Chapter 1 - Inner Fire
The evening after Katara faced her mother's killer, she tossed and turned in her bed. Sleep was impossible to find.
Finally she realized she would never fall asleep while still thinking about the events of the past several days, and decided to take a walk along the beach.
The night air was refreshing and Katara enjoyed the solitude. After she and Zuko had returned to the group, she had hardly had a moment to herself.
Aang was always hovering close by, in case she needed comfort. Sokka was never far away, though after Katara and Zuko recounted their journey to everyone he had been very quiet, registering the information that the man who had taken his mother from him was indeed still alive.
And possibly he was trying to be glad that another life had not been taken.
Suki was with him, though she had offered to spend time with Katara if she needed someone to talk to.
Katara had smiled, but dismissed the offer. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet. And when the story had been recounted for everyone, Katara and Zuko had silently agreed to leave out certain details, such as the Bloodbending.
Katara didn't want to discuss that with anyone.
Toph hadn't offered anything more than a light punch on the arm, and Katara was greatful that at least one of her friends had left her alone.
Though Zuko had been keeping his distance since they returned to the group. Perhaps he too just wanted some time away from everyone.
After a short time of walking along the sandy shore, Katara came upon an outcropping of rocks, and in the light of the full moon, she saw a single solitary figure sitting among them.
She wasn't frightened, for when she had exited the house she had noticed that Zuko's bedroom door was open, and the room was empty.
She hesitated on the damp sand for only a moment before she approached the rocks. She made her way to the largest boulder, the one where Zuko sat and gazed upon the oceans tide silently.
Without speaking a word, Katara sat down next to him. She no longer felt the need to keep her distance from the Firebender. He had more than proven himself trustworthy.
After several moments, Zuko turned his head to look at Katara. Their eyes met. She had been staring at him, watching as he remained as still as the stone around them.
"You should be asleep", he said after a moment. His voice cracked a bit.
Probably from the cool night air, Katara thought.
"I'm a Waterbender. When the full moon is up, so am I", she answered him.
He nodded, but didn't take his eyes away from hers.
"You were very brave today", he said suddenly. "I underestimated your strength."
"No, you didn't", she said somberly. "It would have been all too easy to let one of those spikes continue flying. To let it pierce him through..."
"No", Zuko interrupted her, "That's not what I meant at all."
He was silent for a moment and Katara waited for him to continue. As she gazed at him, she realized his eyes were shining in the moonlight. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he spoke again.
"You had the strength to stop yourself from killing him. To stop yourself from becoming something you're not." He shook his head slowly and looked down, finally breaking eye contact with Katara. "You have no idea how strong that makes you..."
As he trailed off his tears began to overflow, and they carved glistening lines down his cheeks. Katara reached out and touched his shoulder gently. "Zuko?", she asked. "What's wrong?"
He continued to look away, but he answered her. "My mother..." he began but had to pause.
He was ashamed of the weakness he was showing. Especially because it was Katara who was with him, he didn't want her to see him like that.
But at the same time, he knew that he wouldn't have let himself fall apart in front of anyone else, except maybe his Uncle.
He would have yelled at anyone else and stormed off angrily so he could be emotional in private. But the fact that it was Katara by his side, with a hand on his shoulder, asking if he was alright, is what made him able to continue speaking.
"My mother disappeared when I was a child", he finally began.
And with that, he started to tell her of his past. He told her of how his mother had been taken or killed, and how no one would answer his questions. He told the painful story of the years he had lived in fear that Ozai would one day do to him what he had done to his mother.
He even told her how he had gotten his scar. A story that those outside of the Fire Nation were not familiar with. Most only knew of his banishment, and those who crossed his path had assumed his scar was from a training accident.
An accident and nothing more. Not the punishment it had truly been.
Katara listened in silence and shock, tears gathering in her own eyes. She had never known just how much he had been through.
When Zuko had been quiet for several minutes, Katara broke the silence. "Oh Zuko", she said as she leaned forward and wrapped him in a warm and comforting embrace. "I'm so sorry."
Zuko could feel his heart speed up at the sudden unexpected contact. He hoped Katara wouldn't notice, or would attribute it to his words.
He could feel a comforting warmth eminating from her. It was a pleasant thing, to have someone hold him.
There he was, breaking down in front of the young woman he had watched be so strong for so long, and all it took for him to lose his painful train of thought and become calm once again, were her arms around him...
He leaned into her embrace.
"For years I thought of ways I could make him tell me what he had done", he whispered. "
"Did you ever comfront him?", Katara asked quietly.
