Author's Note: this is my first Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfic ever! Enjoy =)

"I now claim this land as Boom-er-Aang territory!" Sokka shouted as he planted a stick in the ground his with boomerang tied to its point.

"What is that?" Katara asked as she and Aang unloaded their gear from Appa's saddle.

"It's our flag." Sokka stood proudly, until his 'flag' tipped over.

"Yeah, sounds really effective." Toph said in her dry humor as she earth bended tents for shelter.

"Aww, boomerang!" Sokka whined as he returned his favorite weapon to its holster on his side.

"I thought it was creative." Aang smiled, trying to do what he did best, which was keeping up the moral.

"Creative won't keep us safe from intruders." Zuko, the newest addition to the group, said as he collected firewood.

"Aren't you the intruder?" Katara asked, hands on hips, not afraid to display her disapproval at the fire benders inclusion to their exclusive team.

Sensing the newly created tension, Aang stepped in. "Alright now, it's been a long day of flying, so let's just make camp and get some sleep." The Avatar ended with a friendly smile.

"Sounds good to me." Toph earth bended a giant rock wall around their camp in the middle of a forest.

"It's getting dark." Aang looked up into the darkening sky after the group managed to unpack most of the essential belongings.

"Why don't we just ask the fire-bender to save our lives and make a fire? Oh wait, he can't." Katara glared harshly at Zuko, who had just recently discovered his inability to fire bend, which he speculated was due to joining Aangs side of the war and losing his unhealthy aggression.

Zuko remained quiet, dropping the wood before he turned around and walked up to the rock wall, tapping on it before Toph created an opening for him to leave.

"Katara, really?" Sokka asked in his frustration, not liking the drama that added to the stress of trying to save the world.

"I think you should go with him. He cant wander out there alone." Aang said, trying to be the calm sense of reasoning that the group needed.

"What if she kills him?" Toph brought up the not-so-unlikely possibility.

"Katara," Sokka repeated in his older brother voice, causing the young water bender to roll her eyes as she went after Zuko.

"Come back together soon!" Aang shouted before Katara disappeared into the trees. It was dark but the dim light provbed to be just enough to guide Katara through the trees, tyring to listen as carefully as she could to locate the fire-bender. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, she heard a loud grunt.

She pulled out some water from her pouch, ready in case it was someone other than Zuko…or maybe in case it was Zuko. Either way, Katara continued closer to the sound. She heard a long, loud sigh, as if someone were trying to exhale away their frustrations, and when Katara cleared a couple more trees, she saw Zuko's back sitting against a rock.

"Who's there?" Zuko whipped around and stood up in defense.

"It's just me." Katara said before she tripped over a small rock, falling forward.

"Watch out!" Zuko caught her to save her form smacking the ground.

"Don't touch me!" Katara pushed Zuko away, rejecting his help. Zuko's hopeless eyes looked away as he stayed silent.

"I don't need your help. We don't need you. You can't fire-bend, which, for once, is now a bad thing." Katara stared Zuko down.

"I'm sorry." Zuko apologized in a hushed whisper.

"I don't want your pathetic apology!" Katara yelled, her emotions taking a hold of her.

"What do you want?" Zuko remained surprisingly calm, compensating for Katara's anger.

"Nothing anyone can help me with, especially you!" Katara shouted, but it didn't change Zuko's patience.

"What is it?"

Katara couldn't look the fire-bender in the eye. "My mom."

Zuko nodded. "Me too." He said, but Katara only shook her head.

"Don't think that you can relate to my life, my struggles, and my pain! You tried that in Ba Sing Se!" Katara growled, leaving Zuko to sigh to himself.

"Ok." He said, too tired and emotionally exhausted to argue.

"You made me believe that you have a heart and feelings, but you're no different than the rest of your despicable people, full of hatred and war!" Katara continued her lecture.

"I'm sorry. I know that the fire nation caused a lot of damage to a lot of people, and as Prince, I'll take responsibility."

"Ha! Some Prince you are! You betrayed your own people!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Zuko couldn't understand the enigma of a being before him.

