Title: we can knock it down
Summary: but only if things go wrong.
Pairing: Zutara
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"Look, I'm sorry I went to Ba Sing Seh and didn't tell you, okay?" Zuko ran a tired hand through his hair, "I just needed to think. I mean, this is a big step, getting married and I just sort of got overwhelmed." Katara's glare was unrelenting, her cobalt eyes hard.
"And then I panicked and ran, okay? And it wasn't right, it wasn't right of me at all." Zuko continued.
"You left without saying a thing." Katara bit out, "Without even leaving a note."
"I know." Zuko's voice cracked with desperation, "I just left and it was so, so stupid and I'm sorry. So sorry. I can't stand the thought of living without you, but if that's how it's got to be-"
"You pulled an Aang." Katara interrupted him, voice cold. "I left him because I knew you wouldn't go running out on me whenever life got hard. But then you proved me wrong."
"Katara, I—I don't know what to say to you. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, right up there with siding with Azula the first time we were in Ba Sing Seh." Zuko took a deep breath and soldiered on under Katara's unimpressed gaze. "I thought, I mean, it's such a big city. No one ever looks at you twice there. I figured I could get lost for a few days, forget myself, forget- "
"Forget me." Katara was solid ice.
Zuko gulped. "Forget you, forget everything and just figure life out. I was so confused. But everything in that damn city reminded me of you and that I'd made a terrible, terrible mistake. So I came back." Zuko's voice cracked again. "I came back. To you and-"
Zuko was cut off with a pair of lips. After recovering from the initial shock, Zuko kissed her back. She drew away after a long moment, and looked intently into his eyes.
Zuko's gut instinct told him to shy away from her blue gaze, but he stayed strong, unrelenting, staring right back at her.
Minutes passed and Katara's face stayed blank. An unsettling feeling began in the bottom of Zuko's stomach.
Then, without warning, she launched herself forward, their lips meeting yet again. Before he knew what he was doing, Zuko's arms were around her, caressing her back, her arms, running through her hair. Hers spread across his chest, over his shoulders, coming to rest at the nape of his neck where she played gently with his silky black hair.
When she finally pulled away she whispered "Okay."
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Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
I got the idea from an Imagine Your OTP on tumblr.