Setting the Table

Disclaimer: Mike and Bryan, the show's creators, own Avatar: The Last Airbender, completely. I'm only showing my love of their world by playing in it.

A/N I: Hey, thanks for coming in! I thought I needed something to offset my other fic, The Alchemy of Fire, and so I decided to start this little series of oneshots. It takes place between 315 and 316 and between Katara and Zuko. Hope you enjoy!

Zuko was proud. He was strong, he was forceful, and he was reckless sometimes to the point of idiocy. He had an annoying tendency not to think things through, gotta work on that, he reminded himself absentmindedly, but he was lucky enough to temper that trait with a resourcefulness that he knew his Uncle would be proud of. If he ever forgives me for what I've done...

But he also wasn't stupid, and that was exactly why he found himself searching so urgently for Sokka, knowing that if he didn't find him in time, possibly everyone's life or at least his sanity would hang in the balance.

And so Zuko was glad for his perfected skills at hunting, uh, sorry Aang, as he made his way through the maze of the Western Air Temple. The ever present wind sung softly through the corridors, tinkling old wind chimes and creaking the doors. But none of it was enough to drown out the little murmurs and giggles coming from around the corner. Zuko smiled triumphantly, only to have the grin drop off his face when he saw the object of his hunt wrapped around his girlfriend, the two of them playfully using their battle grips to pin the other down and tickle them.

Zuko cleared his throat loudly. "Um, excuse me?"

Instantly the two froze, but neither of them moved from the floor as Sokka turned with a groan to face his new friend. "Yes, Zuko?" he asked pointedly.

Zuko tried to ignore the way Sokka's arms were fastened firmly around Suki's waist, the way her lips were dangerously close to his neck. "Sokka, I need your help," he said quietly, trying not to sound too desperate. "I'm not sure if I can take it anymore. Even with morning meditations and training the Av- Aang, as soon she and I are in the same room my blood pressure goes through the roof. If this doesn't stop, I'm afraid I'll, snap."

It was testimony to how strained and electric things had become between the Fire Prince and the waterbender since his arrival that Sokka didn't even have to inquire just who 'she' was. "Snap?" Sokka sat up properly, suddenly worried. "What do you mean snap?"

Zuko pushed his hand through his growing hair in frustration. "I don't know. I don't want to know. But you know Katara the best. What can I do to make it up to her?"

Suki made an unintelligible noise that sounded strangely like "Men," just as a thoughtful look passed over Sokka's face. "Honestly? I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I'm her brother. We haven't ever stayed at each other mad long enough for me to have to do some real proper suck-upping action."

For a moment, Zuko's caustic reply stuck in his throat. "I wish I had that," he said quietly, and the look in his eyes made the Water Tribe warrior soften. Careful not to let go of his girlfriend, he reached up to the Fire Prince's shoulder and awkwardly patted him on the back.

"Hey, look buddy. Katara'll come round in time. Sure, you've done some pretty terrible stuff, but you're also one of the good guys now. I mean, you helped save Dad. When that realisation hits her... hey!" his eyes suddenly brightened. "I know what you can do! There's so many of us now we broke out of that crazy prison. Katara's probably stressing about feeding us all tonight. Why don't you go help her?"

Beside him, Suki arched an eyebrow. "If she's going to be struggling that badly, why don't you go help her too?"

Zuko watched, mildly intrigued as a strangled noise crawled out of Sokka's throat. The Kyoshi warrior tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for a reply. When it didn't seem like it would ever come, she rolled her eyes, broke his grip, and got up, muttering to herself under her breath as she strode away.

Whether she'd meant it to or not, her movement seemed to snap the Water Tribe warior out of it. Panicking, he scrambled to his feet. "Hey, Suki wait!"

She kept going, and suddenly Zuko was left alone as Sokka ran after his girlfriend.

"Hey!" Sokka shouted pleadingly. "It's not like that! C'mon, Suki, if Katara let me within five feet of any of her meals before they were done, we'd be lucky if the kitchen didn't explode!"

