A/N: Hello! I know it has been forever. :-/ My bad. I have been super busy as of late and then also just plan lazy. :-P But here is what I got for you. I tried to make it super long to make up for the lack of updates. I hope you enjoy.

Reviews from chapter 4:

Ib00ger: Thank you!

Guest: Thank you so much for the kind words. I hope you like the new chapter.

NiceStories: Thanks. I am trying to do a few different things

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Avatar.

Zuko had wanted to return to his room and change after training this morning. So Katara sat patiently in his sitting room while he showered and changed into something more appropriate for the day.

As she waited her mind began to think back to everything that had happened in the short time since Zuko had arrived.

Three days ago Zuko walked into Katara's meeting with those two terrible farmers. That night she found out that Tikaani was here. She also got to spend some quality time with Zuko and see just how protective of her he could be. She couldn't say she hated it at all.

Two days ago the tournament started with the hand to hand competition. They had a little run in with two unknown men who apparently just wanted to get Katara out of the competition early, but ended up hurting another competitor in the process.

The hand to hand competition ended yesterday with a huge battle between Zuko and Tikaani. Zuko ended up severely hurt and Katara spent the better part of the afternoon and evening healing him. She was more than pissed at this memory. 'How could he seriously be that stupid?'

Because of Zuko's ridiculousness they did discover that there was no way Tikaani was from the Northern Tribe like he claims. If he was, he had to have learned his fighting technique in the fire nation before he returned home. 'I wonder if Pakku has gotten any results back from his contacts.'

And today was going to be the start to the swordsmanship competition and not to mention another ball. 'Why are there so many freaking balls!?' Katara was more upset about the second ball then competing in the competition. She knew that there was going to be a ball at the end of each round so why was she upset. She thought back to the conversation she had with her father when they were planning the entire thing.

"I get it but why are there balls after each round of competition?" Katara asked her father and his council as she looked over the plans.

A council member answered. "Because most of the people who are attending will not be fighting. They will be here to just spend time mingling with other rich people. If we make a ball after each round we are more likely to get people to come and watch the tournament than if we just had an opening and closing ball."

"Katara I know you don't like balls but this will be good for the tribe. Trust us." Hakoda said from his spot across from her.

The ball ended up tonight instead of last night because of how injured Zuko and Tikaani were. They were unable to come to participate in the awards ceremony so the ball was postponed until tonight. Katara had thought she was getting out of it while she was helping Zuko but in reality she was just putting off the inevitable.

Katara sighed. It was quiet amazing what could happen to someone in three days. She went from being alone and having a headache from some very stupid farmers, to having hundreds of people in her home along with one of the few people to make her life hell.

Katara paused in her thinking as she heard noise coming from Zuko's bathroom. The tournament did bring some good points to it as well.

She was getting to see all her friends again and this time for no political reason. They got to take their time and just be friends again. They had no reason to hurry and spend time together in shared moments. When they normally got together it was for a meeting of some kind and only spent a few short hours together outside of the meeting before they would have to leave again.

The last time she was with Toph and Aang she only spent 20 minutes with them before they had to leave to make their next meeting.

When she saw Suki last, Katara could not even talk to her. Her soon to be sister in law was whisked away by her tribe to another meeting before they could even speak.

Iroh was another story. Whenever she went to see him she had plenty of time to talk and discuss things with him. The only time restraint they had was hers. They often went shopping together and just sat in the square and watched people go past. It was one of her favorite things to do with him.

A smile graced her face as she thought of the best part, Zuko. Zuko was here and she was getting to spend more than enough time with him. She couldn't even remember the last time she had spent this much time with him uninterrupted by his people or political meetings.

She had visited the Fire Nation about five months ago and only saw Zuko for maybe an hour each day she was there. It was not enough time for someone who went there for the sole purpose to just see him.

The smile grew on her face. She loved him. It was true, but what was she going to do about it. Sure Aang and GranGran had told her to do something about it and to follow her heart, but that was easier said than done. What if he didn't love her back as well?

"What are you thinking about?" Zuko asked as he closed the door behind him.

Katara was pulled from her thoughts when he spoke. "Oh nothing."

"Really?" Zuko said slightly skeptically. "Because it looked like it was something pretty important based on your face."

Katara laughed a little at this. "And how does my face tell you that?"

"You have a look when you are thinking about something important," Zuko began as he took a seat next to her. "You have a look when you are going to yell at me, a look for when you are pissed at something someone did, you have an 'I'm desperate' look, you have a Sokka is an idiot look, and you have an 'I'm thinking about my mom' look."

Katara looked at him in slight shock as he continued to name off her different looks. "And there is that one that I rarely see. The wow Zuko isn't an idiot face." Katara laughed at his little statement.

"Ok you caught me. I was thinking about something Aang said to me earlier." Katara said as she stood because she didn't want him to ask more questions and get to the real thing she was thinking about. "Now can we please go eat breakfast I am starving."

"Yeah let's go." Zuko said standing as well.

Katara and Zuko were heading towards the dining hall in a comfortable silence when they began to hear loud noises coming from that direction. They were still pretty far from the hall but with hundreds of people currently staying in the palace the hall was quiet loud during eating times.

Katara sighed as she braced herself for what was coming. For the last three days every meal had been with hundreds of people. When she wasn't with her friends she had to yell across the table to people or sit in silence because yelling was too much work.

Her friends at least had always wanted to eat early or late to avoid the crowds. Today since she was watching Zuko train they were running late. Her friends were either all eating already or where going to go later than them.

She was hoping more people would go into the village and eat at the inn or something but it seemed as if no one did. She had asked a few people at lunch yesterday why they didn't go into town but they all said that it was below them to eat with commoners. The few that did go into the village got so drunk they had to be escorted away.

