Ch. 8

Zuko and Katara had become both shy and emboldened towards each other. When they sparred, a mixture of bending, weapons and hand to hand, neither held back, sure the other could handle themselves. When one would pin the other it tended to be a shy encounter.

Zuko had managed to trip her and pinned her to the deck. Katara blushed and Zuko was slowly leaning toward her, drawn to her lips.

"I think you won." Katara blurted, nervous that he was getting so close.

Noticing the involuntary movement he quickly pulled back, "Sorry." He murmured, shy and embarrassed as he offered her a hand up.

Not wanting him to completely close up, which he was prone to doing in such situations, she said, "Again."

He was solemn faced, but nodded his agreement. They squared off again, the width of the bow between them on the rocking ship. Zuko started by charging, shooting a flame ahead of him. Katara dodged to the side as the fire streaked past her and with a quick twist, her arms raised and thrown in his direction as he ran at her. A blast of sea water hit him and sent Zuko hurtling back, but agile as ever, he landed on his feet crouched. It was Katara's turn to initiate the attack and she sprinted towards him. He remained low and when she neared, he swept a leg, catching both of hers and she turned the fall into a roll, gaining her feet again. She lashed at him with a kick, which he blocked. He caught hold of her leg and was about to manipulate it to his advantage, but he caught her gesturing out of the corner of his eye and the next thing he knew, his feet were frozen to the deck.

Zuko was about to melt himself free but Katara kept his attention by striking repeatedly which required his blocking. Getting annoyed with being stuck in one place having to block repeatedly, he shot a large fireball at her. She was quick to erect an ice shield, but the blast sent her backwards and steam erupted. As the steam cleared, Zuko was almost upon her and she stumbled back against the rail and called upon a wave of sea water to wash him across the deck. The water drained back into the ocean through the rails where Zuko had ended up, coughing salty water and Katara was quick to take advantage of the moment. She froze his wrists and torso to the rail and snagged a spear on her way. Once his lungs and vision were cleared, he squinted into the bright light to see Katara stand panting over him with the blade of the spear pressed gently to his neck.

He let his head droop back against the rail tiredly as water dripped from his hair. "You win."

"It's about time." She panted and sat beside him on the deck, closing her eyes and enjoying the warm sun.

"You're getting better."

"I would certainly hope so, seeing as how I just beat you." She said cracking an eye and giving him a sly look which he returned with a smile.

"Maybe I let you win." He jested.

"Sure didn't seem that way to me." She watched as water dripped from his hair down his face. She ran her fingers through the strands that were matted to his face and absently brushed them away.

"I'm probably due to get it cut." He mused, enjoying her idly playing with his hair and bending the water from it.

She shook her head. "I like it long." He turned his warm golden eyes and met her with a steady gaze and the hint of a smile.

He reached across her and pulled a lock of her own hair and trailed it through his fingers just in front of his face, letting the light shine on the dark brown. "And I like it when yours is down." While playing with her hair he had managed to pull her face round and closer to his. She could feel her face warm and her stomach tighten, but she leaned in as if drawn to him. Their eyes closed as their lips barely brushed, too soon interrupted.

"Zuko! Miss Katara! I've brought you both lunch." Iroh called as he was coming up the stairs.

Katara flew to her feet, blushing madly and Zuko let out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand over his face before getting to his feet. Katara had rushed to greet Iroh at the doorway. "Good afternoon Iroh." She said with a forced cheerfulness.

"Good afternoon. How has your training been going?"

"Ah… Good." She said a bit flustered.

"She's a fast learner Uncle." Zuko said a bit sullenly as he joined them at the table.

His Uncle nodded and changing the subject, removed the food cover. "The cook made up some saber-tooth moose stew for lunch."

Katara leaned closer to the pot and sniffed. "Mm… smells good. Her stomach growled in agreement and Iroh ladled her a bowl in good humor. Zuko poked at his with a spoon with a scowl until Katara smiled at him and he returned a small smile before eating.

Once everyone was settled and eating, Iroh cut into the quiet that had come with lunch. "There's a full moon tonight, am I right?"

