I had this one shot sitting around and thought that it might be a good idea to post it. This is my first Avatar fic, but I've been a fan of Zutara pretty much since the show first started. There's just something about those tortured guys that get me every time. There will be a sequel to this at a later date so don't despair if you happen to like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar, but I surely wish I could own Zuko.

Run Away

"We should run away," Katara said suddenly to Zuko as he read through some of the scrolls littering his desk. Zuko glanced in her direction for a moment before determining it would be in his best interest to just ignore her. "I mean it; we have to get away from all this."

Zuko sighed. "I'm the Fire Lord. I can hardly just disappear for an undetermined amount of time. It's not like during the war anymore. Life doesn't work that way."

She leaned over his paperwork, ensuring that she had his full attention. Her face grew very still with seriousness. "Zuko, your uncle can run the kingdom." She widened her eyes, giving him the sad look that Aang was always known for. "Please, Zuko. Let's just run away from it all."

His head dropped onto his hands. "Can you at least tell me why we need to go away? I know we're friends and everything but we've never talked about vacationing together. You don't exactly get along with Mai." The low growl she made brought a smile to his face against his will.

"They aren't coming," she said suddenly. "We are running away so that we can think properly. You aren't happy with Mai and Aang is driving me nuts with his overbearing behavior. Just because he defeat your father in the war doesn't mean that I have to love him the same way he loves me. I'm not a prize to be won." She sighed suddenly. "I'm sorry. I just think we just need to take time to think about our futures."

The idea was tempting and Katara was right. His relationship with Mai hadn't been working out the past two years. It was as if he could never do anything right when it came to her. Everything was the same. He'd try something he'd think she would like and she would give him that same boring old look

He was near at his wits end. As if running a kingdom weren't enough. He was still working on getting the other nations to trust his Fire nation. The Avatar wasn't much help, as he'd yet to fully allow himself to grow up. Hell, if he could get the young Avatar to shoulder the slightest bit of responsibility it would make his life just the slightest bit easier.

Then there were his own people on his case about marrying Mai as soon as possible. He needed an heir, his councilors always said. No one ever stopped to think about his mental stability or if he really was with the woman he intended or was supposed to settle down with. No one seemed to give a damn.

His only ray of light came in the form of Katara. After the war, he'd been afraid that they would never see one another again. He assumed that she would either return to her home or that she and her boyfriend would ride off into the sunset doing who knew whatever.

He had honestly thought that he didn't really need her all that much in his life. After all, he'd been pretty sure that he'd been happy with Mai at the time and too busy to worry about missing one lone water tribe girl.

So he'd been thoroughly surprised when not even a month later, Katara landed on his doorstep in tears. It was her relationship with Aang. The young Avatar had been so clingy at the time that Katara had nearly lost her mind in her need to get away from him. With help from Zuko, she'd managed to get the air bender to give her some space, but apparently, it hadn't been for very long.

The Avatar was back and increasingly clingy. Everywhere Katara tried to go her young boyfriend was right there following. It had forced Katara to inevitably move into the palace for good just to have a large enough space to put the slightest bit of distance between the couple.

Through that time, Katara had become Zuko's closest friend and confidant. Any problem he had Katara seemed to have the answer. They were always together, which admittedly drove Mai and Aang nuts.

Still, they needed that companionship and seemed to only find it when they were together. So he had to ask himself, if she thought this was a good idea, who was he to tell her no?

"Let's say we do this," Zuko said quietly. "How are we going to manage to go away together without anyone thinking we are having an affair?"

Her answer was a shrug. "I don't care what people think. I don't even care if this leads to the ruination of our relationships. We just need to go away."

Zuko was a little less willing to get on Mai's bad side. She may not have had fire bending abilities but those needles she owned hurt like hell. Still, Katara did have a very valid point. "Okay. If we wait until my uncle arrives, we can go."

Katara released a sigh of relief. "Good, I'll plan everything out. You just be ready to go when I say so."

~*~

Convincing uncle Iroh to make the trip to the Fire Nation from Ba Sing Se was the easy part. Convincing the elderly man to watch over the Fire Nation was trickier. Zuko had been forced to confess all his problems to his uncle just to have the cooperation needed for his and Katara's plan to work. And if Iroh found anything strange about Katara and Zuko taking a vacation together, he certainly wasn't going to say anything.

They were lucky that Iroh held such a deep affection for Katara, enough to do them both a favor in this. They weren't going to tell anyone their destination, even Iroh for the simple fact that it might get out to Mai and Aang.

As the goal was to take a break from their significant others, the plan would be an utter failure if they were found out.

Zuko was glad that everything was all set to happen. The more time he spent with Mai, the unhappier he became. There was just something that couldn't be explained properly, something that he was missing in his interactions with her.

He just didn't want to have to deal with it all anymore. He had no idea if Katara even planned to tell Aang that she was leaving for a short while. That, they hadn't discussed, but he wasn't quite willing to tell Mai he didn't want to be around her. As far as he was concerned with Mai, most things were just better left unsaid.

