Written for Day 2 of Zutara Week - Momentous: An event of great importance or consequence, especially when considering the future.
"Katara, please, will you let me in?" He banged his fist against the doors of her chamber, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"No, I will not!" she called from the other side, her voice muffled. "And I'm not coming out either."
"'Tara," he muttered as he rolled his eyes. "It's not like it matters if you look good or not, it's a meeting. The only thing people will see you doing is talking."
He heard the scuttle of footsteps, more like stomping, and suddenly the door cracked open just enough for Katara to stick her nose through the gap. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her jaw tight, and Zuko's body clenched as he realized she was angry "First you insult me by saying I don't look good, and then you imply that I eat like a rooster-pig?"
"I didn't say…any of that," Zuko protested, shoving his hand through the frame to force open the door. He could tell from the strain of her expression that she was trying to keep him out by leaning on it, but she wasn't as strong as him. As she slowly gave out, Zuko sighed. "First off, how am I supposed to know if you look good —gah…"
The door was finally open enough, and Katara gave up on trying to keep it closed. Zuko's words came to a sudden halt as he blinked. She…looked stunning. She wore a flowing red and black dress, a loosened corset pinching at her waist and translucent gold sleeves accentuated her muscled biceps. Zuko gulped as he tried to regain his train of thought. "—and I never said you eat like a rooster-pig," he said quietly.
Katara eyed him funnily, as she didn't understand why he his eyes were locked on her. "Well…okay, I forgive you. I seem to do that a lot, don't I?"
She laughed, the sound of bells ringing in Zuko's ears as he gave a crooked smile. She friendlily leaned towards him and squeeze his arm, making his chest spark.
He had been coping with very intense feelings lately, intense feelings toward Katara. It had been three years since the end of the war, but his gratefulness toward the waterbender for saving his life never faded. Worse, it planted seeds of affection that encroached upon their friendship. The feelings had been manageable up until the past few months, when Aang and Katara split after two and a half years of going steady. At least then he could rationalize distancing himself between him and his feelings because Aang was like his brother. He would never betray the trust he worked so hard to earn.
The pure knowledge of knowing that Katara was single made Zuko on-edge. He thought about her all the time, sometimes just playing back her little sayings. Small memories between them, like the day he saved her life. The tears she cried for him. As a man who had entered adulthood, he also found his mind wandering in dangerous territory. Those were the thoughts he truly felt guilty about.
Zuko bowed his head, looking down at Katara. He had grown a little taller, but mostly his medium frame just filled with more muscle. It helped when asserting his dominance in a nation that was split between the old regime and Zuko's reign. Katara was never fazed or intimidated by him, which made him happy. She was the last person in the world he wanted fearing him.
She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I look horrible, don't I?" she muttered, pursing her lips.
"No," he said immediately. Aside from her mother's betrothal necklace, she looked like a princess. Not even his sister wore such elaborate dresses; Katara breathed grace and excellence. "You look like royalty."
Katara blushed and half-smiled. "You're just messing with me."
"I don't mess with people Katara," he mumbled, arching a brow. "You know that."
"Maybe you're secretly a tease." She immediately reddened at her own words, exhaling a deep sigh before turning around and marching toward her canopy bed.
Zuko decided not to respond, mostly because he was completely unsure how to. He paced behind her, watching as she carefully undid her mother's necklace and laid it across the neat pile of Water Tribe clothes she had worn to the palace. "I want to thank you for coming Katara. There are still disputes between the Fire Nation and watertribes, and, being…friends…with the Avatar made you seem a neutral representative."
"I honestly was surprised to hear that I would be mediating both tribes," Katara commented quietly.
"You did help in the Northern Siege," Zuko pointed out.
"That was mostly…Aang." Her voice sounded pained, and Zuko wished he could see her face. "Could you tie this corset up for me?" she asked, bringing her hands behind her back as she tugged at the loose strings. Zuko wordlessly began fiddling with them, pulling the strings with quick tugs as he tried not to make Katara too uncomfortable. Then he started tucking way the loose ends, a monotonous step, and wanted to fill the silence.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.
She nodded her head quietly. "I'm fine."
Zuko frowned. "You aren't," he said.
She shuttered, shoulders hunching as she pulled away from Zuko to lean on the edge of the bed. Once she turned, Zuko saw that her beautiful blue eyes were shot with red, and water were brimming on her lids.
"You're right," she breathed. "I'm not."
Zuko's heart wrenched tat the sight, and he shuffled to sit on the bed next to her. In a slow, careful motion, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her head into his shoulder. The gesture wasn't filled with any intention except to convey that he was there for her. That didn't mean Zuko didn't enjoy it.
"I'm sorry, I know you don't need this…" she whispered, hands clenching the fabric of his shirt as her face buried in his shoulder.
