A/N: No annoying, long note today. I hope you all like this chapter, but I think some of you are going to hate me at the end of it...

Shaping Destiny

by: RupertLover09

Summary: Destiny is a funny thing, you never know how things are going to work out... Things change and people change.

Chapter Two: Self-Delusionment

Zuko awoke just when the sun was slinking over the horizon. The crew had taken shifts over night so as to make better time, and Zuko could already feel the temperature drop in the air. He shrugged into his robe, put on his cloak, and tugged his shoes onto his feet. Leaving his bed unmade, he exited his room and made his way up to the deck of the ship, pausing only to look in on Katara.

The Waterbender was curled up in the center of her bed, the blankets clutched tightly around her body. She was facing the door and Zuko could see that a peaceful smile was spread across her face. Even while sleeping she was beautiful.

Zuko, alarmed by his thoughts, shut the door to the tiny room and hurried up to the deck where members of the crew and Royal Guard nodded their morning greetings to him. By some miracle, a messenger hawk was perched on the railing of the ship, its beady eyes glaring around at its surroundings. Zuko produced a tightly wound scroll from the confines of his robe, staring down at it solemnly.

You promised Katara you'd find out what was going on, he reprimanded himself, tapping the scroll against the palm of his hand. A promise is a promise. And she's right. She does deserve to know what's going on. Aang should have been keeping in contact with her. What's wrong with that kid?

Zuko started as he processed his own thoughts. Not long ago, Katara had also referred to Aang as a child. This realization catapulted him into a reminiscence of their conversation and how she'd fallen asleep in his arms on the dock that night. Her dreams had apparently been fraught with confusion as he'd carried her back to the palace because she'd mumbled endlessly about a fortune teller and someone she apparently hoped was tall and handsome.

Something about Katara's mutterings had planted a tiny seed of hope somewhere in his heart and the Fire Lord found himself staring regretfully after the messenger hawk as it flew away his letter. He was tall and as for handsome…well, Katara seemed like the type of person to see past appearances, he thought as his fingers grazed over the scar on his face. And he wasn't stupid. He'd seen the knowing looks that various guards, servants, and even regular people about town would cast towards them whenever they interacted. Even when Mai had been around he'd seen the looks that people would cast him and Katara, not that they chose to be discreet about it.

He sighed and placed his elbows on the cool metal railing of the ship so that his hands and forearms dangled over the edge, leaning heavily on his elbows. Or maybe he was just letting his hopes get too high…so high that he was deluding himself.

"I'm sorry," the guard said for the fifth time, "Fire Lord Zuko and Miss Katara are not here." The little pipsqueak Avatar in front of him was wearing on his nerves. One would think that after being told that the Fire Lord and his…friend weren't in the palace, the kid would have given up. He'd even pulled out a very comical drawing where the Waterbender seemed to have a lemur's ears. Whoever had drawn the picture obviously wasn't a very talented artist.

The guard liked the blind Earthbender girl that the Avatar had brought with him much more than the Avatar himself. She had attitude, the guard could tell that much even though she hadn't spoken. It must have been something about the way she carried herself.

"Well, could you tell us where they are? Or how long they'll be gone? I am the Avatar, and Katara and Zuko are very important people to me."

The guard glowered down at Aang before responding. No need to piss off the Avatar, was there? "They left yesterday evening on an important excursion. We have no set date on when to expect them back."

"Oh," Aang paused, slightly crestfallen, then brightened up. "That's okay! I forgive her!" The guard looked at Aang with an expression on his face that clearly said he thought Aang wasn't exactly right in the head. "Uh...yeah."

"Jeez, Twinkle Toes," Toph said in between bites of an apple that she'd found in a basket of fruit on one of the many tables that line the long hallway. "Your girlfriend's gone off with Fire Lord Grumpy Pants for who knows how long and you just up and forgive her? You don't even know where they're going. For all you know they've run off to get hitched. Man, if I were you I'd be getting Appa and following Sugar Queen and Mr. 'I'm Never Happy' as best I could."

Aang laughed, causing Toph to look around in his general direction, her mouth hanging open. "That's just silly, Toph," he said, still chuckling. "Katara would never elope with Zuko. They can barely stand each other! And besides, Zuko's got Mai." Aang shrugged and turned to walk out of the palace, a cheerful whistle dying on his lips when Toph spoke up again.

"You mean Gloom and Doom? I don't think she's here, Twinkle Toes."

Aang was just about to ask how Toph could know that when she was blind and hadn't been in the Fire Nation palace for months when a movement to his left caught is eye.

