Part VII- Reactions

Katara swiftly fixed her hair as she exited Zuko's room. Her body was tingling and her lips still felt warm from the time they had spent entwined with Zuko's. As she stepped out she was met at once with the sight of a glaring Sokka. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening as her brother's arms crossed tighter.

"Sugar Queen!" Toph called, sidling up to her. "Suki and I want to have a chat with you. You have time?"

Katara took one look at the smirk on Toph's face and decided she would rather face Sokka in his anger then the Earthbender.

"Uh… I'd like to, but I have to go and…" she said, starting to back away as quickly as she could.

"Well, it's gonna have to wait," Toph said in an over-sweet voice as she grabbed Katara's arm and yanked her forward.

Katara gave a little yelp as she was dragged after Toph with Suki following. She tried to break free, but the younger girl was very strong.

"Er, Aang? Make sure Sokka doesn't do something stupid, please," Suki called over her shoulder.

Katara was dragged to the nearest balcony and stood on it, her exit blocked by the two Earth Kingdom girls.

"Tell us everything," Toph demanded at once.

"I… have no idea what you're-"

"Oh skip the crap!" Toph sighed. "I felt your body reactions and I heard the sounds."

Katara paled and then blushed.

"You mean, I wasn't hearing things? You were actually in the room?" she gasped.

Toph sniggered and even Suki grinned a bit.

"Oh yeah; we came in at just the right moment."

"Wait… we? How many of you came in and saw… us?" Katara's heart rate increased.

"Just me, Aang, Suki, Momo and Sokka. Oh, and we had to tell Iroh…"

Somewhere else in the palace the Firelord was being half suffocated by his uncle hugging him and tearfully telling him how happy he was. Zuko silently swore to get revenge.

"Sokka? He… saw?" Katara moaned and put her head in her hands on mortification. "Oh crap."

"Don't worry about it," Toph said impatiently. "I want to know how it happened!"

"I don't… actually know," Katara admitted. "I was healing him, and I slipped forward and our lips touched and then he was kissing me… And then I was kissing him back… And last night we just somehow… drew each other in…"

Suki let out a little squeal at the cuteness of it all as she flung her arms around Katara. The Waterbender blushed but hugged Suki back, feeling the same joy.

"How did it feel?" Toph asked, her smirk even wider.

"Like a kiss?" Katara tried, slightly unsure how to respond.

"No, really?" Toph's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Let's try this again: how did it feel?"

"Well…" Katara fidgeted and blushed. "It was… very warm. Like you have no idea. When it starts off the kiss is so gentle and the warmth wraps around you like a blanket. It keeps you so secure… And then when it starts to heat up the warmth turns hotter too… It starts to burn you, but it's the best burning ever… And the fiery passion…" She broke off, blushing heavily. "Other then that, it just feels right. It's nothing I've ever felt before… I can feel him in front of me, but he's also inside of me… That sounds perverted, but it's like… I dunno how to explain it… It's like he's the other half of me…"

Suki smiled, understanding. Seeing her smile Katara felt reassured and also closer to the girl that was probably going to be her sister one day. Toph, true to her nature, ruined the gentle moment.

"So how 'inside of you' are we talking?" she smirked.

Katara nearly died from embarrassment. Her entire face and neck flamed and her face became utterly mortified.

"Toph!" she spluttered. "It's not like that! I only kissed him for the first time two days ago!"

"Oh admit it, you are so picturing him without clothes on right now," Toph smirked.

"I… No I am not!"

I can tell you're lying!" Toph squealed, making Katara blush even harder and burry her face in her hands again.

"So what does it feel like, being held by his abs? Are they as good as we speculated?" Suki said, quickly coming to her rescue.

"Oh my gosh it's better then we speculated!" Katara told them and Suki and Toph both smirked together. Katara hesitated for a moment. "So… you guys are okay with it?"

"Uh, yeah!" both girls said in unison. "It's totally amazing!"

"And Iroh?"

"He was practically jumping up and down. He wouldn't stop singing, either."

"Aang?" Katara was hesitant with the name.

"He's also happy about it. He went into this whole long Avatar speech about uniting nations and such."

"…Sokka?"

"Well…" Suki looked uncomfortable. "I'm sure he'll get there… eventually…"

"Great," Katara groaned. "Well there's no way I'm going to be allowed to sleep in Zuko's room tonight, even if he's on the couch."

"Yeah, just a warning: when the rooms swap again make sure Sokka isn't his new roommate. The Fire Nation needs its king."

