Author's Notes:
I wrote most of this wanting to submit it for Zutara Month, but I didn't finish it in time. I was motivated by Zutara Week to complete and post it. It doesn't really fit any of the prompts, but of it had to Underwater would be the closest.
This is my first time posting fanfiction! I am excited and petrified! I have also published this on my Tumblr and AO3.
Additional notes are at the bottom. Thank you and enjoy!
The garden looked terrible.
Zuko figured he was the only person to have visited the pond in the last three years. From the decrepit state of the garden, he had to assume even the palace gardeners had avoided the alcove. Memories of a formerly lush and busy garden still haunted its pitiful remains.
Cracks crawled across the pavement like a spiderfly's legs. Pebbles from the path were scattered in the overgrown grass. The trees leaned over the ground with a pitiful pale green color. Although, after such neglect it was a miracle they were any shade of green.
The small pond seemed to be the only spot time had been kind to. The water had remained clear and cast a perfect reflection of the cloudy sky. The water gurgled across the water where a trio of turtleducks paddled close to the edge of the pond. The only other sound was the gentle rustle of the leaves above him.
After sitting in his bed fretting over his coronation, this was the only place he could relax. The water had a peacefulness he couldn't find anywhere else in the palace. Sure, there were hundreds of magnificent fountains scattered across the grounds, but the rushing movement was unnerving. The quiet helped him to breathe without any pained gasps or exasperated sighs.
Plus, the company wasn't half bad.
Zuko pressed his fingers into the dried out loaf of bread and tore away a piece of the crust. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the morsel into the water. The instant the bread touched the water, the turtleducks swarmed where the piece of bread had fallen.
He was so focused on how quickly they devoured the bread, he almost didn't notice something move in the corner of his eye. Zuko instinctively turned, prepared to jump to his feet if need be.
Katara stood a few feet away, facing him with her arms folded. Her long brown hair flapped in the breeze in time with her blue dress. The pensive look on her face deepened into a frown as she stepped toward the water's edge. No doubt she was there to scold him for being out of bed when he was meant to be in recovery.
"Feeding the turtle-ducks?" She asked, her voice light and casual.
"Yeah," Zuko admitted and paused to give her time to reprimand him. To his surprise, she only nodded and studied the water. Perhaps she wasn't frustrated with him. He shouldn't have been surprised; he had never been good at reading people.
Zuko tried to shrug the disappointing thought away. "Would you like to join me?" He held the bread out in his hands to offer her.
"Sure," Katara smiled, a look Zuko suddenly wished he saw more often. She walked over to sit down in the shade beside him.
Zuko tore the loaf of bread in half and handed her the larger of the two pieces. "I spent a lot of time here as a kid," he remembered and tossed out another piece. "My mother used to sit here with me and we would feed the turtleducks like this."
Katara tossed a large chuck of bread into the water. It made an unusually loud plunk and sent ripples to the tiny shore. "We used to feed the otter-penguins outside our village," Katara recalled. "Of course, it was mostly so we could ride them down the hill."
"What?" Zuko raised an eyebrow at her and wondered if he had misheard.
"We used to ride the otter-penguins as sleds as kids. They would side across the snow on their bellies and you glide down the hill on top of them."
"How did you manage that?"
"Simple really." Katara smirked and motioned with her hands as she spoke. "You bait them with a fish and then tackle them. They don't mind it as long as you feed them."
"Whose crazy idea was it to catch an animal to use it as a sled?" Zuko baffled. He was fairly confident if he tried to catch any creature, it would attack him to get the bait.
Katara leaned over and playfully nudged him with her shoulder. "At least I played as a kid."
"I played games!" Zuko quickly defended and started counting on his fingers. "I played Tag and Hide and Explode..."
"Yeah," Katara rolled her eyes. "Hide and shriek must have been loads fun."
"Ugh!" Zuko groaned and threw his hands in the air in mild exasperation. "That was one time! Why won't you guys let it go?"
A strong and loud laugh erupted from Katara, clearly amused by his reaction. Zuko tried to stay upset, but her smile was contagious. It wasn't very often they had time for such friendly banter and Zuko never had much talent when it came to humor. The fact that he was able to get her to laugh was surprising. He stopped fighting back a genuine smile and let out a chuckle.
They were friends. It was a miracle; he might as well enjoy it.
So, of course, the pleasant moment couldn't last.
A sudden jolt of agony flashed through Zuko's body. The white hot sensation burst from inside his chest. His hand flew instinctively toward the source of the pain. His fingers pressed against the fabric of the bandage with a futile hope to relieve some of the throbbing.
