Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever

"Be safe," Katara told Aang as he hopped up on Appa's saddle.

"I will."

"And don't forget to write, Twinkletoes."

"I won't, Toph. I'll see you all soon. Take care of them, Zuko," he said with a nod.

"I will."

"Yip-yip!"

They watched as Aang and Appa took off, a small, cream-colored cloud fading into the nighttime sky. The group was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment before Uncle broke the silence.

"Well, I think I'm ready for some after-dinner tea. Care to join me, Miss Bei Fong?"

"Certainly, Uncle. I think the two lovebirds could use a minute to themselves anyway."

Zuko scowled at the backs of the retreating duo, but Katara was silent as she walked over to the ledge of the balcony and leaned against the palisade.

He observed her quietly. The winds rustled her long hair and the crimson silk of her skirt. The moonlight played on the tanned skin of her cheeks and bare shoulders and arms; it reflected brightly in the blue orbs of her eyes. But her eyes did not contain their usual mirth; they held shadows of sadness and apprehension.

He went to stand beside her and brushed the hair from her face.

Her eyes slid shut and she leaned into his touch, but she asked, "Who are we kidding, Zuko?"

"What?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

He reached to cup her face in his hands. "No, I don't."

"This!" she cried dramatically, trying to shove him away. "All of this! We head for the North Pole at the end of the week; we return, without Nali; and then…and then what? I go back—to the South Pole—right? This interim family is a joke, and you know it! I know it. I go back to my…my life, and you go back to…yours."

He watched as her face grew red and her eyes filled with tears. She was trembling—from anger, from sorrow, he did not know.

"Katara—"

She wrapped her arms around his waist suddenly and pressed her face to his chest. Tears seeped through his robes.

He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to go back."

She went rigid in his arms. "W-what?"

"You could stay…here."

"That's…very kind of you, Zuko, but I-I couldn't. I came here to be Nali's waterbending instructor but without her…" I have no reason to stay.

She looked up at him, her eyes catching his.

Banishing all thought and reason from his mind, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Unlike their first kiss, this one was careful and deliberate. He was gentle, and one of his hands cupped her cheek tenderly—his thumb stroked her soft skin. Her hand, in his hair, tugged him lower, and she angled her head to deepen the kiss. She could feel his hot breath caress her cheek. When he pulled away, she sighed.

Give me a reason to stay, please. Give me a reason...

He pressed his lips to her cheek and her eyelid and her forehead, and he let them linger there a moment.

After a moment of silence, he said, "You should get some rest."

Hiding her disappointment, she followed him back inside the palace. He held her hand; his was large and warm and strong compared to hers.

An adviser stepped out of the shadows with an armful of scrolls. He bowed low. "My lord. A word?"

She felt Zuko straighten, and he looked at her. She pulled her hand from his. "Go," she said. "I can find my way back on my own." She continued down the hall without looking back at him.

Her emotions were threatening to spill over once she reached the confines of her room. She pressed both hands to her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn't seem to help. The pain in her chest was growing worse, and there was nothing she could do.

She lay on her bed and wrapped her arms around her knees.

The letter from her father sat crumpled on her desk, but it called to her as if it were on fire. She didn't want to touch it, didn't want to look at it, and didn't want to acknowledge its words...but she had read it. And she understood its implications. All of them.

In a month—tops—she'd be back in the South Pole, fulfilling her obligations as a Water Tribe daughter and woman…and wife.

Nali would be with her family in the North Pole.

And Zuko would be here.

They would all be worlds apart.

Apart.

Apart.

There was a knock on her door.

She wiped furiously as the tear streaks staining her face. "What?" she snapped.

"It's me, Sugar Queen. Open up."

"It is open, Toph."

Toph entered and shut the door behind her. Then, wordlessly, she crossed the room and climbed into bed with Katara. No words were needed. She held her friend and let her cry into her lap and could only hope things would be better tomorrow.

"Well, you've really managed to screw things up royally this time, Sparky."

Zuko looked up at Toph as she strode into his study, unannounced. "Good morning to you, too, Toph," he mumbled sarcastically.

