"No. I won't 'heal' his scar!" Katara turned away from the two Fire Nation politicians that had stopped her.
"Lady Katara," one slimy voice said. His tone was one used on a child. The waterbender bristled at the insult. "It is shameful for our leader to be marked by his own element. Surely you can understand that."
She whipped around with a huff. "It is a scar," she said slowly. If they could treat her like a child she could treat them like idiots. "They are caused by healed tissue. Something that has already healed cannot be healed again. His scar isn't a mask you can just take off."
Katara was done dealing with theses morons. She stalked between them, proceeding up the hallway. When her head had cooled she realized that she had gone the exact opposite direction she'd needed to. "Idiot," she hissed before taking the long way back in hopes of avoiding the men.
::~
As Katara left the dining hall Zuko caught up with her. His pale hand captured her elbow and he steered her to his study. The Fire Lord's face told Katara that he'd head about what happened earlier that day. It was written in his smirk.
"What," she demanded. Katara stomped over to a chair and flung herself into it. "I already tried to heal it! You said no, remember!"
He chuckled and sat in the chair beside her. "I know. Before you explode," he said. Zuko had been around the young woman long enough to sense her boiling point… and she was getting dangerously close. "Thank you. For not telling them about this," his hand flipped vaguely toward his ruined eye.
Katara's face softened and she reached over to touch his destroyed cheek. "Of course. It's part of you. I didn't see that for a long time." After a quiet moment she said, "I wouldn't want to change you. I- I love you just like this." Her cheeks flushed.
Zuko was speechless. He drew her closer and kissed her softly. "I'm glad. I love you, too, Katara."