A/N:

WARNING!

THIS CHAPTER IS RATED "M"

Language, sexual situations.

"Someone will be over with dinner later." Joo Dee continued to smile at the as her carriage began to stroll away.

Zuko let out a mix between a sigh of relief and a groan of annoyance. They had made it into the upper ring of the city where they had been granted their house for their stay in Ba Sin Se. Earlier in the day they had gone a tour throughout the whole city, Joo Dee constantly giving them trouble, changing the subject, and all out handling them. He was happy she was gone, but annoyed that she was going to be sending someone to bring them dinner.

"Really?" He huffed, crossing his arms over his shoulders. "We've traveled all over the world; I think we can handle making ourselves dinner." He shrugged as turned to make his way into the house, only to have Katara catch him by the arm before he made it through the door way.

"We should go look around for a nice place to eat. We should all go have a nice dinner together. Let's make the most of this; relax while we can." She suggested to everyone, motioning out towards the rest of the upper ring.

"Relax!" Sokka screeched. "We can't relax! We have to get this information to the Earth King!" He held up his bag and pointed to the scroll inside.

"I want to spend my time looking for Appa." Aang admitted, looking up to the sky, longing to see his bison flying over him at that very moment.

Katara sighed and pressed her lips together as she looked up to Zuko, disappointed that her dinner idea had been shot down once again. He noticed this and assured her that they would have a nice dinner together sometime while they were there.

Sokka turned and noticed a man creeping on them from behind his door window. He turned back towards the group and motioned for them to follow him.

They made their way across the street and knocked on the mans door, getting an immediate response from him. He expressed them that he had heard that the Avatar was in town and he introduced himself as 'Pong'.

"So, Pong," Sokka began, leaning over toward him. "What's going on in this city? Why does everyone act so strange? Why is everyone so scared to talk about the war?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"War? Scared? What do you mean?" He asked, looking around nervously. Toph could feel him begin to tremble, and she pointed this out, telling him that she could feel him shaking. He let out a sigh before beginning to speak again. "I'm just a minor government official," He admitted. "I've waited three years to get this house and I don't want to get into any trouble." He poked his head a little farther out the door, still looking around nervously.

"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asked.

Pong hushed her and told them that they couldn't mention the war while in Ba Sing Se, and if they were to do anything, it was to stay away from the Dai Li.

He slid the door shut before anyone could ask anything else. The group exchanged looks at each other before shrugging and making their way to back across the street to their house.

They all sat on the front steps of the house, sighing every now and then out of boredom.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Katara asked, looking up at everyone around her.

"I think I'm going to go find a nice tea shop." Iroh said as he stood and began making his way off into the city, waving at them before they got too far, calling out that he would see them all later.

Aang sighed and stood, readying his glider. "I'm gunna go fly around; look for Appa." With that, he was off before anyone could say anything.

"I'm hungry," Sokka announced as he stood. "I'm gunna go find something to eat."

"I'll go with." Toph said as she made her way over to him, matching her pace to his.

Katara huffed and looked over to Zuko, who was sitting to her left on a step higher than she. She lifted her brow at him and he shrugged, figuring he knew what she was asking. He stood and held out his hand to her. She stood and laced their fingers together before they began making their own way into the upper ring of Ba Sing Se.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" He asked as he tried to examine each building they passed to good detail.

"Just a nice place to eat." She paused, reading a sign that told the direction in which to go to find the market place of the upper ring. She tugged on him, silently telling him that they were making a turn.

They had passed many shops, restaurants, and gardens before the waterbender finally paused, coming upon a food place she deemed worthy enough for her attention.

"Look at this place," She breathed out, pointing towards it. It was four stories high and was so extravagant it could easily be mistaken as a small temple.

Zuko furrowed his brow. "You want to eat there?" He asked. With the tone of his voice, anyone would have thought he was appalled at the thought of even stepping foot into the place.

"Yeah, why not?" She asked, looking up at him as she stood in front of him.

