A/N: Everything important is at the bottom. Please read it. This chapter is a lot longer, so hopefully you guys like it. There's another preview near the bottom; for those of you who don't want to read it, go ahead and skip over it. There's also another song added to the playlist. Go ahead and check it out.

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 Four: Arriving

Zuko stared around the snowy landscape in wonder as he rowed the little boat up a river flanked by icy banks. Katara thought it would be better if they did not arrive in the giant Fire Nation ship with Zuko's complete set of Royals Guards, and he had agreed. Though it was nearing one year since the end of the war, peace was still settling over the world and it was best not to rustle too many feathers. Causing and international incident or being the cause of the start of an uprising would not look too good for the Fire Lord; the Water and Earth Nations still did not exactly hold high opinions of him. He was risking his neck even setting foot on land here, and his bending would not exactly be the best as the cold blotted out most of the fire he could make. He would have to rely on Katara for any defense he needed if his swords could not do the job for him.

Convincing the guards that he would be fine had not exactly been the happiest part of Zuko's trip. They had seemed to be of the opinion that Zuko would be weak and that he would need each and every one of them. Instead, he had reminded them of the fact that Katara was a master Waterbender and could probably take care of the both of them if the situation called for any defensive action. Eventually, the guards had been forced to agree, none of them too keen on leaving the ship in exchange for the arctic conditions anyway. Instead they would make port on a small island not too far from the Southern Water Tribe. Zuko and Katara would stay with the tribe for exactly a week and then move on to Bear Island to find Zuko's mother. After that, they would return to Katara's people for another week and then return to the Fire Nation. It was a simple plan, but Zuko knew that something would go wrong. Something always went wrong.

It had been a large amount of time since Zuko had been in the southern regions of the world and his memories of the place were fuzzy. Vaguely, he wondered if he would even live long enough to find his mother. It was cold here. So cold that it was seeping into his bones as though trying to make a permanent home. And there was absolutely no vegetation. None. At all. The lack of plants made him wonder what food would be like; probably a lot of meat and various bland foods if he were to make his best guess. The housing situation was what bothered him most, though. If he remembered correctly, the people of the Southern Water Tribe lived in igloos. That meant he would be sleeping on the snow-covered ground under a lot of blankets and furs that were nothing like the plush bed and silken bed coverings in his room back at the palace.

Not even during his days of exile or being part of the gang did Zuko find himself missing the creature comforts of his homeland so much.

"We're almost there."

Katara's soft voice knocked the Firebender out of his thoughts and brought him back to what was going on. "Okay," he replied, relief flooding his body. The muscles in his arms had started to cramp up from so much rowing, and the cold temperatures weren't helping much either.

In front of him, Katara nodded absently and Zuko frowned behind her back. After their discussion four nights prior, things had gained some semblance of normalcy, but Katara was unnaturally quiet. He knew it was because she was guilty and trying to think of Aang, but he kind of wished that guilt did not make her so quiet and withdrawn. Though he did not mind so much the fact that she had been much more affectionate, even if her actions remained tentative.

Since their conversation, Katara had taken to holding his hand and even kissing his cheek before retiring to bed. Zuko didn't complain-he was very fond of being close to her in any way-but he also tried not to initiate contact. He had no desire to increase Katara's guilt (therefore, pushing her further into silence), and he also didn't really trust himself. Zuko was an instinctual person, always acting before he thought; this was not a situation in which he wanted that particular trait to gain dominance. It was requiring a lot of early morning meditation and he had been losing a lot of sleep because of it.

And then there was that damn incident two days ago, Zuko thought, scowling a bit as he thought back on that morning. It hadn't been anyone's fault really, but the Firebender still cringed about his lack of control.

After his meditation and a bit of bending practice on the deck of the ship, Zuko had taken a quick shower in the ship's only bathroom. Thinking he would be able to get back to his quarters without running into anybody, he hadn't taken any clean clothes with him; it was always a challenge to get dressed in such a cramped space. He had then proceeded to exit the bathroom without checking to make sure nobody was in the hallway, quite literally running into a very surprised Katara. The next thing that happened was one of those utterly ridiculous things that only happened in plays or books: the blue-eyed girl promptly stumbled backwards and he had caught her around the waist before she could fall, unintentionally righting her on her feet so that her body was flush with his own.

Zuko stared longingly at the back of Katara's head at the memory of the way her hands had slid so teasingly up his chest, past his shoulders, and behind his neck, her fingers tangling up in his hair. By Agni, he had wanted her so bad at that moment. He cringed again as he remembered how his control had slipped, causing him to back Katara into the wall behind her and trapping the Waterbender against the cool metal with his hands planted firmly on either side of her head.

Then, as if Agni was torturing the poor Fire Lord, just as Zuko had been leaning in to press a searing kiss to Katara's lips, a scuffle had broken out between two members of the crew just around the corner. The moment had hung suspended in the air for a few moments as Zuko grappled with his mind, trying to gain back his self-control. Those moments had been long and agonizingly drawn out. But, once his self-control was in check, Zuko had pushed himself away from Katara and went to break up the fight.

Of course, then she had spent the day shooting him glances from her post at the bow of the ship where she spent most of the day Waterbending to aid the captain. Those glances had been laced with emotions that caused the hairs on the back of Zuko's neck to rise and his heart to start hammering away in his chest. Then, whenever she seemed to have the opportunity, she was touching him. Brushing up against him if they happened to pass, grazing his arms with her fingertips…that day had been hell. Sweet, sweet hell. He had never realized that sweet, innocent Katara could be such a…such a seductress!

Now, however, that guilt-free day seemed to have caught up with her and it felt like she was trying to make up for it by hardly opening her mouth to speak or raising her eyes to look at him.

