NOTE: This week is a double update from Zuko's point of view so be sure to read chapter 26 as a continuation of this chapter. Enjoy my lovelies!
She comes to his room that night.
Not the Firelord's room.
His,
Room.
And he,
Is,
Very,
Surprised.
"Katara." He mutters,
Blinking,
At the sudden light,
From an open door.
"Shut up." She orders.
He gulps,
And wonders,
If he's dreaming,
Again.
It certainly isn't the first time,
And he'd be willing to bet his crown,
It won't,
Be,
The last.
"I have something to say to you."
She glares down at him,
Looming over,
The side,
Of,
His bed.
Their bed.
"Um, do you want to…sit?"
"No."
She crosses her arms over her chest,
And he is astonished.
He,
Is,
Not,
Dreaming.
If it were a dream she'd be,
Well,
She wouldn't just be standing there.
"Zuko." She starts off angry,
Loud enough that her words are forceful,
But not so loud that anyone outside the room will hear her.
He listens,
"You are spoilt. You are childish. You are possessive, self centred and jealous. You rave about your stupid honour and your stupid destiny like the world will end if it can't hear you whine. You're temper is ridiculous, you don't know anything about girls and you've done nothing but cause me trouble."
Her words should sound angry,
But with each sentence,
Her voice,
Softens.
And he softens,
With it.
He doesn't mean to put his hands on hers,
And she doesn't seem to notice.
"If you hate me so much why are you here?"
His voice comes out throaty,
And strangled.
He doesn't want her to hate him,
Not again.
He doesn't think she does,
But when she said he knew nothing about girls,
Well she wasn't entirely wrong.
Mai would probably agree with her,
Azula definitely would.
"I don't. I don't hate you. I haven't hated you in a long time and you know that. I know that Aang is back and that he- that he thinks… But I don't. I don't think like Aang does because for the longest time there's been someone else to think about."
He is confused,
But he is hopeful.
She has made her feelings clear once,
But will she,
Again?
"I was the first person to trust you and you betrayed that trust. I had every right to treat you as badly as I did when you finally came around, even though no one else seemed to think I did. What I still don't understand is even though I made it clear I hated you and wasn't going to forgive you and didn't trust you, you kept trying. You were patient and helpful and did something for me that none of the others would. Why?"
His hands are travelling up and down her arms,
But he's not looking at them.
He's looking at her necklace.
I'll save you from the pirates
He laughs to himself.
He really was an idiot back then,
Especially if he thought that line would get him anywhere.
"If you're just going to laugh at me-"
She tries to pull away,
But he holds her firm,
Pulls her closer,
So one little tug,
Will have her on the bed with him.
"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at me and how stupid I was and how stupid you are if you have to ask why."
"Then you are laughing at me."
"What is it you want to say Katara?"
She stares at him,
As if considering her words,
Or maybe,
If he's lucky,
Considering something else entirely.
He knows he's never that lucky,
But he can't help but wonder.
He slides his hands back down her arms,
One hand drops to his side where he lights a small flame at the end of his index finger.
The fingers of the other hand lace with hers.
It feels like a long time since he's touched her,
Longer still since she's touched him.
"Katara." He whispers,
Lets go of her hand.
It's her move now,
Her decision.
Still he doesn't meet her eyes,
Focuses instead on that necklace.
He listens to her breathe,
Waits for her response,
And remembers,
The feel of that necklace in his hands.
He remembers keeping it close,
The feeling of the smooth ribbon around his wrist,
The way the light caught the shell, almost making it glow,
The slight smell of wood fire, animal furs and something distinctly feminine.
He hears her inhale,
As if to speak
And finally,
He looks her in the eye.
Blue,
The bluest blue he's ever seen,
Bluer than anything in the firenation,
Bluer than anything he thought he'd ever receive.
"So…" he lets the word hang.
"I like watching you train." She blurts.
He wasn't expecting that.
"But, why? I mean, it's not even that I'm very good, what could possibly be interesting about-"
"I'm guessing its for the same reason you seem to like watching me train."
She blushes a little at that,
And he gets it.
"Maybe we should train together more."
She smiles at him a little.
"Maybe we should."
The flame on his finger goes out as he reaches for her,
Hands on her hips this time,
One tug too many,
And her mouth on his.
He hears her squeak in the back of her throat.
"Too fast for you Water Tribe?" he jibes.
"You've just always got to knock me off my feet don't you."
She rolls off him,
But lies on her side to face him.
She looks down at the sheets,
Draws a tight circle on them,
He wishes she would draw that tight circle on him instead.
"I don't- I don't really know if-"
Of course she doesn't.
He forgets she's younger,
But there was Jet…
Part of him wishes he were still the angry Prince who would always take what he wanted,
But,
Most of him is glad he is not,
It will be better this way.
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to."
He puts his hand over hers.
"We can just sleep, just like before, when we didn't mean to."
She smiles at him shyly.
"I appreciate that, but I don't think I can sleep."
It's his turn to smile.
He inches towards her,
"You're not going to boss me around are you?"
Pulls her close.
"I make no such promises."
Her words tickle the skin under his scarred ear.
Only she,
Only Katara,
Does not,
See,
The scar.
This time she lets him kiss her,
And he knows,
It is a big deal.
After having her first kiss stolen,
She does not take kisses from just anyone.
Her hands are on him,
Unsure,
But learning fast,
Tracing the lines of his chest,
Years of hard earned muscles,
Small scars from hard fought battles.
He feels the path she has taken even after she has moved on.
His skin tingles,
Hairs stand on end.
She definitely has a healer's hands,
Gentle one minute,
Harsh the next,
Both somehow just what he needs.
"Now I understand the wanted posters."
He mutters between kisses.
"Sparky," she adopts a Toph-ism and tosses her hair back over her shoulder before leaning over him again, holding her lips just above his "You've got no idea."
Maybe not,
But he's pretty sure he will soon.