Zuko lay in bed, eyes closed but mind wide-awake and replaying Katara's erotic voice from the night before. He smiled and stretched his arm out to the side to find cold sheets in place of her warm body. Frowning slightly he finally opened his eyes and sat up to survey the room. Her dress from the night before was still messily heaped on the floor and traces of her still lingered around the room – her shoes, her scent – but she was no where to be found.

Groaning, he rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and stretched his stiff muscles before dragging himself out of bed. Quickly as he could he rinsed down, dried off, and threw on clothes.

The halls of the palace were just beginning to bustle with life as he emerged from his chambers. Servants were rushing around with breakfast trays for all the guests and some early risers were strolling through the elaborate palace halls in search of something to do. He nodded to a few diplomats as he passed, heading towards Katara's rooms in hopes she had simply gone in search of regular clothes.

Before he could reach his destination, however, an excited bustling drew him towards a public balcony at the end of one of the halls.

He smiled as he saw Katara in the courtyard below, the evident excitement apparently due to her morning bending practice. It only took a few seconds of watching her to realize why and upon realizing he was thrust back to her infiltration of the palace all those years ago.

In her hands she was cupping a small amount of water, which after a few seconds she threw into the air and caught with her bending. It was then that the steady drumbeat began and his eye was drawn to the familiar face of Haru sitting beneath the shade of a tree playing the instrument.

Zuko frowned at the presence of the man who had stood in his way of Katara all those years ago but quickly drew his gaze back to the water bender.

She moved her arms through the air gracefully, fluidly, spinning effortlessly as the water she was bending followed her motions like an enraptured snake. She extended one of her legs and the water spiraled around it before returning to her arms. The second her foot found the ground again she spun almost as if weightless and fell to the ground, her long curly hair sprawling across the grass and covering her face. Almost as instantly she came up into a pose that could only be described as a downward dog from yoga and elegantly straightened back to stand, the water circling up her body until she held it still above her head.

Zuko smiled, not surprised in the least that Katara had managed to combine her bending with her dancing and completely enthralled with the performance she was putting on. Still, he couldn't help but feel irritated at the other men who had gathered on the balcony and the edges of the courtyard to watch her.

She pirouetted and swayed to the beat, the water following her every motion and the morning air silent save for the steady beating of the drum. Then Zuko froze, his eyes narrowing into a furious scowl as out of nowhere a man joined her in her practice. Immediately he recognized him as the man with whom Katara had shared the most incredibly erotic dance imaginable six years ago, and immediately Zuko wanted to rip them apart.

At first the man simply strolled up behind her, mirroring her motions but rougher and more forceful. As he did so the ground shook and moved beneath his feet, following his stance as he bent the once smooth earth in time with Katara's water bending.

Then Katara leapt smoothly and beautifully to the side, landing gracefully in front of him with her back pressed to his chest. In response the man locked his arms around her shoulders and moved her side to side as if she were being bent rather than the earth. Her hair danced around her face at the force of the movement and when he finally released her she sprung forwards, only to have his large hands wrap around her hips and pull her back in to his chest. Her bending followed, thrashing back towards the two and wrapping around them briefly before snaking around Katara's arms once more.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" a feminine voice cut through Zuko's thoughts of burning the man to a crisp.

He glanced to the side to find a petite earth noblewoman standing elegantly beside him, peering down at the benders below.

"They look as though they were made for one another. She fits his frame perfectly." The woman continued. "It's no wonder Master Katara summoned him and his friend with the drum to the palace to visit her."

Zuko's frown deepened at this, something he had thought impossible only seconds before.

Below Katara was arching in a back bend over the man, flipping backwards to the other side of him, a trail of water following her feet through the air and the man's hands guiding her motion by her hips. She landed face down in front of him and began to roll away from him, only to have him stop her and roll her back towards him, the earth beneath her inclining slightly to ensure she was guided straight to him. She stopped, laying face up at his feet and the man wrapped his arms beneath her and pulled her upright to stand before him.

It was like watching a somewhat aggressive and entirely erotic game of cat and mouse and with each passing moment Zuko's jealousy and anger burned hotter. Each time she escaped, freeing herself with either her movements or her bending he caught her with his own, pulling her close to his chest or lifting her to wrap around his body with her own. It was like having an infuriating case of déjà vu and Zuko hated it.

