A:TLA does not belong to me, nor do these characters. They belong to VIACOM. They only take part in any way this story takes me.
Chapter 21: One Last Request
When they had finally met up with the rest of the group, Katara was crying with happiness and a strange feeling of completeness. She had clutched onto Zuko's hand for the entire time and kissed Suki, Toph, Longshot and Smellerbee on their cheeks, much to Toph's particular indignation. In revenge, the earthbender pulled at her skirts and asked 'what on earth are you wearing Sugar Queen?'
Not long after that, they all gathered together in the Earth Kingdom to celebrate King Kuei's re-crowning. Aang hugged Bosco, and dressed Momo in a little suit and hat, and they all laughed and hugged each other again.
They were all wore fine satin Earth Kingdom clothes, provided by Earth King Kuei himself. When they arrived at the palace, they were greeted with glowing green lanterns and cheering crowds. Everyone, even the citizens that lived in the lowest ring of Ba Sing Se were there, wearing their own dapper clothing. The group walked among the crowds first, Katara picked up the children that tugged at her dress and kissed them gently on the forehead, just because she was happy that those kids could live, and have a life, and be safe to say and feel how they want.
The group were all shown their rooms, and Katara and Zuko looked at each other with embarrassment and slight disgust when they both saw Sokka pinch Suki's backside as they were introduced to Sokka's room. Nonetheless, when they arrived in Zuko's room, Katara couldn't help but notice the firebender edge toward her. Perhaps it was her imagination.
After Aang and Zuko's squishy speech about hope, peace and love, the party began.
The sky darkened and twilight settled sleepily over the Earth Kingdom capital, the delicious food was displayed, and the entire group ate so much they thought that their stomachs would burst open. The dining hall was alive with buzzing conversations and political so-so's were waved away and ignored, at that moment, the hour was theirs. Every single one of them. Even though the entire group were under the legal drinking age, they all had alcohol thrust into their palms and most of them, apart from Toph and Aang, drank.
'Maybe you shouldn't be drinking, guys…' Aang said, a slight curve to his lip. He had his arm slung around Toph's neck, and if Katara hadn't known any better she would have thought Toph was blushing.
'Psh, please!' Sokka slurred, throwing his drink down on the table, 'if I can drink cactus juice I'm sure I can survive on a little earth brandy.'
Katara and Suki chuckled at him, a glass of alcohol in their own hands. As she looked at the liquid she remembered how sour the vodkine felt on her head when she used it to heal herself in Ember Island. She stared at it now with a small lemon perched on the side of the glass in wonder as it made her head swirl. Katara looked up from her glass just in time to see Aang peck Toph on the lips, there was a collective gasp around the group and Aang turned a lovely shade of crimson.
'What are all you boogerfaces looking at?' Toph scoffed. Katara smirked at her, and Toph merely blushed slightly and smirked right back.
The group mixed with the 'officials' in Ba Sing Se, and Katara couldn't quite shake the feeling it was too much like the time they were first in the palace ballroom. But, this time, there were no Dai Li agents skulking around in the corners, or Ju Dee's brandishing overly exaggerated smiles at them. There were just warm faced people with nothing but nice words to say to the heroes.
Katara did however, feel the hard stares of some certain shady characters. It was common knowledge now that the waterbender knew bloodbending, and she could almost feel the disgusted looks on the back of her head. Strangely, though, she didn't care. Katara knew inside that she only used bloodbending as a last resort, and would never for the rest of her human life use it again. She kept catching glances of a very quiet firebender, too. He would look away, when she caught him. A very faint red appearing on his cheeks. And then her heart would speed, and she would smile to herself.
But, among all the compliments and cheery sycophants, Katara actually felt herself get a little embarrassed toward the end of it. Women with bright lipstick and heavy eye shadow kept pushing her hair out of her face and saying 'my, what lovely cheekbones you have!', men patting her on the back harshly and telling her that 'I wish I had a son like you!', and when the compliments got a little too much for her modesty, and her head was dizzy from the alcohol, she sought her prince, slipped her hand through his, and with one, slightly alluring glance led him away from the crowds.
After leading him down several hallways, she stopped in her tracks and laughed. 'Zuko, I don't know where I'm going.'
Zuko laughed back and let go of her hand. 'At least now you admit it.'
'Don't be so smug,' she whispered, turning back to him. Zuko looked at her strangely, with narrowed eyes and a slight crook in his lips. He moved toward her, and unbeknownst to Katara, felt herself move away, but he cut her off and practically pinned her against the wall.
'Katara,' his voice hissed her name, he moved closer to her. 'I don't want to rush you, or make you feel uncomfortable, but…'
'But what?' she whispered gently.
'I want to know if…' he sighed, like he was annoyed with himself. She felt his torso brush hers. 'If you have the same- well, if you feel the same wa-'
Katara cut him off by pressing her finger to his lips, she brushed her mouth against his and kissed him. She didn't hesitate, nor did she even think, her eyelids fluttering shut… and before what she was doing even registered in her mind, the new Firelord's lips were pressing desperately against her own.
