Hel-lo! I am back! Did any of you miss me? Yes? No? Anybody?... Nobody? Ack, foine~ But I can finally get back to my relentless, crazy-woman writing/typing! Yay~ But since I'm still recuperating(I got gastritis when I got back, can you imagine? The timing! Sheesh!) it will be a little slow! But as an early Christmas present, here's Chapter...twenty-six(?) of Your Life's Worth!
Oh, and Happy Doomsday/Apocalypse/21-12-2012 everybody! I wonder if I still have any readers left. O,o What did ya'll do on the oh-so famed end of the world? I was busy tutoring! Haha~What a way to go, eh? And imagine-now we can brag to our future generation that we totally survived the 2012 End of the World. Haha, I feel so omnipotent!
"Took you long enough!" Amai exclaimed, as Zuko's eyes widened at the rebel girl's way-too-sudden attack. He felt his entire form go red-hot with the intrusion of his privacy as he nearly toppled backwards from the impact. Luckily Bacca was right behind him, armed and ready to push him back to his equilibrium-if not he really would've gotten knocked down. And that wouldn't look too good.
Resisting the urge to put full, flaming force behind his hands, Zuko managed to shove Amai off of him-much to her obvious displeasure. But Amai managed a graceful stumble backwards, and a quicker regathering of composure-even though she didn't look at anyone in the eye afterwards. Zuko then staggered a few steps back, nearly stomping onto Bacca's smaller feet as he messily recollected himself. As if Amai had somehow dirtied him, Zuko started dusting imaginary lint off his clothes as he glared at her fiercely-even though she wasn't aware of his irritation.
But his glare couldn't match up to the ice daggers that Katara was currently aiming towards Amai. Just one look at her and Zuko knew that he was going to be in real trouble-despite his innocence.
It was going to be bloodbath...
"Yes. Where have you been?" Katara asked in a severely clipped tone, raising an eyebrow as Bacca quickly got Zuko a seat. Next to the waterbender, Suki simply pressed her lips into a straight line, wondering if their cover might get blown today. In the mean time all she could do was shoot Zuko a highly sympathetic look-and try not to laugh as the Kyoshi Warrior imagined the powerful Fire Lord at the mercy of a scorned, younger, female waterbender.
"Looking for you and Jing, actually," Zuko replied easily-for it was the truth. "I went home to look for you but the servants told me you and Suri were out in town."
Katara narrowed her eyes. She got the hint but she still wanted to rip Amai's head off. How dare that little...little...slut get all hands-y and...
"Well, your place must be really far then," Amai whined, crossing her arms across her chest again, scooting closer to Zuko-as he scooted away as if she was some sort of repellent. "We were like, waiting for you, you know! Some of us were getting antsy!"
Katara immediately went into emotion control, taking in deep breaths to avoid from causing any emotional-waterbending-disaster. But she also had to restrain herself from physically damaging the rebel noble. Suki sensed this and gently took hold of Katara's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
If I ever get my hands on that girl-...
"Speaking of getting antsy…" Zuko suddenly stood up swiftly, a deep frown etched into his brow as he quickly grabbed Katara by her hand that wasn't in Suki's grasp and wrenched her up, much to her surprise and irritation. "Tomi, I'd like to speak to you about something…important."
Katara smoothly broke free from Suki's hand and stood up, nearly knocking over a disgruntled Amai. But before she could leave with Zuko, she turned around and gestured with her hand for Suki to follow.
"Come on, Suri," Katara said, gesturing with her eyes for Suki to get up and follow her. No way was she leaving one of her best friends and brother's girlfriend surrounded by all these Phoenix-Sons-rebels!
But the Kyoshi Warrior shook her head and waved her off. "I'll be fine, Tomi. I'll look for you later or I can just head home in a while. It would be rude to leave such nice people," Suki said, gesturing to the rebels seated around her. "Plus since you're all Lee's roommates and friends… We should all bond and get to know each other."
"Friends, huh?" Reza smirked, taking a quick swig of tea. He then looked up at Zuko and winked. "Don't take too long with your little 'talk', Lee!"
Katara had a small pleasure in seeing Amai's face turn red slightly, and a glare being carved into her feminine features. Even her petite form appeared to have shrunk even further.
"Yeah. Don't take ten thousand years again!" she snapped fiercely, her face a round, ripe tomato. "If you need us we'll be at my place. We live next to Madame Chang's. You know her, she's that reputable seamstress. The lady with her shop and house merged into one and all."
