Avatar: The Last Airbender is not my creation, the people at the Nickelodeon Studios created it, but that will not stop me from making my own little episodes of excitement and romance.

The only thing I own is the plot on your screen. If you plan to take my ideas and put them into your own fanfic, claiming to be your own mind that thought them up, get a hobby. Plagiarism is wrong, don't do it!

Prince Zuko paced back and forth on the deck of his ship, while the soldiers let down the loading ramp. He was extremely nervous. What was he going to say to her? What if she says no? What will happen then? He looked out into the forest with dread. Has the Avatar agreed to all of this? he thought anxiously. He glanced up at the sky and noticed the familiar glow of the stars. He looked for the brightest one and made a small wish.

"Wishing upon a star, are we?" Iroh asked as he walked up behind his worried nephew. "Calm down Prince Zuko, you have nothing to be nervous about. She will say yes."

Zuko turned around and gave his uncle a sheepish smile. After he arrived from the beach, Zuko had told Iroh everything. He told him how he had seen the boomerang and followed it, to find Sokka sitting on the beach alone. He told his uncle how Sokka had given him a hard time and that when he found out that Katara had known of his feelings, he felt betrayed. He explained to him how he felt when Sokka told him that Katara loved him back. And last but definitely not least, he told him that Sokka had agreed to the marriage.

Iroh had jumped up and down in complete joy. He hugged his nephew like never before and congratulated him right on the spot. He was ecstatic to know that the wonderful, kind Katara would soon be his future niece…in-law. What could be better than that? Absolutely nothing! He recollected the first encounter he had with Katara. It was about three months ago, when he saw her tied to a tree. The young Avatar child had told Katara that it was not her fault that they were captured, but Iroh had been kind enough to correct the boy, and tell him that it was indeed her fault.

"What am I going to say uncle?" Prince Zuko asked and began to pace again, taking time to glance at the woods that he soon would be entering.

"The truth," Iroh answered with a smile. His nephew gave him a questioning expression and he explained, "Tell her that you've missed her. That you love her. That you want to marry her."

Zuko took a deep breath and nodded. "OK. Thanks." He waved goodbye to Iroh and walked down the metal ramp. He looked up at the midnight sky one more time and whispered to the shining stars, "Wish me luck."

"The only person who suspected that you and I would fall in love was Cupid." -Katherine L.

Sokka had not been able to sleep and even if he was, he couldn't. He had to wait for Prince Zuko. He glanced at Katara and noticed that she was fast asleep, her chest moving up and down as she breathed. So peaceful. She's going to be so happy in a few of minutes, Sokka thought. I wish I could be happy about all of this. He slipped out of his sleeping bag and walked to Aang's slumbering body. He gave him a small nudge on the shoulder. "Get up," he whispered and sighed in frustration when Aang wouldn't wake. "Come on," he whispered again, a little more harsher. "If you don't get up, I'll spit on your face," he warned, and sure enough, Aang opened his eyes with a start.

He was a little confused at first, but then he remembered about that day's happenings. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Is he here yet?" Aang whispered and looked around the grounds, to see if anybody was there.

"No," Sokka answered. "He should be here any moment. Lets go."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Well, we're not going to stay here and watch. Who knows what they're going to do. Besides, I think they'll want their privacy so they can talk and junk," the warrior said and stuck his boomerang behind his back. "We'll wait at the beach, then we'll come back after he leaves. Come on." He grabbed Aang by the arm and stood him up.

The two boys began to head out of their campsite when they heard rustling in the nearby underbrush. Aang grabbed his staff and pointed it in the direction of the noise. "Who's there?" he whispered and Zuko appeared, dusting himself off.

"Stupid plant," Prince Zuko whispered angrily and looked over at Sokka, who then placed a hand upon Aang's shoulder.

"Come on Aang," Sokka whispered and led the boy passed Zuko.

"Don't you even think about hurting or kidnapping her again. If you do, I will make it my personal goal to hurt you," Aang warned and gave the Prince an angry glare. He turned around after Zuko nodded, and walked after Sokka.

The Prince looked over at Katara and smiled as he noticed that she was still asleep. He walked up to her and took a seat beside her sleeping body. He saw a strand of hair covering her face and placed it behind her ear.

