"I know you're not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but it's just so sad!" -Iroh

Then

The next attempt on Zuko's life happened after Ursa left. It was, no doubt, spurred by her having said, more genuinely than Zuko or Katara would credit her with, and purposefully loud enough for nearby courtiers to hear, "I hope I do get to call you daughter one day."

It was a surprise, and yet it wasn't.

They not only thwarted it, but they took one of the attackers alive. Unfortunately, he proved impossible to make talk. After ten days of trying Zuko was furious. "We can't just stay in a holding pattern like this! I want my life back! I want my mother and my sister here! Uncle wants to go back to the Jasmine Dragon. You all have things you have to do!"

They were together, the six of them, but no one knew what to say. Every attempt tp soothe had failed, Zuko growing angrier, or more desperate. Eventually, he whirled on Katara. She hadn't not been one of the targets. They'd gone after them when they were together. "Why aren't you angry?!" He finally shouted directly at her.

Sokka and Aang immediately jumped to her defense, but she gave them a hard and quelling look, shutting them both down. Let the silence settle after Zuko's outburst.

She was angry. She was angry that his life was in danger. Angry that they had no new information. But, also, she liked being here, being with him. She ignored his question. "I think you're right. I think we need to send everyone away. I think they know they can't get close to you. "

"They just tried to kill us, Katara! I'd look like a total fool if I sent everyone away now."

"Maybe we want that?" He looked at her with a furious incredulity that she couldn't really blame him for. Katara glanced at her brother but now, now Sokka didn't want to take credit for his own ideas. He shook his head and held his hands palms up.

Katara rolled her eyes at him, then focused on Zuko. "Sokka and I were talking," she shot her brother a look. He was not off the hook for this plan." If you made a seemingly overconfident announcement that you'd caught the would-be assassin, make them believe we," she glanced around at the others, "think this guy was working alone, you could send everyone away. Aang to his Avatar duties and Toph back to her school. Well," she gave a slightly embarrassed smile. "Not everyone. You do that and then you make an official announcement that we're courting. Sokka and Suki could stay as my chaperones and maybe…"

"And maybe that would be enough of an opening," he picked up, the anger fading as hope—Katara's specialty—invaded. " Are you sure you want to make yourself a target?"

Sokka snorted and Suki did something that made his brow furrow but he kept his mouth shut. Katara laughed. "I already did. I already am."

He looked uncomfortable with that, about to argue; Katara didn't want him to argue. "Besides, you're right, what are we going to do? Get married and have children as part of the ploy?" She didn't sound as jocular, and the suggestion didn't sound as ridiculous, as she had intended.

Toph muttered, "Now that I'd pay to see."

Suki's gaze shot to her, amused, then over to Aang. Aang didn't say a word but Suki saw something like pain flicker over his features before he ducked his head; she'd have to find him later, find a way to help him.

Katara, fully focused on her own embarrassment, shot Toph a scathing look. Sokka raised a hand to get their attention, averting whatever was about to happen between his sister and the tiny but fierce earthbender, "I think I should step in here."

Once all eyes were on him, he leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs. "We don't know their numbers. For all we know, they could keep sending people over and over. It's...a strain on you, Zuko, on the nation. We need to do something to draw them out. Get them to make the mistake, not us."

Zuko looked to each of his friends, saw their resolve. But the biggest risk wasn't to to Sokka or Suki, Aang or Toph. Ultimately, while he valued their input, there was only one person putting herself fully on the line. For him. "If they can't get to me, Katara…"

She flashed a smile bright if a little awkward. "We'll ramp up our courting. Go on... excursions outside of the palace. We'll make you seem more available." She glanced to her brother and Suki. "Suki and Sokka will watch our backs".

"Absolutely, Zuko. We've got you," Suki assured.

Katara gave her a grateful smile that softened when she turned it on Zuko. "We're not giving up. I'm all in. We're just...correcting course."

He gave her a small smile. Katara couldn't have imagined what about her speech caused it and he didn't explain. He crossed to her, taking her hands as soon as he sat.

The Fire Lord had gotten used to it, expected it now, this tactile connection with her where otherwise everyone kept their distance. Just then, Zuko didn't even care that the others were looking on with various degrees of disapproval and excitement. Okay, only Suki was excited about the way the two were looking at one another and only Sokka was truly disapproving. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Toph gagged audibly, "Come on."