"Oh?" Suki whirled around to face him, her voice going deadly. "So I guess that means that when we get married, you expect me to do all the cooking?

There was a silence. And then...

"Married?" Sokka squeaked.

Further down the corridor, Zuko rolled his eyes from where he'd been watching. Remind me again why I bothered to ask him? But then again, as crazy as his friend's ideas were, Zuko had witnessed firsthand how they somehow seemed to work. And it wasn't like he had anything to lose...

So let me tell you something, right now. You make one step backward, one slip-up... and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore.

... except maybe his life.

Zuko turned away, just in time to miss Suki grab Sokka by the collar and kiss him senseless. And steeling himself, the Fire Prince took a deep breath and went in search of the waterbender.

She was muttering curses under her breath when he found her, and for some reason, that made him a little more comfortable, easing the tension in his neck from when he'd stumbled in on Sokka and Suki. Quietly, Zuko heaved a relieved sigh at the normality of the moment, and stepped into the large, airy outcrop that she'd chosen to be her base of operations.

Almost instantly, he noticed the differences. For one, the medium-sized cauldron she'd used for the last couple of days was gone. In its place was a large pot, most likely liberated from the depths of the Air monastery's kitchens. It dangled precariously on the same wooden holder she'd always used, and while the set-up was wonderful improvisation with what she had, he instantly recognised the source of her woes. The holder had been just right for the smaller pot. Now, it groaned under the weight of whatever she was cooking, the difference in size and weight leaving too little space between the floor and the base of the pot for any proper fire. As a result, Katara was fruitlessly waiting for the water to boil, her chopping frustrated as she slid the last of the vegetables into the pot.

Zuko stepped in further. "What's wrong?" he asked cautiously, figuring that was the best place to start.

Katara frowned, her eyes on the pot. "It's too big," she said absentmindedly, grabbing a wooden spoon from her bag and using it to poke the tepid water. "But it has to be, because there's so many of us now..."

He knew the instant that it hit her, the instant she registered exactly whose voice it had been, and he winced when she spun around to face him. "Zuko! What are you doing here?"

If it had been any other person, he might have laughed at how accusing it sounded. It's just a makeshift kitchen, for Agni's sake. But her narrowed eyes and tightly set mouth was enough to make him clear his throat nervously.

"Your brother," he choked, wet his lips, and continued on, his voice more gravelly than usual. "Your brother said you might need some help."

He could almost read the thoughts running over her face, Oh really, now? and he winced, hoping that he hadn't gotten Sokka into trouble. "Well tell my brother that I'm just fine. The day that this stupid water peasant needs help from the almighty Fire Prince is the day that she gives up waterbending."

Zuko shook his head at her lie and came closer. Well what did I expect? he thought resignedly. She glared daggers at him as he eyed the precarious wooden holder, watching it bend under the strain. Silently, he gave it a lifespan of two more days before it snapped. Hmm... perhaps Toph could do something...

"Hello?" Katara stood up and put her hands on her hips, the wooden spoon dangling down the line of her leg. "Didn't you just hear me say I was fine?" When he didn't respond, she huffed in exasperation. "Get out, Zuko. Go find something else to screw up."

Ouch, he winced but rolled with it. Still, he'd had worse come at him from her direction over the last few days, and so instead of complying he reached out closer and ran a daring finger over the wood, not sure whether to be heartened or not when the temperature in the room dropped only a few degrees. "Maybe we could ask Toph or Haru to build something like this," he suggested. "Only stone, and custom-sized to make it easier for you to hold the pot over a bigger fire safely..." he made the mistake of looking at her, and felt his insides start to bleed from the ice. "Or maybe I could just, uh, direct some flame around it. I'll control it, don't worry. I-I can do that now, uh, since the dragons. You won't have to..."

Katara let out a low sound, halfway between an exasperated sigh and a growl. "Damn it, Zuko!" she threw the useless wooden spoon down to the stone floor, and it bounced. "What the hell are you trying to achieve?"

