Katara & The Blue Spirit

ONESHOT

[NOTICE: I put Katara in the position of Aang when Aang get's nabbed by the Fire Nation Admirable Zhou. This is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender story ever. I know some of the timeline is switched but I had to in order to write this ONESHOT. Please review =)

Katara hung her head, she had been captured by the Fire Nation and now she was stuck in a room with no windows and one door made out of metal. Her arms were stretched out and chained to pillars as were her feet. One good thing was that Aang and Sokka and Appa hadn't been captured. Katara sighed again however the bad was starting to out-way the good this time. A noise from in front of Katara caused her to lift her head, expecting to see the smug General who had captured her she was surprised to find, a man dressed completely in black with a blue and white mask coming towards her, wielding double-sword blades. "Listen I don't know who you are but if you think that you can scare me with that stupid mask think again! I know the General has given orders not to kill me." Katara said angrily. The guy in the mask didn't say anything just continued to come towards her. He stopped two feet away from her and raised his swords bringing them down hard on the chains that were binding Katara. As soon as Katara was completely free, he thturned and begin to leave the room, Katara was still a little suspicious of him but decided to follow him anyway, after all he had freed her when he could have killed her.

Katara snuck through the hallways right behind the guy in the mask, both of their footsteps muffled as they slipped around the Fire Nation soldiers and started to make their way outside. Just as they got outside the Fire Nation soldiers begin to sound the alarm, and both Katara and the man who had rescued her knew that stealth wasn't necessary anymore. Immediately Katara begin to use her water-bending by gathering the water from the Fire Nations soldier's canteens, and the man beginning to put those swords to good use.

Katara and the man seemed to flow together as they fought, each completing the others movements so naturally it was like they were two parts of a whole. And it wasn't long before everyone was dead, badly wounded, frozen or unconscious except for the man and Katara who all though tired were still standing ready for anything. "That's the last of them I think." Katara said only to realize that the man was walking away. "Hey wait. Don't I get to know the name of the man who saved my life?" Katara asked gently. The man didn't say anything but he stopped walking for a second before he turned and took a step forward, just as an arrow flew out of the sky from one of the badly wounded Fire Nation soldiers shaking hands and hit the man straight in the middle of the mask knocking the man down and out. Katara gasped and quickly froze the man who had fired the shot before running to the aid of the man who saved her life. The mask was slightly askew and Katara curiously reached for it wanting to see who the man was when she realized that they were still in danger. This thought was solidified by the sound of some of the unconscious men waking up, swiftly Katara water-bending the mysterious masked man and herself into the forest creating a fog so they couldn't be followed.

Katara stopped at a creak and after making sure they were alone she immediately turned her attention to the masked man. As she reached for his mask she hesitated a second before moving the mask. A familiar burned face lay beneath. Immediately Katara scrambled away in surprise, it was that crazy Prince Zuko who was constantly trying to kill them and get Aang in order to 'regain his honor'. Zuko didn't move, and Katara started to leave when something called her to look back, she couldn't leave him, no matter how much he had chased them he had just saved her, she owed him her life. Katara took a deep breath and begin to heal the wounds he had from the fight. As she finished with the last wound she noticed something blue peeking out from underneath the black shirt Zuko was wearing. It was her mother's necklace! Her mother's necklace was tied around Zuko's wrist. Katara begin to grow angry, so that's where it had got to then Katara blushed in surprise as she realized that he was literally wearing her (well her mother's but still hers) betrothal necklace around his wrist, if another water-tribe member would see that they would think that meant that the two of them were engaged.

"Are you going to take it back?" A familiar voice asked, however the usual anger in it was gone replaced with what sounded like uncertainty. Katara looked up in surprise that he had spoken, her immediate caring reaction kicking it, "Don't try to get up you were hit in the head with an arrow, it didn't puncture your flesh but it was hard enough to knock you out. Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? Are you…..why are you looking at me like that?" Katara asked. Confusion, suspicion, curiosity, and caring all mixed together in her voice. "I have been trying to capture the Avatar, nearly killed you and your friends several times, called you names, tied you to a tree, used you as bait, and you're asking me if I'm okay?" Zuko said. His voice filled with surprise, confusion, suspicion and curiosity. And as a small voice pointed out to Katara his voice held want, a need for acceptance from another human being. Katara could not deny this clearly hurting human soul, and she leaned forward making sure not to make any sudden movements as she hugged Zuko. Her feelings mixed at first but as soon as her arms were around him there was no taking it back, and her confusion melted away.

Zuko was completely taken by surprise as the water-girl, Katara hugged him. At first he thought it was a trap and he had tensed as she leaned forward but for the first time in his life he was being hugged, and accepted by another human being someone from outside his family who had seen him at his worst, who had been on his bad side and who still cared. No one but his Uncle had cared for him since his mother had disappeared. Zuko wrapped his arms around Katara, holding her tight against him trying to soak up all the warmth and peace she was offering in that hug, knowing that it wouldn't last… couldn't last, forever, but he would take it while he could.

The two of them staid like that for hours simply holding each other letting the hug, feel with their emotions, their confusions, pain and sorrow and taking the strength and peace that was offered by the other. No words were spoken between them and both knew as the sun started to rise that they would have to go their separate ways, and that the next time that they met they would be enemies. Finally Katara stood she knew that she would have to get back with Sokka sick and Aang trying to find medicine she only had a little bit of time left before something would drastically happen and she would be needed. Katara helped Zuko to his feet their eye's met, blue mixing with molten lava, they both leaned forward as though being pulled by a magnetic string, their lips gently brushed before they pulled back, Katara turned to go when a strong warm hand gently grabbed her shoulder turning her back around and Zuko's lips touched her's in a burningly passionate but surprisingly gentle kiss. Katara's arms wrapped around Zuko's neck and she responded both of them pouring their very souls into that kiss. When they pulled back both panting for air they could hear two voice's hollering from opposite ends of the woods a rusty older gentle-man's voice hollering for Prince Zuko and a young child-like boy voice hollering for Katara. Their time was up but as Katara and Zuko started walking their separate way's Katara felt like she had to say one last thing, "That necklace..it belonged to my mother, it's a betrothal necklace so…make sure you don't lose it Zuko!" Katara said before blushing like mad and running off through the woods towards the young monk who was hollering for her. Zuko was surprised and he to blushed before calling back softly, "I promise, I won't lose it and maybe I will be able to give it back properly one day…Katara." Zuko said before turning and going to meet his worried uncle Iroh.