A Word to Win
Zutara Month: Luminous
"Your turn." Toph said, holding out the birthday card out to Zuko while Aang, Sokka and Suki all looked expectantly at him. The group sat comfortably in a lounge at the Fire Nation palace. Toph was tucked snuggly into Aang who had is arm casually around her. The couple had gotten together three months after Aang and Katara broke up two years ago and had been going on strong ever since.
"What?" Zuko responded stupidly. Toph smirked jeeringly, successfully making Zuko feel like an idiot.
"Katara's birthday card, Zuko." Toph reminded him, but with a soft smile. "We all wrote down our stuff, now it's your turn."
Katara was turning eighteen today. Sokka had casually informed Zuko of the upcoming event a few weeks back merely writing in his letter:
It's Katara's eighteenth birthday three weeks from now. You know she hasn't done anything for her birthday in four years! Isn't that stupid? If it was me, I'd make everyone buy me a new sword! Even though no one can replace my space sword…
And so on. Zuko, had then had the idea of celebrating Katara's birthday in the Fire Nation by holding a ball in her honour. He invited Sokka, Toph, Suki, Aang and Katara to the Fire Nation and they'd arrived a week ago, so that Katara didn't suspect the reunion was just for her, and the rest of Katara's friends and family would all tonight arrive in time for the ball. As they planned the ball while always occupying and distracting Katara (Even now, Uncle Iroh had taken her dress shopping for the surprise ball), Toph had the idea of making her a special birthday card:
The card will contain a short paragraph from each of us. But the paragraph is going to be about one word about Katara's personality and why you chose that word. Sokka you'll be writing mine. Blind and all.
And so there sat Zuko, with Katara's card in his hand and absolutely no idea what to write.
"Uhhh.." He started.
"You've got nothing." Sokka summed up for him, grinning like an idiot as per usual. "It's kind of sad considering she saved your life."
"Sokka!" Suki exclaimed.
"Hey! She had to save my life because I got injured saving hers! And I bet whatever I come up with will still be better than yours!" Zuko challenged. At this Sokka stood up.
"No way Lordy-Boy! I'm Katara's brother, I know her better than anyone!"
"Uh, guys, this card is about Katara. Can we all just calm down and make sure it gets finished before she gets back?" Aang reasoned causing Toph smacked his arm.
"Shhh, shut up Aang, they're entertaining us."
"Well if you're so confident yours will be better, we'll have a real bet. We'll ask Katara which paragraph she likes the best, if she picks me you have to get your father to sign a document that gives me unconditional and instant access to the Water Tribe." Zuko contested.
"Why would you want full access to the Water Tribe? Sokka asked suspiciously.
"Because we trade with the Water Tribe all the time, but every time I want to go or send someone over there to discuss more plans, I have to get a consent form from Chief Arnook or your father and that takes at least two weeks." Sokka thought about this.
"Fine" Sokka agreed. "But if I win I get to be Fire Lord for three days." Suki choked on her drink, Aang and Toph burst out laughing and Zuko gaped.
"What!?" Zuko squawked "Are you insane!? You can't just take over the Fire Nation whenever!"
"You heard me!" Sokka dared "Those are my conditions. Do we have a bet Zuko?"
Zuko gawked at Sokka for another minute before regaining his composure and shaking his hand.
"Okay that's settled." Sokka said jumping up. "I'll leave you to think of a word then. Suki and I are going to go to the markets for some food." Aang got to his feet.
"Ooh, can I come? I want to try Fire Nuggets." He inquired.
"Sure you can. Toph, don't help Zuko."
"And jeopardise the bet? Never." The Master Earthbender reassured, grinning.
Aang stooped to kiss his girlfriend's lips, who wrapped her arms around his neck, and in a second he, Sokka and Suki were out the door.
"Okay Zuko, what've you got?"
The boy in question ran a hand through his hair.
"I've got no idea." He said sheepishly. Toph raised her eyebrows.
"Somehow I don't see you winning the bet." Zuko threw her a look.
"What did the rest of you pick?"
"Aang did compassionate, Suki inspirational, Sokka reliable and I did admirable." Toph recounted. Zuko turned to her.
