He's never seen her more beautiful than in that moment.
The starlight illuminates her like a goddess; he sucks in a breath, mind churning with his attempt at finding the words to say to her. But, for once in his life Zuko finds he is utterly speechless. She has a way of doing this to him, tripping him up and making him feel like that kid that betrayed her in Ba Sing Sei. Despite the years that have passed, despite the forgiveness she's bestowed upon him, she still makes him feel like a child who knows nothing of the world.
"Zuko?"
Her vocals are soft, but they are enough to draw him back; he looks to her, standing there in the moonlight and he tries to smile. "You're a million miles away..." She says quietly, her sapphire colored irises finding his own amber colored ones. "Tell me..." How does he tell her what he's thinking? How does he tell her that he's made a mistake all these years? How does he tell her he's about to make the biggest mistake in all of his life? He's reminded of why Katara is even there, in the Fire Nation, so many years since the war had ended. His wedding. Such a thing was mere days away, hours really, and he was beginning to realize it was a big mistake.
"I can't." He says this simply, shaking his head as he turns away from her, unable to look her in the face. And that's when he feels it, the softest touch of her hand in his. The warmth of her skin against his own. The only thing he had ever wanted to feel. And it was happening there in the starlight of night. She's closing in on him, her body so close he can feel the warmth of it against his own despite the layers of clothes between them. "Katara..." He draws in her in, closer than ever, her body pressed against his own; Zuko is surprised at how perfectly she fits there.
She doesn't speak, she doesn't need to after all, and Zuko is thankful for that. There are no words he can find to explain his thoughts, his feelings. He supposes actions are the only thing that's going to get him through this moment. And so he does the only thing that makes sense: he kisses her. He kisses her as if she's the only thing anchoring his soul to this world, he kisses her as if she's the only thing left that's real in this world. She does not hesitate in kissing him back, but rather puts her arms around him and returns the kiss with as much passion as she can muster. When they pull apart moments later, she's breathless, and Zuko cannot help but to smile. "But Mai..." She whispers, her eyes flickering with the concern she feels for the other woman in his life, the one he was supposed to marry in two days time. But Zuko shakes his head and strokes her cheek, knowing there was nothing else in this world that would make him choose what he was choosing.
He just couldn't lose her, not again.
A