Story: What Hurts the Most
Couple: Zutara
Author: ScarletDreamsForever
Rated: T due to langueg, mild themes, and violence (I feel like I'm writing the warning lable for a DVD)
Chapter 1: The Sun Always Sets
Avatar: The Last Airbender and it's characters DO NOT belong to me. Only the plotline does :)
The first chapter is always the slowest... I hope you enjoy it though! What I wanted to do in this story was combine the feelings from the end of S3. Where, in the actual series, Maiko and Kataang exsist. I wanted to show all the Zutara haters that a relationship can grow between the pair, even though the Avatar Creators decided to make it not happen... Don't judge too hard, this is only the first chapter-the hardest one to write in my opinion. So please, read, review if you feel obligated to (and I hope you do), and enjoy!
Opposites attract…
It wasn't something they denied; rather, they had seen it in action. However, it wasn't meant for them. It was almost a pre-planned fate. The two would get so close to each other, so close to admitting that there could, in fact, be something lingering underneath their broken and twisted hearts. And then, just at the right moment, something would go wrong and they would end up hating each other again.
That's how it was. That's how it always would be. So the pair accepted it and moved on to other people—people they didn't hate and people they had almost everything in common with.
And still, the sun always sets over the ocean…
Fire and water. Opposite elements. Therefore, even before the two existed, their fates had been planned out. It was natural to hate each other, so they didn't worry about it.
"But" is the word people use when they don't want to try…
But their lives were perfect. They were happily in love, just not with each other. And that was alright for now. They didn't question it, they didn't tamper with it. It was the way things were meant to be. The way things were supposed to be…
"Are you ready?" the Fire Lord asked, extending his hand.
A smaller yet hardly fragile hand, cloaked in a black glove, grabbed his. "I guess," she muttered.
Mai wasn't one for lengthy conversations. In fact, she didn't like to talk much at all. She was gloomy, depressing, and everything anti-social. But the young Fire Lord loved her, and he accepted her for it.
He led her down corridors and staircases, past generals and advisors—the Fire Nation palace was much larger than necessary—until he reached his favorite spot in the whole palace. It was decked out with marble flooring, red drapes extending from the ceiling all the way down to the floor, sporting the fire nation insignia, a balcony looking out over the ocean, and a single red velvet couch.
"Why are we in here?" Mai asked, folding her arms across her chest and sighing.
Zuko smiled. "Don't you think this is a stunning room? You can see the sun set just over the water." He chuckled to himself. "It almost looks like fire that was bended into water."
"I suppose, Fire Lord Zuko… Personally, I think all the rooms in the palace are too bright." Mai sat on the velvet couch, staring at her feet with a distant expression.
Zuko sat beside his girlfriend and placed one hand under her chin, tilting her face to look him in the eyes. "I love it when you hate the world," he whispered, gently but passionately pressing his lips to hers.
"Katara!" the young Avatar cried as he raced through the room, skidding to a halt beside her.
She laughed. "What, what is it?"
He looked up at her with his big, pleading eyes. Grinning the widest grin possible, he said, "Wanna go penguin sledding with me?"
"First of all," Katara said, placing the pair of pants she was folding down onto a pile of equal pairs. "We're in the fire nation. There are no penguins here. And second of all, of course I would! But don't you have some training to do?"
"What do you mean?" Aang asked, cocking his head to one side in confusion.
"Isn't Zuko still training you to Fire bend?" Katara asked, watching as her boyfriend groaned and flopped onto the nearest couch he could find.
"Yes," he muttered. "But he's with that gloomy girl right now!" Then, suddenly perking up, he added, "That's why I wanted to do something with you! You are my forever girl now!"
"Forever girl?" Katara asked, suppressing her giggles.
But Aang only answered her with two things. A soft pair of lips meeting hers and calloused but gentle hands getting caught in the tangles in her hair.
The darkness of the night had engulfed the palace entirely, leaving only a few candlelit corridors open for walking. The same corridor occupied by two pairs of feet. Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara.
"Evening," Katara said as she caught Zuko eyeing her from the other end of the hallway.
He grunted in response, not really knowing how to talk to the water tribe girl even though he had done it so many times on so many occasions. "How is your, err, relationship going?"
Katara felt her face heat up. Whenever people mentioned Aang, her whole world seemed to brighten up, even if just for a mere second. "Great. Uh, I mean wonderful. Absolutely wonderful."
Zuko raised an eyebrow at her sudden word change but she seemed to not have seen it. "Well that's….wonderful."
Katara nodded, looking away and biting her lip. Why were their conversations so awkward nowadays? "How is your…girlfriend?"
Zuko shrugged. "Good, I guess. Still the same gloomy girl I knew back when I was younger." His voice sounded strained, like he almost wished Mai had changed a little bit.
But Katara wasn't one to assume that without any facts to back it up.
Taking a deep breath, Katara stepped forward and Zuko stepped forward. They each mimicked each other's steps, as if they were daring one another to make the first move. Eventually, they fell into step with a normal walk.
Until Zuko stopped right in front of Katara, blocking her from moving anymore.
"Can you listen for a second?" he asked softly, his voice calm and soothing but his eyes pleading and scared.
Katara nodded silently, her blue eyes glued to the young fire bender as he slid down the side of the wall and buried his face in his hands. Katara looked confused. The great Fire Lord wasn't crying…was he?
When he looked up at her, she didn't see tears or any sign of tears. Not knowing whether or not she should be relieved, she sat beside him, pulling her knees to her chest.
"What is it?" Katara asked gently.
"It's just, well, I feel weird talking to you about this but… Sometimes I wish that Mai was more expressive. It's almost like I feel that I can't talk to her about things that bother me. And I know I shouldn't feel that way 'cause she's my girlfriend but I can't help it. I don't know what I'm trying to say…"
"You want someone to listen to you… I get it. Sometimes I feel that way too," Katara said earnestly, looking down at her feet—determined not to look at Zuko.
"But the Avatar is your boyfriend. I'm sure he's all into talking about his feelings. He's fruity like that…" Zuko muttered.
Katara laughed slightly. "True. But recently, all he wants to do is kiss. Before we were together, he'd listen to me anytime I needed to talk. And now, it's like he's trying to make up for the year we weren't dating."
Zuko ran his hand through his dark hair and Katara could've sworn she saw a grin quirk his lips. "Well, if you ever need to talk… I'm here."
Katara smiled. "Thanks, Zuko. That's really…sweet of you." She stood up and started to walk away feeling rather strange and awkward.
But Zuko sat there, thinking about what he had told her. Why had he told her that? It was a private thought! What if she told Mai what he said? She wouldn't do that. He trusted her. And she trusted him. Or at least, he hoped she did.
I can see Aang only wanting to kiss Katara since it's something he's wanted ever since S1. And before you bash, we all know Zuko has a sensitive side! Remember the episode when he met up with Uncle Iroh again in S3? He was crying! And the whole backstory with his mother. He's got feelings too, you know! Anyway, hope I captured personalities correctly and I promise the whole story is not Maiko and Kataang related.