"Because of Height Difference"
By Dark Shining Light
Pairing: Zuko and Katara
Romance
Rated T
Summary: one-shot. From a bookstore to his bedroom, Katara notices how much her childhood friend has changed, starting with the most obvious one; his height. AU Zutara
Notes: This story takes place in the modern world. Zuko is 17 years old and Katara is 15.
(I Do NOT Own Avatar: The Last Airbender)
"Come on Zuko, let's play in your room!" 11 year old Katara exclaimed as she dragged the thirteen year old boy to his bedroom.
The boy narrowed his eyes, annoyed that he was being 'manhandled' by a little girl. "And what exactly are we playing in my room?"
She turned around and saw his shirt. She slightly cursed in her mind that she forgot her childhood friend was now taller and had to look up at him. How could she forget? It was recently that he got taller that he didn't play with her as much.
'Probably thinks he's too good for smaller people.' She thought angrily. 'That's probably how Azula and Sokka think too.'
However, her angry thoughts diminished when she remembered she had a playmate and that she had yet to answer his question. She gave him a mischievous grin. "Let's wrestle."
He instantly stopped, causing the female to stop as well. She turned around, confused and he answered before she could ask anything. "We can't."
Katara was very vexed at this point. "Why not?"
He didn't responded and she pulled on him to get him to move; however, he continued to stand there, not at all affected by her pulls.
"Why not?!" She yelled.
"Cause!"Zuko shouted back.
"I bet it's because you're scared! You know you're a big chicken huh?! That's so lame!" She taunted.
"Shut up!" He yelled and swung the arm she was clinging on to. This caused the girl to be thrown back and she landed on the floor with a loud thud.
She groaned, holding her head as she looked up at her friend. Zuko looked at her with horror on his face; he took a step forward, reaching for her when he stopped. He took a step back and looked away.
"That's why…" He muttered before he hurried off to his room.
Katara glared at his retreating figure. She didn't like this taller version of Zuko…
Katara frowned as she looked up at the bookshelf. She tiptoed, and stretched as high as she could. Unfortunately, the top shelf had a few more inches over her.
She huffed in a frustrated manner and every part of her looked ready to climb the bookshelf. The brown haired girl looked around, assuring herself that she would just do that when she spotted a guy her age and an idea formed in her head.
"Excuse me sir," The boy looked at her in confusion. "Could you get that book for me please?"
He did and the mocha skin teen thanked him. She quickly skimmed through it, frowning when she realized this book didn't have the content she was looking for.
Katara groaned and looked around again. Luckily, there was another teen in the isle.
"Excuse me," She said and the boy looked at her with surprise. He even blushed as a reaction. "Could you please get that book for me?" She asked and pointed to a blue covered one.
Before he could response, another male stepped in, standing between the stranger and Katara, preventing them from seeing each other.
"I'll get it." Zuko stated and stretched his arm, grabbing the book Katara had wanted.
The stranger was forgotten when Zuko stepped in and Katara watched with small fascination as he reached the book, once again remembering how much he's grown.
She forced a smile when he offered it to her. "Thanks," She said as she snatched the book away from his hands, skimming it as she walked away.
Katara didn't like to sulk, especially in public, which is why she was hiding her face in her book. Why did Zuko have to be tall again? Oh yeah, he's a guy.
Every time Zuko helped her, her pride was wounded and she hated that feeling. The problem was that they grow up together. At the age of six and eight, Katara and Zuko were the same height. Being the same height and having the same temper caused both children to form a rivalry type of friendship. In fourth grade, Katara "beat" Zuko by being one inch taller. She was pleased and taunted him whenever she could while the boy was frustrated that he was shorter than a girl.
However, that was the only year Katara was victorious because the following year he grew two inches and gladly showed it off to the sulking girl. Though both grew, Zuko ended up being 6 something and Katara only reaching up to his chin. And she didn't like that. Really, she didn't.
She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder and sharply turned her head around and looked up at the older teenager.
Zuko frowned, slightly bothered with her reaction. "Did I do something wrong? You looked mad."
She could hear the concern in his voice and the brown girl's expression softened, "No, you didn't. I just wanted to pay for this book and get out of here."
He smirked slightly, "But I thought you felt like home in here."
