A/N: Look! Look! Another new update for you to devour and well inside a week. Aren't you pleased? Thanks ever so much to all of you who've been reading and especially those who take the time to review. I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story and I can't wait to see what you make of the events of this chapter. One small note, however, is to those small few of you who seem to think the story will soon be at an end, you are sorely mistaken. This is barely even the beginning. *winks*

xx-Kitten

Brightest Nights or Darkest Days

By Kittenshift17

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

General Iroh of the Fire Nation had been expecting trouble when he'd made his way into the village where most of the Fire Nation weapons were made for use within the war to conquer the Earth Kingdom. He'd been searching for his nephew and he'd been skulking along whenever he could, remaining undetected and getting by as best he could without drawing too much attention to himself.

Yes, he'd expected a certain amount of trouble given that he wasn't too hard to recognise, no matter that he was a little longer around the middle than he'd been when training soldiers for war as their General. He hadn't expected to stumble across his nephew in plain sight of many an oblivious soldier, kissing a girl in the front of the restaurant Iroh had slinked into in search of a well-brewed cup of tea to warm his chilled bones.

He hadn't expected it, but for a reason he didn't fully understand, it made him happy. When the pair broke the kiss and the girl looked around worriedly, as though thinking Zuko had kissed her for the sake of hiding something or distracting her from something, Iroh spat his tea. Not that he minded, given that it tasted terrible.

It was the Water Tribe girl – the Waterbender who'd been travelling with the Avatar. The one that, on more than one occasion, Zuko had captured, tied up, defeated in combat and routinely threatened every time they caught up to them in his hunt for the Avatar. Iroh frowned, noting the way the girl smiled a little as though she were pleased about the kiss. He was thrilled to see his nephew but he was suspicious, too. What were they doing together?

They were enemies the last time Iroh had looked. Was the girl using Zuko to find her friends? Was Zuko using her to find the Avatar? It would make the most sense, but when Zuko took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers, and led her into the restaurant, Iroh didn't think that was it. He wondered how they had overcome their enmity to be kissing rather than duelling one another to begin with.

Zuko didn't notice him, intent on finding the two of them a table, but the little Waterbender – Katara – was scanning the restaurant for some sign of her friends or trouble and her blue eyes settled on him immediately.

Iroh smiled a little, letting the girl know that he'd recognised them and making a small motion of greeting, hoping they would have the presence of mind not to make a big scene in his reunion with his nephew. She was clever, Iroh realised, nudging Zuko and nodding in his direction. Zuko looked over in question, their eyes meeting and Iroh felt a squeeze in his chest when the young man whom he thought of as a son suddenly smiled wider than Iroh could recall ever seeing him smile.

The Waterbender kept hold of Zuko's hand when he made to rush toward him in greeting, slowing his pace and anchoring him, making him take his time as though this was a planned meeting and not a reunion.

"Uncle!" Zuko greeted him when the pair reached Iroh's table. Iroh stood quickly, reaching for the front of Zuko's shirt and pulling him into a tight embrace.

His nephew hugged him back tightly enough to make him wince and Iroh wondered how this had all come to be when, upon being released by Zuko, Katara leaned over and hugged him in greeting, too.

"Mushi," she said, apparently knowing enough of his and Zuko's cover story to know the name he was using, making Iroh all the more suspicious. "It's so good to see you."

"And you," Iroh said. "Let's have a seat and some tea."

He waved for their waiter, who hurried over to help them join another table to Iroh's, adding two more chairs for the two newcomers.

"Where have you been?" Zuko asked, leaning close immediately, his eyes serious. Iroh noticed that despite the way his attention was now fixed on him, Zuko didn't let go of Katara's hand. She was watching him too, smiling gently, before accepting the menus the server gave them and ordering a pot of Jasmine and Ginseng tea.

"Oh, I've been around. Caught in the storm," Iroh said, smiling widely. "And you, nephew?"

