A/N: I had a really hard time writing this chapter. At first, it was going in a completely different way, a way that I remain rather fond of. But this is how it turned out, and I do believe it's a thousand times better. I'll probably do an outtakes thing after this so you all can read some of the things that either didn't make it into the story or got changed. If you want to, that is. I hope you like this chapter. It's kind of sad, if I'm being completely honest. And I apologize for any OOC-ness. Like I said, I struggled with writing this chapter and the next one is going to be a bit of a doozy as well. So I apologize ahead of time if I take longer to update again. There is also a preview at the bottom of this chapter. It was pretty much a tie on who wanted one and who didn't, so for those of you who didn't just go ahead and skip over it; I bolded the word 'preview' so you can't miss 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 Three: Apology

Her eyes were silver in the moonlight, molten and brimming with emotions. She didn't look at him. She hadn't looked at him all day. Instead, she'd spent her time helping out the ship's crew by bending the water so the boat would move faster. She was so at home out on the water like this it made him jealous. Her movements were like the element she held power over: elegant, fluid, immensely beautiful.

Right now she was standing a few yards from him, talking to a crew member who was trying to convince her to retire for the night.

"I appreciate your concern, but-"

"Really, miss, we can all see that you've worn yourself out. We think it's in your best interest if you retire for the night and gather your strength."

"I'm not weak," she hissed, leering at the man.

His eyes went wide. "I-I wasn't implying that you are. I was just trying to say that if you retire for the night, rest for a while, we could use your help again tomorrow. With your bending skill we could very well make port by the full moon."

"Oh." She relaxed slightly. "Well, alright. If you're sure…"

"We are."

"Then I'll be back to help again tomorrow."

The man nodded and left the area quickly, tossing a terrified glance back at the Waterbender as he did so. Zuko smirked to himself. Katara was rather intimidating when she wanted to be. And confusing, he added to himself, thinking again of how she hadn't looked at him all day. His smirk quickly turned into a frown. He had been so stupid! He'd acted purely out of the moment, reacting to the electricity her touch had sent coursing through his body, and he'd landed himself in all this confusion. It was all his fault, all his doing and now he was paying the price.

The water tribe girl was walking in his direction now, staring solemnly at the smooth metal of the deck. The Fire Nation cloak she wore complimented her skin and she wore it gracefully. It swept over the deck as she walked and Zuko realized it was one of his cloaks she was wearing. As she was passing him, her eyes jumped to meet his and his heart skipped a beat. In that brief moment, he could see the confusion that was eating her up inside. The confusion smothered another emotion he couldn't name but saw in a split second of that moment.

And then she was gone, passing through the door to his left, the one that led below the deck and to their separate rooms. He was so tempted to follow her and apologize and…

And what, exactly? He berated himself. Hope she'll let you kiss her like you didn't get to do before? Hope she'll tell you she feels the same way when she's got the Avatar for her boyfriend, no matter how neglectful he may be of her? That she'd kiss you back, maybe let you have your way with her, be with you forever in every possible way? It would never happen.

Zuko sighed and slouched down. "It would never happen," he whispered to himself. "It's not destiny."

But what was it Uncle always said? "Destiny is a funny thing, you never know what's going to happen."

Before he even realized what he was doing, Zuko was standing up and walking purposely to Katara's door. A kiss was entirely out of the question, but an apology was a good way to start off whatever this thing between them was going to become, he could feel it.

As he ran a hand through his hair, he waited patiently for Katara's door to open, glancing up and down the corridor to make sure no members of the crew or his guard were present. He could only imagine the rumors that would fly around if anyone saw the Fire Lord entering the room of his closest female companion at night. Especially after the events of the morning.

Zuko was preparing to knock again when Katara finally opened the door, tying the sash of her blue sleeping robes tightly around her waist. She didn't look surprised to see him.

"Hi," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. By Agni, he really hoped that whole, "Zuko here," thing wouldn't come spurting out of his mouth like that time he'd tried to get everyone in their little group to accept him as one of their own.

Katara returned the greeting then looked at him expectantly but nicely, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as she stepped aside to let him into the room. Her chocolate locks were flowing around her shoulders and cascading down her back, something only older girls in the Southern Water Tribe got to do from what Sokka had once said.

"I just wanted to say goodnight and to apologize," he said, stepping into the tiny room; the door silently swung shut behind him. "About earlier." This was followed by a nervous laugh that he hadn't meant to let escape.

