Azula is acting funny.

She's snapping at him and throwing fireballs at him in the hallways, and occasionally Zuko spots servants carrying strips of cloth into her room.

Zuko is confused. And when Zuko is confused he goes to Lu Ten.

So Lu Ten explains to Zuko what happens to girls when they "become a woman" and then proceeds to tell him that it's best to leave them be when they're experiencing their "time of the month" for fear of keeping one's reproductive organs.

Zuko doesn't consider himself a deeply religious person, but that night he spends a few minutes thanking Agni that he was born a boy.

Zuko is starting to notice the opposite sex. It's kind of disconcerting.

Like today after firebending practice he watched as one of the servant girls bent over, giving him an eye full of cleavage.

Zuko immediately thought about sex.

He can't really help it. It's like his mind just goes there without his permission.

He finds that his mind especially goes there at night when he's thinking about girls in his bed. When he's alone. And it's dark. And there's no one around…

Zuko gets used to changing his bed sheets on a regular basis.

"Zuko!" Katara squeals, throwing her arms around him in a welcoming hug. Zuko moves in to return it and then freezes.

Katara's body isn't as straight and narrow as it has been in the past. There are some curves there that weren't there before. They're nice…

Zuko quickly backs out of the hug, blushing profusely. He decides to stare at Katara's feet. That seems safest.

Katara starts talking a mile a minute, telling him all about what's going on in the South Pole and how Hama thinks she's close to mastering waterbending and how some boy visiting from the Northern Water Tribe had a crush on her—

"What?" he snaps, eyes narrowing.

She gives him a look of confusion. "Uh, there was a guy—"

"—making goo-goo eyes at my sister." Sokka strides up and pats Zuko on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I took care of him before he got grabby."

Katara rolls her eyes and pulls a face. "I didn't like him anyway. He was kind of a jerk."

Zuko is red from irritation now.

He pictures some Nameless Northern Water Tribe Guy in his head. Then he pictures himself pummeling him.

"But that doesn't matter, you should have let me handle it myself," Katara continues, crossing her arms over her chest and huffing.

Oh. Katara's chest.

Then Zuko is distracted again by all these new body parts and forgets all about Nameless Northern Water Tribe Guy.

"And let some random guy make grabby hands at my sister? You're practically still a baby!"

Katara splutters in indignation and Sokka jabs Zuko in the ribs with his elbow. "Zuko gets it! He probably would have done the same thing if he'd have been there. Right?"

Zuko nods dumbly. "Uh huh."

Katara flips her long hair over her shoulder angrily before marching away from them with her chin held high.

Zuko stares after her for a moment in silence, thoroughly dumbfounded.

Oh boy.

The next day they're back to throwing ice discs to Sang and Nukka and Zuko finds himself feeling very relieved.

Katara is still Katara, even if she has extra stuff. Nothing else has changed, of course. Nothing at all.

This play is terrible and Zuko isn't sure how he, Sokka and Lu Ten got roped into seeing this.

Katara is on his right and Lu Ten is on his left, with Sokka on the other side of Katara. The play is called Two Dragons and Zuko stopped paying attention half an hour ago. He's counting down the minutes until they can leave. In fact, the only think good about the play is the female lead. She's considerably attractive and unlike the rest of the cast she can actually carry a tune. Zuko notices Lu Ten watching her closely from the corner of his eye.

Zuko also notices that Katara is glowering at the stage.

She's been in a horrible mood the last couple of days and Zuko literally has no idea what he's done that's made her so angry, but she snaps at him more than she ever has before and gets frustrated easily.

Zuko decides he'll have to ask Lu Ten about this after the play. Maybe there's something to do that'll get Katara out of this funk and make her happy again.

He would ask Sokka, but Sokka is oblivious.

And then the curtains are closing and the play is over. Lu Ten is cheering loudly and Zuko has to resist the urge to join in. Not because the play was good, of course, but because it was finally finished.

Never again, he swears.

Lu Ten stands up slowly, still clapping, and Zuko and Sokka take his lead and stand up as well. They all maneuver out of the pew, but when Zuko realizes that Katara isn't following them he turns around with furrowed eyebrows.

"Aren't you coming?"

Her eyes are wide and horrified and she hesitates before standing up. Then she promptly sits back down.

"Uh, no. You guys can go on without me. I'll, uh, catch up."

"But…you can't walk back to the palace by yourself. We have a palanquin waiting—"

"I know! That's okay. Um, it's just so nice and cool here and, um. Yeah."

Zuko tilts his head to the side. "Okay…"

Katara shifts in her seat and cringes. "Or actually," she starts," maybe when you guys get back to the palace you could send your mom? Or maybe Azula? Or even a female servant? And I'll just be here."

