Ha ha ha... I read the original chapter for this chapter and at the end I go, "Oh, I follow reviews and stuff, I changed this entire chapter because someone suggested the characters wouldn't be moving along so fast, aren't I great? Hardy har har."

If I had really been thinking about the reviewers, I would have rewritten these stupid chapters a long time ago.

Please forgive me and read!

Zuko was really surprised.

It wasn't just that this was his first kiss. (How sad was that? Sixteen and no first kiss?) It was also the fact of who was kissing him. And the fact that she initiated it! Why? Why would she do that, was she trying to tri…

Zuko couldn't remember the question anymore. Question? What question?

He exerted a little pressure on her lips and felt them open slightly. It was because of the older boys he used to know in the palace, and the crew on his ship that talked about these things even when you didn't want them to and it made you feel sick to imagine any of them in a situation like this – it was because of them, that Zuko knew what to do.

He flicked his tongue against her bottom lip and she gave a gasp of surprise. Taking the opportunity, his heart fluttering insanely, he deepened the kiss.

Katara sighed underneath him and ran her fingers up along his arms, admiring the build. Aang certainly wasn't built like this, and who even wanted to know how Sokka was built?

Her fingers traced lightly up his neck and to his cheekbones, causing him to shudder slightly. He opened his mouth and kissed her more thoroughly than before, and heat rose up her back.

Katara's fingers traced over his face, her pads lightly searching, wanting to feel every part of him there was. They soon came across the rough, marked skin of his scar, and a part of her mind felt the first pang of true curiosity for why it was there.

Zuko jerked away by instinct when Katara touched his scar. Her eyes were half-closed, her lips open and wet from their kissing and suddenly he really wished he hadn't pulled away.

But then, he realized the situation and who this girl was and what she meant.

Zuko stepped back and Katara's eyes snapped open. The daze she had seemed to be in left her and she straightened.

"What was that for?" she demanded. A blush slowly took over her face. Zuko raised an eyebrow as he watched it, and suddenly bloomed quickly all over her face, neck and ears.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he said bemused. He crossed his arms over his chest. Really, but could she get any brighter?

Apparently she could. "Excuse me?" Zuko didn't move. "You did not just say that." She glared up at him, waiting for an answer. A little part of him really wished he'd just say he liked it. Agni. Why was he such a jerk?

Katara huffed, looked away, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Just take me back to my room now. I don't want to be here anymore."

"That's quite rude." Zuko frowned. "Just what you'd expect from an ill-bred peasant."

"Oh!" Katara turned back to him. "If I had some water with me right now, you'd be frozen to a tree right now!"

"Ignoring the fact that there are no trees in the middle of the ocean."

Katara screamed femininely and stalked away, going the ten feet to her room. When she got to the door, she yanked it open, turned towards him, shouted, "You are such a jerk!" and slammed the door behind her.

Thoroughly pissed, Zuko walked down the hall and locked the door behind her, making sure she heard him. He didn't need this! This girl was so stupid, so useless! She could rot at the bottom of the ocean for all he cared. It didn't matter that she was his first kiss.

In his head, however, as he walked away from the room and back to his own, he took the two steps forward and swept her up into his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.

Katara flipped over and hit the bed with her fists, screaming into the mattress.

She did not need this! She didn't need another stupid, full of himself, jerk trying to mess with her feelings!

She didn't need to kiss him. She could ignore him. It wasn't as if he were somebody she really cared about like Sokka or Aang or even Momo. That's right, she thought to herself. I care more about Momo than you!

But in her head, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she wanted to.

"Come now, Prince Zuko. She has to be fed."

Uncle Iroh rested his chin on his fist as he contemplated the puzzle he was trying to finish. It was really, quite a difficult one. Why did he choose a puzzle featuring a drawing of a dragon? Couldn't he have guessed that all the scales would look the same?

"I don't wish to see her, Uncle. I'm not in the mood for prisoners."

Zuko stood at the windows in the helms room where a random sailor was steering the ship. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back and his feet were in their usual, shoulder-width position, ready to move at the slightest need.

"Besides. If you are so eager to see her fed, why don't you take her the food?"

