Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, despite the excitement of the afternoon. As she and Suki cooked Katara thought that either Zuko was glancing at her more often than usual, or he was doing his best to avoid her eyes. What had the boys - men, she mentally corrected herself - talked about during their outing? She wondered (with more than a little idle curiosity) whether their conversation had resembled the girls'... or maybe she was just wishing that Zuko would have a reason to pay more attention to her than a mere "friend" would.

It did sadden her to think that Mai and Zuko had broken up, if only because it had probably been upsetting for Zuko. She wondered how it had happened, and why. Perhaps someone else in the Fire Nation had caught his eye? But no, he had quite emphatically denied wanting any romantic involvement earlier. And Zuko wasn't the type to stray - quite the opposite, in fact. But if he and Mai had broken up, and he insisted that he didn't want any romantic attachment, that meant he definitely only wanted to be friends. Any signs of attraction or romantic overtures on her part would be rejected - not that she had been planning on making any such overtures. Zuko was her friend. It would ruin their friendship if she tried to court him (even the idea sounded ridiculous in her head), and probably prove humiliating for them both.

He would be her friend only. Her very... attractive... friend, she admitted, thinking of Toph's comment earlier. Her very attractive, devoted, strong-willed friend. She watched him from the corner of her eye. Did he seem quieter than usual? Not for the first time, she wondered what he was thinking.

"Pebble for your thoughts?"

"No," he said. Then added, "I mean, no, thank you."

"It's okay, Zuko, you don't have to be polite," Toph said, settling herself beside him. "We're friends, not Fire Nation courtiers."

He sighed.

"What, not in the mood for being friends?" she asked wickedly. "Or are you tired of Fire Nation politics already?"

"You have no idea," he mumbled, reaching for the pot of tea he had brewed upon returning to camp. A few years ago he would never have been able to admit it, but he had come to realize that he really did love tea. It made him wonder whether he was destined to turn into his Uncle - not that he minded, of course. He would welcome the opportunity to be half the man Iroh was. Distracted by this thought, he missed what Toph had said.

"Sorry - what?"

"I said, you seem distracted," Toph repeated. "Did you find some nice gifts this afternoon?"

"Uhhhh..."

"I sure hope you did," Toph continued, fixing her sightless eyes on the ground near his feet. "Cause I'm pretty sure Katara got something pretty special for you."

It was shocking how quickly his chest tightened at her words. "What?" he gasped.

"I'm not supposed to be telling you this," Toph said, leaning in conspiratorially, "since the whole idea is that our gifts are a surprise. But I would sure hate for Katara to do something special for you if you're not prepared to reciprocate."

Zuko sputtered incoherently. "I - what - she-"

"So did you get something good?" Toph prodded.

At that moment, all Zuko could think was how grateful he was that he had chosen a seat well out of earshot from the others. "I - no! I mean, what do you mean she got something special? Why would she get me of all people something special?" His cheeks burned.

Toph threw up her hands. "You know, for all that you people can actually see each other, you're pretty blind sometimes."

"But-" Zuko's head was spinning. "But she and Aang-" he stopped himself. Aang himself had admitted that he and Katara were not romantically involved. Aang had said she was interested in someone else But that couldn't mean... she couldn't possibly...

"She can't like me."

"What? What do you mean 'can't'? Are you going to tell her what to do?"

"Of course not," Zuko retorted. "No one tells her what to do. But I'm the Firelord - I have a duty, an obligation to the Fire Nation. She's of the Water Tribe, she-" Again he stopped himself, not wanting to follow the train of thought his mind had drawn out. "Why would she like me?"

"Hey Sparky, don't go getting ahead of yourself now. I didn't say she was wanting to marry you and move to the Fire Nation, I just said she got you something special for tomorrow. And so my question is, did you get something special for her?"

-.-.-.-

"You know, for all that our group includes the Avatar and Fire Nation Royalty and there's a town less than two miles from here, I find it really interesting that our idea of 'vacation' somehow translates to 'camping out in the wilderness,'" Toph commented later that evening as Katara and Suki resurrected the girls' tent.

"Why?" Suki asked, surprised. "I think it makes sense."

"Oh, I didn't say it doesn't make sense, just that I find it interesting," Toph said. "Any town would probably stumble over top of themselves to host the Firelord and Avatar for a couple nights. They'd probably pamper us all for free!"

"I don't think Aang and Zuko are in any mood to be pampered more than they already are," Katara said. "Aang's a monk by training, and Zuko..." she trailed off.

"Zuko what?" Toph asked casually.

Katara shook her head. "I think the only reason he agreed to come out with us in the first place is because we're camping out," she said. "You heard him earlier. He needs to get away from being the Firelord sometimes."

Suki nodded seriously. "He seems pretty stressed out by it all."

"Probably because he worries constantly that he's going to screw up and turn into Ozai," Toph said, then yawned. "Iroh can only give him so much affirmation. I wouldn't be surprised if he's really lonely a lot of the time."

Katara bit her lip, unexpectedly stung by the comments. "That's not right," she said quietly. "Doesn't he have friends in the Fire Nation?"

"Katara, really? We were the only 'real' friends he ever made, and we don't exactly live in the palace with him. And now that Mai's gone, he probably doesn't have anyone he can talk to honestly besides Iroh. And no offense to Uncle Teddy Bear, but Zuko probably doesn't want to confide everything to him. The guy needs someone his own age to talk to."

Katara was silent, mulling this over.

"That seems so sad," Suki said. "Maybe we could try to visit him more often."

Toph shrugged. "We could. I think he needs more than that, though."

