Disclaimer: When have I ever owned Avatar the Last Airbender? NEVAH!

P.S. WATCH OUT FOR FLUFF AND MUSH! Sorry I haven't updated soon enough! Next chapter will be quicker, I promise…

Special Thanks: Once again my list is here. And I'm happy to say that I have more to add to my growing list! Remember: You review, your name's put on my "thank you" list. This is to let everyone know that I love reviewers. They're so helpful! These names are of people who have reviewed 1 or more of my chapters. Thanks guys!

LunaChaos -ditz4lyf

almostinsane -Rebirth of Phoenix

nori12 -Dolphin Water

Lionessmon -FireChildSlytherin5

MattsLittleSister -Zutara Lover

Alexandra Bordeaux -sesshoumaru's son

ElfLuver13

Arya Svit-Kona

C.A.M.E.O.1 and only

On with the Show!

Laughter Awaits

Zuko didn't want to have any chance of laughing or smiling. He didn't want to loose the bet he had made with his uncle. He knew that the entire day would consist of him being bombarded with bad jokes, strange faces, and unusual antics. He was not looking forward to it. His plan was to just avoid everyone for the day. He knew he couldn't do that completely, but he would try his best. Besides, he didn't know how funny these people were. He didn't know if he was going to crack or not.

"Hi Zuko! I didn't know you were awake!" Aang shouted in his ear.

"Oh, good morning Aang." Zuko sounded less than enthusiastic at seeing the young Avatar.

"Wanna hear a funny joke?"

"No."

"Puuullllleeeeeeezzzzzz"

"I said no and I mean no. Where is my uncle?"

"Oh, he's getting a drink of water and watching Katara water bend."

Without saying another word he left the Avatar before he could even work his new joke into the conversation. This is going to be harder to avoid them than I thought. Zuko soon walked to the clearing. His leg had finally showed improvement and he could now walk.

"Oh Zula," he sighed to himself, "What happened to you?" He looked down at his right leg. Maybe she really does hate me now. It used to be so different. He couldn't help but to wish that things were how they used to be, all those years ago. He missed his sister's kindness and understanding. But, like all sad stories, she changed and grew a hatred for him so fierce that she tried to kill him. More than once too. He gulped down his pain and entered the clearing where his uncle and Katara were. She was practicing her water bending and Uncle Iroh was sipping some spring water. Suddenly at seeing Zuko Katara and Iroh stopped what they were doing and started grinning mischievously at him.

"Ah shit." Zuko said.

"What?" Katara asked in a seemingly innocent voice. Her plans were given away by the smirk still planted on her face. Uncle Iroh suddenly stepped up to Zuko and started to stare at him. It almost looked like he was examining him. "You know you want to smile Zuko…"

"Who said I did."

"I think you do. C'mon. Smile, pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Uncle, I would like to take this moment to say that you're despicable."

"You know you want to. Just think about it Zuko. If you laugh, or even just grin…Katara will be all over you!"

"UNCLE!" Zuko's face flushed a bright, unhideable red. He stepped back with a frown and turned around so Katara couldn't see his face. Unbeknownst to him, she did see. She too blushed at Uncle Iroh's comment. I didn't know Zuko was so shy…this is getting interesting. Maybe I could play around with this.

"Well you know Zuko…he's right. I'd be all over you if you just smiled once." An evil grin spread across her face. Iroh was surprised to hear her say this, but then realized her devious plan.

Zuko suddenly turned around to face her. "You're kidding right?"

"Absolutely not. Would I lie about something like this?" Zuko thought about that for a minute and decided that yes, she would lie about something like that. Her grin gave her away.

"I still won't." He declared. "You guys might as well give up right now. I'm not going to laugh or smile through bribery. Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that." Now he was the one with the evil grin. Katara and Iroh suddenly slunk down into a hunch. Their faces had a pout on them as they started to sulk.

"Aw nuts." Uncle Iroh said with a mope.

