A/N: Again with the slowing down of reviews! Honestly, you guys. I'm putting a lot of effort into this story and I'm really disappointed by the lack of response. Need I remind you that I take questions and even plot suggestions?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but any original characters you might run across.

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 Nine: Discussions

Recap:

Zuko smirked. "You think it would be fantastic?"

Katara threw her hands up in the air and let out and angry screech, storming past him and out the door. "I can protect myself, thank you very much!"

The smile on her face told Zuko that she wasn't really mad.

A week passed in relative peace for Zuko.

Or it have had he not been forced to stand by and watch as Aang chased Katara about the palace begging her to listen to him. Meals were awkward and seemed to stretch on for eons. Toph had provided some comic relief and conversation, but she was quickly running out of things to say.

The fact that Zuko suddenly had little paperwork and hardly any meetings to fill his day left him with nothing to do and all the time in the world to do it. With Katara's help, however, he had rummaged through one of the many attics in the palace to find a picture of his mother. The picture had been recreated thousands upon thousands of times and the copies had been posted in every nook and cranny of each nation. The posters had been Katara's idea, a way to bring his mother out of hiding or at least bring forth someone with information on her whereabouts. It was the best idea the pair had, but Zuko was already growing restless, longing for some other adventure with his waterbender where they didn't have to hide their relationship and he could find his mother. He was itching for an excuse to get away with her somewhere more private.

That he and Katara had to resort to secret, late-night meetings when everyone else was asleep was irritating the young leader. Several times they had almost been caught be the servants or the guards and Toph was certainly keeping a close eye on the pair…figuratively speaking. Zuko had a sneaking suspicion that Toph could feel what transpired between Katara and himself through the floors and walls. Though his and Katara's liaisons consisted of no more than a few stolen kisses and quiet conversations, Zuko was certain the blind earthbender could tell the distinctions in their footsteps on the marble floor. Plus, he and Katara hadn't been very careful about the alcoves they ducked into at night; he was fairly certain the reason Toph was watching them was because the pair had wound up in a storage closet just down the hall from her room the previous night.

Zuko groaned. He'd kissed Katara in a storage closet. Worse, he'd had her up against the wall (again)…in a storage closet. He sighed. What was it with him and pressing Katara up against walls? It wasn't as if she tried to stop him (in fact, if the fact that she'd had her legs wrapped around his waist before they'd almost gotten caught was any indication at all, she didn't mind it in the least; possibly, she even enjoyed it), but sooner or later, if she didn't learn to stop him, they might find themselves in too deep.

A knock at the door to his study jostled Zuko from his thoughts and he crossed the room to open the door, raising an eyebrow when he saw Aang on the other side. The airbender looked up at him with troubled gray eyes.

"Can I talk to you? About Katara?"

Zuko froze. Why would Aang want to talk to him about Katara? Did he know something? Worse…had he seen something? Zuko didn't know how he would explain to a fourteen-year-old airbending Avatar with girlfriend troubles what he might have seen. Especially considering that Zuko was the root of all Aang's girlfriend troubles…mostly.

"Um…sure." The young Fire Lord stepped to the side, allowing Aang to enter the room. If it came down to the worst, Zuko would just have to wing it and hope he was convincing enough. He sat down in the imperial leather chair behind his desk, feeling oddly like the old family therapist must have as Aang slouched down into one of the two chairs on the other side of the desk like he was in trouble.

The Avatar stared resolutely at his lap, his back hunched and his hands gripping the arms of his chair with surprising strength. Zuko didn't know where to put his eyes. Was he supposed to make eye contact? He honestly didn't trust himself not to give away his relationship with Katara if Aang asked him. The awkward silence slowly ate away at his patience and he cleared his throat.

"So…you wanted to talk about Katara," he prompted and Aang nodded, slouching even lower in his chair.

"She won't talk to me."

"Um…Right." Zuko scratched his head. He was already missing the awkward silence. It had been nowhere near as uncomfortable as this; he hated himself for striking up conversation.

"I apologized like Sokka told me to, but she won't give me the time of day."

Zuko frowned. "Yes, she has."

"Only to tell me to go away."

"Oh."

