a/n An early update…whaaaat? Honestly, I felt so guilty for taking so long between chapter 2 and 3 I've been working on this chapter like crazy (hence why it's early and long).
We finally get a Zutara-esque moment in this one! Read to find out!

Disclaimer: If I owned AtLA a certain movie would have never been made.

~Chapter 4~

-Zuko-

Why the fuck did it matter why he chose outdoor survival? The world didn't need to know his sob story. Let alone some prick like Jet. It took a few seconds after the conversation moved past him, before Zuko continued his meal. He could feel Katara looking at him, but couldn't meet her gaze. She had been about to come to his aid and he had mixed feelings about her intervening. He didn't want her to think he was some wimp, but did her speaking out… mean she cared? He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

The rest of the meal went on fairly painlessly. He occasionally smiled and nodded when someone said something funny, but honestly, he wasn't really paying attention. For the most part, Jet talked and Suki, Ty, and Sokka frequently chimed in. Katara herself remained slightly distant. Nodding appropriately, but not focused on what was going on. Like him. He really needed to talk to her. Maybe later? After lunch was over they'd probably go over safety and stuff, but it would take his Uncle a while to clean up…
"What do we do with our dishes when we're done?" Katara asked, before anyone could answer Uncle walked out of the kitchen.
"How is everyone doing?" he asked.
"Good," everyone replied.
"Good," Uncle smiled, "If you're done you can wipe off the plates into the trash and put them in the bin on the counter. The silverware goes in the same bin too. If you still have water in your cup, just dump it into the bucket on the side. I'll use it to water the plants." Katara nodded along. "Afterwards you can just hang out in here while I start cleaning up. In the future, you'll each take turns helping Suki and usually myself wash the dishes. Later we will also discuss other duties like cleaning the bathrooms."
"Great." He heard Jet say under his breath. Zuko was resisting the urge to kick him under the table, when he saw Katara nudge him. Zuko couldn't help but smirk.
"We'll also discuss safety," Uncle said. "Anyways, the sideboard over there has games and puzzles inside if anyone wants to take a look." He gave everyone a final smile before returning to the kitchens.

Perhaps now he would have his opportunity to talk to Katara. When she stood to put her plate away, he stood as well and walked with her.
"Hey," he said speaking to her directly for the first time since that morning.
"Hi," she replied with a smile. He was thinking about what to say next when Suki appeared at Katara's other side.
"Hey, I'm going to help Iroh clean up," Suki said cheerily, "So I can t-"
"Do you want some help?" Katara asked.
"Nah, it's fine," Suki assured her.
"Really, I want to help. I'll be helping you out in the future anyways."
"Okay then," Suki agreed. Katara turned back to him.
"Sorry," she quickly apologized before disappearing into the kitchens with Suki. He'd just have to wait for a better opportunity. He groaned internally. Patience was not his strong suit.

-Katara-

The day just flew by. Suki and she had decided to help Iroh in the kitchen. She still wanted to talk to Zuko, but that would have to wait. Instead, she cleared off the counter while Ty schooled the boys in a game of Clue. Ty had first opted for Twister, but none-too-surprisingly, the guys said no. After the kitchen was cleaned, Iroh explained the stuff he previously mentioned. Safety was pretty straightforward. Every staff member was CPR and first aid certified and there were medical kits in every building. Lifeguard training would start tomorrow for her. Jet had already received the training so he'd be instructing her. Dish duty would alternate as necessary and staffers would clean bathrooms every other day. Once the kids arrived, teams of three would clean the bathroom with counselor supervision. All the cleaning supplies would be in the bathroom closet; however, more could be found in the main lodge's basement. Every Friday, a delivery truck would arrive with the week's produce. Iroh would collect and sort the mail by cabin every other day. The man himself lived in a small cabin behind the lodge and off to the side. The camp, in theory, seemed to run with ease.

Throughout the day, she smiled and laughed with her coworkers. It seemed like they were a nice meld of personalities. She even saw Zuko crack a smile a few times. She briefly wondered why he was so reserved. They were just kids last time she saw him, but she sensed he wasn't usually this quiet. He seemed like the kind of guy who was thoughtful, but also daring and honorable (well, and a little awkward).

