The Taming of the Shrew

by setlib

Zuko and Katara are seniors in high school. He teases her, then ignores her. She despises him. But when Zuko's father kicks him out of the house and he has to move in with his hippie Uncle Iroh, he begins to see Katara in a new light. AU Zutara/Blutara.

2. Chapter 2: Act Two

Title: The Taming of the Shrew
Author: setlib
Rating: T-rated for language and sexual content
Setting: Alternate Universe – modern high school, no bending
Pairings: Zuko x Katara
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Summary: Zuko and Katara are seniors in high school. He teases her, then ignores her. She despises him. But when Zuko's father kicks him out of the house and he has to move in with his hippie Uncle Iroh, he begins to see Katara in a new light. But as the bard warned, "the course of true love never did run smooth."

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The Taming of the Shrew, Chapter 2: Act Two

I settled into my seat and prepared to block out the droning voice of Mrs. Jennings introducing our semester studying Shakespeare. Father had sent me and Azula to Yale University's month-long Summer Seminar "The Bard in Theory and Practice" in June, and I seriously doubted I was going to learn anything new from this woman, who'd probably been teaching the same tired lesson every year since 1982. Yet another step in Father's master plan to get us admitted to his alma mater, Stanford University. Considering how much money he donated to the school – take the new Fujiwara Observatory as proof – I didn't think we had to worry. But "never settle for second place when you deserve the best" was his motto, so we had to keep pursuing these extra activities to pad our college applications. He wasn't just a helicopter parent – he was a fucking stealth bomber.

What really burned me was that Azula had managed to get out of this idiotic class. Just because she was a so-called "prodigy" and had skipped two grades, she had the entire faculty wrapped around her little finger. She told me this morning she'd petitioned to skip this class, since she'd already studied Shakespeare, and complete an independent study instead. I don't know what pissed me off more – the fact that the teachers fell for her crap, or the fact that she didn't tell me what she was trying to pull so I could join in. Now, even though I'd attended the same damn seminar, I was stuck listening to boring lectures while Azula had the period free to work on her "independent study." And now she had yet another thing to lord over me in front of Father. Typical.

Just as Mrs. Jennings was babbling on about the theme of "social roles vs. individual happiness" in The Taming of the Shrew, the door opened and a bald, lost middle school student in baggy brown clothes barged in. At least that's what I thought until he handed Mrs. J. a note, which she read, and then looked up at all of us with an excited gasp. Her static-cling hair puffed out like a gray dandelion as she waved the boy forward.

"Class, we have a new student! Everyone, please give a warm Four Nations welcome to Aang."

The bald child waved, and actually had the nerve to speak. "Hi, everyone! I just transferred here from the Developing Virtue Secondary School. Thank you for welcoming me to your class."

I couldn't believe my eyes. Everyone knew about the Buddhist monastery in Redwood Valley. Hell, we had to take field trips to it almost every year. Even though it had a small school, their students never left the hallowed halls to mingle with us sinners. So what was this miniature escaped monk doing here? I wasn't surprised to see Mrs. Jennings start fawning all over him immediately.

"Well, class, I want everyone to make a special effort to help Aang get accustomed to our school. Aang, here's a seat right in the front row for you."

I swear, pretty soon she was going to make us all link arms and sing Kumbayah. All the other kids were craning their necks to get a look at him. On my right was Miss Prissy, Katara Iweda, pointing him into the seat next to hers.

"Wow! That's so nice of you. Thanks a lot," he said with a wide grin as he sat down.

Katara pushed a long strand of brown hair behind her ear and leaned toward him. "No problem," she said, practically cooing. I'd studied body language, and she was clearly giving out signs of being interested in him. Unbelievable! He's been here one minute and the Flirtatious Friar was already scoring with the girls. And what is he, twelve years old? The last thing I wanted to deal with is another damn prodigy.

"All right now, everyone, please turn to the first scene of The Taming of the Shrew." Mrs. Jennings waved her hands in the air excitedly. "We're going to go around the room and everyone is going to take turns reading a few lines from Act One."

Just when I thought this class couldn't get any worse. Did she think this was Kindergarten? I barked out my line when it was my turn, but otherwise I tuned out the sound of teenagers butchering Shakespeare and decided to amuse myself by trying to figure out which of Dante's nine circles of hell best described what it felt like to be stuck in this class. The fifth circle was anger, but the eighth circle was fraud. I was angry because I had to fake being interested in these morons. Tough call.

"Excellent job, class. Just fantastic! Now I'm going to assign parts to everyone based on your readings, and you're going to continue to read your part out loud over the next few weeks as we finish studying this play. First, the lead roles. Zuko Fujiwara, you'll be Petruchio."

I almost rolled my eyes. Of course she'd give me the main character, there was no question that my reading was better than anyone else's. But now I would actually have to pay attention in class. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"And Katara Iweda, you'll be Katharina."

Mrs. Jennings kept prattling off the list of assignments but I was momentarily distracted by the sharp squeal Katara let out. I looked to my right to see her wiggle in her seat, obviously beside herself with happiness at getting the lead. She glanced up to catch me looking at her and blushed, a light pink that started near her nose and spread back toward her ears. I thought she would look away, but instead she held my gaze. I'd never noticed what a deep blue color her eyes were, but they were almost startling in their intensity, her pupils slightly dilated as she stared at me. She bit her lip, and her hand moved up to stroke her collarbone. She probably wasn't even aware that she was giving out subtle little signs that she was attracted to me, but I recognized them right away. Interesting. Maybe Miss Prissy had a naughty side after all. Suddenly this class was starting to feel a little less boring.

