I don't know how long this'll be. It could just be this one-shot or it could be a small story.

Rated M, because they all have bad mouths and there's a small little scene down there that's debateable. And for safety.

Disclaimed: Don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, yada, yada, never will.

"Zuko, I want to have a baby," Katara said, flouncing onto their large mattress.

Zuko blinked. "Wait, repeat that, I'm not sure I heard you correctly." He looked at her with wide eyes, trying to process what she had just said.

"Come on, you know you heard me," Katara grumbled, crossing her arms and staring out of the large window.

A..baby? Weren't they happy? Why did they need a baby?

"Katara..why do you want a baby? What brought this on? Homesick? I can get you one of those Koala-Otter things?" Just not a baby.

"No, Zuko, it's just.." She trailed off and Zuko stood up to wrap his arms around her. " Suki and Sokka just had a baby, and when they came here and I saw it, she was just so cute. The way she looked at me with such big eyes. Oh, Zuko, please can we try?"

Zuko blinked. This was a subject they had never breached before. It was unsaid that at one point they would need an heir of some kind, but he most certainly did not figure so soon.

Zuko had thought maybe in three or five more years. Or seven, but Zuko saw no difference.

"Now? You want a baby, now?"

"Ugh! Yes, Zuko, now!" Katara threw her hands up exasperatedly."I want a tiny bundle of warmth that I can call mine! I want them to be a fire or water benders and I want them to be ours."

She spun around out of his arms and stared into his eyes as she interlaced their fingers. The emotions that Zuko saw in them was heartbreaking, but he couldn't understand.

But, this was his Katara and he knew he would never say no to her. Zuko gulped, still unsure, but willing either way, "Okay."

He heard a sigh, and he knew he had said the wrong thing, in the wrong way. "No, Zuko, if you don't want a baby right now, fine, whatever. But, know this, we will have a baby."

With that, she ripped her hands out of his and stormed from the room, any water present moving with her anger.

Zuko groaned. He had really done it this time.

"I just don't know what to do! She says she wants a baby and when I finally say okay, she says no! Women are so crazy!" The fire rose and Iroh laughed with his usual gusto.

"Young nephew, why don't you want to have kids?" At that moment, Sokka and Aang both walked in, laughing about something.

Zuko nodded at them, before turning back to his uncle. "Because I'm not ready. The Fire Nation is still in ruins from the war, and people are still skeptical, and we are in debt! Where would I have time to fit a kid in during that busy schedule?"

"What?" Both Aang and Sokka exclaimed.

"Katara wants to have babies?" Aang asked while Sokka stared at Zuko with a murderous expression.

"Yeah, she does," Zuko sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was down from his topknot and his crown was tucked safely away in wherever he had put it last.

He really should keep up with that thing more.

"And stop looking at me like that Sokka. I don't even want a baby right now, it's Katara. She saw you and Suki with little Jan, and now she has baby fever!"

Sokka's glared wavered and he sat down. "I know man. Suki got that once and look at us. You gotta somehow get her out of this, it's just a phase, unless you give in."

Zuko nodded, contemplating already.

"I just want a baby Suki! Why doesn't Zuko?"

"Sugar Queen, stop being so whiny! Why would you want something that you'd have to take care of? It'd cry and bitch all the damn time. Just look at Jan."

Suki shot a venomous glare towards the smirking Earthbender, who didn't see it and ignored the movement of Suki's head.

"Toph, shut up. You'd never understand the need to mother and care for something." Suki said, bouncing Jan around a couple of times. Katara shook her head at Toph, never understand the girls careless demeanor.

"Seriously though, what do I do? Zuko has to want a baby, it's nature!" Katara frowned. What was so bad about a baby?

"Look, if you really want this, you have to seduce him. Get him so horny he doesn't realize what he's doing." Toph said, and Katara flinched at her language.

"And don't take your herbs for atleast a week!" Suki added in, shushing Jan when she started to get fussy.

Katara nodded, standing up and heading for the door.