"Looking for you. Heading toward Ba Sing Se," Zuko shrugged. He seemed to realise they couldn't talk freely in a restaurant full of people who might betray them to the Fire Nation and he sat back slightly.

"And Katara is here," Iroh smiled at the girl. "Where are your friends?"

"Also heading for Ba Sing Se," Katara told him. "We were separated in the storm. I ran into Lee last week and we've been searching for all of you since."

Iroh frowned slightly, looking over at Zuko. The look on his nephew's face suggested it was a long story.

"Where are you staying, Uncle?" Zuko asked, leaning forward again.

"At the Inn, I hoped. If they have room for me," Iroh said. "I haven't asked yet."

"We are, too," Zuko nodded, glancing at Katara when she pried her hand from his to accept the fresh pot of tea and new cups brought over. She poured it expertly, allowing it to steep slowly before handing one over to Iroh and sliding one toward Zuko.

"Interesting," Iroh told his nephew. "Will you be eating with me tonight?"

"Of course we will," Katara smiled. "Spirits, I'm starving. All that walking today has certainly worked up my appetite."

"The walking, or the effort it took to refrain from killing Meng?" Zuko asked her, smirking.

Katara smirked back. "Both. Wait… they're not here, are they? Stars, don't let them come here or spot us. You know she'll insist on joining us for dinner."

"Meng?" Iroh asked.

"We ran into an old friend on the road," Zuko said, his lips twisting. "Do you remember Kuzon? The kid who used to sneak into the palace and play with me when I was a boy? His mother was banished when Mother disappeared."

Iroh nodded.

"He and his girlfriend, Meng, needed our help on the road and we've been travelling with them for four days," Zuko explained.

"She talks incessantly," Katara told him. "Which would be fine, but a running commentary on every thought passing through someone's head is actually exhausting to listen to."

"Katara wouldn't let me murder her," Zuko said darkly. "I still think we should have left them to the wolves."

"The wolves?" Iroh asked, alarmed.

"Yeah. They showed up where we'd made camp on the road between here and the village over, being chased by hungry wolves thanks to the blizzard," Zuko said. "We've been stuck in close quarters with them for three days."

Iroh suspect that there must be a very good story behind all his nephew had been up to since they parted ways. He didn't ask though. Not yet. Not when they might be overheard.

"Should we order something to eat?" he asked. "I am very hungry."

"Me too," Katara said. "Oh, I think I'll have the Fire Flakes and rice."

Their server returned and Iroh watched the pair of kids order before placing his own meal order. He wanted to know everything his nephew had been doing, how Katara had come along and why Zuko had been kissing her. But he wouldn't ask yet. For now he would drink his tea, and wait.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Katara could tell that General Iroh had questions and that he was confused over seeing Zuko kiss her. She was confused herself, since she couldn't see any reason for him to have done so. No one had looked twice at him in the shop, despite his scar. He hadn't explained before trying to find them a table and she got the feeling that, reunited with his Uncle once more, he wasn't going to.

She wondered what he would do now. Would he turn on her once more, enemies again? Would he ditch her for the sake of travelling with his Uncle without having to put up with her? She didn't know. She didn't even know if she could trust him and the thought jolted through her that half an hour ago she'd very seriously considered having sex with him despite not knowing if she trusted him or even liked him.

There could be no denying that he was still ruthless and still unpredictable. He might very well turn on her and take her captive to use as a means of luring Aang to himself for capture. He might turn her over to the soldiers, claiming that she was connected to the Avatar. He might do nothing and simply abandon her to keep searching for her friends by herself. She just didn't know and she was confused and worried as she sat there making nice and pretending that she was his girlfriend for the sake of the crowd.

If she weren't so hungry, she'd have suggested they all just leave the restaurant so that he and Iroh could properly reunite where no one would recognise them, but she was too hungry to do so and for the time being he didn't seem to be planning to ditch her. Katara had been shocked that he hadn't dropped her hand as soon as they'd spotted Iroh, if she was being honest. She'd been shocked when even after hugging his Uncle, he'd taken her hand once more as they sat down at the table and she'd order the tea.