She plopped into one of the seats across from his desk and propped her bare, dirty feet on top.

"Do you mind?"

"Can we stick to the subject at hand?" she asked. Dirt fell in clumps on the tabletop as she wiggled her toes.

"Fine. And what subject is that?"

"What did you say to Katara last night?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting up, suddenly interested.

"I mean, what did the two of you discuss last night that could have upset her so?"

He was silent for a moment. "She was upset?"

She rolled her unseeing eyes. "Only enough to make her cry all night. She was really upset, Sparky. Really…upset."

Zuko cursed and stood.

"Oh, don't get so worked up. If you'd just, like, chill, for a sec-"

"Chill? You're asking the Fire Lord to 'chill?' Cute. Very cute."

She scowled in his general direction. "You do realize that sharp, pointy thing on your head is made of metal, right? And that I can bend metal, right? So sit your lordly butt down before I send it careening through your royal skull," she said with a sweet smile.

He frowned but acquiesced. "What did she say?"

"Not much. She just cried. A lot. Kind of a huge wet mess. But don't worry—it wasn't the kiss."

"Then what was it then?" he asked angrily.

She slammed her feet down on the ground. "Spirits, Sparky! Can you really be this dense?"

"I know she's upset about Nali—"

"She doesn't want to go back to the South Pole!"

They spoke simultaneously.

Zuko stopped. "What?"

"She wants to stay here. With you, I presume, although I don't know why."

"I told her she could stay—"

"But did you ask her?" she interrupted insistently. "Did you ask her to stay?"

"No but...I'll talk to her at breakfast."

"She had a rough night. I don't think she'll make it to breakfast." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled scrap of paper. "Maybe you should read this," she said, tossing it towards him.

He caught it and smoothed out the wrinkles. "What is it?"

She scoffed. "What's it look like? It's a letter, smart one. Just read it."

Ignoring her comment, he quickly scanned the script.

Toph could feel the room grow warmer. "Whoa. Calm down, Sparky."

His fists clenched, tearing the delicate parchment. "Did she show you this?"

"Mm, not exactly. I filched it from her stuff when she finally fell asleep. She doesn't know I'm speaking to you about this. She'd probably freak if she did."

Her cursed again and stood. The fire in the hearth grew and flickered sporadically.

"You need to ask her to stay."

"What?" he snapped, turning around.

Toph was picking dirt from between her toes. "Ask her to stay here with you; she'll never stay if you don't. She'll return to the Pole like a good daughter and marry some quaint fisherman peasant…and you'll never see her again.

"Will you read it aloud for me? I only got the paraphrased version from Sweetness."

He looked at the letter again. "'Katara,'" he read, "'I know from previous correspondence of your work with the young Waterbender, and you know how proud I am of you. However, please acknowledge you have duties to attend to back home.

"'I know this is not what you wish, but I have given you both time—six years—and space to follow your heart, and you have yet to settle down and start a family. As such, the council has arranged your marriage to councilman Kelto's son. As soon as your work in the Fire Nation is complete, please return home promptly.

"'We all miss you. See you soon, daughter.'"

"That's it?" Toph asked disbelievingly. "And I thought my parents were bad."

Zuko struggled to control his temper. His emotions were fluctuating wildly.

"Calm yourself, Sparky."

"They're forcing her into an arranged marriage? And she's said nothing to me? I thought they didn't arrange marriages in the South."

"Times have changed. The villages of the South are starting to model after the North in pursuit of stability. And can you blame her? If she had told you, what would you have done?"

"I would have asked her to stay."

"Exactly. You would have asked her to stay because you didn't want her marrying some other guy. Not because you wanted her to stay."

He shook his head, steadily growing beyond frustrated. "There isn't a dif—"

"But there is. And Katara would see it. She would only stay for one reason." She let that reason hang unspoken between them.

Toph stood and headed towards the door, brushing her hands as if her job was done. She stopped, however, and looked at him with her blank eyes. "Don't let her slip away, like Aang did. It'll be your biggest mistake."

