There was something in her eyes.

He could not look away, could not draw himself away as he watched her movements. She was like the most elegant dancer and the fiercest fighter all rolled into one. He knew he should have been joining her, should have been assisting her, but he found that he could not move his legs. He was unable to stop himself from staring right at her, watching her every movement, taking in the way she moved her arms, the way her eyes narrowed in concentration. He had always thought he'd memorized her style of bending, but here she was surprising him like she always did.

"Zuko, watch out!"

Suddenly, her voice rang out clear and he snapped to it, looking to the left just in time to catch the soldier coming right for him. He dodged the fire blast and rolled in the dirt, leaping up to throw out one of his own attacks. "Okay?" Katara was at his side then, flashing him a smirk while her eyes shimmered in the sunlight, catching him off guard as they always did. This friendship with her… Though it was no longer new, though years had now passed since that day Katara had accepted him, there was something else brewing beneath the surface and it burned him within. He nodded and she turned back to the battle before them, her water rising around her like whips, her hands clenched into fists. "Let's finish this." Another nod and he felt the fire breathe to life in his palms.

It was over a short while later.

They knocked out the seven Fire Nation soldiers and left them unconscious in a pile on the ground. Then, they ran. They had been separated earlier that day from the others, Aang, Sokka, and Toph… They could only hope that they would catch up with the others eventually, or that they would know to go to the place Sokka and Katara had set as a meet up place years before.

After walking for what felt like hours, they finally approached a small village that Zuko knew was safe. It was a poorer village, one not loyal to the Fire Lord, and so it would be one that kept them safe for the time being. "Let's find some place to stay the night." He gestured towards what would be the head of the village's home and took her by the arm, leading her towards it. Zuko did his best to ignore the tingling sensation beneath his fingertips; he was unable to stop himself from glancing in her direction, wondering if she felt it too.

She did.

Katara knew there was no denying the way her stomach leapt into her throat at his every touch, at his every glance. There was no mistaking the way his touch left her burning like a flame. But she could only hope that he did not notice, that he paid her no mind at all. Thus far, it certainly seemed so. But for how long could she keep up the façade of friendship? How long would it be before he caught her sneaking glances at him? Before he caught her with wandering thoughts of him?

Within the hour, the village head had placed them into the best room in the local inn at no charge, so elated was he to meet both the estranged Prince of the Fire Nation and one of the Avatar's closet companions. Both she and Zuko (along with the others in their small group) had gained reputations for their skills as well as being well known for being with Aang. In the years that had passed since their joining with Aang, both she and Sokka had become well known, and ever since Zuko the banished prince had joined their ranks, their reputations' had only grown. And it certainly seemed that there was still those in the Fire Nation loyal to their prince and longed to see his father and sister overthrown and him on the throne instead.

After another round of apologies at having only but one room for them to share, the village head finally left them alone to their own devices. The room was large and spacious, with but one bed, and a small couch against the left wall. They were given a key to the bathhouse that was in a small building off the back of the inn, a private bathhouse for only the wealthiest of travelers, much different than the public one down the street in the village. "Shall we?" Zuko asked moments after they had been left alone, already wanting to ignore the awkwardness of knowing there was but one bed for them to share. She nodded and followed him out of the room, allowing the door to swing closed behind them. Her worry for their friends was evident on her features, that much he could see as he looked upon her face, his own heart feeling the sting of worry for their friends. They could only hope that they had found a place to stay and were safe.

Separating when they came to the bathhouse, she going into the females side and he into the males, left them both alone. As Katara stripped from her old, dirty clothing she could not help but to say a silent thanks to the universe for bringing her to where she was right then. Even though she worried for her friends, she knew they were more than capable of taking care of themselves… Besides, how long had it been since her last hot bath? Slipping into the hot water, she breathed a sigh of relief and sank down low, her hair billowing out around her face; she took this time to look around the bathhouse. It was only one very large room separated by a thin, wooden wall that touched down the very center of the bath itself, stretching only about halfway up, giving one room to peek over the top of the wall should they wish to. Hearing the telltale splash of a body entering the water, Katara knew that Zuko had joined her on the other side.

He could not help but to be painfully aware of Katara on the other side of the wall.

Though a wall blocked him from seeing her, he could still see her; he could imagine her there, with her beautiful dark hair wet and sticking against her golden skin. He could imagine her sapphire hues as they peered back at him, eyes so deep it was like they could read his every thought, could see into his very soul. Eyes that had never changed over the years. Zuko could not help but to wonder if she was as aware of him as he was of her.

