The desert was just as treacherous and unforgiving as Katara remembered it to be. A sea of endless golden sand dunes stretched out as far as the eye could see, except for the red-gold mountains to the south that guided their way. Overhead the occasional chicken-vulture flew by, but other than that, there was no sign of life. The heat pressed on them as the sun crept steadily higher into the sky.

"We should rest until the sun goes down. It's too hot right now," Katara panted.

They had been riding in silence since mid-morning. It was too hot to waste energy on words.

Zuko only nodded and guided Beast down the side of a sand dune. There wasn't any shade, but as the sun fell they would eventually get some relief. Katara was grateful she had picked up a small tent in Gangju to offer them protection from the elements. They would be able to sleep through the heat of the day and travel by night as she, Toph, Sokka, and Aang had done all those years ago.

Zuko dismounted and helped Katara out of the saddle. She leaned against the komodo rhino and breathed shallowly. She idly wondered if the heat was somehow burning up the very oxygen around them.

Sweat poured down her face and back. Her lightweight clothes, a parting gift from Sela and Gansu, who had warned them against dark clothes in the desert, were still suffocatingly hot, but she couldn't take them off and risk getting a sunburn either. That would make this experience even more unpleasant. She uncapped a waterskin and took a small drink. They had stocked up well at Lee's family's farm, but she knew they needed to use it sparingly.

Zuko began to set the tent up. He had pulled his hair back into a topknot for the first time since they had left the Fire Nation, but even still it was damp with perspiration and his cheeks were bright with color. The wide-brimmed Earth Kingdom hats they wore protected their faces from the sun, but it did little to quell the heat. Katara helped him set it up. Their movements were sluggish and drained from the heat, but finally, it stood.

"I'm not even getting my bedroll," Katara mumbled. She kicked off her boots and stepped into the tent. It was warm in there already.

"I second that." Zuko followed her into the tent, shedding his hat as he ducked under the low ceiling, and flopped onto his back, eyes already closing.

Katara took off her hat and wiped her sweat away with the sleeve of her shirt. "It's too hot." Without another word she stripped down until she was only in her sarashi and laid down beside him.

Zuko opened his good eye and looked at her. "I second that, too." He sat upright and pulled his shirt over his head. Sweat glistened on his chest. He balled the tunic up and used it as a pillow. "Once the sun is down, we'll keep going."

"This is what we did the last time we were here." She yawned and closed her eyes. Then they snapped open, her brow knitting together. "Will Beast be okay out in the sun?"

"He'll be fine. Komodos are built for hot climates." But he sat up again with a groan. "I should go give him some water, though."

She nodded, her eyes already closed again. "That would be a good idea. This journey would be way worse if something happened to him."

Zuko left the tent. Katara listened to him talk quietly to the komodo rhino. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but his tone was soothing and gentle. It was an unexpected surprise and Katara found herself straining her ears to hear what he said. Zuko never failed to amaze her.

After a few moments Zuko came back into the tent. He laid back down beside her. Katara could feel the heat radiating off of his skin. She reached out one hand and found his. She linked her pinky finger through his and he squeezed her finger.

It was all they could manage.

When Zuko awoke, the first thing he noticed was that for the first time all day he wasn't sweating. The second thing he noticed was that Katara's finger was no longer wrapped around his. The third was that he could smell food cooking.

His stomach rumbled.

He sat upright. The inside of the tent was dark. The flap was open and he could see bright stars in the indigo sky. Zuko climbed to his feet and, forgoing his shirt, he stepped out into the night. Beast lay on his side on the cooling sand.

Katara sat before a small fire. She had apparently felt the same way as he did, for she still wore only her sarashi. A cooking pot sat over the flame and she stirred its contents. She hadn't heard him.

"That smells great," Zuko said as he approached her. He sank onto the sand beside her.

"It'll have to do. This heat would just spoil fresh food." Her brow was furrowed unhappily. "At least I grew up eating preserved foods. There wasn't a lot of fresh stuff in the South Pole."

Zuko looked into the pot. It was some kind of stew made of rice and preserved meat. "I'm sure it'll taste fine, Katara. You're a really good cook."