Katara narrowed her eyes as her lips pressed hard against each other. "I do." It took her a second to continue. "I'm just in a bad mood." 'Cause of you and your stupid height…'
"How come?" The short haired boy asked. To Katara, he looked genuinely concerned that it was cute and her blasted heart just had to beat faster.
"I don't have to tell you!" She snapped. Her eyes widened at how angry she sounded.
But the taller teen just sighed. "You don't have to be so moody about it."
She was about to snap again when his hand ruffled her hair. She stood frozen.
"You're probably just hungry. Come on, let's get some food in you. Then you'll stop being so moody." He said as he walked towards the book shelf's cashier.
However, Katara stood in her spot. Her cheeks were flushed with color as one of her hands clenched onto the fabric closest to her heart.
"I'm not moody…" She pouted softly.
(Scene Change)
"I'll be back with your orders when they're ready." The waitress said before the teens thanked her. She took a small glance at Zuko when their fingers accidently touched when passing the menu and her cheeks colored slightly before she hurried off.
Katara didn't know if Zuko saw but she did.
The brunette's chest tightened and she huffed and turned her head in the other direction. Why did that waitress have to be another Zuko fangirl? It was so annoying. It was almost like everywhere they went there were stupid girls who couldn't stop staring and/or blushing at Zuko. Okay, maybe they weren't stupid since they could see Zuko's good looks, but still, she didn't like it. Why did Zuko have to be handsome anyways?
The shaggy haired boy turned to her, looking slightly annoyed. "What?"
She didn't like his tone. "What to you?"
"I mean, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"You're mad."
"No, I'm not." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look that dared him to tell her otherwise. And he did.
"Yes, you are."
She growled lowly and hissed, "Okay, but it's not my fault. Blame that stupid waitress!"
Zuko's dumbfounded expression only brought more annoyance to the female. Suddenly, she felt self-conscious and looked away as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. She didn't see that his astonished look was replaced by a delighted gaze and a playful smirk.
"You're jealous." He stated.
She whiplashed her head in his direction, the red on her face was more obvious now. "No, I'm not!"
But the boy continued to give her that "cocky grin" that Katara wanted nothing more than to slap it off him.
Then the waitress came back, balancing their food with one hand. The brunette looked at her and noticed that she was looking at Zuko with a light blush on her face.
She clenched her fist and stood up from the table, stomping past the waitress and Zuko. Or at least she tried before she felt a strong grip on her wrist that made her stumble back. She turned and saw Zuko's look of concern.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
Katara looked down. "To the bathroom stupid…" She mumbled, hoping Zuko couldn't feel her body's temperature increase.
He seemed to believe her, because a few seconds later he let her go. She scurried off to the woman's restroom, not wanting to see Zuko about to be hit on by another girl.
Why he had to be popular with girls anyways, she thought bitterly.
(Scene Change)
Katara looked down at the sheets, not paying attention to the movie playing on Zuko's television. As the day began to set both agreed to relax in Zuko's house and the moment they arrived, the brunette ran to his room before he could protest. However, the room was hot and Zuko had to open his screen door to let the fresh air in. But until the temperature decreased, Zuko was planning on wearing his muscle shirt, much to Katara's slight dismay.
She sneakily glanced at the boy, analyzing the muscles of his arms and chest before lowering her gaze to his calves. He took care of himself, really good. Though he didn't have those exaggerated large muscles that macho men had, she knew the ones he had suited him just fine.
The girl gazed up and found herself staring into his eyes. She quickly looked away, already feeling the heat on her cheeks.
Why? Why does he always catch her staring at him? And why did he never comment on it? Was he trying to avoid something that would make their friendship awkward?
They're childhood friends yet somewhere in time, their playfulness towards each other diminished and they became more reserved. There was no more tackling or arm pulling or surprise hugs from either party. They both "grow up" and Katara wasn't satisfied with the result.
It's weird, being in love with a childhood friend that barely makes contact with her. It would have been acceptable if they had been strangers, but they grew up as kids. And now that she has fallen for him, the urge to grab his arm like old times sake has doubled.
What would he say if she did just that? She pondered. Would he freak out? Would he raise an eyebrow and ignore it?
Well, she'll just have to find out.
The girl placed her smooth hands on his bicep and saw the surprised look on his face.
"Let's wrestle."
