Her head was practically in a daze when Zuko released her chin, and she didn't realize what he was doing until she felt him bring her hand to rest her fingers against his scarred cheek. The simple gesture was enough to remind her of the first time she had ever touched his scar in the Catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se.

Hesitantly, she let her fingers brush against the scar tissue, feeling the glossy, rigid texture beneath her fingertips. Her thumbed brush the area where the darker scar tissue around his eye met the pinker flesh of the cheek until she let her palm rest against the majority of the scar that covered the side of his face.

"I'm sorry."

Katara wasn't sure what she was apologizing for, but it felt like the right thing to say at the moment.