First ever Avatar fic so be nice.

Written for my friend Crumpled Wings aka Sarah, Happy Birthday! Enjoy! :)

~Artist's Block~

It was harvest time and the leaves fell towards the yellowing grass in flurries of reds and golds, some getting caught in the long, wavy locks of the artist. She sat on a nearby bench, knees drawn up to her chest, sketch pad resting on her thighs and her pencil at the ready. But, nothing came; no matter how many times she had tried, nothing artistic came from her pencil. Taking a deep breath, Katara centered herself, gazing at the beautiful oak tree in front of her. Closing her eyes, she let her hand drift over the paper; lines as smooth as the cool autumn breeze and shading as light as the early morning sky. When she felt that she was done, her crystal blue orbs cracked open and she shut them almost immediately. She had not drawn the majestic oak tree but had drawn...a dead-looking tree. The lines were too long and spidery, unlike the strong and thick lines of an old oak. Crying out in frustration, she ripped the page from the sketch book in a blind rage. She couldn't believe what was happening to her, there was absolutely no way; especially when the deadline for her art project was next Friday!

Artist's Block. And it was kicking her ass!

Her art professor was in love with this time of year and, as the mid-term, had assigned the class to create their own interpretation of autumn in any style they saw fit. Katara had jumped at the opportunity for freestyle; she hated being restricted to only one form of art and excitedly started brainstorming ideas. But, unfortunately, her creative juices were not flowing as freely as she would have liked. And so, here she sat, underneath the shade of a willow tree, sketch pad in hand, pencil at the ready…and yet nothing. It was as if something was blocking her mind from her creativity; something blocking the energy from her fingers; she didn't like it, not one bit. She made a fist, crumpling the spider web drawing in an instant and hurled it as far as she could.

Before she could start kicking herself or try to sketch again, something hit her forehead. She rubbed her head, looking around sharply, ready to curse out whoever had thrown the projectile, but she was still alone in the quiet park. Her gaze dropped to her thighs, where the balled up piece of sketch paper sat, in all of its unwanted glory. Katara glared at it before leaning over and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. She sighed in defeat, it was clear that she wasn't getting any farther in her project today. "You are nothing like what Jet said!" She chided herself bitterly. The memory started to form before her eyes and she shook her head to clear it. She was determined to ignore that memory for as long as she possibly could

Standing, the brunette began to brush eraser bits off of her blouse before packing her things into her messenger bag. She was sliding her sketchbook into the bag when she heard the crackling of autumn leaves a little ways down the cobblestone path. Zuko was strolling towards her, a worn sketchbook under his arm, its spiral binding unwinding at the end. He was coming from the same direction that she had thrown her sketch, causing crystal eyes to narrow in suspicion.

Katara frowned at the approaching boy, who returned it with a feral grin, "Hello, Aqua." The girl just glared at the use of her last name and stood up from the bench, "I have to work on the final for art and I simply don't have the patience to deal with you right now, Ignis." She turned and was about to walk away, when, "Your picture wasn't that bad, don't know why you would throw it out like that." Katara's face burned like hot read coals and she didn't turn, "You obviously don't know what good art is then." She words were familiar on her tongue and her eyes pricked at the memory and a few traitorous tears slipped down her cheeks. Zuko raised a hand to her cheek to brush them away but Katara felt her resolve crack and sprinted down the leaf strewn pathway, leaving nothing but the sound of crunching autumn leaves in her wake.

