a/n Thank you for the feedback and following! I'm so glad you liked the previous chapter!
So this chapter is written a little bit more from Katara's POV and it doesn't have as much simultaneous stuff as the last chapter (so more like Chapter 4). This chapter is still M-ish, but not as much and… well I guess you'll just have to read and see!

Chapter 9 ~Sorry~

-Katara-

It wasn't until he kissed her that she noticed the burns. She could tell he knew something was wrong, so she tried to distract him by asking him how she did.

His reply had made her smile, but she couldn't look at him. She knew she was a horrible liar, her eyes always displaying her thoughts. Agni! She swore in her

head as she traced the inside of her mouth with her tongue, feeling burn welts forming.

"Have you ever done this before?" he asked her, distracting her from her discreet inspection.

"Yes," she quickly muttered and resumed. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could sense his shoulders square and his body tense. Apparently, he's

the jealous type. She noted in her head. The pain was becoming insistent, demanding to be acknowledged. Almost on a subconscious level, she heard him

repeatedly asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't answer. Answering would require talking and that cause her more pain. Agni! Why? Her mind shouted.

The pain was all she could think about. She had to heal herself.

She sighed and took a step back from him so she'd have enough room to bend some water and heal her burns. The water flowed into her mouth, incased her

hands, and started glowing their soothing blue. Her eyes were closed while she healed herself, gratefully feeling the pain of every burn fade. She let go of the

water and it splashed onto the sand. When she opened her eyes, she found him staring at her. His fists clenched, eyebrows knit, and his teeth ground back

and forth. She didn't understand the hatred she now read in his eyes.

"Zuko?" she asked gently as she moved closer to him, lifting her right arm wanting stroke his cheek. He instantly stepped back.

"Don't." he replied, his voice cold and thick with malice. He roughly refastened his pants. She frowned and dropped her hand. Did I do something wrong? She

thought.

"Zuko, I'm sorry." Was the only thing she could think to say. His eyebrows shot up and his face grew red, angrier if possible.

"You're sorry!" Her mind floundered for an explanation to his mood, but came up with nothing. She looked down at her hands, now clasped in front of her.

"Katara," her gaze lifted at the sound of her name.

"Yes?" she asked softly. His anger seemed to be fading.

"I'm the one who should be sorry." He said softly, "And I am. I. Am. So. Sorry." Each word came out forcefully, as if willing her to accept them and forgive him.

For what? She didn't know.

"For what?" she asked, voicing her thoughts. She needed clarification. He groaned.

"For everything," he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his hand. "For hurting you," his voice was so quiet she was surprised she had

heard him. Her eyes widened. "I think I should go." He added. He turned and started walking passed her, back up the trail to the Palace.

"Zuko!" she all but shouted and reached out for his arm. Her hands caught his left arm by the wrist and she pulled around, back to her. With her left hand, she

arrested his other wrist. Now he stood in front of her. Before he bent his head, she caught the look on his face and it showed that he was really surprised. She

held onto his wrists tightly, ensuring that he couldn't easily escape. "Zuko," her voice was softer now, "I'm fi-"

"No, you're not." He interrupted her venomously. His voice directed at the space between them and not at her face. "You don't know how sorry I am for burning

you. I am a monster." What he said shocked her so much that she let go of his wrists. How did she go about correcting him? Sure, it had hurt for a while, but

she had healed herself and she was all better now. She couldn't think of anything to say. So she just reached out, grabbed him by his bare shoulders, and

crushed him to her. At first, he tensed in her arms, but as the seconds ticked by his arms reached around to complete their embrace and she felt him relax. Her

hands wandered across his sculpted back. He was so strong and lean. She turned her head so she could kiss his neck and smell his unique scent. She sighed.

"Zuko," she said softly into his ear, "you are not a monster." She felt him open his mouth to protest, but she continued on, ignoring him. "You said it was

'hands down the best thing I've ever felt,' and-"

"But it was not worth hurting you." He interrupted. His voice sounded muffled because he had his face buried in her hair. Reluctantly, she gave up her hole in

his neck to lean away a little to look at him dead in the eyes.

"Zuko, I healed myself. I. Am. Fine." She annunciated the last words very clearly.

-Zuko-

Here she was again, repeating that she was fine and that he wasn't a monster. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Why couldn't she see how horrible and

selfish he had acted? And that he didn't deserve her apologies or comfort. He heard her huff in annoyance and opened his eyes.

"What can I do to make you understand that I'm fine, now?" she asked, almost glaring at him. Nothing, because you're not! was the retort that instantly came to

mind, but he held his tongue. Two paths stretched before him. He could selfishly accept her apology or face up to what he'd done. There was really only one

option.

"There is nothing you can do," he replied calmly, "I burned you in the most selfish way possible, and I am so sorry."

"Zuko," she sighed and reached up to cup his left cheek. He couldn't help but lean into her soothing touch, "I don't understand why you can't see that I'm fine.

I love you and you don-"

"What did you say?" he asked quickly, tightening his grip around her bare waist––the place between her top and skirt. He stared into her eyes, searching for a

sign that she was lying. Her eyes glimmered back at him in pure honesty and she smiled. He couldn't believe his ears. Had she really just said the "L" word? No

one besides his mother and his uncle had ever told him that they loved him. Her other hand moved and caressed his right cheek, so she held his head with

both of her hands.

"Zuko, no matter what you do or say, I am in love with you."