The next thing she knew, it was evening and she was clearing up her dinner plate. Iroh smiled at her before coming out of the kitchen.
"Now that we are all fed, how about some free time until the campfire?" he suggested, "It'll probably start just after dusk. There will be s'mores of course and it'll be a great opportunity to exchange stories. I'll see you all then." The thought of s'mores brought back both happy memories and sad memories. The last time she had them was on the last camping trip her family had took before… She shook her head. Nope. She was not going to cry, not here. She quickly put her dishes in the bin and started heading towards the door.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Jet asked, coming up beside her.
"I'm going for a walk," she answered, still walking. They were almost at the door.
"Cool," he replied, "I'll come with you." She stopped and turned to him.
"No," she said a little harsher than she meant to, "I mean, no thank you, Jet. It's fine. I'll see you at the campfire."
"Oh, okay," he agreed and she pushed the door aside.

She wasn't sure exactly where she wanted to go. She just wanted to be alone, to let the tears fall away from prying eyes. She started heading down towards the lake. It wasn't until she was out of view of the main lodge that she started to run and let the tears flow. It was all just too much sometimes. Trying to keep everything in was exhausting. She didn't want to talk to her brother about all of it because he seemed at ease and happy here; she didn't want to ruin that for him.

Staying busy had helped take her mind off things, but now that the sad thoughts started, they consumed her. She didn't feel comfortable unloading all her baggage on her new staff members, but she wanted to talk to someone. A small part of her just felt like screaming. It'd be over an hour until campfire, so she had time to let it out, time to find a quiet spot and cry silent tears.

-Zuko-

Where is she? He thought. After she left, Jet had resumed joking around and having a good time, but Zuko couldn't help but worry about her. She had fled the lodge about 30 minutes ago. Without any preamble, he decided to go check up on her and he stood to leave.
"Where are you going?" Jet asked.
"Out," Zuko replied gruffly and left.

Once he got outside, he started heading for her cabin, but realized she wouldn't be there. He suddenly knew exactly where he could find her. He picked up his pace and headed for the lake.

She sat at the end of the dock, legs dangling over, watching the sun sink behind the trees.
"Hey," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. She turned her head at the sound of his voice.
"Hi," she replied, smiling weakly. She scooted over "Join me?" He nodded once before walking towards her. Her face was dry, but he could see the evidence of tears. It made him sad. When he sat down, he decided to stare up at the changing sky. He didn't want to make things too awkward even though he was highly aware of her sitting next to him.
"It's very beautiful out here," he said with a thick voice. And not just the sunset he thought.
"Yeah," she agreed, "It is."
"Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"Yeah. I'm good." she replied, "What about you? How have you been?"
"Good," he answered immediately.
"Good." They were silent once more. He wasn't sure what to say. She didn't seem to want to talk about herself, which he'd respect. Should he make the first move to build up their trust? He definitely didn't want things to go unsaid between them and have their entire time together to be awkward.
"Ka-" he started to say.
"Zu-" she started to say at the same time. They both stopped and she smiled lopsidedly at him. "You first," she said.
"No, no, no," he insisted, "you should go first." She tilted her head down and raised an eyebrow. Stubborn as ever he thought. "Fine. I uh…" it was much harder than he thought it would be, "I…It was a car crash." He divulged suddenly.
"What?" she asked confused. He sighed and tried to prepare himself.
"I got burned in a car crash when I was thirteen." Her eyes filled with horror and he sighed again. He didn't really want to tell her, didn't want to see the pity in her eyes; however, he couldn't stop now. "I was with my dad. It was late. He was drunk." There it is he thought sadly, the pity. He had gotten through it all okay, just with a few more scars (both physically and psychologically). "Please don't look at me like that," he whispered after a few seconds of silence passed.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Like I'm broken," he replied as he looked back up at the sky, "I've spent enough of my life believing that."
"Zuko," she said softly and he turned to look at her, "I don't think you're broken. I'm not pitying you. I'm sympathizing for a thirteen year old boy who went through a horrible ordeal, but has somehow become stronger because of it." He didn't know what to say. "I'm also sad I wasn't there for you."
"It wasn't your fault. My parents moved me away."
"It wasn't your fault either," she said so quietly he almost didn't hear her. Her gaze drifted away from him to the sunset.

