Author's Note: This is the fastest update I've ever done, lmao. :x Thanks so much to those who reviewed the lastest piece! I'm trying to get back into Avatar. I really do miss the characters (not just Zutara).

This was meant to be humorous...then sensual...then back to humor. It was fun. :3 I love torturing poor Zuko.

This is "Stick Boy and Match Girl in Love" for Just Nine Letters!

~Much love

Disclaimer: The poem was written by Tim Burton. I do not own AtLA characters.

Zutara: Stick Boy and Match Girl in Love

Poem: Stick Boy and Match Girl in Love. The poem explains itself.

"Stick Boy liked Match Girl

He liked her a lot

He liked her cute figure

He thought she was hot

But could a flame ever burn

For a match and a stick?

It did quite literally;

he burned up quick."

AtLA Universe: Season 03, the "Ember Island Players" episode

This wasn't right…this simply wasn't right.

He did not intend for this to happen. Only a quick swim in the ocean, that's all…something refreshing after firebending practice with the young monk. He found himself at a halt behind a large palm tree before he even realized it.

There she was, frolicking in the turquoise waves, a darling nymph with blue eyes and café au lait flesh. The waterbender was clad in her undergarments which consisted of a white bandeau to conceal her small, yet full breasts; knee length white leggings to outline her curved warrior's legs; and a white sash at her small, feminine waist. Her hair, wild as a russet silk forest, framed her round face, cheeks flushing rose.

"Damn you, Zuko…Uugghh, damn that water tribe wench!" the prince cursed to himself. "Stupid, stupid…Curvy..Girl.."

One could laugh heartily at the young man's flustered state. After all this time, clashing with the ferociously stubborn, yet charming young lady throughout the past year...the dear banished prince was hidden behind a tree, staring at her womanly blossomed figure like the "peeping tom" that he was.

Should he just nonchalantly make an appearance? "Oh, Katara. I didn't know you were here!" 'Yeah right..You, the amazing actor with the stupid stutter. For Agni's sake, stop staring at her like som-'

"Is someone there? Hello?"

Ack!

Golden eyes widened with terror, a lower lip quivering. 'Think fast! Do something!'

Clearing his throat audibly, Zuko presented himself with false apathy. Donning only his scarlet pants with a deep maroon waist band, the young man composed himself before Katara.

"It's just me. I, uh…stopped to admire the sky before..going for a swim."

"Oh.." she mumbled, cocking a thin eyebrow. "How very artistic of you. I heard mumbling or something for a moment. I guess that was you?"

"No…I mean, yes," Zuko sputtered, his façade slowly withering. "I was thinking aloud…you know, what I should teach Aang in his next lesson."

She was quite puzzled. Why was Zuko acting so strange? Every word spoken seemed to be a difficult task for him to complete. Oh well. The young lady dismissed it.

"Well, I hope my presence doesn't deter you.." Katara spoke, her voice composed.

"Not at all," the prince replied in a heartbeat.

"Then come and swim, silly."

Her smile had been whimsically sweet. The waterbender dashed back into her aquatic sanctuary, leaving the young man speechless. 'I can do this. I'll be fine. I am an honorable man…I am an honorable man..' His golden eyes absentmindedly drifted downward to Katara's rounded bottom, which protruded enough from beneath the white sash for the prince to take notice. 'I am a stupid man..'

Making his way to where the waves broke upon the sun-kissed sand, Zuko found a decent spot to sit down, aching limbs popping. A groan escaped his lips as he leaned backward, lying flat on his back. A well-deserved comfort had been achieved in the warmth of the sand. A lick of the cool waves gracing his pale feet was a lovely relief from the heat. Not one to tan very well, the pale prince made note to not remain in the sun for too long. However, he could not deny its healing touch on bare flesh, happiness blossoming within every cell. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of azure eyes lay upon him as well.

'Did he have to just lie there? In front of me? Shirtless? Really, Zuko, you are mindless!' The young lady busied herself in the ocean, paying no further mind to the resting fire prince. 'No need to oogle him like a piece of meat. He had just become a dear friend not too long ago. Why strain that with lust?' Her rationalization was proper, conservative. Although…the young man did have scrumptious toned lines along his torso; lines that were begging to be traced by her mocha fingertips. 'Enough! A friend is a friend. Prove it to yourself.'

Thus, Katara splashed crystal waves as she walked over to the reclined young man. She decided to sit beside him, enjoying the afternoon rays of the sun as well.