Now she looked surprised. "Oh. Well, I appreciate the apology, but it's not really necessary."

Zuko stared at her, dumbfounded. She wasn't mad?! "Not necessary?! Katara, I tried to kiss you!"

She looked at him, amused. "I didn't exactly try to stop you."

The realization of this hit him like one of Toph's affectionate elbows to the side. Katara hadn't tried to stop him. She appreciated his apology, but thought it wasn't needed… That had to mean she had wanted that kiss just as much as he had, that maybe he wasn't such an idiot to hope that maybe someday she would feel about him the way he felt about her.

"You didn't even look at me all day," he said.

Katara bit her lip and looked at the floor, looking troubled.

"Why?" he asked.

"For the same reasons you didn't kiss me," she whispered. "Confusion, guilt, wondering if I should have stopped you, wondering if it's even the right time for us to do this… Mostly because of Aang."

As much as Zuko had been hoping that Aang's name wouldn't come up, he knew it would, and he was glad Katara had been the one to do it.

"Neither of us could do that to him," Katara continued, "no matter how I really feel about him or how you and I really feel about each other. We couldn't and you know it."

Zuko nodded in agreement, feeling the weight of the world fall onto his shoulders again as tears started spilling out of Katara's eyes. He hated it when she cried; it was one of his least favorite things. It was right up there with visiting Azula in her prison cell, knowing she was insane and there was nothing he could do; right up there with knowing he could never make his father a better person. He hated it. It made him feel helpless, like he couldn't fix what was going on.

"Katara, don't cry," he murmured, as he stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, disappointed when she turned away from his touch.

"I-I think you sh-should leave," she choked out, her voice cracking.

"Katara-"

"Please."

He nodded and opened the door, glancing back at her before he left. "Goodnight, Katara."

The young Firebender slept fitfully that night, the echoes of her sobs haunting his dreams and causing him to awake multiple times as guilt washed over his conscious.

Aang paced the small camp he and Toph had created just outside of the palace grounds in a forest clearing. The moon hung in the sky, not quite full but nearing it. What Toph had said earlier in the palace had gotten to him. He couldn't think of a single thing that would cause Zuko and Katara (Zuko and Katara of all people!) to suddenly take off on some adventure and not tell anyone where they were headed or when they would be back. With every step he took back and forth across the small campsite, a sudden elopement between the two was looking more and more possible.

But they wouldn't. They could hardly stand each other!

"But how much can't they stand each other?" Toph had repeatedly said as they were setting up camp. "You forget that they've been pretty much alone for months. You haven't even contacted Katara in weeks. I'd say they're probably pretty close by now. I mean, really. You can't leave two people like them alone, especially when they have so much in common yet are so different."

Aang sighed and started pacing back to the other side of the camp to the comfort of his tent. Toph wasn't exactly known for being stupid. She was actually pretty perceptive for someone who was blind. In fact, she tended to see a lot more than someone with eyesight could.

That night, he didn't sleep.

Preview

He felt a bit awkward standing there in Sokka's old clothes, the only things warm enough Katara had been able to find that would fit him. Especially when he'd been shuffled off to the side in a way that nobody had noticed and Katara was being embraced by her grandmother and surrounded by old friends. He also didn't like the fact that several boys about his age were eyeing her in a way he knew she wouldn't have appreciated had she known.

The Shaping Destiny Soundtrack

This is the soundtrack to Shaping Destiny. In my profile you'll find links to Youtube where you can hear the songs. They don't correspond with the chapters right now, but they will make sense once the story is done. If you want to hear the songs, look toward the bottom of my profile. You'll find them there.

Theme Song: "Everything" by Lifehouse
1. "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch
2. "The Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin
3. "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin
4. "So I Thought" by Flyleaf

A/N: Wow! Okay, at the time of posting this chapter, I have twenty-five reviews; twelve of those are from the last chapter alone. I would love if we could try to beat that. Maybe...fifteen? I think fifteen would be fantastic. Maybe I'll do a double update if I get fifteen. Two chapters, one day. Sound good? Okay! Then go ahead and click that little purple button. Send me one word, send me a hundred words... whatever! Just review!

By the way, I was very tempted to do the whole "Zuko here" thing when Zuko went to apologize to Katara, but the situation called for a bit of tension and awkwardness and not humor (no matter how ridiculously adorable Zuko was when he was practicing on that badgerfrog). So I had him think about it instead. I couldn't resist, haha!