Author's Notes:

I'm really surprised people liked the previous chapter. I thought Zuko taking Katara's clothes off was going a little far. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender. It is the property of its creators and Nickelodeon.

Chapter 7: Act Natural

Zuko felt the sun rise in his blood, and he slowly awakened to it. He got out of the lotus position that he had been sleeping in, and reclined slightly as he stretched out his legs. He took deep even breathes, and tilted his head to the girl lying on the other side of the camp sleeping soundly.

His thoughts had returned to the previous night. Katara had finally given him the chance that he endured every known verbal assault to earn, though it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. Even so, he wasn't sure how much more of her badgering he could take. He was relieved but terrified by the opportunity given to him. He would show Katara that she was wrong about him, that he had changed, but like everything he set his mind to do, there was a catch. Katara had enormous standards when it came to trust, especially if the trust was broken before, and the worst part was, he wouldn't know he failed unless he actually did, which made him more nervous.

'Somehow, trying to capture Aang sounds so much easier,' he thought in his head.

He decided all he had to do was to be nice, and be careful. If he could do that, and get him and Katara back to the others, then that would be enough. He figured it would be best if he got breakfast, and prepare it as well; that would be a good start.

He got onto his feet, and went off to the river where he got Katara's warming stones, and stood in the banks. Salmon-trout were swimming upriver to mate and lay their eggs, and Zuko's stomach roared at the thought of having some for breakfast.

He pulled out his pearl dagger, and crouched down slightly in a horse stance. He held the dagger such that his forearm resembled a spear, and he got to work fishing.

xXxXx

Katara awoke to the smell of fish cooking. She opened her eyes slightly, and tilted her head. Zuko was sitting by the fire in a meditations stance, and the campfire was completely under his command. It looked like a giant candle flame surrounded by two large salmon-trout on sticks cooking evenly around it.

She saw Zuko breathing in and out, and watching the flame rise and fall with each breath. When he exhaled, the fire grew larger and momentarily engulfed the fish before dying down with an inhale. He was straining to keep the flame under control, and sweat began to run down his face. She took another whiff at the fish, and she could tell they were ready to eat.

She got up, and two of the warming stones that Zuko had given her collided when they slid off of her body. Zuko's concentration was broken, and the flame began to burn wildly again when he opened his eyes in surprise.

"Katara?"

"…Hey," she said tiredly.

He looked at her run her hand through her hair, and smiled when she didn't wince in discomfort.

"I take it your not sore anymore?" he asked.

Katara looked at him, and realized that she wasn't. She was so concerned about breakfast, that she didn't even notice it at all.

"I guess I'm not," she said, "Is that breakfast?"

"Yes," he responded, "Come on, eat. They should be cooked by now."

She eyed him for a moment before getting up. He looked away with a strong blush, and she realized that she forgot she was still in her undergarments. She quickly blushed as well as she pulled the blanket up. She cleared her throat and got his attention.

"You said you got me clothes?" she asked as curtly as she could.

"Er… yes… they're behind that rock over there," he said pointing to a fairly large boulder, "I figured you'd want to get dressed somewhere I couldn't see."

She looked at him for a moment, before going behind the rock and getting dressed. There were clothes in Fire Nation red neatly folded in front and placed on a rock with a ribbon and ornament for her hair, and a pair of black boots similar to his. She got them and put them on.

Zuko eyed his fish hungrily when Katara came out from behind the rock, and he looked at her with a stunned expression on her face. She wore a short, sleeveless red kimono that ran to her mid-thighs with a crimson obi belt, a pair of black pants similar in design to what he wore, and her hair was tied the same way it was when she first came to the Fire Nation in disguise. He was surprised that she looked good in the clothes he had managed to take, especially since he didn't even look at what he took when he got them.

"You look… good… in red I mean," he said.

She stared at him for his compliment.

"Thanks…" she replied, "Though, not that I'm complaining, I wish you got me something a little more feminine."

"Sorry, I just thought you know… us being fugitives… you wouldn't really care. I'll get you something better later if you like," he said nervously.

Katara stared at Zuko, surprised at how awkward that all sounded, but she sighed and sat by the fire.

"No, you're right, I shouldn't worry about my looks in this situation. It actually isn't too bad," she said before taking a fish skewer.

Zuko started to eat his, and she did the same. The moment she bit into it, she felt her mouth salivate quickly. The fish was delicious, far more than she had ever expected. The flesh was sweet with only a hint of sea salt laced in with the tender pink-red flesh. She felt herself drool, and could feel it down her chin. She took the bite, and wiped her face, with Zuko watching her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked.

"Is the fish that good?" he asked.

"…Yes," she replied, "You should cook more often. It would save me some trouble."

"My cooking is nothing special. I just stuck some fish on sticks and burned it," said Zuko.

"Well… I think it's good. I mean, I'm sure Sokka would love you for putting meat on sticks," said Katara.

"…Thanks," said Zuko before looking into the fire.