As the date drew closer to their departure Zuko made it clear that something was going to change between them. All he received as a reply was Mai's standard bored look.

~*~

He had been tempted to ask Aang to loan out Appa for the duration of their trip, but Katara had been adamant. "No Zuko, we can't take the risk that Aang will use Appa to figure out where we are. That bison will always be the most loyal to Aang."

"So then what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to go?" he said as he followed Katara down to the docks. It was the middle of the night. The Fire Nation was nearly sound asleep except for those few partiers that had yet to make it home.

The pair wore clothing similar to what they wore when hunting down the man who killed Katara's mother. It was similar only because Zuko had grown out of his old clothing.

They skulked through shadows, making their careful way toward the harbor. "I've already said that we're going to Ember Island," she said. "All we need is a little boat. I can take care of everything else."

Zuko bit back a sigh. Finding a boat wasn't as easy as she made it sound. This was a new fire nation, put together by Zuko. He was much more careful about what happened in his kingdom.

Of course, he decided, when he was later on a small boat with Katara steering. He hadn't planned for his best friend's water bending skills. Through the whole journey Zuko rested. There wasn't much that Katara wanted him to do until they reached their destination.

When they arrived, Zuko learned just how well planned Katara had been. She rented a small house for them to live in for their vacation. It wasn't too far from the beach. It wasn't anywhere near the home that Zuko owned on the island.

It was a quaint one level two bedroom place. It was perfect for the two of them. There was a decent sized kitchen with a small little nook for them to eat together. The main color scheme consisted of Fire nation colors, naturally, but it was all so tastefully done. It was like their very own little island paradise.

The first thing they did upon arrival is climb right into bed for a few more hours of sleep.

~*~

Lazing about had never felt as good as it did at this very moment to Katara. She laid spread out along the beach, soaking in the rays of the sun. She could feel the flow of the ocean water a short distance from her. For the last week this is all she'd done.

A short spot away was Zuko. She had to smile at the fact that he refused to lay in the sun with her. He was concerned that his pale skin would immediately burn instead of building a healthy tan.

"Isn't this wonderful Zuko?" she asked. "No responsibility to pull us away. There are no girlfriends or boyfriends to annoy us. We can do whatever we want and not have to worry about who it'll affect."

She heard a snort from her companion. "Yes and when we return to the palace what do you think will happen. All our calm will have been for nothing. Aang'll come running to your side. Mai will come after me with her knives. I'll probably be frog marched down the isle and forced into a marriage I don't want."

Katara sat up with a huff. "Zuko, don't you dare be Mr. Doom and Gloom."

"Well what do you think is going to happen when we return?" he demanded. After damn near three years of dating, Mai wasn't just going to let him go. Besides, who else but Mai would want him scarred as he was?

Katara sat up fully to look Zuko right in the eye. "I'll tell you what's going to happen. You are going to relax, not over worry. I will not allow you to do anything that will cause your life to be miserable. Do not put Mai's feelings before your own peace of mind. I don't intend to put Aang's feelings over mine anymore."

It was better said than done. What could he do other than worry about his return? All she had to worry about is Aang and whether he would whine or cry after she left him. He'd rather take that any day.

Before he could take his next breath he had an angry water bender straddling his lap as she pinned him down.

"Zuko, what did I just say?"

He had no idea about what she said, but one thing he did know was that Katara had some very nice curves that pressed against him wonderfully. He couldn't help the way that his body reacted to her presence.

Katara stared down at him for a long moment, a slight expression of surprise marring her features. Zuko struggled to stutter out an apology. It wasn't as if he could help his reaction to her, yet he highly doubted that she would care about that.

The look didn't stay long on Katara's face. She rotated her hips, causing Zuko to groan deeply as pleasure shot through his body. "You know what Zuko," she said with a purr in her voice. "I have the perfect way to help you relax for the rest of our vacation. It'll be good for the both of us."

~*~

Zuko sat in meditation pose, trying his best to think things through. For a long while he watched the moonlight color Katara's dark skin in a beautiful hue.

He'd done the unbelievable, and yet he couldn't build up enough guilt for what they'd done. It had been so amazing. Katara had been so passionate and loving. The way she moved her body had reminded him of waves on the beach.

She made him feel more alive than he'd ever felt since the ending of the war. With her, he felt complete.

So the problem was what he planned to do now. After sleeping with Katara it was clear that he had no feelings for Mai that way. She would never instill in him the feelings that Katara gave him. He was unsure if any woman could make him feel the way that Katara made him feel.

He breathed in and out as he continued to contemplate his next move. He thought it might be best that he return immediately to the Fire Nation, to tell Mai how he felt and to end it before anything moved further with Katara.

He remembered a long ago conversation he had with the water bender about the high fertility in the women of the water tribe. If there were any chance that Katara could be carrying a child of his, he wanted his life stabilized first.