Katara looked up grinning. "Oh yes I'm very excited!"

"I take it you'll be up late tonight?"

She nodded. "I think I'll be out enjoying the moon and the waves most of the night."

"Will you be by yourself?" He asked concerned, sneaking a quick glance at his nephew.

Katara snuck a quick look at Zuko as well. "I don't know. Probably." She looked up again and caught Zuko watching her.

"I'd like to watch again." He offered and Katara smiled shyly at him, caught in each other's eyes.

"Well sounds like the problem's solved." Iroh said cheerfully, interrupting yet another moment with a deviously innocent smile.

The cool night air ruffled her hair, making it float on the wind and sending the scent of lilac to him as he sat leaned back in a chair amongst the shadows in the bright night. He watched as she raised both hands above her head and twin waves rose on either side of the ship. Slowly, leisurely she brought the waters flowing over the deck until they reached her feet. She spun, taking her time, bringing her arms around and the waves moved with her, twirling about her, creeping up higher and higher until she disappeared within a swirling torrent. The waters surrounding her lowered and spread out, revealing Katara lowering her arms looking at peace. Then she started to move, almost like dancing.

She turned gracefully, moving across the deck, twirling every now and then with the streams trailing her artfully. Zuko watched, his eyes following her every movement in awe at the way she and the water moved together as one. The bright light from the full moon glistened off the trailing water, throwing dancing reflections on her tanned skin. She stopped mid prance and brought her hands above her head together with a clap and the twin streams met in a peak above her head, freezing into an iced arch. Spider web cracks formed and the arch shattered, sending bits of ice out all around her. Zuko raised a palm to melt the shards flying at him, but they stopped suspended in the air. Slowly the little chunks of ice melted back into drops of water. Zuko reached out and touched one of the floating spheres of water and it rippled.

The water started being drawn back to the center of the deck where Katara stood as the bright moon's light filtered through the hundreds of droplets, sending scintillating light dancing across the deck and Katara. Zuko walked towards Katara, mesmerized; as he reached her unnoticed for her eyes were closed, he clasped a hand behind her neck and the other on her lower back pulling her suddenly against him and crushing his lips against hers. Startled, her eyes flew open and she lost her concentration. The water she had suspended all around them rained onto their interlocking forms as she eagerly returned his kiss.

The water drained off the deck and back into the ocean, but the water that had rained down on them had left them both damp in the chill of the night and sea breeze. Katara shivered and bended their clothes dry, but the cold had already seeped in so she leaned heavily into Zuko and he wrapped his arms around her. Zuko used his bending to keep himself warm and with their tight embrace, Katara quickly began to warm up as well.

"Zuko…" She mumbled into his chest.

"Hm?"

Her cheeks were burning and far too warm, but she wouldn't let him see her blushing so she left her face pressed into him. "I really like this."

"Like what?" He asked, her embrace and scent were so soothing it was hard to pay attention to much else then her being so close.

"You…" She mumbled shyly and he could feel her hands tighten for a moment on his shirt. A hand brought her face out of his chest and up till she met his face.

"I really like you too." And he kissed her. They spent the rest of the night together.

Iroh continued to watch his nephew and the Avatar's friend interact as he waited in the shadows. She had been with them for a few months and had seen miraculous changes in his nephew. Before he had been twisted with hate and the only thing he cared about was restoring his honor by turning in the Avatar to his father. He watched as she helped lighten his burden, watched the hatred leave his eyes bit by bit and watched him watch her now with tenderness as they sparred. When they thought no one was looking they'd meet for a sweet moment and an affectionate kiss. It warmed Iroh's heart to see his nephew happy. It was all the better that he was even able to put aside the honor he had once sought so desperately to befriend and even care about the kind girl he once hunted.

He waited for them to part before interrupting. "Zuko." He called. Zuko reluctantly pulled away from Katara but she caught his hand and tagged along behind him.

"Yeah Uncle?"

"Well, the men are getting restless and we could use a few more supplies. The captain was requesting a brief vacation." Iroh held his breath. Every other time a break had been requested they were brutally refused before he would sullenly go back to his maps.

