A/N: Holy wow, I was concerned people wouldn't like the turn I took with bloodbending but here we are. I'm really glad it didn't come off as forced or anything y'know? Anyway, welcome to chapter 5, we are officially halfway through this adventure.
Zuko doesn't see Katara for days, the bruises from their violent encounter fading and yellowing as he manages to avoid her and focus on the other members of the group that were far less confusing. None of them seemed to know about their battle, but Zuko was still on edge. If they found out he had hurt her, there was no telling what kind of progress he would lose. Aang had just started to get comfortable around him, and Sokka was even making an effort to joke with him the same way he did with the others. Toph was generally confusing in her stoicism as to how she regarded Zuko, but he assumed he was on good terms with her by the lack of malice. He was finally making, what he hesitantly called, friends.
Which raised the question, why hadn't she told them? He considers her guilt over bending his blood, but surely her friends wouldn't turn on her for something like that. From what he'd seen, their friendship was unconditional, and he could never imagine any of them reacting negatively towards her because she did something less than honorable. He comes to the possible conclusion that it was because she didn't want him to lose his progress. He had far more to lose if they found out about their fight, and she knew it, yet she wasn't using it against him, because she cared as much as he did about his relationships with her friends. It's such a ludicrous thought that Zuko tosses it out as soon as it passes through his mind.
"Is she blackmailing me?" He considers out loud, pacing his room restlessly as he thinks. Perhaps that was the case. She couldn't be keeping this a secret out of kindness or some kind of affection for him, so the only option left was that she was using this to be sure she had complete power over him.
"What does she want from me?" He asks himself. He had nothing to give her beyond a few artifacts he'd stolen from the palace when he'd left. He'd be happy to give those to her, and she could trade them for goods in any marketplace that knew their value, but beyond that he had nothing. He was already offering his services as—he groans—Sifu Hotman free of charge, and he wasn't putting up a fight to their confinement of him.
"Will you stop pacing? You're making so much noise I can't hear myself think." Toph growls from the other side of the stone wall in his doorway. He pauses, confused. He'd always had a particularly light step, and aside from his sporadic noises of concern and confusion as he spoke to himself, he was being practically silent. How did she even know he was pacing?
"How did you—"
"I can feel you pacing, and you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep doing it. What are you so nervous about?" The stone lowers swiftly, bringing the girl's relaxed form into view. He sees her leaning back against the opposite wall, arms crossed and feet planted firmly against the ground as she crosses her arms.
"Is that how you see?" He ignores her question completely.
"Through my feet, yeah. I feel the vibrations from you wearing a hole in the floor and talking to yourself." Zuko clears his throat awkwardly as she speaks; "Now I asked you a question. What are you all flustered about? Was it your little scuffle with the Ice Queen?" He gapes, tripping over his words as he tries to speak.
"What? How—" Had Katara told someone after all? If Toph was angry, he couldn't tell.
"Save it. I already told you I can feel the things happening around me." He's silent, not entirely sure how to respond, "I saw the whole thing, so to speak. Katara kicked your butt." He huffs indignantly.
"She cheated." Zuko murmurs, his pride taking a hit, even if it shouldn't have, "Why aren't you mad? I hurt your friend."
"She needed some sense knocked into her. She's been treating you like dirt since you got here, so I kind of thought it was only fair." Toph was different from the rest of the group, obviously, and it confused the Prince to no end. He was never sure what to expect from her, and her cunning and bold nature were at odds with her small stature, "Don't think that's me giving you permission to do it again, though. You were entitled to one, and that's it."
"No, you don't get it. She didn't owe me anything, not after the things I've done. She had every right to treat me the way she did, but I'm hoping we can move past it now that all that aggression was let out." Zuko says, wondering how much of that he meant. The thought of moving past the things he'd done was little more than a fantasy, and a depressingly unrealistic one at that.
"I'm not sure that's how this works, Sparky." Zuko shoots her an annoyed glare, "Beating each other up isn't really recommended therapy. If it was, I'd be a great therapist." Her joke falls on deaf ears, Zuko too caught up in his own turmoil to even fake a laugh. He doesn't realize she's walked into his room until she pokes him in the chest so hard that it sends him staggering backwards.
"Lighten up, will you? You're depressing me just by standing near you. I don't think hurting each other is going to help you guys, but I think if you just relax and get all of this bad blood out, you'll be better off." Toph states bluntly. Zuko can't help but rub the spot on his chest where she'd poked him, frowning.
"How are we supposed to do that?" Zuko snaps, his tone more aggressive than he'd meant it to be.
