a midnight marathon, a prompted drabble compilation
warning: use of coarse language, sexual situations, and adult themes
"So, tell me why they're throwing fruit on our bed again?"
Katara's arms are folded over her chest and she tips her head back to give her newlywed husband a critical look. Zuko frowns and folds his arms over his chest in retaliation. They are standing in the full regalia of their titles; Zuko is wearing the full crown, mantle, and robes of the Fire Lord while Katara is dressed in her newly ordained Fire Lady robes, the ornament sitting in her hair at a slight angle. People are filing in and out of their bedroom in a queue, tossing pomegranate seeds, dates, grapes, and grains of rice onto their neatly made bed.
"I've already explained it to you," he huffs indignantly, "it's a blessing—"
"And it's fun!" called Toph as she unceremoniously pelted their bed with a handful of what Katara calls 'fertility debris'. She paused again to twist her feet against the floor, and with alarming precision, tossed a grape at the Fire Lord. He'd have been more amused if the offending fruit hadn't pegged him in the center of his forehead before it rolled away. Zuko rubs the spot absently and growls under his breath before turning back to his wife.
"It's a blessing from friends and family. We built our bed together as a symbol of our new life together and now they're supposed to cover the bed in fruit and rice to bless us with fertility." Katara drops her arms from her chest to wind one around his waist and place one on his crossed arms, standing on the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear.
"Does that mean we have to have sex on the fruit too?"
Zuko coughs and splutters; at his side, Katara is laughing at his rapidly reddening face. Just having entered the room, Sokka and Suki toss a handful of fruit onto the bed and turn their attention to the couple. Katara is still laughing, attempting to hide her giggles behind her hand as encouragement to not laugh as loudly as she wants in front of her guests. Zuko is avoiding eye contact with Sokka for reasons that are more obvious to the firebender than the warrior. Sokka only gives the couple a strange look, while Suki wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and the laughter and spluttering starts again. Thankfully, Sokka notices her behavior and starts to lead her away.
Finally, Zuko sets himself up straight, careful not to dislodge his crown as he runs his fingers through the length of his hair that isn't restrained in a top knot. Katara's eyes follow his hands with a grin, but she doesn't speak. She simply hooks her arm with his, leans against his broad and strong frame, and greets every diplomat, friend, and family member with the appropriate title and thanks.
When Zuko finally shuts the doors to their bedroom, it couldn't be any more relieving to her. She unties her sash and shrugs off her outer robe, laying it over the chair as she saunters over to Zuko. The Fire Lord is standing at the edge of the bed, peering at all the mess on the top of the sheets. She wraps her arms around his waist and leans her head against his back.
"You never answered my question," she says in a melodious voice, and he turns around to face her with a quirked eyebrow.
"No," he breathes out, leaning down to kiss her chastely, "we don't have to do anything on top of the fruit." He intends to pull away from her but she tilts her face up towards his to catch his lips, first with her teeth and then with her own soft lips. His hands cup her cheeks as he leans down to deepen the kiss and before he realizes it, her hands are at work on his clothes. It is to his advantage that he allows Katara to help him dress on most mornings, since now she works each of the knots and clasps with a rapid deftness that has him nearly naked in a matter of minutes. She only smirks, pushing him back onto the bed, and climbs on top of him.
"You're crushing grapes underneath me," he announces, but Katara only pulls off her robe and grins, leaning over his head to reach for a date to chew on.
"It'll be like wine in our sheets then," she said with a jovial grin, pulling him up from his position on his back and resting her hands against his shoulders.
"Are you really going to—" He doesn't have to ask the question anymore because her hands are down the front of his pants and she is looking at him with a playfully inappropriate look in her eyes. He groans and fumbles to pull his pants away from himself, letting her work her hands over him smoothly. He tilts his head back and faintly feels his hair brushing his shoulders.
"I really like your hair at this length," Katara smirks as her lips press against his exposed neck, "it's really sexy."
It's weird and eccentric and strange for the two of them as Katara pushes her wraps aside, not bothering to take them off as she moves her legs around his waist and sinks herself down on top of him. She lets out a moan and rather than leaning back, she throws her arms around his shoulders and pulls herself as close as she can manage. He pushes in and out of her slowly, one hand bracing her lower back and the other pushing fruits and rice out of the way so he can place a flat palm in the bed. It doesn't take long to find a decent speed, and Katara easily reaches her peak before him, her fingers digging into his back and her moans loud in his ears. Zuko's release doesn't follow as quickly, but Katara aids as much as she can before he too is spent.
Straightening herself, she stands and gazes at the bed. "Are we supposed to sleep in this?" Zuko pulls his pants up and looks at the sheets curiously, before gathering the corners and motioning for Katara to join him in these efforts. When she does, he grins, and leads the way.
Honestly, the Royal Guardsmen have mostly gotten used to the antics of the Fire Lord and his wife, but when an assortment of rice grains, pomegranate seeds, grapes, and dates are rained down from the balcony of their room, they wonder if they will ever get used to their Lord and Lady.
notes: so! the tradition here is a chinese (or other asian, i can't really recall) wedding tradition to promote fertility. friends and family members toss dates and pomegranates onto the newlyweds' bed the night of their wedding to wish them good fortune and to encourage child in the first year of their marriage. another tumblr user gongjooya confirmed that they do something similar in korean weddings, but the bride catches dates and chestnuts in a sash to symbolize the number of boys and girls she is having. anyway, i added the other elements (grapes and rice grains) because i really wanted the image of a bed full of debris, and i needed toph to throw a grape at zuko's head. for those of you with tumblr, feel free to follow me at xavalos dot tumblr dot com for some things that are too short to post here. also, i tend to post my entries for zutara month here just a little bit earlier as well. as always, let me know if you liked it! or who i should try to work into the next prompt.