I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, or any of the names or characters of the show. I merely control them for my own twisted pleasure from this point in the story on.

Chapter 15: Practice

The feel of Katara's lips against his sent a vicious thrill down Zuko's spine. It was beyond wrong for him to feel this way about it. He was a prince, for one thing, and this wasn't the type of thing a prince did. He didn't wrestle around on the ground and he didn't just let someone kiss him.

But the thought gradually gave way to another one; he wasn't just Prince Zuko anymore. There was part of him that knew the rules of his kingdom and there was part of him that knew the rules of his heart.

He knew it was wrong to be this way, to be with Katara and care for her, and that part of him that knew that no matter what, they weren't meant to be together. They'd been born enemies, and spending time together didn't and couldn't change that fact.

But the other half of him knew that no matter what, he wanted to stay like this for as long as possible. The Blue Spirit was that part of him that broke rules and made up new ones along the way. Under his mask, Zuko could be whoever he wanted to be, prince or thief.

Unfortunately, he thought as he pulled away, Prince Zuko couldn't be doing this with the waterbending best friend of the Avatar. Zuko knew that no matter what, as soon as they found his Uncle, they would have to go their separate ways.

But as he watched Katara's reaction to his rejection and knew what he really wanted was to stay by her side at least for now, he decided that the Blue Spirit could be doing this.

Katara knew that what she was doing was rash and almost completely thoughtless, but it had finally gotten to the point where she didn't care anymore. So, she was stupid and careless and hadn't stopped herself from doing the one thing she'd wanted to do at that moment.

She pulled away from their kiss and looked up at him; she was very sure he'd turn away from her now. When he did straighten into a full sitting position, her heart felt as thought it had fallen into her stomach.

So he didn't feel the same way. Had she been too forward? She had no idea what she was doing, and had gone with instinct like Sokka always preached. It figured her brother's ridiculous theories would get her in to a mess involving a boy.

She glanced over at the Blue Spirit and blushed furiously when his masked face turned to meet her eyes. He was probably thinking about how silly she was and how bizarre it had been for her to kiss him like that. She was embarrassed and angry and sad, all at the same time, not fully prepared for what his reaction would be. She looked up just in time to see him reach out for her and was too surprised to move away.

His hand moved up her arm, one finger touching her shoulder before smoothly running down her exposed skin. He took her hand in his own and turned it palm up as if he was going to give her something. Instead, he brought it to his mouth and kissed her lightly on the palm before smiling at her.

The only word she knew for her reaction was shock, and it wasn't quiet strong enough to describe what that motion had done to her entire body. Her face turned a darker shade of red when she recovered enough to inhale.

Standing, the Blue Spirit's smile disappeared under the edge of his mask as he slid it back into place. Katara suddenly felt like she'd bitten off more than she could chew, and wondered why she felt so nervous.

She watched him walk over to his tree and sit down with his back against it again. When he sat down, he looked over at her, nodding before lowering his chin to his chest and visible relaxing. Taking a few minutes to just breathe, Katara knew that no matter how tired she was, she'd never be able to sleep now.

Her mind was racing, and her heart beat wouldn't slow down. He'd accepted her kiss. She'd been so worried that he would think she was silly, so worried that he'd avoid her after. His action had no doubt been in recognition of her kiss and he even smiled at her.

She had only learned a few things about him from what she had seen of his face, but not enough to get a clear picture of what he looked like. It only fed her curiosity. She refused to take off his mask until he told her too. She knew he couldn't talk, but that wasn't the point.

Knowing that and thinking about it would do nothing; she stood up and walked over to the Blue Spirit, who lifted his head to look at her.

She gulped, not really ready to talk to him just yet, but she couldn't have him worrying about her if he woke up and she was gone.

"I'm going to the river to train." When he didn't move, she couldn't stop herself from going on. "You see, waterbending is stronger at night, and well, I need to train. We're still pretty close to the river and we'll be cutting across land tomorrow so I thought since I'm not tried I might as well train while I have the chance."

He tilted his head to the side and then up at her, and she felt the blush rise to her face, knowing he was grinning at her. "Never mind!" she growled and could near him laughing as she fled.

She was about to go through the trees when she passed by their pile of accessories; her water flask and bag were lying over his swords. Looking back at him and still a little playful, she grabbed one of his swords and ran towards the river.

