Fighting For All the Wrong Reasons

A/N Please forgive me. But I had this genderbent!zutara story idea come in my head by seeing "ZK-WEEK DAY 7: SPARK" by daydreamer-22 and "Zutara Secret Santa- Genderbent!Zutara" by beanaroony on deviantART. Check them out, read this story. Enjoy?

Disclaimer: I do no own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

It wasn't like he meant to insult her. It just came out, like vomit or something. That's what happened when they had arguments. Every single time they had a shouting match it ended with him calling her a stupid firebender and her saying he was just a peasant. It was just how things worked between them.

But he never intended to bring up her scar.

It was something unspoken between them ever since their imprisonment under Ba Sing Se. Don't talk about her scar, she tends to get the wrong idea when you mention it. Don't look at it for too long, she'll get mad and snap at you. Don't mention anything that could even be remotely connected to that stupid thing. She was always sensitive like that.

And when Katara brought up Zuko's scar as an insult, he felt like the most horrible person in the entire world, and he should. A collective gasp came from their audience and it rang out through the entire stone courtyard as the pain flashed through the ex-princess's eyes. Before Katara could fully regain himself after the shock he surprisingly put himself through, Zuko stormed away from a flaring fire and slammed her door hard enough for it to be heard from where he was sitting.

All eyes were on him, silence ringing between every teen in that room. It was quiet enough for a pin to be dropped and heard clearly. Katara truly felt like an idiot.

"Katara," Sokka started, shaking him and making him bring his gaze back from where Zuko had retreated. "That was not cool, man."

"I agree with Sokka," Aang added. "You need to go apologize to her right now."

"Why should I?" Katara snapped, causing everyone minus Toph to flinch back. "She started it! I shouldn't have to apologize."

"Yeah, but you insulted her scar," Sokka pointed out as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I can tell she's pretty sensitive about it already. Zuko never likes to say it, but I can tell she thinks of herself to be ugly because of that scar. She shouldn't have to deal with people like you pointing it out like that."

"So what? Should I go to her room and say 'Hey, Zuko. I'm sorry I said you deserved to get that scar, I didn't mean it' and we hug and then act like it never happened? Yeah right."

"At least apologize," Toph said rudely, her voice tinted with anger. "If you had said something like that to me, I would've kicked your butt over the ledge of the cliff. And I'm not as sensitive as her."

Katara seethed for a few moments, his eyes darting between his brother and best friend momentarily before his shoulders dropped dejectedly and he stood up. "Fine. But if I end up burnt to a crisp, I'm blaming you guys."

He didn't pay attention to their responses as he marched towards Zuko's room, water pouch abandoned at the fireside. If he was going to attempt to be civil, he would need to appear that he didn't intend to attack. Even if he was afraid that Zuko probably wouldn't feel the same way. That girl was hostile, even as an ally. As introverted as she was, when Katara riled her up she was like a firecracker. Katara secretly reveled that he was the only one who got her like that. She was calm and friendly around Aang, nice enough to Sokka when the situation rose for them to speak. She was doting upon Toph, probably something hidden deep down from the lack of affection she could show to her own little sister. But with Katara, that little firebender had sparks on her tongue and fire in her eyes. And for some stupid reason, he loved it.

He secretly loved when that princess tied him to a tree and threatened him with low, sultry tones as she sashayed around him. Even as taunted him with his mother's necklace, something he cherished and always kept on his wrist since the day she died. And the princess had somehow gotten a hold of it. He hated how she had done that, but he couldn't help but notice from then on out how magnetic she was.

He secretly got the chills with the thought of them huddling together in the caves under Ba Sing Se, smiling softly when she rested her head on his shoulder and apologized for what she had done to him in the past. Even though moments later, she joined her sister to attack him and Aang. After he offered to heal her scar with his subpar healing skills and spirit oasis water. After she stabbed him in the back for her stupid honor and left him to carry Aang's lifeless body out of those caves.

When Katara reached Zuko's door, he took a deep breath and calmed himself. It was better to not be angry when he attempted his apology. It wouldn't be fair to Zuko and her sensitive and anxious reactions.

