Chapter 8: Two Sides to the Story

Zuko and I examined weapons and other supplies in silence at a stall after our hasty retreat from that restaurant. I couldn't bring up Katara without wanting to strangle him so we stayed quiet. I'll just wait til we get home and slip some laxatives in his fireflakes bags. That'll teach him.

"I honestly didn't touch your sister," he said quietly whilst he was coiling up some rope. I had been examining a knife and now I was imagining it in a place that wouldn't be too comfortable for him. A weapons stall isn't the best place to start this conversation. Then again, he would have to face Spacesword and my full-unleashed wrath when we got home and the need to be inconspicuous was gone.

"We started talking," Zuko ploughed on. "She told me about your mother. I told her about mine. She… she offered to heal my scar."

I dropped the knife I was holding. I was lucky for once, for it didn't land in my foot. "What?! She could do that?"

Zuko shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. She had this special water around her neck. But then you guys came back and she was gone."

"So what happened next?" I asked.

"Azu – " he spared a glance for the dodgy storekeeper with one tooth. He had his arm around another customer, trying to persuade him to buy a knock off sundial. " – My sister came and made an offer I couldn't refuse. If I helped her defeat the Avatar I could go home."

"Why couldn't you go home before?"

Zuko's jaw tightened and he focused on scrutinising the merchandise. "That's a long story I don't want to get into with you right now."

We continued to rifle through supplies we needed in silence. This stall was a bit of a mess – everything was jumbled and the shop owner obviously threw everything into a sack at the end of each day. It wasn't a very permanent establishment – the structure was a bit wonky as though it had been hastily thrown together in the morning. It probably allowed for a quick getaway if and when Fire Nation Officials decided to inspect this place.

"So what did Katara mean when she said you betrayed her exactly?"

Zuko shrugged. "I guess she expected me to join your side after offering to heal my scar. But she didn't even do it. She just left..."

I didn't know what to think of this. Katara had of course been hysterical when she first told us the story. She had been tending to an unconscious Aang after all. She never mentioned her offer to heal Zuko's scar. I honestly don't know what the hell she was thinking making that offer to the enemy so quickly – she must have been in one of her hopelessly optimistic trusting moods. Or maybe she suffered a few bumps to the head. She always said that Zuko had manipulated her into trusting him, although she never went into the details.

"Zuko, did you ever say to my sister you were joining our side in Ba Sing Se?"

He shook his head. "I was a mess when I made my decision to go with Azula. I betrayed Uncle… I just wanted to go home… I know it was stupid now. I'm sorry about breaking your sister's trust… I just didn't know I had it."

We finally finished gathering the necessary supplies and set out to look for Katara. I really wanted to know what the deal was behind her offer to heal his scar. We found her soon enough with a rucksack of food at her feet purchasing another one.

"And you tell me I'm addicted to shopping," I said.

She shot me a scowl. "Most of this food is to feed your appetite!"

Zuko wordlessly picked up the two rucksacks and walked ahead of us and out of earshot. I guess he didn't want to talk anymore.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked. Then she gave me the once over to check if Zuko had impaled or burned me in the time we were alone.

"Nothing," I said and we started heading towards Appa.

"Something must have happened. You're never quiet."

"Katara, what actually happened between you and Zuko in Ba Sing Se?"

She pursed her lips. "I told you – "

"In brief summary, yes. I mean, what actually happened? Zuko said you offered to heal his scar."

She wouldn't look me in the eye and stared straight ahead. "I did."

"Why did you do that?"

"He started telling me things. Things about his mother… He made it sound like he was going to change! To become a better person! And then Aang and his Uncle came along and I don't know what went into his head!"

"Katara, what were his exact words?"

She frowned at the memory. "He said he thought he was cursed to chase the Avatar forever. He made it sound like he didn't want to do it in the first place. Then he said he was free to determine his own destiny. And then when opportunity struck, he went back to chasing Aang anyway!"

"… You took 'determining his own destiny' to be 'I'm joining the Avatar'?"

"I know it was stupid now! That's why I don't trust him. You shouldn't either. Has he been telling you sob stories to get inside your head?"

"No."

"He's probably trying a different tactic with you. Well I'm not going to be fooled again!"

