Day 1 Prompt: Mistletoe
Katara hasn't been home in months. Really, she shouldn't even complain about that because it was her choice to begin with to leave. She doesn't regret it either. Every second since leaving home has been full of adventure and laughs with her brother and their two best friends. It's exactly the gap year she had wanted.
Tonight is a different story though, isn't it? It's Christmas Eve and there's no sign of snow anywhere. Of course that's not surprising. She is on a tropical island near the Fire Nation. If it did snow, it would probably be the first sign of the apocalypse. But coming from a country where it snows almost regularly, Sansa misses the cold. She misses the crunching sound her boots make on the white powder. It's not Christmas without the snow. It hardly feels like Christmas at all. Where she's standing, all she really sees are drunk recent graduates like her trying to grasp a little sense of adventure before they have to go to university in the autumn. No one's really celebrating anything.
Even Aang – her perpetually sober friend – is dancing on a table like he's the bell of the ball, but then he doesn't have to drink a drop of alcohol to be that exuberant and friendly. It's just innately who he is. Toph and Sokka, on the other hand, are a table on the beach engaged in some fierce beer pong battle. After the first two games where Toph hustled most of the overly arrogant boys, word quickly spread about the blind girl with a wicked right hand throw. Now, the element of surprise is gone and Katara can hear Toph and Sokka shouting and swearing loudly from where they're stood.
It really isn't Christmas at all.
Katara heaves a great big sigh that verges on being a little melodramatic but she's at point where she doesn't care anymore who hears. She's had enough alcohol to let her emotions run free but not enough to fully break down and cry. So she does the next best thing, she walks further into the crowd, hoping the sheer amount of people and noise will cheer her up.
Forty-five minutes later, she concludes that it in fact does not.
She is just about to head back to her friends when a conversation captures her interest.
"Zuzu, you are such a mood killer," someone snaps irritably.
"Stop calling me that!" another person replies immediately.
His voice is raspy and deep, equally as pleasurable to listen to as it is intriguing. Katara has always had a soft spot for a nice voice and his is the nicest she's heard in years. But that might be the alcohol talking. Is there such a thing as beer ears?
"Well then stop sulking. You're ruining my buzz."
Whoever is speaking to him has a less than pleasurable voice. She sounds infuriatingly haughty and snobby. Katara hopes it's not his girlfriend. She'd hate for someone with such a nice voice to be dating someone with such an awful and grating one.
"I'm leaving."
"So Father can force you to play nice with all those diplomats?"
So they're related. Katara is relieved, though she doesn't know why. She can't even see the siblings where she's standing. There is a large group of people in between them. It's already hard enough to focus on their conversation with the music and other conversations filtering through.
"Better than being stuck out here with a bunch of drunks."
"You're no fun!"
"Be home before midnight. After that, you're on your own."
"Ugh, whatever. Bye, Zuzu!"
There's a frustrated groan and the conversation stops. Katara panics for a second, wondering where this boy is headed to, and in a moment of complete tipsy bravado, she begins to push and elbow through the crowd to find him.
Maybe she's just curious to know what he looks like or maybe she finds some comfort in the fact that she's not the only miserable person tonight, but Katara feels it is incredibly imperative she meets this boy tonight.
Only when she emerges from the crowd of festive partiers, she can't really tell which one he is. Even on the more sparsely covered part of the beach, there are too many people to sift through. She supposes it's not meant to be and she's just about to give up when she sees something very peculiar. Right there at the edge of the beach, there's a man in a full tuxedo. Now why would anyone wear a tuxedo in this heat?
Unless they were just at a party with diplomats.
Katara races across, the sand underneath her feet making it harder for her, but she is determined and curious. Her brother says it's her two most annoying traits. He also adds the word: stubborn.
The boy crosses the empty street and she follows carefully behind him. If she sprints, she can just about reach him, but it's occurring to her now she really doesn't know why she's following him to begin with. What had she planned to do once she did catch up with him? This is utterly absurd. Utterly, utterly absurd.