Just as he lifted his hand to knock, he heard a soft sob from behind the door. It froze him in place, like he had done to her in the North Pole. She was crying. Haughty, headstrong Crown Princess of the Fire Nation was crying over something a peasant from the Southern Water Tribe had said hastily as a last minute desperate insult. Katara's throat clenched in guilt and he had the nagging feeling to run his hands through his hair and pull out his wolftail and braids. They were too tight, making his head hurt and throb with the unconscious shame he felt by making a girl cry.

He needed to make this right. Now he wasn't apologizing because he was forced to, but because he wanted to. He couldn't bear the thought of Zuko crying over something he had done. He could do a burning room and eyes full of fury, but not tears and a heaving chest full of sobs.

With a clearing of his throat, Katara lifted his hand again and rapped on the door three times.

"Go away," a small voice from behind the door mumbled, thickened by tears and hindered by the wood and the pillow her face was most likely buried in.

"Zuko, open up," Katara said through the door. "I wanted to talk."

"You said enough already, waterbender," came her snappy response. Katara couldn't help but smirk. At least Zuko was still feisty after sobbing her heart out.

"Look, I wanted to apologize. It wasn't right for me to talk about your scar and to say what I said-"

"I said go away, Katara! I don't need your pity," she shouted back, louder now. Katara assumed she sat up and was facing the door, imagining fire dancing off her clenched fists. That's usually how their fights ended. Water in his hands and fire in hers. Too bad Aang wasn't around to quell this spat.

"Zuko, would you please just open up? I-"

The door swung open, revealing the tearstained face of the ex-princess. Her good eye was rimmed with red, a fresh tear running down her porcelain cheek and dripping down her neck to join the others that had soaked through her tunic. She had tossed off her robe so she was only dressed in her shirt and leggings, the collar and lap drenched with her tears. Despite the obvious vulnerability the firebender, Zuko looked hostile. Her eyebrow furrowed with ire and her mouth pursed in a pout that enhanced the bow of her top lip.

"I said go away," she seethed, bottom lip trembling as her white-knuckled grip on the door tightened.

Katara cleared his throat again and dropped his shoulders before slowly lowering his gaze from the enraged princess's face, eyes lingering on the scar before going to the loose rocks at his feet. "I feel horrible about what I said. And I didn't mean it at all. So I came to apologize."

"No you don't," she snapped. "If you didn't mean it, you wouldn't have said it. You think it's ugly and I deserved getting it. Don't lie to me."

Katara looked up and locked his eyes on Zuko, who was breathing heavily in her indignation, puffing smoke out of her nostrils as she glared back. Boldly, he looked straight at her scar, ignoring her stiffening as his eyes scanned the rough surface, taking in every raised fold and the change of color as it went closer to her eye. He never really noticed the scar, not after their first encounter back in the South Pole. It was just a part of her, something that made Zuko, well, Zuko. For some reason, it never came to his attention unless someone pointed it out, and he had regrettably pointed it out to himself.

"No, I was wrong," he finally said after a few moments of tense silence between the two. "I was just searching for an insult because I knew I lost that argument. It was rude of me to say that to you."

Zuko just stared at him for a long minute, her good eye slightly wider than normal and her mouth slackened. Katara mentally gulped, waiting for her backlash and a fire blast to the face. Zuko was notorious for surprising him when it came to her reactions. Tonight was no exception.

"Is that the only reason you're here?"

Katara shook his head and a sad frown came across his face. "I just... I feel guilty about what I had said, and what I've said in the past. I think it was incredibly rude of me to say that to you, especially since I know how you feel about it and all."

"You can say 'scar', Katara. It doesn't hurt my feelings when you address what it really is."

His eyes narrowed and he pinched his lip to the side before biting the inside of his cheek, a habit he picked up in the year of their travels. He shook his head once and replied, "Well, when you don't even address it, I feel wrong doing it."