"It's true," a soft, feminine voice said, causing Aang to turn and find that a female servant had paused in her duties to listen to the conversation. Her reddish-brown hair cascaded to her waist in soft curls and her amber eyes stared up at Aang through pitch black eyelashes. She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen. "My lord left yesterday evening with Miss Katara. I don't know the exact reason for their sudden departure, but they did leave. And Miss Mai hasn't been here in little more than a month. I do believe their relationship has ended. She broke some of the most beautiful of our antique vases as she left." And then the girl was gone, her black skirt rustling and her bare feet padding softly against the stone floor.

Toph shuffled up to Aang's side, biting into her apple. "So," she said after a few seconds of noisy chewing, "still not curious as to where Sugar Queen and Sparky got off to? Or as to just how much they apparently can't stand each other?"

The sun was high in the sky when Katara finally rolled out of bed, got ready for the day, and went up to the deck of the ship. She could tell that they'd made progress, even in the night. There was a chill to the breeze that swept through her hair and tugged the cloak she'd borrowed from Zuko away from her body.

Said Fire Lord was staring moodily at the horizon, his lips twisted downward into a frown. His hair, once again out of the customary up-do, blew about his face in the wind, caressing his nose and cheeks, and hanging in a dark way in front of his golden eyes. But it wasn't the old darkness that Katara had been so used to seeing, especially when Mai had been around. It was the mysterious, moody bad boy darkness that Katara had once related to Jet. Only this mysterious bad boy attitude of Zuko's seemed to have a bit of quiet desperation mixed in. Quiet desperation and…hopelessness.

The whole effect of it caused Katara's heart to start beating erratically and her cheeks to warm. She fought the sudden emotions back, slapping herself mentally. Aang, she reprimanded herself, you've got Aang. It's just the situation making you react like this. Zuko did you a favor and now you're returning it. It's all very normal…and friend-like.

The Waterbender steeled herself as she approached her elemental opposite and good friend. She slid her hand into the crook of his arm, a normal interaction between them that caused him to jump in surprise and glower down at her, a look that quickly softened into a smile. Katara buried a frown of her own with her own smile and a quiet, "Good morning." Something was the matter. Zuko normally didn't shy away from any physical contact they made, no matter how big or small. Not that he'd shied away, but the fact that she'd startled him caused her to worry.

"Glad to see you're finally awake," he said, his smile widening. "It's about time."

"Well, unlike some people I know, I don't rise with the sun," she teased back.

Zuko chuckled, but the brooding look crossed over his face once more as he looked back at the horizon. Katara reached up and turned his head so that he was looking at her instead. But instead of meeting her eyes, he glowered resolutely at the deck of the ship.

"Zuko…what's wrong?" she was unconsciously letting her thumb stroke his cheek, the uneven scar not even registering with her mind. It had become simply a part of the Firebender, something she never noticed anymore.

It wasn't until Zuko's hand came up to trap her own against his cheek that Katara realized the actions of her traitorous thumb. Her apology died on her lips when he finally let his eyes meet hers. She automatically took a step forward, nearly closing the distance between them, mesmerized.

He was looking at her so affectionately it was making her heart stutter and leap about in her chest, but the pain that was laced with that look caught her completely off-guard. She was vaguely aware that he was holding her face in his hands now like she was something fragile he could shatter into a million pieces if his touch wasn't gentle enough. Before her eyelids slid shut, the Waterbender took note of the fact that their faces were very close together. Sparks were flying through her body, sending thrills up her spine as her heart hammered away in her chest. Every single one of her nerves was on fire in a ridiculously fantastic way.

"IsentalettertoAangforyou." His lips brushed against hers as he spoke and it took every ounce of Katara's self-control not to ignore what he'd said and kiss him anyway.

"Oh," she pulled away from Zuko, aware that several members of the crew were looking on with painfully obvious interest, "I…well…thank you, Zuko." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and moved away a bit, raising the hood of her cloak so that Zuko couldn't see the blush that stained her cheeks.

Question, do you guys want a preview of the next chapter at the end of each new one I put up? I'm considering doing it, but I don't want to put in the time and effort doing it if you don't want it.

Who else loves an angsty Zuko? Angsty bad boys are my favorites. Haha. Anyway...

I'm also going to be posting soundtrack for this story in my profile; one song for each new chapter. I might even add in some links where you can listen to them.

Please review! Even one word makes my day and keeps me writing. The more reviews I get, the faster I will get the next chapter written and posted!