A/N: No long notes today… I'm sorry if this chapter is a little off from the usual, though. I'm still a little bit emotionally tired and I need a little time to heal.

Regarding Aang's Actions Last Chapter: Fourteen year old boys that I've known are really kind of hormonal. I portrayed Aang that way for a reason you will find out this chapter. Mostly everything in this story happens for a reason. No matter if it's a character portrayal, a scene that takes place, a comment someone makes…it happens for a reason. Trust me.

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 Six: Disappointment

The first thing Katara comprehended when she began to wake up on the day of her and Zuko's departure to Bear Island was the warmth that surrounded her and reached deep into her bones. She let herself hang in that space between wakefulness and sleep for a few more moments. The warmth was pushing her back towards sleep, and she was so incredibly comfortable…

Then she realized that somebody was holding her in their arms and her eyes snapped open in panic.

Oh, spirits!

Katara did not know what to do. Should she scream? Should she bend some water? Pretend to sleep? Sneak away? The pale, callused hand that was resting on her stomach was becoming more confounding as she looked at it. Had one of the village boys sneaked in some time during the night? Whoever it was that was holding her as she slept was polar leopard chow when they woke up. She would make sure of it. She would even get Zuko to go at the jerk with his swords if need be.

And then Katara realized that people of the Southern Water Tribe were not pale. To her knowledge, there was only one pale person of the male gender in the area at the time, and that person was Zuko.

Zuko.

That would explain the warmth despite the fact that she was covered in only one blanket. As a fire bender, he had a higher body temperature than the majority of other benders. And nobody else would have the nerve to sneak into her own temporary igloo; she was a master water bender, and her temper was legendary. The night came flooding back to her with clarity like the water at the Spirit Oasis. Zuko hadn't come sneaking into the little house she had made for herself. She had invited him in after another of their midnight strolls. Thankfully (if her tired memory was correct), they had only talked late into the night. They must have fallen asleep even though she clearly remembered him murmuring something about going back to his own igloo (Katara had made it for him. Sharing the big one with the rest of the village made him uncomfortable. Plus, it had been easier to sneak out at night to see each other).

"You're awake," Zuko said, startling her.

Katara let her heart calm down before she replied. "How come you stayed?" she asked quietly, biting her lip when she realized how rude she had sounded.

"I'm sorry," he replied, "I know I shouldn't have." His hand disappeared and Katara felt him sit up. She followed suit, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and then gawking shamelessly at the sight of Zuko's bare chest. It wasn't that she had never seen him without a shirt on before, because she had and she had to wonder what normal girl wouldn't stare. She'd seen Suki ogling Zuko when he had just finished bending practice one time, beads of sweat had been rolling down his perfectly sculpted muscles as he made his way over to where Katara sat. But then Sokka had walked in and demanded very loudly just what exactly it was that Suki was staring at. Zuko had taken one look over his shoulder at Sokka's enraged, jealous face and put his shirt back on, much to Katara's (and Suki's) disappointment.

Zuko without a shirt was far, far from bad, but…well… He was shirtless in an igloo in the South Pole.

"You're not wearing a shirt," she stated bluntly.

Zuko shrugged. "I got a little warm."

"Zuko, we're in the South Pole."

"That as may be," he said, stretching his arms over his head as he spoke, his back cracking audibly several times, "but I'm a fire b-" With a grunt of pain, Zuko doubled over, his right hand settling over the scar on his torso. Katara automatically reached for him, but he swatted her hands away. "I'm fine."

"Zuko-"

"I'm fine, Katara. It happens sometimes, alright?"

"No!" Katara scowled at him and wrenched his hand away so she could get a closer look at the place Azula's lightning had struck him when he had so willingly tried to give his life to save her own. "It's not alright! Now quit trying to be so macho and let me look at it!"

Zuko swore quietly, dragging Agni's name through the mud, but sat back and let Katara look at the wound. The angry, reddish scar didn't look painful, but Katara could hardly imagine the trouble it was giving Zuko, especially if it caused him enough pain to make him double over like that. Zuko hardly ever complained about an injury or illness unless it was serious. She reached for her skin of water, but his hand clamped down on her wrist in a split second. Katara opened her mouth to reprimand him, but when she looked up into his face, she clamped her mouth shut. His eyes were shut tight and his face turned so the scar over his left eye was hidden

"Scars don't heal, Katara," he whispered.

"I know," she whispered back, placing her free hand on his chest and bowing her head.

"Then why try?"

He was looking at her now; she could feel the warmth of his golden eyes as he gazed steadily at her.