"We only have a couple gold pieces left and this place looks seriously expensive. I bet everyone in there has their noses up." He growled, knowing just how snobby the riches and nobles could be from his own personal experiences.

"Zuko, we got special slips because we're with the Avatar. I doubt we'll have to pay for anything." She wrapped her arms around his left arm and pulled him towards the entrance. "Let's just go see what it's like inside!" She said, turning toward the door before he could pull away or say anything against it.

The inside was breath taking. Pillars in the dark, rich, classic Earth Kingdom green. The floors were a dark, Pullman Brown wood, matching the boards that covered half the walls. The paint on the upper half of the walls was a light tan color. The tables and chairs were also a dark wood, light green table clothes and chair cushions. Each table had either a small vase with a single white flower in it or a single candle in the middle. Wall, door, and pillar details were gold, dazzling the eye with every turn.

A man at the front desk narrowed his eyes at Katara, immediately scoffing over her and Zuko's odd and jankie attire.

"May I help you?" He hissed, placing his elbows on the counter as he leaned towards them, smacking his lips and rolling his eyes after speaking.

"How much would a dinner for two be?" Katara asked, his obvious rudeness flying right over her head.

"Um, well first you'll have to book a date, and we're backed up until mid fall, so you'll just have to wait 'til then, miss. And honestly, this place is far too upscale for people like you." He sneered at her.

Now, this act of poor manner she did pick up on. She pressed lips together as she crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight onto one foot as she raised a brow at him.

"People like us?" She asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness as she motioned towards herself and Zuko. "And just what kind of people do we seem like to you?"

"Pickers, honestly." He shrugged. "From the lower ring, I'm sure. Surprised you've managed to slip in."

"Pickers, hm?" She asked, casually slipping a small piece of thick parchment from her pocket. "Do pickers walk around with one of these in their pockets?" She held the small, rectangular document out to him. His eyes immediately widening, his jaw dropping slowly.

"The King's pass," He breathed, slowly taking the cardstock from her palm to look at it closer. It was a dark green color, golden bordering, with the Kings official stamp in the upper right hand corner. He mumbled under his breath as he read aloud bits and pieces from the small, engraved print on the paper.

"Kings pass... please excuse... free of charge... Master waterbender Katara of the Southern Water Tribe... daughter of Chief Hakoda... blah blah blah... courtesy of the Earth King!... company of the Avatar!" He gasped and looked up to her wide-eyed before swallowing hard, sweat beginning to form in the corner of his forehead. "My deepest and most honest apologies!" He blurted out as he handed the document back to her. "I had not been informed before hand! Seat for two right away, Miss Katara?" He asked, plucking a pair of menu's up from the top of a stack of them, stepping out from behind the counter, ready to escort them to a free table.

She hummed and looked up to Zuko, silently asking him if he was up for it. He shrugged, uninterested. "I'm afraid we'll be passing up that offer as of now," She mimicked him from earlier, putting a large amount of snob in her tone. "But be assured, we shall be returning the near future!" She 'hmph'ed and took Zuko by the hand, strutting out of the restaurant with him by her side.

"Goodness!" She giggled, turning around to face the firebender. "How rude!"

"I told you!" He laughed, glancing back to the restaurant over his shoulder.

Katara let out a sigh, noticing it was beginning to get dark.

"What should we do now?" She asked.

Zuko shrugged. "I suppose we should start heading back now."

"We should, but we don't have to," She faded off into a sing-song voice, trying to tempt him into staying the night with her some place other than a house full of friends and family.

"Katara!" He groaned out, turning away from her, obviously still not in the mood.

"Alright, alright." She huffed out in defeat, lacing their fingers together as they began making their way back to the house they had been given to live in during their stay.

By the time they got back, everyone else had already made it back to the house themselves and were waiting for them to arrive.

Iroh explained his day, telling them about how he had found a nice, upscale tea shop to work at to keep himself busy while they were waiting to see the Earth King. He admitted that the current tea brewer could use some lessons, but he was sure that he'd have his skill up to par in no time.

