My first Avatar Fanfic. Enjoy!

AU: Cross Roads of Destiny; Please disregard any information that we receive after this episode, and the episode "Bato of the Water Tribe" didn't happen. Thanks.

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Zuko's POV

"I don't know if it would work, but..." she trailed off nervously her hand still on my face. I stared at her in shock. Here was a girl that I hardly knew. The only contact she had had with me was fighting and kidnapping, and she was offering to take away the mark of my greatest mistake. It was almost too good to be true. I held my breath in fear that anything could ruin the moment.

(Here is where it turns AU people)

The water could be used for nearly anything in the world, and she wanted to heal me with it. All I had to do was nod. It would be so easy to just get rid of it, to never have to see the consequences of my cowardice that day. I wanted to take the offer so badly. I looked into her eyes once more to try and see if I could spot any speck of dishonesty. All there was though was a peaceful sort of sadness, not pity, but it was like she understood.

"Why? Why me? I don't even remember your name, much less deserve your kindness," I said quietly, her eyes widened by my words, but still her hand did not move from my face. A small smile stretched across her lips as she looked at me.

"One; it's Katara," her other hand poked me in the chest, and I let out a small gasp. "And you better remember it. Second; no one deserves to look at themselves and be reminded of what they did in the past," her voice choked up at the last part of the sentence. I wanted, no needed, to know what she had done in the past that made her sympathize with me. I brought my hand up and rested it on top of the one that she had placed on my face.

"What ever you could have done, was in no way as bad as what I have," I said softly. I had no clue where all of this was coming from, and on the inside I was a raging war of emotions. Part of me wanted to take her hostage and wait until the Avatar arrived so I could use her as a bargaining chip; that was quickly becoming a very minor train of thought though. A majority of me was appalled at how wishy-washy I was being; uncle would most definitely be proud. Lastly, there was a part of me that just wanted to let her talk, and never leave this cave. For once I decided to listen to the one that made the least logical sense.

"Katara," I said, testing the name out on my lips, "I don't need-"

"I was a coward," she blurted out. Her head was tilted downwards and her eyes were slammed shut. I felt her hand slip from underneath mine, and she turned away. Something inside of me cried out for her to come back, but I was frozen in place.

"I was a coward," the cave was so quiet I could hear her whisper the four word phrase over and over again. She looked back at me with tears in her eyes. I could see a deep loathing there, but it wasn't for me, it was for herself. That look brought me out of my trance.

"I guess that's another thing we have in common," her eyes widened once more in shock. I seemed to be able to do that a lot to her. "My scar; that's how I got it. I was a coward. I pleaded and begged for forgiveness, but no matter what I did..." I trailed off. Once again my turbulent emotions clashed against each other. Everything that I stood for; apathy, privacy, the chance to restore my honor, was about to be betrayed all so I could connect with one girl. Surprisingly it didn't scare me as much as I thought it would.

"I spoke out against a cabinet member during a war meeting; it had been my first. My punishment was an Agni Kai," I heard her gasp. Who knew, the water tribe girl knew her history. "I thought it would be against the cabinet member. He was old and frail, and I thought I could take him."

"It wasn't against him though, was it?" she asked in a soft voice. I didn't realize that I had closed my eyes, I shook my head.

"No, it was against my father," complete silence reigned in the cavern. I took a deep breath and continued. "I couldn't bring myself to fight against him, so I begged for forgiveness. For my troubles, I was banished, and, well..." I gestured to the side of my face. She stood a few paces away from me, with a hand over her mouth and tears streaming down her face. She brought her hand down and wrapped herself in a hug, while a resentful smile inched its' way onto her face; I didn't like the look on her.

"And I thought my father was jerk," she said quietly. For some reason the thought of Katara standing in the inner sanctum of the Fire Nation, staring up at my father, and calling him a jerk came unbidden in my mind. The scene was so vivid that I nearly laughed. Katara looked over at me and gave a small frown.

"You laughing at me now?" she asked her eyes stormy. I immediately curbed my smile.

"No, just... What I wouldn't give to see my father's face if heard you had called him a jerk," the smile that I had tried to curb was back, and this time she had one to match.

"Family issues on your end?" I said, hoping we could continue this shaky peace.

"Not as bad as yours I guess, but yeah," she rubbed her hand against her necklace. At this point we were sitting against the cavern wall side by side. I turned my head so I could watch her as she told her story.

"When I was just eight years old the black snow came. Everyone in the tribe knew that was the sign of a fire nation ship. Soon enough we saw them come over the horizon at top speed. They were at our encampment within minutes. The warriors went out to fight them, and it was a bloodbath, Few of the men survived, one who did though, was my father.

