A/N: Wow, thanks for your feedback from the last chapter! I wasn't expecting… such a response :''D Haha, for some reason, I knew Zuko would be chosen… But who knows? Well done to julymoon for being the only one who chose Katara! You are rather brave :P Sigh, that was pretty much the last real planning I had to do for this story (I've planned all of the chapters!). But it's not over yet, so don't you get any ideas! Pronunciation for this chapter's title is: tey-soo, or teh-su. Whichever's easier for ya :)

This story has a theme song! It's called "Nothing Like You and I" by The Perishers. I thought I should tell you by now, this being the 10th chapter and all. I lovelovelove it for this story… do check it out and tell me if you think so too?

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything related to it, otherwise you can bet Zutara would be canon. But, I only have control over this story and plot of mine... And where's the fun if there aren't at least some obstacles for our favourite pair? XD

Chapter 10: Teisuu

"'My dearest Toph,

It fills my heart with joy to know that you're all right. I wish you could've replied sooner – your father and I have been deadly anxious when you ran off like that. I urge you to return home as soon as you can. You have our consent to practice earthbending as you please, but only under our parental supervision. We apologize for underestimating your ability, but I assure you that it was just for your protection and wellbeing.

If you do not return before the arrival of Sozin's Comet, you will not be able to become the Bei Fong heiress. The scripts read that at this age, before you become a young woman, you are to attend a ceremony specific to this time of year making you the heiress by law. If you do not, unfortunately we will not be allowed to pass on our wealth to you.

I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us for sending Xin Fu and Master Yu to return you to us – it was only for your own good. We are willing to forgive you for your unexpected leaving, and now I hope you can see our reasons, for all I want now is to hold my only daughter in my arms once again.

-Poppy Bei Fong, your loving mother.'"

Katara rolled the scroll closed with a snap, revealing her peeved expression. She moved over to her side of the campsite and slipped the olive green scroll, marked with emblems of the flying boar, inside of her moose-lion bag. She could simply not believe what she had just read. Zuko had shown her the scroll, saying that it never arrived at its destination. The flying boar emblem was enough for Katara to guess that this letter was for Toph. And so, after Zuko's protesting for her to not open someone else's mail, she decided to do so, and was pleasantly annoyed afterwards.

"I mean, how can someone's parents be so… stupid?" she fumed, pacing up and down the campsite.

Zuko's face was buried in his unrolled sleeping bag, the rest of his body sprawled out carelessly. "You're forgetting Ozai," he said, without lifting his face when addressing her. Unluckily for him, his words only fuelled her mood even more.

"Including Ozai! And another thing, how can she threaten her own child? Her so-called only daughter?"

"Ozai threatened me. Heck, he threatened me all the time. And Toph is the only Bei Fong kid, so it's fine to call her the only daughter. My uncle told me they were always a small clan."

"Are you defending them?"

"No. But why did you have to read Toph's letter? It's even addressed to her."

Katara stopped pacing, standing next to the dried up fireplace. "I was curious." She raised an eyebrow. "Zuko, why on earth are you so tired? You're meant to rise with the sun, right?" she mimicked his words at the Northern Water Tribe quite poorly.

He groaned, rolling onto his back to face her, but instead he used his arm to shield his eyes. "It's not my fault the sun refuses to go away."

"This is impossible," she agreed, folding her arms. "How many days have passed since we ran into Hawky?" She walked back onto Zuko's side of the campsite, towering over his lazy form, her foot tapping furiously when he made no move to answer. She had good reason to ask this question, one she had been asking for days, only to receive no answer. Ever since the two's encounter with the stray messenger hawk, the following hours were only filled with constant sunlight. There would be those splendid times when a shy cloud would drift in its shining path, but only doing so much to block it out. Aside from being a constant bother when trying to sleep and telling the correct time of day, Katara's waterbending was not at its strongest. And Katara despised it when her waterbending was not at its strongest.

"How do you know it's… Sokka's bird?"

"Sokka's bird?"

"I refuse to say Hawky out loud." A moment passed, and he sighed, sensing the grin about to form on Katara's face as they both realized the error in his last statement. "Just continue."

She huffed with frustration and rolled her eyes. "If you don't know how many days, at least say so instead of answering with something totally off-topic."

"Fine, I don't know because I haven't been keeping track. Oh, and as for the hawk, it's female."

"Huh?"

