Zuko who couldn't take his eyes off Kristen. She was breathing heavily and a large smile lit up her face. Or it could have been her blushing. Either way, she was happy again.

Everyone congratulated her on a wonderful dance, clapping her on the back and offering her lots of alcohol. Of course, she declined.

"You danced very beautifully, I've never seen anything like it." Kristen turned to see Zuko smiling faintly, but his eyes were alight with the smile he didn't show.

"Thanks so much. I really enjoyed dancing it myself." She blushed, and glanced away quickly. Zuko watched puzzled as she looked again into his eyes, then softly excused herself.

"I think I need some time alone, I'll be over there if you need me." She pointed to the other side of the boat, obscured by the Navigation tower. Zuko nodded silently, and watched her walk gracefully across the deck and into the shadows. He was about to go join his uncle for some food when he spotted a shape out of the corner of his eye follow Kristen around the corner of the tower.