The war was officially over and they all celebrated on what used to be somewhat neutral territory; Ba Sing Sei. And everyone seemed to have a plan figured out about what to do now; they had places to be and things to do.

General Iroh had bought back the tea shop he owned for a brief period of time, while living as a refugee, and was very excited over opening up the Jasmine Dragon again.

Suki would travel back to Kyoshi Island for a while, help with the restorations of the village and train the new members of the Kyoshi Warriors. Sokka was to fly back to the Southpole, being taught under his father to care for their tribe; but not without a quick stop at the Northpole to recruit waterbenders willing to help rebuild and strengthen their sister tribe.

The two warriors had sworn to try and make it work, not letting the distance seperate them. Katara thought it was kind of sweet actually, until the two started having 'I'll miss you'-sex all over the hotel.

Toph said she didn't have a plan. That she may go home and talk some sense into her parents and continue to compete in Earth Rumble tournaments, but that she also wanted to try and find more metalbenders.

Aang had his various Avatar duties to tend to and Zuko had an entire nation to run as the newly crowned Fire Lord. And Katara, well Katara didn't know what to do. Even though she laughed with her friends at Sokka's terrible painting and Toph's sarcastic comments, she didn't know where to go after this.

When she had imagined the end of the war she had always imagined herself waiting for her father and his crew at the Southpole. But when Aang came along she toyed with the idea of continuing to travel the world, to see it in its full glory, without having to run for her life. And then she fell for Zuko. Awkwardly adorable Zuko. He made her laugh, take a step back and think things through, he calmed her when needed and listened to all her thoughts and problems and every time his arms wrapped around her it felt like home. That's why it hurt so much when Mai showed up outside the hotel, looking for him.

"I thought Azula imprisoned you." He sounded delighted that she was out, his arms wrapped around her in a relieved embrace that made Katara's heart tighten.

"You took her out", Mai shrugged as they parted, "so they let me out."

"That's great." The grin on his face made Katara turn her head away, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Hey, Katara", Aang said as he noticed her slumped figure, a hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe it's over", she whispered, her eyes fixed on a crack in the wall before her.

"The war?" No. "Yes, me neither." He scratched the back of his head before looking up at her with a new light in his eyes. "I have to do something, but meet me on the balcony later? The view is amazing."

"Sure." And with that he sped away, a blur of orange and tan robes.

"You know he likes you, right?" Suki said, stepping between Katara and the wall, forcing her to look the warrior in the eyes.

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

The view from the balcony really was beautiful. The only problem being Aang's obvious desire for something more to happen; a great romantic gesture to take place. Katara pulled the tiny airbender into a simple hug, hoping he would accept it for what it was; friendly. But when her arms fell to the sides of her body and his stayed wrapped around her, she panicked.

"Aang", she started but was quickly silenced by his lips on hers. It all happened so fast and when she finally came to it had been too late; he had already witnessed it. "What are you doing?" She demanded, pushing him off of her with one hand against his chest.

"What do you mean?" Aang questioned back, his face contorted with confusion. "You're my forever girl."

"But I'm not", she shook her head, taking another step back, her arm still raised.

"But - I", he stuttered, "we kissed at the play, and the invasion, and - I mean - I love you." It broke Katara to see the hurt in his eyes amplify by the second as he spoke.

"And I love you, but in the same way I love Sokka", she tried to explain, "or Toph." Aang shook his head and shut his eyes tight, his fists clenched at his sides, clearly bewildered and let down by the rejection. "I'm sorry."

Katara turned around, heading back inside, and she didn't have to look behind her to know the young avatar had flown off. She was so caught in her head she didn't notice the body standing around the corner with his arms crossed angrily until she ran right into him.

"Sorry", she mumbled without looking up, taking a step to the side to try and get back to her room in the hotel.

"Wow", Zuko chuckled darkly, without even a drop of humour. He sidestepped at the same time as she did, effectively blocking her path. Golden eyes met blue ones and the panic Katara had felt on the balcony returned tenfold.

"Zuko", she gasped as she felt her cheeks redden.

"You two sure looked cozy."

"What? No, Zuko, that's not… no", she stammered, her eyes fluttering in confusion.

"No?" He questioned, raising his eyebrow.

"No", she assured, planting a comforting hand on his biceps. His eyes flickered to her hand before shaking it off.

"Then why'd you kiss?"