She could tell Iroh was suspicious about it and that he didn't know what to make of all this. She didn't know herself, since she'd been half-expecting Zuko to tell her to get lost now that he'd found who he'd been searching for.

"Have you been here long, Uncle?" Zuko asked.

"I arrived today," Iroh shook his head. "I haven't checked into the hotel yet. Until now I had been travelling up through the towns to the west of here."

Zuko nodded and Katara frowned since Zuko had been travelling from the south of here. He'd said they'd been separated over a stupid fight just before the blizzard, but their differing routes made her think that they'd perhaps been separated for a little while longer than that. She wondered how long it had actually been since Zuko had seen his Uncle and she darted a glance between them, hoping their food would come quickly so they could all get out of there and get on with the real talking.

Small talk was awkward.

"Urgh," Zuko groaned when his meal arrived and he'd taken the first bite.

"That bad?" Katara asked, eyeing his dish.

"Try it," he said, handing her his utensils and picking up his tea to rinse his mouth out.

Katara did, noting again that Iroh looked confused by his willingness to share utensils, food, and personal space with her. She took a bite of his meal and frowned at him.

"It tastes fine," she said. "What's wrong with you?"

"It tastes horrible," Zuko corrected her before stealing her bowl from her when it arrived and forking a mouthful out of it for himself. When he made a face at the flavour of her food too, Katara began to giggle.

"What?" he demanded.

"There's nothing wrong with the food," she told him. "Look at your Uncle. He thinks it tastes fine, too. It's not the food that's the problem."

Zuko glanced at his Uncle, who was heartily digging into his own meal with gusto.

"You're already too used to my cooking and the way I flavour food and that's why this tastes funny to you. It's probably too spicy for you after what I make," Katara giggled, entirely too amused that he was complaining about food flavoured as though it had been made in his homeland.

"It's not too spicy. I like things spicy," Zuko argued, snatching his bowl back and taking another bite. He made another face but he didn't complain again and Katara laughed all the more that he thought he had to prove that he still liked food from his own people's cuisine rather than Water Tribe food or Earth Kingdom dishes.

Iroh was chuckling too as Zuko continued to make faces with every bite and Katara stole several more mouthfuls of Zuko's dish, enjoying it immensely. He didn't object, though his Uncle's face suggested that the idea of Zuko sharing food with anyone was cause for great worry, indeed.

Katara suspected that in large part the sense of ease and coziness she felt with Zuko stemmed from their ever-touching chi. She didn't understand it in the slightest, but she knew that when she wasn't tense with the sexually charged energy fizzing between them, she felt very comfortable in his presence. In the beginning she'd been too nervous to notice, but after spending three days living Water Tribe style in an igloo with him for friendship, support, comfort and general company whenever she wanted to get away from Meng's chatter, she'd grown used to him. Curling up beside him every night meant that she'd become accustomed to being inside his personal space and she'd grown rather used to sharing things with him.

It had started with him offering her jerky on the first night and simply grown from there. He tended to offer her some of whatever he was eating, even if she'd cooked it and had some for herself already and if he minded the way she invaded his space, he hadn't said so. For all that he was grumpy, surly, rude and downright mean most of the time, he didn't seem to mind when she did things he – as a Prince – was unaccustomed to. She'd noticed that Kuzon had eyed him strangely when he'd let her invade his space to sit between his knees when she wanted to lean against him while chattering with the other couple, and that the way he'd shared his food with her whenever he ate had baffled the other Fire Bender.

She could tell that as a spoiled prince, Zuko was used to never sharing and to always being waited on hand and foot – or had been until he'd become an outcast and a fugitive. Kuzon and Iroh's reactions told her that much. She blamed their chi and the fact that even now, she could feel the heat and familiar comfort of his chi curled protectively around her own.

