A/N: Things that I should be doing: literally anything else.

Things I am doing: Writing a fan fiction.

I'm not even sure why, except for the fact that soupcan kindly informed me I hadn't written one in over three years. So, soupcan, this is for you.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. I don't even think I stick to the personalities of the characters. I don't even own the story the plot is based on. I own nothing. I'm just a broke college student using her non-existent time to try to cheer up her best friend 2,000 miles away. What more do you want from me?

Second Disclaimer: Zuko is highly out of character. Also this is super AU. I'm writing the pairing that was requested. I apologize.

Benefits

Nervous swallow. She's so beautiful. Look at her. You weren't sure when you fell in love with those deep blue eyes, that flowing brown hair, those strong graceful hands. The way she swayed as she blues danced reminded you of a mountain stream: flowing, always flowing in sweet supple movements.

You met her by chance at a dance hall. She lit up the darkened floor with her smooth grace. She wasn't the best dancer, but she had an aura of sophistication no one could match. You could see the music flow through her veins.

As soon as the song ended, you made your way over to her and offered your hand. She smiled wryly. She followed your hand through languid twists and sharpened bends. And you knew she was perfect.

You stole her away for three more dances. Never talking, just moving. Talking through your hands against her back, her legs tantalizingly close to yours.

At the end of the night she asked your name. "Zuko," you responded, hoping that breaking the silence wouldn't cause the attraction to float away. It didn't.

But you had just broken up with a girl who tore your life apart. You weren't ready for someone like her to sashay into your life. You couldn't handle another heart break.

She wasn't looking for you either. Her life was filled with late nights staring at math equations and long days of understanding biochemical reactions. The next midterm was always looming.

The first time you suggested it, it seemed like the best solution. Friends with benefits couldn't break each others' hearts. Besides, she wasn't looking for anything more. She had too much to do.

Looking her in the eyes right now is too hard. You look at your hands, the wall, her desk, the plants on the windowsill.

"I may have accidentally gotten myself into a relationship," you say.

"Wait, what?" You prayed she wouldn't stop speaking to you after this.

"A girl asked me if I'd like to be in a relationship. I thought she was asking in general…" As if that was a satisfying explanation.

"What?"

"If you aren't okay with it, I can tell her no."

She's holding her elbows and biting her lip. You catch yourself staring at her hair and look out the window at the cold winter day. You can't help thinking about how much better she looks when she takes her hair out of that ponytail and it fans around her on the pillow.

She still hasn't said anything.

You prayed this conversation wouldn't make her cry.

"… I don't think I have a right to tell you that you can't."

You should have known this would happen. All she ever wanted was to be friends with you. You didn't know what you wanted, so maybe it's better this way.

"I guess this is it then."

The hardest part would be keeping yourself from touching her. You wouldn't be able to push back a stray lock of hair from her face. You could never again hug her and forget your sense of time. Even if you danced together in the future, as you pulled her close and slid into the tempo change, you would know you couldn't hold her once the music ended. That back you held would never again swish and swirl with you without a melody in the background.

"I guess so."

And that was it. The girl of your dreams has left your life. All those months of moving with her, making her laugh when she was too stressed to breathe, cuddling with her when she had no one else to confide in, falling in love with every part of her body and mind, gone the instant another woman forced her to admit she wanted nothing more than to be fuck buddies.

The other woman is nice, but she's no Katara. But this is what Katara wants, and you need to move on.

Third and Final Disclaimer: soupcan, I love you, but no romo.

You are a heartbreaker, though. :P

Reviews would be cool, but no pressure.

-Crick