Aang huffed out, there had been no sign of Appa anywhere.

Sokka and Toph had managed to find a nice steakhouse and with their pass, they had a good time eating past their fill. They were sure they weren't going to have to eat again for at least a week.

They all settled down into their own rooms for the night.

Katara huffed as she messed with her nails, waiting impatiently for Zuko to join her down on the bed. He let out a sigh as he sat next to her, pulling the covers over his legs as he asked her what was wrong.

"I don't know," She admitted as she looked up at him. "I feel like you and I haven't had an actual conversation in a while."

"What would you like to converse about?"

She pursed her lips and shrugged, glancing up before returning her focus on him. "How do you feel?"

"About what?" He asked, leaning back against the wall as he crossed his arms over his chest lazily.

"I don't know, about everything, I guess."

"Fine."

"Just fine?" She asked, raising her brow with concern. He nodded, giving her a small smile. She watched him, noticing that he was getting ready to lay down for the night. Before he could, she swooped over him, snagging his lips up into a kiss. He sat still for a moment, stunned, before returning the favor slightly. She pulled away only to put a leg on either side of him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back into a kiss.

They sat there for a good while just kissing until Zuko pulled away, feeling her begin to rub him in a suggestive manor.

"Katara," He scolded out through a pant, removing her hand from him. "Here?"

She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes at him, annoyed by him constantly trying to get out of being with her for a night. "We could sneak out; stay at an inn or something and come back in the morning." He remained silent, just staring at her. The waterbender narrowed her eyes pursed her lips, thinking of something else to try to coax him to be with her. She gripped his shirt, pulling a bit. "Please," She moaned out, grinding her hips against his. He gasped and pressed his lips together, struggling to hold back a moan of his own.

The firebender huffed and glanced around, as if an answer were somewhere in the room. "Well, what do you want to do?" He asked, obvious annoyance and frustration in his voice.

"You!" She blurted out, running a hand up his torso. He scoffed, but leaned down to kiss her again. Harder this time, and more lustful. She tightened her arms around him and managed to grind against him a couple more time before he ripped his lips from hers.

"What about Toph?" He asked, his voice soaked with nerves.

"Excuse me?"

"She see's through vibrations. What if all of our... moving around... wakes her?"

"We'll just go slow." She advanced towards him, only to have him flinch back.

"I'm not going to go slow," He admitted harshly. She leaned away from him a bit. "It's been far too long for that." He said softly, noticing that his earlier tone had startled her.

"Do you want to go somewhere?"

"I suppose."

They had trouble deciding exactly what to wear. They could put on their hoods so no one saw who they were, they were sure to begin getting a lot of publicity, word had already began to rapidly spread around that the Avatar and his company were in town. Plus, they were in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, it wasn't exactly the most shady of places. They weren't about to go all the way to one of the lower rings just for a shag.

Katara pointed out that they could use the chill and wind as an excuse to use the hoods. This was good, but if they kept the hoods on whilst in the check in area, whoever was at the front desk was sure to believe they were about be mugged. She decided she would put her hair up into a top knot, a fashion she would never normally do.

With her hair still rather short, it was difficult to get a proper bun to sit on the top of her head, but she managed and examined her work in the mirror realizing just how much a difference it made on her appearance. She pulled on some red robes that would make her look even more different and she took off her necklace, leaving it on the bed side table, knowing it would be an object that could easily be recognized.

The couple found a fancy, upscale bed and breakfast that actually wasn't too far away from the house. It was perched atop a hill, looking over a vast area of uninhabited hills that were covered in patches of different colored flowers and green grass.

It had only been about half an hour since they had left the house, but it felt like it had taken them days to reach their room.

Katara took no time to hesitate, immediately pressing her partner down onto the bed as soon as it was within landing distance. She quickly disrobed him, leaving him in nothing but his under shorts as she ground her hips into his, already setting a rather fast, hard pace.