Zuko stared out into space as he tried to recall such a seamstress, before nodding.
"Alright. We'll see you soon then." Zuko confirmed tonelessly, before yanking Katara off. His hold on her hand was hard to the point where Katara thought that something could've cracked as he practically dragged her away from their little group. Katara was stumbling over her feet in her attempt to keep up with Zuko as he wove through crowded tables and passing servers.
But by the time they braved the raging sea of diners and reached the large wooden door that was their exit, Zhen-Ming quickly approached the waterbender and the young Fire Lord.
"Lady Tomi! Is everything alright?" the server asked, his voice tainted with concern. With a hard yank, Katara made Zuko stop-and wrenched her slightly aching hand free. Zuko turned and was about to snap for her to hurry-but when the firebender caught sight of the worried but handsome server boy, an instant glare was carved into his features. His good eye twitched.
Katara attempted a small, polite smile at Zhen-Ming before waving her hand at him as if to say 'never mind.'
"Oh, everything's fine…" she quickly said, hoping not to alarm anybody as she rubbed the hand that Zuko nearly crushed in hopes to relieve some of the pain. Katara could feel Zuko's burning glare from her back, she could even feel it blazing hot impatience against her body-and she knew she had to leave quietly. And quick.
"Oh, I'm going to be out for some time," Katara hastily explained to Zhen-Ming, who was still wearing a concerned frown on his brow, not aware of the figurative fiery daggers that were being flung in his direction by his unknown Lord. "My…sister, Suri will take care of the bill. Do make sure nothing bad happens to her."
Zhen-Ming's frown gradually melted into a smile, as he bowed his head towards Katara.
"I will, Lady Tomi. You can trust me."
"Thank you," Katara gratefully thanked her server, before having the very same hand grabbed by Zuko and whisked away out of the Golden Dragon restaurant.
As she was being dragged away, Katara simply scowled at Zuko's back as he pulled her away further and further from the restaurant-his strength threatening to snap her entire right arm off her shoulder.
"Lee, where are you taking me?" she asked, her tone more than a little clipped. But Zuko never turned his head-or acknowledged her question, instead he just sped up. His muscular legs propelling him forward so much faster than hers, despite her long legs as she practically had to sprint to keep up. She had to be careful not to trip over her own feet.
They speed-walked past local citizens, zipping in a straight line as passers-by took the time to stare at the peculiar couple-especially noblewomen, who had snickered or gossiped, thinking that there was some sort of relationship drama going on. Zuko didn't seem to care about them but Katara was already flushing in her cheeks, her head lowered significantly to face the ground.
"Lee!" she hissed again, louder-just in case the first time Zuko didn't hear her. "Where are we going?"
"Just follow me!" he snapped at her, not turning his head.
Katara obeyed and blindly followed Zuko as he whizzed through the Royal Caldera City, making sharp turns through alleys and between giant Oriental-style villas. She wondered why he was making such crazy turns-it was as if he didn't have a proper route, and was just taking her on a merry goose chase. It was really starting to irk her, but for the sake of her right arm, she would be quiet. This time...
After a few painstakingly long seconds, Zuko took another sharp turn to the right-prompting him to give a good yank to her right arm into a dim alley between two small shops that were pretty much abandoned.
Once concealed within the shadows of the alley, Zuko finally let go. Katara sighed with relief and rubbed her hand-she could feel the blood rush back into her palm, creating an uncomfortable stabbing sensation in her palm. Almost as if a thousand pins and needles were stabbing into her flesh. But at least she could still feel and move that body part.
The waterbender took in a deep breath and used her sleeve to dab away the thin film of perspiration that had gathered on her forehead. Any rubbing or abrasive action would remove her pale disguise. With her golden eyes, her gaze slowly drifted to Zuko, who had his back to her. His shoulders were tense and stiff, nearly touching his earlobes and his breathing sounded…haggard-and stressed. Katara wondered if Zuko might suddenly blow up, seeing the two tightly clenched fists at his sides-almost shaking.
"Zuko… Why did you bring me here?" she asked quietly, leaning against a brick wall with her arms folded across her chest.
Before she knew it, Zuko immediately spun around to face her-and without giving her any time to respond or react, he instantly grabbed her by the arms and crashed his lips onto hers.
