Katara laughed and ran further up the hill, glancing back to see Zuko lugging up the basket. Beneath them the capitol shone in the early morning sun. Zuko had insisted they set off well before dawn, and though she had managed to delay him a good hour, they were still in time to see the roofs glisten with dew and sunbeams.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the harsh light.

"Yes, it is." She glanced down to see him staring at her, and she blushed. The morning breeze turned her crimson dress into a swirl of fire around her form, her hair tussled and dancing about her face. As Zuko came the last few feet up the hill his head eclipsed the new sun, leaving a yellow halo around his messy hair (which had been much neater before Katara decided to distract him), his eyes glinting in his shadowed face. In the darkness, Katara reflected, no skin is scarred.

Zuko dropped the picnic basket, not ungently, and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers. She returned the kiss hungrily. He did not respond, other than to kiss deeper. Eventually she pulled back, a puzzle in her eyes, but Zuko's eyes held a different kind of fire. His smile wasn't sly or cruel, as it often was, but sweet. Gentle. Even the scarred skin around his left eye seemed softer, his burned eye not as angry as it had always looked.

Zuko laughed, and pulled her close again, rougher this time, more like his usual self. His lips found her soft neck and picked a circle of flesh, sucking and kissing by turns as she moaned. When she felt the skin tingling he withdrew again, however. Her irritation grew.

"Are we going to set up breakfast, then?" she asked, her voice too sharp.

"I have something to show you first."

"There's only one thing I want to see right now, Zuzu," she said, glancing down not so subtly.

He laughed again. Why was his laugh making her so angry? She beat at his chest futilely, and he caught her wrists fast between his hands. "I think you'll like this, too, Katara." His calm gave her pause, and she waited patiently as he knelt before the basket, finally wondering why they had come this far way for an ordinary breakfast. As Zuko straightened her eyes glittered with puzzle again, but this time more curious than lusty.

Zuko held out a parcel, fitting into his two palms, undefined in shape. He held it out and smiled. She took it carefully, slowly undoing the intricate knot, then peeking into the paper wrapping. She saw a ribbon and pulled it out.

The ribbon was beautiful, a blue silk with scarlet stitching that traced suggestive curves along its length, each strand blossoming into a half dozen plumes like fireworks, making the blue sea of fabric sparkle. No – the sparkle came from tiny rubies embedded at each bursting point, dozens all along the ribbon, twinkling in the scarlet morning. So entrancing were the gemstones that Katara did not even notice the polished clay trinket until it swung in the breeze, reflecting the sun's rays directly into her eyes. She blinked back a tear, her body recognizing before her conscious mind could, and as her vision returned to her the symbol became apparent: A burning wave, mix of Fire and Water, beautifully wrought and shimmering in combinations of deep navy and bright crimson. Her eyes welled up as she recognized the marriage necklace, so alike to her grandmother's, yet so much more beautiful, and not for the silk and gems. Beautiful because, of all the stupid things to first think when she was proposed to, the twinkling necklace reminded her of Zuko's eyes.

Katara choked back a sob as Zuko placed his hands around hers, the necklace held inside, and bent his head down to touch her forehead. "Katara?" he asked, sounding so much more composed than she felt. "Will you be my queen?" The tears were flowing freely now, but Katara could only smile and gasp, for all the world looking like a pained fish. Zuko must have anticipated her paralysis, though, for he stepped to her side and swept an arm across the crimson sea of buildings to the distance. "A nation can be the heaviest burden to bear, its every beauty hanging on the mind of its ruler. But ever since we've been together, every building under my care is not half so beautiful as you. Katara, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, reigning with you by my side. When I'm with you, there is nothing I cannot accomplish. You are already the queen of my heart; say yes now and I'll make you the queen of my subjects' hearts as well."

It was too much. Katara could only cry, smiling and crumpling against Zuko's shoulder. He smiled down and her and held her hands, taking the necklace lightly from her clenched fingers. He helped her straighten up and offered the necklace to her throat, a question in his eye. A question he knew the answer to. Katara merely nodded, barely seeing him for her veil of tears, and then she felt the ribbon slipping softly around her throat. When it was secured it felt like a gentle kiss, a light hug, the trinket the only part of it hinting at its weight. She reached up and felt the clay, felt the traced lines beneath her fingers, and then threw herself at her fiancé.

Whereas five minutes ago they would have hit the ground already naked, Katara was busy planting wet happy kisses all over Zuko's face, and he was trying to keep up. His arms felt so good around her, and her whole body felt numb, not daring to believe in what had happened. When her eyes dried she felt she might never be able to shed a tear again. She laughed, which turned into a cough, which made Zuko laugh. She looked deep into his eyes and found herself smiling even wider. "Yes, Zuko, I will marry you."

Katara realized she was crying again. She reached to wipe them away, and Zuko asked what was wrong. "This is so perfect," Katara whispered, not wanting her voice to rend through this mystical veil of dreams. "How can anything feel so good again?"

Zuko answered immediately. "Every second I spend with you, you grow more beautiful. Each second adds love and passion to my heart for you. Katara, how could it not?"

Amid tears and smiles the two fell to the blanket, rage forgotten, pasts forgotten, sins and dishonors irrelevant. In this moment Katara and Zuko found peace, and what a perfect picture they painted on its canvas.

Slowly they kissed again, her lovingness and fortitude layering on him like armor. In their passion it melted, molding perfectly to his body, becoming a part of his soul. Words were spoken, though in vain. Everything they needed to say was shared without voices, each sigh and hug louder than shouts, kisses more directed than whispers.

When time drew short, Katara did not begrudge it. They had had their perfection, their love had been immortalized in a sweet moment. Two floodgates let loose, and as one they floated down the stream, turbulence subsiding, until they drifted on a silent pond, bodies twirling around each other, fingers barely touching, but as inseparable as night and day. Like the moon she circled him, and like the sun he followed her, and in peace they awaited the world to come crashing back.