Candles

Summary: "Come on Zuko, you've gotta help me! I've never planned a romantic dinner in my life!"

Note: Today is my birthday so yeah, I decided to use this one over the angst one (or V.2 as it is saved). Angst wants me to use it, but then I see angst and it's like, no that's enough of that time to make people fluffy. I ramble. Enjoy~

Aang struggled to get a better grip around Zuko's leg.

"Aang! Let go!" The Fire Lord yelled again, dragging the Avatar out into a more secluded garden.

"Come on Zuko, you gotta help me! I've never planned a romantic dinner in my life!" He flopped in exhaustion, now duly noting that getting dragged in and out of the palace was more tiring than he thought.

"And what makes you think I have?" Zuko grumbled, now walking without extra weight.

"Suki told me." The Avatar shrugged.

"What?!" Zuko halted in his footsteps, causing Aang to bump into him.

"Calm down," he patted Zuko on the back, "she heard it from Mai."

"What?!"

"Girl talk travels."

"Mai?!"

"Zuko can we please handle your dilemma after mine?"

Zuko gritted his teeth in an attempt to simmer down, "Okay. What do you want to know?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head, "Well… What do you think when you think 'romantic'."

Zuko hummed thoughtfully. There was sunsets, walks, picnics, candles, Sokka—

"Well helloooo-"

His face immediately lost its coloring, "Candles."

"Candles?"

"Candles. Now let's never speak of this again." Zuko sidestepped Aang, his cape flourishing in his escape.

Aang managed another firm hang on his leg, "Wait! How many? What color?! Zuko!"

—-

"Can I open my eyes now?" Katara's voice filled with mirth as Aang halted their walk.

"Nope."

"Can I at least 'remove the blindfold'?"

"Do not remove the blindfold." Aang repeated, squeezing her shoulders so she would stop walking. She heard a curtain sway open.

A date to make up for his week long absence had been one thing, after all she was use to Aang going off on his own sporadically (from now on a note was included), but a surprise date was on a whole other level of Airbender charm.

"Almost." Aang's chirped, and she noticed a quick zipping sound fill the air.

Fire bending? Through her blindfold the light dimly bled, a small breeze wafted distinct aromas her way.

Katara took a deep, relaxing breath. Tension she hadn't even built up eased from her shoulders.

"Okay, open them."

…

A balcony. High above the Fire Nation, draped in blue and yellow silk that bounced in the warm zephyr of the night.

A table of Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom delicacies sat in front of two orange pillows squished together cozily.

A bashful Avatar, all pale features and blue tattoos a bundle of jitters underneath the starry sky with a grin so sizable on his face Katara almost failed to notice the most delicate detail of all.

The two candles that sat as a centerpiece.

Blue and yellow wax pushed together and tied with an Air Master's wooden medallion and the necklace she'd been fretting over losing for significant part of the day.

"I couldn't find a lot of stuff; it was just as much of a surprise to you as it was to the local merchants, heh." He chuckled, and nervously took her silence for further explanation.

"I was surprised how easy it was to take your mother's necklace off. Guess you've had it on so long you hardly notice when it's not there… I mean not to say you don't noti—!"

"Hey Aang?"

"Ye—woah!" In his rambling he never noticed the water forming behind him until the wave tumbled him to its bender's embrace.

Katara's smile was wide, her eyes brightened in the candles glow, and before capturing his lips she confessed what she never had before.

"I really love you."