A/N: Alright guys...here it is. I'm not gonna lie, this chapter has made me a bit nervous to post. I hope you like it as much as I liked writing it.

By the way, this chapter definitely has some M rated stuff in it ;)

Enjoy!

Aang flew through the air, watching the pointed red rooftops fly by him in a blur. He couldn't believe he had done it; he never thought it would come to this.

He had actually broken up with Katara.

A familiar fountain came into view, and he landed gracefully on the ground next to it. With a flick of his wrist he closed his glider, walking slowly towards the fountain. He sat on the ledge, staring at the clear water as it flowed. He dipped his fingers in slowly, petting the large orange fish that swam peacefully through the water.

"Aang?"

He turned quickly, watching On-Ji approach him with questioning eyes.

"Hey On-Ji," he said softly, looking down again at the fish.

"Aang," On-Ji sounded concerned, taking a seat next to him. "What happened?"

"Katara and I…." Aang hesitated; it seemed much more real when he said it out loud. "We…aren't together anymore."

"Oh," On-Ji sighed, placing a comforting hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry."

"You were right, On-Ji," Aang looked up at her with sad eyes. "People change. She changed, and I don't think she's loved me for a while now. At least….not like I thought she loved me."

"I wish I knew what to say," On-Ji whispered, her eyes searching his face as if looking for answers.

"She was the only one I ever pictured myself with," Aang confessed, looking at his lap. "I'm not really sure where to go from here."

"Aang, there's more than one girl out there," On-Ji replied, reaching out to caress his cheek.

His eyes met hers, and he could see an underlying message in her words. His eyes widened just slightly, his skin warming at her touch.

"Do you think-" Aang tripped over his words, suddenly becoming nervous. "Do you think, we could have tea…again?"

On-Ji giggled, coming closer to wrap her arms around him. He was taken aback, but wrapped his arms around her as well. He loved how comfortable she was with herself; it seemed there were no barriers with her.

"Of course you can," she answered, pulling back to smile at him.

Her face was very close to his, and he swallowed hard. Her smile faded, a look of pure curiosity on her face as she kept eye contact with him. She was so pretty, and Aang's heart rate quickened.

"H-How long can I stay?" Aang stuttered, his voice hushed.

"As long as you want," On-Ji breathed, her eyes widening as she let her eyes travel down Aang's body; apparently he wasn't the only one who had noticed their close proximity.

"But mom! I don't want to look at books! I want to look at toys!"

Aang and On-Ji jumped away from each other, watching a little boy and his mother walk past them. The mother was holding the little boy's hand, who was practically digging his feet into the ground so she couldn't move. She spun around, scowling down at him.

"If you don't knock it off, I will take every toy you own and send it to kids who don't throw fits!"

The boy silenced himself almost instantly, a pout still evident on his face. His mom turned, and he followed slowly behind, having let go of her hand.

Aang and On-Ji laughed at the exchange, then turned to look at each other.

"Uh…" Aang chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tea!" On-Ji exclaimed, her cheeks turning pink as she went to stand up.

"Yeah…" Aang trailed off, standing as well. "Tea…"

She led the way and he walked behind her, smiling at the new spring in her step.

Katara paced nervously, fiddling with her fingers as she thought about what she was going to say.

"You'll do fine!" Suki had reassured her, practically shoving Katara out the door. "The longer you wait, the longer you'll have to stop yourself."

So there she was, standing in the hallways of the palace, just waiting for a guard to find her twiddling her thumbs and talking nervously to herself. They would think she had lost her mind.

What was she going to say? What could she say?

"Hey Zuko, I know it's been four years and you've probably moved on, but I love you."

Katara shook her head, a scoff escaping her lips.

"Zuko, I know I chose to date Aang instead of you for four years, but I actually like you more."

Katara groaned, slapping her palm to her forehead. What was she doing? Maybe Suki was just too optimistic…maybe this wasn't going to work.

She scowled, looking up with her fists clenched.

No she thought, her tone determined, she could do this.

She made her way outside, figuring Zuko would want to enjoy the nice weather outside. She let the sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind calm her, trying to take deep even breaths as she made her way along the grounds. She was nervous; very nervous.

She walked up a hill, spotting a figure leaned up against a tree near a large pond. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it must be Zuko. She approached slowly, wanting him to be unaware of her presence for as long as possible.

As she got closer, she noticed he was dipping his fingers in the pond, swirling the water around as the small turtle-ducks came to play with him. She could see one side of his mouth was turned up into a small smile, and she felt her heart swell. He was always so angry and serious; it was nice to see him happy for a change.

