"No lightning today? What's the matter, afraid I'll redirect it?" Zuko yelled at Azula.
"I'll show you lightning!" Azula screamed back.
Katara stood off to one side, tense. Zuko was risking his life for her; it didn't seem right. Chivalrous, sure, but not right. She let her mind wander, back to all the times she had caught Zuko looking her up and down. When he had seen her watching him, he has stopped. Aang had noticed once or twice; he was less than pleased.
But the strange thing was, she hadn't minded.
All of a sudden she focused again as Azula spread the lightning around herself. She pointed her fingers- at Katara.
Zuko's eyes widened as he saw the bolt go flashing towards Katara. He couldn't let this happen! Not to her! He ran forward, getting ready to take the lightning inside himself to save her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her beautiful, bewildered face.
And then he leapt.
The lightning struck him in the middle of his chest. He felt pain flood through his veins. It was worse than the time he had got his scar, a million times worse. His nerves felt like they were bursting.
All to save her.
Katara looked on, horrified. She couldn't believe her eyes as Zuko crashed to the ground in front of her. What had he done? He groaned and lay out on the ground, his hand on his wound.
"Zuko!" Katara screamed. She was running towards him, something inside of her driving her towards him. She didn't know what it was. She ran, forgetting all about Azula. All she could think about was Zuko.
A blue lightning bolt crashed in front of her. Azula started to laugh maniacally. She was crazy, Katara knew that much.
Zuko groaned and rolled onto his front. Katara started running towards him again, only to be stopped by a plume of blue fire. She skidded to a stop and put her hands up. Azula, continuing to laugh, shot lightning at Katara again.
Zuko raised himself onto one arm and reached out to Katara. She couldn't protect herself against Azula. Zuko Nobody could. Pain seared through him as he groaned and let his hand drop. He felt so faint...
Katara rolled out of the way of the next lightning bolt. Azula flew onto a rooftop and pulled the lightning around her in a circle, then shot it at Katara. Katara, trusting her instincts, yanked some water out of the pool next to her. She quickly made a shield as the lightning came crashing towards her, then ran behind a pole and hid as Azula shot fire towards her. She fell forward onto a grate. Looking beneath her hands she saw water flowing past. Water! She looked up. Hanging on a pole in front of her were some chains. Chains! Gathering a plan in her head, she grabbed them.
Katara stood on the other side of the water grate as Azula walked menacingly toward her. Katara made several water-whips and shot them at her. Just as expected, Azula rolled forward... onto the grate. She reached forward to shoot lightning, but Katara brought up the water from the grate and froze them both.
The melted the water around her and tied Azula to the grate. That was one less thing to worry about then. She bought the water down again and, leaving Azula to gasp for air, ran towards Zuko.
Kneeling beside him, Katara put her hands underneath his chest and rolled him over. She could feel his heartbeat under her hands. He was very heavy, but it felt good just to know he was still alive. Katara drew some water from her holder and, very gently, placed her hands on Zuko's wound. He groaned, and then relaxed. He was going to live.
Katara started crying; she couldn't help it. He was alive! Some joyous part of her soul was dancing, and in her mind, she was dancing too.
"Thank you Katara." He whispered. His voice, saying her name, sent chills down her body. She briefly thought of Aang. Pushing that thought out of her head, she put her hands behind Zuko's head, lifted it, and bent down to kiss it.
It was short and very, very sweet. His lips burned; her lips were ice. A perfect combination. When she pulled away, she whispered, "I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."
He reached up with his free hand and stroked her hair, running his fingers through it. She looked at him with her brilliant, wide blue eyes, and he felt something take over his body and leave his mind to sit back and enjoy.
He half sat up, and ignoring the pain in his chest, leant forward and kissed her again. Her eyes, startled now, fluttered and then shut. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, something she had always wanted to do. It was exactly as she imagined it would be, thick and soft.
His hand clasped her back and puller her closer to him. She was cold; it felt like she would get hypothermia when he went to the North Pole if she was this temperature now. To her, he felt hot. She wondered how he didn't burn up here.
Illicit thoughts of her and Zuko fluttered through her mind; some of them she quite liked. But not here. Not now. Just live in the moment.
The pain overcame Zuko and he lay down again, breathing heavily. Katara healed him again and then helped him up. With her arm around his waist and his around her shoulders, they walked over to where Azula was kneeling. She was crying. Zuko looked at her and remembered when he was a child; she had tripped him and then laughed at him when he cried. But he would be the better person and not laugh now. It was rather sad, actually, to see the demise of such a talented firebender.
Suddenly, another wave of pain overcame Zuko and he collapsed. Katara struggled to keep him from hitting his head on the ground, when all of a sudden, fire nation guards and officials ran into the yard. They kneeled before Katara. She was confused until she looked down at Zuko in her arms and realised. He was firelord now.
Author's note: Well, hey! This is the first part of a many part series. I'll be uploading it here, as it is already on my DA [.com/]. Enjoy!