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!

A/N- Zuko and Katara have been married for about three years and seven months in this fanfic. I just thought I'd answer that question before you ask it.

"Never take anything for granted..." -unknown

A month of complete normality passed by. There were no attempts against Princess Luna and Aang hadn't "backstabbed" Fire Lord Zuko. Sokka spent most of his time with Luna and Iroh drank his tea while he played Pai Cho with the royal staff. Everything seemed absolutely fine. Normal. Life was good.

It was warm day when Zuko asked Katara to come over to the study to talk for a while, seeing that ever since the Avatar arrived, she spent all available time with him. There was no denying it. He was jealous of all the attention she gave to that stupid fifteen year old.

Katara sat across from her husband and smiled contently as he spoke to her about Luna's wonderful future in the palace. She propped her head on her hand and admired the way Zuko said every word. She looked like the girl who was hopelessly in love with the cutest guy in school.

Zuko raised an eyebrow at Katara and smirked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lady Katara's heart warming smile widened at his question. "Like what?"

He laughed softly. "Like that," the Fire Lord replied quietly and leaned back on his chair.

The waterbender sighed deeply. "...Because I love you." She slowly got to her feet and casually walked around the desk that seperated her from her lover. Then, very swiftly, she took a seat on his lap, wrapping her arm around his neck and kissing his cheek lightly. "I love you, Zuko," she purred in his ear as if it was some deadly secret.

Shivers traveled up his spine when he felt her warm breath in his ear. He kissed her lips lightly as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. "I love you too," he returned and kissed her neck, taking in her alluring scent. "I'm so glad I kidnapped you," he commented and heard her chuckle softly at his light joke. His heart swelled with joy whenever he thought about the fact that Katara was his and his only. He loved her so much, it was frightening. She meant more to him than anything. More than his throne. More than his country. More than his life. He didn't know what he'd do if she left him. ...If she stopped loving him.

"I'm glad you did too," she laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as she did so. "You make me happy. Did you know that?" the Lady asked and snuggled closer to his warm body. She was glad he wasn't wearing armor. That closeness could have never been achieved with it on.

Fire Lord leaned his head upon his wife's and rubbed her arm. He made her happy. Zuko felt butterflies in his stomach and he couldn't help but smile at the way she made him feel. Even after three years of marriage, she still made him nervous. "You make me happy too," he whispered and closed his golden eyes. He could fall asleep right there, with his wife in his arms. He sighed deeply. After years of suffering, things had finally turned around. He was so happy with his life. Nothing could go wrong.

"You know what sounds good right now?" Katara asked quietly and kissed Zuko's neck. "Some nice warm tea." She sat up straight and noticed her husband's groggy expression.

Lord Zuko groaned disapprovingly and tightened his grip on his wife. "Don't go. I'm so comfortable," he pleaded.

The waterbender laughed. "I'll be right back. Then we can snuggle and drink tea at the same time." She leaned closer to her love and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. "I'll leave you wanting for more," Katara teased and pulled away. She stood up and smiled sweetly at Zuko before leaving the room. She couldn't be any more in love.

The teenage Fire Lord sat back against his chair, disappointed that she was determined to feed her craving and had to leave him to do so. He shuddered when that familiar bad vibe washed over him.

It was stronger this time...

Katara walked towards the kitchen with a happy smile on her face. She contemplated everything that Zuko and her had gone through, thinking that their bond was so strong...it was unbreakable. To think that he was the last person she thought she would end up with. The waterbender laughed to herself when she remembered a time when when she had a crush on Aang and actually thought that he was the one she would marry. She had been so young. ...So young and clueless as to what the future had in hold for her. She shook her head in incredibility. She was married to Zuko, Lord of the Fire Nation and living in the Fire Nation palace with everyone waiting on her hand and foot. Things had changed so much.

...three and a half years ago...

Prince Zuko's hand rested on Katara's bare back as she laid her head upon his chest. Her eyes closed as the rythmic sound of his breathing lulled her to a state of light slumber. She sighed deeply and passed her hand over her husband's abdomen, caressing it softly. She felt completely safe next to him. Not to mention happy.

