SOKKA POV - the next day

The Avatar and I were ecstatic that the war was over, but the Fire Lord's son stole my sister from me and I was determined to get her back from that bastard. We stopped in the Earth kingdom to get food for ourselves and to get some hay for his giant flying thing.

As we walked around the market, it was clear that the small town was happy that the war was over but there was something else about this town that took me as strange. People pointed at me wherever I went and I could hear whispers about 'the blue eyed boy with the Avatar'.

Finally, I got annoyed and approached two girls in front of a vendor selling fans.

"Why are people talking about me?" I asked angrily.

"Aren't you are the new Fire Lady's brother? You look just like her!" The shortest of the two exclaimed.

"Lady Katara is so honorable to help end the war! I bet it helped that she loves the Fire Prince."

"We get that all the time back home. We are just good friends," I said as I walked away. I couldn't handle that Katara was getting married to that bastard.

"He had to have forced her hand." I mumbled to myself as I searched for Aang.

"Let's go. We have a change of plans."

"But Sokka-" started the grey eyed 12-year-old.

"No Aang. I know where Katara is."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Well let's go get your sister!"

I walked behind him with a stoic look on my face. What if she actually wants to marry this man? That ship of his has been to the South Pole before... what if he has seduced her over his numerous trips? Maybe looking for Aang was his cover to just see Katara.

I silenced my thoughts and climbed on Aang's flying bison thing and forced myself to sleep.

Anything was better than dealing with the reality that I was living in.

KATARA POV

I squinted uncomfortably at the morning sun and tried to go back to sleep. The ship docked right around midnight, so it made my trip to the palace less stressful. I barely slept as I was anxious about the day we had ahead of us. Today Zuko was introducing us to the nation as the new Fire Lord and Lady and despite his reassurances, all I could think about was that I will be introduced as a monarch to a nation that hates my people. As I laid in the enormous bed next to Zuko, I sighed and rolled over into the warmth of his chest.

"You know I'm awake right?"

I jumped and rolled away from him. "I-I was cold and - "

"I don't mind. I'm just surprised you're awake this early. The sun has only been up for about 10 minutes."

"I couldn't really sleep last night." I said nervously while fiddling with a stray string on the blanket.

"Well, we aren't needed until an hour after midday. Why don't you try to sleep?"

"I guess. Why are you awake so early?"

"I always wake up with the sun. It's a Firebender thing."

"Oh." I mumbled before tucking myself deeper in the blanket and trying to go back to sleep.

"You still cold?" Zuko whispered.

"Yeah."

Zuko scooted closer to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Is this alright?"

I nodded and snuggled into him. I'm usually not cold when I sleep. I mean I'm from the South Pole but being in such a warm climate was messing with my internal temperature.

ZUKO POV

I sighed and pulled her closer to me.

"I know you're trying to go back to sleep, but I just want to tell you that I really appreciate what you're doing for me. Well not just me, but for the world."

"Thank you. I want to apologize for how rude I was. Granted, you deserved it from kidnapping me, but I'm usually not like that and I wanted to say sorry."

I chuckled a little. "I should be the one apologizing. I was pretty harsh to you. But thats why I told you I appreciate you. Even after the way I treated you, you still agreed to go through with it."

"I'm ready for this war to be over. I want to know what the world was like before everyone was terrified of the Fire Nation."

She yawned and snuggled deeper into my chest.

"It's weird, I feel very comfortable with you." she whispered. "I feel like I should resent you or be scared of you, but I'm not… Not anymore."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

She sighed and closed her eyes. I could feel her breathing begin to even out as she fell asleep. I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and brushed her hair out of her face. I wasn't sure if I could blame it on her personality and beauty or the fact that I was two weeks away from having sex with her but I was starting to feel really strongly for her. There was something about her. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I really liked how different she was from everything I had ever known.

The odd thing though, it was more than our cultural differences or the fact that she looked nothing like the type of woman I'd have to marry when it came time for me to take the throne. She was still trusting of people even after all the negatives she'd seen over the course of her life.

I thought back to our conversation about how the Fire Nation took important people from both of us. I know firsthand how difficult it is to live with the fact that your mother is gone but I don't think I'll ever be able to understand exactly where her grief and anger come from. As I looked down at her sleeping, a weird tingle went through my stomach and made me shiver gently. I wasn't used to these feelings and I was a tad upset because I still couldn't identify if I actually had feelings for her or if I just liked her because she was the first girl that didn't look at me like I was a monster.

Despite her sweet spirit, I felt it was only a matter of time before she snapped out of her charitable spirit and realized that not only did I kidnap her, but I forced her to come to a new land without any consideration for her wellbeing. At the same time, I know that she is a fierce person with a strong personality. So I know there was only so much forcing I could've done and if she didn't want to come to the Fire Nation, she wouldn't have come.

I sighed for what felt like the ninth time in 5 minutes and stared at the ceiling. Katara shifted in her sleep and rolled on her side. I adjusted myself so that I was pressed up behind her and closed my eyes. It was only about 30 minutes after sunrise in the morning and we weren't needed until midday. I pressed myself as close as I could behind her and relished in how nice her body felt against mine. Oddly enough, there was nothing sexual about the way I was touching her. It just felt really nice to feel the weight of her body next to mine.

I dozed off thinking of how I would enjoy this for as long as she allowed me.

KATARA POV

I woke up to Zuko's head in the crook of my neck and his arm around my waist. His body was pressed into mine but it didn't feel weird or uncomfortable. I felt more rested than I did when I woke up earlier.

Zuko shifted in his sleep and tugged me closer to him.

"Are you awake?" he mumbled in my neck.

A slight shiver went through me when he talked into my neck. "Yes."

"Feel better?" he asked, his voice groggy from sleep.

I nodded as I turned to face him.

"Your breath stinks." I teased gently.

"Like yours smells good." He said softly.

We laughed a little and he pulled me closer to him until my forehead was touching his. "I'm not going to lie to you, I want to kiss you."

Looking him in the eyes was like looking right in the sun, it's super intense but you can't look away. I thought for a second about him kissing me. I know that I want him too, but do I like him because he is literally my only option? Or do I like him because I'm actually starting to have feelings for him? Either way, my thoughts didn't stop what I said to him though.

"What's stopping you?"

He exhaled gently and licked his lips, "Nothing."

He slowly closed the space between us and despite our morning breath, kissed me like he meant it. He slid his hand up my side and cupped the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair.

He opened his mouth and licked my still closed lips. I sighed and pushed my body closer to his. I had never kissed anyone let alone kissed with tongue, but in that moment none of that mattered. Kissing him was what I imagined graceful dancing was like, he led me while still allowing me to do what I felt was right. My body was suddenly alive with feelings and sensations that I'd never experienced before and the more we kissed, the stronger the feelings got.

He rolled me over onto my back and straddled me, never once breaking the kiss. Once I was on my back, he moved from my lips to my neck and kissed the same spot he whispered in earlier. A soft moan escaped me and Zuko suddenly stopped.

"If we keep doing this, I'm not going to want to stop and I know how you feel about sex."

I took a deep breath and then wrapped my arms around his neck. I gave him a peck on the lips and smiled. "Thank you for respecting that."

"Also, I know we both agree, but we need to brush our teeth because your morning breath wasn't that bad until it mixed with mine."

I giggled and allowed him to lead me to that bathroom. As silly as it sounds, it took something as simple as us brushing our teeth together for me to realize that I actually like him for who he is and not because he is my only option.

"I'm actually really happy I'm here." I said right before I rinsed my mouth out.

I watched as Zuko did the same and he smiled at me. "I'm really happy you're here too."