Katara managed to hold off her showdown with Zuko, spending her time awaiting the hemming of her robe productively, pulling as much moisture from the air as she dared to fill in her fountain. By the time she was thinking about searching for her fish, Jun summoned her in to try the robe on once more. It fit perfectly of course, and then Katara was further distracted from confronting Zuko by taking a bath. She truly didn't need one, but Jun had insisted. Then she was dressed in the white shift and a temporary over robe and escorted by Jun to the Jade Room. Still her confrontation was put off by Iroh, who had joined them for lunch. He must have been pretending that nothing was wrong, because Katara knew she didn't look happy, and Zuko spent the entire time brooding, saying nothing unless spoken to, and then answering as minimally as possible.

When the time came to leave, Iroh finally said something to Zuko regarding the atmosphere, "Don't be nervous, the guard is more than doubled, and I will keep a careful watch." He then smiled at Katara, who had no time to ask about the guard because she was being escorted out by Jun.

Katara was seething while Jun did her makeup and hair, and kept being alternately scolded for frowning and offered comfort for her nervousness. Little did Jun know, Katara wasn't thinking about the betrothal. She was thinking about Zuko. Who did he think he was? Keeping her out of the loop, being angry at her, emptying her fountain; Katara was sorely tempted to administer a good strangling. Every time her peaceful side reared its head and suggested that she must be mistaken about the severity of Zuko's crimes, she crushed it down with her negativity. He'd have to do some pretty serious apologizing if he ever wanted her forgiveness.

"It's almost time," Jun informed Katara, touching up with a last bit of kohl.

Katara only nodded.

"Chun Hua?" Katara heard Lin mutter behind her and wondered when she had entered.

"Yes, dear?" Chun Hua asked.

"Zuko tore his sleeve and-"

"Ah!" Chun Hua exclaimed, "That boy, he is too rough with his garments. Take me to him then."

If Katara hadn't been inclined to sour at the mention of Zuko, she might have smiled at how much of a cranky grandmother figure Chun Hua pulled off with the royal family.

Jun began helping Katara into her costume soon after Chun Hua's departure, and tried once again to start a conversation, "it will be a sunny day, most would take that as a good sign."

Katara bit her lip, then decided it would be best to speak, "a good sign?"

"It is silly superstition, but the announcement of the betrothal is always analyzed carefully for any hint that something isn't right, Lady Katara," Jun helped Katara into the next layer.

"Yes," Katara supplied reluctantly, "I was told about the bow." Was it just her, or was Jun more talkative than usual?

"The bow, the weather, the food, the guests, everything is under scrutiny, Lady Katara, especially the couple," Jun nodded.

"But won't Zuko and I stay out of the public eye most of the time?" Katara asked, confused.

"During the feast, yes, but your representative is Zongxian, Lady Katara. He will make a very long speech, and you will have to stand through it." Was Jun showing emotion? She looked slightly pained to Katara.

"I believe that was mentioned to me, but that's all I have to do right? Stand and bow on cue?"

"That is not wrong, Lady Katara, but if you'll forgive my saying so, the Fire Lord doesn't care very much for the intricacies of the court. He would not have mentioned that all but the most minor fidgeting is looked on as an ill omen, or that there is a particular stance to be held," Jun finished putting Katara's clothing to rights and stepped back.

No fidgeting? Well, forbidding it was probably the best way of insuring it.

"Stance?" Katara asked, becoming steadily more concerned about her image and less concerned about how little she liked Zuko right then.

"Like this, Lady Katara," Jun stood with her feet a few inches apart, completely straight through the spine, and folded her hands together beneath her sleeves.

"But aren't we supposed to hold hands?" Katara blurted before realizing that she did not want to hold hands with Zuko any longer.

Jun's eyes lit up, "absolutely, I am so pleased you intend to hold the Fire Lord's hand, and I assure you the rest of the crowd will be too, Lady Katara. Let your right hand rest at your side then, and leave your left in the Fire Lord's care."

