Katara was practically soaked in the scent. Toph barely managed to breathe the vanilla-dense air, resulting into fits of choking, coughing; it was too much.
She opens a window before leaving, "Sorry Toph, I have to go, bye!" Katara rushes down the stairs, leaving the sound of her sneakers bouncing off the walls of the empty hallway.
Sweat was starting to accumulate by her unkempt brows and the back of her neck, her head held high in hopes of meeting her group in time. The humidity greeted her with a warm slap to the face as she exited the dormitory, causing her to heave her way to her destination; the library.
The library, a vast red brick building situated considerably low on campus grounds, wasn't too far off the dormitories. The only issue for Katara was getting up to its highest level, the grandeur of the staircase was something she marveled until she felt the wrath and burn of the long walk up. She would rather run two miles down the track than walk up the incline of the marbled floor, she was definitely no athlete.
She entered the building quietly, knowing the most important rule of all: Quiet. It was an agonizing journey up the stairs, but her shoes were too squeaky for their own good and she swore if she ran up the stairs, she would fall face first into the ground with her sorry excuse overcooked noodle legs, and would get shushed every step of the way.
Katara slips.
Her hand finds hers entwined with a warmer, paler one, the other placed on her waist to keep her balance.
She looks up to meet a familiar face, with all too familiar gold-like eyes, boring into hers.
"Are you okay?" Zuko asks, brow furrowed with worry. His dark hair is long and shaggy, framing the sides of his face.
Katara coughs and a tinge of red tints her cheeks, mentally kicking herself repeatedly. I'm such an idiot. Zuko releases his grip on her t-shirt clad waist, and coughs as well. He rubs the back of his head, looking down at her, and can't help but grin sheepishly at her disarrayed state. Katara's chocolate coloured waves were loose from its high bun and sweat beaded around her temple, she dressed simply in her blue tee and white shorts, with some beat up converse to boot.
"What?" She returns his stare, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, um," he pulls away from her gaze, "I was just about to go get you."
"Oh."
"Yeah, we've been waiting and um, Suki was about to get you but I—"
"Zuko." Katara smiles at him.
"Hm?" He leans by the railing, allowing himself to return half of her smile.
"Thanks." She steps up the stairs, to make up the height difference, and kisses his scarred cheek. His pale cheek spots with pink as she tugs at his hand. Katara ignores her sore muscles and pulls him to her side.
"You smell good." He draws her closer by letting go of her hand, encircling her waist with his arm.
"It's vanilla."
A/N: Hi! It's my first time actually writing for A:TLA, and Zutara happens to be my otp (Hopefully it wasn't too OOC.)
Please let me know what you think! And if you're interested to find more of my writing, I have a tumblr where I post small drabbles like this which you can find linked in my profile, or you can just type my url (jaidereverie), and yeah.
Well, I hope you have a wonderful day and leave a review if you can, I'd love to know your thoughts. xx