Zuko let out a low growl as he pulled his lips away from hers, getting a gasp of air before he bit into the skin on her neck, bucking his hips up to meet hers before he flipped them over. He stood to relieve her of her own robes while she smirked at the sight of him beginning to pitch a tent already. He swooped down and latched onto the skin of her neck again, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. He kissed, nipped, licked, and sucked a path down her neck to her shoulder, from there to the valley between her breasts, down to just under her navel.

He stood again to remove her lower under garments. "Goodness," He breathed, running a finger up between her lower lips. "You're soaking."

She rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away from her, annoyed at how long he was taking. She motioned for him to lay down. He did, and watched as she tore off his shorts before she straddled him. She began to lower down onto him, but he caught her, grabbing her by the hip. Her breath caught in her throat, obvious shock in her expression as she looked up at him, puzzled. She followed his gaze down, into the space between her legs. She watched as he ran the tip of his cock up and down through her folds repeatedly.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and grabbed him by the forearm. "Stop teasing me!" She cried out. "I thought you said you weren't going to go slow. You're taking forever." She paused and watched him, a smirk spreading a across his face. 'Oh, no'. She thought to herself. What idea had she given him?

The firebender let a out long sigh as he took his precious time, slowly pushing every inch of himself into her. She tried to begin as soon he was done filling her, but he kept a firm hand on her hip, holding her in place. She growled out in frustration and tried to wiggle, but he remained set in stone, keeping her still.

Katara whimpered as she placed her forehead down onto his chest, defeated. She didn't like this at all. She hated being held down in any way, shape, or form. But what was she to do? The only thing she could think of to do was wait it out and remain still until he saw fit. She let out a huff. 'That's fine', she assured herself. He'd get his turn.

Zuko heated his hands before slowly removing them. It still felt as though his hands were on her hips, and she jumped when she felt him run his fingers through her hair, bringing it out of the topknot to cascade down over her shoulders.

The waterbender literally squealed in delight after realizing he had finally released her. She leaned up and kissed him roughly as she rode him fast and hard. Jolts of what felt to be electricity searing through her body with every meet of their hips. He lightly ran his finger tips over her back, sending even more waves of good feels up her spine and through her limbs.

It wasn't long before his head began to spin, both of their breathing already terribly ragged, their bangs sticking to their foreheads with sweat. He flipped them once again, using his elbows to keep himself propped up above her as he thrust into her. He focused on her neck with his mouth, leaving terrible patches of broken and burnt skin between his sucking and hot bursts of his breath. She would surely have to heal that in the morning.

She tightened her legs and arms around him, giving him no choice but to hit her hard with his final thrusts before he spilled into her. She hummed and ran her fingers of his back the way he had done to her earlier, feeling him shudder under her feather light touch. She let out a long sigh before kissing him weakly, exhausted.

He hugged her tightly as she pulled the covers up to his shoulders. She squeaked, letting him know he was hugging too hard. Suddenly, she began to giggle. He hummed, asking her what was funny. "Zubear." She snickered, noting that he was always giving her bear hugs.

"Oh, no." He groaned out, seriously hoping that he had not just earned himself a pet name. She laughed and kissed him one more time before easing down into the mattress, ready for sleep to come over her for the night.

!

"An owl," Sokka mumbled under his breath as he examined himself in the mirror, using his machete to shave off half of his thin mustache. Zuko paused on his own face shaving, holding back a snicker as he over heard the warrior speaking to himself. The three boys were standing in front of a mirror, shaving, prepping up for the day. "Who would have said that," He mumbled, shaving off the other side of his mustache. "Who would have said... that I... look like an owl? An owl... who would have... who- Oh!" He leaned back, realizing the trap he had fallen right into. "I get it!" He informed, jabbing Zuko in the arm with his forefinger. "That's not funny!"

Aang paused shaving his head for a moment, realizing what had just happened. "Please tell me you did not just get that joke, Sokka."