Another too-silent pause entered the room, descending upon its uncomfortable targets. Zuko straightened out a few papers on his desk, unintentionally making it meticulously neat. He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair, wondering if maybe he should mess up the papers again if only to give himself something to do.

"Do you know anything?" Aang asked suddenly.

Zuko glanced at his young friend sharply. "Excuse me?"

"About why she won't talk to me."

"Not really, why?"

"You're always around her."

"I am?" Zuko's mind started screaming at him, telling him to jump out the damn window if it was the only open route out of the room. Aang knew something! Zuko started to panic, refusing to show it on the outside save for a slight widening of his golden eyes.

"Yeah," Aang said, nodding as he looked up at the older boy. "Ever since the two of you got back from wherever it was you went, you've hardly been apart." He frowned. "I thought you guys hated each other."

"Katara and I settled our differences a long time ago," Zuko said sternly, scowling slightly. Luckily, the airbender didn't notice.

"Still," he persisted, "why's she always spending her time with you and not me? I'm her boyfriend." He shot Zuko a look that clearly said, 'In case you didn't notice.'

Zuko shrugged, hoping he looked as nonchalant and careless as possible. "She said you guys had a fight," he said vaguely, "maybe she's not comfortable around you right now."

"So she did tell you something!" Aang exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat eagerly.

Shit, Zuko thought. He allowed himself to frown at Aang. "No," he said slowly. "And even if Katara had told me something about what's going on, it's not really my business to talk to you about it. I'm not interfering with your relationship with her."

More than I already am, he added silently.

A pout formed on Aang's face and Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes. What was it with this kid and always getting what he wanted? Wasn't it enough that life always seemed to work out just right for him?

The room got quiet again. Zuko started to tap his fingers on the arms of his chair once more, slowly at first, then picking up speed.

…Tap.

…

…Tap.

…

…Tap. Tap. Tap.

…Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Maybe I should propose to her," the Avatar said suddenly.

Zuko launched himself out of his chair. "WHAT?!"

Meanwhile...

Katara fingered the red and blue anklet resting above her right foot as she lounged under the tree in Ursa's gardens. Her blue eyes were hidden away beneath her eyelids and a smile lay peacefully on her face as she caressed the beads of the jewelry. It had been a surprise from Zuko who had managed to sneak it onto her ankle sometime during their closet escapade. The waterbender was currently reliving that moment in time and the way Zuko's hand had casually brushed against her leg as he'd lifted her off the floor, evening out the height difference, helping her to secure her legs around his waist, and successfully managing to slip the anklet around her ankle all at once. She still didn't quite understand how he'd done it.

She was just getting back to thinking about how astonishingly romantic the whole situation had been despite the fact that they had been in a supply closet and how great of a kisser Zuko was when a voice startled her out of her reminiscences.

"Hey, Sugar Queen! What's up with the racing heartbeat?"

Katara screamed in surprise and immediately doused her attacker with a steady stream of water from the pond. Whirling around, she found herself face to face with a soaked, surprised-looking Toph. The earthbender spat water onto the ground and shook herself off. Katara covered her mouth apologetically.

"Toph!"

"Jeez. I come to talk to you and you attack me! What did I ever do to you?" Toph said teasingly.

"Toph, I'm so sorry!"

The blind girl shrugged. "Eh. Whatever. Just try to hit me with soup or something next time, okay? Now I have to go find some dirt to play in so I can reconnect with my element."

Katara found herself laughing despite herself. "Whatever you say." She sat down beneath the tree again and her friend followed suit.

"So," Toph said, wringing out her drenched hair. "Why was your heart beating so fast just now? You run a marathon or something?"

Katara swallowed hard. There was no lying with Toph; she was the best lie detector around. "No."

Toph 'mm-ed' and nodded, leaving the issue be in favor of her next question. "So who were you in the storage room with last night?"

The waterbender froze, turning to look at her sightless friend. "Wh-what?"

Toph scoffed. "Please. I'll never be able to get the images out of my mind now that I've seen them. Now tell me who it was."

Katara opened her mouth.

"And don't try to feed me some crap that it was Twinkle Toes."

Katara sighed. It had been worth a shot. "You really want to know?" she asked quietly.

Toph nodded. "I'm pretty sure I already have an idea of who it was you were with, but I just want to make sure." She began to dig in her ear with her pinky and Katara pulled a face, though she knew it was no use lecturing the blind girl on manners.