"You still awake?" the teenage boy asked his wife quietly and stroked her back.

"Yea," the waterbender whispered. "I'm thinking about things."

"...Like?"

"Like if we are going to live on this ship for the rest of our days," Katara said and scooted closer to his body in a comforting way.

"No, we aren't. Once I capture the Avatar, we can go and live in the Fire Nation palace. Don't worry about that anymore," Zuko assured and smiled to himself when he thought that a nice room awaited him in the palace.

The waterbender sighed in frustration and sat up on the bed, pulling the sheets up to cover her naked torso. "I don't want you chasing Aang anymore," she said angrily and secured the blanket around her body, so it wouldn't slip down. "He needs to save the world from the Fire Lord and you just get in his way."

Prince Zuko laughed at her and sat up. "I do? ...I had no idea," he said with sarcasm dripping on his tone of voice.

"You're hilarious." Katara crossed her legs and placed a sad expression on her face. "Zuko, even if you do capture Aang, do you honestly believe that your father is going to take you back? You're married to a waterbender, remember? That's got to have betrayal in it somewhere."

The Prince sighed. "Do we have to argue about this? Now of all times?"

Katara crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you always avoid that question?"

The teenage firebender laid back down on the mattress and closed his golden eyes. "I'm tired Katara. Can we talk about this in the morning?"

"Zuko--"

"Please, Katara. Not now," he pleaded softly.

The Fire Princess laid down next to her Prince and placed her light arm across his chest. "I'm sorry," she whispered and kissed his scarred cheek. "It's just that I don't want you doing this anymore."

"Doing what?"

"Chasing the Avatar so you can please your father."

"I don't want to do it, Katara. I have to. I need to. I have to for myself and I need to for you," Zuko said and turned his head to look into his wife's cerulean eyes.

"You have done enough for me. I don't need anything else." She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled sweetly at him. "Let Aang defeat the Fire Lord," the waterbender said quietly and pecked his lips lightly.

"Your wonderful Aang can't defeat him, Katara. My father is a ruthless and powerful man. There is no possible way that a twelve year old boy is going to kill him. My father has no weaknesses. I'm not going to waste my faith on the Avatar," Prince Zuko argued quietly and pulled his lover's body closer to his. "You can go ahead and do so, but I won't."

Katara sighed in defeat. Like all the other times, she had done nothing to change his mind. He continued to stay put on rescuing his honor. You're living a lie Zuko. Why can't you see that? she thought desperately and kissed his arm. "I'm not the one wasting my faith. You are."

The Prince looked at his wife sympathetically. "If you say so," he stated, not wanting to argue anymore. He brushed his lips against his wife's forehead and smiled sadly. "Goodnight Katara."

"G'night," she returned and closed her eyes. "Love you."

"Same here," he agreed and fell asleep.

Lady Katara placed the cold teapot on top of the silver platter, deciding that she would ask Zuko to heat it up when she got there. "Could you help me carry this to Lord Zuko's study? I don't want to drop it," she asked a passing servant and pointed to the platter she had put together.

"Why yes my Lady," the humble woman said and picked up the small assembly. "It'll be my pleasure."

"Thank you..." the waterbender trailed off when she realized that she didn't know the name of her assistant.

"Tai," she finished politely and led Katara out of the kitchen.

"Nice to meet you Tai," Katara greeted and walked up beside her. "It's so hard to get to know all of you. There are so many people in the staff."

The woman laughed softly. "You shouldn't bother yourself with getting to know commoners like us. You are Royalty and don't have time for such things," she said humbly and gave Katara a sad smile.

"I disagree. You help the Fire Lord and I run this country smoothly. You deserve just as much respect and time as anyone," the Lady told her as she placed a comforting hand on the servant's shoulder. "And don't forget that I too, was a commoner once upon a time. A low-life peasant, if you will..."

Tai looked at her Lady in complete surprise. She was poor? "I didn't know that," she whispered shamefully and looked down at the platter.