She blushed. "Thanks, Zuko. I guess I just got used to having fresh food in Yu Dao. I had my own vegetable garden." She sighed heavily. "I'm still not sure of what I'll do when all of this is over with."

Zuko hesitated. He knew what he wanted to tell her. Stay with me in the Fire Nation. Be my girlfriend, and then maybe someday my wife. He swallowed hard. "Do...you think you and Aang will get back together?"

"I hadn't really thought about it until recently." She stirred their dinner, but Zuko thought she was just doing it to distract herself. He could see the scowl on her face, and he tried to gauge what it might mean. "We've sort of had a lot going on."

Zuko snorted. "You can say that again." It wasn't the answer he had been hoping for, but it wasn't the worst it could be either.

Katara continued to stir the stew. Her free hand fingered the necklace around her neck. "But...I don't think I'll get back with Aang." Her frown deepened. "I love him, but I don't think it's that kind of love. I've never told anyone this...I've never even admitted it out loud, to myself. But there was never any real spark." Her eyes flickered to him for a brief moment. "We were just...together. Does that make any sense?"

He thought of his own relationship with Mai. It had felt a lot like that, too. "Yeah, it does."

"I kept telling myself that I wasn't happy because of his responsibilities, but maybe it wasn't that at all." She finally looked at him. "Maybe I just wasn't happy with him. And not because he was necessarily doing anything wrong, but maybe because we just weren't meant to be." She shrugged. "We just didn't work, you know?"

Zuko gazed into her eyes. He couldn't read her thoughts. Her face was stoic. He wasn't sure what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind: "You deserve to be happy, Katara."

She smiled at him. "Well, then that works out, because I've been happy with you." His heart thrummed a little faster in his chest. "I know that we're on a really important mission with horrific consequences if we fail, but aside from that, honestly...I haven't been this happy or laughed this much in years. Is that crazy?" Katara peeked over at him, her soft smile still playing across her lips.

Zuko chuckled. "No, it's not crazy. At least I don't think so." He hesitated. "Because, to tell you the truth, these last few weeks have been the happiest in my life."

Katara felt her heart stutter in her chest at his admission. She couldn't help the happy smile that crossed her lips before she turned her eyes up to the sky. The moon seemed to be smiling looking down at them. I hope I'm doing the right thing, Yue.

She let out a shaky breath. "I don't know what it is, but for years I've had this….longing. And I didn't know where it came from or what it meant. I don't even remember exactly when I realized it was there. Most of the time I could ignore it, but sometimes it was just so strong that it was all I could think about. I thought maybe it was just me missing the thrill of adventure and travel." Her eyes flickered to him for a brief moment. "But now I don't think that was it at all."

His breath hitched in his throat. Zuko suspected she was working herself up to some sort of confession, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Yes, she had almost kissed him in the moonglow on a beach in Gaoling, but she hadn't tried to do it since then. They hadn't even talked about it.

"What do you think it was?" His voice was little more than a whisper.

Katara met his gaze. Her eyes were cool pools of blue. "I think…" Blood rose in her cheeks again and for a moment her stare faltered and she looked away before gathering her nerves. "I think...maybe...it was you."

Zuko swallowed hard. His heart pounded against his ribs. "Me?"

She dropped her gaze, focusing intently on something behind him. "It's just that, since we've been together, that feeling is gone. After I broke up with Aang and we were thrust into this mission, I felt like I should feel worse about breaking up with him. I should've been heartbroken, sad, something. Even just a little bit, what with everything going on. And I was for those first few days. But after that...after…" Katara stopped, her blush deepening. She cleared her throat. "After we spent that first night together...I wasn't really thinking about Aang anymore. I was thinking about you."

His chest was tight and Zuko felt like he could barely breathe. "What about me?"

Katara finally looked at him, peeking up at him from beneath her thick eyelashes. She nervously twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "That it felt natural to be around you. To sleep in your arms. That it just feels right." Katara laughed suddenly. It was high pitched and nervous. "Please tell me I'm not crazy. Tell me you've felt it too."

