Ch. 7

Katara stood at the bow, eagerly watching the ship approach Shu Oma. Zuko was descending the stairs after discussing docking procedures with the helmsman. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, seeing her standing there, her long dark hair was down and floating behind her in the salty breeze cascading over the deck. One of his dark shirts hung loosely off her slim body. Briefly, a breeze carried the scent of sea and lilac, the scent from her skin. He let it envelope him momentarily, closing his eyes to enjoy it before forcing his body forward once again.

"Getting excited?" Katara spun to see Zuko standing behind her.

She tucked loose strand behind her ear. "You startled me."

He came up to the rail and leaned against it himself, staring out across the water to the island that lay before them. "It's been a while since you've been on land."

"I suppose. I don't really remember."

"Oh yeah." There was an awkward pause. "Sorry." She just shrugged and stared out to the approaching land mass once again. Zuko fixed his eyes in the same direction as well. A heavy sigh came from beside him and Katara had slumped so her head rested on her folded arms on the rail. "Hm?" Zuko turned his golden eyes to search her for any hint.

She closed her eyes and whispered to the open air, "I wish I could remember…" Zuko wasn't sure how to comfort her.

His hand hovered over her shoulder. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how. He wanted to touch her and let her know she was not alone, but he was also afraid she'd pull away from him. He clenched his wavering hand into a fist and rested it back on the rail; he was glad she had her eyes closed. His voice was soft, "You can always make new memories."

Her head swiveled till her cerulean eyes rested on his face. He matched her steady gaze with his own, peering out from his dark bangs that hung in his face. Slowly she lifted her head and straightened till she faced him. She stood a few inches shorter than him so had to tilt her chin up to continue meeting his gaze. "Promise?"

His stomach clenched a moment before he pushed the feeling aside and smiled warmly at her. His eyes shone gold in the early morning sun, contrasting nicely with his dark hair and pale skin. Katara couldn't help but return his smile. "Come on." He waved to her to follow him. "Let's get something to eat. We'll dock soon and it'll be a long day."

Iroh led the way down the ramp into town. Katara followed with Zuko trailing behind her. On the dock, Iroh turned to address his nephew. "Well the men have the list of what we need," something they were both aware that Zuko knew, but Iroh was explaining for Kataras sake, "this will leave you two time to go walk around Shu Oma."

Zuko nodded to his Uncle and turned to Katara. "Come on." He said with a wave of his hand as he strode away from his Uncle. Katara hurried after him, it took a while to catch up to him and even as she did she had to go at a slow jog to keep up with his quick long strides.

"Zuko?" She huffed, grabbing his arm. He stopped and looked at her as if surprised to see her. "What's the rush?"

"Sorry." He said rocking back on his heels. "I just didn't want to get caught looking at tea for hours." And have him embarrass me the whole time while you're around. He added mentally. They had stopped a bit outside of town and now that they had slowed to a normal pace, they could see that the outer market place seemed to be deserted, but if they walked in silence, they could hear distant laughter and music.

"What is that?" Katara asked, a curious wonder lighting her eyes.

"I don't know." Zuko seemed more wary than curious.

"Let's go find out!" Katara said, clasping his hand and pulling him toward the center of town. Zuko groaned, but allowed himself to be dragged and tried to hide his smile. The further she dragged him, the louder the sounds got and the more eager Katara's tugging became. They rounded the corner coming out of a dark alley way and were greeted with bright sunlight, colorful decorations, vendors and plenty of celebrating locals. Katara stopped, her hold on Zuko's hand going limp and her mouth fell open in an astounded "o". She turned to Zuko, so excited she could barely contain herself.

"Look Zuko! Isn't it great? I wonder what they're celebrating." Zuko just shrugged, but a small smile was stuck to his face as he watched her bubble over with enthusiasm. "Excuse me" Katara stopped an older woman passing by in brightly colored clothes, "what's going on?"

"Don't you know?" She said sweetly. "We're celebrating the anniversary of Shu Oma when the first earth bender Oma brought peace to the two warring villages that are now Omashu, but during her display of earth bending, part of the land broke off, creating our island of Shu Oma."