What Katara wouldn't give to sit in that giant hall with only 10 people again, or if her father would let them eat in the private dining hall. It seemed like a far off dream at the moment. If only.

She would soon enter the room and hundreds of people would be looking at her. The word had spread since the ball and if they didn't know then they most certainly knew now; Katara was searching for a husband.

While she watched Zuko train this morning she could feel the eyes watching her from all over. Both men and women. The women speaking mostly of how anyone could even think of marrying her. She even heard some of the women who were within earshot talking about her as they walked past. She could tell they didn't care if she heard them. 'Who would want to marry someone like her? She will not be queen and she has no womanly qualities at all.'

Sometimes she really wished she wasn't able to notice things so small, but living on the run or in battle for so long she learned quickly she had to pay attention.

In the five short years since the war, she had only been home for two. When Zuko took over the Fire Nation the war didn't just end. There were still a lot of rebels fighting who thought the Fire Nation was above everyone else. And then there were others who thought Zuko would end up just like his father. She, of course, had spent these years fighting.

What she wouldn't give to just be a normal person or to have been raised like a normal princess. Either would have been good. But she was stuck in the middle. She knew both ways and was having trouble not wanting to be both.

As she walked closer to the dining hall she began to think on this topic.

Zuko noticed the discomfort on Katara's face as they rounded the last corner before the dining hall. "You ok? Do you need to rest some more?" He asked as he came to a stop. She had been healing him a lot lately.

"No I'm fine." Katara said not looking at him. She did not want to go in there. Those people were monsters compared to what she was used to. Thinking back to what Aang had said this morning, maybe she should give it a try. "Zuko, would you want to maybe, go into town instead for breakfast?"

Zuko smiled at the girl in front of him. "That sounds great."

Katara was suddenly more than happy. She no long had to see the hundreds of people in the dinning hall and she got to spend more time alone with Zuko. What else could she ask for? The two of them walked in peaceful silence. They had just passed the dining hall and were a few feet from the front door of the palace as Katara thought to herself, 'This might end up an ok day after all.'

"Katara!"

"Or not." Katara said out loud as she turned to see who was calling to her. "Yes?"

"Hello. My name is Harshul from the Earth Kingdom. I live in the upper ring. I was wondering what you were doing for breakfast."

'Was it necessary to say you live in the upper ring?' "Nice to meet you Harshul. I was just headed into the village with Zuko for breakfast. Maybe next time." Katara said as she began to turn back to the doors.

"The village? Why would you ever go there?" Harshul at this point took the few short steps between them grabbing Katara's arm and began to lead her away. "I shall escort you to the hall, where we will eat together. This Zuko person has no idea how to treat a lady." Harshul finished by looking Zuko up and down with his head held high.

Katara did not know what to be more upset with, the fact that he just walked over and grabbed her for no reason or the fact that he just insulted Zuko. Zuko on the other hand was already moving towards the man at a frightening speed.

"Excuse me what did you just say?" Zuko said a few inches from the man.

"I said you have no idea how to treat a lady." Harshul spoke once again with just as much hate.

"Look here." Zuko began as he raised his finger into the man's face, when Katara pulled her arm away from the man and began to speak.

"No you have no idea how to treat a lady!" Zuko put his raised hand down when she interrupted him. He was ready to let the man have it when Katara started.

"Please tell me how walking up to a woman who is with another man, telling her what she is doing is stupid, and then taking her from said man, is treating a woman nice. You more or less were telling me what to do. That may work for some people but not me." Katara said as she got closer to the man's face and began to speak very evenly. "And Zuko is more of a man than you will ever be."

She turned on her heels with the last word and grabbed Zuko's arm and began to walk away in anger. Zuko had a smile of satisfaction on his face. Why did he even think he needed to say anything, Katara can take care of herself.

As they walked away Harshul composed himself enough to speak. "You are no woman at all. You are a monster. A woman would never get in a man's face. A woman would never say things like you say. And a woman would never fight in any shape or form."

Katara stopped in her tracks. He was just like the others. He did not think she was worthy of the title princess or the things that came with it. Let alone to be considered a woman.

Harshul began to speak again as he turned to leave the hallway. "You can have her then. There is no way anyone would want a used piece of shit like that anyway. I was trying to do her a favor."

Katara's mind went blank as fist connected with the man's nose, breaking it instantly. Flames were all he could see around him as he looked up from his swelling eyes. "What did you say?"

Katara stood there in shock. 'How could he say that?' She had felt Zuko move from her as soon as the words hit her ears. She knew that he was most likely beating the shit out of Harshul while she was standing there in shock, but she didn't care. How could anyone say that?

Sure she had heard people whisper it but it was only women and she thought it was just something they were saying to make her feel bad at the time. She was ranked higher than them and they hated it. She never thought it was a real rumor that was going around.

"I believe my friend here asked you a question."

Katara turned around to see a small group of people had gathered as they were leaving the dining hall. When they had come she was unsure, but amongst them was GranGran, Toph, and Sokka.

Harshul sat on the ground looking at the group that had gathered around them. He could hear the murmurs coming from them. "How could he say that?" "What was he thinking?" "Do you think he will be arrested?"

"Well?" Toph said looking down at the man from her spot next to Zuko.

Harshul crawled backwards on the floor trying to move away from the now growing group across from him. Toph shifted her foot sideways and a huge dirt wall formed behind him. He tried with all his might to push it farther away but he just sat there kicking his legs.

"One more time, what did you say?" Zuko asked again in an eerily calm tone as he moved closer to the man. Sokka and Toph only steps behind him. Flames were coming from his hands. Rocks were starting to float in the air. And Sokka had pulled out his boomerang.

