Okay, so this was originally just a weird idea I had while eating a cookie and meditating on Kartik, Edward, Shikamaru, Gaara and Zuko all at once, and then I just kind of gave birth to this. I think it's cute, but you might beg to differ...
Zuko was reclining in his rooms in the Fire Nation. A year had passed since the defeat of his father and his own crowning as Fire Lord. The sun was setting outside the window, casting a beautiful hue over the gardens directly beneath his quarters. None of this, however, could compare to the beauty that he saw every day as the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes attempted to work out a treaty of sorts. And of course, why shouldn't she have become an ambassador? She was acquainted with the Fire Lord, and besides, the next best people were between six and eight years old. Zuko was jerked out of his reverie when a soft knock came at the door.
"Water Tribe Ambassa-"
The poor attendant was thrust aside by Zuko as he smiled warmly at Katara. She was dressed in long, blue robes that matched her bright blue eyes.
"Why are you smiling like that? And what did you want? You kept me up quite late today, and I was just getting to sleep… Zuko? Why are you smiling like that?"
Zuko himself thought it was odd indeed that he was smiling so much, but he couldn't snap out of it. It was a combination of nervousness and a giddy happiness he felt whenever he was with her. However, he could usually control these feelings. What he was about to do now was a completely different matter.
"You know… why don't you sit down, Katara?"
Katara looked at him oddly but complied. Zuko sat next to her, making her slightly nervous. Zuko looked around frantically for anything to help him.
Anything at all…
"Cookie?" Zuko offered, holding out a plate of cookies he found nearby.
"Cookies?"
"Chocolate chip, to be exact."
"No. Zuko, is there any reason you called me here?" Katara asked, exasperated. Zuko took a cookie and took a bite. He suddenly felt more confident, though he knew he would be making a complete fool of himself…
"You know what I love about cookies?" Zuko asked, looking over at Katara. She shrugged and Zuko took another bite.
"Well, I don't just love the fact that they're usually chewy, or delicious or filled with chocolate, I love the combination of all of those factors together. But I'm not talking about cookies in general. I'm talking about this one," Zuko said, taking another cookie after he had finished his first. He held it up so that they could both see it and then took a bite.
"In the same way, I don't just love that it has chocolate chips, or that it's chewy, or has chocolate chips or delicious dough, or that it has a slightly burnt bottom or slightly crispy edges or…. or a beautiful browned hue… or beautiful blue eyes you can lose yourself in, or a passionate personality that's tempered by gentle feminine grace… It's the combination of all of these factors that's made me fall in love with it."
Zuko looked over at Katara, whose face was burning with the wildfire of a blush. She looked down, trying hard not to smile. Zuko gently nudged her head up, and she could see for the first time an expression she had never seen before in his eyes. It was a vulnerable, pleading expression, asking her to please not hurt him, not now. Katara finally allowed the smile to grow on her face, and she leaned over and took a bite of the cookie right over his bite mark.
"I see what you mean," Katara whispered softly, looking up at Zuko with suddenly shy eyes. Zuko smiled gently, and Katara felt her heart skip a few beats.
"There's a bit of chocolate on your lip…" Zuko said as he leaned down and captured her lips in a soft kiss. When they broke apart, they looked at the cookie in their hands, crushed in the middle of their grasp, and started to laugh.
"I guess the beauty of the cookie has been lost now…" Katara said with a laugh as they calmed down.
"I see no beauty lost, Katara…"
...Yeah. Sorry. Please review? I want to know if it's good! Which it isn't, but humor me anyways.
Sonya... probably failed her AP exam...