"Wow! That's amazing!" The woman smiled at Katara kindly.

"That's why we celebrate today dear. Make sure you stay for tonight's festivities."

"What happens tonight?"

"There's fireworks and a band and that's when the real celebration begins."

"Thank you so much." The woman nodded before going along her way.

"Can we Zuko?" She asked.

"Can we what…?" He asked taken aback.

"Can we stay tonight?" She looked so excited he couldn't possibly turn her down.

He let out a dramatic sigh with his arms crossed, he slowly looked up, enjoying drawing out the anticipation. "Alright." She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Thank you!" Caught off guard Zuko stumbled a bit, his eyes wide in shock and his arms lamely at his sides. As his arms hesitantly started to rise to embrace her she stiffened and then quickly disengaged. He stepped back, letting her long dark hair fall over her face to hide the hot blush. "Sorry, I just got a little carried away…"

"Don't worry about it." He tried to dismiss it because he too was embarrassed by his lack of composure and her blush for some reason seemed to compound it. "Shall we?" He motioned ahead of him to the many stands lining the main street handing out samples of their wares. Katara was more than happy to oblige, inspecting roasted nuts, sampling fresh fruits and fingering fine fabrics. Zuko was content to follow her quietly watching, hands in pockets as Katara stopped at stall after stall, occasionally calling him over to try something or look at an interesting bauble. He was glad that she never spent too much time at any one stand. That was one of the reasons he'd wanted to avoid his Uncle who could easily spend an hour at a solitary tea stand.

He followed her to a stand proclaiming the finest clothing in all of Shu Oma and was struck by the oddity of her not chatting with the merchant as she had with all the other stands. He took a closer look and found her enamored with a deep wine red dress. She held the soft, flowing material, letting it slide delicately over her fingers, admiration shining in her eyes upon her silent inspection. He compared the silk garment to her current garments, consisting of one of his old red shirts, stained and fraying over a pair of his loose black pants his Uncle had given her to supplement her one outfit. His mouth straightened into a hard line.

"Why don't you try it on?" He suggested.

She turned startled toward him, quickly dropping the dress embarrassed. "No, I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I don't have any money. I wouldn't be able to afford it."

"Who said you had to buy it in order to try it on?" He reached up and pulled it down from where it was hung. "Here." He held it out to her, looked to the man behind the counter and he nodded towards changing room with a curtain hanging in the entrance.

"Okay…" She said unsure, but she took the garment from him and closed the curtain behind her. For a moment, she just stared at the dress appreciatively before slowing undressing. She brought the shirt to her nose, but the smell of wood smoke and rain was slowly fading to her dismay. She folded it carefully and set it on the chair before sliding the dark silk over her smooth skin. It felt soft and comfortable on her skin; she turned a slow circle, watching the flowing fabric billow out from her legs. She smoothed it back down, fixed her hair and took a deep breath before pulling back the curtain. Zuko was leaning back against the counter top and as she emerged, he straightened.

"Wow, you look beautiful."

Katara flushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

"Come on." He said, with a smile, waving on to the next booth and lightly taking her elbow.

"But… I need to change."

"Don't worry about it."

"Huh?"

"It's taken care of, let's go."

"But Zuko…" She pulled out of his gentle hold, making him face her. "What do you mean it's taken care of?"

"It was an easy choice; it looks real good on you."

"You bought it?"

"Well I wasn't planning on stealing it." He was confused by the perplexed look on her face. "Don't worry about it, really. You needed more clothes anyway. I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to it. I know Uncle has been giving you some of my hand me downs, but they hardly fit you and I know they're a bit worn."

"I don't mind." She said quickly. She was thrilled about the dress, but she also hoped that she'd still get some of his clothing. When she was alone in the metal walled room with a lone candle, it left her unsettled, but smelling the familiar warm scent of wood smoke and rain soothed her. Still, he had spent money on a gorgeous dress that couldn't possibly have been cheap. She gazed coyly up at his expectant gaze. "I love it. Thank you so much Zuko."