"Are you awake?" she whispered, seeing that his eyelids had been sealed shut.

He appeared rather peaceful, no tension whatsoever upon his smooth, pearl white visage.

"Yeah," he rasped. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I didn't wish to startle you."

"You're fine…Erm, it's fine..for you.." Zuko edited his words with slight paranoia.

The young lady tittered, shaking her head as she reclined against the sand. Zuko could feel bits of her russet hair tickle his arm. He did not object. As waved and untamed as it appeared, her mane was rather soft. His eyelids remained sealed, regulating his breath, preventing it from quickening. Small talk had been made amongst them.

"So..I recall you saying that the Ember Island Players butchered precious plays?" questioned the young lady.

"Well, not all plays, but I personally felt that numerous times. 'Love Amongst the Dragons' was meant to be a theatrical masterpiece, and the players just turned it into some tawdry, melodramatic show. I won't even call it a 'performance;' it was not worthy enough to be referred to as such. It has been years since I'd last seen a show of theirs, so perhaps more proper actors were cast. Sorry if this dampens any excitement you had.."

Cracking open an eyelid, Zuko saw that the waterbender had been turned over on her side, facing him. Her head was propped up by a small hand, elbow digging into the sand. He was taken aback slightly; her face had been mere inches away from his own. Were friends usually this close? Such a pondering was sad, considering the prince did not have many friends in his mere seventeen years of life. A flush of the cheeks threatened to spread across his face.

"You're quite the critic," she chuckled, her eyes crinkling from laughter.

A partial smile graced the prince's thin lips, not sure on how to respond to the observation.

"I'm…picky?"

"Absolutely!"

Unexpectedly, he found himself grinning at her boldness. He could not recall-…Actually, he never experienced a moment with the young lady in which they exchanged an open, even amusing, conversation. Perhaps the flames once raging amongst them had finally simmered. Well, almost..

A silence had been birthed once her laughter had eased. Her plump, rosey lips were parted slightly, her eyes glistening like hidden gems unearthed from a forgotten mine. Whisps of hair stuck to her matte face, framing her round features sensually. A ball of air was caught in Zuko's throat. He could feel his own lips parting, breath suddenly shallow.

He didn't know why, but he edged closer, not even half an inch away from her lips.

And she did not back away…or even falter.

Hot breath mingled, hearts raced. Each flustered youth consoled a violent heartbeat, clashing in the confines of a porcelain cage. Famished…simply famished.

However, an unexpected visitor made itself known to dear Zuko…

Stuttering madly, the prince forced himself off of the sand, turning his back to Katara immediately.

"I-I have to go. I just..I just remembered that I have something to take care of."

The young lady averted her eyes, a flush spreading upon her face.

"I underst-stand. I have to get started on dinner. Yes! Dinner!"

Turning his head to the side, the young man nodded rapidly, agreeing without even properly listening to her "excuse."

"Right, right. Uhhh..I'm going now..I'll..see you later!"

He was already lost amongst the palm trees before Katara could even get to her feet. That moment…where did that come from? Dismissing any further thinking on the subject, she took note of Zuko's peculiar posture as he disappeared.

"Why is he hunched over like that?" she mumbled.

Oh…if only she knew a young man's woes.

*Next Scene*

Makeshift crystal catacombs were composed of painted stone and various pieces of cloth. Upon the stage, a scene unfolded between a voluptuous woman and a slender, sinister man. It had been Ba Sing Se, and the pair had been trapped within a crystalline prison. However, the actors did not portray upset youths. It was quite the contrary as a smirk curled upon the woman's scarlet painted lips.

"I have to admit, Prince Zuko…" she spoke in a husky breath. "I really find you quite attractive."

The man scowled, crossing his legs in his seat upon the mock crystals.

"You don't have to make fun of me," he spat, turning his head away rather melodramatically.

"But I mean it," she insisted. "I had eyes for you…since the day you captured me."

"Wait..I thought you were..?" he did not finish his sentence, turning to face the woman before him, exposed eye heavily hooded (he wore a mask to conceal the other eye…the wrong one, mind you).

"No one needs to know," she giggled sickeningly.

Up in the balcony, bathed in shadows, the real Zuko and Katara blushed madly, separating from each other as far as possible. The sound of a wild heartbeat reverberated in the prince's ears. He bowed his head, his large pale hands pulling at his disheveled hair.

'Dear Agni, why must you hate me?'

~ read & review