AN: Okay so this is the first fic that doesn't have any song lyrics in it because it's only based on a song. Actually it's based on two: Secret Valentine by We The Kings and Just Say You're Not Into It by Mayday Parade. You should have seen the latter coming: I'm too much of a Mayday Parade freak not to use at least one of their songs. Anyway, the fic is based on the general feel Secret Valentine gives and not so much it's lyrics; the Mayday Parade song actually has lyrics much more suited for the song. I just used the name of Secret Valentine because it suited the feel much better (you'll see what I mean once you've read it) and because Just Say You're Not Into It was much too long.

So look both sets of lyrics up to get the full feel or, even better, listen to the songs while reading this. I'm pretty sure it'll make the experience that much better to have good music distracting you from the shortness and cliché nature of this fic.

This one is written for AnnaAza because she was my 300th reviewer! Thanks for your support; you deserve this! I hope it meets your expectations… And thanks to every single other person who has ever reviewed: you guys rock.

Please note: No, there is no mature content in this fic. It might breach to the T+ level but it won't go further than that, except in your minds ;) So don't stop reading just because it looks like it's going to go 'somewhere'. I'd never write something like that.

Disclaimer: Still no owno any ATLA

Secret Valentine

Music muffled by distance and the locked door washed over her as she lay in utter bliss. Warmth and comfort encircled her and she breathed in slowly, sucking in the scent she loved so much. As she exhaled her loose hair fluttered across her cheek, tickling her. Warm fingers stroked the hair back behind her ear gently, lingering on her skin in a way that made her shiver. Her head rose and fell a few millimeters as he inhaled and exhaled. The only thing that was breaking her utter comfort was the way her dress was rumpled into a hard ball under her hip. It was uncomfortable and bad for the expensive and pretty item of clothing but she just could not bring herself to move to pull it straight again. And it wasn't as if her legs were cold because of the hiked up dress: he was keeping her more than warm enough.

His breath tickled her ear and she smiled, still keeping her eyes closed. She could quite easily fall asleep right there for a long time, and she was sure her dreams would be amazing. But she could not allow herself to; the party was still in full swing downstairs. And besides, she refused to miss even an instant with him. Even just lying curled up to him was enough to make her heart ache with joy.

The joy disappeared as quickly as a blink when, with a sigh, he sat up. Her eyes flew open and began to look over every inch of his body, memorizing the sight of him hungrily. She did not know when she would see him next, and she needed to keep something with her while she waited. As if guessing her thoughts, he stroked both of her cheeks, looking into her eyes the whole time.

"Bumi is having a party in two months," he said softly.

"Two months!" Her heart plummeted. That long?

"Can you survive until then?" His voice was slightly mocking.

"I guess I have no choice but to try…"

Their next kiss was long and tinged with bitterness; goodbyes were never easy. But life had to go on; there was only so long they could stop time. And anyway, she mused to herself as she unlocked the door and headed back into the music, it was only two months… It could have been much longer. But it was only two months. Just two short little months…

-x-x-x-

Drums sounded and dresses flashed as girls got whirled along the dance-floor. Katara stood by her little family, wearing an Earth Kingdom-styled dress that had been dyed blue in her honor. Her blue eyes never stopped searching the arriving people as she nervously played with the loose strands of her hair. Suki had wanted to do it up in a very elaborate fashion but Katara had politely refused, saying that she wanted to be able to redo her own hair if it came undone. And so Suki had done the style on a now-ravishing Toph instead and Katara had simply knotted her hair and adorned it with little blue crystals.

She barely listened as Sokka ranted how Bumi's food was so much better than the last party's had been, and she didn't even catch Toph's snide remark that if he kept eating so much rich food every two months when there was a party he'd end up fatter than Suki, who was very apparently pregnant by now. Sokka's attempt at defending his wife fell so short of the mark that Aang's laughter brought Katara out of her stupor for a moment, but it was not long before she anxiously began searching people's faces again.

Aang sidled up to her and began talking, although she wasn't really sure what the topic was. She smiled and nodded and answered when she had to but he could have been telling her about his desire to make Momo wear a dress and take dancing lessons for all she knew. And then suddenly her heart stopped and all the air was crushed out of her lungs as she spotted the face she'd been looking for. Toph's head turned in her direction and the look on the Earthbender's face told Katara just how erratically her heart was beating.

Toph knows, Toph knows… Or has she always known…?

The Earthbender said and did nothing, though, and Katara let out a sigh of relief. She made a mental note to talk to Toph privately when the party was over and then allowed her mind to wander back to the topic it wanted to be occupied with.

"Katara? Katara?"

She jumped and looked guiltily at the Avatar.

"I'm sorry, Aang. I got distracted. What did you say?"

"I asked if Bumi gave you a nice room too," Aang repeated, only looking faintly put out.

"Oh yes, my room is wonderful." She cleared her throat and raised her voice. "I have the bedroom in the left wing that faces the palace gardens. And the door is pretty too; it's a lovely, distinctive cream colour with a wood-mark the shape of a teardrop on its right."

"I got the one with the biggest bed," Aang grinned. "It's got this huge canopy that…"

Katara glanced at her guy out of the corner of her eye and saw him excuse himself from the people he was talking to. As an excuse he said he needed some time to walk in the fresh air. They accepted the excuse; he took an hour off to be alone at every party. She waited for Aang to finish with his in-depth explanation of his room before she told the gaang she was going for a stroll around the halls for a while to get her breath back. They let her go without question; she took an hour off for herself at every party she attended.

-x-x-

The halls were deserted and dark as she slipped quietly through them, and she was utterly relieved. Reaching the bedroom she was staying in she quietly slipped inside, keeping her eyes firmly on the door and not letting them wander around the dark and silent room. She bolted the door firmly and then leaned her forehead against the wood, listening intently for any signs that she had been followed. There were none, and after about twenty seconds she let out a sigh of relief.