Katara gasped quietly. "You didn't? ...I thought everyone knew." She looked down the passageway and noticed that she was several feet away from the study. "Well, I was. I was a poor waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. I met Lord Zuko, at that time Prince Zuko, because he took me in prisoner. He kidnapped me so he could lure the Avatar into surrendering. It's a long story, really."

"Oh," Tai breathed and glanced at Katara in curiosity. She looked at her Lady with complete different light. It's amazing what a few words could do. "Thanks for sharing, my Lady."

Lady Katara nodded at her assistant and turned to enter into the study, only to find herself freezing on the spot.

The servant woman raised an eyebrow at her mistress' strange action. "My Lady?" she asked, turning her head to see what Katara was seeing and gasped. She dropped the silver platter and fell to her knees to pick up the mess, without thinking.

Katara didn't even flinch from the noise echoing throughout the hallway and the study. She was only focused on her husband and the tramp he was kissing.

The waterbender blinked back tears as she watched the wretched maid push her husband away in mild disgust. "I can't do this anymore Lord Zuko," she said just loud enough for Katara to hear. "I can't betray the Lady any longer."

Fire Lord Zuko looked at the maid with a mixture of confusion and anger. What the hell was she talking about? "Who..." he trailed off when he saw the maid look past him and raise her eyebrows in slight surprise. Zuko gasped and turned around, coming face to face with the one person he wished hadn't seen anything. "...Katara," he whispered and walked closer to her.

The Lady shook her head in denial and stepped back from her husband. She saw him! She caught him red handed! How could I have been stupid enough to think that he would always love me? She took a deep strong breath. "How could you?" she whispered incredulously. Her voice was cracked and distant.

Zuko's heart skipped a dreaded beat. She thought he had been unfaithful to her. NO! I didn't do anything! he yelled in his mind and stepped closer to Katara, not knowing what to say. He loved her too much to even think about being with another woman.

Katara shook her head. Don't believe anything he tells you. He's a liar...like all men. She glanced past Zuko and saw Tai on the floor trying to pick up the broken glass without cutting herself. "Tai, you don't have to pick that up. I'll do it. You can go but please don't mention this to anyone," the Lady said and began to walk around the Fire Lord until she felt a strong hand grasp her weak wrist. She looked at the man who had grabbed her and tried with all her might not to cry. "Please let me go," she whispered and successfully pulled her arm away from her husband.

"Are you su--" the humble servant began but was cut off by her mistress.

"Yes Tai. You can go. Don't worry about it," Katara assured quietly and patted her assistant's shoulder. "Thank you for carrying that over here, though."

Tai shoulder's slumped at the way her Lady spoke. Her voice had changed significantly since they had conversed in the hallway. She smiled sadly at Katara and nodded. "Anytime my Lady. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask me. I'll do it with pleasure." After frowning disapprovingly at the Fire Lord, Tai returned to the kitchen.

Lady Katara fell on her knees and began to pick up the broken glass from the wet floor. She'd gently place the glass on the silver platter and continued with the next one, completely ignoring Zuko, who was standing there...just looking at her. Her heart was cracked. It wasn't broken...just cracked. But it was waiting. It was waiting for Zuko to say something, that would completely shatter it into a million pieces. Don't cry in front of him, the waterbender repeated in her mind as she took deep calming breaths. She was hurt. How could the man she gave herself to, do this to her? They had a daughter with him for heaven's sake! She couldn't speak or even look at him in the face. She just waited patiently for this horrible nightmare to end. She waited patiently for her to wake up screaming in their bedroom and Zuko there to calm her. To tell her that he would never cheat on her. Never say never, she mused and picked up one more piece of glass.

The Fire Lord stared in awe as Katara picked up the broken teapot and teacups with such calm. Like nothing had happened. He shifted his gaze to the maid who had caused this whole incident and frowned disdainfully at her. She was grinning smugly at the fallen Lady. His eyes focused on her and he waited for her to look up at him at any given moment. Sure enough, she did. "You're dead," he mouthed and watched the blood drain from her face. And before he could say anything else, his wife spoke.

