Title: The Taming of the Shrew
Author: setlib
Rating: T-rated for language and sexual content
Setting: Alternate Universe – modern high school, no bending
Pairings: Zuko x Katara
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Summary: Zuko and Katara are seniors in high school. He teases her, then ignores her. She despises him. But when Zuko's father kicks him out of the house and he has to move in with his hippie Uncle Iroh, he begins to see Katara in a new light. But as the bard warned, "the course of true love never did run smooth."

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The Taming of the Shrew, Chapter 26: Blue Fire

My entire world was aflame, burning with a cold blue fire. I was adrift in an electric sea that buoyed me and boiled me at the same time. Fire and water, flames and waves, twisting together in agonizing harmony. Everything revolved around two points, heavy anchors that pulsed with pain. As my world began to slowly come back into focus, I realized those points were the back of my head, hot and sticky against the cold tile floor, and a strange tightness in my chest.

Cool fingers stroked my forehead, my cheeks, my neck. "Zuko. Zuko! Can you hear me?"

I felt compelled to answer, but my body would not respond. I couldn't speak, or turn my head, or even open my eyes. A whirlwind of hoarse voices spun around me but I ignored them, waiting for her voice to return.

"Open your eyes, Zuko. Look at me."

I tried to obey. I wanted desperately to soothe the worry in that soft voice. I wasn't exactly sure who was calling me, I only knew that I wanted to pull her close, keep her safe from…something. The fire was receding, but the waves still smothered me as I struggled to float to consciousness.

"They're going to take your shift off. Hold on." I felt like I should protest, but almost immediately I felt a sharp tugging on my chest, one that sent bolts of pain slicing through my murky thoughts.

The voice returned, harder this time. "Dammit, Zuko, wake up!" A slap across my cheek brought me fully awake. I opened my eyes to find Katara leaning over me, her dark blue eyes brimming with tears. I tried to raise my hand to her face, but I couldn't even lift it off the floor.

"Don't…cry," I whispered. Another sharp pain pulled a groan from me, and I looked down to find two police officers crouched over my body, cutting my shirt off to reveal an ugly star-shaped burn in the center of my chest. "What…?"

"Don't you remember? Azula tased you. They cuffed her and dragged her out of here."

It started to come back to me in pieces. The look in Azula's eyes, gleeful and cruel, as she stabbed the taser at my chest. The flash across my nerves, just before I dropped like a stone and everything went black. And before that, I remembered suddenly, the information I had stored on the USB drive in my pocket.

"Tara –" My head pounded as I turned to her, trying to check my pocket to make sure it was still there, but my hand was clumsy and difficult to control.

"Shhh, don't try to move," she cut me off. "Let's make sure you're okay first."

The police officers were apparently satisfied after inspecting my burn and nudged Katara aside to probe the back of my head. One of them shone a flashlight in my eyes and pronounced me concussion-free. "But just in case, we need to take him to a hospital to get checked out. Don't want to risk a lawsuit," one of the officers told Katara. "Keep him still until we get back with the first aid kit."

Katara leaned over me and grabbed my hand. I concentrated on my fingers, on curling them around hers, but I had to settle instead for a clumsy squeeze. In return she gripped me hard, yelling, "Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

My lips twitched in a small smile. "Yurrr…" I licked my lips and tried not to slur my words this time. "You're worried?"

"Of course I'm worried, you idiot!" She wiped her eyes roughly, impatiently, and scowled at me. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

"You don't hate me?" I asked. I squeezed her fingers again, more control in my hand this time.

"No, I don't hate you," she mumbled, sniffling.

"Then forgive me," I whispered. She looked down at me silently, and suddenly I was afraid she would refuse. I pulled her hand up to my face, ran her knuckles over my lips. "Please."

Katara froze, her gaze following the path of her fingers across my mouth. Just when I thought she was going to pull away, she closed her eyes and leaned down, pressing her lips gently against mine. Her warm breath, her lemon scent, her soft sighs – all things I feared I'd never have again, were surrounding me now. I wanted to say a prayer of thanks, but it was Katara herself who was my goddess, so instead I moved my lips under hers, reverently, penitently. My heart pounded, sending blood racing through my body. It made my head throb, but also woke up my muscles, restored my control. All too soon she pulled back, looking down at me with a smile.