"You all got the good ones." He brooded.
"You're truly pathetic."
"Hey, that's not fair! You all knew her a lot longer than I have."
"That's not true, from what I heard, you stalked her using her necklace a couple of times way before I came into the picture."
"Don't patronise me! You know what I mean!"
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Toph spoke out again.
"Look Zuko, I know you didn't know Katara as long the rest of us, but you definitely get along with her better than me or Sokka. If I can think of something nice to say about Princess Pompous then so can you. Just think about stuff she's done that you liked or admired and see what words come to mind."
"Is that what you did?" He asked. Toph revealed a small smile.
"Yeah. Meeting Katara, I thought she was a snobbish and bossy control freak. We argued a lot. A while later, there are was a time where I did some stupid things, stupid things that got us money, but stupid nonetheless. Anyway, Katara tried to stop me and we had an argument about it. " Toph sighed. "Sokka spoke to me about her later, I'm not going to tell you what he said because it was really personal but he made me realise that Katara was the one who looked after all of us and that I didn't appreciate that she was everything my parents weren't, which is what I always wanted. After that, we gambled, ending up in jail, shared a few hugs and kicked Combustion Man's butt! The point is, I thought I resented Katara, but today, looking back on that day, I realised that I admired her. Her personality is admirable. So now, it's your turn. Do the same thing." Zuko looked sideways at the girl beside him, because for all Toph's smarminess and cheek, she was one of the wisest people he knew. Over the years she'd grown into a beautiful young woman but, being blind, that had never dented her personality, and now she was someone he felt he could truly talk to. A big reason for that was because she reminded him strongly of his Uncle. He gave her a small smile.
"I'll give it a shot."
So now he had to think of things that Katara that he remembered. Where should he begin. Ah yes, his first real encounter with her. Tying someone to a tree wasn't the usual way to talk to someone. Unfortunately, that was exactly the position Katara was in when he had had his first conversation with her, and it wasn't a conversation as much as an interrogation. What stuck with him when he thought about that?
Tell me where he is.
No.
That was it. Katara had absolutely refused to sell out Aang even when Zuko had blackmailed her with her most prized possession. Her mother's necklace. She didn't know any Waterbeding, had been defenceless, in the hands of a determined Fire Nation prince and had the chance to regain something she valued. But she hadn't hesitated to defy him. That made her loyal. But loyal wasn't all she was.
Then there was their battle at the North Pole. Once again, she refused to give up Aang, protecting him at all costs and it wasn't until Zuko had knocked her out that she was able to take Aang. Even when he had gotten the better of her the first time she'd come again to win back Aang.
Here for a rematch?
Trust me Zuko, it won't be much of a match.
She had defied him and battled him head on. That made her courageous.
The catacombs in Ba Sing Se. Even just thinking about it made Zuko's heart wrench. He felt so much regret about betraying Katara, even now. She'd let him in, had been kind to her greatest threat and the person she should have feared most. She'd offered to rid him of his greatest burden.
It's a scar. It can't be healed.
This is water from the North Pole. It has special properties so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it'll work, but…
That showed a lot of things about Katara, that she was generous and trusting. She was compassionate as Aang had chosen.
Joining the group, Katara had definitely resented him, she's even gone as far as to give him a rather ruthless death threat. She'd reminded him strongly of a Moose-Lion defending her cubs, facing danger head on if it endangered the ones she loved.
You make one step backwards, one slip up, give me one reason to think that you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends, right then and there, permanently.
Even though that wasn't the greatest moment of his life, it definitely proved to Zuko that Katara was fierce and headstrong.
One event Zuko certainly remembered was his and Katara's journey to find the Southern Raiders. He'd seen a completely different part of Katara then, He's found out that she was unquestionably fearsome. Especially when he saw her Bloodbend the captain of the Southern Raiders. That moment had made Zuko realise that Katara wasn't just fearsome but extremely powerful. When they'd found Yon Rha, Zuko could see that Katara was completely set on killing him, but as quickly as the ice daggers had come rushing down, they'd stopped just as quickly mid air.
But as much as I hate you, I just can't do it.
