Author's Note:

These short stories were my contributions to Zutara Week 2013. I know it's late, but I've been foolishly afraid of posting them until now since I've only ever read content on . I should be posting one a week for 7 weeks, to cover all 7 days.

Each chapter fits the theme of the day, and is not necessarily chronological, but they are all pieces of a greater, over-arcing story that I have extensively planned out in my mind. I've been wanting to write the whole thing down, but I wanted to see what the reception was like for these stories before I committed the long-term time to a full-length fic.

Hopefully you'll enjoy them and I'll get around to publishing all my dramatic headcanons for you to read. Reviews are welcome, if you are so inclined.

"Heated Words" (Calor) – July 14th Sunday

"Why do you insist on lugging the water around?" Toph complained loudly. "Everyone can get their own water."

The summer heat bore down from the sun, the ever diligent slave-driver. Everyday it kept the watch over the workers until finally it fell asleep and the building of Republic City would halt for a night. At it's highest point, though, the heat was almost unbearable.

"You wouldn't say that if you actually deigned to do some work," Katara chided her friend in response. "You'd be begging me to bring you water."

Toph mumbled something incomprehensible. "It'd just be easier on all of us if you weren't so nice."

"Okay," Katara said. "I'll try and be more selfish from now on. Toph, you pull the water cart for the next stretch."

Toph stopped abruptly to reconsider her advice, causing her black hair to fall over blind eyes. "On second thought, stay nice while you're with me."

Katara laughed. "You are so lazy!"

"I'm not lazy!" Toph exclaimed, launching into a similar argument to the one she'd preached countless times before. "I'm testing my students. Stretching their skills. How am I supposed to be a good teacher if I do all the metal-bending for them? No, that wouldn't get them anywhere. If they royally screw something up, I'm overseeing so I can save their ass. Gotta keep an eye on everything, you know. Figuratively."

In the seven years Katara had known the Blind Bandit, her stubbornness never budged.

Toph slowed her pace again, "Wait, what's Princey-Poo doing out here?"

And neither had her fondness for silly nicknames.

Katara crinkled her forehead in surprise, "What? Zuko is out here? Why?"

"Ask him, princess."

Katara shot Toph a glare she knew the girl couldn't see and scanned the area for Zuko.

Sure enough, the Fire Lord was slaving away with a pickaxe. His ceremonial crown was missing from his hair, which was only pulled back loosely. The only remnant of the Fire Nation on his body was a bright red sash emblazoned with his nation's symbol. Katara averted her eyes when she realized he was shirtless. Close as they were, she didn't feel comfortable staring at Zuko's bare chest. Since the 100 Year War, he'd taken up a workout regime, as suggested by his sagely but powerful uncle, and it showed.

"Zuko?" Katara asked as she approached. "What are you doing out here? I assumed you'd be at City Hall."

He paused in his work and squinted up at her. A bead of sweat trickled from his forehead over his scarred eye. "Needed to get out for a bit," he breathed.

"Is everything okay?"

"Why shouldn't it be?"

Katara frowned. She started to ask another question, but was interrupted by Toph.

"Katara, get the man a drink of water! Can't you see he's dying of thirst?"

"Can you?" she mumbled and shot an apologetic look to Zuko. She made her way back to her cart and bent a stream of water from the jugs inside. Moving her hands to keep the water airborne, she bent it toward Zuko in manageable bubbles. He gratefully swallowed each one.

"Thank you, Katara," he said.

She hesitated longer. "Did you hear news from the Fire Nation yet?" She was trying to pry without seeming pushy. It was only from concern.

"I got a letter from Mai," he said.

"What did she say? Good news, I hope."

"She said what I expected her to say," he said sharply.

Katara blinked. Zuko's bursts of rage grew more and more sparse over time. She sensed she'd hit a nerve. One more time she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" he snapped. "Everything is as it should be and how it was going to be and I'm a fool for not recognizing it sooner. You don't have to constantly worry about other people's lives!"

Katara bit back, "You don't always have to hide your true feelings from your concerned friends! You never let anyone in! And the second they act concerned, you lash out at them. I know you, Zuko. I know how you function. You're my friend and I care and if you can't accept that, I don't need to offer you any sympathy." She spun on her heels and marched back toward her cart.
A hand caught her wrist. "Katara, wait."

She harrumphed and didn't look back at him.

He sighed. "I know you care. I'm grateful. I'm just not ready to talk about it yet and maybe... maybe we can talk sometime tomorrow."

Slowly, she turned around to face him. He ran his free hand through the bedraggled strands of hair that had fallen loose. "I shouldn't," he paused, like apologizing was hard for him, "I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm sorry."

She nodded cautiously, still a little worked up. "I forgive you."

His eyes softened. "I'll find you tonight for dinner. You can check on me then if you're still worried."

"I'll count on it," she replied.

Toph shoved her hands in her pockets. "That was pretty tense for a while there. I stood there trying to decide: if a bending battle broke out, would I try to stop it, or enjoy the show?"

Katara tried to shake her concern. There was nothing she could do until Zuko was ready to talk to her. Maybe he needed to just work the stress out. Maybe Aang knew what was wrong. Maybe Katara was over thinking things. In the meantime, she excused his outburst and said, "I think the heat is making us all a little crazy. All this sun, all this stress. It's bound to get to us at some point."

"Better get the water out to the workers then, princess," Toph said, winking in Katara's direction. So, ignoring the heat and the cranky Fire Lord, the two continued about their task.