Rain
Zuko sighed. If there was one thing that he hated, then it would be the rain. Large drops of water fell from the sky, making Zuko's clothes cling at his body annoyingly. Zuko brushed some hair out of his face that had fallen before his eyes because of the weight of the water.
It had been weeks since he had joined the group of the Avatar and his friends. A small smile tugged at his mouth after the awkward scenario played in Zuko's mind again. He could at least have chosen better words to start a conversation with them than a simple 'Hello, Zuko here'. How he decided to begin with that sentence was now even beyond him. And how could they not know -- after he had chased them over the globe for months -- that he was Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation.
Zuko looked up, ignoring the raindrops which fell in his eyes as he watched the gray sky. He really hated the rain, and maybe after saying it for the millionth time, he would forget it. It had never really rained in the Fire Nation, only a few drops now and then, but never buckets of water like now. After his exile, he had come to know storms beyond his imagination, and he hated it. His armor would fell heavy on his shoulders. His clothes would be soaked which always felt cold against his skin.
His gaze fell back on the path he had just walked on before his train of thought had stopped him in his track. Everything looked gray without the warmth of the sun, its bright rays casted over the lands while giving its never ending heat. Zuko started walking again, not caring to steam his clothes dry because he knew he would get wet afterwards anyway.
A flash of light caught Zuko's attention and he jerked his head to the source, lightning. A loud thunder came in its wake and Zuko thought it would be better if he got back inside his room, and get these wet clothes off him as soon as possible. The Prince started walking again, his boots splashing water out of small puddles below his feet's.
Zuko turned a corner before he stopped. Wait, Zuko thought wearingly, is that Katara? And indeed, it was her. Katara was busy with a few Waterbending moves which weren't new to him, the same move she had used in that cave under Ba Sing Se, the water whips. Zuko had watched her closely every time he had fought with her in the past, always writing her moves down in the back of his mind in as much details as he could, and used them to his advantage. It was just the way he was, always striving to learn new things. In the crystal caves he had used the same move, only with fire, of course. They had battles, and he had loved it. Nothing was as trilling than dueling with her…
But something stopped him from enjoying it back then on that fateful day, her words. She thought he had changed for the better and would choice their side, the good side to stop the war. He had indeed changed for the better, but made the wrong choice in the end anyway. His sister knew which buttons to push, and she had taking full advantage of that crucial fact.
Their eyes met and she stopped in mid-step, her arms still posed before her with the water whips under her control. He gave her one of his rare smiles and she smiled back. A few weeks had passed after he had joined the gang when she had started to trust him, and they had started anew. They started training with each other, showing their skills one by one to learn from the other bending moves. But not only that, Zuko always liked to be in a conversation with her. Her point of view on the word and other subjects weren't much different like his, like he had always thought it would be.
Zuko walked over to her, the rain already forgotten.
"Hey." Zuko said as he stopped besides her and Katara guided the water back into her waterskins.
"Hi." Katara greeted back and watched him with curiosity. Zuko looked at her before hastily staring forward, his face blank.
"I see you're still training your water whips?" Zuko asked lamely before rolling his left shoulder in fake indifference. He knew he was bad at starting conversations, but somehow, no matter how awkward he started, they would always end up in a good conversation in the end.
Katara nodded before her gaze fell over his wet clothes. She raised her eyebrows before looking up again.
"Why haven't you dried yourself? Next before you know it you'd end getting sick. And how are you planning to train Aang then?" Zuko raised his only eyebrow skeptically at her way of showing her concern and faced Katara.
"I would get wet anyway, so why spill my energy on heating my temperature if it doesn't help in the first place?" Katara replies with a roll of her eyes before opening her waterskins again, letting some amount of water lose and guided up in the air above her and Zuko and then spread it up to shield them from the rain. Zuko watched the water flow through the air with interest, his eyebrow raised as he watched the water expand to a more flat form that covered him and Katara from the raindrops, like an umbrella.
His gaze fell back on Katara, who had a smug grin on her face which much resembled that one which Toph wears most of the time. Zuko pretended to be annoyed and pouted slightly while looking away from her to stare at the cliff before them.
"…Thanks." He replied ultimately, as if his pride was severely damaged. Her grin turned into a smile and her arm snaked around his waist in a playful way, her other hand still outstretched to keep the water in the air and to keep its form. Zuko's gaze moved to her face and he smirked.
"There's still one problem though." Zuko said smugly.
"And what may that be?" Zuko's smirk widened and his face moved further towards hers, stopping by her ear and whispered the following words into it.
"I'm still wet."
And Zuko decided that he didn't hate the rain anymore.