Katara silently berated herself for her slipup, now there were at least two people expecting her to show some affection for Zuko. Zuko would likely take it for what it first was, nervousness. Katara ignored the fact that her first reason for wanting to hold his hand had been a desire for affection, which wasn't hard considering the low level of affection she currently held for Zuko.

"Is everything all right, Lady Katara?" Jun asked, concerned about her future Fire Lady's expression. Had Katara been Azula, Jun would have avoided her at all costs.

"Of course, I'm just very nervous," Katara forced herself to smile. It was a weak excuse, but Jun only nodded.

"Shall we go, Lady Katara?" Jun asked, showing neither sympathy for Katara's nerves nor displeasure over Katara's lie, merely the ambivalent expression of a servant. Katara found her sudden perfect-servant attitude odd after her newly helpful one, but didn't comment.

Jun led Katara to a midsized anteroom off of the large courtyard and left her there. Now that Katara was alone, she allowed herself a silent scream of rage and, feeling very slightly better, settled onto a chair to worry about standing in front of the Fire Nation. She knew from experience that priests and nobles were given as much space as they wanted at the head of the crowd, and that the common people would pile in behind. The courtyard could hold half the city if enough people decided to crush themselves within the great doors.

What if she wasn't well liked by the people? Katara crushed that thought down; she knew that the marriage of a Fire Lord to a Water Bender wasn't exactly the norm, and that a large minority would disapprove simply because of her lineage. The Fire Nation was made up of four types of people- those that accepted that the other Nations were not the enemy simply because they were easily brainwashed, those that accepted that the other Nations were not the enemy because they were not easily brainwashed, and those that were very, very confused about the whole subject. A very few people were neither confused, nor happy with the new peace, and Katara was thoroughly disgusted by their blatant greed; they had all been in a position to profit from the war. It was the confused ones she'd have to worry about.

The confused ones realized they had been duped in some way, but were emotionally attached to their previous attitude. In a way Katara pitied them, they had spent their entire lives believing a lie, and when the truth finally came out, they had developed what was almost Stockholm Syndrome.

"Katara," Zuko entered the anteroom, bowing.

"Zuko," Katara accentuated her frostiness by refusing to bow back.

"Katara, this doesn't mean anything," Zuko didn't seem to notice her lack of manners. "Even after we're betrothed in the eyes of the Nation, you can still back out anytime you want to."

Katara could have hit him, she really could have, but instead clenched her teeth and ground out, "thank you for your consideration." They were about to stand in front of a large crowd, and as much as she wanted to start a fight, Katara forced herself not to. There would be plenty of time for hitting and yelling later, after all the excitement had ceased for the night.

At that point, Zuko noticed her mood and thoroughly mistook it, "I mean it, Katara I know you're tired of hearing it, but I will never force you into a marriage."

Zuko's concern was wasted on Katara, who only managed to become angrier at the prince. If he didn't shut it soon, she really would break into a rage before scheduled. However, her self control held and her reply was, "when do we bow?"

"After Zongxian finishes speaking," Zuko looked curiously at Katara, who usually argued as opposed to changing the subject.

Katara nodded, "and then what?"

"We stand before the people briefly, and then leave. I'll lead, you have nothing to worry about," Zuko waved his hand in a worry-negating manner.

Katara nodded again and kept speaking, "when do we go out?" In part, Katara really was worried about the betrothal ceremony, but she also knew she had to keep the topics neutral enough to put off the inevitable argument.

"Whenever we want, nothing can start without us," Zuko smiled a little.

Katara frowned and Zuko elaborated, "We wait until we hear cheering, which means we've been announced, and then we make our entrance."

"I see," Katara murmured, desperately trying to think of more questions. She knew she'd have a million the second she walked through the doors, but at the moment she had nothing to say. Then she remembered something, "why is the guard doubled?"

Zuko frowned, "for your protection."

Well, that was glaringly obvious, "yes, but what are you expecting?"