Zuko found Katara in the garden late that afternoon. She was sitting alone near the pavilion and the fire lilies. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees, and she was staring blankly at the fountain across the courtyard.

He trekked across the grounds and seated himself beside her. She didn't acknowledge him, but she did lean into his shoulder.

"It's so…peaceful out here," she observed quietly.

He nodded. "My mother commissioned the building of this courtyard."

A small smile grazed her lips. "She's a smart woman. I hope I get to meet her."

A pang hit his heart at her hopeful assumption that his mother was still alive; it was a hope he harbored, too. But that's the kind of person Katara was: hopeful; optimistic; awe-inspiring. Tentatively, he reached for her hand. "Me, too."

She sighed and pulled away.

Zuko let a moment of silence settle between them. Katara continued to stare out in front of her. Her jaw was set and her fists were clenched. He could see apprehension and something else in her eyes, but he would not push her; he knew what troubled her, but he would not force her to tell him.

She asked suddenly, "When do we leave?"

"The day after tomorrow."

She nodded once. "Have you heard from your ambassador?"

"Yes, he believes he has found her grandparents. He'll know for sure by the time we get there."

Her eyes slid shut slowly. "Have…have you told Nali?"

He hesitated. How on earth did you explain this situation to a three year old? "No."

"I'm not doing it," she stated quietly. Her voice was calm and flat. Emotionless, almost.

"Where is Nali?" he hazarded to ask.

"With Uncle."

He sighed. "What's the matter, Katara?"

"Don't ask that of me, Zuko," she pleaded, shaking her head.

"Katara—"

"No."

He pushed away from her and stood, clenching his jaw to control his emotions. He pulled his top-knot free, his hair falling into his eyes.

Finally, she looked up at him. The sky was orange behind him as the sun neared the horizon. She could see numerous emotions etched on his face, in his eyes, but she couldn't describe a single one. She could see his stiff neck, his tense shoulders. He was upset, visibly, and she knew what she was about to say wouldn't help any.

She looked up at the sky. "I love the stars," she said vaguely.

He looked up at the sky, too, but he furrowed his brow in confusion. The sun hadn't even set yet; there wasn't a star in the sky.

She laughed at his expression. "No, I'm not crazy, I assure you."

"Hmm…"

"I was waiting for sunset. Have you seen the stars from out here, when it is dark? They're beautiful, truly, and there's so many of them. As a kid, sometimes living on an isolated iceberg in the middle of the ocean would get boring."

He snorted. "I can't imagine."

She stuck her tongue out at him but soon continued: "I'd go outside of the village and just sit and look at the stars. For some reason, they brought comfort; they always brought comfort, especially after Mom…I've always loved the moon, of course; it's a part of me. A Waterbender thing, I guess. But the stars…they promised there was more beyond the sleet and snow and ice, you know? Like, even if my world was falling apart or caving in around me, the rest of the world was all right. They promised me that.

"Another amazing thing is they're the same everywhere, wherever we traveled: Ba Sing Se, Kyoshi, here…home…even when we were lost, the stars were there and they were the same, always twinkling reassuringly. The constellations move, but they're the same stars. Always…"

"Beautiful," he agreed, but he was not looking at the stars.

She sighed and was silent for a moment. "After we return Nali to her family, I'm not coming back."

Zuko froze.

"Did you hear me?"

"Where will you go?"

"I'm returning to the South Pole…I'm going h-home."

He looked down at her; she was looking back up at him, her eyes painfully earnest.

"You don't have to."

She shrugged without breaking eye contact. "So you've told me."

"I meant it. I mean it."

She stood and hugged her midsection, turning away from him. Attempting to laugh, she asked, "Stay in the Fire Nation?"

"Yes."

Looking at him over her shoulder, she asked, "Why? There's nothing for me here—"

"And there is in the South Pole? Tell me, Katara, what awaits you there?"

Her eyes flashed as she spun around, but he continued: "A lifetime of serving as father's secretary and brother's nanny? Never seeing your best friend? Seeing the Avatar sporadically? I mean, what kind of life is that? You said so yourself: you were finally looking forward to stability, and yet you're leaving again!"