"Zuko?"

There she was, calling out to him. He heard the splashing of the water as she swam towards the wall; he glanced up and to his surprise, he could see her hands on the top of the wall. Before he could speak, there she was, pulling herself up to the top to peer over the wall at him. He yelped and sank lower into the water, a crimson blush staining his cheeks as he made a valiant attempt to cover himself. "Embarrassed of something, Zuko?" She teased, her laugh good-natured and her eyes sparkling as she sobered, her head tilting to the left side. As he looked up at her, he could see that her hair was soaking wet but only on the ends that trailed over the wall and he smiled in spite of himself. "Close your eyes." She suddenly said, pinning him with her piercing eyed gaze, waiting a moment until she watched his lids fall over his golden colored eyes. "Keep them closed." She instructed, waiting yet another moment to ensure there would be no peeking on his end. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself all the way up onto the edge of the wall and then slipped over, lowering herself slowly into the water without so much as a splash. "Okay, you can open them."

Well, he had not expected that.

She was there in the water with him now, her hair all around her as she came closer, taking a seat across from him, the distance he supposed as appropriate as it could be for two friends to be naked in a bath together. It amazed him at how comfortable she seemed to be, how at ease she was being there with him. She didn't even seem bothered to know he could at any point catch a glimpse of her naked beneath the water. In this moment she was so different- stripped of her clothing, her inhibitions (though few that there were), and left with nothing but the skin on her back forced him to see her in an entirely different light. This was a girl- no, a woman- that he had grown fond of over the years. He could still remember the first time he had seen her, with her stubborn words and her defiant eyes that had pierced his very soul. He could still recall the first time he'd felt the sheer power of her bending. He could still remember the first time her touch had been gentle and her eyes had been soft. There were hundreds of sides to her, hundreds of words he could use to describe her… How had he not seen it? How had he not realized it?

He was in love with her.

Katara could not help but love the look on his face; he was so awkward, it was adorably endearing. He had next to no idea how to act around a woman, let alone a naked one. And in all honesty, she wasn't all that sure how to act around a naked man, either. Not that he needed to know that. As she looked upon him, Katara had to wonder when he had grown up so much- they had been friends for years now, for what felt like an eternity, but she could not remember when he had become the man he was now. With his strong, chiseled jaw and his amber-colored eyes… The defining scar that covered the majority of the left side of his handsome face. A scar that did not take away from the look of his features, in fact, it made him look all the better. She wondered if she had grown up as much as he had. She wondered if he noticed the way she had changed as she noticed him.

Silence descended and for a while, they merely sat there, enjoying both the warm bath and one another's company, enjoying being safe and out of harm's way for even just a night. Finally, they both knew they could sit no longer. "Close your eyes." She said for the second time that night and he did as he was bid, listening instead to the sound of the water as she pulled herself from the bath. "Okay," she called out and he opened his eyes, unable to stop them from traveling her up and down as she stood on the side, a towel wrapped tightly around her slender frame. It was her turn to blush and she turned away then, saying she would see him upstairs and then she was gone, the door slamming shut behind her.

Pulling himself from the water, he wrapped a towel around himself and when he'd dried his body off, he slipped the robe the inn had provided on. Leaving the towel where it had been, he too exited the bathhouse, taking the stairs up to the room as he mind spun with thoughts of her. How could he be so foolish? How had he never noticed it? He put a hand to the door and pushed it open, stepping inside, surprised to find the room was dark. Perhaps she had already gone to bed. Waving a hand over the candle on the bedside table, it flickered to life with a flame and cast the room in a soft, eerie sort of glow. He turned to the bed then, surprised to see it was empty. "Katara…" He called out as he turned, finding himself face to face with her then, standing there in nothing but the towel from the bath. His breath caught in his throat and the words he was about to speak died on his lips.

What the hell was she doing?

Katara could not explain it, but for some reason, she knew this was what she was supposed to be doing. She knew he felt something much like what she felt. She had seen his eyes on her in that moment in the bathhouse. She had felt the spark at his every touch, if even just a graze. She had felt the quiver of her heart at his every glance, at his every smile that was only for her. This was a risk, she supposed, because things could go oh so wrong, but a risk she was quite willing to take. And so that was why she still stood there, still wrapped in nothing but a towel, her eyes on his. "Zuko, I…" Now that the moment was here, she found she could not find the words to say.

