"Untitled" by eulalie27
Disclaimer: Avatar: the Last Airbender and its characters are the property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Konietzko. They do not belong to me.
Nothing is definite here. Time means nothing. Emotion means nothing. Yet they are everything.
She cannot tell what is real and what is not. Isn't that like all dreams, though? It all feels so real, but it can't be. The problem is, she can't tell if this is a dream… or a nightmare.
At first, everything there is peaceful. In a rare moment of calm, they hold hands as they walk through the field of flowers.
"Fire lilies," he points out, gesturing at the crimson plants around them.
"They're beautiful," she observes, voice cloaked in awe.
He smiles. "Not as beautiful as you." He leans in to kiss her.
Then it all goes to hell. The gorgeous flowers burn up from the inside out. The grass all around them catches the flames as well, and as the smoke rises into the crystal blue sky, she has a fleeting thought that they will both die here, now.
An echoing voice booms, "Son, you have brought shame to your family. You have brought shame to yourself." A giant hand reaches down from the clouds. "And now you will die."
She looks on in horror as he is consumed by fire, the flames burning his pale skin.
"No!" she screams as the flesh falls away, revealing pink tissue and muscle attached to snow-white bone.
"Don't worry," the voice continues, directed at her. "You will die with him."
She cannot stop screaming, her cries bubbling up and tearing out of her throat. Her face is wet with tears. This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be-
"Katara!" The voice jerks her out of restless sleep.
"NO!" She chokes on her sobs, repeating the word like a mantra. "Nononononononononono!"
"Katara, it's okay." She feels herself being pulled against someone in a comforting hug, their fingers running through her sleep-tangled hair. "It was a dream."
It's his voice. "No, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry, Zuko." It's like she can't stop crying.
"Shh," he soothes her. "It's okay, it wasn't real."
After a few minutes, she manages, by some miracle, to stop crying. "Sorry I woke you up," she sniffs. Not only was her sleep ruined, but his as well. The guilt she feels is nothing compared to the horror of the dream, though.
"'S okay," he mumbles sleepily, still cradling her to his chest. "Wanna talk about it?"
"No. I just want to sleep, but I can't." She buries her head in his chest. "It felt so real."
"Well, if you want to talk, I'm here."
The genuine concern in his voice brings more tears to her eyes. "He killed you."
"I'm okay." He frowns down at her, confused and worried.
"No," she shakes her head, "in the dream. The Fire Lord. And I couldn't stop him."
"I'm fine. He's not going to kill me."
"I know." She wipes tears from her cheeks. "But what if he gets someone else to do it?"
He can hear the unspoken words. Like Azula. "Katara, listen. I. Am Not. Going. To. Die. Well, not in the near future, at least."
She snorts despite herself. "Okay."
"Go to sleep." He kisses her forehead.
Safe in his arms, she has no trouble falling back asleep. Her dreams are peaceful for the rest of the night.