A Little Fall of Rain
A/N: Hello! MJ here. This is my first fanfic, so please please please review. I watch/listen to too much les mis. Zutara one-shot. AU where Zuko didn't get to Katara fast enough to block Azula's lightning blast. Angst angst angst. I cried writing this.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't be a broke college student.
Zuko watched in horror as Azula's blue lightning sped towards Katara's heart. Katara saw it too, but was faster than he could have imagined. Instead of jumping out of the way, Katara sent huge ice daggers towards his sister. Just as they made contact with the Fire Princess, electricity shot through Katara's chest. Azula went down, but so did Katara.
No. No. She can't be hit. She's Katara; she's impossible to kill. She can't die on me!
But as soon as the thought ran through his head, he knew that her life was almost at its close. He raced across the pavement. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to die fighting his sister. In fact, he didn't honestly expect to come out of the last Agni Kai alive.
He sat down next to her, and puller her into his arms. He could feel her weak heartbeat, and thanked Agni for at least a few more minutes with her. He wondered if Yue would answer a fire-bender's prayer. At that point in time, he didn't care.
Yue, please, don't take from me. I need her so much. She balances me. She's saved me more than once. Please Yue.
He was never an optimist, never full of hope (that was Katara's job), and he knew exactly how their situation would end. He knew that she was dying when all the water in the courtyard began to collect over their heads. As his eyes filled with tears, he felt a soft rain fall from above. He wondered if this was Yue's answer. That nothing could be done, but she was trying to comfort him until the end.
He wondered where they would bury her body. She would have to have a traditional water tribe funeral of course. She was a Master water bender, the best the world has ever seen and will ever see again, so her funeral would certainly be extravagant. Sokka would try not to cry as he looked on at his baby sister, Sukki sobbing into his shoulder. He wondered if Aang would even be able to show up; Zuko knew that Aang had a crush on her. Toph would probably be the strongest of them all, but break down and create the biggest earthquake the world will ever see when she thinks she's alone.
He wondered if Katara's father would let him attend the funeral.
He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her spirit leave her body.
"Thank you".
At the sound of her voice, Zuko's golden eyes shot opened. He stared at her; memorizing her face, something he realized he should have done a long ago. He mentally kicked himself when he realized he knew next to nothing about the real her. More than ever before, he wished that he had let her heal his scar and left with Ba Sing Se with the gaang instead of with Azula.
Zuko thanked Tui and La that he would get to see her beautiful eyes one more time.
The air was charged with Zuko's grief and things that they both wanted to say to each other. He longed to tell her that she was going to be ok, that he had finally figured out his feelings, that he thought she was beautiful, that she had taught him to love, really love again.
That she would have made a superb Fire Lady.
"I think it's me who should be thanking you".