First of all, I am so, so sorry this took a while! I've been busy with some stuff aka schoolwork, thesis, my new job, and org duties. But tbh, I'm just really happy I found some time to squeeze this in. Thank you for the reviews while I was away! You're all lovely. Stay flamin'. *hearts*

Faint rays of sunlight shone against every inch of her chestnut skin- from her closed lids as round as fresh almond-berries, to her rose-tinted cheeks, and pouted lips. Zuko watched her as she unconsciously buried her dark, toffee-colored hair further into the crook of his neck, her hands limply dangling on the blue fabric of her skirt. Katara was sound asleep.

The early morning train was void but of a few passengers- around ten in number- most of who were softly snoring their troubles away, as well. They sported garments of colors differing from the traditional Earth Kingdom green; in one corner of the almost-empty coach, a thin lady with lightly curled locks wore bright red robes, and a fairly large pendant that bore the Fire Nation Insignia rested on her chest. In another corner, a tall man grunted as a ray of light from the window glimmered upon him; his cobalt tunic was similar to Katara's, although hers slightly differed in that it was covered with tiny blades of grass and dry sunflower petals.

The train slowly came to a stop, and the booming voice of the conductor signaled their arrival at the Inner Ring. More than half of the few passengers stepped out, leaving only Zuko, Katara, and two others on board.

"Next stop, the Capital!" The announcer's voice boomed a second time.

"Are we there yet?" Katara yawned, slowly fluttering her eyes open. Zuko quickly turned his head towards the other direction; he did not want her to know that he was watching her as she slept.

"Zuko?" Katara nudged him against his rib, and he blushed, turning to face her again. Her eyes were barely open, her lids still lazily fluttering. "Are we there yet?" She repeated.

"Almost," Zuko replied, and as he did, caught a glimpse of a lock of Katara's hair that strayed of out of its place, bouncing near her lashes.

"What?" She asked, letting out a yawn. "What are you staring at?"

Zuko chuckled. "You're still tired," he said matter-of-factly.

"I know," she nodded.

"Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there."

"What about you? I bet you're as dead-tired as I am," Katara pointed, glancing at the dark circles under Zuko's eyes.

"Don't worry about me," He reassured her, trying to hold back a yawn as he smiled convincingly. Katara nodded, too tired to argue, and placed her head on his shoulder a second time. Slowly, she closed her eyes again, drifting off to a short, peaceful slumber.

-x—

The sun had still barely risen when they arrived back at the villa, its rays barely peaking, shying away from the crimson sky. Katara—barely awake- fumbled in her pockets for the front door's key, pushed it inside the lock, and gently opened the creaking door. They quickly passed the foyer as they dragged their tired feet towards the empty living room. Sokka's snores could be heard from one of the rooms upstairs; Zuko rolled his eyes as he chucked, and Katara sprung herself towards the couches, collapsing against the throw-pillows.

"I brought some Jasmine with me. Would you like some tea?" Zuko offered, gesturing towards the kitchen door.

"I want some sleep," Katara groaned, although smiling. "We stayed up all night,"

Zuko laughed. He decided against the hot pot of Jasmine and collapsed on the long couch as well, a cushion away from her. "I guess that's both our faults. But we had fun, didn't we?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, we did."

Katara kicked off her sandals, stretching her legs against the edge of the couch. She rested her head on the empty cushion between her and Zuko, grabbing one of the throw pillows and placing it under her hair.

"Thank you, for the adventure," she mumbled, turning scarlet. "That was—you didn't have to do all of that for me. Thank you." She said again, glancing upwards so she would catch a glimpse of him; his head was lolling on his shoulder, soft snores escaping from his slightly parted lips. He had fallen asleep, his eyebrows slightly creased from exhaustion. Katara smiled to herself, deciding to catch some much-needed shut-eye as well; it was about time they stopped taking turns sleeping since the train ride home. She closed her eyes and snuggled against the pillow, finally falling asleep again.

-x—

"Zuko." A familiar voice called.

Zuko grunted in his sleep, shifting his head against the opposite shoulder. His neck was beginning to stiffen; he felt terrible, although still too tired to open his eyes. Shifting his position on the couch once more, he felt a heavy weight on his lap. He paid this no mind, creasing his eyebrows again as he tried to drown out the world outside unconsciousness.

"Wake up. Wake up." The same voice nudged, but Zuko was too tired, and grunted a second time in reply.

The voice—whoever it was—seemed to have moved places, nudging on the weight on Zuko's lap instead. He was getting frustrated, and this time started to lightly scratch what little sleep there was from his eyes. He blinked them open, and as he registered his surroundings, was met with a very irritated Toph, kneeling on the linoleum while repeatedly poking Katara on the nose.

