Letting out a frustrated sigh, Katara lay in the Fire Nation palace bed, scowling. Sometimes she couldn't stand Aang; here they were in the same bed yet he was snoring beside her. Earlier that night Katara requested the same bed as him, using this war-end anniversary as an excuse to get a little farther, though her attempts were everything but successful. All she wanted now was to go to sleep and distract herself from whole mess, but her mind wasn't going down without a fight. Remembering what her mother had told her as a kid when she couldn't sleep, she swept out of bed towards the palace kitchen for a glass of warm milk.
As Katara sneaked through the dark palace with her arms wrapped around her, a smooth, silk robe was the only thing that covered the lingerie she wore. Though, now the gesture was lost and she wished she had some purpose for getting dressed up.
It occurred to her that she had no idea as to where she was going, but she continued wandering aimlessly, her eyes became small blurry slits, her legs still carrying on anyway. It wasn't until she bumped into something solid, yet oddly soft, did her body fall to the ground. Eyes snapping open, Katara saw Zuko, messy haired and wearing an unbuttoned shirt and a pair of boxers, staring down at her with a look she couldn't see clearly in the dark but could tell was unfriendly.
"Excuse me," Katara's voice came out sarcastic, yet it was still tinged with embarrassment. She hugged herself protectively as she rose up to his level. "I'm lost; where's the kitchen?"
Zuko was still a bit ruffled at the sight of Katara so late at night and in... her underwear, nonetheless. His response came out in stutters, "I'll show you where it is." Once she began following him, he spoke again, this time a bit blandly, "What has you up so late?"
As an almost instinctive reaction Katara snidely commented, "It is none of your business." But as she said it, her defences began to break down and she sighed, this time murmuring, "I just couldn't get to sleep. What about you?"
"Same." Zuko quietly said.
They walked in silence until they reached the kitchen. Katara wordlessly make her way for the refrigerator and he seated himself on one of the wooden stools that surrounded the island in the middle. The room was only lit by a few torches, but it seemed as if the dark and silence created a giant, suffocating blanket around them. After Katara poured herself a glass of milk she came to sit opposite of Zuko and looked at him thoughtfully as she took small sips. However, it didn't seem the same when it was cold milk as opposed to warm milk.
Holding her cup towards Zuko, she cleared her throat, "Will you... warm it up a bit?"
He looked at her silently and blinked in response before firing a small flame at the side of the glass. The edges of Katara's lips rose as she took a sip from the toasty warm glass. After more silence and a few sips, she cleared her throat and began to speak up, realizing this was the first time since her arrival that she had a chance to talk to Zuko one-on-one, "So how is everything?"
"Good," Zuko said softly, thoughtfully. "There are still people who refuse to listen to me, but the war seems a thing of the past. Mai and I--" he stopped himself. Did he want to tell Katara about Mai and him? Well, what did he have to lose; he wasn't going to see her for a while anyway. "Mai and I are having problems, though."
Katara put down her glass as she looked down, feeling her face get hot for reasons she didn't know. Tracing the rim with a finger, she murmured, "What's going on between you two?"
Zuko looked down as well, slightly embarrassed as to the reason. He couldn't tell her the truth - he needed to see how she reacted first. It wasn't that Zuko was an open book, but everyone needed someone to vent to sometimes and Katara was the perfect person. Looking back up to study her, he said, "Things are just awkward between us."
Katara perked up, genuinely curious. "What kind of awkward things?" She tried to make her tone sound motherly, but interests were none of the type.
Smirking, Zuko's bangs feel over his eyes, "Every time we get really... you know... she always pushes me away." The realization of just how uncomfortable the statement was didn't sink in until it was out of his mouth
But Katara's response surprised him.
"Oh, I know how you feel!" She was a bit overeager at first, but then she brought her voice back down to a normal tone. "Aang is well... sort of the same way. He's just a twelve year old monk. I don't think the monks even gave him 'The Talk' - I don't think he even knows what sex is. And, I mean, I love him and everything, and it's great that he teaches me how to be a kid again, but . . . There's just certain things he does that remind he still is a kid. He probably thought babies came from stork-horsies until he saw me deliver a baby."