Aside from a spiky look from Katara's bright blue eyes, the two ignored her. "If I do, I'll heal." She squeezed his hands. "I'm in this as long as it takes, but we both know the sooner we figure this out and take down your attackers, the better."

He searched her gaze for a long time, still holding her hands in his. His thumbs moved across her skin in slow, warming strokes as he considered a world of things Katara couldn't imagine. When he nodded his agreement, she was relieved. Not so much relieved that he'd agreed to her plan, but that she'd get to stay and pretend to be his awhile longer.

Toph gave a stomp of her oot. "Great! Now, let's get down to the business of how this guy could possibly fake me out because that's the weakest part of your plan by far."

Now

"I'm not sorry that it happened, Zuko. It always felt like...goodbye."

"I didn't want to say goodbye."

Neither had she, but there hadn't been much of a choice even if there had been more of one than she'd realized at the time. Instead of going down that cat-rabbit hole, she picked a different turn in the warren of their shared past. "I always wondered why you brought me to your rooms that night. What would have happened if I hadn't kissed you."

Zuko knew what he'd intended to do. He was pretty sure what her reaction would have been. "I might have asked you to stay and you'd have left me right then."

Would she? Could she have walked away if there'd been any version of a future with him? "I don't know. I might have said yes."

"And come to hate me later." But hadn't she done that anyway?

Then

They began Operation: Love Intensifies by first announcing the official courtship. They announced it while Aang was nearby, offering a beaming Avatar approval to the potential union.

He left with Toph, though, within the week, promising to stop by the South Pole and fill Hakoda in on what was really happening in the Fire Nation; that promise was a relief to Zuko, perhaps even more so than to Katara though she was the one to hug the airbender gratefully.

Hakoda was a good man, a good leader, and a good father. Zuko couldn't imagine a world in which Hakoda wanted his daughter courted by the Fire Lord who'd tried to kill or capture her for months, whose family had committed genocide, who was constantly under death threats. He couldn't imagine a world in which he could get the approval of the man he admired, even though he desperately wanted it.

Operation: Love Intensifies continued with more palace-free activities, the supposed lovers putting on a show (that took surprisingly little effort) of affection. They made the appearances with fewer Royal Guards too.

Sword and Fan, in fact, walked behind them on a double date only four nights after the Royal Announcement of their official Courtship. They walked through the Night Markets as if all were well in the Fire Nation and Zuko's biggest concern were wooing the blue-eyed woman at his side.

"His hand is practically on her butt," Sokka hissed in Suki's ear.

"You love to walk around with your hand fully on my butt."

Sokka gave her a look that said quite clearly she was missing key facts: "That is you and me, not Zuko and my sister."

Suki laughed, patting her boyfriend's butt to mock him and satisfy herself. "His hand is on her back. They look cute together."

"Her back, which is bare!" He hissed. "Suki. She's my baby sister."

Suki tipped her head, hair swinging at her jaw in a way Sokka usually found distracting. "She looks pretty grownup to me."

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way." Sokka's face turned sour and accusatory. "Stop buying her clothes and, and fixing her hair and….whatever is you do to her face."

Suki's laughter had Katara peeking over her shoulder with a smile, then sliding that look up to Zuko. When he glanced down she spoke just to keep his gaze on hers. "I think the Night Markets are my favorite."

Zuko's gaze shot around to the familiar site of lanterns and tents, of crowds surreptitiously watching their small group. He didn't see anything special until he looked back at Katara's uptilted face. "Why is that?"

"Mm. People are less formal when we're out here at night versus the day."

"Are they formal when you come without me?"

She laughed. "Uh, no. But there's also the music and the dancing." She slid him a look. "I thought the Fire Nation didn't dance."

"Under Ozai, they didn't."

"But under Zuko, they do?"

He blushed. She reached up to touch the hot color, then impulsively bounced up on her toes to kiss it. Zuko's eyes widened. A keen sense of self-preservation and knowledge of his friend's protectiveness over his sibling had him glancing over his shoulder. Sokka was there to protect him, but he imagined that would be a strained promise if he and Katara were...if they were really... "Uh. Katara?"

"Uh...Zuko?" She exaggerated back to him before cuddling into his side. His hand drifted further up her back. He'd caught Sokka's eye when he'd looked over his shoulder and decided nearer her shoulders was a better place for his hand. The best place would be not touching her at all but that would defeat the purpose of the outing. That was definitely the only reason he only moved his hand up to her shoulder blade and didn't remove himself from their tangled walk.

