I've had a couple of Zutara drabble ideas sitting around my iPod for a while now, and I finally decided to polish them up and post them in honor of Kim's birthday. I was totally going to write you something long but then none of the ideas I had were working out too well and I'm busy with exams (should totally be studying right now, haha) so… here, have this lame collection of drabbles instead. OTL (There are a few more I'll be posting in the next couple of days, and then updates for this will turn sporadic.)
I've always been hesitant to write for Zutara because it's so popular but it can be such a subtle ship; I didn't want to write something blatantly obvious and overdone and get all the nuances wrong. But here is a lame attempt anyway. Gah. Let me know what you think?
The comet is approaching.
It is a slow streak across the sky, a fiery blur of red and gold that darkens the air with raw power. The atmosphere is heavy and full of possibilities: unspoken words, unfulfilled promises, possible futures of crystal-water and dancing fire and golden crowns and sparks of searing blue, futures that all end the same way: in flames.
It is funny, Katara thinks, how something so destructive can be so beautiful. Riding in the sky on Appa, her fingers tight on the harness and the wind tearing through her hair, she gazes around, the three of them encompassed by a neverending pool of crimson. It is the color of fire, the nation that started it all; the color of blood, both the draining liquid of death and the substance of life; the color of Zuko's tunic, flapping in the breeze against his back as he sits next to her, his arms outstretched, corded muscles tight with tension.
He voices his worries about Aang and she shuts them down immediately, because if she doesn't she'll start to agree with him. They are already facing an unknown future (arcs of crackling blue, courtyards of flames) and she does not need any more variables to fret over.
But they are heading towards that future now, silent once more, surrounded by scarlet, heat scorching their skin, and there is nothing more she can say, nothing more she can do. He will face his sister soon and it will all end, one way or another. She can only believe in a positive outcome.
They don't know what will happen next, if Aang will really come back in time, if Azula will prove to be too much to handle (Katara is not a firebender but even she can feel the comet's force, the thrum of power in her blood, tingling through her veins). They don't know where they will be tomorrow, or the next week, or the next year, or if they will be here at all.
But right now, they are just two people on a sky bison, flying through the air, the wind whipping their faces, just a small speck against a vast sky that overlooks a vast world. Right now, she is here with him, supporting him like he supported her; it is her turn now and she will play her part. Right now, they are quiet, and he turns to look at her with a faintly reassuring smile on his face, and she smiles back because it is just the two of them against the world, and for now, that is enough.
