"The ocean takes me in to watch you shake it, watch you wave your powers, tempt with hours of pleasure.

Take me one more time, take me one more wave, take me for one last ride. I'm out of my head tonight." Sextape, Deftones

Xx

They had decided that the royal family's vacation home on Ember Island would be a good place to hide out until the comet, and Zuko is incredibly happy about sleeping in a real bed for the first time in what might as well be forever. He's been training with Aang every day, and the boy has improved significantly. It makes sense that he would be a fast learner; he is the Avatar, after all. Currently he's going through his routine with Aang, the fire spouting from their hands and feet adding to the humidity and oppressive heat lingering in the air. Zuko is sweaty and gross, and the only thing on his mind is taking a nice swim after he and Aang are done. They finish their set, ending the sequence by centering themselves and their breaths. He opens his eyes and bows to Aang, who bows back before hopping on an air scooter and zipping around the courtyard. I wish I could do that. Zuko would appreciate a nice breeze right now as he stretches his arms above his head, and walks toward the dry fountain where his sweat rag is. He notices that Toph and Katara had been sitting on the steps of the courtyard, Toph looking bored and Katara's face pink from the heat. Or maybe it isn't the heat; he smiles at her, and the pink turns to red as she chokes on her watermelon juice. Toph bursts into rambunctious laughter behind her.

"You're not going to believe this!" Sokka and Suki walk into the courtyard as Zuko grabs his rag and wipes his face. "There's a play about us!" Katara and Zuko walk towards Sokka to take a look at the poster he unfurls. "We found this poster in town!"

"What?" Katara looks closely at the poster, which, in Zuko's opinion, is pretty ugly. "How is that possible?"

"Listen to this:" Sokka clears his throat and changes his voice to sound like an announcer. "'The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu-on Tim, who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar, from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage.' We should go see it!"

"'Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players'." Upon hearing the fine print words Suki reads, Zuko groans and slumps his shoulders.

"The Ember Island Players suck. They butcher 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year. My mom used to make us go see them any time they came into town." He continues wiping the sweat off his chest, spying Katara watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Sokka," she turns towards her brother. "Do you really think it's a good idea for us to go see a play about ourselves?"

"Come on, Katara!" Sokka pleads with her. "This is exactly the kind of wacky time-wasting nonsense I've been missing!"

"Fine." Sokka whoops when Katara agrees, lifting a laughing Suki into the air and spinning her around. "But we have to be careful, we don't want people to recognise us."

Xx

A while later as the sun sets, the group makes their way to the theatre. Zuko has donned a long cape and pulled the hood up to hide his scar; his hair is long enough that it covers a fair amount of it, but he still wants to be sure. Aang has a funky hat on to cover his tattoo, and Zuko hopes that it's enough. Katara holds his hand on the walk over, and the giddy fluttering in his stomach is something that he'll never get used to. They sit down in the theatre, choosing box seats high up in the back to hide themselves. Katara sits close enough to him that their thighs are touching from knee to hip, and Zuko feels a blush creep up his neck. It's not that they haven't been close like this; they've been much closer on more than a few occasions now, but something about having her like this with so many people around is thrilling, and the coy smile she gives him just makes the effect stronger. He shifts in his seat, putting his arm around her shoulders and trying to calm his heartbeat.

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section?" Toph pipes up from her seat beside Katara.

"Don't worry," Aang nudges her from her other side, "I'll tell your feet what's happening."

Zuko sees a soft pink color Toph's cheeks as she smiles, and he can't help the grin that emerges on his face at the sight. That's adorable.

The play starts, and Zuko can tell right away that it's going to be terrible. The actors are awful and bear no likeness to any of them— Aang is played by a woman, and actor Zuko's scar is on the wrong side of his face. It starts off in the South Pole with the actors playing him and Katara immediately giving each other heart eyes. It wasn't like that… was it? The play goes on, showing actor Zuko with actor Iroh (his heart clenches even though the man is a terrible actor and nothing like his uncle) on his ship, as actor Zuko admonishes his uncle for eating some cake.

