Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

RATING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO "M".

A/N this chapter covers 4 of the 7 prompts for the third week of ZK Month (pieces, vague, shiver, ripple). There's smut in this chapter, fyi. Just in the first section, so if you feel the need to skip it... Go ahead.

His lips were hot and soft, supple against hers. It didn't take long for her to become putty in his hands, which were still cupping the sides of her face and pulling her even closer to her than she thought possible. He tasted like the juice they were served at their early 'breakfast' and something else that was distinctly and most certainly Zuko. It was intoxicating, dizzying, and she was thankful that his hands held her in place like an anchor. If they didn't, she was sure she would have floated up into the air.

She breathed him in, clinging onto him like her life depended on it. He was what she needed, what she desired in every way possible. Her mind thrummed with the possibilities of what this all meant, why one of his hands was now roaming down the curve of her back and settling right above her rear. Why the other held the back of her head and tilted it up, just so he could settle closer and press his chest against hers.

This was definitely unlike any of the times Aang kissed her. She had been caught off guard this time, too, but the way Zuko's seemingly experienced lips caressed hers, how his deft hands roamed her body, and how his heated breath fanned against her face told her that this kiss was anything but innocent. And the thought made lust buzz through her veins like some type of scorching disease. She couldn't stop herself from moaning softly against his lips.

Zuko pulled away slowly, hands still holding her delicately yet tightly against his chest, and his eyes fluttered open to lock onto hers. He looked at a loss for words, like he didn't expect such a reaction from her. Like he didn't expect her to respond so enthusiastically to his touch.

"I..."

Grinning, Katara grabbed the back of his head and brought him back towards her face. "Just shut up."

He smirked at her response and leaned over her as he kissed her again, pushing her body back down onto her bed. Her head didn't hit the pillow, she realized, because his hand was right behind it and cradled its fall. She smiled into his mouth when she figured that out, and he responded with a smile of his own. He had settled himself in between her legs, nestling a warm hardness right against her center. Surprisingly, her body sung at the strange, new contact. Pulled tight like a lute string.

His mouth was torrid, tongue skilled in coaxing out a new confidence in her that seemed to add to Zuko's enthusiasm. He pressed himself against her, grinding her deeper into the bed and higher on the climb towards some unknown destination. Her moans were silenced with his lips, every sensitive part of her body caressed through her bindings until it felt like every nerve under her skin was on fire.

Their clothing was shed in between their languid kisses, hands roaming the planes of each others' bodies until they were flushed and panting. When she was completely naked underneath him, her legs quivering as they clenched against his bony hips, his lips finally began their descent towards her chest. Her nails bit into his back, she arched into him, inadvertently pressing her womanhood against him and slicking up his erection.

Zuko groaned into her chest, something that sounded vulnerable and feral to Katara, and pushed his hips towards her. He began grinding himself against her wetness as he suckled her nipples and massaged the weighty undersides her breasts, letting go of throaty gasps every time she rotated and thrust up against him.

"Fuck," he hissed after letting go of her nipple and resting his forehead against her sternum. He braced his arms outside of hers, his hips still swirling against hers in something that she could only peg as on the verge lacking self-control. His body quaked, felt hot to the touch. Her own self-control was spiraling towards nonexistence.

She knew the consequences of their desires, if they were to be pursued. She would be stupid not to be wary of the road they were travelling. But when he lifted his head and locked his eyes on her, a sliver of gold overwhelmed with lust, she disregarded all of those thoughts immediately and reached down to grip the base of his arousal.

His helpless and surprised gasp was enough to unravel her, let her succumb to what her body was begging for.

Leading him to her opening, she braced herself for the pain she would inevitably come. But as he pushed himself in, much too slow for her tastes, all she felt was a slight discomfort and a stretching sensation before he settled himself at the mouth of her womb. All of the air seemed to be sucked out of her lungs when he began to move out, sparks spreading out from where they were joined and shooting to her fingertips and toes.

The lightning outside seemed to crash when he thrust his hips back into hers, almost like a crescendo in the symphony of their love making. Either it was her imagination or Zuko didn't notice the sounds of the weather outside, because he continued to slowly glide himself in and out of her, teeth grazing the skin of her neck and his heated breath practically burning her.

