This is a one-shot fan fic. about Katara and Zuko finally warming up to each other. In this story, Katara has already forgiven Zuko for betraying her, so now they're falling in love. Fluffy Zutaraness…

(EDIT) I ressubmitted this because a wise reviewer pointed out that the kiss happened far to fast, and I wanted to add some dialoge in that would hopefully make it more believable.

Zutara Submerged:

Katara took in a deep gulp of steamy air as she stepped into the hot spring. The whole gang rested lazily at the bottom of the canyon below the Western Air Temple, where thousands of hot springs bubbled up from the earth, spilling into each other and sending jets of steam into the air. Katara loved the feel of the soothing water droplets on her skin. Finally, a chance to rela-

Aang leaped into the hot spring with a tremendous splash, sending great waves of hot water everywhere. Zuko yelled with annoyance from the rocks nearby, though he hadn't really gotten wet. He hadn't gotten into the water yet.

"Hey, Zuko!!" Sokka shouted from the water. "Let's see if you can make a bigger splash!" he challenged.

Zuko frowned distastefully and Katara giggled to herself. The boys, meaning the Duke, Teo, Haru, Sokka, and Aang, were trying to see who could make the biggest splash in the main hot water spring. The Avatar, being a waterbender, could beat everyone else by a landslide – or, perhaps, a waterslide. Teo couldn't participate directly, but he and Toph were active judges over in the shallower waters.

Of course, Zuko didn't really care to join in. He just sat alone on the rocks with his feet in the water, watching everyone else splash around and laugh. Save his feet, he was perfectly dry. Occasionally, a smile would break over his face as the others played around, but other than that he remained motionless.

Katara found herself staring thoughtfully at the firebender. He never joined in any of their games, but he seemed perfectly content to just sit back and watch. Katara wondered if he even knew how to have fun. He seemed to enjoy training – that was basically the only thing he did all day, sometimes with Aang, Toph, or Haru, and sometimes alone. Sometimes he would even have a duel of swords with Sokka, but he never fought Katara.

Drumming her fingers on the rocks absentmindedly, Katara searched Zuko's face, trying to see what he was thinking. He was always so mysterious… she couldn't stand it! What was he always thinking about?! It killed her not to know…
The logical side of her mind told her it was none of her business, but that didn't stop her from being curious.

"Katara!" Aang called, shattering her thoughts. "How about you try?"

Katara glanced over at Zuko and noticed his gold eyes flicker her way, but he quickly looked away. A mischievous grin spread over Katara's face.

"Sure, I'll give it a shot!" She scrabbled up onto a large rock overlooking the great bubbling spring, keeping close to Zuko's place on the rock. He seemed to catch on just as she leaped from the stone towards the water below. He tried to move away, but it was too late. Katara's incredible cannonball soaked him through.

Katara surfaced and took a gulp of moist air, sweeping her dark hair out of her eyes. She looked at Zuko's pale face, and, for a second, she thought he would yell. But he didn't. He was completely quiet. For a long moment, the two just stared at each other. No one spoke, all anxious to see what Zuko's reaction would be.

Suddenly, a smile spread over his face. A gleam of mischief shone in his eye just before he leaped from his perch on the rocks. He tackled Katara in the water and the two went almost to the bottom.

As she sank to the depths of the spring, several thoughts shot through Katara's head all at once.

"I knew he was evil! He's trying to drown me!"

"That's stupid! He knows you're a waterbender, genius!"

"So he can smile. It really makes his eyes glow…"

"What are you thinking?! He's your ENEMY!! You're not supposed to think he's cute!"

"Former enemy, and that makes all the difference…"

"Snap out of it, you idiot! Kick! Swim!"

Katara focused her sight underwater and almost gasped away all her air at the beauty of the hot spring's depths. The pale light of the sun danced over the rocky bottom, broken again and again by frenzied bubbles coursing through the water like a wild heart beat. Stones covered with algae in thousands of colors littered the spring floor, and octofish lunged about, searching the rocks for a stray lobsterfrog.

Searching through the vast clouds of pearly bubbles, Katara finally spotted Zuko swimming into a little rock tunnel radiating misty light. She kicked after him, amazed at how fast, and with such ease, he cut through the water. She had a hard time following through the thousands of upward currents thrusting hot water to the surface. Every time she passed over a jet of warm water, she had to fight to keep from giggling at the tickling liquid.

Rounding a bend in the rocks, Katara found herself in a thin, upwards, rocky tube lit with pale white light from above. Zuko was already at the surface, treading water.