After a few minutes, he broke the silence.
"What were you going to say?" he asked.
"Oh," she replied, "Nothing." He gave her a skeptical look and she smiled slightly, "I was just going to say that I'm glad you're here Zuko. I missed you." His heart leaped at her words. Shit he thought. He was sure Mai had broken his heart beyond repair, but apparently, it still worked.
"I missed you too," he replied, staring into the endless blue of her eyes. He could never forget the color of those eyes. They haunted his dreams, but also gave him hope. He could stare into them forever. All too soon, the moment was over and she looked away. He closed his eyes briefly and could still see her face. He sighed. It's not going to happen he reminded himself harshly. He wasn't entirely sure what he wished would have happened, but he really wanted to find out.
"So…" she said, bringing him back into reality. "How have you been, honestly."
"This week hasn't been so great, but I hope it'll get better." Because of you, "But as for this," he pointed to his face, "It's okay. It will never get any better, but…" He shrugged.
"Was he injured as well?" she asked.
"Who?"
"Your dad. Was he also hurt in the car crash?" He couldn't help but laugh, a cold cruel laugh. When he glanced at her and saw her worried expression, he stopped laughing.
"No, he wasn't," he finally answered. He took a deep breath, stared at the lake, and began. "A few years after we moved, my dad got laid off and things at home got worse. He always enjoyed a drink or two, but when he lost his job, he started to drink more and more. He and my mom started fighting more and he was always angry with her, like it was her fault. It wasn't anybody's fault but his own and he wouldn't accept that.
"I used to play with Azula in her room during their fights, try to keep her from hearing them. The shouting would only end when he left the house. It was bad Katara," he said, turning to look at her, "Really, really bad." She reached out timidly and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave a small smile as she pulled away, before continuing. "One day I found her after a really bad fight with a red mark across her cheek and a bloody nose. That was it. We kicked him out that night. Packed his bags, changed the locks, everything. We all wanted him to sober up and try to get us back, but apparently, that was too hard for him. A few weeks later, he showed up sober and apologetic. He said he felt bad for missing my birthday and that he wanted to take me out for dinner, just the two of us. My mom tried to tell him no and I could see that it would lead to a fight, so I told her I wanted to go. We went to a bar and he drank a few beers, saying that beer didn't count as alcohol." He paused and smiled sadly, "That night he crashed the car he shouldn't have been driving into a pickup truck."

-Katara-

Her heart went out to him. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him he didn't need to tell her, but he kept talking.
"When I woke up in the hospital one of my first thoughts was if he was okay." He gave her another sad smile as he spoke and shook his head, "He was so okay that he skipped out somehow and was on the run. He couldn't face potential jail time, so instead of making sure I was okay, he ran. He had fucked up for the last time and was too much of a coward to own up to his actions." They both were quiet. She didn't want to speak and interrupt his thoughts. If he needed to talk to someone, she would be that person. "Maybe he wanted the control. He was angry that we banished him from the house and this was his way to be the person to leave instead of the person left," he finished. After the finality of his words, she ventured to speak.
"Do you know where he is now?" she asked quietly.
"No and I couldn't care less." She frowned slightly, "Katara. He became a horrible man, let alone father, whether he was drunk or sober. I know we're better off without him. Mom, Azula, and I finally have a normal life." She gave him a small smile.
"Thank you." She said softly.
"For what?"
"For telling me." She wanted to tell him about her family, but wasn't sure if she should.
"I think we should make each other a promise," he said suddenly.
"What kind of promise?"
"I think we should promise not to say things are okay when they're not." She thought about it for a moment.
"Agreed," she decided and stuck out her pinkie.
"Really?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Hey, you said 'promise' and this is the only way to seal a promise." He smiled and stuck out his pinkie. "There," she said as she let go, "Now it's official."
"That being said… I can tell you've gone through some shit yourself, but you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to. It's okay." She really appreciated his patience. He was so kind, but she wanted to tell him. She wanted to talk to someone about it all.
"Thank you for being so understanding," she said as she smiled into his hazel eyes.
"It seems like I've always been able to talk to you."
"Same," she replied and took a deep breath. Here I go… "My mom died several years ago." He lurched back at the news.
"Oh Katara! I'm so, so sorry," his eyes were filled with sympathy.
"Thanks," she said softly. Just saying the words aloud brought back the pain. "I miss her."
"Of course you do. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my mother," he admitted, "I'm so sorry."
"And it's not like there's anyone I can blame. She died of cancer. I know it sounds horrible, but if she had been murdered or killed by a drunk driver or something there would at least be somebody somewhere who was responsible." The words poured out of her mouth, intense and sharp, "I can't blame her for not getting regular checkups because she's dead. I can't blame the doctors because I know it wasn't their fault. She was supposed to be getting better. The radiation was supposed to be working, but it wasn't. She's dead." The tears started to flow again, "She's dead." She repeated this time in a whisper.
"Hey, shhh…" Zuko soothed as he turned and opened her arms for her. She went gratefully into them. "Shhh…" She buried her face in his neck as he gently stroked her hair. She hated herself for falling apart in front of him, in front of anyone. She sniffed as she disentangled herself.
"Sorry," she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying.
"There's nothing to apologize for," he replied. They sat in silence for a moment as she wiped her eyes.
"I haven't cried like that in front of anyone over her since the day she died," she realized.
"Really?" he asked. She nodded her head thoughtfully.
"Not even at the funeral. I had to grow up. Gran Gran was already living with us, but she couldn't run the house alone."
"Oh," was all he said.
"Of course, I've cried for other reasons since…that," mainly angry tears that had slid down her cheeks without her permission, "but I haven't let myself cry that hard for her in front of people." The thought of her dad popped back into her head. "I actually cried last night, by myself, when my dad left."