Katara stood there watching from her spot by the door. 'Is that what everyone is thinking? That I am used.' Katara could feel the tears in her eyes begin to form. She looked at the rest of the people watching the scene. Is that what they all thought? That she was a used piece of trash. 'Where would they have even gotten that idea?'

She could feel her legs starting to give way. She needed to sit down. She needed to take this all in. She needed….Zuko.

A small gasp was heard and Zuko side glanced at Katara. Katara, his Katara, was on the verge of crying. He could see her legs shaking and the water on the edge of her eyelids. He was furious. The flames in his hands grew to twice their size and just as Zuko was about the punch him again the doors behind Katara opened.

Lee and Aang began to walk through the door way conversing about how the little boy had almost kicked his ass, until they saw the scene in front of them. Katara almost crying. People off to the side whispering. Zuko, Toph, and Sokka about the kill some guy. GranGran looking as if death was too good for the man.

"What is going on?" Aang asked as the door closed behind him.

"I beg you Avatar Aang. These people want to kill me for no reason." Harshul said as he rose to his feet against the dirt wall. His hands were stretched out in front of him in an attempt to protect himself in case they attached while he was speaking.

Lee took a few steps toward the man placing himself between Katara and him. He was obviously the reason Katara was upset. She didn't need to look at him.

Lee had spent a lot of time with her and knew that she did not cry or let people defend her. This was not something he considered normal. "Why would they want to kill you for no reason? Anyone wish to inform the Avatar about what happened?"

The small group who was there for the entire thing ran forward in an instant. Most were girls and they wanted a chance to speak with the famous Avatar. The ramblings were clear enough that Aang had an idea.

"You called my friend a used piece of shit." Aang said very calmly.

"Friend?" Harshul asked clearly confused. His left eye completely swollen shut at this point. His nose still bleed profusely.

Toph scoffed. "Oh you didn't know. Aang and Katara are good friends, like she saved his life multiple times, good friends. Along with Fire Lord Zuko."

"Wait, Fire!? Lord!? Zuko!" Harshul said trying to look around the room as best he could with his half swollen good eye.

"Yes. That would be me." Zuko got closer to the man and began to speak. "And if you ever so much as speak to her again I will make sure you have more than a broken nose."

The man tried to get closer to the dirt wall if possible. "I understand."

"Lee." Katara spoke at a whisper. It was the first words anyone had heard out of her since the entire thing started. Everyone turned to look at her except Zuko. He was staring daggers at the man in front of him. "Please take him the Fire Nation Ship. Place him in custody and have them await my orders. I have to go talk to Bumi about what to do with him."

Lee looked back at the man with an evil smile on his face. "With pleasure your highness."

"The rest of you please return to what you were doing." Katara said as she looked around the room. The tears still in her eyes had yet to fall.

Everyone began to disperse and Lee grabbed Harshul roughly making sure it would hurt. "Just so you know, that girl saved my life more times than you can count as well. So if I hear so much as a word out of you, you will not make it to the ship."

Zuko let a grin appear on his face. 'I knew there was a reason I picked Lee to watch her.'

When he was out of the door, the flames went away, the rocks returned to their place, and a boomerang was put back. GranGran, though, had a mother's wrath written all over her face.

Sokka looked at Katara. He knew she would not want to talk about it at the moment. He glanced at Toph who looked as if she would kill someone but knew better than to approach Katara. Zuko stood there fists clenched, teeth clenched, ready to kill the next person who pissed him off.

Katara stood there for a moment. Waiting. Seeing what her body would do. Trying to move was painful. It was all she could do at this point not to cry. She just wanted to run to Zuko and bury her face in his shirt and cry, but she knew she couldn't do that.

She needed to leave. She needed to get out of the palace. And Zuko needed to come with her. "GranGran when I return from breakfast I want to see Bumi."

GranGran nodded in compliance. Katara nodded back. She began the short walk to Zuko and grabbed his arm. She needed him right now. She wouldn't try to hide that fact from anyone. She just needed him to take her away. Anywhere. It didn't matter. Just away.

Zuko watched her speak not really taking any of it in. He was still seeing red. He wanted to kill that man more than anything else right now. Suddenly he felt small hands wrap around his arm. He looked down to see Katara.

He could feel her shaking and the grip of her hands on his arm were more than he had ever felt before. She was relaying on him to get her out of there, he could feel it. "We will be back soon." He spoke as he started to lead them out of the door.

Aang looked at Toph once the door was shut. "Is she ok?"

"Not even close." Toph said as she grabbed onto Aang's arm to be escorted down the hall. "But neither is Zuko. Those two need each other right now."

"We need to figure out where he got that idea and who is spreading that rumor." Aang said as he and his friends began to walk down the hall.

Sokka nodded. "That is the fourth time since the tournament started that I have heard it. And if I have heard it Katara has to have heard it by now as well."

"What would be the point behind it though?" Toph asked as she walked with them feeling the ager roll off of GranGran behind them.

"I'm not sure but we need to put an end to it." Aang said as they rounded the corner to the next hallway. "I will ask Bumi to interrogate him."

When the doors closed behind them, Katara let her head fall on Zuko's arm. She didn't care where he led her just so long as it was away from here. She closed her eyes and let the silent tears roll down her face as they walked.

Zuko looked down at the girl holding onto him for dear life. He could feel through his light layers the tears collecting on his coat. 'Where should I take her to make her feel better?'

As they walked Katara was thinking about everything that had been said about her today, and what might be being said now. Suddenly Zuko stopped. Katara opened her eyes to see where they were. It was the ice over hang she loved. It was where she did all of her thinking. It was the perfect place to go.

