oOo

At the end of the evening, Katara felt elated and exhausted at the same time. It had gone much better than she'd dared to hope, but the nervous anticipation had worn her out more than she expected. Her eyes were drooping and she was stifling yawns long before Sokka declared himself full and took himself and Suki back to their house. Uncle escorted Ursa to her rooms, chattering about old times the entire way, while Zuko walked her to the door of her own chamber.

She thought about the complex nature of their relationship as they walked, Zuko apparently lost in thoughts of his own, or else unwilling to interrupt her. They'd been together now for almost six weeks, they'd been secretly in love with each other for at least six months, Uncle assumed they were to be married, but she still wasn't sure if she was ready for that step yet. It seemed wrong, somehow, to become engaged to Zuko while Aang was away, as if she were doing it behind his back. She knew it was unreasonable, but she couldn't help how she felt. When the moment was right, she'd know.

Just as she thought she'd know when she was finally ready for the other next step in her relationship with Zuko: physical intimacy. They hadn't become lovers, although she knew everyone from the servants on up thought they had; certainly Zuko and Mai had shared his bed from a fairly early point in their betrothal. But Katara was still a virgin, and Zuko wasn't pushing, another reason she found to love him. Not that she didn't want him; there were some nights she lay awake for hours, wondering what in the world she was holding back for. But in the morning she was always glad she'd resisted the urge to sneak into Zuko's room, or the urge to invite him into hers. Or just the urge to jump his bones, which happened at odd times, not just in the middle of the night when her dreams were enough to make her blush. Certainly she'd never dreamed about Aang that way...

That thought brought a small blush to her cheeks, which she quickly hid by leaning forward and allowing her hair to briefly cover her face. When she felt her cheeks cooling she shrugged the heavy black tresses over her shoulders, enjoying the feel of Zuko's arm around her waist. She leaned against this shoulder, then smiled up at him. He smiled back at her and squeezed gently as she shyly placed her own arm around his waist, a liberty she generally refrained from taking while they were in public. Zuko's surprised grin was all the reward she needed to make up her mind.

She showed no sign of the direction her thoughts were taking her, at least she hoped not, as they stopped in front of her door. Zuko lingered for his usual good-night kiss, which Katara surprised him by responding to more enthusiastically than usual.

Zuko pulled back after a moment, flushed and a little bit alarmed. "Katara, I really should say good-night..."

She pulled him down for another lingering kiss, then abruptly pulled back. "I know. I'm sorry." Her eyes were shining. "It's just that, hearing you tell everyone how you feel about me, it made me so happy, and I just want to show you how happy I am. How much I love you." She reached for him, but he gently held her away.

"Katara, are you asking me to stay?" he asked, his voice husky with desire.

She nodded, looking down at her feet, uncertain but full of anticipation.

"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to say, but...I don't think this is the right time."

Katara stared up at him, astonished and hurt. "You're saying no?"

Zuko gave her a half-smile. "I'm not saying no, but I'm not ready to say yes." Katara gave a snort of laughter at his repetition of her own words to him only six weeks earlier. "Not yet. It's too soon, and we both know it. No matter how much we want to be together, this isn't the right time."

Katara studied him closely. He meant it, she could tell, just as she could tell how much those words were costing him. He did want to be with her, she could see it in his eyes, but she also, reluctantly, admitted that he was right. She'd tried to give in to an impulse, one she probably would have regretted in the morning. Or maybe not; either way, she wasn't going to find out. "When will it be the right time?" she asked, trying not to sound like a pouty child. But it was hard to hide her disappointment.

He kissed her briefly on the lips. "We'll both know. But I can tell you right now, I don't think it'll be until after you accept this." He reached into his sash and pulled out the betrothal ring.

Katara stared at it. The gold band was simple, but the fire stone shone with a swirl of reds and golds and even the tiniest hint of blue, catching the light and sparkling as Zuko held it between two fingers. "You're right. I'll know when I'm ready," she finally said.

He nodded and tucked it back into his sash. "I love you, Katara," he said simply. "You know I'll wait for you as long as it takes." He pressed one more kiss on her lips, then waited for her to open the door and slip into her room. She watched him leave before closing the door and crossing over to sit by the window. The shutters were thrown open to the night to allow the cool evening breezes in, and she sat for a long time, staring out at the stars.

oOo

The next morning Katara woke early, in spite of her restless night. When she did sleep, her dreams were full of exactly the kind of images and feelings she'd half-dreaded, half hoped for. But she couldn't be angry with Zuko; not now, in the full light of day when common sense reigned. She'd thought she was ready, but she knew now it was just as much relief at having successfully gotten through dinner as it was desire for the man she loved.

"Why do things always have to be so complicated?" she asked aloud. There was no answer, of course, so she rolled to her side to try and get some more sleep.

A half-hour later, she was up, dressed, and heading for the courtyard for some Bending practice before breakfast, sleep having completely eluded her no matter how hard she pursued it. She wasn't surprised to see Zuko there as well. Bending. Shirtless. She gulped.

"How'd you sleep?" she asked when he paused after a series of complicated movements, wiping sweat from his forehead with a towel one of his assistants tossed to him.

He grinned and sauntered over to deliver a light kiss to her lips. "About as well as you probably did."

She blushed, allowing him to see it this time. "Well, who's fault was that?"

"Mine," Zuko cheerfully admitted. "Any regrets?"

"No, you were right, it wasn't the right time," Katara said in a low murmur. The assistants were far enough away that they probably couldn't overhear the conversation, but you never knew.

"I'm the Fire Lord," Zuko joked, flicking her nose with his finger. "Don't you know I'm always right?"

"Hah!" she said, poking him in the chest. "We'll see about that!" She bent her knees and went into a Bending stance. Zuko jumped back a few feet, taking a stance of his own. Although they were careful not to hurt each other, they'd discovered that practicing their Bending together helped them refine areas where they were both still a little rough. Besides, it was fun.

Laughing and shouting good-natured jibes at each other, fire and water twisted and flew through the air between them as they moved about, raising a cloud of steam whenever the two elements met. Zuko's two assistants knew they were no longer needed, but instead of leaving right away took seats on a bench under the covered walkways that surround the courtyard. It was always entertaining to watch the Fire Lord and his Water Bender when they practiced together.

A few minutes later Iroh joined them, sitting on the end of their bench to drink his tea and observe his nephew and Katara enjoying themselves.

He smiled to himself as they moved fluidly around the courtyard, sometimes competing, sometimes cooperating, shouting out encouragement and jeers depending on the success of the attempts. They looked well together, he had always known that, and it was a comfort to see for himself how well they worked and played together as well. "It won't be long before the Fire Nation has a new Lady for its Lord," he said aloud, as much to gauge the other men's reactions as anything.

The first of the two assistants, a youngster from one of the rural areas of the Fire Nation, nodded, but his companion, an older man who had grown up in the Court, scowled and turned his head. Just as I thought. Iroh shook. This will not be easy. But if anyone can do it, they can.

He watched until they came to a mutual stop about a half-hour later and left the courtyard, hand in hand, neither one of them noticing his presence, too absorbed in each other. The assistants left as well, leaving Iroh to contemplate the burns and damp spots that were all that was left of the recent mock combat.

"They look good."

Startled, Iroh looked up at that unexpected voice; it was only rarely that anyone could sneak up on him. "Aang," he said as the Avatar moved out of the shadows to stand next to the bench.

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A/N: Sorry if anyone's disappointed that Zuko and Katara held back, but I don't want to rush things for them. And now Aang's back as well; what will that mean for our almost-lovers? R&R and let me know what you think!