"I think there's another blizzard brewing," she said suddenly whilst listening to Zuko telling Iroh that tomorrow they would be buying new supplies and going on their way once more.

"No," Zuko growled as though his refusal of the fact might make the Spirits change their minds and cancel the blizzard.

"Yes," Katara said. "It's snowing harder out there."

Zuko looking royally annoyed.

"Well, better it kicks up again here where we don't have to listen to Meng and Kuzon fucking like rabbaroos, I guess," he muttered.

Iroh choked on his tea at Zuko's words.

"I wish he was kidding, Mushi," Katara sighed. "Unfortunately our new friends are rather… er… forthcoming with their affection for one another, no matter their audience."

"They sound lovely," Iroh said and Katara couldn't entirely tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "If the blizzard is brewing once more, perhaps we should be on our way. I would not like to miss out on a room if someone else claims it thanks to the weather."

Katara nodded, stealing one last bite of Zuko's food right off his fork, taking his hand and directing the utensil to her mouth to snatch it before he could eat it.

"Hey!" he protested, narrowing his eyes on her.

"Yes?" Katara smiled innocently despite her chipmunk cheeks full of food.

"That was mine," Zuko protested.

"Do you want it back?" Katara said, using her tongue to slide the piece of meat she'd stolen to balance between her teeth, showing it to him. He glared at her for a moment.

"What if I do?" he asked.

Katara grinned.

"Take it then," she said around the food.

"I'd rather you didn't," Iroh said, though he looked amused, rather than disgusted.

"I'll get you for this, Water Bender," Zuko warned her quietly when he reached for the food like he might actually take it and she pulled it back into her mouth, chewed and swallowed before he could claim it.

"I'm just terrified," Katara rolled her eyes. "How will I sleep tonight for fear of your retribution?"

"Not next to me, with that attitude," Zuko said.

Katara actually laughed out loud as she got to her feet, tossing some coins on the table to pay for their food. "Maybe I'll actually get a good night's sleep for a change, rather than sweltering and trying to squirm free of your constrictive hold."

She dashed out of the shop ahead of him when he lunged at her playfully like he might tackle her or grab her into his hold once more. When she reached the street it was snowing quite hard and Katara giggled as she used her Bending to create a snowball. When Zuko followed her out of the shop with Iroh on his heels, Katara lobbed the snowball directly at the Fire Prince, hitting his square in the chest and watching snow spray across his chin.

"Hey!" he protested.

Katara laughed when he jumped off the porch of the shop into the street, stooping to make a snowball of his own and returning fire when she hit him with a second one. She threw one at Iroh too, for good measure, and the man began to laugh in spite of his shock while Zuko began attempting to pelt her with snowballs. Katara threw more at him, being careful not to aim for his face but having entirely too much fun spraying him with snow. She squealed when he gave up trying to throw them back, taking too long to make them compared to her. He charged her and Katara ran for it, laughing the whole way.

It was reckless going, the street icy and slick with snow, making the footing treacherous. She squealed a second time when he caught her, his arms closing around her before he lifted her right off her feet.

"Snowballs aren't fair, Water Bender," he told her. "You know I can't return fire with fireballs without getting us all caught."

"You deserved it for being stroppy over your dinner," she told him.

"You'll deserve it when I think of a proper punishment," he retorted, swinging her around in a circle, holding her aloft. Iroh followed them at a more sedate pace than their run, Zuko stopping to wait for his uncle when he'd set her down once more. Katara wondered what to make of it when he tucked her back into his side, his arm slung around her shoulders despite his uncle's confused gaze.

Iroh didn't ask, despite their playfulness and his obvious curiosity. They walked in silence back to the Inn.

"We need another room," Zuko told the clerk. "Does our room have an adjoining one?"

