Zutara Week 2, day seven: Lick

It was something he wanted to do since the day she had forgiven him, since the day she threw herself in his arms and hugged him. A hug that told him she was thankful for the things she learned that day, things she probably never would have learned without him.

It was hard always being around her and never to touch her, feeling the heat of her body, smelling her sent every time a soft breeze played with her hair, hearing her soft chuckles when she responded to something that was worth smiling over.

To him it seemed like the universe was against him for they were almost never alone. And the few times they were alone he was always too caught up in her dazzling sent, missing the perfect moments to touch her. It was that or someone always walked by them the moment he wanted to make a move towards the water bender.

Zuko always hoped, no, prayed that Katara didn't notice how uncomfortable he felt when she was around, that he tried to avoid standing next to her when others were around, but tried to be as close to her as possible when they were alone. And when she was close by, he hoped that she didn't notice the little sweat drops that sometimes appeared on his forehead, or that she missed the distant look in his eyes when he gazed upon her. And he truly hoped that she never noticed that he wanted to touch her so badly, so he could feel her once more.

It was just one touch he wanted, only to get it out of his system he thought. One slight brush of his fingertips against her dark skin would be enough for him to calm down and act like he did before Katara hugged him. But he would never have the opportunity to touch her if there was always somebody around or when he was distracted by her sent. He had to find a way to live with the fact that it was just that one time he felt her.

Although, there were times that Zuko thought the water bender knew about his little secret. As if she felt his discomfort and decided to play with him. How else could he explain the way she always left the room, rocking her hips from right to left a bit more that she normally did. Or how her waterbending looked the slightest more sensual than it did before, almost as if she knew he was watching her. It felt like she was toying with him when she played with her element. And she almost always sat next to him when it was dinnertime. And when she didn't, she always sat across from him.

"Zuko, are you listening?" Katara's voice startled him and Zuko looked up from his bowl filled with untouched food. He gave her a puzzled look and slightly shook his head, trying to get rid of his thoughts about the waterbender.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Zuko asked.

Katara rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I asked you if you would help me with the dishes. Aang is feeding Appa and Momo. Sokka and Suki are off doing god knows what and Toph simply said she didn't want to help."

Zuko looked around him and found out he was sitting alone with the water bender, he never noticed the others had left. He looked down at his bowl and then at Katara who stood up and picked up the bowls the others had left for her to clean.

"Uhm, yeah, sure." He said. Zuko stood up and followed Katara to the kitchen.

He couldn't help but to stare at her hips as she walked ahead of him and he could swear that she rocked her hips a slight more sensual, as if she did it on purpose. That, or he was just losing his mind. Maybe the water tribe girl held a spell over him, he wasn't sure. Lost in his thoughts about the waterbender and her rocking hips, he never noticed his grip around his bowl grew tighter and tighter until the bowl broke, making the soup splashing around the kitchen. Katara turned around when she heard the loud crack and peaces of the bowl falling on the floor.

Zuko looked at his hands and found them covered in cold liquid that once was his supper for the evening. He looked up when he heard a soft laugh leaving Katara's lips and starred at her smiling face.

"Uhm. Sorry about that. I'll clean it." The firebender managed to say. He threw away the remaining pieces of the bowl and grabbed for a towel to clean his hands but was stopped by Katara's hand when she grabbed his wrist and looked into his eyes. He starred back for a moment, tried to swallow, but found his throat was too dry. He tried to breath, but he couldn't remember how to. All he could feel was her hand on his wrist, all he could smell was her sent and all he could see was her soft, sweet smile and the twinkle in her eyes as she moved closer.

"If you don't want to help me," Katara begun as the space between them narrowed down to just a few inches, "All you had to do is tell me. You didn't have to break anything."

She lifted her hand, still holding Zuko's wrist, looked at his fingers then looked back into his eyes. She smiled as she saw how hard it was for Zuko to maintain a neutral expression on his face. The red cheeks gave away the discomfort he felt. The water bender guided Zuko's had towards her face and when he almost could touch her face she stopped.

"Look at your fingers." She said. Zuko took his gaze away from Katara's eyes and looked at his fingers. "They are covered in soup. You never even finished your food and it tasted so good."

Zuko looked from his fingers to Katara's face and noticed a twinkle in her eyes he had never seen before. Her lips moved closer to his fingers and when her lips touched the tips of Zuko's fingers she let out a soft moan.

"It's a shame you never tasted the soup." Katara whispered against his fingertip. Then she licked the liquid off of his finger. Zuko closed his eyes and let out a grunt as he felt how Katara's lips closed around his finger and started to suck it softly. Too soon she stopped and Zuko opened his eyes and starred right into the blue eyes of Katara.

This was it. Now she had crossed the line, Zuko thought as he saw the smug smile the little water bender made. Without a warning Zuko lifted the girl from the ground and sat her down on the small kitchen table. He pressed his lips against Katara's with all the passion he held in for so long. Katara was a little surprised by the sudden act of the firebender but kissed him back. She threw her arms around Zuko's neck and moaned softly when she felt Zuko's tongue licking her lower lip.

Zuko broke the kiss and smiled down at the water bender. "You're right. The soup tastes very good."

Katara let out a soft chuckle and pulled Zuko in for another passionate kiss. They both knew this kiss was more than tasting the soup on each others lips.

The End!

Fin!

Einde!