Summary: Affection wasn't something that came naturally to him. It was like everything else he reached for. It was elusive, ever escaping his grasp, and burning into ashes when his fingers curled around it. But luckily for him…love came armed with a teapot. A love story brewed very slowly and in very small cups.
Disclaimer: If I owned The Last Airbender, that movie would never have happened and Korra wouldn't have been so unlikable. As it is, the universe conspired against me, so I'm left to write confusing romance fics with no real plot or direction. Make of that what you will, Nickolodeon.
Author's Note: Yup This is what my mind makes when I'm really bored. Random bursts of romance I write in between chapters of my other A:TLA fic, which may or may not ever come to fruition.
Lack of Crocus
The first time he burned her, it was, of course, an accident. The first time he started a fire, however, was not.
It was a matter of curiosity, of science, really. He knew she was a Water Bender…that was, after all, her appeal, wasn't it? That was why his father kept her around. Some kind of perverse pleasure was in it, he was sure, having their greatest enemy serve them faithfully and silently. But in the years that she had been around, Zuko had never once see the Tribe girl move a single drop. Of course, she hardly needed to. She was perfect.
But that didn't stop him trying. He dropped cups, he knocked over pots, he did whatever he could to knock water around and force her to bend it to prevent disaster. But she was too quick for him, too well-prepared, and he was often thwarted with her quick fingers and deft movements.
This time, though…this time, he would get his just reward. After a full night lying awake thinking about it, all it took was a twitching finger, a forceful thought, and the smallest flame was set. He was like fire, he thought, determined and all-consuming and, best of all, in desperate need of a little waterworks.
Of course, the thing about fire is how uncontrollable it was, and everything went awry about three seconds later. All that planning, and in the end, all Zuko walked away with was a burned sleeve and an arm covered in scalding hot tea.
the resilient crocus, a purplish hue, represents foresight