Zuko woke up with a stabbing pain in his lower abdomen.
Groaning, he sat up on his bed and realized he felt wet between his legs. Intrigued, he decided to create a tiny flame, just big enough to allow him to see. And he did see it.
A dark red stain on his sheets stared back at him.
'Oh no...' He moaned in realization. His face travelled to his hands and his arms hugged his knees. 'Oh, spirits, no...'
The pain was getting more and more intense, and a wave of nausea started to engulf him. Zuko finally got up and started to shuffle towards the bathroom.
Zuko had been getting used to being a woman in the past days, and it hadn't been that hard. It had been mostly...weird. But never once did he thought this would happen to him.
He stopped in front of the mirror and washed his face, trying to take away the sweat and the heat that had come with the cramps. His underwear was wet and stained and he had no idea what to do. Sighing, he let himself crumble to the floor, one hand across his abdomen, his knees against his chest.
Zuko stayed like that for a while, letting waves of pain run through him, before he decided he needed help.
He could wake Toph and ask her for help - but that was probably not a good idea, since he would be getting in her room with cramps and leave with cramps and multiple bruises.
There was Suki, and Zuko was sure she wouldn't hesitate to help - however, she and Sokka slept together, and he really didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of having period cramps in front of his friend.
Which left Katara.
Katara was probably the best option, since she was alone in her room, and, as the motherly figure of the group, she would definitely know what to do. Zuko slowly got up and walked to her room, still trying to figure out what he would say to her. He opened the door as silently as he could, and got in.
She was sleeping on her side, her face turned to him, and she started to wake up as soon as he closed the door behind him. Zuko produced a tiny flame and lit up two of the candles on her bedside table.
'Zuko?' Katara sat up and rubbed her eyes. 'Is everything alright?'
Zuko looked down and blushed. 'Uh, I... I think I got my uh...you know...' Katara's mouth formed an 'o' as she realized what was happening. She immediately felt compassion as she noticed Zuko grimace in pain, as a hand held his stomach.
'Oh, Zuko...' She said in a soft tone. 'Come on, you probably want to have a bath and change...'
The two left the room and went to the bathroom, where Katara started to bend water from the water pot, which was about as big as Aang, to the bathtub. Zuko stood awkwardly behind her, still indescribably embarrassed with his whole situation.
'Okay, can you heat this water? It's still a bit cold...' Katara turned to him. 'Leave the stained clothes in that basket and I'll take care of them later. I'll leave some clean clothes by the door, as well as some absorbent wrappings...', she explained, 'you put them in your...underwear. If you need anything call me, alright? I'll be right back.'
Katara left, closing the door behind her, and Zuko took off his clothes, getting in the bathtub. The water was warm, and he suddenly felt relaxed, so he reclined himself back and closed his eyes, sighing with relief.
After a while, the water was cold. Zuko got out and started to dry his body with a towel, noticing how sore his breasts were. He picked up the clothes and the absorbent wrappings Katara had slipped under the door, and examined them.
It didn't take long until he figured out how to use it, and within a few minutes he was returning to his room. For his surprise, the door was open and some candles were lit. He lay on the bed, which now had clean sheets, and covered himself with the blankets.
Katara came back a while later, bringing a tray with a steaming cup of tea.
'Here. This will help.' She handed him the cup, which he grabbed, and took a sip of the hot tea.
'Thanks.' He looked down, blushing. Zuko was feeling incredibly embarrassed with the whole situation, and Katara noticed, concluding he would feel better if she just left him alone, now that she had done what she could to help him.
'Well, I should probably go back to bed... Do you need anything else?'
'No, I think I'll be okay.' He mumbled.' Katara nodded.
'Oh, by the way,' she remembered as she was about to get up, 'you can heat your hands, right?'
'Yeah, why do you ask?' Zuko frowned.
'Maybe you didn't notice when you were bathing, but heat helps with the pain.' She explained. Zuko heated his hands and placed them under his navel, sighing with relief as he immediately felt the cramps easing. Katara smiled. 'If you need anything else, I'll be in my room.'
'Thank you, Katara.'
'No problem.' She closed the door behind her. Zuko curled tighter on his stomach, wondering why women had to put up with this.