She didn't know if she loved him. She tried to convince herself that she was too young to know the difference between infatuation and love. She and Zuko had only really known each other for a few months. You couldn't possibly fall in love in the span of a few months, could you?

No.

And besides. Zuko was finally happy.

She wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that. Especially when she couldn't pinpoint her own muddled feelings.

Especially when she didn't know if the unidentified feeling could possibly be returned.

So she kissed Aang. She chose Aang.

Katara's eyes fixed on the expanse of the Earth Kingdom.

She couldn't sleep. She had too much on her mind, too many ifs and maybes, Fire Moths darting from reality and make believe.

Zuko.

Zuko and Mai.

Aang and Zuko.

No Zuko.

Yeesh.

She turned to go back upstairs, and she yelped.

Impossibly, he was sitting there at the table, hunched forward. His head was bent, leaning on a stack of parchment, and he was dead to the world, asleep.

Katara sighed.

Zuko agreed to stay at Iroh's tea shop for the weekend to celebrate its grand opening. He'd managed to keep Fire Lord responsibilities out of conversation, but clearly, not out of mind.

She walked up to him, quietly, and she smiled. His face was so peaceful, covered by long, ebony locks. She loved his hair down. It was free, stubborn, soft. So him.

Katara brushed a strand aside. And another. Until her fingers succumbed to his gravity and traced his scar and the edge of his jawline.

Hot tears brimmed at what could have been.

Before she could turn away, Zuko's hand snatched hers. She gasped, startled and humiliated, and she slapped him until he let go.

"Ow!" he hissed, raising his head from the table.

Katara glared.

"Sorry…" he managed, flushing red. "I thought you were Mai."

She swallowed and looked away so she could wipe her eyes. Spirits, she cried too much lately.

"Are you…okay?" he asked, waving the candle flames back to life. The kitchen bloomed with golden warmth.

Katara stepped away, discreetly, she hoped. "I'm fine."

He just stared at her, waiting.

She really wanted to tell him what was on her mind. She wanted to confess. She wanted someone else to tell her what to do for once.

"I'm just a little sad," she said instead. When he didn't ask, she continued. "We've become so close, and now…I feel like we're all going our separate ways. We have real life responsibilities now. I don't know when I'll see everyone again. When I'll see you again."

He was quiet for a moment, frowning at her.

"It's not goodbye. It's not like we'll stop communicating," he assured her. "It's going to take a while for things to settle down in the Fire Nation, but Aang and I have been talking about a new project…we'll see each other a lot when we start planning."

She wasn't convinced.

Zuko stood, approaching her carefully. "And I also remember a certain someone promising me she would help me find my mother. So there's that."

Katara finally smiled and looked at him. The ends of his mouth curved upward, and she breathed out, laughing softly.

She stepped into his embrace, and her hands clutched his tunic like they had feelings of their own. This would be the last time she hugged him like this. She had to let go. She had to distance herself.

But she had one last night to soak up his heat.

"Why do I feel like that's not all that's bothering you?" he asked, lips against the top of her head.

Because you know me, she thought, unwinding her arms and pulling back. "Because you're paranoid."

"I thought you were the paranoid one. I'm the angry one, remember?"

"Oh, yes that's right…we make a good team, don't we?" she chuckled.

He gave her a sidelong glance, and something changed in his autumn eyes. "We do."

Blech. This was my least favorite so far. Sorry guys.