Suki felt her back press up against her locker as Sokka stepped in closer, one hand resting beside her head to balance himself. They were whispering quietly. He leaned in farther and murmured something in her ear, which produced a giggle and a blush.

Katara shook her head, and shared a knowing look with Zuko. They hadn't noticed Katara and Zuko's approach, wrapped up in their own little world.

Sokka smiled goofily and began to drift even closer to Suki, as she parted her lips in another smile.

"Ahem!" Zuko cleared his throat loudly. The couple flew apart, separating themselves.

"Oh, come on!" Sokka said, exasperated. As soon as he realized who had interrupted them, Sokka's face dropped, and he tried to recover. Zuko snorted at his forced expression. "Hey guys! What's up? Nothing's up with us, that's for sure!" Suki tried to disappear into the wall, blushing wildly and refusing to make eye contact with her friend.

Zuko and Katara were enjoying their obvious discomfort. "Nothing at all, Sokka. Nothing at all," Katara replied with a cheeky smirk.

"So- I've got to go to talk to someone." Zuko said. "I'll see you after school?" He had directed the question to the entire group, but his gaze was carefully focused on Katara. She nodded minutely, and his face broke into a barely restrained grin.

"Yea! Absolutely! We'll meet you. Of course we will, Zuko! What else would we be...er, doing?" Sokka stutterd, embarrassment clear in his voice. He was desperate for any distraction from Suki and him.

Zuko shook his head, the remainder of his grin shining brightly on his face. As he turned to walk away, he discretely grabbed Katara's fingers and squeezed, but only for a split second. Her mouth twitched, threatening to give away the enormous smile she was fighting back. They were much better at hiding this than Suki and Sokka were; their friends were clueless, Katara knew.

Sokka was making some excuse. "I, uh-left my...book! Some place! I should really go get it..." He started to speed away from his sister's knowing look but Suki's hand shot out to grab his shirt sleeve and whisper loudly, "No! Don't leave me! What should I tell-?" but he was already gone. Suki slowly faced Katara and looked at her shyly, preparing for an onslaught of questions. She knew she had been caught, and hung her head.

Katara just crossed her arms over her chest, cocked an eyebrow, and waited for Suki to speak. Soon, the silence was too much, and Suki burst out, groveling. "Katara, I'm so sorry! I should have told you and I know I should never keep things from you, but-"

"It's okay, Suki, really. It's not like I hadn't seen this coming for weeks." She shrugged, arms still crossed.

Suki relaxed slightly. "Still, I'm sorry I never said anything, K. It's just... he's your brother and everything and I didn't even know what was happening or how he-"

Katara moved closer to her best friend and folded her into a hug. Suki smiled. "I know you probably don't want to hear all about me dating your big bro and all, but you are my best friend and all. We're supposed to talk about boys with each other! I'm going to explode if I don't tell someone."

Katara rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Go ahead. Tell me all the juicy details." Suki ranted all the way to their next class, and continued in whispers after the class began. Katara was happy to feel so close to her friend that, for a while, she almost forgot that she was hiding something huge from her as well. Almost.

It turned out Sokka was a hopeless, albeit cheesy, romantic, trying to personally bring back chivalry into the modern world. He held doors open, bought her lunch, and pulled out chairs. Suki loved every minute of it, of course.

Throughout their talk, Katara felt horribly hypocritical. Suki had been so upset with herself for keeping her secret from Katara, but Katara couldn't bring herself to be as honest with Suki. She was still uncomfortable with telling Suki about Zuko's confessions.

The feeling didn't lessen any as Suki inevitably brought up their recent prolonged absence, as their teacher "shh"-ed them for the thousandth time.

Katara blanched, trying to keep her composure. "Oh, you had time to notice that with all that flirting?" Suki punched her in the shoulder and rolled her eyes. She stuck with the same story her and Zuko had concocted earlier. "It was nothing, we were just starting a project we were partnered for... in Economics."