"Who do you think I was in there with?"

"Sparky."

Katara winced. Toph sure wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I'm right aren't I?"

"…Yes."

"Wow."

"I know." Katara sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I honestly don't know what to say, Katara." Toph ruffled her wet hair and then went back to digging in her ear. "On one hand I want to chew you out big time for cheating on Aang like that, but on the other hand I want to congratulate you for finally working up the guts to do what you should've done a long time ago."

Katara winced. Toph was using given names which meant she was actually being serious. "You need to understand what's been going on before you place judgment on me, Toph."

"Then tell me what's been going on," Toph said simply.

"Aang and I got in a fight. A big fight. He left and I didn't hear from him for three weeks," Katara began.

Toph held up a hand. "Hold on. Before you get any further into this story, tell me one thing."

"Sure."

"Your relationship with Aang…is it as one-sided as I think it is?"

"Aang loves me and I love him…"

"Obviously not in the same way, otherwise you wouldn't be making out with Sparky in supply closets just down the hall from my room."

"I'm not just 'making out' with Zuko, Toph."

"Ewww!"

"Let me finish," Katara said, turning scarlet. "That didn't come out the way I meant it to. Look, Zuko and I care about each other. If we weren't so afraid of hurting Aang, we would have come clean by now and we definitely wouldn't be making out in supply closets."

"I think you're hurting Aang more by sneaking around, Katara."

"You think I don't know that?" Katara snapped.

Toph held up her hands defensively. "I'm just trying to help. Finish your story."

Katara did so, leaving out the more private parts but giving her young friend most of the details on what had transpired between her and their friend. At the end, Toph let out a low whistle and shook her head.

"You and Sparky really do have something serious going on, don't you, Sugar Queen?"

Katara nodded, relief flooding her body as she fingered the anklet again. Toph was using nicknames again which meant she was done lecturing and being serious. "Yeah. We do. And that's why we want to tell Aang. We're just…afraid of hurting his feelings."

Toph continued to shake her head. "I should've seen this coming."

"What?"

"You and Sparky, I mean. After the two of you got back from going after Yon Rha, I could practically feel the sexual tension between you two. It was like you were broadcasting it to the world. And I thought for sure that you two would get together after he jumped in front of Azula's lightning in order to save your life, but noooo. Gloom and Doom had to come along and ruin everything! And then you!" Toph pointed an accusatory finger at Katara. "You had to go and kiss Twinkle Toes and make the situation worse!"

Katara blinked at her friend, confusion writing itself all over her face. "I… I'm sorry it was so bad for you, Toph," she said slowly, not really sure what she was supposed to say. That is, if she was supposed to say anything at all.

Toph snorted. "Of course it was bad, Sugar Queen. It was a complete mess."

"Well…hopefully it'll all be sorted out soon."

"It'd better be," Toph said hotly, glowering darkly in Katara's direction. "If you don't tell Twinkle Toes you've been sneaking around with Sparky, I'll tell him."

"What?!"

"You heard me," Toph said, yawning as she stood up and left the gardens.

Katara sat back against the tree. She couldn't believe that Toph would actually consider telling Aang what Katara had been up to with Zuko. It completely went against Toph's moral code. The blind earthbender was everyone's secret keeper because of the simple fact that she never spilled anything. Katara bit her lip.

I suppose this is a bit different, though, she thought with a sigh. But how does she expect me to break it to Aang?

Zuko stared at the airbender, a scowl on his handsome face. He didn't quite understand how Aang could get from bemoaning how Katara never talked to him anymore to proposing to said waterbending master. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't wrap his mind around it. And besides, what would a fourteen-year-old monk do with a wife? As far as Zuko knew, monks weren't supposed to have wives.

"What?" he repeated.

Aang shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe she wants to get married and since I haven't proposed to her she's mad. I've heard girls get mad about that kind of thing. Has Mai ever gotten mad at you for that?"

"Mai and I broke up," Zuko said coldly, sitting back down in his chair stiffly.

"Why?"

"Because there was someone else."

"For who?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because, I want to know if Katara thinks I've got someone else or if she's got someone else or if she's just mad 'cause I haven't done anything to progress our relationship."