"Because I hate seeing you hurt."

He lifted her chin with two fingers, offering her a crooked smile when their eyes met. "I'll be okay, Katara. The cold air is just making it act up."

Katara snorted. "You sound like an old man."

He just smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Maybe we should think about getting ready to head out to the island."

Aang was brandishing a scroll in Sokka's amused face.

"What's so funny about Zuko taking Katara?" the air bender snapped.

"The only thing that's funny is that you're blowing this way out of proportion," Sokka replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Sure, I believe you-"

Aang, looking relieved, made an attempt at a reply, but Sokka continued to speak.

"-I just think you're looking at this entirely wrong and blowing it out of proportion."

Aang started spluttering out a retort, but the words in his head simply would not reach his mouth. Sokka held up a hand to silence him. "Look, Aang. The letter says that Zuko and Katara went on an important trip. Zuko even told you that he couldn't disclose the location in case the letter fell into the wrong hands. After that," Sokka took the scroll from Aang's hand and scanned over it before continuing. "After that, he says that Katara's upset because you haven't been keeping in contact with her.

"Now, I for one trust Zuko with my baby sister. He took lightning to the chest to save her from Azula; he's been keeping her at the Fire Nation's palace for almost an entire year so you could go gallivanting around the world with Toph, and I can guarantee you that there is no way in hell that Mai is happy with that arrangement. Also, he really seems to have her best interests at heart. You, however, seem to have been neglecting her."

"I haven't been neglecting Katara!" Aang exclaimed, exasperated with trying to convince Sokka that Zuko had kidnapped Katara. "I would never neglect Katara! And there's no way that she and Zuko would suddenly skip off on some secret mission without telling someone where they were going or when they would be back; they hate each other!"

"Exactly how many times have you told yourself that, Aang?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because, just in case you haven't noticed, Zuko and Katara really get each other. Yin and yang…all that kinda stuff. You can't just leave them with each other for extended periods of time without realizing that they're gonna become closer. You're a wise kid, Aang, but you're really dense."

Aang frowned as the gist of Toph's words came out of Sokka's mouth. "Toph said that, too."

"Toph's only blind because she has no eyesight. She's a smart cookie; really perceptive." Sokka turned back to the table on which the parts for Suki's necklace sat. He affixed the little silver pendant to the silk ribbon before voicing a question that he felt was important. "Why haven't you been writing to Katara?" Sokka set to work attaching a clasp to the ends of the ribbon; the gift was almost done.

There was a pause before Aang answered, sounding slightly defeated. "I was."

"What happened?"

"I…don't know if you want to know."

Sokka pressed his lips together so hard that the thin line they formed nearly disappeared. "I think I can guess," he growled. If it weren't for the fact that Aang was the Avatar, Sokka would have been trying to make sure that Aang was some wild animal's dinner. Sokka could not believe that Aang would try and pressure Katara into premarital…relations. Even he had not gone very far with Suki, despite everyone's assumptions.

"You have to understand, Sokka."

"No, I don't."

"She's older than me. I was just trying to give her what I thought she wanted!"

"Did she say that's what she wanted?" Sokka was steamed. He was getting more angry by the second and if Aang didn't watch it, he'd become Sokka's outlet. He deserved it.

"No. She didn't," Aang said in a small voice.

"Then you shouldn't have tried," Sokka grit out, looking at Aang coolly. The Avatar was hunched over, his head bowed in shame. "You should leave the ship. Take Toph with you or leave her if you want. Go back to the Fire Nation and wait for Katara and Zuko to get back. Then, you explain yourself to my sister. You ask her forgiveness. If she gives it to you, then you can come talk to me. But right now I don't want to see or hear from you. Katara is my sister and a girl. You will respect her from here on out."

Aang nodded and backed out of the room looking dejected. His wary eyes never left Sokka until he was sure the older boy was not going to hurt him. Sokka sighed and stared unseeingly at the necklace before him. He couldn't protect Katara anymore, especially when they were so far apart. And he probably wouldn't see her again for months. He didn't doubt Katara's ability to defend herself, but it couldn't hurt to have someone else looking out for her, someone she would never realize was watching over her. Maybe Zuko. He did have those swords, and he was an excellent bender. Plus, he and Katara were really good friends. They had to be if they were going off on secret ninja missions with each other… Sokka knew he probably would not even have to ask Zuko to protect Katara.

After all, it wasn't every day that a guy purposely threw himself in the path of destruction to save a girl. Especially if said girl had shown nothing but hostility towards him even after he had redeemed himself.