The scraping of his skin against hers, the sounds of him coming apart at the seams, the way his hands gripped her body so close to his as they trembled under his weight... In the back of her mind, she thought how this type of exertion wouldn't be good for the wound on his chest, but her lust-clouded thoughts said she would just heal it if he did hurt himself again. Right now, she was too busy appreciating the feeling of her body shivering with every single one of his touches, mold to him with every kiss, and feel as if it was about to rip open when he began moving faster. Her fingers clawed at his shoulders, feeling every muscle flex under her touch. He was slick with sweat, she most likely was as well. She avoided the bandages still wrapped around the center of his torso and went down to his ass, gripping it tightly when he sped up even more. This just spurred him on even more.

It almost came as a shock, her orgasm. But when it did, it felt like the whole lower half of her body was a liquid set on fire, a rippling tide with flames dancing on top. The room felt like it had heated up, brightening along with her climax. Her scream was muffled with his mouth, where he bit on her lip to try and silence his own groans and curses.

They laid together, him still on top of her, the inferno in their minds slowly fading into a slow burning ember. Katara's breathing began calming, and she had to struggle to open her eyes to see that Zuko was still pressing his face into her neck, smiling softly against her skin. She could still feel his hot breaths fanning against her collarbone, faster than her own but slowly starting to settle.

"Zuko..."

He tightened his grip around her body and murmured, "Katara."

Her name slipping out of his mouth like that, so content and calm, caused her to shiver again. She reflexively wrapped her arms around him, careful to not pull him down where his wound was, and buried her face into his matted hair. She had no words, no way to express her gratitude and appreciation for his company. Suddenly she knew exactly what she had been feeling when it regarded this scarred prince. It was no longer up in the air and confusing her, not after he murmured her name the way he did. And she wanted to declare this new love for him that she was feeling, but words seemed to fail her.

The room was now washed in darkness again and she blearily looked over to see that her candle had burnt out, melted down to a stub. And it was just then that she felt her eyelids start to droop on their own accord. She was finally reaching that point of exhaustion that she had been working towards since she woke up that night. But Zuko was still here, and she wanted to tell him. She had to tell him.

"Zuko," she mumbled again, sleep deprivation lacing her voice.

He slowly pulled his hips away from her, sliding out with nothing more than a flinch, and rolled to lay at her side. He pulled her sheet over both of them and then brought her to his chest, brushing her hair away from her face before he kissed her gently on her temple. "Go to sleep, Katara."

"No," she moaned, barely fighting the welcome feeling of sleep as it climbed over her. "I need to tell you something..."

"And you can tell me after you get some rest," he whispered before he settled one hand on her hip, the other surrounding her shoulders. "Sleep, my love."

Like a command, she felt her eyes finally get heavy and the world go silent.

Katara woke later that day with a mix between of pure bliss and bitter realization. She was unfortunately alone, bed empty except her own naked body and the rumpled sheets tangled around her feet. She felt a flush of shame heat her face when she thought of the fact that she was blatantly nude, uncovered and out for the world to see. Hurriedly, she gripped the silk blankets and pulled them up over her chest. If someone had come in and seen her this way, her secret tryst with Zuko could have likely been discovered. She couldn't afford that.

Because no one ever sleeps in the nude, at least not in a room in someone else's home. But that was only her opinion on the matter.

Her mind swam of the events of earlier that morning, lingering on the new pieces of Zuko she hadn't known before, the way her heart swelled when he said her name on the breath of a whisper, and how his declarations for her fell off his lips like a prayer. Normally, she was accustomed to Zuko's differences. Mainly the ones revolving around his mannerisms and proprieties. Seeing him unravel and be so unabashed in front of her earlier was like a breath of fresh air.

She had always been fascinated with the hidden side of Zuko, the man behind closed doors. He was an enigma, a mystery to anyone and everyone. There were so many things about him she still didn't know, things she yearned to discover since he first lowered his shield to her.

There was a heavy knock on her door, followed by the familiar shout of Toph. "Get up, Sweetness! They're serving a late lunch and I don't want to get there after your brother gets all the meat!"

Katara groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes and ignoring the dull discomforts that pulled throughout her body as she moved. "Go ahead without me. I need to wash up."

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't tell you so when you get down there and all that's left is rice and Twinkle Toes's veggie rolls!"

Her reply was just a lazy grunt as she pulled herself out of her bed. She winced when her legs practically collapsed underneath her, feeling like jelly supporting cement bricks. She braced herself on her nightstand and knocked over the stub of wax that used to be her candle, causing it to roll off and clamber onto the floor.

"You okay in there, Sweetness?"

