What Do You Want?

Author's Note: Hey guys! It's been a pretty long time since I've posted anything on here, but I've been writing more fanfiction lately. If you've read my previous stories you know that I had like, a set schedule of when to post, well that didn't work out, I mean, it did for a while but then I was focusing on writing my own books more so than fanfiction. I really hope that my writing has improved because now I look back on my old stories and cringe at how bad the grammar and layout is. Also now everyone and their brother are into Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra... it's crazy to me that two or three years ago there was a pretty small community of people who were really into it and now there are thousands. I kinda miss the drama-free environment, everything was relatively calm beside the ship wars. Tell me what you think. Anyways this is for Zutara week 2020! I had to write this in under a week because I set off writing it for a long time, so I feel like it's kind of rushed, but I also don't think it's awful. Hopefully, you like it! If you do, don't forget to review, all constructive criticism is welcome!

-Bella

Katara willed her feet to continue on. She was so close to reaching the front steps of the Fire Nation palace, all she had to do was walk a little further, but in turn, she also had to push her chagrin down a little more. She didn't think it was even possible to do so at this point. Despite her reservations about coming to him, she couldn't even imagine going to Republic City and facing her brother and Toph, what she was doing now was the better option, she told herself, and possibly the slightly less embarrassing one at that.

It only took her a few more paces before one of the guards stopped her, holding a hand out in front of him signaling for her to not come any closer.

"I'm here to see Fire Lord Zuko," Katara stated.

"The Fire Lord isn't expecting anyone today. Who are you anyway-?" the guard paused, recognition forming on what she could see of his face, "…Katara! I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you. It's been a while since you've visited."

"Almost too long since the last time."

Katara thought back to Zuko's twenty-first birthday. It had been two years since then, and a lot of things had changed. The group had never wanted to drift apart, but somewhere along the way, it had happened. Up until a few days ago, it had been Aang and herself living on Air Temple Island, with Sokka and Toph not too far away in Republic City, but despite their close proximity, their current jobs prevented them from spending much time together. Katara thought of how lucky Sokka and Toph were to have jobs that allowed them to see each other weekly at the least. Toph was working as a police officer, while Sokka was an aspiring councilman. Last time she talked to her brother she got the sense that Toph and him were growing pretty close, but Sokka hadn't mentioned anything to indicate something else was going on between them, if anything was going on at all, considering Suki and Sokka had broken up only months ago. Out of all of their friends Zuko seemed to be the hardest to keep in touch with though, it's not exactly like the Fire Nation is a few steps away, and sure they wrote letters, but Katara felt like she could never get enough written down in one note. They hadn't seen each other in two years, but Katara hoped and prayed that Zuko still valued their previous friendship.

"I'm sure that Fire Lord Zuko will be glad to see you." he stepped aside, allowing Katara past.

She gave him a tightlipped smile, hoping that his words were true.

Katara didn't know how long she had been wandering around the palace until she finally decided that she was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Back when Aang and her used to frequently visit she was convinced she knew this place like that back of her hand, but now she wasn't so sure how true that thought was. She decided that the next time she saw a palace guard that she would ask them to point her in the right direction, the problem was finding one.

Red and gold lined the walls that she passed, and she realized that everything started looking the same, there was nothing distinct for her to recognize. Her frustration grew as she continued to have no luck with finding anyone, she was beginning to feel like the palace was empty. Katara turned a corner for what felt like the thousandth time, that she almost expected, what she didn't expect though, was to run smack dab into someone, it was like hitting a brick wall, she stumbled back a few steps, half-annoyed at being run into, half-relieved to have found someone.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," she muttered, looking at the ground.

The other person didn't respond at first, "…Katara?"

She recognized the voice almost instantly and when she looked up, she was somewhat shocked to see exactly the person she was looking for. Her eyes went wide when she saw him standing in front of her and before she knew what she was doing she launched herself into his arms, he didn't hesitate in returning the embrace, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and pulling her close to him.

Katara said his name but it came out as more of a sigh of relief, "Zuko."