The warrior turned towards the monk, narrowing his eyes at him as he placed his fists on his hips. "I did." He admitted, seemingly proud of it. "And I don't appreciate being made a fool of by Zuko!" He informed, smacking the blade out of the firebenders hand, a bead of blood forming where the end of the blade had caught him.

Zuko hissed and washed off his face before glaring over to him. "I don't have to make you look like a fool," He said, beginning to make his way back to his and Katara's room. "You handle that on your own just fine, Sokka."

Zuko slid the door open to see Katara sitting up in the bed, obviously confused as to how she had gotten back to the house. "Morning," he greeted, smiling at her as he shut the door behind him. She looked at him, her blue eyes full of confusion. "I had to carry you." He growled, leaning down towards her. She noticed the line of blood trailing down his cheek and bent some water from the air to heal it. "You need to heal your neck." He informed, gazing at the love marks he had left on her, a part of him honesty wishing she could strut around wearing them proudly.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Last night!" He yelped as he jerked away from her fingers, surprised by her question.

"No," She laughed, blushing as the memories flooded back to her. "Your cheek."

"Oh, nicked myself shaving." She ran her knuckles down his cheeks, feeling the skin.

"Well, you've still got one side to do." He smiled and nodded as he stood, leaving the door opened behind him. She furrowed her brows and looked down, realizing that sometime during the night he had gotten her into a robe. She healed her neck blindly, smiling at the fact that he had also managed to get her necklace back around her throat. She stood and made her way out of the room, running into Iroh on the way out into the hall. "Oh!" She jumped back, startled by his sudden appearance. "Sorry!"

"Oh, no, I apologize," He looked up to her, noticing the smile she probably didn't even know she was wearing. "Well, you look as though you're positively glowing this morning, Katara." He smiled at her. You had to wake up very early in the morning to sneak in past Iroh.

"Oh, thank you." She breathed sheepishly, pressing pass him.

She looked around the main room of the house, noticing everyone was primped and ready for the day. All but one.

"Where's Toph?" She asked to no one in particular, looking around.

"Sleepin'." Sokka answered, throwing a peanut into the air to catch in his mouth.

The waterbender slid the door to the earthbenders room open, shocked to see her laying spread out on her stomach in the middle of the floor.

"Toph?" She called, tilting her head. Toph turned her face towards her, letting her know she was awake. "Aren't you going to get ready for the day?" The earthbender stretched and groaned.

"Why would I? I've got no place to go." She shrugged.

Katara hummed and placed a finger on her lip in thought. "I saw a spa while I was out with Zuko yesterday. We should have a girls day out!"

"What?" She droned out, totally uninterested.

"Why not? We deserve some nice pampering!" Toph huffed, but agreed to go with her anyways.

The experience was a mixed one, Toph absolutely hated the pedicure, but she did enjoy the mud bath and even sitting the steam room, and she didn't mind having make up caked onto her face. The girls that worked there assured there she looked extravagant and beautiful, but Toph could care less, and she was sure that was what they said to all the women who came in.

As her and Katara began making their way back to the house, Toph admitted that it hadn't been too bad, and she actually felt girly. After spending a nice day with her, Toph felt closer to Katara than she ever had before, and finally decided to ask something she had been wanting to for a long time.

"Katara," She started, getting her attention. "I've got something to ask you that's been bugging me for a really long time now."

"What is it, Toph?"

"With the way you fight and always train so hard with Aang... do you even know you're pregnant?"

Katara stopped dead in tracks. Stunned. Her breath caught in her throat. It was if she had frozen in time.

"What?" She managed to croak out. She took in a gasp of air, trying to catch her breath as she took a seat on a near by bench. "Toph, please tell me your joking right now." She breathed out before swallowing hard. She sat up straight and looked down at herself, examining her body after hearing Toph say she wasn't joking. "Okay," She huffed. "So my hips and boobs have gotten a little bit bigger. I'm filling out!" The earthbender remained silent, unsure if Katara was speaking to her or not. "Maybe I've gain a little weight on my tummy, but- I can't be- no way. I'm not pregnant!"

