A/N: Hi Everyone! It's time for another episode of Story Time with Zuko, but before we commence with the drama I wanted to share a little review given by my new favorite, IDidn'tSignUp4This:
"Well, you are very welcome. I HAD wanted to leave a review, but I had issues with time. So I'll leave it here: The madness, that is indeed your mind, is delightful to someone just as mad, like me. Mostly since your fic is mostly a crackfic and I love those hilarious little (or big, I know a crackfic with 30-something chapters) stories."
I had no idea I had ventured into the world of crackfic. I took the time to look up the definition and was amazed. This is definitely crackfic. I'm so happy! So as you read, keep in mind that these scenarios and dialogue are truly for fun and highly implausible according to canon but are so much fun or not. I found out that crackfic doesn't have to be humorous. We are in so much trouble... *cackles as lightning randomly strikes*
Disclaimer: Fan fiction is for crackfic... Crackfic is for fan fiction...
Chapter 2: True Love's Confessions
Zuko bounced his head against the wall twice and sighed. "I fucked up tonight. I know I did." He yanked angrily at the three-pronged golden fire crown from his top knot as if it offended him until it broke free and he sighed again. "Izumi and Kya are so smart and perceptive. Precocious. Bumi is too but in a different way, Aang's way. He's so innocent and oblivious to the world." His said with a hoarse laugh which devolved into a cough. "Do you think the three of them suspect anything?" Zuko asked unable to look in Katara's direction. Katara worried her lip with her teeth. "I don't know, Zu. I mean, you basically called me her mother twice in front of all of them. Izzy and I have had so many conversations that have almost destroyed me because all she wants is for her mom to hold her, and I do but it's always at a distance. La help me, I love her so much…" Katara's voice cracked with distress.
She moved her hand in slow circles over her bulging and round pregnant belly. The baby moved and rocked with her hand movements as she bent the fluid ever so gently in her womb. "We never should have hidden this from Aang. He would have understood. He and I weren't even together when you and I—He deserves to know the truth. I just—I am afraid of what he'll do." Katara's eyes met Zuko's. "He can be so irrational. Like a petulant child. I don't want him to hurt you. You don't deserve that." She said gently. Zuko sat down next to Katara on the couch and scoffed lightly. "It's inevitable that I'll get hurt. I think it's my curse to bear. I love someone who was never mine and took something that didn't belong to me. I'm the worst kind of pirate." Zuko croaked his voice heavy with emotion he couldn't name. Katara huffed and rolled her eyes. "Bullshit Zu! Don't subscribe to that sexist rhetoric and self-pity. I belong to myself. I always have. No one tells my heart who to care about."
Katara turned to look Zuko in his eyes and cupped his face gently with one hand while the other rested at her side. She tenderly touched the lower line of his scar and he closed his eyes out of habit. Zuko opened his eyes sharply and tried to turn away but Katara stared at him with her deep rich blue eyes. The flecks of sapphire reflecting off the intense cobalt held Zuko captive. Katara whispered. "Everything we did that year, everything we did was because I wanted to and because you're not the only one to love a person you knew you couldn't be with, nor will you be the last." Katara assured and sighed tiredly. "You know why I married Aang don't you?" she asked. Zuko nodded. "Of course, the Council didn't want me marrying the "Avatar's rejected whore", I believe their exact words were." He used air quotes for emphasis. "Forget the fact you're a war hero and saved their lives and that of their Fire Lord. The ignorant pompous fools! Sometimes I want to just set them all on a slow burn and watch them roast. I know what it was about; It was never about you. It had more to do with my wanting to adopt a mixed-race non-bender as my son. About making Bumi my heir. They would have seen me abdicate or get assassinated before the line of Sozin stopped sitting on the throne." Zuko pounded his leg with a tightly coiled fist from the memory. Katara grabbed his hand gently. She kissed the knuckles until his hand relaxed. She placed his hand back down on his leg softly and stroked the top of it briefly.
Zuko took a deep breath and finished. "Marrying Aang allowed you to legitimize Bumi." He rasped. Katara nodded. "I believe Aang loves us in his own way, but he doesn't understand. He couldn't. The way of the Air Nomads is so free, and they believe commitment is one of those tools society uses to tether people to this world. Aang felt like he didn't need commitment to have a family. I guess it worked for a little while but going home to the South Pole was always very awkward. I did it for my children." She smiled softly her eyes and mind far away. Zuko nodded. "Do you love him?" Zuko asked his voice barely a whisper. Katara took a long look at Zuko her eyes filled with an unspoken sadness. "I do. I guess I love Aang in my own way too." Katara admitted. Zuko took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stood. "I'd better get to bed. I have work tomorrow." He said to Katara without looking at her. Before he could get out of her reach, Katara grabbed Zuko's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "We should plan to tell him soon." She remarked quietly. Zuko didn't look back as he left the room. Unbeknownst to either adult three pairs of eyes watched and listened from the shadows to the conversation with startling awareness. One little girl with golden eyes watched with silent drops streaming down her face as her mother broke down into tears over a love settled for and her true love lost. Story time was going to be a bitch tomorrow night…