Falling Snow

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its character.

This fanfiction is an entry for alyssialui's Pro-bending Circuit Writing Competition. I am the manager of the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps.

Task: Write about your OTP going on their first date.

Prompts: (easy) love, (medium) amber

Season: Winter

Enjoy!

Zuko sat at his desk in his room(the basement) trying to study when his phone beeped, letting him know he had a text message.

6:49 pm

Katara

Hey, u busy?

6:49 pm

Zuko

I'm just studying, why?

6:50 pm

Katara

Aw, I was hoping we could do something ;)

Zuko was shocked. He'd had a crush on Katara since they were little, and now she was basically asking him out! Zuko rubbed his eyes. This had to be some sort of sick, twisted dream. His mind must've been messing with him.

6:51 pm

Katara

Hello?

Crap.

6:51 pm

Zuko

Uh, sorry. Where were you thinking we could go?

6:52 pm

Katara

Maybe we could go to the duck pond like we did as kids? :)

Checking the current weather on his phone, Zuko scrunched his nose.

6:53 pm

Zuko

Are you crazy? It's like a blizzard out there.

6:53 pm

Katara

Oh come on. It's some light snow. But fine, I'll just go by myself.

6:53 pm

Katara

Actually, I think I'll invite Aang.

Zuko frowned. He knew Aang had a crush on Katara, and he couldn't let him have her.

6:54 pm

Zuko

No, I'm going. I'll meet you there in 10 minutes.

6:54 pm

Katara

Yay! See you there, Zuzu! :D

Zuko sighed. It seemed like everyone knew about his embarrassing nickname. Putting on a jacket, gloves, a beanie and boots, he jogged upstairs and went out the door, not bothering to tell anyone where he was going. It's not like they cared anyways.

Zuko trudged through the deep snow, trying to figure out why Katara asked him on a date. Was she drunk? Was it even Katara? Maybe it was someone trying to prank him. Yeah, that was it. He would probably get there and be greeted by Sokka instead of the girl of his dreams. Zuko sighed again, noticing how he could see his cold breath exit his mouth and fade away. Zuko was never very fond of snow, but he didn't complain about it now as much as he did when he was a young boy. Snow reminded him of Katara, so he couldn't complain.

He remembered the day he met his best friend very clearly. It was sunny, and the school day had just ended. 10 year old Zuko had taken his father's business notes earlier that morning, and used them for his class presentation. He planned to return them back to his father's desk before he even noticed they were gone, but a hole was put into his plans. He was chased by a dog-Aang's dog, Appa-and he slipped and fell, which is when 8 year old Katara showed up, apologising and claiming she was "taking care of the dog for a friend". When Zuko had noticed he was no longer holding his father's papers, he panicked until Katara calmly pointed out that they had fallen into a puddle next to him. Frantically, Zuko had grabbed the papers and ran home without saying another word. He had seen Katara the next day, and they became best friends after weeks(maybe months) of constant bickering between them.

Arriving at the duck pond, Zuko looked around for Sokka or whoever was pranking him. Not seeing anyone, Zuko began to turn around, when he heard a voice call out:
"Zuko!"

Happiness and relief flooded Zuko when he recognised the voice. Katara. She really showed up.

Zuko turned around, meeting Katara's bright blue eyes, and he smiled.

"You actually showed up," she sounded relieved. Was she worried that he wouldn't show up?

"You didn't think I would?" he asked.

She shook her head.

Zuko just laughed.

"What's so funny?" she snapped.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just.. I was thinking that you wouldn't show up," he said, controlling his laughter.

Katara's expression softened. "Oh. Well, I guess neither of us were expecting this."

"Guess not."

"So.. what should we do?"

"I don't know."

"That helps."

'This feisty side of her.. I like it,' Zuko thought, lost in his daydreams about Katara.

"Zuko? Hello?" Katara called, waving her hand in front of his face. "Answer me, dammit!"

When Zuko didn't respond, Katara rolled her eyes and crouched down, gathering up snow and packed in into a ball. Smirking, she stood back up and threw the snowball, hitting him right in the jaw.

"Agh!" he yelled, clutching his jaw. "What the hell was that for?"

"You weren't saying anything," Katara said, crossing her arms.

"Well, that doesn't mean you can sock me in the face with a snowball as hard as a rock." Zuko whined.

Katara smiled, gathering another snowball and throwing it, laughing as it hit Zuko's stomach.

"Fine, that's how you want to play?" Zuko asked, holding his stomach. "I can play like that."

Zuko bent down, scooping up two handfuls of snow and packing them together, forming a much bigger snowball than Katara's. He threw it at her and it hit her in the arm, and he smiled when she looked at him as if he performed the greatest taboo in history.

Katara smirked. "It's on."

Picking up tons of snow, Katara shaped it into many snowballs and began to throw them at the older boy. He held his arms up, blocking most of the snow, but getting hit by all the others.

"Okay, okay! Stop! Stop! I get it!" he yelled in between laughs.

Finally stopping, Katara smiled. "Well that was fun," she said, walking up to him.

"So, you're done?" Zuko asked cautiously, slowly moving his arms from in front of his face.

He was answered when Katara smiled and pushed him onto the ground, where he landed in the cold snow.

He grunted at the impact and glared at her. "How was that fair?"

"All's fair in love and war."

"... That doesn't even make sense!" he yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her down. She landed on top of him, and they both blushed.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Zuko said softly.

They laid there for a moment, staring into each other's eyes, and suddenly Katara pressed her lips gently against his and closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes slightly to see his beautiful amber eyes wide with surprise. Soon, he gave in to the kiss, and his eyes slipped closed.

Eventually, the broke apart and just smiled softly at each other. After a few minutes, Katara stood up. "That was fun. We should do it again sometime," she said, still smiling as she walked away, leaving a very cheerful Zuko laying in the snow.

A/N: Well, that's that.

Word count(not including Author's notes): 1097