To this
world I'm unimportant,
Just because I have nothing to give,
"That's not true," she whispers into his hair as his tears soak through her nightgown.
He says nothing, but his hands tightening into fists around her waist is enough of an answer. His throat has been scratched sore from the sobs that have been ripping through his chest for what seemed like an eternity, and his head trembled against her breast.
"They don't want
me, Katara," his voice, broken and wavering, stabs her heart, "That
much is clear."
"But it's not because you're worthless,"
she insists with a soft velvet voice.
So you
call this your free country?
Tell me why it cost so much to live,
"I see no other reason," he murmurs against her skin.
He had been the one to seek her comfort, knocking on her door in the dead of night after months of acting in front of the rest of them. He had restrained the tears in his eyes long enough for them to find a desolated part of the temple, her feet dangling off the precipice while his were bent on her lap. She cradled him like a mother does her child, and the heat of the embrace seemed to emanate from her this time.
Her hands stroke his hair with deep, even caresses, her fingers winding through the strands of inky tresses with an ease she never shows in front of anyone else. He's her own personal adrenaline rush.
All my
work and endless measures never seem to get me very far,
Walk a
mile just to move an inch, now,
Even though I'm trying so damn hard…
"I see one," she taunts, resting her cheek on his head, "They're insanely uncomfortable with you, Zuko."
"That, my dear Tara, makes absolutely no sense," it isn't the words that scare her, it's the fact that he seems to believe in them.
"Face it," she continues, "You're strong, handsome, confident, patient, dedicated, shall I go on?"
She feels his lips curve upward on her skin and it forces out a smile of her own.
"I can think of
another reason," he says, all traces of grief gone from his voice.
"And what's that?" she asks.
"I have you."
This
world can turn me down, but I won't turn away,
And I won't
duck and run, 'cause I'm not built that way…