"I'm not as sensitive as you think I am," Zuko responded as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't need to spare my feelings because you're afraid I'll cry. I know what you think. You think I'm ugly and a horrible person for all the things I've done. You shouldn't lie to me about things I already know are true."

That was the last straw. He couldn't take her pushing his apology to the side so carelessly and denying him the relief from what he had done. So Katara took a step forward, now becoming nose to nose with the former princess. He could see the blush rising on her cheeks as he got closer, their chests barely brushing against each other as he jabbed his index finger right below her collarbone.

"Listen here, princess, you may think those things about yourself, but I don't. I happen to think you are a very lovely lady who is a talented firebender. You are honorable and passionate about the things you care about and you are perfectly capable of being a good person if you put your heart to it. And you're not ugly." He leaned back slightly and gripped her shoulders gently. "You are actually quite beautiful. Stunning, really. I never see that scar when I look at you. I look past it because it's just a part of who you are. It makes Zuko who she is."

Zuko stood there for a moment, staring into Katara's eyes with disbelief before abruptly stepping away, breaking away from his grip, and walking back to her bed. She sat at the head of the mattress, bringing her knees to her chest and keeping her eyes on the waterbender. Katara took that as an invite to come in and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He noticed how incredibly tidy Zuko's room was, how her broadswords were gently placed on top of her pack and how her one change of clothes was folded on top of the bedside table, not a corner out of place.

"You really think I'm pretty?"

Katara turned and stared at Zuko, who was resting her chin on her knees and looking up at him with a smallness and vulnerability that rivaled a small child. He could feel his cheeks start to heat with a blush as he stared into her golden eyes as they bore into him. He cleared his throat and smiled as he strode over to her, siting down at her feet and nodding once.

"Yes," he replied. With a smirk, he leaned forward and whispered, "And between you and me, I think you're much prettier than Azula."

Zuko blushed at his response and buried her face in between her knees, shaking her head. "You're a terrible liar, Katara."

"Hey." He reached over and tucked his finger under her chin, lifting her head up so she was staring right at him. "Look, I know we don't get along. Ever. But I wouldn't lie to you just to cheer you up." He scooted on the mattress so he was facing her fully, one leg completely on the bed and one dangling off the edge. "What I'm telling you is the truth. Not something to make up for what I said. I've noticed it ever since I first met you. Actually, I thought your scar was a tattoo, to be honest."

Zuko scoffed and leaned away from Katara's hand, a scowl forming on her face. "A tattoo?! What kind of girl would get a tattoo like this on her face? She would have to be completely stupid!"

"Well that's what I thought, but when you tied me to that tree-" Zuko blushed at that being brought up and looked away shamefully, much to Katara's amusement. "-I realized I was wrong. I've always been curious as to how you got it, but I know it's not my place to know."

Her eyes dropped and she looked down at the sheets in between them, wrinkled and disheveled from sleep and her recent crying episode. Katara just crossed his arms and stared at her, slightly interested in the possibility where this would go. A sigh came out of the firebender and she returned her gaze to Katara, now hardened and walled off like it usually was.

"You're right," she said simply, her lips pressed in a tight line. "It isn't your place to know. Not now. Maybe not ever. Especially if you won't ever forgive me for what I did and keep mentioning it to bring me down."

Katara sighed in exasperation and looked at the space in between them, his frustration starting to build. It was like a full circle with this girl. They could be getting along famously for one second and then something would bring them back to where they had been before, harsh words and backhanded insults leading to heated sparring matches.

"Look, maybe one day we will get there," he began as he brought his eyes back to hers. "I know that's not today. But someday, I might be able to trust you again. And you'd have to earn it. I'm not just going to hand it to you like I had last time. I don't want to get hurt by you again."

Zuko dropped her knees and once again stared at Katara with disbelief.

"You put so much trust in me after being in a cave with me for two hours? Seriously, Katara, you are so naive."

"What?!"

She scoffed as leaned back onto the headboard of her bed and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her breasts up in a way that made Katara blush furiously in a mixture of frustration and embarrassment.