The food they were talking about rested on a tray on the table where Uncle Iroh was puzzling his puzzle. It was covered with a cloth, to keep off flies and retain heat but the argument of who was going to deliver it had been going on for a while and Zuko was sure it was cold by now.

Uncle Iroh put a hand to his back and stretched it.

"Oh," he said as if in pain, but covertly eyeing Zuko to determine his reaction. "But I am in such pain, Prince Zuko, from training with you this morning. I am an old man and I don't have the stamina I once had. You must do it, Prince Zuko. For such an old, tired man as your dear Uncle."

Zuko turned around. "You are not as old as you say you are, Uncle." But he took the food anyway.

After Prince Zuko had left the room, Uncle Iroh chuckled to himself and placed a jigsaw piece into its place. His nephew was a funny boy. He had pride and honor, and it made him both unpredictable and not.

The man at the helm smiled to himself and it made Uncle Iroh grin even more.

Zuko knocked at the door, then slid the bolt back and opened it. He would really need to speak to one of the sailors about that chain.

Katara was sitting on her bed, looking at the dragon hanging on the wall. She was so bored and so alone. For the past two months or so, she had constantly been in the company of Aang and Sokka. Even when she had been living in her tribe in the South Pole, there'd been so many people in such close spaces, that it was weird to have hours and hours alone to her self. She missed human voices, missed talking to someone. She was sure that if she didn't talk to someone soon, she was going to start talking to herself and from there, it would be all downhill to Crazytown.

She sat mulling on the bed and trying to keep her fingers from twitching in restlessness. When she heard the door open she turned around. It was Zuko.

"Well, it's better than nobody," she muttered under her breath as she turned around once again.

"What did you say?" Zuko growled.

"I said," Katara said more loudly. "It's better than nobody."

"Oh." Zuko walked around the bed and held the tray of food out to Katara. Surprised, Katara took it and warily lifted the cloth to peer under it. Lifting the biscuit that rested next to what looked like a covered bowl of soup, she bit into it.

"Ugh!" she said. "It's cold!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and took the tray from her.

"Hey!" Katara cried out. Just because it was cold didn't mean she didn't want it. But as she reached to take her dinner back, Zuko's hand, resting under the tray, burst into flame.

Katara jerked her hand back. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "Trying to burn it to death?"

Zuko rolled his eyes again and handed the tray back to her. It felt only slightly warmed in her hands. "Here. Now it's warm. Are you happy?"

"Yes," Katara said as she bit into the warm biscuit. Oh yes. "Thank you."

Zuko's eyes widened for a mere second as he was taken aback, but he quickly returned them to his normal glare.

"Well," Katara shifted her weight and the sheets rustled. "Um, you can join me if you like to."

Zuko spoke indifferently, "That's really okay. We have food for the officers."

"Well, then you can still sit here with me. If you don't have anything else to do," Katara rushed to assure him. "I don't want you to get in trouble with your uncle or anything."

"My uncle does not control me," Zuko said harshly. There was an awkward moment as Katara looked at him without saying anything. Zuko shifted his weight. "It is merely that I sometimes comply to his wishes. When it suits me."

Katara blinked.

"But I will sit with you because I have nothing better to do." Zuko waited for Katara to reply. She nodded and shrugged her shoulder because her mouth was full and for all that Sokka was her brother, she still tried not to behave like him.

The mattress groaned and Katara started falling towards Zuko. He held his hands out to keep the tray from falling and he caught it, but Katara fell right into his lap.

Blushing, Katara pushed herself off him, took the tray and rested it in her own lap.

"Look," she said. She hated to be the one bringing this up but it had to be done. It was even worse that he was awkward around her than he was a jerk. It really made him seem more human. "About what happened today… I don't why it happened-"

"Are you telling me you didn't like it?" Zuko asked curious.

Katara blushed. "No, it's not that, its-"

"So you did like it?"

"What?" Oh, Katara was so flustered. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Well, why aren't you answering? Did you like it?" Zuko was truly curious.

"Well, yes, I suppose. Why are you asking me this? Why are we having this very awkward conversation?"

"I just like to know how well I do," Zuko said, ignoring her second question.