"It had eggs in the nest," he explained. "But it's very strange, because they don't use female hawks for the delivery thing. The females are all kept in the hatchery back at the Communication Tower and on the Capitol City."

"Apparently firebenders are also sexist. You're just like Sokka."

Now he sat bolt upright. "I am not like Sokka." He pointed his finger at her as though he was in a drunken stupor. "It's a fact that they don't use the females for anything other than producing eggs and young hawks. I'm not being sexist – actually, you are for assuming that I am." Having made his point, he relaxed back onto his sleeping bag, closing his eyes.

She narrowed her own pair. "Thanks for that."

"My pleasure."

"So… what do you think is the cause of the endless sunshine?"

At this, he opened his eyes and pushed his hair out of his face. "The Comet's arrival could be disrupting things. But a common cause in summer for the far western islands is that the sun is taking long to set. See, it's much stronger in summer, and even more so because of the Comet. Basically, it'll dim only a bit when it's rising and setting, but shine fully for the rest of the day. The whole phenomenon is called Teisuu. Though I've never experienced this type before – on Ember Island, it usually goes as dark as before it rises in the morning, and even that was only for one summer. So you're not the only one who's annoyed."

"Just the other day you gave me a history lesson about long coats – now it's science… Gee, thanks, Zuko."

"Anytime, Katara, anytime," he drawled.

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes lit with just a flicker of… concern? "Well, at least your bending's still good," she said, always the optimist. She stepped over to the side of his tree, sitting down to his right with her knees drawn to her chest. Tilting her head back, she continued without looking at him. "Still, you shouldn't be so… drained. You should be more awake than me!"

"I'm fine just waiting for the actual Sozin's Comet."

Katara's head snapped back up upon hearing that name. As much as she would have liked to deny it, she had practically forgotten about the legendary arrival that could grant any firebender the greatest power of all. Along with that old feeling of anxiety, she stopped to actually remember with a drop of guilt the other members of Team Avatar. She wondered how Toph's metalbending had improved, and if sandbending was now her specialty, and how she would react after hearing about the letter. She thought of her highly-spirited brother, and if he knew the truth of his messenger hawk or if he had taken another shopping trip since his sister's departure. Was Suki now taking over the gang's welfare – cooking, hygiene, training times? If she had, would Katara be able to resume those responsibilities – which she had adjusted to nicely and secretly enjoyed – once she returned? And then there was Aang. His training, his state of mind, his feelings… A part of her wished those feelings were no longer there to be wasted on her; one who wanted to return them so that he would be happy and content, but could not. It was for the wrong reasons she wanted to return them, and even so, in that dark part of her mind in which she also had her 'opinions', she could say that she was not attracted to him in such a way… no, even the thought of being more than what they were now gave her a slight shock. He was her fun-loving, penguin-sledding, airbending friend whom she likened to family. But now as she struggled to successfully grasp the reality of the situation, she wondered what – after he had fearlessly revealed his feelings for her – they would become… what that really made them…

"Katara?"

"Hm?" And out of her daydream she was pulled.

"You were unusually silent." He sat up more calmly, his long legs stretched in front of him. "It's about the Comet, isn't it?"

"In a way…"

Zuko frowned. "Is it the others?"

She heaved another sigh. He displayed the interesting ability to read her mind and actions; sometimes appreciated, sometimes not. "Yes. But it doesn't matter. Let's focus on this mission." She clambered to her feet, starting towards her side of the campsite.

"It's okay. I'm worried too."

Katara stopped, turning around to find that he was also on his feet, the map of the island clutched in his left hand as he surveyed her. Her sky blue eyes locked onto his fiery gold, and she tried her best to ignore the flutter that danced through her heart. But she found that she did not want to ignore it – her icy wall was slowly crumbling, just like the Northern Water Tribe's had during the Siege of the North. For a moment they stood there, neither betraying too much emotion, neither even doing so much as blinking. She opened her mouth to say something – anything – just to break this trance that was causing her heart to beat faster and faster. Why is this happening? Only a little puff of breath left her lips, and she was not sure if it was the delusion of the time, but this moment felt like it went on forever.