"They make me look totally stiff and humorless." Zuko thinks he's more lighthearted than that, at least now.

"I don't know," Katara nudges him with her shoulder. "I think it's pretty spot on."

"How could you say that?" He pulls away from her just a bit to see her smug smile as the play continues.

"Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages!" Actor Iroh exclaims.

"How could you say that?!" Actor Zuko shouts his retort, which just so happens to be exactly what he had just said to Katara. He slides down in his seat, crossing his arms at the joke as his expense.

"Aw, come on," Katara whispers to him, something in her voice perking him up instantly, causing him to sit up straight. "You're not really like that." She puts her hand on his leg in what is masquerading as a comforting gesture, but she places it just high enough for him to know that it's a tease. He turns his head to look at her, and she winks as she cuddles back into his side, lifting his arm so that he returns it to it's previous place around her shoulders. His inner fire flickers in his chest, warmth flooding his body and pooling somewhere low in his gut. Agni help me, I think my insides are melting.

The play continues in a similar fashion, making a mockery of each of them and their journey. After the North Pole scene containing a dramatic exclamation of love from Zuko to Katara (both of their faces turn beet red), they announce the intermission. They all head outside to sit on some steps, the fresh air helping Zuko to clear his head. That is, until Katara decides that she's going to sit on the step below him, leaning back into him between his legs. It's an innocent enough position, but with the way she's been acting all day, he feels like there's a different kind of motivation behind it.

"So far, this intermission is the best part of the play." All of them groan except for Toph at his assessment.

"Listen friends." She picks something out of her ear and flicks it off into the bushes. "You guys may not like it, but everything on that stage is the truth." Nobody has a response, and soon they are back in their box seats watching the second act of the play.

Toph's actor is a huge, muscly man, and instead of being upset about her actor like the rest of them are, she's overjoyed. His intro using the sonic blast births a huge smile on her face, the biggest he thinks he's ever seen from the girl. At least someone's happy. Then, of course, the play depicts the scene of Zuko and Katara in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se.

"I have to admit Prince Zuko," Katara's actress bats her eyelashes, "I really find you attractive!"

"You don't have to make fun of me." The actor playing Zuko sulks in the corner, and he feels his face heat up. He knows his scar is ugly, but he tries not to think about his appearance lest he get sucked into a hole of self-deprecation.

"But I mean it!" The actress sits down next to actor Zuko. "I've had eyes for you ever since I pulled you out of the water!" His heart speeds up; he doesn't think Katara has liked him for that long, but the actress is still making him feel uncomfortable about it all.

"Wait!" Actor Zuko stands suddenly to face actress Katara. "I thought you were the Avatar's girl?" Zuko looks over at Aang, who has one of his eyebrows raised as he turns to look at Zuko; they shrug in tandem, equally confused. It's clear to Zuko that Aang had a thing for Toph, so he wasn't sure what the play was getting at.

"The Avatar?" Katara's actress laughs obnoxiously loud. "Why, he's like a little brother to me! I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way." The actress walks over to his actor. "Besides, you're the one I really want!" The actor and actress embrace, parting and holding hands as the actress pops her leg up in the air.

"Uhg." Zuko rubs his face with the hand that isn't around Katara's shoulders, and she groans quietly as well, hiding her face in Zuko's shoulder in embarrassment.

The play continues to depict the fight in the crystal catacombs, but conveniently leaves out the part where Zuko is brainwashed; instead, he is captured alongside his uncle and taken off stage by who he assumes to be Dai Li agents. Mai and Ty Lee join Azula on the stage, and assist her in killing Aang, to which the crowd cheers, and the six of them in the booth feel the temperature drop ten degrees. At the second intermission, Aang heads off on his own, probably upset because people had literally been cheering for his death, and Toph eventually decides to follow him. Sokka and Suki go to try and sneak backstage so that Sokka can give his actor some pointers, and Katara and Zuko are left sitting alone in the hallway. She scoots up next to him, pressing her whole side into his, and takes his hand in hers.