Zuko learnt that no matter how deep her hatred, no matter how terrible the person was, Katara wouldn't kill them, even when she had threatened Zuko himself. Because Katara was merciful.
Finally, he remembered when they went off to battle Azula. Katara had been quite eager "Put her in her place" as Zuko had called it, but upon riding there, he had refused to let her fight, and so became Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai. Zuko recalled the electric blue lightning bolt surging towards Katara and to this day he knew he would still do the same thing again. He remembered her shouting his name desperately like he never thought she would and how she had to rely on herself to beat Azula. Most of all he remembered her healing him and the tears running down her face when he looked at her.
Thank you Katara.
I think I'm the one who should be thanking you.
That day he'd learnt something about himself more than Katara. That she was important to him.
So that was Katara. Courageous, loyal, passionate, trusting, generous, fierce, headstrong, fearsome, powerful, and merciful. And she meant something to him. But that was definitely not one word. It seemed impossible to him now to try and sum up Katara and everything she was in just one word. Her personality was just so bright and hard to miss! He felt like her personality emitted a beautiful glow because it was so amazing and extraordinary. But what a word for that? He thought for a minute and then it came to him. Luminous. Katara's personality was luminous. It was shining and brilliant and radiant. Luminous. He felt a content smile twitch at his lips.
"Have you thought of something?" Toph asked, seeing the sudden change of Zuko's facial expression.
"Yeah. I have." He replied softly.
"Well? Don't tease me Zuko, what is it?"
"You can read it when I write it all down." Toph huffed impatiently in response.
"That's a great idea! Maybe later I can do Katara's make up and count hawk-eagles too!" Zuko felt his face heat up and slapped his forehead.
'Toph's blind you idiot!' He mentally berated himself.
"Sorry!" He apologized hurriedly. "How about I just read it out to you."
"That would make more sense." So after ten minutes of getting his thoughts down on paper, Zuko recited it all to Toph who listened carefully.
"What do you think?"
"Honestly? It's different."
"I tried my best!"
"I didn't say it was bad, I said it was different."
"Well? Was it bad?
"Let's let Katara decide that." Zuko growled.
"Fine. By the way, thanks. Your way was pretty useful" Zuko praised, clasping the younger girl's shoulder. Toph looked over her shoulder to give him a self-satisfied grin.
"We'll see if it was useful enough to win you the bet." She replied, punching his arm affectionately as she had done four years ago.
X X X
Katara stepped into the room looking gorgeous in the Water Tribe she wore. It wasn't a particularly extravagant dress, just a long but plain, nave blue sleeveless dress. It had a white fur trimming at the end. Of course she was wearing her mothers necklace and her hair loopies, although her hair was done up in a loose bun, drawing attention to her face.
Zuko stared at her. Everything that he had thought about her when he was trying to come up with a word for her personality, ran through his mind. All the amazing things she did and the amazing person she was. And she was standing right in front of him. Something changed in him. Looking at Katara now, he saw her in a different light. He'd never truly thought about the person she was, the things she stood for and what she truly meant to him. Looking at her now, he felt his stomach turn and his heart pound erratically. His change in heart rate caused Toph to immediately look at him, who was standing with Aang along side Sokka and Suki. First in surprise and then her face changed to give him a smile. Zuko frowned. What was wrong with him? He'd never felt like this about Katara before. But then again, he'd never really considered her until now.
"Is there a reason why General Iroh took me shopping for dresses and insisted that I wear it immediately?" Katara asked. Iroh, who was by the door, grinned.
"Consider it as my birthday present to you." Katara smiled warmly at him.
"Thank you, General Iroh." Sokka stepped forward and embraced her affectionately.
"We've organised a birthday ball for you, little sister." He explained "GranGran, Dad and GrampPaku are all here. And so is every other person we befriended along the way on our legendary journey." Katara looked at Sokka and her friends.
"You all organised this for me?" Katara asked softly, then she smiled and wrapped all five of her friends in a big group hug. "I honestly have the best friends on the planet." Suki, who squashed between Sokka and Katara laughed.