"Zuko?"

Katara was peering up into his face, looking concerned. He automatically snapped out of his stupor. "What is it?"

"Um…we're here."

Zuko glanced around his surroundings and saw that they had indeed arrived. Katara had moored the boat at a little dock made of weather beaten wood.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled, offering her a sheepish smile as they gathered their few belongings and clambered out of the boat. "I kind of zoned out there."

"I'll say," Katara said, sounding vaguely amused. "What were you even thinking about?"

"…The other day in the hallway," he replied, smiling at the way Katara's face flushed. Something about her had always drawn the truth out of him since being locked up in the Crystal Catacombs under Ba Sing Se and he deeply admired the effect the truth had on her. He dropped his bedroll and pack into the snow and stepped forward, placing a calloused hand on her cheek as he leaned in for the third time in about a week. "Katara…" he breathed.

Her eyes fell halfway shut as she too leaned in, seemingly eager to close the distance. There was nothing to stop them this time. It was really going to happen. And then, all time seemed to stop as he pressed his lips against hers, his eyes falling shut. Katara's own belongings hit the snowy ground and Zuko felt the weight of her arms as they settled around his neck. He held her in his arms, hands splayed across her back, pressing her firmly against himself.

It was exactly the way he thought it was going to be, this first kiss with Katara. It was short, passionate, and it set his nerve endings on fire. He pulled away after a few seconds and pressed his forehead against hers, studying her eyes.

"When you look at me," he whispered, the words slipping out of his mouth before he even had the chance to think about them, "you say things with your eyes."

Katara turned red and kissed him again, breaking away before he had the chance to respond. "Zuko, we can't."

"I know. Doesn't mean we can't want to, though."

She sighed and embraced him, her face buried in his neck. "When we get back," she murmured. "I promise."

"I'll wait however long you need me to."

There was a commotion when Zuko and Katara reached the Southern Water Tribe. Several people had stared at the Waterbender for a few seconds before turning on their heels, shouting Katara's name so the whole village could hear. A little old lady turned from where she was talking to a familiar-looking man (Zuko couldn't place his name, but he knew the man was a member of the White Lotus). The old woman's hair was gray, her face was wrinkled, and she was a little on the rotund side, but Zuko could practically feel the warmth of her personality from where he was standing.

"Gran Gran!" Katara shouted and dashed into the woman's arms, her face alight with glee.

There was a small crowd forming and Zuko watched with a small smile on his face as tears of happiness formed in Katara's grandmother's eyes and poured down her cheeks. He felt a bit awkward standing there in Sokka's old clothes, the only things warm enough that Katara had been able to find that would fit him. Especially when he had been shuffled off to the side in a way that nobody noticed and Katara was being embraced by her grandmother and surrounded by her old friends. He also didn't like the fact that several boys about his age were eyeing her in a way she wouldn't have appreciated had she know. Zuko glowered at said boys, sending them a look that said to back off, the pretty Waterbender was not theirs to eye and he wasn't afraid to do something about their disrespect.

Katara beckoned him forward, holding out her hand. He took it, suddenly a lot less fearless. "Gran Gran, Pakku, this is my friend, Fire Lord Zuko. Zuko, this is my grandmother Kanna and her husband Pakku," she said.

Zuko bowed respectfully. "I am honored to make your acquaintance," he murmured.

"Welcome to our humble village," Gran Gran replied with a smile. "We have heard of the great things you are doing for the world and welcome you with open arms. Any friend of my granddaughter's is a friend to us."

Katara had just opened her mouth to say something when a girl of about seven approached the group, looking shyly up at the Waterbender. She held out a small bracelet made of blue beads and crystals that looked like drops of rain. Katara took the bracelet with a smile of thanks.

"Welcome back, princess," the girl said.

Katara shot a look at Zuko and turned scarlet.

An Issue of Chapter Length

So. I've been getting reviews (at least one a chapter, a different person every time) complaining about how short my chapters are. In an attempt to solve this issue, I've put up a poll in my profile. It's pretty self-explanatory. So go to my profile and click on the poll at the very tippy top. Cast your vote and I'll let you know how the voting turned out in the next update. The longer chapters would be about this length, possibly longer.

Preview

"Sokka!"

"Not now, Aang," the warrior exclaimed, waving a turquoise ribbon through the air. "I'm busy!"

"But it's important, Sokka!"

"As important as this, Aang?!" Sokka brandished the ribbon in Aang's face, wishing he he could kick the little Avatar's butt off of the ship for being so annoying. Kicking Aang's butt off the ship might cause some sort of international incident, though, and Sokka really did not feel like being the cause of it at this point in his life.

"It's more important than some ribbon!" Aang screeched.

"This is not just some ribbon, Aang!" Sokka hollered at his friend. "It's part of a necklace for Suki. Do you know what that means, Aang? Do you know what the fact that I am making a necklace for Suki means? No! I didn't think so!" He turned to slam the door of the cabin in Aang's face.

"It's Katara, Sokka!"

The warrior's heart plummeted to his stomach and he almost dropped the ribbon to the floor as his jaw slackened. "W-what?"

The Shaping Destiny Soundtrack

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
5. "Faint" by Linkin Park

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. My best guy friend/complicated situation guy just got back into town and things have gotten...interesting. In a good way, though. The line that Zuko uses ("When you look at me, you say things with your eyes.") came from him. My friend is the biggest cheeseball on the face of the planet, but I wouldn't want him to be any other way. Anyway, since he was gone my writing has been progressively worse, but now that he's back it's been getting better. Expect to see an improvement in the chapters of this story as time goes on.

Please review! Even one word would make my day.