Zuko threw his head back, spraying water down his back. He rubbed his hands over his face, wiping away most of the water, and pulled himself out of the river. That bath had felt better than anything had in a long time.

He dried himself with firebending and dressed quickly, knowing that he had to be back at camp before Kara woke up. The mood she'd been in the past four days, she was as likely to run while he was gone as kill him in his sleep.

She rarely spoke to him, and when she did her words were laced with venom. The one thing she never mentioned was the kiss, and she seemed perfectly happy to pretend that it had never happened.

Zuko, on the other hand, couldn't get it out of his head. Every time she called him a name, every time she replied sarcastically to something he'd said, Zuko wanted to make her swallow the words.

He wanted to kiss her until she couldn't possibly deny that she liked him, and then kiss her some more. He wanted- Zuko wasn't sure what he wanted.

He wanted her to understand that he wasn't evil. That he wasn't a monster. That he lov- liked her. Really liked her. And he definitely didn't hate her.

He wanted her to feel the fear he'd felt when she went under the water and didn't come back up. When she didn't wake up for three days.

When she almost died.

He wanted her to understand that he needed her. That it killed him that she hated him. But he knew there wasn't anything he could do about it, so he ignored the part of himself that wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless.

He just dealt with it, with her silence and her hatred and everything else. And he made sure that he didn't leave her alone for more than few minutes at a time, even when she was asleep.

The possibility of a bath had been too much to pass up, though, even though it meant leaving her for the better part of an hour. There had been a lot of dirt ground into his skin. He felt lighter than he had in days.

He stepped into the space between a small group of boulders that they were using as a campsite and sent his gaze spinning around the tiny space. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her, still asleep in her blanket.

He didn't know what he would've done if she'd been gone.

Zuko stretched, raising his arms to the sky, and felt an influx of power and strength as his inner fire stirred. He glanced up to see the first rays of the sun dappling around his outstretched fingers.

He smiled. "Good morning, Agni."

He settled into a firebending stance, raising his hands to chest level. With an even breath, he leapt to his right, spinning on his right leg and kicking a burst of fire outward with his left. He followed up with a right fire punch, then a left. He went into a crouch and pulled his arms back over his head, then circled them forward in a twisting motion.

Two ropes of fire sprung from his hands and twined around him like whips. Ironically, it was a bending method that he'd learned from watching Katara bend.

He sent the fire whips skittering around the small space, then tossed them into the air and formed the fire into a ball. He tossed the ball up and around his head, then brought it down with a sweeping motion, halting it between his spread palms.

He breathed in, then turned and sent both the fireball and a blast of firebreath at one of the boulders. It moved several feet, and Zuko grinned, satisfied.

He turned, dusting off his hands, to see Kara seated on the other side of the space, watching him. His eyes caught hers without his telling them to, and he felt immediately calmer. The deep blue of her eyes always gave him that feeling- that if he'd just calm down and think things through, he could do anything.

Unfortunately, the moment she'd opened her mouth of late, that feeling was completely gone.

Zuko looked away first; he turned to his pack and started picking up camp. He put out the fire with a wave of his hand, and scattered the burned logs they'd used as fuel. There wasn't any point in making it obvious that they'd been here, especially with Omashu only a few hours ride from them. They'd reach the City of Balance by midmorning, maybe sooner.

Then, hopefully they could convince King Boomi to at least hear them out. Idealistically, Boomi would be so glad to see two of his 'subjects' escape to a better life that he'd just give them passports and send them on their way.

Zuko knew that this fantasy was completely ridiculous and would never happen, but the impossible dreams are often the sweetest.

While Zuko made sure the last embers were burnt out of the logs, Kara saddled the ostrich-horses. They didn't have much of a camp, and a few minutes later the only thing that belied their presence was the scorched earth where their fire had been. Kara sat on her ostrich-horse, her gaze turned towards the rising sun.

Zuko climbed onto his own animal, nothing with some surprise and a slight smile that she'd tied the pack to his saddle.

So she did trust him, after all. At least a little.

**__**

I come awake with a start as my ostrich-horse lurches on the mountain path. I glance around sleepily, realizing that I must've been asleep in the saddle. From the different terrain, I've been asleep for awhile. We're heading up a steep rise, and Zuko is right beside me. The reigns of my ostrich-horse are tied to his saddle. I tug on them, and he glances back at me. I glare. He clenches his jaw but unties the reigns and hands them back to me.

I look away from him, urging the animal beneath me to speed up. To get away from him and his eyes that follow me when he thinks I'm not looking.

I start the familiar chant in my head again.

He is my enemy!

He is my enemy!

Even to me it feels like a lie. I ignore the feeling just like I ignore him.

"A thank you would be nice." He mutters from behind me, and I tense. I should ignore him. I shouldn't feel bad! I should be glad that I've irritated him.

He is my enemy!

I should be glad- but I'm not. I kick my heels into the ostrich-horse's sides, urging her faster. She breaks into a trot, and we bounce up the narrow trail to the top of the rise. I glance down over my shoulder to see Zuko glaring up at me, and I smile sweetly at him. Too sweetly.

He scowls.

Good. I've accomplished something.

He is my enemy!

I turn back to the trail, only to see the worst sight I've ever seen, that I can remember. The beautiful mountaintop city of Omashu, the City of Balance.

There is a huge Fire Nation banner hanging above the gate.

And the city-mountain itself is burning. Whole sections of the city are on fire, smoke rising into the air so thick that I can't imagine why we didn't notice it before.

Zuko comes up beside me and stops. He sucks in a breath and makes a strangled sound. I glance over at him to see a stricken look on his face.

He actually looks... horrified.

I smirk. "Oh, look, Your Highness. Another city added to your future kingdom." I immediately feel bad, but I figure if I can make him hate me, then my hating him will be easier.

He is my enemy!

His head whips around so fast I can almost hear it crack. His amber eyes bore into me, alight with fiery anger. His fists clench on the reigns, his breath comes fast and hard. He tosses his head back and breathes fire into the late morning air.

I flinch away from him, but he ignores me.

He turns his ostrich-horse around and races back the way we came, down the rocky path. I watch him as he flies down at breakneck speed, then takes the northward fork, hurtling away from me.

I sink my heels into my ostrich-horse's sides; I have no choice but to follow Zuko, even if he is bent on destroying himself.

__________

Hehehehee... don't hate me. Yet. :P

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Over and Out (yaay I got to say it again!)

-Eon