"Whatever. IT doesn't change the fact that you're a fire-bender, Ozai's son."

"I'm Ursa's son too. You think I like having the fire-lord as my dad? Nothing I ever did was good enough! Nothing I ever said was right. I was too emotional and too weak for his love, but Azula was the only one he ever cared about! You may have lost your mom, but at least you still have your dad." Zuko turned around to walk further into the ever darkening forest.

"Zuko, wait," Katara reached for his wrist and held it. "I…I'm sorry. I never thought of it that way."

Zuko turned around with his wrist still in Katara's grasp.

"It's alright."

Katara sighed uneasily. "I know it couldn't have been easy for you to have left your home to help us stop your father. I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Zuko gave a timid smile.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't call it home."

Katara was tempted to ask for an explanation, but the darkening sky prompted her to press on.

"We should head back before we get stuck out here." Katara suggest and Zuko nodded that he agreed. The two walked back in silence, both unsure of what their potential friendship status had changed into.

"It's getting too dark to see." Katara worried that they wouldn't return to their camp since the only light had just disappeared.

"I can't see anything." Zuko squinted, which didn't help at all.

"Zuko? Where are you?" Katara could hardly see her own hands.

"I'm right here." Zuko's voice seemed to echo around the water-bender, who stretched her arms to try and find his exact location.

"Where?" She called out again.

"Here." Zuko said when his eyes widened as he felt two hands on his chest.

Katara pulled back in shock with a gasp and started to fall backwards over a tree stump.

Zuko reached out and pulled her in as close to his body as he could, holding her safely.

Katara's heart raced as she buried her face into the warm fire-benders chest. Katara lifted her hands to Zuko's back, inhaling steadily as she caught her breath after her brief scare of falling.

"You...are….are you alright?" Zuko fumbled his words with his nerves.

"Yeah, th-thank you." Katara gulped, loving the warmth that she felt in Zuko's arms.

"Of course." Zuko cleared his throat. For a reason that she couldn't explain, Katara dreaded leaving the safety that surrounded her with those strong biceps and tall lean body.

"Zu-Zuko? I'm sorry." Katara was willing to reveal her moment of vulnerability for what she knew to be right.

"For what?"

"All this time, I've been blaming you for my moms death as if you were the murderer. But you're not. It wasn't fair for you to live under a shadow that you're not attached to, like your dad." Katara said quietly, hoping that she didn't bring up anything too personal.

"You get used to it." Zuko kept his hands on the small of Katara's back as he looked away, which didn't change the pitch black scenery that engulfed them.

"You…you feel so warm." Katara noticed the unexplainable heat that escaped Zuko's body.

"I usually feel this way when," Zuko started, then he paused. He took Katara's hand in his and held out his other palm, igniting a controlled flame.

"Zuko! You did it!" Katara stared at the fire with a respectable fear.

"I….I did. I did it." Zuko wasn't used to this feeling of excitement that birthed a small smile on his face.

"It looks like your fire wasn't completely extinguished after all." Katara squeezed the hand in hers, fully able to see the blush creep up on Zuko's cheeks.

"I don't think it ever completely left. I just needed help igniting it." Zuko squeezed his hand back, admiring the nervous smile on Katara's face.

"Since we started working together, I was the water that put out your fire. Maybe from now on, I can help it grow?" Katara didn't even understand what she was saying, but she wanted so badly to get to know this young warrior more. For so long she had only seen him as she had judged him to be. It was then when she became ready to get to know him for who he really was with all the potential that he truly had.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Zuko welcomed Katara back into a hug, which she gladly accepted. Katara inhaled the heat that travelled onto her body and up to her red cheeks as she felt Zuko's hands on her back.

"Zuko?" She asked, wanting to speak without having words to say.

"Yes?" He was just as scared of the uncertainty caused by their closeness.

"Thank you, for letting me have a second chance to get to know you." Katara tightened her grip around Zuko's waist.

"Thank you for giving me a second chance to help the Avatar." Zuko rested his chin on Katara's head.

"That's right! We should get back before they worry." Katara hated to break the lengthy embrace, but she didn't want to cause her brother or Aang any added stress; she knew that Toph would survive just fine with their absence.