"Why?" Katara wanted to know. Suddenly, she brightened! She thought she knew why…

"Was that your first kiss?"

"What?" Zuko was appalled. "No, of course not! I've been kissed before!"

"By how many people?" Katara interrupted him. She tried to keep a business-like face on but it was difficult. She was sure he hadn't before. Or at least not often. And now he seemed… real, she guessed. Like he was a real boy, her own age, with real emotions. Usually he just seemed like an automaton that only got angry sometimes – often.

"Many!" Zuko hastened to assure her.

"How many?"

Zuko hesitated. He didn't have to tell her. She was his prisoner, his captive. If he decided it wasn't worth it communicating information with her, he didn't have to.

"Two." (Lying!)

What! What happened to the plan? The one where he didn't tell her anything, refused to dignify such a rude question with an answer!

"Really," Katara looked down at her tray and uncovered the clay bowl. It was filled to the brim with noodles and she sighed in pleasure. Thank the sky for food. "Only two? I'd expect a prince to get around more."

"A banished prince doesn't get to meet so many girls."

"So they just kiss anyone they meet? I guess I should be glad there were pirates and firebenders at the river because then we would have kissed there, instead. While I was tied to a tree." Katara lifted some noodles on her chopsticks and took a bite. They were soo good.

"I thought you liked it," Zuko managed, temper flaring. This was surreal. It was like the world didn't exist when he sat alone with this girl. He had some of the most… enlightening moments of his life with her.

"I did," Katara either purposefully ignored him or was simply unaware of his anger as she took another bite. Was the kettle full of tea? It was. Katara poured herself some.

"Well, then." Zuko took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself. He didn't know what to say. "We'll have to do it again sometime." That wasn't it.

Katara snorted into her cup of tea. "Excuse me?" she sputtered. It was so hard to keep from laughing in Zuko's face. I mean, who actually says that? She didn't want to insult him but his comment was just so what she'd consider out of character for him.

And it was. Zuko had no idea where that came from. It was like someone had opened his mouth while neither of them were looking and shoved the words in. Then, when he spat them out again, they said things like that.

Katara stared at Zuko. He was avoiding her look by glaring stoically at the wall in front of him. So that's why he's angry so often, she mused. He does it to protect himself from embarrassing situations. It keeps him from feeling stupid.

There was nothing wrong with that as far as Katara was concerned. Well, maybe he could be less angry all the time, but at least she could understand where he was coming from.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and she smiled.

"It's all right," she said, trying to sound comforting. She felt like she was talking to Aang. "I think it's fine."

Zuko lay in his bed the next night, thinking of the past four days since he'd caught the Avatar's friend. Katara.

They'd talked about a lot of things. Mostly they talked about her childhood, or topics in general, like their favorite foods or other idiocies. Both refused to either talk about the Avatar or Zuko's banishment.

And despite how inane their topics of conversation could be, it was nice. Because Zuko had the nagging feeling that these were the things she talked about with normal people, and maybe even the things he'd talk about at home, if he weren't banished.

She told him about how Sokka was always protective of everybody, trying to be a man. He tried to train to be a warrior but he hadn't had anybody to teach him in the south and now they were always moving about so there wasn't much of a chance now.

Zuko told her how it had mostly been his uncle who had raised him, acting like a doting parent while his own were mostly too busy with other things to care for him. He mentioned his sister, but he really didn't like talking about her. It was too painful.

They hadn't kissed since that very long one the day before but tonight, before he'd left her, he'd given her a quick peck on the forehead, without really thinking. She'd looked surprised and then she smiled. It seemed to Zuko that she enjoyed it.

Not that she hasn't said so herself, he thought to himself, turning over onto his side. She said she'd enjoyed the kiss when you brought her dinner yesterday. So you know she likes it. You should do it more often.

Yes. Maybe you should. What do you have to lose?

But she's my prisoner!

It's not like you're forcing her or anything because she said herself she liked it. And you'd stop if you were hurting her accidentally or something. It's not like you'd rape the girl or anything.

Yes, but what about Uncle? What would he think?

Uncle would love it! Are you kidding? He'd think it was the funniest thing in the world!

Humph. Well, that makes me want it to happen.