"I had chased you all over the world, threatened you, fought you, practically endangered the world for my own selfish goals and you just foolishly hand your trust over to me on a silver platter with no way of knowing if I was going to be on your side or not? Seems pretty immature to me."

Katara seethed, "For someone who just got complimented heavily by me, you seem to be running your mouth in the wrong direction."

"For someone who's supposedly been hurt so much, you obviously never learn your lesson," Zuko snapped, her eyes narrowing as she clenched her fists at her sides. "You blame me for 'betraying' you in Ba Sing Se when in reality I was never on your side! How was I supposed to know you wanted me to join you and Aang then?"

"I offered to heal your scar!"

"But you didn't," she replied, her voice wobbling with the onset of tears again. Katara internally groaned as he realized where this had gone. Once again, a full circle.

"I had tried to-"

"You walked away!" she cried, tears starting to fall down her unblemished cheek once again. Katara subconsciously guessed she couldn't cry out of her left eye, but that was something to be mulled over later. Zuko was silently crying as she glared daggers at him. "You offered me something and took it away. Azula offered me something as well but she didn't take it away, despite her reputation of lying. I trusted you, Katara! I let you touch my scar and I wanted you to heal it! But you didn't! If anyone should feel betrayed, it should be me. So stuff your stupid 'I trusted you' bull up your-"

"Zuko, stop!" Katara shouted, causing the firebender to gape at him with surprise. He took a calming breath before scooting closer and gripping her wrists in between their chests. "I get it, we both messed up. And I'm sorry for that too."

He looked in between her eyes, lingering on her forever squinted one, and sighed heavily before boldly lifting his hand and pressing his fingers on her cheekbone. Zuko froze under his touch and her eye widened in shock, unlike how she had submissively let him place his hand there in Ba Sing Se. For a moment, they were both completely silent. Katara knew he had been harboring ill-will against Zuko for too long, denying what had really happened in that cave prison. It was true, he had offered her the one thing she wanted most in her whole life, to be beautiful again, and then ripped it out from under her like a rug. He knew that partially explained why she joined Azula instead of him and Aang in the end. He really had betrayed her, in a way. Perhaps having Zuko point this out to him made it more real than just a denied thought in the back of his head.

"Katara-"

"Just listen... I made a mistake in Ba Sing Se. I should have followed through with healing you. If I had, you probably would have joined us and we would have defeated Azula without Aang getting shocked full of lightning... And I am sorry for that. But you have to understand that when I saw you attack us, after what we had gone through in that cave, I was truly hurt. I guess I've been sending insults towards you this whole time because I'm trying to mask the fact that you really hurt me there."

Zuko was still silent as Katara moved his hand so he was cupping the side of her face. She didn't flinch when his thumb began stroking the gritty skin, when he pulled her shoulder-length hair out of it's low phoenix-tail. When his other hand released her wrist and instead wove his fingers with hers. He didn't know why he did it, just the message he was projecting seemed to fit with those gestures. And if he ever looked back at that moment, he would realize it was crucial for what would happen next.

Katara kept his eyes on her before taking another deep breath and adding, "And I hate to admit that a part of me felt broken when you did that. Never have I felt so frustrated by a girl, not because of what she does but by how she sees herself. Even in the cave, I wanted to reassure you that the way you see yourself in the mirror is distorted. I hate how vain you are about your stupid scar and how you think it defines you."

Zuko opened her mouth but Katara shook his head.

"Let me finish... It does define you, Zuko. Not as a coward, like you think it does. It gives you strength. It shows that you can tolerate the stares, the pain that had come with getting it... And I hate you for taking your sister's side because I didn't take the scar away."

"I... I just..."

"You need to realize that what happened in the caves hurt me probably as much as it did you," he added in a soft whisper, his hand now on her shoulder and his thumb rubbing a circle in her collarbone. "And I hate that I can't fully trust you until you earn it again. It's just..."

"You felt like all this hope had built up in your chest and it was crushed with a simple gesture?"

Katara looked up and saw Zuko staring at their joined hands, a tear dangling off the tip of her tapered nose.

