A/N My Third shot at an AU! This one is going to be a Valentine's Day one shot!
Unfortunately, my other two AU attempts were super nubby. So I hope this'll bring out the AU haze I am currently in!
Enjoy!
Pairing: Zutara, (of course!)
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Oh how he hated this day, how much he hated this day. The ceilings of the hallways, decorated in pink, red, and purple laces, the faint smell of roses mixed in with the dark chocolate smell in every class. The cookies with pink sprinkles served on this day with their lunch.
Yes, how he hated this day.
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The angst ridden teen trudged out of his history class, wanting to kill the man who invented this ridiculous holiday. Grumbling under his breath, he practically yanked open his locker and shoved his books in the already crowded locker, almost smashing a small chocolate heart box from Jin.
He really didn't care for chocolates nor did he care much about the girls that gave him bundles of lollipops, chocolates, roses, or cards.
Then, there was that Valentine's dance tonight.
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Katara walked along side her brother, who was holding hands with his girlfriend Suki. She didn't get annoyed when Suki and him would occasionally giggle and kiss each other lightly, but she did get annoyed that her brother could have someone to share Valentine's with while she was spending it in lonesome gutters.
"Hey Katara!"
She spun around, saw Aang running up to her, a red card with a small lollipop stuck on it in his hands.
"Umm, I thought, since you didn't have someone to share Valentine's with..." Aang smiled and toothy grin and held up the red card, now upon closer inspection, had little cupid stickers and glittery purple hearts all over it.
"Aw...thanks Aang, it's so sweet." Katara grinned and kissed the little bald boy on the cheek, leaving him blushing.
"Shouldn't you be running off to your middle school now?" Katara asked, reading the card with her blue eyes scanning it rapidly.
"Oh! That's right! I'll see you later!" Aang dashed off down the sidewalk.
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Katara walked up the stairs that led into the clean hallways. She ignored her brother and Suki kissing in the front and went ahead of them towards her locker.
Once she got to her locker, slowly, she dialed in her combination and slowly opened it, looking around quickly to see if anyone was there.
Hesitantly, she reached into the front pocket of her backpack and pulled out a red box with a light yellow ribbon tied on the corner. Slowly, she pulled off the cover and it revealed a silver dragon with red eyes, attached to a long bright silver chain. She bought it yesterday while searching for Valentine's gifts for her friends and various other people. This one however, was for someone...
"Some one who doesn't even know I exist..." Katara sighed heavily as she slipped it back into her backpack and closed her locker.
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That's it...one more offer to go to the dance and...
"Zuko...I was wondering if...you'd like to go with me to tonight's dance." A girl by the name of Song asked, her eyes nervously darting everywhere around the room.
"Sorry...I can't...I'd promised I would help my uncle with his tea shop after school." Zuko replied quickly before briskly walking away, before he could see her reaction.
He walked quickly to the courtyard of the school and sat down on a wooden bench, pulling out his sandwich from his backpack.
Finally, some groups of girls and some boys had filed into the courtyard to eat their lunches, talk with friends and to finish last night's homework.
As he ate, a girl came up to him and held up his red mechanical pencil with a long golden dragon inscribed on it.
"Um...you dropped this..."
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Katara quickly came out of her English class, wanting to get to lunch quickly as possible to avoid long lines.
As she briskly walked, a red pencil was visible on the blue tiled floors. She slowly picked it up out of curiosity and ran her thumb over the dragon embellishment. Immediately, she knew who's this was.
Nervously, she made her way to the school's courtyard, where most of the juniors eat. Sweat starting to form on the back of her neck, she gripped the pencil firmly in her hand, almost to the point that she may drop it.
She walked into the fairly large courtyard and saw him immediately, seeing as how he's the only one with a jacket black and red with a large black dragon in a circle on the shoulders.
Ignoring odd glances from the older boys and girls, she made her way through and walked up to him, her hands shaking slightly.
With a voice unlike her usually strong and rough one, she timidly held out the pencil and spoke, "Um...is this yours?"