His smile dropped as he heard her walking forward and he turned his head to the side quickly. When he saw it was her, he scowled while pulling his fingers out of the water, turning away again to stare into the water.

"What do you want, Katara?" Zuko asked, his tone low and annoyed while he crossed his arms.

"I came here to talk to you," Katara answered softly, coming to a halt when she was close enough for him to hear her.

"About what?" Zuko snapped, turning his head so that she couldn't see his face any longer.

"You and me," Katara replied, sounding a lot braver than she felt.

"There is no 'you and me', Katara," he muttered, refusing to look at her. "I told you, the other day was a mistake."

Katara's heart clenched at that word again- mistake.

"Zuko, you and I were never a mistake," Katara insisted, dropping to her knees next to him. "I never felt that way, and neither should you."

"Why shouldn't I?" he snapped, finally turning to face her with a glare. "How did it turn out good for me, Katara?"

"You're right," Katara admitted, hanging her head in shame. "It didn't turn out good for you Zuko, and I'm sorry for that. But I came here to tell you, it didn't turn out good for me either."

Zuko's scowl softened, his eyebrows raising in slight surprise.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" Katara asked, looking up again to meet his curious gaze.

He looked taken aback, only nodding in response as he continued to stare at her.

"I do too," Katara whispered, a small smile on her lips. "You surprised me, that's for sure. When I finally realized what was going on, I couldn't help but kiss you back, Zuko."

"But then you stopped me," Zuko reminded her. "You stopped me, and didn't say anything about it."

"I was scared," Katara confessed, looking down at her hands that she had rested in her lap. "I was scared of the way it made me feel."

"What does that mean?" Zuko asked, his tone defensive.

"The way I felt after that night," Katara explained, taking a deep breath before looking into Zuko's eyes. "It was the strongest thing I had ever felt in my life. Stronger than my love for my family, stronger than the bond I feel with my element….stronger than when I kissed Aang."

Zuko's eyes widened at the last part, and Katara swallowed hard.

"I chose Aang because he had never given me a reason not to choose him," Katara continued, desperate to make Zuko understand. "I knew he wanted to be with me, and I always thought I would end up with him. It had been like that for years! Why would I do anything to change it? But then you came into my life-"

"And ruined everything?" Zuko interrupted with scowl. "Katara, why are you telling me all of this? To throw it back in my face?"

"No!" Katara exclaimed, her eyes widening. "No, Zuko, I'm trying to explain this to you. I got together with Aang, and I thought everything was going to work out fine. He wouldn't get hurt, I couldn't hurt you anymore and you would be with Mai…everything would work out the way it was supposed to."

"Well you were wrong about that," Zuko scoffed, shifting his eyes away from her. "Mai just broke up with me this morning."

Katara's eyes widened, and she couldn't help the excited skip of her heart at the news.

"Uh," Katara tripped over her words. "I'm sorry. Why?"

"We've been fighting for years," Zuko replied, staring unseeing into the water. "It was long overdue."

Katara resisted the urge to reach out and caress Zuko's face; he looked so sad.

"Aang broke up with me too," Katara confessed, her voice soft. "We….haven't been doing alright for a while."

Zuko turned quickly, making eye contact with her. They stayed staring at one another for a moment, and Katara could see a thousand questions in his eyes.

"So why are you here?" Zuko asked, breaking the connection as he shifted his gaze to the grass. "What is the point of all this?"

"Zuko, things didn't turn out okay for me," Katara admitted, her hands beginning to shake. "And I'm sorry it took me so many years to see it…I should've known all along…"

Katara broke off, trying to steady her breathing as her heart raced wildly.

"Known what?" Zuko asked, turning his body completely so he was facing her.

"That I love you Zuko," Katara whispered, her eyes filling with tears as she looked up at him.

Zuko just stared at her for a moment, his eyes the widest she'd ever seen them.

"W-What?" he stuttered.

"I love you," Katara repeated, a tentative smile on her face. "I always have. I've loved you since the first time we kissed, and those feelings never went away."

Zuko said nothing, just continued to stare at her as if she had just told him he was the Avatar. She started to get nervous, her smile fading as she quickly looked down at her shaking hands.

"I uh, I understand if you don't feel the same way," she mumbled, a lump already forming in her throat. "I know that was a long time ago-"

She was silenced by the feel of his lips against hers, kissing her hard. There was a note of desperation in the way he was kissing her, and it only took a split second before she was wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers resting in the hair on the back of his head. She turned her head to the side to deepen the kiss, and it wasn't long before they formed a fast rhythm with their lips. She clasped her hands together, gently pulling him closer. He let out a small groan, moving forward which pushed her back until she was laying in the grass.