The clerk nodded and Zuko handed over the right money, waving away Iroh's coins when he tried to pay for it himself. Katara smiled as they made their way back to their room, Iroh having been put in the one right next to theirs that interconnected to the one she and Zuko were using. He went in and put down his things while Zuko unlocked their room and walked to the interconnecting door, opening it up and smiling at his Uncle.

Sensing that the questions were about to start, Katara took of her coat and went into the bathroom where their clothing had been soaking.

"Iroh?" she called from inside it. "Do you have anything you want laundered? I'm washing our things now."

"I didn't know the rooms had washers," he said, strolling into their room.

"They don't, Uncle," Zuko said. "She's a Water Bender. If you want something washed, throw it in."

"You don't mind, Katara? I don't desperately need anything cleaned," Iroh hedged, ever polite and thoughtful.

"It's really no trouble," Katara told him, already Bending to wash their things that had been soaking. "And I'm sure you have questions. You might as well get comfortable."

He chuckled.

"I have many, many questions," he conceded. Katara chuckled when he went back into his room to change, returning a few minutes later with his pile of dirty clothing, dressed in one of the hotel bathrobes. He put them into the tub with their things, looking intrigued as he watched her Waterbending.

"You and me, both, Unlce," Zuko muttered, leaning in the doorway too.

"Where have you come from?" Iroh asked first. "And how did the two of you find yourselves travelling together."

"I saved his life," Katara grinned, jumping in before Zuko could answer.

"Oh?"

"You did not," Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I started tracking him after spotting him on my travels two weeks ago," Katara told Iroh. "I was following him, knowing that if anyone would be able to find Sokka and Aang, it would be Zuko. I wasn't going to approach – what with him attacking us so often in the past – but then he nearly got himself caught by soldiers and I had to intervene."

"I wouldn't have been caught," Zuko argued.

"You would. The sun came out and you just stood there like a Morning Glory, soaking up the rays and letting your hood fall back. They saw your face and they were heading right for you. If I hadn't jumped you and hidden your scar, you'd have been captured."

"I'd have killed some soldiers and run for it, more like," Zuko grumbled.

"You were careless, and I saved your life," Katara insisted, before smiling at Iroh. "I was blown from Appa's saddle when the blizzard struck and I was pretty badly hurt, but I healed myself with my Bending. Unfortunately I had no idea where Aang or Sokka were after I woke up, so I started making my way to Ba Sing Se since we'd agree to all meet there if we ever got separated. I ran into Zuko not long after that."

"She jumped me in the street one village over. And then we got caught in that second bout of the blizzard and snowed into the abandoned building I'd been camping in for a few days," Zuko told his Uncle. "The place had broken windows and we had to share my bedroll and use hers for extra warmth. We raided the barracks there for supplies before we left when the blizzard broke but only got one day into travelling here before making camp and then being snowed in again just after Meng and Kuzon showed up."

"Three days trapped in an igloo makes for strange bedfellows," Katara informed the General.

"I'm not strange," Zuko said.

"Oh, yeah, sure you're not," Katara rolled her eyes. "And I'm not a Waterbender."

Zuko threw a fireball at her and Katara caught it with a water tentacle.

"When the blizzard broke again during the night we made a break for it to get here before we could run out of supplies or murder Meng," Katara told Iroh, who looked startled by their casual Bending. "And then we ran into you."

"Where have you been, Uncle? I've been looking for you everywhere. You have no idea how much tea I've had to drink just for the sake of scrounging tea-shop gossip for any hint of you," Zuko told his uncle.

"I travelled to an Earth Kingdom village known for its fine teas when you and I parted ways, Prince Zuko," the General said. "I was still there when the blizzard struck and had to make myself comfortable and stay awhile until it broke. After that I began to make my way to Ba Sing Se, knowing you would be going that way too."

"Oh!" Zuko said, hurrying out of the room. "Your tea."

