A/N: IT"S FINALLY HERE! Yep, Zutara Week XD I'm really excited about writing and participating. So enjoy my little tidbit into the Zutara spirit and let me know what you think :]
Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA.
"And you let it sink to the bottom of the lake? Just like that?" Aang asked in awe as Zuko nodded. "But why?"
"I didn't want that part of me anymore. For so long, the Blue Spirit was a greedy thief. When I set Appa free, I didn't want the Blue Spirit to be my good guy mask. I wanted to be the good guy."
"Wow," Aang said and Katara rolled her eyes from her spot next to him. It was so easy to impress the airbender.
"That's kinda like when Sugar Queen became the Painted Lady," Toph said from her spot left of Zuko and Katara popped her head up at the comment.
"Oh yeah!" Sokka exclaimed as he played with his boomerang. "She saved a river town and completely destroyed a Fire Nation Factory," he told Zuko and the prince looked over at the waterbender with wide eyes.
"That was you?" he asked with genuine surprise. Katara's cheeks pinked in annoyance. It was none of Zuko's business what she did.
"It was amazing! She had the costume and makeup and everything!" Aang added happily. "Then she used her waterbending to create this eerie fog and glide across the water!"
"She totally scared the pants off those Fire Nation soldiers. It was great!" Toph chuckled as she munched on a hazelnut.
"Wow," Zuko said breathlessly as he stared at the waterbender. The look on his face was a mix between admiration and wonder, and Katara tried her best not to squirm under his gaze.
"It's not as big a deal as they make it sound. I just disguised myself and used my waterbending to heal some sick villagers," she said tonelessly before a sharp pain spread across the middle of her back.
"Don't be modest! You know you were awesome," Sokka chimed but he drew away when she scowled at him. As if she sensed Katara's unease, Toph stood up and stretched loudly.
"Well, I'm bushed. Night guys," she told the group as she turned and made her way to her blanket.
"Toph's right. We should all get some sleep," Katara said and silently thanked the earthbender.
Katara was wide awake well after Sokka's snores began and she couldn't quite figure out why. She was perfectly comfortable in her thin blankets and the air was cool. Her hair was pulled out of her face and she could feel the sleep pulling at her eyes. Though, every time she closed them, it would go away.
Once more, she felt her lids become heavy and she slowly closed them in hopes that she would finally drift to sleep, but like the other times, the feeling slipped away and she swore she could hear it laughing at her irritation.
With a sigh, she finally sat up and looked around. Everyone was sleeping soundly and she silently envied them. She hated insomnia. With another irritated sigh, she stood up and walked in a little circle around her sleeping bag. Without thinking, she continued the motion lazily a few more times before she stopped and let her body droop. Still nothing.
Frustrated, she kicked her blankets and stomped off towards the nearest entrance to the temple. She decided that maybe her old room would be better. As she made her way through the hallways, she couldn't help but let her mind wonder to what Zuko had said earlier.
I wanted to be the good guy.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and felt guilty again. She knew he was trying his best, and she understood that he was sorry, but she couldn't get passed what he'd done before to forgive him. When she weighed it out, his bad was way heavier than his good.
She quietly pulled the latch on her door and pushed it open. Inside it was a bit stuffy and depressing. At first, she was pleased to have her own room and privacy. When the rest started to sleep outside because of the heat, she continued to stay in her room. That was until she found an old set of airbender robes under the armoire. Until then, the thought that she was sleeping in a deceased airbender's bed hadn't crossed her mind and she quickly joined the others.
Giving the room another glance, she closed the door and decided against sleeping there again. But when she turned around to leave, she bumped into someone and nearly knocked them down. She quickly pushed away and started to move into a bending pose, but was stopped short when familiar hands coiled around her wrists.
"Let me go!" she hissed at him. She swore she could see him smirk in the darkness, but he let his hands relax and he pulled away. "What are you doing? Why did you follow me?"
"What are you doing walking around the temple at night?" he asked her instead.
"Answer mine first," she said giving him a scowl. He shrugged and then sighed.
"I rolled over and you weren't there, so I decided to see if you were okay." Katara stared at him for a moment and then crossed her arms over her chest.
"I couldn't sleep. I thought my room would be better, but I decided against it," she said trying her best not to sound too snippy.
Silence fell on the two and Katara found it surprising how comfortable it was. She looked up into Zuko's face and did her best not to reach up and touch his scar. He had let her close once, but now terms were different and she wasn't sure he'd let her.
