Katara tossed and turned, throwing her body this way and that. The night was calling to her, she could feel something ignited in her, but was fighting it. Who knew what time it was, and Aang was already fast asleep. After several minutes of battling with the energies it seemed only she felt, she sat up and looked to the right. Aang was just as she suspected; passed out. A gentle hand rested on his bared, skinny arm. "Aang," she whispered fervently.

"Hmm?" he asked. It seemed like she would have to take a more direct route. For a moment she bit her lip, wondering if this was such a good idea. But then the moment was over as the heat of the night made another swell rise up inside of her. She put one hand on either side of him and lowered herself so that her hair flowed around them as she pushed her lips against his. At first Aang fought it, trying to stay asleep, but then something must have clicked in his head to make him realize what was going on. His eyes opened in surprise and his body tensed. Eventually he kissed her back, but it didn't fit. It wasn't what she was looking for. "Katara, are you ok?" Aang asked her, and she pulled back from him. She sighed and looked away.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Aang looked at her with the childhood innocence that seemed was going to belong to him forever. "I'm just going to go for a walk by the water to clear my head. Go back to sleep." It wasn't too hard for him; his eyes were already closed and his muscles relaxed as he returned to a deep slumber. With a frustrated sigh Katara brushed aside the flap of the tent and headed towards the ocean's edge. The whole camp was silent; was she the only one feeling the energy of the night? Something was different about it. She felt charged in a way that had never happened before. Maybe it was just a water-bender thing and had something to do with the moon. She looked up at it, so huge and bright, hanging low enough in the clear night sky to cast its shadow on the crest of the waves as the beat upon to the beach. Whatever it was, being out under the moon only served to suffocate her more. She continued to walk down to the water's edge, passing through the break in the low wall that housed some kind of fire nation plant in it. She stopped just inside the entrance, only a few feet from the edge of the tide. It was so high, much higher than it had been that afternoon. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to meditate her way out of the pressure building inside of her.

"You too?" came the husky voice behind her that made her jump. Zuko was sitting on a blanket with his back against the brick wall, watching her. Her eyes were drawn to him, so pale in the moonlight as it reflected off of his bared torso.

"What?" Katara asked.

"I couldn't sleep either," he said and made room for her on his blanket, beckoning her to come sit beside him. For a moment she hesitated, but then threw that thought away. Why would she have to hesitate from sitting next to Zuko? "What's on your mind?" Zuko asked her as she settled herself down beside him.

"It's…hard to explain," Katara mumbled and fought of a blush.

"You can tell me, you don't have to be shy about anything Katara. Chances are, I'll understand." The way he said it made it sound like he already knew. Katara's eyes turned up to look at his, and for a moment the breath caught in her chest. She had been suppressing this emotion for a while now, always hiding it behind anger of some sort, or focus, or even worse trying to displace the emotions onto Aang. But here, alone with him under the moon that seemed to be drawing everything out in the open, Katara couldn't deny it any longer. Still, she was sure he didn't return the feelings, so she kept them to herself. But just because she was hiding that from him didn't mean she had to hide everything from him. For some reason she felt more open than ever, so she told him.

"I guess, I guess I've just come to realize some things about people that I've been putting off," she told him.

"Is it about Aang?" Zuko guessed. Katara looked away again, fixing her eyes on the waves as they moved in and out.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked guiltily. "I mean, I know he's the Avatar, and I know that he has feelings for me, but….I keep forgetting how young he is. He's still a child. And I know he has a crush on me, but it's just that; a childhood crush. It's not exactly…." She trailed off before she could finish the sentence.

"What you need," Zuko finished for her.

"I'm a terrible person," Katara concluded and put her face in her hands. It was then that she felt warm, strong hands on her back, and looked up into Zuko's golden eyes.

"No, Katara, you're not. You're an astonishing person, and a huge source of personal inspiration," he admitted openly. "It's not wrong of you to want something more. What's wrong is you denying yourself what you need." She felt the heat between them and wondered if she was reading too much into what he was saying. Her heart beat wildly in her chest and she feared that he would her it and know the truth about what she really wanted. Her eyes were so wide, so captivatingly and sparkled with innocence that it almost undid Zuko. He slid his hand out to touch the top of hers, and suddenly Katara couldn't breathe. "I know what you need, Katara," he whispered huskily. She was glad he was talking, because she had lost her voice somewhere along the way. "Let me show you what it's like to be loved by a man, instead of a boy." Slowly he pulled her to him, and their lips brushed. At first Katara was in shock, but then she felt his warm kiss, so firm and knowing, so different from the sloppy unsure kisses Aang gave her. Finally her lips opened, allowing his tongue to move expertly in and tease hers out. Her eyes closed and she melted into his touch, letting it overwhelm her. He moved her so that she had one knee on either side of him, straddling him so that he could put one hand on her thigh which was bared by the slit in her skirt and the other at the small of her back. Katara put one hand to his face and the other behind his neck, letting her fingers twirl through his inky locks of hair. Before long they were both gasping for air, and Katara lifted her face from his for a second to breathe. In these seconds, Zuko chose to trail more hot kisses down her neck to her collar bone. She closed her eyes and reveled in this new feeling enjoying the sensation on it.

