Chapter 27

"Kiaaa!" Aang's voice, though it had grown more masculine, was still no match for the deeper, more powerful yell of Zuko's as the two boys sprinted toward each other in the yawning meadow. Hands flaming, the muscles of their shirtless torsos taut in battle, they sent ribbons of deadly fire at each other.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the earth beneath me. Both boys were blown apart and lay smoking on either edge of the field.

"Aang! How often do I have to say this? You are not to use airbending and firebending at the same time!" Zuko sat up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Sorry, Zuko." Aang replied with a cheeky smile.

I grinned from my place on the grass. Zuko had turned out to be a surprisingly good teacher. Aang was learning with a speed that gave me a budding hope that the young avatar might be ready to face the Fire Nation by summer's end.

Summer's end. It was getting closer. I wished I could help Aang, help him learn faster, but he'd already learned waterbending, and I would be no help teaching him firebending. So, I'd opted to spend my afternoons helping Meng prepare for the village celebration.

It was going to be a big affair, lasting all night. There would be a huge table laden with food, and musicians of every kind would be playing in the streets, inviting people to dance. There would be singing and games and contests for everyone to participate in. It was the highlight of the villagers' year, and each family worked diligently to decorate their house and prepare delicious food to share with the community. I'd thought that helping Meng might draw me and the girl closer, but for some reason Meng remained aloof and almost disdainful of my friendship. I assumed it must just be that time of her cycle.

"They fight magnificently, don't they, Meng?" I asked her, trying to stir up conversation.

"Yes. Now could you please take your eyes off Aang for a moment and help me put together this streamer?" She huffed. I smiled and began to help her cut out long lengths of yellow and green cloth and tie them together.

To tell the truth, I'd not been looking at Aang at all. Rather, I'd been admiring the hard, flexing muscles of the Fire Prince. I felt my stomach do a flip inside of me as I watched him strut across the meadow and show Aang a difficult firebending move for the fourth time that morning. It was a beautiful move involving complex footwork and a graceful, sinuous arching of the spine. I felt my fingertips tingle as I imagined running my hand over his chest, letting the fire that burned beneath his skin run up through my fingers and into my arm.

But no. Our love had to remain hidden for now, until the right time. But that didn't mean we couldn't find secret ways to express our feelings: a kiss stolen in the dark behind the house, a hug shared before breakfast while the rest slept, a nuzzle exchanged when no one was looking. A blush spread across my cheeks. Who could imagine that such simple actions could produce such a stirring of pleasure?

"You like having him back, don't you?" I came crashing back to earth at the sound of Meng's voice. I turned my face from the meadow to look at the girl, who was staring at the me with a look of sadness and frustration.

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled. There was something going on here... something I didn't know about.

"You missed Aang, didn't you?" Meng turned her large brown eyes on me. They looked hurt and betrayed, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Of course I missed him! I missed Sokka, too."

"Well, he missed you, too. He cried about you, you know!" Meng's voice lifted with righteous indignation.

"What? Who?"

"Aang, of course. The first time he came to Aunt Wu to ask her where you were, he cried and told me how it was all his fault." Guilt settled like a blanket over my shoulders. Why was this girl saying all this?

"How could you do that to him?" Meng pierced me with her eyes.

"Meng, I didn't really have a choice."

"You could have escaped!" The little girl was trembling with rage now.

"Meng, it's a little more complicated than that. You don't understand-"

"No! You don't understand! He loved you! He loved you and you threw that away. I was there for him when you left! I held his hand while he cried! I love him more than you ever could, and you just think you can walk in here and take him back?" Her voice was raised to a shrill pitch.

My world spun a little as the full reality of Meng's words sunk in. Aang had liked me? No wonder he was always trying to show off to me... but Meng thought I liked him back! That was absurd. He'd never been anything more to me than a good friend. Or perhaps the little brother I'd never had. But never more than that, and certainly not now that Zuko had captured my heart!

"But, Meng! I don't... I mean, I never... I'm not-" The words caught in my throat. I needed to let her know that I was in love with someone else, but I couldn't tell her about Zuko. It might get back to Aang or Sokka, and if it did... I shuddered.

So I was left there, my mouth opening and closing like a dying fish, while Meng tossed her braid at me and walked away. She mumbled something under her breath. It was said so low that I could hardly hear it. I could only catch the last word...

Did she just call me...

Floozy?

"They look great, Katara." Aang smiled as he admired the streamers that draped in luxurious waves over the edge of the roof. From the corner of my eye I caught Meng shoot me a poisonous look.

"Well, Aang, thanks, but Meng did most of the work." I said quickly. The boys had just finished practicing, and had now come back from the meadow to admire the work Meng and I had done on the decorating for Festival Day.

