"what do you want Zuko" Katara asked the boy now standing not three feet from her. The boy…no the man that had been chasing her and her friends for two years. "to find the avatar" he answered simply.
"Zuko you know it wont help, your father doesn't want you back." she replied to him smugly. His only retort was fireball aimed directly at her chest. She dodged it easily and uttered three words that chilled him to the bone "I Hate You" she said with malice.
At this the boy, Zuko started and took two hesitant steps forward. "why" he said all spite gone from his voice. Only genuine curiosity in his voice now as he added "you don't know me Katara, you cant hate what you don't know". she was taken aback that he knew her name and decided to pointedly ignore the butterflies in her stomach.
"because you have spent two years trying to capture my best friend, and because you still don't get it. You have so much more honor then your father already you have no need to prove it to him. You still don't understand that." she said. She often wondered why he was exiled and after his sister began tying to hunt him down word quickly spread about just how the prince was banished and why. "that is none of your business, why do you care about why I was banished, so you could use it to taunt me?" he stated angrily.
At these words the water bender snapped
"no you arrogant jerk I wanted to know because I cant stop thinking about you. Every time I look at into the sun I see your eyes. I should hate you with everything I am. your people destroyed everything I ever held dear to me but then I realized you will never admit it but they did the same to you didn't they. And then I think about your smile even though I've never seen it. I cant escape it! I just cant. I hate myself for loving you! I'm betraying my people and Aang and everything I've ever known, but if you ever wanted me then I would forsake everything for you. My heart aches every night because I know I'll never have you."
she finished and hid her face in her hands ashamed at the sudden admittance of her love for the hot headed ex prince. "Katara…".
"no don't Zuko just leave me be I cant handle you telling me that we can never be together or that you hate me I already know just leave me alone" she said sadly, the sorrow ringing in her voice as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"shut up you stupid water bender" Zuko said as he knelt by her side.
"I didn't come here tonight to capture the avatar, I have nothing to go back to in the fire nation. my only hope of returning to my home and regaining my honor lies with the avatar. If I help him to overthrow the fire lord then I will be able to regain my thrown and believe it or not I don't want this war to continue the fire nation is strong but all four nations are stronger still, if I can stop this war or help to stop it I will do whatever I have to."
he finished speaking and looked hesitantly around the small clearing where he had found Katara sitting. He took her chin in his hand and forced her head upwards and made her look straight into his golden eyes full of fire and an emotion he never let show, love.
"Katara every time I look into the water I see your eyes, the sound of your laughter is the waves although I don't think I've ever heard you laugh. The moon I see every night in the sky gives me hope, you give me hope" he finished
He pulled a blue stoned necklace out of his pocket and placed it around her neck gently leaving in his wake a trail of tender kisses. He looked her straight in the eyes and lowered his mouth to hers slowly, so slowly she felt the heat of his lips before he even touched her. The warmth of his lips surprised her and she closed her eyes letting her lips play against his before he slowly slid his tongue into her mouth causing her to let out a slight moan before welcoming the heat of his tongue and tackling it with her own cool one.
The kiss broke when the need for air became dire and the two broke apart gasping. Sitting in the clearing foreheads together "no more hunting Aang?" she asked. He nodded the affirmative and grasped her around the waist pulling her into a bruising kiss.
In the shadows two figures lurked "you owe me money I believe?" came the voice of Iroh and the grumbling of both Aang and Sokka in the background as Iroh claimed his winnings.
A/N oneshot! I wont continue unless people want me to which I doubt anyone will so review!
