From the second Zuko had tumbled into the crystal cave and saw who his fellow prisoner was, he knew he was in trouble. Not only was it a member of the so called "Team Avatar", it was Katara, possibly the most infuriating of the group. What with her holier-than-thou attitude, her cutting remarks, judging eyes, and her stupid hair-loopies. Of course she had immediately started ripping into him about the Fire Nation, but then she started crying. If there was anything that he knew how to handle the least it was a crying woman. So he had done the one thing he felt he could. Zuko told Katara about his mother.

Even as he was turning around to do it he was kicking himself. Honestly, the last thing he needed was a heart-to-heart with a person he had been hunting down for the last year. But once he started, he couldn't really stop. One thing led to another, and Zuko found himself talking to Katara about things that he was literally thinking of as he was saying them. Things he hadn't really considered: things that his Uncle Iroh had been trying to get him to think about for weeks. Things like determining one's own destiny. And then Katara had offered to try to heal his scar for him.

His scar. The part of his dark past he had never even considered being able to leave behind. The thing that marked him permanently for the entire world to see, that he could do nothing to hide. It had become a part of him now, yet he felt his stomach flip-flop at the prospect of seeing it gone. It would be a clean slate, like being whole again after years of living with an empty space hollowed out somewhere in his being. So when Katara reached up to touch his scar, Zuko closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment. Then he kissed her.

It was brief, but Zuko put all the conflicting emotion he was feeling in the moment into it, bringing his hands up to cup Katara's chin to keep her from backing away. When he broke it off, he paused for a moment with his eyes downcast, bracing himself for her whirlwind rebuke that was sure to follow. When nothing happened, he looked up into Katara's eyes. They were wide with shock and confusion, but also had a spark of something else in them. Before he could look closer, they narrowed in determination and Katara's lips were rather suddenly against his again.

This time it was Zuko's eyes that widened in surprise as Katara kissed him with all the rage sadness and confusion that had been building inside her as they had talked. Zuko quickly got his wits about him, and began to return the kiss, their lips moving together in near desperation as they felt their conflicting emotions come to a head. Zuko brought his hands back up to Katara's jawline and used his height to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue between Katara's teeth when he got the opportunity. He felt her stiffen for a moment, and then relax as she began to respond in kind. Katara abruptly broke the kiss and Zuko's let out a brief noise of protest before he could stop himself.

He opened his eyes to look at Katara, ready to apologize. Instead he found her eyes burning with a fire that hadn't been there before, which gave him about a second of warning before she laid her palms against his chest and shoved him against the cave wall. Then she claimed his mouth again in a fierce kiss that contained a spark of determination that hadn't been present before.

Well this was new. Zuko found himself responding in ways he hadn't thought possible toward someone who sided with the Avatar. In fact, he could feel one particular response to the situation that was entirely unexpected. More importantly Katara, who was pressed against him to keep him on the wall, could feel it too. And she didn't seem to mind. As the two continued to kiss, it became abundantly clear where the situation was headed, and Zuko slowly dropped his hands from where they had been on Katara's shoulders to her hips, dragging them down her sides as he went. She shuddered in response, and ground her hips forward into his. Zuko inhaled sharply as fire unlike any he had ever felt before shuddered through his veins.

He was suddenly seized with the need to feel Katara's skin under his hands, and moved his hands between them to work his way under the closed fold of her dress. Katara evidently thought this was a good idea as she immediately began to do the same with his robe. Zuko soon got his fingers between the edges and pulled it apart, pushing it off her shoulders and revealing Katara's naked torso. At the same time, Katara bared his chest and they both broke the kiss to gasp for breath and take each other in. Katara ran her fingers lightly along his muscles with a healer's knowing touch, the sensation and her intense gaze making gooseflesh appear in her wake.

Zuko shuddered lightly as she brushed over one nipple and brought his hands up to cup her firm breasts, admiring the way the light played over her flawlessly tan skin. He brushed his thumbs over Katara's already pert nipples, which hardened even further at his touch. She tilted her head back and exhaled sharply in response. The corner or Zuko's mouth quirked up and he suddenly grabbed her hips, lifting and turning her lean body until it was her back to the wall.

Katara's eyes flew open in shock, but she immediately hooked her heels together around his waist, bringing her hips to his again with a little twist. Zuko growled low in his throat and snaked forward to latch his mouth onto Katara's neck. She threw her head back and arched her back under him, groaning at the sensation of his tongue against her skin. Zuko dragged his open mouth down along her collar bone until he found the curve of her breast. He followed that until he had a nipple in his mouth, then he began to flick the little bud with his tongue; worrying it gently with his teeth. Katara began to writhe under his ministrations, her hands fisting in his hair at the back of his head. He raised his head again when she began to scrabble at his back, raking him with her nails in desperation. As soon as he did, Katara went for the rest of his robe that was sitting on his hips at the top of his pants, pushing at them until they were pooled on the ground around his feet. As she did, Zuko pushed the hem of her dress up around her middle and yanked her own pants down below her knees, exposing her as he was.

Zuko trailed a finger up the inside of Katara's thigh until it reached her entrance, checking to see if she was ready for him. She made a small noise of impatience, and reached between them to grab him solidly in one hand. Zuko hissed at her firm grip and she smirked. She released him briefly to bring her hand up to her mouth where she licked it, her burning eyes meeting his as she dragged her tongue across her palm, then brought it down again and began to slowly work him. Zuko threw his head back and bared his teeth, digging his fingers into Katara's hips as he did so. Her other hand that was wrapped around his shoulders for balance tightened in response, and she began to move her hand faster. He growled as she flicked her thumb over the tip, and she took the hint. As he moved his hips forward Katara guided him to her slippery entrance, and they both gasped as he breached her and slid slowly in.

Zuko waited until he was seated entirely inside her and then he paused, resting his forehead against hers as they both briefly caught their breath. Then he began to move slowly, thrusting in minute movements that grew as he went on. With Katara meeting his thrusts at an even pace, sensation quickly began to build. Soon they were coming together with a ferocious rhythm that was equal parts bringing them together and tearing them apart. Zuko was rapidly approaching the end when he felt Katara give slightly, and she began to clench around him in release. He groaned aloud, his voice joining hers as he let himself go, exploding into a thousand pieces as he reached the edge and threw himself off of it to join Katara in ecstasy.

They both came slowly back to themselves, and just as slowly pulled apart. Each busied themselves with fixing their clothing, and didn't face each other until they were put back together. Their eyes met briefly and then skittered away again. Zuko felt a his face flushing slowly, replacing the glow of the aftermath. Katara shyly pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and scuffed her toe against the floor. Zuko paused, then opened his mouth to say who-knows-what when the wall suddenly burst out and Aang and his Uncle Iroh came rushing into the cave. Then Zuko and Katara had other things to worry about, and their moment was forgotten until it was too late to go back.