A/N: Oy vey, I almost forgot to give credit for the last chapter. Thank you so much felicia1075 for your wonder suggestion. Also, thank you to Saucebender, whose analysis of the story and concerns for the character really helped me write the chapter Fighting. I'd also really like to thank InoSakuShine who has been a huge encouragement to me. I'd also like to thank Harlequin Jade and Noche de Estrellas, who always have something nice to say. So thank you everyone, even if I didn't mention your names, your reviews have been appreciated.
And now for the story. Oh, also I was looking at the rating info again and I don't think I'm violating any content laws with a kiss but whatev, this is your warning in case you are over 13 and still think kissing is icky.

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Chapter 16

First Kiss

Zuko almost felt reluctant to leave the orphanage now. They'd ended up spending a couple of hours playing with the children and had shared lunch with the kids. He'd finally learned the name of the boy who'd broken him out of his comfort zone. Soshi hadn't been nervous at all about climbing into Zuko's lap to eat his lunch. Zuko had looked at the boy confused for a moment and Katara had giggled at the scene the two made. Soshi just grinned and held up a piece of fruit to Zuko. The fire lord was beyond being stunned by this child and just accepted the offered gift and listened to the child chatter. He'd felt an odd connection with the child and he was glad Katara made him come here today. In fact, he hadn't been completely opposed to Katara's suggestion that maybe they bring Soshi, Yumi, and Freya to the palace at some point so they could spend more time around little kids together.

After lunch, they said their good byes and were now traveling the streets together, stopping periodically to view the wares of the local vendors. They were in no rush as he guided her towards the side of town that was under construction.

Zuko's first step to restoring his nation was to rebuild the areas his father hadn't thought necessary. He was refurbishing the museums, libraries, and music schools. The entire entertainment district had been diminished to the lowly allies of underpaid artists. He planned to become a patron to those with skills and encourage those who sought recognition for their talents to play at the fountain so that he might notice them.

Every building that they passes he told her what it used to be and what they were doing to save it and make it useful again. He'd factored these places into the budget of the fire nation so that as the artists and musicians were getting back on their feet they wouldn't have to worry about rent on top of things. Katara smiled at him, encouraged by the depth of his concern for his country.

He took her inside of a tall old building that was still being worked on. The inside was almost completely bare except for the tools lying about and some sparse random art pieces that remained.

"My mother used to bring Azula and I here to watch the masters first build their instruments and then play. They would sit all day with unimaginable patience working on the same piece until it was exactly the way they wanted it. Downstairs was a shop where they would sell their instruments but up here, this was their place. I used to think it was some sort of magic or bending that turned a block of wood or a bamboo shoot into such beautiful instruments." Zuko recalled to her wistfully.

"Music was a big part of your relationship with your mother, wasn't it?" Katara asked.

"Yes, she loved the arts. She felt music was a way to free your soul even when you are feeling incredibly trapped. I didn't think about it then but I'm starting to think music was the way she coped with living with my father after things started to get bad."

Katara just nodded, as a part of her wondering if she would need some kind of release to bear living with Zuko.

Zuko watched her silently. Her head was bowed and she was lost in thought. He liked the way she sometimes twirled a bit of hair around her fingers when she was thinking and how she bit her lip. Her thinking look brought a cute pout to her face and even though they were in the same room he could tell her thoughts were a million miles away.

Katara's mind had taken off on a flurry of concerns. At some point she was going to have to face the reality of living with Zuko. She gave him a sidelong glance. He said he didn't want her to be submissive and she guessed she was supposed to give him her opinion on political things in the future but what did he expect out of this marriage? They'd hardly talked about their future relationship except when they were arguing and they weren't any clear expectations before her except that she be a symbol, whatever that meant, and she have a baby, and they'd probably only be satisfied when she had a boy. She frowned.

