Author's Note: Here's the story I wrote for Day 5 of Zutara Week 2012. The prompt was 'Heartstrings'. Enjoy!
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Dance of the Dragons
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It started with a heartbeat.
Though his eyes were closed, he could hear it. Warm blood pushed through veins. Flushed cheeks, soft feet, chilled hands. It was Katara, and based on the warm flow of air she pushed out of her lungs, she was relaxed and satisfied.
"I have a question." He was laying face up, back pressed against the flagstones in the courtyard of his palace. Some Fire Lord he made, lazing about like a guinea sloth. Not that it mattered, precisely because he was the Fire Lord, and he made the decisions around here, so he could take a nap whenever he pleased.
Zuko heard her yelp and opened his eyes. She'd been holding a pitcher of water, crossing the courtyard to get to the guest quarters. Now the pitcher had fallen, spilling its contents across the floor. Blue eyes wide, she said, "Zuko! How did you know I was here?"
"I sensed you." No need to elaborate; his ability to detect heat without seeing it wasn't something he wanted to mention just yet. "I was wondering. When was the last time you refined your abilities?"
"You mean... my waterbending?" She considered. "Not since I left the South Pole to come here. Why?"
Zuko sat up and smirked. "I was thinking... perhaps we ought to have a little duel. To keep our skills fresh. What do you think?"
She gave him a side eye, as though questioning him, but apparently he passed her test, because she drew the spilled water from the grass and let it slide around her waist and arms like a scarf. "Let's see how well you dance... Fire Lord."
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It started with a heartbeat and transformed into a rhythm.
It was a bluff that Katara gave him. A bluff, because she couldn't dance to save her life. But he didn't have to know that, did he? After all, with a dance partner like him, she didn't need to lead.
All she had to do was respond.
His firebending was fast but careful, coiling like a striking snake. Precise. It blasted the spot where she stood and melted the pitcher - except she was gone. She skidded across the courtyard on a patch of ice. Her water whip caught Zuko by the waist and flung him into the pond, sending the turtleducks fluttering to safety as the Fire Lord tried to untangle his feet from the water lilies. She mimicked his former smug expression; if he could strike like a snake, so could she.
Not for long, though. Torso still in the water, his legs twisted on the spot and sent a funnel of flames at Katara. Grimacing, she pulled on the pond water, effectively tossing him forward.
But this time Zuko was not so unprepared for her tactic. He rode the wave, using its momentum to shoot more fire from his palms at Katara. She dodged; two times to the side, and one time straight forward, allowing the wave to envelope her.
"You can't hide forever," Zuko bellowed. His hair dripped into his eyes, so he brushed it out of the way before brandishing his fists. "Come out and fight!"
And in that moment, the water rose up, surging forward. Katara had come out to fight.
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It started with a heartbeat, transformed into a rhythm, and blossomed into a pattern.
They silently but mutually agreed that there would be no more sneak attacks, no surprise drenching or sudden combusting. This was, after all, supposed to be a spar, not a death match.
They circled, matching each other's footsteps. Strike and counterstrike, push and pull. Zuko would send a fireball hurtling at her, she would capture it and destroy it with a flick of her wrist. Katara would send a smattering of icicles directed at him, he would knock them away with a jerk of his fist.
Neither gained or lost ground. They did, however, draw closer and closer.
"What, are you waterbending or something?" Katara scorned as she watched Zuko pull his elbows around in a measured motion.
He grunted as the resulting burst of flame nearly caught her off-guard. Nearly. "You can learn much from watching other kinds of benders. Many useful techniques. Like this one...!"
Time moved slowly. Zuko raised his hands into an airbending pose, as though he intended to send a funnel of air at Katara. But she was faster, ducking under and grasping his wrists, twisting, pulling him to the side, until his face was inches from hers and his feet were held in place by trickles of ice that had followed her.
And everything stopped, and once more, he could hear - feel - her heart beating.
He could also feel the warm flush that came across both of their faces, but he pretended to ignore that.
"Earthbending," he said, because that had to be the truth. She'd been watching Toph, he guessed. Or someone, at least.
"You're not the only one who can borrow techniques." Katara released him and stepped back, and he wasn't sure whether to be grateful or disappointed about the distance between them. She turned away and returned the courtyard to its former state, rinsing the scorch marks off the stones and returning the water to the pond. His servants had asked him not to duel in the courtyard, even just a friendly spar, but he was Fire Lord, and Fire Lords had a habit of doing very nearly whatever they wanted.
Besides, Zuko had already specified that he didn't care if his courtyard had a few slash-marks from sparring with Sokka or a few destroyed flagstones from fighting Toph. That was why he'd had it decorated this way.
Regardless. The energy between them wasn't yet spent, and Zuko didn't know what to do about that.
So he was shocked when Katara whipped around and said, "Maybe you should teach me some firebending techniques, then." She smirked. "The Dragon's Dance."
His eyes narrowed to slits as he mimicked her expression. "You're on."
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It started with a heartbeat, transformed into a rhythm, blossomed into a pattern, and ended as a dance.
Zuko started slowly, a hand on hers, and walked in a circle. Katara mirrored him, eyes solemn as she followed his footsteps. As he drew a flame by his side, she streamed water in a similar manner.
Then he released her. The circle drew wide, their footsteps grew larger and faster. It seemed as if an invisible thread kept them in place, as the moon circles the sun. Though, she didn't draw her light from Zuko's flame; she had a glow all of her own.
Katara followed along well enough, modifying the movements to suit waterbending. If she remembered correctly, two firebenders would do the dance side by side, not circling each other. But waterbending was about rotation, about pushing and pulling, and she was nothing if not innovative. And so they became like Tui and La, moving in endless arcs, never closer, never further.
And then, it happened. Four deliberate steps, four blasts of flame. Katara followed suit, sending her water in a wide arc, poised to strike. Zuko had a long band of flame encircling his midriff. They met eyes at the last second, before shooting their elements into the center of the circle and winding them together, sending them skyward.
Perhaps this was not traditional, but they had danced as dragons in their own fashion.
Zuko sat down on the rocks, breathing heavily. "That was... respectable." And fun, and exhilarating. But Katara didn't need to know that. "For a first try, that is." No. Stop. But it was too late; Zuko had already made up his mind. "Meet me back here tomorrow at this time to try again."
Katara smiled, retaining that mysterious glow. He was drawn to her, somehow... but he remained motionless. "Perhaps then you'll tell me how you were able to sense me with you eyes closed."
"Perhaps."
Regardless, she would return. She always did.