Stars twinkle above their heads, diamonds strewn across the dark indigo night circling a bright full moon. Paper lanterns swing on the lines that string them up along the streets of Caldera, a gentle breeze scattering orange light over the endless sea of people. The citizens of the esteemed Fire Nation capital have flocked to the streets in droves to celebrate the harvest festival; a particularly good crop this year calls for even more celebration than the festival usually entails. People dance along the streets in bright costumes and long parades, throwing candies and little scraps of colored paper onto the heads of onlookers as they weave through the buildings that line the main road. Music floats along with the night air, the sound of drums and tsungi horns and lutes audible from every corner of the city, punctuated by the claps and cheers of couples and friends and children dancing along without a care.
Zuko loves his city, but he loves it most when it's like this: bright, colorful, alive. Seeing his people enjoy themselves and celebrate the most bountiful harvest they've had since the end of the war four years ago fills his heart like nothing else.
Well, almost nothing.
Every year for the harvest festival, Zuko dons the half-faced mask that allows him to blend into the crowd. When he had reinstated the harvest festival after the war as a part of his efforts to reignite the Fire Nation's passion for their culture and arts, he may have encouraged the wearing of masks specifically for this reason. He never gets to spend time among his people without the kind of reverence that comes with being the Fire Lord, and he revels in the anonymity that a simple piece of carved wood can give him. As an added bonus, the mask allows him to bring his friends out into the celebration without them being under the public eye; everyone recognizes the war heros who worked equally as hard as him to end the hundred year war, and Aang specifically sticks out in the crowd. Even now, with a bright orange mask adorned with large yellow feathers, his identity is no secret. But Zuko's attention isn't on the Avatar, nor on any one of his other friends.
Tonight, he only has eyes for Katara.
The deep blue Fire Nation style outfit she wears is trimmed in gold, and there's a golden-hued shimmer that's been brushed across her cheeks and shoulders. The light bounces off of it and draws Zuko's eye every time she moves. Her smile is brighter than any lantern, her laughter sweeter than any of the music being played throughout the entire city. The dark mask she wears matches her dress, with bright gold outlining the eye holes and flicking out at the corners, as well as an intricate gold trim composed of tiny moons and stars. She's stunning, even more so than usual. The gold shimmer on her dark skin catches the moonlight and gives her a certain glow, his own personal sun that grabs his hand and leads him through the crowd.
"Come on, Zuko!" She laughs his name, and he falls a little more in love with her by the second. "We're going to miss the show!"
The people move as a horde down towards the beach to watch the fire show. Firebenders practice all year to put together a routine that they perform at the festival; groups head out onto a flat barge that is normally used to transport supplies, and the barge is anchored just off the shore. Close enough for the people to see the performers, but far enough that the real spectacle is their fire.
They get there just in time— the first set of performers line up on the barge, dark silhouettes against the backdrop of the ocean. The bright moon casts light on their backs as massive flames erupt from one end of the barge, and through the combined effort of eight different benders, takes the shape of a massive dragon. The people woop and cheer and jump with excitement; children are perched on their parent's shoulders or gently guided to the front of the crowd so that they can see. Assistants out on the barge toss special powders into the flames strategically so that the fire burns in bursts of pinks and greens and purples, and somehow the cheers get even louder.
Katara's eyes are wide and bright from where she stands next to him, warm orange reflected in ocean blue. Her smile lights up the night more than the fire dragon ever could, and he finds that he can't manage to look away. Maybe she feels his heavy gaze on her, because she turns and looks straight into his eyes, birthing an entirely different kind of fire in his chest.
"Come with me." He takes her hand and leads her away from the crowd, to a little secluded area of the beach where the fire art is still visible, but more importantly, they can be alone.
They sit on the cool sand, and his hands shake as he pulls his mask off and Katara turns to smile at him again after doing the same. He's been thinking about this moment for weeks, ruminating on how exactly he wants to tell her how he feels, but when he looks into her eyes his tongue turns to jelly in his mouth. She's so beautiful; he wonders if she has any idea what she does to him. How she makes his knees shake when she touches his arm, how the simple act of her tucking her hair behind her ear makes his chest flood with warmth and affection. He's powerless under her gaze, and tonight, he wants to surrender.
"Are you having fun?" He does his best to hide the uncertainty in his voice.
"I am," she says with a smile. "I love the harvest festival. It's almost as good as the winter solstice celebration." She winks at him, and static crawls down his limbs. "Almost."
"That's high praise, coming from you."
The winter solstice celebration takes place in the Southern Water Tribe every year. He does his damndest to make time for it every time it comes around, and he's always glad that he did. The way the southern lights reflect off of the newly built structures made of ice holds an enchanting beauty, a uniqueness of which no other place in the world can compare. It takes no stretch of the mind to see how a place as resplendent as the South Pole could birth such a breathtaking woman as Katara.
The fireworks start up over the water; bursts of color boom in the sky, trails of sparkling light falling down to the ground before disappearing. He's running out of time. Sand filters through the gaps between his fingers as he clenches his fist and takes a deep breath.
"What's your favorite part of the festival?" Katara turns at his question.
"Definitely the fireworks." Her smile seeps into her voice. "We could never do something like this in the South Pole." Her eyes look deep into his, pulling away the layers to reveal everything he's ever tried to hide. "What's yours?"
"This," he says, without breaking eye contact. He hears Katara pull in a sharp breath, but she's still looking at him, so he finds the courage to continue. "Being here with you. If I could make this moment last forever, I'd do it in a heartbeat."
His heart thunders in his chest, the pace so rapid that it threatens to burst right out of him as Katara stares at him. The apology is on the tip of his tongue, the words already pushing behind his teeth, but before he can get the chance Katara's lips are on his. The world stops even as the fireworks continue on over the sea. Zuko feels nothing but the soft press of her lips, the grains of sand still stuck to her palm as she brings it up to his face, her soft hair sliding through his fingers. The universe reduces to encompass just the two of them, time passing either too fast or too slow, everything around them blurring together into the background; a war could break out right here on the beach, and Zuko wouldn't even notice.
The sky is lit up in colorful flashes as they come apart, their shared breath hot and thick between them. Zuko beats back the nervousness that attempts to pull its way up his throat, but in doing so doesn't say anything. But when a small smile graces Katara's face, his worries melt away, and he finds himself mirroring her.
"You got sand in my hair, didn't you?" She tries to hold back her smirk, but her tease is obvious, and his smile grows impossibly wider.
"You got sand in my hair too!" he objects. Her laugh is contagious, and they dissolve into it as the last of the fireworks go off.
The crowd meanders back into the city to finish up the celebration, but Zuko and Katara stay on the beach for hours to come.