She wanted to cry and she had no idea why. Maybe it was because of what had happened between her and Aang, maybe it was all of her pent-up emotions finally coming to the surface, or maybe she was just genuinely happy to see him. When he pulled away, she wished that he hadn't, because when she hugged him, she felt as though nothing could bring her down, like she hadn't just let the Avatar and the entire Air Temple down.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko asked in shock.

Zuko looked over his old friend, he couldn't even imagine what had prompted her to visit. He assumed since they hadn't spoken in two years that she was pretty busy with whatever business Aang and her had to handle, which made him realize that something must either have gone wrong or something exceptionally good occurred. He prayed it was the latter.

"Uh, well…I wanted to see you!" Katara didn't exactly know how to respond to his question.

"You never were a good liar. You could have visited me any other time, why now?"

She stopped. He always did know how to read her.

"…I didn't know where else to go."

Zuko's heart sunk at her words, fearing that something bad had happened. Something akin to distress flitted across Katara's face and Zuko noted the dark circles beneath her eyes that he hadn't noticed until now, but looking again he realized she looked like she hadn't slept in days. His worry persisted.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Katara didn't want to say it. She didn't want to have to relive that moment, but she knew she had to.

"Aang and I broke up."

Katara watched as Zuko's eyes grew wide, he didn't say anything at first, he just looked at her, and she desperately wanted to know what was going through his head at this moment.

"You and Aang. Broke up?"

She hated the way that he said it. Like it was so otherworldly for someone to have broken up with the avatar, but then again, now that she thought about it, it kind of was.

"Yes, and I know that this is hardly your concern but, I didn't want to have face everyone else, and the southern water tribe would just feel so lonely, and I can't keep staying on Air Temple Island, so I just thought-"

He cut her off, "Katara, it's alright. I understand."

"You do?"

He nodded, and that's all the clarification Katara needed for her to understand that he was sincere.

"You can stay here as long as you need to. To be honest the palace has been pretty empty these past few months. I could use the company." he said.

"You're the Fire Lord, I thought that you'd have plenty of company."

"Diplomatic company."

"Sounds exciting," Katara replied, sarcastically.

"The highest quality of companionship." he quipped.

A smile broke out over Katara's face and she felt as though this was the start of something different, something better than what she had before. It scared her a tiny bit, the thought of change, she'd been living a certain way for so long that anything remotely out of the ordinary seemed exciting. She knew that word would get out eventually of Aang and hers' split, it would most likely be the talk of the town for a good week, maybe even more, she could almost envision all the rumors about what could've sparked the downfall in their relationship, but she didn't want to think about that right now, because right now, she was content with where she was.

Zuko sat next to Katara at one of the many tables in the dining area, eating dinner, and trying not to bring up the obvious, but his curiosity was getting the best of him, once again.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what happened between you and Aang?" he asked.

Katara glanced up from her rice and met his gaze. She should've known that this would come up.

"We had a fight about what we want. He seems to think that we're both ready to settle down and get married." she shakes her head to herself, "He's barely nineteen and he acts like he has it all figured out. I don't even have it figured out! He's rarely home and even when he is, he's either dead on his feet or doing something with the air nomads. I felt like I wasn't even in a relationship. A couple of years ago, I thought that he was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but now I'm not so sure."

She has to stop herself from saying anything else, because if she continues, she might never stop, and she doesn't want for Zuko to see that side of her. The side that has regrets and guilt and pain over stuff that she can't stop.

"What do you want?"

"I don't know yet." Katara looked back down at her plate of food and changed the subject, "Anyways, that's enough about me. What have you been up to for the last two years?"

The obvious shift that Katara made in the conversation didn't go unnoticed by Zuko, he let it go for now, but he knew that her ending that topic was her way of shutting him out.

"Nothing interesting. Just political dealings with Republic City, trying to keep the Fire Nation under control, you know, the usual…. oh, and Mai and I ended things a while back."

She wished that she was taken aback by Zuko's statement but she wasn't. She knew that Zuko and Mai had a rocky relationship, spirits, the entire Fire Nation probably knew about it, so hearing about their breakup didn't stir up any surprise within her. If someone had asked her how many times they had "broken up" she wouldn't be able to remember. Besides she never did think they were a good fit, they were much too alike, and Katara thought that the fact that Mai never opened up to Zuko bothered him more than he let on. So, for Zuko's sake, Katara tried to feign shock. It didn't work.