Katara's eyes widened to the extent where she thought her eyeballs might pop out their sockets. A flurry of emotions created a whirlwind in her mind. Shock from the sudden, near-forceful kiss… Irritation from Zuko's earlier unresponsiveness and attempt to be all cryptic and mysterious… Insecure that somebody might walk in on them.
But within very, very short seconds, it began to register in her mind that she was really enjoying it. Zuko's mouth was hot and searing against hers-slightly chapped probably from his time as a rebel but she didn't care. Her eyes slowly closed as her mouth eventually parted in a soft gasp as she returned his kiss. The firebender immediately took advantage and explored her mouth fervently as if it was a maze. Gradually his hands loosened the grip on her arms and moved up to cup her face, his roughened thumbs caressing her powdered cheeks lightly. With near-shaky hands, Katara placed her hands onto his chest, instantly feeling his rapid heartbeats that matched the tempo of hers easily.
Zuko's kiss was almost desperate-filled with full longing that Katara had felt whenever she was alone. The way his lips melded with hers, the way his hot, delicious breath just seemed to envelope her entire mouth with vapour flames… She was sure that if she wasn't gripping his shirt, her wavering knees would allow her to drop to the ground like a limp doll. The torrid heat that she felt course throughout her entire body was doubled instantly when Zuko neared…his heat-radiating body almost pressing against her softer frame, and her back was pressed up against brick wall. She could almost feel the rough stone of the brick through the dress she wore.
After what felt like a good few minutes, Zuko finally slowed down to a gradual stop-much to her dissatisfaction, his breathing haggard as his lips were just grazing hers. Katara quickly sucked in a deep breath, smelling the dirt and smoke that currently perfumed Zuko. His breath was white-hot and tempting against her mouth. The firebender then leaned his forehead against hers, and she could feel him inhale deeply, his hands tangling themselves into her hair.
Finally, Katara's eyelids fluttered open, and she saw the pair of liquid golden eyes of Zuko just boring into hers. They almost seemed…illuminating even in the inky shadows of the alley. His gaze was no longer hard and angry-they were…filled with questions that she wanted to ask him on the spot and emotions that just went with the flow of the molten gold.
"I've missed you," the words slipped out of his mouth in a held-in-for-too-long exhale, his breath once again caressing her small lips like a feather. Zuko then ran his hands through her locks, fingering the smooth strands and combing his fingers through them. A sigh escaped his lips as he revelled in the feeling of her silken locks.
"Your mood swings are really quite mind-boggling sometimes, you know…" the waterbender murmured, mentally wanting to berate him for his abrupt mood changes but still feeling a bit woozy from the heated, fevering kiss that sent electricity and pleasure surging through her veins. She had to prop her hands onto his shoulders just for support.
Zuko let out a deep sigh before pulling back, taking a few steps back as he shook his head as if to clear it. Katara immediately felt his warmth leave her space-leaving her empty as her arms dropped limply to her sides. She then peeled herself from the wall and attempted to regain what was left of her crippled equilibrium. The golden-eyed waterbender even had to take a few, small steps to test her balance.
"Why were you talking to Amai earlier?" Zuko suddenly asked darkly. When Katara looked up, his eyes were hard topaz with anger again. The shadows cast an eerie blackness to further darken his irises. The irritation then took over her again, and she went back to her former position-with her arms folded across her chest. Katara shifted her weight to the right and tilted her head in the same direction as her eyes narrowed into two thin slits at the Fire Lord.
"Excuse me? Why was I talking to that…that…girl?" she half-spat. "I didn't even want to be anywhere near her! She is so pushy! She's pushier than…dare I say it… Toph!" Katara waved her arms around for emphasis. "The question regarding her is why she is suddenly your roommate?"
Zuko groaned and slapped his forehead, recalling that dreadful memory. But he knew this would come up sooner or later…
"The rebellion was starting to fill up," he explained with a sigh. "She, her sister and that other guy got booted into me and Bacca's room. You don't expect me to invite her to be my roommate, do you? I had no say in the matter whatsoever!"
Katara raised an eyebrow at him. "Right… Like she doesn't already have her hands all over you. All grabbing paws at my supposed boyfriend that she is very well aware of. You must be delighted, with the pretty little thing in your room."
Zuko frowned, taking a step forward towards Katara-but the waterbender remained unflinching, her arms crossed and her entire form straight and still. The reformed gold of her eyes unreadable. This defiance of hers was often both admiring and irritating for the Fire Lord.
