Zuko walked through the peaceful palace gardens, taking in the beautiful scenery. Everywhere he looked flowers were blooming colourfully, their sweet scent filling the air. The earth was covered in lush green grass, and a pond of crystal clear blue sat in the middle of it all. One would hardly believe it had been the scene of a vicious battle less than a week before.
And if the garden wasn't beautiful enough, Katara was sitting at the pond's edge.
Zuko's heart began to beat a little faster, as it often did in the waterbender's presence. He wasn't quite sure when he had started developing feelings for her, but they were there and they were strong.
Calming his nerves, he sat down beside her and asked, "How do you like the palace so far?"
Katara smiled brightly, making Zuko feel faint. "It's beautiful! And it's so huge!" she gushed, "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. And this garden"- she looked at the courtyard surrounding her -"is amazing."
"Yeah, it is..." Zuko agreed, more focused on the girl beside him than anything else. She was wearing red, and he thought she looked very good in it.
Noticing his staring, Katara frowned. "Is something wrong?"
He blinked. "Wha-? No! Everything's fine."
She seemed unconvinced. "Well, you must have more reason to come out here than to chat."
Truthfully, he did have another reason, but he was too chicken to go through with his original idea.
Confessing his feelings suddenly seemed a lot harder, especially with the looming threat of rejection.
However, he couldn't exactly tell her that, could he? And he couldn't bear lying, either.
Which forced him to face his fears and go through with his initial plan.
"Well, you see, I kinda wanted to tell you something." He swallowed nervously. ""I, uh, for a while I've sort of... um, I noticed that you're really... uh..." His cheeks felt warm as he struggled to control his resistant vocal cords. He knew he sounded like an idiot, but the words wouldn't seem to come out.
Katara just stared, her brow furrowed cutely in confusion.
Zuko took a deep breath and said, "Close your eyes."
She obeyed without a word.
Another deep breath, then he closed his own eyes and leaned forward.
The kiss was warm and soft and brief, ending before it really even began. Just a shy peck on the lips. Even so, it sent Zuko's heart on a pounding rampage of excitement and worry.
Katara's cheeks tinted red as she blinked her eyes open. "Did you... Did you just kiss me?"
"Yeah," he said, grinning nervously. "You're not mad, are you?"
Katara responded by kissing him back.
Author's Notes: So, I wrote this as a prize for anitasakura in my guild, who won a contest. I hope you guys like it too, though. :D
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Avatar' or any of its characters.