A/N: Ok, first things first - THANK YOU for all your incredible reviews. It was amazing. I'm so sorry i've taken forever to update but i had a couple of papers due n i stayed up till 11 on wednesday night finishing my much neglected homework...like you care but thats my excuse. i've never been so encourage to keep writing and its all thanks to u guys. if i had time i would send you all individual thank yous but here's hoping you'll appreciate them just the same here. I will try and make it more exciting. I tend to move through the plot slowly...sorry but i don't want to make it seem like things are happening to quickly. With Zuko going back to his old self...i kinda fell in love with Zuko when i first saw him on tv BECAUSE he was so angry. i don't know why but that was oddly attractive but i hated his topknot thing so its season 3 hair with this one. in fact i liked aang with hair too so...and yeah Zuko was in meditation stage so he wasn't thinking when he gave Katara water...its like duh! i know. And also, i don't like reading stories where Zuko's all nice and romantic...it doesn't seem in character. even in the tv show when he was with Mai. that was uber weird. I will try not to fall for cliches. I don't like cliches much but if you find its getting cliche-ish tell me!!!

Read A/N before reading please. i have made indirect references to your various reviews and explained a little...kinda. Its sorta my way of connecting my personal life with...nothing actually. i just like talking about myself. =p Thank you: angelove, ZutaraFan4, Novalightz, xyisme, sokkantylee, Rohain Tahquil, satinsilversnowflake. Hoping you guys love this one!

The silk sheets were gentle against her skin and the softness soothed the bruises on her battered body. A sweet exotic scent rose up from the material beneath her head where her loose hair splayed across the pillows, calming the throbbing in her head. She stretched out beneath the warm blankets, the stiffness in her joints easing away.

"Sleep well?"

Her eyes snapped open as the suave voice pulled her out of her sleep. Blearily, her eyes landed on the originator and the content feelings disappeared.

"How long have you been sitting there?" she snapped trying to cover her shock. Had he been watching her sleep?

"Seeing as it's my room; a while," he retorted.

Katara swallowed. His room? She glanced at the silk sheets pooled around her. Definitely not ship crew luxuries. Suddenly feeling vulnerable, she drew the covers in tighter and shrank back from his gaze.

His glare sharpened and the heat in the room grew a little more intense.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said finding her voice. He wouldn't do that; it wouldn't be honorable. But she drew the covers in closer anyway. Unwillingly, she looked back at him. "Thank you."

He raised his eyebrows. "For?"

She bit her lip, not wanting to thank the fire bending prince for anything. "For…being nice I guess."

Zuko nodded once, the corners of his mouth lifting. "I'll be sure not to make it a habit," he said in a mocking tone.

Her scowl rivaled his. "You know, for a prince you are awfully rude."

"Like you're not downright rude yourself, peasant."

"Stop calling me that!" Zuko smirked to himself; looks like he'd found a weak spot.

She flipped the silk sheets back and stood up. Immediately, he was on his feet blocking her path.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Katara blinked, leaning back when she realized how close he was standing. The same sweet scent that had perfumed her pillow, drifted from his direction. His warm hand landed on her shoulder, pushing her back down gently.

"I'll be back. Don't try and escape again," he ordered turning around and leaving the room.

--

Holding a tray of food, the prince opened the door to his bedroom and to his annoyance, found it empty. Spinning back around and growling furiously, Zuko stormed down the hall looking for someone to yell at.

"Where is the girl?" he yelled shoving the tray into the guard's hands. "Did you imbeciles allow her to escape again?" His fists began to burn.

"She's above deck, sir," the man practically whimpered. "General Iroh's orders."

Zuko froze for a moment. His uncle had not uttered a word to him since arriving on the ship let alone give an order. Dismissing the guard, he ran up the stairs and stopped as he saw his uncle pouring the girl a cup of hot tea. She was smiling for the first time.

"Thank you," she said quietly to the old man. "It tastes wonderful."

"Tea brewing is art in another medium. Every brew must come from the heart." She smiled again, fascinated and curious, as to how a kind and good-natured man could be the uncle of, as Sokka would say, an angry jerk.

The ex-General watched as her gaze became far off and the steaming cup hovered just below her chin, never quite moving any further.

"If I may be so rude to interrupt, may I ask what is bothering you Miss Katara?"

The water bender smiled. "Just Katara, please."

"Katara then."

She didn't answer immediately. "It's not a hard question to figure out," she said finally.

Iroh bowed his head. "I'm guessing you mean being captive on my nephew's ship but I'm sensing there's a little more to it than that."

Katara looked at him. How much did he know? Surely if Zuko was planning to double cross Azula he wouldn't be bragging about with all the fire nation crew members on board but surely he would tell his uncle. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't the only one Zuko had betrayed; she had forgotten one other person – his uncle. What was he doing here then?

"It's nothing," she muttered finally sipping at her tea. "What are you doing with Zuko anyway?"