Katara flushed and grimaced. She had thought Toph walked away already. Smoothing down her hair, and gritting her teeth when she snagged on a knot, she replied, "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just lost my balance. I'll be down there in a few minutes, Toph. Don't wait up."

There was a muffled "Okay!" and she could hear the faint sounds of Toph's retreating feet. Katara went to the chair in the corner of her room, where the repaired clothes she wore on the day of the Agni Kai were neatly laid out. A maid had come in at some point in time during the past few days and taken the clothes she had worn since she arrived, all of them being Zuko's or Azula's hand-me-downs other than her one Water Tribe outfit. And now her normal clothes were nicely cleaned and pressed, something that made her smile with gratitude.

Sparing a glance out her window, Katara saw the rain had let up for now. The sky was still overcast, but nothing was falling from it for now. Yet it looked as if the rain would return in full force any second.

She padded over to the bathroom attached to her room and turned on the faucet, pulling the water out and swirling it around her body to clean off any sweat and other grime she accumulated since her bath the night prior. She had no time to take a real bath, with the realization her stomach was now growling uncontrollably. And knowing her brother, there wouldn't be enough food left for everyone if anyone didn't make it to the dining hall before him. If she didn't eat fast, she wouldn't eat.

Quickly, she dressed herself and managed to pull her hair into a simple twisted bun. It was the most she could do with the tangles left in the mass of curls. She slid her feet into a pair of slippers, yet again courtesy of Zuko, and left her room in a hurry. She also figured on her way down to the dining hall that if she showed up late, questions would be asked. And she really didn't have a cover story as to why she napped for so long and why her hair was in such disarray.

Katara entered the hall without much of a fuss, realizing she arrived just on time. Suki and Sokka hadn't arrived yet, but Toph and Aang were sitting across from each other, already digging into what appeared to be seaweed rolls and rice. Zuko was sitting at the head of the table, sipping on a cup of tea and eyes scanning a piece of parchment. Iroh was sitting on his left and kept pointing to different areas on the paper, adding commentary which would cause Zuko to nod and then take a bite of meat or sip from his cup.

When she approached the table, his golden eyes flickered up from the paper and he froze. A secretive, and frankly quite seductive and charming, smile made it's way onto his lips, causing her to blush and duck her head before she settled into her seat next to Toph, took the upside down bowl on her plate, and began placing some fish onto her plate and some soup into the bowl.

"Katara, you should try this!" Aang exclaimed as he held up what looked like a fried dumpling. "It's vegetarian!"

She offered him a kind smile and replied, "Of course, Aang."

Reaching over to pick one up with her chopsticks, her eyes flickered over to Zuko, who had been watching her ever since she walked in. He was still holding conversation with Iroh, but kept his gaze on her. She felt the need to get him to stop, to hiss at him and demand why he was staring. But that was all wiped away when he smirked at her then winked and looked back to his plate to pick up a dumpling of his own. She couldn't stop herself from flushing again before she shoveled a few bites of fish and rice into her mouth and busied herself with chewing.

She was feeling incredibly embarrassed, her mind worrying about the people at the table discovering what had transpired between her and Zuko that morning. She knew Toph would be completely indifferent. The blind girl never really cared about the affairs of others, unless they included her. Iroh would most likely rave about it. Which made Katara slightly uncomfortable. They had sex, they aren't dating or in love.

Well you are. He might not be.

Sokka would be a tough one to convince, considering he was so incredibly protective of her. He would threaten Zuko, or actually hurt him if he knew that the firebender took her innocence. Suki would be like Toph, or maybe even Iroh. Her reaction was up in the air, honestly. Either way, she would probably be happy for Katara.

The biggest problem would be Aang. He would be distraught and heartbroken, possibly even angry at Zuko for taking her away from him. Internally, Katara fumed. She could see that happening, based on his reaction when Sokka even mentioned her kissing Jet back in Ba Sing Se. Aang had almost treated her like property, a trophy. And he probably felt she would run happily into his arms and remark on how amazing he was for saving the world.

It wasn't like he did it on his own, she growled internally before she shoved another bite of food into her mouth.

There was a low chuckle from the head of the table and she snapped her gaze to it's owner, eyes resting on a mirthful looking Zuko. She glared at him before he swallowed and pointed at her with his chopsticks and remarked, while still laughing, "You have some rice on your cheek."

Hastily, she dragged the back of her wrist over her cheeks and saw a small about of rice fall into her lap. She could feel her ears tinging red with her increased embarrassment, and she was about to wring Zuko's neck after seeing the smug expression he shot her way. He was teasing her! He had the audacity to mock her like some child. She all but growled at him before returning her attention back to her plate.

