Zutara Prompt: Snow
3rd Person
Zuko looked out the window with a sigh. It was snowing again. That meant his wife would want to go play in the snow with their children.
Kenai and Katara both had the most fun because they're both water benders. Mika and Zuko had fun, but not as much as Kenai and Katara. Mika was a firebender like her dad.
"Kenai! Mika!" Katara yelled. "Get ready to go outside."
"Are you and daddy coming?" Mika, the oldest asked.
Katara smiled over at Zuko. "Of course!"
"Yay!" Mika and Kenai both yelled.
Katara walked over to Zuko. "Get your snow coat on honey."
"Please tell me we're not going to have another snowman building contest."
"No promises. The kids are going to decide what we do." Katara informed him.
He nodded. "I guess Mika is my only hope."
He pulled her onto the couch beside him. They then shared the most romantic kiss. It was slow and simple, yet filed with passion. They were forced to pull apart when they heard Mika yelling at Kenai.
"Kenai! That's my coat! Give it back!"
Zuko and Katara sighed and got off the couch.
"Kenai! Give your sister her coat back!" Zuko yelled.
Then he started up the stairs. He saw Kenai throw Mika her coat. It landed on her face. She pulled it off head which was turning really red with anger.
"KENAI!" She yelled before firebending at him. It was a powerful blast aimed right for Kenai's head.
Zuko quickly shot a fireball of his own. It collided with Mika's fireball. They both burst right in front of Kenai's head.
"Mika! You could have seriously hurt Kenai! Fire is not to be played with!" Zuko yelled.
Mika nodded. "I'm sorry daddy. I just got so angry."
Zuko patted her head and kneeled down. "Anger fuels fire. That's why we firebenders must control our anger."
Kenai then tried to sneak off, so he wouldn't get in trouble.
"Kenai, stay right there." Zuko ordered without turning around. "Mika, go get ready."
Mika then ran off to get dressed for the snow. Zuko stood up and walked over to Kenai.
"Kenai, you need to respect your sister and not make her angry. What would you have done if I wasn't here?"
Kenai shrugged. "I don't know."
Zuko felt a little self-conscious as he realized that Kenai was eyeing his scar. "Go get dressed. Be nice to Mika, okay?"
"Okay daddy!" Then Kenai ran off to his room.
Zuko walked into his own room. He walked over to his side of the room and sat down on the bed.
Then Katara came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I wish they would get along."
"I just wish they wouldn't try to kill each other." Zuko stated.
"What?" Katara asked surprised.
Zuko turned towards her to find genuine surprise in her eyes. "Come on honey. This isn't the first time. They're always at each other's throats."
"What happened?" Katara asked.
Zuko told her what had just happened in the hallway. "I'm just glad Kenai didn't lose it and start waterbending at us. I'm so grateful he doesn't know bloodbending yet."
"I'll talk to him." Katara informed Zuko.
Zuko shook his head. "No need. I took care of that."
Katara smiled wide. "Okay then. I'm going downstairs to go get ready."
"Okay." Zuko said to the empty room.
Zuko pulled out his winter coat. It was all he really needed since he was always warm. Katara on the other hand would need a heavy coat, three pairs of gloves, two scarfs, five pairs of socks, and a thick pair of boots. He grabbed his coat and went downstairs. Zuko searched for his wife, but couldn't find her.
No one else was downstairs yet, so he sat down. Mika soon came downstairs with her red coat on.
"Mika take your coat off. Your brother and mom will take forever." Zuko informed her.
"What if we went outside before them and started building a snowman?" Mika wondered. "I heard mom talking to Kenai and he said the first thing he wants to do is make a snowman."
"Oh." Betrayal appeared in Zuko's golden eyes. "So that's where your mom is." He got up and started pacing. "Building a snowman early is against the rules. We need to come up with a plan."
Mika nodded nervously. "So, are we going outside daddy?"
Zuko smiled one of those Zuko smiles that warns you he's angry and you will soon know. "Let's go." He pulled on his coat and ran outside and didn't even bother to wait for Mika.
Mika ran after her father with a bright smile on her face.
Katara and Kenai walked out together, whispering their secret plans. They stopped whispering as soon as they reached Zuko and Mika. There was a line drawn in the snow. One side said Firebenders and the other said Waterbenders.
Katara looked at her husband and saw guilt and hurt. Snow days took the most toll on Zuko because he hated being separated based on bending. He didn't want his children growing up thinking this way. She also knew that he felt like their son was drifting farther and farther from him.
Katara pushed back the guilt and sighed. "Okay. Kenai, what do you want to do first?"
"Snowman building!" Kenai shouted gleefully.
"Why doesn't Mika get to choose first?" Zuko questioned.
"He's already chosen, we might as well just do it." Katara whipped a reply. "Mika can choose next time."
Mika frowned. "Okay mommy." She whispered.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Katara yelled.
Katara ran back from the line and started forming the base. She turned to face the line and stopped what she was doing in surprise.
