CHAPTER SIX

Who is he to boss me around? But Katara couldn't turn down Zuko even if she knew he was provoking her. Not when the moonlight streaming through the ice ceiling lit up his scar the way it had months ago in his courtyard garden. She boldly snaked her free arm around his neck, pulling their bodies flush against each other. It didn't take earth bending powers for both of them to detect each other's jumping heart rate.

"I'm not the one who should be scared," she hissed, biting her lip. She inwardly smirked when Zuko's smooth cheek reddened. If this was their last dance together, she would make sure he never forgot it. No matter which noblewoman he made Fire Lady, she would not let him forget Katara.

For a moment, Zuko closed his eyes and breathed in her hair's salty, fresh scent. Then his eyes snapped open, narrowing as the water bender lit up fiercely in the face of a challenge. His Katara was back. They were sparring, not dancing. And it was Zuko's turn to take the offensive. He trailed his hand from her shoulder blades to the small of her back and relished her involuntary shiver. Applying slight pressure on that spot, he prompted her to spin with him.

So he wants to take control, Katara mused. As he spun her away from his body, she trailed her fingernails across his calloused palm. Her white dress billowed in a circle before twisting tantalizingly around her legs. Her dance partner gulped. The next move was his.

His gravelly voice stirred her. "You're still wearing my ring." Not an accusation. A question.

"I've never taken it off." An answer. Bold, she knew, yet she still couldn't say what she wanted to say. But if not now, then when? She shuddered as goosebumps prickled across her neck where his breath heated her.

"Good." Zuko felt the tsunami of tension that had built up in his chest all evening flood out to the ocean. He almost laughed, relief trickling from every pore. Katara melted against him.

Slowly, their elaborate movements stilled. Katara wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck. She rested her head on his chest. Clearly he had been keeping up with his fire bending training despite his long hours at the palace. His hands ignited flutters against her hips. They moved in slow circles. Katara couldn't steady her breathing.

This wasn't how friends danced. Friends didn't touch each other like they were thirsty to explore every inch of each other's skin. Friends didn't wear their commitment to each other on their fingers and concealed in their fiery eyes. Aang's whispers never burned Katara up from inside the way Zuko's could.

The flourish of drums signaled the song winding down. Not willing to let her go until the final beat faded, Zuko pulled Katara closer still to him. Paralyzed on the dance floor.

Toph's feet saw the two benders embracing. She steered Aang's back towards the couple, keeping him distracted by rambling about her latest fight in the ring. Because Toph was so focused on maintaining the Avatar's focus, she did not pay attention to Chief Hakoda. The greying man rose from his table, neglecting the feast before him to catch a better glimpse of his dancing daughter. Her white dress stood out like a snowflake in summer. Her face was flushed, presumably from the exercise. But her face glowed as if she was snuggled up against a campfire. One look at her partner told Hakoda that his face was the campfire lighting up his daughter.

Spirits, Hakoda groaned. He knew that look on Katara's face because he had seen it on her mother's face years ago, directed towards him. It had beckoned him across the very same great hall when…

Hakoda's memories ground to a halt as he watched his daughter hesitantly traced the Fire Lord's scar with a gentle hand. Beside him, Master Pakku gaped. The Fire Lord tugged on Katara's hair until her face turned up to look at him. Katara's smile disappeared, but her glow intensified. Slowly, agonizingly, her partner lowered his head until their noses bumped.

Where was the Avatar?

Katara's cool skin against Zuko's face mesmerized him. He could close the gap— lean forward like they had practiced during what seemed like ages ago.

Not like this. Katara couldn't break Aang's heart like this. She inhaled Zuko's smoky warmth once more before dodging his head and brushing her lips across his cheek. Letting go of him, she curtsied and maneuvered her way through the dancers until she reached Aang and Toph.

"I'm so thirsty," Katara mumbled, more to herself than to her friends.

"Let's get a drink!" Aang suggested. "I want more of that sea prune punch. Hey, have you seen Sokka recently?"

Toph jumped in. "I haven't! He's probably by the food, though. That man could eat his way though the great hall and still be hungry." Aang chortled. Toph eyed his bride. "Listen, Aang, we're going to head to the restroom. Meet you in a few."

Once Aang's bald head disappeared among the guests, Toph tugged Katara through the crowd. The water bender allowed herself to be pulled along until they reached a private corridor in the recesses of the lodge.

"What was that?" Toph accused.

"What was what?"

"That kiss with Zuko."

"We didn't kiss."

"Look, Sugar Queen, you might as well have kissed him. I could feel your heart pounding from halfway across the dance floor. What was that?"

"A goodbye," Katara replied evenly.

Toph snorted. "For someone who acts so selfless, you sure are selfish." Katara spluttered, but Toph forged ahead. "You know you can't love Aang the way he wants to be loved, but you won't let go and give him a chance to find that love."

"He needs my protection," spat Katara. "I can keep him safe and care for him."

"I don't know how much cactus juice you've been drinking tonight, but if you can't see that you'd be happier with Zuko, then you don't deserve to be happy. If you noodle brains haven't figured out how you feel by now… I'm not going to waste my time trying to fix you." Toph stomped away, the great hall floor trembling with her frustration.