Title: Sinful
Summary: The next thing he knows, he's on the ground and the only thing between him and the floor is her, and he wants more. - A seven deadly sin story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender... or the seven deadly sins, I guess.
Warnings: Sexual content, cheating.
i. Sloth
On the strongest night of the hottest season, Katara finds herself lying alone on the grass dressed in nothing more than her wrappings.
Coming to the Fire Nation had been planned as some sort of reunion – a way for their 'Gaang' to get together again after being separated for over a year. Life after the war had not proven to be as easy as she had hoped and they had been forced to separate in order to help maintain the peace. So at some point Sokka had decided it was time for them to meet again and what better place was there than Ember Island, the hot spot of all get aways and relaxations?
Not that she had literally expected it to be so hot.
On that particular night, the heat proves to be too much for Katara to bear, so when the others come to ask her to join them at the beach, she uncharacteristically refuses, opting for once in her life to be lazy.
Which is exactly how a shirtless Zuko finds her half a candle mark later. He doesn't say a word and instead takes a sit beside her, a bottle of Firewhiskey in hand. And Katara knows this is the part where she's supposed to tell him that he shouldn't drink such things or something along those lines, but it's too hot for her to even begin to care what he does.
So instead she closes her eyes and breathes in the summer heat.
ii. Lust
The alcohol begins to take its effect on Katara within a candle mark.
Zuko didn't intended to let the waterbender drink (slash he hadn't intended to share his Firewhiskey with her), but it turned into a lost cause when he accidently slipped that he didn't think she could handle the alcohol. From there it had all gone downhill. Or uphill, depending on how you looked at it. Not that he really cares at the moment, because the Firewhiskey's beginning to take its toll on him as well. (Not that he'll actually admit it out loud, because Fire Lords do not get drunk.)
"Nooo fair!" She whines-slash-slurs when he gulps down the remainder of the content.
He shrugs, tossing the bottle over his shoulder; it was his bottle to begin with. That, however, he realizes was the wrong thing to do, because the next thing he knows he's been pushed into the middle of the shallow pond and a hands-on-hips-slightly-pouty-and-obviously-drunk Katara is glaring down at him. His eyes narrow and before she has the chance to do anything else, he grabs at her ankles, pulling her in as well. But she doesn't take such a thing lightly, and the next thing he knows, they're wrestling in the water.
It's only when Zuko is finally able to pin her down that he realizes that she is in nothing but her wrappings. Her white wrappings. White, as in the color that is no longer white so much as transparent when wet.
This is the moment when he's supposed to let her go and look away, where he's supposed to leave, stuttering out some stupid excuse, with some sort of unspoken understanding between them that they will never speak of this moment again. Because he's the Fire Lord and she's the Avatar's girlfriend and there are some lines that just shouldn't be crossed. But the Firewhiskey is blurring all the lines and all he can really focus on are that her legs are tangled in his and how she should be more than aware of the effect she is having on him.
Not that she really seems to mind, because she's somehow rolled them onto the grass, leaving her on top this time, her chest pressing against his, showing him exactly the effect he is having on her. And his hands are tracing up her hips, her waist, and the next thing he knows he's accidently burned her wrappings off of her, and it's too late to go back.
Only he doesn't want to.
iii. Pride
Zuko doesn't move away from her after. His arms remain on either side of her and just enough of his weight presses down on her to keep her from moving. Katara makes no effort to move her arms from around him or untwine her legs from hers.
They lay there, eyes locked, breathing each other in. And in that instant, they almost have a moment.
One that crumbles away when they hear the sound of their friends' laughter in the distance.
She isn't sure which one of them moves first, but suddenly they are as far apart from each other as they can be. Katara bends the water and the sweat off of them as Zuko all but jumps back into the training pants that are now marked with grass stains and mud. She gathers the remains of her burnt wrappings, never once glancing back at the Fire Lord as she turns to stumble back to her room. On her way she kicks the empty bottle of Firewhiskey into the bushes and tells herself that it was nothing more than a drunken mistake, one that she does not want to happen again.
And she almost believes it.
iv. Gluttony
He begins to watch Katara.
It isn't that he means to or that he's turning into some sort of perverted freak, because he isn't. It's just that every time she's near, he can't help but look to her. And when she's away, he wonders if she thinks about that one night as much as he does, because sometimes, the scene plays over and over in his head, refusing to stop, and it's driving him insane.
"Goodnight." Mai says, resting her head on his bare chest, her naked body pressed against his.
