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Katara wished that the ground would swallow her whole. Right now.
It had started as a simple shopping expedition; however, that had soon degenerated into an awkward scramble to protect their identities when Aang lost his hat (hello airbender arrow) and Sokka got a little too vocal with his scolding. Murmurs had started from the surrounding Fire Nation citizens, stares had become suspicious and hostile, and then the Ember Island officials had been called to deal with the fugitives.
And there was drama.
Fortunately, Sokka was a quick thinker and had come up with a plausible excuse for why they, or what appeared to be the Avatar and his travelling companions, were at the Ember Island marketplace. Unfortunately, that same "genius plan" meant that the officials now thought they were a group of travelling actors. And the crowd happened to be Zutara shippers. Whatever that meant.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Katara muttered.
Zuko made a noncommittal grunt. His cheeks were pink and he couldn't quite meet her gaze. It was obvious that he was just as embarrassed.
"Hurry up," Sokka hissed, shooting them both glares from where he stood on the side of their makeshift stage. "Everyone is waiting for you to say your lines."
Katara repressed a wince. Easy for him to say; he wasn't the one who had to put on a show for the crowd. It had also been a while since she'd watched that travesty of a play and she could barely remember any of the lines the actress version of her had spoken in the catacombs. Still, the first line had been kind of unforgettable. Though she had never dared to admit it aloud, it was one of the things that stupid play had actually got right.
"I have to admit, Prince Zuko," she said, moving closer to him. "I find you really attractive."
He still kept his gaze averted. "Like I'm going to believe that." The way he spoke sounded too stilted—a wooden bundle of awkwardness trying to be natural. "I know you're just making fun of me."
"I'm not."
She placed her hand on his cheek, turning his face towards hers. Zuko's eyes widened slightly at the contact. Katara held his gaze and tried to telepathically tell him to just go with it. Mercifully, he followed her lead and gripped her wrist, keeping her hand against his face.
"I like you," she said in a soft voice. "I really like you."
The crowd oohed.
"Why?" he asked. "Why would you even want to look at me?" He was beginning to lose the awkward stiltedness. "I was your enemy. I hunted the Avatar. I—"
"Yet you're here with me now." She smiled and stepped even closer. "And you're not my enemy anymore, right?"
Zuko visibly swallowed. Katara was also conscious of the rapid beating of her heart, the quickening of her pulse. It had been a long time since they'd been this close—not since Ba Sing Se, in fact. She could almost feel their breath intermingle.
"Kiss!" someone from the crowd yelled.
She flinched, reawakened to the fact that they were standing on a makeshift stage and there were other people around them. More crowd members took up the call for a kiss. It was becoming an echoing chant, and it had Zuko and Katara both turning beet red.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
Katara glanced to the side and saw the officials and soldiers watching expectantly; a few were also shouting for a kiss. Sokka was giving her and Zuko the "do it or we're all screwed" glares again, while Suki and Toph just appeared to be entertained. Katara didn't dare to risk a look at Aang; she knew exactly what kind of expression he would be giving her.
"KISS!"
The mob cry was getting louder. These Zutara shippers were pretty determined.
Zuko's fingers were suddenly tilting her chin up. "Sorry," he murmured for only her ears. "You can hit me later."
Then his mouth was on hers. Katara froze. His lips were surprisingly soft. Cheers exploded all around them, but they soon turned to cries of complaints the moment Zuko began to pull away.
"Oh, c'mon, is that all?" one lady yelled. "That was barely a peck! Kiss her properly!"
Katara's face was very hot. She moistened her lips and met Zuko's gaze. He was also blushing—especially when the demands for them to kiss again only got louder and louder.
He leaned closer, almost nuzzling her cheek as he shifted his mouth to her ear. "I don't think they're going to let us walk away from this," he whispered.
"I kind of gathered that." She swallowed. "So—"
"KISS! KISS! KISS!"
Her heart pounded. She realised with a start that she was almost … excited? The fluttery feeling in her stomach certainly felt like anticipation. Kissing Zuko wasn't unpleasant. He was attractive and he smelt nice and he hadn't forced his lips on her all rough and needy. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want him to kiss her again.
"I'm really sorry about this," he said under his breath. "Pinch me if you get uncomfortable. I'll stop."
Katara blinked. She was still trying to comprehend why he'd say such a thing when his lips brushed the sensitive skin near her ear. Tingles and shivers spread all over her from the contact. O-oh, that was unexpected. Zuko planted another kiss on her jaw, the corner of her mouth, then finally kissed her fully. Her eyelashes fluttered shut. This kiss was definitely different from the first. If one could even call it a single kiss. His mouth was soft and teasing, drawing her in until she felt like she was losing her grasp on something—logic, awareness, maybe just gravity in general. Her breath caught a little when she felt his tongue caress the seam of her lips.
Pinch me if you get uncomfortable.
Blood thundered in her ears. His thoughtfulness was wasted on her. Instead, she opened her mouth to him and shyly let their tongues meet. It was strange and new, but the sensations created also made her blood hum with pleasure. Her fingers curled into his tunic while her other hand slipped into his hair. So soft and thick; the black strands made the perfect anchor. It felt right to grip him like this—to just hold him to her as they kissed and kissed and kissed. It was even better when Zuko wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
The kiss turned bruising.
