Chapter 3

Zuko ran a hand through his messy hair. Toph gnawed on the inside of her cheek and tapped her foot. She wore her typical attire of a green and gold headband and an off-white robe over a green jumpsuit-like robe.

"You know you look a lot like a guy?" Zuko spat out.

"What's it to you, Prince Emo?" she sneered back.

"Well, you could have dressed like a girl so I wouldn't look—you know," he broke off.

Toph used earthbending to kick a large rock up in front of him, catapulting him several yards.

"Jerk," she muttered.

Zuko jumped to his feet, seething. "What was that for?!" he shouted as he brushed off some dirt from his green robes. "You should be grateful! Thanks to my uncle, you actually have something to do tonight!"

"Look," Toph growled, "let's just get this over with. Go out once, and then he'll never bother us again."

"Fine," he snarled and led the way toward the Black Orchid House.

"Oh, hi, Aang," Katara greeted him. She stepped out from behind the door. Her blue kimono had blue-white orchids that reached upward from the hem to her knees. Her eyes had blue makeup on them making them seem as blue as the ocean. Her dark hair was pulled up into a braided bun.

"Hey," he smiled. "You look great."

"Thanks," she replied, touching her mother's necklace. "Shall we?"

"Sure."

She stepped into the street and shut the door behind her.

"Soo…" she trailed off at the end.

"I thought we would go to the Black Orchid House for dinner and then for a walk around town," Aang informed her. His outfit was the same yellow shirt and pants and orange cloak. His brown shoes made only a whisper of sound on the ground due to his airbending.

They entered the restaurant. The room was lit by candles and paper lamps, giving it a romantic atmosphere.

"Table for two," Aang said, and they were led to a dark wood table. Aang pulled out Katara's chair, and she sat. The employee left the menus and left silently.

They quietly discussed the menu and gave the waiter their orders. But as they waited for their meals to arrive, an uncomfortable silence settled in.

Katara licked her lips and pressed them together. "Soooooo."

"Yeah?" Aang answered.

"Umm…I just—I need to use the bathroom," she stammered and excused herself. She went into the room and breathed a sigh of relief. This was not what she had expected her first date to be like.

Zuko set his utensils down and sighed. Toph still silently nibbled at her food. He watched her for a minute then stood.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit," he told her and left. Even his date with that girl Jin had been better than this! He barreled toward the front of the restaurant where the restrooms were.

"Okay, you can do this, Katara," the waterbender told herself as she left the restroom. "It's just Aang." She began to make her way toward the table when someone slammed into her.

"Ow!" she yelped as she hit the ground.

Zuko hadn't even seen the girl until he was on top of her on the floor. He sat up, disengaging his lips from hers. He looked at her wide blue eyes, full of shock and horror. He had just kissed her. It was not intended, but as they fell, it just happened.

She sat up slowly and then flushed a vivid shade of pink. A perfect hand flew to her soft mouth. Her smooth brown skin was almost golden in the candlelight, and he could not stop staring at her. Her dark brown hair was elegantly pulled up into a bun, and he longed to see it cascading down her back.

He felt a blush stealing up his cheeks because of how long he been staring at her.

"I'm sorry," he began as he stood. "It's all my fault. You see, I was just desperate to get away from my date and not looking around." He reached down and helped her up.

"It's okay," she smiled, having recovered slightly. "You're here on a date too?"

"Sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?"

"Well, my uncle set me up on it. I don't actually like the girl." Why had he said that? "So, you're here with your boyfriend. How long have you known him?"

"About a year, but we don't like each other. We're just together because everybody kept calling us a couple. So we figured we'd try it and see how it worked."

Katara did not know who this young man was, but he was good-looking. His ebony hair was long and shaggy, and she had to resist the urge to run her fingers through it. An angry red scar ran across his left eye, but she found it attractive and thought it added character to his face. It was his eyes that held her though. They were the color of gold and scintillated like the sun, like flames. They were distant and yet so vulnerable underneath that.

And she had kissed him. Not on purpose, but still. He was her first kiss. And although she knew she had no right to, she wanted to get to know him better. She wanted to know if his lips were really as warm as they had seemed in that brief contact, and if he always tasted like chicken and oranges and charcoal.

"…but we don't like each other," she said. She did not realize she had said until it was out. The waterbender wanted to take back the words, but at the same time, she wanted him to know that.

"Do you want to join me outside?" he asked.

"What about our dates?" Katara gasped.

She was pretty sure he muttered something inappropriate under his breath. What was his name? She wanted to know, was desperate to know.

Her mind flitted to how his lean body had felt a few minutes ago. Taut with energy, with something she did not want to think about. Something she did not want to think she could arouse. But at the thought of his body, she began to wonder what it looked like. What his chest as muscled as she thought it was? He had lifted her effortlessly (or at least it seemed so).

"…we could just stay out there for a little while," he paused and gave her an odd look. "Why are you staring at me?"

She turned bright red and headed toward the door. She welcomed the cool night air, rapidly sapping her warm cheeks of the burning sensation.

"Feeling better?" the boy asked dryly.

Katara resisted the urge to jump. She considered it for a second. She had not been gone that long. Her food would not be there for a while. Would Aang notice? She wanted to know the taste of this stranger's lips again desperately.

"Come with me," she whispered in his ear, her lips brushing him slightly. She disappeared into the darkened alley near the restaurant. He followed her. She tried not to touch him again. But her limbs were trembling from the effort and excitement? Fear? Who knew? But she was determined to find out.