Regardless of their standing since this morning, embarrassing her was not something she could stand for. Not right now.

The doors to the dining hall opened, revealing a disheveled-looking Sokka and a tidy Suki. Together they walked to the table, sitting next to Aang and across from Katara.

"G'morning everyone," Sokka yawned out as he flipped over the bowl on his plate and began serving himself. Suki smiled at everyone, murmuring a quiet "hello" before she sat and followed Sokka's lead.

"Sokka, it's after noon," Aang commented after swallowing a mouthful of fruit.

Her brother simply shrugged before stuffing his face. Conversations continued around the table, while Katara kept looking at her plate and picking through her food. She was in quite a predicament. It wasn't fair that her heart was so conflicted. Seeing how Aang was still glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes and continuously had tried to capture her attention, she realized her impending decision regarding what she was going to do now was going to be so much harder. Shouldn't she be able to make her own decisions about who she wanted to be with? If she even wanted to be with someone in the first place? Her worth shouldn't be defined by a man, regardless of how important that man is. She was important, too. She should be able to make a decision for herself, not to please one person or the masses.

"Earth to Sugar Queen! I asked you a question!"

She snapped her head up and saw that all eyes around the table were on her. "Huh?"

"I asked you what you planned to do now that the war is over," Toph humphed, obviously a little perturbed that Katara had ignored her.

Katara flickered her eyes around, gauging the reactions from her friends. Sokka was still chewing, but his expression spelled out indifference. Aang was looking at her expectantly, like he was trying to will her to say she would travel the world with him and be his girl. It was almost painful to watch. Her eyes then went to Zuko, who was staring at her with a straight face. Waiting.

She knew this expression. It was his mask. He wore this when he was consciously trying to not show any emotion, school his face of any traces of feelings. He had done that when he tied her to the tree by the river, he did it when they were in the cave under Ba Sing Se. And she had noticed he did it a lot while training Aang, most likely to refrain from snapping the airbender's neck. Though he was bad at it, she knew this mask was for when he tried his damnedest to not crack.

The only thing about this mask was that since his expressions were so easily conveyed with his eyes, the whole purpose of the mask was futile. He was a man that rarely wore his expressions on his sleeves, he showed them in his eyes. No matter how much he tried to be stoic and emotionless.

Katara could tell he wanted her to stay here with him, just by the way his eyes widened even more when she locked hers with them. His mouth was pressed in an anxious line and his tongue snaked out to lick his lower lip, a nervous tick she picked up on.

With a shrug, Katara broke the eye contact with Zuko and brought her gaze back to her plate. "I'm not sure. Depends where I'm needed."

She didn't miss the crestfallen looks on both Aang's and Zuko's faces, Aang's more obvious than Zuko's, out of the corner of her eye. She knew she was being vague, but there was no point in making plans when in all reality she had no idea what she wanted to do. Logic told her to go back to the Southern Water Tribe to see her family and to help with the rebuilding process, where she would definitely be needed. Yet her heart urged her to stay with Zuko in the Fire Nation to help him out. And so he could help her out, too.

And if she were to go with Aang, that would create a message she didn't want to send. Yes Aang was incredibly infatuated with her, actually more like madly in love with her. But unless she reciprocated those feelings, there was no point in travelling with him and giving him that false idea that she did. She had thought before that she possibly owed him her affections, but as she slyly looked to Zuko, who was looking back to the parchment and frowning with a slight pout, she knew it would be worse for everyone in the long run if she joined the airbender. Even if it was for purposes of maintaining peace.

But if she stayed with Zuko, what would she do here? Would she be an aid to him, possibly an ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe and help facilitate treaties between the countries? Or would she remain in the Fire Nation as the new Fire Lord's consort? They hadn't even brushed on courting, because they literally went into wordless confessions of feelings and then their romp in the sack.

Katara then gulped.

What if Zuko just wanted her here for that purpose? She couldn't stay here just to be his fuck-buddy, love for him be damned. She was more than a body for him to use, so if she were to stay it would be on her own terms that benefited her as well.

But fucking Zuko every night would be beneficial to you, a little voice in her head thought alluringly. Who cares if that's all you're here for? You love him, and you'll get to be with him. That's all that should matter right?

No it isn't, she countered internally. If I'm going to be doing these things with him, it better be for the right reasons. I still have some dignity.