"Yeah, nuts. Well, it's up to Aang and Sokka now. Our plans have failed."

"Yup."

As Zuko left the clearing and headed back to the beach he heard a commotion coming from the right of him. He decided to investigate and finally found Sokka yelling at a tree.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Zuko asked in an annoyed voice.

"Oh Zuko, hi, could you give me a hand. I'm trying to reach this fruit, but I can't seem to reach it."

"Can't you climb the tree?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right… never mind then!"

"God you're an idiot."

"Well I don't see you hunting at all. At least I'm trying to help out. You should do the same."

"Fine."

Soon sunrise came and Sokka, Aang, Katara, and Iroh gathered to come up with a new strategy.

"What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I don't know Sokka, even Uncle Iroh doesn't know what makes him laugh. We can't even get him to smile instead of grin."

"This is frustrating." Said Aang. "We've been trying to get him to laugh all day and nothing has worked."

"Are we going to give up?" Iroh's question sunk in. "Yeah, we have to."

"THIS BLOWS!" screamed Sokka in frustration.

"Sokka! Don't say stuff like that around Aang! He'll ask questions!" Katara glared at him with a warning look on her face.

"Fine fine! Geez, I'm sorry…the she-devil rears her ugly head…" Katara's face went from a warning glare to a killing glare in less than a second. Her face turned red and steam came out of her nostrils.

"SOKKA YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" she screamed so loud that Zuko heard her and rushed to find out what happened. As he stepped into the clearing he saw Katara holding Sokka up above her head, screaming as loud as she could. Uncle Iroh and Aang were shocked speechless. Then Katara threw Sokka to the ground and started clobbering him.

"Mercy! Mercy Katara! Mercy!" he whimpered and begged. Then Katara finally stopped as she heard an unfamiliar sound. She looked up and saw Zuko laughing! He was holding his stomach and tears were rolling down his face from how hard he was laughing. He had the most wonderful and light-hearted laugh she had ever heard. And his smile was even more striking. She had never seen him without a smirk, grin, or frown. This was completely different, it showed the real him.

"Oh My God Sokka! You're getting beat up by your sister!" he tried to speak but ever other word was separated by laughter. "And you always brag about how you're some great warrior! YEAH RIGHT!" Finally after a few minutes he started to stop laughing. "Uuuuhhh that was a good laugh…" that's when he realized what he said…laugh.

"Aw shit."

"YES! WE WIN WE WIN WE WIN!" Uncle Iroh started jumping up and down with happiness. "You said we couldn't, but we did!" Iroh ran over and hugged Zuko, who simply grumbled a bit and mumbled something to himself. "Don't be a spoiled sport Zuko."

"Who said I'm being a spoiled sport…I didn't say anything!" Katara walked over to him. She had a huge smile on her face.

"You have the cutest smile I've ever seen! You're laugh's cute too! You really should laugh or smile more often, it suits you…" Zuko was a little shocked by this. He was always told that laughter was a sign of weakness. So was smiling, and yet here she was telling him to do both more often. She was right though, they did suit him, and that's what he was afraid of. Smiling and laughing suiting him, is what got him into trouble in the first place. Because of these "weaknesses" his father and his sister hated him.

Zuko gulped down the lump in his throat started frowning again as sad memories started to flood his mind. Why, why are there so few people who think that smiling is okay? Why did I have to be born into a nation that despises the very thing I am? I want to change things. I WILL become the next Fire Lord. I WILL make things right!

Zuko walked off without a word to anyone, but Iroh knew what was on his mind. Aang started to follow him, but Iroh stopped him in his tracks. "He needs someone else to talk to, your day will come another day." Then Iroh looked over at Katara and nodded for her to follow Zuko. "I believe that Zuko needs a feminine audience this evening." Katara nodded and followed Zuko to the spring.