Katara finished washing the clothes, her cheeks turning pink when she realised Zuko meant to give the General back his tea-box which contained her Golden Thread Tea. She let Iroh follow his nephew while loitering to continue washing and then drying the clothing rather than having to see Iroh's face when he realised that Zuko had let her use one of the canisters for Golden Thread Tea. She didn't want to see what the old man would say when he realised she was drinking it and she didn't think it would be anything but awkward to have him think she was drinking it because of Zuko. She knew he'd seen them kissing outside the restaurant and that he had questions about it.

"What are you doing with Katara, Prince Zuko?" she heard the man ask in a low voice while Zuko rummaged around for the box.

"Travelling," Zuko said, sounding evasive.

"If you are planning to use her as leverage to capture the Avatar, you will have a fight on your hands, Zuko," Iroh warned him.

"I'm not," Zuko said and Katara strained to listen, Bending the water out of the clothing when it was clean and draining it all out the bathroom window, leaving the tub clean and empty before beginning to fold it all carefully, letting the two of them speak semi-privately.

"Then what are you doing? You are… sharing bedrolls and… throwing snowballs and she ate out of your bowl and…I saw you kissing her, Zuko," Iroh said, sounding very confused and concerned.

Zuko sighed. "For the sake of hiding my scar and travelling without drawing as much attention we've been… pretending to be a couple," he explained. "I… Actually I need to ask you something, Uncle. It's important."

Katara listened harder as she folded their individual piles of laundry.

"When I… touch her… or stand close enough it's… my chi and hers… well… they touch," Zuko stammered, trying to explain what he meant.

"What do you mean they touch? When you're Bending?"

"All the time," Zuko said. "If I stand close enough or I touch her I can feel my chi sliding against hers. If we stay close enough it… envelopes hers. Unless she's Bending. Uncle… she… she did this."

Katara listened to the sound of him wriggling out of his shirt and she realised he must be showing his uncle the bare expanse of his once-scarred back, now smooth and free of burns.

"She has healing abilities," Iroh said. "We knew that."

"She wasn't trying to heal me, Uncle," Zuko told him. "She was just tracing her fingers over my skin and her chi was rushing all around mine while the blizzard raged and when we slept I had… strange dreams… memories… but they weren't mine."

"You shared her dreams? Her memories?" Iroh asked, his voice suddenly urgent.

"I think so. There was lots of snow and ice and an old woman with kind eyes and a kid – her brother, I think, when they were younger. When I woke up the scars were gone and my chi was wrapped around hers once more."

"Have you had sex with her, Zuko?" Iroh asked, his tone too urgent to be anything but worried, rather than nosy or judgmental.

"No," Zuko said in a low voice. "Not for a lack of attraction, though. Why? What's wrong?"

"You said your chi wraps around hers?" Iroh asked. "In what way? Like a vine strangling an archway?"

Zuko was silent for a moment, clearly thinking about it carefully. To Katara his chi felt like a blanket, cocooning hers when they stayed close to one another, warming her and making her feel strangely safe and content.

"Mine usually wraps around hers like a blanket or a cloak," Zuko said. "It feels… protective. It feels good, Uncle."

Iroh was quiet for a moment and Katara wondered what kind of silent communication might be going on between nephew and uncle. Finishing folding the clothing, Katara separated them all into three piles based on who owned what and made her way back into the main room. She set Iroh's things on the table by the door into his room and carried Zuko's over to him, setting them down on the bed beside him before putting her own things back into her pack.

"That was fast," Iroh commented, smiling when Katara looked over at him.

"Bending makes laundry a five minute task," Katara smiled in return.

Iroh nodded his head.

"Have the two of you discussed the chi interaction you've been having?" Iroh asked quietly when Katara sat down on the end of the bed beside Zuko, not quite close enough to touch, but still close.

Zuko glanced over at her for a long moment, his cheeks turning pink at the fact that his Uncle had revealed what they'd been talking about on the off chance that Katara hadn't been eavesdropping.

"Not really," Katara shook her head, also blushing. "We've… acknowledged it, I suppose."