"Uncle!" a voice interrupted. She looked up and her face dropped. Stupid arrogant prince always ruined everything.

Iroh looked up and raised his cup to his lips to save himself from answering.

Zuko sat down ignoring Katara and cleared his throat. "Uncle, I –" He realized he couldn't think of any words to say to his uncle and there was no way his uncle would talk to him. "Did you…enjoy your tea?" he finished lamely. His uncle always enjoyed his tea.

"Your uncle makes great tea," Katara put in.

The fire prince turned to glare at her which she matched without flinching. "I know," he said through gritted teeth.

"Today was just as pleasant as the last," his uncle said quietly not meeting Zuko's eyes. "I'm hoping, Katara, that you might join me in the future."

"Of course," she replied somewhat coldly, her attention directed at Zuko. He glowered at her.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to…interrupt this pleasant conversation but you're coming with me." He stood up fluidly and grudgingly held out his hand to her. She ignored it and struggled to her feet, wincing as she unconsciously clutched her stomach. Zuko's gaze flickered to the patch of brown that was exposed by her ragged Fire Nation outfit and grimaced before striding down below deck.

He led the way down the dimly lit hallways to a dark cabin she hadn't seen before. He opened the door and stepped inside holding it open for her. Reluctantly she followed him in and gasped as he lit the candles in the room.

Inside was an elaborately decorated and carefully constructed bathroom of sorts, done up in reds and golds with a marble tub sunk into the middle of the room. Her eyes roved around the beautiful architecture to the exquisite art on the walls. The steam hovering over the surface of the water drifted toward her, its scent making her inhale deeply and relish in its flavor.

Zuko interrupted her observations by striding over to an ornate chest and taking out two towels and handing them to her. She stared at him blankly. He rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Knock yourself out," he mocked waving his hand towards the inviting tub. She glared at him.

"You expect me to take a bath…on a ship full of men?"

"Don't worry; you won't be interrupted," he said moving to the door. "I'll make it my personal responsibility," he smirked.

"What makes you so certain I won't try and escape again?" He was leaving her in a room full of water after all.

He paused. "I trust you," he said finally before shutting the door behind him. Katara quickly ran over to it and locked it. Then she turned and looked at the water. She sighed before stripping off her clothes. She could with a bath.

--

She rested her head against the ledge of the tub feeling thoroughly clean and revived. Swirling the water with her finger she giggled slightly as she created little ripples near her toes tickling her feet. Her eyes fell on the red wall hanging and her smile evaporated as quickly as the water she was bathing in. She closed her eyes contemplating her situation. Here she was, stuck on Zuko's ship as his prisoner, sleeping in his bed, and taking a bath in his bathroom. His own personal bathroom. She had deduced this, easily guessing that the crew would have some communal bathroom not even half as luxurious as this.

Why was he being so nice? Not that his verbal attitude was nice – on the contrary, far from it. But his gestures were confusing her. She could tell he was trying to get her to trust him which she point blank refused to do. And her will was slowly crumbling. One thing she knew was that Zuko never gave up. The only question remained was when would she succumb. No longer feeling relaxed, she climbed out and dried herself swiftly with one of the warm towels before wrapping it around her body completely and using the other one to dry her hair.

Someone pounded on the door. Katara didn't need to hear his voice to guess who it was.

"Are you done, peasant?"

There it was again. Peasant. She stomped over to the door and flung it open. "My name is Katara."

He stared at her in surprise, his hand frozen in midair. Obviously he hadn't been expecting her barely clad body to materialize in front of him. He swallowed and looked away, his composure slipping for the first time as his cheeks flared bright red.

Katara realized at the same time that while she probably wasn't the first girl in his life that wasn't his sister, he was still a seventeen-year-old hormone ravaged boy and she was wearing nothing but a towel. She flushed and snatched wildly at the silk robe he was holding up before slamming the door in his face.

Embarrassed and furious, she tossed the towels aside and pulled the robe on over her undergarments. It was loose around the shoulders where he was more filled out and the sleeves fell past her hands. She quickly folded them back and tied the sash around her waist tightly. Taking a minute to calm down and recompose herself, she gathered what remained of her Fire Nation clothes and, taking a deep breath, opened the door.

Zuko was leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His face was expressionless and he barely reacted as she came out, although his gold eyes roved along her silhouette, taking in her silk covered form. With the slightest nod, he straightened up and began to lead her through the halls again. Katara followed him, suddenly feeling weary.

"What time is it?" she asked, too tired to waste any anger on him. She could make it up tomorrow.

"Dusk," was the short reply. She stifled a yawn and flushed with embarrassment as her stomach growled. She hadn't had any solid food in almost twenty-four hours. Zuko kept walking, giving no indication he'd heard her stomach. As they finally reached his room, Katara hesitated not wanting to be in there with him. Alone. But so far he'd been…ok. After a few more seconds of internal debating she walked past him.

On the floor was a small square table laden with a plate of food with chopsticks laying neatly beside it. There was a cushion on one side.