"I have." He let out a breath. "I didn't want to say anything because I wasn't sure of where you stood with Aang. I didn't want you to feel like I was taking advantage of you."

A coy smile played at her lips. "You've been the perfect gentleman." She sighed again, a heavy sound. "I really was going to kiss you in Gaoling."

Zuko winced. There it was. That was what was holding her back. "And then I had to go and mess everything up."

Her eyes were kind, and she reached out and took his hand. "You lied to protect me. You shouldn't have, but I can understand why you did it. And I'm not mad at you anymore." The corner of her lips pulled up in a lopsided smile. "In fact, I've sort of decided I like it that you get protective over me."

Zuko's eyebrow lifted. "Really?"

"Yes. Because you don't act like I can't take care of myself. You don't treat me like I'm fragile or useless. I'm an equal to you. But you protect me because you want to. I'm just not used to that, I guess. It's nice." Katara smiled softly. "So no, I don't think you've messed anything up."

Zuko smiled back at her before he moved closer and brought his hand up to brush away a flyway lock of hair from her cheek. Her skin was hot to the touch. He cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked his thumb across her cheekbone as his heart thundered in his chest. "So what does this mean for us?"

"I think we both know."

Zuko studied her for a moment, trying to read her thoughts. She was watching him with a shy smile, but her eyes were earnest. They were truly the most beautiful shade of blue. Under the light of the moon, they were nearly indigo.

Tentatively, he inclined his head toward her. Katara met him halfway.

For just a moment before their lips met, they hesitated. Zuko searched her face for doubt, and found none. She closed her eyes and he allowed his eyes to close as well. Their trepidation faded away, and he pressed his mouth to hers. Her lips were soft and cool against his, just as he had imagined they would be. Her mouth molded perfectly to his.

Too soon, Zuko pulled away, searching now for regret. He found none and smiled, feeling almost shy, and she returned the look. And then she kissed him again.

Minutes or hours could have passed, and Zuko would not have noticed. Now that they were finally together, now that he knew how she felt, it was as though everything was falling into place. As if he had been searching for this very moment his whole life, and he had finally found it.

Katara was everywhere and everything: all he could see, touch, taste, and smell was Katara. He snaked one arm around her waist to draw her as close to him as he possibly could while the other wrapped around her back with his fingers digging into her hair. She wound her hands around his neck to anchor her to him. He let the hand that was in her hair run down the smooth skin of her throat, his fingers brushing across her collarbone before he trailed his hand down her side to join his other at her waist. Her bare skin was warm beneath his touch.

They broke away when the smell of burning food permeated their senses.

"The food!" Katara cried out. She lunged for the pot and pulled it off of the flames before she looked at their dinner. She grimaced. "Well, it's definitely done."

Zuko threw his head back and laughed. He felt giddy, light. His blood was singing in his veins. He looked at her, his eyes bright with mirth. "I'm sure it'll taste just fine, princess. Let's eat."

They rode through the cool, quiet night. They were content despite the weight of their mission hanging over them. Zuko and Katara filled the silence with senseless chatter, high on their newly-realized feelings. They said everything and nothing. There was some sort of elation. There was no more nuance, no stolen glances and private, wanting thoughts.

Katara admitted to herself that she had sensed the change in their dynamic since the moment she and the others had arrived for the summit, when she had finally seen him again in the dining room in the Royal Palace. It had been too long, she realized now. In that moment, it was as though her soul knew what she wanted before she did. Like it knew that wherever he was, she belonged there too.

Yet she suspected that those feelings had been there a lot longer than that. They had been through so much together. She had been the first to offer him help when Azula had attacked them in the ghost town and he had pushed her away. She had been the first to trust him in the Crystal Catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se. He had betrayed her—at least, Katara had believed he had betrayed her. Really, he had been a teenage boy who wanted nothing more than to go home. She had warped her anger toward his nation into her anger at him for the choice he had made, and when he had come to them at the Western Air Temple, she had been incensed. She had been cold to him until he earned her forgiveness.