"Ugh, how boring. What topic did you guys get?"

She thought for a short moment before smirking. "International relations." She cracked herself up. "It's a research project, and it's a huge grade. It may take weeks."

Suki frowned, and sighed. "Oh, well, okay. I guess I'll just have to hang out with Sokka more..."

Katara laughed quietly, at the exact moment their teacher approached them and slammed a textbook down on the table, startling them and making them jump. "If you two girls would kindly shut up, perhaps you could focus on the lesson, eh?" She glared at them for a moment longer before walking away, continuing her lecture. Katara and Suki giggled quietly, but stopped their whispering for the time being. Suki seemed to believe the story, so their secret was safe...at least for a little while.

"So, honestly Katara, were Sokka and I really that obvious?" Suki asked.

The two girls were walking to meet Zuko and Sokka after school to go back to Katara and Sokka's house, as they had all done for years.

Katara laughed. "Um, yea, Suki. I'm not blind."

"Hey! What's wrong with being blind?" Katara heard behind her. She spun around quickly to see a short, young girl with black hair and a green shirt. Her glazed, light green eyes stared blankly at Katara through her bangs.

"Oh, Yue! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything by-"

The small little girl cackled robustly. "Chill, Sugar Queen. I was only kidding."

Zuko stood next to the girl, eyes wide with horror. Clearly he had no control of his strange companion. Gesturing with his hand between them, he said, "Uh, Katara, this is Toph. She's new here. They asked me to show her around."

Katara look at Zuko questioningly before holding her hand out to Toph. "It's, uh, nice to meet you." Toph didn't shake her hand, and Katara realized that if she was blind, she obviously couldn't see her outstretched hand. Katara cringed at her insensitivity.

"Yea, yea, yea, the pleasure's all mine, blah blah blah," Toph said sarcastically. She started to walk around the area, as if she was looking around. "Now, what does a girl have to do to get something to eat around here?"

This small girl threw Katara off. She didn't have time to stop herself before she blurted out, "How do you walk around if you're blind?" She gasped at her outright rudeneess and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Toph was unfazed, continuing to shuffle around, exploring. She responded callously, "Sonar. You know, like a bat."

The older girl hardly had time to be further confused by the answer before she felt a tap on her shoulder and a breeze from her back that ruffled her hair slightly.

She turned to see Aang, a boy who had clung to her since he had first met her. He was shorter than her, with large grey eyes and blue tattoos on his limbs and bald head. He was a few years younger than her, but he had a carefree, magnetic personality.

"Hiya, Katara!" He grinned widely. Katara felt herself smile; his happy demeanor was infectious.

"Hey, Aang, what's up?"

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to go to Smellerbee's party next week." Aang continued to smile a smile so huge, it looked as if his face might break. Katara felt Zuko move to a spot directly behind her, rigid. He stood close, his chest pressing into her shoulder.

Katara knew Aang had a "crush" on her, but he was so young and innocent... He was adorable and fun to be around but there was no way she would ever have anything but friendly feelings towards him. "Oh, a party?" she responded shakily.

"Yea, it'll be tons of fun! I'm a great dancer and I could show you some moves! I know you're probably busy and everything but I just thought-"

"She will be busy." Zuko interrupted. His voice was steady and low, but Katara could sense a hint of a restrained threat.

"Zuko!" Katara said.

Aang looked taken aback by Zuko's behavior. "Oh, well-"

"We have plans. So she can't go with you to any parties, sorry," Zuko went on icily.

She turned to face him. She looked up at him with an angry face and hissed, "Stop. Being. Rude." Zuko's face sank with like a defeated puppy, until his expression rested in a hearty scowl. Katara huffed and turned back to Aang.

"I'm sorry for his rude behavior, Aang. I don't know what's gotten into him." She glanced back again at Zuko, narrowing her eyes. "But he's right, I will be kind of busy next week."