"Sure Uncle." Zuko said good naturedly.

"Oh good!" Katara gushed.

"Wonderful. I'll let the captain know immediately." Iroh walked up the stairs that lead to the helm and once he left Katara launched herself at Zuko and hugged him.

"Oh Zuko! This will be so fun! Don't get me wrong, the ship is nice, but there' sonly so many places I can go." She shuddered at the old memory of the last time she went to a new place on the ship.

Zuko pulled her in for a quick reassuring hug. "Yeah, well, everyone seems like they could use a break."

The ship started changing directions and was now headed towards a distant stretch of land. As they neared a small village could be seen just in a ways from the docks and on either side there were long stretches of empty beach. Before docking and unloading Katara changed out of her own worn clothes into a clean pair of pants and a shirt provided by Zuko. She smiled as his familiar scent of wood smoke and rain enveloped her. She had confessed to him before that she loved wearing his shirts because they smelled like him and he admitted that he liked the way she looked in his clothes and that he also enjoyed the way her scent clung to them when they were returned. She reveled in that memory until Zuko came in.

"Katara, what're you doing?" He asked casually leaning on the door frame and smirking as she jumped, startled.

"I just thought I'd change before we went on land."

"Well hurry up, we've just docked." He turned to leave and smiled to himself when she called after him.

"Wait! Almost done!" She snagged her mother's necklace off the bed side table and stopped in front of Zuko, handing it to him and turning, pulling her hair aside so he could fasten the necklace in place.

Zuko gave an exasperated sigh as he took the ribbon and pendant from her, but he actually loved the little intimate moments like this. He brought it snug around her neck and fixed the clasp. Once secured, he ran a finger down her bare neck just to watch her shudder at his touch. She turned around and tried to look agitated.

"Stop that." She chided.

"But I love doing that." He whispered before stealing a kiss. He straightened, "Let's go." Katara eagerly followed him and when they reached the deck, she shrank into him. Zuko tugged her beside him and held her hand as an act of reassurance for her and a show of ownership in a sense toward the soldiers positioned on deck. Iroh joined them and stood on the other side of Katara.

"Shall we?" Iroh asked cheerfully.

Katara began to relax between the two men "Yes, let's." Zuko gave her hand a quick squeeze and the three of them were off headed towards town. Very early on, Katara noticed this little village was fire nation territory but she felt at ease beside Iroh and Zuko. Once more the job of obtaining supplies was left to the captain of the ship so they were free to roam about the open markets, leisurely stopping at one with finery or tea or weapons. Katara would briefly admire the silken garments and fine jewelry crafted from delicate gold or silver and spotted with jewels and then Iroh would halt at booths that offered food, spices and most importantly, tea. He would give brief lectures on each kind, like properties of the different brews and how best to prepare them. Zuko was patient at these booths, but you could see the glint of interest in his golden eyes when they would pass by a vendor whose wares tended toward that of weaponry. Katara and Iroh would stop obligingly at these booths to allow Zuko ample time to enjoy.

Iroh ended the day with plenty of tasty goods; Zuko had given in and purchased a new pair of broad swords. Iroh had urged Katara to get something for herself and Zuko had offered to buy something for her but she turned it down, insisting she didn't need anything, especially since she already had the fine red dress back on the ship. They ended the long day of shopping in a little tavern where they ordered dinner and a large pot of hot water so Iroh could try out his new jasmine green tea. There was idle conversations recounting that day's events, but it was a pretty quiet dinner and when they were finished they all trudged back to the ship for a good night's rest.

"Katara." A soft voice called, shaking her gently.

"Uhm…?" She murmured sleepily rolling over.

"Katara, wake up." Slowly she cracked open her eyes to find Zuko smiling softly down at her. "Good morning."

Katara slowly sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "Morning." She stretched and yawned. "What're you doing in my room so early?"

"I thought you'd like to get a full day in at the beach."

Still foggy from sleep it took her a moment to process this information. "We're docked." She stated bluntly, suddenly alert.

"Yes." He said patiently, watching her with amusement.

She threw the blankets off and shot out of bed. "Well let's go then!"

