Catalyst

Chapter 8: Unconvinced

Zuko found himself breathing hard only a hundred or so steps later. Spirits above—was he really that out of shape? His legs and back ached; his lungs felt tight, stopping him from getting a proper breath; and he coughed for the first time since Katara treated him the night before. Okay, so I may not be as recovered as I thought. Exhaustion came over him like a heavy blanket. He executed a controlled fall and landed on his back, eyes closed, soaking in the sun. A twig dug into his back but he was too tired to care or move.

"Are you okay?" called an annoyingly high voice from above.

Zuko squinted and saw the Avatar on his stupid glider circling above him. "Go away!" he shouted back before coughing again.

"You don't look good, you know."

"Oh, shut up," he muttered.

"I'll get Ka—oh, she's already coming."

Zuko looked to his right and, sure enough, the stubborn waterbender was already running towards him. She must have been watching me—saw me fall, at least.

Before she got close to him, he turned his head away. He wasn't waiting for her to save him.

"Are you okay?" she panted when she came to his right side. The Avatar landed behind her and crowded in by him as well.

"I'm fine!" he said to his left, still not looking at either of them.

She laid her hand on his arm and he tore away from her so that his back was to them both. "We just want to help you, you know," she said gently.

Rage swept through him in a flash of red. With a burst of energy, he sat up and whipped around. "No, you don't! You just want to feel good about yourselves. You try to hurt me when we fight, but you can't bring yourselves to leave me alone when I'm injured. You're liars and cowards. That's what you are. Don't pretend otherwise."

Katara's eyes changed from baby-blue concern to an icy, gray storm. "P-pretend?" She could hardly speak. "Pretend? We defend ourselves against you. It's not like we go out of our way to hunt you. You're the one who's been chasing us all over the world. Don't act like our kindness some kind of burden on you. We saved your life—twice now, if you remember. What did we—"

"I—"

She cut him off, her voice hardening, "What did we stand to gain from saving you? Feeling good about ourselves? How about because we wanted to treat you like a human being instead of a prize that needed to be captured?" Her eyes bored into his and he couldn't help but look away. "Why don't you think about the evil man you serve bef—"

"I don't serve him!" Zuko shouted.

That caught her off guard. "What?"

"I don't...I don't serve the Fire Lord anymore," he said quietly.

The Avatar spoke, "So, uh, why are you after us still?"

"I'm not! Well, I wasn't—not when I was in Ba Sing Se. Uncle got us jobs at the teashop and we were busy with that—what?"

The Avatar was snickering. "Nothing! I just can't imagine the Crown Prince serving tea."

"The point is," he said, glaring at him, "I stopped looking for you. I even set your stupid bison free."

"That was you?" the Avatar said in amazement while Katara looked dubious.

He coughed several times into his elbow before nodding.

"So that's why Appa gave you a big kiss!"

"...Sure." Because that's what's important to focus on.