"You know, I really do find you very attractive," she teases, and the corner of his mouth pulls up in a smirk as he turns to look at her.

"Oh, yeah?" She nods her head and smirks back at him. "You must not have very good taste." Damn it, Zuko, why do you always do this? Her smirk changes to a pout, mostly exaggerated, but he can there's some truth behind it.

"First of all, we have the same taste." Zuko thinks back to Jet's death scene in the play, and how it may as well have been his fault that he died in the first place. "Second of all," she slides the tip of her finger along his jawline to his chin. "You are very attractive." His breath comes out in a huff, his skin tingling where she had touched it.

"You are such a tease." Her smile is bright as she laughs, the sound a bird song in his ears, something beautiful and light, coaxing a grin out of him that stretches across his whole face.

"That's what I like to see." She gives him a lingering kiss on his left cheek, his stomach flipping in response. "I love it when you smile." The sweetness of her words warms him like the rising sun, and all he wants to do is take her back to the house and hold her for as long as she'll let him.

The third act passes in about the same manner as the first two, until the scene of the invasion. The gang on stage heads into the palace, only to find it empty. Strangely enough, this is where they bring Zuko back into the play, joining the gang as they run off stage.

"Well, that's it!" Sokka stands, stretching his arms over his head. "It's all caught up to the present, so the play's over."

"Wait," Suki tugs on his arm to bring him back down. "It's not over!"

"What? What do you mean? They're going to act out the future?" Sokka's just as confused as Zuko is as the play continues on stage. They show Ozai's actor on stage, a make-shift comet streaking across the stage above him.

"With the energy harnessed from the comet, no one will be able to stop the Fire Nation!"

The crowd cheers as the mood in the box goes sour. Azula comes on stage then, announcing Aang and Zuko's presence to defeat Ozai. Azula goes up against Zuko, and the crowd cheers as he dies on stage. Aang goes up against Ozai, and the crowd cheers again as he dies on stage as well. The six of them leave the theatre in silence, all of them splitting up once they get back to the house to contemplate the future alone.

Xx

It's too hot for her to sleep. Katara kicks off the silk sheet that's covering her, rolling over onto her stomach to try to get comfortable. Her mind keeps flashing back to that stupid play— the cheers that rang through the crowd at the deaths of Zuko and Aang. She knew that the people of the Fire Nation weren't exactly rooting for them, but having it displayed like that right in front of them had been unsettling at the least.

Fuck it. Sleep is not coming to her any time soon, and lying awake in bed doesn't hold any appeal to her, so she decides to get up and wander around the house. She had looked around a little bit when they had first gotten there, and she is drawn to a painting that had caught her eye on her first look around. It's a painting of Zuko's family; he and Azula are young in the depiction, Zuko being maybe seven or eight, bright smiles displayed proudly on their faces. It's strange to see Ozai with a smile, even if it is tight and small. But her real interest in the picture is the woman, who she has to assume is Zuko's mother. She's beautiful, with a kind face and soft amber eyes, and she looks exactly like the woman Katara had seen in the Foggy Swamp. She hasn't had the chance to talk to Zuko about it yet, but she's hoping she will find him tonight so that she can ask him about her.

But that isn't the only reason she's wandered out of bed. Since facing Yon Rha, something inside of her has changed. It's like a flower in her chest has finally bloomed, like a gargantuan weight has lifted from her shoulders like a graceful bird, and she finds herself being drawn to Zuko more than usual, the pull in her chest almost undeniable at points. That, coupled with the fact that he's been training shirtless with Aang for weeks now has her all kinds of riled up, and the desire to be closer to him is getting overwhelming. They've been progressing in the physical aspects of their relationship slowly, which she's grateful for, but she feels now like she's ready to give that part of herself over to him, not just physically, but spiritually as well. Something deep inside of her soul wants to be as close as she can to him, to meld with him in every way. She's been thinking about it frequently since their little field trip, and she is sure now that she's ready.

