NO I STILL DON'T OWN AVATAR, I CHECKED.

Chapter 2: Healing

Zuko looked at wounds, groaning. His body was warm, standing behind the thin red curtains of his private balcony. For the first time in a while, Zuko could close his eyes and feel the heat of the sun that was shining most beautifully upon him. He took a deep breath and blew at his hair hanging in his face.

"There you are. We're all looking for you." Zuko whipped around, a little too quickly, in response to Katara's voice. He groaned slightly. She was leaning against the doorway, wearing a long blue gown that matched her eyes perfectly. And to finish it off, there was a beautiful Panda Lilly settled in her hair.

Katara raised her eyes from the floor and looked up at the gaping Fire Lord. She lifted a hand to her lips and giggled. Zuko closed his mouth and quickly looked away, blushing furiously.

"Here, let me help you with that." Katara crossed the room, almost too slowly, her hips moving in their normal fashion, except this dress seemed to accentuate them. She reached his body and took his sash of his gown in her hands. She moved in closer as she tied the sash, her hot breath gracing his bare chest.

"Thank you" His voice cracked. She roared with laughter.

"Hmm, are you sure that you're manly enough to be the next Fire Lord?" Katara teased. She stepped back to take a look at him.

Zuko furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head. "I hope so…" He smiled at her.

"'I hope so?' Not the answer I would expect from you." She circled him playfully.

"Well, I'm a totally different person, you know…and stop doing that!" He held his bandages and groaned again. She sighed.

"I'm sorry." She shuffled her feet, moving her toes around in her tight shoes. "I'm probably making you late. I'll go. See you in a--"

And just like he had in the courtyard, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her around to face him. She blushed and looked down at her hand. She lifted her other fingers to the back of his hand, gently brushed it, and then tried to leave again.

"No." He tugged her again. She sighed, her eyes watering, and looked him straight in his beautiful golden eyes.

"Katara, there is something I have to tell you."

She sighed and stepped a bit closer. "I think I can guess what it is."



"Katara, I can't go a minute without thinking of you, imagining your face, hearing your voice in the back of my head." He took a deep breath and looked at Katara, who was gazing at him with her shining blue eyes.

"Back in Ba Sing Se, I guess, I developed feelings for you. I thought you were a beautiful and strong willed woman. You could say that I had…a crush on you." He blushed. "And then when I betrayed you and Aang, I knew afterwards that it was your trust that I desired the most. I needed to know you again, and decided that I could have waited forever to see you heal, see you trust me again. And now…Now I cherish every waking moment that we have together and I've…I'm…I'm probably making no sense to you, but…I think I'm in love with you, Katara. No. I know I'm in love with you."

He paused…and waited. She was silent for a moment, and then opened her lips.

"I…well…you…" She stuttered. She couldn't think of a way to clear her thoughts. She couldn't speak. She could only do.

She rushed forward threw her arms around him in a romantic hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and inhaled to smell her hair.

Katara looked up at him, smiling beautifully, and moved her hands so that they were wrapped around his neck. She pressed onto her tip toes and lifted her lips to his, sealing them with a warm and passionate kiss. Zuko responded immediately and pulled her hips into his so that she was just up against his waist. The two of them gasped for air, and then he pressed his lips hard against hers. He ran his tongue along her lips, and she opened them welcomingly. His smooth tongue ran along the roof of her mouth, and she sighed quietly, causing Zuko's entire body to shake blissfully. He moved his hands and cupped her cheeks. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away silently.

"I have to go," She whispered. She kissed his lips quickly. He grabbed her shoulders before she could turn away. He kissed her along her neck. She gasped and moaned slightly, and Zuko went rigid with pleasure.

"Stay with me" He said between kisses.

"I will see you after the ceremonies." Katara struggled to say. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Please, Zuko. Stop." He smiled as he kissed her collar bone. She sighed deeply.

"You smell nice…really nice."

"You're not making this easy." He came to a stop at neck of her dress and raised his head to look at her.

"Please, see me afterwards." Katara smiled at him and caressed his cheek. She traced his scar with her fingers, turned quickly on her heel, and walked towards the doorway. With one last look at him through the closing doors, she slipped away from the room, running down the hallway.

She was running so fast, that she didn't happen to notice the pale tall woman with the straight jet black hair gliding the opposite way from the closed doors.

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