Zutara- Pranks
They hadn't really meant for it to go this far. It all started with Katara playing one little prank on Zuko. It was during the first week that he had joined the gaang at the Western Air Temple.
Zuko passed the fountain in the large open area of the temple leisurely, walking through the spray of the water by the edge to cool his body down. Katara had been doing her normal chores that morning when she saw him. She didn't know what possessed her to do what she did next, perhaps her anger, or maybe just fate. As she watched Zuko walking, she noticed he was stepping on small puddles of water. Soon after she saw this, her hands moved, her breath cooled, and he was stepping on a patch of ice.
Zuko's foot slipped out from under him, and he yelled as he fell backwards. He landed on his back, grunting in surprise at the impact. The breath was knocked out of him for a moment, and then he pushed himself up on an elbow. Then he heard the laughter. Since Zuko had joined the gaang, he hadn't heard Katara laugh so much. The shocked look on Zuko's face, made the whole situation funnier to Katara.
Zuko quickly understood that Katara had purposefully bended the water into ice to make him slip. "Did you seriously just do that?" Zuko yelled.
Katara gripped her stomach and sucked in breaths, trying to calm herself enough to answer. Then she looked at his face, and lost it again. "No," she said between laughs, "the other waterbender did it." Katara gestured around at the empty room.
By this time, other members of the gaang walked in to the open fountain area, alarmed at Katara's laughter and Zuko's scandalized face. Toph came in and affectionately punched Katara on the side. "I witnessed the whole thing. Nice job Sugar Queen!" she said with a laugh. Katara explained to everyone else what had happened, and Zuko mumbled as he stomped out of the vicinity.
From that moment on, it was as though Katara and Zuko had declared war. Zuko's payback came not long after that.
Zuko was really surprised by how soundly Katara slept. He knew what risk he was taking, as he snuck in the waterbender's room at night. He really didn't care though. Even if Zuko had "betrayed" her, he didn't deserve the torture she was putting him through. Besides, the paint was harmless. Or so he thought.
The gaang had materials such as face paint, ink, paper, and brushes in a common area that all shared and supplied. The idea came to Zuko when he went to his room that night. Everyone had thought Katara's little prank had been hilarious, but Zuko could easily top that.
Zuko wore his black stealth garb, even going so far as to cover his face. He knew the outfit was pointless; if Katara woke up and saw him, he wouldn't get away without a fight, but wearing it somehow comforted him. Wearing black in the night, one could more easily hide in the shadows.
Zuko snuck to her room, which wasn't far from his. He held black paint and a brush, and tiptoed into her room. Seeing her sleeping form made the whole thing much more real. Zuko never laughed much, but thoughts of what he was about to do made it hard to not laugh.
Katara woke up the next morning completely oblivious. When Sokka and Aang saw her, they busted out laughing. Soon, everyone was awake, and at the sight of Katara they were all laughing.
Katara frowned, confusion obvious on her face as she cooked breakfast. She realized everyone was looking at her as they laughed. Even Zuko, prince of negativity was softly chuckling. "What?" Katara frowned at them.
"You," Sokka choked out, "and Haru!" Katara's eyebrows rose, and a light bulb went off in Sokka's head. "Go stand next to her Haru!"
Haru laughed as he was pushed up from his seat, and he stood next to Katara. Everyone laughed harder.
"What's going on?" Katara demanded. She turned her expectant gaze on Haru.
Haru shrugged in response. "It seems that we're twins this morning," he said with a grin.
Katara blinked in response. She rubbed under her nose at a sudden itch, and her hand came away with… "Paint?" she said. Understanding crossed Katara's features and she ran to the fountain peering in at her reflection. Her yell of surprise was nothing compared to the murderous look on her face.
Katara quickly bended the water from the fountain and cleaned the black paint off of her face. "Who. Did. This?" Katara turned her icy blue gaze on the group. Her perceptive eyes stopped on an innocent looking Zuko. "YOU!" Katara pointed at him, the water in the fountain behind her shaking at her anger.
Zuko looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Me?" he said innocently, looking around at everyone.
Katara's arms rose, and so did the water behind her. "I'M GOING TO…!" Katara started, but suddenly her face turned thoughtful and calculating. The water fell back into the fountain.
An eerie silence filled the room. Zuko looked like he was about to poop his pants when he realized that he had pranked the very person who had recently threatened his life.
Everyone was uncomfortable with the silence. "Katara," Aang said in a worried voice. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," Katara said with a smile, "that I hope you all enjoy breakfast." Katara's features and countenance had all become pleasant again, and the freak factor in the room completely went away. The group sighed in relief at Katara's change in heart.
"Seriously, I thought you were about to kill Zuko," Sokka said to Katara.
She laughed, "Oh Sokka. You know me. I would never kill him." Katara's voice sounded a bit off, and a few nervous glances were exchanged around the circle.
Katara served breakfast; nodding at the thanks she received from everyone as she went around the group. The last person she served was Zuko. Their eyes connected, and Katara grinned at him. "I especially hope that you enjoy your breakfast Zuko," Katara said, her voice dripping with sweetness.
Zuko stared down at his food, feeling uneasy. 'Dear Agni, she's trying to poison me,' Zuko thought to himself.
Zuko was afraid to eat for the next few meals, Katara's suggestive smiles not helping his appetite. Hunger finally got the best of him and Zuko ate at dinner, the night after the threat.
Sokka laughed. "How ya feeling Zuko?"
Zuko plastered on a fake smile for Katara's benefit, "Well, I haven't died yet."
Katara scoffed at him. "I wouldn't really poison you, ok?" She looked away quickly.
"Nice!" Toph laughed. "Sugar Queen wasn't actually going to poison him, she just wanted to scare him. Dang Katara, that's harsh."