"We're going to, at some point, you know, kiss," Katra paused noticeably, then added, as if it was what she'd meant when he knew it wasn't, "in front of my brother."

"Like the day we get married, you mean?"

She dug her elbow sharply enough into his side that he caught his breath. "Like before then. No one wants him screaming about oogies while we exchange vows."

She made it easy. Easy to be with her, to talk to her, to laugh with her. Katara talked through his work as Fire Lord with him in the evening, his feelings about his mother under the moon, and she didn't make him feel horrible for this weird lie he'd gotten her into. Sometimes she made it too easy and he thought of what it would be like if they were actually courting. He kissed the top of her head and didn't say he loved her though the words bubbled up against his lips. "Oogies. I don't get my own word? I thought oogies were reserved for you and Aang."

"Hmm. I don't know, should I ask?" Katara turned as if to call out to Sokka about her former kisses with the Avatar, but Zuko pulled her around swiftly.

"Never mind. I don't care. We'll definitely kiss," his stomach tightened, he wanted that so much, "in front of your brother before any wedding takes place to get the oogies out of the way."

Katara, only moments ago with the confident upper hand, mumbled, "I haven't..um...that is, I don't really…"

Zuko glanced down, completely confused by the high-color on her cheeks and the way she now was not looking at him. She even felt tense under his arm. "We'll talk about it later, back at home," he told her, raspy voice low and his hand rubbing circles on her back that were meant to soothe.

Later was quite late, after they'd returned from the markets. Sokka glowered at them when he and Suki splintered to their room while Katara, hand tucked firmly in Zuko's, continued in the opposite direction.

But he and Katara didn't get many moments where they were alone and it was safe to speak freely. They needed to talk about this...this kissing business. And, if he were being honest, he simply wasn't ready to be without her.

Once they were in his rooms, he walked to a sideboard to pour them both tea that had been prepared for his return. "You really think we should kiss...in public?" His stomach twisted with some embarrassment and also, also with anticipation. He was grateful for the task at hand and how it kept his eyes on his hands instead of Katara. He'd wanted to kiss Katara a million times, starting in Ba Sing Se when she'd offered to use the Spirit Water on his scar. It was probably written all over his face just now.

Katara nodded slowly, working her hands together nervously. She didn't notice where Zuko was or wasn't looking. "Yes? We're supposed to be escalating and, and we want them to think that we'd really...that we're...so, yes?"

Zuko nodded slowly, bringing the tree to his sitting area. "Okay, we can—"

"But not the first time!" Katara blurted, then ducked her head and ran her hands nervously over the waterfall of dark curls draping over one shoulder. "The thing is..the thing is…"

Was she uncertain about kissing? Or kissing him specifically? Did his scar freak her out? It didn't touch his mouth. "You've been kissed before," defensiveness barbed his tone. The cups rattled as he set the tray on the table and straightened, the two of them less than an arm's length apart. "I saw you and Aang kiss."

"Not the way other people kiss," she murmured.

Zuko found himself taking a step forward, closer, just to make out what she was saying. "Are there different ways to kiss?"

Katara's gaze shot up, sharp as an icicle. "You're saying you and Mai only ever kissed like you saw Aang and me kiss?"

"Ah." Aaaaah. No. Nope. No. He felt heat flare and knew his cheeks would be red with it.

"Exactly," Katara said with a snap of satisfaction in her tone, noting his stiffened posture and the lick of fire in his face. "And, the way you saw us kiss was the only way we ever kissed. We were Very Young, Zuko."

"And you haven't, um, kissed anyone else since?"

Katara tossed her hair back, shot him a suggestively narrow-eyed look. A look that, if it hadn't been sarcastic, would have made his mouth dry and his palm's sweat. T did a little anyway.

"Oh, I have a lover in every city. We breeze in on Appa and I have a date with this one or that one. It's so hard to remember their names."

Zuko's mouth twisted. "Okay. Point taken."

"So, we probably need to...practice." Katara looked at him a little too angrily, as if he'd implied what she said next, "I get it if you don't want to kiss me, but we're in it this far now."

"Why wouldn't I want to kiss you?" Zuko said it before really thinking it through and watched Katara's dark skin do that fire-melon thing again.