"I was inside our igloo helping my mom make dinner. When she heard the ruckus she told me to stay underneath the blankets and not say a word, afraid that if she sent me out of the tent that I would die in the fray. She took off her necklace and placed it in my hand, telling me to hold onto it. Then she sat there calmly as the flaps that covered our door moved aside, and a fire nation general walked in," I shifted a bit closer as her words got softer. I could feel the tension in the air, and I could see the tears continually streaming down Katara's face.

"He walked over to where my mother sat, with his back facing me. The words they said were muffled, but I can still remember them. He asked my mother where the last water-bender was. She denied having any knowledge, said that all of the water-benders had been taken away. He screamed at her and grabbed her shoulders, saying that his informant was reliable and that there still was one water-bender left, and that they wouldn't leave until they found the person.

"All I could do was lie there watching as my mother claim that she was the last one. She offered herself up if they would just leave the village, but he said that they weren't taking any prisoners." She choked on a sob as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The part of me that was appalled about how mushy I was being was strangely quiet. She continued her story.

"I could have done something, the man would have never seen it coming. One icicle to the back, drowned him on dry land, heck even a hunting knife laid an arms length away, but I was paralyzed with fear. He sent a fire blast at her. Without bending she never stood a chance, her flesh started to melt, but by that time she wasn't screaming anymore. The man walked out of our tent and called off the raid. They had only been there to kill whoever had been the water-bender.

"It wasn't until later that dad and Sokka arrived. I didn't tell them that I watched the whole thing from underneath the blankets. My dad knew what they had been after though, and he figured that she had taken my place in order to save our tribe and me from dying.

"From that day on, he never looked at me the same. I was the spitting image of my mother, and everyone could see it. I still see my mother when I look in a mirror and not myself sometimes, though I am getting at not. Back in the South Pole I was a constant reminder to myself, my father, and my tribe of what we had lost. Not just my mother, but also warriors, several families, and the children that ended up being half Fire Nation." I winced at the implications of that. "I was never allowed to practice water-bending in front of anyone, and the only person who regarded me with any type of kindness was my Gran-Gran and Sokka.

"Three years later when I was eleven, my father and several other men left our tribe to join the fight against the Fire Nation. Sokka and I have never seen nor heard from him since. Flash forward another three more years, and well..." she trailed off.

"You found the Avatar," I finished, she nodded.

"Traveling with Aang was the chance of a lifetime. If I could truly escape the tribe then when, or if, my father returned I would be nowhere to be found. He would have married me off if I had been there, and I would have been expected to become an obedient housewife. Even before I found Aang, I knew that I would hate that life." She closed her eyes tightly again, as she reigned in her emotions.

"If I had just been able to move, do something, my mother might still-" I grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't say that, don't even entertain those thoughts. He would have killed you both, and then maybe killed your entire village in rage. Your mother chose to end her life in an honorable way, and it seems to me that she knew she wasn't going to live," I said looking at her necklace. "She would be proud of what you're doing, and all that you will continue to do. And if your father can't see past your face, than he is an idiot. You should never have to look in a mirror and compare yourself to someone else, you're already amazing enough." WHAT. AM. I. SAYING. This girl has got to be a witch she's put me under a spell or something. I've never been good with words.

Suddenly, a pair of thin arms wrapped around my neck. She pulled back from her spontaneous hug blushing a bit. I was sure that my cheeks were on fire.

'Thank you Zuko, that means a lot to me." She looked down at the vial of spirit water that she held in her hand, then back up at me. "Are you sure?" she asked softly. I nodded.

"I don't need to get rid of my scar to be free," I responded, still wondering where all of this confidence and charisma was coming from. The part that was against me being mushy was back with a vengeance.

"Then you better take your own advice mister. You were just a kid trying to do what you thought was best. Your father should have been looking after you, not forcing you into a death fight against him. Even if he is a king. Your great " she finished with a little bit of a bossy tone. I could see right through it though, and this time I was the one who through my arms around her. By this point my mind had given up fighting against the weird reactions that this girl caused me to have.

"Thank you Katara," I whispered. She eased into the hug and put her arms around me.

"Your welcome Zuko," she replied. Within a few minutes, we had gone from being the worst of enemies to being able to reveal our strained pasts and hug each other. Before we could do anything else the wall to the cave was lowered to reveal The Avatar and my uncle staring at us in shock.

"I was wondering when you guys would show up," murmured Katara.

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So, (peaks out from behind a rock) I hope that wasn't too bad of a beginning. I did condense Zuko's story figured he wouldn't share details, and yes I did change Katara's. I need hers to have a more bitter aftertaste in order to compare to Zuko's. I probably made their characters OoC, but I tried my best. The next chapter will be released in two days.

Originally Published: October 16, 2014

Word Count (Without Author's Notes): 2,160 words

Universe: Alternate