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"Let me get this straight," Sokka paced back and forth in front of Zuko, who was kneeling very humbly in the middle of the common area. Aang, Toph and Katara sat back to the side while Sokka had his turn at interrogating the fire prince. "you expect us to believe that after a year or so of chasing Aang and us around, you've suddenly got a change of heart and decided to come and be apart of our team?"

"Yes." Zuko shrugged.

It had been two days since Zuko had woken up and they all figured now was a better time than ever to find out the real reason he was there.

"And you took a wild guess that we would be hiding out in this particular air temple," Sokka continued.

"More or less," Zuko glanced at the temple ceiling.

"And on your way here, you were attacked and robbed by thugs from the Earth Kingdom and some nice lady, who happened to be a healer, fixed you all up and healed your scar?"

"That's what I said," Zuko replied.

"But when you left her home, you were ambushed again by different Earth Kingdom thugs,"

Zuko nodded.

Sokka smirked. "Not a lot of people like you, huh?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Apparently not,"

Before Sokka could continue, Aang got to his feet impatiently. "This is not solving anything Sokka. Toph could just tell us if we're lying."

For a brief second, Zuko's eyes met Katara's. He hadn't known that they had a living lie detector in their midst. What if the blind girl revealed everything?

Toph spoke up. "You're right," she said to Aang. "I can tell if he's lying."

"And?" Sokka intoned.

"He's not lying." Sokka made a sound of contempt and Katara's breath hitched. Toph shrugged. "Sorry it's not what you want to hear Snoozles, but apparently people can change and despite how big of an idiot he may be, he's not lying right now."

"But I'm telling you from personal experience that he can't be trusted!" Sokka exclaimed.

"What personal experience?" Katara asked, slightly frustrated.

"I'm sorry Katara," Sokka said sardonically. "do you not remember the pirate episode?"

Zuko looked down quickly and Katara flushed quickly. I'll save you from the pirates, Zuko seemed to be saying inside her head.

"What happened with the pirates?" Toph asked curiously. Unlike Aang and Sokka, she was able to pick up Zuko and Katara's apparent unease and embarrassment.

"This...honor seeking maniac-" Sokka began. Zuko cut him off.

"I made a deal with some pirates to help me track them down because she stole a scroll from the pirates but then they double crossed me and tried to take the Avatar back to the fire nation and claim the reward themselves."

"Katara stole?" Toph said with an evil grin. "Who'd have thought?"

"That's what I said!" Sokka threw his hands up. "I mean, she put us all in danger to learn some silly little water bending trick." Katara crossed her arms and glared at Sokka.

Toph shrugged. "Well, it was in the name of bending. Totally understandable Sweetness. Besides," Toph went on to say. "stealing isn't bad if it's from pirates."

"Unreal." Sokka mumbled.

"Again," Aang said loudly. "we're losing focus. Who cares what happened back then. We need to move forward."

"I say he should be allowed to stay and teach you firebending Aang," Toph said seriously.

"But-" Sokka started.

"I also say that people who aren't Aang's teachers shouldn't have a say in who teaches Aang." Toph said pointedly. That shut Sokka up. He glared fiercely at Toph then turned on his heel and stomped off to his room.

Aang seemed to breath a sigh of relief. He turned to Katara. "What do you think?"

Katara looked down, then up at Aang. "I don't think Zuko is a threat. He should stay with us so you can learn firebending."

Aang nodded. He addressed Zuko. "These are some of my closest friends and my waterbending and earthbending masters. I trust their judgment completely because I know they would never lie and they would never suggest for you to be here if they weren't one hundred percent sure that you only had this group's best interests at heart. You can stay with us Zuko and I will accept you as my firebending master. But I warn you Zuko, do not make us regret this decision."

Zuko nodded and stood up. He bowed to Aang. "Thank you Avatar Aang. You have my word that I will not fail you and I will do my best to show you the ways of firebending so that when the time comes, you can defeat the firelord and end this war."

Aang returned Zuko's bow. Zuko bravely stepped forward and held his hand out. After a moment, Aang shook it, a smile on his face.

Katara silently thanked Tui, La and Yue.

…..

Sokka stayed in his room for the next few days. Aang was amazed that Sokka had been able to miss so many meals until Katara revealed that after every meal she would leave a bowl outside of his door and when no one was looking, Sokka would stick one hand out and retrieve the food, returning the empty bowl later.

Surprisingly, Zuko got along with the rest of the group very well. He and Haru made fast friends and would often hold long conversations and their respective bending arts.

When the day came for Aang to begin his firebending lessons, both Katara and Toph showed up to watch the lesson. Katara nervously chewed her nails and Toph stared blankly ahead, trying to focus on every detail.

"Firebending is not controlled by power alone, but by the breath." Zuko said, repeating his uncle. "Before you can learn any form of firebending, you need to first master the art of meditation. This will help you clear your mind completely and become one with the fire within you."

Then he sat down lotus style and motioned for Aang to do the same. Aang sat opposite him. Zuko pulled a small candle out of his pocket and placed it upright on the ground in between them and lit it.