Oh, stop it. You know you want to. Just try it. If it ends, it ends. If not, then it's good. So there.

Zuko sighed and sat up. Fine. He'd give it a shot. He didn't know if Katara would really like it or not. He was, after all, still trying to capture her friend, the Avatar.

Katara knew Zuko was still trying to catch the Avatar.

But he really seems to like me. He hasn't been mean to me or whatnot since we kissed. What could be bad about letting him kiss her every once in a while?

It wasn't like she had anything else to do.

Katara sat up and thumped her pillow. Damn, but it was annoying here! She'd have to get Zuko to let her out of this room. Even if it was just to run laps around the deck, she'd do fifty before she felt ready to come back here.

Four days! Four days she'd been in the same place! That hadn't happened to her in so long! She was always traveling, always moving. And she was used to it! She liked it! It was her life, her soul, her bread and butter. Being trapped in a room after moving around with Aang was the worst feeling Katara felt she could ever suffer right now.

But back to Zuko. She almost thought of him as her friend. She'd known Zuko now, for much longer than she'd known Haru or Jet.

And look where that got you, she thought sarcastically. Imprisoned on a ship and tricked by a psycho.

But is Zuko really like that? I mean, Haru was nice and it wasn't really because of him that she'd been imprisoned – she'd been fighting for the rights of earthbenders. And Jet…Jet was a freak. He doesn't even deserve consideration.

But Zuko's more like him than Haru. What makes you think he's even remotely like Haru? Haru was nice and decent; Jet was a killer, his mind caught on one thing – like Zuko's is on Aang.

The door opened and Katara flipped over to face the intruder.

"Who's there?" she called out. Please don't let it be someone to hurt her.

"It's me, Katara," Zuko lit his hand. He could see Katara relax on her bed after looking frightened.

"Oh," Katara leaned back against her pillow. "Why don't you come and sit down?" She patted her hand on top of the covers next to her.

Zuko kicked off his slippers and sat down next to her, careful to keep his flaming hand away from her. He didn't burn from his own fire but she could. In fact, she most definitely had less of a resistance to fire than he did because she wasn't a firebender.

"What were you doing before I came in?" he asked her. Not sleeping, I hope.

"Thinking about Haru and Jet," Katara blurted out. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

Zuko cocked his head to the side. "Isn't your brother's name Sokka?"

"Yes," Katara hoped he'd drop it. But Zuko only seemed to get angry. At least, the ball of fire in his hand grew a little.

"Then who are Haru and Jet?" he demanded.

Katara sighed. There was nothing for it but to tell him.

"Haru and Jet were these… guys I knew," Katara clasped her hands in front of her on the covers. It was to keep them from shaking.

Zuko was glaring at her so she decided to continue.

"One – Haru – was really nice and good. He was an earthbender but he… wasn't allowed to practice his earthbending by the Fire Nation soldiers in his homeland," Katara breathed deep. It was better for them just to both admit it. They came from different nations and one was trying to take over the world. "He helped a man from a collapsed cave by earthbending the rocks away from the entrance but then he was arrested by Fire Nation soldiers.

"When I met him and heard about what was happening to him and his village – earthbenders were arrested – I decided to try to free them by getting inside the prison. I got Aang to use airbending to lift a rock for me while I pretended I was earthbending it and I got arrested. They took me to the prison, which was on a ship, and I helped start a revolt.

"Jet, however, was a complete psychopath," Katara clenched her hands as she thought back to that day she'd found out he betrayed her. Zuko watched this with interest. "He used me and Aang to try to destroy an entire village because it was taken over by the Fire Nation – he wanted to kill them all, even the innocent people!"

Katara looked down at her hands. "I trusted him. I thought he was a good guy, trying to help people. But he wasn't. Sokka even warned me about him but I wouldn't listen because I was too infatuated."

"You liked him?" Zuko asked incredulously. It seemed to him that Katara would never like anyone who would do something like that. But then again, how well did he know her?

"He purposefully misled me," Katara's knuckles were turning white. "Ugh! He makes me so angry!"

Zuko put his hands over Katara's and she looked up at him. He leaned in and whispered against her lips, "I'll never mislead you," before kissing her once again.