I Hate Christmas
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All rights belong to Bryke.
"So, explain to me again why I have to do this," Zuko grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Because it's Christmas, Zuko. A lot of people decorate for Christmas," his fiancée, Katara, replied.
"Apparently I'm not one of those people."
"Just do it, Zuko!"
"... Fine."
It was the first Christmas Zuko and Katara had had since they moved in together, and Katara put her fiancé in charge of decorations.
Zuko stared at the
tree for a few minutes. He hadn't decorated a tree since he was 11, which was 12 years ago.
'Okay, let's see..' Zuko thought, reaching into the box of ornaments. He pulled out a pretty blue one with gold trees and snowflakes on it, and shoved it on to a branch.
He looked back at the box of ornaments. 'This is going to take forever!' He screamed in his head. He tried to stomp away, but tripped over the tree skirt, bringing the whole tree down on top of him.
He grunted at the impact of branches jabbing into his ribs.
"You have got to be kidding me," He grumbled, watching as the single ornament fell from the tree, breaking into shards on the wood floor.
Katara heard grunts from the family room and decided to investigate. When she found the source of it, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't laugh at me!" Zuko barked. "Help me!"
She helped him lift the tree back to its upright position, then watched as he picked himself up, dusting the needles of the pine tree off of his shirt and pants.
"I hate Christmas," he growled, receiving a giggle from Katara.
After finally finishing decorating the tree, Zuko sat down on the couch, just in time for Katara to walk in with a bucket of Christmas lights and smile at him.
"No. No way," he said, knowing what she wanted.
"Please, Zuko? I can't get on the roof - you can," she said, putting on her best puppy-dog look, the one she knew Zuko couldn't resist.
Sure enough, he gave in, ripping the bucket from her hands and storming out the door and into the snow.
"Stupid lights, stupid snow, stupid Christmas," Zuko grumbled as he climbed the ladder to the roof.
He tied one end of a rope around his waist and the other end around the chimney.
He began to attach the lights to the roof little by little, and it went pretty well, until he slipped on an icy part of the bricks.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion: he slipped and, somehow, the rope slid from holding his waist to holding his right foot. Suddenly, he was hanging upside down from the roof. Apparently, Katara hadn't heard anything, but a neighbour had seen the whole thing and immediately called for help.
Katara was drinking hot cocoa, admiring the tree, when suddenly she heard sirens. She looked out the window and saw a few neighbours, policemen, and paramedics gathered around something hanging from the roof. She rushed outside when she noticed that that something was Zuko.
"Zuko! What happened?!" She asked, panicking.
"Well, it was supposed to be a suicide attempt, but I guess I read the instructions wrong," he joked, gesturing toward the rope around his foot, though there was no humour in his tone.
"Well, get down from there!"
"Gee, Katara, I wish I could, but all the blood is rushing to my head right now is a little distracting."
One paramedic climbed the ladder with a pair of clippers, cutting the rope before giving a warning.
Zuko landed on his head, his neck almost snapping, and the rest of his body buried itself in the snow.
He stood up too fast, he realised, as his vision became blurry and everything went black.
He woke up in the back of a parked ambulance, and as soon as everyone knew he was awake, they started firing off questions such as, "What happened?" and "Are you okay?"
Zuko held his head and answered them all with a simple response: "I was hanging lights and fell from the roof. No big deal."
Katara, on the other hand, thought it was a huge deal, and asked him how he was stupid enough to fall from a roof when he had a rope tied around his waist.
"It just happened," was his answer. 'I really hate Christmas.'
That night, the young couple cuddled by the fire, when Katara pulled out a small gift and handed it to Zuko.
"But, it's not even Christmas yet," he said, confused.
"Just open it."
So he did. He tore off the paper and found a little brown box. When he opened it, he saw yellow baby booties.
Katara watched as his face went from confusement, to realisation, to excitement, and she smiled.
"We're gonna be parents?" He asked softly.
She took his hand and placed it over her stomach, whispering, "Merry Christmas," as she kissed him.
After all the pain he went throught that day, he knew it was all worth it. He officially loved Christmas.
A/N: So, here's a little Christmas Zutara! In the second scene, I was inspired by "Christmas with the Kranks," which I just watched. I hope you all liked it, even if you don't celebrate Christmas. Happy Holidays!