She looked at him questioningly. He sighed. "You can eat. I'm not going to starve you."

"How do I know you haven't poisoned it?" she shot back.

He looked at her, his expression slightly incredulous, before he strode over to the wall and wrenched two broadswords off it, expertly slashing through the air with them.

"If I wanted to kill you," he started, "I would have done it already." He sliced the air with them again before putting them together and sheathing them in his belt.

She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let it out. Hoping she didn't look frightened she sat down neatly and picked up the chopsticks, gingerly placing the foreign food in her mouth. She closed her eyes as the delightful taste encompassed her. It was spicy yet the different flavors were amazing. She chewed slowly, savoring it before opening her eyes again and meeting the prince's slightly amused ones.

"What?" she said swallowing. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he smirked, crossing the room and stretching out across his bed, picking up a scroll and beginning to read.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked after another mouthful.

"Already ate," he said in a tone that said he clearly didn't want to be interrupted. She, however, regaining energy from her meal wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"So, the food's nice," she stated eating some more. He didn't reply the scroll rustling as he unfurled it further.

She frowned before asking her more pressing question. "Why are you doing this?"

He looked up. "Why am I doing what?"

"I'm your prisoner but you're not treating me like one."

He raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to be treated like one?"

"No, but –"

"Then there's no problem," he said laying back down.

"Yes, there is," she said placing the chopsticks down. "You're up to something."

"Aren't you the smart one," he said bored.

"What do you want Zuko?" she said ignoring his comment.

"Who said I wanted anything?" he said, his eyes meeting hers. She felt like they were burning a hole right into her brain and she looked away.

"I don't trust you," she told him. "And I never will."

His eyes narrowed. "We'll see."

They glared at each other for a moment before she dropped her gaze. "Thank you for the food."

"You're welcome," he said coldly, his shoulders visibly tensing as she stood up. "Where do you think you're going?"

"As much as I enjoyed being your prisoner, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave now." Before he had time to stand up she swept up the water in the cup and flung it at him. His hand rose up to catch it and it disappeared in a bout of steam. Using the distraction to her advantage, Katara yanked the door open and ran for it, slamming it shut behind her to gain a few seconds. The corridor was empty as she ran down it, completely lost. She delved further into the depths of the ship, dodging out of sight as she saw the occasional stray guard come her way. Then she stopped, pain ripping her stomach as her wound split open completely. She fell to her knees, her eyes watering as she put her hand on her side, feeling the wetness seeping through the silk.

She stayed there on the floor, unable to move, trying to hold the gash close. It didn't take him long to find her.

"Will you stop trying to escape?" Zuko growled, ducking down beside her. He pulled her hand away from her side and saw the blood stains, grimacing. "Nice work," he said letting go of her arm. Realizing she wouldn't be able to walk, he put his arms around her back and under her knees and lifted her into the air, keeping her close to his body as he carried her easily.

"What are you doing?" she cried out weakly, trying and failing miserably to force him to let go. "Put me down!"

He ignored her and strode through the hallways with the air of one who had walked its paths many times. Somewhere in her dazed state she realized she was back in the clinic with the hostile healer. Zuko gently laid her down on the hard metal table and moved her hand away from her side.

He hesitated slightly before moving closer to her. "Your…robe. He has to get to the wound." He spoke quietly as if it would make it less humiliating.

"Right," Katara managed to snap holding her robe tighter. Zuko scowled, the 'sensitive' expression disappearing instantaneously.

"Look, we're just trying to help –"

"I don't need your help!"

"You'll get it whether you want it or not –"

"Who made you the boss of me –?"

"Just shut up and –"

"Perhaps you should cover her in a blanket," interrupted a quiet voice from the doorway. General Iroh stood there looking pointedly at the healer who immediately to the hint and left to get one.

An awkward silence fell over the three; Katara's shallow breathing the only sound in the room. Zuko glared at the edge of the table for something to do. Soon the healer returned and spread the blanket over her. She pulled the bloodstained side of her robe away and watched apprehensively as the healer approached her with a foul smelling ointment.

"What is that?" she said recoiling.

"It will heal your wound," he told her walking around the table.

"Just give me some water; I'll heal it myself!"

"No." This time it wasn't Zuko but his uncle who had spoken. "Katara, you are still weak – you should let him take care of you." Whether by 'him' he meant the healer or Zuko was a mystery and the old man turned to leave.

"Uncle!" Zuko followed him outside leaving the protesting water bending inside. "Uncle, please –"

"You should stay by her side, nephew." He didn't turn around as he spoke. "You are the only one she can trust now."

"But she doesn't trust me," he objected. Somehow in the back of his mind this scene felt familiar. He was lost and his uncle was advising him. The distant past's echoes felt like another lifetime.

"Remember Prince Zuko, trust is always earned."

Ok, how was that? Did you like it? Please review! I love reviews and by extension you guys too!!! xx