When she thought she was far enough away she stopped running and followed the pull of the river unconsciously. She inspected his sword closely, knowing a thing or two about sharp weapons from the times her brother went on about his. The edge was super sharp and the blade was heavy.

Katara did a test swing, using two hands. The hilt was bitten into with the pressure marks of a bigger hand then hers, and she smiled to herself. She walked on getting closer and closer to the water. But when she got there, she decided that waterbending could wait; she wanted to practice with his sword for a while longer.

Zuko watched her from the trees, wondering why he didn't feel angry that she was using his sword. He'd already strapped the second Dao on to his back, fully intending to just follow her and get its brother back. But when he saw her exploring it in the moonlight, he found that he just wanted to join her for the whole time she was here.

He had just pushed off the tree when she saw that her movements with the sword were being mimicked by the water behind her. She didn't seem to realize that it was happening. When she thrust forward with the sword, a water whip hit her in the back of the head.

He nearly doubled over laughing when she yelped and grabbed the back of her head with her free hand, glaring at the water as if it done it on purpose. Katara turned to him when she heard his laugh, blushing before laughing along with him.

She held out his sword. "Here," her voice was full of laughter and resignation. "I guess it doesn't like me."

He walked forward towards her, feeling a little silly about the stupid grin on his face. He reached out for the sword and as his hand touched the hilt he got a better idea. Bypassing the blade, he grabbed her hand instead. Spinning her around so that her back was to his chest, the maneuvered left her facing the water.

He took a second just to hold her in the semi-innocent way before continuing with the move. He placed her hand on the hilt before covering them with his own. She might be good with both of them, but she was a two-handed sword type of person, he could tell by the way she'd held it before.

He let her go, realizing he wouldn't be able to tell her what to do. He walked passed her, turning to face her as an opponent. When he saw the smile that crossed her lips he realized she would enjoy this was much as he would. Drawing his other sword, he motioned for her to attack him.

He spent the next few attacks easily dodging her blows and correcting her stance. The third time she come at him, he noticed again that the water was following her moves. He'd never firebended with his swords before, but she seemed to be doing it unconsciously.

He held up a hand to her and she relaxed her stance. He wanted to see the extent of her abilities so he had a very simple block with his word. When she looked at him with confusion, he motioned to her. He repeated the move and motioned to her.

"Oh." She quickly took her stance again and copied him. He did the move again, this time not looking at her but the water to see if it was responding.

"That's strange," she said and drew his attention. She sounded confused, but Zuko understood immediately. She'd gotten so used to bending as a way to battle that when she thought about fighting, she bended. She repeated the move and watched the water.

"If I do this right," she said and did a couple more moves, "I could use a weapon to defend myself and bend at the same time."

It was a good idea, but impractical for a waterbender. A firebender or a airbender maybe, but not for her. He walked up and took the sword from her, and she looked at him with puzzlement.

"You don't think it's a good idea do you?" she asked after a second, and he was again stunned at how much she understood him by mere body language. "I guess your right, she said as if he's actually said it. "Water is meant as an offensive move, if they'd gotten to be by the time I'd need a sword, it would be too late anyway."

She smiled and a blush colored her cheeks. "I'd still like to practice with you, if you don't mind."

She somehow made him forget he'd ever been alone.

He nodded and held out the other sword to her, but she shook her head. "You train your way and I'll-" she bending some of the water from the river into a ball in her hand, "-train my way. I just want the company."

He nodded and watched as she got closer to the river's edge. Sadness filled Zuko when he realized it was the Blue Spirit whose company she wanted. He quickly knocked that thought to the back of his mind. He'd spend every minute with her that he could, because it would all have to end eventually.

This is where my Author Notes go...Enjoy.

Yeah, so this chapter had a different feel to it, and I don't know if I liked it a whole lot. What do you guys think? Can you even tell?

AM I JUST FREAKING OUT?!

It was mostly filler and I'm sorry for that.

I didn't even get to say what I started out this chapter trying to say. So I guess I'll say it next chapter. sigh

Yeah.. confusing? Sorry…

And this chapter was totally about taking credit for giving Zuko the idea to firebend with his swords. Hahahahahaha.

Okay I'm done…-smile-