Katara was still blushing whenever she thought of that kiss as she placed the last scroll into her bag. This was a big meeting. It was set to take place for a few hours, break for dinner, and then resume. It was full of taxation negotiations along the highest traffic trade-routes from the Southern to Northern Water Tribes, hitting 25 ports in the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. It would mean made and lost revenue for hundreds of thousands of people. She had to be focused. Personal life was pushed to the back of her mind.

It was an interminably long meeting. The solution that ended up being the final one was proposed in the first hour and the next three, plus the two after the break for dinner both were taken up entirely by people squabbling over minor details and changes that didn't matter, wouldn't change, and would ultimately benefit no one. When the final vote was taken and passed, Katara let out a huge sigh of relief. She was done. She could go back to her room and relax with a nice drink and collapse into bed.

She packed up her bag and made for the door. She wasn't ignoring Zuko, but she hadn't noticed him giving her rather significant looks for the past few minutes, trying to get her attention, so it caught her completely off guard when his voice rang out over the din of all the meeting attendees packing up. "Ambassador Katara, a word, please."

She paused and looked at the head of the table where he'd been seated for the duration of the meeting, while she'd been several seats down, past his Fire Nation advisors. There was no smile there for her. She'd thought to just wait until the room cleared, but he gestured behind him with a sharp nod and she followed him into a private study room.

"Zuko, I'm super tired, whatever this is, can we discuss it over-" Her words were cut off as his lips hit hers. He gripped one of her hands and laced their fingers together as he pinned it to the closed door behind her. The other hand threaded into her hair, locking her head in place as he kissed her. The hand that had been holding her bag dropped it as her fingers brushed through his hair, pulling him to her as much as she was to him. He took a step closer, erasing the space between them.

Had Jet seemed muscular to her earlier that day? Zuko had him beat by a mile. She could feel the muscle in his arm, holding her hand in place and the hard planes of his chest and stomach she could feel pressing into her. A moan started low in her throat as she felt his lips press even harder into hers and then felt his tongue glide across her lip. This was different. This was unlike any of the brief kisses they'd shared. This was intense. This was passion.

Zuko pulled back from her and looked into her eyes, "Don't go to the ball with him."

The words took a second to soak into her lust-addled brain. "What?"

He still hadn't moved away from her and she couldn't easily move, not that she was trying very hard. "The Peace Celebration Ball. Don't go with Jet."

"What?!" This time, she heard him. This time, she shoved him away from her, causing him to stumble. How dare he? "How did you even know he asked me?"

Grasping at the table behind him to steady himself, Zuko had the decency to look slightly ashamed. "He asked you at the guardhouse, Katara. Every member of the staff in the palace knows."

"And then they came and tattled on me to you? How is it any of your business? It's my private life!" She was beyond angry with him. He was just lucky there was no water in here, she'd have hit him upside the head with it.

"Your private life?" He scoffed at her, "It's so private as he's got you pinned against a wall in some dingy alley, feeling you up and making out with you?"

A vase broke behind her. Okay, so there had been some water in the room and her anger had caused the vase holding it to explode. That alone really should have tipped him off that it was time to quit talking. She was past the point of yelling and her voice came out low and dangerous. "He wasn't 'feeling me up,' Zuko! He was kissing me. Very similar to what you were just doing. Don't make me out to be some slut who goes off to shag guys in alleyways between council meetings! I would choose my words very, very carefully if I were you, Zuko, you're my friend, but I'm so far past angry right now."

Slumping into a chair, Zuko put his head in his hands, "I wasn't accusing you of anything." He looked up at her, "I'm just, I thought," He threw his head back with a barely stifled scream before turning to look at her again. "And I didn't think my desire to be more than friends was any big secret, Katara."

Storming up to the table and leaning over him, Katara's voice got even lower, "Don't you dare pull that with me. Did you ever, once, ask me to be anything more than friends? Did you ever bring up that conversation?"

Digging his hands into his hair, Zuko barely suppressed a shout of annoyance. This wasn't how this talk was supposed to go. He sat up, "We have private dinners, just us multiple times a week, we go on those walks together, I kiss your forehead and your hand, and I walk you to your rooms almost each night. Sorry if none of those were indications." He was breathing heavily, "And you never brought it up either!"

Still angry, Katara forced herself to see that Zuko, her friend no matter the circumstances, was hurting. She took the chair on the other side of the table from him. "Zuko, most of those things we did while I was still with Aang. Your behavior toward me barely changed after he and I broke up, so no, that wasn't enough. I never brought it up because for my entire adult life until the last several months, I've had a boyfriend. I wasn't even sure how to just be me. So, no, I wasn't going to be the one to bring up the relationship question. And then you never did, so, no, I didn't push Jet away when he kissed me today. I'm sorry if this hurts you, but I am going to the ball with him."

"Right, well," Zuko stood. "Goodnight, Katara." He walked to the door and pulled it open roughly, leaving her alone.