"Don't act so surprised. It's been a long time coming, you and I both know that. Sometimes things just aren't meant to be, well, at least that's what uncle tells me."

That she was shocked at. His open admittance that something was amiss in his relationship with Mai.

"So, you're broken up for good?"

Katara hated to pry, she just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to go crawling back to her.

"Yes." was all he said.

Katara studied his face trying to grasp at any hint of dishonesty that she could, but there was none. She wondered what had finally caused Zuko to realize that things weren't working out, but despite her curiosity she didn't ask, figuring that he most likely didn't want to talk about it.

"…How is your uncle by the way?"

"He's fine for all I know, he left a few weeks ago, something about wanting to see more of the world."

"You weren't kidding when you said things were lonely around here," she said.

"It hasn't been all bad. But…I'm glad that you're here now."

Zuko hoped that her presence in the palace wasn't a brief one, but he never knew with her. When she used to visit, somedays he swore that her mood changed with the wind. One second, she was happy the next she was walking around like someone had struck her in the head. Something seemed different about her this time though and he didn't know if the change was because of good or bad circumstances.

It had been a week and a half since Katara first arrived at the palace and things were going well. She and Zuko caught up on everything that had happened during their time apart, and Katara found herself genuinely enjoying the time that she spent with him. Even though she had numerous thoughts swirling throughout her head at all times, whenever she talked to him, he made her forget about all her worries, like they didn't even exist. She always knew that Zuko and her had connected on a deeper level than most of her friends had, even more so than she did with her own brother. He was the one who had gone with her on that trip to find her mother's killer, he understood what it was like to lose someone and have no closure on their death, he had single-handedly given her what she longed for when no one else would. Even if in the end she didn't go through with exacting revenge on Yon Rha, the fact that he would have supported her in the decision, made every bit of difference to her, and she would never forget what he did for her. She got the distinct feeling that they were more alike than either of them knew. The part that scared her about everything that happened in the last week was her realization that he made her happy, which was something that used to be a rare event, but she had a nagging in her stomach that always pulled her momentarily out of that happiness. It felt like doubt, like at any given moment something would happen and steal it away. She didn't tell Zuko about how at night she couldn't sleep because of the guilt that was eating away at her. Katara didn't even fully know why she felt guilty, she did what was best for her, but she did it at the cost of breaking someone else's heart. She hadn't allowed herself any time to feel sorry or sad, she had caused this, but that didn't stop the urge of wanting to ball her eyes out until she had no more tears left. The life that she left behind was the only thing she had left at this point, it was all she knew since she was fourteen years old, she was with Aang almost every moment after he had come out of that iceberg, but as the years passed by and things settled down, she felt like something was missing and the life she thought she wanted no longer had the gleam it once did. She didn't want to come to terms with knowing that she had outgrown their relationship. They had gone through so much together and to her, it felt like she was abandoning everything. Maybe that's why she sought solace with Zuko, because it was familiar, and because deep down she missed him. They were growing close so fast that she worried she wouldn't want to leave him when the time came, scratch that, she knew she wouldn't want to leave.

With a weary sigh, Katara walked down a hall in the palace, trying to make her way to the gardens, because she desperately needed somewhere to clear her head, but once again she was lost.

"For the love of-" she muttered.

"You look lost." a voice said.

Katara whipped around only to come nearly face to face with a guard that she didn't recognize.

"That's because I am."

She took a step back from him, offset by him being so close to her and her not picking up on it. She blamed it on her fatigue.

"Well, a pretty girl like you shouldn't be wandering around here alone. The world can be a dangerous place."

Katara suddenly felt something very off about the person she was with and throughout the years she had learned to trust her instincts.

"I can handle myself," she affirmed.

A wicked grin spread across the man's face, making him look revoltingly evil. Katara backed away, trying to put as much distance between her and him as she could, but the guard continued to stalk forward, his eyes never leaving hers and abruptly flaring with something Katara could only assume was recognition.

"You're the Avatar's girl, aren't you?" he chuckled to himself, "…Yes. I think you'll do nicely."

