When Zuko woke up, he found himself thoroughly entangled with Katara. Her knee was between his legs, her arm wrapped around his waist, while his arm was curled around her shoulders, keeping her pressed against him. Her head was tucked into the crook of his neck, and he could feel her warm breath against his throat.

Oh, Agni, Zuko thought. How did this happen?

Well, probably because he'd fallen asleep on top of his bedroll. But Katara had fallen asleep in hers so how…?

Zuko wasn't sure, but he wasn't complaining. He'd been craving the closeness of her body ever since they had been stuck in that crate together. Zuko was slowly coming to terms that he irrevocably liked Katara. He couldn't deny it to himself any longer.

Zuko glanced down at her. She'd left her hair loose after her bath, and it fell in a curly wave around her shoulders. A few dark curls spilled across her cheek, and he surprised himself when he brushed the soft strands back behind her ear.

It would be so easy to fall in love with her. And maybe here, in this place, safe from his sister and far removed from the weight of his father's expectations, he could let himself. Zuko didn't want to think about what that might mean for his future. All he cared about right now was Katara, and how she made him feel.

So few people had ever shown him the kindness that she had. Him, her former enemy, who had done so many things to hurt her. She had forgiven him for that, and had come to look at him as a friend. She had offered him comfort when he needed it without asking for anything in return. She was good and compassionate and kind. She was everything that he wasn't.

His feelings for her were growing to be impossible to ignore. His heart fluttered in his chest every time he looked at her. And he felt a protectiveness over her, one that had started after those thieves in the desert, which had only grown as his feelings deepened. He didn't like the thought of Gashuin wanting to be with her. He especially didn't like the thought of Jet kissing her.

And he would be lying if he said it wasn't because he didn't want to be with her or kiss her. He was just too much of a coward to do anything about it. Zuko had been pushing down his growing feelings for her for weeks, but he realized that he didn't want to hide his feelings anymore.

But he wasn't sure how to make his feelings known to her. He didn't have a lot of experiences with girls. Especially girls he liked. It made him feel insecure and inadequate, and made him overthink even the stupidest of things, like when he'd heated the coals for her bath last night.

And there was always the issue of whether or not she liked him back. Why would she? What did he have to offer her? It was easy to see why she'd fallen for Jet. He was objectively good looking and he was charming. Zuko was neither good looking nor charming. Katara had pointed out on several occasions that his personality left something to be desired, and with his scar, he was certainly not easy on the eyes.

He looked down at Katara. How had she ended up in his arms? It must have been because she'd gotten cold in the middle of the night, and she'd gravitated unconsciously towards the nearest source of heat—him.

With a quiet sigh, Zuko gently disentangled himself and stood up, making sure that he didn't wake her. He padded silently out of the room. Iroh was already awake and brewing tea.

And based on the look on his face when he saw Zuko step out of Katara's bedroom, he definitely hadn't expected to see that.

"Nephew?" Iroh asked curiously. "What were you doing in Master Katara's bedroom?"

Zuko felt himself go red. "Um, I couldn't sleep, so I just—"

Iroh shook his head disapprovingly. "You were raised with more manners than that, Prince Zuko. It is utterly unacceptable for you to be sharing a room with Master Katara. I don't think I need to tell you about the implications of illegitimate heirs—"

Zuko choked on his own spit. He willed the floor to open up and swallow him whole, but it didn't. Uncle didn't seriously think—? How could he jump to that kind of conclusion—?

"That's not what happened!" Zuko sputtered defensively. "I was just—she was—it's not like that!"

Iroh raised a bushy brow. "No? I may be old, but I'm not blind. I see the way you two look at each other. I do not know what's been happening between you two since you've been traveling together—"

"Wait, what?" Zuko interrupted, confused now. What did his uncle mean, the way you two look at each other?

Iroh cocked his head. "You're laying together, aren't you?"

Zuko wanted to die from the mortification. He had thought it was bad enough when Uncle had given him the talk about the sparrowkeets and butterbees when Zuko was fourteen, but this was so, so much worse. Not only because he and Katara were most definitely not sleeping together, but because he was talking about this with his uncle.

"No!" Zuko exclaimed, only remembering at the last second to keep his voice down. "I've never—we've never—it's not like that between us. I couldn't sleep because of your spirits-awful snoring, and she woke up and offered for me to stay in her room. There was never—that wasn't—nothing like that happened!"

Iroh studied him for a moment. Then he nodded and sipped his tea. "I'm glad to hear that, nephew. I would hate to think you had dishonored her."

Zuko frowned. "Dishonored her?"

"It's not as if we expect men to remain chaste until marriage, but you mustn't ever lead a lady on. It's always important to be clear with your intentions from the start," Iroh explained, much to Zuko's chagrin. He pierced him with his gaze. "Have you thought any more about what you will do when she finds her friends?"

Zuko looked away. "I—I'm not sure, Uncle."

"I suggest that you start thinking hard about it, Prince Zuko," Iroh said solemnly. "I can see that you are growing attached to her. There will come a moment where you will have to choose."