"I want you to focus on the flame Aang." Zuko instructed. "Take deep breaths in and when you exhale, transfer that energy to the flame."

"I'm not going to lie Zuko," Aang said readjusting his legs. "this seems really boring."

Zuko shrugged. "It is extremely boring. But my uncle Iroh is one of the most powerful firebenders and meditation seems to work for him so you're going to learn it as well."

"Well you can't beat that," Aang agreed and closed his eyes.

….

Life for the gaang had never been more different.

For one, they had more people on their team than usual. With the addition of Teo, Haru, The Duke, and now Zuko, Katara nearly fainted when she saw the pile of clothes to be mended and washed. They also went through food rations more quicker, and the place was generally more noisier.

If that wasn't enough, the fact that a spoiled, arrogant, banished fire prince turned reformed patron saint was living among them and teaching Aang firebending made things extremely awkward. It most likely wouldn't have been much of a big deal if Zuko hadn't originally tried to capture and harm them on several occasions. That said, Sokka was especially wary of him.

Most days Haru, Teo and The Duke made themselves scarce. Teo had been working on a project in one of the wings of the temple and The Duke and Haru usually joined him. Katara thought they were just being thoughtful of everyone else but Toph knew they only left because the tension everywhere else was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Everyone knew that it was impossible to keep a secret so they just didn't bother. However, one very stubborn waterbender and a very offset firebender took it upon themselves to test the theory that Toph didn't have to know everything. They had no idea how much this pissed her off.

Several times, Toph had caught snatches of conversation between the two of them. They were usually short cryptic remarks that she couldn't make sense of, but on a good day she got major details. Katara had obviously forgotten that Toph was an earthbender and she saw through her element because one night when she assumed everyone was sleeping, she decided to on a little walk. One that coincidently led her to Zuko's room. Toph lay motionless as she pressed an eager ear to the ground and listened hard.

"...I couldn't sleep," Katara said when a very alert Zuko opened the door.

Wordlessly, Zuko stood aside and ushered her in. Katara took a spot on the edge of the bed and Zuko sat down in a chair mounted to the wall. For a while they just sat there not really talking and Toph nearly fell asleep when Katara spoke up.

"I've been thinking about what happened, on the Day of Black Sun I mean."

"I've thought about it a lot as well." Zuko murmured. "I'm sorry about your father getting hurt. I still feel like it's my fault-"

"Don't," Katara intervened.

"But if I hadn't held you up in the library you could have healed him better and who knows what would have happened...

Katara sighed. She was silent for a moment. Toph rolled her eyes. So that's why the Chief was hurt so much- his daughter was too busy getting frisky with the prince. "What happened to the scrolls you were writing? The ones in the library?" Katara asked.

"I have them," Zuko told her. "the thieves that I encountered didn't have interest in them."

Katara chewed her lip. "How did you get hurt Zuko? When you turned up here, you were hardly recognizable to any of us."

"I was unrecognizable?" he said bitterly. "Really? I wonder why."

Katara clicked her tongue impatiently. "You know what I'm talking about. This has nothing to do with your scar."

Zuko didn't answer right away. Toph pressed her ear harder against the floor, feeling for the tiniest vibration. She knew Zuko was overly self conscious about the scar on his face. Having no issue with looks, Toph didn't particularly care but she knew something was different...

"When I left the Fire Nation I stole a war balloon," he paused. "but, I had to stop to get more supplies. I ran into a few ah... acquaintances and they weren't to happy to see me. I didn't think they would recognize me. We got in a bit of a fight and one of them managed to get me while I was dealing with another one. They robbed me but left the war balloon and I managed to get all the way here without dying. The rest is history."

Katara seemed to be speechless. "You...stole a war balloon? Then you got robbed? And you still managed to man a war balloon by yourself and get all the way here with a hole in your stomach? That's...crazy!"

"I've been through worse." Zuko said shortly. Toph had to hand it to him. He sure had guts to go through all of that. The guy was nearly dying and he still came here with the pretense that they would let him stay.

"I'm sorry about the way my brother and Aang acted." Katara apologized. "I guess we were all a little surprised to see you."

Zuko's good eyebrow raised. "You mean you weren't expecting me? After I promised I would follow you anywhere?" Toph's eyes widened. What was this? Promises?

Katara's breath hitched. "No. Yes. I don't know." she bit her lip nervously. "I knew what you had promised me but...I wasn't sure if you would leave the palace after you had just been accepted back in. But, then again- you always seem to find me. Wherever I am."

Zuko looked at her. "You know why 'Tara." And why is that? Toph wondered.

Katara looked at the ceiling, the floor, the bed, anywhere but Zuko. "When you went back to the palace. How did your father and Azula react... react to it?"

Zuko let out a long sigh. "I could have kept the scar and gotten nicer insults." Toph winced. Ouch.

"Surely someone thought it was a good thing?" Katara said quietly.

