Zuko didn't know what to expect when Sokka said he was sending his sister in place of him for the summit. Not to be rude or anything but Katara is not exactly his first choice. He reread the small scroll and absentmindedly fed Hawky some treats. He checked the date the letter was written and today's date. He expected her to arrive tomorrow. Since the Fire Nation was hosting the summit for the world leaders, she would be staying with him in the palace. He called in one of the servants and told them to prepare Councilman Sokka's room for his sister instead of the councilman himself. The servant nodded and bowed deeply in deference before stepping out of the room.

When he was alone again, Zuko heaved a heavy sigh and looked out the window as the sun began its descent, his chin propped in one hand. Tomorrow huh? He hadn't seen Katara in a long while. Hadn't been alone with her for an even longer time. He wondered if she'd looked any different.

Katara heaved in a huge gulp of sea air. She was so happy to be leaving the South Pole. Naturally, she felt sad, leaving her students like that but she'd been training them for a long time; they should be okay on their own now. It felt great to have waterbenders back in the South Pole. The reconstruction of her home was going very well. Even better than she ever dreamed. Until that incident happened... Quickly, she shook her head firmly. Nope. She resolved not to think of that incident. She wanted to put that behind her and Sokka's suggestion of her to go to the summit came at the right time.

"I just have so much work to do here, still." Sokka drawled, stretching his arms up and giving a nowhere decent fake yawn. His desk was littered with papers and plans and he did look tired.

"But I don't know anything about building an entirely new city!" she argued. "I'll just end up looking stupid in front of all those kings and leaders!"

"Am I hearing correctly? You're afraid of them? Katara we fought alongside two of them! And what's this about not knowing how to rebuild a city? Pfft, we rebuilt the entire world from imbalance! Katara," he stood up then and walked around his desk to face her. He placed both hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "You can do this. There's no one else more qualified."

She only stared into her brother's eyes, blue as her own. She chuckled and shook her head. "Where did all this wisdom come from?" she muttered. "Where did my idiot brother go? The one who hallucinated on cactus juice while we were stranded in the middle of the desert? Who's this before me now?"

"That, my dear sister, was the boy. Now, I'm the man." He lifted his hands away from her shoulders to flex his arms, his thick fur jacket not betraying a single lump.

She scoffed and poked at his biceps. "So manly," she smirked. "Fine, I'll go." She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight in the customary Katara hug. "Thanks, Sokka."

"Don't mention it sis," he mumbled as they broke off. "You enjoy yourself, okay? And think of it as a holiday too. Get your mind off things. Go bother Zuko or something."

Katara laughed through her nose. "I'll try my best."

And the best she will do. In her mind she tried to imagine what would go on during the summit and she tried to come up with solutions to those imaginary problems. When the boat stopped with a jarring thud and the gangplank lowered, she picked up her bag and sniffed decisively. She was going to be all right.

The first thing she saw was the bustling harbour. The merchants from neighbouring ships were yelling at the dockhands to bring out the cargo and the harbour master took inventory of the merchandises and their intended purposes. It was as busy as she imagined and she blinked when she saw a familiar figure stand out amongst all the hustle and bustle.

Without even thinking twice about it, she sprinted towards him and threw her arms around his neck for a customary Katara hug. "Zuko, you came! How are you? I haven't seen you in so long!" She let go and leaned back. "Have you been eating right?" she asked critically, eyeing him up and down. "You look a little thin."

"In response to your first question, I'm fine, Katara. And yes," he chuckled. "I have been eating right. The staff have been diligent about my eating."

She hummed, unconvinced. Then she eyed him up and down again. "What's with the getup?" she asked, gesturing up and down with a finger.

Zuko pulled his hood down a little lower to cover more of his pale face. It was in the middle of summer and he had a cloak on. "I didn't want to be seen," he muttered.

"Didn't want to be-" she trailed off as a thought struck her. "Oh, are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

He scoffed. "It's not that. I can't be seen just wandering around like this; I'll be swarmed. I'm the Fire Lord now."