Zuko's scowl deepened as Aang spoke. 'Of course Katara's got someone else!' he wanted to yell at the boy. 'It's me!' And as for progressing their practically nonexistent relationship…well, Zuko was an easily provoked person, and when provoked he tended to act out. He refrained from saying anything other than, "I don't think you should propose to Katara."

Aang frowned. "Why not?"

"Aren't you a monk?"

"Yeah, but I'd gladly give that up for her."

"You're fourteen," was Zuko's next argument.

"Technically, I'm one hundred and fourteen."

"What makes you think Katara wants you proposing to her? You said yourself that she won't give you the time of day."

"Maybe it's some sort of tactic."

Zuko groaned and mentally smacked himself.

There was a knock at the door and it swung open, revealing a very flustered Katara.

"Zuko, could I-" the waterbender broke off as her blue eyes lit upon Aang. "Oh. I didn't know I was interrupting something."

Aang grinned. "Hi, Katara!"

Katara frowned. "Hi."

Zuko rose from his chair, glad that someone had finally arrived to help him escape from his misery. "What do you need, Katara?"

She stared at him for a moment, her face blank, before she snapped back to the world. "I was just wondering if I could talk to you about…about that, um…our thing."

Zuko blinked, the emphasis completely lost on his frustrated mind. "What?"

"You know," Katara said, laughing slightly hysterically. "That thing that we've been working on together for the past few weeks."

"Katara, I don't get what you're trying to-"

She glared at him and what she had been trying to say smacked him in the face. She wanted to talk about their relationship.

"Oh!" Zuko grinned widely, feeling awkward. He stepped around the desk and ambled over to Katara's side. "Aang, could we finish this discussion later? Katara's helping me with an important Fire Lord project…thing."

Aang stood up. "Well, couldn't I help in any way? I mean," he grinned, "I am the Avatar."

Zuko chuckled a little too loudly and Katara sent him a funny look. "No! No. It's really a two person job. I mean, three people could- But two works best."

Katara had suddenly turned scarlet and Zuko wondered why until the other meaning of his words smacked him and he felt his face flush as his golden eyes widened in comprehension.

"Anyway," he said, ushering Aang out the door. "Katara and I really do have this situation under control."

"Okay," Aang said, looking slightly uncertain. "If you're sure…"

"I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life," Zuko grit out, struggling to keep the cheerful demeanor that he'd suddenly forced upon himself. He slammed the door in the Avatar's face and turned to look at Katara who was slowly fading back to her usual pallor. "What's-"

"Toph knows," Katara blurted out.

All the color in Zuko's cheeks quickly dissolved. "Toph knows?"

Katara nodded, looking ashamed for the both of them. "We need to pick our storage closets better." She flopped wearily down in a chair and Zuko followed suit.

"So…what do we do?" he asked after a lengthy pause.

She shrugged. "She said if we don't tell Aang that she is."

Zuko winced and eyed the anklet on Katara's right leg. Her foot was shaking nervously. "We have to tell him, then."

Katara nodded. "Yes. We do." She slid from her chair and into his lap, resting her head on his chest.

The firebender sighed and buried his face in her soft hair, wrapping his arms around her body in a tight embrace. "When?"

Dinner was an awkward affair for both Zuko and Katara. Neither said much and picked at their food. By the time dessert arrived, they were shifting uncomfortably in their places. Katara nodded her thanks as Iroh passed her a cup of tea and Zuko twisted his mouth into what he hoped was a smile…or something close as he took his own. Toph chugged hers down, belching and slamming the porcelain cup down on the table when she was done.

"Your best brew yet, Iroh!" the little earthbender cheered, grinning widely in the man's direction.

Iroh chuckled. "Thank you, Toph. Perhaps I shall show you the secret to being a master brewer some day."

"Oh no," Toph protested, throwing her hands out and waving them violently. "No," she repeated as she sent dishes and cups flying. "No more secrets for me." Her grin turned malicious as she aimed twin kicks at Zuko's and Katara's shins. The smile widened when her feet made contact.

Zuko grimaced and Katara scowled. Toph bared her teeth and her waterbending friend sighed in resignation.