Once Zuko was close enough, he was glowering down at Katara, both half-glaring each other, silently daring and challenging one another… Both waiting for either one to make the first move. Katara could feel his hot breath wash against her face with his deep respiration, and it made her mind cloud again. She quickly mentally slapped herself out of it-focus.
"Don't you trust me?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice-and the waterbender's heart started having spasms. The way his eyes just seemed to…burn made her entire self scorch the same way, if not hotter.
Katara opened her mouth to answer, but instantly felt her mouth go dry at the sight of his smoldering gaze, and could only manage a stiff nod. She then saw Zuko's hard features soften, and another quiet sigh escaped from his lips before he gently pulled her in for a warm, reassuring embrace.
The waterbender's eyes widened significantly at the firebender's sudden display of affection-even though she wasn't really complaining. Despite knowing his still new feelings towards her, it still felt…new that Zuko could be so…loving. Or caring. Love was definitely too strong of a word at the moment…it was still too soon… But just wanting to enjoy the moment, Katara allowed herself to smile contentedly, melting fittingly in Zuko's arms and wrapped her arms around his middle, feeling him prop his chin on the top of her head.
Zuko thought his senses might go haywire if he was to be away from Katara again. But even at that very close moment he felt like he was…whole. The scent of cool water and his imperial abode was an intoxicating potion to him, and the feeling of longing that had been building up within him only doubled. He wondered how the 'water-witch' had bewitched him so-to the point where it came to this.
'I can't keep her out here for too long…' he thought to himself sadly, his hold on the waterbender tightening a little as he inhaled her scent as if to memorize it. No words could describe how much the young Fire Lord had missed the defiantly stubborn Katara-with her and her never ending motherly lectures and chastising…the way they would banter and argue…her sweet, delicious kisses that would be imprinted into his memory like getting stamped by a branding iron…her affectionate being that never failed to amaze him… Zuko wondered how to make Katara know how he really felt about her... All the building emotions that sometimes left him asking questions to himself. He had never felt like this with Mai before. Was it because Katara was so different and yet-so similar? Did it really need lightning for him to see that?
Is this how it's supposed to feel like?
"It's only you, Katara," instead he whispered against her hair. "There's no one on earth who could annoy and bewilder me like the way you do. You just got to trust me. This time you really can."
Katara rolled her eyes and allowed a wider smile to grace her lips, before she pulled back to look at Zuko-surprised when she found that his expression was sombre and serious. Instantly she felt and saw the sincerity in his face, and for some reason...she just knew that he was honest. Even if it was a risk-it was a risk she had a feeling she wouldn't regret.
"Who knew the almighty Fire Lord was such a softie?" she chuckled, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend. Zuko's eyes widened, before glaring at her slightly.
"Don't mock me," he growled lowly. But his sudden fierceness had no effect on the waterbender, and that impressed him. Not to mention still annoyed him. Threats really did not work with this girl...
"We should go," Katara murmured, suddenly stone-faced. "We can't keep the others waiting. Especially your little girly plaything."
Zuko rolled his eyes and turned around, wrapping an arm around a smirking Katara's waist as they exited the alley smoothly as if they were just passing through, unbeknownst to the clueless citizens.
"You know…you're actually quite adorable when you're this jealous. It's very amusing…" Zuko remarked, trying to curb the wide smirk that was threatening to appear on his face as they walked into the Fire Nation sunlight and the busy streets of the Royal Caldera.
Katara glared at her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye, before letting a sly grin spread across her face.
"Don't you think that my server Zhen-Ming at the restaurant was quite the looker? Suki and I thought he was really cute."
"Katara, don't push it."
Yes, yes I know this was very short and very cheesy and mushy and fluffy but hey-I like my Zutara fluff! It makes me all warm and cuddly inside like Christmas! (Get your heads out of the gutter!) Think of this Chapter as a fluffy fix, yeah? For those who can't tolerate the fluff-just move on. Like, seriously.
Oh and who else quoted Amai's line at the beginning(regarding my lateness)? If you know what I mean! Hah! Korea was a wonderful experience! Thank you to everyone who wished me off! You all are awesome! xD
So who's ready for Christmas? I know I'm not! It's too soon!
For the little mistakes here and there-just to give you a heads up and reminder that I am revising this fanfic. This will finish faster than Love in the Embers but I have a very long Zutara fanfic coming up so stay tuned! ;)
Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/(insert celebration that I do not know)!
~Jenna