She gave him a look that felt like the sting of a water whip but she did not answer. Instead, she took a deep breath and squared up not unlike they were about to spar. "Okay, I'm ready."

Zuko laughed.

Which was the wrong thing to do with a Master Waterbender. Or any girl who was asking you to kiss her. He had to run to catch Katara before she stormed out.

"It's not funny! I wasn't laughing at you. I was, okay, I was—" He shook his head as she glowered and he felt, rather than saw, her pulling water from the myriad vases in the room. "Not helping. I know. I meant I was laughing because I was uncomfortable, not because of the kissing. I think it should, just….that it should be more natural. Spontaneous. I mean, it isn't like I haven't thought of kissing you before." He wanted to die. Maybe she'd drown him. "I'd like to kiss you," he whispered it this time. "I'd like our first kiss to be...to be real. If that's okay with you."

It wasn't what she'd been expecting. Katara let the water flow back into its various containers as she nodded. "I'd like that too."

Now

"We don't have to go over this. It doesn't...Nothing changes. Nothing has changed," Katara's voice had an edge of desperation to it. She'd been torturing herself with What Ifs for long enough. She couldn't take his doubts, his regrets on top of her own.

Zuko stepped towards her. Katara backed further into the water, shaking her head, holding him at bay.

Then

She hadn't been prepared for how nervous the waiting would make her. The anticipation. She'd grown, sort of, comfortable with holding Zuko's hand, with having him curl his arm around her waist, with settling her head to his shoulder. It still caused her heart to race. It still made it hard to talk around the sudden well of emotion in her throat. But she could breathe through it like she was doing a particularly difficult bending move, could let the awareness of it settle in the background like she did when the moon was full and blood bending called to her.

This, though, trying to figure out when he might want to kiss her, when he would kiss her? This was awful. Would it be after lunch, when she lingered as the others left? Would it be in the night-blooming garden or when the sun was high and they were feeding the turtle-ducks?

She kept waiting. And waiting. And then she started thinking maybe he was hoping they'd catch the perpetrators before it was necessary. This was Aang and that tunnel all over again. Only worse.

Zuko, meanwhile, kept telling himself to wait. Just wait. He'd know the time. He'd know it. But there was that time the turtle duckling nipped Katara's finger and she was scowling at it and it was too cute—her and the duckling—and he'd wanted to kiss her and kiss it better. Or the time they were eating fire cream and her eyes were watering but she kept eating it because it was SO GOOD. Or the time he brought fresh mango out to their garden and his fingers had brushed her lips as he fed her slices.

They'd all been perfect moments. Which was the real problem. Basically all the moments with her were perfect. What if kissing her ruined that? Made her think of why they were kissing. Made her think that maybe someone was watching. So he waited and waited. Until it turned out the perfect moment was really the most imperfect moment of all.

Zuko had to take an airship to Baiyin to deal with a problem at one of the plants. The situation was on the verge of erupting into violence; the townspeople and the owners had squared off, the plant workers who came in for shift-work were an unknown quantity in the middle of it all. Iroh suggested Katara might be helpful. After all, she often helped the Avatar with such delicate matters.

As soon as they alighted from the War Balloon, he could see the disapproval in the line of her mouth, the tension in her shoulders. Until someone approached them. Then she found a smile and the perfect words.

She always had the perfect words. Iroh was never wrong. Except for that one time about the tea flower.

Zuko saw the ravages the plant was wreaking on the town, but he saw the way it wore down the townspeople through Katara. She knew what it was to rely on her environment to provide, to try to eke out an existence in conditions that were made more difficult by the decisions of the Fire Nation's Royal House.

He knew, in the past, what the people and the environment suffered wouldn't have mattered to the Fire Lord, to his father; Zuko was determined to be different. The family that owned the plant wasn't happy with the demands he made, but people in the community would be. Katara was a furious presence at his side when he got pushback and that made it easier, easier to be steady and fair but to give nothing back to the greedy people who had so damaged Baiyin.

When they took a short break, he held her hand. Thanked her. She was fire-melon pink on the ridges of her cheeks and he couldn't help but brush his thumb over the color. Wonder if it would taste sweet. Katara ducked her head. "I'm sorry if I overstepped in there-"

"Not once." He nudged her chin up. "Thank you for this."

"Is there much more, do you think?'

"A bit. You don't need to stay for it. Why don't you take a walk in the town. I'll find you after."

