ZUTARA WEEK 2015, Day 3: CLANDESTINE
Flimsy Excuses
DISCLAIMER: Avatar: the Last Airbender belong to Bryke, but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians.
NOTE: I opted for a more humorous take on this prompt so this was quite fun to write.
It's set in Book Three, after Zuko joins the Gaang and before The Southern Raiders.
Enjoy!
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The Western Air Temple was full of small, secluded areas for anyone who sought peace and privacy. Once able to accommodate hundreds of devout Air Nomad monks and novices, the ancient structure could easily offer places of refuge for a handful of fugitives from the Fire Nation. While Aang and the rest of the group preferred staying together and thus spending most of their time in communal areas, every now and then, some of them would break away from the group to get some quality, alone-time while they still had the luxury of doing so. They all needed these short breaks in order to reflect on what lay ahead of them.
The Avatar would do this sometimes so that he could meditate while the others would all find one way or another of enjoying some personal space. The latest addition to the group was particularly prone to slipping away, not because he had any nefarious plans but because he had grown so accustomed to solitude. And despite the Avatar's efforts, Zuko still sometimes felt alienated from the rest of the group. Katara, in particular, remained quite hostile towards him.
He was awkward and uncomfortable around them and when he felt especially lost, he retreated to a secluded area of the temple, surrounded by pillars and statues covered in vines. He would practice some new firebending techniques on his own before teaching them to Aang. He would sit quietly and meditate and finally follow his uncle's advice on improving his breathing. He felt more at ease as long as he was alone.
But the Western Air Temple, labyrinthine as it was, also had countless nooks and crannies that served as effective hiding places. For instance, the pillars surrounding Zuko's special place could easily conceal, say, a suspicious waterbender.
As she promised him, Katara always kept an eye on the firebender, immediately aware of his every move. She learned to shadow him and to follow him on his solitary training sessions in order to make sure he wasn't up to anything untoward. She watched him carefully but to her frustration, saw nothing unsavory.
The more she watched him, the more she learned about how he struggled to maintain his calm and how hard he worked to improve his firebending, a habit she was not unfamiliar with. Eventually, she had to reluctantly admit that he was not keeping any secrets from them and had no intention of betraying Aang.
She would return to the group with some disappointment that puzzled everyone but Toph. Naturally, the earthbender knew what Katara was up to but made no comment since it was not causing any harm and it was endlessly amusing to her. Especially since Toph also knew that Zuko was completely aware that after the first few times, Zuko had realized that he was being followed but had said nothing, to avoid complicating his already tense relationship with the suspicious waterbender.
"Don't you think you've seen enough, Katara?" Toph teased one day after Katara returned from her clandestine missions.
"I would have known you were spying on me," the waterbender remarked.
"Not really," Toph replied, "I just can't help it. My feet know where you are even when I don't need to know. But really, hasn't he proven himself enough by now?"
"I still don't trust him," Katara argued, "and I just want to make sure that he isn't up to anything."
Toph sighed and shook her head before a mischievous thought occurred to her.
"And are you sure this has nothing to do with the fact that he always trains shirtless during these private sessions?" the earthbender teased slyly.
Immediately, the waterbender blushed and protested vehemently. "Toph!"
"I mean it's not like you can ogle him in front of everyone else when he's training with Aang," Toph continued relentlessly, "and from what I hear from Suki, he's rather easy on the eyes. And I get that good vibe from him as well. I've discreetly grabbed his arm a few times and I've felt those muscles. So I don't really blame you."
"Don't be ridiculous, Toph," Katara retorted, still blushing, "It has nothing to do with that."
"But I'm sure it hasn't slipped your attention," Toph insisted.
"You're talking crazy," Katara argued, "I'm only keeping an eye on him in case he does anything suspicious."
"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that, Katara," the earthbender said with a grin, "I don't believe you for a moment."
Unable to take any more of this teasing, Katara stormed off, determined to not give a single thought to Zuko's shirtless body for the rest of her life.
Which, of course, only backfired on her.
Because despite everything, she HAD noticed him during his training and loathe though she was to admit it, Katara saw that he was good-looking. Especially now that his hair had grown longer and that he seemed less angry. In fact, as she watched him meditate, she noticed that the calm expression on his face only made him even more pleasing to look at. And on rare occasions, he would even smile, a sight that had surprised and moved Katara more than she would ever admit.
"Oh no," the waterbender lamented as these thoughts bombarded her mind, thanks to Toph's suggestion. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop thinking about this. And she lay awake for hours and hours fighting a losing battle against herself. Because any physical attraction aside, she was beginning to allow herself to trust him and that's what bothered her the most.
For the next few days, Katara glared at Zuko more frequently and the poor firebender was at a loss as to what he had done to upset her this time. She finally stopped secretly following him on his private training sessions but certain images of him remained seared in her memory.