Except Katara is still following him, and when he enters the most ostentatious hotel she's ever seen, she's still following him.
Immediately, Katara becomes aware of how out of place she is here. Even in the lobby, the guests are all immaculately dressed, just like the boy. Men wore tuxedos and women wore floor-length gowns. Distantly, she wonders how they can stand to wear that in this kind of heat, but she also greatly appreciates it, because here in this stupidly fancy hotel, it looks like Christmas. There are red, green and gold tinsel hanging from the ceilings, and just beyond the foyer to the open ballroom, Katara can see even more Christmas-themed decorations.
"Wow," she breathes.
"I think it's much in my opinion but they do serve excellent tea."
Katara jumps back in shock. The rotund man standing beside her has his hands resting over his belly. He smiles kindly at her.
"I do apologise if I frightened you, dear."
"Oh no, I… I just… Um…"
To say Katara is floundering is probably an understatement. She doesn't know how to explain her presence here, or why she's dressed in little denim shorts and a blue strappy tank as opposed to an evening gown. Clearly she doesn't belong.
But instead of demanding she leave, the man touches her shoulder gently. "Are you quite well? You look flushed. Come. We'll get you a glass of water to cool you down."
Katara only nods and follows him as he leads her straight into the ballroom. In her alcohol-fuelled mind, she thinks the entire room has turned to stare at her, but whether they do or not, the man doesn't seem to notice. He merely leads her from the entrance all the way towards the refreshments table where glasses of various liquids are being served in crystal glasses.
Before he can reach the table however he suddenly stops with undisguised glee.
"Zuko! There you are!"
A tall boy turns around and amber eyes meet hers instantly. Katara feels a different kind of flush warming her body now and she wonders if she is as red as she feels she is, because this boy is hot. Even with a sizeable scar marring the left side of his face, he is undeniably one of the handsomest boys she's ever seen.
"Uncle," the boy looks at the man beside Katara with a respectful nod. Something in his voice piques her curiosity and she involuntarily leans forward. Speak again, she urges.
"I thought Azula would have roped you away by now," the man laughs. "It is good you're here though. This young lady is in dire need of refreshment but I fear Admiral Jin is waving me over. You know how gets, so if you don't mind, Zuko."
"Wait, Uncle, but –"
It's too late because the man has already rushed away. For someone his age and size, he moves awfully fast. Katara blushes even more furiously at his lack of subtlety.
"Are you going to faint?" he asks, more like snaps at her.
Katara shakes her head but her brows are creased forward at his tone. He better watch himself.
"You look like you're going to faint," this boy named Zuko says. "I guess you better follow me then."
She's about to tell him she can see the refreshments table and she doesn't need an irate babysitter – even though she is following him obediently – when suddenly she realises why his voice sounded so familiar.
"Zuzu!"
The boy stops, and Katara tumbles into his back.
"Hey, warn someone before you suddenly just decide to –"
Zuko turns back to face her again. "What did you just call me?"
"Uh…"
His eyes narrow and the ambers now look more like molten gold. It's wonderfully beautiful; somewhat threatening but beautiful. "Who are you!"
"Katara," she says with a little ire in her voice. She knows she's the one that stalked him but honestly, he doesn't have to be such a jerk about it.
"How do you – why did you call me that?" Zuko asks, even more irritable than he was a second ago. It hardly seemed possible but this boy really is quite the sulker. Maybe Katara should've followed his haughty sister.
"I heard it," Katara shrugs as if the answer is perfectly reasonable.
Thankfully, Zuko seems to buy it because he nods. Before he can lead her towards the refreshments table, a very inebriated man slaps Zuko on the shoulder and shouts over his shoulder as he walks away.
"Mistletoe, cousin! You know the drill!"
