ZUTARA WEEK 2010.
DAY IV PROMPT: DATE

(Takes place between TFM and TBR, and features Bitter!Katara)

Katara glared at the firebender as he left the campfire and returned to his rooms. Ever since he and Aang had returned from their field trip, the two boys and Toph had been completely at ease with the scarred boy, and even Sokka had been warming up to him. But she knew him better than that. Oh, yes, did she ever know him better than that. She knew that he cared about nothing but his so called "honour". He had proven that much underneath Ba Sing Se.

Which is why she was so surprised at the scene before her. Unbeknownst to the firebender, she had snuck off to follow him on the pretence of going to bed herself. Watching him from the shadows, she saw as he reached for a small portrait that was next to his bed and lightly stroke the frame. His mouth moved and she heard the faintest murmur coming from him, but she was too far away to hear any distinct words. She watched as Zuko carefully placed the frame back in its customary place and placed another small package, this one still wrapped, beside it before clenching his fists and crawling underneath his single, light sheet.

Intrigued, Katara tried to sneak farther into Zuko's room, to see if she could catch a glimpse at the mysterious picture frame and the wrapped package. Funny how she hadn't noticed the picture the last time she had been in here, the night that she had threatened him. Just as she was about to turn the picture so she could see it, Zuko's hand shot out behind him and grabbed her wrist. Gasping in astonishment, she tried to pull her hand back, but his hands were the same vice that they had been that night under the tree with the pirates. She tried to stare him down to get him to release her hand s, but when her eyes met his glowing amber eyes, her heart seemed to drop into her stomach. His eyes can't possibly be glowing, can they? Before she could do anything else, however, Zuko's hand shoved her back a step as he got out of bed.

"Are you in the habit of watching people as they sleep, or am I just special?" Zuko's raspy voice cut the still night air as Katara stood, still half-petrified, staring at his seemingly luminescent eyes. Recovering, Katara managed to look haughty as she opened her mouth.

"What's in the package? And who's that a picture of"

Giving her a sideways look, Zuko snorted. "Why should I tell you? You've done nothing but make my life miserable since I got here. Now look, it's late, and I'm getting up at dawn to train Aang. Would you mind letting me sleep?"

Katara felt a surge of anger wash through her. Since when had he stopped taking her abuse? "Excuse me? The only reason that you're even here is because I agreed to let you train Aang. If the vote hadn't been unanimous, you wouldn't be here. So shut up and show me appreciation. Now, I believe that I asked to see your..." Katara trailed off as she felt a chill freeze along her ribs and back as Zuko stepped towards her, eyes smouldering in fury.

"Why can't you get over this? Everybody else is finally starting to accept me, and yet here you are, trying to provoke me into attacking you so that they will kick me out." Zuko punctuated his words with his finger, moving closer and closer to Katara, forcing her to back up to avoid being poked with his finger. He kept forcing her back until she hit a wall. Taking a brief look around, she realised that he had managed to force her out of his room.

Before she could do anything about it, however, she was drawn in once again by his burning eyes. "But I won't let you. Haven't you learned by now? I thrive on adversity. I've lived with it very single day of my life, peasant, and I'll be damned if you think that you can win this one. So go back to your Water Tribe blankets and forget this incident ever happened... because that's what I'm going to do. Goodnight." As Zuko walked away, he slammed his door behind him.

Katara stood there in shock a moment longer before heading off to her own rooms, telling herself that she was going back because it was late, not because Zuko told her to. Resolving to ask Toph about Zuko's strange behaviour in the morning, she pulled up her sleeping skins and fell asleep, dreaming of defiantly glowing golden eyes in the night.

- - - oOo - - -

"Hey Toph. What's up?"

Toph angled her head slightly at the sound of Katara's oddly sweet voice. She had known that Katara was going to see her this morning, after feeling what she had last night. "What do you want, Sweetness?"

Taken aback by Toph's brusqueness, Katara flew into mothering mode without even realising it. "Toph, don't talk to me like that."

"Sugar Queen, give it up already. You only sound like that when there's something you want from me." Crossing her arms over her chest, Toph was not impressed (although not terribly surprised, either)with Katara's tone.

Allowing herself a hint of a blush, Katara forged on to ask Toph the question that had been bothering since last night's... encounter. "Did you notice anything... weird about Zuko yesterday?"

"What, did Princess actually grow a spine last night, or something?" Toph asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, that's beside the point, but... you felt the whole thing, didn't you?"

"Don't you know it, Sweetness. The only question is, what are you going to do for me if I tell you?"

"I don't know... I'll make your favourite meal?"

"Nope. You, dear Katara, are going to give Zuko a break."

"What? Why should I give that dirty Fire Nation traitor a break?"

"Because you don't understand him. He's like me, in a way: he gave up everything to come and help you guys. He could have stayed in the Fire Nation and nobody would have been the wiser. Now the guy who was raised to rule the entire Fire Nation is hated by those same people because he turned traitor on not only his own family, but his whole Nation, to help the Avatar. It's likely that even after we win this war, his own country will still hate him. Do you have any idea of how depressing that must be?"

Sputtering, Katara tried to come up with a reasonable argument, but Toph was having none of that. "And then you pick one of the worst possible times to have an argument with him."

"Why was yesterday one of the worst possible times to have an argument with him?"

"Because, Sugar Queen, yesterday was his Uncle's birthday."

"So? All Zuko cares about is his honour."

Stomping her foot, Toph raised a block of stone to her head level. And smashed her forehead through it, shattering it into a hundred pieces. And then looked at the waterbender standing opposite her.

"What?"

"Zuko lost all of his honour coming to help us, can't you get that? He doesn't have any left, at least according to the Fire Nation. Add that to the trauma of him celebrating his Uncle's birthday alone when he doesn't even know that he'd be so proud of Zuko for joining us..." Toph looked up at Katara and she was surprised to see a tear trickling from the corner of her eyes. "Don't you understand? He gave up everything."

As Toph walked off, only one coherent thought came to Katara. 'I guess that I should wish Iroh a belated birthday if I ever see him again'

I. LOVE. Toph. She's hilarious, but I usually can't find it in myself to write her. Hope that I didn't fail too badly here. Not too proud of this piece, it was supposed to turn out a bit differently, but... oh well. How are these getting longer? This was supposed to be the shortest one yet... At least Storm is kinda short...

Credit where it's due: Vathara again, today, for her scene in Embers where Toph smashes blocks with her head in frustration. Toph's speech about Zuko also partly inspiried from Embers.