Katara occasionally stole a glace at Zuko staring into the fire as she ate her fish, and Zuko did the same. Zuko finished first and decided to do some training of his own while he waited for Katara to finish. He closed his eyes, took deep breaths, reigned the campfire under his command, and once again it became the giant candle flame the Katara saw when she woke up.

Still in concentration, he stretched out one of his arms to the flame. It slithered up his arm like a snake, and he opened his other hand palm up, giving a place for the fire to reside. Katara looked up at the sight, and saw the entire campfire leave the fire pit until there was nothing left. Zuko gathered all of the fire up in his open hand, and let the flame burn away on its own. Katara was impressed by the sight, and saw Zuko relax his body when the fire was gone.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Oh… it was a firebending exercise," he said, "It was one of the first things I taught Aang… for control.

She nodded and continued eating until she finished.

"Thanks for breakfast," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied, "I'm glad you liked it."

The two decided to rest up for a bit before heading out of the forest. Katara turned the blanket into a makeshift pack, and put her Water Tribe clothes in it before handing it over to Zuko. She filled the water skin and tied it to her waist while Zuko carefully erased all traces of the campsite for good measure. When they ready, she and Zuko left for the village outside of the forest.

Zuko and Katara walked through the forest silently for the next hour. Katara wanted Zuko to lead since he seemed more familiar with the woods, and all Katara had to do was to follow him around. She didn't have to talk to him, which was appealing at first, but the silence between them was beginning to get to her. Katara looked to Zuko, and figured he was ok with the silence, being the anti-social type and all, but Katara was not that type of person.

'This is ridiculous!' her mind screamed, 'I can't bear four days of this.'

Her thoughts began to recall her father and Aang's words when Katara revealed that she was just going to ignore Zuko. Ironically, talking to Zuko may be the only thing that would save her from the surreal quiet that plagued her mind. Plus, now seemed like a good opportunity to take Aang's advice. According to Aang, burying the issue wasn't going fix the problems between the two, but talking and understanding would. She sighed, and thought it was worth a try. Aang, being the Avatar, was almost never wrong when it came to helping people make peace with one another.

Besides, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little curious about Zuko, and wanted to see what everyone in the group thought was so great about him.

"So… nice trees…" she began, thinking it was good to start small.

"Excuse me?" said Zuko.

"Fine, ignore me," she snapped.

"Oh, sorry… I was… under the impression you'd rather not talk to me," said Zuko cautiously.

"Oh, I see," she said.

It wasn't too far from the truth, but that was an hour ago.

"Well, I would like to talk to you," she said quietly.

He looked at her.

"From time to time," she added, "I don't how you do it, but I can't stand total silence."

"Oh, ok… sure we can… talk," said Zuko distantly without facing her.

Katara felt uncomfortable with how the talking was going. She knew ever since she threatened him that Zuko was nervous around her, but now he was terrified. She sighed at Zuko, and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stopped and turned around to face her.

"Look," she began as he faced her, "I know things between us are… not ideal right now, but I don't really like how you're being so timid."

"What do you mean? I'm not timid," he replied.

"Then why are you all pins and needles around me?" she asked darkly.

Zuko looked away and rubbed the back of his neck, causing Katara to sigh again.

"Could we just… I want you to act normally around me, alright," she said.

"Could you… define normally?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, and realized she didn't know what normal was for Zuko. She rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to string words together in her head.

"Talk to me as if… I was Aang or Sokka or Toph," she said

It was Zuko's turn to rub his neck.

"…Can I ask you something?" asked Zuko and he received a slight nod, "Why the sudden change?"

Katara was take aback somewhat by Zuko's directness.

"…Remember when we argued on Azula's airship?" she began.

Zuko nodded.

"I said that I didn't want to you to know me, that I didn't trust you enough to let you know me," she continued, "Well… I'm starting to think that was a bad idea.

Zuko's eyes widened with interest.

"Our escape from Azula… it only happened because we worked together. We still had problems with each other, but we trusted one another enough and that was what enabled us to get away. Now… we're in the same kind of situation, where we need to trust each other to get back to the others."

"I see," said Zuko

"Also," she added catching his attention, "it's just something… something my father and Aang mentioned."

"What did they say?" he asked.

"They said…" she sighed, "They said that simply ignoring you wasn't going to help, but actually talking to you was. What… what I'm trying to say is that I would like to talk to you about… things. It would at least give me a picture of you so I know what to make of you."

"What to make of me?"

"I can't trust someone who I don't know well, and I can't believe any thing you say if you're too cautious about what you say. I'd think you were lying to me if you did that," she said.

Zuko looked at her thoughtfully.

"If I talked to you like I do with the others, I might say something you wouldn't like or yell at you or something," he warned.

"Good," she said, causing a surprised expression on his face, "What?"

"I'm sorry it's just… I want your forgiveness… how can that be good?"

"It would let me know what to expect if I approach you a certain way. And besides, actions speak a lot louder than words," she replied, "So, are you going to act naturally, or not?"

Zuko nodded, almost enthusiastically, and stretched out his hand.