"Until today we hadn't even discussed things, really," Zuko admitted.

"Things?" Iroh raised one eyebrow.

Katara flushed crimson and Zuko shot his Uncle a look that suggested he was dense and Iroh's face flickered with amusement before his expression turned grave once more.

"Having had Meng and Kuzon in our faces with their rather inappropriate displays of affection has meant that Zuko and I… uh… well, we agreed before leaving the last town that any intimate physical contact would be for the purpose of faking a relationship to hide from the soldiers," Katara explained. "Meng and Kuzon are under the impression that we're a couple, given that we're travelling together and sharing the bedroll for warmth and such things. With them always around it's been difficult to discuss anything else without tipping them off that we're lying to them."

Iroh nodded thoughtfully, his eyes travelling between Katara and Zuko slowly.

"But you have acknowledged that when you're together, your chi interacts? In a way it doesn't with anyone else's?"

"No one I've ever met," Zuko muttered, looking away.

"Since Zuko is the only Firebender I've ever had prolonged contact with, I'd wondered if it wasn't just a result of our opposing elemental ties that caused it," Katara said.

"You think it's based on our Bending?" Zuko asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"There is an easy way to find out," Iroh told her. "If you don't mind sitting beside me for a few moments, that is?"

Katara smiled, not minding at all. She got up from the end of the bed and moved over to where Iroh was leaning against the desk. She knew that touch often triggered her chi's interaction with Zuko's, so she sat close enough beside the old man to be touching him. They all waited in silence, Zuko frowning slightly, to see what would happen.

Nothing happened. She could feel that like Zuko's did, Iroh's body temperature ran a little hotter than her own and he felt very warm, but her chi stayed perfectly lonely inside herself.

"Nothing?" Zuko guessed when she frowned slightly.

Katara nodded, standing once more and moving over to sit beside him once more, this time sitting close enough that her leg pressed against his. She didn't even really think about it as she reached for his hand, her fingers trailing down his bare forearm and noting the muscle definition there before smoothing her palm against his and interlocking their fingers. Zuko tensed but he didn't pull away.

Iroh watched the exchange closely and Katara wondered if he noticed the way Katara slowly relaxed into the feel of Zuko's chi when it curled around hers once more. She knew the old man was paying close attention both to her and to Zuko.

"It's happening now," Zuko said, in case Iroh couldn't tell.

"Katara, Zuko has explained how it feels when his chi touches yours. Would you mind doing the same?" Iroh asked quietly after taking several thoughtful sips from a cup of tea he'd brewed while she'd been doing the laundry.

Katara glanced sideways at Zuko, frowning slightly for a moment.

"It changes," she admitted, looking back at Iroh. "Most of the time it's a bit like… being wrapped in a warm blanket. It surrounds mine with warmth – which I thought would be uncomfortable, but it's not. Sometimes it changes though, depending on my mood, sometimes it's more like mine rushes all around his, like water over rock. That tends to happen if I'm bending at the time – unintentionally, usually. Actually, now that I think about it, something similar happens when I use my healing abilities to figure out what's wrong with someone whose sick or injured but it feels… different."

Katara frowned for a moment, before using her free hand to Bend some more tea into the cup Zuko held, feeling her chi rush along his.

"That didn't feel like what you did when you healed all the scars on my back," Zuko told her, also frowning.

"No," she agreed. "Meaning that when I did that I was just using my Healing abilities and it felt strange because you run hotter than other benders."

"Just now, what did it feel like?" Iroh asked. "Bending while your chis are touching?"

"Like rolling over inside a warm blanket to put your feet in the cold part of the sheets," Zuko said. "Or like flipping the pillow over to the cool side on a hot night."

"So, like a form of relief?" Iroh confirmed.

Zuko nodded.

"And for you, Katara?"

"A bit the same. Like pressing my feet to the side of the igloo when I get too hot during the night. Or kicking the top blanket off when it's too warm," she frowned. "But the rest of the time it's like his chi envelopes mine, surrounding it completely."