Had they suddenly appeared, not even the combined force of all four of her friends could stop Katara from kissing back just as desperately, breathing him, faintly tasting the sweet remains of egg custard tart and fire whiskey and shared memories. As if they knew their rightful place, her arms wrapped around his neck, and his round her waist. She poured everything she had into that kiss, all the love, the hate, the anguish, the regret.
But that, she didn't regret. And nor would she, not for the rest of her life. And when people would ask them 'how did you meet?' they would glance at each other from the corners of their eyes, two heavy smiles peeling at their lips and a laugh bubbling inside them. They would nudge one another gently and tell the requester, 'long story.'
'To my room.' Zuko said. It wasn't a question; he dragged her by the wrist until they found themselves in his appointed chambers.
Katara's head spun with the vodkine, and she had Zuko by the collar. Her head swam happily as she pulled him into her, their bodies clumsy and drunk. The back of Katara's knees hit the bed and they both fell onto it in a mess of laughing teenager. Zuko looked into her eyes with a wide grin when he picked her up by the waist with one strong arm and moved her up the bed. He crawled on top of her staring at her lips and propping himself up with his elbows. Her heart was thumping with excitement; it was a new sort of feeling. She was so used to being scared all the time; she forgot what it was like to feel like this.
Even though she was only fifteen, she was surprised by how much she wanted him, even if she didn't completely know what that meant. Allowing the vodkine to spur her actions on, she wrapped her legs around Zuko's waist and suddenly felt more excited than she thought she had ever before. Zuko was looking down at her with a soft expression; he wasn't smiling anymore, but he wasn't frowning. He was just… neutral. As if he was considering something deeply, Katara couldn't quite register the emotion.
To her surprise, Zuko suddenly moved his face down and placed soft kisses on her throat. It felt like he was breathing fire into her skin, it was transcending down to stomach and throughout her entire body. A breath left her lungs and came out in a gasp. She didn't realise she was smiling until she felt lips on hers, soft and urgent, like he was holding back. His kiss made Katara doubt his inability to conjure lightning. Her hands were pressed limply on his chest, but as their kissing grew more passionate, she grabbed a fistful of cloth and pulled her into him. There wasn't one part of their bodies that weren't touching. His touch was like tiny sun spores exploding on her skin, fizzling and crackling similar to fireworks in the night sky. She ran her hands down his torso and rested them on his hipbones, they were defined. Living off their rations in the wild had obviously weakened his body. He looked smaller than he used to look when they were enemies. He looked less threatening. Nonetheless, she clutched her hands around his hips and they flipped. She was suddenly on top of him and it was her leaning down.
She felt excitement in her throat, and lust in her gut. Katara ran her hands back up his body to his face, cupping it in two hands. She rose her lips to his scar, and kissed its outline sorrowfully. She pressed her lips against it for a few seconds and just froze the moment of it all. It was so perfect. His heavy breathing on her neck, their closeness, his warmth, the way he made her feel by pressing his lips on her throat. He understood her. He understood every inch of her without a question and accepted her without a second thought. She wasn't just kissing him in lust. She was kissing him because she wanted him to know how much she loved him. Being the independent girl that Katara is, she never thought she would want someone to stay with her so desperately. But in this moment; in this perfect, fragile moment, she never wanted to let go of him.
Katara's fears were addressed when she felt two strong hands on her shoulders; Zuko pushed her up and away from his face. As she leant back, he leant forward. Katara found herself sat in his crossed legs, and staring into his serious golden eyes.
'Katara, how old is the usual Water Tribe betrothal age?' Zuko asked, his words slurring slightly. Katara rose her eyebrow at him. For a drunk, sixteen year old boy with a girl in his bed, he was incredibly talkative.
'Sixteen. Why?' Katara put her arms around his neck, licking her lips. Zuko shivered and leant the tiniest inch backward.
'Lay down with me,' Zuko told her, putting a hand on the small of her back. Katara gave him a lopsided smile and lunged for his lips. He kicked out his legs and fell back on the feather pillows with his hands behind his head, like he was surrendering. Disappointment flitted in her face and she leant away from him to sit up again.
'Why won't you kiss me?' She huffed, pouting.
'Because the traditional betrothal age for the Water Tribe is sixteen. And you're only fifteen,' Zuko pointed out.
'What? Why does that matter? It's only a kiss,' Katara urged, getting off of him and crossing her legs. Zuko let out a breath.
'I don't want to get carried away,' Zuko paused, 'Your dad would kill me,' he said worriedly. He turned his body to face her and leant up on one arm, his muscles flexing and suddenly looking rather big. 'It's hard enough not ripping your clothes off right now. You're not a boy, you don't know how desperately…'
'Oh I do. Don't underestimate the severity of a tipsy girl's desire, Zuko,' Katara cut in, picking at her ruffled, extravagant robe. She was trying to configure the button on the side of the dress without looking too drunk; it wasn't working. 'Besides, I don't know when I'll be able to see you again.'
'Don't speak like that,' Zuko said sadly.
'Well, it's true. I need to go to the Southern Water Tribe and rebuild it. That isn't gonna happen overnight,' she murmured, unpicking the buttons clumsily. Her hand was quickly enclosed in Zuko's, and he swung her body around to face away from him.
