A/N: Alright guys, I'm on a roll here. I just keep spitting these things out…I think I'm a little excited hehe.

Ok so this chapter is another filler, but again, important information. For quite a few chapters I will have this flash-back format, as I stated before. I really enjoy writing this way, a story within a story. As always though, if it becomes confusing anyway, please let me know!

Enjoy!

Azula was sleeping when she heard a soft tap on her door. Being the light sleeper she always was, her eyes shot open and she jumped out of bed.

"Princess Azula?"

The nervous whisper came from Chang, and letting the breath out she didn't know she was holding, she walked to the door.

"What have you brought me, Chang?" she asked, looking into the man's small green eyes. "What is the latest?"

"Well I went to go spy on Fire Lord Zuko last night, and before I made it to the hallway of his room, I caught Mai sneaking out of the palace."

"Does she reside at the palace?" Azula asked with her eyebrows raised, a bit caught off-guard.

"No ma'am, but the palace is a short cut through the city, making it a quicker journey to-"

"I already know this, Chang!" she shot, her glare murderous. "I was once a Princess who actually lived in the palace!"

"I-I did not mean to offend, Princess," Chang stammered, taking a step back from the door. "I only meant that she might've been sneaking through for another purpose."

Azula wondered where Mai could be going, what she could be up to. She thought of her friend, and reminded herself she was of no importance anymore. Mai had betrayed her.

"Chang, are you aware of what happened between Mai and I at the other Fire Nation prison?"

"She betrayed you and helped Zuko escape?"

"Yes," Azula's tone turned dark as she looked the man in the eye. "So is there a reason why you would come to me in the middle of the night, risking our secrecy, to tell me something about a girl I could care less about?"

"I just thought you might find the information useful, I-"

"Well you thought wrong!" Azula hissed, trying to keep from screaming and drawing attention to herself. "Unless you have something of value to me, you need to leave. Now!"

"They are planning a celebration," Chang added quickly, a trickle of sweat running down his face. "The celebration of the Avatar. It will be held in a little over a week."

Azula's ears perked up, and she smiled evilly. How could she forget? Held every year, all the nations would be reuniting. This year was the Fire Nation's turn to host.

"So the Avatar will be there then, along with his friends?"

"Yes ma'am," Chang replied, excited he was in her good graces once more.

"So then the water-bender will be here then, correct?"

"Master Katara? Yes, of course, she is the Avatar's girlfriend."

Azula laughed softly, her mind rolling into action.

"Excellent."

"We will need to shut down the main street leading across the city. It will need to be completely clear for the parade."

Zuko tried to pay attention. He had been in this meeting for several hours now, and was not much of a party planner.

"Fire Lord Zuko, what color balloons should we have at the festival?" A woman asked, a large roll of paper laying before her, grabbing the pencil that had been tucked behind her ear.

"Uh," Zuko scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. I suppose, every color?"

She looked at him blankly for a second, then her face split into a grin as she started scribbling down some notes.

"Fire Lord Zuko, should we have Fire Flakes or Spicy Potato Soup at our food booths representing the Fire Nation?" another voice piped up, this one belonging to the head chef, still wearing his tall black chef's hat and dirty red apron.

"Both?" Zuko was unsure why any of this mattered, but knew it was important he be a part of this- that was the point after all.

"I think Fire Lord Zuko has had enough questions for the moment," Uncle Iroh interrupted, giving Zuko a knowing glance. "I would like to discuss the importance of music and dance! I have a few ideas…"

Zuko was grateful for his Uncle's change of subject, for they all knew Iroh was the musical one of the family. He relaxed at little in his chair, his mind wandering far from the meeting room…

Zuko sat in the grass, watching the water hit the rocks on the shore in front of him. It was the middle of the night, but he couldn't sleep. The light breeze blew his hair out of his eyes, and he stared at the reflection of the moonlight on the lightly moving waters.

He didn't know what Aang was going to do. He was so against violence, and yet that was his father's entire drive. He knew his father was strong; stronger than most in fact. He wasn't sure how Aang would ever defeat him if he wasn't willing to fight to get there.

"You can't sleep either huh?"

Katara interrupted his thoughts, sitting next to him. She sat with her legs out stretched, supporting her body with her flattened hands in the grass. He watched her long hair move loosely in the wind as her skin glowed beautifully from the moon. He looked away- he had to stop thinking like that.

"What's keeping you awake?" Zuko asked, his voice a bit scratchy from lack of use.

"Waterbenders receive power from the moon," Katara explained, looking up into the sky. "Usually it doesn't disturb my sleep, only when I have a lot on my mind."

She made eye contact with him briefly, then stared out into the water.

"What about you?" she asked after a moment.

"I'm just worried about Aang," Zuko admitted, laying on his back with a sigh. "He doesn't get it! My father is a violent and powerful man. He cannot use his peaceful words and kind gestures to take him down. He will lose, and if he loses…"

Zuko trailed off, not wanting to think about it.

"Aang will figure it out eventually," Katara seemed confident. "He is just going against everything he was ever taught."

Zuko was quiet, still annoyed with the whole situation. This wasn't just about Aang; this was about the world and balance and peace. He couldn't let something like childhood teachings stop him from winning.

"It's not just Aang I'm worried about," Katara admitted, letting out a sigh. "It's not just him going into battle. We are all going into battle. What if we don't…I mean…what if we aren't strong enough?"