"It's okay," he replied in a hushed voice. "I'm you're friend."
Those words were slightly painful to say.
"…a good one," Katara added, and he could almost hear the smile in her voice.
"I try."
"I haven't told anyone why Aang and I broke up," she began, leaning away from Zuko but letting his arm cradle her waist. "It was was because I love someone else."
Her words crashed over him like a typhoon of pain, making his lips go numb and his face flush with red-hot jealousy.
"Who?" he rasped; he couldn't help but feel the anger soaking his tone.
"It doesn't matter," she muttered. "He doesn't feel the same way. He's with someone else."
He wanted to hold her, pour his heart out as he scooped her into his chest. He wanted to inhale her scent, which rolled off her like waves from the ocean. He wanted his lips to mesh into hers.
For once, it wasn't about what he wanted.
"I'm sorry," was all he said, as he tightened his fingers around her hips, the fabric probably softening the strength in which he squeezed.
"Me too," she said. "I just couldn't be with Aang…when I was thinking about someone else."
Zuko nodded, mind trailing back to just a year ago when he and Mai split up. She left him the middle of the night, saying that him being Fire Lord had made him very distant. Zuko was almost grateful, knowing that he'd been living a partial lie. He loved Mai, and he still did, but just not in the way he should have.
Katara was always in the crevices of his thoughts.
Zuko edged way, tilting his head toward the door. "They're probably waiting on us."
Katara nodded and sniffed, getting up from the bed to retrieve a washcloth. She blotted her face as she stared into the vanity mirror, trying a smile as she saw Zuko watching her reflection.
With curtsy, she turned to face him and bowed her head. "Fire Lord Zuko, will you escort me to the banquet hall?"
His stomach flooded with warmth and he nodded. "Yes, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."
"The Fire Nation wants to reintroduce trade to both the Northern and Southern regions," Zuko said, legs crossed under him as he sat at the end of the table. Although he was level with Katara and the various representatives of the Fire Nation and water tribes, he seemed higher than everyone else. He had shed his elaborate robes and opted for a more casual approach; his red and gold outfit reminded Katara of a more mature version of the one he wore as a sixteen year old. The only difference is that he wore a large bronze belt that synched his waist, and that his long hair was half-gathered atop his head. He was regal, Katara thought, like a Fire Lord should be.
A man dressed in water tribe clothes slammed his fist angrily against the table. "Trading with your people would also mean interacting with your people," he said, voice tinged with disgust. "Or will you just enslave the Earth Kingdom to do your trading for you, just like the last hundred years?"
"You watch your tongue with the Fire Lord!" a Fire Nation man said, jabbing a finger. "You sit in his war-room, you respect him."
The watertribes man cocked his head. "Funny, we are in a war room when the Fire Lord proposes peace. How ironic."
"Years have passed since the end of the war," Zuko interjected with an empty expression. "Our conflicts with the Earth Kingdom have been mostly resolved, though the scars might not heal for another hundred years. Most of my kingdom wants peace; I want to see the world as harmonious as it was before my great-grandfather tainted it with his woeful quest for power.
"The Fire Nation has many other trades besides weapon building. Our technology and agreeable climate has allowed us to grow fruits and vegetables year-round. And since the war ended, we have restored the balance within our borders. Our towns are no longer starving; the FIre Nation wants to spread this wealth with the world." Zuko bowed his head as he finished, waiting for a response.
Katara glanced around, watching the blank expression on her fellow watertribespeople. She cleared her throat. "FIre Lord Zuko is a dear friend of mine, and of Avatar Aang. The Avatar would never allow the Fire Nation to reassert its dominance over the world," she said, quickly adding, "even if they wanted to."
"And to that matter, we do not. The Fire Nation is stained with the blood of our own: countless young men sent to die for a meaningless war, villages left in poverty because our factories polluted their habitats." Zuko shook his head with shame. "You must heed my sorrow; I want peace. I want harmony. We all want the balance restored so we may once again live harmoniously… they way it's supposed to be."
And with that, the banquet between to opposite nations went much more smoothly. Katara reinforced Zuko some, but other than that he paved his own path to gain the trust of the Water Tribe representatives. Katara smiled at how modest yet charismatic Zuko had become.
Afterwords, there was a party thrown in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace especially for the presence of Zuko's guests. Though, he thought it best to remain a figurehead atop throne at the head of the garden, watching the band play traditional Fire Nation music and the socializing ensue on the ground.
Katara walked over to Zuko, looking up at him as she put a hand on her hip. "Are you really going to leave me with these people?" she asked incredulously.
Zuko arched a brow. "What do you want me to do?"
She stepped a little closer, tipping her chin down slightly so that her eyes were hooded beneath her lids.
She tentatively extended a hand up towards him, smirking. "Dance with me."