"Good idea." Zuko took Katara's hand and used the other as a lantern to hold the fire that led them back to the solid rock wall of their camp.

"Zuko, wait." Katara said before Zuko knocked on the wall as a sign for Toph to let them back inside.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, but was stopped short when he felt Katara's lips on his.

Katara swung her arms around Zuko's neck, having to go on her tip toes to reach. Zuko let his fire go out as he used his hands to hold Katara's hips, pushing his tongue inside the female warriors mouth.

Katara tilted her head to the side as she held onto Zuko's face, the emotions of the day being expressed fully and completely in that one kiss. Zuko reciprocated his feelings by the way he took charge and swayed his hips into hers, anxious to display his affection and strength. In the mix of their closed eyes and open mouths, neither bender could hear or see anything other than the love that was being transported from tongue to tongue.

"Ahem!" Toph cleared her throat loudly, and both Zuko and Katara froze. Zuko shifted his eyes sideways to see that Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Momo were all staring at them.

"Uhhhh," Zuko took his hands off Katara while Katara stepped back and cleared her throat.

"To your tent!" Sokka stared at Katara and pointed at her blue tent inside their camp.

"Sokka," Katara started, but her brother interrupted her.

"To your tent!" Sokka repeated, so she sighed and rolled her eyes as she obeyed.

"And I thought she was going to kill you." Toph grinned. "I could feel how fast your hearts were beating just now." She rubbed it in as Zuko blushed even deeper.

"If she didn't, Sokka just might." Aang watched as Sokka glared at Zuko.

"That's my baby sister!" Sokka put his hands up to his warriors-wolf-tail.

"I'm not a baby!" Katara shouted from within her tent.

"You stay out of this! Now, we're all going to calm down, go in our tents, and go to sleepy time!" Sokka hyperventilated as he panted.

"Alright, just keep your pants on." Toph closed the wall up once Zuko entered inside and went to her rock-tent.

"I'm just glad that they made it back safe. Come on Momo, bed time." Aang patted his shoulder as Momo flew on it before they went in his tent.

"Look, Sokka, I," Zuko rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I don't want to know." Sokka put a hand up to stop him.

"If you don't want me dating your sister, I can respect that." Zuko said anyway.

Sokka paused and then shrugged. "To be honest, I never thought that she'd ever develop feelings for anyone. She's always had a thing against men since our dad left, but to see her have feelings for you that don't include causing you pain is kind of refreshing. But if I see you kissing her again, I'll kill you." Sokka smiled and patted Zuko's head, which stood a couple inches higher than his own.

"Fair enough." Zuko smiled. "Thanks Sokka." The fire-bender bowed before he went inside his tent.

"Goodnight Toph. Night Sokka, goodnight Zuko, goodnight Katara, night Momo, goodnight Appa,"

"Goodnight already!" Toph created a mini-earth quake to shut up the Avatar from his nightly sleep-time rituals.

That next morning, Zuko was up bright and early to make a fire for breakfast.

"Hello." Katara woke up early as well when she smelt the fire from her tent.

"Goodmorning." Zuko said, trying to adjust to the newness of the nerves he was feeling.

"Whoa, a fire?" Sokka came out of his tent with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah." Zuko sat right in front of it with protective eyes.

"But how?" Aang joined the rest of the group as they circled around the small fire.

"He found his fire." Katara smiled as she sat by Zuko, taking his hand in hers.

"No, I found my lighter." Zuko smiled back at her.

Author's Note: Ok so that was my first ever Avatar the last Airbender fanfic! Its actually my first non-square enix fanfic, so I'm still getting used to non Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters. Also, I am a huge yaoi fan, so writing a non-yaoi is just as new for me as well.

I hope you all liked it. I usually write rated M fics for kingdom hearts, yaoi, so this is completely out of my element for me.

I wrote this for mi primita! She's my best friend and she is one of the few people who I could literally talk to every damn day. She is my twin, my best friend, mi otro gato negro! Te amo primita! Los gatos negros para sempre! I hope you liked it.

Heart, Sarabellum.