"Katara," Toph snapped, her tone rather harsh, as if she had been insulted. "I can see him inside you." The waterbender groaned and buried her face down into her palms.

All the recent changes in her body weren't her filling out, it was her preparing for child birth! She couldn't believe it. Though, it did explain her soreness and sudden cravings for watermelon and a specific kind of smoked seal jerky no where in the world but the Southern Water Tribe had.

She tried to regain control of her breathing as she leaned up against the back of the bench, thinking back to her previous nights with Zuko. Had it been from that one time on the pirate boat, or from the times in Hitomu's Inn? Either way, she was already into the second trimester. She looked back down to her tummy.

She was barely showing. She remembered some girls back home in the Southern Water Tribe that hadn't even shown during their pregnancy at all. She wondered how big she would get and how fast.

"Oh, no." She thought aloud. How was she going to tell Zuko? Tell Sokka? Tell her father! What if they didn't win the war? What if something happened her during a fight? She began to fan herself with her hand, fears and worries crashing over her.

"Sorry," Toph blurted out suddenly. "I thought you knew, but I wasn't sure..." She trailed off, honestly feeling bad for the girl. She hadn't meant to freak her out. Especially after their day of relaxation.

"How am I gunna tell Zuko? And Sokka?" She cried out, looking hopelessly towards the blind earthbender before her even if she couldn't see her expression.

"I'm sure Zuko will be thrilled, and Sokka will understand."

"No!" Katara barked out. "I don't even know if Zuko loves me, Toph! And Sokka, he'll think Zuko took advantage of me or something." Toph sighed and sat next to Katara, awkwardly placing a hand gently on her shoulder in attempt to calm her down. She wasn't good at things like this, but she would try.

"Katara, Zuko is crazy about you. His heart races if you even glance his way, and when you two are next to each other, you both are in some of the calmest states I've ever seen anybody in. Sokka knows you guys love each other, why would he think Zuko would take advantage of you?"

Katara sniffled, holding back her tears. She turned and looked towards Toph, intrigued by what she had just told her. "Sokka knows we love each other?" She asked, quickly wiping away a stray tear.

"When we ate at that steakhouse, he told me about he could honestly feel it radiating off you two. He feels like he knew it before you guys did. He says that it's still sometimes hard to accept that it's Zuko, but he doesn't have the slightest struggle with seeing you as happy as Zuko makes you, and that makes it a lot easier. He told me that he was happy for you guys and honestly wished you the best, but also to not be mistaken, and that he would drown Zuko if he ever hurt you."

Katara laughed. "Yeah," She breathed, gently rubbing her eyes. "That's Sokka." She took a long pause, thinking long and hard on if she wanted to confess to Toph about what happened on the pirate boat.

It was still hard to think about it, and with Zuko not being present it was even harder, but she fought through and focused her energy and on just letting it out and finally telling someone about it. She huffed and mess with her nails, counted to three in her mind, deciding that would be when she would begin explaining what happened.

"This baby wasn't exactly planned, obviously." She breathed out, forcing herself to come to terms with the fact that she was with child. "On that pirate boat," She paused, biting her lip. "It's Zuko's. The men," She paused again, struggling to get it out without completely breaking down. She was sure her makeup had smeared all over her face by this time. "Made us... you know," Katara huffed, feeling the awkwardness rise in the air. "-so they could watch." She finished and finally stopped fighting the tears, letting them race down her cheeks.

Toph paused and thought about what she had just heard. It was terrible, but it made everything make sense. She knew Katara and Zuko had this weird bond. Strong, but still kind of weird; foreign to her. Now she knew why. They had latched onto each other to survive. Love budded in the defense mechanism and grew into something far stronger that bonded them together. She swallowed hard before turning back towards the water bender.