-Katara-

Telling Zuko that she loved him had slipped out by accident at first, but now that she had said it, she didn't want to stop. She had never told anyone outside

her family that she loved them. Only within the last few days (Agni, last hours she corrected herself) had she started to associate her feelings for him with love.

She quickly reviewed the evidence: Almost every time their eyes met, she felt a connection and a zap like an electric shock. After the whole Southern Raiders

event (and she had forgiven him), she couldn't understand her own feelings. Now it all made sense. I am in love with him she repeated over and over in her

mind.

"I-I-I…" he stammered at a loss for words. Suddenly, it seemed he couldn't stand that they were apart, all be it a few inches, and he engulfed her back into an

embrace. "I love you, too." He breathed in her ear. His warm breath tickled and his words made her heart melt.

They stood like that for a while, perfectly folded in each other's arms. The moon rested in the middle of the sky, casting its pale light across the sandy beach. A

light breeze started rustling the nearby palm trees. His heartbeat steadied and she could feel its rhythm like it was her own. She heard him sigh and he leaned

back to look at her.

"We should go inside. It's late." He murmured. There was a reluctant undertone to his voice. Almost against his will, she watched as his eyes drooped a little.

He was tired. She giggled. Then her giggle turned into a roaring laugh. Her vision blurred she was laughing so hard. He cupped her face in both of his warm

hands. He must think I'm crazy she thought idly and continued to laugh. A tear actually slipped out of her right eye and started down her face before he softly

wiped it away.

"What's so funny?" he asked, a hint of concern was etched in his face and voice, so she tried to explain.

"I rise with the moon. You rise with the Sun.'" she paraphrased. He smiled slightly, but he still looked worried. It took two deep breaths before her laughter

subsided. "I love you," she said, again. He groaned.

"And I you." he whispered before he leaned down and kissed her.

Now that they had both acknowledged their mutual love, their kisses took on a new passion. And she found that their other kisses had been dull in

comparison. She moaned against his lips.

"Agni," he mumbled into her mouth. Her hands found their way back into his fantastic hair. They pushed and tugged on it, changing the depth of their

connection. His right hand gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear, while his left hand pressed against her bare waist to keep her firmly against him. As they

kissed, she felt so turned on and her under-wrapping became wetter and wetter. If the granite column pressing against her stomach was anything to go off,

she could tell he was turned on too. Her thoughts were scattering. She released his hair and her hands fumbled with the knot on her top. All she could think

about was Zuko and that she wanted all the barriers between them broken. Too bad he already had done up his pants… Ha! Ha! Success! She thought as the

knot gave way. With a small step back and a fluent wave of her arm, she stood topless in front of him.

A few boys had seen this much of her, but no boy she loved. Zuko looked down into her eyes. His fingers dusted her shoulders, sending shivers up and down

her spine. The shivery feeling and the gentle wind made her nipples pucker. But as nice as it felt, he could have touched her shoulders earlier. She wanted

them both to fully appreciate and experience her being topless.

"Have you ever seen a woman topless before, Zuko?" she whispered.

-Zuko-

Wow. She was now topless, but he wasn't sure what he should do. His fingers skated absently over her shoulders.

"Have you ever seen a woman topless before, Zuko?" she whispered. A few horrible memories of seeing concubines sneak in or out of the firelord's chambers

flashed through his mind. Surely, your father's sex slaves didn't count? He thought. And he shook his head in disgust.

"No one that I love," he answered softly.

"Concubines." She said, guessing his previous thoughts. Although she hadn't asked a question, he felt compelled to answer and explain.

"Yes," he nodded grimly, "they'd often sneak in or out of my father's chambers…" his voice faded. Her revulsion was clear, so in an attempt to lighten the mood

he added, "There was also the occasionally topless woman at the beach." She gasped then playfully wacked him on the arm. The smack on his arm didn't hurt,

but the way her breasts jiggled with the motion made him groan ever so softly.

"When did you ever have time to go to the beach?" she teased.

"Well, it's been a long time, but this is… or was… my family's vacation home." A smile flickered across his lips, remembering the few happy memories he had of

this place.

"Zuko." Her voice was so quiet he wasn't sure if she even knew she had said it aloud. It seemed she liked to hear and say his name as much as he liked hear

and say hers.

"Katara." He replied equally quiet. She smiled, clearly hearing him, and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her. The feeling was

novel to him. It was odd at first, almost like hugging a warm pillow, but he soon reveled in it. Oh, Agni! He groaned. Her soft skin pushing against his bare chest

felt fantastic.

Their faces were so close together their noses touched. Her beautiful blue eyes shone with love. Love. During the past six years, he had never concerned

himself with girls (well there was that one date his Uncle arranged in Ba Sing Se…), let alone thought of love. Now he couldn't think of anything else. He loved

her. I love Katara he repeated in his mind. Just thinking those words made his heart (and another part of him) swell.

She hadn't leaned in to kiss him yet. She just stared back into his eyes.

"I love you," she whispered and his heart skipped, "and I want you, but only when you're ready." His heart fell and his hot, coursing blood chilled. He wasn't

ready. He wasn't prepared to risk burning his love. But to keep them off this dark subject he pretended to misunderstand her and dug the front of his straining

pants into her taut belly. She threw her head back and laughed. "You know what I mean." She scolded gently. He sighed.

"No, I'm not ready." He whispered, shaking his head, "I'm sorry."

a/n So...what did you think?! If you hate cliffhangers then "I'm sorry." ^_~
Thanks for reading and please review! :)