"Nothing," Zuko looked entirely too innocent.

Then a thought struck Katara, "we will be hearing cheers, right? Not silence, or rioting-"

"Oh no. We'll hear cheers," Zuko cut in, "if I thought we wouldn't, we'd be having our betrothal somewhere considerably more fortified. The Tower of Imperial Decree or the Fire Temple Spires for instance."

"Fire Lord Zuko, Lady Katara," a servant entered and bowed, "it is nearly time."

"Thank you," Zuko sighed and offered his hand to Katara, "shall we?"

Katara took his hand reluctantly and allowed herself to be led to the great doors that would open on the courtyard.

Zuko's hand was warm. It felt nice, rough enough to admit to his skill in combat, and soft enough to prove his nobility. It was the hand she wanted to hold for the rest of her life. Katara stopped herself from enjoying the feeling of Zuko's hand in hers, forcibly reminding herself of his distrust of her, his secrets, his stupid need to wield authority, anything and everything that was even remotely wrong with him. Katara successfully began to feel anger at him just in time for two servants to run up and grab the handles on the great doors.

Everything went fast from there, she had hardly been standing with Zuko two seconds before a roar could be heard, muffled through the doors which swung open a moment later to reveal an earsplitting amount of noise. The courtyard was apparently standing room only, and as Zuko led her forward everyone bowed as best they could while packed as thick as trampled snow. Very few managed to perform the complete Fire Nation bow and had to settle for staying on their feet. The adrenaline from being watched by so many eyes made Katara giddy, although she wasn't as bothered by it as she knew some people were. Sokka was likely to faint or something in front of a crowd, although in an emergency he was the guy to have.

Zuko brought Katara forward and stopped well before reaching the crowd. Soon enough a throaty "ahem" could be heard from their left and Katara peeked over at a very old man. He was dressed in the robes of a Fire Priest, and despite his obvious age, his spine was straight and his voice strong. His throat clearing seemed to be the signal for everyone to stand up straight and look upon Katara, because that was exactly what happened. Everyone looked at Katara. She was rapidly beginning to feel sorry for Sokka when the old man spoke again.

"We are here today to rejoice in the betrothal of our great Fire Lord Zuko to the beautiful princess of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara," the old man began solemnly.

Since when was she a princess? Katara almost opened her mouth to argue, but remembered in time not to say anything. Zuko squeezed her hand, probably sensing her ruffled feathers, but didn't say anything either.

What followed were exaggerations about Katara's life that were so extreme they were almost lies. Her wisdom and strength were touched upon, her beauty, her healing, her affiliation with the Avatar. Apparently she and Zuko were both greatly in love and had been since their travels together to end the injustice of the Great War. Zongxian mentioned her nobility for what felt like hours and her kindness for what must have been days. Her value as a warrior should a war arise and her value as a key piece in an alliance with the Water Tribes were also touched upon at great length.

By the end the sun had moved a long ways through the sky, Katara's feet were about to rot off, and she was quite certain she would never get over the shock and embarrassment of being oversold to her future subjects. From her little glances at Zuko, Katara concluded that he was faring somewhat better. He remained alert throughout the torturous speech, constantly scanning the crowd and never losing his rigid military posture.

Suddenly Zongxian stopped speaking and Zuko let go of Katara's hand, which didn't do much since she was still gripping his. She looked to him curiously and he raised an eyebrow. Was he mocking her? Somewhere in the back of her head Katara knew she was just cranky from having to listen to Zongxian lie about her, and that Zuko would never go so far as to mock her (at least not while they were allies). But instead of listening to her inner reason, she added yet another black mark to Zuko's growing tally of faults.

It did not take Katara very long to remember the bow, and she let go of Zuko's hand. They both stepped back and the crowd started cheering. Zuko mouthed "now" and together they bent forward. Katara silently counted to seven and rose at exactly the moment Zuko did. She thought to herself briefly about the perfect bow for the imperfect marriage, and took Zuko's hand again when he reached for hers.

