A.N. Hello, if this is your first time reading a fanfic from me, my name is Rose! This is a collection of the seven themes from Zutara Week 2009, beginning with "Crossover". Comments, questions, critique...all are welcome! Thank you for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters Zuko, Katara, or anything else relating to "Avatar: the Last Airbender". I also do not own Layla, Warren Peace, or anything else relating to the Disney film "Sky High". Please don't sue me; have a nice day.
It was summer. It was Kyoshi Island. And it was time to party.
With the sun warming her shoulders and the Unagi fully occupied for the evening, Katara sashayed down to the beach, weaving flowers in her hair, which hung wild and untamed in flowing waves down her back. She looked down at her stomach and was grateful for the great workout waterbending provided. With all the delicacies Kyoshi's locals had left on her doorstep, she wouldn't be surprised if she'd had to work off a few extra pounds during her morning training. She absently adjusted the pale blue tube top she wore, which came to a halt about half a foot before her hips exposing said belly.
As she drew closer to the shoreline, she noticed a pale dot racing down the hill to her right, visible in her peripheral vision. She thought she heard a slight buzzing, and then, all too late, realized what it was.
"...eeeeeEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY KATARA!" screamed the Avatar on a ball of hot air, going top speed. She turned, too slow, and caught the look of panic on his face as he crashed into her. Her vision darkened for a moment before multicolored spots appeared before her eyes.
Aang shook his head, sat up, caught one look at her, and cringed.
"What?" she sighed, heaving herself up with a wince.
"I'mreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallysorryaboutyourfaceKatara!"
"My...face?" Not a moment later, she felt something warm slide down her right eyelid. She swiped her pointer finger on the spot and confirmed her thoughts. Aang had put a major dent above her right eyebrow.
Katara forced a smile through the throbbing in her forehead and waved off Aang's still-frantic apology, knowing he hadn't meant any harm. He continued down to the beach while she turned back to town, knowing post-accident cleanup would require at least a half-hour before she looked presentable again.
Zuko was almost enjoying himself. Almost.
There was just one little thing that was beginning to get under his skin.
Just...look at those two! Who invited them? They were beyond weird. That guy was such a copy-squirrelcat. He looked like some skewed distortion of a Fire Nation kid; he was wearing all red and black—what in Agni's name was that excuse for a jacket? It looked almost scaly, like dragonhide. And since when was that a firebending move? He was just...flailing his arms around and trying to swing fireballs like punches. Zuko was pretty sure his internal flame should have died out a long time ago with the way he was bending, but he was still belting them out strong, at Zuko's head no less.
He blocked another one, and responded with a move of his own. (A move much more artistic and well-executed. At least, Zuko thought so.)
The stranger negated most of his attack with his own flame, but his hair was singed and he was obviously struggling to keep up. Zuko smirked...the arrogant prince was back, and after such a long break it was time to make some waves.
Katara jogged down to the beach as the sun began to set. She was hungry, even with the extravagant lunch she'd eaten earlier (on a silver platter, literally). She saw bursts of orange, red, yellow, even the bright blue she knew to be Zuko's only recently perfected lightning and ran faster.
Within five minutes she could pick out individuals easily: Toph, Aang, Sokka, Suki, even Mai and Ty Lee (the latter with Teo, the Mechanist's son, in tow). After an initial sweep she turned her gaze to Zuko...fighting some tough-looking kid with red streaks in his hair. And who was that watching? Dressed all in green like an Earth Kingdom girl, but with curly orange locks, pale skin, green eyes? She looked even more out of place than Katara did when she visited Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon. A closer look at her clothes revealed the strangest pattern Katara had ever laid eyes on—she had no words to describe the fabric, the cut...it was all uncharted territory for her.
She slowed as she approached the two guys, watching the fight with interest and absentmindedly healing a scratch on her knee. She glanced over at the girl in green, intrigued...was she an Earthbender?
"Hey, how 'bout a spar?" she asked casually. The stranger raised her eyebrows in surprise and replied with a smile. "Sure!"
Katara backed up a few paces, took her stance, and drew a whip from the ocean in preparation. Her opponent raised her arms and plunged them forward.