Her head was swimming, this was almost too much. She needed to figure out what she wanted, because being fickle about her decision in general wasn't a good thing. She had to figure this out, and fast. Zuko's coronation was tomorrow at noon, then they were all going to travel to Ba Sing Se that night after the reception luncheon to meet with the Earth King and celebrate the end of the war at the Jasmine Dragon. She needed an answer by tomorrow night.

Because if she didn't, then she might make a mistake and choose the wrong one.

She swallowed the rest of her food and excused herself from the table, feigning a headache and exited the dining hall. But as she headed to the door, she could feel the hot stare of Zuko on her back.

"I'm guessing that the reason you bolted from lunch is that you're mad about something?"

Katara glanced up from the pond in front of her, eyes resting on the casually standing future Fire Lord. His arms were folded across his chest, shoulder resting against the sakura tree next to her. His hair was falling in his eyes and moving gently in the wind, his ankles were crossed and he was wearing a worried expression, his eyes flashing with a sort of panic. His mask had been taken off.

Turning back to the water, she shrugged again. "I don't know what I'm feeling, honestly."

She could hear a relieved sigh, then his approaching steps and felt his presence when he sat next to her, grass whispering when he slowly lowered himself. She heard a restrained groan pass his lips and she looked over to see him clutching his chest, eyes screwed shut and jaw clenched.

"Is that still bothering you?"

After a few moments of heavy breathing, his features relaxed and his eyes fluttered open. He glanced over to her and gave her the same secretive smile he had given her at lunch, causing her cheeks to heat, and he replied softly, "It was worth it."

She glowered at him for a moment, knowing the exact reasons why he had even said that. If someone had overheard that statement, they may have assumed it was because he believed jumping in front of the lightning to save her was worth it. While she knew that to be true, she also knew that he wasn't referring to that. He was referring to irritating and straining his wound this morning when they had sex.

Looking down to her lap, she had to stop herself from retorting with something that she probably didn't mean. Instead, she mumbled, "You need to watch what you say. Someone might misinterpret your intentions, Fire Lord."

"There's nothing to misinterpret." He paused for a moment before adding, almost to himself, "And I'm not Fire Lord, yet."

Sparing another glance at him, she saw he was just staring at the pond in front of him, hand resting absently on his abdomen right on top of his bandages. His hair was getting tousled by the wind, reminding her heavily of their conversation the night before. His face was tense with conflict, jaw taut and the muscles there ticking. Another habit she had recognized in the firebender.

"Zuko-"

"I know why you evaded Toph's question earlier."

She stared at him a little bit longer, waiting for him to continue with his reasoning. Continue with whatever reason he thought she was being vague about her plans. But he probably was wrong. Because even she didn't know. How could he know if she didn't? She wanted to open her mouth to counter his thoughts, but nothing came out. How could she defend something she couldn't even decide? Even when she tried to reply, he cut her off.

"You're ashamed about what we did," he mumbled, his gaze dropping to his lap. The way his voice cracked at the end of his statement broke her. He was so wrong, so wrong in so many ways. How could he even think of that? That was absurd, totally incorrect, and he was just looking like a kicked puppy.

"I-no!" she practically squeaked. He didn't even look up when she responded. Instead he looked away from her, jaw tighter than she's ever seen and his shoulders almost up to his ears. He looked as if he was definitely thinking that was how she was feeling. She rolled onto her knees and crawled so she was kneeling in front of him. She took his hands within her own and added, "Zuko, I could never be ashamed of that... It's just-"

Without turning towards her he interrupted, "It's just you don't want our friends to know. And you regret it, so you're going to leave with Aang once we're done with the negotiations in Ba Sing Se because you think he deserves you more than I-"

"Shut up," she snapped. That caught his attention enough where his head whirled back to glare at her. His golden eyes looked as if they were on fire, about to spark her up, too. Instead of flinching under his stare, she steeled herself and stated, "I'm not going to go with Aang." His expression didn't change. "In fact, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I've been torn up about what I'm going to do since I woke up... And I don't know why."

His face softened when he replied simply, as if it was the most obvious solution, "Why don't you stay with me?"

Katara looked away and felt herself gnaw at her lower lip. She knew he would ask, as soon as they were alone again. But she still didn't have an answer. In a small voice, she asked, "What would I do here?"

"Be with me."

"Is that it?"

"Shouldn't that be enough?"

Their eyes locked and she felt like her heart just shattered. He looked and sounded so broken, so defeated. She hasn't even answered him yet he already felt like she was telling him 'no'.