He understood her pain in a way that Aang could not: the war had taken his mother from him too. He understood her need for closure and vengeance. Zuko had supported her through it. He hadn't shied away in fear when she had bloodbended. At that moment, they had become friends.

And when it came time to face his sister, she had been the one that he wanted by his side. She was the one who he had nearly died for. Their friendship had reached depths she hadn't quite realized existed.

Katara could remember when he lay unconscious in her arms after the Agni Kai as she used her healing powers to save him, she had thought that he looked at her with something deeper than friendship in his eyes. Had he loved her then? Had she loved him?

Katara had been so confused about her feelings. Aang had been pressuring her for weeks to sort through them, but there had been too much going on. But she would be lying to herself if she said she hadn't felt anything for Zuko at that moment. They had bonded, first over their mothers and then again under the blood-red sky on the day of Sozin's Comet.

It had been a bond unlike anything Katara had ever felt before. And yet, they had never even talked about it. Everything had happened too quickly.

Zuko had been crowned Fire Lord days after Ozai's fall. Those days had been hectic and tense as his friends and the Order had arrested those who rebelled and tried to sort through who could be trusted and who couldn't. Then the coronation had come, and Mai had come back. She and Zuko had gotten back together and Katara never felt it was a good time to bring up what had happened, and he never did either.

A month later the friends had reconvened at the Jasmine Dragon. Zuko had seemed happy with Mai and Katara was content to let things be. She had felt at peace. Balance had been restored, and while there was a lot of work to be done, she was happy. When Aang had followed her onto the balcony, she knew she loved him. What she hadn't known then was that it wasn't that kind of love: the slow-burning, forever kind.

And things hadn't worked out between Mai and Zuko, either. She didn't know the details of what had transpired between them, but if her gut instinct was correct, it all boiled down to the same reason she and Aang had broken up: it never felt quite right.

They made camp as the sun peaked in the sky, and while it was too hot to lay close, they interlocked their little fingers and slept soundfully side-by-side with no sound but their gentle breathing to disturb the hazy afternoon air.

They awoke when the sun went down and continued on their journey. The sand was still warm from the heat of the day, but a chilly breeze had come up. Zuko wrapped them in his cloak and Katara burrowed deeply into him, content and safe in his arms while they rode the komodo rhino through the Si Wong Desert. Neither of them had truly ever been happier, and even the thought of what came next couldn't deter them.

"So your uncle has been there before?" Katara inquired. Her thumb traced soft circles on the back of his hand that was ensnared around her waist.

She felt rather than saw him nod. "Yeah. He went...after my cousin died. He told me a little bit about it, but it's not something he likes to talk about very much. That wasn't a good time for him."

"What did he say?"

"He called it the Garden of the Desert. He told me it was hard to find, and that only those who were enlightened or desperate enough could see it," Zuko explained. "He said it's a magical and spiritual place."

"Do you think we're desperate enough?" Katara queried, doubt creeping into her tone.

His response was wry. "Well, the world is sort of depending on us to find it, so I think we are." She felt him press his lips against her hair. "Wherever it is, we'll find it. He told me it's on the far eastern side of the desert, almost to Chameleon Bay."

Katara frowned. "You know what I don't understand?"

"What's that?" Zuko asked.

Katara craned her neck to look up at him. "If we could avert the prophecy by coming here, why didn't Iroh just send us here in the first place? It seems like it would have saved us a lot of time."

Zuko mulled that over, brows knit and mouth down turned. "I've been thinking about that too. And honestly I think he did it because he doesn't think the prophecy can be changed. That Oracle of Destiny business sounded very final."

"Maybe." Katara chewed her bottom lip. "It's just strange that the Conduit of all people pointed us in this direction. I wish those scrolls we read at the Sacred Isle had offered more insight. She was terrifying, but she was definitely not what I was expecting."

Zuko reflected on his encounter with the Conduit. "I got the feeling that she doesn't want to be the Conduit anymore. Something must have happened in the past. Maybe after Tatsuya died and she was born. Something made her decide to take her destiny into her own hands."

