A/N: Alright! Let some drama begin! I'm trying to do something a little different than my usual stories here so here we go! Woo!
Chapter 2: Kill For Love
"Our rush
Could easily have blown
Your defenses down
Could easily have blown
Your defenses down"
"What's going on?" The voice from the doorway repeated, and Katara and Zuko both turned to look upon the intruder.
Toph stood there, her glazed over gray eyes somehow piercing, and her arms folded over her chest.
Katara noticed Zuko's shoulders lower and she knew that he was relieved, but Katara was not. Toph was her best friend and even though Toph could not physically see, she somehow had a way to be able to know and understand everything.
"I just came by to offer Katara a permanent position here." Zuko said smoothly. Technically he was not lying, but both Katara and Zuko knew that he had come to see her for more than that.
Toph's nose wrinkled, and Katara knew that look well.
Toph didn't believe him.
And she was calling bullshit.
The silence in the room became thick and uncomfortable. Katara shifted from foot to foot, waiting for Toph's response. When Toph did not give one, Katara felt frustration bubble in her veins.
She just wanted to forget that this day had ever happened and to do that she had to sleep.
"I accepted the job too, so I will be staying here... with... Aang and helping out as much as I can." Katara stated quickly.
At her words, Zuko turned to face her. Why had she put emphasis on the fact that she would be staying with Aang?
Confused, Zuko bit back a sigh and simply nodded at Katara. The message was clear. She was going to stay with Aang.
She was right, it was too late.
"Seeing as that's all I had to say, goodnight ladies." Zuko said as a way of excusing himself, and he edged past Toph and exited the room and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.
Katara then turned her full attention to her best friend.
"So, why did you come to see me, Toph?" She questioned and Toph snorted.
"Why so edgy, sugar queen?" She asked and when Katara huffed in response, Toph's eyebrows drew together in subconscious concern.
"I heard loud voices and I-" Toph started to explain but Katara interrupted her.
"We weren't even speaking that loudly." Katara added hastily and Toph rolled her non seeing eyes.
"In case you forgot, I''m BLIND! So all of my other senses are heightened, ad I'm also very good at detecting body heat remember?" Toph reminded, pointing to her gray eyes.
When Katara did not rebuke these claims, Toph continued speaking.
"When I walked in, I smelled the smell of wood and fire, and I know that that's how Zuko smelled, but then again we are in the Fire Nation so that's how a lot of people here smell, and that's why I was hesitant." Top explained, shrugging her slim shoulders.
"I''m sorry for being short with you, Toph. It's been a long day." Katara confessed.
"It has been, sugar queen, it sure has." Top agreed, still using the nickname that she had given Katara forever ago.
"I'm going to go back to bed." Katara not so subtly said and Toph chuckled at her boldness. She knew that Katara was ready to have her out of there so that she could climb back into bed.
Toph turned to leave, but just as she was about to shut the door behind her, she turned back to look at her best friend.
"I'm smarter than people think, you know? I may not to be able to see, but I can still sense things, and I know things automatically that most people have to be told... but that doesn't mean that I like being lied to or kept in the dark." Toph stated, turning her sightless eves to the Alaskan woman that was now lying on her back in her large and plush bed, her blue eyes trained on the ceiling above.
Katara knew instantly what Toph was insinuating. She felt her heart shatter as she remembered Zuko's lips on Mai's, how he looked at Katara as he was kissing Mai if Katara was nothing, and Katara remembered what happened between them when they went to find her mother's killer. She remembered it all and she wanted nothing more than to be able to forget it.
"I would never keep you in the dark, Toph." Katara lied, silent tears running down her cheeks. Toph said goodnight and left, and Katara had never felt more alone in her entire life.
She missed traveling with the Gaang. The Gaang that all slept around the fire together and fought towards a righteous goal. She missed Zuko... but most of all she missed her mother.
Her mother would have known what to do.
Katara drew in a shaky breath.
As much as she wished it wasn't so, her mother was gone, and Katara had no idea what to do next.
…...
Zuko awoke early the next morning feeling numb inside.
He had a ton of things to do that day however, so he rose from his bed quickly and set off to do what he had to do.
As he cleaned himself and dressed, all that he was thinking about was Katara. Why had he let her say those cruel things about herself last night? She was never an option to him, she wasn't just some small thought on his mind, she was Katara.
And she made him alive.
She made his blood boil, she made his heart hammer, she made him fall head first in love with her.
Yet, he was too scared to ever tell her that.
Zuko pulled on his royal robes and crown and exited his bedroom, only to run right into someone standing in front of his door.
"Sorry." The now Fire Lord mumbled under his breath and he moved to walk around the person that had blocked his exit.
"Zuko. Really? It's me." Mai deadpanned and Zuko blinked his eyes.
It was Mai. He had been so engrossed in thought of the water bender that he had not even seen her.
"Are you feeling alright?" Mai asked, concern lacing her voice and Zuko smiled at her gently, trying to reassure her... and trying to reassure himself.