A smile crossed her face. "I thought you might want to come here."

"You were right." Katara said with the smile on her face.

Zuko began to sit and Katara followed. They sat next to each other in silence for awhile. Zuko watching the polar bears play below them. Katara watching the clouds. Soon Katara's head found its way to Zuko's shoulder and Zuko's hand found its way to Katara's.

"You are not used." Zuko said calmly. Katara flinched slightly. "You are not a piece of shit." Katara sat up from his shoulder and looked at him as she felt him tense. "He was not doing you a favor."

Katara was watching him as he spoke. He would not look at her, but his grip on her hand was tightening. She let a small smile return to her face. "You are imagining killing him right now aren't you?"

"Hell yeah I am." Zuko said as he spun to face her. Then he stopped when he saw the smile and heard the small laugh at his response. He relaxed at her appearance. "What is so funny?"

"You." Katara said with a smile. "You are always getting upset for me and wanting to kill people for me. It just makes me laugh."

"Well sometimes you need to get that mad. I mean he cannot say things like that about you. You are a kind person who is trying to help everyone. You put everyone before yourself and you never ask for anything in return. You do not deserve to have things like that said to you. If anyone believes anything along those lines they don't know anything about my Katara." Zuko finished his rant more flustered than when he started.

Katara went from awe to what? as he spoke. "My Katara?"

Zuko flushed red. "What?"

"You said my Katara at the end." Katara said looking at him. He began to fidget in his seat and his hand began to sweat instantly in her hand.

"You know, just meaning my friend Katara." Zuko said as he began to laugh it off unease.

Katara smiled at him. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I consider you my Zuko." Katara could feel her face turn red as she said it.

Zuko smiled as his redness faded. "Katara, the ball tonight. It is supposed to be in honor of the first round ending."

"Yeah."

"Would you want to go as my date? And not like a date so we don't have anyone else bother us, like a date date." Zuko finished as the redness returned to his cheeks.

Katara smiled on his shoulder. "Of course."

Zuko smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Now we just have to make it through this opening round."

"What do you mean we? I think you mean me. Even with you tore all up you can still kick almost everyone's ass here." Katara said as she sat up and began to complain to him.

He smiled and began to fight back glad to know she was feeling better.

Whispers were heard everywhere as Katara walked into the fighters prep area. She spotted Sokka and Suki and began to head towards them.

She had spoken with Bumi before she got ready for the tournament. He would be taking Harshul back with him tomorrow and have a trial as to what to do with him. Bumi was never going to stay for the entire tournament but he wasn't going to originally leave tomorrow either. Bumi apologized hundreds of times but he knew the damage was done.

Sokka and Suki were making last minute preparations for their fights. Sokka had told Suki about what had happened earlier and the girl wanted to kill the man herself.

"Hey" Katara said as she walked up to her friends.

"Hey." Suki responded to her friend. "How are you doing?"

"As good as one could I guess." Katara said as she looked around the area. "Where is everyone?"

"Toph and Aang were wishing everyone good luck a little while ago. They were going to be sitting with TyLee, Mai and her husband, GranGran, and Uncle. It should be an interesting seat." Suki said with an evil grin on her face.

Katara laughed before Sokka spoke up. "Hey at least it isn't us this time. I mean we aren't even married yet and GranGran is asking about grandbabies. She was already asking Toph about it as they walked away."

Katara started to laugh even harder as she looked around the seats for them. "Why aren't Mai and TyLee fighting in this round?"

"TyLee is more hand to hand with her Chi Blocking. Mai said she uses knives not swords." Suki said as she waved to them with Katara. "I think they just don't want to have to fight Zuko."

As they talked Katara began to listen to everyone around her in whispers. It was terrible and comforting all at the same time. Some of the fighters were on her side while others thought it was all her fault.

Suki had heard it too. "Are you sure you are ok?"

Katara looked at her friend. "I talked some things over with Zuko and I feel a lot better."

"Good because I am starting to worry about you. You are the strongest person I know, but one can only handle so much." Suki said as she looked at her friend. "Katara after everything that has happened to you in the last few years and now Tikaani showing up here, I don't think I could handle it."

"Thanks but for the moment I think I am ok." Katara said kindly to her friend. "Speaking of Zuko, where is he?"

She had yet to see Zuko. After they had returned from their walk she had gone to speak with Bumi and Zuko had returned to his room. She could really use some distractions at this point in the game. Sure she had told her friend she was doing fine but really she was a hot mess. When was the tournament going to start?

Katara was standing there looking at her sword when Zuko walked up to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey you ok?"

Katara jumped slightly when he touched her but smiled. "Yeah I'm fine."

Zuko knew she was lying but he wasn't about to let on to it. "We will talk more later then."

"Please take your seats the first round should be starting shortly!"

"Finally!" Katara said as she went to take a spot along the wall to watch.

Sokka let out a laugh. "You sound like Toph."

"Our first competitors will be Fire Lord Zuko and Daruka."

"Wow that was fast."

"Good luck."

"Don't kill him." Sokka yelled as Zuko walked to the entrance.

Zuko walked to the center of the arena. Daruka walked across the field from the opposite side and stopped in front of Zuko.

Daruka already looked scared. But who wouldn't. He was facing Zuko.

"The rules are the same as the last competition. Each pair with fight for 20 minutes. If both are up after 20 minutes both will advance. After the third round the competitor with the highest score will be taken out. That person, along with Katara, will be the final round competitors. The person who wins that round is the winner of the competition."

"To win this round you must de-arm your opponent. You may use any kind of sword you want but you are not allowed to kill anyone. If you kill someone you will be placed into the palace jail until a trail is preformed."