'Shh,' Zuko hummed. He pulled her into him, her back to his front, and Katara knew that he had won. His arm was wrapped around her waist and his hand rested on her abdomen. Zuko's breath tickled the back of her neck and sent goose bumps down her body. Yeah, this would be just fine, Katara thought comfortably.
Katara woke up in the early day, Zuko still wrapped around her body in the foetal position. His hand was still on her abdomen. They had fallen asleep in all of their clothes, on top of the covers. She noticed that a few of the buttons on the side of her robe had come undone, and was reminded of the night before. Katara felt her cheeks redden and she bit her lip; did she really tell Zuko she wanted to have sex with him? She cringed a little in shyness, as opposed to embarrassment. Katara was surprised to hear Zuko purr in her ear; it reassured her, as it always had.
'There is one thing I never quite got to tell you, Katara,' His voice growled with want, but he was somehow soft. Just the sound of his voice made Katara smile dreamily into the pillows.
'What was that?' Katara asked happily, her voice cracking with the grogginess the alcohol had left.
'I love you.'
THE END.
I loved writing this story, thank you to everyone who favourited, left reviews, spurred this story on!
Zuko and Katara are a beautiful couple from my point of view, the series paralleled them so much in the show. I'm sad they never happened, but I like being able to lose myself in AU's for Avatar. Also, (I don't mean to bash ships here) I personally always felt that when Katara and Aang got together in the end, she was more of a reward for him than anything else. As if she was purely made to be the Avatars girl, and she wasn't allowed to experiment into her own relationships.
I adored writing about the different folklores. I wish they included more in the actual series.
And, most importantly, I wanted to say about how the prologue was more of an insight into the future of the story and all of its potential. There are still some loose ends, and there will be a four part epilogue, and it will be in Zuko's POV. I'm excited to write it, I must say. So, there is still more to come. I don't know exactly when that will be, hopefully during Zutara week when the urge hits me!
It would be brash and unrealistic to believe that Zuko and Katara would live happily ever after in any circumstance. He is too loyal to his nation, and she to hers. I highly doubt that Katara would never become 'Fire Lady'. I find it sad, but inevitable that they would grow apart as they tried to rebuild their broken civilisation. But I also find it highly likely that their love would ever diminish, and instead grow much stronger.
It was getting a bit heated toward the end, but they're so young, I know that neither of them would go any further than that.
I'd like to include that this story meant a lot to me in that- well, I was a bit like Zuko in a myriad of ways. I sort of went through a bad stage, went off the rails. I watched Avatar as a kid, and when I read 'Stormbenders' by Fandomme (truly amazing Zutarian fic, I highly recommend it) I rediscovered my love for A:TLA and got back into it all.(But this time as a Zutara shipper)
I hope that I portrayed the characters as well as possible. I have to admit, although I enjoyed writing in Zuko's perspective, I felt most at home in Katara's.
I know that throughout a lot of this story, Katara has been the angry, unmanageable character. I felt the need to do it because in her circumstances, where she had all of these duties thrust upon her and obligations to fulfil, she was allowed to feel angry. The writers rarely showed these moments. I based a lot of the way Katara treated Zuko in chapters 7-10 on how she treated him in The Western Air Temple episode and The Southern Raiders.
I apologise if I wrote Toph in a way that was unfamiliar. She was never shown in the series as having a love interest apart from Sokka, and even so she never acted upon it. I wrote her in the way that I thought she would have acted in her circumstances.
In chapter 8 *Always Attract* I hope that you picked up on the way I shifted things around a little. It is clear, as anyone can see that fire and water are opposites, and in season 1 their personalities definitely reflect each other, BUT; I depicted Katara as the cruel one and Zuko as the understanding. I did this because I noticed in season 3 (namely the two episodes I mentioned earlier) Katara always seemed to be harsh to Zuko, where he would in turn be quite and kind, understanding. It seemed that they switched roles to in 'Crossroads of Destiny' when Katara was BOTH harsh and understanding. Harsh at first, but eager to be understanding after Zuko admitted that they both shared a common ground- the loss of their mothers.
I wonder if any of you noticed in 'Unlikely Allies' the part where the stars were like 'hope in a dome of oblivion', and then Zuko comes along. He's her hope. Some insight fluff for you there.
I realise that there are various grammar mistakes in this fic, but I hope you understand that they were accidents, and relatively rare!
I titled this fic The Book of Tian Yao, because even though it may seem to have little effect on the story- it is a main component that ties their becoming relationship together. If it weren't for the book, then the Gaang would have hesitated about allowing Zuko to join when he did. And if it weren't for the book, Zuko would have betrayed them (by going back to the fire nation to retrieve it and realising his destiny with his uncle etc.) Finally, it was the book that drove Katara and Zuko into the forest, and whilst ultimately giving them the fight of their lives, bringing them together and making them realise how compatible they are, even if Katara dejects him at first.
Thank you all for your time, I hope you enjoy the epilogue. It's going to be emotional. Flamio Hotmen!