He raised his hands placatingly. "I just want to help," he said honestly.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, until they were little pinpricks of fury that stabbed into his skin. "You want to help?" she spat. "Do you even know how rich that is? Where was your help under Ba Sing Se? Oh that's right, you were helping your Daddy take down the last free city in the Earth Kingdom! You were helping Azula kill Aang and betraying us all!"

He stood still, mute, and numb in the face of the truth, and for some reason that made her even angrier.

"I don't care if you're teaching Aang firebending these days, or keeping Toph entertained. I'm through with you, Zuko. So get out." He didn't move. "Don't you understand plain language? Get. Out!"

The vitriol burned through the air and slapped him across the face. Zuko's hands fell to his sides, and he bit the words that had risen in his throat savagely back. Her own fingers clenched by her hips, and he could see her lithe muscles straining there under her skin. The sight reminded him of a time when she'd used those same arms to trap him beneath a dome of water and to throw him headfirst into the ice. The memory hazed across his vision in time to his deep breaths, and he was just starting to regain his control when...

"Are you deaf?" Katara snapped, her blue eyes hardening. "I told you to get out!"

For a moment, time narrowed down into a single pinpoint; the heat of their gazes as they clashed against each other. In the depths of his flame, Zuko wanted to reach out and throttle her. Can't you see I'm trying? What does it take? But then he looked closer, saw the hurt behind the fury in her eyes, and suddenly he felt his anger melt away. Images of ice and snow and crystal crossed behind his vision... the first time their eyes had met before he'd snatched away the old woman she'd been clinging on to probably her grandmother or something... good work, Zuko. The attack from behind at the North Pole, the look of betrayal in the caves. I thought you'd changed! And then unbidden, he imagined someone else doing the same thing to him... Aang casting him back to his Father, Sokka bludgeoning him from behind, someone hurting his uncle. And underlaying the sudden rush of bitterness and rage at the thought, Zuko looked into her eyes. And what he saw there made him want to crawl into a hole.

"I-I know," he said softly, looking down at his hands. They were slender, seemingly innocent even behind the calluses and scars. But they had done such awful things. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Her voice was murderous. "Tough, Zuko. Sorry doesn't cut it anymore. Not after what you've done."

A weaker man might have walked out of the kitchen then and there. And when he finally raised his head, he knew that that was exactly what she expected him to do. But despite everything that he'd been brought up with, weak, failure, useless, Zuko knew his own strength. And so he set his stance instead.

"I know you don't need my help," he said thickly. "But I want to."

There was a silence, broken only by the pitiful crackling of the tiny fire beneath the pot. Katara said nothing, her eyes wide, distrust and surprise warring for control in their sapphire depths. She was beautiful, he realised suddenly and with some shock. Not beautiful like he'd been taught; cold and pale, reserved, with just a little hint of deadly fire and strength beneath a clear-cut mask. But beautiful like the ocean, wild and untamed, her passion and strength shining through for all to see like sunlight sparkling over the water. And he knew he'd made the right choice when he knelt down by the pot and placed his hands over it, willing the surface to heat with his inner fire. Before long, the once-tepid liquid was bubbling merrily, and her silence and stillness was all the more accentuated by its tune.

Zuko's heart shot to his mouth when she finally moved, abruptly taking position behind him. When the stew began to circle in the pot, he could almost see her in his mind's eye, weaving in and out of her forms, as graceful as she'd always been. For once, the knowledge comforted his frayed nerves, and he turned his thoughts fully to breathing, to feeling the warmth and energy of the golden flow within him. It stayed constant and comforting, motivated by the powerful colours and drive of life instead of the inconsistent sputters of anger, and he could feel the contents of the pot respond. Above him, Katara stayed silent, her face turned away from him and her own mind concentrating on the push and pull.

They stayed like that for a while, working silently and in perfect unison. With their combined efforts, a tantalising smell began to rise from the pot, his heat and her stirring bringing out the rich flavours of the ingredients. He was just beginning to relax, to lose himself in the motion and rhythm of it when she spoke.