"Aang," Katara said quietly, staring resolutely at her untouched dessert, "Zuko and I need to speak with you after dinner."

Aang looked pleased with the fact that Katara appeared to be talking to him again. "Is this about your project?" he asked eagerly.

Zuko nodded slowly. "Yeah. Sure."

The airbender nodded. "Okay. Where? Are we gonna go to a secret location or maybe to an underground vault?"

The firebender stared at the Avatar, wondering what sort of books the young boy had gotten into in the palace's library. One would think that Aang would be tired of adventure after the way his life had gone. "No. The throne room in half an hour."

Aang nodded happily, smiling widely at Katara who looked at him sadly. The smile dissolved off the monk's face. "What's going on?"

Katara blinked at him. "I'm sorry, Aang," she whispered before quickly exiting the room.

Zuko swore under his breath and tore after her, leaving two very confused males and one scowling female behind him. Aang frowned and pushed some vegetables around his plate, wondering why Zuko had gone after Katara before he'd gotten the chance to go himself.

Aang slipped silently into the dim and echoing throne room at the designated time, entering at the moment Zuko slipped his arms around Katara's slim figure, holding her tightly. Gray eyes narrowing in anger, the Avatar slipped behind a marble post to conceal himself. Who did Zuko think he was by hugging Aang's girlfriend like that? And why was Katara letting him? From his hiding place, the young teen could hear the two murmuring to each other, but he couldn't make out the words. There was no way for him to get closer either; the pillars all stood on the fringes of the room and Katara and Zuko were standing in the exact center of the vast space.

It's just a hug, the airbender told himself firmly. It doesn't mean anything and even if it did, you can forgive them. In fact, why not forgive them right now? Nodding slightly at his decision, Aang proceeded to do just that.

After what seemed to be centuries, the pair in the center of the room broke apart but didn't separate by much. They stood side by side and ridiculously close. Pushing back the rebellious anger that was welling up inside of himself, Aang stepped from the shadows, doing his best to act as though he had just arrived.

"Aang," Zuko greeted him, inclining his head slightly.

Aang looked at Katara and Zuko. They looked entirely too close. Not just in the way they were standing, but in how they had been acting for the past week, as well. Never before had Aang seen two people look so…familiar with each other. It was like Zuko and Katara were sharing some sort of emotion; like they had experienced something Aang could never truly understand. Something was going on, and he was not entirely sure he wanted to know what it was.

"You guys wanted to talk to me?"

His friends exchanged a look that Aang did not fully understand. Zuko nodded toward the waterbender and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Aang, anxiety painting itself over her face.

"Aang…Zuko and I have something we need to tell you."

Matters of the Heart

MotH is my brand-new Avatar fic! It's a Zutara fic, and it's going to be amazing, so check it out! I think you'll really like it.

Preview

The scroll sat perfect and innocent on the ground in front of him. Katara's seal bound it together; that made it not so perfect and innocent. Across the way, Toph was picking at her teeth. She stared at him through sightless eyes.

"I can read it for you if you want, Twinkle Toes," she offered.

Aang laughed weakly.

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
8. "You Had Me from Hello" by Kenny Chesney
9. "A Little Bit Longer" by Jonas Brothers
10. "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance

And the celebration continues!

Woooooo! Another chapter up and another one to come within the next day or two. In fact, I've got two scheduled for the weekend and I'm planning a double update for my birthday next Wednesday. Don't forget that the 95th reviewer gets a Zutara one-shot and the 100th reviewer gets a Zutara drabble series, so review and you might win! Help me celebrate how far this story has come! As of now you've read almost 30,000 words and they seem to keep flowing out of my brain. We're incredibly close to 100 reviews and we're nearly to 5,000 hits. Let's keep this celebration alive! Review and tell any friends you think might want to join in on the celebration.

Any artists out there?

Hey, so if you're an artist, you know what I would love? I'd love to see your interpretation of the story, be it a scene, a chapter, a moment…whatever. If you've got a deviantart account or if you just want to send me an email with a drawing you've done of something from Shaping Destiny, let me know. I'll post a link in my profile if you've got a D.A. account and you draw something and let me know you've done so. I love seeing how people see things happening in my stories, and this one is no different. As an incentive, I'll pick a winner and write a Zutara one-shot for them.