Again, I don't own Avatar. Not even a DVD. (Still, it's better to be safe than sorry with this disclaimer thing, hm?)

"Can it stay like this?"

"Hm?"

Zuko shifted slightly, arching his neck up to look at Katara; her eyes were trained on the sky, as if the answer to her question was held in the stars. They'd been laying on the grass in silence for the last half an hour, reveling in their victory; sneaking out of their homes had been quite the ordeal. Sokka had insisted on using the bathroom the very moment Katara had deemed it safe to leave, and Zuko's uncle had been up late watching television, forcing the boy to climb out his window. One would think that they'd been planning to do something forbidden, like normal teenagers; forging fake IDs and sneaking into a club, perhaps, or stealing his uncle's car and finding an empty parking lot, or maybe even just going to the mall.

But it was a surprisingly simple thing they snuck out to do. They had snuck out...to sit. Well, lay down, now, in the park. They'd been doing this for some time; it had started a month before, with both arriving in a spot in the park they claimed as their own. They'd bickered at first, recognizing each other from school - how could they forget? They dueled every time they met - but eventually, they'd just took a seat and watched the stars, pretending having the other there didn't bother them at all.

The companionship had come much later. A mutter of hello one night. Two days later, he'd commented that she looked "oddly nice, for sneaking out". It had rained the fifth day; Katara had shared her umbrella with a rather disgruntled Zuko. By the second week, they were actually having conversations. Actual ones, without purposeful insults or anything. (They never hinted at their friendliness to anyone in school, of course; no, they couldn't have that. They were just as competative and snarky as ever, there.)

By the forth week - the present - they could even be considered good friends. And tonight, they were watching the stars together. The September grass was cool; the summer heat hadn't faded in the least, and it was a welcome change. They lay at an angle, heads a foot or so away from each other. Katara was spread-eagle on the ground, captivated by Orion; Zuko had one hand out in the grass, the other on his stomach.

"Safe," she replied after a few moments of pondering. "Night."

"Obviously not," he replied, perhaps a tiny bit harshly; he had to admit, he had no idea what she meant. "We'll have to go back and go to sleep eventually."

"I know," the Waterbender admitted reluctantly. "I like it this way, though."

Zuko frowned, confused. "What are you babbling about?"

Her lips pursed, as if annoyed that Zuko was confused. She opened her mouth, about to snap, when she realized she probably was being a bit...cryptic. Looking away from the stars, she arched her own neck, meeting Zuko's yellow eyes; his good one was open, eyebrow raised, while the one shrouded by the scar refused to show the same emotion. "Tomorrow, when we go to school, neither of us will act like this ever happens." She lifted her hands to motion around the park; her arms were bare and dark in the moonlight, contrasting with the light blue tank top she was wearing.

"...that's true," he admitted, not sure if that was good or not (or rather, not sure what stance Katara would take on it).

"Well...I like this."

"You keep coming back," Zuko replied, as if to say 'I know that, so tell me something new'.

Katara sighed, a bit exasperated. "You're still missing my point, aren't you?"

His silence told her what would've sounded silly; he didn't want to actually admit to being confused. Sighing again, she pushed herself up on her elbows and rolled over, positioning herself so she looked into his eyes upside-down. The boy looked right back, eyes narrowing a little bit, wondering what she was doing. Her braid fell over one shoulder, threatening to brush the side of his scar as her incredulous expression caught his attention.

Zuko moved completely onto his back, threading his fingers together over his stomach. "Well...?"

"I can't believe you don't get it yet." (Zuko wondered idly if this...cryptic speech was a girl thing.)

"I can't believe you won't just say it," he countered, now a little annoyed himself. He thought he knew what she meant, but didn't want to risk guessing (because, really, how would he indicate he knew what she meant? "Hell, I like you, too"? No. Absolutely not. That'd be like admitting he'd been spying on her every morning in the summer because she left her window open).

She huffed, giving him a look that suggested (and didn't) at the same time. "Boys are stupid."

His eye narrowed. "Girls are confusing."

Huffing again, she flopped onto her back, closer now than she had been before. After a moment of thought, Zuko hauled himself up, planting himself square in her vision. "And what if I really don't get it? Then what?"

"Huh?"

Zuko rolled his good eye before almost glaring. "If I guess, and I'm wrong, then what?"

Katara shrugged; now she was confused. "At least you tried to get it, right?"

"I can't be sure with you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're a girl," he said, bluntly.

"Glad you noticed." Her eyes narrowed.

"And confusing."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"You are."

"You just don't pay enough attention."

"Why can't girls just say something?" he demanded. "Instead of dancing around it."

"Because," she answered snappishly, failing to notice that the boy had brought himself closer, "we're trying to give you boys some credit!"

"Oh, that makes sense."

"If you'd pay some attention, it--" She stopped mid-sentence, the annoyed look still on her face as Zuko's went blank. However, Katara was having a hard time of seeing Zuko's expression; she was too busy registering the fact that he was kissing the scowl that he himself had caused.

It took her a moment for her mind to catch up, but when it did, her expression softened, smiling under Zuko's lips as she returned the kiss. After a moment, he pulled back, glaring down; however, the glare softened a bit when he realized she wasn't angry at him.

Katara grinned up at the confused look on his face before saying, "Guess what."

His shoulders sagged just so; he didn't know what to expect. "I'm not sure if I should be guessing anything right now."

"Really. Guess what."

"What?"

"You guessed right."