Now Zuko is really confused. "You can't just stay here, Katara. And why would you need my mom?"

Katara's cheeks turn bright red. She looks like she's about to panic. "Something girly," she squeaks.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko hears Sokka shout. Katara makes a whimpering noise.

"I just… Please Zuko?" she pleads.

Zuko isn't sure what to do. He could do what Katara asks, or he can do what he feels like he should do, which is make sure that she's okay and help her out.

He takes a moment to think. Why would Katara need his mom? And why is she refusing to even stand up?

Wait. Maybe… Oh.

Oh.

Period. Katara. Period.

Zuko suddenly wants to melt into the floor and die.

Instead he shrugs off his vest and hands it to her.

"You can just like, wrap that around yourself."

Katara has possibly turned even redder. "Oh…okay…"

"Just. You can use that to cover up. That. Yeah. And then we'll be at the palace."

Zuko isn't sure who is more embarrassed.

"Okay," Katara says, voice barely audible. She quickly stands up and faces him, wrapping his vest around her waist and holding it in place before looking down at the floor.

Zuko makes her walk in front of him on their way to the palanquin, just in case.

When they get back to the palace Katara sprints to her room.

Zuko goes to his mother's and gently knocks on the door.

When his mother opens up she smiles at him, expectant.

"Uh, Katara needs you. For girl stuff."

Ursa furrows her eyebrows. "Alright."

"I think, erm, she started that thing. That happens to girls. Every month."

Ursa's eyes widen in comprehension. She quickly steps out of her room and closes the door behind her. "I'll go see her right now." She pats his head and gives him a kiss on the cheek before hurrying off.

Zuko has been given a room that serves as his "office".

It's really where he's supposed to do school work, but it looks official so Zuko feels important whenever he's inside of it.

When Katara pokes her head in, however, he drops everything in order to look up at her from his desk.

"Um," she begins, twisting her hands. "I just wanted to thank you for, uh, helping me out last night. It was very nice of you. And thanks for not saying anything to Sokka. He would have made it ten times worse."

Zuko shrugs one shoulder, trying very hard not to sink into his chair. "No problem. You would've done the same for me if I'd been in that situation."

He realizes how stupid that sounded right after he says it.

But Katara is already grinning and there's a pretty glean in her eye so he thinks it might be worth it.

"Yeah, if and when it's your time of the month, Zuko, I'll be sure to help you out if you need it." She turns and leaves his office, giggling.

He buries his face into his hands and groans.

A few days later it is Sokka who strides into his office with something under his shirt.

"I have been waiting for this," Sokka announces before pulling out a bottle of something and placing it on Zuko's desk, right on top of some paper work that Zuko had been looking over for learning purposes.

"What's that?" Zuko asks, tapping the bottle with his ink brush.

"Some really nice pirates gave it to me at an Earth Kingdom port we stopped at on the way here." Sokka is practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Wow. I'm not drinking that."

Sokka's face falls almost comically. "Oh come on man! They call it the Golden Lady, and it's supposed to make you laugh till you throw up."

"Wow. I'm not drinking that."

"You can't tell me you're not the least bit curious."

Zuko would be lying if he said he wasn't. Fire Nation boys were encouraged to wait until they were sixteen to drink, it was kind of a rite of passage, but Zuko had always wondered what Lu Ten meant when he talked about getting "blasted".

But the fact that this came from pirates for free just didn't bode well.

Before Zuko can even open his mouth Sokka is already pouring them two small glasses of the amber liquid. He then holds out a glass to Zuko.

"Drink up, or I'll tell Katara that you think her hair loopies are stupid."

"But I don't—"

"Besides, you know you want to."

Zuko slowly takes his glass out of Sokka's hand and sniffs whatever is inside. It smells sweet.

And he is curious.

"Fine," he grumbles.

Sokka grins. "Awesome." He clinks his glass with Zuko's. "Drink up me 'earties, yo ho."

They toss back their drinks.

"The rhinos, man. The rhinos are coming."

They're in the garden, trying to climb up a tree.

Zuko stumbles around the base of the tree, laughing.

Sokka smacks his shoulder and snorts. "Give me a…leg up." He swats at an imaginary bug. "Or I'll…fall."

Zuko feebly grabs at Sokka's leg and awkwardly catches his foot instead. They stand there like that for a full minute before they both topple over onto the grass.

Zuko rolls over and stars blearily up at the sky.

"Stars are pretty," he mumbles, turning over and accidentally hitting Sokka in the face.

Zuko feels super warm and bubbly.