He was unsure of what to do, what to say next. He watched as her hand, hanging at her side, began to nervously fist the blue skirt of her halter-neck tunic. She was watching him, too, and as soon as she had started, he knew it was something in his previous three words that had induced such… an occurrence? But he could not say that this happened every day, for by then they would already be – no, he had to end this train of thought. He knew where it was going, and he felt the careless part of him that wanted it to go there cry out. It was wrong to think this but his past was, most certainly, his past, and could hopefully be put behind him. But he had tried to put it behind him, and as hard as he had done so, it would not budge. It did not bother him as much as it used to, but still… there were so many things left unanswered. Was he a coward for not asking them, for not forcing them to be answered, for not trying harder? Whatever the case was, inside he felt inspired to persevere; inspired by the most unlikely person he would have ever met – oh, but here she was, standing before him.

He could feel his eyes squint in concentration as he looked back on the days since this mission had started. She had been normal at first, and so had he, but it was easy to say that they had both changed – maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally indeed. Katara had been acting strange for some time now, but her feelings were still hard to decipher as they had been back then. The only thing he was sure of about her feelings was that she had accepted him; her somewhat apologetic tone yesterday was proof enough, as well as that delicate smile she unconsciously formed on her lips whenever she was pleased. As she looked at him with innocent surprise, he knew it was not the sunlight that made her shine like she did now. Yes, her feelings were hard to understand, but he was slowly starting to make sense of his own. He wondered if he should try this, for doing so was risky. Then again, Uncle Iroh had always said that he acted without thinking things through; without thinking of the outcome.

Reluctantly, Zuko cleared his throat. "It's time we got to the main part of this mission. I wanna get back soon as well," he lied. "We have to be there for the Comet's arrival, plus Toph should know about this letter."

She closed her mouth. He was infamous for catching her off-guard. But she found that she did not want to speak, for fear of spewing something of the disappointment she held for his mentioning of returning to 'reality'. This time alone together… it made her realize things and feel something different. Looking back, she knew that she hated him, but with more knowledge of and time spent with him, she found that she had unconsciously forgiven him. Zuko could definitely be called a friend. Her friend. Her friend that did not exactly fit into the same category as that of Aang.

The long coat felt as nice as it had when Katara had first put it on. She was not sure how much time had passed since they had plotted where to leave Appa during the seeking out of Yon Rha on the other side of the towering volcano. After plucking and tweezing the newest forest-grown decorations from its black ripples, she had slipped it over her head. It clung to her legs slightly firmer now that she had abandoned her bulky breeches in favour of her old filmy leggings. At least something could help her in confronting Yon Rha – but certainly not her current state of mind. After lazy days of doing sunlit nothings, she had actually begun to relax. And now, with such an action previously procrastinated on finally about to happen, her mind had been yanked out of its comfort zone. It was funny, really, how she was never meant to relax on this mission; she was to face a murderer in the following hours. But she did not doubt her ability. Although she was unsure as to what she would say or do, she had to show him that it was she who was the waterbender.

Aside from all of that, she thought again of the other members of Team Avatar. How much time had she spent on this part of the island, planning but not really planning for this big meeting in which she would confront her past? And it was from that answer that she made the decision to be completely focused during the Comet's arrival.

She heaved a sigh; their belongings had been gathered together, and were being piled into Appa's saddle by Zuko. Since he was taking his sweet time due to the Teisuu, she had been tasked with messing up the campsite to make sure it looked as though no one had occupied it. And from what she had done so far, that was proven to be especially hard for her. Why, this place looked cleaner after what she had done to it! Katara could not believe she had spent so much time in this little area; a flat muddy clearing, shaded lightly by a thin canopy of leaves. Life on this campsite had not been the most desirable, but the company of the firebender had made it somewhat bearable. And now as she ran her eyes over the newly vacant space, it looked as though it had never been lived in at all – at least, to her it did. She might remember it, for it was the place she had befriended that company. With a deep breath, she forced herself to stay rooted on earth, and not let such thoughts invade her currently vulnerable mind. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at the amusing sight of Zuko trying to entice Appa with a stick. He had probably asked her to mess the site up for his personal amusement, and so a little idea for revenge popped into her metallic mind, if only to lighten the mood.

"Come on, you're a vegetarian just like Aang… Look, look at this!" He started waving the stick desperately in the air. "It's just like how you soar in the skies."

She stifled a snicker and walked up to them. "Zuko-"

"Okay, Appa, I'm not gonna put up with this any longer," he said firmly, his tone annoyed but serious. "You are going to come with us, whether you eat this charred firewood or not. And you're gonna come quietly, or else I'll- Ugh!" His threat was interrupted when Appa's pink tongue burst out of his mouth without warning and proceeded to cover Zuko's entire front in bison slobber.

