Katara opened the door wide and beamed at Zuko. "Well, hello there, fake boyfriend!"

Zuko rolled his eyes and pushed past her, tossing his backpack on the floor next to her kitchen table. "I need coffee."

"That's no way to greet me!" She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Seriously, we should practice before going home or everyone will see right through us. And then I'll be the laughing stock, again."

He arched his eyebrow, "What, you want me to kiss you every time I see you now?" Katara flushed red, stuttering until Zuko laughed. He relented, "Coffee and studying for finals first. Then we can talk about our little arrangement later."

Zuko helped himself in her kitchen, moving about with familiarity as he started up a pot of coffee and got down two mugs. She watched as he added two sugars and a splash of cream in one. For her.

Why did that…make her so pleased?

Katara shook her head and patted her cheeks. Focus, Kat.

She set up her area with her laptop and books, determined to focus on her work. Next week was the pre-finals week, aka dead week, when most of her big papers and semester projects would be due.

Zuko set down her mug in front of her as he set up his own books. Katara tried not to stare at him.

Apparently, she failed miserably.

"I know I have something on my face, but it's not nice to stare." He met her eyes directly and pursed his lips in humor.

Katara gasped, "Zuko! I'm not— I wasn't—"

He chuckled, "I know. What's up?"

"It's— nothing. Just, thank you for making my coffee. And…I'll be sad when our chem lab is over and we aren't partners anymore."

Zuko smiled softly. "Feeling sappy with the end of semester, huh? We might get a couple more classes together."

She shrugged, "Maybe, but our classes will start getting more specific. Marine biology and veterinary science won't have too much in common after the first year or two."

"Well, we'll still study together, won't we?"

Katara grinned, feeling some tension leave her shoulders. "That's true."

"Now shush and let me work. I'm not failing just 'cause I got a clingy girlfriend now."

She kicked him under the table.

~~~

Zuko groaned and stretched out his arms. "This is torture. I need a break."

Katara sighed and stood, feeling her back pop as she stretched. "Thank goodness, I've started going cross-eyed."

He glanced up at her, "So…boyfriend training?"

"Right!" Katara pumped her fist up into the air.

They stared awkwardly at each other for a beat before breaking out into laughter, the silliness of the situation hitting them at once.

Katara found herself blushing as she lowered her arm and rubbed it bashfully. "Sorry, that was super dorky."

"It was adorable." Zuko grinned at her. She found herself blushing deeper.

She coughed, "Anyways, um…I guess first, we should set some boundaries?"

"Definitely."

Katara pursed her lips as she considered how they could play off being a couple. "I'm thinking normal PDA things like hand-holding, hugging, maybe kissing occasionally. Does any of that bother you?"

She looked down at him to see a pink flush on his cheeks. "That…that's all fine with me. And, y'know. Cuddling and stuff. That's fine."

She swallowed, shuffling a little closer to him. "Right. Should we uh, practice? So we aren't all awkward?"

"Y-yeah. Practicing sounds good."

Zuko looked up at her from his chair, his black hair falling out of the messy bun on top of his head. She hesitantly reached out and tucked the hair behind his ear, letting her thumb rest on his unscarred cheek. She wasn't sure if he would be okay with her touching his face, but he didn't flinch away from her. Katara wouldn't touch his scar though, not unless she knew that it was okay.

"Is this okay, to touch your face here?" She whispered.

Zuko nodded slightly. "Yeah. I don't mind if it's you."

Her breath caught at that— what did he mean because it was her? Was he really that comfortable with her?

She stared into his eyes, trying to decipher what his words meant. She'd never seen someone with golden yellow eyes before. They were beautiful. He was beautiful.

Katara cupped his face with both hands now, tilting his chin up. Her thumb barely traced the edge of his scar, featherlight. His eyelids fluttered shut at the gentle touch.

She leaned down until their breaths were shared and their noses brushed. Her heart seemed to be thundering a million miles a minute in her chest as she pushed forward until—

Until a loud knock had them springing apart. She hadn't realized his hands had been on her wrists until she felt the coldness from his loss of warmth.

"Sugar Queen! Are you fucking dead or something? You better be or I'll kill you!"

"Shit!" Katara cursed, looking at the time. She was supposed to meet Toph at the gym twenty minutes ago.

She ran to the door and let the angry blind girl in. "Toph, I am so sorry, Zuko and I were just—" she flushed and stuttered, "just studying!"

Toph narrowed her sightless eyes. "Studying, huh? Is that a new code word for sex? Because just say so and I'll leave."

"T-Toph!" Zuko and Katara both yelled in embarrassment at their mutual friend. She had a relentless teasing side, that's for sure.

"I take that as a yes?"