A/N: This has nothing to do with the Eve or A New Year one shot. Just a random drabble. Prompt is Fireplace.
That's it. Zuko hates her. He officially hates the waterbending peasant more than he hates the image of his uncle in a hot spring, and if his honour hadn't dictated him not to, he would've left her with those damned pirates two days ago.
"Will you shut up!" he shouts. Since he produced his first flame so many years ago, Zuko has never had problems with something as simple as lighting a fire before, but with her jabbering on and on, he can barely make the fireplace burn enough to provide any warmth. "You are driving me crazy!"
"Because being with you is such a picnic, huh?" she shouts back, equally as angry and frustrated as he is.
"Then leave!"
Zuko is on his feet now, and where he was struggling just moments ago, the fireplace is now roaring with flickering flames nearly as tall as him. He doesn't miss the startled jump back from the waterbender nor does he miss the way she flinches away from the flames. For that brief second, he's overcome with shame and guilt. He knows better than anyone the terrifying powers of his element and he didn't want to scare her. He was – is – just so frustrated with their situation.
"I would…" Katara snaps after recovering from the initial shock. "But I…" Something in her voice changes then and it's another thing Zuko notices without having to listen too intently. It's as if two days of travelling through a forest with the waterbender has made him in tune with every nuance of her movements and voice. That is altogether far too unnerving for him to even contemplate, but he watches as she sighs and glances away from him. "I don't know where my friends are. I don't even know if I'll ever see them again."
This time, Zuko sighs and he cards his fingers through his hair in frustration. "You will." Blue eyes flicker back to his, a mixture of wariness and hope in conflict with one another. "If you think I want to spend any more time with you then you're sorely mistaken, waterbender."
Katara huffs and crosses her arms across her chest. "Jerk."
"Peasant."
She looks away again but the fire casts her face in light and he sees the tilt of a smile there that comes unbidden. He turns his own face away when he feels a similar twitch of his lips.
They sit in silence for some time. The ramshackle house is freezing and does nothing to keep the descending temperature out, but at least the four somewhat sturdy walls helps with the whistling wind. It's the first stroke of luck they've had in two days, and just in time for the storm too. Zuko doesn't know how they would've survived it if they hadn't stumbled upon this abandoned house. Unfortunately, even the one room place is not enough space for the two benders, but at least for now he doesn't have to speak to her. The only sound coming from either of them is the soft crunching of teeth against the fish Katara captured that day. His pride would be wounded if he isn't too hungry to properly care. After a while, he watches as Katara sets her discarded meal on the ground and begins to stretch out her limbs. Another wildly unwelcomed thought enters his mind then, and he quietly wonders if she is as soft to touch as she looks.
Of course that won't do. Zuko can't think like that about his enemy – and so he races through his own dinner before throwing it into the flames just to distract himself from the thought. He feels her watching him though and that doesn't seem to help him at all.
"Can you stop that?" he snaps.
"Stop what?"
"Staring at me." Zuko leaves the kindling alone long enough to look up at her. "It's annoying."
She narrows her eyes and grounds her teeth together. "Where else am I supposed to look?"
"Anywhere else, alright? Just stop it."
Katara makes an irritated noise before she throws her own meal into the flames and turns over so her back is to him. She curls up tightly around herself and uses her arm as a pillow. Zuko grunts with equal amounts of irritation and mirrors her, facing the opposite way. Together in silence, they listen to the wind rattling the windows as rain pounds heavily down on the house. If she wanted to kill him, she could right now. She's surrounded by her element and he is without the sun to draw power from. Zuko can be easily at her mercy in moments, but as he glances over his shoulder at the waterbender, he notices that she's already fast asleep. He sighs and rubs his face wearily.
Of all the people he could be stuck with, it has to be her, doesn't it? The universe has a devious sense of humour.
Zuko tries to fall to sleep but the fire begins to die out. No amount of his bending can keep it alive when there are barely any logs for him to light on fire. The storm is in full swing now, angrily thrashing through the woods outside. Even if there is dry wood there, Zuko isn't stupid enough to wander blindly through a storm when his bending would be of no use to him, so for the night, they are left without much option. He has his body heat at least to keep warm, and surely the waterbender is used to the cold being that she's from the South Pole. They'll survive. Perhaps a little uncomfortably but it's not the worse condition he's ever slept through.
He is seconds from sleep when he hears her. At first, Zuko wonders if there's a small animal caught outside somewhere but the soft whimpering is definitely coming from the waterbender. He turns his body fully so he can look at her. She seems to still be asleep but she's shivering so forcefully that her whole body is shaking. Every few seconds, she lets out a soft whimper and curls into herself as if she can contain her body heat better that way. Zuko deliberates for a full second but finally, he strips off his tunic, flinching as the cold air hits him, and crawls over to drape it across her body. Katara instantly grabs hold of the cloth and wraps it tightly around herself, nuzzling into the collar of his tunic. Something about that keeps him rooted to the spot. His heart thuds loudly in his chest and Zuko shuffles closer towards the waterbender. He leaves a foot in between them before he lies down and angles his body so it's curving where she curves, allowing his natural warmth to radiate towards her.
Just as Zuko is about to fall asleep, he becomes aware of her body scooting back towards him until her back is to his chest, and just before darkness fully engulfs him, he carefully wraps an arm around her waist, burying his face against the soft curls of her hair.
He can regret this in the morning.