"You don't want to change or eat first?" Zuko continued in his bemused tone.

She cast a glance down at her bedraggled appearance, ran a hand over her hair and started pushing him towards the door. "Out." She ordered.

Zuko let himself be shoved out and when the door shut he decided to saunter on down to the kitchen one floor below and get a mango for Katara to eat for breakfast. He got back before she had finished and waited patiently, leaning on the doorway, tossing the fruit in the air and catching it again.

The door opened. "Ready." She called cheerfully, dressed in her own clothes, her hair pulled back in its normal braid and her mother's necklace secure around her neck. "Let's get going Zuko." They turned towards the stairs that would lead them out on deck and Zuko handed her the mango.

"Breakfast."

"Thanks." She bit into the bright fruit. "Ah, I love mangos." Katara was licking the juice from her fingers by the time they had reached a secluded section of beach.

Zuko turned to her. "So what shall we do?"

"Swim of course." Katara said and started pulling the shirt off over her head much to Zuko's surprise. Beneath her shirt was a white under shirt wrapped solely around her chest. She laughed at his startled expression. "Don't look so shocked. This is what I wear when working in water if it's warm." She then slid off her shoes and pants, leaving her in her white underclothes. She started to stroll towards the beach where the waves were lazily lapping at the sand. Zuko watched her before peeling off his own shirt and shoes and leaving them in the sand next to Katara's clothes. The water was nice and cooled them under the hot sun. Katara was floating on her back with her eyes closed; enjoying bobbing on the waves and Zuko was focusing on wading towards her. When he reached her he scooped her up in his arms.

"Zuko!" She said surprised, her eyes flying open. He cut her protest short with a kiss.

"Gotcha." He said smirking and he dropped her back in the water.

By the time she resurfaced, Zuko was swimming away with strong, powerful strokes. "Oh ya?" She whispered to herself. A few motions with her arms and Zuko was swept back towards her on a wave and his eyes widened to see her waiting for him on a frozen patch in the middle of the water. The wave subsided, lightly rolling over her platform. "Poor choice taking me on in my element." She smirked at him.

"Don't get so cocky." He shot back, launching a fireball causing her to dive back into the water and losing her positional advantage. She didn't emerge, but the water around him solidified before she bobbed up in front of him. Pushing her dripping hair loopies out of her face.

"Got you." She pulled herself up on the ice and gave him a quick teasing peck.

The ice started to glow and Katara fell through where it had melted; the water around her growing warmer and warmer. Suddenly there was a tug on her leg and she was pulled underwater. There she was face-to-face with Zuko as he smiled at her through the water. Katara reached out and their hands met, followed by their lips. They emerged gasping for breath, water dripping down their faces.

"So much for a relaxing swim." Katara murmured.

"I'm enjoying it." Zuko said.

"Hm." Katara laughed. Lazily she started to swim away. "Catch me if you can?" He nodded his head and suddenly she was off, pulling ahead with unnatural speed thanks to her bending.

"I'm pretty sure that's cheating!" he called after her before diving into the waves.

They both lay stretched out on the sand, letting the warm sun dry them and listening to the crash of waves and bird calls. They had been out on the beach by themselves for hours and Zuko rolled over in her direction, propping himself up on an elbow. "Lunch?" At the mention of food, both their stomachs growled.

"Starving." She said and let Zuko pull her to her feet and they brushed sand and dried salt from their skin before redressing and wandering back into town for something to eat.

Zuko conscientiously brushed his shaggy hair over his scar. They stopped at a small place with a few tables and chairs outside. They ordered a couple bowls of what the menu listed as flaming noodle soup.

"Careful, it's hot." Zuko warned, watching her through dark lanks of hair.

Katara took a bite and looked at him peculiarly. "No it's not."

"Oh just wait Katara, just wait." He said settling in and watching her as he continued eating. A few more bites in and her blue eyes grew wide. She promptly stuck out her tongue and began fanning her mouth. "Tried to warn you…" Zuko said trying to suppress his laughter.

"Shut up Zuko." She hissed, eyes watering. "My mouth is on fire!"

