I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Unfortunately.

Thanks to all those who reviewed! And sorry it's so late. Writer's block is such a pain, don't you agree? Oh, and I must say that I am a complete and total ditz. I completely forgot about the earth king. I mean, I just forgot. Let's just say he's somewhere safe. The Gaang dropped him off somewhere he couldn't be found or hurt or whatever, kay? There. I feel a bit better now.

Chapter Fifteen

Zuko woke to the smell of delicious fish. He opened his eyes to find Katara kneeling beside a fire, singing softly to herself. Everyone else was gone. He sat up. "Where is everyone?"

Katara turned, smiling at the sound of Zuko's voice. "They went to find some more food." She laughed. "But Sokka's probably lurking around somewhere. If I hadn't threatened to freeze him to a tree, he would have stayed here to 'keep an eye on me.' I don't think he understands that I can handle you all by myself."

Zuko tried to suppress all of the outrageous thoughts that statement brought to mind. "Do you need any help?" he asked, standing up.

"I'm fine, Zuko." Katara looked at the uncertainty on his face and then shook her head. "But you can keep me company."

He gave her a small smile and sat beside her. His thoughts went back to the night before and he blushed faintly. "Ah, Katara?"

"Yes?" she asked absentmindedly, concentrating on her fish.

"Last night, before—"

"Look what we got, Katara!"

The two turned and Katara sent Aang a huge smile. Zuko looked away. "Wow, Aang! You really found a lot, didn't you?"

The airbender nodded, proudly displaying the armful of fruit he held. "They were pretty high up but Ty Lee and I managed to reach them." Aang piled the fruit on the ground and Ty Lee did the same. "Will it be enough?"

"Of course! Thanks, guys." She turned back to the fish but not before sending Zuko a reassuring smile. He smiled back just as Sokka burst into the clearing. The peasant looked angry.

"What's wrong, Sokka?" Katara called. "Did you get beaten by a caterpillar?"

Sokka sent his sister a dark look. "We have too many people."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Appa can't carry this many people," Aang said softly. It was true. There were seven of them now. The most Appa could possibly hold was six. That meant that someone couldn't come with them.

Ty Lee glanced regretfully towards Sokka and then looked at Aang. "I can stay behind. I mean, I can always signal Azula to come and get me."

Sokka frowned at her. "Wait. You can signal Azula?" She nodded. "Then how do we know you haven't already done it?" he asked, waving his arms around.

Ty Lee shook her head. "You don't. But Azula isn't here, is she?"

"No," Sokka admitted.

"Wait." Zuko moved towards Ty Lee. "My sister is looking for the Avatar, too?"

Ty Lee looked suddenly nervous. "Yeah…she doesn't…She was going to capture you and your Uncle again," she said, her shoulders falling.

Zuko turned away, his fists erupting into flames. "I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

"Well duh," Katara suddenly said. "We all want the people we care about to change, Zuko. Sometimes they do, but your sister…it doesn't seem as if she'll ever change." She hugged him and then turned back to the fish and began cutting it up for everyone. Sokka sent a dark look towards the banished prince.

Zuko stood there, staring at Katara. What was it that made her so beautiful to him? Why was it that, whenever he saw emotion glittering in her eyes, his heart began to beat faster? Why did she affect him so much? He thought back to their time together in the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se.

She had been so close then, and she had touched his scar, without flinching. Since then, she had done so many times. And each time she did, it sent shivers down his spine. But he had betrayed her, even after she had offered to heal his scar. He still felt ashamed over that. And Zuko didn't understand how Katara could even look at him. But that was Katara. She had given him so many chances, even when he didn't deserve them.

But that was all in the past now. Wasn't it?

"Here, Zuko."

He looked up and smiled faintly as Katara handed him a plate of food.

"We have to fill up now if we want to get anywhere today."

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked, digging into his meal. He hadn't eaten for a while and he was starving.

Katara shook her head as she watched Zuko scarf down his food. There were just some things all boys had in common. "Well…"

"Katara!"

She turned to find Sokka glaring in their direction. Planting her hands on her hips, Katara turned and scowled. "What is it now, Sokka?"

"You shouldn't tell him what we're doing! He's still fire nation! And if you forgot, he betrayed you! More than once, I might add. We can't trust him."

"No," Katara said in a soft, yet strong voice. "You can't trust him. I, on the other hand, do."