Aang nodded and frowned. Katara saw his eyes flick behind her for a moment, and his eyes widened. Katara went on, "Maybe we can hang out some other-"

"Uh huh, sure thing..." Aang trailed off, as he floated past her. He walked over smiling to where a bored-looking Toph was standing, leaning against a wall of lockers with her ankles crossed.

Katara heard him say, "H-hi...My name's Aang!"

The blind girl quirked up an eyebrow. "Uh- Toph."

"Hi, Toph," Aang repeated, dreamily. Katara saw Toph blush slightly from behind her bangs. "Are you busy for Smellerbee's party next week? I would love if you would go with me."

Katara could see Toph was struggling to keep indifference on her face. "Well, I have a few things but I suppose I could probably-"

"That's fantastic!" Aang said enthusiastically. "Do you want me to walk you home?" He didn't wait for her answer before he grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door, chattering gaily. Toph glanced back to Zuko and Katara and waved, flushing wildly.

"Well, I didn't see that coming," Suki said. Katara laughed. "I'm going to go look for Sokka, guys. I'll see you at the house later," Suki said, and headed down the hallway.

As soon as she was gone, Katara turned angrily to Zuko. "Why did you act like that? There was no reason to be so mean to Aang."

"I wasn't mean, I was just laying down some boundaries! He follows you around everywhere! He has every right to know; you can't keep leading him on."

"Zuko, in case you didn't remember, there are no boundaries as far as anyone knows. And I wasn't leading him on! Not that it matters anymore, because your little "gorilla man" display pretty much spelled it out to everyone, including Suki!"

Zuko frowned.

"That still doesn't give you any excuse for your rudeness to poor Aang."

"Okay, okay! I was trying to help you out of that party, anyways."

Katara heaved a sigh and growled. "I can take care of myself, Zuko!"

"I'm sorry, Katara! Is it so wrong to be a little protective of you?"

"Look, if you don't want everyone to know about this," Katara gestured with her hand between them, "you're going to have to deal with things like an innocent little kid asking me to a party a little more... smoothly."

He sighed and grumbled a "Fine."

"Okay, then."

They were silent for a moment, before Zuko spoke. "Looks like Aang has something to occupy his time with other than you now, anyways."

Katara couldn't stay angry and she let out a giggle. "Did you see Toph's face? Hilarious!"

He smirked. "Now, shall we?" He made a sweeping movement with his arm before he grabbed her hand as they walked. Zuko insisted on driving, but he never let go of her hand. Their fingers stayed laced the entire way.

Zuko and Katara sat in opposite corners of the blue couch. She awkwardly clutched her legs to her chest, chin resting on her knees. Zuko sat sprawled out, one leg on the couch and the other foot keeping time to an imagined beat on the floor, casually indifferent as Katara's heart raced.

Suki and Sokka were folded into a spot directly in front of the television, bickering over channels like an old married couple, legs touching. Suki punched Sokka in the arm, grabbing the remote. He counterattacked as he began to tickle her sides relentlessly until she was gasping for breath between laughs. During her involuntary spasming on the floor, she kneed Sokka in the face, producing an obnoxiously loud "Ow!" from him, as he snatched the remote from her limp hand with a smug grin.

Katara tried to seem like she was entertained by the scene, like she usually would be, but inside she was melting down. She felt her father's eyes beaming into the side of her head like icy needles. He stood leaning against the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

Her breathing picked up erratically as she tried to remain calm under his unfaltering gaze. She chanced a cautiously quick glance at Hakoda and forced an innocently small, tight smile. He didn't smile back.

Her mind spun. The only possible way he could know was if he had seen something.

Had he seen Zuko holding her hand as they had pulled into the driveway in Zuko's car?

Or seen him kiss her palm softly as he parked and opened her door for her?

Or seen her brush the hair out of his face so she could see his mesmerizingly beautiful eyes?

Or…

They would have to be more careful. She would deny everything, at least until she felt comfortable with the truth.

She tried fixing her gaze on the television screen, seeing the images blur across the screen.