The whole baby thing was a lot to think about. It was all fine and dandy to go playing with a bunch of children for the day but a child of her own…That meant she'd have to not only kiss Zuko but let him touch her too. She cringed at the thought, it wasn't that she didn't find him attractive because she was becoming increasingly aware of how appealing he was but she just didn't think she was ready for all that. She'd only just be turning 16 shortly after the wedding. She liked kids, she was good with kids, but she wasn't sure she was ready to be a mother. And she was fairly certain she wasn't ready to go all the way.

She glanced at Zuko again, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, looking out of the large bay window. Sukki had suggested she kiss him, to test it out, but when was the right time? She wondered if she should ask his opinion on the matter, then shook her head. That would be embarrassing. Maybe she should just go over there and kiss him now. She couldn't make her body move towards him. She sighed, how was she going to do this. They weren't going to get anywhere if she couldn't even kiss him.

Turning away from him, she dragged her feet in another direction, without particular care of her destination. If she had been paying attention, she'd have seen the low table in her path.

"Ow." Was her first response when she bumped it. It didn't really hurt but it was just habit to say. She tried to reach out to catch the bowl that had been disturbed when she jostled the table but it crashed to the floor, shattering into several pieces, it's contents of nails and screws, scattering in several directions.

"Crud." Katara muttered as she dropped to her knees and began picking up the pieces.

"Katara, you don't have to do that. Those are probably sharp and someone with gloves…" Zuko was cut off as Katara yelped. She'd just sliced a deep gash into her hand while attempting to pick up a jagged piece of the destroyed bowl.

Zuko sighed. "Let me see it."

"It's fine." Katara said, still picking up pieces with her uninjured hand.

"It's bleeding."

"I know that."

"It probably stings too."

"A little."

"Don't you think we should get it sterilized so it won't get infected."

"When I'm finished we can go to one of the doctors in town to have a look at it.

"Well, don't you at least want to stop the bleeding for now? You don't want to get blood all over your clothes."

Katara looked at her stinging hand for a moment. When she looked back up at Zuko he was offering her a hand to help her up off her knees. With a gentle tug on her good hand, Zuko brought her closer to the window and then took her injured hand into his own for inspection.

Katara winced as Zuko took her bleeding hand in his own. He blew gently on the wound to sooth it and then pulled a cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around her hand. A shudder moved through her at the gentle caress of his breath against her stinging skin. And a blush burned at her cheeks at the gentle brush of his finger tips against her palm as he tied the cloth around her hand.

"Thank you." She stammered, looking up at him and losing herself to the depths of his golden gaze. She couldn't look away, she was being lured into their liquid inferno. No one had ever looked at her with such a steady intensity, not even Aang. It was a little frightening but also so very intriguing. Was now the moment Sukki had meant? Was she supposed to kiss him? Her eyes dropped to his lips and she pondered how to make her move. She hadn't initiated the first kiss between herself and Aang and the second had just come naturally so how was she supposed to go about this one.

Zuko's face seemed closer now as she tilted her head subtly one way and then the other trying to figure out the best angle to go in at so they didn't smack foreheads or bump noses. She felt so hopelessly inexperienced next to him. She lift her eyes back up to his trying desperately to shut her mind off when suddenly his lips brushed hers. Her eyes shot wide open and then snapped shut as she realized she was being kissed. 'He kissed me!'Her mind practically screamed. It was a brief and gentle caress of the lips and as soon as he drew back she wanted to pull him down again.

Zuko had been watching the waterbender with slight amusement as she had pondered his face seconds before. It had been clear to him what she was trying to muster up the courage to do and after trying to be patient, he decided to put the poor girl out of her misery and kiss her. It had been a brief affair but he could see in her eyes she wanted more just as he did. The soft brush of the lips had sparked a curiosity that wouldn't be settled by so little exploration.

Acting on impulse, he brought his lips to hers again in another gentle sweep of the lips, applying the barest of pressure. He didn't want to startle her, thus he left her the option of pulling back or pressing on.

The gentle teasing kisses were driving Katara insane. She knew he was holding back and good judgment told her it was probably for the best but in this moment, she didn't care. Taking Sukki's original advice she thread her hands into his hair and smashed her lips against his. She felt him smile into the kiss, and she could hardly be annoyed that he was laughing at her over eagerness. All she wanted was for him to kiss her blind and the Fire Lord didn't disappoint.

