Part 17

Zuko's POV:

Just a little after dark Zuko made his way back to the guest house. Guards escorted Hakoda to the newly constructed palace, still holding onto the Firelords request of upmost hospitality. He chose to take a longer route back from the General's quarters, spending the extra time to collect his thoughts. He thought back on what Hakoda had said earlier. The man was right, he loved her. How could it be any more obvious? Amidst all of this chaos his only worries were centered around Katara. The hazel eyed man rushed back to the guest house, making his way inside.

He entered to find Katara passed out on the couch. He kneeled on the ground beside her, lightly shaking her body. "Katara, wake up..."

Instantly her eyes shot open, greeting him with a smile.

"Hey there I must of fallen asleep waiting for you-"

"Hey uh, the palace construction has finished but uh I figured we could stay here another night... but uhm yeah..."

The girl started to giggle, teasing him, "I haven't seen you this nervous since you tried to join our side years ago, what's going on, what are you hiding from me, huh?"

"I just... I-"

He paused for a short second, knowing his fear of rejection was making this more difficult than it needed to be. Zuko gazed into her eyes, fingertips tracing her cheeks, brushing any stray hairs behind her ears. He leaned in, pressing his lips against her own, finding comfort from her touch. This touch eased his nerves, enough so to move forward with his bold action. He pulled away slowly, taking s deep breath in before deciding to act. Zuko placed one of her hands in his own, a nervous smile staining his face.

"I love you, Katara. I just needed to get that out-"

Before he could finish, the girl instantly interrupted squeezing his hand tightly.

"I love you too... I just didn't think it was an appropriate time to pursue anything, you know with everything going on around us..."

His face lit up, all nerves escaping his thoughts. He squeezed her tightly placing multiple kisses on both cheeks.

"I promise you... I promise you I'll protect you always, I will give you the world..."

With a slight bit of hesitation in her voice she questioned, "Is it even possible for us to... I'm sure there's some kind of rule..."

"Katara, I'm the Firelord, I make my own damn rules."

Laughing at his response, "I guess you have a point."

"I know it's late... I want to take you somewhere special, you just need to trust me."

"Of course."

Katara's POV:

A little surprised by Zuko's request, it was an easy decision to trust him. Hand in hand he led her out the door across the garden to a large open area with a single air ship in sight. They boarded the ship, Katara soon realizing it was really only them except for the captain to navigate. Seated in a windowless room Zuko broke out the chess board, an unlikely game for either one of them. Clearly it was just a distraction to avoid any pestering questions on her end. After about an hour of playing she finally shot her first question.

"Soooooo where are we going this late?"

"We'll be there soon."

Sensing it wasn't worth continuing on, they sat in silence for a few minutes before landing in an unknown location. Ready to see just what he was up to she stood from her seat, heading towards the exit. Zuko called out before she could get too far.

"Hey get back here!"

She approached him with a smile, "Thought we were here-"

"We are but I can't let you know where we are just yet-"

He guided her to turn away from him, slipping a black cloth to cover her eyes.

"Remember, this is all about trusting me."

With a sigh she chose not to argue, trusting him to guide her outside of the ship. Now forced to rely on her other senses, she hoped they would offer her clues. Holding onto her tightly she was clearly led up a set of stairs, led through a few door ways, and finally into an elevator.

"Can I see where we are yet?"

"Soon..."

She could feel the motion of being lowered. The elevator finally came to an abrupt stop, the gated door easing open. Zuko helped her down a single step, finally on flat ground again. Taking a step forward she could feel Zuko removing the blindfold from behind, holding his hands over her eyes for a few more seconds as a tease. He slowly removed his hands, Katara's eyes searching around to figure out just where they were. Instantly she noticed the emerald tinted gemstones all around them, an eerily familiar sight. The only and only Crystal Catacombs, forgotten by many underneath the city of Ba Sing Se.

"We were both here the first time we ever really-"

"Connected... This is the place where I first realized just how much I was drawn to you. That moment really opened my eyes."

"I'm surprise you remembered."

"Oh how could I forget getting thrown in prison by my psychotic younger sister?"

"Hmph you're right."

Pulling her in he held her tightly, head against his chest. Stroking her hair he whispered out, "You're mine now, if you want that."

"Will we have to hide it?"

"Never... We're going to fix this together, it will all make sense soon."

They sat side by side on the floor of the catacombs for hours, simply finding comfort in each others presence before making their journey back to the palace.