"Yeah, I know. I was watching her. Um... not for any reason... just... I wanted to point out that she was doing something wrong." Aang said, a blush forming over his cheeks. I saw Meng's face fall.

Wait a minute. Why is Aang being so mean to Meng? That's not like him. I gave the young Avatar a disapproving look. That's when I noticed his attention was focused elsewhere: on Sokka. My older brother was giving Aang a thumb's up sign. Oh great. Don't tell me Sokka's giving out relationship advice again. I groaned inwardly. I'd have to find some time when Meng wasn't around Aang to clear the Avatar's head of whatever nonsense Sokka'd put there.

It was a surprisingly difficult task. Meng stuck to Aang like glue, showing him things, asking his opinion, getting his approval. It was cute. Finally, my opportunity came when we arrived back at Sokka and Aang's little house and Meng went out to buy some supper.

"Aang, can I talk to you... outside?" I asked. Aang airbended himself enthusiastically from the floor and rushed to my side. "Of course, Karara!"

Outside the air was cool and fresh, a welcome change from the warm summer's heat. I breathed in deep and relished the early evening's soft breeze.

"What did you want to talk about, Katara?" Aang asked. He settled himself on the ground and started to play with a tiny flame he'd firebended onto his palm. Where do I start? I wondered to myself. I sighed and decided to start out with something easy.

"Well, I just wanted to catch up on things. You know, since I've been gone and all." I stalled for time as I tried to bring the right words to mind.

"This is a nice house."

"Thanks! The villagers gave it to me and Sokka as a way of saying 'thanks for saving our village from the volcano." I nodded. Aang nodded. There was silence. I sighed. There was no easy way about it. I just had to be blunt.

"Do you like Meng?"

The flame that had been burning in Aang's palm intensified before he clapped his other palm over it and put it out with a poof of smoke.

"Well... I," Aang blushed. "Listen, Katara, it's not that I don't like you anymore. I hope you're not mad. Or disappointed. I just... I really like her. She's fun!" I smiled. I hadseen Meng and Aang banter and play together. They both had a childish sense of fun that suited each other well.

"Don't worry Aang, I'm sure I'll get over it." I said. Aang smiled at me brightly. "Now, let me take a guess: Sokka's been teaching you how to win Meng's heart, hasn't he?"

"He sure has! He says I'm doing really good at the ignoring and insulting parts. I still have to practice the annoyed part, though." Aang looked at me like a student expecting praise from his teacher. I sighed.

"Aang, I hate to tell you this, but that's not the way to win a girl's heart." Aang's smile dropped so fast I thought his mouth might hit the floor.

"Really? But Sokka said-"

"Never mind what Sokka said. I'm a girl, right?"

"Right."

"So I would know what things make a girl happy, right?"

"I guess so."

"So, do you want to know what those things are?" Aang leapt from his seat and nodded so hard his whole body shook. I smiled. I'd missed the young Avatar's enthusiasm.

"Tell her how you feel about her. Be nice to her. Smile at her. Compliment her, but mean what you say. Help her with chores. Give her something you made yourself." The list could have gone on, but I didn't want to overwhelm him.

"Wow! Thanks Katara, those are some great ideas!" Aang was gone, his figure a flash of yellow as he darted into the marketplace. I laughed and shook my head as I walked back inside the house.

"What was that about?" Sokka was lounging on his mat, chewing leechie nuts.

"Just wanted to catch up on some stuff. Where did Zuko go?" I looked around the little house, but the Fire Prince was strangely absent.

"Mr. Grumpy went to gather some kindling to cook dinner over."

"Do you know which way he went?"

"Why?"

"I... um... have something important to tell him... you know... rebel army stuff and all that." It wasn't really a lie. I did want to talk to Zuko about what our next move would be when we got back, but if Sokka knew the real reason I wanted a chance alone with Zuko in the woods he would have tied me up and gone after Zuko with a hunting spear.

"Oh. He went that way." Sokka pointed lazily over his shoulder to the north. "But why you'd want to talk to that jerk is beyond me." He mumbled as I headed out the door.

"Sokka, you should give Zuko a chance. You might end up liking him."

"That's never going to happen, Katara."

Zuko didn't leave much of a trail, but I hadn't spent a year fighting in the rebel army without learning something about tracking. A small indentation in the grass, a freshly-broken twig, the scent of smoke and fire lingering on a bush that had brushed his clothing: all were nearly-invisible arrows pointing to where my love had gone.

I had walked a long way into the forest before I began to hear the gentle murmuring of a stream. I quickened my pace. It would be nice to practice a little waterbending while I was out here and...

I stopped dead in my tracks and a blush covered my face when I saw that I was not alone. Zuko knelt by a large pool of water, stripped down except for the loose shorts he wore beneath his pants. He was splashing water over his body and rubbing away the dirt and dust that streaked his bare torso. I quickly averted my eyes and made a coughing sound.