This time Zuko led Katara back into the anteroom where they both collapsed onto elaborate chairs with sighs of relief.

Katara pulled some water from the air to heal her aching feet, groaning as the pain slowly worked itself away. She noticed Zuko looking jealously at her, but felt inclined to let his feet hurt and ignored him.

Zuko seemed to notice her lack of warmth and waited for her to finish her healing before asking, "You're mad at me?"

"Yes," Katara looked frostily at him, wondering if now was the time to put him in his place.

"I'm sorry about Zongxian, I know he's a bit, um," Zuko struggled for a word.

"Ridiculous," Katara supplied, growing angrier that he could only think of Zongxian to be sorry for.

Zuko sighed, seemingly not changing the subject so much as mentioning something important, "the feast can't start until we arrive."

Katara couldn't deny that she was hungry and stood up. Zuko would have to wait to feel her full wrath.

"I hate ceremonies," Zuko and Katara both sighed at the same time. Zuko smiled a little at her, but Katara just frowned and he closed right back up again.

They both looked away from each other and Zuko stood up, wincing in discomfort. Katara felt a slight satisfaction at his pain, probably made worse by his disgustingly tight Fire Nation boots.

"Which entrance do we use?" Katara asked, standing with no problem.

"The one you didn't notice," Zuko chuckled, making another attempt to bring Katara out of her funk.

It didn't work, "are you saying something about my eyes?" She hadn't noticed a door?

"No, Katara," Zuko looked shocked, "what's wrong? You aren't normally this…" he couldn't find a word and threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

Katara just glared at him, and then abruptly strode out. Zuko followed quickly, taking the lead. He didn't speak, but his worry was obvious in his backward glances. He brought Katara to a small hallway with only two doors. However, instead of using one of them, he found a hidden doorway set into a piece of wall that was very slightly discolored. He knocked once and it opened to reveal a serving man, who bowed and got out of the way. Zuko looked at Katara to go first.

Katara was almost grumpy enough to show it in front of the palace staff, but reined it in and stepped resignedly through the door. She found herself behind the sheer veils of the dining hall, made opaque by the many layers of fabric. The lighting was such that she could see the guests with relative ease, but they would have a hard time seeing more than her outline. Zuko stepped through the door behind her and a gong rang out. Every guest stood and bowed. Zuko waved at a man in the opposite corner who waved at another servant through the curtain and the gong was rung again, signaling for everyone to stand.

Once Zuko and Katara had found their seats, the gong rang once more and everyone sat. Gradually, conversations between the nobles began to fill the air, while Katara and Zuko remained silent.

"I would speak with you after this is over," Katara mumbled, breaking the silence without looking at Zuko.

"I see," Zuko replied cautiously, catching on that whatever was worrying her was something she needed time and privacy to fight with him over. He began to sweat a little, wondering what exactly he had been doing wrong, when the first course arrived.

------------------

"Zuko," Katara ground out when he had closed the door on the small, dimly lit room they had found after leaving the dining hall.

Zuko sighed and turned, his stance wary and his face tired.

"What is wrong with you?" Katara began in what was not quite a shouting voice.

"I don't know," Zuko replied calmly, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. He failed.

"How can you not?" Katara moved on to shouting, "who do you think I am? A child perhaps?"

"What?" Zuko exclaimed, shocked, "why would I think that?"

"How should I know? It's you who seems to think it important to protect me from water," Katara was furious.

Zuko was silent.

"I can't seem to do anything without you to babysit me. No wandering, no entering certain hallways, no hearing about why Iroh really came. You never treated me this way when we traveled together. Your respect for me as a person impressed me. My gender and my mistakes were never anything you blamed me for, unlike so many others. I was someone to be respected, and now I'm someone to be kept in the dark and treated without any concession to my humanity," Katara raved.

Zuko was growing steadily paler as Katara yelled, but didn't interrupt her.