Katara and Zuko spent the next few days pranking each other. Zuko's next prank involved him trying to give her a gift. It was a little box wrapped in red paper, with gold designs on it. Katara refused to take it. Every now and then, whenever they were around each other, Zuko would offer her the gift, putting it right in front of her face. Katara flinched away and avoided the box, as if he were offering her a venomous snake.
Katara's next prank soon came. When everyone was settling in for the night, Katara moved a large bucket just outside of Zuko's room. She bended water into it to fill it up, and then lightly knocked on his door, running around the corner of the hallway to hide. When Zuko opened the door, the bucket was knocked over, and a large amount of water flooded his room. Zuko couldn't firebend the water away without possibly burning the place down, so he endured walking across the wet floor for a few days.
Zuko's next prank involved him following Katara around, and being extremely nice to her. It was priceless for her to yell at him, "Stop following me around Zuko!" and "Seriously, you're creeping me out." It went on until midafternoon when she said, "Zuko. If you don't stop following me around, I'm gonna freeze parts of you that you would never want to be frozen." Zuko was quite shocked and horrified at this, and he quickly fled Katara's presence.
The rest of the gaang watched the happenings with amusement as the pranks went back and forth, but nobody wanted to get between the water and firebender. One day, Zuko finally caused the tipping point.
Zuko thought that pranking Katara with her own element would be funny, even if she could easily bend water off of herself, and even though he knew that he would probably end up being the one covered in water somehow. He went through with the prank anyways.
It was a coincidence that Zuko found the water balloons in the gaang's stash. He asked the group about it, and they were fine with him using the balloons, especially for such a cause. Zuko used the water pressure from the fountain to fill up the balloons, and he had them ready when Katara woke up that morning. As soon as she walked into the area with the fountain, Katara got a water balloon to the stomach.
"Good-morning!" Zuko called out to her from across the room. The two were alone, as it was still very early.
"Do you really want to challenge me with my own element?" Katara said, the water leaving her clothing with a flick of her wrist. In response, Zuko threw another water balloon that hit her square in the face. Katara's shock quickly turned into unrestrained anger, and she bended the water off of her face. Zuko was laughing, full on laughing, like Zuko hadn't laughed in a long time. Katara stared at him, her mouth dropping open. She realized that she had never heard his real laugh before, and her anger slightly dissipated.
"What in the world have we been doing to each other Katara?" Zuko said, laughing.
As Katara thought about all the pranks they had pulled on each other, she couldn't control her own laughter. Now they were laughing together, and the tension they always felt around one another vanished. When they both calmed down, they stared at each other, wondering what to do.
"I'm still mad at you," Katara said as she slowly walked up to him and sat next to him on the edge of the fountain.
"I know," Zuko said with a sigh. "And instead of pranking you back like a child, I should have been begging for your forgiveness."
Katara frowned at him. Neither said another word, and they silently declared a temporary truce.
A few days later, after Azula had attacked the Western Air Temple and split the gaang up, Katara turned back to her anger towards Zuko. This prompted Zuko to take her on a search for her mother's killer in the Southern Raiders. When they got back from their trip, Katara was finally ready to forgive him.
Later, Katara and Zuko learned to laugh at the time they spent at the Air Temple pranking each other. They were on Ember Island, and it was nighttime. Katara and Zuko were the last two up, the rest of the gaang recently having gone to bed. They sat together on the steps in front of the area that Zuko and Aang trained in, a lantern sitting between them. The sky above them was a rich black, the stars like bright pinpoints on a map of darkness. Katara and Zuko sat in friendly silence for a while, until Zuko broke it.
"Can you believe we did all of that to each other?" Zuko said, referring to the events at the Western Air Temple with a laugh.
Katara understood, and smiled at the memory, "It feels like a long time ago, but it really hasn't been that long."
"It's probably sad to say," Zuko said, "but that was the most fun I'd had in a long time."
Katara laughed, "I'll admit that it was fun, but seriously that's sad Zuko."
Zuko grinned, "You scared the hell out of me whenever you got angry."
"Oh," Katara said, "we're using past tense huh?" Her hands went to her hips. "My anger doesn't scare you now Zuko?"
Zuko smirked at her and didn't say anything.
"I can be scary!" Katara pushed him. "See?" she screwed her face up and tried to growl at him.
Zuko burst out laughing, "Yea, you're about as scary as a teddy bear when you do that."
Katara fake frowned and pointed to her face, "You see this face? This face is not amused." They both laughed, and then they were smiling, the silence taking over again.
The two stared at each other for a moment, both looking away. Katara felt as though Zuko was moving closer to her, and she was right.
"I'm sorry for putting you through all of that Katara," Zuko said.
Katara smiled sadly at him, "All has been forgiven Zuko. I just hope you've forgiven me."
Zuko was surprised, "Of course I have Katara." Suddenly Zuko wrapped an arm around her, extremely cautious and gentle, as if touching her would make her disappear. Katara leaned into his side, and he relaxed. "Of course I have," Zuko said softly into her ear.
They stayed like that for a long time; fear of how fragile the embrace was clouding their minds. Both were afraid that speaking would make this moment fall away, like Cinderella's fantasy when the clock struck midnight. But after everything they had been through, this prince, Prince Zuko, would pine for the blue eyed girl with the glass slipper for as long as it took her understand the way he felt.
Katara felt very warm in Zuko's arms.
A/N- I know this story is wrong…but it's also so right! It makes for some funnies! Plus the feels at the end! Can't deny the feels… Really this was just for fun though, so yea. This was definitely just a silly fluffy one-shot. If you want a full on Zutara romance though, be sure to check out my story "The Sun Shines When I'm With You" (cue shameless advertising! :D).
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