"Katara."

The woman on the balcony spun around, her braid flying out behind her. Her eyes searched the darkness cast by the palace eaves into the bedroom as the sun rose before her.

"Zuko?" she asked, still trying to peer into the shadows.

A man of twenty-three stepped onto the balcony and gazed across the horizon, his golden eyes reflecting the beautiful pre-dawn.

"What is it, Zuko?" Katara asked. "I know that look. It's like all your other looks. But this one's worried." She reached up and touched his cheek, the pads of her fingers brushing his scar.

Zuko grabbed her hand with his and turned to look down at her. For a moment he looked worried, scared, but it was soon hidden under his mask. It was a mask he had developed as a king to give him an advantage in meetings. He still had a volatile temper but now it was even scarier because no sign of its release warned a person when they had gone too far. It caused those who were not so familiar with him to tread more cautiously, and while it was a good and interesting thing overall, it did create the strange custom of all bad news being relayed to Iroh before being relayed to Zuko.

Or Katara. Either of the two were the only members of court able to leave a room intact after arguing with, or delivering bad news to, the Fire Lord.

"Zuko?" Katara persisted when he didn't respond.

"I've loved you," Zuko began after another moment. His eyes never left hers and his voice caught. He took a deep breath to calm himself and to catch his words up.

"I've loved you for seven years, almost. You are the only person I love in this world, with the exception of Uncle."

"I hope you don't love him the same way," Katara teased.

"Katara, this is serious." Katara sobered.

"What I'm trying to say… what I'm trying to say is: Will you marry me?"

Katara gasped, her eyes widened. She stared at him for so long Zuko worried she might have actually died and just not bothered to tell him. He was debating whether of not to poke her in the face to see if she reacted when she shook her head like she was attempting to loosen water from her ears like a dog.

"Wait… what?"

"Are you kidding me?" Zuko demanded. "Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"No, but wait… are you serious? You want to marry me?" Katara gestured at herself with her free hand. "Me? Peasant girl?"

"Yes," Zuko scowled. "I want to marry you. Is that a problem?"

"Not with me," Katara shook her head.

"Then what's taking so long?"

"I just wasn't sure. I had to check."

"Well, now you've checked – let's answer me already!"

"Okay," Katara smiled. "Yes."

"Finally," Zuko muttered and rolled his eyes. Katara smacked his shoulder.

"Be nice," she told him.

He didn't promise, just kissed her.

Reflecting back a few hours later, Katara realized she probably should have extracted a promise from him. It seemed kind of important now. He was the guy she was going to marry, after all. It would probably be a good idea to get him to be nice to her every once in a while instead of short tempered like he always is.

Whatever, she thought as she rolled over. Not important.

She yawned and sighed into the strong shoulder next to her and buried her nose in the masculine-smelling skin. A strong arm wrapped around her and an aquiline nose nuzzled her neck as she giggled and sighed again.

Oh yeah. Definitely not important.

That's it. The End. A bit of fluff and I send you on your way.

Thank you all so much for your support and reviews. You guys have all been so great, even when I stopped updating for a while. I can't express my gratitude and appreciation enough. Everything all of you have said has meant so much to me and has always brought up my spirit. You guys leave the best reviews, even when all they say is "lol". I mean, that's all anyone really asks for... "lol".

lol right back at y'all!

Check out my fics for a new story coming soon. It'll be a bit shorter, more creative and titled "Switched".

Arigato and Bonne Vie!