"You're always mad about something, and you're always doing things without my knowledge. You practically sent me to my room and then freaked when I, a grown woman, decided to play with water instead. And then when I gave you the flash bombs you about had an apoplexy and wouldn't say a thing about it. Why the hell would you be mad at me for finding flash bombs that you put in the palace in the first place? Then, oh this is the best part, you drained my fountain because I took a little nap in the water. Obviously my sleeping there didn't harm me in the least, but did that matter to you? You're a control freak, you've changed from the man I used to know into someone who can't live without getting his way," Katara stopped for breath.

"Please, Katara, that's not-" Zuko started weakly.

"Oh shut up," Katara looked at him in utter disgust. "You ask me to marry you to save your country, and then when I agree, you suddenly decide that you can't marry me unless I love you? Unless you love me? You like to appear like a reasonable person, but once anyone gets close it's easy to see who you really are. You are a child with no integrity who can't accept anything you haven't managed to engineer yourself."

"Katara, listen-" Zuko was cut off.

"And what sort of betrothal ceremony was that? I stood for hours listening to a man I'd never met lie about me to a crowd who expected that I not fidget even a little. The entire ordeal was humiliating. Then we ate a meal that was not private enough to be talked during, and not public enough to be any fun at all," Katara waved her arms about, trying to express the extent of her culture shock.

Zuko didn't appear offended, although he was certainly upset, "Katara, no, that's not what I was trying to do. Please listen to me; I'm sorry about all that, everything, just let me explain."

Katara snorted, "Oh, you can try." She had learned to let others explain themselves over the years. She was already prejudiced against Zuko, but she had been prejudiced against him in the past and it had come to nothing. Katara didn't see how she could be wrong, but she knew she wasn't always right, and that knowledge was just enough to keep her from storming off to the South Pole right then and there.

Zuko took a breath, then said, "please don't say anything. I'm going to explain." He looked at Katara imploringly.

Katara replied with a withering glare, but said nothing.

Zuko took another breath, "I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I," Zuko looked like he was going to choke, "I was afraid for your safety."

Katara let her stance relax just a little. She was very slightly insulted that he thought her in need of protecting, but Zuko had picked his first words well enough that she wasn't entertaining the thought of leaving.

"I realize that you," Zuko seemed to struggle for the right word, "that you are not a child, not someone who needs my protection, but it was hard for me not to try, because," he trailed off and picked up elsewhere, "when you fell asleep in the fountain, I was so afraid that," he trailed off again.

"Is this it? Is this all you can say for yourself?" Katara broke her silence, angry at his lack of actual explanation.

"No." Zuko nearly shouted with his need to keep her there, "I just, I never," he thought briefly about what he wanted to say, "I don't want to pressure you into marrying me or-"

"You drained my fountain so that I wouldn't marry you?" Katara sounded as angry as she'd ever been, but something inside of her started crying.

"No." Zuko nearly shouted again, then put his head in his hands and muttered, "I'm not saying this right." He took another deep breath and started again, "I drained your fountain because I was afraid for you. I know I was being stupid, it'll be filled again by this time tomorrow, it was wrong of me and I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get hurt. That sounds stupid, it is stupid, but it's the truth. I'm sorry" Zuko looked away. The next time he spoke it was a new subject, "the real reason my uncle came is because he received information from the White Lotus that there would be an attack," the next part was mumbled too quietly for Katara to hear.

"What?" Katara knew she was about to find something else to be angry about.

"An attack," Zuko paused, still not looking at her, "here. It was supposed to be tonight. I don't know why they didn't try to kill us, they're a new group, and were supposed to have had everything organized around tonight. We know little else, although a warning from the White Lotus is not something to be ignored."

"Which group?" Katara asked through clenched teeth. Zuko had kept something as big as this from her?

"The Lao Hu group" Zuko replied, then added rapid-fire, "Not telling you was stupid too. I thought I could take care of it, I was wrong, and I'm so, so sorry."

Was his voice cracking? "You hid," Katara could barely choke it out, "you hid from me, an attack that was aimed at me?"