"First things first, you two need to be alone—like, alone alone. Part of Katara's problem is that she's established how much she's supposed to hate you. She's as stubborn as I am, so she's going to try to stick to the stance she's decided on just to keep her word. If she gets to know you away from all of us, she'll be quicker to at least hear you out because she won't need to prove to anyone that she really hates you." Zuko's stomach twists and heat rises to his cheeks at the thought of the last time they'd been alone in the same room. He'd almost kissed her, and had practically tasted her on his lips. He'd felt each movement of her mouth as her quivering voice had announced her egress. He has to swallow heavily to speak.
"Katara would never go anywhere alone with me." He doesn't trust his restraint around her, and he wasn't sure if she trusted herself either, yet Toph thought it was a good idea for them to be alone together. Zuko continues to be mystified by how the earthbender's mind works.
"We're pretty much out of food, so she was already planning on going to a market. You could go with her." Zuko scoffs, shaking his head and absently wondering just how many of his gestures she could actually sense.
"She'd never let me."
"Maybe it's just me, but I feel like she's kind of given herself the job as your warden. She won't want to leave you alone with us, so she'll take you along. Trust me." She seems to be finished with the conversation, turning swiftly on her heel and trotting out of the room without a proper goodbye.
"You're not a bad therapist, you know." He says jokingly as she positions her hands in front of her, prepared to lift the rock blockade once again. A smile crosses her lips.
"I know." The stone rises, isolating him once again, and he sits on the edge of the bed, tracing the pale scars on his wrists with his thumb.
Appa was a beast that rivaled any other that Zuko had seen. When he'd freed him in Ba Sing Se, it had been dim and cramped, but in this open space the bison seems to be infinitely larger now that he could take in the entirety of him. He'd so rarely gotten this close to the beast that touching him now was foreign.
"Are you coming or not?" Katara asks, settling in the saddle as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her words are sharp, but he can easily tell that she was struggling to keep her tone aggressive. Zuko chooses not to respond, instead taking fistfuls of coarse fur in his hands to propel himself up the side of Appa and into the saddle. It's spacious, with more than enough room for the two of them, and the leather of the saddle is comfortable enough to sit on. He scoots as far as possible from Katara, sitting at the very back of the saddle.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come, Katara?" Aang asks, gripping his glider nervously.
"Yes. We don't want to give them any hint as to where you are. The Fire Lord will have sent out as many soldiers as possible looking for you, and I don't think a headband is going to throw them off this time." He taps the glider against the ground, fidgeting.
"And Zuko's face is less recognizable?" Zuko grits his teeth, a familiar flash of anger boiling to life in his gut, but before he can say anything, Katara speaks.
"Less people will be looking for him. He may be wanted, but he's not their priority." The airbender seems somewhat satisfied by her answer, reaching a hand out to affectionately pat the bison on his nose.
"I guess…just be careful, okay?" Katara's features soften as a smile crosses her lips, and Zuko watches the gaze they share with intrigue.
"I will be. Don't worry about me." Aang smiles back at her, the same softness in his own smile. The Prince suddenly feels like he's intruding on an intimately private moment, eyes flickering away from them to watch a flock of birds swoop through the canyon. Suddenly his confusing feelings for Katara turn to heavy guilt in his core, making heat wash through him.
He's jolted when Appa rises from the ground, air rushing past them and pushing the unruly hair out of his eyes. He sits up to look down at the ground receding from them. He'd never had a fear of heights, but he still grips the saddle more tightly. Once they're too high to see anything of meaning on the ground below, Zuko turns his attention back to Katara. She sits in the very front of the saddle, facing away from him and holding the massive reigns in her hands loosely.
There's no sound but the rushing of wind between them for longer than Zuko can keep track of. He notes that the sun has crept across the sky and has started to descend once land starts reappearing beneath them, and still not a word has been said.
"What do we need to get at the market?" Zuko asks, his words feeling deafening despite the fact that the howl of the wind practically drowns them out. He wonders if she'd heard him, her gaze staying straight ahead.
"Food." She answers stiffly. He realizes now that her tone with him hadn't been forced anger, but awkward uncertainty forced through the lens of annoyance. This was the first time they were face to face, without a wall in between them, since he'd nearly kissed her. He considers that she's as confused as he is, but the way she'd looked at Aang came back to the forefront of his mind. The affection in their shared gaze didn't lie, and it displayed something deeper than the confusing, tenuous connection she was forming with Zuko.
"Are you and the Avatar a…thing?" He wonders who spoke until he realizes those had been his words that had slipped past his lips without thought. He hopes she'll miss what he said, but her head suddenly whips around to look at him.
"What? Why would you even ask something like that?" She yells, throwing down the reigns, "That's none of your business!" Zuko sits back against the saddle, frowning deeply as he sees the pink on her cheeks. Something burns inside of him, stronger than hatred but a different feeling entirely. Jealousy.