"Now let's get ready!" A loud roar was heard from the crowd.

"Fire Lord Zuko ready?" Zuko responded by pulling out his dual blade sword but did not separate them. He didn't want to reveal all his cards in the first battle.

"Daruka ready?" Daruka pulled out a sword of his own. Still looking kind of scared.

"Go!"

Zuko took his fighting stance and readied himself for an attack. 'When people are scared they tend to attach right away to get it over with.' Zuko thought as he watched the man in front of him start to shake slightly.

Daruka came running across the field at full speed. "Called it." Zuko said out loud.

He dodged it easily as the man flew past him. While he was dodging, Zuko hit the butt of his sword to Daruka's sword.

Daruka was so scared he was being attached he dropped his sword and threw his arms over his head. "Don't hurt me!"

Zuko stood there, in mild shock. "Seriously?"

"Umm….Fire Lord Zuko wins." The announcer said a little lackluster and a bit confused.

Zuko walked over to the man and handed him his sword. "Good job."

"Thanks." The man said as he took his sword. "And thanks for not killing me."

Zuko watched as the man began to run out of the arena. "Ok?"

"Next up, and hopefully more exciting, we have Gopan and Manik."

The fights continued each taking most of the 20 minutes if not all. Sokka and Suki easily won their rounds. They were some of the easier fights they had had in awhile.

Sokka's guy was at least twice his size but the man's balance was nowhere near where it needed to be for a swordsman. Sokka dodged him once and the man almost fell over.

Suki's opponent thought that she being a girl had no idea what she was doing and let her have the first move without defending himself. Suki was pissed to say the least and made the man eat his words before disarming him.

Katara on the other hand had a hard fight. He was a skilled warrior from the Earth Kingdom. She had fought along with him in the war so she knew she wouldn't win from the start. He easily beat her.

"If I can't even win round one how am I supposed to be a final round competitor? This is just stupid." Katara said as she returned to her friends. "I told my dad this was a bad idea but he wanted us represented in the final round every time."

Her friends laughed at her comments because they were true. She had little to no training in anything but her bending. Asking her to compete in all events was a little much from her father. Sokka had to compete in all of them as well but since he couldn't bend he didn't qualify for that round. He on the other hand had training in all the rounds.

"Why isn't Sokka the person at the end of the rounds instead of you?" Suki asked as her friend fell to the ground in a heap of disappointment.

"Father said it would be better if Katara did it so people would see her." Sokka said trying to hold back a laugh.

Zuko smiled at his friend. "So in other words GranGran wanted to make sure all the men would see Katara a bunch."

Sokka nodded slightly trying even harder to hold back his laughs.

"I see." Suki said watching Katara and Sokka attempting to judge if it was ok to laugh at how stupid of an idea it was.

"It is just stupid." Katara said as she huffed and crossed her arms.

At this no one could stop their laughter anymore. Everyone was laughing while Katara was on the ground not finding it a bit funny. It was miserable.

"That concludes round one. Since tonight is a ball we will not be continuing to round two. Round two will start tomorrow afternoon. Tonight's ball will begin at 6pm and the awards from the last competition will be given after dinner. We hope to see you all there."

As everyone began to exit the stands, the groups slowly started to filter in with them. They weren't going to wait on their friends since it could be awhile. They would see them in a few short hours anyway.

"6?! That is only like 2 hours."

"How am I going to get ready in that little amount of time?"

Suki and Katara laughed at the people freaking out as they walked back to the palace to get ready. Sokka and Zuko were walking behind them listening to the girls make fun of the others.

"So."

"Yeah?" Sokka said looking at his friend slightly confused. "Are you going to ask me to help you do something crazy again like in Ba Sing Se?"

"No." Zuko laughed as he started to slow down his walking pace. "I asked your sister out."

"WHAT!?" Sokka more or less yelled.

"Sokka." Zuko scowled.

"Sorry." Sokka tried again at a much lower volume. "What?! When did this happen? And where are you taking her?"

"You are assuming she said yes." Zuko said straight face at his friend.

Sokka scoffed. "Seriously? You honestly think my sister would say no to you. She is madly in love with you bro."

"So you've told me." Zuko said looking at his friend half laughing. "But I asked her to the ball tonight and I made very sure she knew it was as a date not a GranGran Uncle date."

"Finally dude." Sokka said as he pat his friend on the back. "Maybe now you can move this thing a little fast and possibly get married in the next year."

"Sokka you just want GranGran to stop bothering you about your marriage and babies." Zuko said with a laugh.

"So, a man can dream can't he." Sokka said as he laughed at his friend.

As the boys were talking, the girls continued to walk until they heard Sokka yell what.

"He is really embarrassing sometimes." Suki said as she turned back to face the way they were originally walking.

"You don't have to tell me, he is my brother." Katara said with a laugh. "But Zuko probably told him about earlier."

"Sokka was there when it happened. He was pissed when he came back to our room." Suki started.

"No not that." Katara stopped her friend. With a confused look as a response Katara continued. "Zuko asked me out on a date."

"Oh my gosh!" Suki said beyond excited. "To where?"

Katara laughed at how happy her friend was for her. "The ball tonight."

"Wait don't you two always go to balls together?" Suki asked a little less excited.

"True. But this time he made extra sure to tell me it was a date date, not a GranGran Uncle set up date." Katara said as they walked past the dining hall. "I'm kind of happy that it is going to be to a ball. We have been to them so much together that it will seem like normal but a little different. If he would have tried to make it somewhere else I think I would be concerned about down time and what to say."

"I am really happy that you two are finally getting together." Suki said as she stopped in the hallway. "I was starting to think it was never going to happen."