Katara sat in her math class, bored out of her freaking mind. She couldn't concentrate on the numbers and letters that the teacher wrote upon the board in white chalk. She gazed out the window and let her mind wonder, idly doodling in her notes as she did. She wondered what her mother was making for dinner that night, she hoped it was noodles; she loved her mom's homemade noodles. Katara's mouth watered at the thought and then an image of her brother stuffing his face at the dinner table floated across her vision, and she burst into trills of giggles and her hand flew to her mouth. Students turned around to the source of the sound and faces stared at her; so accusing their eyes. The teacher's sharp glare was enough to freeze Katara in her seat as he made his way down the row of desks and swiped her notebook off of the tabletop. She had drawn an intricate rose on the page of notes and her professor let out a low whistle, "While this is a beautiful drawing, Mrs. Aqua, this is not Trigonometry. I am afraid I must confiscate it." To her horror, he ripped out the page and taped it to the board, before returning to the lesson.

Just before the bell, many students walked up to Katara and commented on how beautiful her sketch was. The brunette thanked each of them graciously and began to gather her things when a boy with soft brown hair and eyes stood upon his desk. Katara recognized him as Jet, "If you think this drawing is beautiful, you obviously don't know what good art is then. This is a piece of crap and so is its artist!" He proclaimed glaring at her. Katara stilled her movements, her eyes glued to the cruel brown haired boy.
Jet got in trouble for his wicked outburst, but Katara always kept that criticism in the back of her mind whenever she drew something. It was burned into her mind for what she thought to be forever.

Katara now sat against the trunk of a maple tree on the other side of the park, crying silently into her palms. She cradled her knees to her chest and lay on her side, pathetically. Her bag was tossed carelessly on to the dying grass beside her.

A twig broke to her left, "Go away!" Katara's voice was thick and heavy. She didn't need to turn to know who was standing behind her. Zuko shook his head and continued to walk towards her. "What do you want, Zuko?" She snapped. "Why'd you run out like that?" He questioned but she ignored it. "How did you find me?" She could feel him burning holes into her back with his glare, "I have my ways, you're not that hard to find, you know." She scoffed at his remark, "You probably think I'm a baby and a loser, right?" Katara's voice was meek, "No, why would I think that?" He sounded shocked. She turned; he was too close for comfort, "Because you're Zuko! You have no feelings other than emo, and arrogance! You're stoic and distant! It's only logical that I'd think you didn't care!" She shouted. Zuko stared at her, taking in what she had said. "I would if it was anyone else...but it's you so..." He trailed off, brushing away her tears.

His arms encircled her waist; he leaned down and touched her forehead to his, "I would never say that to someone I love." His lips crashed onto hers. He nipped at her lip, making her gasp. Wasting no time, his tongue slipped inside, trying to take dominance. Warmth filled him as Katara wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing closer. His hands found her waist and drew lazy circles in the soft material of her sweater.

It was pure bliss. But they had to breathe.

They broke apart, panting, but stayed tangled in each other's arms. Blood pooled in Katara's cheeks and she sputtered, "W-well, that was...n-nice." The corners of her love's lips turn up into a half grin. Zuko was blushing just as bad as her, if not worse. They looked into each other's eyes and Katara's fingers suddenly itched for a pencil and paper. She giggled and Zuko raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you giggling about, sweet?" She leaned closer and licked the shell of his ear, "I just got my inspiration for my midterm." She whispered silkily and golden eyes widened and it was his turn to sputter, shocked that she'd even said that.

"Are you sure? I could give you more…" He trailed butterfly kisses up and down the soft skin of her neck, "I…think you c-could help fill in the gaps." She suppressed a moan to finish her thought. She felt his lips curve into a smirk against her skin and he slid his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers, "Shall we?" Zuko asked. Katara smiled gently, her crystal blue eyes twinkling with mischief and happiness. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, "We shall."

Five years later, the couple happily is now married and expecting their first child, Kimmiko. They had a small wedding with just their friends and immediate family; Katara's father walked her down the aisle to the man that she loved more than life itself.

Katara got an A+ on her project by drawing an image that was her interpretation of the Autumn-time season: Zuko holding her close in their first embrace. With Zuko by her side, she could draw and sketch all day without a problem. Her artist block was cured.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!

Hope you enjoyed it! Review maybe, I am accepting requests at the moment. :)