Zuko's heart pounded the request, and he wasn't sure what to say. So he sputtered the first excuse that came to his mind.
"I can't dance."
"Okay," Katara laughed, getting closer to him until her fingers wrapped around his hand. "But I can."
She tugged him from his seat, his body jerking as he tried to regain his footing. Bodies had already started to gallop in the courtyard, the tempo of the music increasing as the melody began to grow as well.
Katara drew him close to her, their hands joining seamlessly. "Put your right hand on my hip."
Zuko silently gulped. "What?"
She rolled her eyes and sighed, shoving his hand down her side until it rested against her hipbone. She hooked her arm around his neck while their other hands were still attached.
"Just follow my lead," she said quietly.
They began to weave through the dance at an astoundingly fast pace, the heavy beating of the drums spurring them on more. Zuko nervously smiled down at Katara, as if asking for her approval.
"You're doing great," she chuckled. "Now spin me."
She rolled out of his embrace, twirling under his arm until their arms were fully extended. When Zuko saw her nod, he pulled her back, making her flush with his chest. He hoped she couldn't feel his heart pounding through his ribcage.
"Does Mai ever make you dance?" she suddenly asked, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke in to Zuko's tunic.
Zuko snorted. "Does Mai look like the kind of girl who'd dance? Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering." The timid tone of her voice heightened Zuko's curiosity.
"Mai was good to me, even though she didn't do much besides mope," Zuko said, filling the silence. He hoped that Katara's reply would help him figure her out.
She suddenly pushed herself away from him, looking up at him. "Was?"
Zuko's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, she was good to me. I'm glad that we're still friends."
Katara released Zuko, eyes dropping to the floor. She looked like she had just been slapped.
"I didn't know."
"…that we broke up?" Katara nodded. Zuko's lips pressed together. "We don't see each other that often," he said, "and I don't like to bother people with my personal problems."
Katara's eyes glazed over and she wriggled herself away from Zuko. "I have to go," she muttered hurriedly, taking off across the floor. Zuko stood frozen for a few seconds. What the hell?
"Wait!" he called out, taking off after her. She ran through the crowd of people, her small body easily winding through the smaller gaps. But between his size and the fact everyone and their mother wanted to talk to the Fire Lord, Zuko's pace was slowed.
"Not right now!" he yelled, and they parted for him to go by.
He saw her leaning against a lamppost just outside the pavilion.
Zuko sauntered toward her slowly, not wanting to startle her and make her run away again. Katara's figure seemed hunched as she steadied herself with one hand against the lamp.
"'Tara?" he said softly. She whipped around, and he knew she'd been crying. "What the hell is going on and why are you crying?" he choked, jaw tightening. "What did I do?"
Their eyes met and Zuko's gut wrenched in pain. He hated seeing her cry; even that one time in the crystal caves of Ba Sing Se he'd been pained by her wet cheeks and bloodshot eyes.
And even her tears of happiness when she healed him on the day of Sozin's comet… those tears made his chest ache.
"You never told me you broke up with Mai," she said finally. Her voice was barely audible, so Zuko closed the space between them until he was only about a foot away from her.
"I told you, I didn't want to put my problems on other people." He didn't understand why she was so upset.
"How long?"
"A year ago, about," Zuko said. "She ended it with me."
Katara nodded as she sniffed. "Did it hurt?"
Zuko shifted uncomfortably, looking away. "I was upset that she was leaving me. I didn't want to be alone…" he trailed off.
"But?" Katara prompted.
"…I was relieved. Because I liked someone else." He was sure his face was reddening, especially when Katara's hand on his coaxed his eyes to meet hers.
"Who?"
Zuko couldn't believe what was happening. Her fingers wove into his, and she stared up at him with adoration. His heart was throbbing, his mind swimming.
He couldn't bring himself to say it. His tongue was numb.
In an instantaneous wave of emotion, Zuko swallowed all his reservations and ducked his head down toward Katara. Their lips met, and he swore he was about to generate lighting; he could feel a thundering in his chest as he moved his lips against hers.
She whelped at the contact, but melted against him once the shock faded.
Zuko brought both of his hands to her face, cupping her cheek as he steadied her neck, pulling her closer until their bodies were flush. Her arms wove around his neck, and their kiss deepened as Zuko helped angle her face a little bit higher.
Breaking apart, Zuko and Katara both gasped for air. Stroking the back of his hand across her cheek, Zuko sighed.
"I like you."
Katara laughed. "You don't have to tell me twice."
Zuko smiled, the kind of smile that made his cheeks sore because of their disuse. "I love you, Katara."
Katara bemusement melted off her face, and she dragged a hand to his cheek, her thumb tracing his scar.
Katara was the only one allowed to touch his scar.
"I love you too."