"Yes, I am. Just overwhelmed by what's been going on. I just defeated my sister, took a lightning bolt to the chest, Aang overthrew my father, and I became Fire Lord yesterday. It's just... a lot to take in." Zuko explained to his girlfriend and she nodded in understanding.
"Well the meeting you have right now is an early meeting so if you can sleep with your eyes open, you can just do that the whole time instead of listening." Mai quipped.
Zuko laughed. "You sound like Azula" He chided, and when he looked at Mai's face, he saw an expression of pain that he had not expected to see there.
Before he could question her, she looked up at him, her face blank. "I'll see you after your meeting." She said quickly and she turned and walked away from him.
His golden eyes flickered with unanswered questions.
…...
Zuko sat down at the head of the table, and as he sat, everyone at the table stood and bowed to him.
It was then that he saw her.
Katara was in the meeting, but why?
As everyone sat down, all eyes turned to Zuko, and he realized that he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.
He gulped down the lump forming in his throat and hoped that he wasn't blushing as all of the advisers in the room starred at each other and then back at him.
Zuko's yellow eyes flickered to Katara's and she starred coldly back at him, and that was all it took to snap him back into focus.
This wasn't about him or his feelings. All of the nations depended on him and what he was going to do. He owed it to everyone to do the right thing.
It was time to start behaving like a Fire Lord.
"The first thing that needs to be done is a conference between all of the leaders of the nations. We need to all meet and discuss peace treaties and resolve border disputes so that we can all be one united nation, and end the senseless fighting." Zuko said, and the Fire Nation advisers instantly began writing and smiling in agreement, except for one.
"Fire Lord, you do realize that by doing this, you are putting yourself at risk. There will be many people of the Fire Nation who will try to rebel and take you down. They want to be separate, they do not want to be united." The adviser warned, his dark eyes stern.
"Are you one of them Advisor?" Zuko inquired, raising his eyebrow in suspicion.
The adviser starred at him nervously and pointedly avoided the question.
"I just think the rebels will be fine siding with the other two nations except for the water tribes. So, maybe if the fire nation united with all of the other nations excluding the water tribes, the rebels would not try to attack." The adviser commented, and Zuko instantly knew that he had said the wrong thing when he looked at the only member of the water tribes in the room.
"So, you're saying that all of the nations should come together except for the water tribes because the fire nation dislikes them? The nations are not being brought together if one is left out and attacked by the three others!" Katara exclaimed, slamming her fist down onto the table.
"Miss Katara, you were only added to this meeting this morning because you are of the water tribe and also master healer of the fire nation. You must think rationally. Including the water tribes would only make the nations not want to be one, so there would be no point including them if they are going to be targeted anyway and also cause unrest." The adviser argued, and Zuko could have sworn that steam flew out of Katara's ears.
"If every single one of the four nations are equal and united, there would be no need for a Fire Lord or us as advisers. Everything would be changed and lives would be ruined." The adviser continues angrily as he rose to his feet.
There was a long moment of silence before Katara spoke again.
"You are not concerned with unity at all. You just want to make sure the lowly water tribe peasants stay 'peasants' and don't threaten your high social standing. War wrecked havoc across this land and destroyed so many innocent lives, but you're not afraid of that, no. You're afraid of being equal and united with everyone because then you feel like you won't be special! Well you aren't special! You are a pompous-" Katara stood to her feet, calmly, intent on continuing her lecture, when suddenly the adviser growled and shot fire out of his palms and directly at Katara.
Katara was extremely thankful that she walked into the meeting with her water pouch on her side (old habits died hard) and she whipped an ice wall up as quickly as she could, but she was not expecting the attack and her defense was not quick enough.
The flames pierced through the ice wall before it could solidify and Katara screamed as the flames scorched her skin and the force of the flames and the crumbling ice sent her falling backwards, her head connecting with the hard floor.
The adviser readied himself for another attack.
Zuko did not even remember standing, he did not even remember raising his hands, but out of nowhere, lightning shot out of his hand and into the adviser's wide frame.
As the man convulsed and sunk to the ground, he walked over to Katara and scooped her up into his large arms.
"If anyone feels the need to ever attack this woman because she is different, or anyone else just because they are different, they will meet with the same fate as that unfortunate adviser. The nations shall all become one. We shall all become a family. I will not let violence run wild. Meeting adjourned!" He yelled and the rest of the advisers scrambled away in fear and servants walked in to clean up the mess.
Yet Zuko was only focused on the unconscious woman in his arms.
Zuko ran out of the room, careful not to jostle his precious cargo. He saw Mai standing in the hallway, a shocked look coming over her face before she masked it with an expression of boredom.
"I know she's the master healer, but is there another healer in the building? Or anyone that can help her? Once she wakes up, she can heal herself, but until then she needs to live!" Zuko commanded.
Mai nodded and went to fetch a healer.
A servant moved to take Katara from Zuko's arms, but he snarled animalistically at him, the skin around his scar twitched and that made him even more frightening.
The servant scrambled away without a sound.