When she reached her destination, she saw Zuko kneeling by the spring staring into the water at his scar. His fingertips traced it lightly so as not to hurt himself. He heard a twig snap behind him and whirled around to come face to face with Katara. She had concern all over her warm, tan face. Her bright, oceanic blue eyes shined in the moonlight that cascaded over the cool crisp ripples of the spring. "Zuko?" she whispered. "Is there something you want to talk about?" she hoped that Zuko would open up to her on his own, rather than his uncle telling her everything. "Please Zuko…I want to help you."

Zuko simply motioned for her to sit next to him. As she approached him she noticed the slim tears trickling down his face. He wasn't sobbing or making a sound. He was simply crying. She sat down and tucked her skirt underneath her. She started staring at the water with him in the moonlight. The wind picked up and upset the silence that surrounded them.

"I hate my father." Zuko stated. Katara turned to face him. She was shocked that he would be so blunt about something like that. She knew that his father must be horrible man for him to actually hate him. Something in Zuko's eyes told her that he really did hate him. She found hating her father would take a great deal. She knew that he must have done something else to upset him.

"You remember my mother's picture right?" Zuko still did not turn to look at her. "She was kind, brave, and the most wonderful woman in all the Fire Nation." Katara stared at him. She could tell that he loved his mother. She had probably given him something to live for and believe in as a child, but she wanted to find out what.

"You see Katara…my parents weren't exactly in love." Katara was confused. She didn't actually understand how royalty worked.

"My father met my mother when he first became Fire Lord. He was traveling through a Southern village when he saw my mother. No one rivaled her beauty. He was immediately taken by her presence."

"Zuko, wouldn't that be "love at first sight"?" Zuko's frown started to grow.

"Not quite…it was more like lust." His eyes gave off an aura of sadness, despair, and hatred. "My father wanted my mother's body, not my mother." Katara scooted herself closer to him. She knew that this would get messy and emotional. She also knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that Zuko talked about himself. She listened intently, knowing that what he was about to say could change her opinion of everything.

"My father pretty much kidnapped my mother and took her to Fire Nation palace. Needless to say…I'm the product of rape. What my father didn't anticipate was my conception. To clear his name he married my mother. She never loved my father, but she loved me. My father didn't want me, so he forced my uncle to be my "father"."

"Zuko?" Katara said in a whisper.

"Yes?"

"What was your mother's name?"

"Salandriel. It means lily of the sunset."

"Zuko, why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because for some reason, I trust you. I don't know why, but I feel like I can share things with you. You have a certain presence about you that makes me feel safe. I'm even surprised by my openness." Zuko started to lightly smile. Katara smiled too.

"What happened then…to your mother I mean."

"Well, after my sister was born, my father started to make his plans for World Domination. My mother disapproved of his plans. So, in response, she started gathering people into a rebellion. She had many people from the Fire Nation supporting peace with the other nations. My uncle and I were some of the most active members. I was only 8 years old at the time. My sister Zula pretended to be a member of the rebellion, but was actually a spy for my father. She wrote down a list of all the names of the members. Once my father found out who these people were, he had each and every one of them executed. Including my mother. He spared my uncle and I because we said we'd support him instead. We were cowards. 4 years later I was burned and what not. That was when I started my search for the Avatar. I didn't actually want my father's approval. I wanted to be the heir to the throne again. I thought that maybe, when I was Fire Lord, I could fulfill my mother's dream of peace with all nations."

Katara was speechless. She saw a brand new side of Zuko. She wanted so desperately to like him, now that he was joining them. She finally found her reason to like him. He had compassion for his people. He loved his nation. Before she even knew what she was doing, she was leaning towards him.

"Um, Katara, what are you…" Zuko was cut off by Katara's lips. His face flushed. He had never had this kind of affection from anyone before. He wrapped his arms around her back to hold her up. He wanted to hold her as close to him as possible. All of these new feelings came to him. He had no idea what to do with them. So he simply closed his eyes and enjoyed.

Mwahahahaha! I cut you off! CLIFF HANGER!

Once again, sorry this took so long, lots o' school stuff.

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