With slight adjusting, never breaking the kiss, Zuko climbed on top of her. She moaned at the sudden contact, her hands gripping his shoulders to pull him closer to her. She felt the corners of his lips pull up in a smile, and she took this opportunity to slide her tongue across them, asking for access. He happily obliged, and they let their tongues dance together, his mouth hot while hers was cold; fire and ice.

Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears, the smell of Zuko intoxicating as she kept up their quick rhythm. She could hear his heavy breathing, and it brought her excitement to a whole new level. This was everything she ever wanted, everything she ever needed for the rest of her life. She felt him lower the rest of his body onto hers, and sighed at the feel of his body on top of her.

She could feel how hard he was, and ground her hips up to meet his. He hissed, pulling his lips from hers with his eyes squeezed shut. She smirked, repeating the movement, watching his mouth open wide.

"What are you doing?" he ground out, his jaw clenched with his golden eyes wide.

"Playing with fire?" Katara answered innocently, a sneaky smile on her face.

Zuko chuckled softly, leaning back down to kiss her once more.

"Fire Lord Zuko?"

They both froze, and Katara's eyes widened as Zuko quickly climbed off of her.

"Fire Lord Zuko, where are you?"

Katara sat up, watching Zuko stand gracefully, dusting off his clothes.

"Over here, Shin," Zuko called, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"Sir!" Shin exclaimed, and Katara watched him run across the grounds in an urgent manner. "Your meeting! It started over twenty minutes ago! The councilmen have been so worried!"

"I'm fine, Shin," Zuko said, clearly annoyed. "Tell them I will be there in just a minute."

"Yes your highness," Shin bowed respectfully, sneaking a questioning glance at Katara before turning to walk away.

When he was out of earshot Zuko sighed, his shoulders slumping. Katara suddenly felt awkward; her flushed cheeks reminding her of what had just happened. He seemed to be feeling the same way, making eye contact with her before looking away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So-" Zuko hesitated, his face turning bright red as he looked at her again. "That was-"

Katara stood, facing him while pulling on her hair nervously.

"What did that mean Zuko?" she couldn't help asking, cutting him off.

His blush faded, and he kept eye contact with her, his face serious. Closing the distance between them, he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It means I love you too, Katara," he whispered in her ear. "I always have."

Mai,

I'm sorry it had to come to this. I guess you're right, good things don't last forever. I hope this makes you happy, and I understand why this needed to happen.

I'm glad you're safe. What do you mean it's for my own good that I not know where you are? Are you at least still in the Fire Nation?

Zuko

"Well, I got my letter back from Zuko," Mai announced to Ty Lee, who was laid out in the sand on a bright multi-colored towel.

"Did you really?" she asked excitedly, rolling over to face Mai with wide eyes.

"Don't get too excited," Mai drawled, tossing the letter in the sand in front of Ty Lee's face. "There's not much written back."

"What did you expect?" Ty Lee asked, sitting up gracefully and crossing her legs. "You broke up with him in a letter after all. Didn't you get mad at him for doing the same exact thing all those years ago?"

"This time was different," Mai snapped, scowling at her friend. "I have to write him a letter right now. We're in hiding remember? He could've told me in person before he left."

Ty Lee shrugged, moving her eyes from Mai to read the letter. She finished quickly, looking up with a smile.

"Well at least he still cares about your safety," she pointed out. "Are you going to tell him what's going on?"

"Of course not," Mai answered with a scoff. "Azula could be intercepting all the letters. Besides, knowing Zuko, he would do something stupid to try to stop her. It's better if he stays in the dark for as long as possible."

"What are we going to do?" Ty Lee asked, her expression growing worried. "We have no idea what Azula is planning."

"But we do know Azula," Mai countered, adjusting her umbrella to block the stream of sunlight that had moved to her legs. "If she's still the same person we knew back then, whatever she's planning has an end goal of her as the Fire Lord."

Ty Lee nodded in agreement, looking thoughtful.

"What we need," Mai continued. "Is a date. We need to know when she is planning to do this. If we have that, then we can catch her off guard and infiltrate the Dai Lee before it's too late."

"How are we going to find that?" Ty Lee asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, who else would know about Azula's plan besides Azula?" Mai asked.

"The…Dai Lee?" Ty Lee answered, her tone unsure.

"Exactly," Mai smirked. "Do that, and we'll have no problem figuring out exactly what she's up to."

Ty Lee smiled back, an excited gleam in her eye.

"Let's do it."

A/N: Reviews? Please :)?