Dawning

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Mike & Bryan, VIACOM, and Nickelodeon. I own nothing.

Katara was sweating.

She breathed heavily, little beads of sweat collecting at her hairline, pooling at her collarbone, and rolling down her back. She looked up at the dark night sky above, listening to the buzzing of insects that swirled around her head.

Sighing, she reached under her neck, pulling up her damp hair, and then started swatting at all the little insects.

"Stupid Fire Nation…" she muttered under her breath, waving her hands at the buzzing creatures, and trying to ignore the wetness and stickiness of the sweaty sleeping bag underneath her back. "Stupid heat…" She blew a few damp strands of her hair out of her eyes, while still waving at the insects. "Stupid, stupid, buzzing, little, stupid…"

Groaning, she sat up, her soggy hair flying. Although, she was now free of her sleeping bag, she felt no cooler; the air was too hot, too thick to provide much relief. She caught one of the bigger insects between her hands, clasping the buzzing creature, and letting it fall to the ground. "Not so tough now, huh?" she whispered. But her sense of victory soon turned to despair, as she took in the overwhelming amount of little, winged creatures that fluttered all around her.

"Stupid, stupid, infuriating…" Katara huffed, and stood up. But even though, she was now completely free of the burning earth and the warm sleeping bag, the hot air still prevented her from cooling off. She looked at the little camp in front of her, her eyes wandering over the little cluster of tents, the fireplace… And of course, the people who were sleeping soundly on the ground.

Katara's eyes softened, as they fell on her little family. Sokka was sleeping next to her, snoring lightly. Suki was on his other side, rolled up into ball. Toph was next to Suki, spread out on the ground, her hair fanning around her head. And then Aang… Aang had Toph on his one side, and Katara on his other. He slept on the ground, on his right side, and with his hand securely wrapped around his airbender staff. His breath came in small, little gusts of wind that made the grass beneath his mouth move in a slow, steady manner. Katara couldn't help smiling, looking at his peaceful face.

Sighing, she tore her eyes off of the little group of people. She was drenched in her own sweat, surrounded by masses of insects, and she hadn't had as much as one peaceful moment of sleep. She knew that she had to find some way to cool off, to calm down, if she was to be any good tomorrow. She looked out over the campsite, out to the beach, to the ocean. A walk on the beach, and an ocean bath was exactly what she needed. Katara threw one more look on her little family, before making her way to the water.

Katara's breath came in short, little gasps, as she climbed down the stony path to the beach. "Stupid Fire Nation…" she mumbled to herself, panting in the thick air. "I miss the South Pole…" Her wet hair kept sticking to her back, to her arms, and to her face. She constantly had to blow strands out of her face. "Stupid disguises… Stupid clothes… Ridiculous hair style…" Katara was so focused on her little rant that she missed the last step of the stony path, slipped, and almost fell onto the beach. "I hate this stupid nation!" she shouted into the dark, turning to scowl at the stone that had knocked her over.

Still scowling, she turned around to look at the ocean in front of her. The air down here was much cooler, much fresher, and a lot more comfortable than the air at the camp. Katara let the scowl slip off her face, as she smiled, taking in the cool, fresh, salty wind.

She slipped out of her shoes, burying her toes in the cool sand. Sighing in relief, she started slandering down the beach with her shoes in one hand. She dwelled in the calming sound of waves rolling onto the shore, casting little drops of water onto her sweaty skin, and blowing her damp hair out of her face.

She skidded to a stop and looked out over the ocean, the rolling waves tempting her to hop in. She was contemplating whether or not she should take a dip, when she suddenly caught onto the sounds of footsteps behind her. She whirled around, her hair flying, and her body setting into a fighting stance.

"Katara?"

Katara wavered, her strong pose weakening. Zuko was standing in front of her, staring at her in surprise.

"Zuko." Katara relaxed, standing up straight, and letting her arms fall to her sides. "You surprised me…"

Zuko looked just as surprised as she felt, but then lowered his head. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled.