Her thoughts wondered back to what he had told them earlier that day; about the mask. And she couldn't help but feel like all those times before, he was always wearing one. Hiding who he really was because he didn't know how to show it. Katara ripped her gaze from his face and looked down at their feet. Wow, he's close.
"What's wrong?" he asked slightly alarmed and she shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to tell him what was on her mind; how she'd been thinking of him all day and that he'd cluttered her mind so much she couldn't sleep. Oh yeah, he'd love hearing that, Katara.
"I won't judge you," he tried again.
Katara felt guilt stab her in the back again. All she did was judge him. And here he was, telling her she could tell him anything. What scared her the most, though, is that she wanted to. She felt as though in another life, if things were different, they could've been close friends since the beginning. But things are different now… said a voice a lot like her mother's. Take a chance, Katara.
She looked back up into Zuko's concerned face and tried hard take a deep breath. "To me, it's like you're still wearing that mask," she said shrugging.
"The blue one?" he asked confused.
"No. The mask you've always worn. You used to hide behind it and believe that it was you. That you had to be that angry, terrible person all the time to make a point. And I used to believe that's who you really were. Until Ba Sing Se." Katara looked up at him and watched his face become stone at her words.
"When we were locked under the city together, you took off that mask and let me see the real you. I saw a hurt and confused person who needed someone to reassure him. And I almost did that. I wanted to see you find your way and be the good that I know is inside you," she said as she poked his chest with her index.
"That's what I'm trying to do!" he snapped turning away from her. "That's what I'm trying to make you see."
"And I'm telling you that all I still see is that mask!" she said fiercely. "I forgave you for all those times before in Ba Sing Se, and I thought you had changed for the better, but you seemed to just throw away what I said to you. What I offered. Like you didn't care, and then you betrayed me!"
Zuko whirled around and stepped right in front of her causing Katara to jump and step back. "You think I didn't care? You think I threw it all away because I didn't want it? Katara, that was my family! And I wanted more than anything for them to see that I loved them, even after three years of being banished and made a joke."
Katara was flat against her door behind her, staring wide eyed at the firebender in front of her. She could feel the heat coming from his body he was so close, and she fought the urge to shove him away and run off to the others.
"The last time I was home, I was young and naïve and spoiled. I thought my father was teaching me a lesson because I did something wrong. I looked up to him." Zuko's voice cracked and Katara could feel her eyes get hot when she glanced at his scar. He was leaning in front of her, both palms pressed against the wall on either side of her head. As he spoke, she was tying all the pieces together.
"But he banished me and sent me on some fool's mission so he wouldn't have to put up with me anymore. What he didn't know is that luck and destiny were on my side. And when I went back, I thought that he sincerely just didn't want me around. I soon figured out that he saw me as a threat. He knew I was like my mother and that I would do what was right."
"Which is why you're here now," Katara whispered, and he nodded slowly. For the first time, Katara smiled at him. She noticed his eyes brighten even though he looked confused.
"I think I've been wearing a mask, too," she told him, and somehow, he understood all the meaning behind those words. With that, she reached up and wrapped her arms gingerly around his neck and pulled him closer into a hug.
A/N: Okay, so there were lots of times I felt like this got a bit dramatic in a cliché, cheesy kinda way. And I had no idea where to end it. And a hug? Pfft…I feel like I could've done better. Also, I have a feeling everybody is going to use the Blue Spirit and Painted Lady in some way for this prompt...so I felt like my bit was very stereotypical. But, I guess that's up to the reader now. So let me know what you think and tell me what you guys have written or drawn for Zutara Week if you're participating. I wanna see it, too :]
Also, regarding 'Third Time's the Charm', my iPod decided it was going to delete the Southern Raiders from itself as well as my notes on what I was going to write and such. So I'll get back to that right after Zutara Week is over. So bug me about it a lot if I don't get right on that. I-I'm serious about that. PM the mess out of me so I don't procrastinate.
And, those of you looking for an AMAZING Zutara story that's packed with adorable fluff, angst, and humor look up 'In the Same Candlelight' by Like A Dove.
And those of you looking for an awesome mystery with tons of action and Blue Spirit craziness, look up 'Endlessly, She Said' by AleinaReigning.
Thanks for reading and please review :]
Happy Zutara Week 2011!