But Katara is with Aang and Zuko is with Mai. And there is absolutely no reason he should be paying so much attention to the younger, taken waterbender when he has a girlfriend. Especially one, who despite everything, loves him and is loyal to him above anything else. One who will make a great Fire Lady for his nation one day. So he tries to shake the thoughts of Katara from his mind and focuses on the noblewoman resting in his arms instead.
"Night, Mai." He mumbles back, wrapping his arms around her.
Because he hopes that maybe if he holds her something will change, and maybe he will suddenly realize that there is something in him that burns for the noblewoman, and any thoughts of the waterbender will just disappear. Because maybe, just maybe, if he holds tight enough, he can forget that hot summer night. He can forget Katara.
But the moment his eyes slip shut, all he sees is Katara and all he remembers is how she felt underneath him and he wonders if it would always be like that. Because even though it's Mai he holds late at night, it's Katara he can't let go of.
v. Envy
In all her years of knowing him – both as an enemy and an ally – Katara never imagined Zuko as an affectionate boyfriend. So the first time she saw him openly kissing Mai, after his Fire Lord coronation, Katara was slightly surprised. It, however, was a site that she quickly grew accustomed to, especially since her relationship with Aang had just blossomed.
But suddenly, it is something she's somehow grown unaccustomed to. Before she had simply diverted her attention in another direction and waited for the couple to finish. But now every time she sees them, she narrows her eyes, spits out some excuse to leave, and tries not to storm out of the room. Because now every time she sees Zuko with Mai, something burns in the pits of her stomach and it's getting harder and harder to control her actions.
And an attempt to ignore it, she turns her attention to Aang, converting anything she feels at the sight of the Fire Nation couple together into affection for the Avatar. But in the end, it proves to be nothing more than a lost cause, because she's beginning to realize that Aang is just a boy. A boy whose frame is a little too fragile, whose arms don't quite fit around her right. A boy whose kisses are always shy and almost a little too gentle, which wouldn't both Katara if there was something more. But when he kisses her there is no passion, no magic, no spark. Because Aang is just a boy, a boy who isn't Zuko.
Except Zuko is with Mai and not her, and she's supposed to be fine with it because she's with Aang, so she tries not to think about it. Only the more she tries not to think about it, the more she realizes that she might just hate it.
vi. Anger
"What is your problem?!" Katara slams her hands down on his desk.
Zuko all but jumps up, knocking his chair back in the process. "My problem? You're the one who came in here screaming!"
He doesn't even remember what it is they're fighting about. It wouldn't surprise him if there isn't even a real reason, because every comment, every action, every fucking little look seems to be setting them off lately. Nothing he ever does is good enough. Everything she does is stupid and overly emotional. Every little thing requires composure, patience, self-control. But neither of them are willing to walk on eggshells, so everything is a cause for a fight.
"You can't just do things like that!"
"I'm the Fire Lord and it's my palace and I'll do whatever I want!"
She glares. He glares back. Their eyes lock.
The next thing he knows, he's on the ground and the only thing between him and the floor is her, and all he can think about is how he wants more.
vii. Greed
This time there are no laughing friends, no jealous boyfriends, or threatening girlfriends to disrupt them. This time, they take their time, basking in every forbidden moment they have, because neither of them are quite ready to move away just yet.
When they finally do move and dress, there are no words. No whispered I-love-you or regretful this-can't-happen-again. They don't need them, because they both just know. Because even though they shouldn't be doing this – because even though the Avatar needs love and the Fire Nation needs their Fire Lady – nothing else matters in that moment, because they need this. He is hooked, she is addicted.
And there is no going back.
Note: I've been having a hard time writing lately (my English is getting worse and worse with each passing day), so I'm not particularly proud of this piece. (Okay, honestly, it's kinda crap.) Never the less, I felt the need to publish something and even though I've spent the past two months (and will probably spend the next three) working on a multi-chapter Zuko/Katara, I thought I should post something Avatar. And I figured that the seven deadly sins is an overdone cliche that I haven't tried yet (though I tried to mix it up a little by putting lust at the start instead of the end). I'm worried that I'm losing grasp of the characters (AKA are they completely OOC?). Please let me know. Don't be gentle, I need to know. Especially Katara, because my big story will be in her point of view and I've never written her perspective before.
Edit: After getting my first review for this story, talking with a couple of my friends, and some thinking, I've decided to take a slight break from writing. I have been forcing myself to write for the past two months and I think it is about time that I take a small break. I need sometime to let inspiration find me instead me trying to find it. I don't know how long this break will last, but I'm guessing about a month. I feel guilty because it has already been so long since I posted, but I figured a little wait and some good stories is better than me spitting out crap constantly, right?
Special thanks to my friend Christina for helping me out with this.
Review, please. =]