Her sigh seemed to be his summoning. Suddenly, without a whisper of warning, he was right behind her and his cheek was pressed to hers. She opened her eyes and turned around slowly to face him. For a moment she just stared at him, hungrily mesmerizing his face and eyes. Then her self-control crumbled to nothingness and she flung her arms around him and dragged his lips to hers.

Like every time before he started the kiss off very slowly and took it up a notch only when she was sure she'd explode if she had to wait a second longer. As the kiss deepened and became steadily wilder she felt herself begin to come alive in every nerve cell in her body. She craved more, and yet he was persistently taking it slow…

"Stop it," she moaned, finally unable to take it any longer. "I need you too kiss me. I need you to kiss me…"

He grinned and scooped her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers with all the might he could. She inhaled sharply through her nose and all her muscles tensed as heat as intense as the sun flooded through her body. With a little sigh she melted into the heat, loving the way his lips moved with hers now. She had always been afraid of burning, but she had recently realized that this type of burning was as pleasurable as breathing. She let the fire spread through her as she fiercely kissed him back. Through the twisting, all-consuming fire she was vaguely aware of his hands raking through her hair and a very small part of her was pleased at her decision to go with the easier hairstyle. She knew the little crystals must be scattering all over the floor as his fingers attacked her brown locks, but she didn't care. Everything in her world, every sound and taste and feeling and smell and emotion and action, was him. Purely him.

"Zuko…" she sighed, unable to keep his name off of her lips for a second longer.

His lips left hers and trailed instead down her jaw and neck, kissing the flesh there sporadically. Somehow he knew exactly where to kiss to make her skin burn as much as her insides did. As he kissed and nuzzled and sometimes even nibbled she whispered in his ear how much she'd missed him and longed for him and counted the days. And suddenly he lifted his mouth to her ear and whispered her name so that his breath tickled her.

The rest of her self-control seemed to vanish and she began pulling him towards her bed, relishing in the way his hands gripped her hair so tightly. Annoyance broke through the burning bliss as she wished that he was wearing a shirt instead of robes so that she could take off the material in one smooth motion and stroke the beautiful skin she knew was waiting underneath. But her annoyance was short-lived as they reached the bed and toppled onto it. She lay on her back with her hands curved into his loose hair, which was still not an inch longer than it had been on the day the war had ended. He suspended himself above her on his hands and kept her body firmly between his knees. She wanted him closer; her hands grabbed his robe and tugged him down. She wanted him closer…

Suddenly the heat and slight pressure disappeared from above her and instead reappeared next to her on the bed. Both of them now lay on their backs, panting and flushed. While Katara's body and skin wanted him to come back and go further, her heart and mind loved him all the more for stopping. He had made it perfectly clear on the first night, the night the insane ritual had started, that he would not go beyond a certain point until they were married. She understood, respected and agreed wholeheartedly to the decision when she thought about it rationally, but when she was with him… It was so hard…

She leaned her cheek against his shoulder and his arms circled around her, playing with the sleeve of her now very rumpled dress. She could hear his heartbeat and she smiled a little smugly at how quick it was. For a while they just lay there in utter silence, calming themselves down and just enjoying the moment. He kissed her forehead abruptly.

"Tell me how the arrangements for your little niece or nephew are going," he asked suddenly.

She smiled and snuggled closer to him, remembering how handsome he had looked at Sokka's wedding, even after her brother had accidentally dumped the pudding on him. She told him about the baby shower and about the little sparring matches Sokka and Suki had had to decide on names and how they still hadn't decided where they would build their home yet; South Pole of Kyoshi Island. After the news about Sokka and Suki the conversation continued, flowing naturally and easily. She found herself being lulled by the sound of his voice as he told her about Iroh's latest shopping catastrophe. It made her happy enough to burst when she realized that they could tell each other anything and everything; the relationship was not just physical attraction. After a long while of snuggling and talking, Zuko suddenly sighed.

"Our hour is up," Katara stated miserably.

"Aang will be looking for you." There was muted jealousy in his voice.

"And Mai will be looking for you." Her tone matched his exactly. "When is the next party?"

"I don't know… But if it gets to a month and a half and there are still no sounds of one coming soon then I will make one myself. Uncle will be thrilled to have free reign."

She giggled. "You'd better give me a good bedroom."

"You know I will. Not that it will matter; we'll meet in mine."

The idea sent a flash of emotion rushing through her, and she had to swallow for fear of her heart leaping right out of her mouth. Zuko sat up and gently took her face in his hands before kissing her softly and gently. She put all her raw emotion into her answering kiss, wishing that they did not have to go. They both got up and Katara redid his hair while he straightened his robes. Then, with one last, long look at her, he left. She bolted the door after him again and leaned her forehead against the wood and let herself begin to sob. She slid to the ground, covered her mouth with her hands to stifle the sound, and cried. She didn't cry because of guilt of what she was doing behind everybody's backs or jealousy or even frustration. She cried because she had to let him go for an extended period of time again, and it hurt her so much to let him slip away even for an instant. And she never knew for sure that he would come back the next time… Living without him was almost unbearable…

She stood up, walked to her mirror and combed her hair back into the style it had been in before. Then she crawled around the room and found every one of the little crystals and put them back in her hair. Bending some water out of the basin on her table she smoothed her dress and washed her face. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and gathered the truth; her utter and immense love for the Fire Lord, the way she craved to just hear him speak and all the dreams she had of their future and she shoved them in a mental drawer. Unbolting her bedroom door and walking back down to the party she locked the mental drawer, knowing it would stay securely shut until the next party was held.