They fell into silence as Suki and Katara arranged the bedrolls and packs (Toph had decided at the beginning of the trip that she would share a tent with them instead of creating her own rock cave), though no one seemed willing to get into them when they had finished.

Katara opened the tent flap and peered up into the moon-bright sky. She didn't usually have trouble falling asleep, but the time of night when the moon shone brightest was undeniably her favorite part of the day. From the snores emanating from the guys' tent, though, no one else seemed to be feeling very alert right then.

"Oh, Katara!" Suki said from inside the tent. "I forgot to ask - what did you end up getting the b- guys?"

"It's okay, Suki, I have a hard time thinking of them as men too," Toph said.

Katara let the tent flap fall and sat back down. "Nothing too fancy," she admitted. "A month's supply of seal jerky for Sokka and some pinemango for Aang."

"And for Zuko?"

Against her will, Katara blushed. "I didn't get him anything." When Suki gave her an incredulous look, she hurriedly said, "I didn't know what to get him! What do you get the ruler of an entire nation that he can't get himself?"

"Something that he can't get himself," Toph said, as if the answer were obvious. "Which I would figure out sooner rather than later, if I were you. Word 'round camp says that he got you something pretty special."

"WHAT?"

"Voice down!" Toph hissed. "Do you want to wake them up?"

Katara stared at the shorter woman, her heart thudding like a drumbeat in her chest. "How do you know that?" she demanded. "Why would he get me something special? I - we - he-"

"Oh come on, Katara," Toph said impatiently. "I can't see his face, but even I can tell that he looks at you differently than everyone else."

"How would you know?" Katara murmured, still shocked.

Toph sighed. "I have pretty good ears, okay? His voice is different when he talks to you. Softer."

"But..." Katara's mind was working frustratingly slow. "But he said he didn't want to woo anyone right now!"

"Of course he doesn't want to woo just anyone," Suki joined in earnestly. "He wants to woo you, but I think he's afraid you don't see him in that way."

"But I..."

"Well? Do you see him in that way?" Toph demanded.

Katara stared at her two friends, cheeks flaming. At that moment, she wished she could firebend, if only to release the heat building up inside of her. "I..." She looked down. "Of course I like him," she muttered.

"Yeah, well, so does everybody," Toph said mercilessly. "That's not enough. How much do you like him?"

Katara squeezed her eyes shut. I can't believe we're having this conversation. "Too much," she whispered. "Probably more than he likes me."

Suki's hand fell gently on her shoulder. "Katara," she said, grey-blue eyes soft. "I rather doubt that."

"But he's the Firelord!" Katara found herself saying loudly, her eyes stinging. "I'm from the Water Tribe! I have a home in the South Pole; he's bound to live in the Fire Nation! Besides, what would Dad say? What would Sokka, and Aang?"

"Twinkle-toes would be happy for you," Toph said quietly. "You know he would be. As for your dad-"

"Your father respects and likes Zuko a lot," Suki said firmly. "So does Sokka; you know that. Besides, he wouldn't dare say anything against it." She slammed a fist into the other palm, grinning fiercely. "Trust me."

Katara looked down at her hands. "I don't know," she said, feeling overwhelmed. "It's one thing to lo- like Zuko, and quite another to-"

"Katara, you need to calm down," Toph interrupted. "No one said you had to marry him tomorrow. We're just exchanging gifts. If you really want, you guys can exchange them privately, so that you also have some space to talk." She elbowed Suki gently. "And don't worry about Sokka - she'll take care of him, no problem."

Katara felt a tentative grin forming, and she hugged the two girls. "Thanks guys. I don't know what I'd do without you two."

"Wallow in unrequited love forever, I expect," Toph grumbled under her breath.

-.-.-.-

Zuko was up with the sun the next morning, stealthily rolling up his pack and picking his way around the snoring Aang and Sokka to exit the tent silently. He tucked a piece of Sokka's jerky into his pocket and jogged the whole way to town, praying that the street vendors would be open early.

The town was mostly empty, though a few early-risers wandered the streets with him as he searched for the vender from yesterday. After a few minutes' harried searching he found it, and he felt his chest expand as he saw the grey-haired woman bending over some boxes of wares.

"Excuse me," he said, and she startled, knocking a box over. "Oh shoot - I'm sorry -"

He picked up the errant box and handed it to the woman, whose eyes alighted on him with recognition. "Ah, the young man from yesterday! Back to purchase a gift, I hope?"

Zuko nodded. "Do you still have that fire opal pendant?"

The woman grinned. "You are just in luck!" She rummaged through several boxes and Zuko shifted his weight, trying to keep his expression patient. Finally she straightened and handed him a display box. "I have some more ornate ones in another box somewhere," she said, as if she were worried that the one in the box was too simple. "But those are also a lot more expensive-"

"Price isn't an issue," Zuko said absentmindedly, studying the necklaces in the box. He immediately found the one that had jumped out at him yesterday, putting him in mind of a lightning storm. The many colors shimmered, bleeding into each other, as he turned the box back and forth to catch the light. The necklace was relatively simple, but he suspected Katara wasn't one for overly-fancy jewelry. It was a different style than her mother's pendant, which was a relief - the last thing he needed was a mix-up of confused intentions.

"I'll take it," he said.

"An excellent choice," the woman said, nodding fervently. "It comes with this-" she took out a fine golden chain and then named the price. Zuko nodded - it was actually less expensive than he had anticipated - and carefully counted out the money into her palm.

The woman strung the pendant onto the chain and deposited both into a tiny cloth bag that tightened shut. "Your lady will love it," she said, and Zuko grinned tightly.

"I certainly hope so."

To be continued…