Zuko raised an eyebrow, "You helped deliver a baby? That's... amazing."
Crossing her arms, Katara became aware once more that she was in the dark... in her underwear... talking to Zuko. A wave of guilt affected her words, "Not really." But after she had said it she remembered Aang wasn't here, she did need to vent eventually. Huffing, she said, "I'm just tired of doing everything for Aang, Sokka, and Toph – they're like a bunch of 5 year olds. I cook, clean, find places to sleep. I hardly time to do what I want to do! I really wish I had time to work on my waterbending."
Zuko watched her, his hard look softening. "Oh, Katara," he murmured, leaning toward her. His hand brushed her curly hair and his lips met hers gently.
"Zuko, don't," Katara growled as she pushed him away. Looking down, she felt ready to cry. But she wasn't sure she was angry with him, still felt as if the ghost of his soft lips remained on hers, waiting for more.
He began sputtering out apologies but Katara didn't hear them, she was too deep in thought. Once again she was reminded that she was only going to see him once a year and Aang would never find out. How much could it hurt anyone? Her index finger came up to meet his lips, shushing him. "We can't do anything here. One of the guards will find us. Do you know any other place we can be... alone?" A small, seductive smile met her lips as she gazed intensely back at him.
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They arrived in a chamber of the Dragonbones Catacombs, the musky air hung around them. Katara stared uncomfortably down at her hands waiting for Zuko to say something, but he wasn't any less awkward. Though neither of them knew what to say, they both know what they wanted to do. Sexual tension hung in the air between them until Katara went to lie on the bed. Her quivering voice finally broke the silence, "You're right - no one will catch us here."
Zuko made his way over to the bed, lying down next to her. His tangled hair fell in front of his eyes as a small smile broke across his face. It was rare for Zuko to smile, much less in a nerve wracking situation such as this. His mouth felt too dry to speak, words escaping him completely. Taking one last look at her, he dove into the kiss, almost feeling as if he was being too abrupt and fast. Katara stiffened with regret, remembering Aang, but was slowly overtaken by her hormones.
Their kisses quickly became more rough and eager, Zuko then let his lips begin to wander her body. His soft lips softly sucked on her ear then began tracing his way down her body. Katara let Zuko climb on top of her as his lips reached her chest, then her stomach, kissing her softly as he unsnapped the clasp that held the front of her bra together. His mouth came up to suck on her nipples softly as his hand slid down the outlines of her stomach.
A small soft moan escaped Katara's lips as Zuko began fingering her, her hands tightening on his unbuttoned night shirt. He paused taking off his boxers, beginning to roughly push himself into her. Katara's lips tightened both from pleasure and the slightest bit of pain, not that the pain was at all bad. "Oh Zuko," Katara moaned. "I love you." For a minute, Zuko payed no attention as he began to push faster but then stopped, staring at her once his mind had processed it.
Sighing, Zuko rolled off her. "That... complicates things." He let silence linger between them as he stared at the ceiling, afraid to make eye contact with her.
Katara began to panic when he didn't reply and she quickly sputtered, "What? You don't feel the same way?"
Zuko shook his head, though he knew she probably couldn't see him, turning his head to meet her eyes, "No I'm... kind of in love with you too. But I always thought you loved Aang, so I hoped that if I started dating Mai the... crush would go away. But it's obviously not working." He chuckled nervously at the last bit, but his expression quickly turned serious again.
"Zuko..." Katara whispered, unsure how to respond. Then she huffed, saying, "But now the only time we will see each other is these post-war reunions and when I'm around Aang I'm just going to feel so... guilty."
Grabbing her hand, Zuko knew there wasn't much more that he could say; she had already said it all. "Of course we'll always feel guilty, but if we ever want to be together, this is our only choice."
For a long moment Katara just stared at him, smiling. Then she got up and began redressing herself in the few clothes she had. Before sweeping her way out of the chamber she turned back to face him. "See you next year."