"I'm so sorry." She said honestly, feeling terrible. She didn't know how to handle this situation. No one had ever cried like in front of her. She wanted to hug her, but she didn't want it seem forced, but if she sat there, would it seem like she didn't care? Toph sighed and gently patted Katara on the shoulder.

Katara huffed and took some water from the air, using it to clean off her face the best she could. She sucked it up the best she could and stood.

"Would you come with me to the market?" She asked, her voice still shaking. Toph stood and nodded without a hesitation.

Katara managed to find a nice a store that had nice supply of baby clothes. She picked out n little outfit and had it wrapped, getting everything with the help of the King's pass.

"What's all that for?" Toph asked as they began making their way back to house, the sun would begin to set soon.

"I have an idea as to how I'm going to tell Zuko about this."

"Katara," She called before the waterbender entered the house. Katara turned and faced her. "I'm sure everything will be just fine."

Katara bit her lip, digging her nails into the box that held the little outfit. "I'm sure it will be, too." She lied, Toph knew she didn't actually believe that. The earthbender huffed and followed her into the house, reminding herself to keep her mouth shut about this until Katara told everyone about it. She had been seriously worried about it. Toph shrugged, this should interesting.

"Hey, Katara!" Sokka greeted. He was draped in Earth Kingdom colors. He must have bought himself some new outfits whilst out in the market with Toph. "You wanna have that dinner with everyone tonight?"

"No." She said, sliding the door open, only to see Zuko standing on the other side, wearing the fancy outfit she had bought him when they were in the sea port village. She jumped and held the box in her arms close to her, startled so see him there.

"No?" The firebender asked. "We all thought you would want to tonight." She shook her head and pushed him back into their room. "But I'm wearing that outfit you bought me!" He protested, standing still against her pushing after a couple of steps backwards.

"No, I have to speak with you."

"About what?" Sokka asked, poking his head into the doorway. Katara turned and glared at him.

"Not with you." She growled. "Zuko."

Her brother narrowed his eyes at her and stood fully in the door way. "Why can't you tell me?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because I can't!"

"Why!"

"I will later! Just go eat dinner with everyone, Sokka!"

"I want you two to go!" He admitted, taking a step into the room.

"We will later," She softened her tone and her expression, knowing now was not the time to be fighting with her brother. "We'll all go that steak house you and Toph ate at, okay? Just not tonight."

Sokka sighed, dropping his hands down to his sides. "Alright," He huffed out, turning to make his way back out to the living room. Katara slowly slid the door closes, hearing Iroh propose that they go to the tea shop he had began working at the day before.

Katara sighed and waited until she was sure they were gone before she turned around to face Zuko, who was now sitting down onto the bed, frustrated that he had gotten all dressed up for nothing and confused as to what was going on. He looked up to her, watching her as she slowly made her way over to the bed, sitting down into front of him, placing a box down between them.

"What's this?" He asked.

She swallowed hard, feeling herself beginning to tremble. "I got you another outfit." She breathed out. She examined him and noticed just how well the outfit she had gotten him in the sea port looked really good on him, even though she could tell where the fabric was hugging him a bit too tight in the wrong area's. He had been terribly thin when she had bought that for him. He still looked just too handsome, though.

She watched as his face tightened as he narrowed his eyes, looking down at the box before him. "I think it may be a little small on you, though." She admitted.

He shrugged, thinking this was because of how much muscle mass he had been gaining recently. She motioned for him to open it and he began to, pausing when he heard her take in a sharp breath. He looked up to her, silently asking her what was wrong.

"Nothing," She breathed out, swallowing hard afterwards, struggling to control the shake in her voice. "I just want you to like it."

Something wasn't right. She was acting awfully strange. She was terribly nervous, and he wondered if this was some kind of prank. Was something going to jump out at him as soon as he lifted the top off the box? She wouldn't get this worked up over a prank, though...

He huffed and removed the top slowly, gently placing it on the bed next to him. The outfit was covered in tissue paper and he could hear her rash breathing. He could tell she was freaking out, and he slowly pulled the tissue paper away from the fabric underneath.