"It was really odd finding her in a baresuku. I mean, who would've thought?" Katara muttered thoughtfully. "And she did send us this way. But since your uncle has been here, I don't think it's a trap."

"Maybe the prophecy wasn't what Uncle thought it was," Zuko mused. He sighed. "I wish he'd told us exactly what it said. That would've been nice."

"Yeah, no kidding." Katara snorted. She leaned back against him and stifled a yawn behind her hand. The sun would rise soon, and with it, the heat. It would be almost unbearable to touch. Katara couldn't wait to get out of the desert. She missed sleeping in his arms.

"I guess we'll find out in a few days," Zuko said. He pointed at the sky. "According to the stars we're about halfway there."

Katara looked up at the stars. "You never fail to amaze me."

Zuko was pleasantly surprised. "What do you mean by that?"

She chuckled a bit. "I mean, you're never what I expect you to be, and you've always been like that. It's like every time we meet I learn something new about you."

He frowned. "Um...thanks, I guess?"

"It's a compliment, Zuko." She squeezed his hand. "I feel like I know you, but at the same time, you always take me by surprise."

"I could say the same about you," he murmured in her ear.

She nuzzled her head into his neck. "The sun will be up soon."

His arm tightened around her. "I know." He paused for a beat, and when he spoke again, she could hear clear amusement in his voice. "You know...you might want to think about kissing me again before I get too hot to touch. Well...hotter than I normally am, anyway." He chuckled.

Katara snorted out a laugh. "Oh, so we're full of ourselves now, are we? Do you gain more confidence with each kiss?" She leaned back to look up at him with a teasing smile. "Should I be worried?"

He looked down at her, a lopsided smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "No, not worried. More like…" Zuko brought his face closer to hers until their lips were only a heartbeat apart before he continued, his eyes glinting wickedly. "Eager."

Katara wanted to say something back. Felt like she should say something back. But looking into his wanting golden eyes and feeling a pulse of heat low in her belly had taken all coherent thought from her. Instead, she closed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his.

Eager, she thought, was an understatement.

Zuko lay awake as the sun rose higher in the sky. He should have been sleeping, but it was hard to fight his body's natural schedule. I rise with the sun. And he didn't mind the view, either: Katara lay curled up on her side beside him, her pinky wound through his. She wore only her sarashi. He didn't feel bad about looking at her now.

He took in every inch of her skin, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head. Zuko admired the length of her smooth legs, the ample curve of her hips, the quiet strength of her arms.

But he mostly loved looking at her face. It had lost most of its childhood roundness to reveal wide cheekbones, full, bow-shaped lips, and a gently sloping nose with a rounded end. Her eyebrows arched across her brow bones in a way that demanded she be taken seriously. He loved the little line that formed between them when she concentrated or was frustrated.

She was beautiful.

It wasn't only her looks, either. Katara had a fiery passion about her that was so utterly Fire Nation, it wouldn't surprise him at all to find out some of her forefathers hailed from his homeland. She was compassionate, brave, and entirely loyal to those she loved. It was admirable.

Zuko mused over the girl laying beside him. He thought back to before, when the war waged on and he had found himself an unlikely ally to Team Avatar. Even then he was able to recognize her beauty, and in the dark hours of the night he could even admit to himself that she was attractive. Back then he hadn't given it much thought. It was clear that Aang had a thing for her, and he still had feelings for Mai. And it just hadn't been the right time.

But if I'd acted on it then, how different would things be now? Zuko wondered. It probably would have ended long before now.

Reflecting on his relationship with Mai he could see where he had messed up. He had neglected her in his obsessive drive to be a great Fire Lord. Zuko had been so preoccupied with rooting out insurrection and building a trustworthy government that he hadn't devoted himself to Mai like he should have. And then when he started talking to his father behind her back… Yeah, Zuko had done a pretty good job screwing that relationship up.

"I won't make that mistake again," he whispered to Katara.

He would do better. Zuko knew it would help to give Katara a role in his government. She would probably enjoy leading the Public Health Initiative or the Public Affairs council. Maybe both. She was a helper; it was her true passion in life.

And I need to be honest with her. Zuko sighed. No secrets.

