For a brief second, when he'd touched her cheek and looked at her like that, Katara had thought he was going to kiss her. Normally, such a concept would have her surging to her feet and backing away from him as quickly as possible. Bad things tended to happen when they kissed, after all. Misunderstandings arose, fights broke out, people walked in on them... the list could go on and on.
Except, he didn't try to kiss her. Instead he spoke and, while part of her was relieved, another part of her was a bit disappointed.
Not wanting to dwell on that particular part of her reaction, Katara gave him a soft, encouraging smile. Her blue eyes shone with barely contained emotion as she covered his hand with her own, fingers dancing lightly against the smooth expanse of skin that was so much warmer than hers would ever be.
"You can be him around me," she heard herself saying, knowing she probably should have said 'us' but not bothering to correct herself. It was true, anyway. He could be himself around her all he wanted. She certainly wasn't going to judge him, and she wasn't about to try to punish him, either.