"Walk with me?" he suggested, testing the waters.

Katara took him up on his offer, but her expression remained neutral. They walked together for a bit, before Katara tried to strike up a conversation again.

"So… was it like this with Sokka at the Boiling Rock?" she asked.

"Yes," he said politely, "It was weird at first, but we actually did talk on the way there."

Katara was surprised. Her brother left out any kind of small talk that happened between himself and Zuko when he retold the story of their "Epic Rescue" as her brother put it. She had assumed that they didn't start talking until after they rescued her dad and Suki, but she was apparently wrong. She tried to picture it in her head, and figured it must have been awkward.

"So… what did you talk about?" she asked.

"We talked about clouds, balloons, my personal life, and something about his girlfriend turning into the moon," he replied, indulging her in the hopes of getting into her good graces.

Katara almost tripped at the last part.

'How could Sokka talk about Yue to Zuko, and why would Zuko tell Sokka parts of his personal life? What is wrong with the universe?' she thought, ignoring the fact that Sokka normally thought and said things like that, 'Well, if Sokka could do it, so can I.'

She tried to think of something that can lead to an enlightening conversation about Zuko. She pondered the memories she had of him, but many of the questions she had seemed very intimate. Katara then decided to go with something harmless, but enough that could give her some insight.

'Start slow,' she thought, "So..."

"Mm?" he responded.

"You can redirect lightning…"

"Um… yeah, I mean yes," he responded.

Katara had no idea how her brother survived going to the Boiling Rock with this guy.

"That's… cool," she said.

Zuko looked at her as it became quiet again.

"If you want… I could teach it to you…" he found himself offering.

"Really?" she asked, "But I'm not a firebender."

"Oh, right… sorry," he said rubbing his neck, "It's just, uncle came up with it from watching waterbending and I thought that you could learn it."

"Waterbending?" she asked.

"According to my uncle, since lightning is pure energy, theoretically it can be redirected with the proper technique. He studied waterbending for a bit and came up with the redirection move," he explained.

Katara took in Zuko's explanation, and she felt proud to be a waterbender.

"How about this…" he began interrupting her internal cheering.

"If you want, I could show you some firebending moves," he offered, "Who knows, you might find something useful."

Katara thought about it for a moment. It would be advantageous to learn a little firebending. She could get a better perspective into the attack forms of her opponents, and there was also the chance that she could develop a new technique just like Zuko's uncle. But, her pride as a waterbender, and her current position toward Zuko declared otherwise.

"I'll think about it," she said to him.

Zuko raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Well, tell me whenever you decide then," he said, a little disappointed.

Katara could hear the disappointment in his voice, and felt a little bad. She continued to think about his offer a little more, but unknowingly remembered something from Ba Sing Se.

"Is that how you made those attacks in Ba Sing Se?" she asked suddenly.

"Attacks?" thought Zuko before he remembered, "Oh those whips, and some of the other moves I did?"

Katara nodded.

"Not exactly…" he continued, "I mean firebending has a few whip moves, but I found the waterbending versions more effective. I just remembered how we used to fight each other and copied you."

"Oh… I see. Well it just goes to show you that water is not the inferior element that your leaders say it is," said Katara.

"You think I think the other elements are inferior?" he asked.

Katara stopped in her tracks, and stared at him unbelievably as he did the same.

"You mean to tell me you don't think that? Lots of people in the Fire Nation do," she replied.

"Well, in case you forgot, I'm not like other people in the Fire Nation," he snapped.

Zuko's expression softened.

"Sorry…" he said.

"No, its ok," she said, "That's exactly what I want to see from you: reactions."

Zuko let a sigh of relief, and continued walking, and Katara followed closely afterward. Katara decided to hold off on the conversations for a while, and let Zuko take them out of the forest. They walked for another two hours before they approached the edges of the woods, and when they got there the two of them took in the scenery.

They stood over a hill of a vast green plain untouched by any factories, or the army. It was a virgin landscape with only a single large road, and a small village in the east near where they were. The air was very clean, and the breeze softened the heat of the summer day.

"It's beautiful," said Katara.

"This place hasn't changed," said Zuko happily.

"You've been here before?" she asked trying to start up a conversation.

"Once, when I was five," said Zuko, "My mom was from here."

Katara looked at him, and saw a melancholy expression on his face.

"The village is not too far," he said, changing the subject, "We should get some supplies while we're here. The farther we are from settlements from here on out, the better."

He pulled out a rag, and wrapped it around his head, making a makeshift eye patch.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah… ready," she replied.

Author's Notes: I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. It feels a little cliché to me; the whole "Katara and Zuko must set aside their differences to fulfill a goal" device has been used dozens if not hundreds of times in fan fictions. It also feels a little rushed in my opinion.

Tell me what you think of this one though, I'm curious to see how it compares to others and it could give me ideas on how to write the rest of my other story Soothing Fire.

Thank you for reading and please review.

P. S.

I also have an AU fan fiction called Homeless Dragon out as well. Please check it out too and tell me what you think.