He groveled before her, face planted against the ground as he cried for his life. For a moment, Katara almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
"Please. Please don't kill me," he begged.
Katara bit down on her lip. She wanted to kill him. She'd been wanting to kill him for years, and now that the time had come, she couldn't. She needed only to fire her gun.
Now.
Fire, she told herself. It was so easy. He should have already been dead. But he wasn't.
With tears blurring her vision, Katara looked away. She fired the bullet. He yelped in fear as it found earth in the ground beside him.
"I… I'm not-"
"Get out of my face!" Katara snapped before he was able to finish his thought. "Go on. Live your pathetic little life. Spend the rest of your days alone and hated." She turned away from him. "I can't even look at you anymore."
"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"
His cries seemed almost sincere, but the second Katara looked away, he reached for a knife hidden in his shoe and flicked it towards Katara. Zuko noticed it was aimed toward Katara's head before she did.
It happened almost as if they were in slow motion. Zuko lunged forward to block the blade. The dagger buried in his shoulder, but Zuko only gasped in surprise; Zuko had experience handling pain.
Katara, on the other hand, turned back toward the man. Gun still in hand, she fired a second round, her eye firmly on her target. Years of hunting and killing infected had gained her a exceptional aim, so when she took the shot, she knew she wouldn't miss.
The bullet chased Yon Rha down despite his stumbling to stand and run. The bullet pierced through the man's chest. Yon Rha let out a scream of pain, but quickly `turned silent as he pitched forward, blood dripping from the hole in his chest.
Katara rushed to Zuko. His hand clasped the opposite shoulder, holding the dagger in place until his shoulder could be properly tended to. She reached for her first aid kit and located some gauze,before immediately treating the wound.
"You protected me," she said quietly.
"I had to."
"I wouldn't have protected you."
"I know."
Katara could feel her face flush. She didn't care if it was the moment, she didn't care if these feelings were only the result of almost dying, or of Zuko saving her life, she wasn't going to stop herself. She leaned in to kiss him.
He returned the kiss. It didn't last long, but it didn't need to. The kiss, though only a peck, breathed a renew vitality into him. He could almost imagine a life where he was actually allowed happiness for a change. It was the most amazing kiss he's ever experienced.
"We should head back," he whispered.
Katara nodded in agreement, and with his wound dressed, the two headed back to camp, the tension that was once between them gone.