I had this songficlet up separately, but this just makes things easier.

I don't own Avatar.
Nor do I own Out of My League.
But I do own this story.

Out of My Nation

It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away.

"You're doing it again," she said, leaning over him, a coy smile on her sweet face. Her mother's necklace dangled down and clung to her chin and her glimmering and unleashed brown hair fell down around his face.

Zuko smiled groggily back at her. "Doing what?" he asked, struggling to keep his eyes open. He had never been so happy in his life as he had been the past couple of days when he could wake up to that beautiful smile.

"Sleeping," Katara said in a mockingly stern tone. "How many times have I told you that sleeping this late must be bad for your health."

"I personally think you're wrong there," Zuko said as he breathed in the cool spring air, getting a powerful feeling of bliss as some of her essence drifted lazily into his lungs.

"Even if I am, I know that you sleeping in is bad for my health, so get up," her smile returned as she prodded him in the shoulder gently. He looked at her pathetically, pleading silently for just a few more minutes of slumber. "Please?" she added irresistibly.

"Alright, okay, I'm up," Zuko complied, pushing himself up. "What do I do now?"

And the feeling that I'm falling further in love
Makes me shiver, but in a good way.

They had been camping together for the past week, and while the presence of Sokka and Aang was immeasurably irritating, it was worth it just for these few glorious minutes when the two boys were either asleep or out doing something "productive". Zuko pulled himself out of his blankets and pulled his leather tunic on over his cloth red one. As he did so, he watched Katara, a giddy smile involuntarily playing on his face.

All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair

She ran her fingers through her long, dark hair, trying to pull it back into a braid. For a very long time, vastly longer than the time that Zuko had known her, she had been able to perform this art by herself. However, "her fingers had been bothering her lately" and she hadn't quite been able to make her locks do what she wanted them to. Zuko watched in slight and well-worn awe as she twisted a long section of brown silk around her fingers and then around themselves in a braid. She seemed to be doing fine, but still—

"Zuko," she called in a frustrated tone, "can you help me?"

Zuko had to admit it felt rather bizarre for him to be doing a girl's hair, but he wasn't complaining.

As she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays with me
Sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say

She looked at her reflection in the pond next to their campsite. Her hair was less than perfect to say the least. She smiled that same charmingly coy smile. "You're so talented, Zuko," she said, putting her lips together tightly, stifling a laugh. He nigh gaped at her as she batted her eyelashes, flashing her glittering cerulean jewels. He didn't feel comfortable staring, but he didn't want to look away either.

"Have I told you lately…" he started, but lost courage.

"Told me what?" she asked, cocking her head and raising her eyebrows in a mirthful look.

Zuko swallowed, trying to push his stomach down out of his throat. "You're a-a-amazing," he stuttered, his voice cracking. She laughed brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, throwing them both into the pond behind him.

'Cause I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
And she's all that I see
And she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league
Once again.

Zuko felt the murky water swirling around him, afraid to open his eyes and let the unfamiliar fluids flow in. He couldn't decipher which way was up, until he felt a warm hand grab his wrist and pull him to the surface.

It's her masterful melody
As she calls out my name to me.

"Zuko!" Katara called, her voice even more light-hearted than before. "Isn't it lovely in here?"

"I'm sure it is," he replied, wiping the foreign substances off of his face, "for a Waterbender, anyway."

"You can't tell me that this water isn't magnificent!" Katara told him, baffled. "It's so cool and soft."

How can water feel soft? Zuko asked himself. But she looked so elated dancing about in the water that he didn't want to question her sanity by voicing his confusion. Besides, the water didn't feel that bad. It was worth it.

As the world spins around her she laughs, rolls her eyes
And I feel like I'm falling but it's no surprise

She twirled around in circles, her hands outstretched and parallel to the ground, laughing joyously. "It feels so wonderful! I've forgotten what it feels like to be surrounded by water. It's almost like being in a cloud," she said smiling. "I'd much rather be here than anywhere else on Earth."

"Me too," Zuko whispered. He felt his heart and mind swimming in the muddy water around him. He felt almost dizzy standing there looking at her. Suddenly, he felt overbalanced, and he tripped over a slippery rock, plunging face-first into the cold.

'Cause I love her with all that I am
And my voice shakes along with my hands
'Cause it's fright'ning to be
Swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land.
And she's all that I see
And she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league
Once again.

His lungs filled with air as he came to the surface again. Carefully turning around, he pulled himself up onto the grassy shore again and sat with his lower legs hanging into the pond. Katara came over and sat next to him, her face still filled with wonder and happiness. She looked out over the open expanse of land and water in front of them, her sapphire eyes pursuing every nook in the landscape. Zuko knew, just from the short time that he had known her, that nature was her love and she never tired of its wonder or beauty. He found that incredibly ironic, considering...

It's her hair and her eyes today
That just simply take me away.

In all the chaos of the unexpected dive, Katara's makeshift braid had fallen out again, and her long, now near-black hair hung loosely at her side. Zuko felt his hand reach out and touch the cool, wet satin. She turned to look at him, her face puzzled, her eyes questioning.

"Oh," he stuttered, pulling his hand back quickly. He could feel his face growing warm. "Sorry."

Katara smiled and shook her head at him. "You're so strange," she told him in an ersatz-serious tone. He looked down at his submerged toes, waiting for his blush to subside.

And the feeling that I'm falling further in love
Makes me shiver, but in a good way.

She stood up and walked back into the clearing where their camp was located. Zuko watched her go, and felt again the familiar sensation of his stomach rising and getting caught in his throat. He stifled a choke as he tried to calm his nerves. It was hard; she was so calm and…to put it simply…beautiful.

All the times I have sat and stared
As she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair

Katara contemplatively picked up the strand of wet hair that Zuko had touched just a few moments before. She looked at it, an undetectable smile on her mouth and in her heart. She was glad she hadn't let him sleep in that morning.

As she purses her lips, bats her eyes and she plays with me
Sitting there slack-jawed and nothing to say.

"Zuko?" she called to him. He was staring at her again, his mouth slightly open and his eyes almost glazed over. He snapped out of his trance and she blinked playfully at him.

"Hi," he said stupidly. You're an idiot he told himself. Hi? What kind of thing is that to say?

"Hi," she said back to him through a laugh. "You look dry."

"Huh?" he asked dully, not fully recovered from his stupor. She rushed at him and pushed both of them back into the pond.

'Cause I love her with all that I am

And my voice shakes along with my hands
'Cause it's fright'ning to be
Swimming in this strange sea
But I'd rather be here than on land.
And she's all that I see
And she's all that I need
And I'm out of my league
Once again.

"You're amazing," he said again to her as their heads hovered over the surface of the water.

"I know," she said. "You've told me before."

He just stared at her; he had never been so happy in his life, and he had a feeling that he would never be again.