"Of course Katara." Zuko said sardonically. "Mai told me to my face that I was 'all better now'. That I could go and rule the Fire Nation properly because I didn't have some blasted scar marking up my perfect face!"

"I didn't know you felt so strongly about it." Katara said after a minute. "If you didn't want me to heal it-"

"That's not what I said." Zuko cut her off. Then he shook his head and got to his feet, starting to pace. "I shouldn't have expected her to understand. I guess I just...I don't know, she's better off now."

Katara inclined her head. "Maybe when the war is over, you two will reconcile." In a quieter voice she added, "she is your girlfriend, right?"

Zuko scoffed. "When I left the Fire Nation, I left everything and everyone behind. The only person I need to reconcile with now is my uncle."

Again they were silent. Minutes later, Katara spoke. "I'm sorry Zuko. I can't help but feel like-"

"No, it's alright," Zuko said. "Agni what am I saying? I should be apologizing to you Katara. This is all my fault. It is so stop shaking your head." He stopped pacing right in front of her. He kneeled in front of her and looked up into her watery blue eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't say that enough to you 'Tara." Toph's eyes widened even more. She suddenly had the urge to hear all the details. What exactly was he sorry for? Besides trying to sell them to the Fire Nation on several occasions?

Almost as if Zuko heard her thoughts, Zuko said, "I'm sorry for what I did in Ba Sing Se. You trusted me and I blew it. I'm sorry for all the times I've hurt you physically and emotionally. I'm sorry that I ever pushed you away." Katara sniffed and Toph knew she was crying. Just like Katara to cry, Toph chuckled to herself.

"Zuko, I don't-"

"More than apologizing," Zuko cut her off. "I should be thanking you. For healing me," he gently took one of her hands in his own and placed it right over the place where his scar once was. "For keeping all of your promises even when I didn't keep mine. For having faith in me."

"I never gave up on you Zuko," Katara said, her voice thick with tears. "I never did. People would have called me crazy if they knew how much I believed in you, how much I believed in us."

"I know I messed up," Zuko said, his voice muffled because he was kissing the inside of her hand. "and I'm so bad at being good, and I have a temper that makes a Komodo -rhino seem nice, but you get me, that's all I care about."

Katara placed her other hand on his cheek. She studied him for a moment. "Will you be ok Zuko?" She asked.

"I'll be ok if we're ok." he replied. His eyes searched her, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't he asked, "Are we ok 'Tara?"

She chewed her bottom lip. Toph could feel Zuko's heart racing. Toph had to admit that hers was as well; this was pretty intense eavesdropping she was doing. then nodded. "Yeah, we are." he smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair. She slid off the bed, her arms wrapped around his neck tightly.

Very bravely and very quietly he said, "I love you Katara."

Then Katara pulled away and looked away. She sat back on her legs not looking at him. "Hey," Zuko said softly reaching for her hand. "hey," he said again. When she didn't respond he took her face in his hands and gently turned her head so she could see him. There were tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry 'Tara," Zuko used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that fell. "I'm serious. I love you and I want you to know that. I do."

"You've said that before." Katara whispered. "And then you still left me. Can I really believe that you won't leave again?"

"I meant every word I said to you on the Eclipse." Zuko said. "Everything that I've written about you, the promises, I'm not going back on my word."

Katara closed her eyes and the tears still fell. She wanted to believe him...that's all she wanted to do.

"Katara," Zuko leaned his forehead down and rested it against her own. "I need you to know that you can trust me. I want you to trust me." He wrapped his arms around her, and rubbed small circles in her back. "Do you trust me Katara?" he murmured.

Katara opened her eyes and looked at him. In his eyes she could see the intensity there, she could see every promise, every 'I love you,' every word ever spoken to her reflected in those golden orbs. "With my life." she replied.

Zuko let out a breathy laugh and kissed her forehead and hugged her even tighter. "I love you Katara."

he said again.

She nodded and reached her arms up to circle his neck. "I love you too," and she pressed her lips against his and instantly became overwhelmed with him.

Toph slowly sat up. She processed all the information she had just gathered. Katara healed Zuko and then he left but promised to come back which he obviously did and now apparently the two are in love. Toph thought about how strangely Katara had been acted prior to the Eclipse and she now knew why. Of course Katara would be a bit nervous to see Zuko- her best friends were trying to destroy his family! Then her thoughts strayed to Aang. He would be crushed when he found out about this. But wait- was she supposed to tell him? Drop hints that the love of his life was confessing love to the enemy in the privacy of his room? He was her best friend. She knew he would do the same. But, Katara was also her friend and who was she to get in the middle of anyone's happiness or misery?

So Toph made her decision right there. She wouldn't say a word to Aang. But Katara wouldn't hide her love affair from him either.

"The luck of the blind..." Toph muttered to herself as she settled back down. For the rest of the night, she tried to block out the sounds of Zuko and Katara reconciling with each other.

A/N

Yikes! I didn't mean for this chap to take so long,

but now here it is!

Good Zutara? Yes? No? ;)

Hope you enjoyed and please leave some awesome feedback!

:)