At that moment they were interrupted by Sokka and Aang coming in from the left side and Zuko and Iroh coming in from the right. The awkward silence stretched as Sokka and Zuko stared at each other.

"We're leaving soon for a long time. I'll give 'em a month before they break up," Sokka snorted.

Katara sighed, not really wanting to think about how long she'd be away.

"Well, at least he didn't kill him," Toph tried to sooth her.

"Toph? Not helping."

-x-x-x-

"Calm down or you're going to give yourself a heart attack," Toph muttered to her as Appa landed.

Katara blushed but did not answer. He whole body was tense and nervous as she surveyed the Fire Nation palace. It had been three months since she had last been here. The desire to come back had been so strong in her, she had felt like she was ready to burst. But now that she was there again doubts were everywhere in her thoughts. Her and Aang hadn't lasted two months, let alone three. Zuko was such an opposite to her and he was a king. It had been so sudden, who was to say it wasn't a fling? Maybe he had gotten over her in the three months…

"Sugar Queen, relax," Toph hissed.

Katara swallowed and tried to. She couldn't expect her and Zuko to still be together. Then again, they never had been together in the first place… They had both probably moved on or he had come to his senses or something. The memory of their two kisses made her slightly light-headed. For the whole afternoon as they were welcomed and given a tour of the renovations and projects she was in inner turmoil. The worst was Zuko was nowhere to be seen. According to his mother he was in a very long meeting.

Yes, his mother. They had found her eventually and she ad visited the South Pole for two weeks to see what it was like. Katara liked the woman very much, and Ursa returned the feelings. The Waterbender was also extremely happy for Zuko she could imagine how he had felt when they had found her. According to Iroh he hadn't stopped smiling for days.

Katara sighed, wondering what she would think of her son being her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend she reminded herself with a pang. Suddenly Iroh greeted someone warmly and she looked up to find him there. His eyes met hers, and they widened.

Zuko couldn't believe she was actually there again. Three months of waiting… He swallowed as he realized she was probably there to tell him it was over. She had moved on, it would never work. She wasn't prepared to have him gone so long or involved with so much politics. She had come to realize that she still actually disliked him after all. He had only the memories of what it had felt like to kiss her. How every turmoil he had inside him disappeared with her gentleness, how she calmed him, comforted him and made him feel safe. The coolness that brought so many sensations to his hot skin; he had never felt cool like that. And how when the kiss intensified the cool became unbearably sweet and consuming, how he never wanted to leave her arms and how their bodies fit together in an embrace without any trouble. Most of all, how it felt as if she was strangely one with him…

The Waterbender's heart nearly stopped as she read something in the Firelord's eyes. It was not rejection or discomfort, as she had been expecting. Instead it was… longing. That was all it took to send her self-control packing.

"Ursa?" she asked in a slightly strangled voice, ignoring the looks she received from everybody.

Yeah, Katara, everybody's here. Toph's family, Zuko's family, your family… If you thought Sokka's reaction was bad, what do you think Dad's going to say?

She ignored the thoughts and asked the question that was burning in her. Burning like Zuko.

"You were the Fire Lady, right? So could you… give me permission to do something? I ask because it's not… really… allowed… in a situation where royalty is involved…" She was stuttering and rambling all at the same time, unsure how best to phrase her request. "It's just… If I don't do this thing, I might burst."

"So it's not exactly good, but it feels good and it's tearing you open with its urgency?" the woman smiled kindly at her and Katara nodded. "I was never the Fire Lady, but I still have power here. And you have my full permission."

"Katara, what…?" her father asked, but she ignored him.

In a few, quick strides she was in front of a surprised Zuko. And then she was able to do what she had been wanting for three months: she grabbed the neck of his robes, pulled him in and kissed him with all the power she had. For a very short moment she was met with surprise and then the heat she had longed for seared into her again. Zuko's arms wrapped around her waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. The two of them were in their own blissfully happy world.

"What… the…"

"So she is still in love with him? Even after three months?" Aang sounded happy.

"Oh yeah," Toph said. "She was giving herself heart attacks all the way here. I'm actually surprised she didn't go charging into his meeting."

"Sokka… you knew about this?"

"Well yeah… But I… I suppose… There are a lot of guys out there that are a worse choice then Zuko," Sokka replied with difficulty.

Everybody stared at him in utter shock.

"Did you… did you just give them your approval?" Suki asked in utter surprise.

Sokka crossed his arms and shrugged nonchalantly before giving the tiniest of nods. Everybody gaped at him, except Toph who grinned.

"Firelord Zuko and Firelady Katara. It has a very nice ring to it…"

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