Collectibles

Dancing With You

Song Number Two: Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade

Quote: The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting…

Summary: Zuko thinks back on the beginning to his rocky friendship with Katara.

She was resplendent in a Fire Nation dress that was a deep crimson color. It was shockingly simple for such a formal event as his coronation ball, but somehow Katara managed to pull it off. It was trimmed in gold silk, he noticed as he drew closer to her, and there was a pattern of black fire lilies that spread across the bottom hem. It tied around her neck with shockingly thin braids of fabric. She wore her long brunette locks up in a complicated twist at the nape of her neck.

Traditionally, he should have asked his mother for the first dance. Unfortunately for tradition, Ursa was still missing and the dance would fall to Azula. Also unfortunately for tradition, Azula was a bit on the whacko side and was currently locked up in a high-security prison. Tradition then called for an aunt or grandmother or other female relative to be asked to dance. Once again, unfortunately for tradition, Zuko's only female relatives were his mother and sister.

Strictly speaking, he probably should have bestowed the honor upon Mai. After all, everyone thought there was still something going on between Zuko and the knife thrower.

They thought wrong.

So Zuko did the unthinkable.

He decided to ask Katara.

Katara promptly turned about as red as her dress from her hairline to where her skin was covered by the ruby fabric, but she nodded eagerly, blue eyes bright with (was Zuko reading them right?) excitement. He took her hand and led her to the center of the floor (She's not even Fire Nation! he heard one old, bitter woman hiss to her equally old and bitter friend), and they easily fell into the routine. Zuko wasn't surprised that Katara knew how to dance, but he was surprised that she would know how to do one that originated from his nation.

"Surprised?" she asked with a smile that the firebender could only describe as impish.

"Would you hate me if I told you I was?" he joked.

Inside, he was pondering how far they had come from those two tense months at the Western Air Temple. Back then, Katara had threatened his life and he had subsequently taken to doing anything and everything in his power to make her stop hating him-

Katara shrugged, her smile widening. "Well…you know how I can be. Think you wanna take your chances?" she teased.

-and now here they were, joking about the whole thing!

"Where did you learn?"

"Hey, you travel the world, you learn things," the waterbender said nonchalantly. "I'm not as ignorant as you think I am, Hotpants."

Zuko blanched. "Katara!"

"What?" the question was entirely too innocent.

"You-you can't just…" Zuko felt himself getting flustered as he dithered about. "You can't just-!"

"I can't just what?" Katara retorted.

Was it him, or did she step a bit closer than was absolutely necessary after she spun back into his arms? And what was that odd look in her eyes?

Zuko felt even more troubled as they kept on with the dance. Katara was making him nervous and he didn't know where she had suddenly pulled the ability to do so from. He'd never been nervous around her before, so why was he starting now?! His panic was growing by small increments, but he tried to not let it show.

"You can't just call me things like-like that! We're surrounded by very influential people!"

"Oh, come on, Zuko. Don't tell me you're going to start getting all weird and proper now that you're Fire Lord. We're friends. Friends can tease each other."

He recalled a time when they weren't friends, but bitter enemies. It was hard to believe that she was here, dancing unnecessarily close to him at his coronation ball and teasing him mercilessly and calling him her friend. Not that he minded! It was just a bit weird.

"Katara, did you get into the cactus juice?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. What's it to you, your majesty?" Katara was giggling and he was finding it hard to keep a straight face. She was just the little joker, wasn't she?

"What? A good Fire Lord can't show concern for one of his friends, peasant?" Zuko smirked.

Katara's laughter could be heard over the tsungi horns, flutes, drums, and other various instruments and Zuko was very aware that people were gawking at them rudely as they waltzed across the dance floor, especially when he joined in her laughter. It was just too hard for him to ignore that beautiful smile and her catching giggles.

He led her around the floor a bit longer; the song was nearing its end. As the pair performed the final steps of the dance, Katara said, "Come on, Zuko. You have to admit that this is the most fun you've had in days."

Zuko shrugged in admittance. "Yeah. Maybe it is." He flashed her a smile that she returned.

"What's the best part about tonight?"

The firebender paused to consider his answer. Dancing with you, being able to hold you like this, he wanted to say. Instead he said, "We're not fighting," and the blue-eyed girl's smile widened so much he was afraid she was going to strain the muscles in her face.

"You're such a dork, Zuko," she whispered in his ear. He let her slow down the last few steps of the dance and relax into his body completely, her arms draped around his neck and his around her small waist. "But that's okay. It's one of the best things about tonight for me, too."

"It's not the best?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No…"

"Then what is?"

The song had ended. Zuko was still holding Katara in his arms and rotating slowly with her as he awaited her answer with baited breath.

"…I'm dancing with you."

So I really liked writing this one. Couldn't tell you why. Maybe because it was such a simplistic idea. I was able to take the conversation whichever way I wanted because it was just Zuko and Katara. Granted, they were surrounded by people, but they were still by themselves. I dunno... hard to explain, I suppose.

Anywho.

Anything to say to me? Constructive criticism, kind words? Anything?