Fear gripped Katara as she felt her eyes widen, her hand instinctively went to her side only to find that her water pouch wasn't there, with a jolt of terror she realized that she had left it in her room. She cursed under her breath before her feet started moving on their own accord, carrying her away from the man. She sprinted down the halls, granted, not knowing where she was going, but she figured that she would have to come across something of use eventually. That plan would've worked if not for the fact that the man came running after her, easily catching up to her because of his height. With an immense amount of force, he shoved Katara into a wall, easily pinning her to it. He towered over her, making Katara feel as though he was the enemy and she was his prey. She struggled against his grip, desperately trying to free herself to no avail, he was stronger than her and she had no source of water.

"Let go of me!" she screamed.

The guard held his forearm against her chest and with his other hand produced an orange flame that crackled with the promise of searing her to the bone if she dared move.

"Keep quiet. It will be over soon. I promise."

He had that bone-chilling look in his eyes again and Katara knew she had to do something. She couldn't just allow whatever he was trying to do to her happen. She was better than that and wouldn't let herself think otherwise, she had been through too many things in her life so far to halt at the hands of a Fire Nation guard. That didn't stop her from still feeling absolutely terrified at the prospect of the situation she was in and doing what she was about to do.

She gave herself three seconds to be afraid and then she attacked, kneeing the man in the balls, resulting in him releasing her as well as a growl, she kicked him to the ground and that's when Katara made her move, grabbing one of the vases that sat on a pedestal in the hall and lifting it above the man's head, ready to strike. She didn't get the chance to, because the next thing she knew a burst of flames flew through the air briefly licking the surface of her right arm, the unique pain of a burn hit immediately, and Katara ducked to the side to avoid the rest of the flame's path, dropping the vase. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she held her arm to her chest. The man got up from the ground making his way towards Katara, bending fire at her from multiple directions. She scrambled to try and get away from the encroaching flames. Her heart was hammering against her chest as the guard neared her, knowing that she had just blown her only chance to get out of this hopeless predicament. Or so she thought because the next thing she heard was a cacophony of footsteps echoing through the corridor, and the next thing she saw was a group of guards rushing over to herself and her attacker.

"What happened?!" one of them asked.

"H-he attacked me!" Katara answered.

She stumbled over to the guards away from the assaulter who previously stood in front of her.

"She's lying!" the man hissed while casting an accusing glare at Katara.

The other guards eyed Katara, noticing her disheveled form.

"Why is she hurt then?"

"B-because…" her attacker trailed off, obviously not knowing what to say.

The head of the group of guards saw through his pitiful attempt at a lie to save his skin and pounced on the liar, forcing him to the ground, and placing his hands behind his back.

"You're under arrest."

It didn't take long for the others to join in helping to detain the deranged man and Katara was left standing, staring at the scene.

The attacker struggled against the others, thrashing to try and get free.

"Stop fighting. You're already in enough trouble as it is. She's the Fire Lord's guest."

"That's the point! You idiot!" he raged.

With that Katara couldn't stand to be anywhere near that man anymore. She fled from the scene, not daring to look back. She wanted to be as far as could from him. She needed to be.

Katara rummaged through the room that she was staying in, searching through drawers and cabinets, looking under furniture, and in the end coming up with nothing to show for it. Abandoning her search for her water pouch, she burst into the en-suite bathroom, holding her burnt arm close to her, with anger-filled tears in her eyes, or maybe her tears were laced with sadness, she couldn't tell.

Her hand had barely touched the faucet of the sink when she heard the door to her room open. She nearly jumped out of her skin at first, but it was the voice that followed that persuaded her to remain calm.

"Katara! It's Zuko!"

She ducked her head out of the bathroom to see Zuko standing in her room with a worried expression strewn across his face.

"W-what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I heard what happened. Are you alright?"

Zuko stepped towards where she was and Katara offered no reply to his question, leading to him taking her silence as an invitation to follow her into the bathroom as she receded into it, which wouldn't have been so bad if not for the state that she was in, both mentally and physically.

