Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Spoilers for Souther Raiders and Ember Island Players. Just me adding my spicy Zutara. Teen rating, but nothing too spicy, just a lil smooching.

A Good Kisser

She entered as quietly as she could, but he still heard. "Sokka's tent is one down, Suki," he said, the words muffled, his face down in the pillow.

"It's not Suki… and this isn't a tent."

He froze. She was right. This wasn't a tent. They were at his place, on Ember Island. He pulled up onto his elbows. "…Katara?"

"Hi, Zuko."

He sat up, and there she was, leaning against his doorway—much the way she had the first night he'd been with the group—in his room.

"What are you—"

"Shhh!" She put a finger to her lips. "I… I needed to talk to you."

"Oh. Okay?"

She stepped further into the room, closing the door hesitantly behind her. She looked away from his face, trying to find the words. "Did you talk to my brother about Ba Sing Se?"

Zuko blushed, even with his face partially hidden by his pillow. "No…" He sighed, swallowing. "Yes, maybe." He rumpled his hair placing his feet on the floor, pushing away the sheet. "After the play, he asked me some questions."

It was then that Katara noticed that Zuko slept shirtless. "We-well," she cleared her throat. "Well, what did you say?"

He looked at her with slightly scared eyes. "What do you mean what did I say?"

She advanced. "I mean what did you guys talk about? It's very important!"

Zuko stood; by now, he was used to Katara's sudden bursts of emotion. "I told him the truth-"

"The truth? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told him exactly what happed: nothing. There, you happy?" It was then that Zuko looked at her face. Katara wasn't happy. They both knew that more than nothing had happened. He sighed; only a day or so of having her forgiveness and already he was screwing it up again. He really wasn't that good at being good. He clenched and un-clenched his hands, trying to cool his rising temperature. "Sorry I yelled."

"No. It's fine," she turned. "You're right. Nothing happened." She walked quickly to the door. "Night, Zuko." Her hand was on the knob when she stopped. She didn't bother turning her head to face him, but she just had to know, "Wait, why did you think it was Suki?"

Zuko blinked a few times, caught off guard. Then he chuckled. "You must not have shared a tent with Suki."

She turned around, now very confused. "No, I didn't share a tent with her. What's that got to do with anything?"

"Because if you did, you'd know why I thought it was Suki…" He let the words just hang in the air between them—the much cooler air—until it clicked.

A hand flew to Katara's mouth. "No. You're kidding me."

Zuko's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "Afraid not."

"Well that's just great," she huffed. "We leave our dad with people he hardly knows, but Sokka just had to grab Suki." She growled, wanting to stomp her foot, but caught herself just in time.

Girls, he would never understand them, whether he was seventeen or seventy. "What's the big deal? I thought you liked Suki?"

Katara crossed her arms over her chest. "No, no, you're right. I do like Suki." She threw her arms toward him and turned away. "Sorry, goodnight, Zuko." She walked to the door, but turned again. "It's just that all of a sudden Sokka and Suki are so close, and they just have to sit together all the time, and hold hands, and ugh."

Zuko looked around, now thoroughly uncomfortable. He glanced to his broad swords, wondering if he needed protection.

"Not to mention," she said, pacing around his room, "that you and Sokka are suddenly best friends, and, actually, you and Toph are like soulmates or something. Gosh," she plopped down on the end of his bed. "Why is everything so complicated lately?"

"…Maybe because we're about to try and save the world…"

She looked up at him. "No. That's not it."

He rubbed his eyes, "You woke me up, from a surprisingly good dream, actually, to talk to me about you feeling left out?"

She stood defensively. "I don't feel left out!"

"Well, that's what it sounds like."

"Well, that's not how it is. Hmph." She walked again to the door. "Night, Zuko."

"Wait, you know what, until less than two days ago, you still hated me and now you're jealous of everyone liking me, and plus, I thought you and Aang…"

"… that play really did have you pegged."

He growled sitting down, face in his hands.

"And, maybe that's part of it too." She look out the window, it was a full moon, but too cloudy to actually see it. "He's twelve. He's just so young."

"You're fourteen. That's only two years. What's the big deal?"

She walked up to the window, putting her hands on the sill. "So. You know what I mean. He's still a lot younger."

"I guess you're right. He's probably not even kissed anyone yet."

She put her hands on her hips. "Hey! He's kissed someone."

"… Oh. Right." Zuko's embarrassment was evident, that is until he started laughing.

"What is so funny?"

He cleared his throat. "Nothing."

"No. What?"

The words were quiet, but Katara heard the sarcasm. "… That must have been some kiss."

"For your information, Aang is a great kisser!"

"Uh huh, yeah, because all twelve year olds are master kissers."

Katara just stared at him. "You've got some nerve, you know. How do you know that he isn't a good kisser?"

And then it hit Zuko.

A girl. In his room. Asking him to prove what a good kiss is.

Well, it was mostly like that.

The air changed, at least for Zuko. It warmed up, and so did his words. "Do you want me to prove it?"

Katara noticed the change, or it seemed that way to him. She answered with almost a whisper. "Prove what?"

Zuko stood. "That Aang isn't a good kisser." His forgiveness wasn't even a day old, but right now, right here, it seemed worth this risk.

She visibly swallowed, a little confused, but somewhere, deep down, she knew what was coming. "Sure. Alright."

He smiled, just a little, almost like a smirk, but not quite. He stepped a little closer, sliding a hand along her jaw bone to the back of her head, and he kissed her. It started soft, and then his other hand went to her face, pulling her closer.

When Zuko heard her gasp, just a little, he smirked, took hold of her waist—bare, in her Fire Nation disguise—and pulled her so close.

She was a quick learner and her hands went to his shoulder and neck. All thoughts flew from her head, except that Zuko has warm hands.

Finally, thy both needed air and pulled apart. Katara spoke first, red in the cheeks. "Well now I know why you thought it was Suki.

Zuko chuckled at that, "Still think Twinkletoes is a good kisser?"

Katara smirked, and payfully punched him in the arm, but he took hold, and they began again. When, at last, Katara was headed for his door, for the who-knew-how-many-times that night, he walked her to the door. "Still feeling left out?"

She smiled at him, "Ha ha. Very funny, Zuzu."

"Hey," he turned her around, so she faced him. "More happened than nothing in Ba Sing Se."

She looked down. "I know."

"Okay," He paused, and then thought the better of it. He kissed her on the forehead, only a little awkwardly. "Goodnight, Katara."

She chuckled nervously, "Well. Hope you find that good dream again."

"I think I did."