Zuko was quiet, looking at the worry lines creased into her forehead.

"We're just kids, after all," Katara seemed agitated now. "It's a lot of pressure, and everyone seems so calm! Still laughing and having a good time, but I just can't. My entire family, friends, everyone I love…they're all about to risk their lives."

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and looking at Zuko.

"I just can't stand the thought of losing them."

"You won't," Zuko scooted closer now. "You guys are some of the strongest benders I've ever seen. You'll be fine. We'll all be fine."

Katara stared at him for a long moment, to the point where Zuko started to feel a little self-conscious. What was she looking at? His scar?

As if she had read his mind, she reached up slowly to touch the marking on his face. His breath hitched, and her eyes moved from his to look at the damaged skin on his face. Her fingers wrapped more securely around his face, making gentle movements on his cheek.

"Can you feel that?" she whispered in fascination.

"Yeah," Zuko choked out, his heart beating faster than usual.

She looked up at him again, and he hadn't realized how close she had gotten until now. She met his eyes again, an unspoken question in her blue orbs. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, but it was hard to focus with her ocean scent surrounding him in every direction. He glanced down at her lips; she was close, really close.

She leaned in, her lips touching his in an uncertain gesture. Zuko waited for a moment, wondering what exactly what she was doing. But when she pressed her lips a little harder against his, he dropped his defensive manner. He kissed her back, but couldn't shake the little voice in the back of his head. What was he doing?

What was she doing?

Didn't she say just the day before that they couldn't do this? Didn't she run away into her tent without a word to him for the rest of the night? Did she just forget how completely awkward the entire trip home was? Did she know how much she caught him off guard when she turned around and told him she forgave him when they got back?

But then her hand slipped down his side, and he wasn't able to think much longer. He reached out a hand as well, wanting to touch her too…

The meeting room door opened with a loud creak of metal, and Zuko was abruptly brought back to the meeting.

"I suggest we also have others to accompany the Tsungi horn," a councilmen popped up. "Perhaps a vocalist?"

"Excellent suggestion, Rhan!" Iroh replied in delight, clapping his hands together. "Perhaps we could also-"

The opener of the door cleared his throat, an apologetic smile on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said to the silent room, all eyes on him. "The Avatar has arrived."

They climbed off of Appa, the bison giving a sigh of relief to not be flying anymore. Katara immediately felt overdressed in her blue fluffy coat- she forgot how hot it was here.

"Whoo!" Sokka exclaimed excitedly, putting his hand over his eyes for shade. "I can smell those Fire Flakes from here!"

"I can't wait to have a look around," Aang added, popping out his glider. "It will be so great to see the entire Nation restored. We haven't visited here in so long!"

Katara welcomed the distraction; anything to prolong the inevitable. Just when she was getting excited about trying some her favorite Fire Nation foods again, a royal palace servant greeted them with a smile.

"Avatar and friends!" he exclaimed, his arms wide open in a friendly gesture. "Welcome to the Fire Nation!"

He bowed to them in a respectful manner, and they all bowed back.

"We would like to invite you in to see the Fire Lord now. He is very happy to see all of you again."

Katara's heart skipped a beat.

"Uh, that's nice, but I think we were going to have a look around first," she told the servant, looking around at the group. "Right guys?"

"Oh no, it's ok, Katara," Aang piped up happily, snapping his glider closed again. "If Zuko wants to see us now, let's go. We haven't seen him in a while anyway!"

"Yeah Katara, don't you want to say hello?" Sokka asked, looking at her with crinkled eyebrows.

"Of course I do!" Katara gave a nervous laugh. "I just thought we were going to take a tour first, that's all!"

"We can do that afterwards if you'd like, Master Katara," the servant said, smiling warmly. "I'm sure Fire Lord Zuko himself would like to give the tour."

Katara swallowed, offering him a weak smile and nod.

They followed the man into the entrance of the palace. It was beautiful, with walls on their left and stone pillars on their right, the ceiling reaching high above their heads. The walls were decorated with torches holding red flames and portraits of royalty in intricate frames. The gaps between the pillars were wide, giving a wonderful few of the beautiful grounds surrounding the palace. Everywhere you looked there was yellow-green grass, small bodies of water, and peaceful gazebos of varying sizes.

It was hard for Katara to notice anything however, for her heart was pounding in her chest and her hands were a bit shaky. Why was she so nervous? It wasn't that big of a deal to see him again, was it?

Suki was walking next to her, and gave her a concerned look. Katara managed a reassuring smile, but Suki grabbed her shaking hand and squeezed it without saying a word. Sokka and Aang were walking in front of them, oohing and aahing at the decorations surrounding them. They reached a wooden door, and Katara could smell the sharp scent of Fire Nation spices. She had definitely missed the food here.

"Let me just make sure he is ready," the servant smiled at them, slipping into the room and closing the door gently behind him.

"Ready for what?" Sokka asked, scratching his head. "It's just us. We don't need any royal-"

The door opened again, cutting Sokka's statement short. The servant came out, grinning from ear to ear.

"Fire Lord Zuko is excited to see you," he beamed. "You may go inside."

Katara took a shaky breath and followed the others inside the room.

A/N: Thank you so much for the follows and reviews guys! You all encourage me to keep writing, and more reviews would definitely be appreciated! Thank you so much!