"Mommy?" Kenai asked, worried.
All she could do was point at the Firebender side.
Zuko ran towards the line until he was lined up with the word Firebenders. The he layed on the ground and blasted a fireball at the word Firebenders. The word was now completely gone.
"What is he doing?" Katara asked herself.
She was startled when Kenai started shaking his head. "I don't know."
"Mika!" Zuko yelled.
Mika ran forward with a huge smile on her face while Zuko dropped back. Zuko started forming the base of the snowman. Katara suddenly remembered her work and continued her snowman. Mika held out a hand until the flame in her hand looked more like the flame that came out of a wielders tool. She started writing something in the snow.
Katara and Kenai were now working on the middle section of the snowman. Even though she was working, Katara couldn't take her eyes off of the other team. Mika ran back to her dad and started helping. Katara strained her eyes until she was able to read the new title. It read Awesome People. Katara couldn't help but feel offended.
"That's so mean!" Kenai cried.
"Just keep working." Katara soothed softly.
Katara compared their snowmen. The Waterbenders snowman was going to be very standard. Big base, medium midsection, and small head. They were just now starting on the head. The Firebenders snowman was very, for lack of better words, different. All they had so far was the base, but it was too long.
"Sokka!" Zuko called.
"Sokka?" Katara thought in her confusion.
Then Sokka stepped out from behind the house. He ran towards them.
"Uncle Sokka!" Mika called and ran to give him a hug.
Even Zuko ran up to him and hugged him.
"Hey sweetie." Sokka knelt down and gave her a hug. "Hey man." He stated as he stood up and hugged Zuko.
"We'll catch up later. Now we need your help." Zuko told him.
Sokka just nodded in response. Then he walked over to their snowman and tsked.
"I need to start fresh." Sokka informed them. "What you have here is no good."
"Whatever you need man." Zuko responded.
They moved to a new spot. Sokka and Zuko started building while Mika firebended the base.
Katara had to force herself to stop panicking. Kenai was almost done with the head. There was no way Sokka could catch up. Right?
Sokka had been the best snowman builder in their tribe when they were younger. In the short amount it took Kenai to just finish the head, Sokka had already finished the base and the midsection.
Katara quickly grabbed the hat and scarf and placed them on the snowman. She glanced at the other side to find Sokka done with the head. Zuko and Mika were just watching Sokka work because they felt that they would make everything worse.
Sokka started talking to them and Zuko was shaking his head.
Katara decided to take advantage of this opportunity. "One minute!"
Katara and Kenai started going even faster. She started adding the eyes and nose while Kenai started placing the buttons on the midsection.
Katara looked at her watch and saw that there were only 10 seconds left.
At the very last second, Zuko and Mika firebended at the snowman's midsection. He now had one big hole in his stomach.
Everyone then walked up to the middle line.
"You cheated! You guys are disqualified." Kenai yelled.
"How did we cheat?" Mika asked.
"You guys got Sokka to help you." Katara anwsered. She then turned to Sokka in anger. "Why are you even here?"
Zuko then pulled out the rule book that Katara had made. "Where does it say that we can't get anyone to help us? I called him since I didn't really feel like losing."
Katara yanked the book out of his hands and turned to what appeared to be a random page. "You cannot have anyone join your team."
"Unless?" Zuko prompted.
Katara blushed a bright red. "Unless the name is changed to allow for more people to join."
"And I AM awesome!" Sokka shouted.
"You didn't finish you're snowman!" She shouted knowing it was a random shot in the dark.
"Our snowman is a war hero." Zuko stated.
"He has no arms and no shirt." Mika followed.
"He even has a big hole in his belly!" Sokka yelled.
Katara sighed and accepted defeat. "You guys win."
"But mom!" Kenai whined.
"Kenai. They won fair and square."
Kenai then eyed his dad, sister, and uncle warily. "We'll win next time." It sounded like a warning mixed with a threat.
"Mika," Katara knelt down in the snow. "What do you want to do now?"
Mika looked at her dad who nodded. She smiled slyly. "A snowball fight!"
Katara nodded and started to change their team name to allow Sokka to join their side.
"Sorry honey," Zuko held up the book. "But the book says you can't switch teams once the game is started. It also says you can't change the team name while no games are being played."
"It doesn't say that you can only change the team when a game is being played." Katara pointed out.
"I decided to make a new rule." Zuko said.
Katara opened her mouth to object, but when she realized that Zuko was expecting her to object so she just nodded. "That's fine."
Katara glared at the book that was the proof of her hard work. She had made it since they always did played games like this when it snowed and, let's face it, Zuko liked to play dirty. Mika followed after her dad so she liked to play dirty as well. The rules kept them in check.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Zuko shouted.
Kenai shot a snowball at Mika, but Zuko firebended it.
"Mika, make snowballs for Sokka to throw. I'll stop you guys from getting hit." Zuko ordered.
Mika nodded as she dropped to the snow. She started making snowballs as quick as she could.