Zuko's irritated scowl immediately evolves into one of surprise and embarrassment. Pink tinges his good cheek, making Katara smile in spite of herself.
"Why are you smiling? Did you do this?"
"Do what?" Katara asks, confused. He gestures above her and she looks up to see the pretty plant wrapped in a red bow hanging directly above them. She returns her gaze back onto Zuko and scowls. "You think I did that to kiss you?"
"I don't know," Zuko shrugs. "I don't even know you."
"Yeah but… I mean… how arrogant do you have to be to think that!"
"Hey, I'm not the one showing up in next to nothing at an evening gala, calling people by their family nicknames!"
"I'm not in next to nothing!" Katara exclaims indignantly. She doesn't know why that is the thing she focuses on but it feels important.
"You might as well be," Zuko retorts back, but his eyes drift down her legs before coming back to her eyes, and the whole second it takes for him to do that, Katara does feel like she is wearing next to nothing. He doesn't even seem to realise he did it either. That infuriates her more.
"Why are you such a jerk!" she says angrily, and before she can stop herself, the frustration from tonight comes tumbling out. "All I wanted was to spend Christmas Eve with my friends, okay? I'm not here to capture you in some elaborate ploy to kiss you. I just wanted a nice evening where it actually feels like Christmas but I can't even have that! All my friends want to do is go party on the beach but that's not really Christmassy, is it? I mean do they even care about what I want? No, because I'm here and they're there and I doubt they've even noticed I left."
Zuko looks even more shocked now than he did when he realised they are standing underneath the mistletoe. He seems to be considering something for a second before he sighs, carding his fingers through his thick black hair.
"I'm sorry. I guess I've had a shit night too. I shouldn't have taken it out on you though."
"You're right. You shouldn't have," Katara says with a firm nod, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Can we start over?" he asks. When she shrugs, he offers her his hand. "Hi. My name's Zuko."
Katara stares at his hand for a second before taking it in hers, shaking. She's surprised to find how calloused it is. "I'm Katara."
"You know, Katara, we're standing under mistletoe right now," Zuko says with a twitch of a smile.
"Is that so?" she says, arms still crossed over her chest.
"Yeah," he nods. "My uncle… um, well he says it's bad luck if we don't follow through with tradition. But I don't really believe in superstition."
"I don't either."
"Right…"
"But uh… it can't hurt, can it? To follow through with tradition and all."
Zuko's eyes widen imperceptibly, before a slow smirk settles on his face. "I guess not."
For a second, neither of them does or say anything else. Katara thinks he's not going to do it but then he's stepping towards her and her breath catches in her throat. She becomes all too aware of her tongue and her limbs, and she really has no idea what to do with her hands right now. Panic rises like a steady steam from the pit of her stomach to her esophagus, but the moment his hand reaches out to curl around her waist, Katara loses the ability to think altogether.
His touch is warm, too warm for this disgusting heat. She wants to push him away because she feels even more faint than she did before. Only he's moving in closer and Katara finds herself meeting his movement inch by inch.
When his hand cups the back of her neck and his lips finally meet hers, Katara whimpers into his mouth, her own arms coming around to wrap around his neck. It doesn't occur to her to slow down. It doesn't occur to her that he is a stranger and they're standing at the edge of a very extravagant Christmas party. It doesn't seem to occur to him either by the way his lips are moving hungrily against hers.
Frankly, Katara doesn't care.
Or she didn't until they both heard loud coughing nearby and sprang apart as if someone took a torch and struck it in between them.
"Um…" he says awkwardly.
Maybe it's the alcohol talking or maybe Zuko's just that intoxicating but she gives him a lopsided smile and asks, "do you want to go for a walk with me?"
When he flashes an equally goofy grin back at her and says yes, Katara thinks this is the best Christmas she's ever had.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that! It's my first time joining Zutara Month and I'm so so excited. Please comment if you have the time. Otherwise, thank you so so much for reading! 3