Zuko chuckled, which surprised Katara.
"No", he said. "I didn't."
And after a silent moment, he added, "But I wanted to."
Katara smiled grimly. After facing the man who had taken her mother away from her, she understood what Zuko was feeling.
"But you didn't let your anger control you", she said. "You didn't let it change you."
She felt him nod slightly against her shoulder.
"I didn't let it change me, not because I didn't want it to at times, but because I made a promise", he told her.
He explained about his last memory of his mother.
She had awoken him late at night, and had told him to always remember who he was.
"Those were the last words she ever spoke to me", he said. "I've never forgotten them. And I've never forgetten who I am."
Katara listened in amazement, thinking about all the years that Zuko had endured a life of fear, of being without his mother, and of repressing all the anger he felt toward his father.
She realized that they had more in common than she had ever thought.
After several moments of silence, Katara spoke.
"You were strong", she said. "So much stronger than you should have needed to be. And you are still strong Zuko. You've kept your promise."
Zuko raised his head, and wiped away any remaining tears.
"Thank you, Katara", he said
"You've been there for me", she replied. "I can be there for you."
She paused for a short moment before adding, "And I'm glad it was you."
Zuko smiled a little.
"I'm glad it was you here tonight", he said. "I can't imagine sharing all of that with anyone else."
Katara smiled at him, and began to blush at his words, though she wasn't sure why. He had opened up to her, had confided in her, and had told her he was glad.
But all the same, they were just having a conversation about the past, something that often went on between the group. She and Aang talked about the past all the time.
And yet, though the Airbender was constantly coloring various shades of red in her presence, she had never felt the blood rush to her cheeks as it did now.
And she had never been this close to Zuko, either emotionally or physically.
It was then that she realized they were still tangled in each others arms, and that if anyone saw them, they would assume something was going on between the two.
Katara's heartbeat quickened at the thought of something going on between them. And quickly sped up even more when she recalled that she had thought about the Firebender being this close to her on many occasions over the past several weeks.
Zuko, being so close to Katara, could feel her heart suddenly racing. He looked up from their entangled arms and noticed in the light of the moon that her cheeks were a deep rose color.
He suddenly realized they were entangled in what could be considered an intimate way. He looked into her eyes and was about to extricate himself, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katara raise her free hand.
He continued looking into her eyes, and she into his, as her hand came to rest lightly on his scarred cheek.
She gently caressed the side of his face, and stroked the scarred skin. Zuko's own heart began to jump in his chest.
The last time Katara had touched his scar, he had been ashamed of it, and had practically begged her to heal him when he had found out it could be possible to be rid of his mark.
Now, as her cool, light fingers traced his scar once more, he felt that it was no longer a mark, but a part of him. A defining feature. Something that he was proud of.
He had been proud of it for some time, ever since he had faced his father and left his home to join Team Avatar. But now, with Katara so gently caressing his scarred cheek, he felt that he was no longer the only one who didn't see it as his mark.
Zuko was so lost in thought, that he didn't notice Katara leaning forward. Now he could see her large, deep blue eyes just inches from his.
Slowly, Katara closed the distance between them, and placed her lips upon his scar.
His eyes widened at her unexpected action, and then closed as he felt her soft, warm lips trace his scar, as her fingers had.
He was shocked by how each kiss, each stroke of her lips against his skin sent a small shiver of pleasure through him.
He had been close with Mai of course, and she had touched his scar many times. However this new feeling was nothing like Zuko remembered. When Mai had touched his face, he had always felt ashamed.
He had even wondered many times if his scar caused Mai discomfort. But he had never asked her.
With Katara, he didn't need to. He could feel that she understood that it was more then just an imperfection, but a part of him.
When at last Katara's lips left his scar and trailed down to his jaw bone, Zuko's heart was pounding so loudly in his chest, he wondered if she could hear it.
If he was being honest with himself, he had wanted this for some time. He had always thought the Watertribe girl was beautiful, but he had also always known that nothing could ever become of his attraction toward her.
They had been enemies.
That thought had repeated in Zuko's mind quite often lately. "They had been enemies."
And for the past several weeks traveling with Katara and the others, Zuko had at times wondered if anything could possibly change between them now that they were on the same side.
Now he had his answer.
Suddenly, and without warning, Katara's lips left his skin.
He felt cold. An odd sensation for him. It was as if she had ignited his inner flame, and put it out again in just mere moments.
"I'm sorry", whispered Katara as she pushed herself back from him, untangling their limbs and blushing an even deeper red then before. "I don't know what came over me."