"Thank you. I'm not sure how much longer I can stand to be in the room with Lee."

Zuko's mouth edged up at one side. "I'll send guards with you."

Katara had left him to the final formalities and to, no doubt, avoid blood bending the management into drinking the poisoned water they left for the villagers.

It was over an hour later when he was able to excuse himself. He and his guards found her easily enough. A line of people stood before her; as each approached she lifted the water from the muddied and polluted river and bent out the impurities. Judging by the crowd, she'd done this for even more people than now stood waiting in line.

Zuko knew she wouldn't stop until there was no one left in line or she collapsed; since the line didn' outlook long enough for her to be in danger of harming herself, he settled down in the distance and watched.

He watched her make the newly clean water dance for a little girl with a grimy face; watched her talk through how to make a barrel to catch the rain from a metal roof so they'd have cleaner water until the changes were implemented at the plant; watched her pause to heal a cut that had been festering on an old man's leg; watched her charm the people as she helped them, bring smiles to faces that had been creased with anger and worry.

This was a Fire Nation town and not one person looked at the Waterbender as less than the miracle she was. Maybe that meant….He didn't want to look directly at what he hoped, so when only three people waited in line, Zuko picked his way towards her.

She was on the last cask by the time he reached her; the patriarch of the small family she was helping bent into a quick bow. Katara turned abruptly, sloshing water and hurrying to catch it before it fell to the ground. She gave Zuko a smirk, then went back to her work.

"Fire Lord, it is an honor to meet you."

Zuko bowed deeply. "The honor is mine. Soon your village will have clean water. I'll be back to check that all the changes have been implemented."

The man bowed and bowed. "And you brought us Master Katara! We cannot thank you enough! We'd heard of her great works but this is beyond what we could have hoped for."

The littlest girl with him swirled her hands and danced on her toes. "I want to be a Waterbender too!"

An older boy snorted. "We're not even firebenders, sis."

Katara crouched, then, beckoning the girl closer. She smoothed dark hair back from a dirty face made up of big cheeks and bigger eyes. "You don't have to be any kind of bender to do good in the world. My brother Sokka isn't. And he still helped the Avatar and the Fire Lord. You just have to be brave and want to help other people. And that comes from riiiiight," she swirled a finger in the air dramatically, then tapped a finger over the girl's heart and said, "here." The little girl beamed. "Water Tribe or Fire Nation, that doesn't matter. We're all capable of loving one another."

The girl threw herself at Katara. The girl's father's face turned into a mask of horror as he lunged forward too late to catch the girl back. Kataracuddled in, giving the girl a kiss on the forehead and murmuring soft words that made the little one beam. Katara only stood as the girl and her family hurried off with thanks, smiles, and the father quietly admonishing his daughter who was too lost in delight and hero-worship to be bothered.

Zuko finally noticed more than the light she radiated; she was sweaty and her hair was a mess and there was dirt all over the hem of her tunic. She'd been working hard for hours and somehow had been so full of light and life he hadn't noticed that it was wearing on her. She went to brush some of the dirt away but her hand stuck in something. Making a face that was all puckered lips and drawn brows, she lifted her hand gingerly, fingers splayed, "I really hope that's some kind of jelly from her lunch."

And then Zuko kissed her.

He caught her face, wrinkled nose and lips puckered in distaste, and settled his mouth on hers. For a moment Katara did nothing; he started to pull away, flickers of embarrassment and shame in his chest, but then she sighed. He watched her eyes flutter shut. Zuko smiled against her lips, just a little, and kissed her again or more fully? Was it again if he'd never quite taken his lips off of hers? He touched his tongue to her full bottom lip; her mouth opened just a little. He pulled away which was the opposite of what he wanted.

Katara's eyes were heavy-lidded and dreamy, her mouth was soft and she was holding both of her hands out at her sides, palms up. He was still cupping her cheeks in his hand. What else could he do? He kissed her again. This time when he pulled back he whispered, "You could have touched me, too," so only she could hear.

Katara's previously blissful look collapsed, her brows drawing down as she blurted, loudly, "I didn't want to get you sticky too!"

The sudden bright peal of several people laughing surprised them both. It shouldn't have. Before the kiss they'd know there were other people around. But he'd looked at her, sticky and sweaty and tired from helping without being asked and he forgot that anyone else existed anywhere.

This was exactly what she'd asked him Not To Do. It was exactly wrong.

