I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender, and I don't own the song "Lisa Mitchell - Incomplete Lullaby", which is the one Zuko sings. Enjoy!
She sat on the rooftop, rain pattering softly on the thin metal. Tears streaked her mocha skin, and she let out heart wrenching sobs.
She hated the man who killed her mother.
But Zuko had taken the pain away and replaced it with something else. It just wasn't something she could place her finger on. After she had kissed Aang, she thought it was true love. But in reality, it wasn't. It was just an infatuation. He was her first crush, nothing more. It broke her heart to see the look of pain in his stormy grey eyes as she blurted out exactly that she only loved him as a brother, and it hurt even more to watch him fly away on his glider to Agni know where.
Zuko, being the next fire lord, had a lot on his plate already. But when he found Katara at the turtle duck pond sobbing a warm summer's night, he forgot about all that and focused completely and utterly on her. That night, they both lowered their emotional walls and let a tiny spark form between them.
Things got better after that night. Katara would often sit at the duck pond at night, and Zuko would sneak off to see her. They laughed and cried, were silly and serious, and everything in between. Each time they meet the sparks grew brighter and brighter. Soon enough the friendship sparked to a blazing hidden love. They kept it hidden from the world for reasons that were obvious enough, but they kindled their love each night at the pond.
But a blazing fire couldn't be hidden forever. Rumors sparked, and pretty soon the fire was discovered by none other than Toph herself. She had made a few quips like "knew it" and "about time Sparky!"
Sparks can grow into a small flame, and flames can grow into a blazing fire.
So as the rain spluttered on the roof beside her, another figure sat down beside her.
"Katara... I don't know what's upsetting you, but just remember I love you and you can tell me anything." said a very familiar deep voice. Katara looked up at her lover's gold eyes. Sparks flew, and she was soon enveloped in a warm hug. She sobbed into his chest and he rubbed her back comfortingly. Naturally he was warm because he was a fire bender, and she clung subconsciously to that.
"Z...zuko..." she whispered, her eyes getting drowsy. Zuko let out a soft smile at Katara, and kissed her hair. She looked up at him, the tears slowing down and the sobbing ceasing.
"Can you sing for me?"
Now, Zuko had a beautiful voice. But he hid that away from the world, because it showed weakness, and the world didn't like weaknesses. One night, he had made it to the turtle duck pond before Katara. He had waited a few minutes, but not a sound was to be heard from anywhere in the palace. So, letting his guard down, he began to sing. He fed the turtle ducks while letting his voice shine. Katara walked silently down the halls, fully intending to sneak up on Zuko and scare him when she first heard his voice. She swallowed back a gasp of surprise and stopped in her tracks. She listened to him sing, and didn't want it to stop.
"What do you want me to sing?"
He had noticed she was there, and promptly clammed up his voice.
"K-katara! How long were you-"
"You have a beautiful voice, you know."
"A lullaby..." she requested drowsily, his heat making her tired. He nodded, and began to sing softly:
"Like a turning head, like a second look
Like a burning leaf of an open book.
Like a pounding sea, like a massive climb,
When your eyes first met with mine.
Like a broken word, like a tragic smile
Like a thousand steps or a single mile.
Like a lonely chance, like a savage glow,
When you turned and said hello.
I was just about to go.
There were flowers on the ceiling.
You left me feeling,
Like a fading voice, like a closing door,
Like a dozen lies and a dozen more.
Like a twisted tongue, like a distant bark,
When we broke out into the dark.
Stars looked like burning sparks.
The lights were on but chilling.
You left me feeling,
Tired, I could not close my eyes.
On fire, but frozen inside.
To run or to hide.
Speechless, my words would not melt.
Whispered, I wanted to shout.
Without you I felt,
Like a fleeting thought, like a double life,
Like a gentle feel of a warming taste.
Like a passive breath, like a cooling blow,
When you stopped and held me close.
Inside I nearly froze.
Your touch is almost healing,
You left me feeling,
Tired, I could not close my eyes.
On fire, but frozen inside.
To run or to hide.
Speechless, my words would not melt.
Whispered, I wanted to shout.
Without you I felt,
Like a setting sun, like a lost goodbye.
Like an incomplete lullaby."
He finished the song by letting the last note fade, and he looked at his lover. She was sound asleep in his arms, and he let out a soft smile. Scooping her up gently so as not to wake her, he carried her off the roof and to the turtle pond, where lanterns were lit. There he relaxed and sat carefully with her still in his arms.
"Stars looked like burning sparks.
The lights were on but chilling.
You left me feeling,
Tired, I could not close my eyes.
On fire, but frozen inside.
To run or to hide," he sang softly into her ear, and he closed his eyes.