You aren't telling him 'yes', that small voice in her head cooed. You know how this goes. You're not going to say 'yes' because you don't want to be pegged as the Fire Lord's girlfriend, like how you don't want to be labeled as the Avatar's girl. You don't want to be subjugated to being the mother of his children, of the heirs to his throne, and be practically forgotten as a person. You're more than a prize, you are more than someone's girl. You are Katara, Master Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. You will not be forgotten as that, only known in history as either the Fire Lady or the girl who shagged the Fire Lord.

She looked away, unable to continue staring at the face of a breaking man. Nothing tore at her more than the distraught look on his face. Not even the rejection on Aang's face after he kissed her on Ember Island and she pushed him away. This pained her more than she could bear.

"Zuko," she began, eyes starting to water as she slid her hands out of his. "You know I can't just stay here just to be here. I need to do something that helps others. I want to help keep the peace, I want to go back home and see my family and my home and-"

"Stop," he said softly, but still in that commanding voice instilled with him since birth. She slowly turned back to him and he was frowning. "I never said that you wouldn't be able to do these things."

"Who said you were the one to decide what I can and can't do?" she snapped, causing Zuko to flinch and scowl deeper, then added in a less harsh tone, "I want to be my own person before I am someone else's, Zuko."

His expression softened. "And I never said that you wouldn't be. I just want you to be with me."

"What would Aang think?" she muttered, looking away again. She was reaching, because she didn't know what to do. She was still searching for reasons to stay, reasons to go, reasons to be with him or not.

"Why would his opinion matter?" Zuko growled, voice sounding angrier as he kept speaking. "Yeah, the kid's got a crush on you. But that doesn't mean you're obligated to fall in love with him because he believes so. No one falls in love once, and no one is a prize to be won. And he definitely doesn't deserve you just because he accomplished something that should have been done a century ago.

"Katara, I agree that you need to be your own person. And I agree that you should be able to do your own thing now that the war is over. But you shouldn't throw Aang's crush on you as a reason why you wouldn't want to be with me. It's completely unrelated."

"Do you think I'm a prize to be won?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. And when she looked back to Zuko, she could see his surprise by the question, as well.

His brow furrowed and he said brusquely, "Of course not! I want to be with you because I want you. I want to spend every spare minute with you because I can't bear the thought of being away from you. You're my best friend. And I hate thinking about the day I'm going to have to say goodbye to you, even though I know it's inevitable."

Katara's heart leaped into her throat and she had to look away from his piercing gaze. "So you want me to stay here because you don't want me to leave you?"

"Yes- No!" He growled and gripped his hair within his hands. "I just don't... I don't want to miss out on a chance with you because I let you get away... I don't want you around just so we can fuck any time I want-" she flinched at his choice of words. "-and I don't want you to be here and just roam the halls like you have been since we got here a week ago. I want you to be here because I want to do this right."

"And what is this?" she heard herself say.

Zuko peaked at her through his bangs and sighed before he took her hands out of her lap and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles. "Us. This thing between you and me. Whatever we are. I want to start this right, even though we sort of jumped the gun this morning. I... I want you to be with me. If I didn't make myself clear earlier."

There was a clap of thunder and Zuko barely even jumped, still keeping his eyes on her. Even as the rain started to slowly drop to the ground, hitting the tops of their heads, his eyes were locked on hers. Her mouth was set in a thin line, chin quivering in the tears she knew were about to come. With this admission, and the way her heart felt like it was shattering into pieces with her multiple possible decisions and routes to take, Katara was about to break. She wanted to stay, she truly did. But after he said these things to her, after they had hashed it out just now, something told her she needed to go home with her father and brother, spend some time in the South Pole with her Gran-Gran and help Pakku with the rebuilding of her tribe. Be away from him and figure out what she really wanted. Have some time for herself for once.

It was a realization that she needed.

No matter how badly she wanted to stay here with Zuko, no matter how much her heart was yearning to be in his arms as much as she could possibly could, she knew deep down where she needed to be. And just as the sky opened up and began it's downpour on the two benders, Katara leaned forward and gave Zuko a chaste kiss on the lips before she stood and said over the sound of the rain, "I know you do. And I know I want to, as well. But I need to go back home with my family..." She choked on her words, tears now falling down her face as she looked at Zuko's absolutely heartbroken face, and stepped away. "And if you respect me, you'll let me do this."

She didn't even stay to hear his answer, because she turned on her heel and walked back to the inside of the palace.

tbc