Zuko narrowed his eyes at the opposing team. He would have to make sure he didn't burn anyone. Mika didn't have as much experience, so she was more likely to burn someone.
Sokka had also the best at throwing snowballs in Katara's tribe. She had to work really fast to either bend them back or force them to the ground.
Zuko firebended each one with perfect accuracy. Katara became mesmerized by the way he moved. She was so mesmerized that she didn't even notice the snowball until it hit her on the arm.
"Ow!" She couldn't help but shout.
"Are you okay?" Kenai asked.
Katara nodded. Zuko just kept that focused expression on his face. She felt the tears threaten to spill over.
That's when she realized that Zuko was mad at her. For what, she didn't know.
After 15 minutes of torture, Sokka called the end of the game. It was clear who the winner was. Kenai and Katara were already turning black and blue.
The Awesome team had a group hug. Everyone one on their side was smiling widely. Zuko fist bumped his daughter and Sokka.
Suki then came out of the house. "Good job awesome people!" She called.
Sokka walked over to her and gave her a hug. Katara felt steam coming out of her ears.
"Why didn't you come out earlier? You could have helped!" Katara shouted.
Zuko walked up behind Sokka. "Or you could have joined our team."
Suki giggled. "I know Zuko, but I wanted you guys to still have fun. If I had joined your team it would have been too easy."
"Trust me. It wasn't fun." He turned to glare at Katara.
"Oh I'm sorry." Suki muttered.
"Did you make us hot chocolate?" Sokka asked.
"Of course!"
Everyone went inside and had hot chocolate. Katara could feel the tension between Zuko and her, but no one else could. It was so thick that she could reach out and grab it. Mika and Kenai were playing with Kenta, Sokka and Suki's son.
Zuko excused himself and went upstairs. Katara followed him and found him in their bedroom.
"Zuko." She started.
"You noticed during the snowball fight." It wasn't a question.
Katara nodded. "Why are you so mad?"
"You know why. Separating us because of our bending, separating me from our only son!" Zuko's voice got louder as his words approached the end of his sentence.
"I'm sorry." Katara whispered. She was scared, but she knew she had to calm Zuko down.
"That's your problem. You're always sorry, but you never do anything about it." Zuko was obviously forcing himself to not yell.
"Zuko, honey, you need to calm down." Katara whispered. "Don't get angry. You might burn the whole house down."
"Do you seriously think I would be talking to you if I felt I might burn down the house?" Zuko asked. Hurt flowed into his liquid gold eyes. Then he stormed out of their room.
Katara sat down on the bed and cried. She now saw that she underestimated the hurt that snow days caused Zuko.
She went back downstairs to find Sokka and Suki gone.
"Where did they go?" She asked Zuko.
Zuko looked up from the dishes he was washing to glare at Katara. "They went to the moon."
"What?" Katara asked.
"You ask a stupid question, you get a stupid answer." Zuko's words cut into Katara's heart like a knife.
"Zuko, I'm so sorry." Katara murmured.
When Zuko didn't respond she went to the living room.
"Mika. Come here sweetie." Mika jumped up and glided to Katara.
"Go talk to your daddy."
"Daddy, are you okay?" Mika inquired.
"I'm fine." He anwsered without a hint of anger. "Did your mom send you?"
Mika nodded in response.
"Tell her she needs to stop hiding behind you."
Katara was happy when she saw the smile on Mika's face.
"How did it go? What did he say?"
"He said to stop hiding behind me."
It was all Katara could do not to cry. "Do you really think I hide behind you?"
"No, but I think you favor Kenai over me." She then ran to go play with Kenai.
"Bedtime." Katara ordered.
After she made sure they were in bed, she went outside.
Time passed with Zuko growing more worried by the minute. When he had realized Katara was missing, he had been frantic with worry.
Then Katara walked in. Zuko ran over and crushed his lips against hers.
Katara looked up at him in confusion. "What's the matter?"
"I was so worried." Zuko whispered as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I thought you were never coming back."
"Of course I was coming back. I love you too much to leave Zuko."
Zuko just smiled up in response. He grabbed her hand and led her to bed. Katara smiled and squeezed his hand. She wanted to cry tears of joy when he squeezed back.
Zuko took off his shirt before he realized what was in the snow.
It read: I'm so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?
The line, Waterbenders, and Awesome People were gone.
He turned to face Katara, but she was facing away from him. She had taken off her shirt. All he could do was stare.
"Of course I forgive you." He murmured.
Katara put on her shirt and turned around. There was a delay before she responded because she was distracted by Zuko's torso.
"Oh." She smiled. "You saw it?"
Zuko nodded. Then he turned from her and finished changing into his pajamas.
Katara and Zuko layed down so that their shoulders were touching.
"I love you." Katara murmured in the dark.
"I love you too." Zuko responded.
Then they started kissing. If you could collect the passion between them in that moment and sell it, you would be the richest person ever.
Zuko smiled as the gears turned in his head. The next snow day would be perfect.