She finds herself wandering out to the front of the house, where Zuko's silhouette is highlighted by the gentle light of the moon, reflecting like jewels spilled across the ocean's surface. He turns his head slightly to the side upon hearing her, and smiles as she sits down on his right.

"Couldn't sleep?" His voice is raspier than usual, probably due to the late hour, and it washes over Katara, making her shiver.

"Nope." He hums in response as they look out over the ocean, the scene beautiful and serene. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." The way his voice softens when he speaks to her makes her heart swell in her chest, makes her want to confess everything to him. I love you so much.

"That picture inside of your family..." She sees his face darken, but continues. "Is that your mother?"

"Yes." His features soften just a bit, the corner of his mouth neutral instead of tilted downward like it was a moment ago.

"Is she… still around?" Katara isn't sure why she would have seen the woman in the swamp if she was still alive, but she needs to check.

"No." He looks down at his lap as he braces his weight on his hands behind him. "At least, I don't think so. She left when I was ten, and I haven't heard anything from her or about her since."

"Zuko, I'm so sorry."

Aunt Wu's words come floating back into her mind. There will most likely be shared experiences, most often painful ones, that have occurred around the same time in their lives that allow the two to form a deep understanding of one another. If Zuko had been ten when his mother left, that would have been around the same time her mother had died.

"It is what it is." He shrugs, but she knows that he's hiding a deeper hurt underneath his calm demeanor. "My father had wanted to be named the air to the throne after my cousin Lu Ten died; my uncle had gone into a deep depression, and my father didn't think he would be fit to rule. Apparently my father approached my grandfather about it, and my grandfather got angry, saying that my father would know the pain of losing a son to make him feel some empathy towards my uncle." Katara covers her mouth with her hand, shocked that Azulon would do such a thing. She knew he was a terrible man, but that seems like a whole other kind of fucked up. "That night my mother came to me and woke me up in bed. She told me to promise her to never forget who I was." A chill runs down Katara's spine, the face of Zuko's mother's apparition flashing in front of her eyes. "I never saw her again after that. Azula had told me that she had killed my grandfather so that Ozai could take the throne. Coincidentally, my grandfather got very sick the day after her leaving, and apparently had named my father the heir to the throne." Her heart is beating faster than what is comfortable in her chest, her vision in the Foggy Swamp making more sense with each of Zuko's words. "Honestly..." he looks up at the stars, and she can see wetness in his good eye as he tries to blink it back. "I think she's dead. I don't know why, but something inside me just knows that she's gone." She leans over and grips him in a fierce hug, feeling wetness on her shoulder as a few of his tears fall.

"Did I ever tell you about the Foggy Swamp?" After she releases him, she knows that she has to tell him about her vision. He shakes his head at her question. "We passed through it on our way to Ba Sing Se, before we saw you in the desert. The swamp is… very spiritual, I guess you could say. I saw a vision of my mother..." she looks into his eyes, sympathy mingling with soft gold. 'And I saw a vision of your mother too." His eyes widen as she continues. "I walked up to her and she smiled at me, and she asked me to promise her that I'd never forget who I was." His face is shocked and confused, tears spilling from his eye again as he takes a moment to process what she's told him.

"Why would you have seen my mother?" She takes his hand in hers, rubbing her thumb along the back side in a show of comfort.

"Have you ever heard of a twin flame?" She feels that tugging in her chest, and she moves closer to him so that their legs are touching from knee to hip.

"I don't think so." Katara lets out a sigh, knowing that it's all too complicated for her to explain right now. "It sounds kind of familiar. It sounds like something my uncle would talk about." She smiles at that, a small smile growing on his face to match. "But what does that have to do with my mother?"