"Now, everyone, let's begin reading Act Two, Scene One," Mrs. Jennings prompted with a happy flourish of her book.

The girl assigned to read Bianca started, and I read my part absent-mindedly, most of my attention on Katara. She kept shifting in her seat, crossing and recrossing her legs, leaning toward me and playing with her hair. I'd never really paid attention before, but she probably had longer hair than any other girl in school. It fell all the way to her waist, thick and brown, with big round curls that gave off a subtle lemon scent as she worried them with her fingers. She read her lines surprisingly well, not stumbling over any of the archaic language, adding a tart humor to her role. Finally our characters met, and I leaned toward her, really throwing myself into the part of the witty suitor.

PETRUCHIO: Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry.

KATHARINA: If I be waspish, best beware my sting.

PETRUCHIO: My remedy is then, to pluck it out.

KATHARINA: Ay, if the fool could find it where it lies,

PETRUCHIO: Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail.

KATHARINA: In his tongue.

PETRUCHIO: Whose tongue?

KATHARINA: Yours, if you talk of tails: and so farewell.

PETRUCHIO: What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, Good Kate; I am a gentleman.

Startled laughter came from the class after that line, and no wonder. Shakespeare definitely had a raunchy side. Katara was blushing again. It was so easy to embarrass her, yet so satisfying. She nervously pulled her hair back, baring her neck, in a classic submissive posture. Was she picturing my tongue in her tail? I sure as hell was.

She took a deep breath and looked up at Mrs. Jennings. "What am I supposed to do for this next part? It says to strike him."

"Get into the role, my dear!" the teacher enthused. "Feel what Katharina is feeling! She's always been smarter, wittier, than anyone else. Then in walks this suitor, the first man who could ever hold his own against her. She's threatened, challenged, angry, afraid. Lash out!"

Katara turned toward me and read her next line:

KATHARINA: That I'll try.

Then she raised her right hand and pretended to swing it at me. Not content with her half-hearted attempt, I grabbed her arm in my hand and yanked it toward me, holding it in a tight grip against my chest. Katara's eyes widened in surprise and I growled my line:

PETRUCHIO: I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again.

Although the next part was supposed to be read with anger, Katara's voice had a breathless quality to it that was surprisingly sexy:

KATHARINA: So may you lose your arms: If you strike me, you are no gentleman; And if no gentleman, why then no arms.

PETRUCHIO: A herald, Kate? O, put me in thy books!

KATHARINA: What is your crest? a coxcomb?

PETRUCHIO: A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.

KATHARINA: No co –

Katara stopped suddenly, biting her lip. Why didn't she finish her line? Was she actually too embarrassed to say the word "cock" while looking at me?

"C'mon, Katara, you can say it." I leaned toward her, holding her arm tightly so she couldn't back away, and whispered too low for Mrs. Jennings to hear. "It's easy. Just look at me, and say 'cock.' All you have to do is open your mouth, and let the 'cock' slide right out. It just takes a little practice. You might even like it." I stroked my thumb against the inside of her wrist, and I swear I felt a shudder run through her. She yanked her arm away, gritted her teeth, and spit out the rest of the line:

KATHARINA: No cock of mine; you crow too like a craven.

I laughed lightly at the effort it took her to say just one dirty word. I was pretty sure that later tonight when I was alone in my room, I would spend some quality time remembering the round shape of her lips, their pretty red tint, when they had formed the word 'cock' for me.

She raced through the rest of the lines, her anger adding an extra dose of passion to her reading, until finally we came to my character's big speech:

PETRUCHIO: Marry, so I mean, sweet Katharina, in thy bed:
And therefore, setting all this chat aside,
Thus in plain terms: your father hath consented
That you shall be my wife; your dowry 'greed on;
And, Will you, nill you, I will marry you.
Now, Kate, I am a husband for your turn;
For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty,
Thy beauty, that doth make me like thee well,
Thou must be married to no man but me;
For I am he am born to tame you Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate
Conformable as other household Kates.
Here comes your father: never make denial;
I must and will have Katara to my wife.

Mrs. Jennings cleared her throat and interrupted me. "You mean 'Katharina.'"

"Excuse me?"

"You said, 'I must and will have Katara to my wife.' You meant to say 'Katharina.'"

I kept a straight face. "Of course." Thankfully the bell rang before anyone could interrogate me further about my slip of the tongue. Katara grabbed her backpack and practically fled out of the room, leaving a delicate trail of lemon scent to linger in the air behind her. I leaned back in my seat and watched her go.

Suddenly I was actually looking forward to our next English class.

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Author's Note: I know it sounds weird, but there actually is a large Buddhist monastic community called The Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Mendocino County, California, and it really does have a school. Since I've never seen the place, this story is still entirely a work of fiction. I just thought it would be a really cool way to keep Aang as a Buddhist monk even in the modern world. That will become more important later in the story.

P.S. Thanks to all the awesome folks who wrote reviews, I was surprised at how many people took the time to leave comments. The ATLA fanfiction community is so supportive! You guys rock!