Katara moaned and her blue eyes fluttered open. She smiled as she stared up into Zuko's face. What a nice dream, she thought and reached up to touch his cheek. Zuko gently grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it. She gasped. I'm not dreaming! Katara sat up and pulled her hand away from the Prince's grasp.

"Hey," he said softly and smiled as she looked at him nervously.

The young water bender didn't respond. Instead, she turned her head to see if the boys were awake. Her heart dropped as she noticed Sokka's bedroll empty and Aang's heap of hay alone. He captured them, she screamed inside her mind.

Prince Zuko shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry. They're safe."

So many things were going through her head as she saw Prince Zuko sitting before her. Where's Sokka? Where's Aang? Why did he say they're safe, she asked herself as she took in every detail of Zuko's face. I've missed you. "What are you doing here?" Katara asked at last, with a tone that was unintentional.

Zuko frowned. "If you want me to leave I w--," he said but was cut off by Katara.

"No!" she cried and grabbed his hand. "I just…I wanted…Where's my brother?" She was so confused. She had no idea what was going on.

Prince Zuko smiled. "He's with the Avatar. They went for a walk on the beach. They'll be back."

"Why did they leave?"

"So we could talk," he answered. Her expression told him that she was more confused than ever. He looked up at the moon and looked at it's position in the sky. "Yesterday morning, I spoke to your brother. He said some very interesting things."

Katara blushed. She somehow knew what he was talking about. "Really? Like what?" she asked and managed to crack a small smile.

Prince Zuko smirked. "Well, he said that you heard me that one night." He watched Katara look down in guilt, and placed two fingers beneath her chin. He looked into her bright blue eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Tears began to sting her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered and closed her eyes. "I didn't want to argue anymore. I was tired of fighting with you. But then, you walked in and started talking. You were saying all those things. I wanted to say something but I couldn't. I was so afraid, because everything that you were saying was diminishing my plan. I was changing my mind about running away, I started to want to stay with you. But then you said that I would betray Aang and I knew you were right. But then you were about to leave but you said that you loved me and my heart was breaking," her voice cracked and a couple tears slid down her face. "My--my heart hurt a lot and I've been mi--missing you so much. And I'm so sorry if I hurt you when I left. Please…I'm so--sorry." She placed her hands on her face and cried. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

Zuko wrapped his arms around the crying Katara and let her head rest on his chest. "It's OK," he hushed and passed his hand over her head. "It's OK." He felt horrible for thinking that she was mocking him. She was probably suffering more than he was when she left. He heard her sobs calming down and felt her slowly pull away from him. He looked into her shiny blue eyes and sighed when he saw the sadness within them. He hated seeing her so sad. Sadness didn't fit her well. "Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about." He wiped her wet cheeks and smiled at her warmly.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered.

"I've missed you too. More than you can believe," he stated. "So, tell me what happened at the village. Sokka told me that you encountered Zhao over there."

The water bender sighed and looked away. "It's nothing worth mentioning. He just harassed me until he got what he wanted…me asking Sokka for forgiveness."

Anger began to flood throughout Prince Zuko's body. "I hate him. I hate him so much," he said loudly and stood up. Smoke began to emit from his glowing fists. "I am going to kill him."

"You know how he is. He's never going to change. Don't waste your energy on him," Katara said serenely and waited patiently for Zuko to calm down.

Prince Zuko looked at Katara and smiled. She was right, he shouldn't waste his energy on Admiral Zhao. He walked toward her and sat beside her again. "I don't like him near you," he avowed, resentment dwelling in his tone of voice. The truth was that he didn't like any man near her. Just the thought of the Avatar near her, enraged him.

"I'm safe with my brother," she said.

Silence fell upon them after Katara finished speaking. Prince Zuko hated the fact that she felt safe next to that moron who couldn't properly hit a man even if his life depended on it. "You'll be safer with me," he said, breaking the silence between them. Katara stared at Zuko strangely, as though she didn't understand what he had meant. "If you come with me, you'll be safer than ever," he added. He was beginning to sweat as nerves began to take over.