"You and almost everyone else apparently." Katara said as she turned to watch the boys walk up. "Please don't tell anyone ok. I do not want GranGran to know yet."

Suki smiled in complete understanding. "Deal."

"Deal to what?" Sokka asked as they reached the girls.

"Oh I just agreed to let Katara choose all the meat for our wedding." Suki said with a smile.

"You what?!" Sokka said very disappointed.

Everyone began to laugh before they set off in the directions of their rooms. Suki trying desperately to explain to Sokka she was only joking.

Katara sat looking at herself in the mirror. She was always concerned about what she looked like when Zuko took her but tonight she was a little more concerned. She needed tonight to go perfect. She couldn't mess anything up.

"Katara."

"Come in."

"My, sweet heart that is a lovely dress. Where did you get it?" GranGran asked as she took a seat on Katara's bed.

"Uncle bought it for me." Katara said with a smile. "I don't really own many dresses he hasn't bought for me."

GranGran smiled. "Let me guess. You once mentioned to him how you would wear the same dress to a function you had worn to the last one."

"Pretty much. He ended up buying me 10 dresses so that I would be able to change them up as he put it, so that no one would notice." Katara said as she looked at her Grandmother on her bed. "Does it really look ok?"

GranGran sat looking at her. The dress, like all the dresses Uncle had bought her, was strapless. It was floor length and a beautiful dark red color. There were diamonds, fake of course, completely covering her chest and then disappearing slowly across her stomach until there were only a few from her waist down.

"It looks fabulous." GranGran said smiling at her. "Do you mind if we talk for a minute?"

Katara had thought there was something on her mind. She never came to just sit when there was a ball about to start. "Sure."

"Katara, I understand you have the strongest will that a person can have. And I understand that you like to keep things bottled up inside and deal with them in your own way. And I understand you do not like to let things get to you." GranGran paused in her speaking. "But sometimes you need to let these things out or they will destroy you."

Katara looked at her grandmother. "GranGran I understand but I am fine."

"Then for this old woman, may we please talk about what happened today." GranGran said in a soft tone that Katara could not say no to.

"Sure. What do you want to talk about?" Katara asked as she took a seat next to her Grandmother.

GranGran sighed slightly. "You have a lot on your plate right now." Katara nodded slightly confused. "You have the right to be mad at that man. You have the right to lock him up. You have to right to want people to beat the shit out of him. But what the others are saying behind your back, you need to ignore. They mean nothing to you so their words should mean nothing as well."

Katara looked at her GranGran a little shocked. "I hadn't told anyone…" She trailed off looking at her Grandmother.

"Katara it is not hard for even this old woman to hear the things they are saying. For someone with good ears it is probably deafening." GranGran began. "Katara I know you have been through this before at the end of the war but your mental state then is not what it is now."

"What do you mean?"

"At the end of the war you knew people would hate you. You knew things would be said behind your back. You were ready for it. You had already braced yourself for it. This time after everything you have been through with Baih, and now Tikaani returning for a second time, you are having a hard time coping with things."

"Last time you had your friends by your side and you knew that if anything happened you could go to them immediately. This time, your friends are miles apart and when you do see them it is only for a few moments at most."

"You were a second away from shattering earlier I could see it and I have never seen you cry in the last five years. What others say should not matter to you. You need to remember that. The only people who matter are your friends and family. The rest are only in your life for a moment."

GranGran finished with a smile as Katara let a tear fall down her face. "Thank you for reminding me."

"No problem dear." GranGran said as she reached forward to give her a hug. "Now that man is going to be put away for awhile thought right? Because no one talks to my Granddaughter like that and gets away with it."

Katara laughed as she wiped away the tears falling down her face. "Yes Bumi said he would be put on trial for assaulting a royal."

"Ahh good good." GranGran said slowly. "So what is this I hear Zuko asked you to the ball tonight?"

Katara sighed and dropped her shoulders. "Who told you?"

"Sokka of course. The poor boy can't keep a secret." GranGran said with a smile.

Katara smiled at her evil grandmother. She knew who the weak link was. "Yes he asked me to go with him."

"And there my dear is another reason why you shouldn't care what people think." GranGran spoke as she stood up. "He loves you for you not for what you should be." Katara smiled up at her grandmother. "Now let's figure out something to do with this hair of yours. Hmm."

Katara stood and moved over to the mirror. "I was thinking something like this."

"Oh I like that."

"Nephew I have a small question." Iroh said as he watched the young man finish getting dressed.

"Sure Uncle what is it?" Zuko asked as he began to straighten his attire.

Iroh looked at the man in the mirror. The man he had come to be was more than Iroh could have ever imaged when he started out on that lonely voyage with him all those years ago. "I was just wondering about the incident that happened at breakfast."

Zuko froze. His hands dropped to his side and his eyes became down cast. Zuko was wondering when he would ask him about it. "Yes. What about it?"

"I heard you broke a man's nose." Iroh said as he looked at him. Zuko nodded in reply. "Can you tell me why you only broke his nose?"

Zuko looked up into the mirror at his Uncle a bit confused.

"He should have been beaten to within an inch of his life. No one should speak like that to her." Uncle said as Zuko slowly turned around to face him.

Zuko's confusion quickly turned to shock and then to a smile. "Thank you Uncle."

"You should know more than anyone else how much that girl means to me. She is like the daughter I never had. I would do anything for her. To know that I was not there when something like that happened, it made me so upset." Iroh started to speak.

"Uncle you are melting my room." Zuko stopped him mid speech with a slight laugh. "And I know you care for her. She has done many things to earn that trust and love from you."

"Now enough of that sad depressing stuff. Who are you going to the ball with tonight?"