We crossed a few paddocks. Zuko was walking really fast despite carrying three rucksacks. I know for a fact Katara would have filled at least one of those sacks with potatoes – as Man of the Igloo I used to be the one who had to carry it. Zuko did sound like he was going to change from Katara's point of view… although 'determining his own destiny' is radically different to 'I'm joining the Avatar'. Of course, you never outright tell Katara she is wrong – she will just rant, rave and deny it. She would probably get too caught up arguing that she is right to see common sense.

"So what happened when you tried to heal his scar? Did it not work? Is that why he went back to his sister?"

Pain and shame hit Katara's face. "Actually… I didn't do it. There wasn't enough time. Aang and his Uncle came and we had to save Ba Sing Se. I thought I could get back to it later once the fight was over. Then he made his choice."

"You thought you could get back to it later… Did you actually tell him that?"

She looked down at her feet. "No. I thought he would understand that it was an urgent situation. Ba Sing Se was under attack. It clearly wasn't the time."

I didn't say anything while we caught up with Zuko who was waiting with Appa. I could see that Katara was thinking and she wasn't too happy with herself. It went without saying that Zuko's scar was a big deal. Heck, even when we were enemies we never insulted the scar – we insulted all his other aspects but the scar was a no go zone. Having that scar on your face forever… well, I know it wouldn't suit me. Of course it would hurt a lot too. And then to have your hopes raised and dashed so quickly… I can see why he went back to trusting the Fire Nation over us.

None of us said anything on the flight back. As we got closer to home, we could see Aang bouncing away in the courtyard to anticipate us. He probably couldn't wait to get away from Toph's tough love. Get it? Toph's tough love. Anyway, he was quite surprised that all of us were a bit depressed after our so-called bonding trip. I think he was hoping we'd all be best friends laughing about it or something. He immediately grabbed Katara and tried to cheer her up by showing her what he had learned in earth bending.

Zuko quickly turned away and headed to his room. I didn't really feel like sticking around to watch Aang do a gajillion things I couldn't do either so I followed him. He stopped before he reached his room but didn't turn around to face me.

"I take it you talked to her about Ba Sing Se?"

"Yeah..."

"What do you think?"

"I think it was a big misunderstanding. If possible, you two should talk about it, when she is in one of her reasonable moods."

Zuko turned around and snorted. "When do those occur? Once every blue moon?"

"Certain times of the moon cycle are when she is most unreasonable. Look, Katara takes things for granted sometimes. She sees the good in people, and with the war going on, she tries really hard to see good in people, even if it's not there."

Zuko blanched.

"No I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about this other guy we met… he's not important; you've probably never met him. Give her some time and everything will be fine."

He looked doubtful. Then he spotted The Duke around the corner.

"Duke!" he said. The Duke shrank a bit and didn't even comment on the fact that Zuko wasn't saying his name properly.

"Yeah?" he said, making an effort to stick out his chest to show that Zuko didn't intimidate him. Zuko rummaged around the rucksack he was carrying and pulled out a coil of rope which he handed over to him.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked.

"Because you said you needed it," Zuko stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You know, you're actually nice for a firebender," Duke commented offhandedly.

It was funny – Zuko's expression was torn between genuinely complimented or insulted. "Er, thanks."

The Duke didn't know what else to make of this situation so he went off to play with his rope. Around the corner I saw a pair of blue eyes watching the exchange around the corner.

A/N: So, I guess this chapter is a bit of a talky analysis and less on the humorous side for me. Ba Sing Se is obviously a huge issue for all of them and no true friendships can really be formed until it is actually discussed. A bromance can't truly form until Sokka at least know why his sister hates Zuko. Fortunately this chapter rolled off the keys quite easily for me I didn't want this chapter to be particularly one-sided and it is obviously really a huge misunderstanding between the two. I decided against Sokka telling off Katara with some obvious character bashing – I think his silence can be a bit more effective, even if there were a few things that Katara did need to be called out on. I also don't think he would try to tell Katara off – it's not really his style. Even though he is the older sibling Katara has been taking care of him after all these years after all. He can also see her point of view why she would overtake such huge leaps of faith in Zuko because he knows Katara and even though she did hurt Zuko in Ba Sing Se with her unkempt promise, it was definitely unintentional.