A/N- Welcome to Zutara Week 2013! Shall we begin?
"So how are you enjoying the festivities?" Katara heard the voice and looked up, pleasantly surprised to find Zuko standing beside her.
"Everything's been great," she replied with a smile.
"Good. Good, I'm glad to hear it," Zuko replied with a slightly awkward air that made Katara fight back the urge to giggle. She always found it surprising that this man who commanded an entire nation could still be the awkward teenager he was at heart. There was something endearing about the way a blush crawled into his cheeks whenever some social scene made him uncomfortable, like the one he obviously had found himself in now.
"Do you want something Zuko?" she asked, trying and failing to keep the smile out of her voice.
"Uh, well, you see," he began, fiddling with his hands in a nervous manner. "At this festival every year, there's this dance called El Calor de Verano. It's a celebration of summer and the uh," he laughed nervously," passionate emotions it can induce." Zuko's cheeks began to burn an even darker red as he continued. "It's usually danced between two people with a… complicated past. And one of the things the dance centers on is how hate can be as strong as love, and given our relationship I thought- I mean, not that you hate me now. Or love me," he quickly added. "But I just thought since our past went from hate to a kind of friendship, that, you know, we could-"
Katara smiled and held up her hand for him to stop his rambling. "Of course I'll dance with you, Zuko."
The smile he gave her in return was one of the widest Katara had ever seen on the young Firelord's face. "Good. I mean, great!"
"So when does it begin?"
"In a few moments actually."
"And you waited to ask me until right now?" Katara questioned with mirth sparkling in her blue eyes.
"No. Well, yes." Zuko sighed. "Are we going to dance or are you going to continue mocking me instead?"
Katara laughed at this and stood beside him. "No, we'll dance. Come on," she grabbed his hand and headed for the part of the square marked off for dancing. As they made their way through the crowd, Katara slowly let Zuko lead the way, but never let go of his hand. To her mind she rationalized it was because she didn't want to be lost, but her heart knew other factors made the hand in her grip more important than a simple guide.
When they finally broke through the crowd to the edge of the dance floor, the previous dance was just ending. Before they could take their place, however, Katara pulled Zuko to a stop and asked, "Is there a special form for this dance?"
Zuko nodded but assured, "If you follow my lead, you'll be fine. It's just like bending. Trust me."
She hesitated, but the determined confidence in Zuko's golden eyes had her nodding along and taking his other proffered hand.
As the music began to play, Katara suddenly found herself in the middle of the dance floor, a now confident Zuko standing across from her. And while her heart beat fast, she was almost positive it was not from the nervousness of dancing in front of all these people, but from the young man standing before her.
Mirroring the moves and forms of the other women around her, Katara soon found the rhythm of the dance. It began with moves harsh and course- near slaps and hits between the partners and flourishes of kicks and twists. More than once she felt like she and Zuko were enemies once again, fighting with a fierce intensity that had always marked their relationship.
As the dance and music built, so did the burning energy inside of Katara. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her system, pushing her to make her next move crisper, more forceful. Likewise, Zuko began to dance with more ferocity, causing their dance to become a whirlwind of blocked attacks and swift moving blows.
All of a sudden, Katara's wrist was caught in Zuko's hand, immobilizing her. The music had slowed down and every couple was frozen exactly like them, yet it seemed they were the only two in the whole world. Slowly they began to circle each other, never breaking contact. Distantly Katara wondered if this was the love portion of the dance, but she couldn't seem to focus on anything but the man gazing at her with such an intensity she thought she would melt from the heat of it.
The music began to build like before, but the tension of the first part of the dance had changed. It was no longer a fight between the couples, but a game. Where would the other move? How could you evade his move while maintaining contact?
When Katara was spun into Zuko's arms, her hand landed on his chest with a thump and she could feel his heart beat fast under her palm. Looking up, she saw his gold eyes smoldering down at her, the sweat beading on his brow, and she was suddenly struck with one thought: when water and fire mix, you get steam.
The music seemed to fade away and the only sound that could be heard was their labored breaths. Within Zuko's eyes Katara could see a glint, a faint glimmer of something in the depths of his soul. But before she could identify it, applause broke the moment and the two blinked in surprise at the noise.
"You uh," Zuko started, the awkward teenager back again, "you dance well."
"As do you," Katara replied a bit too quickly. Realizing that they were still pressed close together, she rapidly took a step back. But before she could entirely break free Zuko grasped her hand tightly. Looking down at their linked hands and then back up to him, Katara felt a blush light up her cheeks and mirror Zuko's own reddened face.
"Would you care to accompany me?"
He didn't say where to, but Katara found she didn't care.
"I'd be honored."
And this time as they held hands it was not as a guide through the crowd or as enemies or even as friends, but as something filled with a tender warmth and heat.
Thoughts?
-princessmelia