The tension in their tiny living room was getting to be too much for Katara's paranoia. How did he know? She needed to escape his piercing, knowing glare.

Finally, she couldn't stand it any longer. "I'm going to start on our project."

She stood up stiffly, careful not to move too quickly, and tried to control the nervously wide-eyed expression she wore.

"Who cares?" Sokka quipped, not even looking at her. Suki stifled a giggle. Katara took a moment to stick her tongue out at the back of their heads, even with the inner turmoil she was experiencing.

She glanced at Zuko. She needed to talk to him, now. He continued to stare at the TV. Katara cleared her throat. No reaction.

"Zuko." He waved a dismissive hand. "I'll be there in a minute, Katara," he said, sounding annoyed.

She huffed and trudged off to her room, feeling her father's gaze and Zuko's callous words bury deep into her heart.

Exactly seven minutes and thirty-two seconds later, Zuko strode into Katara's bedroom, hands in the pockets of his jeans. He started at her appearance. Her cheeks were red, her eyes were alight with fire, and her hair was slightly more wild than usual, as if she'd been screaming into her pillow. She sat on the edge of her bed, squeezing the life out of an old stuffed penguin that sat in her lap.

"Uh, hey?" Zuko said, more than a little concerned about Katara's state of mind.

She held his gaze with her cold look, refusing to answer him.

"What's wrong?" he asked tentatively.

"What's wrong?" she shouted, throwing her penguin to the ground with unnecessary force as she stood up suddenly. "My dad knows, Zuko!"

"Quiet, Katara!" Zuko said in a hoarse whisper. "He's right down the stairs!"

Katara fumed. "Don't tell me what to do!" She snapped, but lowered her voice slightly. "How could we be so stupid? We might as well yell, 'Hey, dad, we're dating!' at the top of her lungs. That might be less torturous for me, actually! Especially compared to having him bore holes in the side of my head with his "I'm-so-disappointed" laser eyes for a straight hour while no one else notices!" Her voice had climbed in volume again.

They were both silent for a while, Zuko speechless, Katara breathing heavily, fists clenched at her sides. The water in the fish tank on the opposite wall was splashing up the glass, swirling and stirring wildly.

Eventually, Zuko spoke. "…laser eyes?" he said, stupidly. He ducked a flying pillow at the last moment. It thumped audibly against the wall behind him.

Katara's hard look melted, though, as it turned sad. She looked like she might cry, and she plopped down onto the bed on her back, legs dangling over the side. "I hate lying," she pouted pathetically, frown in place.

Zuko sighed. He should have known; Katara was much too good of a person not to feel bad about lying to her friends and family. He slowly moved to sit next to her on the bed. "Well, technically-" he began, choosing his words carefully. "-we're not really lying. We're just not announcing our personal business for the entire world to hear." He folded his legs underneath himself so he was facing her. He brushed his fingers over her hand, and she gripped on tightly.

"I know, I know," Katara said, still frowning. "I'm sorry, really. I'm just freaking out. My dad's acting like he knows and Sokka and Suki are so..." She made an exasperated noise and sighed. "And not telling them- I just don't like it."

Zuko thought about it for a moment. "Well, if someone asks you, don't lie. Tell them the truth. But there's no need to initiate the conversation."

Katara was silent, staring up at the ceiling.

He looked at her sadly. "Hey, I know this has all been fast and everything and... if you don't want to... do this-"

Katara propped herself up on one elbow so she was closer to Zuko. She was so close that he had a hard time focusing on her features. She surprised him by raising her small hand to rest it softly on the blemished side of his face. He twitched with the strain it took not to flinch away, but her hand remained firmly yet sweetly on his cheek.

"It has been fast, but I don't regret us, Zuko. Not for a second." She smiled, caressing his cheek with her thumb. He felt the side of his mouth quirk upwards.

"I'm happy, Zuko, I promise." She sat up straight so she could hold his face between both of her hands, feeling his smooth skin underneath her fingertips.

