She hadn't meant for things to get so intimate between them. She had only meant to comfort him in a time of need, she hated when his golden eyes became dull with grief and his fiery attitude dampen, like a wet cloth had been thrown over it.
The moon was high when she found him sat under a grand tree glaring at nothing in particular. She didn't know what was wrong with him but he had changed in the past week. His usual brawls with Sokka had all but stopped and he hadn't eaten much in the last few days, in fact she couldn't remember if he had eaten at all that day.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly, breaking the silence of the forest around them. For a moment she thought that he didn't hear her before she heard him sigh and shift over slightly, silently inviting her to take a seat.
"I'm sorry." he muttered after she had gotten comfortable, "I shouldn't have neglected my responsibility to teach Aang firebending, I've been moping around all week when I should have been focused."
"Zuko, nobody's mad at you. We're all just worried. You've been acting strangely all week and then all of a sudden you disappear without a note." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, he looked much older than he should have, "We want to help you but we don't know what's wrong."
The fire prince was silent, much to Katara's dismay but she would wait until he was ready to talk.
"My mother disappeared eight years ago, today." he whispered so quietly that the waterbender almost didn't hear him. "She gave up her life as the Firelady to protect me from my father and what have I done in all these years? I never looked for her once during my banishment but I worked so hard to try and please my father who wouldn't have cared if I was dead or alive." His voice had began to crack towards the end of his sentence. He sniffed slightly before he furiously scrubbed at his eyes. He felt just like he had all those years ago, a lost little boy desperate for his mother's loving embrace.
Her hand instinctively went to the pendant around her neck, she remembered him mentioning his mother in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se. Did he learn more about what had happened to her during his time back in the palace?
"What happened to her?" she couldn't help herself from asking.
"My father tried to take the throne after my cousin Lu Ten died during the siege of Ba Sing Se. As punishment for his disrespect my grandfather ordered my father to kill me so he could feel uncle's pain." His tone was bitter, much like how hers had been when she spoke about her own mother's death. "To save my life she murdered my grandfather and was banished for treason." He gulped down the lump that has been forming in his throat. "I haven't seen or heard from her since, I haven't even tried to look for her."
"Oh Zuko…" she whispered. What could she say? 'Your mother will turn up eventually' as if she was a misplaced trinket. After a long moment she decided that this wasn't a time for words and wrapped her arms around the fire prince. She felt him stiffen at her touch before melting into her.
They stayed in that position for what felt like hours, neither wanting to ruin the peace that seemed to have fallen over them.
She was the first one to break their silence. "You're mother loved you very much" she whispered, "None of what happened was your fault. Your grandfather and father caused what happened, not you. You were a victim." She announced her steady gaze holding his. There was a new spark of determination in her eyes, one that said that everything will be okay, that he just needed to trust the water bender and her ragtag crew.
"Thank you Katara… You've really helped me." He rumbled
Something had ignited between the pair, something that they wouldn't be able to put a finger on until after the war. There was a new intimacy that hadn't been there before. He leaned in his lips hovering over her's, just close enough for him to feel her warm breath fan across his face.
"Last time a guy kissed me he turned out to be a psychopath trying to destroy a village." She admitted sheepishly.
"Well here's to hoping that you have a better experience this time around." His usual sarcasm seeping into his deep voice.
They weren't sure who leaned in first but before they knew it their lips collided with a hunger that they had never had before. It felt like she had been trapped in the desert and his lips were a cool freshwater spring.
He pulled away first, his face as red as a beetroot. "Maybe we should get back to camp," he glanced over his shoulder, "I'm sure the others will start to look for us and I'm sure Sokka wouldn't appreciate finding us like this." He vaguely gestured at their position.
She smiled softly at him and nodded. Zuko wasn't one for affection and she knew that he would melt with embarrassment if they were found in the middle of the woods, making out like the teenagers they were.
He quickly got up before extending his hand to help her up. She eagerly took his hand and didn't let go until they reached the campsite.
A/N yeeoow done another one kinda shit but hey ho :D