"How can you even say that, Katara?" Sokka raged. "You're entirely too trusting! The same thing happened with Jet, but at least you don't give him as many chances as him, and Jet hasn't been chasing us around everywhere!"

Katara reacted as if Sokka had slapped her. She stepped back with an angry gasp, tears gathering in her blue eyes. Behind her, Zuko frowned. Jet? He had met someone named Jet before and, if Sokka was talking about the same person, it was no wonder he was getting to angry.

Suddenly, an angry thought rose in his head. "Did Katara like Jet?"

"How dare you!" Katara stepped forward, eyes blazing with fury. The nearby ocean began to rise with her anger, coming closer and closer. The young waterbender fairly trembled with her intense emotions. "How dare you! Do you think I'm just some stupid little girl who doesn't know anything?" The water began crashing heavily down on the shore, sending droplets raining down on the camp. "I can take care of myself, Sokka. But it's not like you'd ever notice. You're too busy playing warrior to see!"

The look of horror on Sokka's face would have been comical if Katara's power wasn't getting so out of control. Seeing his uncle nod, Zuko stood and placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Take a deep breath, Katara. Look at what you're doing."

Katara stilled and after a moment, turned her head to find that everyone was standing in water. "What…?" She shook her head. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. Katara sent a stricken look towards her scared brother and then she ran off to disappear into the woods.

Both Zuko and Aang started to go after her, but Iroh stopped the young firebender. "Let the Avatar take care of this, Nephew. She needs a friend right now."

"But, Uncle…"

"You know how difficult it can be to go against family, Prince Zuko. Right now she needs to talk to someone without confusion."

Zuko sighed. "Yes, Uncle."

-------

It seemed forever before Katara and Aang came back, but in reality it had only been fifteen minutes. Katara seemed calmer now, though her eyes still held a bit of confusion. But, as she passed Zuko, she smiled. He gave a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be okay.

Katara crossed the clearing to stand in front of her brother. "I'm sorry Sokka," she whispered, "but I really just want everyone to get along. Even if you can't trust Zuko, we can at least trust Uncle Iroh. He'll teach Aang, if that makes you comfortable, but I am going to tell Zuko where we're going. He has a right to know."

Before Sokka could protest, Katara turned around and crossed over to where Zuko and Iroh stood. She smiled grimly. "We're going to the Fire Nation, and we have to get there before the end of the summer."

"Why before the end of the summer?" Zuko asked, hardly daring to believe what they were going to do.

It was Sokka who answered, his own blue eyes filled with a fierce triumph. "We have to be there for the darkest day in Fire Nation history."

"The solar eclipse," Katara supplied.

"Very ingenious, Miss Katara," Iroh praised, "but how did you find out?"

Toph stepped forward. "Let's just say a little birdie wouldn't tell us so we checked out some books."

Katara nodded her agreement and then tossed an apologetic smile at her brother. "Sokka came up with it. He's the one who thought to look for the eclipse in the first place." She shrugged. "He does have his uses, sometimes."

"My uses!" Sokka sputtered. He moved forward, intent on saying more, when Momo jumped on his head. "Ahhh! Momo! Get off, get off, get off!" The teen began an odd, hopping dance, trying to reach the lemur.

Katara simply sighed and shook her head. "Aang, you'd better get Momo. We have to get going."

Aang called for Momo and the lemur jumped off of Sokka's head, looking oddly pleased with himself and chattering away. Sokka, however, looked comical. His hair was messed up and the look on his face was priceless.

Ty Lee giggled and walked over to him. "Cute," she said. And then she kissed his cheek. "I'd better get my signal ready." Sighing, she stepped away. "And think up what I'm going to say to Azula." She turned and ran off, leaving Sokka blushing madly.

Katara made a sound of complete disgust. "Hypocrite," she muttered, before climbing up on Appa. She glanced back down at Zuko. "Come on," she urged. Everyone else had already gotten on but Zuko was staring at the flying bison suspiciously.

"Is this even safe?"

Katara laughed. "You're not scared, are you?"

Zuko scrambled on and sat down, trying to act dignified. "Of course not. I was worried about my Uncle."

"Of course you were."

Up ahead, Aang urged Appa up. "Yip yip."

Zuko almost fell off. He recovered and glared at Katara with the most disgruntled look. She didn't stop laughing for ten minutes.

Ah, yes, the usual Zuko-Sokka conflict. It'll come back every so often. Sokka won't give up his suspicious nature that easily. But let me tell you, Zuko won't be so complacent, either. He has a bit of a temper, too... Please review.