A/N 1: My first fic! *flails arms wildly* No, I don't think this is the greatest thing ever. It's dialogue-heavy, which I don't normally do, but in this particular instance I decided the point I was trying to make was more important than extra descriptive details. I will probably change my mind and edit this extensively later, if IB doesn't kill me first.
"Katara?"
"Hmm?"
Zuko paused for a second, unsure of how to begin. He was still reeling a bit himself. "Well, you… Sokka said… about me… and pirates… and – and there's no way… not with… it really wasn't, I swear!"
Katara looked up from the scroll she was reading to stare at him blankly. "Um, what?"
Zuko's only response was to run his hand through his hair and look in every direction but hers. Now that was annoying. How could he expect her to respond to something so utterly incomprehensible?!
"Zuko!" she snapped, smirking when he jumped a little. "What. Did. Sokka. Say."
He looked at her then. There was no avoiding it. He had started down this path, and now… well, now he'd have to tell her. Squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath and spoke those dreaded words:
"Sokka thinks that using your necklace as a bargaining tool that one time was my way of flirting with you."
Zuko had been expecting a lot of things – anger, confusion, indifference and indignation, to name a few. What he hadn't been expecting was for Katara to burst out laughing. Of course, Zuko's bewildered expression only caused her to laugh even harder, not that he knew that.
"He… he said that… and you…" was all she managed to choke out for a while. Eventually, though, she realized that Zuko's face, still caught in that bewildered stare, had reddened drastically during her little outburst. "Wait," she began as comprehension dawned on her. "Do you really not know where he's coming from?"
"Of course not!" he shouted. He was extremely embarrassed at this point. In fact, he was beginning to regret asking in the first place. As such, he didn't notice he was pacing until Katara grabbed his arm, effectively halting him.
"Zuko, relax. I'm sorry for laughing, it's just – I thought it was so obvious."
He pulled away from her, this time embarrassed by his overreaction. "Well, it wasn't," he grumbled.
"Hmm… well, you see…" Katara gestured pointlessly as she tried to figure out the best way to explain the incredibly sexual nature of his rather harmless attempt to capture Aang. She was about to ask him how he possibly couldn't have known when inspiration struck. Pulling both of his hands behind his back with lightning speed, she stood on tiptoe and whispered "I'll save you from the pirates" into his ear.
All Zuko felt was the girl pressed against his back and the warm breath on his neck.
"Oh."
A/N 2:
I really don't think Zuko intended to be flirty at all during that episode. Let's face it, he's absolutely clueless when it comes to girls. In my mind, everything he did had a logical explanation. Tying her to the tree was so she wouldn't attack him. The whole "suave Zuko" thing was him attempting to emulate Azula's calmer moments (aka trying to be the better bad guy and, in Zuko's case, failing miserably). The necklace was obviously just a bargaining chip. He wouldn't think twice about any of it. As such, he needs the obvious knocked into him. Just a thought.