Suddenly Aang and Sokka appeared, apparently hearing the commotion.
When Aang saw Katara lying still in Zuko's arms, his face crumbled and he broke off in a sprint towards the duo.
Katara's brother, Sokka, was right beside him.
"KATARA!" They cried out as they neared them.
Zuko quickly explained what happened and just then Mai returned, obviously flushed from hurrying.
"Follow me!" She ordered, her voice still somehow retaining its monotone. Zuko had forgotten how much she hated showing emotion.
Aang went to take Katara from Zuko's arms.
"I got her. This was my fault, I'll take her." Zuko confessed, but Aang shook his head.
Zuko tried to ignore the pointed glance from Mai. He knew that she was wondering why he suddenly cared so much about the woman that he had chased and even tied to a tree once.
Zuko did not plan on ever telling her.
"She's my girlfriend, Zuko!" Aang retorted.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! THIS IS KATARA'S LIFE AT RISK HERE! SAVE YOUR PISSING MATCH FOR LATER!" Sokka exclaimed before lifting Katara up from Zuko's arms and following behind Mai at a dead sprint.
Aang looked at Zuko, all traces of the friendly young man from the day before gone.
"If she doesn't recover from what happened in there, Zuko, I will never forgive you." He said and Zuko shook his head.
"And I will never forgive myself. Before we left to find her mother's killer and fight Azula, I promised Sokka that I would keep her safe... and I failed." Zuko admitted.
He looked over and found Aang scowling at him and it was then that Zuko realized that he was not the only one that would kill for Katara.
Aang would too.
…...
Katara blinked her ocean blue eyes open. The world around her was blurry and incoherent for a moment until she felt the pain on her body.
Gasping, she looked down to see burns all over her hands, arms, and legs. When she lifted the blanket up, she saw charred skin all over her stomach. Katara could tell that someone had treated her wounds, but not as well as she could treat herself.
Katara's baby blues searched for water beside the stiff bed that she was lying in and was surprised to turn and see that someone else was already holding out a bowl of water towards her.
She looked up into his face and tried to smile in thanks.
She placed her hands in the water and her hands began to glow such a bright blue that it almost appeared white, and she placed her hands on her burns.
It was a slow process but she finally healed her entire body, and she sighed in exhaustion and flopped back onto her stiff pillows
"We have got to stop meeting like this." Katara joked, referring to the numerous times that she and the man beside her bed had encountered each other when one, the other, or maybe even both of them were injured.
Zuko tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes or the corners of his mouth.
"What happened after... I... you know?" Katara questioned, and she saw Zuko flinch in response.
"I killed that man, Katara." Zuko said, lowering his head and inhaling deeply.
"I didn't mean to do it, I didn't even think about doing it... it just happened. I heard you scream and I saw you lying there and the next thing I know I'm hitting that man with lightning and telling everyone that if anyone committed an act of violence against anyone else just because they were different then they would meet with the same fate." Zuko said, placing his hands over his face.
Katara tiredly reached out and grasped his firm hand with her small yet coarse ones (Bending was hard on the hands). "I think you may have to release an announcement to elaborate on what you meant. What if someone from the fire nation kills someone else from the fire nation? They aren't killing because of differences, they're killing just because or for other reasons. Maybe justifiable reasons." Katara reminded, squeezing Zuko's hand.
Zuko didn't squeeze back. "But how could I say that punishment is in order when I'm no better? I killed a man in cold blood. I took away someone's son, someone's father, someone's husband. I've been feeling like I finally beat Azula and my father, but I guess that I really am more similar to them than I thought." Zuko whispered.
Katara shook her head. "You saved my life. That man did not like what I was saying. I was ruining his reputation, his career, and the nation he loved by persisting that all of the nations be united. No one would have jumped in to save me... you saved my life, Zuko. I know that you weren't really yourself when you killed him. But I'm no better than you either, Zuko. I've killed enemy soldiers and I even tried to kill the man who killed my mother. You saved me from doing that and becoming a monster, and you saved my life today." Katara smiled at him as she finished her rant.
Zuko looked up at her. He looked at her lips as the perfect and calming words formed and were delivered. He saw the way her blue eyes shined with tears as she recalled the man who had taken her mother from her. He saw her, and he loved her.
Before he could control himself, he stood up and leaned over her. Bracing an arm on one side of her head and using the other to cup her soft cheek, he leaned down and captured her soft lips with his.
Without a moment of hesitation, she was responding to his kiss with desperation and need, but most of all, love.
He jerked away suddenly.
"I'm so sorry. You make me so impulsive... Aang and Sokka left to sleep. They'll be here soon. I'm sorry, Katara." Zuko scrambled for an excuse, his words choppy and rough.
He turned away from her, knocking the bowl of water to the floor as he stormed out.
Katara sighed as she watched him walk out of the door of what she guessed was the infirmary.
She was alone again.
A/N: It's only going to get worse from here folks! I know things are a little slow right now but they will improve! Love y'all! MWAH! **blows kisses**