"Of course. Shall we?" He led her to the next stand, steering her gently by the elbow. While Katara continued to look through the various wares, Zuko kept a wary eye on the crowd, especially the men as they would slow and look appreciatively at Katara. Usually a hard glare would send them on their way, but still. He stayed a bit closer to her and if any were brave enough to try and approach, he'd hurry her along the seemingly endless line of booths lining either side of the main road.

Darkness had finally descended and people on stilts walked the streets lighting lanterns high above. It was the brightest in the center square where all the townspeople were gathering in front of a stage where a group of people were preparing instruments. Zuko had been approached by one of his crew and they hurriedly whispered to each other before the man hurried back off into the darkness. Shortly after, a sharp dressed man in earth bender's traditional green strode to the front of the stage, bringing all attention to him and away from the setup.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I'm so glad to see this year's turnout is even better than the last in remembrance of the first earth bender, Oma and her lover Shu." His voice was inviting, capturing ones attention and drawing it in as he painted the story. They were from opposing villages you see and yet they sought sanctuary and each other in the caves between the two villages."

Zuko watched Katara listening with rapt attention and he couldn't help but get absorbed in the man's story. Rather than an ancient tryst between two from warring villages, he envisioned a deeply tanned woman and a scarred man from opposing nations meeting. He glanced at Katara and quickly shook his head, dislodging any ideas that would try to lead him astray down that track.

"In the cave of two lovers they met and learned earth bending from the badger moles that resided there. Then one unfortunate day…" He let his voice trail off sadly for effect. There was almost a palpable tension rising from the crowd as they leaned forward to hear what he had to say, despite knowing the story for themselves. "Shu never came. He had been killed in the war between the two villages." Some of the women in the crowd sniffled and dabbed their eyes with handkerchiefs or sleeves. The man on stage looked kindly upon the mournful crowd. "Never you fear though ladies and gentlemen, this story has a happy ending. Oma released such a display of frightening bending that the two villages came to a truce and united, becoming Omashu. On that fateful day, Oma also released a part of the land that has become our fond home of Shu Oma. We gather here on this day every year to celebrate our island town's rich history and to pay our respects to the very first earth benders, Shu and Oma!" He finished dramatically and the entire crowd burst into applause. He took a couple bows then checked to see how the band behind him was fairing and faced the crowd again.

"In honor of this day, we come together as one and engage in many festivities. I am about to introduce you to our final act of the night, one that features many of our towns talented musicians that will play for you and I urge you to dance. Ladies and gentleman! Dance the night away, for this will be the last opportunity before this time next year! Without further ado…" The man bows and walks himself off the stage, leaving the crowd admiring the band that now dominated the stage.

The band struck up a common song and the townspeople started a popular dance. Katara was surprised to realize that she knew the dance herself. She turned to Zuko, wanting to ask him to dance with her but as she turned she found him already gazing at her and her heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been expecting to turn around and be met with warm golden eyes and his tender expression made her stomach leap into her throat.

"Do, do you… wanna dance?" She stumbled over her words.

"Sure." He reached down and grasped her hand, pulling her lightly through the crowd to an empty space and they began swaying and turning in circles round each other. She was surprised by how poised Zuko was. She knew he was graceful, but he was such a good dancer. She was having so much fun she couldn't help laughing as he dipped her and grinning broadly the rest of the time. Zuko in return couldn't help a smile of his own. At the end of the next three songs, a flash of yellow and red and a bald head flashed in and out of Zuko's vision. He whirled quickly, but found it only to be an old, stooped man who had gone bald. A mixture of frustration and strangely enough, relief passed over him. His mood darkened as he remembered his resolve. His plan was still to capture the Avatar and present him to the Fire Lord and restore his rightful place as Prince. In order to accomplish this, he still needed his bait. He didn't have time to fool around, she was his tool to capture that snot nosed air bender.

"Zuko?" She asked tentatively, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm done dancing now." He said coolly without turning around and strode off to stand in the shadows at the edge of the crowd and observe through hardened eyes.