"Your forgiveness means the world to me. Thank you, Katara."

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," she replied. "I know you've been trying to protect me this whole time."

I tried to pull her close for another kiss, but someone cleared their throat above us, and there was scattered laughter in the room. "I guess you're not in such bad shape, if you're able to make out with your girlfriend." Katara pulled back quickly, and I looked up to see Detective Kazinski standing over us, grinning. "I was going to call an ambulance to take you to the hospital."

"No ambulance," I said. "Katara can drive me."

"Okay. I'll get you cleaned up first, then." Kazinski knelt next to me with the first aid kit and Katara backed away, blushing, not meeting my gaze. The Detective slapped some bandages on my injuries, none too gently, then draped my arm over his shoulders and heaved, maneuvering me into a wobbly standing position. Katara inserted herself under my other arm and we started out in an unsteady parade, carefully winding our way along the hall and down the stairs. Embarrassed at my weakness, I fought to regain control of my muscles. With effort, the sluggishness began to abate. By the time we went out the front door and down the main steps, I felt relatively steady.

Katara opened the passenger door and Kazinski helped me into her truck. "I'm sorry about all this," he said as I fastened my seatbelt.

"What's going to happen to Azula?" I asked.

"Well, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest are serious charges, not to mention her attack on you." He snorted. "Your father's lawyer is going to have a busy night."

Katara started up the truck. "Don't worry about her, Zuko. Let's just make sure you're okay." Kazinski closed my door and Katara pulled out, heading slowly up the long driveway back to the main road. "Just sit back, we'll be at the hospital in less than twenty minutes—"

"We're not going to the hospital," I said. "We're going after Yon Rha."

"Are you crazy?" Katara shouted, swerving as she looked over at me. I reached out and jerked the wheel back to straighten out the truck. "You're hurt—"

"I'm fine. Tasers don't cause any permanent damage, and the effects have almost completely worn off."

"Except for your burn! And your head! You're obviously not thinking straight."

I sighed. "I'm not going to spend three hours at the E.R. for them to check my bandages and tell me I'm okay. Head to the harbor."

"What? The harbor? Why?"

I pulled the flash drive out of my pocket. "I've got the coordinates to Yon Rha's island. We're going to have to use my yacht."

I expected more argument, but Katara was uncharacteristically quiet as she turned onto the highway heading toward the ocean. As we approached the harbor, she cleared her throat and started babbling nervously. "Uh, about your boat. You have to understand, I was very upset this morning. Really, really mad. I mean, I thought you had totally used me and I just wasn't thinking straight—"

"Katara, what the hell are you talking about?"

She glanced at me as she parked the car in the harbor lot, then sighed. "You'll see soon enough."

I grabbed my key from the office and headed down the docks, proud that I was able to keep my balance without too much trouble. Katara was slow to follow, but I didn't think much about it until I had climbed into my boat and begun moving around, preparing her to sail. That's when I came across the table where we'd eaten dinner on our date – only a few days ago, yet it felt like forever. So many things had changed since then. Katara and I had made love, then I'd broken her heart. And, judging from the damage she'd done to the benches and table, she hadn't taken it well.

"Hell hath no fury?" I read, running my fingers over the words crudely carved into the tabletop. I turned around to find Katara lingering sheepishly behind me, trying to use her foot to brush aside the broken glass from the cabin window. I laughed. "Remind me never to get on your bad side again."

Her brow furrowed. "You're not mad?"

I walked over to her and folded her into my arms, resting my chin on top of her head. "I deserved it. I know. I'm just grateful that you loved me that much." I pulled back to look down at her. "Do you think you'll ever be able to love me like that again?"

She looked up at me, blushing, with a small smile. "Zuko, I never stopped loving you."

I wanted to kiss her right then, sweep her off her feet like some romantic movie lead, and sail off with her into the sunset. But this wasn't a pleasure cruise. She needed my help right now – and I owed her. More than I could probably ever repay.

"Then let's do this thing," I said, lacing my fingers with hers. "Together."