Zuko's arms had slid around her waist, one was holding her close and the other had inched up her spine until he was cupping the back of her head, holding her just as fiercely to the kiss as she was holding him.

She felt his tongue trace her bottom lip and then his teeth gently nip it in a request for entrance. This was new territory for her but the curiosity and the way he was making her feel right now made her bold. Hesitantly she opened her mouth, and allowed herself to be introduced to a new level of intimacy. His kiss was languid and sweet, an unhurried gentle exploration of her mouth. She gasped at the sensation and was surprised by his gentleness. He drew back for air and to take a look at her face. He knew every move he made in this arena had to be done with care. He would allow her to come to him when she wanted to explore and he would entice her curiosity by always stopping at the gates of the next level.

She stood on her toes, face tilted up in a pleading expression. That couldn't be all, they'd only just started. She wanted more of his sweet kisses. She'd never had the urge to carry on prolonged kisses before which probably had largely to do with the fact that she'd never been kissed like this before but now that she'd started she wasn't quite ready to stop.

"Zuko." Her voice was a breathless whine that drove him wild wondering what other sounds she'd make if provoked. He shook off the thought knowing now was not the time or the place for such wonderings and instead dipped his head back down brushing her lips again, teasingly asking her for another taste of her delectable mouth.

She drew him back to her greedily spreading her lips and inviting him in. He emitted a soft sound of surprise as he felt her respond to his kiss by allowing her own tongue to sneak wonderingly into his mouth. He grinned at her daring and hauled her closer to his body intent on satisfying both their curiosity for the day. What was slow and sweet turned fiery and demanding and it was only the need for air that eventually caused them do drawback, panting slightly.

A blush stained Katara's cheeks as she thought about what she had just done. She felt so embarrassed at how needy she must have looked begging him to kiss her again. She stole a glance at him and felt herself flush with a new kind of heat. His cheeks were flushed and his lips swollen from the kissing, his eyes were darker than usual as he looked at her, and his hair was rumpled form her hands running through it. The picture made Katara's eyes widen and her mouth dry. Her mind was absolutely blank as she stared at him. All coherent thoughts had spluttered and died as her eyes were drawn to his lips again.

Zuko had managed to catch his breath and was slowly returning to his usual level of calm. Katara had rattled him just now with her surprising level of passion and eager response to his kiss. He had to end this now before he lost his mind. He nearly forgot his resolve as he looked at her now. The look she was giving him was incredibly dangerous in his current state of mind. If he didn't act responsibly now they'd probably end up doing something she definitely wasn't ready for. Gritting his teeth and mustering up his will power to resist Zuko cupped Katara's chin and brought her eyes back up to his.

"I think we should get back to tour."

"Yeah, we should…uh…we should…tour…yeah…Um, thanks, for the, uh, hand. It, uh, it feels better now." Katara rambled, trying string together a thought.

"You're welcome." He replied with a curt nod and turned to begin leading the way through the fire nation again. He kept his distance from her now, he hadn't seen her as temptation before but now he was curios about her and that could be dangerous. He decided that until he could better assess these new feels for her that it was probably best he just kept his distance from her.

A blush stained Katara's cheeks as she followed him. She briefly wondered what she had done to make him close up like that. One minute she was experiencing the most amazing kiss in her life the next he was closed up within himself again. His voice was more clipped and his stance more rigid. It's like he had put up a wall to keep her out.

'Maybe he didn't like kissing me or I was really bad at it.' She thought, a saddened shame coursing through her at the thought. 'Well then why did he kiss me in the first place if he didn't want to?' She frowned, kicking up dirt as she walked. She hated the thought of being pitied. She tried to get a good look at his face but when he wasn't in the palace he didn't see the need to wear his hair up and his bangs shielded his eyes from her scrutiny. She blew out a puff of air, frowning. For now she'd have to give up attempting to discern what he was thinking. Hands tucked in her sleeves, Katara trailed along at his side miserably.