A/N: Woot! My first real Zutara piece with real Zutara interaction! Yay! It's sweet, I promise. I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. And I own the song, so sorry if the lyrics stink.
Dreaming of You
A Zutara One-Shot
Oh, I've been drowning
Ever since we parted—
She streamed the water around her, waist-deep in the ocean water. It was late out, and her companions were asleep. But she couldn't sleep. She was thinking of him, drowning in intense contemplation.
Why, I ask myself, why,
And what have we started?
He was up as well, in his room in front of the candles he controlled with his bending, breathing in and out, controlling the size and intensities of the flames. But the fires flickered, as though he was distracted. What was so intriguing about her that made him think of her so much?
So different
In every single way,
She grunted irritably as the water she'd streamed fell back down to the ocean. She'd lost her focus on the water. Instead it was on him—and her. He was a prince of the Fire Nation, and she, a Waterbender from the isolated South Pole! They were enemies!
…Then why was she still thinking of him?
Yet so same,
I can tell you'll be okay.
He rubbed the sides of his head, inhaling deeply. Lighting the candles again, he tried to focus once more. But his thoughts betrayed him. They wandered to her. She was so stubborn and loyal to the Avatar, and she was a rarity, a feisty and intelligent young girl. She was one who could take care of herself, he could tell that much.
You're strong,
And so am I.
She frowned. He'd shown extraordinary strength in the small skirmish with the pirates, from what she'd seen. It intimidated her somewhat. But then, she was a Waterbender, and she was learning. She'd be as good as Aang soon.
We'll make it through,
Or else we live a lie.
He finally gave up with the candles and extinguished them. Carelessly tossing on some clothing, he strode out on the deck, and stared at the stars. They weren't similar to the ones at home in the Fire Nation. But he hadn't seen the sky of the Fire Nation in two years.
Two years, it had been that long? Would his father still accept him home if he brought the Avatar?
He dearly hoped so.
But we'll get through this,
It'll be alright.
Thinking of you by day,
Dreaming of you by night.
She summoned the water into the air again, searching her mind to find anything else to think about besides him. Her searching brought her to Aang. How would he manage to learn all the elements before the comet came?
'Don't worry,' she reassured herself, 'it will be right in the end.'
You know you want me,
And I want you.
Home sounded so odd now. But home… Home was more his ship then anything else. Home was living on the sea and chasing the Avatar and his companions. Chasing her.
We can make this thing work;
That we already knew.
It would all be right in the end. How she wanted so badly to believe that. But what if Zuko captured Aang before the comet came? What would happen then?
…Would Zuko capture her and Sokka as well? Would he even bother with her?
She chided herself for thinking such foolish thoughts. It would be right in the end, no matter what happened, and that was all that mattered.
It's gonna be hard,
And it's gonna be rough,
How would he ever capture the Avatar and her? How would he ever even get to know her? It was an impossibility.
But to get the best things in life,
It's always gonna be tough.
It was going to be a long road to follow, and hard just to even stay alive. She felt sorrow for Aang and slight frustration at herself for having such a fascination and even affection for the might-be captor of Aang. She had to focus. She had to do what was right.
But then the thought that Zuko might think that what he was doing was right struck her. She couldn't give an argument to that.
But we'll get through this,
And it'll be alright.
Thinking of you by day,
Dreaming of you by night.
He sighed, clutching the railing on the side of the ship. The night was so peaceful, so bright, and so alive—just like her. Why was she invading his thoughts so much? It would drive him insane if he didn't do anything about it.
Who said we
Had to be
'How could doing what he thinks is right be considered wrong?' she wondered. Why did he loose his honor? Why was he banished? Why did he have that scar over his eye?
Could he actually be not just an enemy, but a person?
Complete and
Absolute enemies?
She was the enemy, and he should not be thinking about her. He was not intrigued by her at all. He refused to be.
At least, that is what he told himself. But he really knew that he craved her loving nature, her optimism and innocence. He had been like she was, at one time. But that was before the War Council, before the Agni Kai, before the scar, before the exile. It'd been a long time ago.
And he missed that time very much.
Love is a hard thing
To just come by,
This thought startled her so much that she gasped in absolute revelation and dropped the water she'd been attempting to bend. Zuko was a person, a real, live human being who could hate and love. It seemed impossible.
But this idea was very real, and the one of which the idea was, was very close by, though she failed to notice this.
So just come with me,
And away we'll fly.
His eyes scanned the horizon, and through the moonlight he could make out a small silhouette of a person—too tall to be the Avatar, but too small to be an adult. He heard water splashing quite suddenly, and started to suspect whom the silhouette belonged to—was it the Waterbender, the one that invaded all his thoughts, the girl called Katara?
His heart gave a leap, but he kept his face emotionless as he traveled to where the helmsman was and ordered the man to keep the ship going slowly inland.
He would find her, and he would find out exactly why she interested him so much.
But we'll get through this,
And it'll be alright.
Thinking of you by day,
Dreaming of you by night.
She slowly waded back to shore, her back to the ocean, and settled on the shore, lying down on her back and closing her eyes. It felt good just to lay here and dream—because she could always dream, and no one would know what went on in her dreams but her.
And she intended to keep it that way.
We'll be together,
Of that much I'm sure.
His golden eyes followed what he suspected was Katara's body silently as she moved towards the shore and settled down on the beach. He'd thought she might've seen the ship and gone back to alert the Avatar, but by the way she was just lying there, he thought she might be asleep or something of the like.
He would get to her with ease. But no one had to be around if he intended on going through with what he'd planned to do.
We should live in the moment,
Disregard the future.
She could dream of him all she liked, no matter what happened. She found much comfort in that.
A shifting of sand told her that someone was approaching. She sighed. It was probably Aang or Sokka, wondering where she was.
She sat up and opened her eyes, only to see—him.
We can be together;
We can soar!
His eyes gazed into hers. She was frightened, he could tell. But there was something else going on behind the blue orbs, something working in the bowels of her mind that he couldn't identify. Hatred? No. Something else…
We need each other;
We fear the world needs us more.
She was blazing in hatred and shivering in fear and looking in joy, all at the same time. The emotions that ran through her were so disorganized, so frivolous that she had no idea how she felt.
Well, there was certainly some admiration and happiness in the mix. That much she could detect.
But we'll get through this,
And it'll be alright.
Thinking of you by day,
Dreaming of you by night.
He stayed still, observing her every movement. He noted that she was shivering—was it because she was cold, or in fright, or—his heart gave a leap—almost happy to see him?
It all felt like a dream, and the emotions blended all together. He found himself blinking in confusion, and he lowered his head. She was the enemy.
But she could also be his strongest ally.
I don't care what they say,
What they want, what they desire,
Her thoughts were only revolving around him now, and nothing else. Not Aang or Sokka's reaction to him being here, not the war, not how they were enemies—they were just about him.
She found the courage to speak up, and whispered quietly, "Why are you here?"
Because you, oh you,
Light my inner fire.
He raised his head as she addressed him.
"That's what I came to find out," he replied.
I know that you love me,
'Cause it's just plain true.
The corners of her eyes brimmed with tears of joy or sorrow; she wasn't sure which. She regained eye contact with him, and saw such a peace in the golden eyes that she had never expected to see. They were just so calm and content, almost like that of her own, she realized.
I just know it,
'Cause I'm me and you're you.
They were staring into each other's eyes again, and came to an unspoken understanding. He did something that he hadn't done for two long years—he smiled.
A/N: I liked how this turned out so much! Tell me what you think!