He couldn't help but snicker as he offered her his glass of water. She downed the whole thing quickly slamming the empty cup on the table and breathing deeply.

"You going to finish that?" He said grinning wickedly as he pointed at her bowl.

"You're a jerk." She said hoarsely shoving the bowl towards him.

He laughed aloud, genuine glee glinting in his golden eyes. He lifted his bowl to his lips and draining it quickly before finishing off Katara's as well. He left a few coins on the table.

"Come on." He prompted.

"Why? You going to try to kill me again?" She asked sarcastically.

"I could, but I thought we could walk around and get you something else to eat instead."

She reluctantly followed him, trying to suppress a smile. "Only if you can finder another mango or a green apple."

"I think that can be arranged." They strolled through the market and picked up a sweet pastry and some more fruit for Katara to eat.

She took a bite of the pastry. "Mmm… Zuko, you have to try this. It's so good!" She held the pastry before him. He was so full, but she looked so cute and excited he had to take a bite. The sweet flavor that danced over his tongue could only be rivaled by her lips. He decided to contemplate the flavor, baiting her.

"What do you think?"

"I've had better."

"What have you possibly tasted that was sweeter than this?" She asked bewildered.

"You." He brushed hair behind her ear and cupped the back of her head, bringing her in for a sweet, tender kiss.

There was a knock on her door the next morning. "Come in." She called. Zuko came in as she was finishing up braiding her hair. "Hey."

"Hi." He observed her water tribe clothes.

"Iroh had the cook whip us up a lunch to take along." She explained. "Especially after your noodle stunt." She eyed him accusingly.

"I tried to warn you." He said putting his hands up innocently.

"Uh-huh." She sounded unconvinced. "You ready?" Zuko nodded and they walked topside together.

"Good morning." Iroh greeted them sitting at the table drinking tea. He motioned towards a basket sitting next to him.

"Good morning Iroh." She looked to the basket. "Is that it?"

"Yes it is. Komodo chicken." He confided. "Have a fun day. You and my nephew should enjoy this nice weather."

"Thank you Uncle." Zuko said, scooping up the basket before Katara could. "Let's go." He said with a warm smile. They skirted town, sticking to the shoreline, following it until both the village and the ship were out of site. Zuko kneeled to check and see what the cook had added when something fell over his head. He pulled the blue cloth from his face and saw Katara in her white underclothes again, standing in the frothing tide as it washed over the sand.

"Coming?" She asked playfully.

Zuko peeled off his shirt and shook his head until his shaggy dark hair settled over his face and he took confident strides towards her. Katara could feel her heart rate start to pick up. His golden eyes had locked in on her and the sun glinted off the pale skin stretched tautly over strong, sinewy muscles. When he reached her, before she knew what was going on, she found herself swept off her feet and his lips crushing down on hers. She responded hungrily until they had to part for air.

Gingerly he set her down. "Sorry," blushing slightly, "I've been waiting to do that all morning."

"Maybe we should cool off in the water with a swim." She recommended shyly. They spent a few hours swimming before dropping heavily onto the hot sand, letting the sun dry them as they dug into the lunch they had brought along.

"Mmm… This komodo chicken tastes a bit like arctic hen."

"It's pretty good, but my Uncle doesn't like it that much."

The conversation lulled and they focused on lunch, watching the waves.

"You alright?" He asked her.

"I just…" she sighed. "I just wish that I could remember more than what arctic chicken tastes like or…" she touched the pendent dangling in the hollow of her throat. Her eyes glistened, "I miss my mom." She rested her chin on top of her knees.

"I know what you mean. I miss my mom too. I don't even know if she's dead or alive."

"Oh Zuko…" She said looking up and grabbing a hand off the sand.

He smiled at her sympathetically. "It's okay. I've got my Uncle… and you."

She squeezed his hand and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Come on." He said getting to his feet and pulling her up with him. "Let's do a little training."

She flashed him a cunning style. "You're going down, hot head."

