Katara's eyes shut briefly, her body short circuiting. The heat that came from Zuko's mouth shot throughout her body as she struggled to get a hold of herself.

His lips were soft, his kiss gentle as he pressed against her, Katara feeling as though she were melting. When Zuko's hand caught her around the waist to prevent her from falling, Katara realized the melting feeling might not be too far off.

Footsteps sounded on the footsteps above them, jolting Katara back to her senses.

She shoved Zuko away from her, gasping for breath as her face turned red. Zuko's shocked and frightened expression matched hers completely before Katara took off, sprinting through the ship to the room she shared with Zuko. Slamming the door behind her, Katara grabbed every movable thing and pushed it up against the door, barricading herself inside and leaving her with Zuko's bed or the floor to sit on.

She chose the floor.

"What was that?" she exclaimed, collapsing to the ground. Her hands went to her forehead as she went over what had happened the last few minutes, desperately trying to remember what had led up to that moment. Unfortunately, all she could focus on was what had happened in the moment, and every time she remembered, her face flushed red.

Had that just been her first kiss?

Yes.

Had it been completely and totally unexpected?

Yes.

Well, maybe not.

Had it been nice?

That was not important right now.

But had it been a good kiss?

...Yes. Yes it had been.

And had it been sweet to see such a gentle side of Zuko come out as he was kissing her?

One of the sweetest things she'd ever experienced.

Would she ever be able to face him again?

Absolutely not.

"Katara, I swear if you don't open this door right now…"

"Go find another place to sleep," Katara called out, raising her head off her knees from where she was braced against the door with the mountain of things she had piled there. "You have plenty of room on this ship, maybe you can sleep with your uncle, or in the engine room! It should be warm enough for you down there."

"You're in my room, waterbender. You can't order me out of my own room on my own ship!"

"Yeah? Try and stop me then!"

A muffled groan came from the other side of the door, along with a bang that sounded as if Zuko had kicked the door.

"Katara, just get over it," he exclaimed.

"Oh right, get over it, like it's the easiest thing in the world," Katara snapped.

"I'm not kidding, Katara. I will force my way in if I have to. I'm not getting kicked out of my room."

Pushing harder against the door, Katara gritted her teeth. Judging from Zuko's sigh when she didn't respond, she knew he was getting ready to force the door open and she prepared herself as best she could.

She was not prepared for how much power Zuko could put into his shove, sending Katara into a roll as he slammed open the door. Throwing her arms over her head, Katara managed to protect herself from everything that fell as he pushed his way inside, exclaiming at the sounds from everything falling over.

Katara's mat landed on top of her, muffling her surprised shout.

"Katara!"

A moment later, Zuko had ripped the mat away, his face concerned as he knelt over her.

"What is the matter with you?" he asked, grabbing her arm to drag her away from the disaster they'd created.

Katara pulled her arm out of his grip, scrambling to her feet and backing away, watching him warily. Zuko rolled his eyes at her.

"I won't kiss you again, alright?" he promised. "Stop jumping around and help me get my room put back together."

Edging around the room, Katara snatched her mat and dragged it to the corner like a cornered Koalaotter, eyes on Zuko the entire time who watched her with an exasperated look on his face.

Together, they quickly were able to put Zuko's room back to the way it was, though Katara kept a minimum of a three foot distance at all times between them. Once everything had been put back, Katara dove beneath her covers, turning towards the wall and curling up on her mat to avoid looking at Zuko, trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

Her heart had different ideas, however, and it continued beating rapidly, especially anytime she heard noise from Zuko. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pulled her blanket tighter across her ears, hoping in vain to block out some of the sound. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Zuko sitting on his bed, thinking her torture was finally over.

"Katara."

"What?" she snapped.

"Would you calm down for just a minute?" he asked impatiently.

Throwing her blanket back, Katara whipped her head around to glare at him. Zuko sat on the edge of his bed, watching her with his hands clasped loosely, laid across his knees. Katara waited for him to speak, back still turned against him so he could only see one half of her face.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, finally.

Katara's eyes narrowed further, trying to see if he was sincere or not.

"I shouldn't have kissed you like that," he continued. "I didn't realize how badly you'd react to it."

"How did you think I'd react to it then, Zuko?" Katara shot back in reply.

"Would you shut up and listen for five minutes?" Zuko demanded. "I'm trying to apologize."

With a huff, Katara went quiet again.

"It was a mistake to kiss you," he admitted.

Katara's heart felt a pang for some reason as she listened to him.

"I'm sorry if it confused you and I apologize that it upset you," he told her, finishing with another sigh.

She nodded slowly when she knew he was done, watching as he flipped around, lying on his bed beneath his blanket.

"Zuko?" she asked after a moment, turning over so that she was completely facing in his direction.

His gold eyes opened and he turned his head to the side, waiting for her to continue. She hesitated a moment before continuing.

"Why'd you kiss me?" she asked quietly.

Zuko's face showed his surprise at her question before his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean why?" he asked.

"Just...why? Why would you want to kiss me?"

Zuko scoffed, looking back up at the ceiling.

"I cannot believe you're asking me that," he ridiculed.

"It's a valid question," Katara retorted.

"Valid?" Zuko scoffed, looking back at her. "Fine. Then let me ask you a valid question. Why'd you kiss me back?"

Taken aback, Katara began spluttering excuses, trying to get out of his question. After listening to her struggle to speak, Zuko simply shook his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he went back to staring at the ceiling. Katara found herself stuck staring at that smile, a satisfying feeling growing in her heart as she watched it.

It faded suddenly, Zuko's expression turning to one of pain as he seemed to think of something.

"What is it?" Katara asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Nothing," he said too quickly.

"Zuko."

"...Was it really that bad of a kiss?"

Katara blinked as he looked over at her again. Falling back onto her pillow, Katara was now the one looking at the ceiling as she considered his question.

"No," she admitted, softly. "I think what surprised me most was how good of a kiss it actually was."

Zuko snorted and Katara flushed, realizing how insulting that must've seemed.

"I don't mean I expected you to be bad at kissing," she added, hurriedly. "I just never expected that you would kiss someone the way you did."

Well aware of how flushed she must've become, Katara stubbornly kept her gaze facing upwards, waiting for Zuko's reaction.

"What does that mean?" Zuko asked.

With a soft sigh, Katara explained, saying, "It was just surprising how gentle it was. I guess I've spent so much time fighting you, I would've expected you to kiss like one of your attacks; quick and intense."

"Sorry to disappoint?"

"It wasn't a disappointment," Katara muttered, turning back towards the wall.

Thinking Zuko was starting to fall asleep, Katara startled when his voice was suddenly much closer to her ear, asking her what she'd just said. Flipping back over, Katara was met with Zuko's eyes a foot away from hers. She swallowed nervously, heartbeat jolting upwards in speed.

"I didn't...say anything," she lied.

"No," Zuko growled. "You said it wasn't a disappointment."

Eyes wide, Katara didn't move, unable to confirm or deny him. For Zuko, by the smile that spread across his face, he seemed to take it as a confirmation.

"So what if it wasn't?" Katara challenged.

"Then does that mean you want me to kiss you again?"

Katara breathed in sharply, heart skipping a beat.

"Definitely not," she answered, voice cool.

Zuko's face fell slightly and he began to slip back towards his bed.

"It's too late tonight and I'm tired," Katara continued, getting Zuko to pause. "Maybe you can ask me tomorrow."

With that, Katara spun around so that her head was buried in her pillow, blanket pulled back over her head, face burning as a silly grin began to take over.