Entry10: Zhao is a Dick!... I hate Pirates!

"How informative"

"Oh shut up and read woman"

Entry11: infiltrated North Pole, not as hard as Zhao is making it out to be. Fought Katara, She found a master, and she beat me… Sun came up, I beat her. Caught avatar, North Pole is very cold. Katara beat me again… Must ask for a rematch one day… Avatar saved me… again; this is not looking good on me. Zhao killed a coy fish, turns out it was the moon spirit, Avatar went crazy. Ocean spirit killed Zhao. I don't know how I feel about that or any of this…

"You're not very good at writing dairies you know, your meant to put your feelings into it… this is more like a battle report"

Zuko frowned at her and looked out the window

"Well, I guess I didn't know what I was feeling, let alone enough to write it down, and this is a journal, not a dairy..."

"Right…"

Entry12: Azula came to get me, she told me that I could go home, but she was lying… Azula always lies. Cut off my pony tale… I feel naked

"I liked your pony tail"

"Really?"

"Yeah, Sokka and I had a conversation about it one day when your crazy sister was chasing us."

Zuko smiled and looked at her

"Well, if it's any consolation, it will grow back, eventually, I like how you wear your hair down now, it's… flowy"

"Flowy…"

"Ergh… Just keep reading..."

Entry13: Uncle got himself poisoned, what is it with him and tea!! A girl named Sun, she brought us home, fed us, she talked about the fire nation like she was terrified of it… well, I suppose if I were in her position… I would be to. Stole her ostrich horse. I don't think uncle is happy about that.

"So… a girl welcomes you to her home… feeds you… and then you… steal her Ostrich horse. Nice…"

"Hey, we were down on our luck, and Uncle was tired from walking, I am not saying it was the right thing to do, but I made a lot of mistakes back then"

Katara frowned and looked to him, he seemed to be telling the truth, but she had trusted him once before, her frown deepened when he could not hold her gaze, she looked back to the page then…

Entry14: I hate acting like a peasant and worse! Uncle seems to enjoy it! I fought to get him things I thought he would like, but he went on about how it was dishonorable! I think its time we separated…

"You abandoned your Uncle! After all he had done for you!"

"I was confused! I didn't get what he was trying to tell me!"

Zuko was still looking away from her, her brow furrowed and she guffawed and read the next entry

Entry15: helped a family today, it felt good, they are being oppressed by earth bending soldiers, they are nothing more then bullies! But when it came down to it, the town chose those bullies over me, just because I am a firebender. Are we all that bad? I thought our take over was meant to be for the good of the world…

"Did you really think that?"

"What?"

Katara reached out her hand and pushed on his shoulder so he would look at her

"That the Firenation taking over would really be good for the world?"

Zuko could not meet her in the eye. But when he spoke, it was in a soft tone.

"My Father. He would go on day after day, about how we the Firenation where spreading our gifts around the world, about how we were making it a better place by doing this, he told me… told all his people, that though the world did not seem to be in balance, in the end, it would serve for the greater good…"

"It sounds like you have that speech memorized…"

"It's hard to forget, when you have the memory of it burnt to your face. The day my Father gave me this scar, I swore that I would never disrespect him or his teachings again… but I guess I was a fool back then…"

"Zuko... I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

"It's okay Katara… you had no reason to know"

Entry16: Followed Azula who was tracking the Avatar. She embarrassed me, why does she insist on calling me that ridicules name! Uncle came back, I actually missed him. Azula turned on uncle and I struck out at her. Strangely, in that moment, fighting beside the avatar felt right… it somehow fit. But I can't! I can't accept that! When Katara offered to help Uncle, I lashed out at her and the rest of them, I am meant to hunt the avatar! That is my destiny!

"You know… I notice your not calling me 'that crazy water tribe woman anymore"

"Well, it's hard to say that about someone who beat you… twice"

Katara smiled and looked down at the paper, and then she looked up to him again…

"Are you Really comfortable with me doing this?

"No. Keep reading"

Entry17: Uncle has woken up, I asked him to teach me more advanced moves. He tried to show me how to create lightening, but I just can't get it right! Why! Why can't I do anything right!! He showed me how to deflect lightening instead, but he won't let me try it with real lightening, why won't he trust me!

"You wanted him to shoot lightening at you?"

Zuko had the grace to look embarrassed

"Well… I was frustrated, and I wanted a real test…"

"Right…."

Zuko stood up and flailed at her. "What! I needed to see if I was strong, what's wrong with that?!"

Katara smirked and waved a hand

"Oh nothing, I just didn't realize how alike you and my brother are"

"I am NOT Like your Brother!"

"Uh huh…"

"Just Read the damn Dairy woman!"

"I thought it was a 'journal'"

The face Zuko made had her giggle and look back to the page.

Entry18: Uncle has weird friends, they attack us, they announce we are fugitives with a bounty on our heads, and they put us into flower pots! Now we are going to Ba sing se!

"You went to Ba Sing Se in flowerpots?

"No, we only went out of the city in them, after that we walked."

"Right… But why flower pots?"

"I dunno, something to do with an organization that Uncle Iroh is in, it has to do with Pai sho, and the white lotus tile… I don't know what happened because they would not let me into the meeting"

"Oh little prince Zuky not important enough for a meeting"

"Zuky!"

Katara went a touch red and coughed, shifting on the bed in an uncomfortable manner.

"Yeah… I am going to keep reading now…"

Entry19: on a ship to the city, the food is awful on it, so a young fellow called Jet and his group assisted me in getting food from the captain.

"Jet?! You knew Jet?"

"Well… I wouldn't say I knew him, I helped him to get food for the people on the ship… that's all… we… didn't really get along well after that…"

"What happened?"

Zuko sat back down on the bed beside her, bumping her slightly to the air with the weight of the decent…

"You will see."

Entry20: My Uncle is a shameless flirt. And has no concept of undercover! He just firebended to heat his tea! WHAT IS IT WITH HIM AND TEA! I think Jet might have seen.

"Your uncle really seems to like tea…"

"You have no idea, that time he was poisoned it was because he made a flower into tea, he thought it was a dragon lily or something. Kept going on about how delicious a tea it made"

Katara tucked her feet under her and put a hand to the bed as she lent back upon it.

"When did he start appreciating tea so much?"

Zuko opened his mouth to answer, and promptly closed it. He got a thoughtful look into his eyes and then frowned.

" I don't really know… now that I think about it, I don't know a lot about my uncle, I mean, I thought I did, but I was wrong about a lot of things, I used to think he was useless, lazy, did nothing but played pai sho and Drank tea. It took me a while to realize, that he was strong, and he always gave good advice, and more then that, he was more of a father to me in the three years we traveled together, then all the time I spent with my own father."

Katara stared at Zuko in silence, this did not seem to settle with him very well as he began to stir uncomfortably…

"Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like someone you pity!"

"There is nothing wrong with a person feeling sorry for you Zuko… it's just… I never gave any thought as to what you had been going through… I guess it's a bit much for me to take in all at once"

Zuko pressed against her side and reached for the scroll, unfurling it a bit more

"If I had realized this was going to be a therapy session, I would not have agreed to this…"

Katara laughed and nudged him in the side with her elbow

"You're the one that MADE me do it."

"Yeah well… I guess I still make mistakes…"

Katara lent in to him just enough to make him uncomfortable

"Well, if you like, I could stop now"

Zuko poked the page and then turned her head to look at it

"The writings on the page, not my face!"

Katara smiled thinking his face right there and then, in his state of embarrassment held a lot more amusement then the scroll.