-Zuko-

Her sad smile broke something within him. She had to be so strong for so long.
"He joined the navy not long after Mom died," she explained, "and the next thing I knew he was gone. Earlier this year, he could have been done. He'd put in enough time, but he chose to re-up. And the worst part… he told me yesterday that he was leaving today. I mean, that's pretty fucked up isn't it?"
"Definitely," he agreed firmly, "That's not right."
"Yeah, I wasn't afraid to tell him what I thought about it either. And now I'm just hoping he'll be okay. From what I heard from Gran Gran, I might have already lost my chance to contact him."
"I'm sure he'll be okay." He said, trying to comfort her even though he hated when people said things like that to him. Easy comfort isn't comforting the words drifted back to him. He'd read them somewhere… "He's already done one deployment you said? He should know what he's doing." It was a lame response, but she smiled anyway.
"Thanks Zuko," she replied and leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder. He didn't want to admit how natural it felt or how it made his heart beat just a little faster.

The sun had disappeared and the remaining light was slowly fading. After a few minutes, he felt like he should say something. Should he ask if they could be friends again or was that obvious? He wasn't sure. He was just about to open his mouth and say her name when another voice beat him to it. Zuko didn't have to turn around to know who it was either.
"Katara," Jet called, walking towards them. She sprung back and quickly scrambled to her feet.
"Hey Jet," she said, swiftly wiping her face for old tears.
"Are you okay?" he asked before glancing at Zuko, "Is he bothering you?" Zuko had to bite his tongue to keep from saying anything and his knuckles turned white from gripping the dock.
"No, no, no," Katara quickly replied, "I was just catching up with him. We used to be friends." Zuko didn't like the way that sounded. Past tense. He slowly stood.
"Yeah," he agreed, "I should probably get going actually. I need to help my Uncle light the campfire and stuff…"
"Oh okay," Katara replied. Did she sound a little disappointed? "See you later."
"Uh-huh," he nodded, "Bye." He walked back up the length of the dock, trying to ignore whatever Jet was saying. He was glad Katara and he finally got the chance to talk, but he wished it had ended differently. Whatever, he thought. He'd see her again soon at the campfire. It worried him a little just how drawn to her he was. Things or feelings like this didn't happen to people (least of all to him) except in the romance novels Azula secretly read. He didn't want to fuck up his restored friendship with Katara. He'd hate to have to spend the entire summer avoiding her.

Hopefully the summer would go smoothly. The other staffers seemed pretty cool. Well…except for Jet. There was something about him Zuko didn't like. Zuko's gut told him not to trust the guy, but he hoped he was wrong for everyone else's sake.

a/n Information overload yet? I actually had Zuko's background story written a while ago; it was one of my first ideas. I hope you thought it worked well in the story! Drop me a review and let me know. Thanks for reading!

Does anyone recognize the quote Zuko thinks of "easy comfort isn't comforting?" Also, does anyone else dislike Jet? xD

Next update probably won't be until next Saturday, so stay tuned!