Katara's eyes widened. "Oh." She sounded pretty lame, even to herself. "Sorry. Of course." Her mind wandered back to all those times she heard from Sokka of the attempts on Zuko's life. While the people of the Fire Nation generally welcomed his ascension to the throne, there was still some dissent. Some people are still not happy with the formation of Republic City.

"Don't worry about it," he waved a hand to dispel the somber mood he seemed to have put them in. Silently, he cursed himself for letting the mood sour so quickly. "So," he said brightly. "Have you eaten?"

It seemed to work as the frown disappeared like snow in the sun and her eyes brightened. "Not since dawn. And I'm starving! You have no idea how much you can crave fire flakes in the South Pole!"

He chuckled. "I can imagine. So, just fire flakes? They're more of a snack than actual food." He bent down, picked up her bag and threw it over one shoulder, ignoring her protests. "Come on, I'll treat you to an authentic Fire Nation smorgasbord."

"Really? Sounds like a great idea!"

Zuko didn't expect her to slip her hand through his free arm. But seeing her excitement as her blue eyes lit up at the sight of the harbour, he decided to let it slide. Besides, he kind of missed having someone so excitable around him.

"I can't believe how tall you've gotten in the last couple of years," she commented after her second bowl of noodles. "Really, you and Sokka just shoot up like bamboo."

"Hey, you've grown too," he argued. It was true; if she hadn't been the only Water Tribe there, he probably wouldn't have recognised her. Okay, that was a little untrue. He would still have recognised her. But she still had changed. She wore her light Water Tribe clothes, which accentuated her womanly figure. She was pretty the last time he saw her. But now, he dared to say she looked beautiful. Her round, childish face was longer now, her eyes quick and sly, like she knew a secret so good you'd be begging her to tell. And how he felt like begging. He forced another smile and gripped his cup.

"Zuko, don't tell me you're going to treat me to lunch but have nothing for yourself?" Her eyes flicked upwards as she sighed as he shrugged. "Here, have some of my noodles." She heaped a pile of noodles on the spoon and leaned over the table, proffering it to him. "Open wide."

His eyes widened at the sight of her leaning over the table and offering him some noodles. He gulped. She might not realise it but her pose was only a little provocative, leaning forward like that. He looked around and some of the men were already looking at her appreciatively. "Katara, please."

"Try some!" she insisted. "They're really good!" Her open face conveyed genuine excitement and concern for him. Also, her eyebrows were set and he knew she won't back down; he'd seen this expression far too often.

Seeing no escape from this, he sighed and decided to humour her. He closed the tiny gap between them and opened wide. She was right; they were good. But judging from the look on her face she was not going to settle with just one bite. So he flagged the waiter down and ordered a bowl for himself.

Smirking triumphantly, Katara sat back down with a small hum of happiness as she took another spoonful of noodles. As he waited for his order to come, Zuko felt something he hadn't felt in a long while. He felt his stomach growl and he placed a hand on his flat stomach in wonder. He was genuinely hungry for the first time in months.

They were out until late that night, laughing and reminiscing as they walked around the capital. Zuko couldn't remember the last time he laughed so loudly or had so many words pour out of his mouth like that. He barely noticed the time when she nudged him gently with her elbow. He looked down at her and saw her watching a shadowed corner intently.

"There are people following us," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "Act cool." She let out a sudden whistle of loud laughter. "You're so funny!"

She subtly steered him around another corner into another alley and he watched out of the corner of his eye as one burly man and one woman came out of the shadows to follow them.

Suddenly, they stopped as the alleyway ended with a dead end.

"Are the lovebirds lost?" A silky voice called out not far behind them.

Not even bothering to answer, Katara turned around and faced them, her face set.

"Oh, look at her!" The woman laughed. "Water girl thinks she's so tough! Chu," she nodded to her male companion, "go see if she's as tough as she thinks she is."

The man let out a rumbling laugh. "With pleasure." He walked up to Katara, who faced him unflinchingly.

"Now, we don't want any trouble," the woman drawled, her tone a contrast to the glint in her eyes. "I can see that you, young man, have some serious dough on you. If not on your person, in your manor. Yes, I can tell. You nobles all have the same walk. Now, if you don't want anything to happen to your girl," she nodded at the man and he snatched Katara up. She let out an angry protest. "You'll give us your dough. Got it?"