Feeling rejected, Katara met his cold gaze with her own and quickly wove her way back into the crowd. She checked to see if Zuko could still see her and started dancing by herself. It didn't take long for her solitude to be broken as a young man approached her. He wasn't handsome by conventional standards, but his mannerisms were sure tells of extreme confidence that usually accompanied good looks. A quick assessment of his fine clothes conveyed that the confidence was not born from good looks but money.

"Dance with me?" He asked cockily offering his hand. With a quick glance to the shadows where Zuko was watching, she turned to him with a gracious smile.

"I'd love to."

He wrapped an arm around her waist as they circled each other in this part of the dance. "You must be new to town. Surely I would remember a woman as beautiful as you."

"I'm just visiting."

"Ah, so you don't know who I am then."

"No."

"Allow me to properly introduce myself." He took her fingers and brought them to his lips, a prospect she wasn't thrilled about. He kissed her knuckles wetly before straightening. When she could pull her hand away, she did and conspicuously wiped it on her dress.

"I am Haku Mitari the Third. My family owns the only textile factory on the island."

"Impressive." She said trying to feign interest. "I'm Katara."

"Well it's been my pleasure to meet you." He swept her hand up for another slobbery kiss and she grimaced at the feel of it.

"Thanks…" She wiped her hand off again.

"You really are very lucky you know." He confided, leaning close to her ear.

"Am I?" She asked dryly.

"Very much so. I'm a very eligible bachelor. I know what I want and I always get it."

"Uh huh…" She said shifting uncomfortably.

"You are a very beautiful woman Katana."

"Katara." She corrected.

"And I always get what I want."

Katara tried to disengage from this repulsive man. "That's very kind but-"

"You could have whatever you want. I could buy you anything you've ever desired."

"No thanks." She said trying to pull away but his ropey arm tightened almost painfully around her waist.

"This would be much easier if you just agreed now." He pulled her against him and she tried to push off his chest, away from him.

A heavy hand clamped on his shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" Zuko's voice came venomously from behind Haku. Relief spread over Katara's face but Haku turned arrogantly, clearly angry that he'd been interrupted.

"Yes I do mind. We're in the middle of a private matter. Go dance with someone else."

Hot anger flickered in Zuko's golden eyes. He cracked his knuckles menacingly, stepping towards Haku so they were nearly nose to nose. From where she was standing Katara could feel the heat radiating off Zuko as rage simmered beneath the calm surface, threatening to boil over.

"Zuko…" Katara said quietly, worried for Haku's sake if he didn't back down.

He never took his eyes off Haku. "I'm just asking for a dance." His eyes flashed. "No harm in that." His voice was dripping with promises.

"Looks like one of my servants is calling for me. It's been a pleasure Katana."

"Katara." She corrected. With a quick nod he excused himself. Golden eyes followed him till he was out of sight before his stiff posture relaxed and Katara realize she'd been holding her breath. He seemed much more relaxed but his eyes were still hard and his shoulders were a bit taught.

"You okay?" She nodded and he let a small smile slip.

"Thank you."
"He hurt you?"

She shook her head so vehemently her hair swished side to side. She was trying to reassure him more than anything else. His eyes flashed and narrowed on her bare arm. She looked down to discover some red finger prints and quickly covered it, grasping her arm with her opposite hand. "It's fine." He stood stalk still. She was worried about his reaction and people were starting to stare. "Zuko…" Her voice was low but pleading. She reached out and tugged his hand. His fist unclenched and grabbed her hand and his burning gaze flashed from her arm to her eyes. He spun on his heel and dragged her along as the crowd parted before him. She stumbled and first and then had to practically jog to keep up.

He led her through dark streets, twisting and turning through a maze of paths and houses until she was so turned around she wasn't sure she'd be able to find her way back if needed. He stopped so suddenly she stumbled and only his firm grip on her hand kept her on her feet.

He had pulled her along behind him until they had reached an abandoned opening, dark and quiet for everyone was still at the celebration. The only light was from the moon, but it was still hard to see through the thick dark night. As soon as Zuko had stopped moving, she could hear the bubble of a fountain somewhere beyond him in the little square they had stopped in. Zuko stood very still before finally letting go of her hand. He turned to face her but she couldn't read his expression in the shadows. Apparently Zuko felt the same way for he turned and lit the lamps around them, the flickering fire giving way to a mess of emotions she couldn't even begin to sort through.