"Like... something inside got torn out with the trust you so easily held for that person," she continued, lifting her gaze so their eyes locked. "Like... the pain of you taking away that one thing I wanted so much hurt so much more than getting the scar you offered to erase..."

Katara kept his eyes on her. As more tears threatened to fall from her almond-shaped golden eye and down into the collection soaking into her clothes, he felt his own eyes prickle with an onset of tears as well. Seeing her so raw, so vulnerable and honest about what had transpired that fateful day had caused his heart to tighten from his own guilt. They were both at fault, both in the wrong about what had happened. They had both inadvertently been hurt by what the other had done, or didn't do. By his own accidental betrayal, Zuko felt more hurt than Katara had been about her joining with Azula. His pain true pain was masked by his false idea of her betraying him. He had really been hurt by the thought that he was just tossed aside like trash after he had offered her so much. Just because she hated that scar.

So Katara did the one thing he felt was right. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the skin under her left eye, keeping himself there a few seconds longer than what would had been considered friendly. Zuko froze under the contact momentarily before practically melting into his lips. Katara pulled away slowly, feeling his cheeks heat in bashfulness. But instead of Zuko shouting or blubbering out some awkward response, he felt her brush her nose against his and open her eyes slowly, the golden irises hidden beneath glowing as she stared hopefully at him.

When he leaned forward again, he didn't kiss her cheek. No, that message had been sent. Instead he pressed his lips against hers gently as he cupped the back of her head with one hand and pulling her body closer with the other. When his hand slid up her leg and around her back to press her a little closer, she gasped into his mouth. Katara captured her bottom lip in between his sucked on it gently before starting to move them slowly, caressing her mouth slowly with his. He was afraid, truly, of how she would react because she almost seemed too afraid to reciprocate the movements. But when her hands fisted in the front of his tunic and she inhaled sharply through her nose as she pulled him into her chest, Katara knew this was right.

Zuko broke the kiss suddenly, panting as she pressed her forehead against Katara's.

"You... you only did that because... because..."

"Because I wanted to. And you obviously wanted to, as well."

Zuko leaned back slightly before nodding once and darting her eyes away. "I guess we've been fighting for all the wrong reasons this whole time?"

Katara chuckled before clasping Zuko's chin in his hand, leaning forward so their noses were brushing against each other. "I guess you're right. But I'm done with this argument."

With a rare smile, moved her chin towards him and connected her lips with his once more as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him flush against her body. Katara smiled into the kiss and snaked one arm around her slender waist while the other kept him balanced on the bed. Just as Zuko began pulling both of their bodies to lay horizontally on the bed, there was a loud banging on her door.

"Katara! We need your help! Sokka burned his hands on the tea kettle again!"

He groaned against Zuko's lips and pulled away to lay his head in the crook of her shoulder and neck, pushing back the urge to nuzzle his nose there and kiss the pulse spot right under her jaw. Zuko just shook with silent laughter as her hands roamed around his back, dragging her nails lazily in circles against the rough fabric of his tunic.

"I have to go," he mumbled against her skin. "But I'll be back."

Zuko shook her head and pressed a soft kiss against his temple. "I don't think Sokka would approve of you sneaking off to my room in the middle of the night. You are his little brother and all."

Katara sat up and got off of the mattress, brushing all of the wrinkles out of his tunic as he grinned down at her. "I don't think he would care. Not that his opinion really matters to me. Just don't be asleep when I get back."

"No promises," she replied in a yawn as he strode over to the door and opened it slowly. He turned around and smiled at her warmly before winking and closing the door behind his back. And as he walked down the hall, a sudden skip in his step, he realized that the solution for all of this was to admit to Zuko what had been truly on his mind. Now that the two had gotten past their angst with each other, they could take the steps toward friendship. And much more. He hadn't known that was truly how he felt, and once it was out in the open it was all he could think about. Zuko was all he could think about, all he wanted to think about despite the looming threat of death over their heads. Katara just wanted to get back to her room and finish what they had started and keep doing it all night. But first, he would have to solve the issue with Sokka and his burnt hands.

Damn older brothers.