diclaimer: yeah still don't own the characters and i never will, at least not until i finish my life switching machine!!!!!!
A/N: I noticed I say ok a lot whenever I start a sentence durin' an authors note, so let's try not to. I would first like to apologize for kinda sorta makin' Katara seem like a royal bitch, I really didn't want to it just sort of made sense. Also i think i should explain in case you haven't noticed every chapter is centered around one of the characters. So far ch.1(Aang), ch. 2(Sokka), ch. 3(Katara) and there many more chapters, well a few I guess, any who please continue reviews for this story if you could and I hope you all like the story so far.
"Aang, are you ok?" Katara asked the shorter teen who seemed distracted by something. The tattooed teenager was chopping potatoes, standing next to the tan girl at a counter in the kitchen of the ancient air nomad's temple. The monk was so concentrated on his thoughts about the recent even with his fire teacher, that he almost didn't hear what the water tribe girl had said. The young monk looked up at her and nodded with a smile in response to her question, he then went back to chopping the potatoes. A few minutes past and neither spoke, the silence was starting to concern the tan girl. "Aang?" she knew something was on his mind, she'd always be able to tell; after all she cared about the young hero.
The bald monk stood there for a second setting the knife down noticing that the potatoes he was chopping were all diced up. "I'm just tried Katara, no big deal really." He then scooped up the diced root vegetable added it to the boiling caldron that sat on the fire wiping his hands to make sure no slices of the potato were stuck to him. The airbender then turned back to look at the taller girl and queried. "Sokka said that Zuko has gone missing, is that true?"
She didn't look at Aang, instead she glared at the knife as she washed it off in a bowl of water. "We thought that he was training with you." She then proceeded to put the knife away in a pouch that was resting against the counter. "Then we started thinking that maybe he was sleeping or hiding in his room if he wasn't training you." The airbender was about to say something but before he could make a noise Katara turned to him and said. "But yes Aang, it would seem that he is missing." The avatar looked at the floor a little bit of concern upon his face. "Well since the soup is cooking and we have a bit of time, let's go find him before he starts trouble."
The tattooed teen looked up at her with a scowl upon his face. "He really has changed Katara." The girl crossed her arms in defiance to the young hero's words and replied with an assertive expression drawn over her features.
"Yeah right, just like before when he helped us get away at Ba Sing Se. Oh wait he didn't help us, he just turned his back on us and his uncle. I won't believe it Aang, I just can't." the tan girl knew she had made a point with that statement. However strong her opinion was it didn't reveal what she had hoped to get from the shorter airbender.
Instead the tattooed youth glared at her and raised his voice to her, heading toward the exit of the kitchen leading out to a hallway. "You have to give him another chance; he hasn't done a single thing wrong since he's been here!"
Before the angry monk could reach the door the water bender yelled. "But what good has he done!" she took a step forward showing off her sternness on the subject at hand.
Without missing a beat the shorter boy turned and voiced the deeds their, until very recent, enemy had done since joining up with the troupe of hero's. "For starters he's training me to firebend, he is also being kind and respectful at every moment, and most of all he's been sweet and caring, looking out for us all." Anger had found its way into every word the young hero spoke; it made the waterbender more then nerve racked.
She had protected, looked after, and cared for the avatar and never once showed any hostility toward him. Yet the bald monk would stand up against her to protect a man who has a history of making the wrong choices. This sent the water tribe girl over the edge; she roared her angry thoughts back at the one she grew so fond of. "He might be your trainer, but think of all the other things. Zuko is only kind and respectful to you, he doesn't interact with the rest of us, and if he does then it's either very cold or almost unfeeling, and almost only when you are in the room as well! As for being a sweet and caring guy he was probably caring to his uncle, but he still stabbed him in the back just to get what he wanted! He can't be trusted Aang!"
The tattooed teen stood there across the kitchen from his waterbending teacher, both had a glare, both of them practically radiating with anger and hate. "You're wrong!" the young hero growl running out the archway and down the corridor.
"Aang! Be careful!" the infuriated girl yelled after him, worry evident in her voice. She then turned back to the soup using a bit of bending to mix the liquid around. The carrots, celery and potatoes sloshed about in a yellow broth. She huffed thinking to herself. 'Damn you Zuko' closing her eyes she remembered of the night prior when the exiled prince approached her.
~Flashback~
There was a knock upon the tan girl's door late that night; she opened an eye to examine her surroundings upon hearing the first knock. It was dark that night a chair sat in front of a stone desk next to the bed she was reclined on, and a window on the wall behind the desk showing the dark night outside. Upon the second knock she stood up out of bed and walked to the door, leaning her ear against the thick wood she asked. "Who is it?"