"You definitely deserve it Katara," She said. "You've been working yourself to death these past four years." Zuko brow furrowed. Now that he thought about it he remembered Sokka mentioned something similar in one of his letters:
Katara's been running around like a lunatic, trying to provide food, water and medicine for villages that were neglected in the war. You know, I remember something similar happening like this during the war. You weren't there but Katara pretended to be a spirit and saved the village we were staying at. I'm not going to get into it. But I'm really proud of her….
'Definitely something Katara would do' Zuko thought. He heard Katara chuckle as she released them all from her grip.
"It was worth it Suki. Now I see you're all dressed up too. Are we going to the ball now?"
"In a moment." Aang piped up. "Before we go, we wanted to give you something."
Toph stepped out and handed the card to Katara.
"It's a birthday card. We all wrote a paragraph about one word that described your personality, I got Sokka to write mine off course. Happy Birthday Katara.
Katara smiled at her and began reading the card. Zuko felt his stomach tie in a huge knot. What would she think? Would she like his paragraph? Or would she think his was stupid and didn't make sense. Luminous. Thinking about the word he began to scold himself.
'Who uses Luminous? Why didn't you say unique or remarkable? But Luminous?
By the time Katara was done reading, she had a few tears in her eyes.
"You all are so wonderful" She managed. "This is the best present I've ever gotten." She hugged them all one by one. Sokka told her how proud he was of her as he did in his letter. Suki joked that Sokka didn't deserve such a good sister. Aang avidly told her that he wouldn't have been who he was today with out her. When Katara reached Toph she enveloped the young girl in a grander hug then the rest and she whispered in her ear:
"Thanks Toph. I could be wrong but I'm sure this was your idea." Toph, in return hugged Katara back and grinned.
"Only the best for our SugarQueen." She replied and Katara laughed at the name she hadn't heard since long ago.
"Before you hug Zuko," Toph continued. "Can you tell me which paragraph you liked the best?"
"I like them all the sa-"
"Oh come on Katara just tell us!" Aang interjected. Everyone looked at him in surprised and Zuko raised his eyebrow. Toph leaned in to him.
"Aang and I have a bet on who's going the bet between you and Sokka." She explained.
"Who'd you bet on?" Zuko probed.
"You. No pressure or anything." The Fire Bender grinned.
"You all promise none of you will be hurt?"
"Yes yes, just tell us." Aang urged.
"Well, okay. But before I do, I just want all of you to know that it's really hard to pick because I love them all so much so the one I like the best only won by a teeny tiny bit." They all nodded. Zuko braced himself. He really didn't like his chances at the moment so he was just hoping she wouldn't say Sokka, otherwise the whole Fire Nation was doomed.
"My favourite was Zuko's." Sokka choked, Suki laughed, Toph cheered and Aang groaned. Zuko's head shot up to look Katara straight in the eye.
"What!?" He exclaimed, shocked.
"You heard me, Zuko. I liked yours I bit better, it seemed like you really thought about it and it was different." Different as Toph had said. "Luminous. I like it."
Zuko was speechless, until Toph dug her elbow in his ribs.
"Oh, uh thanks." He said lamely. Toph snorted and walked to Aang. There was that stomach turning again. Behind Katara, Zuko saw Toph receive quite a bit of money from Aang as he growled. She laughed and kissed his cheek, earning a smile from him.
"It's nice to know that I glow." Katara grinned, and Zuko let out a small chuckle.
She took a few steps closer and the speed of Zuko's heart increased as never before. He witnessed a faint blush grace her face as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. On his scar. Zuko's eyes widened as they met hers and he completely forgot that anyone else was in the room. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the newly eighteen-year-old woman in front of him. Hers came around his neck.
"Happy Birthday Katara." He said softly. Then he pulled back when he realised that the rest of the gang were watching them.
"Okay, let's go to your ball Katara!" Suki said brightly. Zuko let his newfound feelings take hold of him and cautiously grasped Katara's hand. She gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand in return.
'Yeah' Zuko thought. 'Life is pretty good right about now.'
As they walked past Sokka, Zuko turned to the Water Tribe Warrior who shook his head disbelievingly at Zuko. The Fire Lord smiled smugly at him and said:
"I'll be seeing you at the Water Tribe."
Sorry it was so long! Please, please Review!