"I'm so sorry. That guard never should've been allowed in the palace in the first place. He was originally working in the city, somehow he managed to-" he stopped rambling when he noticed the burn that was forming on her arm, "You're hurt."

Zuko suddenly felt something he hadn't felt in a few years. Rage. He wanted to burn the person who did this to her to a crisp. He feared that he wouldn't have hesitated in doing so if the guard was standing in front of him during this moment in time, but something else could be felt above the anger, concern.

"I'll be fine." she turned on the water, easily manipulating it over her blistered wound.

Katara wiped the tears clouding her vision away with her elbow, trying to be strong in front of him, it wasn't working very well, because all she wanted to do right now was cry.

Zuko could see the emotional distress she was in, it was written all over her face, it was even in her body language. The usually fluid movements that she used to bend were nowhere to be seen.

The water began to glow a blue hue and Katara swore that it was working the way that it was supposed to for the first few seconds, but it didn't last long. She couldn't keep focused and it was showing; the water began to flicker between the blue and its regular clear color.

"Katara…" Zuko began.

"Zuko, I've got it! I know what I'm doing!"

That's when her façade broke, when she realized that she was lying not only to Zuko but to herself at the same time. Before she even had time to think she was quickly guiding the water back into the sink and turning the faucet off. A cry escaped her lips as she placed her hands over her eyes; she wanted to collapse. She was in pain and it felt like someone had poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. Her head was foggy. She was tired. Most of all though she was beside herself with anguish.

"Katara." he placed a hand on her back, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what I'm doing!" she cried, "At all." her voice broke on the last word.

Katara, for the second time, didn't think about what she was doing, she removed her hands from her face, and fell into Zuko's arms. She let the tears fall from her eyes because at this point she was past trying to be okay, and once they had started Katara couldn't make them stop. It hurt. It pained her to even think about everything that had happened in the past few weeks, but she had made a hole in the dam and it was all spilling out. She slumped against him and if it hadn't been for his strong arms holding her close, she was sure that she would've fallen to the ground.

Zuko almost couldn't believe what was happening, as she sank into his embrace, and he tightened his grip on her. The girl in his arms was one of the strongest people he had ever known and now… she was breaking. He wondered how long she had pent up everything. How long she had been faking being okay.

He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for not being there for her for the past two years, but he didn't, he kept quiet, and let her cry because he knew that she needed this. He of all people knew what it was like to keep everything stuffed away inside yourself and he also knew what it was like when it all came to a head. Every time that she sobbed against his chest, it felt like something was being ripped out of him. He should've visited. He should've written. He should've tried to make an effort to see her. He hated seeing her like this. Zuko stroked her wavy hair trying to give her some semblance of comfort.

Before long Katara's tears ran dry to the point where she thought it might not be impossible for her to cry another tear again, she knew that wouldn't come to be true, though, something else would happen in life that would cause her to react the way she had, and knowing that it could happen at any given moment made her feel uncomfortable.

She gently pulled away from Zuko, looking up at his face.

"I'm sorry." she warbled.

Zuko knit his eyebrows together and gave what was quite possibly the most troubling gaze she had seen on his face since she met him.

"Don't apologize…Tell me what's wrong." he pleaded.

Katara took a shaky seat on the edge of the bathtub, quickly followed by Zuko, and she completely forgot about her injured arm for the time being.

"I told you that Aang and I broke up. Well, no one else but you knows about it yet."

"You haven't told Sokka?"

"No… I came straight here after it happened. I couldn't bear to tell him… I just feel like I've somehow let everyone down. All I can think about is the look on Aang's face when I told him that I couldn't be with him anymore. He did so much for me and I guess we both thought that we would always be with each other, but I realized that I didn't want what I had with him. It's so selfish of me to feel that way when I made him wait until after the war was over for us to be together. People are going to think I'm a horrible person. I can practically hear the remarks from Sokka and Toph, and I don't want us to fall apart. We're supposed to be team avatar and now that notion feels like such a distant memory. What if I could've tried harder in our relationship to keep it from…-"

"Listen to me. Team avatar didn't fall apart because of you and neither did your relationship with Aang. You always put other people before yourself and that's one of the things that makes you the incredible person that you are, but you can't sacrifice your happiness for someone else's idea of a relationship."