Katara shook her head, strands of her still damp hair flying around her face as she did so. "No, it's OK…" Zuko nodded stiffly. Katara couldn't help noticing the way that the ocean wind blew his long hair around his face, and she fretfully brushed a strand of her own hair behind her ear. "So…" she began, sending the man in front of her a feeble, but friendly smile. "What are you doing down here?" She fickled with the lock of hair behind her ear. "Couldn't sleep?"

Zuko shook his head. "No," he told her, before continuing somewhat cautiously. "You?"

Katara sighed. "No, I couldn't sleep, either," she said, letting her fingers slip out from behind her ear. She let her eyes wander out over the sandy beach, the waves rolling in and out of the shore, the first promise of light in the far distance. Sighing, with her eyes still on the water, she said: "I, uh, was going to walk a bit further down the shore." She looked back at the man in front of her. "Do you want to walk with me?"

Zuko looked at her in surprise. "Alright," he said after a little while. Katara nodded and sent him a smile, before turning around and strutting slowly down the beach. Zuko followed, running to catch up with her, and then falling in with her pace.

The two of them walked in silence for a while. The ocean sent small and big waves onto the shore, throwing small drops of salty water on to their skin. The wind blew in from the ocean, tossing strands of hair in and out of their faces. Katara looked at Zuko out of the corner of her eye. Walking beside him, she could only see the unscarred side of his face. Unlike the scarred side, his unscarred, left side was easy to read. She thought he seemed troubled, his eyebrow drawn, his eyes distant, his jaw tight, and his hands balled into fists. After a little while, Katara fully turned her head to look at him. "So," she asked, breaking the silence, "why couldn't you sleep?"

Zuko looked sideways at her, part of his scarred side coming into view. Katara felt the weight of his golden eyes on her, alert and intense as a result of her scrutiny. "Why couldn't you?" he shot back at her.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him. "No, I asked you first."

Zuko glared at her, but Katara only glared back. It seemed as though they were about to fall headfirst into their old pattern of petty arguing, when Zuko, after a long moment, sighed and dropped his gaze to the sand. "I'm just worried," he told her. "Sozin's Comet isn't far ahead, and I'm afraid that we won't be ready for it."

Katara looked over at him, a slight chill that she knew well from her own anxious moments creeping down her spine. "Why do you think we won't be ready?" she asked him, trying to mask the distress in her voice. "We've been preparing for it for months, and…"

"I didn't say that I don't think we'll be ready," Zuko protested. "Just that I'm worried."

"So, then, why are you worried?" Katara pressed on. "We've known about it for a long time. We've been waiting, training for this for so long. We can't be more ready, more prepared…"

"I know, I know!" Zuko interrupted her, coming to an abrupt stop, making her skid to a halt as well. Zuko sighed again and ran his fingers through his long hair. Katara unwillingly followed the slow movement his hand made, as it stroked the long tresses, before trailing down his face and falling to his side. She bit her lower lip, listening to his worried tone, as he carried on. "Sozin's Comet may not be something we can prepare for. My father is already incredibly strong, and when the comet comes…"

The chill running down her spine was colder this time, and Katara wrapped her arms loosely around her body. "We've been preparing for Sozin's Comet for a long time," she said again, trying her hardest to keep her voice calm. "All our time has been spent with that one moment in mind, traveling everywhere, planning it all, training for it," she told him in as sure a voice as she could manage, trying to fend off the doubt that was gnawing in the pit of her stomach. "We'll be ready. I know we will."

Zuko didn't look convinced. "My father is a force to be reckoned with," he told her solemnly. "And so is my sister." Zuko looked right at her with his gold eyes, which were sparkling coldly. "But then again… so am I," he said. Katara looked at him in slight surprise, her skin chilling even more as she looked into his cold eyes. She knew better than most that he was speaking the truth. Ozai, Azula, and Zuko were all very powerful benders. But while Ozai and Azula were perhaps a bit stronger, Zuko was definitely more resilient. And Katara knew that there was hardly anything that an irrepressible will like his couldn't overcome.

