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(On With The Story!)
"He's such a damn jerk! Why the hell did I let myself to fall for the little act he put on yesterday? Just because he let me hug him doesn't mean he still isn't the jerk he always has been!" Katara shouted as she sat on the bed clutching a pillow to her chest as she stared at the floor. Katara's eyes traced the floor as she tried to calm the rising heat of anger rising in her. After a few moments, she began to recollect the feelings he evoked from her just last night and felt her cheeks began to burn a bright red.
"God! How could I be so stupid?" Katara growled angrily after those thoughts came into her head. She quickly smothered her face into the pillow as she tried to push those thoughts from her clouded mind.
She was confused. She had so many emotions for the Prince, and some of her feelings that she felt were along the lines of romantic, but at this moment, it disgusted her. How could he be so sweet one moment and then be so cold and callous the next. Katara was angered that she actually fell for it, but for some reason, she felt as if something Iroh had said was still lingering in her mind.
It was about Zuko's father and how Iroh had shouted in anger of how his father had changed him. Katara couldn't swallow the fact Zuko ever was different then the hotheaded Prince she knew. Katara took a deep breath as she removed the pillow from her tear-stained face. Katara's vision focused on her surroundings as she recalled her own words from last night – "It's never too late for anybody…" were her own words to the Prince after he explained that he could never be as forgiving as she had just been to him.
Katara realized after a few moments that she was doing it again. She was letting anger get in the way. Katara understood that Zuko had to be one of the biggest jerks she ever had the displeasure of meeting, but somewhere in the back part of her head, she knew fate might have something else planned. Fate. It always had ways of messing with her, but Katara realized if she just let it happen, everything usually turns out perfectly fine, if not better. After the point in her life when she met Aang, and even Zuko, she'd learned to roll with the punches, so what was the big difference now?
Aang and Sokka would come to get her soon, so she really shouldn't mind the short break from getting some well-deserved rest from setting up camp continuously. An evil smirk passed across her face as she thought about a few things she could do to makes Zuko's life a living hell like he had made hers. The smirk quickly faded when she realized she was beginning to think like a firebender. "Oh my god…" Katara grumbled as she placed her face back into the pillow. 'That hotheaded Prince's tactics are starting to rub off on me…' Katara thought gloomily when she heard the heavy metal door open.
In the blink of an eye, Katara quickly bent the water from the small cup that was still on the dinner tray Iroh brought for her and whipped it quickly to the person that was at the door. A quick flame erupted and dissipated the water whip before another flame flew right back at her. The waterbender's loud shrill echoes loudly through the small room as she felt the fire get close enough to burn a small portion of her clothes before she could feel the blazing heat no longer.
Katara's eyes opened to visualize the Prince standing at the door with the same angered look on his face Katara got used to seeing. "What the hell was that for?" Zuko asked angrily as he quickly snapped his fingers to light the torches in the room.
"You scared me!" Katara shouted when she realized who it was.
Zuko just sighed agitatedly as he shook his head before walking toward one of the torches that couldn't light because it was mostly ashes. "Damn…" Zuko whispered as he took the small amount of blackened wood from the metal holder on the wall and tossing it to the side before swiftly bending down to look through a small amount of wood that was arranged neatly in a pile on the floor.
Katara felt her cheeks redden when she realized the tight pants Zuko was wearing and him bending down left nothing to the imagination. After a few seconds, Zuko pulled back up with a new piece of wood for the torch and Katara swiftly turned away before he noticed she was staring. Her eyes slowly adverted back to the Prince as she watched him grab the same broad swords and use them to trim the piece of wood that was apparently too big to fit into the holster.
Zuko growled softly at the piece of wood, which was taking an awfully long amount of time to shape. "Damn…" Zuko growled softly when he accidentally pushed the blade too hard and the friction made the knife slip until the point when it slid into the Prince's palm. The crimson blood quickly began to flow from the fresh wound as the piece of wood and the blade that was now stained with his royal blood, fell from his hand onto the steel floor within milliseconds of each other.
Zuko instinctively covered the wound with his uninjured hand as he gritted his teeth together as he silently fought the pain that now erupted. Katara gazed on questionably as she seen the Prince tense up. She heard the profanity slip from his lips but thought it was just from him fighting with the small inanimate object. But after a few moments of silence and Zuko still as tense as ever, Katara began to worry.
"Are you okay?" Katara asked as she approached the Prince, completely forgetting about her searing anger toward him.
"I'm fine!" Zuko growled as Katara continued to approach. After few more steps, Katara heard a gently dripping sound and looked down to see the red liquid start to puddle on the floor.
"Oh my god!" Katara shouted as she filled in the distance between them and quickly adverted her vision to the space between Zuko and the wall. "What did you do?" Katara growled when she seen Zuko trying to hide the blood from leaking between his two palms.
"Nothing!" Zuko barked back as the fighting spirit it in him wasn't damaged a bit even with the blood dripping from his left hand.
"Zuko, you're hurt, let me just help!" Katara replied in an aggravated tone as she reached for his hand, but the Prince stubbornly pulled it away before she could reach it. "Let me see it!" Katara growled angrily before pushing the Prince to the ground.