"Zuko…" She whispered softly in the quiet and approached him timidly. He stood very still, but allowed her to approach, even leaning into her hand as she brought it up to brush loose strands from his face. "Thank you." She didn't know why she felt so compelled to whisper, but anything louder would have been too much. Here, alone under the dark sky, by the light of the fire and being serenaded by the burble of the fountain, it was like they were under a spell and Katara didn't want to be the one to break it.

Zuko turned and faced her, his eyes slowly opening, warm gold beseeching her. "I'm sorry. I didn't…" He paused as if searching for words and she leaned forward eagerly. "I didn't like how he was treating you."

She shook her head, long, dark hair swaying round as she did so and let it fall over her face as she stared meekly at her feet. "Me neither." A cool hand brushed her arm where the bruise was starting to form.

"Should've been sooner." He mumbled.

"Right on time." She murmured back, watching his pale hand lightly massage her dark, bare arm.

His grip tightened for a moment then was back to caressing. "I pushed you away…" He was speaking like he was far away.

"It's fine." She felt compelled to be closer to him; lightly shuffling forward till she was almost pressed against him, she looked up into his eyes, forcing him to focus on her. His golden eyes seemed to reel her in closer than before; as if magnetically drawn she could feel her lips inching toward his.

"I can't do this." He jerked away from her, standing warily well out of reach. A hard, guarded look back on his face.

His sudden rejection made Katara curl back into herself. She wrapped her arms around herself, left cold by him suddenly distancing himself. "Why?" She was glad she was barely audible to hide the shaking of her voice.

Zuko watched her. His guard was up for he had almost slipped and been drawn in. She was still his prisoner, whether she knew it or not, right? His ticket to the Avatar, to redemption. How could he have forgotten?

"Forgotten?" She asked and he could hear the dismay and anger in her voice. He froze for a moment, not realizing he had spoken aloud. Some part of him must have registered her quiet question while he had been stewing and must have spoken aloud.

"What?"

"You can't do this because I've forgotten? You don't like me because I can't remember?" He could hear the tears in her words. She approached suddenly and pushed him. "Is that it?" She had grown louder as had the fountain as the water began to splash loudly.

She hadn't pushed him hard, but he was still too stunned to resist, he stumbled back. "What?" He asked again as he tried to process what was going on.

"What do you mean what?" She asked angrily.

He had regained his composure and his temperamental anger flared. "What are you talking about?" He nearly shouted.

"I put myself out there, and you won't because I'm not good enough because I can't remember anything!" She shouted.

"That isn't what I meant!" He yelled.

"Then what was it?" She threatened, getting as close as they had been before, but the tension was of a different breed this time. Her blue eyes glared coldly at him and he had once more become the stony silent statue, but this time she wasn't intimidated, she was mad. "That's what I thought." She hissed as he remained silent in their close proximity. She started to turn on her heel when he caught her chin in his hand. He had moved so fast there was no time to react. He brought his mouth crashing down almost violently on hers, hungry for her lips. It had stunned her a moment, but his almost desperate kisses coaxed her into her own. She softened against him and the violent demand lessened but the desperate passion replaced it and he wound his finders through her hair and snaked an arm around her waist pulling her as close as was possible. She clutched his face to her until they both came up gasping for air.

He leaned his forehead against hers and in a throaty voice whispered, "What I meant was that I shouldn't." She looked up at him in a dazed, questioning way. He brushed some hair from her face. "I just couldn't resist though." He said peering into her face and lightly stroking her cheek.

"Mm…" Katara murmured as she leaned in for another kiss, twining her hands behind his neck and lightly nipping his lips playfully and she could feel him smile against her.

"Come on." He said slowly pulling away but keeping her hand in his. Together they strolled down the streets back to the ship.

Hey, It's Sarahplainntall. Comment and stuff and thanks to all my readers, especially all who have added me, my story to your favorites, signed up for chapter alerts and those who leave comments are they BESTEST ever! If you like this, you might also want to read my other story Time Repeats Itself.