Zuko sighed again. "When the comet comes, it will benefit every firebender in the world. So while it will ultimately benefit my father and sister, it will also benefit me." He turned to look out over the ocean. "And if we crash together on the battlefield, which I have no doubts that we will…" At the thought of the forthcoming battle, Zuko's jaw tightened, his hands balled into fists, and his voice trailed off.

Katara just looked at him, coldness prickling all over skin. She knew that he was right. Zuko would have to fight either Ozai or Azula... or both. And if that happened, he really only had two choices; to join them, as he had done in the past, the memory of which still caused her heart to writhe when she thought about it; or try to take them down with the very real risk of being taken down with them, another thought that she found she simply couldn't bear.

As if he had read her mind, Zuko shuffled a little with his feet in the wet sand and said: "Listen… I know that I've struggled with doing the right thing in the past. But…" He looked up at her, his eyes intense. "I just hope you know that this time… if push comes to shove, I'll pick you." Katara simply stared back at him, unable to put words to the thoughts that whirled around in her head. "This time…" Zuko continued. "I won't make the momentous mistake of choosing my family." His eyes burned as if a fire had been lit somewhere in his core. "No matter what – I'll choose you."

Katara stood there like a frozen ice block for several moments, before she somehow managed to turn her gaze to the floor, the intense eyes in front of her making her uncomfortable. The tension in the air was suddenly very thick. "If that's the case," she said in a small voice, "Ozai and Azula must fall. And they will," she added more sternly, trying to keep the uncomfortable thoughts at bay. She looked back up at Zuko, frowning slightly. "But then," she asked, "does that mean that you will become Fire Lord?"

Zuko shrugged his shoulders. "Given that Ozai and Azula fall, but I survive…" he said, the uncertainty filling Katara's mind with horrifying visuals. "I could become Fire Lord. After all, I'm the Crown Prince... Or at least I was."

Zuko suddenly started walking again, and Katara had to run a little to catch up to him. She fell into his pace. "Nevertheless, you would be the natural choice," she agreed, shaking off the unpleasant visions in her head.

Zuko was quiet for a moment. "That may be," he said finally. "But the thing is…" he continued somewhat reluctantly. "I'm not sure that I want to." Katara sent him a surprised look, and he elaborated. "Once upon a time, all I wanted was to become Fire Lord. But my life no longer revolves around that. It revolves around helping all of you restore balance to the world. It's more important to me that I help you save the world than that I become Fire Lord." He sent her a serious look. "Like I said before, if push comes to shove… I'll choose you over my family or my entitlement to the throne." He paused for a moment before stating in a firm voice: "Always."

Katara once again looked away from the suddenly uncomfortably intense eyes in front of her. "But you won't have to choose between helping us and becoming Fire Lord," she told him. "When the war is over, the world will want you to be the next Fire Lord, because you will be an ally of the Avatar, and a war hero." She looked up at him again. "You will be both the best and most famous Fire Lord to ever have lived." Zuko only offered a skeptic expression and refrained from answering. He skidded to a stop and looked out over the crashing waves enlightened by the morning sun's first early glow. Katara came to a stop beside him and looked out over the dark ocean lit by the flaming sunrise. "Fire Lord," she said, mostly to herself. "Fire Lord Zuko." Her lips curled into a small smile, and she brushed a stray sweaty hair out of her face. "You know…" she said, burying her feet in the soft sand. "I'm not really a fan of the Fire Nation. It seems to me that this place is nothing but extreme heat, stuffy air, and insects… It's full of hatred, evil, and bad blood… It has started the worst and bloodiest war in all of history…"

Zuko looked at her out of the corner of his eye, before he resumed his watch over the ocean. The sunrise slowly claimed the horizon, pouring its light out over the sky and ocean, making them both glow in yellow, orange, and red hues. "I love the Fire Nation," he said. "Of course, I was taught to love it, being raised to become Fire Lord... But even if I weren't, I think I would still love it."

Katara pursed her lips. "Of course," she told him. "The Fire Nation is your home. You were born to rule it, raised to love it, and destined to fight for it." She sighed softly. "It's the place where you belong." She looked up at him, as he stood in front of her, comfortable in the blistering heat, unbothered by the buzzing insects, in every sense at home in his position. "The Fire Nation is your home," she repeated softly. "It could never be mine, though."

