Hey, y'all. Here's my newest story, written as an almost-New-Year's present to all of my wonderful reviewers and subscribers. This is mainly dedicated to my friend Scarlett, though, who is one of the most amazing people I have ever met online.

I own nothing! Zuko, Katara, Yue, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Appa, Momo, Aang, and anything else recognizable belongs to Mike/Bryan/Nickelodeon!

Katara shuffled around on the ground, restlessly turning in her thick blankets. The moon was high and full and bright; she couldn't sleep due to the moon's unparalleled energy coursing through her. Her gaze flitted around their camp: Aang to her left, close to Toph; Appa flopped haphazardly on his back, nearly crushing an unsuspecting Momo; Suki curled up against Sokka; Zuko propped up against a tree, farthest away from her. Her cerulean eyes lingered on the fire prince for maybe just a moment too long, and she inwardly groaned.

With a heavy sigh, she rolled over again so she laid prone on the ground, staring aimlessly up at the night sky. Another glance around. Shift positions. Look up. Roll over. The cycle repeated for several minutes before she heaved herself up off the ground with one final sound of exasperation. After expertly stuffing her blankets with debris, just in case anyone happened to wake up, Katara tiptoed between the maroon trunks of tired leafy trees until camp was out of sight.

Then she ran.

Lithe and agile on her feet she was, weaving through the dense forest with little difficulty. The soft ground below her caved beneath her feet, leaving smeared footprints through the trees, and low branches whipped at her arms. However, she ignored the slight sting of bark against skin as her hair blew out behind her; it felt great just to run for the hell of it, instead of running for her life, or running for someone else's life. A small giggle bubbled at her upturned lips, and her long fingers tugged at the ribbons that held her Water Tribe outfit together, revealing the tight, pale white bindings underneath.

As she came within sight of the lake she had seen from atop of Appa's back, she let the fine material slip from her arms and, in just her bending outfit, dashed for the glassy surface of the lake. Her legs broke through the peaceful stillness, stirring up the water in annoyed waves, before she took one short breath and dived beneath the surface.

Dreary plants, turned copper by the moon's bright light, swayed gently in the underwater currents, and tiny fish darted about, as if they had someplace they desperately needed to be. A steady stream of silver bubbles arose from Katara's mouth as she laughed underwater, the tiny beads of air floating upwards. She rose back to the world above quietly, almost as if she were part of the water, and drew relaxed breaths from the humid night air.

Unbeknownst to the Water Tribe girl, the underbrush rustled behind her, a lean figure relining against a tree, his golden cat eyes watching her warily. Zuko had not been fooled when he had heard commotion from the opposite side of camp, and faked sleep. He had followed her, curious, then turned ashamed as he watched her shed her clothing. His shame, though overtly powerful, diminished quickly, replaced by a new kind of hunger and unnerving possessiveness over her.

Katara floated on her back, stretched languidly, and gazed up at the moon. "Hello, Yue," she said aloud. She paused. "We miss you," she started again. "Well, most of us. Sokka's with Suki now, though I know he misses you too. And Aang always misses people when they leave." She stopped again, swirling the water around her into little eddies with her arms.

"We have two new benders in our group. Toph taught Aang how to earth bend, and she invented metal bending. At first I was really excited to have another girl in the group, but she's kinda just like one of the guys.

"And Zuko's with us too. Um, you know, the one who attacked your village? Yeah, um, he's not like that anymore. He's really...different. I think you'd like him now. Besides, he taught Aang fire bending." She muttered something incoherent under her breath and then laughed.

Zuko crossed and uncrossed his arms uneasily, his eyes pinched in concentration. With an over exaggerated, please-do-not-attack-me clear of the throat, he hesitantly stepped forward.

"Zuko!" She attempted to add a growl to her voice, her brows knitting together in attempted anger, but she couldn't find the heart to perform such emotion. On any other night, she would have been undoubtedly furious, for he one, followed her; two, watched her; and three, listened to her conversation with the moon spirit. That night, though, was so perfect, so serene, that she couldn't bring herself to mar the peace. Instead, without raising her voice or even getting up, like Zuko expected, she simply said "Hey."

He nodded and bowed to her. "I-I just wanted to know what you were doing. It's the middle of the night." His shaggy, black hair hung in his face, shadowing his eyes in the dark.

Katara tilted her head to the side, her wavy chocolate hair following the movement in a streamlined motion. "Well, now you know," she said, her voice a little sharper than she intended, and he blushed.

"Would you like me to leave?"

"No, I want you to come in with me."

Instantly, Zuko looked up, eyes wide: that was definitely not the reaction he expected. His stare went from the girl in the water to her clothes abandoned in a heap, and that only reminded him of his current state of near-undress. He never wore a shirt to bed, so naturally, his broad shoulders and toned muscles of his stomach were exposed.

Insects hummed insistently in the distance, creating an uncomfortable, taut silence between them. With no valid excuse to decline, he sighed heavily and crossed the damp, gritty sand of the lakeshore.

Slowly, he waded into the water, the gentle movement of his legs creating ripples through the surface. Inch by inch, the water rose up his body until he was devoured from the chest down in the silky wet substance.

Katara floated toward him, gently kicking her feet, until her head made contact with his chest. She looked up at him, the moon reflecting in her eyes, and he stared back. He opened his mouth to say something, his brow creased with confusion, but she cut him off.

