AN Typical disclaimer stuff. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it. Catwasps and tigerflies have been made up by me so don't be too confused when you encounter them. Enjoy =)
"You ridiculous fool. I swear you're the biggest fool in existence and I grew up with Sokka who held that title before you did."
Katara freely ranted as the water covering her hands and his body glowed the normally calming blue. By now Zuko had learned that it was simply easier for him to remain quiet and allow her to rant away. He had tried arguing and defending himself before, it simply prolonged her rant. Fully blocking out her rant didn't work either though since he was expected to at least nod during some parts. Of course he had learned all of this through some trial and a lot of error, a lot of error.
He cringed slightly and if he hadn't been looking at her he would have missed the soft frown of concern that flickered across her face. It broke up the "you freaked me out so I'm going to be really angry at you till you're better and then will probably beat you up just a bit" expression that had been on her face for a while.
"I still don't know what you were thinking. Oh I know, you weren't thinking, that's the problem!"
She sighed softly as she focused on his arm since his back had already been attended to.
"I understand that you were trying to help with the building process and show them how much you care but even I think you went a bit too far with everything."
Just because the Fire Nation hadn't been damaged structurally as much as the other nations didn't mean that they didn't have to build and rebuild. Orphanages, homes and hospitals were springing up and Zuko felt the need to go on the sites and help out as much as possible. It made him feel like he was actually doing some work instead of just sitting behind a desk and signing forms. Katara had actually encouraged his behavior while reminding him that the work he did behind the desk led to the work he was able to do out in the field. She accompanied him on most of the trips and even took some by herself when he was too busy; still, even she knew when to stop.
"How did no one teach you how to identify a waspcat? We don't have any in the South Pole but even I know how to recognize one. Just in case you run into one again and I'm not there to keep an eye on you waspcats have thicker and straighter black stripes than tigerflys, that and they have completely different wings. I'm not even going to mention the giant stinger tail or the fact that waspcats buzz."
Now that he looked comfortable enough and was no longer cringing she was back to being angry, which was really her way of showing that she had been worried.
"I thought you weren't going to mention it."
He muttered under his breath and was rewarded with a sharp jab to his stung arm that had gone down to its regular size. A small glare and shake of her head were also given before he gave her a slightly apologetic look. The only reason he ceded even that little bit was because he wanted to be properly fixed up. Although Katara probably wouldn't let him go to another healer, she didn't think they were as good as her and they probably weren't, she would make him beg before she finally fixed him up.
Katara restrained herself from scolding him further even though he had properly scared her. She hadn't gone with him on his visit because she had been behind on her letters. Normally this would only result in guilt for taking so long to reply but Sokka had threatened to drop by if she didn't write him often enough and she didn't want to tempt him. Katara had actually been looking forward to lounging around, replying to some letters and having a nice chat and tea with Iroh. A servant had interrupted her while she had been in the middle of writing her letter to Toph and before she could even question her reasoning she noticed her expression and ran off to Zuko's room.
A guard explained to her what had happened while she examined the injuries. He had been helping with the work for most of the morning when he had spotted what he thought had been a tigerfly stuck in a tree. Of course he had only figured out that the supposed tigerfly was actually a waspcat when it was too late for him to move, something else that he found out too late of course. In his attempt to get away he had fallen back and still gotten stung. This was all finished up with him falling promptly on his back.
Thankfully they had been near enough to the palace that she could treat him quickly enough. The fall wasn't too big of a deal; it had simply winded him and caused a few bruises. It had been the catwasp sting that had worried all of them the most. Generally a catwasp sting wasn't dangerous; they simply hurt a lot, if you were allergic however they could be deadly and depending on the severity it could be a very quick and painful death. No one knew if Zuko happened to be allergic but Azula was and that had been reason enough for concern. This probably would have been considered a weakness, a blemish on Azulas' perfect record, if it hadn't been for the fact that her namesake also happened to be allergic. Zuko turned out not being allergic but it had still worried her nonetheless and at one point she could hear her own heartbeat louder than any crashing wave.
"You need to learn when to stop Zuko."
Katara had calmed down now so hopefully there wouldn't be any more angry rants; there was still the possibility of a general speech however.
"Everyone has their limits and you need to learn how to respect yours a bit more. There's a difference between trying to better yourself and trying to kill yourself from working so hard. I know you think you owe everything to everyone but you owe it to yourself to stay safe and in one piece."
A look at his face told her that she wasn't making much of an impact. He would most likely return to work as soon as she was done healing him, head to bed a few hours before sunrise and even then wake up just before the sun rose. A gentle smack on his stomach which was the closest uninjured area brought his attention back to her.
"You owe it to me to stay in one shape. I'm working very hard here to keep you alive and well, if you keep on going off and injuring yourself by working like a maniac all of my hard work is going to go to waste and I will be so angry at you if you manage to get yourself killed."
She had finished healing and had taken on her lecture giving pose. Zuko took this moment to sit up not being foolish enough to attempt standing up in her presence even though he felt perfectly fine except for being a bit tired. Katara sat down beside him on his bed and her eyes strayed to the star shaped scar on his chest, the one that he had received when he had jumped in front of the lightning to save her. He noticed what had caught her attention and he felt guilty. When he had jumped in front of the lightning he hadn't had time to regret his choice. Later on when he had time to think about his actions he still didn't regret it. It seemed that she still felt guilty about it though after all this time.
"If I promise to put more effort into not dying do you promise to not feel guilty about a choice that I made, and am very happy that I made, from now on?"
Her eyebrow rose in surprise and her eyes snapped to his face. A soft smile was on his face but he was clearly taking this seriously, promises were extremely important to Zuko.
"Only if you rest for the rest of the day as well."
She was negotiating; something that she had been doing quite a bit of lately and she had gotten better at it. Zuko weighed his options before nodding and holding out his pinkie to meet her waiting one. They shook pinkies just like how Zuko had taught her. She had seen little children shaking pinkies during one of her walks and Zuko had explained to her that in the Fire Nation they did that to seal promises. Normally this was only used among little children and close friends, so of course Katara had taken a liking to this little custom and it had become normal between the two.
Happy that he would remain alive for the rest of the day she stood up and helped him adjust his pillows to his liking. With a final serious look to make sure that he didn't move from his bed for as long as possible she brushed his hair away from his face and kissed him on the forehead.
"Remember, no dying on me. I've grown quite fond of my fool."
She grinned as she paused by his door before leaving him, at least for now. The door closed behind her and he automatically felt restless. The desire to get out of bed and at the very least practice a few simple forms was overwhelming. Instead he remained in his bed, played with his silk sheets and smiled softly to himself. Never before had he enjoyed being called a fool before.