He would have to tell her about Alasie.

Katara woke to darkness. All she could sense was his finger wrapped around hers. She couldn't tell if Zuko was awake or not. Katara rolled onto her side and strained her eyes to make out his shape in the dark. It'd be nice to be a firebender right now, she thought sleepily. She covered a yawn with her hand.

It was cool outside. She wanted to curl up against him, if only for a little while, before they had to set out again. Katara slid closer to him. Zuko stirred, and she could faintly see the whites of his eyes against the black backdrop.

"Good morning," he whispered to her. She could see his teeth flash into a white smile.

"Morning." Without waiting, Katara slid herself into his arms and nuzzled her face against his neck. She planted a soft kiss over his pulse. She smiled when she felt it quicken beneath her touch. "I've missed this."

Zuko traced the dip of her spine with his fingertips. "Me too." He kissed the top of her head.

Katara sighed happily. "Once we're out of the desert, we can do this every night."

He pulled back to look at her, which was mostly a moot point in the dark. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do." She looked up at him. But then she frowned as she thought of something. "I mean...that is...if that's alright." She swallowed. "Would that be frowned upon in the Fire Nation? I guess I'm not too familiar with your customs. It definitely would be back home, but I mean...I think we're kind of past that now." Katara forced herself to stop the deluge of words pouring from her mouth.

He lit a small flame in the palm of his hand, holding it out along his side so he wouldn't burn her. Katara blinked against the sudden light. He studied her face. His brow was furrowed.

She licked her lips nervously. "Zuko?"

"I mean, kind of...but no one would say anything." He cleared his throat. "I just...I'm not sure where this is going." He looked away, his eyes smoldering in the orange glow of his fire. "I was so happy yesterday, but I got to thinking about some things. You were unhappy with Aang because of his responsibilities." He peeked at her. "Well, I have a lot of those same responsibilities, Katara. I'm the Fire Lord. I work long hours and don't get a lot of time to relax. I won't be able to just up and go on adventures with you."

Her voice was soft. "I know."

His scowl deepened, and if she wasn't mistaken, a red flush had crept into his cheeks too. "And if...if we got married one day, then you would be the Fire Lady. That's a lot of responsibility, too. You would be expected to have my children, and host noblewomen, and be proper and not cause a stir—not that I think you would. But it would never just be us. It would be you, me, and my—our—nation. Nations, I suppose."

Katara propped herself up one one elbow so she could look him in the eye. She pressed one hand to his cheek and smiled softly. "Zuko. I know."

He frowned. "You know. Then…"

Katara pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. "You think I haven't been thinking about this since I first realized I had feelings for you that went beyond friendship?" She chuckled lightly. "I think the difference between your responsibilities and Aang's is that I can really understand them. I can help with them. And I know once you take off that headpiece and become just Zuko, I'll be your top priority." She blushed. "Well, me and any future children."

"Well...the future might not be that far off," Zuko murmured. "My court…" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I wasn't kidding when I said they're waiting for me to get married and produce an heir. I'm twenty two years old. I've been at the helm of the Fire Nation for five years. In their eyes, it's past time." Her eyes widened, and Zuko let the fire die as he sighed. "This is what I mean...about responsibilities."

"I'm not saying no, Zuko." She pressed her lips to his.

Zuko kissed her back. They broke away after several moments. He brushed the hair away from her temple as his mouth turned down.

"I need to tell you about something," he said quietly. He grimaced. "Well, about someone."

Katara's fingers danced across his collarbones, raising gooseflesh on his skin "Oh? And who might that be?"

He bit his bottom lip and he was suddenly glad he had extinguished the flames. He spoke quickly, desperate to get the words out so he could face the consequences, whatever they might be. "There was...someone. I was seeing her. After Mai and I broke up. It wasn't anything serious, and I broke it off before the summit. I just thought I should tell you."

Her voice in the dark was a little higher than normal. He could tell she was surprised. "Who was it? Is it someone I know?"

A red blush crept up his neck. "Yes…"

"Who?" An emotion she couldn't quite name washed over here. All she knew was that she didn't like it. The thought that someone else had been with Zuko after Mai left her feeling more unprepared for this relationship than she had been a few moments ago.