Katara chewed on her bottom lip, mulling over what Zuko said.

"I feel terrible."

"I know, but you shouldn't… sometimes people just aren't meant to be together. If you weren't in love with him you can't blame yourself."

"But what if-"

"Katara. You can't blame yourself. Okay, you need to focus on what you want in your life."

The way he said it instilled it into her like he was giving her an order, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was right. She had lied to herself for a long time about her relationship with Aang. She told herself that she was the reason why it wasn't working but, in the end, it wasn't that, it was because of the way Aang made her feel. Every time she kissed him it was like kissing a wall, like he couldn't be bothered. He never told her where he was and she was left wondering if she would ever see him again. He was the one who wasn't trying to make it work, not her. Zuko was right, she needed to focus on what she wanted and right now, the only thing she could think about was the way Zuko's amber eyes met hers.

Katara's eyes traveled across his features and when they moved to his scar she was brought back to the cave in Ba Sing Se, if not for Aang she might've healed him, she wondered how different life would be now if she had, but a little part of her liked that she hadn't, because the scar was his, it marked every trial that he had traversed in his life and she felt like it would almost be a crime to take that away from him.

She watched his eyes flick down to her mouth for a split second before meeting her eyes again and that's when her own gaze went to his lips. She told herself not to do this. Not to complicate things even further, but she couldn't stop herself. For the third time Katara didn't think about what she was doing and leaned forward, tentatively pressing her lips to his, Zuko tensed, and she briefly questioned if she had gone too far, but all her doubts went out the window when he kissed her back, he cupped her face, his mouth working against hers.

Katara would be lying if she said she hadn't wondered before what it would be like to kiss him, to have lips on hers, to have him for herself, but she had always pushed those intruding thoughts to the back of her mind, the problem was that at the moment it was the only thing in her mind. She moved closer to him, resting her hands on his firm chest, and tugging just slightly at the fabric that covered him. Their kisses grew passionate, almost as though they couldn't get enough of each other, but then the gravity of what they were doing hit Katara like a brick, and she quickly pulled back from the kiss, looking at Zuko as if she had just seen a ghost. She bolted up from her seat on the bathtub, pressing her hands to the side of her head and muttering things to herself that only she could hear.

"We can't do this." she finally said.

"Katara I-"

"Zuko, please, just- just give me some time…I-I need to be alone." Katara stuttered.

Zuko took the hint, nodding, and showed himself to the door. When he closed it behind him, he too, felt what Katara had experienced, the pure shock of unkind reality, and so he didn't even walk three steps before his back hit the wall closest to him, he slouched against it, and the question that clouded every square inch of his brain echoed. What had just happened?

Darkness filled the palace at this time of night, encompassing everything. Katara could hardly see. There was just enough visibility for her to be able to maneuver her way throughout the halls. She had waited for night to fall before leaving her room, wanting there to be as little of chance as possible for anyone to see her.

Thankfully, she was able to heal herself after Zuko had left, so the pain that was once burning across her skin had dulled to simple ache. What had happened with the guard wasn't what prompted her to leave. She'd let herself be weak. What was she even thinking kissing Zuko like that? She was probably closest to him out of their group of friends, even you could even call team avatar friends at this point, regardless of the current situation everyone's relationship with each other was in, it didn't excuse what they had done. The part that solidified her decision in fleeing the palace in the dead of night was that she liked kissing him. What type of person would she be if she went from one person to the next? Granted, she hadn't been in love with Aang for a long time, even before she had broken up with him, but if word got out that she was romantically involved with Zuko, what happened with Aang would be even more blown out of proportion then it was already bound to be.

She rounded the corner that led to the doors of the palace and came face to face with just the person she was trying to avoid. Katara jumped back.

"You were just going to leave?" Zuko asked, keeping his voice low.

It takes a second for her eyes to adjust to the now brighter lighting of the entryway, when they do Katara notices that Zuko looks casual, well, as casual as the Fire Lord can possibly be. His hair is down, the ends of his dark hair coming down over his forehead. It's been so long since she's seen him with his hair like this, it takes her back to when things were different, when they were easier. Though there was a war going on back then she thought that everyone was still happier than they are now.