Zuko pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't know what to say. He felt uncertain and conflicted. He cared so deeply for Katara, but he wanted his throne. How could he reconcile the two things he desired most?

"I need to pee," he said instead as he stomped towards the washroom.

"Think about what I said, nephew," Iroh called after him. "In the meantime, I'll pick up some pennyroyal, just in case."

Zuko slammed the washroom door shut behind him.

When Katara emerged from her bedroom that morning, she found Iroh calmly drinking tea and a very red-faced Zuko scowling out the window. She looked between the two of them, wondering what might have happened.

"What did I miss?" Katara asked around a yawn as she grabbed a banana off of the counter.

"Nothing," Zuko snapped quickly.

"I was just telling Zuko that I was going to go to the market after I finished my tea," Iroh said. "We should start looking for work as well. Hopefully, it won't take long to find us some jobs."

Katara peeled her banana. "I could offer my healing services. Given the number of sick and injured I helped on the ferry into the city, I'm sure I could find more."

"The poor don't pay," Zuko said rudely.

Katara arched her brow at him. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bedroll, she thought.

"You would be surprised," Iroh said before he drained the contents of his cup and got to his feet. "I am off. I'll return shortly."

He rinsed his cup before he left, leaving Katara and Zuko alone.

"What's up with you?" Katara asked before she took a bite of her banana.

"Nothing," Zuko snapped, his eyes still trained out of the window.

"Yeah, okay," Katara snorted sarcastically.

"What do you care?"

She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I care."

Finally, Zuko looked at her. She saw the surprise that briefly registered over his face before he neutralized his expression. Katara blinked. Did he really think that she didn't care about him?

"Yeah?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, duh," Katara said. "After everything we've been through together? I consider you a friend. I thought you knew that."

"Right. Yeah." He looked out the window again. "Sorry. I just…yeah."

Katara put her banana down and walked over to him. She put her hand on his arm and looked up at him.

"You've never really had any friends, have you?" she asked him softly.

Zuko looked down at her hand, his brow furrowing. "Uh, no. Not really."

"I can understand that," Katara murmured, dropping her gaze. "I didn't have many friends in the South Pole. It was just me and my brother for a long time."

"Being part of the royal family made it hard to have friends," Zuko admitted softly. "At least, friends who weren't there just so their parents could win favor with mine, or didn't want to gain something from my status. Then, of course, I was banished…"

"I'm sorry, Zuko," Katara told him. "But I'm your friend, okay? If something is bothering you, I'm here for you."

He nodded slowly, seeming to absorb her words. Her heart ached for him, for this boy who had been through so much in his life although he was just a kid. But that was a side effect of war, Katara supposed. The spirits knew that she had been through more than enough in her nearly-fifteen years.

"And you're my friend too, right?" Katara asked tentatively.

Finally, Zuko met her gaze. The sunlight pouring in through the window reflected in his eyes, seeming to set them on fire. Her breath caught in her throat. She had always found his eyes to be lovely, but right now, they were beautiful.

"Yeah," he said, his voice husky. "I am."

They paused there like that, looking at one another with her hand on his arm. Katara hadn't realized how close together they were standing until right now.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. It looked so inviting. And friends could kiss, right? Maybe it might lead to something more, but Katara found that she was not adverse to that idea at all. She liked him, definitely more than a friend. And with as close as they were standing, it wouldn't be hard to close the distance and kiss him.

Katara looked up into his eyes. She wondered if he felt that way too, if he could feel the tension between them right now. He'd never been kissed, so maybe he was just afraid to make the first move? She was a little scared, but spirits, did she want to kiss him.

She licked her lips before she dared to tilt her head towards him. She saw his eyes widen fractionally, but then he was leaning towards her. Katara's heart skipped a beat in her chest.

But suddenly, the apartment door opened and Iroh stepped through. Zuko and Katara jumped apart as if they'd been shocked.

"Silly me," Iroh said as he shuffled across the apartment, completely oblivious to the scene he had just interrupted. "I made it all the way to the market and realized I forgot my money!"

"That's terrible," Katara murmured, her cheeks flaming.

"How inconvenient," Zuko muttered dryly.

She risked a peek at him and saw that his cheeks were just as red as hers surely were.

"Ah, here we are," Iroh said as he came up with his coinpurse. "Let's hope that this time I haven't forgotten anything."

Iroh departed as quickly as he had come. Katara stepped away from Zuko, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I think I'm going to um, go look for a job," Katara mumbled as she pulled on her boots. "I'll be back in a few hours. Uh, see you then?"

"R-right," Zuko stammered.

Katara quickly ducked through the door. Her mind was racing and her heart was in her throat. They'd almost kissed! Would have kissed, if Iroh hadn't come back at the most inopportune moment. Would things be awkward now between them? She hoped not.

She made her way down the stairs, brushing past their pregnant neighbor and her gaggle of kids. Once she was out on the street, Katara took a deep breath and hoped that she hadn't just messed everything up.