What's that supposed to do?
Then it became clear exactly what was happening.
From out of the sand, deep below the girl's feet, burst hundreds of tiny vines, shriveled and dry. Within a second they had replenished to a brilliant green, and the mysterious girl held them, suspended in midair.
Katara froze her water into spikes, slicing the plants as close to the ground as she could. Was this girl a swampbender? Somehow she found that hard to believe...if her appearance wasn't enough, Katara knew her kin's techniques, and what this stranger was using wasn't anything she'd ever seen before.
She lunged with her arms, now each encased in a separate whip (she was vaguely reminded of another fight, with even more green) and locked pale, freckle-ridden arms in an icy lock. With her opponent subdued for the moment, she glanced over at Zuko's match.
The man fighting the Firelord looked about his age, maybe older...Tall, very tan and toned, his black hair streaked with red. His ensemble was even stranger than his companion's; strange fabrics Katara had never seen before, even harder to make sense of now, in the heat of battle.
The other pair had maneuvered in a circle so that Zuko and Katara were now back-to-back. Katara could hear him breathing hard, the cry released with each attack growing more strained.
"Who are these freaks?" he asked breathlessly.
Katara didn't reply, suddenly finding her hands extremely full.
They found out the answer to Zuko's question later, around the campfire.
Both matches had finally come to a draw as the aroma of fine Kyoshi cuisine wafted across the sand.
The strangers were named Warren and Layla (the strangest names anyone had ever heard) and they described themselves as "superheroes in training", attending an elite academy called "Sky High".
"You mean you guys are Airbenders?" exclaimed Aang, jumping about twenty feet in the air.
Warren and Layla looked at each other in confusion. "What's an...Air...blender, is it?"
Needless to say, it was a very long cookout.
Toph and Aang went for a late-night ride on Appa, Suki and Katara's brother went...ew, not even going there, and Mai and Ty Lee dragged Teo off to party in town. The mysterious couple, Zuko, and Katara were left to themselves. It was total, complete, mind-numbing...
...silence.
"This sure is awkward," muttered Zuko out of the corner of his mouth. Katara nodded and mentally cringed as Warren brushed a kiss over Layla's hair, which outshone the now dying bonfire. Zuko noticeably turned his head the other way.
The party wasn't all that great, thought Katara. She wanted to have some fun before it was time head back to the South Pole. That meant getting rid of these weirdos.
"Zuzuuu~!" she squealed, grabbing his hand on impulse and yanking him up to standing height. "How about a swim?" Without waiting for an answer or giving one to his incredulous look, she skipped to the water's edge and pulled him with her.
When they were out of earshot, he whispered in her ear (she made herself ignore the fact that his breath was warm and smelled like she imagined heaven would as it swept across her face). "Are you crazy? What are you—"
She shoved a hand over his lips and crooned in his ear. "Follow my lead. Those two psychos need to hit the road."
And then she kissed him full on the mouth.
Once he had registered what she was doing, Zuko turned out to be a surprisingly good—no, make that amazing—kisser. Granted, Katara only had a few people to compare to...okay, one person. But it didn't take an expert to confirm the old legend after making out with the Firelord: Fire is passion, and Firebenders are the most passionate of all.
The kiss lasted...how long she didn't really know. Her sense of time was a little skewed at this point. They had broken for air several times and, without a thought, jumped back in. They were only knee-deep in water when they began, but eventually the pair had ventured backward into deeper waters. Now her arms were around his neck, hands tangled in his damp hair, pulled flush against his bare chest. Katara could feel his strong arms cradling her waist, one hand creeping up her back to twist a lock of hair around his finger. She was immersed, submerged, addicted to this substance that was Zuko...and she didn't know quite when it had come along. All that mattered was that, under the moonlight, in front of two random strangers—Oh Tui. The strangers.
She opened her eyes wide and looked for them out of the corner of her eye. They were gone.
Well, that was a relief.
More time for kissing Zuko then, and two less distractions. He smiled into the kiss, and somehow she felt he'd seen them leave a long time ago.