Zuko continued to stare at the water before him for a moment, before he turned around to look at her with an unfathomable expression, his gold eyes serious. "And why should it?" he asked, in a voice so low it was hard to hear. "There is nothing for you here." His eyes stared deeply in to hers. "No reason for you to stay…"

Katara looked into his hypnotizing, golden eyes. She felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach, the air gushing out of her lungs at the sight of the seriousness in his eyes and voice. She felt a slight tremor in her hands. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but no words came out. She didn't know why she suddenly couldn't answer him; but his implicit question now suddenly hung between them, weighing down the air.

Flustered, Katara sought away from his intense stare and turned to look out over the ocean. She could tell that Zuko looked at her for just a little longer before turning away, too. They stood in silence for a long while, looking at the sun slowly rising over the waves; it was that special time of morning, when the moon was still slightly visible, but the sun was also on the rise. Katara could feel the slow retraction of the moon, the push and pull of the ocean that weakened a bit; she gazed at Zuko out of the corner of her eye, knowing that he also felt the sun rise, the power that rose on the sky and inside him. The sun slowly lit up his face more and more, the warm wind blowing his hair in front of his eyes.

A sudden tempting thought curled her lips into a sly smile. "Hey, do you want to go for a swim?" she asked him. He looked over at her, surprised, and a little suspicious. She couldn't help but giggle. "I'm not going to drown you or anything." He didn't look too convinced. Laughing, she grabbed his wrist. "Come on!" she told him, hauling him after her as she ran.

"Wh…" His protests drowned in the sound of their feet sloshing through the soft ocean waves, sending water in all directions. The water was nice and warm, and their clothes quickly drenched, salty sweat now mixed with water, as they ran further out. Being dragged ungracefully, Zuko lost his footing and plunged into the water headfirst. "You…" he spluttered in between gasps, as he reached the surface. "What the hell are you doing?" he coughed out angrily, but Katara couldn't help laughing at how funny he looked. Seeing that he had made her laugh, Zuko's expression turned sulky, and then into a lopsided smirk. "Oh, I'm going to get you for this!"

Katara stuck her tongue out at him, took a deep breath and lowered herself fully into the water, letting it completely engulf her. Her hands started taking strokes, even before she was under, pushing her forward; the weight of her heavy long hair and her long clothes dragging her down. She turned around to see Zuko swimming after her, making his way towards her in surprisingly fast strokes. He looked at her with a smirk, and she smiled back at him with closed lips, before turning back around, her arms and feet paddling faster now. She felt him pick up his pace behind her, and they raced in a straight line, briefly coming up for air once in a while, but otherwise just swimming, racing against each other, their hearts pounding. Katara's heavy clothes were definitely a disadvantage, and they weighed her down for every strong stroke she took. Zuko did not have such a problem, which was why, to Katara's waterbending disappointment and pride, he finally caught up to her. She felt his strong, warm arms close around her waist, and a flow of bubbles escaped from both of their mouths, as Zuko shouted something, and she herself shrieked.

Having thus lost their air supply, they had no choice but to swim up for air. They broke the surface with large gasps, Zuko's arms still holding on to her, and Katara's wet hair sticking to them both. Katara held on to Zuko's arms as she panted from the exercise. He held her close to his chest, assumingly with no intention of letting go of her anytime soon. With the two of them so close, she couldn't help watching the way his wet hair fell into his eyes, dripping water down on to his well-defined chest, which moved heavily up and down with each of his pants.

"I've got you," Zuko mumbled in a low voice close to her in between the pants, although, she couldn't tell if it was a smug comment on his winning their race, or if it was a promise.

Not knowing which of them to answer to, and feeling a little embarrassed by their close proximity, Katara simply said: "It would seem so." They stayed like that for a little while, as their panting died down. Then they slowly let go of their embrace. "It wasn't really a fair race, though," Katara commented, as they tread water next to each other. "The moon is completely gone. The sun has risen now, which means more energy for you. Plus, I'm wearing way more clothes than you, and they were dragging me down..."