Katara swept her arms back and rocketed through the water to the surface, powered by her waterbending. She shot out of the water and arched backwards, flying right over Zuko's head and back into the water behind him in a graceful leap. She swam playfully through his beating legs and came back up in front of him, sucking in a long breath of air. Finally, she had a chance to look around.

They both tread water in a thin grotto. A rocky overhang and a thin waterfall slipping from its edge made a sort of closet out of their surfacing point, sheltering them from a slightly larger cave on the other side. From the strange light source, it looked like there was a hole in the top of the outer cave that let a little light inside, but for the most part, the grotto was shaded in a wintry blue-gray.

Finally, Katara's eyes rested on Zuko. His dark hair was plastered to his head, covering most of his face in dripping bangs. Katara laughed, listening to it echo in the tiny space, and parted Zuko's hair out of his eyes.

"That's for splashing me," Zuko said cheerfully.

"And now you're completely soaked," Katara returned smartly, but a happy smile also lit her eyes. They stared at each other for a little while, until Katara finally blushed and looked away.

"Why did you blush? You aren't starting to fall for him, are you?!"

"He seems like a nice guy, now that I know him a little better. I can like whoever I want!"

Katara glanced over the small cave again, trying to distract herself from her own thoughts. "This place is beautiful," she observed. "The blues are so calming." She lay on her back in the water and kicked around in circles, listening to the rhythmic slap of the waterfall against the pool. Almost in a daze, Katara let her eyes slip shut, bending the water in the cave into a gentle cyclone that propelled her around and around – around and around Zuko.

Suddenly, something slipped against her submerged arm, such a gentle touch that Katara wasn't sure if she'd actually felt anything. But on her next turn through the grotto, she felt it again. The brushing touch sent a warm tingle up her spine, and it made her heart skip. On every cycle, the touch grew broader, like more of Zuko's hand was making contact with more of her arm. It lingered over her skin as she passed, caressing her palm and playing with her fingers. Finally, Zuko's whole hand brushed over her arm and caught hold of her hand. Katara slowly spun around, lessening the power of her waterbending until she found herself slowly twirling in Zuko's arms.

Katara still lay on her back in the water, and they still turned leisurely, but this time, Zuko supported her with a strong hand on her back, and another holding her hand. Katara stared into his eyes. It seemed like they were the only objects not affected by the reflected blue colors of the water. They were so golden, so deep… The waterbender's cheeks turned bright red, but it didn't show in the cool light.

"You seem so calm," Zuko observed. "I honestly thought you would be freaking out…"

"I… I don't see why…" was the only thing Katara could think of to say. She was about to add just for good measure that she wasn't afraid of him, even though, in that quiet moment, she was absolutely petrified, but it just didn't seem right to say. It would end the moment… It sounded corny later on, but right then it was the most romantic thing Katara had ever thought in her entire life. Instead, she managed to say, "I don't see why I should be afraid… when it all seems so…"

"Natural?" Zuko finished.

Katara nodded, staring up at him. Her playful side couldn't resist this opportunity. "And I didn't know you would be brave enough to do something like this… I mean, to me of all people."

Zuko smiled mischievously and Katara felt her heart flutter. He did have a cute smile.

"I'm brave enough to do this…" he replied.

He leaned over her, dipping his head into the water, into her lips. They kissed below the surface, their spinning taking them deeper and deeper into the water. They continued to twist, finally finding themselves standing at the bottom of the grotto. It was almost like they weren't even underwater.

Katara threw her arms around Zuko's neck, cutting bubbles out of the water. Zuko wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, the embrace's warmth magnified in the hot spring water. They lost themselves in their kiss, and almost forgot to come up for air, until Zuko pulled away suddenly and kicked for the surface. Katara followed, and they burst from the water in a shower of sparkling droplets, both gasping for air.

"Wow…" was all Katara could manage by the time she caught her breath.


"Hey, there you two are!!" Sokka exclaimed as Katara and Zuko resurfaced in the wide pool. "We thought you got lost down there!"

I guess we kind of did, Katara thought, blushing at Zuko's smile.


Okay, it's kind of OOC for Katara, but I think that once she gets over Zuko's past, she'll LUV 'im. It's also a little OOC for Zuko, but I just couldn't help myself… Besides, he seemed perfectly okay with cuddling Mai, and Katara is ten times more awesomer than Mai… so I figured, "Eh, what the heck…" Zutara! Yay… And that's right, I said LOBSTERFROG!! I need to make a sketch of that sometime… could be quite interesting… Anyway, hope you enjoyed! And remember, REVIEW, and you could see some more of these really soon! 'For You's' next chapter is comin' up soon, so please be patient!! Thank you all and God bless!