"It was aimed at me," Zuko tried weakly.

"On our betrothal," Katara added ruthlessly.

"Yes, on our betrothal," Zuko sounded utterly defeated, then added, "the flash bombs you found were theirs. They obviously have a way into the palace, and have been waiting for their moment."

Suddenly Katara felt guilty. There hadn't been any forbidden corridors, and in keeping silent about being someplace she thought might be forbidden, she had inadvertently allowed the Lao Hu to keep safely within the palace. Zuko had never intended for parts of the palace to be hidden from her.

"I wanted to protect you," Zuko was now turned completely away from Katara, but his tone conveyed deep regret, and Katara suspected he wasn't properly composed.

"I," Katara started, "I should have told you. I found the room with the flash bombs well before then. Everything was moved when I returned. I overheard men talking, saying that locks would keep people out, and I thought I wasn't supposed to be there."

Zuko remained facing away, but suddenly his voice had a lot more strength, more anger, "you were in the presence of the Lao Hu?"

"I'm sorry, I should have told you," Katara apologized, then bristled, "why are you always angry at me?" She forgot that Zuko hadn't really been angry at her until that point.

"I am not angry at you," Zuko ground out, "I am angry at myself for not protecting you." He turned, and in the darkness Katara couldn't tell if he had been crying. "In my own home, you almost drowned, you were almost discovered and killed by rebels, and you are unable to find any semblance of happiness."

Had she yelled at Zuko about happiness, or had he already been worrying about it all on his own? Katara couldn't remember. "I can protect myself, I don't need you to be there all the time," Katara's voice rose ever so slightly.

"But I need-" Zuko cut himself off, obviously trying not to let whatever emotions were running amok in his head control his speech.

"Need what?" Katara wondered if he was about to reveal another thing to be angry about.

"Nothing," Zuko looked away yet again.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" Katara burst out, her guilt washed away by anger, and her readiness to forgive washed away by her need to know what was going on. "You're one big mass of secrets, most of which seem to affect me."

"I can't tell you-" Zuko started.

Katara absolutely exploded, "you can't tell me? You can't seem to tell me anything. What kind of marriage do you expect to have? One where I do nothing but sit locked in my room making children and looking pretty?"

Zuko looked absolutely shocked by her question, but Katara gave him no chance to butt in.

"That buffoon you brought in to sell me to your people? He all but said that I would be perfect for just such a life. Is this what you want? Why did you ask me here anyway? Why did you ask me to marry you, and then tell me you refused to do so? What the hell to you want from me?"

"Katara," Zuko reached forward, then dropped his hand before he could touch her "I had no say in what Zongxian said, or he would have dragged on for years, and all of your praises would be truths."

Katara stood in shocked silence while Zuko continued.

"I would only ever want for you to be you, not some woman I married for children or for political reasons," Zuko said very seriously. "And I want you to marry me for me, and not for children or for political reasons."

"But we are getting married for political reasons," Katara was exasperated, "and you never mentioned love in your proposal letter."

"I didn't think I needed it," Zuko frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, probably getting a headache.

Katara ignored the love subject in favor of another and all but shouted, "What are you still not telling me? Your explanations for everything you did are far from satisfactory, you're leaving things out, I can tell."

"I can't tell you, it would be wrong," Zuko looked miserable.

"You can't tell me, because it would be wrong?" Katara screeched.

"I don't want to coerce you in any way, into marrying me-" Zuko started to explain.

"You can't coerce me, you idiot. I'm already in love with you," Katara was probably loud enough to be heard at the North Pole, which was a startling contrast to what came next.

Silence.

Zuko's eyes widened.

Katara could feel her own eyes widening at her unplanned confession.

Zuko opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He reached forward, then stopped.

Katara ran out of the room.

Katara experienced an acute sense of déjà vu as she ran through twisting corridors and through courtyards she had never seen before. Of course, then she ran into Iroh. Literally.

"Oomph," the old man grunted, the wind knocked completely out of him.