"Hot head?" He asked, mildly insulted and he began chasing after her. He would send a spurt of flame to nip at her heels as she sprinted ahead of him along the shoreline. She would blindly fling water behind her and he'd be able to dodge or flip over it and resume chasing. Focused on his target, he thought the shadow was just a cloud passing before the sun. He didn't know anything was amiss until mid stride he was blown back, tumbling head over heels, landing in a crouch until something bound his feet to the ground.

Katara looked back to see what the commotion had been. Zuko was crouching, his feet held fast in place with the sand that had wrapped around his ankles. She started to take a step towards him when a figure in a flash of color dropped in front of her. He stood in a protective stance with his back to her, but she recognized the staff, the flowing red and yellow clothes and the blue tattoos. His name and flashes of memory returned to her like a shot, it even caused her to take a step back.

"Aang?"

"Katara!" She looked to where her name had been called above her.

"Sokka!" It was all coming back. "Appa!" He growled in response and a flying lemur landed around her shoulders. "Momo…" She crooned affectionately as the flying bison landed next to her and her brother jumped down, wrapping her in a tight hug, dislodging Momo.

"Long time no see sugar queen." Toph greeted with a solid thump on the back.

"Toph!" She dislodged from Sokka and enfolded the surly earth bender in a strong embrace.

"Woah! Take it easy sweetness. Can't breathe!" She protested.

Sokka caught Katara's arm and brought her behind him, pulling out his boomerang simultaneously. "Stay behind me Katara."

Alerted to the sudden tension she had previously over looked due to the excitement of reuniting with friends, family and memory. "What is it?" She asked pushing around her brother. Everyone was regarding Zuko warily as he stood quietly, head down, yet observing them a short distance away.

"Prince Zuko." Aang said, his voice slicing through the tense silence.

"Prince?" Katara repeated, looking to Zuko, confused by all the hostility. Her memory was jogged and horrific memories flooded the forefront of her mind. Her body stiffened. "You lied to me!" She yelled at him, gruffly shoving Sokka out of her way.

"Katara!" He warned.

She stomped past Aang and waved a furious finger in Zuko's face. "You used me! To get to Aang!" She flung her arm back, motioning to the air bender. "Again!"

He made no move and stared at the ground.

She was shaking in anger and hurt, white caps forming on the once still ocean, a few tears escaping down her cheeks. "I can't believe I trusted you!" Angrily she wiped her cheeks and spun on her heel.

"It's good to have you back." Aang said with a sympathetic smile as she walked away from the fire bender. Aang fixed him with a steely gaze but it didn't look like he'd be giving anyone any trouble. Appa bellowed, signaling that everyone was on and ready to go. With a final glare, he launched himself into the air, landing lightly on Appa's neck and snatched the reins. "Yip yip."

Zuko stood motionless as he silently watched the flying bison launch. Katara turned to face him one last time, the sun glistening on her wet cheeks before she turned away. He watched Katara and the Avatar fly away until they were out of sight. He heated the sand that held him captive until it was brittle and kicked out of it and sunk down to the ground, his head in his hands.

He heard the sound of feet pounding on sand approach him, but he didn't look up until his Uncle was standing over him. "Prince Zuko, what happened?"

He looked up, squinting into the glare across the waves. He seemed oddly calm as he answered. "She's gone."

"Did the Avatar…?" Zuko nodded. "Well Prince Zuko, it is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all."

Zuko sat silently for a long time before standing up. "Come on Uncle." He started walking along the beach.

"But Prince Zuko, you're going the wrong way. The ship is that way." Iroh called after him, gesturing in the opposite direction.

He stopped. "I can't go back." He closed his eyes and the heavy hand of his Uncle fell on his shoulder.

"You have changed a great amount these past few months; I have seen it. What we need is a new beginning. A life of peace."

"Peace." Zuko echoed distantly and finally nodded.

"Come Prince Zuko."

"Not Prince, and not Zuko. Lee."

His Uncle smiled. "And I shall be Mushi. Come Lee." Iroh continued with Zuko down the beach, away from the fire nation ship.

Sarahplainntall here. Some of you may have mixed feelings on this chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Comment. I appreciate everyone who reads this and adds it to their alerts, favorites or comments.