All the Boys Love Katara

"I hate doing laundry," Katara grumbled as she dipped her dirty clothes into the water. She had found a stream not too from the Western Air Temple a few days ago and had thought it would be make a good place to wash her clothes. With a flick of her wrist she fluidly guided a ribbon of water through her blue Water Tribe robe.

"It's just so stupid. I mean, they're just going to get dirty again anyway." Katara took her soaked robe in one hand and bended it dry with the other.

"If I ruled the world, we'd never wash our clothes, and we'd all just stay stinky and live with it." She sent a firm water-whip to her robe to snap out all the embedded dust and dirt. "I mean, why can't we all just be like Toph and never even bathe at all?" Katara sighed. She threw her robe on the grass and whipped it out of pure frustration.

"It's not fair. I hate washing clothes!" She crossed her arms and frowned deeply.

"Oh yeah, and I hate Zuko too!" she added.

"Hmm, I guess this spot looks good," Zuko said, appearing from out of nowhere. He was carrying a crudely made basket fashioned out of twigs, which held his own soiled garments. Upon spotting Katara, the stream and her pile of clothes, he let out a fake gasp and hit himself on the forehead.

"What a coincidence," he said. "I decide to come to this stream which I have never seen before, at a time that was totally not predetermined, for the sole purpose of washing my clothes, and here you are doing the exact same thing!" Zuko took another glance at Katara. "And you just happen to be dripping wet, wearing nothing but underwear," he added quickly.

"Hellooo Zuko," Katara muttered without sparing so much as a peek at the Fire Nation Prince. Soundlessly, she picked up a second robe and resumed her laundry. Why can't he just accept the fact that I don't like him? And why does everyone think this is underwear? Hello, it's a swimsuit. Water tribe girls don't wear underwear.

"Let's try washing over here," Zuko said, much louder than necessary. He set his basket a dozen meters away from Katara and hunkered down to peer at the stream. "Nope, this spot is no good." He grabbed his basket and moved a few feet closer to his left, which were in fact a few feet closer to Katara. "Okay, this is – oh no, there's seaweed here too?!" He moved another few feet. "Alright, this is the spot, this is definitely the place where – what's this?" Zuko reached into his pocket and dropped one of the koi fish Sokka had caught for lunch into the stream. Disgust filled his face as he looked pointedly at Katara, who was still paying no attention to him. "Can you believe that? This fish just died right where I was about to wash my clothes. Guess I just have to move again."

With a stupid grin on his face, Zuko snatched his basket one last time and zoomed over to Katara. He plopped down his belongings and himself no less than two inches next to the blue-eyed waterbender. He smiled at her.

"Hi Katara," he said.

"I'm doing my laundry," she mumbled.

"I know. So am I." Zuko reached into his basket and carefully began unloading his things. He was muttering to himself the whole time, as if he had to do it a certain way. Slowly, his left eyeball shifted until it could see Katara.

"So uh, gettin' those clothes nice and clean?" Katara huffed impatiently, but continued ignoring the prince. "You know, Uncle tells me that water-tribe girls are the best launderers in the world."

"I'm busy right now," Katara said.

"He said they can get out stains that all the others can't."

"I don't want to talk to you Zuko!"

"One time, they made his clothes so clean that–"

"I'm in my underwear!"

"I can help!" Zuko ripped off his tunic, so that he was only wearing a pair of fire nation boxers. "Now we're even." Katara bit her lip and crossed her arms.

"Actually, it's a swimsuit." Zuko's teeth clenched nervously. He clamped his fingers around the waistband of his boxers and ripped them off. Under them was a pair of fire nation swimming trunks.

"Tada," he said, grinning with satisfaction. "See, they even have the Fire Nation insignia!" Katara angrily tossed her clothes and jammed her index finger against Zuko's chest.

"What do you want Zuko?! I'm trying to get something done here, but all you do is interrupt me and get in my way! Just tell me what you want, and why you came here!" Zuko lowered his head and began playing with his fingers.

"To watch you be sexy," he said in a sullen voice. Katara rolled her eyes.

"And what do I possibly do that you think is sexy?" she asked. Now Zuko started losing his patience.

"Oh let's see, um, you're hot! That's something. I mean, you strip down to nothing but your underwear–"

"–Swimsuit–"

"–Swimsuit, which is already enough to keep me awake at night, and then you start bending water all over the place? Come on! I'm a guy! We think that's sexy! I mean, you have Aang there spying on you behind the bush doing Agni knows what–"

"Hey, you said you wouldn't tell!" Aang said, popping an irate face above his bush.

"Then you have Teo up there who's been flying nonstop in circles above you with that telescope his father gave him." Teo's smooth flying became very jerky once Katara glared up at him.

"And now I'm the bad guy? At least I have a legitimate excuse; I need to wash my clothes. And what not a better time and place to do it than next to an ornery, intolerant, mistrustful, uh, shallow…err…tan…," Zuko's eyelids closed halfway, " semi nude… … …hot… … … …girl that can move water." Zuko's voice trailed off as drool started running down the side of his mouth.

"That's it!" Aang cried out, leaping over the bush. "I can't take it anymore, she's mine!" He started sprinting over to the indignant water-bender as fast as the wind. Literally.

"Not if I get her first!" Zuko bellowed. Fire whips erupted from his hands as he struggled to ensnare Katara, who ducked and ran in the opposite direction.

"You're both wrong. She belongs to me!" All three scrambling teenagers squinted up at the sky and saw Teo in the midst of a plummeting dive, aiming right for Katara.

"THAT'S IT!" Katara swung her arms in a violent upward motion, and then spun rapidly on one foot. Teo meanwhile landed next to Aang and Zuko and joined them in watching Katara spin.

"Is she dancing?" Aang asked.

"I don't know," Teo said.

"Whatever it is, it makes her look hot," Zuko added.

One second later, all three amorous boys were imprisoned in a gigantic ring of ice. Unable to move, they could only watch as Katara, with her hands on her hips, snort with disapproval and walk away. Zuko, Aang and Teo all hung their heads in despair.

"Well, I guess we learned our lesson," Zuko said.

"Yeah, next time our hormones act up, we all try and catch her together," Aang said. "That way, she can't escape." Teo nodded (as his neck was the only muscle he could move) in agreement. Gazing at Katara's retreating form, his eyes grew wide when he saw Katara joined by another person. His astonished expression turned to an enraged one as he saw who was now with her.

"Is that Haru?" Aang asked. The not incarcerated earthbender glimpsed back at the other boys, smiled, and put his arm around Katara. Katara returned the favor.

"Don't pay them any attention Haru," Katara said. "They've been very bad today. At least I have a mature, young man around to help balance things out."

"Oh yeah," Haru said, casting a devilish smirk back at the other three.

"Your mustache sucks!" Zuko spat. Haru and Katara kept walking together until they were out of sight. Aang dropped his head and sighed in defeat.

"Oh, that could've been me."

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