Happy Zutara month everyone! I hope you enjoy!

Zutara Prompt: Desire

3rd Person

Katara was walking down the sidewalk. She was wearing her best outfit. It consisted of torn blue jeans, an old long sleeve blue shirt, and some worn out blue sneakers. She always wears her hair back off her face, so she can see where she's going.

She had to go run some errands. It was her first week back in school and she wanted to make a nice dinner for her roommate, Hoshi. She had worked all summer as a waitress and had even worked a few night jobs.

As she was walking, she passed a candy store. She couldn't help but place her hands on the window and drool just like a little kid would.

After a minute, she pulled herself away and kept walking as if nothing had happened. She couldn't get anything else except stuff for dinner that week. Katara learned to squash her desires a long time ago. She had even been nicknamed "The Ice Queen" around campus.

She didn't care for boys and her only friend was Hoshi. People were even starting to be afraid of her. She didn't want that, but she had to act like she did.

Little did she know, Zuko had seen her moment of weakness from across the street.


Zuko felt his eyes widen when he saw Katara. She was so pretty even in her worn clothing. Zuko wondered what she was doing downtown. All the prices were super high in this area; and yet she couldn't afford a decent pair of jeans.

Zuko followed her down the street. When she went in, he hesitated before going in after her. He walked in casually and tried to look natural, but honestly Zuko would never go in this place on his own.

"Zuko! What are you doing here?" Mai practically screamed.

"I'm," He paused taking in his surrounding for the first time. "Here to buy some ingredients for dessert. My roommate, Sokka, wants me to make him a cake." Zuko smiled casually and hoped she would buy his story.

They had dated, but Zuko had broken up with her. The truth was, she scared him. Not just a little, a whole lot.

"That's nice. Hurry up and leave so I never have to see you again." Mai ordered very loudly.

Zuko winced at the volume level and the harshness of the words. But he had gotten over her and she still hurt, so he would take any pain from her that he could.

He looked around, but Katara wasn't in sight. He wandered the aisles until he found her.

He looked up at the sign above the aisle. Candy. What was with Katara and this stuff?

He then walked down the aisle and stopped by Katara. He stayed silent and hoped Katara would say something.

"Hey! Aren't you Zuko?" Katara asked. She was excited that the dark-haired stranger that had followed her was Zuko.

"Yes I am. You're Katara right?" Zuko pretended not to recognize her.

"Aren't you my brother's roommate?"

He nodded. "It would appear to be that way."

"Now, why did you follow me?" Katara asked sweetly.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Zuko stammered.

"I'm talking about following me into this store. Don't act innocent. I bet you would never even come here on your own." She stated harshly.

Zuko winced. So, she knew he had been following her and she read him well enough to know he wouldn't come in here on his own. She really was incredible.

"I could tell you I'm here to buy ingredients for Sokka's cake, but you wouldn't buy that. Would you?"

She just shook her head. Zuko sighed.

"Fine." Then he decided to tell the whole truth. "I like you. Wanna go on a date tonight?"

"What? Why would I do that?" Katara wondered.

"Ah. I was hoping you would ask. See, I saw your little moment of weakness. It's simple really. Go on a date with me and the whole school won't know about your little moment." He finished.

"Are you blackmailing me?" Her voice rose with her fury.

Zuko smirked. "Maybe I am."

She considered it for a moment. She could go on a date with Zuko. Zuko, the bad boy. Zuko, the guy every girl dreamed of going out with. She had liked him since she first layed eyes on him last year. She wouldn't have to admit her feelings since he was blackmailing her.

He would only expect her to say yes for her rep. Oh yeah! Her rep! What would she do about that?

She looked into Zuko's liquid gold eyes. They seemed to go one forever. She blinked and looked away. She could spend an eternity looking into those eyes.

She then looked at Zuko. People would believe what he said, even if he didn't have any physical evidence.

She nodded. "Fine. I'll go on a date with you."

She didn't even care that probably after the first date he would just keep asking her out. Over and over again.


Zuko drove up in his black Lamborghini Gallardo. He got out and adjusted his red tie. He walked up to the door and knocked.

When the door opened up, Katara stood in the doorway. Her hair was loose and she even wore a little makeup. Her dress was a floor-length dress. It was the color of the ocean when it was really nice and warm outside. Her shoulders were covered by a thin shawl. Her heels were the same color as her dress and made her almost the same height as Zuko.

Zuko felt his brain stop working and his heart speed up. "You look lovely." He felt like he could barely breathe.

"Thank you." Katara responded. "So do you." She gestured to Zuko.

He held her hand as they walked to the car. The drive there was silent.

When they reached the restaurant, Katara acted cheery. But Zuko could tell she was acting. She wanted to order their food right away. To Zuko it was obvious, she wanted to leave.


On the way home, Zuko pulled over on the side of the road. Then he turned to Katara.

"Why did you pull over?" Katara asked innocently.

He just shook his head. "Why did you just rush everything? Why couldn't you just enjoy the date?"

"Because I felt that if I stopped to enjoy everything then I would-" She cut off.

"You would what?" Zuko prompted.

"I would actually enjoy it." Katara whispered. Then she started crying.

Zuko was shocked, but he put an arm around her and started rubbing her back. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I've never stopped for anything fun. My mom died when I was young and my dad never had enough money to appease our measly desires. So, I thought-" This time she was cut off.

"If you didn't have any desires, it would honor your mom, save money, and keep you strong." Zuko finished.

Katara just nodded. "I've liked you since I first saw you on campus, but you were a desire. So I buried my desire for you and kept going."

"So that's why you always wear old clothes instead of just buying new ones." Zuko stated.

Katara just nodded in response. "What do I do now?"

"Katara, I don't think your mom would want you to bury your true nature for her. I never met her, but Sokka talks about her all the time. She seems like a nice lady." Zuko told her.

"I guess you're right." She smiled bright and in the dark her smile seemed to glow. "This means I can have candy." Then her expression went serious. "Thank you Zuko. For everything."

He smiled. Then he started leaning in. They looked into each other's eyes and then their mouths connected. Sparks electrified their bodies and lit up the night around them.

"The first thing I want to do is go on a real date." She told him before they kissed each other again.