He let out a shaky, unsteady breath, closing his eyes as her fingers traced his scar gently. His breath caught as he felt her lips press lightly against the marred area below his left eye. He covered her hands with his own, releasing his breath slowly, his heart beating wildly in his chest. She let her forehead rest against his as they sat, both with eyes closed, breathing in each other.

Zuko broke the sententious silence after a while.

"I'm happy, too," he whispered softly.

He let his eyes flutter open to see Katara watching him, a small smile playing on her lips. Zuko took the moment to tuck a curl behind her ear, tracing a line with his fingertip from her ear to the corner of her eye, memorizing the feel of her skin and the planes of her face and the way her blue eyes never wavered. Her fingers moved from the side of his face to entwine with his own, and they held their hands between them.

"So, uh...does this mean I can kiss you?" he asked.

Katara laughed but nodded. Zuko closed the small gap between their lips, grinning.

His senses exploded as his eyes slid closed again. A bright white light- pure contentment- took over his vision, interspersed with visions of Katara's eyes, her hair, her laugh. He breathed her, drank her, felt her. He felt her course through his veins, ready to burst at any moment. As she deepened the kiss, roughly tangling her hands into his hair, he ran his hands down her back, twisting the fabric of her shirt, pulling her tighter to his heaving chest. She gladly obliged, crawling forward on her knees to straddle his lap. Her weight pushed them back so Zuko laid on his back with her hovering over him. They explored, dazed, fumbling, and inexperienced, testing new things and pushing limits. One of his hands gripped the back of her knee as she supported herself, the other running through her long brown hair. Her hands ventured over the contours of the muscles of his bare chest and arms under his shirt, and one remained laced in his shaggy black hair.

It took both of them far too long to notice the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Katara extracted herself from Zuko's lips long enough to peer up at the approaching sound. "Shit, my dad, Zuko!"

She tried to peel herself off of Zuko but found his hand locking her wrist and his lips working on her neck alluringly. "Zuko!" she whispered roughly again.

"Hmm?" he hummed against her skin, tickling her throat.

She took advantage of his distraction and pulled away quickly, pushing him in the direction of the door to her bathroom. "My dad! Go!" Finally, he understood and clumsily scrambled for the door, slamming it behind him just in time to hear Katara's bedroom door creak open.

Katara had smoothed her hair and snagged a random textbook from her floor. She was laying on top of the slightly rumpled blanket when her dad looked in suspiciously.

Zuko heard Hakoda ask, "How's it going, hun?" There was an undertone in his voice that made Zuko thank the gods that he had made it to Katara's bathroom before the chief had walked in on them.

He heard Katara's voice answer with more control and confidence than he ever could have in the state they both were in. "Just studying, dad...we're getting a lot of work done, actually." Zuko had to cover his mouth to stop from laughing at this. "What else would I be doing?" she continued. He could picture her red face as he leaned against the door, trying to calm his heart from bruising the insides of his ribs.

"I don't know, you tell me. Where's Zuko? Wasn't he working on this with you?" Zuko grimaced at the directness of the question.

"He had to pee. Why do you care so much?" Katara said strongly and believably. Hakoda had never cared about Zuko being in her room before, she had known him since he was a young child.

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering." There was a pause where neither spoke. Hakoda spoke after a moment. "Well, alrighty then. Have fun. Get some work done."

Zuko let himself slide down the door to sit on the ground as he heard Katara's door pulled shut. He let out a sigh of relief. Their secret was safe, his manhood secure from brutal attack by a Water Tribe warrior, at least for now. But Zuko knew Katara might just be worth all the trouble that she would eventually cause.

He felt the door give out behind him and he fell backwards as his back hit the floor. He looked up to see Katara standing over him, face flushed and hair wild, but grinning madly. They both burst out laughing.

This was trouble.

What did you guys think? I've had a terrible day, and a review or two would make my life... ;D