"Will you calm down? It was just a simple question, and you answered it anyway." He growls out the end of his sentence, looking at the distant mountain ranges instead of at the waterbender. He had no claim to her, he wasn't even sure what he was in her eyes, but still jealousy makes his jaw clench and his breath come out in an angry plume of steam that's whisked away as soon as it leaves him.
"Are you—are you jealous?" The wind dies down as Appa starts to slow, more leisurely gliding through the air now that no one is telling him where he's meant to go.
"No." Zuko hisses, standing now that he's sure the wind won't knock him back down.
"You have no reason to be jealous!" He wants to bring up the near-kiss, but he chokes it down in favor of a wordless growl.
"I said I'm not. If you want to distract Aang from taking my father down, that's your problem. I don't care." She steps towards him, fists clenched at her sides. So close. Why was she always so close to him?
"No, what's 'not your problem' is my love life because you aren't involved in it." She sounds so sure, but when he searches her eyes, there's uncertainty. She's desperately hoping he doesn't see the tidal wave of conflict being held back by just her wavering thoughts. She knows how close they are and he watches her swallow nervously.
"Katara, you know this isn't that simple—" He's cut off when she turns away from him, grabbing Appa's reigns once more as they start to get lower to the ground.
"Yes, it is. It is that simple." He steps closer to her, reaching a hand out to brush her shoulder. She tenses as soon as he touches her, the reigns suddenly flicking against Appa and signaling to the animal to speed up. It forces Zuko to stagger backwards and his hand falls off of her shoulder.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because it has to be."
The market is swarming with Fire Nation soldiers. Some are in full uniform and standing at attention at various points throughout the space, while others are dressed to blend in with the Earth Kingdom citizens. Though Zuko instantly recognizes them as his nationality by just glancing at their faces. The cloak over his head—made of cheap, dirty fabric that made him look more like a beggar than he'd like—covered his identifying scar, but he was still on edge, his bound hands itching to be held at his sides and prepared to strike.
"We shouldn't be here." Zuko murmurs, walking close enough to Katara that his shoulder brushes hers. She sidesteps away from him, shooting him a glare.
"We've got no other choice. The next market is too far away and we need to be back before nightfall." She stops him by tugging on his cloak, pulling him with her towards a booth that's caught her attention. Zuko lets out an aggravated noise, brushing his hair into his eyes as he looks down at the merchant's counter.
"That doesn't matter, we can set up camp overnight. There's too many soldiers here, someone is going to recognize us." Katara has made an attempt at disguising herself as well, wearing a cloak that matches his, but anyone looking at her face could tell she didn't belong here, and she didn't have bangs like he did to hide most of her face.
"They will if you keep whispering like a fugitive." Katara hisses at him, her elbow sinking roughly into his ribs.
"I am a fugitive." He growls back, jutting his elbow out in what he pretends isn't revenge.
"Why don't you say that a little louder? I don't think some otter penguins in the South Pole heard you." She shoves him away from her, moving to the other end of the counter. He follows her, staying close enough to whisper.
"Funny, but this isn't the time for jokes. Do you know what my father will to do us if he finds us? Something tells me he's not in a forgiving mood." She seems annoyed by his persistence, moving on from the merchant and traveling to the one across the aisle. Again, he follows.
"Probably not. I bet he'll even ground you." Zuko practically chokes on his anger, fists clenching beneath his cloak.
"Why aren't you taking this seriously?" She spots a large basket of rice, wandering over to it leisurely. Zuko follows, shoulders hunched tightly as he hangs his head. A soldier nods to him as he passes by, and the Prince returns the gesture stiffly.
"Because I've done this before. We were in the Fire Nation for a long time before the eclipse. I know how to blend." She studies the quality of the rice, shifting the grains to inspect them.
"I know how to blend." Zuko retorts.
"Could've fooled me, you're stiff as a board." She interrupts herself to ask the merchant the price. The number is extravagantly high, more than Katara has on her, and Zuko digs in his bag for a chain of gold stashed at the bottom. He sets on the counter.
"It's real." He says, "Pure gold. It's worth more than your price, but if you let us take the basket it with it, we have a deal." The merchant seems skeptical, tugging and twisting the chain in the light. He then catches sight of the pendent clasped in the center. The symbol for the Fire Nation Royal Family is engraved upon it, and the merchant obviously knows how valuable that makes it. He nods, pocketing the jewelry.
"It's yours." Zuko murmurs his thanks and Katara quickly gathers up the basket, hefting it into her arms. As they walk away, she notices Zuko's sudden stoicism.
"Where did you get that bracelet?" She asks, trying to see his face past the thin fabric of his cloak.
"I took it with me when I left the palace." Zuko smiles bitterly, "It was a gift from my father." He'd tried to convince himself that he had taken it for purely practical purposes, the gold being worth enough to buy him any food he needed, but something sentimental in him had also wanted to cling to the happy days that that trinket had represented. It was only once the bracelet was gone, it's miniscule weight deducted from his bag, that he realizes the symbolic tether it was to the family he had to leave behind to be the man he wanted to be.