Katara's snicker came out in the form of a long stream of laughter. "Not like that," she managed after she recovered; after she had doubled-over.

He flapped his arms, trying to shake the saliva off of his body. "Clearly."

She coughed, choking back another string of chuckles. Revenge was never sweeter. "You're so brash. You're not even trying to be nice. Here, let me show you the right way." She flashed him a smug smile before easing the stick out of his grasp and going up to Appa's face. "Hey, boy," she said, "how are you today?" A pause as the bison grunted, his breath lifting Katara's dark brown hair. "Good. Listen, Sparky and I need you to come with us so you'll be safe. You will, won't you, Appa? The faster we get going, the faster we get to see Aang again…" At this, Appa's beady eyes widened, and he pushed himself to his six feet. She laughed, scratching the side of his furry neck with the stick. "Let's go, then." Zuko stepped aside as she breezed past, the enormous bison following her closely like a loving polar bear dog. "You too, Zuko!" she called.

He was still taking it in, his long coat in hand, his mouth pinched to the side and his eyes narrowed. She had always been a feisty one, but she was the opposite of cunning. When had she become so… "…evil."

"What?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.

Oh right, he could deal with it, he remembered. Smirking, he turned and caught up to them. "I can't believe you blackmailed Aang's pet," he put in casually.

She whipped around to face him. "It's not blackmail!"

"Sounds like blackmail to me."

"It's not blackmail… it's a reminder that something good will happen if he comes with us," she said slowly.

"As in," he leaned down to her level, "blackmail." He grasped the top of the stick and pulled it from her hand before tossing it aside. With a brush of the shoulder, he moved past her and took Appa's dangling reins, beginning to lead the way through the trees towards the pond.

Katara scowled, her cheeks turning red. With a huff, she turned on her heel and stomped after him. Curse him for foiling her actions, right after she thought she had won. If only he left a gap in his words, just like she had when she blackmailed Appa. He tugged his long coat over his body as he walked. Her scowl started to fade as she recollected her previous thoughts; now that she thought about it, Zuko had become her friend, yes, but there was still something almost reassuring about the way their teasing friendship worked. It was one odd relationship that someone else could hardly call a friendship, but the way she understood it, it was actually likable.

She looked up at the persistent sunlight, seeping through the thick canopy of trees. At least something dimmed the lasting light. They walked in silence, as though it was some unspoken rule when stepping along this path. They arrived at the pond, giving the intelligent bison instructions to remain patiently in the clearing until their return, unless he heard the bison whistle; continue to carry their belongings in his saddle; and to help himself to the clean pond water and the fruits left over from an insisted gathering trip done by Katara, though she herself had not eaten anything.

"Hey, you can't just walk off." Katara's voice had unexpectedly taken on a level, cold but dark tone. "Let's say goodbye to Appa, at least."

"We just said goodbye. Besides, we're not gonna be gone forever-"

"Zuko, please."

His eyebrow creased with concern; he knew that she was trying to tell him how uneasy and anxious she felt. Her actions were easy to read, although he could not say the same for her feelings towards her peers. It was rather strange how he could read everything else but that. Either way, she needed to be reassured; she needed to be confident, just like how she had been on the ship. "Okay," he said so softly it could have been a whisper. Zuko went up to Appa, held out his hand and touched the bison's fur. Giving it a stroke, he cracked a smile. "Take care, boy. We'll be back soon, and you'll hear the bison whistle if we need you to come to us." Appa grunted and moved his head forward to nuzzle Zuko, to which the firebender laughed uneasily. "I think you should comfort…" He completed his sentence by nodding in Katara's direction.

Katara was standing near the clear pond, arms folded tightly, looking at her tense reflection in the sparkling water, but she was not seeing it. All that she could see before her eyes was that day; the day she encountered Yon Rha as a young girl. A little gust of air brushed over the back of her neck, bringing her to reality once again. She turned around, in time for her cheek to be nuzzled by Appa's nose. She smiled faintly, returning the gesture with a pat.

"Katara," beckoned Zuko once she edged away, looking to the side. She responded by silently following him over to stand next to the base of the crag, right next to the pond. He held his arm out, in a gesture to help her start climbing first. "Want to get started?"

She nodded once, accepting his arm in order to boost herself up. "Let's."