"You can go back to the kitchen with Tai. If I need to talk to you, I will," Katara ordered and briefly looked up to see the woman who had kissed her husband. "What's your name?"

"Atar," the woman said simply and walked around the Lady. She glanced back the broken couple and smirked. Everything had gone perfectly well. She had kissed the Fire Lord and had made sure that the Lady "accidently" witnessed it. Then, she had blamed the Fire Lord by telling him that she couldn't do this any longer. Zuko probably took it as 'she couldn't hide her feelings for him any longer', while Katara probably took it as 'she couldn't be his lover any longer'. She was a pure genious. A phrase with a double meaning. Oldest trick in the book.

"Why'd you let her go?" Zuko asked and walked towards Katara. "I was going to kill her."

Katara frowned. Jokes? This is no time for jokes Zuko. She ignored his comment and grabbed another piece of glass, making sure to take a deep breath to soothe her hurting heart. "I'll talk to her later," she said quietly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

The Fire Lord kneeled down in front of his wife and looked at her sad face. "Katara, I didn't do anything. She was the one who came on to--"

"Not now Zuko," the Lady said and reached for a piece of glass. Picking it up, she cut her finger. Katara watched as the blood dripped onto the floor and mixed with the cold tea that had spilled when Tai saw Zuko's unfaithfulness. It was then, that she began to cry. Her head fell on her knees and her shoulders trembled as she sobbed into her wonderful green silk gown.

Lord Zuko's heart ached when he saw the deplorable sight in front of him. "Katara, please..." he trailed off when he couldn't find the right words to express the way he felt. He wanted to apologize, but he realized that he had nothing to apologize about. He had done nothing wrong. He didn't cheat on her, it just seemed like he did.

"Why Zuko? ...Why?" Katara asked and lifted her head, exposing her wet face.

The teenage Fire Lord passed a hand over his face and shook his head. "There's no reason why, because I didn't do anything. Katara, I didn't kiss her. Please believe me," he pleaded and frowned sadly at her. "I love you too much, to do anything like that. You know that."

"I thought I did," she muttered and wiped her face. "I saw both of you..." The waterbender took a deep breath and looked angrily at her husband. "I risked a lot of things to be with you and you go off and do something like this. We have a little girl Zuko. Doesn't Luna mean anything to you?"

Her words stung him like nothing ever could. She was questioning the love he had for his own daughter. "She means the world to me. You mean the world to me. Ka--"

"Stop lying," Katara said firmly and got to her feet. "Stop lying to me. I'm not going to do this."

Fire Lord Zuko stood up and looked confusedly at his wife. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not going to leave this palace because of Luna. In front of her, you and I will act like nothing happened but that's it." She bit her lower lip when she felt more tears behind her eyes. "We...we're through Zuko."

Zuko took in a sharp breath and shook his head. "No. Katara, no! Please...I didn't do anything. You've got to believe me. Don't do this," he fell on his knees and hugged her legs. "No...no...no...Katara. I love you. I would never ever be unfaithful to you. I love you." Tears stung his eyes and he buried his face in her abdomen.

Hot tears streamed down the waterbender's face as the words that came out of Zuko began to break her cracked heart. She placed her hands on top of his head and cried in pain when she felt a pressure in her chest. She got on her knees and faced her crying husband. "I love you Zuko. I love you with all my heart...but I can't do this. I can't."

The teenage firebender wiped the tears off his wife's face and kissed her hands. "I didn't do anything. Please believe me," he begged and kissed her forehead.

"I want to," she cried and began to stand up again, "but I can't." She wiped her eyes and left her husband on the ground. And as she left, she wanted to look back...but she knew that if she did...she'd give in and forgive. And she couldn't. Katara wouldn't give in to Zuko. Not ever.

How wrong she was.

Bet you didn't see that coming! XD

A/N- ( 'Tai' is pronounced 'Tie' ) ( 'Luna' is pronouced 'Lue-na' )

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