Their moves were becoming so entangled and quick that it was almost a shock when they somehow became entwined, rolling over and over atop one another through the grassy courtyard. Just before Zuko was about to storm down and rip him off of her, they parted and Katara was finally free from him with a mass expanse of space between them.

Katara jumped and landed on the surface of the pond, water splashing and spiraling around her but she never sank. On dry land, the man did the same, the earth rumbling and moving under his feet as the water had done hers. They remained apart for a short while, bending their elements individually yet together with the beat, until Katara cartwheeled to the edge of the pond and into the man's arms. He lifted her, spinning her around a few times, her hair dripping wet and the pond still rippling from her footsteps, before setting her back down atop the edge of the water. The water spiraled around her, dancing and lashing out like a protective casing and the man stomped the earth in response raising rocks to combat the liquid tendrils shooting out towards him. They continued this battle until both collapsed, breathing heavily and laughing merrily – Katara falling into the pond up to her neck and the man falling with a noticeable cracking of the earth around him.

"Amazing." The noblewoman sighed dreamily beside Zuko causing him to huff and storm away angrily without noticing the devious smile that spread across her face.

"It really has been too long since I was able to move like that." Katara sighed contentedly, pulling herself out of the pond to lie exhaustedly on the ground beside Kuan.

"Glad we could take your mind off it all." Kuan panted beside her with a smile.

"Alright that's enough lazing around you two." Haru chuckled teasingly, extending his hands to the two benders and pulling them to their feet.

"So how long before the proposal parade arrives?" Kuan asked, finally catching his breath.

"Yeah how long to we have to plan our next prison break?" Haru snickered, wrapping his arms around Katara and Kuan's shoulders.

"Tomorrow morning." Katara grumbled unhappily, seriously considering Haru's prison break suggestion. There had to be secret tunnels out of the palace somewhere, all they had to do was find them.

"We could always scare them off." Kuan offered, nudging Haru in the ribs to nod in agreement.

"Thanks but this is politics, all the fighting has to be sneaky." Katara was staring into the distance, clearly picturing some tactic in her mind that she wasn't ready to voice.

"I've seen you're sneaky plans first hand, I think it might be safer to just accept a proposal." Haru laughed, recalling her plan to break into the palace that had forced her into the bed of the Fire Lord.

"Easy for you to say, it's not like you're the one being forced to get married." Katara scoffed with a grin and a roll of her eyes.

Zuko was downstairs and outside in the courtyard faster than he'd ever thought feasible. There was something about Katara that always seemed to push him to do incredible things, whether good or bad, and running through the palace while maintaining decorum seemed to be one of them.

He saw her chatting with Haru and her sparring partner across the garden and briskly set out towards them, wanting her away from the men as quickly as possible. It wasn't until he got closer that he heard their conversation.

"…Get married." He heard Katara's voice assert, her face sporting a grin as she did so.

Zuko froze in place a few steps away from them, the blood pounding in his ears so loud he barely heard Katara address him.

"Zuko!" she called, smiling broadly and gesturing for him to join their conversation circle. "You remember Haru and Kuan, right?"

Zuko took the last few steps to reach them and nodded stiffly, his mouth set into a thin line as he tried to remain civil in the face of his rage.

"How could I forget." He replied sharply, causing both Kuan and Haru to arch their brows at him.

"Katara I need a word with you." Zuko announced, as politely and diplomatically as was possible under the circumstances.

Katara glanced at Haru and Kuan, who were staring between Zuko and herself suspiciously, and blushed. The memory of last night was still fresh in her mind and although the morning had brought both good and bad surprises she had to admit she wanted nothing more than to fall into bed with him again. Based on the unhappy look on his face, however, she doubted that was what the words he wanted with her would be about.

"Of course." She nodded to him, allowing him to lead her away from the courtyard with one last wave to Haru and Kuan.

A/N: Alright so the dance-bending session in this chapter is modeled after this dance on youtube / watch?v=etC2vava8CY

I envision it to be quite similar to the routine from there but with water and earth bending integrated in.

Also sorry for the long lack of updating for not only this but all of my stories – life has been fairly crazy!

Anyways, please R&R and I'll try to update real soon!