AN Running a bit late, sorry loves. I think people wanted a bit more fluff and obvious Zutara so here it is, enjoy =)
She almost tripped over him on her way back to her room. Hours had been spent in the library pouring over the books and scrolls collected from every nation, it was surprising how much she learned about her own tribe from books found in the Fire Nation. When she bumped into what she later found out was his foot, she waved her arms slightly to balance herself back up. All of the grace she showed while waterbending was nonexistent in that moment. Tucking a stray strand of hair that had managed to escape at some point behind her ear she stared down at what had gotten in the way.
Instead of seeing a small rock or branch she saw a foot which was connected to a leg which was connected to a torso which was connected to a very familiar face.
"Hello, Zuko here."
She bit back a smile at his familiar words. The first time she had heard him say that she had been close to neatly slicing his head off. This time around she just tapped the bottom of his foot lightly with her own.
"And what are you doing there?"
Katara looked ready to scold him; he was still in the clothes he would wear to important meetings and his crown had been taken out and was by his side as if he had tossed in carelessly aside.
"I'm looking at the stars. Come join me."
He patted the grass beside him and with a small shrug of her shoulders lowered herself to the ground and joined him. Now, the stars were pretty and she did enjoy looking at them but truthfully she had always been distracted by the moon. In her eyes the moon was the main focus of the night sky and the stars were simply added decorations. Granted she was a bit biased especially since she personally knew the moon and her powers were directly linked to it as well. Katara simply didn't understand how someone could spend hours staring at the stars.
Turning her head to face him she waited the few seconds needed till he turned to look at her. A raised eyebrow from him was responded to with a raised eyebrow of her own. Puffed out cheeks were countered with her fish face that always made him smile till he finally gave in.
"Do you see that group of stars right over there?"
He pointed at the sky but it didn't really help since it all simply looked like one giant group of stars to her. To try and help herself see this supposed group of stars she moved herself till her head was as close to his as possible. Nope, she still didn't see it but she did enjoy the body heat he provided so she stayed where she was. Zuko didn't bring up the fact that she was basically snuggling with him, last time he had pointed it out she had instantly moved away and busied herself with work. Taking her silence as an answer he took her hand in his and used it to point out the group of stars.
"See they make a straight line over there, and another one connected to it right there. You can always spot it because of the brightest star right there."
He traced out the lines with her finger as he spoke and slowly the clump started to look like a proper shape.
"Most people just stay with the main part right there but others continue it with these stars right there, and there."
The shape grew and she squinted slightly to put it into focus and try and mentally remove the other stars.
"Sailors use the brightest star to help them navigate so this constellation has appeared in stories in every part of the world. Even ancient civilizations that didn't rely on the sea have this constellation in their myths. The Air Nomads call this constellation Ursa Major, and the smaller version right there, is called Ursa Minor."
Katara nodded slightly to show that she was following and after he outlined Ursa Minor for her he dropped her hand between their sides but kept them intertwined. She wasn't about to point this out to him, the last time she had mentioned it he had pulled his hand away, his ears had turned bright red, which she had found to be quite adorable, and he avoided her eyes till a general had requested his attention.
"In the old language Ursa means bear. When my mom told me that I became convinced that if she were Ursa Major, then I must be the Minor. For a few days I tried to act like a bear, whenever my father or one of his followers weren't around of course. She humored me and called me little bear, even my uncle and cousin used to call me that. Azula found out as always and teased me about it but I think that might have just pushed her over the edge towards my father. Of course our mother loved both of us but if Azula didn't feel like she was first in something then it wasn't worth her time."
Without even realizing it she had started to make circles with her thumb against his hand. He took comfort from her presence and the slightly salty scent that seemed to follow her around and was foreign to the Fire Nation.
"Before she left we would stare at the stars and make up our own stories about all of the constellations. One of the stories was about how Pegasus and Draco both earned their wings and then mixed them up for a while. A lot of the stories were about the two bears of course."
Here he turned his head slightly to look at her and smiled, something she happily returned. Without even thinking about it she leaned her forehead on his and both were slightly surprised when the other didn't move away and blush.
"You always reminded me more of the stars than of the moon."
His comment caught her off guard but she didn't move away, instead she moved in slightly closer as if that would help her understand his words better.
"The stars change depending on where you are but they're always there and you always know where you are based on the stars. The moon however always changes and sometimes it's not even there. I've never thought that about you. You change, but you're always there, even if it's to threaten me in imaginative ways."
She laughed slightly now and he smiled in return. After her laugh faded away they were left in relative silence. When she blinked her eyelashes brushed against him and when he exhaled she could almost feel the fire that he said all firebenders had. Either he didn't know any romantic stories or she was particularly impatient that night because before she was aware of what she was doing she closed that small gap. It felt as if her lips were being burned in the best possible way, because apparently that was now possible. When they pulled apart both looked surprised and quite pleased with themselves.
"Now are you going to kiss me again or am I going to have to threaten you first?"
The smile on her face was only there for a short while before he happily covered it up with his own. Later he would have to tell her the stories about the water based constellations.