"And you traded it for rice?" Katara asks, her voice soft and struggling to carry over the buzz of the evening crowd.
"The rice is worth more to me." She seems confused, shifting the basket of rice in her arms as if she's reconsidering the purchase. He takes it from her with a bit of struggle, the awkward positioning of his bound hands making it difficult to slide the sealed basket into his bag.
"You didn't have to do that—" A jet of fire interrupts her and Zuko barely avoids getting burned by it, the fringe of his cloak sparking before fizzling into smoke. He spins to face the unknown threat, and his heart jumps into his throat, pounding wildly. He sees the terrifying form of his father for just a fraction of a second before reality comes back into focus, and it morphs into that of a soldier.
"That's them!" A voice calls out from behind the soldier and the light catches the gold in the intruder's hand as he pushes past the firebender. Zuko growls as he realizes that the merchant had made the connection between his face and the pendant, the rope on his wrists smoking before burning away. He would give anything to be able to light the merchant ablaze, but Katara grabs his hand and yanks him away before the soldier can even fire a second barrage at them.
"Where are we going?" He calls out as Katara leads him towards the entrance they'd come through before more uniformed forms block it and she suddenly changes her path to run in the opposite direction. He struggles to keep up with her as the heavy basket of rice collides with his hip with each step.
"I don't know!" She yells back, the sound of hurried footfalls seeming to grow stronger the further they ran. More and more soldiers were closing in on them, blocking off pathways as they approach and forcing Katara to suddenly skid on her heel before taking off in a different direction. Zuko yanks her hand, pulling her back against him as he feels the air spark to life, a telltale sign of impending fire. Flames explode from the intersecting alleyway they had been about to turn down and the soldier reveals himself as he stalks towards them. He's powerfully built, standing a full head higher than Zuko, but that doesn't deter either of the pair.
Katara is quick to whip out a stream of water from the canteen on her hip, and Zuko's flames spur to life around his fists in much the same motion. To any observer, they would appear to be practicing something well trained, coordinated, but they strike independently of each other. Katara's water flies towards the threat and Zuko's powerful flames intersect the stream as he releases his own attack. The result is an explosive plume of searing steam that scorches the assailant's face. The massive form doubles over and claws at his skin, screeching in agony.
Zuko and Katara lock eyes for only a fleeting moment before they take the opportunity for escape. They disappear into the shadowed alleyway that the soldier had been hiding in, finding the opening to a long forgotten storage shed tucked into one of the buildings lining the alley. They find it locked, but using the residual water in her canteen, Katara easily freezes the lock and shatters it. The door swings open, allowing the two entrance. When they duck inside, the only sound is their hurried breaths, which instantly halt as they hear the injured soldier stumbling down the alley. Zuko dares to peek through the slender crack between the door and its frame, seeing the hulking soldier stumble blindly past their hiding place. Zuko can just barely make out the details of the man's face, finding ugly patches of freshly burned skin patterning it and irritated tears falling from hazy eyes.
Neither of them dares to break the tense silence, Zuko keeping his right eye trained on the crack of the door. He slowly slumps to his knees after nearly half an hour, rubbing his eye tiredly.
"I think we lost them." Zuko says, whispering despite his reassurance, "But the sun is setting and we barely found our way around this place in daylight."
"I don't know if that counts as finding our way around." Katara responds. He can't see her in the quickly diminishing light and he doesn't dare to light a flame in case it draws attention from a passerby, but he can hear her sitting heavily.
"We should wait until morning to leave." Zuko ignores her reply entirely, lost in his own thoughts, "If we can wait for the morning rush at the market, we can sneak through it unnoticed. If we leave now, they'll be expecting us and we'll probably walk into an ambush." For once, she doesn't fight him.
"You're right." Katara sighs, her fingers brushing his knees as she tries to establish where he is in the darkness. His hand finds hers, lifting it from his knee.
"What you did out there was impressive." He'd meant to let her hand go, but he finds himself holding it tighter. Her hand shifts in his, but, surprisingly, she doesn't pull away.
"It was a team effort." He wishes he could see the smile he hears in her voice because it's infectious, forcing his lips to pull back into a grin.
"Fifty-fifty?" She laughs, her index finger tapping his palm.
"Sixty-forty."
OH MAN. THIS GOT. SO. L O N G.
That's why this took so long, guys, sorry about that. It's finally reaching the climax of the story, which I've been planning on doing forever and a half, but the set up was more elaborate than I planned. I really wanted it all to make sense and not seem rushed, I hope it worked. Comments and reviews and all that jazzzzz. ~ Jiggle