Zuko side glanced at his Uncle who was more or less jumping like a little school girl next to him. "Uncle I believe you already know." Zuko responded flatly.

"Yes yes." Iroh shooed him away. "But I would like to actually hear it from you and not just a rumor."

Zuko signed bracing himself for what was about to come. "I asked Katara to go with me as my date."

"Yeah!" Iroh said as he stood and raised his fist in the air. "I will have grandbabies before I die."

"Uncle!" Zuko said glad that he was alone in the room.

Iroh began to dance around the room in what Zuko could only describe as the happiest he had seen him in awhile.

GranGran had left Katara's room awhile ago to get ready for the ball herself. Katara believed it was so she could find a better spot to spy on them from when Zuko came to get her.

She signed as she looked at herself one more time in the mirror. "GranGran will be the death of me one day."

She had looked at herself over and over again the last few minutes. She needed to make sure everything was right and everything was where it was supposed to be. She did not need to embarrass Zuko when she was really his date this time.

"Breath Katara."

"I know I am just nervous. Wait!" Katara spun around to see none other than Zuko standing behind her in the door way. "When did you get here?"

Zuko let out a small laugh. "About 5 minutes ago. I knocked and you didn't answer. I was a little worried so I just came in."

"Sorry I was a little out of it." Katara said as she tried to laugh it off, hoping that he didn't really notice the part where she said she was nervous.

"I can see that." Zuko said as he still waited in the door way. "So why are you nervous?"

Katara sighed as she let her head fall. "So you did hear that then?"

"Yes. Along with all the pep talk you have been giving yourself." Zuko said as he finally walked into her room to go and stand in front of her.

"I am just nervous because I am going to a ball." Katara tried to play it off.

Zuko watched her as she spoke. She avoided his eyes the entire time. He knew it wasn't that. She would always look at him with disappointment when she was talking about a ball, she never avoided him.

"Katara I know what the people are saying behind your back. And I know you have heard them." Zuko began to speak watching her reactions. "It would be impossible for you not to hear them. I believe that most of the women are attacking you because they are jealous of me taking you to all the balls and events instead of them. I just want to make sure that you know I am there for you. I am not just ignoring them."

Katara looked at him and began to smile. "Zuko I don't think you get it."

Zuko looked at her confused. Didn't he just tell her what she had been worrying about?

"Zuko, I don't care what they think of me. I just sometimes need a little reminder that I only need to care about what those closest to me think of me." Katara said as she took a step closer to him placing her hand on his chest.

Zuko looked down at her with a soft smile on his face when she finished.

"I know that no matter what they say or do it won't change what you think of me. I have been through way too much with you for them to change your mind about me so easily." Katara paused wanting to tell him of her worries for the evening. "But I am nervous because I don't want to mess up and end up making you look bad."

Zuko began to laugh. He stopped his laughter and looked at her. "How do you think you will mess it up?"

"I don't know. I could not bow to the right person. Shake hands with someone I am supposed to bow to. Trip and fall taking out a whole table of drinks. There are any number of things I could do that would cause a scene and make you look bad." Katara said as she began to walk away from him and through her hands in the air as she described all the things she could do.

Zuko watched as she explained all the things she could do. As her hands flew up and demonstrated how drinks would go everywhere, Zuko could no longer hold in his laughter.

"What is so funny? I am freaking out over here." Katara said in a serious tone as she crossed her arms in front of her.

Zuko slowly got a hold of himself as he wiped tears from his eyes. "Let me just see if I have this correct. You are not worried about what they say about you because it only matters what your friends and I think." Katara nodded and Zuko continued. "But you are worried that you possibly might fall and spill drinks making me look bad so you are getting all worked up over that."

"Yes." Katara answered still confused.

Zuko let a smile grace his lips as he moved towards the woman he was speaking with. "This is why you are my Katara." He said as he pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.

Katara smiled when she heard him call her his Katara again but she was still confused about why he was laughing.

"Katara there is nothing that you can do to make me look bad that I would be upset with." He said as he pulled her far enough away to look at. "If you bow to the wrong person or shake the wrong person's hand, that will be on me for not telling you. If you fall, you fall. It happens. And it happens to you a lot. All of it will be ok."

Katara smiled. Blushing slightly from the fact that she was being stupid. "I guess you are right."

"I know." Zuko said with a joking smug smile as he moved away from her. "Now the real thing to watch out for is GranGran and Uncle." Katara laughed as she visibly saw the shiver go up his spine. "Uncle was cheering that he was going to have grandbabies in my room after I told him I asked you to be my date."

Katara began to laugh even harder at the mental image of Uncle cheering while Zuko sat next to him looking depressed.

Finally feeling as if the mood was good Zuko smiled at her lovingly. He definitely loved her. There was no question of that anymore. "You look really beautiful tonight."

Katara looked at him and blushed slightly. "Uncle bought it for me."

Zuko held out his hand for her to take. "When does he buy all these dressed for you?"

"When I visit him." Katara said taking his hand and beginning to walk with him. 'I'm glad we talked. I feel a lot better now.' Katara thought to herself as she let her head fall to his shoulder as they walked. She was happy again.

There they were again. Standing in that dreaded line that she so hated. Why oh why was this part of these stupid things they call balls.

"Everyone has arrived sir. We will begin announcing you in a moment." A servant said to Hakoda as Katara began to start to fidget.

Zuko who was standing next to her began to laugh slightly. "If you start freaking out again they are going to pick on you." He whispered in to her ear.

She instantly froze in her spot hoping no one but Zuko had noticed her nervousness.

He began to laugh again at how board like she was now. "Just relax. I didn't let you fall last time, I'm not going to let you fall this time."