"H-hey! Isn't this enough?"
The voice—maybe Aang's—was a gnat passing by her head. Even the crowd's wolfbat whistles barely registered to her beyond the feeling of Zuko's mouth on hers, the thudding of her heart, and the heady rush of blood pulsing through her body. A soft sound escaped her—low, breathy. He stilled. It was only then that she realised his fingers were digging into her hip; that her own hands were all tangled up with him and she'd been pressing her body shamelessly into his. They pulled back from each other slowly. Reluctantly. Both their hair was mussed, their lips swollen, and their breathing ragged as they tried to calm down. She saw desire and confusion in his eyes.
Sokka cleared his throat with jarring loudness. Katara jumped and shot a startled glance at her brother. His eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline. That was when embarrassment hit. She had just made out with Prince Zuko in front of a whole crowd of people. Like, really, really made out. Katara did the only thing she could: she hid her face behind her hands and wished for everything else to disappear.
"Well, folks," Sokka said in his false director's voice. "I hope you're all satisfied. Show is over. We really need to be moving on."
His hand touched her back and ushered her off the makeshift stage. Katara snuck a peep from between her fingers and saw Zuko walking beside her. He was rubbing the base of his neck and seemed a bit lost in his own world until he glanced to the side. Their eyes met. Heat rushed all over her face. She let out a squeak and quickened her pace. Oh no, oh no, oh no. She didn't know how to face him now. She didn't know how to face anyone.
This was terrible. And her stomach really needed to stop fluttering. Right now.
oOo
It was Zuko who found her later. Both of them had been teased ruthlessly for what had happened in the marketplace—well, barring Aang, who just shot scowling looks at the prince and hurt looks at Katara. Either way, Katara had chosen to hide in a secluded spot on the beach so she could spare her cheeks the blushes and not have to explain exactly why she had got so enthusiastic about kissing the prince. But, of course, Zuko just had to come and find her anyway.
"Hey," he said softly. "Um, do you mind if I sit?"
Katara shrugged. Her cheeks were already warming again. Damn it.
Zuko sat next to her—far enough so no part of their bodies were touching. She didn't know why such a simple thing stood out, yet it did. It made her think of the marketplace: back when he'd apologised and told her she could hit him later before he'd leaned down and kissed her. Was he trying to be respectful now?
"So," he said after a moment, "we should probably talk about what happened earlier."
She hugged her knees to her chest. That was true; they did need to talk about it.
"You, uh, you aren't mad at me, are you?" he asked.
Her gaze flickered to his. "Why would you think that?"
Now it was his turn to shrug. "Just got the impression you don't really want me around right now."
Katara buried her face in her knees. "It's not you. It's me. I'm—I'm just embarrassed. And confused."
"Oh."
They both fell silent.
She sat up straighter and looked him in the eyes. The words she wanted to say lingered on the tip of her tongue: was it just an act? Had he kissed her like that because he wanted to or because it was what the crowd wanted?
"I—" they said at the same time.
Zuko broke off with a faint twitch of his lips. "You go first," he offered.
She shook her head. "You go."
"Um, well, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry." He let out a breath. "If I made you uncomfortable, I mean. I basically forced you into that and I know you don't feel that way about me."
Katara bit her lip. "I wouldn't say you forced me."
His eyes widened.
"Well, it was the crowd that forced us both into kissing, right?" Her cheeks felt so hot that she ducked her face to hide the growing redness. "It's not like either of us really wanted to—"
She broke off, unable to finish the lie. The fact was that she had wanted to kiss him the second time. Maybe even the first. He was nice and attractive and she liked being around him. Besides, he'd given her an out: all she'd had to do was pinch him and he would have stopped, except doing such a thing had been far from her mind.
Katara licked her lips. "I'm just saying you don't need to feel bad or anything. I—" she swallowed, wanting to hold the words in, but they slipped out anyway "—I liked it. Kissing you."
Now his eyes were as wide as they could go. "You did?"
"Yeah." Her blush darkened. "It was nice."
"Then—"
She wasn't sure what he wanted to say. He just stared at her for a moment before he shook his head, seeming to have some kind of dilemma inside himself. Katara decided to just take the bull-mammoth by the horns.
"Why'd you do it?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"Kiss me like that. Was it just an act or—"
He leaned forward so his hair fell down to cover his expression, though she could still traces of pink on his cheeks. "Um, maybe not totally."
Her heart sped up. "Not totally what?"
"Maybe … mostly not an act."
The fluttery things were back in her stomach. She let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.
"Zuko." She placed her hand on his arm, drawing his gaze back to hers. "Do you like me?"
Colour spread on his face. Still, there was a glint of resolve in his eyes. "What if I said yes?"
"I think I could live with that." A cheeky smile curved her lips. "You know, because I find you really attractive."
His brow furrowed. "Wait, are you quoting that stupid play at me? Right now?"
She laughed and took his face in her hands. "Do you remember what I said next?"
He thought for a moment and then realisation dawned in a smoothing of all frown lines. "You like me?"
"I think I do," she admitted. "So, Prince Zuko, what are you going to do about it?"
His mouth twitched into an answering smile. Then they kissed, and it was pretty much a hundred times better without a crowd of onlookers.