When she reentered the ballroom, she couldn't find Zuko anywhere and he should have been easy to spot with his height and the Fire Nation medallion in his hair.
"He left," Katara startled as Suki sidled up next to her. "He came in from the same direction you ran off to and went straight to the grand staircase." She reached hand up to Katara's shoulder, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I just need to find him." She smiled at the older girl, "thanks, for everything."
Reminding herself not to take the stairs two at a time, as she was an official ambassador in formal event finery, she still hurried as fast as she could, bounding toward his rooms.
She knocked and waited impatiently, tapping her foot and looking around the hallway.
"Katara," Zuko finally opened the door and ran a hand down his face. His hair was down from the ceremonial knot and falling back into his eyes. Just the way she liked it. "Can I help you, Ambassador?" He had his head and chest around the edge of the door, but was still standing behind it, leaning against the doorjamb.
"You can drop that crap, Zuko. Are you going to let me in?" She took a step forward, forcing less space between them.
"Wouldn't your boyfriend be mad?" His voice took on a bitter tone and he shifted on his feet.
"Well, considering I don't have one, there's no one to get mad. Unless you think the serving and guard staff in the palace is going to get upset that you have an unsupervised girl in your room." A smirk crossed her face and one started in answer on his until he schooled his features. She lifted a hand to his chest and pushed slightly. He backed up and let her in.
"Drink?" He lifted the bottle that was already missing its stopper from the small table by his window. Katara wondered briefly how he'd been about to finish his evening, but nodded and he poured her a few swallows as well, lightly handing the glass to her and then taking a seat. "So, where is Jet then if he wouldn't be upset by you being in here?"
"Well," Katara sat in the chair opposite and took a drink, "He's probably back where he's been staying, or maybe downstairs trying to find someone to go there with him since I refused that offer." She giggled softly.
"So, what?" he gestured with his glass toward her. "He wants to sleep with someone and since you said no, he's going to find someone else to go to home with him and you came here?"
"Zuko, can you swallow down the jealousy for just a second? It's really not an endearing quality." Katara set down the glass and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, if I could stop having conversations with you right after you kiss him, that would be easier." Seeing her raised eyebrows, he continued, "Not that it's your fault. You're at perfect liberty to kiss whomever you please." He rolled his head around at this statement. "I've learned my lesson, I'm not going to try to tell you what to do." He leaned forward, holding out his hand, palm up. "Your friendship means too much to me."
Meeting his hand halfway across the table, Katara also leaned forward, "And what if, though it took me a while, I've realized I want more than friendship with you too?"
Zuko froze. He felt like his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and like his hand suddenly weighed 500 pounds. He tried to clear his throat, lifted the glass to his lips and tried again, this time managing to make sound, all while she just stared at him, slight amusement shining in her eyes. "Can you, can you repeat that, please?"
"Zuko," Katara stood from her chair and walked up to Zuko, slowly tipping him back to an upright position in his chair and gathered up her skirt so she could slip her knees on either side of his and sat in his lap. "I want you." She tangled her hands into his hair as he settled his hands on her hips. "And I want to be with you." She lowered her lips to his.
Mind finally catching up with his body, Zuko pulled her closer on his lap so she was fully straddling him and kissed her back. It felt similar to the one in his study just a few days prior, but the questions had fled both of their minds.
Several minutes passed with gentle touches and explorations before Zuko pulled away. "Katara, Katara wait." He brushed the hair out of her eyes and waited while they both caught their breath. "Katara, I need you to know some things before we keep going, or before whatever is going to happen tonight is going to happen." She slid from his lap and resumed her seat, scooching the chair so that it was next to him, before gesturing that he should continue, "I've wanted this for years, Katara. When I went to join you all after I left my father and sister behind, I was most nervous about getting you to forgive me because even then, I already had a crush on you. Then you threatened to kill me that very night and I," he shook his head, "I didn't know that kind of loyalty existed in friends and you were so fierce and I think I fell in love with you right there. But you've always been unattainable, just friends, and that's been okay."
Reaching out and lacing their fingers together, Katara leaned forward and kissed him briefly, "And now?"
"Now I would love nothing more than for you to be mine and someday, maybe, if you'd be okay with it, be even more than that." His face blazed red and Katara had to fight down a laugh.
"Zuko, since you've been honest about how long you've had feelings for me, I feel that it's only fair that I let you know that I've had some amazingly wild fantasies stemming all the way from the day with the pirates when you tied me to that tree."
His head snapped back as his laugh echoed all around the room.
"Well, that wasn't really supposed to be funny," she hit him lightly in the chest and he gathered her to his side.
"I'm sorry, but do you know how many times teenaged me, on that ship following you guys all over the world thought about the moment?" She cuddled into his larger frame, huffing a little but smiling, "Hey, I'm sure I can find some rope and there are plenty of trees in the gardens if you really want to go there." He was still laughing.
And so was she. Suki had said that love would feel like home. Laughter and warmth and Zuko felt like home. "Maybe another time," she playfully narrowed her eyes at him. We've got five years of history to hash through, mister." She poked him in the rib.
Catching her hand and raising it to his lips, he murmured against her knuckles, "and we've got our whole lives to do it." He lowered her hand and captured her lips again.
A/N: And there we have it. Honestly, how do you watch him save her from rocks crushing her or in the caves at Ba Sing Se or when he takes the lightning bolt for her and NOT went them together?