"Sore loser, are we?" Zuko told her. "I won fair and square. Plus, you're the one that dragged me out here," he continued, though he didn't seem all that annoyed, now that they were here. "But if you're really going to complain about it," a small smirk crossed his lips, "we can probably have a rematch. But it's a waste of time, because I'll still win."

"Now, who's a sore loser?" Katara asked him. "You just don't know when to give up."

Zuko looked back at her, the smirk widening. "You know I never do." The sun had risen above them, bathing them both in warm sunlight.

Katara smiled, although not too happily. "That I know." She dropped her gaze to the water. "I really know…"

He made a low chuckling sound. "I told you," he said. "I'll fight for you..." She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "Always." The sun-colored water sloshed against her frame. None of them said anything. They just stayed in the water, looking at each other.

"Katara! Zuko!" Aang's loud voice cut through the quiet air like a knife, and both Katara and Zuko jumped, their sudden movements carrying them away from each other again. Katara looked to the shore, where Aang, Toph, and Sokka stood, the latter shaking his head in disappointment.

"Come back!" Sokka shouted, overly enunciating every syllable. Rolling her eyes, Katara gestured to Zuko, and they both started swimming towards the shore, their strong movements carrying them quickly ashore. Katara stood up, waterbending the water from her hair and her clothes as she did so, water cascading in large puddles onto the sand. Zuko stood up next to her, shaking his head, water falling everywhere, and then proceeded to firebend his breath warmer and heat the droplets away from his skin.

Sokka pointed to them both with his sword, dangling it in order to fully make his point. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" he said sternly. "What do you think it's like waking up and seeing that you two aren't there?" The dangling became even more intense. "We thought you had been kidnapped! Or worse, entrapped!"

"That is pretty much the same thing, Sokka," Katara said with a sigh, rolling her eyes. "And obviously, we have not been kidnapped. Or entrapped." She looked over at Aang and Toph, her expression becoming calmer. "I'm sorry that I made you worry," she said in a warmer voice, a smile curling her lips. "I just couldn't sleep, because Zuko was hot…" realizing what she had said from the varying facial expressions around her, she stiffened and quickly corrected herself. "Because I was hot. Zuko was also there. I mean, I came down here, and then he also was down here, and… uh, then we, um, hung out. And by that I mean that we swam. Because, uh, we were hot. From the weather. Etcetera. Or, wait, no etcetera. Just that," she ended with what she hoped was a calm, reassuring smile. They just all sent her weird looks.

"Right, then," Sokka said skeptically, and with a sideways glare in Zuko's direction, but then just shook his head. "Whatever. You're safe. Let's go back," he stated, turning around to go back to camp. "I'm starving!"

"Me, too!" Toph agreed, running to catch up with him. Aang just smiled awkwardly and followed suit, quickly looking back over his shoulder at Katara and Zuko, who still stood there, drenching the last water from their hair and clothes.

Katara discretely glanced up at Zuko, who was standing next to her, sun and water still on his skin. Feeling her eyes on him, he looked back, his eyes both asking her a question and answering it at the same time. She felt something in her chest well up. And in that instant, she knew that Zuko was wrong – and, even more stunning, that she herself was wrong, and had been this whole time.

The Fire Nation wasn't so bad. There was at least one good thing about it. And that one thing meant that maybe there was something for her here after all.

A/N:

It's been a while since I was on here, but I have been sitting on this story for even longer, and since I finally managed to finish it, I thought I might as well share it!

It's been a long time since A:TLA ended, but I still really love it. And Zutara is probably my all time favourite pairing, so I thought my account should have at least one story with them (even if there might not be that many people out there, who still wants to read stories with them… but oh, please do)!

I'm not really sure what this story is supposed to be - it's hard to even pick a genre for it... I've had several ideas for short stories I wanted to write for this couple, but none of them really worked out, so I more or less ended up combining them all in one story. I've been working on it for a really long time, giving up on it every few paragraphs or so, and then returning to it once in a while, adding a bit more. I'm still not sure that I'm completely satisfied with it, but well, here it is!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Lots of A:TLA love to you! :3