Every nerve sang as he ran a warm hand under the back of her shirt to the knot holding in place over her left shoulder. Before she knew what was happening he had undone it and her garment flitted to the sand beside them. She pulled back in surprise and pulled the hand that was on his face to cover herself. Zuko replied by kissing her neck again, starting from behind her ear and moving down to pass her collar bone only to be stopped where her arm was. He continued to kiss up and down the skin that was still visible around it while one of his hands came up to gently move it out of his way. At first Katara resisted, then she gave in and dropped her arm. He kissed down between her rounded, supple breasts and then his mouth found purchase on one of her nipples. She gasped in surprise, tilting her head back and arching her back to give more to him. Zuko put a strong arm behind her as he pushed himself up, which forced her to bend back and lay down beneath him in response. His mouth traveled to the other breast, inflicting the same pleasure there, as the finger tips on one of his hands made swirling motions on her skin until it reached the top of her hip. They deftly toyed with the clasp there, making quick work of it before it too fell to the side. Zuko now left her chest to continue kissing her mocha skin as he traveled down down down to the delicate folds between her legs. When Katara realized what he was doing she tensed her muscles of her thighs, as if to shut her legs, but Zuko kept one strong hand on one of her knees, allowing him access.

"Don't fight it," he whispered in almost a laugh. "Stop thinking so much, for once, and just feel." His tongue wound catlike around her most sensitive parts before gentle teeth brushed against her clit. She let out a soft whine in reply, letting the fingers from her right hand get tangled in his hair as he left hand clutched the blanket beneath them. He sucked on her clit softly as one of his fingers roamed the folds of her labia. He circled the opening just below his chin with one finger for a moment before inserting it at the same time he lashed his tongue out. Katara cried out and brought her free leg up as she lost herself in the feelings Zuko was giving her. He smiled at her reaction and turned to kiss the inside of her thigh as his second finger found its way inside of her. She arched her back again, bringing her hips up to match his movements inside of her. Skillfully he worked his way up from kissing her thighs to her clit once more then all the way up to her neck before finding her mouth once more, all the while keeping his fingers pressed deep inside her and his thumb making circles on her clitoris. Her hand that wasn't wrapped in his hair found its way to his back as she clutched herself to him desperately. His free hand made circles around her breast then pinched her nipple hard enough to make her whimper in the midst of her moans.

Katara had no idea when he had taken the rest of his own clothing off, but the next thing she knew his fingers had been pulled out of her and he had moved her legs so that they were crossed behind his waist with the bottom of her upper thighs just above his hip bones. He used both arms as pillars on either side of her head, hovering over her as the both breathed heavily in the sudden stillness they both had come across. His golden eyes met hers, so bright and beautiful, and he took in her chocolate skin that was bathed in the moonlight. She knew why he was hesitating there, on the precipice; he was asking permission. She kissed the inside of his arm, hardened with muscles, up to his neck where she bit down. Hard. He groaned in reply to her acceptance, pushing himself inside of her with one smooth movement. Another cry escaped her lips at the initial thrust and he stilled, once more waiting for her permission before continuing. All four of her limbs wrapped tightly around him as he pulled and pushed himself in and out, in and out. At one point he sat back on his heels, pulling them both into a vertical position. He put his hands on her hips, rocking them back and forth until she understood and did it herself. More gasps came from her throat as she discovered what joys this new position could bring her. His hands busied themselves with her chest as their mouths fervently explored one another. He broke his mouth away to nip first softly then harder at the skin at the base of her neck, which caused her to tilt her head back and allow her chestnut hair to cascade down her back. Her dark skin gleamed with sweat as she moved with him, her motions following the lead of his own while she lost herself in him. Her beauty overtook him, and the noises he forced from her were driving him crazy. He felt himself nearing his end and knew it wouldn't be long. Zuko pushed her down once more so that she was once again under him, and he took over by grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her with one hand. This seemed to release something inside of her as well as she writhed in pleasure and let out a high pitched, breathy moan. Katara felt a pressure building in her and tightened her body.

"Don't," Zuko growled in her ear, sending shivers through her spine and goosebumps across her creamy skin. "Don't fight it," he commanded for the second time. Katara opted to trust him and relaxed as much as she could. As it built, her noises grew louder and more frequent.

"Zuko," she breathed. Her name on her lips made him shudder. She squeezed her eyes tight as he pushed her closer and closer to her climax. "Zuko," she gasped, this time with more voice in it. His lips brushed the side of her neck as he whispered her name in return before biting the flesh there and using one of his hands to pinch her nipple. "Zuko!" she screamed as her eyes flew open in a type of panic. Every droplet of water in a ten foot radius of her promptly exploded as she climaxed and cried out to the night sky. Zuko was on the brink as it was, and her reaction was the thing that put him over. He burst inside of her a few seconds later, though gave her several soft and slow pumps before retracting and rolling over to his back. They both were heaving, panting for breath, though Zuko was smiling. He put an arm around her, bringing her close so that her head could rest on his chest. Soft, warm fingertips drew lazy circles on her velvety bronze shoulder. Her lips brushed the skin of his chest, and he kissed her forehead in return. The night seemed much tamer then, now that it wasn't screaming for Katara to realize this potential. Zuko thought that Katara had fallen asleep, or else he probably wouldn't have said it.

"I love you, Katara," he whispered gently into the waves of her hair. She smiled softly to herself though kept her eyes closed. She used the arm that lay across his chest to embrace him in a kind of hug before she answered.

"I love you too, Zuko.