Starlight

A/N: Ember Island Players, Book 3. There is something intoxicating about the stars.

ps. I am aware I've missed the Fire Lady and Modern Times prompts and will be getting them done asap!

Zuko came out onto the small balcony for some fresh air when he saw Katara standing at the railing. The new moon hung low in the sky still and the stars were just peaking through the blackness. The warm glow of fire lit skimmed across her hair from the open door, but as he approached, her face was bathed in starlight. He went over to her, gripping onto the barrier.

"Quite a play, huh," she said into the night.

"Yeah. I love having all my mistakes shoved in my face," he growled, gripping the railing tighter. Count the stars Zuko, came his Uncle's voice. It was always something his Uncle would tell him to calm down. Count the stars and let go of your anger for it is smaller than any of them.

Unknown to both of them, Aang was at the door to the balcony, cursing that he hadn't found Katara alone. He stole himself and continued watching his two friends.

Katara placed a hand gently on top of one of Zuko's.

"It's alright Zuko, its all in the past. You're with us now," she said kindly, bumping her shoulder playfully against his. The movement sent a small shock through his body. He wasn't used to physical contact with anybody outside of fighting, but it was more than that. It was Katara who was voluntarily close to him, making contact with him.

He looked down at her hand on top of his and quickly flipped his own around so that their palms were touching. Gently, he curled his fingers around hers, holding her hand properly. He held his breath for her reaction. She watched but didn't pull away.

"What did you think about my actress? Pfft, tear bending!"

Zuko chuckled.

"Best part so far!" he said, not breaking eye contact wth the water bender, admiring how the pinpricks of the stars reflected in her eyes.

Aang's breath hitched in his throat. No! This couldn't be happening! Katara was supposed to be his! But she had said in the play that he was like a little brother to her… did that mean… that Zuko…

The two teenagers were staring at one another, close on the balcony. Their clasped hands had fallen from the railing but they weren't letting go. In the distance they registered the bell calling them back in at the end of the intermission but didn't let it interfere with the moment. Zuko's other hand cupped Katara's face and they both leaned in slightly —

"Hey guys! There you are! They play's about to start!" called Aang from the doorway. He couldn't let it happen! He just couldn't!

The two jumped away from one another all of a sudden, dropping one another and looking around nervously. The spell they were under shattered into a million pieces.

"Of course Aang, lets go," said Katara sweetly, bouncing towards the Avatar. Aang smiled at her brilliantly.

Zuko stood stock still, trying to process what had almost happened as well as the fact that it hadn't. He was looking at the hand that was just holding Katara's, missing her skin upon his, still tingling from her touch. He swallowed thickly.

At the door Katara turned back, and seeing Zuko not moving took a few steps towards him and grabbed his hand again.

"Come on Zuko," she said softly, giving his hand a squeeze. He tried not to smile too widely.

The scene under Ba Sing Se came on during the play. Both Katara and Zuko felt their cheeks redden in embarrassment. And as if that wasn't enough, Aang shot them accusatory, hurt looks. Sokka leant down between them.

"Tell me that didn't happen," he said grumpily.

Katara gave her best indignant huff.

"Obviously not Sokka!" she hissed. Aang also looked a bit placated.

Katara and Zuko's eyes met for a second before looking away again. They were suddenly very aware of how close they were sitting.

The final battle scenes were disheartening. They watched themselves die brutal deaths on stage, and even though they were anything but realistic, they were playing them all too realistically in their mind's eye.

Katara found Zuko's hand and held it tightly between the two of them, hidden from her friends. When the crowd cheered at his death she squeezed tightly to let him know she was still there - they all were.

That night Katara couldn't sleep. She hadn't had any moment to catch Zuko alone, to sort through her feelings, to question what it was that almost happened on the balcony. She snuck out of bed and out of the house, making her way down to the sea. There, she stripped into her wrappings and waded in to her waist, bathing in the warm water, the light from above. The new moon was rising, casting its dim glow over the ocean with the promise of things to come. Even in this weakened state it called to her, crowned in stars. Katara often felt the new moon was the most beautiful. The stars closest to it could still shine brightly and the two lights played beautifully in unison. When the moon became brighter, the stars around it would be difficult to see.