Luckily for her, Zuko said them for her. Or rather, took the actions necessary for her. He closed the gap between them with two single strides and put his arms around her. Crushing her against him, he held on for dear life, his touch warm and his grip comforting. Leaning down, his lips found hers and she melted against him, her hands clinging to the front of his robe as he kissed her. In an instant it was over and they pulled back, both staring at one another as if to ask just what are we doing? But then she was smiling and so was he. This time she was kissing him, her kiss as fierce as her bending prowess, and it left him breathless. He had never, not in a thousand years, expected this to be happening. But he was so happy that it was.

He was kissing her for a third time then and he ran his tongue along her lower lip, probing until she granted him full access to her mouth. Her hands were moving then, one reaching up to the back of his head, slender digits threading through his still damp hair, the other draped over his shoulder. He ran his hands the length of her body and then back up again, one hand moving to sit at the small of her back, the other following her lead and entangling in the length of her dark waves of hair. He could feel her teeth nipping at his lip and he could not stop the chuckle from escaping him. The kiss was fiery and passionate, so full of something that Zuko could not put a finger on. All he knew is that he never wanted it to end. He clutched at her back, drawing her closer to him, chest to chest he could feel her heart beating. His hand slipped little lower, cupping her buttock beneath the towel and he heard the soft murmur from her lips as she pulled them away from his.

She was taking a single step back then, his surprise must have been evident because she smiled and something mischievous crossed her features. Her hands lifted and then she pulled the towel away from her body, allowing it to fall freely to the floor at her feet. For several moments he could do nothing but stand there and stare at her; how perfect she was, how beautiful. He longed to open his mouth and say something to her, but he could not find the words to use, the words to say. There were no words to use to describe what he was feeling, to explain to her just how he saw her. There was no word to use to describe just how perfect he thought she was.

He was taking her into his arms once again, his lips on hers while his hands traveled the full length of her bare body. His fingertips trailed over her hips and then back up once again. Though he moved a little hesitantly at first, she felt his palm enclose around her breast and that was all it took for him to find his rhythm of what to do. His thumb rubbed circles against her nipple, earning him a soft, cat-like moan from her lips, a sound that instantly brought him fully to attention. As his hands did their work, his lips did as well; he caught her in another kiss, one that left her weak in the knees and gripping his robe to remain upright. "Zuko," his name had never sounded so sweet as it left her lips in a tone of lust. He trailed kisses from her mouth down her jaw and then down her neck, his free hand sweeping aside her curtain of dark hair. His lips moved further down, kissing the crook of her shoulder and even further down to her collarbone. He felt her hands moving and he stood upright, helping her to shrug the robe he wore from his shoulders, allowing it to fall at his feet as she had done with her towel.

Without wasting another moment, Zuko reached out and scooped her up into his arms, something he had done hundreds of times over the years. He carried her across the room to deposit her onto the bed, and then climbed on beside her. He took this moment to fully appreciate her body, her full, firm breasts, her long, slender legs, and that luscious dark hair that had always appealed to him. His hand reached out, fingertips trailing along the length of a thin scar on her abdomen, remembering for a moment the battle in which she had received it. Leaning over, he pressed his lips to it, feeling her tremble beneath his touch. As he came up, he met her gaze and she was smiling a smile that he had never before seen. A smile that made him smile as well. She was nodding then, as if to answer the question that was swimming inside of his brain, and as always she could read his very thoughts. Climbing over her, he positioned himself carefully, and pushed himself inside of her. She gave a little squeak and as he began to move against her, she was moaning, arching her back against him as he thrust.

When it was over and they lay side by side in the bed, Zuko could not help but to chuckle. "What?" Katara's sleepy voice asked in the dark, her hand reaching out to lay on his chest, his heart beating into her palm.

"And here I was worrying about sharing the bed."

It took only a moment for Katara to laugh, the sound soft and sweet, and when she was snuggled up close to his side, he slipped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. He knew she was asleep when her breathing evened out and he lay there with her in the crook of his arm, her hand still on his chest, and as he drifted off himself, he realized he had never told her what he'd intended on saying hours before. Pressing a kiss to her temple, he breathed a contented sigh and spoke the words he knew she could not even hear. "I love you, Katara."