"It's hard to explain." It's impossible for her to find the words, and she decides that she should leave it to someone more knowledgeable so that she doesn't mess it up. "You should ask Iroh about it the next time you see him." Zuko drops his head again, and she lays her hand across his scar, causing him to look back up into her eyes. "You'll see him again soon. I know it."

He nods as he leans his forehead against hers, their eyes closed as they breathe each other in. She leans forward and takes his lips in hers, the kiss soft and slow as she pours all of her love into him, before picking up pace and filling with passion. He raises his hand to press against her back, and she moves to straddle his lap as the familiar heat runs through her and settles low in her core. She bites at his lower lip, dragging it through her teeth, his sharp intake of breath spurring her on as she deepens the kiss. His hands slide up her thighs from her knees to her hips, and she presses herself down against the hardness below her, revelling in his heavy breathing due to the increased pressure between them.

"Do you want to, like, go sit on a piece of furniture?" She laughs at his awkward words, the smile that she loves gracing his features at her reaction.

"You're so eloquent, Zuko." Her tease makes his smile even bigger, bright like the moonlight reflecting off of the ocean behind her. "Yes, I would like to sit on a piece of furniture."

He takes her hand as they rise, guiding her back into the house. He looks around, trying to find somewhere appropriate for them to continue, but she has her own idea of where she wants to go. She pulls on his hand so that he's facing her, and sees the spark in his eyes when she gets up on her toes to speak softly in his ear.

"Take me to your room." The look he gives her when she settles back on her heels sends a fluttering feeling down to her core, watching his throat move as he swallows, tempting her to kiss him right there in the entryway.

"Okay," he breathes, making her heart hammer in her chest with excitement and anticipation as he leads her up the stairs and past the rooms that the others are staying in.

His room is no bigger than hers, the bed the same ridiculous size with the same deep red sheets placed neatly upon it. The moonlight filters in through the thin gold curtains, bathing the space in an ethereal blondish glow. Zuko closes the door almost silently behind him as she pulls her hand from his and walks to sit down on his bed, the plush mattress dipping with her weight and making everything so much more real. He sits on the edge of the bed next to her, waiting for her to pull him down into a kiss by the collar of his shirt before he makes any moves. They make their way onto the middle of the bed, limbs tangling and heartbeats racing, desire and love coursing through Katara like waves in the ocean, carrying her blissfully along with the tide.

He's gentle and soft as he guides her through it all, the new sensations overwhelming in the best possible way. He lays himself bare for her, and her for him, and in her most vulnerable moment, she's never felt safer. She's heard that there's supposed to be pain and blood for her first time, but Zuko takes his time preparing her, touching and kissing her so much that she's practically begging him to take her. And finally he does, slowly and carefully, and his crawling pace has her quickly moaning into his mouth, the fire he ignites in her threatening to burn her up until she pulls him forcefully to her, needing his heat, starving for pleasure. They move together, electricity jumping between their skin wherever it touches, that fire burning through Katara's veins as the tension inside of her builds. A coil in her core twists tighter and tighter before finally snapping, an intense wave of bliss crashing over her and leaving her shaking and gasping for breath. Her heart is bursting with light, sunshine spilling over and filling her up, something beautiful and indescribable passing between them under the soft moonlight. It all feels so amazing and addicting, but underneath all of the physical sensations, something inside her is awakening. Like her soul has finally opened its eyes, like she's come home after a lifetime away, like the sun has wrapped her up in its light and warmth and carried her into the morning. She kisses him over and over, the mantra in her head pulsing with every beat of her heart: I love you, I love you, I love you.

When it's all over, they lay together, sweaty skin sticking in the humid night air, but she's never felt more at peace. Zuko curls into her, holding her like she's a treasure and a blessing, whispering how good and beautiful she is until he drifts off to sleep. She runs her fingers through his soft hair, damp with sweat, and kisses his forehead, whispering her love to him so softly that she's sure it will drift away into the night before he can ever hear it.