what's up, ff? it's been a hot minute... well, to kickstart things over here, this is the latest tumblr prompt i received and posted under my account 'zutaras-where-its-at.' it's short but sweet, enjoy!

[tumblr prompt: "Why do you only kiss me when I'm sleeping?"

a.k.a. zuko is not as stealthy as he thought.]

"Why do you only kiss me when I'm sleeping?"

Zuko halts mid-step, his heart stuttering painfully before immediately kickstarting again at an alarming pace.

He turns around only to see a pair of bright—if not drowsy—blue eyes staring back at him in the dark. Where she had appeared peacefully asleep like the rest of their group mere moments ago, Katara now sits up, brown curls creating a halo effect around her head in the light of the fire.

"What?" It comes out louder than he intended. Zuko winces, but everyone else remains still and unaware in their sleeping bags.

Katara lets out a frustrated puff of air, one hand impatiently tucking strands of hair out of her face.

"You always kiss me on the cheek right before you go to bed, but only when you think I fell asleep before you." She doesn't look at him as she says this, her eyes squinting at the space around his left shoulder. "At first, I thought you did that to everyone—or maybe just the girls, or something—," her eyes tentatively land back on his pale face, "but you only ever kiss me."

I could deny it, Zuko thinks. I could tell her that she's delusional, that she must have dreamt that. Or I could say that I actually do kiss everyone on the cheek as some really bizarre Fire Nation custom.

She takes his silence as confusion and gives him a dry look. "I'm a waterbender, Zuko. Falling asleep within the first hour of laying down while the moon is bright above me is like trying to push Appa through a cave."

Sokka rolls over on his mat, his loud snore making the two lucid benders cringe. Zuko hopes she'll realize this might not be the best time and he'll be able to make a swift getaway, but she only waits until Sokka's breathing settles back down into soft exhales before fixing him with a searching stare.

Resigned, Zuko swipes an exasperated hand over his face and turns to face her fully.

"Do you want me to stop?"

This apparently was not the answer she was expecting, and she splutters, shoulders sinking in surprise. "What?"

"Does it bother you? Do you want me to stop?"

She raises one dark eyebrow. "Stop kissing me on the cheek while I sleep?"

His cheeks burn steadily, but Zuko soldiers on. "Yes."

"I—Well, I don't—"

Katara attempts to backtrack, but Zuko's already in hot water, and if he has to suffer there, then she's coming in with him. He takes slow, measured steps towards where she's still sitting on the ground, his voice never raising above their muted tones.

"Tell me you want me to stop, and I will. Tell me that you don't like it, Katara, and it won't happen again."

It's as much of a promise as it is a question.

He watches her eyes widen—her mouth parting on a half-formed excuse—and he silently begs her to give him the permission he only just realized he's been appealing for all this time.

"I..." She licks her bottom lip. He blinks resolutely. "I don't hate it."

He's close enough now that if she were to reach out a hand, he'd be able to grasp it and help her up. The others still remain ignorantly asleep, their quiet snores disrupting the silence.

"What are you really trying to ask me then, Katara?"

She swallows, and this time his eyes flick down to follow the movement before he can think not to. When she speaks, it's barely a breath of a whisper.

"Why don't you ever kiss me when I'm awake."

He inhales, and then slowly—too slow—kneels down until their faces are inches apart in the light of the dying fire.

"Do you want me to?"

Her eyes don't leave his when she gives the smallest nod of her head, and he finally reaches out, rough hands framing her soft face. He leans in at an agonizingly slow pace, but it's worth it for the sight of her eyelashes fluttering shut and her mouth parting at the seam, for the feel of her face tipping up to meet his.

He pauses for just a moment, with just a sliver of space between their lips—just to drink in her—and her expression is so serene, so at peace, so still, that it's almost like every other time he stole a kiss against her soft skin while she slept.

But then her eyelids open just the slightest, an impatient huff of breath hitting his face, and then she's closing the distance herself. And Zuko can't help but smile against her lips, because unlike every other time, this time is real.