The mass of rock was indeed a colossal volcano. It was too big for the eye to see that it had sprouted from the ground, and the entire length of sloping rock leading to the crater was hidden by hanging clouds. It was going to be a long way around the supposed mountain. Apparently, this volcano was the cause for the creation of Katara's self-proclaimed pond; when the firebender and waterbender duo scaled the crag's length, another linear stretch of water was trailing along the dark and ashy ground. It had the same white sand, actually, and Katara took something of pleasure in shifting the water this way and that, thus unsettling the sand, creating puffs in the water. Her mind was probably in shambles.

Finally the little water trail ended at the base of a rock. Upon looking higher, this rock formed the foundation for the cylindrical shape of the volcano. Instead of being a hapless clump of dark rock with an odd crag jutting out of its side to form a hook, it was now morphing into a volcano. It was not impossibly steep, but the shape was there, and Katara could see patches of lava splotched onto the ashy black colour in the distance.

Time was still distorted, the damned Teisuu at its best. They could be walking for hours, but even so, Katara would not tire. She was at her mind's edge, senses alert, ready to take on what was coming – at least she thought so. It scared her, and she was wondering why there were no doubts. Whenever she tried to picture a single doubt to get her to back out, all she could see was her mother and Yon Rha's eyes, both turned on her miniature form; one pair blue and pleading, the other angry and maroon. The air was drier at this height, especially with the volcano's help; she licked her lips repeatedly, taking deep breaths.

These thoughts were not getting her anywhere. Time for a distraction… She fixed her gaze on Zuko's straight back, covered in the same long coat as herself. His scarf was up, from what she could see. Was the volcanic air toxic? Surely he would have told her. Come to think of it, he had not said anything since they climbed the crag. At least he respected her need for silence, to be left alone with her thoughts. But it made her feel bad; how did she know that he would not get tired? How did she know that he was not bursting to speak? Then again, he was mainly silent unless spoken to, and being a firebender he was meant to have a long energy span. Yes, he should be fine. No need to worry at all.

After a period of time seemingly too long for Katara, the patches of lava started to grow in number and come closer to the path their feet crunched upon. The lava was a delicious, bright mixture of amber and mahogany-orange, catching Katara's attention and scattering her thoughts. As they walked, the patches were turning into flowing, interconnected streams, though still quite small. Streams… Perhaps, if she tried, she could bend the lava?

At her sides, her fingers tingled with the urge to lift and curl and roll the lava into a floating orb. Or stream it. Or freeze it – oh, that sounded exciting. She had to bend the lava. Abruptly, Katara came to a halt in front of a small puddle of the glowing substance. Noticing her pause, Zuko stopped walking, turning to look at her. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice raspier than usual from not being used during the silent period.

"I want to bend the lava," she answered robotically.

"But you're-" he paused, clearing his throat "-sorry, you're a waterbender. Lava's made of liquid earth and fire."

"You just said it was liquid, so I'm gonna try and bend it. Plus, water's capable of holding up earth – I can treat this like mud and get away with it."

"If you really want to…"

"I do," she insisted. "It's just an experiment. Give me a second." She turned to face the lava puddle, her legs stretched apart and her arms out in front of her in a good bending stance. She took a deep breath, and began to drift her arms up and down slowly, as though she were pushing and pulling the water like she once used to practice. But something was not right. The lava was answering her call, hearing her chi's commands, but it was not moving. She could feel it, sense it, similar to the blood in a person's body while bloodbending – the memory delivered her the tiniest twinge of pain, but it was very brief. She tried again, and nothing happened. Irked, she began to impatiently swing her arms in choppy movements she had seen the swampbenders use.

"Katara, calm down…"

"Oh, I'm not angry, I just want to make this lava move." She tried again, bringing her arms down hard. She was not overreacting – these were swampbending movements, and he had no right to discriminate. A frustrated grunt pushed past her teeth when, yet again, nothing happened.

Next to her, Zuko's face became warning. "We have more important things to worry about – you're letting your nerves get the best of you! I know you're worried, but it doesn't mean you should hurt yourself trying to prove something."

"I'm… not… proving- ugh!" The lava shifted slightly, but it was not what she was hoping to achieve. "I'm not proving anything. I just-" She was cut off when an enormous bursting sound came from in front of her. Thank the spirits the volcano was not erupting, but instead the crater, filled to the brim with lava in front of Katara, was finally responding – in the form of a tall, looming wave about to crash down on the shocked waterbender. She could do nothing but gape, the blue of her widened eyes reflecting the amber colour. It infuriated her that at times of danger, she became frozen like this. But Zuko's voice thawed her out.