"You make the water warm," she said simply, swimming in slow, lazy circles around him. He turned to follow her movements, never breaking eye contact. Katara smiled a private, secretive smile then dipped underwater, only to resurface a moment later behind him. As soon as her head poked through the glassy surface of the water, she waved her arm and splashed the prince, laughing as she did so.

"Katara!" he hissed. He brushed his now-damp hair out of his liquid amber eyes. The water bender rolled her own eyes before bumping into his chest again. "Come on, Zuko. Live a little." She stood up in a patch of shallow water, tossing her dripping hair behind her shoulder. In that moment, when the moon turned her skin to a color akin to silver and illuminated the streams of water trickling down the sides of her body, was when he wanted to grab her and show her just how much he could "live."

It wasn't the first time that the urge to kiss Katara had rushed over him; no, it had happened many times before. The first time, if he remembered correctly, was when he had tied her to a tree, then the next time at the North Pole in the Spirit Oasis. Nearly every time he saw her, he wanted so badly to show her, but each of those times had not been under compromising circumstances. That night, with no hatred or violence or interruptions-only him and her and the moon-was when he had the strongest impulse to touch her.

Katara felt his penetrating eyes on her, no longer looking her at her face but tripping down the length of her body. She smirked to herself then sauntered closer to him, walking on her tiptoes and swaying her hips as she did so.

She reached out and touched her index finger to his abdomen, tracing a single, searing line around his body until she stood behind him, her hands secured at his waist."Besides, Zuko," she murmured, her cool breath fanning out between his shoulder blades, "you're in my element now." She punctuated her words with a single, soft kiss to the nape of his neck, grinning wickedly as she pulled away; she knew how to use what she had to her advantage.

She shot away with a childlike giggle, curling streams of mist around herself and rising in a steady geyser of lake water. Katara waved from her liquid pedestal above his head, a satisfied grin turning up her features. His mouth was parted in momentary shock.

She flipped back into the water, twisting in the air and sinking back below the surface with not so much as a splash. "You are such a tease!" Zuko growled, accepting her silent challenge and diving after her.

The water bender slid effortlessly through the water as she evaded his chase, dipping lower and lower until she hit the lake bottom and, with a tense push, rocketed back up to the surface.

"You're a pretty good swimmer...for a Fire Nation pansy," Katara commented as he popped up a few yards away, trying to regain his breath. Zuko narrowed his eyes at the insult, and was about to send a jab back at her until she realized something with a gasp.

"You liked that, didn't you?" she asked, referring to the hidden seductress who had vanished just as fast as she had appeared. Her eyes swam with a mischievous glint. Zuko ducked underwater, continuing his chase, trying to buy himself time and attempting to hide the vicious red tinge that splashed over his face.

"It's not respectful to call the future Fire Lord names," he said when he came back up to the surface. Katara snorted.

"The current water bending master can do whatever the hell she wants. Besides, you never answered my question."

Once again, he evaded answering her by emerging into the water, chasing her through the silky stillness.

The were total opposites, as they were everyday, but it was even more evident when Katara had the upper hand. Both were incredibly fast, slicing through the water, one predator and the other prey. Zuko, though, moved with furious force and harsh movements, while Katara moved her limbs gracefully, fluidly, almost as if she were one with the water. He fought and she drifted. It was like a dance underwater, with the prince closing the distance between them and the peasant twirling around him, dodging and showing off at the same time.

After using up her supply of oxygen, the water bender rushed to the surface, poked her face through, drew one long breath, and submerged again, only to be met face to face by Zuko. A smug smirk played his mouth as his hands-hands that were much larger than hers-gripped her wrists, his fingers overlapping, tugging her back up to the surface with him.

A sudden burst of unease coursed through Katara's body, her stomach dropping when she looked at her hands, which were held captive by his. Well, this is awfully familiar, she thought dizzily as his voice resounded though her head: "I'll save you from the pirates." She knew he wouldn't hurt her, not now, but that nervousness just clenched tighter inside of her chest.

"You really want to know?" Zuko asked, his voice low and tempting. He freed one hand, only to slide a dripping wet fingertip over her trembling lips. "Because two can play at your game."

Her cerulean eyes closed heavily when he dropped her other wrist and skimmed his fingers over the flat planes of her tanned stomach, both of them abandoning their game of chase and merely treading water. She managed to stutter an answer, which was more of an wordless "Mmm-hmm" than anything else.

His lips were dangerously close to her neck, his hot breath raising armies of goose-bumps on her otherwise smooth arms. The prince brazenly brought his lips to hers, gently tracing their shape with the tip of his tongue. "Yes," he said simply against her mouth.

Zuko's breathy response triggered some hidden need in her mind, and with little thought, crushed herself against him, legs entangling, fingers desperately seeking purchase on his back, lips fighting for dominance. All precautions and warnings were tossed to the wind, the pair of benders floating lazily back to the shore, their kisses hungry.

The second flesh touched gritty lake bottom, it was a mad dash to the closest solid ground, Katara pushing him down and freezing his wrists to the rocks below.

"Oh, bondage," he growled appraisingly, his arms frozen above his head. "That's new."

"You like?" she purred in response, dragging kisses from his chest up.

He panted his answer when her lips left his. "...Yeah. As a matter of fact, I do."

~Fin~

1) I never expected it to be this long,

2) I never expected it to have the dirty hints at the end, and

3) I actually think this is my favorite of my fics so far.

Review, please?
Tchao, Zutarians.
-Erika-
xoxo