Katara paused, whispered, "sorry," and kept running.

"Katara?" Iroh called after her, but she ignored him and kept going, wanting to be found even less than the last time she had run from Zuko.

She did eventually stop, and ducked into a room in the middle of nowhere. Or perhaps not. She had somehow found her own courtyard. Katara walked slowly up to her partially filled fountain, then let herself slide into what little water there was. She was low enough in the ground that if she sat, only the top of her head could be seen over the lip of the fountain.

Katara curled up just as she had the first time, then realized she was wearing Chun Hua's masterpiece. She stepped briefly out of the pool, removed all but her undergarments, and took the water from the gown as carefully as she could, not wanting to disturb the dyes. In the moonlight the whole gown was too shaded for Katara to tell for sure if she had ruined the colors, but she set the gown carefully aside anyway, and stepped back into the fountain.

Katara curled up as she had before and warmed the water a little, suddenly feeling cold. She wrapped herself in a cocoon of the heated water and waited to be found. It wasn't that she wanted to be found, it was that she knew she would be, eventually.

All too soon a splash to her right told Katara that someone had joined her. A few more splashes, and Zuko sat himself down right next to her. Right there in the water. That seemed so unlike him that Katara looked up.

Zuko's gaze was too intense for her to look at and she lowered her head.

"No," Zuko touched her lightly on the chin, not forcing her to look up, but not letting her look comfortably away either.

When Katara looked up Zuko gazed deeply into her eyes a while before whispering, "I love you."

Katara felt tears begin running down her cheeks.

"I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want to make you feel as though you had to marry me," Zuko explained.

The feeling that he was hiding something, Zuko had been hiding his love for her. He had been trying to do the right thing and let her come to him on her own. Everything he did made so much more sense now.

"We were both so stupid," Katara half sobbed, half laughed. She felt something begin to bubble through her, something akin to adrenaline, something half catharsis, half love, and half something else.

Zuko grinned wryly, "I didn't know you loved me," then he sobered, "I thought you were so unhappy here." He gently brushed some of her hair from her eyes, which she then closed, focusing everything on the feeling of his fingers trailing over her face.

"I thought you regretted asking me to come here, I thought you were just putting up with me," Katara admitted, opening her eyes, watching his face as it denied her fears.

"No, never," Zuko replied, watching her fears dissipate.

Katara sighed, happy, and leaned her head onto Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko allowed his head to rest momentarily on hers, then chuckled and sat up straight.

"What's so funny?" Katara lifted her head as well, curious.

"Do you remember what I said to you the first night you were here?" Zuko asked, almost playfully.

"Not particularly," Katara tried to think of what it was that he was referring to.

"I said that the day you convinced me you loved me would be our wedding day," Zuko smiled.

Katara groaned, "It's too late for that, let's pretend we don't love each other until I've had some sleep."

"I also said I'd give you a kiss," Zuko's smile grew.

Katara smiled back, "oh really?"

"Really," Zuko's smile could no longer contain his happiness and he laughed quietly.

"Well, it would be rude of you to go back on your word," Katara laughed a little too.

Then they both leaned forward…and the chapter ended.

Author Note: Hey there. I admit, I take pleasure in ending the chapter this way. The first climax is through. There'll be one more, and it'll be less lovey-dovey and more defeat-the-bad-guys-grawr! (Although the love will never go away, no worries).

I really almost wrote out Zongxian's speech (I had a thesaurus out and everything, that way I could change simple words into obscure and annoying ones)…but it sounded so boring and long, and I knew I'd be skipping over parts of it anyway, so I did the (lazy) economical thing and gave only Katara's reaction to the overall piece.

Oooo! I'm cursing myself because I could have made Katara think about the irony of marrying a "powerful bender" but not loving him four chapters or so ago! Now it's too late! I'll be the only Zutara writer not to make an Aunt Wu reference! Whyyyyyyyy?

Read "The Graveyard Book" or I shall never forgive you. It's delightful!