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Zuko looked up from his sandwich and saw the blue eyed girl slightly blushing, her hand shaking ever so slightly.
"Thanks." he replied, pulling the pencil out of her hand and putting it in his coat pocket.
He watched the girl as she stared at the ground nervously, her left hand twitching to her bag.
"Did you need anything?"
"Oh, um...well..." She whispered out, her insides feeling like soft dough. "I...wanted to give you something..." Quickly, she pulled it out of her bag and held it out, her head bowed with her brown hair curtaining her face.
She tightly closed her eyes and wondered why he wasn't taking it. Suddenly, she got the idea that he didn't like it even when he hasn't opened it yet. A feeling of shame and embarrassment washed over her being.
Finally, she felt his grip on the box and she let go, looking up slightly.
"I thought you might want it so...I got it for you..." She said, her face completely flushed with embarrassment.
"Thanks, I'll open it later." He looked up at her and flashed a small smile.
Katara nodded quickly and practically ran out of the courtyard and to the main lunch area to meet with her friends.
A warm feeling washed over her as she slowly replayed the whole event in her head.
He smiled...!
She closed her eyes shut and grinned out of pure joy.
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Zuko watched as she pulled out a red box from her bag, decorated with a yellow ribbon tied in the corner. Slowly, he inspected it, knowing it wasn't chocolates at the least. He grabbed the sides of it and she let her hands go, her head bowed for some reason.
Immediately, she looked up and watched him.
"I thought you might want it so...I got it for you..."
He looked up and saw her face completely flushed with a brilliant shade of pink.
"Thanks, I'll open it later." Without himself knowing, he smiled slightly and gently set the box down next to him.
The girl nodded and ran off.
Now this was a first, a freshman, a girl that he didn't even know the name of, gave him a gift.
You know...I think it's chocolates again.
He sighed and picked up the red box and experimentally shook it. Only a small sound of tissue paper being crumpled was heard. Slowly, he slid his thumb underneath the box lid and pulled it open, revealing a bright silver dragon with piercing red eyes, attached to a silver chain.
Silently, he whispered a 'wow' and lifted it out of the mass of tissue paper. He slipped on the bright necklace and saw how it had his name inscribed along the dragon. As he marveled at the gift, he almost failed to notice a small white card in the tissue paper.
Zuko pulled it out and read, his golden eyes scanning the neat text.
I know you don't know me all that well, I don't expect you to, but I hope you like the gift I gave you. It's a dragon, since, I know how much you love them.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Katara.
"Katara..." He tested out her name on his tongue, slightly liking how it came out.
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The bell rang, signaling the end of the long day of roses and chocolates was over.
Katara walked up to her locker to put in the books she didn't need at home. Slowly, as she opened her locker and shoved her books in, she wasn't aware of another presence near her.
"Katara."
Startled, she slammed her locker shut and saw who it was. A slow blush creeping up her neck, she stepped back a few steps and stuttered out, "Z...Zuko...um...did you...um...like the gift?"
He nodded, touching the silver icon hanging from the silver chain.
"Oh." Katara responded, secretly pleased that he was wearing it. "Well...I have to go meet my brother so-."
"Wait, Katara, I would like to give you something, it's just that I didn't know that you'd give me this..." Zuko nervously said, feeling a warm blush working it's way up his neck.
"Oh no! It's ok, you don't have to."
"But I want to...and I would live with the guilt of never being able to pay you back." He stepped a bit closer to her, so that she was slightly tilting her head back to meet his gaze.
Gently, he lowered his head and softly kissed her on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "Happy Valentine's Day."
A/N Yeah...so...my third shot at an AU.
Tried to keep everyone in order with their character's personalities, and for those of you who'll start going like, "WAH! Katara's not that timid and shy!"
Well, if you were near your crush wouldn't you sort of "tone down" and in a way, "melt"?
So anyways, I'll make another Valentine's Day Zutara, only this time it won't be AU modern day, it'll be just be regular Avatar-verse with Valentine's Day as a holiday.
R&R!