He stared at the huge man, Katara looking like a twig in his arms. "And if I don't?" Zuko couldn't stop from snarling. He hadn't felt this kind of anger in a long while.

The woman gestured at the man, who shifted Katara in one arm and used the other to shove Zuko to the ground, pinning him down with just that one hand.

"You don't want to find out what happens if you don't," the woman hissed through clenched teeth.

From his position on the ground, Zuko looked up at Katara, who'd stopped struggling. Their eyes met and she nodded, her hands already moving, unbeknownst to the two thugs.

"So," the woman grinned. "What do you say?"

Before he could reply, Katara beat him to it. "We still say no!" Quickly as a flash, she blasted the Chu's face with a dense jet of water and when he dropped her, she changed the jet of water to ice with a flick of her fingers. Chu stumbled, and Zuko sprang to his feet.

The woman growled and flicked her arms out, creating two tiny jets of fire in her hands, which she controlled like knives. She rushed at Zuko, who easily deflected her by redirecting her movements and using her momentum against her, sending her crashing into the wall.

At that moment, Chu broke the ice surrounding his head and bellowed, just as the woman got to her feet.

Hands out, Zuko backed away slightly and jumped when his back hits Katara's. They grinned at each other as the two thugs rushed towards them simultaneously.

"Chu's mine," Katara called dibs.

"After you," he smirked. He hasn't had this much fun in a while.

Zuko and Katara laughed together as they left the two thugs knocked out and encased in a block of ice, still smelling of soot.

"That was hilarious!" Katara laughed until she doubled over. "The looks on their faces!"

"I know right? And you've picked up some new moves," he commented appreciatively, looking her up and down with renewed respect. She'd always been a formidable foe but now he knows that he might actually lose against her.

"Did you see the way you took her down without using any firebending?" Katara shot back, incredulous. "You're not so bad yourself, Sifu Hotman."

Zuko groaned from deep inside his stomach. "Not you too!"

She giggled as they turned to corner and entered the palace through the servant's entrance, which was a small nondescript wooden door set in stone. Zuko led Katara up to her room.

"Here you go," he announced as he opened the door, revealing the dimly lit room.

"Ooh, fancy," she whistled as she walked in.

"That's what Sokka said too." He came in and dropped her bag on a bench at the end of the bed. With his one free hand, he lit a small fire to light the room.

"That's better." Katara looked around again. "This is Sokka's room, isn't it?" she smiled.

He smiled back. "I hope you don't mind," he said apologetically. "I didn't have time to prepare another one."

"No, it's fine." She looked at him shyly. "I guess this is goodnight."

"Yeah." He made his way to the door.

"Zuko?"

"Yeah?" He turned back to face her, the tiny flame still in his hand.

"Thanks for meeting me at the harbour. That was really sweet of you." Katara walked up to the door and leaned on the frame.

"I can't just leave you stranded there."

"But you could've just sent someone to pick me up. I took your whole day away. I'm sorry." She looked down and hugged herself.

"Katara?"

"Yeah?" She turned her face to him again and he saw the way her eyes reflected in the light of his tiny fire.

"It was my pleasure. You don't have to be guilty of anything."

She looked at him and smiled, her hand shooting out and pushing his hand down, effectively extinguishing the fire he had and dousing them in darkness. Before his eyes could adjust to the gloom, she shot upwards on her toes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, shocking him into silence.

"Good night, Zuko," Katara murmured before slowly closing the door.

Zuko stood there for a good five minutes, completely stunned. He didn't expect that at all. After a long while, he jerkily brought his hand to his cheek and touched the spot where her lips met his cheek. It grazed on the ridges of his scar and he flinched. Not in pain but in disgust. To think that it had to be on his scar. He gnashed his teeth in loathing.

But age has taught him one thing; don't give in to anger so quickly. She chose it, he thought. It was her choice.

At that thought he could feel the spot where she kissed him heat up just a little. Flustered, he turned away from the door and stalked to his room.

Strike one.