Katara smiled sweetly at Zuko. It was amusing to see a strong man like him nervous around a weakling like herself. "What are you getting at?" she asked quietly and watched him rub the back of his neck.

"I love you," he stated softly and sighed when he saw Katara smile.

"I love you too," she answered and placed her hand on top of his warm one.

"Really?" asked Zuko, a little surprise. He shifted his weight, so he could hold Katara's soft hand. She nodded and tightened her grip on his hand. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life," he whispered.

Katara blushed and looked down at their joined hands. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? No, he's not. Don't get your hopes up. Don't let your heart break. A tear fell on her lap and she wiped the wet trail off her face.

Prince Zuko lifted her head and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Katara," he paused before continuing, "will you let me be with the woman I love for the rest of my life?"

She let out a small laugh. "Who is she?" she asked, fearing that he will say somebody else's name. Please don't break my heart…Please…

He leaned in and locked her blue eyes with his golden ones and whispered very mellifluously: "You."

It seemed that time had stopped just for them. This isn't real, she kept repeating in her head. It can't be. But it was. Every moment. Every breath. These were one of those moments that make you realize that reality is much better than any dream. She didn't cry. She didn't laugh. She just smiled and nodded. She lifted her hand and touched his scarred cheek, making him close his golden eyes. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life too," she whispered softly.

He turned his head slightly and kissed the palm of her hand. "I love you," he whispered and grabbed her waist with his hands, pulling her body closer to his.

"I love you too," Katara returned and wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck. The space between the two lovers didn't take long to disappear. His lips gently pressed against hers and her breath was taken away as a shiver traveled up her spine. She felt the grip on her waist tighten and knew that he was enjoying this just as much as she was. The water bender moved closer to Prince Zuko and softly passed her tongue against his firm lips. She opened her mouth slightly when he returned the favor, and felt his tongue play sweetly with hers. Desire ran throughout her entire being and a tingling sensation, that she had never felt before, fluttered within her lower abdomen.

The kiss ended as smoothly as it had begun. Zuko smiled at Katara, who seemed a little taken aback by what had just happened. "Too much for you?" he asked teasingly and let out a small laugh. He noticed a lock of her hair cover her face and moved it aside so he could stare into her true blue eyes. "I love your eyes," he said. "They are so truthful." He didn't know why he said those things. Something inside him just told him he should.

Katara giggled. "Truthful? How so?" she asked, hinting amusement in her voice.

"I don't know. I know what you're feeling when I look into them. It's strange," he explained stupidly. He shivered when a cold breeze stung his face. "It's late. I better go," he said when he noticed the extreme change of temperature, hinting to him that it was very late. He got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Go? Go where? I didn't see any ships here," Katara asked Zuko as she stood up.

"The ship is hidden behind those trees," he stated while pointing to a group of trees behind him.

"Don't go," she pleaded and took hold of his hand. "Stay here with me. Please?"

"I have to go, my uncle must be worrying," he lied, knowing very well that his uncle could careless if he arrived now or next week. "Besides, your brother must be freezing." Katara made a sad face and tightened her grip on his hand. "Don't do that," he laughed. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I mean…later," the Prince corrected, remembering that it should be midnight, meaning tomorrow was now…today.

"Fine," Katara said, giving in. "Just because Sokka and Aang are probably freezing to death." She smiled and pulled Zuko a little closer to her. "Promise to come back later?" He nodded and she loosened her hold on his hand. "Say 'hi' to Iroh for me."

He turned to leave but frowned when Katara didn't let go of him. "Katara--" he began but stopped when he understood why she hadn't released him. He turned to face her again and pulled her like if she was some mule, making her stumble into him. He kissed her roughly on the lips and wrapped an arm around her small middle. Then, just as suddenly, he pulled away and smirked. "Happy?" Zuko whispered. She nodded and he laughed at her slight embarrassment before he kissed her on the forehead. "See you later."

Her arm fell limply on her side as she watched Prince Zuko leave. He'll be back, she thought trying to sooth her sad mind. His visit had been too short for her, but she couldn't complain. She was marrying him and everybody she cared about was OK with it! Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Right?

A/N- There you go, they FINALLY kissed. Took them 23 Chapters to do it, but it happened.