Katara stayed suspended in that state for a long time - feeling her element all around her and the power of the moon, just letting it course through her without using it. It was arousing, that much power, at her fingertips. She knew she was stronger than other benders like Hama - she could do on a new moon what the old woman could only achieve on a full moon.

She heard a sound behind her. Turning slightly, she saw Zuko, pale face reflecting the starlight, walking cautiously towards her.

Zuko also couldn't sleep. He had decided to go for a walk, try to count the stars as Uncle had taught him. He needed to get the turmoil from his thoughts. Even though his death on stage - and everybody else's for that matter - was very disturbing, he couldn't help but focus on Katara and their small touches, what could have happened if Aang hadn't intervened. Perhaps it was the thought of her that drew him to the ocean, or perhaps it was the longing for something familiar to calm his thoughts. While he was on the ship he had taken solace on the reflections of the stars and the moon in the water. It felt like… like coming home.

There she stood in her wrappings, waist deep in the ocean, illuminated by the light of the stars. It gave her an ethereal presence. She turned to look at him and he saw the moon shining in her eyes. She seemed almost drunk on it.

Her arms from her elbow were resting on the water's surface, bobbing up and down with the small waves.

She nodded to the space next to her and raised her eyebrows, inviting him to join her.

Zuko felt a thrill go up his body and shed his outer robe quickly, wading in, wearing only his loose trousers - which he realised became very attached to him and very much not loose when they were wet. He didn't really care. He was being drawn to her and he had no time to think about such things.

Reaching Katara, he let his arms copy hers, feeling the push and pull of the waves below his fingers.

"She was very beautiful, Yue," said Katara quietly, looking back up at the moon. "She was kind and forgiving and knew which battles were hers to fight. She knew when the time was right to give herself up."

"She must have been a very special person," Zuko replied, also looking up at the moon.

"I've decided to do the same," said Katara after a pause, turning to look at Zuko. She moved closer to him and brushed her arms against his. "I've decided to pick my battles and the right time to give up. I've stopped fighting this one. I surrender." She was staring at him, wide eyes sincere, voice light, fingers tracing patterns on his forearms.

Zuko found himself stepping closer to her.

"Why were you fighting?" he murmured. She closed the distance and placed her forehead onto his.

"Pride," she replied, voice equally low.

"Pride is poisonous, I should know," he said, raising one hand to cup the back of her head.

Finally she closed the distance between their lips.

They kissed softly, a whisper afraid to disturb the surreal calm of the night. A surrender to the fight they had been suffering through, an acceptance of what their heart was telling them, two white flags fluttering in the sea breeze.

Zuko wound one arm around her waist while both of Katara's found purchase around his neck and they pressed together, unmoving, sighing into one another's mouths.

Katara pulled away first, but nuzzled his neck instead, holding him close. Zuko breathed in the scent of her hair, realising how it mingled naturally with the sea salt.

Still in his embrace, Katara looked out to the vast expanse of sea.

"We have a legend in our tribe," she said quietly, her voice somehow moulding with the gentle crash of the waves. "There were once two moons, two lovers who could not bare to be without one another. But they were forced apart by an evil spirit; one became stuck in the same place in the sky while the other moved across it. They could only meet when her path happened to cross his position, and sometimes they would not meet at all, since she changed position with the seasons and the years. 'How can I be with you?' asked the second moon, 'I cannot move'. 'I am everywhere,' she replied on her journey past him 'you must also be everywhere with me'. So the second moon split himself into a million pieces and scattered himself all over the sky. That way, wherever his lover travelled, part of him was always there to keep her company, and when she disappeared she knew where to come back to. In return she waxed and waned to allow him to shine as brightly as he did as a moon, so he wouldn't miss being one. That is why we have the stars today, and why we can still bend on a dark moon." She finished, sweeping a hand across the sky to show him all the parts of the second moon.

"They changed themselves to fit one another," Zuko said quietly, gazing up.

"But they also stayed true to themselves, for they could not change their nature. They needed to shine and they helped each other do so," she replied.

"We should get some sleep," he whispered after a while. The moon was falling in the sky, the stars dimming and giving way to a deep blue on the horizon. He could have stayed there for eternity, holding her in the waves.

Katara nodded and kissed him again. She wound her fingers around his and lead him back to the shore, flicking the sea water off of both of them. In the corridor outside their rooms they paused.

"Good night Zuko."

"Good night Katara. The moon was beautiful tonight."

"So were the stars."