"And wear something sexy!" Toph shouted right before Katara closed the door.

And Katara had formed a plan that she knew had to work.

When Zuko walked into his chambers later that evening, he was pleasantly surprised to what he found laying on his bed.

It was Katara folded over one of his royal throw pillows in a sheer negligee and an innocent expression. This never happened, so naturally, Zuko turned skeptical.

"Hi, honey," Katara said shyly, batting her eyelashes.

"..Hello, Katara," He said, removing his robes and stripping to his underthings.

"So, I felt bad that I got so mad at you earlier. If you don't want a baby.." Katara pursed her lips and stood up, attracting Zuko's eyes to her smooth legs. He loved her legs; to have them wrapped around him as he brought her to the brink of..

He was startled out of his increasingly naughty thoughts by Katara running a hand down his chest.

"..then we don't have to have any." Katara smiled that innocent smile again and kissed him lightly, drawing back quickly.

Immediately, Zuko's lips followed hers and Katara smiled, wrapping her hands in his hair and smiling against him.

Quickly, their kissing became passionate, and Katara had soon enough removed Zuko's undershirt.

Zuko, however, was dumbfounded. He knew Katara, and Katara never just forgot about something, especially not anything like having a baby.

And, like that, Zuko understood the whole purpose of this. It was a decoy, a trick, to get him to give her what she wanted.

But he couldn't stop, not when her tongue was doing that delicious thing on his chest.

He flipped them over so she was under him and her legs immediately wrapped around his waist. He kissed her neck, inching the negligee up her chest.

"Have you..been taking your herbs?" He breathed out, the negligee still creeping up slowly. One hand slipped in to caress the swell of her breast and Katara groaned out excitedly.

"What..does..it matter?"

At that, Zuko was up and out of the bed, and all of the way across the room. Katara barely had time to register he was gone, but when she did, her arms dropped and her eyes opened, meeting his.

"Katara, I told you, I'm not ready," Zuko looked at her with fire in his eyes. "Why don't you understand that?"

"Why, why aren't you ready?" Katara stood up too, moving towards him. "I don't understand why you so badly want to wait?" She stared into his eyes. Right now, they were toe to toe, and Katara realized just how much taller he was than her.

"Because, I'm afraid!" His hands came down from where they had been stationed in his hair, and Katara felt the heat rise.

"Afraid of what? That water and fire won't mix? What, what could you be afraid of?" Katara nearly screamed at him.

"Afraid! Afraid of everything! Afraid I won't be a good dad, afraid I'll be just like my father! Afraid that I'll never have time for him or her, and afraid that I'll change!"

Katara stepped back. Well, that had never occurred to her, because it was an absolutely absurd thought. "Are you kidding me? You're afraid you'll be like that bastard? Obviously, you haven't looked in the mirror lately! You're nothing like your father, you never will be like him!" Katara yelled in his face.

"You obviously don't understand that if I had even thought you'd be like your father, I wouldn't want you to be the father of my children! Don't you see that faith I have in you! The trust that I've always put in you?"

Zuko looked down, ashamed he had been oblivious and that he had unknowingly doubted their love. "Really?"

"Of course! I love you, what the hell do you think I married you for?" She wasn't quite yelling, but not quite speaking yet and she lowered her voice, stepping closer to him.

She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. "You need to understand that there is no one, no one, I would rather have be the father of my children. They would be so lucky to have a dad like you. You and Azula would have been lucky as hell if Ozai had been even part of the man you are and will continue to be; no matter what!"

Zuko looked at her gratefully. Her words touched his heart, even if half had been yelled. He smiled widely, grabbing her by the wrist and kissing her into abandon.

When they broke away, Zuko laid his forehead to hers. "I love you so much."

Katara smiled. "So does this mean we can try?"

Zuko nodded without hesitation and met her in the middle for another easy, electrifying kiss.

First Zutara in a while. I hope you all liked. I think I'll expand, but, you know, depends on how you receive this?

So, yeah, tell me what you thought. :)

xxEchelonAtHeartxx