Katara relaxed as she remembered the last ball three short days ago. Her friends in front of her began to be called one by one. She reached for Zuko's arm before he even offered it. She placed her head on his shoulder. He would protect her. He always had there was no reason for him to stop now.

Zuko could feel the tension leave Katara as she rested against his shoulder. He was glad she was relaxing.

From behind them, Suki was practically ripping off Sokka's arm as they watched the two in front of them. Sokka was happy for them but evidently not as much as Suki, or his dad. He had looked back at his dad when he had heard a sniffle, only to see his dad crying with joy.

"This is a little much." Sokka said to himself since the others weren't listening while GranGran was being announced and Katara and Zuko moved into place.

"Announcing, Fire Lord Zuko and his date for the evening Lady Katara."

Zuko began to take the first step forward again, but this time Katara moved with him. They began to walk down the length of the great hall again. Katara was waving at some important people that she knew while Zuko nodding at them as they walked.

As always, Zuko had his Fire Lord face on and looked somewhat unapproachable while Katara looked happy and carefree. Until they saw GranGran and Uncle, then both had a small smile.

The two looked as if they would jump out of their noble stances. They were far too excited that Katara and Zuko had come together of their own will. Katara was sure they did a dance of joy together when GranGran informed Uncle of the information.

Just before they reached their stopping point, Katara saw Tikaani. He was standing at the edge of the crowd right next to where Zuko and her were to stand. Katara's grip on Zuko's arm tensed causing him to side glance in her direction.

Zuko followed her eyes to the one of the men he was contemplating having killed if he set foot in the Fire Nation.

Zuko walked the two of them to their positions. His Fire Lord face now was nothing but evil at this point. Katara looked up at Zuko when then took their spots. The look on his face was terrifying. Katara smiled at the look he was giving the back of the man's head. She lightly squeezed his arm to get his attention.

Zuko looked down at her. She was smiling at him. "What?"

"Don't kill him." Katara said only quiet enough for him to hear as her smile grew.

Zuko smiled down at her. That smile could melt his heart no matter how upset he was. "I'll try."

Hakoda had finally reached his spot and began his speech. "Thank you all for joining us again. I would like to announce the winner of the last round. Tikaani had reached the last round but could not beat Fire Lord Zuko as time ran out. Thus both men placed first in the hand to hand combat of the competition. Please come forward to receive your metals."

Zuko left Katara as he and Tikaani walked to receive their metals. Hakoda placed a metal around both of their necks and informed them to turn and face the crowd for applause. "I hope the rest of the tournament is as exciting as this round was."

Zuko was having a very hard time standing next to this man and not punching him in the face. Tikaani was standing next to him waving and sending kisses into the crowd. 'I decided. He will be banned from the Fire Nation and I will have him killed if he sets foot there.'

"Thank you." Hakoda said calming the crowd. "Please enjoy the rest of the evening."

Zuko turned and shook the man's hand before heading to his friends. Tikaani waited his turn to shake the Kings hand before he entered the crowd and Zuko lost him.

"Well that was interesting." Toph said as Zuko approached her.

"Why?" Zuko asked as he looked for Katara.

Toph gave him an are you serious look. "You looked as if you would kill him according to the crowd. According to me, you were trying to kill him with the vibrations and heat you were giving off."

"It wasn't that bad." Zuko attempted to smooth it over.

Sokka placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Dude it was that bad. I thought you were going to set him on fire."

Katara appeared with Suki and some drinks. "I am with Sokka on this one. I thought I would have to go up there and hold you back."

Zuko accepted the drink as the others began to laugh. "Sometimes you are a little much."

"I would have to agree."

Everyone turned to see who was joining the conversation.

"I was a little scared for my life." Tikaani said as he let out a light laugh.

Zuko, Sokka, and Aang instantly stepped between Tikaani and the girls. "What do you want?" Aang asked as he felt Toph send out a light rumble through the floor.

"I just wanted to talk that's all." Tikaani said as he took a sip of his drink. "I hear you have had a little trouble Katara."

Zuko took a step to block Katara from his view. "How did you hear this?"

"It is all over the tournament and city." Tikaani said calmly taking another sip. "It is amazing what these people can come up with isn't it."

Mai and TyLee had shown up behind the man. GranGran and Uncle had appeared to his right.

"My, is it really necessary to send out a signal to all of your friends when I come, little child." Tikaani said addressing Toph.

"Please let me just kill him." Toph said through her clenched teeth.

"Is there anything else you need to tell us about?" Suki asked complete soaked in hatred.

Tikaani took a drink from his cup before looking up. "I don't think I do."

"Then I suggest you leave." Sokka said more holding back Suki then hiding her.

"Fine." He said before taking another drink. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Why can't I kill him?" Toph asked as the man walked away.

Aang turned to face her. "Because I don't want you to go to jail."

Zuko turned to look at Katara. As soon as he had stepped in front of her she had grabbed his shirt. "You ok?" She responded with a nod.

"I know you were all busy thinking about how to kill him," Uncle said as he grabbed the younger adults attention, "but I am concerned about what he said."

"Me too." GranGran said as she scanned the crowd for him. "It is what he said, its amazing what these people can come up with. Along with the good luck tomorrow. It worries me."

"I suggest that you be on your guard." Iroh said as he looked seriously at them. "But for tonight, let's have fun."

"Agreed!"

Everyone left the area and began to start dancing or eating, Sokka being the only one eating. Zuko had taken Katara to the dance floor. He wanted her to relax before the rest of the ball.

A/N: The next chapter will be about the rest of the ball. I just thought this would be an ok place to stop for now. Let me know what you think!