He examined the outfit. A little, dark green tunic with golden trimmings; little dark green pants to match. She thought it may be a little small for him? Well, of course it would be! These were baby clothes!

Wait.

He gasped and looked up to her, realizing just what he was looking at. Those were baby clothes!

"Are you serious?" He breathed out, noticing her lips begin to quiver and tears welling up in her eyes. She nodded, a single tear running down her cheek. "How do you know?" She didn't look pregnant. She hadn't gotten sick. She bugged him about watermelon sometimes, but Sokka always bugged them about jerky, that didn't mean he was pregnant!

"Toph told me." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her face fell and she cried as she kept her eyes focused on her nails as messed with them. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" He gently grabbed her by the forearm, pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders. She nodded. "Why are you sorry?"

"What are we gunna do!" She cried out, sobbing down into his chest, allowing him to tighten his arms around her.

"We're gunna have a baby." He informed, keeping his tone calm and collected as he placed a kiss atop her head.

"How am I supposed to tell Sokka?" She asked, leaning back to look at him. "We can't just let him figure this one out on his own this time." She added quickly, knowing this would be something Zuko would suggest. She groaned, looking around the room sadly. "We're in the middle of the war, we're not even married," She trailed off, mumbling other worries incoherently.

Zuko placed a hand under her chin, having her look up at him in the eye. "Babies are born everyday, I'll marry you." He assured. She furrowed her brow, not believing him about the marriage part at all.

She pulled away from him, but kept her focus on his amber eyes. "I don't want you to marry me because you feel like you have to!" She cried out, unsure if he would have said the same thing had she not been carrying his baby. "I want you to marry me because you want to!"

"I do want to!" He admitted, cupping her face into his palms. "I love you." He felt her try to tug away, but he put his arms back around her and pulled her into his lap. "I do." He assured softly before kissing her. He pulled away and placed his forehead to hers, staring into her tear filled cerulean eyes.

She looked absolutely terrified, but he picked up on a flash of comfort that went through her expression. He was scared, too, but hid it the best he could for her sake.

His mindset had been changed, set in stone. He was going to this. They were going to this. They were going to end the war. They had to and they would. This group was unstoppable, there was nothing they couldn't do. They had already brought a baby into the world, -even though it wasn't theirs - why couldn't they do it again?

He huffed and leaned back into the wall, still cradling her in his arms. He imagined what life was going to be like with her. He had known he loved her for sometime, even if he hadn't actually registered it or came to terms with it. He had gotten Master Takumi to carve him a stone with a custom insignia months ago. He hadn't intended on asking her then, it was far too soon and he wasn't even sure he had really did love her then or if it was just a wave of emotion crashing over him, making his thoughts and choices foggy and sudden, acting on impulse.

But he was glad he had gotten it done. He fell for her quickly. Looking back he could tell. He hadn't noticed then, but now it was obvious. He loved her. He really did. He was scared, he worried about something happening to her and the baby, or what kind of father he would be, but as long as she was there going through it with him, he was positive everything was going to be just fine.

His ease and state of calmness proved that it would be fine. Had this been him a few months ago, he was sure he'd been angry, terribly frustrated, and frightened to death. But he wasn't. He was actually kind of happy about it. Of course, somethings had be taken care of, the war, their relationship status, but he was going to have a happy little baby with the girl he loved.

They were going to end the war. He knew this. He would give her the necklace eventually, he was sure she'd say yes, so that was fine. After the war ended, he was sure his uncle would take the throne, he would have his banishment revoked, he'd live in the palace and he hoped she would like it there. That was pretty much taken care of. Everything would be fine.

Zuko told her this, assuring her that everything was going to be fine until he was sure she was asleep.

He huffed and pulled the covers up over them to her shoulder, assuring himself that everything would be fine as he fell into his own slumber.

A/N: I can't tell you how long I've wanted to write this. Leave a review! Tell me what you think, please!