How was it that her brother could stand getting married? She was worrying over every detail, checking and rechecking she didn't forget anything, and it wasn't even her wedding! Then, she mentally snorted at herself. He was her brother! He didn't care. He just left the "womanly stuff" to the women, and left with his friends to get drunk before his wedding! Suki must have been crazy to accept her brother as friend, let alone as a husband. Katara got stuck with him as a brother, and she couldn't handle him for her whole life, and she was forced to be with him. Yet, Suki chose to stay with him.
She halted in her tracks. Tui and La, if she was fussing this much over Suki's wedding, how was she going to deal with her own wedding?
A small sound, reminiscent of a baby koala-otter's mewl, emanated from the room beside her. Stunned, Katara first thought was how anyone would have gotten a koala-otter up to the Fire Nation without Katara even knowing of its existence. She always checked every Water Nation shipment that entered the nation. She would have seen it, unless it was smuggled in another ship.
Then, as the noise continued, Katara realized it wasn't the animal she was thinking of. The sound was too... deep and discordant for a young baby koala-otter. And, if she remembered correctly, having mentally retraced her steps, she is standing right in front of the Fire Lord's room. Her curiosity flared brightly. What was Zuko hiding in there?
She indiscreetly dipped her head into the room. She had been in his rooms enough because she was his friend, and had every reason to visit Zuko (thank you very much!), so she knew where everything was placed. She was looking into the first entry room that lead to his bedroom through a doorway on the right. She quickly side-stepped into the room and searched it, but couldn't find the source of the sound. Only when she crept closer to the door of Zuko's bedroom did the volume increase.
Without hesitation, she pried open the door and slipped into the room. A window, far to her left, allowed the moonlight to filter into the room. She knew that a desk sat against the wall opposite her, no doubt filled with official papers. And Zuko's bed, pushed as far away from the door as possible, she noticed with a smile, was closest to the window. The bed was illuminated by the light, showing Zuko, curled up into a ball and clutching the skin around his scarred eye. The whining was at a maximum now, and Katara could see the beads of sweat resting on the top of his forehead even from so far away. His face, though, was the most shocking of all. It was completely devoid of every emotion but sheer horror. If his eyes had been open, Katara was sure she would have cried out in shock and horror, without a doubt.
Luckily, she was able to shake off her surprise and cautiously, soundlessly approach the bed. No questions; no hesitation. She squatted next to the bed and gently shook him awake. His yellow eyes, still filled with that staunching horror, had looked up pleadingly at Katara.
"Katara? Why are you here?" he asked so sweetly and with such innocence, her heart jumped with sympathy. Her motherly instincts kicked in with such a ferocity that she gently placed his hand onto hers and squeezed it. (Can't touch?) His skin was on fire, but she still held on tightly, even if her hand felt like it was burning.
"I always come whenever my friends need help. What's wrong, Zuko?"
His dream spell began to wear off, and he realized where he was. He propped himself up onto one arm and shook a hand through his hair. His face, and especially his eyes, slowly morphed back to their original, mature stature. The Fire Lord had taken back over himself. "Nothing's wrong, Katara," he lied smoothly, though his voice cracked with disuse. "I was just having a bad dream."
"La, Zuko, even Sokka would be able to see through that! It was more than just a bad dream. Don't try and lie to me!" She had to really restrain herself from tightly gripping his hand and scolding him even more. Though, she didn't stop herself from staring directly into his wavering eyes, trying to intimidate him. He wouldn't win this war; Katara had to help him.
"Katara, it really was nothing," he tried, his voice wavering and his eyes searching around the room—meeting everything but Katara's gaze. He was weakening and breaking under her weight; she could feel it. Ever since he had become Fire Lord, it became easier and easier to persuade him into doing whatever Katara wished (oh, and how she abused this power). It just took constant pressure over time to break him. "You don't have to worry about it."
"Don't have to worry? Is that a joke? Something was bothering you and I came in to check on you. This is serious, Zuko! Don't treat the situation like it's nothing."
"It was nothing, though! I was just... I just..." Finally! One little slip was all that she needed as an invitation.
She gently took his head into her hands and turned him so he was looking directly into her eyes. Gently, as if she were talking intimately with her lover, she spoke: "Zuko. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I just want to help you with your nightmares. I might even be able to take them away. You just have to trust me and let me in."
Zuko's inner turmoil heatedly clashed within his eyes. He probably was too tired to try and find a crafty way out of his situation, though Katara knew he was going to get revenge in the morning, or even try to argue. He had obviously used most of his energy just trying to stay awake and fight Katara in this point. His eyes betrayed his bone-deep weariness that he was trying to fight. One little step, one more thing was all she needed to win.
A small bit of black hair, ruffled into his face from his movements, hovered directly over his eye. Instinctively, Katara swept the hair back into place.
That little movement shattered his resolve. His eyes immediately fell into a deep sadness she guessed he had been suppressing, and his face deepened with fatigue and age. The change was so immediate, Katara gasped quietly in shock and pulled her hands back. She wondered how long he had been hiding his pains away from the world, deep into the recesses of his mind. Her heart lurched with sadness. She also had to wonder how long these dreams had been haunting him at night. However, looking into his tired, depressed eyes, she knew those questions had to be saved for later. He didn't have the strength to answer them, nor was she sure if she really wanted to know. Some secrets were best kept silent.
She breathed a heavy sigh and pulled herself up onto the bed. She had a feeling that this discussion was going to be a long one, so she sat next to him and opened herself up to listen. It took a few minutes until Zuko could recover his thoughts and get them out. She gently held his hand and gave nothing but patience until he began. Then, once he did, it all came out.
Zuko went on for a least an hour, telling each and every dream in the minutest detail, as well as most of the stories behind it. Almost every horrible memory had resurfaced from his subconscious and appeared as a dream in his mind. Katara, horrified, could only listen and nod as he told the tale. She had no idea of the dreadful childhood that he had; she had only known how he had gotten his scar, but hadn't heard of his father's constant emotional and mental abuse, as well as Azula's constant teasing. It all fell onto her like smashing into a brick wall.
When he had finished, she was still speechless. She blinked a few times, trying to reel in her thoughts, but words still would not form. So, instead, she turned to him and gently pulled him into a hug. She stretched up a little bit so she could place Zuko's head down onto her chest, and curled him close to her. He was stiff for a few moments, still caught unaware by the hug. Then, he gently wrapped his own arms around her waist and pressed in closer to her. Sounds of soft sniffles and the wetness of tears greeted her. He began to cry. She did nothing but comfort him and let him get everything out. He wouldn't be able to rest peacefully again if he didn't.
Soon enough, his cries began to die down. She slowly looked down at Zuko, trying not to disturb him. His breathing slowly evened out, and, before she realized, he was asleep again. She gently laid both of them down on the bed, nudging Zuko's head to lean against her chest. She tipped his face up to her and saw the deep, innocent slumber that Zuko had missed during his childhood. His lines of worry etched into his face seemed to disappear, and the heavy fear ringing his eyes slowly vanished. The Zuko she had known for so long had left once more, replaced by his younger, childish self he had always repressed. She smiled, glad that the younger Zuko finally had his time to come out, even if Katara was the only one who saw it.
A/N: I composed this short companion piece for my other story 'This Much is Okay'. I actually wrote it all down while I was rewriting. Small fluff is good for the heart and soul every once in a while, right?
I hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to review.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zutara or A:TLA. :)
~Redpinkandwhite