Zutara Month Day 13: Candles
Disclaimer: Don't own the Characters
Brighter, darker, brighter, darker. It was like a heartbeat, a steady pulsing. "Zuko! Stop playing with the candle!" Katara had had enough. She was on edge. Zuko had been lowering the candle until it was almost completely out and then feeding it back to life repeatedly.
"I'm not! I'm breathing! I can't help it if the candle imitates my breath," He said in defense. The thunder of an oncoming storm rolled in the background complimenting his words.
"We both know that you don't have to manipulate the fire! Does water tremble when I breathe?" She retorted as the pitter-patter of rain started above. It was late and tomorrow was the battle. Everyone else had long since gone to sleep, but neither Zuko nor Katara had been able to pull themselves off to their rooms.
"It does when you get angry. You know it's harder to control how your element reacts when thinking about other things."
"What have you been thinking about?" Katara almost whispered. She was tired and tomorrow was judgment day. She knew exactly what he had been thinking about. It's what had been on all of their minds since it became clear Aang had to fight Ozia. She hardly needed the moody fire bender pretending that he had no control over the flicker of a flame with that on the horizon. Zuko still hadn't responded. She turned to look at him. He had his knees drawn up, his head down. It was as if he was trying to hide from the oncoming storm. The flame started to dim and brighten again.
"Don't you ever wonder?" he asked.
"Wonder what?" she whispered as she walked over and sat by him.
"What's going to happen tomorrow, if only some of us come back alive, or none of us, what will become of the world. Don't you wonder?" His inner turmoil seeped through his words.
Of course she wondered. They all did. "Yes, but we can't think about that right now. We have to concentrate on being as prepared as possible and doing our parts. That's all we can do."
He looked up; his gaze meeting hers.
"What if Aang can't put an end to my father? What if I can't defeat Azula? What if it's not enough, Katara? What if we fail? What then?" his worries streamed steadily out like a river between them.
"Zuko, we've all been training for this. All we can do is trust in each other." She took a deep breath. He was simply voicing the fears they all had.
"We're going to fight my sister, Katar. Azula is unpredictable and dangerous. You know this. What if I can't protect you?" His eyes bore into hers.
She didn't reply to this query for time. She hadn't been expecting it. Instead she listened to the growing storm.
Then from the storm's silence she replied. "I can protect myself. When we're in the arena we have to watch out for ourselves. No false steps. I'll be with you the whole way."
He looked out at the rain. "Sokka, Aang, Suki, Toph, you father. They would never forgive me if anything happened to you. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you." He sighed and turned back to look her in the eyes. "If only one of us makes it out alive, Katara, it will be you. I promise you that."
"And I can promise you that both of us will make it out alive," she replied. His words were too dark, too heavy. She didn't want to think of the burden either of them would have to carry if only one were to walk away.
A bright flash followed by a cracking of the sky startled them from contemplation. Lighting struck nearby and both could not help but hope it was not a premonition of what was to come.
A/N: Hey all. So, this one was kinda hard to write. My creative flow has been evading me, but I wanted to try to get something up for you all. I will for sure have the next one up in a day or two! Thanks again to SoapDuck and peter pan's horcrux for reviewing and everyone else who is reading and following. You are the best! Don't forget- stay awesome!