Sokka grinned. Zuko liked Katara. Sokka had witnessed it with his own eyes after they got back from finding Yon Rha. Zuko looked at Katara the way the others teased Sokka for looking at Suki.

Scooting his chair away from the table at which he had been working, Sokka placed the completed necklace in his pocket and went off in search of some paper, confident in his plan.

Zuko met Katara at the little boat they had arrived in. She looked up as he approached, her expression tense. Her parka was rolled up in the bottom of the little row boat, and she was garbed in simple clothes that Zuko recognized from the group's days at the Western Air Temple. He was wearing the warmest Fire Nation clothes he had been able to find, giving up on wearing Sokka's old clothes. Water Tribe clothes were incredibly bulky and Sokka didn't exactly have the muscle mass that Zuko did.

Katara was eyeing his clothes skeptically. "Are you going to be cold?"

Zuko shrugged. "No, but I have a cloak with me."

"There are a few things you should know before we get to the island," she said, fidgeting with the hem on her shirt.

The fire bender placed his things in the boat and looked at his companion expectantly. It was obviously something she did not want to tell him. Katara was not one to fidget uncomfortably when giving information. Zuko swallowed hard. He could only imagine the terror Ozai would have put his mother in when banishing her. As son of the Fire Lord he would have had the power to send Ursa to wherever he wanted. It was one thing to send someone from their home, but to send them somewhere they were so unused to… It would have been nothing for Ozai to send his wife into hostile, arctic conditions.

"Bear Island is the worst island in the Southern Hemisphere you could possibly send someone to. Its temperature is below freezing most of the year, there is no vegetation, and animals are scarce. I couldn't imagine sending someone to live there."

Zuko's heart plunged into his stomach and stayed there. He felt like he was going to be sick. "Oh…"

"Before we go-if you still want to go, that is-I just want to know if there's any chance that Ozai lied."

His heart heightened just a little bit but didn't quite leave his stomach. Is there a chance? he thought. Father was silent for months. He just cracked. Could he be sending me on some pointless escapade around the world? …Of course there's a chance that he lied. He's always lied.

Katara was looking at Zuko solemnly when he finally met her eyes. Empathy filled the blue orbs. She knew how he felt; she knew how it was to lose a parent.

"There's a chance," he whispered.

"I can get us there in a few hours instead of a day if I bend the water."

"The sooner the better."

She didn't say anything else as he helped her into the boat. She didn't hug him, she didn't smile…and, somehow, it was better that way.

The few hours it took them to get to the tiny island were silent; Katara bent the water, Zuko rowed. They passed ice burgs and Koalaotters and several schools of fish as the little boat moved along. The sun was high in the sky when Katara finally pointed out the island. It hardly grew as they got closer to it, and it closely resembled a ragged snow-covered hill shooting up out of the water. Zuko pulled his cloak out of his bag, fastening it around his shoulders as Katara pulled on her parka. The temperature drop was noticeable and fish seemed to be swimming away from the land.

Zuko stared at the landmass as feelings of dread and anticipation knotted themselves tightly in his stomach, trapping his heart there.

What if mom's not there?

A/N: I know this chapter didn't do much in the way of moving the plot along, but it was very hard to write. We will be exploring Bear Island next chapter and we might even hear a bit from Toph or Suki.

Bear Island is a real place, by the way. Yep… it's located near Antarctica, and it's really tiny. I don't know if it's as hostile as I make it out to be, there's not much information on it, but that gave me more to play with.

I love using Sokka as a father-figure in Katara's life. He may be her idiot brother, but you can tell he really cares about her and that he'd do anything to keep her safe. Yes, he likes the fact that Katara's with Aang, but he's a little pissed off at the air bender right now because, clearly, he hasn't exactly been treating Katara right. Sokka likes the idea of Katara and Aang being together, but now that he sees what's been going on, he doesn't exactly like the fact that they're together (even if the relationship is one sided). We'll see more of Sokka's thoughts regarding this situation later on.

Preview

It was a wooden door. Zuko and Katara stared at it and the fire bender could feel the knots in his stomach loosen. "Somebody's been here," he said quietly, not daring to voice his hopes that it was his mother. He reached out to pull the door open, but Katara stopped him.

"We don't know what's behind that door," she said in response to the curious look he gave her.

"Oh. Right." Zuko pulled out his swords. "I'll go first."

The Shaping Destiny Playlist

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
6. "Just Friends" by Jonas Brothers
7. "Lovebug" by Jonas Brothers

If you spent the time reading this, the least you could do is write a review. Please.