Zuko

I sit on Appa with the Reigns in my hands as Katara sleeps in the saddle behind me. It's taking a lot more self control than I'd like to admit to not stare at her. Whenever I glance behind me I see her long thick tresses are covering the top half of her body like a blanket. It's almost dusk, and what's left of the sunlight makes her skin seem to glow. Her eyes are closed, and it lets me see just how thick her eyelashes are. Her lips are parted and a soft rosy pink.

Yeah, I really need to avoid looking at her mouth. If I look at her mouth then all I want to do is pull her close and kiss her, which she'd probably drown me for doing. Or bend the blood in my body to keep me from touching her. No, I need to keep my thinking away from that.

Even if she does decide to forgive me, I don't think she could ever think about me in that way. She's hated me for too long, and It's clear that Aang already has feelings for her. He's too immature for her to reciprocate those feelings anytime soon, but I'm sure someday she will. He's the Avatar after all, and he's never hurt her the way I have.

Behind me, I hear her groaning in her sleep. Turning to look, I see she's tossing and rolling, undoubtedly having a nightmare.

"Alright, Appa, just keep following the Ember Star. The Island is right under it." I pat his head and get up to go in the saddle with her. The Ember star is what the Island was named after, and it's always one of the first to appear in the sky
"Katara." I sigh and stroke her hair with my hand, trying to wake her up gently like my mother used to wake me. Mistake. Her hair is soft as silk, and I know I'll want to tangle my fingers in it every time I see her from now on. But she doesn't wake up. Instead, she calms down.

"Zuko," She breathes as she settles, making my heart skip a couple beats.

Don't read into it. She's Scared, and you're just the one here. I tell myself. But even so I have to smile. It may be on a subconscious level, but she feels safe with me. So I sit in the saddle with her as she sleeps, and I keep stroking her hair. It makes her feel safe, and it is probably the last time I'll ever get to do it. It's even thicker and heavier than it looks, and just so, so beautiful.

"Sleep, Water Princess." I whisper. "We'll be there soon."

….

We get to Ember Island less than an hour later, right at Sunset. As much as I hate to rouse her, I know we'll need cloud cover so I take my fingers out of Katara's hair and gently shake her shoulder.
"Katara. Katara wake up."
"Hmmmm. Zuko? Are we there?"

"Yeah. We need some cloud cover though for Appa to touch down. Think you can manage it?" Stupid question. She stopped rain last night, she can handle clouds.

"Yeah." She says and gets up to stretch. I notice as she raises her arms over her head there's a slight tear in her dress right on her stomach, showing just a sliver of skin.

I'm in trouble. If even just a sliver of her skin under her dress is enough to send a rush of heat through me, I'm in big trouble.

Katara bends a thick cloud around us and I go grab Appa's reins and steer us into the courtyard of my family's vacation home to land. He sets down and I jump off, reaching up to offer my hand to help Katara down. She hesitates just a second, but takes it.

"Thank you, Zuko." She says quietly. I let go of her hand and scratch the back of my neck.

"No problem."
"So where are we?"
"My family's old vacation home on Ember Island."

"What?" Her eyes widen. "Are you Crazy?" We're trying to hide from your father. We can't make camp at his house!"
"My family hasn't come here in years, since before my mother disappeared. It's abandoned, and the best place we could hide. Who would think to look for us here, and no one's going to find us by accident. There's no one crazy enough to trespass on the Fire Lord's property. Well, except for me, I guess."

"Oh…Alright then. Why'd you take me here first instead of going to get everyone else on the way? You'd basically have to pass them to get to Ember Island if I remember the maps correctly."
"Yeah, but you've had a rough few days. I thought you could use the time to process everything that's happened, especially since I know you'll be bombarded with questions next time the Gaang sees you, especially by Aang."
"Right. Aang. I'm already frustrated with what he's going to say and he hasn't even said it yet."
"What's he going to say?"
"I'm proud of you, Katara. You chose Forgiveness, Katara. It was the right thing to do, Katara." She imitates his voice, then gets a hard look on her face and pulls water out of the air, slamming it into the nearest wall. The force of the blast makes me jump. "I didn't do it for him and I didn't do what he wanted!" She shouts, then takes a deep breath and goes to sit with her back against the wall.

"This isn't about him. And for what it's worth, I'm proud of you, Katara. But not because you decided to let him live. I'm proud of you because you did what you needed to do for yourself to get closure. Not for Aang or Sokka or anyone else."
"Thanks, Zuko." She says without looking up. I can tell She needs to be alone right now.

"I'm going to gather some dune grass for Appa to eat. If you need anything, just call for me. I won't be far." I tell her. She nods, and I turn to go gather grass.

"Zuko, wait." She says, and I look back at her. "Thanks for thinking of this place. It's really beautiful." She tells me, a hint of a smile on her mouth. Just a corner of her mouth turned up, but a hint she's happy to be here. "And, Thank you for bringing me here alone. You're right, I need some time."

"You're welcome, Katara. Here, It'll be dark soon." He says, and quickly shoots fire and lights a few of the lanterns. "I'll be back soon."