"What are you doing?" Zuko groaned, narrowing his eyes. Toph tilted her head upward at the sound of his voice, and breathed a sigh of relief. Zuko looked around; the light from the large windows suggested that it was late in the morning, probably an hour or two before noon. He started to stretch his arms, but suddenly remembered that Katara had somehow crawled up to his lap while they were asleep. He stiffened, blushing for the umpteenth time.

"What happened?" Toph demanded. "Where did you two run off to? Sokka and I were out the whole night looking for you both!"

"I just—I just had a hard time looking for her." Zuko felt a pang of guilt in his chest, lying his way out. "That's all."

Toph snickered teasingly, feeling Zuko's pulse rise after each word he uttered. "You two look really comfty, huh?" She remarked, her voice laced with sarcasm as she poked Katara's nose a second time. She waved Toph's hand away, her eyes still closed.

"Don't wake her up." Zuko whispered, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "She's tired. We were up all night."

"Oh?" Toph raised a brow as she smiled. "Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, or what happened last night—and don't lie to me, your heart's beating crazy, crazy fast—" she raised her index finger at him before continuing. "—but you'd better get clean up your act. Aang sent a messenger hawk last night. He's arriving at sunset. Whatever this is… he wouldn't like it."

Zuko sighed. "Look, Toph. Nothing happened. I swear. It really just took me a while to find her—"

Without warning, Toph suddenly pushed her palms against both of Zuko's cheeks, squishing them together near his mouth.

"What—" Zuko struggled, his voice muffled. "What are you doing?"

"Your cheeks are all warm and tingly. You're blushing."

"Shut up. I am not!"

"Are too, Fire Lord Blush-pants."

"I swear, we just—"

"Save it. I've pried enough." Toph chuckled as she rolled her eyes, letting go of Zuko's cheeks.

"But—"

"I'm just glad Katara's happy again. I feel her heartbeat. It sounds—peaceful again." Toph smiled, casually patting Katara on the shoulder. "She's been out of it the past few weeks. All moody and stuff, you know? Whatever you did, it worked. Thank you for making her feel better."

Zuko fell silent, glancing on his lap where Katara rested her head. He watched her as her chest moved up and down against her breathing, rising and falling serenely. He smiled.

Toph turned her back against the two of them and headed towards the kitchen, twisting the knob of its door. "That couch feels like it's as hard as rocks. You'd better take her back to her room." She said before disappearing off to the pantry, out of sight.

Careful as not to wake her, Zuko gently slid himself out from their position, slightly moving Katara's head so that she completely lay on the couch instead, without the support of his lap. Cautiously, he slipped his fingers under her, grasping her back and positioning her upright, heaving her up in his arms. Katara stirred the slightest as he carried her, her blurred vision registering his features. She smiled, closing her eyes again.

"Where are we going, Sifu Hotman?" She moaned in her sleep, dreaming good dreams.

"I'm taking you to back to your room. You should be more comfortable in there."

"Mm-hmm. Okay, Sifu Hotman." She mumbled.

Zuko walked past the few other rooms in the hallway, finally reaching Katara's after a few steps. The door was already slightly ajar, and as they entered, her luggage from the other day was sitting neatly on the bed, her mostly blue belongings in contrast with the olive green sheets.

He finally set her on the mattress, carefully placing her bags on the floor in order to give her more leg room. He let out a huff, and decided that it didn't matter if there was paperwork to be done for Restoration Movement tasks the next day; he felt like he would collapse any second from exhaustion.

But all the same, as if in a trance, Zuko watched Katara in her sleep; she grunted, softly snoring as she slightly shifted on the bed. Zuko was exhausted, but felt his heartbeat hammer against his chest; he was tired, but felt a fast, rush of blood pulse through his cheeks at the same time—his heart began to beat quickly, but was slow and mellow the next second- what a strange feeling, he thought. It was unfamiliar, but at the same time felt like home. He decided to shake it off.

From the curtained windows of Katara's room, faint rays of sunlight shone against every inch of her chestnut skin- from her closed lids as round as fresh almond-berries, to her rose-tinted cheeks, and pouted lips. Zuko smiled to himself before stepping out of the door, leaving it ajar as he looked at her once more.

She was beautiful.

I can't promise updates as regularly as before, but I'll try to find time when I can! Rest assured, I WILL finish this story because I love writing and love all of you, my little Zutarian flower childre nk

Also, I have this new AU Zutara fic coming up soon (Just not sure when) but be on the lookout for that!