"Does it feel stifling?" Iroh wanted to know, frowning a little and looking thoughtful as he regarded the pair of them. "Does it feel like having your chi enveloped is a bad thing?"

Katara shook her head slowly, slanting a glance at Zuko before deciding to throw caution to the wind and admit the truth.

"It doesn't feel bad," she told Iroh softly. "It feels good. Comforting. Safe. That feeling makes me feel safe in Zuko's presence, despite the nasty history between the two of us. When our chi touches like that it feels like he couldn't possibly hurt me, even if he wanted to."

"Zuko?" Iroh asked, looking at his nephew. "Do you think you could hurt Katara?"

"I could," Zuko said. "But I don't really want to."

"We hurt each other all the time when we're sparring, though. It's mostly at night, curled together in the bedroll and playing "If there wasn't a war…" that it feels like I can actually get a good night's sleep knowing Zuko is right there," Katara explained softly. "At least for me."

Zuko stared at her, his expression unreadable for a long moment, his golden-gaze alight with many fiery emotions he kept from his face.

"Zuko, when your chi is surrounding Katara's, do you feel like you could… snuff hers out? Or take control of it?" Iroh asked carefully.

"I…" Zuko frowned. "I didn't even consider it."

"Try," Iroh said. "Katara, if it begins to feel like you're going to lose control of yourself, tell us. Zuko, push with your chi, you said it surrounds hers. Try to squeeze hers."

Zuko's brow furrowed in concentration for a moment and Katara felt his whole body heat up, the warmth of his hand increasing tenfold. She felt his chi envelope hers more fully, curling tighter, completely enclosing hers. But it didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt good. Too good. Her breath hitched and she closed her eyes, her hands shaking when Zuko pushed harder, his chi squeezing hers tighter. It felt amazing. Hot and cold all at once, their life-forces pressed together as though they might merge into one.

The physical sensation was enough to make her head spin and Katara blushed crimson at the low, breathy moan that escaped her when he pushed even harder. She darted a glance at him and saw that Zuko's eyes were fixed on her, his brow furrowed in concentration, but a wide smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, pushing even harder with his chi, making her whole body tingle and ache.

Katara shook her head. No, it didn't hurt. It felt like the low coil of pleasure she'd once learned to associate with the purest form of pleasure. Like steam building up inside of something, waiting to blow. It built and it built and Katara would swear that lightning was flashing behind her eyelids when her eyes slid closed against the ecstasy of that feeling. She could feel her heart racing inside her chest, her whole body trembling as he increased the pressure even more, squeezing her hands just a bit tighter but focusing his energy entirely on squeezing her chi.

"Oh, no," Katara gasped, her eyes shooting wide when the pressure suddenly exploded. Zuko made a strange sound from beside and Katara squealed softly, turning her whole body and burying her face against Zuko's chest without releasing his hand. His free arm curled up and around her, holding her to him snugly. She could hear that his breathing was rapid and his heart raced inside his chest.

Inside herself everything snapped free with all the euphoria and delight of an orgasm without the physical effect and without a single physical touch. Everything inside her suddenly seemed to explode and the pressure of Zuko's chi surrounding hers broke, something inside her splintering and splashing, rushing all around his chi and somehow through his chi as though the pressure had caused both to fracture and crack, suddenly letting fire and water collide with a hiss of steam and burning wetness that made her ache with happiness and release and something else she couldn't even name.

Iroh was staring at them with wide eyes when Zuko pulled her right into his lap, curling both arms around her protectively and cuddling her to his chest. Katara opened her eyes slowly, feeling lightheaded and more alive than she ever recall feeling in her life.

"Uncle?" Zuko asked, his voice raspy with emotion and ragged as though he'd just sprinted up a hill. "What was that?"

When Iroh's cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink and his whole face split into a wide, happy grin, Katara wasn't even sure she wanted to know.