Zuko stared at her in shock, then in understanding.
To his knowledge, Katara had never been that affectionate with anyone. Not even with Aang, who everyone in the group knew had his eyes on the Waterbender.
Thinking of Aang, Zuko also realized that perhaps that was why she had suddenly pulled away.
Maybe she did feel affection for the Airbender.
The very thought made Zuko's body temperature rise, and he held back the urge to breath smoke through his nostrils, an old reflex from his frustrating days of banishment.
He controled his reaction, and his thoughts before he spoke.
"I'm sorry as well", he said. "I shouldn't have let anything happen."
Katara nodded. "It's not your fault though, I was the one who kissed you", she said.
Zuko half smiled. "Well I didn't exactly stop you", he said.
Katara let out a small laugh, and though Zuko missed the feel of her close to him already, he knew he couldn't just assume she had felt what he had.
And even if she had felt it, he couldn't rush this. Whatever this was.
"It's late", he said after a moment.
"It'll be sunrise soon", agreed Katara.
Zuko slid off the rock and stood with his hand outstretched to her. "Come on", he said, "I'll walk you back to the house."
Katara took his hand in hers as he helped her off the large rock, and was glad that he wasn't angry with her for pushing him away.
They walked back to the house in silence, though neither of them realeased their hold on the others hand.
Just as Zuko could feel the strange electricity between them, so could Katara. And it continued to be present even when they simply held hands, which was why she couldn't release her hold on him.
She enjoyed the small charge that flowed between them.
And when Katara had first embraced Zuko on the rocks, she had felt her skin tingle where it met his. And when she had allowed her self control to slip away momentarily and kissed his cheek and jawline, she had felt as if her lips were on fire.
It had been nearly impossible to stop from reaching his lips, but she didn't want to force anything upon him when he was in such an emotional state.
And she herself was still sorting through the events and emotional ups and downs of the past several days.
Perhaps that hadn't been the best time to let her self control slide...
When they eventually reached the house, Zuko continued to lead Katara inside. Only when he reached the door to her bedroom did he release her hand.
"Goodnight Katara", he whispered softly.
Katara chuckled quietly. "Good morning Zuko", she whispered back.
She was just about to enter her room, when she felt his hand lightly grasp her shoulder. "What is it Zuko?", she asked.
He hesitated, but then spoke quietly and quickly, "Katara, I don't want to push you, or force you to do anything you don't want to, but I just wanted to know if maybe... that is if you wouldn't mind..."
The nervousness in his voice was apparent and endearing. He was blushing slightly, a sight rarely seen.
Katara had to smile at him.
She raised her hand and placed her fingers over his mouth, interrupting him.
"What are you trying to say?", she asked him in a whisper, though she had a feeling she already knew.
He gazed into her eyes and decided to take a chance. He didn't want to push her, this young woman who was both strong and sensitive, but he needed to know if she had felt the same thing he had.
He was too nervous to ask her, so instead he lightly grasped her arm, pulling her hand away from his face, pulled her close, and crushed his mouth to hers.
He had wanted to kiss her gently, but the moment their lips met, it was as if sparks of fire errupted somewhere deep within him. He kissed her passionatly, and was thrilled to notice that she was kissing him back just as forcefully.
Her hands wrapped around his neck as she stood on her toes, and her fingers wound their way into his dark, messy hair.
Neither of them cared that they were standing half in the hallway and half in her bedroom. Or that someone could wake up at any moment and find them there.
They didn't care what anyone would think regardless.
All that mattered was the closeness they had shared that night. And that they both felt the same strange fire whenever they touched.
When they finally broke apart, Zuko brushed his lips softly against Katara's once more before whispering "I'm glad it was you."
Katara smiled, and before removing her arms from around Zuko's neck, she pulled him back down to her so she could lightly kiss his scar. "I'm glad I found you", she whispered back.
After they parted, Zuko stepped out into the hall and walked slowly back to his room after one last longing look at Katara as she slowly closed her door.
When Zuko reached his own room, he opened the curtains and watched as the first rays of sunlight began to color the beach, and spread their way into the house.
It had been a long time since he had watched a sunrise and felt the heat of his element awaken the fire within him. The inner fire that all Firebenders were aware of.
He suddenly remembered something he had once told Katara, back when they were enemies... "You rise with the moon. I rise with the sun"...
He chuckled, remembering.
And as he felt the heat of the sun on his skin, and the fire within him already awoken, he knew that it was no longer the sun that ignited his inner fire.
It was the closeness of a certain enchanting Waterbender.
Katara.