A groan left his lips before he could contain it. Katara stirred on the bed. Beautiful blue eyes opened to watch him as he meditated. "What's wrong with you now?" she said groggily.

Zuko climbed to his feet to sit with her on the bed. "I want to end it with Mai, but I don't know how. Then of course, sleeping with you has added a new complication. What if you get pregnant?"

She sat up in bed, allowing the sheet to fall to her waist. "Zuko, it's only as complicated as we allow it to be. You and I don't have to be anything until we deal with the two we are with. I'm not even expecting you to marry me. As far as a baby is concerned, I doubt that'll happen, but if it does we'll deal with it then."

Really, to Katara it was a start to a new experience. Zuko wouldn't bother her all the time. He wouldn't whine because her attention wasn't always on him. He knew her body in a way that Aang just couldn't. He was the perfect lover to have at the moment.

Did she feel any guilt for having obviously cheated on her boyfriend? Well, the jury was still out on that one. She couldn't regret the act itself. There was something about the way that Zuko touched her that made it impossible to regret sleeping with him. But she did regret that Aang would probably be devastated when he found out.

She drew closer to Zuko. Slowly, she drew a finger down the muscles of his bare chest. At least she knew that they were going to be together in this. They could get through this if they stuck together.

But first…there was still the rest of their vacation to enjoy.

~*~

Breaking up with the young Avatar was harder than she thought. Aang was just so babyish and that sad look he gave her just wasn't making her feel as elated to be free of him.

Still, she was not about to let Aang guilt her into staying with him. She'd given in to his desires for too long and it was time to finally end it.

It was bad enough that she had thought that it was likely that Aang would try to track her down. But to have him standing before her at the little house, practically beating down the door to get to her was too much.

"It's over Aang," Katara said as stoically as possible. "I can't take this relationship anymore."

"But Katara I love you."

She shook her head. "Aang if you loved me, you wouldn't treat me the way you do. You don't let me breathe. I came here to get away from you, to actually have some peace. I left a note telling you to leave me alone and what did you do? You followed me."

In Zuko's bedroom she could hear him arguing with Mai. This was absolutely ridiculous, the two of them working together to ensure that she and Zuko were absolutely miserable so that they could have some happiness. Katara wouldn't stand for it.

She sighed as Aang began to cry. "I saved the world for you Katara. Everything I've done it's so you would be happy."

That was the problem. Aang was just too obsessed with her and treated her as if she was obligated to love him back. Well, life did not happen that way. He couldn't force her mind to think a certain way just because it was what he wanted.

She turned away from him. Talking to Aang and trying to reason with him wouldn't work. She was sure he would try some other way to keep her at his side. It wasn't going to work this time.

Katara pushed opened the door to Zuko's room. She wasn't in a very trusting mood at the moment, not with how dangerous Mai could be. The couple turned immediately to face her. Zuko's express gratitude didn't go unnoticed.

Katara made sure to turn sideways to put both Aang and Mai into her view. "I think you both should leave. Neither of you are likely to change our minds right now and I think we are all a little too riled to think and react properly. We would all do better to just take time away from each other."

Mai was clearly angered by this. "I refuse to leave my boyfriend alone with some water tribe peasant. You just want Zuko all to yourself."

Mai stormed her way to Katara's face, as if trying to intimidate her. Katara wasn't having it. She bended the blood in Mai's veins forcing the older girl to step away from her. "He's not your boyfriend anymore."

"Katara please," Aang said trying to diffuse the situation.

"No Aang. Do you even understand how miserable you make him Mai?" Katara asked her directly. "Do you know how much he's suffered trying to please you? He's a good man and an even better Fire lord. You don't deserve him, not if you don't do your job and ease his tensions. You certainly don't really love him."

Katara moved to Zuko's side, leaving their ex's to stand by one another. "A real person in love wouldn't make their partner feel obligated to love them back. A real person in love would let their person know they were loved." Katara turned her attention to Aang. "A real person in love wouldn't stifle their partner. They wouldn't demand all of their attention to the exclusion of everything else. That is not how relationships are supposed to go."

By the end of her speech the tears she hadn't wanted to cry began to flow. She felt free being able to say what she wanted to say finally. She leaned in closer when Zuko wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It released Mai from the hold in the process.

"Katara's right. I think it best that you two not be around the palace when we return tomorrow," Zuko said.

"So that's all we get," Mai said. "After all I've done for you that's how it's going to be?" When Zuko said nothing, she stormed out of the room, followed by a crying Aang.

With them both gone Katara relaxed further against Zuko. It was over. They could both now work on moving on.

~*~

Iroh was waiting in his tea room when Zuko managed to track his uncle down. "How was your vacation," his uncle spoke immediately.

Zuko gave a tired sigh. "It was good uncle. I got a lot of thinking done." His uncle nodded.

"That's good. A Fire lord should always have a clear mind to conduct business. Mai and Aang looked very upset when I saw them. I do hope that everything is okay. It would be a shame if something were wrong."

Zuko took a sip of his tea. "Uncle, everything will be just as it should be."