"You don't have to do that. I know you're there. You walk through the woods like a herd of Komodo rhinoceroses ." Zuko said without turning. I put my hands on my hips and strode up to him.

"Really? Well, any child could have followed the trail you left in the woods."

"If you'd spent the entire day fighting the Avatar you might have been a little too tired to take care not to leave a trail, too." Zuko snapped.

"Oh, sorry, your highness, I forgot that I was only doing woman's work."

"Don't feel bad, Katara. It's not your fault that you're not as good a fighter as me." Zuko's face was deadpan, but his eyes blazed with mischief. He was asking for it. I decided to give it to him.

I grabbed his arm and pushed hard, sending him over the bank and into the pool, but not before he'd grabbed my arm, too, pulling me in with him.

The pool was deeper than I thought, and I had to waterbend to reach the surface again. The water was cool and refreshing. It washed away the dust and the day's tiredness, filling me with renewed energy. I broke through the surface, followed quickly by Zuko.

He smiled at me, his eyes burning gold against the blue water, a contrast in shades that sent shivers of delight up my spine.

"Look what you did, you clumsy water peasant." He teased.

"What I did? You're the one that lost his balance, spoiled prince." I shot back, then smiled and dove under the water. It bent and swirled around me, letting me glide under Zuko and pop up behind him. I tapped his shoulder and smiled playfully.

Zuko whirled to face me. Or at least he tried to. Water was not his element, and it did not bend and maneuver for him, so his turn was awkward at best. He thrashed at the water with one arm and winced. That's when I noticed a red mark on his shoulder.

"You need healing." I said, immediately sobering. I touched the mark gently and started to prepare an orb of healing water in my other hand. But Zuko grabbed my wrist and looked deeply into my eyes.

"No, Katara. You're always healing and helping others. It's time I gave you something for you to enjoy." He dropped my wrist and hoisted himself over the lip of the pool. Seated on the bank, he opened his legs and invited me in.

"Zuko!" I yelled, a blush heating my skin from my forehead to my toes, despite the chilly water. The prince rolled his eyes and sighed before he reached forward, grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, pulling me against his thighs. Then he began to knead my shoulders with his warm hands.

Oh. A massage. Of course. I knew that was what he meant. After the embarrassment of my mistake faded, I was able to relax and enjoy his hands working away the knots and aches that had accumulated. I sighed a happy, contented sigh. His hands warmed, further relaxing me. Oh, firebender wives were so lucky. I closed my eyes and let his hands push and pull at my muscles like waves against a shore.

"Oh Zuko..." I purred. Suddenly, I felt Zuko's hot breath on my neck, felt his lips brush my skin, painting brush strokes of heat on the nape of my neck. I moaned and he kissed harder, more passionately. I shivered in delight.

"Katara, did you ever notice how the fire would die each night, back when we lived in the little room in the earthbender fortress?" He asked. I blinked in confusion. Why was he bringing this up now?

"Yes... I remember..." I said slowly.

"Didn't you ever wonder why the fire would die like that, in the middle of the night, even when there was still plenty of wood left to burn?" He said, his sultry voice punctuated by the kisses he painted on my skin.

Where's he going with this? I did remember the fire dying, and how cold I'd been, and how I'd had to crawl in close to Zuko. Of course, I would never have admitted it to myself at the time, but I'd quite enjoyed it. So much so that I'd not bothered to investigate why the fire died each night.

"No, I guess I didn't... but now I'm curious." I said, turning to face him. The sun was now setting, sending golden and red flares into the darkening sky. I gasped at the effect it had on the Prince's face. His scarred side was facing the darkness, while his unscarred side was lit with the golden glow of the sunset. Seeing him like that was like seeing him as he truly was. I was seeing the Zuko that existed beneath the layers of pain and exile and torture. The true Zuko. The one that was slowly emerging with each passing day he spent with me. His lips moved, and I realized he was speaking again.

"I made it die. I... I wanted you to be with me." He said. I smiled inwardly when I saw a blush cross the Prince's face.

"I love you, Zuko."

"I love you, Katara."

We kissed, and soon, our little pool had turned into a hot spring.

"What are you two so happy about?" Sokka grumbled, seeing me walk into the house with Zuko.

"Oh, um...we uh... we talked about some military strategies that will be very effective." I said, wiping the smile from my face quickly. Sokka just shrugged.

"Well, while you were out playing army, you missed supper." Sokka nodded to the empty bowls on the table.

"It's okay, Katara, I saved you and Zuko some." Meng held up a bowl, a little smile on her face. A peace offering. Aang must have taken my advice. I bowed to her and accepted the bowl, grateful for a cease-fire.