I DON'T NOT NOT OWN IT.

Chapter 6: Awakening

Over the mountains and through the thickness of the misty morning, Aang could be seen sitting on his window ledge, dangling his rather small feet out of the window. He had gotten hardly any sleep the night before, and his eye lids were just now drooping as the combined weight of gravity and fatigue settled upon him.

Listening to Toph's words of wisdom had caused him to think more than he had ever intended to think on the subject, and his sleep was paying the price. She was right in saying that things had not turned out the way he had planned them to, but could he believe what she wanted him to believe about him and Katara always being connected through their intertwined destinies? How could he be so sure that after today, when they were to each choose their next steps in rebuilding the world, that he would ever see her again?

Aang, no matter how strong he had grown in the past months, no matter how hard he tried to let the Guru's words drill into his head, still could not let her go.

In one swift motion, he reached for his glider, and stepped out into the mist of the morning, the weight of his pain lifting as he flew into the sunrise.

Katara was feeling warmer than ever under the fire nation sheets. She wasn't sure if she was blushing, or if it was the layers of clothing she was wearing. It wasn't until she peeked through squinted eyes to see that it was a combination of two things: The sun shining gloriously on her body, and the body of the man lying beside her, which was radiating furious heat.

She blinked quickly, and cleared the sweat from her brow, wiping it hastily on the sheets. She waited for her vision to clear, so that she could recognize her surroundings. One look at the cascading curtains on large marble pillars caused the memories to flood her in an instant. She laid there, wide eyed, replaying last night's events in her head.

She and Zuko had met up in his quarters after an evening at the tea shop, and through a combined effort had pushed Zuko's king sized bed to the opening of the balcony, just close enough to the outside so that they could sit on the foot of the bed and make pictures in the stars above them. She smiled in spite of her condition, remembering how Zuko curled his arm around her waist and had whispered soothingly in her ear. She remembered placing a cautious hand on his bare chest, and entangling cautious fingers in his hair. She remembered falling back, his body beside her…

She shot up from the bed, gasping, biting her lip to keep from screaming. She was blushing furiously, running her fingers through her bed-head hair. Zuko smiled and sat up within three seconds of her sudden movement. He rubbed his eyes groggily and groaned.

"Mmm this how you wake up every morning?" He yawned and she glared at him.

"What am I doing here!?" She snapped

"You fell asleep here, I guess. I was too lazy to move you." He smiled again, putting his hand behind her neck, and moved in to whisper in her ear. She turned her head and moved backwards.

"I…fell asleep?" Zuko's face formed into one of confusion.

"Yes, you did! Katara, what do you--" He stopped, and analyzed the blanket held tightly at the base of her neck, her cheeks a furious red, and her eyes shaking nervously. He was silent with sudden understanding.

"Well…did we?"

At that, Zuko roared with laughter, so loud that the entire palace must have heard him. Though it would have seemed impossible, Katara turned an even more fabulous shade of red, and put her palm over his mouth in an attempt to silence him. He quieted down, and she lifted her hand off of his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Katara. It's just the look on your face is priceless! Plus, I didn't know anyone could turn as red as you are now…"

The corner of her lips turned upwards ever so slightly and she directed her gaze away from his.

"Don't worry, it's beautiful." He assured her. "No, we didn't. I mean, you're still wearing the clothes you were wearing when you came in last night."

She peered under the sheets she was gripping to see that she was, in fact, wearing her familiar blue night gown and pants. Katara looked back at his golden eyes, and the red in her face began to fade ever so slowly. Zuko caught one of her loose hairs and twisted it between his fingers.

"Katara, I would never take advantage of you like that…"

"Oh don't tell me you haven't thought of it!" She smiled smugly at him.

"You didn't let me finish. I would never take advantage of you like that…without your total consent." He smiled back at her. She leaned in and planted a kiss on his smiling lips. She could feel his smile widen as she moved her fingers up the back of his neck and into his tangled hair.

"But you have thought about it…" She whispered into his lips. She could feel him turning red.

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look under the sunrise?"

"Oh you've definitely thought about it!"

"How can I not?! You're kind of gorgeous…Plus I'm a teenage boy." She laughed quietly as she kissed his jaw bone. She couldn't help but feel…flattered.

Katara released one hand from his hair and placed it on the base of his neck. Her fingers trailed down his bare chest tenderly, like rain on a window sill. She stopped at his waist, right above the sash of his pants. She could feel his breathing stop as she lightly poked his stomach.

"Maybe someday…" She whispered into his ear, right before ruffling his hair. She kissed him quickly on the cheek and hopped off of the bed. Her eyes darted around to find her shoes.

"You're terrible." He said releasing all the air he had locked inside of him.

"Yet you still can't stand to see me go!" She smiled again, smug as ever, and Zuko's cheeks turned a fresh pink. She reached over to his hair so that she could stroke it once more.

"See you at breakfast?" She whispered.

"You will be the death of me."

Katara laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

She turned on her heal and skipped, lightly as ever, to the door across the room. She practically floated through it and into the hallway. Suddenly, her blue eyes wide with a smile, met green ones, wide with wonder along with a smile that was deviously smug.

"So…you and Sparky…"

"Toph! I--"

"Say no more! I saw the whole thing." She winked at Katara, and as she passed her in the hallway, she elbowed her in the arm, whispering, "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look under the sunrise?" followed by a muffled giggle. Toph's steps became livelier as she passed by.

Immediately, Katara's cheeks were flaming.

this one makes me giggle a bit. only a few more chapters left! possibly one...possibly two. i'm still wingin' it on this one! REVIEW.