And it was perfect.

Now

"We've never talked about it, about what happened. I need to talk about this, Katara, with you," Zuko confessed, his hands falling to his sides even though he wanted to reach for her. She looked sad and beautiful, the wind whipping her hair wild and the water washing around calves combining to make her look like a part of the sea made human, temporarily.

"I don't want to talk about that night."

"I need to apologize-"

"No." That was all she said, the one word forceful and final.

Then

After that, they kissed in a hedgerow, in a closet, in his sitting room. At one point, with the sun setting and someone calling for them, she scraped her teeth gently across his lower lip (all this practice, they were getting really good at kissing), said, "Aren't we supposed to get caught? For the plan?"

Zuko nodded, sliding his hands through her thick hair and then twisting until he was bound in it, bound to her. "Yes. But once we're caught, we'll have to stop for the day."

"Oh." She gave him a smile that was a little bit wicked and did things to his heart. "Better not get caught then."

"If I remember correctly, you're really good at not getting caught." He kissed her as she laughed.

Over the next weeks, then months they snuck away often. The snuck to rooftops Zuko could navigate with feet so fleet and sure they said these pitches had been his escape often. The two found corners and empty rooms with long benches, moments between this responsibility and that to whisper secrets.

"I pretended to be the Painted Lady."

"I was the Blue Spirit."

"I wanted to kiss you in Ba Sing Se."

"I wanted to kiss you then too."

"I like it when you touch my scar. Like it doesn't...doesn't bother you."

"I like it when you tell me I look pretty in blue like it doesn't bother you."

"This doesn't feel like pretend."

"That's because I haven't been pretending."

And then it happened. Zuko and Katara were not together but the attacks came simultaneously. Zuko had traveled to a nearby town, Sokka with him, while Suki and Katara shopped in the capital city.

It wasn't individuals but groups, small and well trained. They tried to kill Zuko. They tried to abduct Katara. Both failed. But neither Sokka and Zuko nor Suki and Katara managed to take one of the conspirators alive. They had no one to question. No more leads.

The same day Zuko's personal maid fell sick. If Katara hadn't made it back to the palace, she likely wouldn't have survived. It seemed the would-be assassns were covering all avenues and preparing for one or more to fail, poisoning the maid and hoping with Katara out of the picture no one would one would notice and they could insert someone in her position that was compromised.

Alone, not pretending anything, holding hard to one another and thankful that they could, Zuko whispered his apologies.

"Stop it. I knew the risks. I'm fine." She was, but also: "I'm scared for you."

Zuko stroked his palm, heavy and flat, against her back. He was scared for her, more than himself. He'd once caught lightning to the chest for her. At least then he'd known what to do with it, known he could take it, redirect it away from her. With this, all of this—the act, the parts that weren't an act, the attacks—how could he redirect any of the danger from her?

Now

It wasn't the guards that interrupted the conversation between the Fire Lord and the Waterbender on the beach, it was the sound of a tsungi horn being played loudly and terribly. They both winced then looked incredulously toward the sound. "Is..is he really calling us back with the tsungi horn?"

"I'm afraid so," Katara responded, grateful to have had the tension snapped so completely. Grateful for the excuse to turn back the way they'd come. "As you've mentioned, there is no dignity when we're all together, Fire Lord."

This time she kept to the surf, avoiding accidental brushes by keeping a larger distance between her and Zuko. She couldn't help sliding sideways looks at the Fire Lord as they walked, though. Couldn't help but note the tension in him. He was lean and long and just a little awkward unless he was bending. Now, the line of him looked tense, shoulders high and curved in, the line of his jaw harder than usual. She wanted to sooth him, slid her hands along his jaw and kiss him. She wanted to rub the tension out of his shoulders. But she doubted touching him would provide either of them any sense of comfort.

They weren't in sight of Sokka yet when she stopped walking. (Because of course it was Sokka making that horrible racket.) Zuko realized it quickly, paused and turned towards her.

When she didn't speak even after their eyes met, the only sound the occasional cry of a bird and the ever-present beat of the tide, Zuko murmured her name.

Which seemed to galvanize her. "I know it seems, I know I seem angry at you. Maybe that's why you think I'd want an apology. I don't. I don't want one. I'm not angry with you. And I have never regretted that night."

A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I forgot I'd started posting this and had not finished! Here comes the rest!