The shaking from his laugh had irritated his injury. How could he have forgotten about the severe wound he had received only a day before?
"Are you okay?" Katara's hand appeared on his shoulder. "I could give you another healing session if-"
"No, I'm fine," He moaned and lifted his eyes to look at her. Her eyes were like mirrors; they held just as much pain than he felt burning through his chest. Zuko forced himself to sit up straighter and tried give her a smile to ease her worry. "I'm okay, thanks."
Katara ripped her eyes away, withdrew her hand from his shoulder, and leaned back. "Well, if you change your mind, just tell me."
Zuko nodded. The Agni Kai with Azula had been an intense battle. If Katara hadn't been there, things would have played out very differently. She hadn't just healed him either. She had needed to step in and fight Azula, and did so without taking his sister's life. For that, he would always be grateful.
"You shouldn't have jumped in front of that lightning," Katara whispered as she stared intently at the chunk of bread in her hands.
Zuko's jaw dropped and felt his eyes widen. "What?"
"During the duel, when you jumped in front of Azula's lightning..." Katara paused before stating, "It could have killed you."
"It was going to hit you. I couldn't let that happen." Zuko declared and threw a piece of bread into the water in an attempt to look as nonchalant as possible.
"But…" Katara's voice started to get louder as she lifted her head. Her fingers dug into the bread in frustration, "Didn't you think-?"
"No," Zuko interrupted her before she could go on. "I didn't think at all."
He lifted his head to find Katara already gaping at him.
"I didn't think about what would happen if I jumped. All I thought about was that you were in danger and I could do something about it."
Katara blinked and water started to gather in her giant blue eyes.
Zuko took a deep breath, surprised he had the courage to say what he thought. "For once, I was able to protect you instead of hurting you. I was able to keep you safe and I didn't care if I died or not."
Zuko's heart pounded so loud he could hear the blood pulsing through his ears. He fought the overwhelming urge to look away from the oceans in her eyes. His courage was fading in her silence, but he refused to be ashamed of… whatever this was.
Katara's eyes held for a short moment, long enough for the tears to build and spill out her eyelids. Once the droplets reached her cheeks, her gaze dropped to stare at her hands.
"My mother…" Her voice was muted, as if something was caught in her throat. "She died because she was protecting me. It was traumatizing. It's been years and I still have nightmares about it. I've finally started to heal, but…"
She wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Then, she gripped her hand into a fist and met his eyes again. "I can't go through that again! I can't lose you, too."
Katara's eyes practically glowed with that fierceness in he always admired about her. She knew what she wanted him to stay alive and refused to accept anything less. He was that important to her.
Katara stood up on her knees, leaned over, and tackled Zuko with a hug. He winced and held in a gasp as she leaned against him.
Zuko was stunned in confusion. What had happened between them just now? He must have done something right because she was hugging him so tightly. Her hair smelled like the ocean, which wasn't much of a surprise, and her arms wrapped around his neck in a way that felt more familiar than it should have. Zuko breathed a heavy sigh and returned the hug.
There was a pleasant stillness as Katara held him steadily without being too harsh or tight. His breaths steadied and he felt more relaxed than he had been in years.
"Promise me you won't do it again," she sniffled.
Katara wanted him to promise not to die protecting her. She didn't want to lose him. But that was exactly the same reason Zuko couldn't make that promise. He would do anything to make sure she stayed alive and well. If Katara was safe, what happened to him didn't matter.
They were at an impasse. They both cared too much.
Zuko rested his head gently on her shoulder. At least she couldn't see the pained look on his face. He hated lying to her; he had done it too many times. If it meant sparing her feelings, if it meant keeping her safe, he would do it again and again. If anything like that happened again, he wouldn't be able do anything different.
Zuko tried to ignore the dull pain in his chest, and wondered if it was from his injury.
"Yeah," Zuko replied just above a whisper. "I promise."
Author's Notes:
I do not own Avatar or any of its characters, obviously.
This story takes place during/in-between Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang, more specifically after The Last Agni Kai with Azula and before Zuko's coronation.
There are a few references to canon throughout this. If you've watched the show, you probably caught most them, so I won't go into unnecessary detail. However, a few of them are a little more obscure:
Spiderflys are referenced in Sozin's Comet Part 2: The Old Masters. I assume they have the long spindly legs a normal spider does.
Tag and Explode is the game Aang plays with the Fire Nation kids during the episode The Headband.
Hide and Shriek is a reference to the comic Game Time. Poor Zuko grew up playing games with Azula :(
This is cheesy and has probably been done countless times before, but this one is mine. This wasn't easy, but I worked really hard on it and had a lot of fun. Thank you for reading!