The response was muffled by the thick wood and harder yet to hear because the speaker was keeping his voice low, and monotone. Maybe not to wake the others or maybe out of hurt, Katara couldn't tell, but she knew it was the former prince's voice she heard. "It's me… I need to talk to you…"
The water tribe girl retained no trust for the scarred teenager on the other end of the door she was also highly confused by his request. 'Of all people, why would he want to speak with me?' she asked herself deep within her mind "What do you want Zuko?" the waterbender kept her tone cold and bare, the water tribe girl wanted to make sure the traitorous firebender knew that she thought he didn't deserve anything from anyone, especially not her.
"Please, just talk with me." The former prince's voice still kept its low volume and dull sound, but wavered slightly near the end. "I need help." He quietly pleaded from the other side of the massive door.
The long haired waterbender rolled her eyes but slowly opened the door allowing her former enemy to enter her room. When she looked upon him however she didn't see the furious enemy she knew, she saw a broken sniveling coward. It almost made the water tribe girl smile, but she contained her excitement as to not look rude. "Take a seat." She said leading the distraught and almost lost looking teen to the chair at the desk. She then turned and sat upon her bed returning her gaze to the firebender she hated, he hadn't sat down, and instead he just stared blankly at the seat until Katara spoke again. "I said sit." She commanded. The ex-prince did as he was told and sat in the chair staring at the floor, the waterbender didn't want to admit it but she was starting to feel concerned for sad looking boy that sat slumped in the chair before her.
The male teenager sitting in the chair looked up at the girl that hated him with such a passion and panic spread through out his being. He opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry as he muttered. "You have to promise not to kill me, I haven't hurt anyone."
The tan girl sighed and crossed her arm over her chest giving a look like she really didn't care and replied. "We'll see." The scarred teen returned his gaze to the floor and kept silent, the waterbender remained silent as well until the nagging feeling inside her couldn't take it anymore. "Well what is it?" she suddenly blurted out.
The tanned girl's former enemy spoke quietly, mumbling for the most part. "Well there's only one way to say this…" he then paused and looked about the room as if trying to take in as much he could now. "I, well… I um sort of told Aang um…"
'He is so lucky I have good hearing.' The water tribe girl thought to herself. The ex-prince stopped once again, this tried at the girl's patients and she couldn't help but force the firebender to finish his sentence. "What did you tell him Zuko?!" she demanded in a blunt manner and tone.
"I sort of told Aang that I love him." the male spat out quickly after the long haired girl growled her annoyance at him. They both sat still and quite, as if they were hunters waiting for prey to come along. The amber eyed boy looked up at her fear, guilt, and worry made up his expression. The water tribe girl however was taken aback by what she had just heard the boy sitting in the chair before her say, 'He did what?' was all she could think until the firebender spoke up. "I'm sorry…" he muttered looking down in defeat.
She snapped back into reality noticing the look upon the boy's face, it was one of sorrow, one of pain, one of complete and utter fear. No matter the others face, the water tribe girl couldn't help but feel the anger within her. She responded her voice heavy and heated, trying her best not to sound too angered. "What did he say?"
The male just shook his head closing his eyes and replied. "He ran off to go to sleep right after I told him." Katara stood up fighting the urge to punch him, or glare at him. Zuko kept his eyes glued upon the stone flooring of her bedroom just looking blankly upon it. "…I don't know what to do…" he finally mumbled.
The tan girl thought for a moment to herself about what she could tell him. 'I could tell him to confront Aang about the whole thing. I could also tell him to just leave, that he is overstepping his boundaries. I could try to get him to forget it ever happened. Ugh, just please don't let Aang feel the same way!' she was drawn from her thoughts as she noticed the banished prince slump over in his chair. "Maybe he just needs some space; why not get away from here for a bit." The firebender looked up at her almost puzzled by the idea. "I could talk to him for you while your gone." She mentioned softly to him placing her hand on his shoulder and giving a fake smile of kindness. 'Ha yeah right, I'll just wait for you to be forgotten, shouldn't take too long'
"You'd do that for me?" the scarred teen asked looking at the water tribe girl with hope in his eyes. She nodded her head keeping the clever grin upon her face. "Thank you Katara, you have no idea what this means to me!" he excitedly exclaimed a smile finding its way onto his face.
~End Flashback~
"Has he said anything yet?" the banished prince quietly asked from the archway of the kitchen. The waterbender turned around but didn't look the male in the eye, instead her attention focused on a stool by the frame that the firebender leaned against.
"I haven't been able to bring it up yet." She replied, it was less of being able to bring up the topic and more of the fact she wasn't planning to. The teenage male sighed and she looked up at him, his shoulders were slumped his face almost pouting. She quickly added to her previous statement. "But he thinks your sweet." As soon as the water tribe girl said that, she regretted it.
The ex-prince's shoulders rose showing his newly found confidence and a small nearly unnoticeable smirk made a home on his features. "He thinks I'm sweet?" he asked more to himself then the girl who stood by the caldron of soup. The waterbender nodded even though she hated herself for re-inspiring the emotionally wounded firebender that she loathed.