"He jumped me", Katara cried, the panic she felt now seeping into her voice, "I pushed him off." And as he still didn't look convinced, added, "Besides, why do you care? You have Mai."

"What?" Zuko furrowed his brow and looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "What are you talking about?"

"Mai", she said and crossed her arms, "you know, your girlfriend."

"Mai is not my girlfriend." He said it like it was obvious, he thought it was obvious. They'd broken up months ago, months he had spent trying to either appease or please Katara.

"She's not?"

"No", Zuko almost laughed at the accusation, but as Katara's face hardened he quickly pulled himself together.

"Then what was that embrace all about?" she asked and narrowed her eyes.

"You hug people all the time", he pointed out.

"But you said you were happy to see her." The accusation hastily leaving her mouth the second his closed.

"Katara, one of my childhood friends just got out of prison", he explained, his hands grabbing at her arms as if to steady her, to make her see reason. "Of course I'm happy for her."

"And that's all there is to it?"

"Yes, I swear", he followed the smooth skin of her arms down, intertwining his fingers with hers once they met. "And what about you?"

"Aang's like a baby brother to me", Katara shook her head, squeezing his hands reassuringly, leaning her forehead against his.

"Come with me", Zuko whispered, his breath caressing her skin.

"What? Where?"

"The Fire Nation. Come with me."

"Okay", she answered with a smile bigger and brighter than the sun; a smile preserved only for him.

"Now", he said, his voice dropping low as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, sending shivers down her spine, "come with me." His tongue flickered out, tasting the spot right under her ear he had learned would make her melt. She let a small moan escape her lips before tugging at his hands, leading them away from the balcony. The met a few questioning glances - and a knowing smirk from Suki - as she stalked across the lounging area with Zuko in tow.

The door to her room hadn't even closed fully before Katara's lips descended on his and her hands entangling themselves in his hair. Zuko held her close, pressing her body to his like he was afraid she would disappear if he didn't hold on tight enough.

"Stupid Earth Kingdom fashion", he murmured against her lips as he loosened the stash holding together the outermost layer of her robes, stumbling backwards until his knees hit the edge of the bed.

The creak of the bedframe as they fell onto the mattress was loud and Katara swore she could hear Sokka's high pitched squealing somewhere in the background.

With her knees on either side of Zuko, Katara sat up straight, her hair flipping over her shoulders, relishing in the agony and lust mixed in his eyes as she stripped before him; slowly removing each of the layers of her outfit, running her hands over her naked skin until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Agni, Katara", he growled, grabbing ahold of her shoulder, pulling her down on top of him again, their bodies pressed closely together as he kissed her ferociously. His hands roamed her body, caressing any and every bit of exposed skin he could, and Katara moved her hips against him. His mouth wandered down her neck, kissing and licking and biting his way down to her collarbones, and a moan escaped her at the familiar warmth of blood rushing underneath her skin, leaving purple marks behind him as a confirmation of their relationship.

"Get this off", she breathed, her hands tugging at the hems of his robe and it didn't take long until his outfit had joined hers somewhere on the floor near the bed. Zuko's lips found hers once more and he cupped her neck with one hand, his fingers playing with her hair, while the other held the small of her back.

"Show me you want me to come with you", Katara moaned as their hips moved against each other in sync, pulling her lips from his long enough for her to whisper.

"I want you to come with me", he reassured her and his fingers dug into her hips as he kissed her pulse point, "Come home with me." Home.

And just as Katara was to answer he slid into her, making her gasp and moan as her walls contracted around his cock, keeping up the rhythm they had already established. She wrapped her arms tight around him, scratching at his back and kissing his lips hotly. The thrusts only grew more erratic, hitting harder and deeper, making her knees shake with pleasure.

"Oh, Zuko", Katara moaned as he slipped a hand between them, finding the sensitive bud above her center and massaging circles around it with his fingers. "I'm going to -"

"Don't say it", he hushed, letting his lips wander down her jawline and neck, around to that special spot underneath her ear, "show it."

"La", she cried, closing her eyes as she came undone in his arms. And the sight of her trembling mouth and reddened skin blotched with love bites pushed him right over the edge with her. They cried out for each other and for the spirits and Katara knew in that moment she didn't care where she was, as long as Zuko was right there with her. To hold her, to laugh with her, to love her - and the realisation made her heart fill with warmth.

Her heart that now belonged to him.