"At least I have family there!" she cried. "It's the Southern Water Tribe…it's-it's m-my—it's where I grew up. And what is there for me here? Nali is leaving and-and-and you—"

"Exactly. Me," he said, taking her face in his hands and smashing his lips to hers.

Katara's eyes flew open, and she attempted—halfheartedly—to pull away; he held her tight, his arms snaking around her waist. She knew that she should pull away, that she shouldn't be in his arms, but she didn't care, not in that moment. She let herself melt into the kiss, into his touch. Her eyes slid shut as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His breath and tongue were hot in her mouth, and a shudder ran down her spine as his hands explored her hips and lower back; she could feel the warmth of his fingertips even through the material of her dress.

"Zuko…" Her breath was ragged, her voice a combination of a whisper and a sob, as his lips grazed the hollow of her throat, as his teeth pulled at her collar.

She, in turn, tugged furiously at the armor around his neck and shoulders; it was hindering their proximity and crushing her as he held her so close. It clattered to the ground—sending an echo through the empty courtyard—as she finally pulled it off, and he hoisted her into his arms.

"Stay." He breathed the entreaty into her ear softly. "Stay with me."

She ran her fingers through his thick, silky hair and tilted her head back as he pressed his face to her throat and nuzzled her neck. "I'll stay," she whispered, ignoring the stinging in her eyes.

She hadn't noticed him carrying her across the courtyard and into his bedroom. The shutters slammed against each other as the two of them stumbled in. She'd never seen Zuko's bedroom before, but found she was too distracted to take notice of it now. He placed her feet back down on the ground, and the back of her knees touched the frame of his bed. He could feel her racing pulse beneath his palm on her neck and knew his own heart rate rivaled it.

"Tell me to stop, if you want…"

"I don't," she whispered, her voice raspy. "Don't stop, Zuko."

Had this scared her, at all, in any way, she could have easily frozen the water around them, trapping him, or even bended the water in his blood, holding him, so she could get away. But she wasn't scared; well, she was, but the pounding of her heart, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, the tightening in her chest…it was a different type of fear. A good type. She knew this is how she wanted to respond to him. To Zuko.

"Stay the night with me," he breathed. He pulled away slightly, to look at her, to see her reaction, but she followed him, keeping the kiss intact. Her fingers buried in the collar of his robes, she scooted backwards onto the bed, pulling him with her.

"Katara…"

She lay back on the thick down comforter, keeping his arms around her waist.

He braced himself above her carefully.

"Zuko," she murmured against his lips. Taking his hand in hers, she guided it to the sash at her waist.

"Katara," he said more firmly this time, pulling back.

She sighed, trying to fight the desire coursing through her body, the tightening in her lower abdomen. "We're not children anymore, Zuko."

He was silent a moment as his eyes bored into hers and attempted to search her soul. "Is this what you want—"

"Spirits, yes!" she declared exasperatedly, but she let her mouth and body answer for her as she pulled his shirt over his head.

His fingers deftly untied the knot at her waist as his lips worked over hers.

There was a coalescence of their elements, their souls, their hearts, as they made love. There was no war or country to run or duties to be fulfilled; there was no heartache to fear, were no consequences to suffer; there was no one else, and nothing else mattered. The rest of the world just seemed to fade away entirely. There was a perfect completion in the union, and when they had exhausted each other, for the first time in a long while Katara was able to fall asleep at total peace with herself and the world around her—in Zuko's arms.

Yup.

I know.

There you go…a major turning point, I promise you. Sorry if this is a cliffie, but I want to warn you, especially my loyal readers, that this might be my last update for a while as I will be on vacation for the next week and three days after I get back I'm having surgery on my hand :/ Maybe I'll be able to type one-handed, we'll see. Anyway, I promise this story is not over, I will update as soon as possible, and it's headed in a (wonderful) direction you may not see coming…

Much love and many, many thanks, lostnomore

Stay tuned...you won't be disappointed