He's been telling the Head Chef in the Royal Kitchen how lovely chicken is for the past six minutes.

"And it's like…you eat it. Ya know?"

The Head Chef is staring at him with a mix of astonishment and amusement. "Um, Prince—"

"Zuko!" There's a loud clash of pots and pans hitting the floor. Sokka pops up and immediately places a pot on top of his head. "It's my new hat!"

They have somehow stumbled back into Zuko's office.

"Agni," Zuko grumble, "it's so hot." He spends the next three minutes struggling out of his shirt before sliding onto the floor. "My hair feels heavy," he moans.

Sokka is sprawled out across his desk. "Want me to cut it?"

Zuko instantly brightens. "Yes."

Sokka spends the next few minutes rummaging around for a pair of scissors before sinking down onto the floor next to Zuko.

Zuko gestures feebly to his head. "My crown. Make sure to take it—"

Snip.

His crown clatters to the floor and Zuko watches it roll under his desk.

"Dude… you look awesome."

"Really?" Zuko is giddy.

Sokka is already passed out on the floor, scissors still in hand.

Zuko's eyes open groggily.

Someone has stuck a sword into his head. That's the only explanation for this horrendous headache.

He groans and slowly gets into a sitting position. He stares down at the ground.

His hair is all over the floor.

He's instantly awake, grabbing his crown out from under his desk, getting a fistful of what's left of his hair and attempting to pull it into a topknot.

Except his hair is too short now.

"SOKKA!"

The Water Tribe boy jerks to attention. "WHAT IS IT, BOOMERANG?"

Zuko smacks him across the face to fully wake him up. "YOU CUT OFF MY HAIR!"

"What?"

"It's all over the floor!"

"It's not all on the floor. There's still some on your head."

"SOK—"

"What the heck's going on in here? Azula and I can hear you two shouting from my bedroom." Katara is standing in the doorway, eyes narrowed in disapproval. When she sees the now empty bottle lying on the floor her eyes turn into slits.

"Really, Sokka? Really?"

"Shut up." Her brother slowly gets to his feet, Zuko following after.

Katara's mouth falls open when she sees Zuko.

"Your…your hair…"

All Zuko wants to do is hide. "Sokka cut it," he mumbles. "It's too short for a top knot now, and I can't wear my crown."

But Katara's gaze has drifted from his hair to his…stomach?

Then Zuko remembers he's still shirtless.

He crosses his arms over his chest and clears his throat.

He also may have flexed his biceps. Just a little bit.

She visibly gulps and her eyes slowly travel up his upper torso and settle on his face. Zuko suddenly feels naked under her stare. Vulnerable.

"Okay," she squeaks. Then she turns and quickly exits the room.

"Spirits, is my sister weird," Sokka mutters before slowly making his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Zuko asks, tone still accusatory.

"To curl up somewhere and die."

He doesn't see Katara until right before he heads to bed.

"Zuko!" she calls, and he turns around to see her jogging down the hallway toward him.

"I think I have a solution for your crown problem," she says as she stops in front of him, cheeks flushed. She holds up a strip of shiny golden ribbon.

"Give me your crown," she demands, holding out one hand. He complies, pulling his crown out of his pocket and then handing it over to her. He watches as she loops the ribbon through the crown. She motions for him to lean down, so he does. He feels her fingers ghost over his neck and she leans forward so that she can see what she's doing, just barely brushing her cheek with his.

His heartbeat quickens and he can't help but feel a little unsteady on his feet.

When she finally knots the ribbon she steps back and looks at the crown-necklace now resting against his chest. "It'll work until you can pull your hair back into a topknot again. But…" She reaches forward and ruffles his hair with a giggle. "I think I like this new length on you." She tugs on a lock affectionately before pulling away.

"Thank you," he says softly. His heart is still pounding.

"You're welcome." She pushes against his shoulder playfully and he wonders when he got so much taller than her. She turns and starts to make her way back down the hallway. "And next time Sokka tries to talk you into to drinking anything, don't do it." He can practically hear the grin in her voice. Katara turns the corner and is gone, leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway with a dumbfounded expression.

He goes to bed right after that and falls asleep grinning into his pillow.

A/N:

Puberty! Puberty!

Periods and getting drunk for the first time, all covered in one chapter! *wipes forehead* Phew!

I'm sure most of you have seen the new trailer for The Legend of Korra by now. I guess I can go ahead and say that I already ship the fuck out of Mako/Korra (also known as Makorra, and don't judge me) and I've already written a funny little ficlet for them called Apology. It's entirely speculation when it comes to characterization, of course, but you should check it out!

Anyway, please drop me a review and tell me if you liked this chapter or not :D