"This doesn't change anything, you know," she warned suddenly.

Zuko started, but he didn't stop. Carefully, he kept his breathing low and deep, feeling the warmth of his fire, of his life and energy as he concentrated on heating the bubbling water evenly.

"I know," he replied quietly. "That's okay. I don't deserve anything else."

Focusing on the pot, Zuko couldn't see her start in surprise, the stew swirling to a halt before her shaking hands picked up the stirring again. Katara opened her mouth and then closed it again and bit her lip. Frowning, she stared at the boy on his knees in front of her, patiently warming the pot with his hands. He'd grown thinner since she'd first saw him, his muscles more defined... although perhaps it was the lack of armour. A light sheen of sweat glistened at his neck, and she hastily moved her eyes up from there. From her position, she could only see the scar that marred his face, curling its ridged tendrils around his ear to lick across his cheek. The sudden memory of the tough, hardened tissue under her skin crept through her fingers, and she swallowed once, uncertain.

Slowly, the push and pull of dinner faltered, and in her distraction a little ripple of it escaped. Sloshing over the edge of the pot, half of it dripped into the fire while the other hit the stone, some of it splashing onto Zuko's outstretched hands. He jolted in surprise, mumbling a quick curse under his breath, and Katara's mouth moved before her mind caught up. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Zuko looked at his reddened skin and shook his head, surprised more by her apology than the pain. "It's okay," he said hesitantly, moving back again.

Katara breathed, and smelt the steam rise from where the water had met the fire. It smelt wonderful, but had she really just apologised to the jerkbender? She firmed her lips and shifted slightly, adjusting her position before resolutely starting her stirring again. Better not let that happen again.

Her new perspective angled her a little to the right of Zuko, allowing her to see a little more of his unmarked face past his scar. The soft, whole skin reminded her sharply of how natural it had become to see him like that, how the scar itself didn't detract from the overall harmony of him. And that was the right word, she suddenly realised. Every time in the past, whenever she'd faced him he'd always seemed to be in conflict with himself. Perhaps that was why he'd been so powerful in his anger. Now, though, with the strength of true firebending settled firmly in his stance, he seemed different. Still powerful, perhaps even more so. But different. For a moment, she thought she saw the picture of two koi fish circling in him, and she felt herself respond to the flow...

Katara frowned, shook her head and the image away, and then returned to her clinical study of him. It was like examining a wound for infection; she tried to pick out the changes, tried to see whether they were real and not just her imagination or her wishful thinking. Such was her concentration that she almost missed it when he withdrew one hand carefully from the pot, glanced quickly at her distracted state, and then surreptitiously sucked at the errant drops of stew that had landed.

Katara blinked, her eyes drawn to him with a unexplainable fascination as his lips moved down to brush lightly against his skin. A dozen things she could say leapt into her mouth at the sight, some disgusted, others scornful, and others still more hateful. But instead, she found herself smiling.

"How is it?" she queried.

Zuko jerked upwards in shock, his widened eyes racing to meet hers and then turning away just as quickly. Swallowing, the Fire Prince lowered his head and quickly put his hand back against the pot. To Katara's surprise, she saw a light dusting of pink on his cheek.

"It tastes good," he said softly.

She cocked her head. "Yeah?"

He blinked. "Yeah," he said truthfully, not sure whether to be more surprised by her line of questioning or the lack of rancour in her voice. And when they feasted that night in the Air Temple's main dining room, surrounded by family, friends and warmth... she had to agree.

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A/N II: I can't promise this series will be updated more than once a fortnight; the Alchemy of Fire is kind of taking precedence at the moment, not to mention that I'm heading into my month of exams. But since they're mostly stand alones, that shouldn't be too bad. Still... reviews, comments, and constructive criticism are very, very welcome for my first ever piece of proper romantic proportions! They might even help me write faster! So please give me some feedback, people! A girl only wants to get better. :D