"Zuko I-…yes." Katara ducked her head, embarrassed.

"Why?"

He moved closer to her.

"You know why."

"Because of what happened earlier? You were the one who kissed me!"

"I-I know."

"Then why are you leaving? If you want to forget about the kiss, fine, it never happened, but don't go."

Zuko tried his best not to say something that he would regret because, spirits, there was so much more that he wanted to tell her. He watched her ocean eyes glisten with a hint of sadness and he reached for her hand noting that the burn that was previously on her arm wasn't there anymore.

Katara didn't think twice about taking his hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"You have no idea how much I want to stay, but I don't want to hurt anyone else… I don't want to forget about the kiss either, though."

"What do you want, Katara?" he reiterated the question he had asked her previously.

She paused.

"…I want to stay here. With you. And I don't want to have to think about what will happen if I do."

Zuko moved his free hand to cup the side of her face, brushing his thumb over her cheek, and then he kissed her.

Katara kissed him back. It was slow at first, she was savoring the feeling of his lips, the way that she felt when she was with him, but his hands moved to her waist, setting free what little restraint she had when he pulled her to him. Her arms draped over his shoulders. Kissing him felt forbidden. They'd been friends for so long, there was always tension between both of them, physically and emotionally, and now everything was finally being released. She had to stop herself from thinking about what everyone else would say, all she wanted right now was to focus on him.

They continued kissing like that until both of them got caught up in the all-consuming passion of one another. Their breathing grew heavy and soon Katara was running her hands through Zuko's hair and he was moving his hands across her body, both longing to be closer to the other. Katara was so caught up in the moment that she was slightly surprised when her back hit a wall, a little louder than either of them intended for, but neither one cared. Their bodies were pressed together and Katara was suddenly very aware of the ache between her legs and the desire surrounding the circumstance they were in, especially so when Zuko's lips veered off to her jaw, placing heated kisses down her neck, setting her skin on fire. A breathy moan emanated from her, not remembering that they were out in the open. Somehow Katara's hands ended up beneath Zuko's shirt, her hands resting against his taut muscles. Zuko glanced up at her with lust-filled eyes, abandoning his descent on her neck, and then he was leading her away from the wall and into his chambers, which, conveniently weren't far from where they were. Before she knew it, her back was on the dark red bedsheets adorning his bed, Zuko hovered over her kissing her with concupiscence. His fingers fiddled with the tie around her waist and soon the white fabric was on the floor, leaving the fabric covering her torso and bindings open. Zuko's mouth was on her immediately, pressing kisses onto her chest and stomach, Katara arched into him.

"Zuko…" she breathed.

He was panting when he looked up at her, "Promise me you won't go."

She noticed that he was serious. He wanted her to stay with him and even though she originally tried to convince herself that this isn't what she wanted; she didn't want to fight it anymore. This is what she wanted.

Katara nodded, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Zuko smiled, blatant happiness breaking out across his face and Katara couldn't help but smile with him. He kissed her again, on the lips this time, lingering.

Drastic. That's what the distance between how she felt now and how she felt when she first got to the palace was. It hadn't even been two weeks, but in that time, she had done more for herself then she had in the past two years. She had so much pent up inside her that was driving her crazy, so much so, to the point of her having a mental breakdown. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of her, Zuko was the reason for it, if she hadn't come to him, she knew that she would've kept everything that she was feeling, stuffed inside of her until it caused her to do something stupid. She realized that maybe what she was looking for had been right in front of her the whole time. Zuko and her always looked out for each other even subconsciously when they weren't on good terms. She knew very few things for certain, but the one thing she did know was that she couldn't lose him, not back then and definitely not now. She didn't care about the consequences that their actions would bring tomorrow or any time in the future for that matter. Zuko made her feel normal again like she wasn't walking on glass every time she talked to him. Somewhere deep down she had always loved him and it wasn't until now that her feelings had shaken loose. Yes, their relationship was chaotic and messy and completely out of bounds for them, but that was part of the reason why Katara liked it. They were two totally different people, from different families, different cultures, different pasts, but in the end, their contrasts were what made them click.