"Follow my movements and bend!" he commanded. She closed her mouth, holding her hands in front of her, getting the lava's attention and attempting to push it back into its crater. Again, nothing happened, and the wave was just about to reach her when it just stopped. Almost as abruptly as when Katara had stopped just to try this dangerous 'experiment'. Looking to the side, she saw Zuko mirroring her waterbending moves with firebending ones, occasionally glancing at her to make sure the moves were more symmetrical. The lava slid back into its basin, going as if the moment was being rewound. For another few moments, they stared at the lava after relaxing their chi.

Katara, ashamed, could not make herself meet eyes with Zuko – though his eyes were not even scanning her like she thought they would. "…I'm sor-" She was stopped when Zuko held up a hand. "But-"

"Let's go," he said, taking her arm gently but holding it firmly and towing her behind him for a good length of the remaining distance. Maybe it was to comfort her, or maybe it was to prevent her from repeating the mistake. For Zuko, he felt it was a mixture of both. He was still mesmerised at the phenomenon that had just occurred – lava was able to be manipulated by ordinary firebenders and waterbenders, not just by the Avatar. Although he did not want anyone to get hurt, it was something he was eager to explore and investigate. After this mission, he might consider asking Katara to practice this new art with him, but only if she was willing.

Before either of them knew it, they had arrived on the other side of the volcano, looking over the developed side of the island, slightly dimmer as it faced away from the sun, shielded by the volcano; perhaps this was what nightfall during intense Teisuu looked like. It was just a small yet spread out village, large areas of rock formations and grass between the settlements, marking remains of the wilderness. This side of the island was also significantly smaller, with just this village and then a huge grass plain leading to a muddy shore. These people were not worried about developing the Rongyan Shui village into something more civilized, but studying the map, it was easy to navigate. Finding Yon Rha was little to worry about.

It was confirmed that they were going to rest before setting out again. But immediately after that, a tiny tap on the shoulder caused Zuko to turn around, and to be met with a blank-faced Katara solemnly folding her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, embracing him tightly. With her head tucked neatly on top of his shoulder, eyes downcast, she whispered, "Thank you. For everything."

Zuko thought that he really should not respond with anything in kind, but his side that had cried out earlier in the day cried out once more, and his arms found their way around her waist, returning the exchange, holding her so gently as though he was afraid to break her. But, in her mind, Katara's defence was crumbling; her feelings, whether it was towards Zuko or the coming confrontation she did not know, announced themselves when two tears dripped from her eyes, a sob sounding in her throat, hitching her breathing. She pressed her lips together in an attempt to stop herself, but another mutinous sob made itself heard. She turned her head so that it was buried in his shoulder, eyes squeezed shut yet the tears still flowing as she let go of the apprehension she had been holding onto for too long.

He heard her, although muffled by his shoulder, and his hold tightened around her lithe form. His face was impassive, though there were too many thoughts buzzing behind it, daring to show through on his sharp features. Deciding to distract himself with things he knew he should not, he diverted his thoughts not to the feelings behind this moment, but rather the actions… the action. Hm, she did not smell like the ocean, as he supposed she would, being a waterbender and all. She smelled… of purple berries, the delicious fruit grown in the Fire Nation that, if used raw, could dye anything purple. But her skin was still its usual tone of hazel brown, he noted… This feeling was quite a pleasant one; just holding her, helping her let go of the sadness… it was actually ironic that he was helping her. He ignored this fact, concentrating on what was happening now; he might not mind if something like this happened again in the future – oh, there he was, getting ahead of himself. But as he bowed his head down to her level, chin just about to touch her shoulder, he discovered something else that had become very important to him.

At last, Zuko knew for sure; he knew with a certainty that Katara had forgiven him.

A/N:

Thanks for reading! Remind me to never skip a few chapters and start a later one first. Seriously, this required a whole lot of kicking and reshaping to be what it is now… But you don't have to remind me to thank you all for the faves, alerts and reviews :)

Now, am I the only one who has been waiting for something like this to happen? I hope not. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy writing it :3 I'll try my best to bring you LATD (much easier than typing the whole title out over and over) goodness quicker, since I'm eager to finish it now that I've got too many fics dying to make their way out of my spinning mind and onto the dear computer that I've named Diego.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, in which Katara finally confronts her past :O