The boy didn't even have time to register what she said before she tackled him. He landed on his back; still on the bed but close to the edge.
Katara landed on his chest in a diagonal position and quickly repositioned herself to lie across in a horizontal position.
"Katara, get off!" He demanded but the girl protested.
"No way! Not when I'm about to win!" She said before slamming her right arm on the edge of the bed.
"One!" She did it again. "Two!"
She yelped as Zuko moved underneath her, preventing her from slamming the third strike.
The girl pushed herself harder against his body, trying to stop him from doing that again.
"One-ahhh!" She yelled as she felt one hand slide to her knee and the other under her stomach. In a quick motion, he tossed her aside and she fell on the floor.
"ahhh…" She groaned as she lifted herself up, holding her head.
She saw Zuko leaning on the bed's edge, looking at her with concern.
Katara quickly sprang into action and jumped on top of him. However, Zuko rolled on his back and caught Katara's wrists before rolling so that he was on top and Katara was pinned under him.
As he held her wrists, Katara began to struggle, embarrassed that he had been caught. She looked up at him, expecting to find an annoyed expression on his face. However, she was more surprised to find a dazzled look in his face, almost as if she wasn't aware of their situation. As he stared at her, she took the time to look at him.
Though he had a burn mark across his right eye, his face was still handsome. His smooth creamy white skin really did a wonder to his dark shaggy hair. His honey-colored eyes seemed to glow with sunlight that was entering the room, making Katara feel flushed under his gaze. Oh, and who can forget those biceps?
Suddenly, she felt his weight shifting as his elbows started going outwards, and his face was inching closer to hers.
Her heartbeat accelerated, watching as his eyes closed and brought his face closer to hers; so close that she could feel his warm breath against her lips.
"Zuko."
She wanted to ask him, if this was real. If truly, he felt what she was feeling. That if he has always liked her in the same way she liked him, and this wasn't happening just because he was caught up in the moment.
Zuko's eyes opened and he looked startled, almost like he hadn't known what he was doing.
Quickly, he removed himself from the girl and sat at the edge of the bed, covering his face with his hands.
She had been rejected; her spirits were crushed yet she could feel the frustration building up. The brunette was about to snap at him; yell at him for making her feel hopeful.
"I'm sorry."
She froze. Because of her temper, she almost said 'sorry doesn't cut it' when she took a closer look at him.
The teen was hunched over, and the tips of his ears were red like the other parts of his face that weren't covered by his large hands. He was embarrassed, and not in the way of doing something shameful, rather of being shy about something.
Katara smiled. Her spirits lifted just a bit. She moved across the bed to reach him. Once she was behind him, She sat on her knees, wrapped her arms around his upper torso, and rested her head on his shoulder.
Zuko flinched in surprise, making the girl smile more.
"Katara."
"I like you." She blurted out.
She felt heat rise to her face. But there was no time to back out; she said it.
"I like you…a lot. Like as in more than a friend."
She breathed in and out, trying to collect her thoughts. She felt his hands cover her own and thought he was going to remove them.
"I know you probably don't feel the same-"
"Katara-"
"Let me finish-" She snapped and unbeknownst to her, it brought him great amusement. She sighed once again.
"And even if you don't feel the same, just know that I'll still be your friend-"
"Katara-"
"Because you're too of an important person in my life to let go-"
"Katara-"
"yeah, it will hurt seeing you with another girl but-"
"I like you too."
The mocha skinned teen stopped talking and peered over his shoulder to see him smiling over her.
She blushed furiously, and slapped her hand against his chest in embarrassment.
"Idiot! Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Zuko laughed and removed his hands from his body so he could turn around to look at her.
He cupped her face into his hands before leaning in and kissing her forehead.
"I did try." He teased.
She pouted and unconsciously looked at his lips. Zuko noticed and grinned lightly before finally kissing her.
Katara moaned and grabbed onto his shirt. Zuko pressed their bodies onto the bed, with her lying underneath him. And as his body caged her smaller one in, she realized that at this moment, she didn't mind their height difference. Not one bit.
A/N: And there you have it! My first Zutara fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it! Originally, it was suppose to end differently but I forgot my ending, which led me to three months of writers block. Hopefully, this makes up for it. Please let me know what you think with a review or a favorite =)
Your friend,
Dark Shining Light