Zuko sighed. Honesty, he reminded himself. "It was Alasie."

He heard the soft pop as her mouth dropped open and she threw herself into a sitting position. "Alasie? I grew up with her! Zuko!" She pushed his shoulder roughly, her tone a little gruff, but not mad. "How in the world did that happen?"

Zuko waited for her to get angry. He sat upright and relit the flames in his palm and studied her face intently as she blinked against the sudden light, but he didn't see any anger flash through her eyes. He shrugged one shoulder. "It just sort of did." He frowned. "You're not mad?"

Katara laughed lightly. "Why would I be mad? That was before me. I had expected you and Mai…" It was her turn to blush, and she cleared her throat before she pressed on. "Am I surprised there was another person? Sure. But you're an adult capable of making his own choices. And Alasie is gorgeous. I can see the attraction." She turned her face away.

Zuko lightly cupped her chin in his free hand, gently turning her head so she had to look at him. "Katara…" He shifted his hand to her cheek and stroked her face with his thumb. "Alasie may have been pretty, but if anyone is gorgeous, it's definitely you." Crimson bloomed across her cheeks as she searched for the truth in his eyes. "Besides, it's over now so there's nothing to worry about. And that's all it was: just attraction." He pressed his forehead to hers. "And she never held my heart the way you do."

A pleasant warmth spread through her. She could hear the earnestness in his tone. He meant every word he said, and that reassured her. But then Katara withdrew and quirked a brow at him again. "You really thought I would be mad?"

Zuko smiled at her sheepishly as he pulled back, letting his hand fall into his lap. "I don't know. Maybe. I expected more than just...acceptance."

Katara shrugged. "Well, it is what it is. We can't change it." She pressed her lips into a thin line for a moment. "I mean...I'm a little…." She waved her hand through the air. "Jealous."

His eyes glittered. "Jealous?"

Katara scowled. "Jealous," she echoed." She huffed out a breath. "I mean, like I said, I was under no illusions that you were some prude or something, but now I feel…" Her mouth twisted into a grimace as she tried to convey the emotion she felt. She didn't quite know what to call it, as she wasn't sure she had ever felt it before. "Inadequate?"

His eyes widened. "So you've never...?" Zuko let the half-formed question hang in the air between them.

Katara's blush deepened. "Uh...no. Aang and I haven't….no." She cleared her throat. "We talked about it. We just never...did it." Zuko snorted. Katara playfully punched his chest. "Shut up!"

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. I guess I just assumed...since the two of you lived together…" He arched his brow at her. "What do you mean, you 'talked about it'? What was that conversation like?"

"I am not having this conversation with you right now." Katara crossed her arms over her chest and turned her face away from him, feeling very flustered and quite inadequate, indeed.

His lips twitched in amusement at her sudden shift in attitude. He thought he had a solution for that. "You're right." Zuko shifted closer to her. "There should be less talk."

Before she could ask him what he meant, he ended the conversation with a kiss, and then another, until he killed the flames again and corded his fingers through her hair. Katara slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. He trailed one hand down her back and over her hip. Her breath hitched in her throat when he pulled her into his lap with her knees on either side of his waist.

His lips were soft and warm against hers and Katara became pliant under his mouth and hands, letting him take the lead. His fingertips ghosted up the back of her thigh, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in their wake. Katara let her own hands explore him: she traced the thick muscles of his shoulder, down the coiled muscles of his back, around the front and down the hard planes of his abs to his lean, hard waist with one hand while the other grazed his collarbone and chest. She could feel him pressed against her core and her heart hammered in her chest as something hot and heady pooled low in her belly. She wondered how far he would try to take it...but he seemed content to simply kiss her and let his hands wander.

After several long minutes Katara came up for air. She giggled. "That didn't mean I was ready to learn first hand right now, Zuko!"

He threw his head back and laughed. Katara didn't think she would ever grow tired of that sound.

Here it is, the chapter everyone was waiting for. I hope ya'll enjoyed it :)