Zuko let out a muffled grunt as his back came in contact with the steel as Katara quickly straddled his hips. "Get off of me, you damn bitch!" Zuko growled, but it made Katara that much more motivated to help him.
"Stop acting like this Zuko!" Katara shouted as she leaned forward to grab his hands but in the process, she miscalculated the fact that Zuko had legs, and when he bucked his legs slightly, she fell forward and landing to the point where her face was now only inches away from Zuko's. After Katara shifted slightly to get control of his legs once again, she soon realized how they were both breathing heavily in their small struggle. Her eyes momentarily noticed how close their faces were.
Their parted lips were now only inches apart as Katara tried her hardest to keep the blood from rushing to her face. Zuko's eyes were closed as his breath started to return to his body as he was still in shock of how this girl was able to subdue his legs, but blamed in on the fact that he wasn't willing to use his hands just yet. Zuko opened his eyes and the first thing he noticed was Katara's breast pressing firmly against his chest. Her tanned flesh was showing because of the fire that burned a small potion of her clothes.
Zuko then shook his head in his disgust that he was actually just looking at her breasts. Zuko felt a rare feeling in his groin area as he tried to overlap those lustful feelings with the fact of who Katara was. No matter how many times the word 'peasant' went through his mind, it didn't change the fact that he felt how hard she was pressing against him for the mission of holding him down. His body was slowly betraying him and Katara noticed.
Katara looked down at Zuko once again, completely forgetting about his hands, which were now lying at his sides. She felt an unfamiliar hardness against her thigh as the heat began to build in her cheeks as reality came crashing down. Her Gran Gran had told her many things about how her body would be changing and more about men than Katara ever cared to know. But feeling this strange sensation against her thigh was all too real. Katara knew she what she was feeling and it brought back the memory of seeing Zuko naked by accident.
'Oh my…' was the only thought that passed in Katara's head. Her eyes were looking at Zuko, whose focus was still on their touching chests. Katara didn't know what was about to transpire, but losing her virginity to the Prince of the Fire Nation didn't sound like fate to her. But she knew fate was a funny, funny thing and it liked to play with people's lives quite a bit.
Zuko couldn't take it anymore. Her beautiful tanned skin and warm slender body were all too real. After being stuck at sea for two years trying to basically catch a phantom known as the Avatar, you miss out on a lot of things that only a woman could give you. Here were one, and Zuko wasn't going to let her pass him by. After a deep sigh left his lips, Katara cooed when she felt the hot air against her nearly bare breasts.
That was enough to make Katara look down and Zuko look up until their eyes matched. Everything Zuko had ever thought about her being nothing but a peasant were gone, and everything Katara thought about him being a spoiled Fire Nation Prince were gone as well. Katara didn't know what was about to happen between them in these next few moments, but Katara wanted to embrace it. Zuko swallowed to relieve his drying throat as he noticed their faces coming closer together.
Katara slid her eyes closed and slowly started to close the distance between her and Zuko's lips. Zuko looked at her when his own words formed in his head from the first day she was here. 'If only things were different…' Those words that he only used as a slight and even flippant seduction now hit him like a ton of bricks. 'If only thing were different.' Things weren't though. Even if they now had sex, it wouldn't change the fact that they were enemies and would always be if everything turned out the way it was supposed to.
Zuko knew they would never be together because things would never change. He would always be the Prince of the Fire Nation and she would always be the Water Tribe peasant that was helping the Avatar on his journey to save the world. So, he knew if they had sex, it would surely be a mistake. With that thought, Zuko grabbed his uninjured hand and a finger that didn't contain blood and pressed it against Katara's oncoming lips.
Katara's eyes opened quickly when she felt her lips come in contact with something other than Zuko's lips. Katara eyes widened when she seen Zuko pressing his finger pressing firmly against her puckered lips. After Zuko acknowledged that Katara wasn't going to pursue a kiss any longer, he removed his finger and pulled himself from underneath her. Katara allowed Zuko's body to slide from under hers as she tried to hide her embarrassed face from the Prince's eyes.
Katara sat down on her folded knees as she placed her hands on her lap in embarrassment before looking toward Zuko. The Prince sat down as well before he winced at the pain that became apparent from his left hand. Katara noticed his pain before she scooted toward him and looked into his eyes as she tried to convince him to her let help without the use of words. Zuko willingly offered his hand to her before she placed her palm underneath his hand against the top of his hand. She quietly observed the extent of the damage done to his bloody palm as all stayed quiet because after what had just happened, words seemed unnecessary
The slash across his hand was still bleeding as the fresh blood continued to run over the dried. Katara quickly bent some water with her other hand from what was left of the water from the small cup. Katara made a thin glove of water across her hand before placing it over the fresh wound. Zuko felt the soothing touch of the water and the delicate touch of the waterbender's fingertips against his wrist and her palm against the back of his hand.
His erection had long since faded and he told himself that he would never lose control like that again. Katara on the other hand had a lot to think about. She had nearly given her virginity away to the Prince of the Fire Nation, but also wondered if staying on this ship was as bad as she previously thought. Because she knew Zuko was nothing like she had ever come to expect from the Prince and Katara wondered if his personality came with any other surprises…
(To Be Continued…)