Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or its characters.
Chapter 20: So Sugary Sweet
As if his unconscious mind had decided to push the boundaries of their new physicality, Katara awoke to find herself wrapped closely in Zuko's arms. He had apparently turned over in the night and now spooned her perfectly. His even breathing feathered across her neck and ear. She felt deliciously warm and safe.
Katara knew that she ought to be shocked or repulsed to wake up in such a compromising position. Instead, she stopped to question the expected reaction. Why should I be uncomfortable or ashamed? We were both asleep, and nothing happened. No one else is here. Why shouldn't we comfort each other and stay warm? This just feels... nice. With these revolutionary thoughts, she drifted back to sleep, snuggling closer to the warm firebender.
When Zuko eventually awoke, he was surprised to find the waterbender in his arms. It took a moment to realize that this was not a dream. Taking stock of their proximity, he noticed Katara had threaded her fingers through his, holding each of his hands securely. There would be no carefully rolling her away this time. Nor did he want to.
After the initial surprise passed, Zuko felt blissfully relaxed. Dreamily, he thought to himself that he could lay there all day and be perfectly content. Deciding to do just that, he tightened his fingers around hers and let his mind drift, not thinking of home or his sister or the Avatar. He felt truly at peace for the first time in many years, like he was sitting by a pond feeding a family of turtle ducks with someone special.
As his mind wandered, his eyes lighted on a cluster of crystals that did not glow like the others in the cave. Only lazily aware of the difference, he watched them dazedly. All of a sudden, his eyes sharpened, focusing intently on the grouping. He could have sworn that they had just moved.
"Katara," he called hurriedly, shaking her into wakefulness. "Katara, wakeup. I think I am hallucinating. I think the crystals in that corner are growing!" Katara blinked bewilderedly at where he was pointing. "I could swear they were half that size last night when we fell asleep."
"Which crystals?" she asked groggily, trying to focus.
"The ones that aren't glowing, to the left of that big clump by the water."
Sluggishly getting up and walking over to them, Katara looked at the sizable outcropping with the beginnings of excitement. Zuko followed her, practically breathing down her neck with anxiety.
Reaching forward, she broke off a piece, and to Zuko's surprise, licked it. She grinned widely, and turned back to him to say ebulliently, "You've done it, Zuko! You've saved us!"
Completely nonplussed by her reaction, he said, "I think you're the one hallucinating now."
"This is jennamite, also known as creeping crystal! King Bumi once trapped Sokka and I in some to get Aang to pass some tests quickly. It grows rapidly, so we should have plenty of it!" Katara gabbled as she broke off another more substantial piece of crystal.
"But how is it going to save us?" Zuko asked, still not understanding.
"It has another name," she said, turning and tossing the larger piece to him. "Rock candy!" With that, she bit down and started devouring the remaining crystal in her hand.
Zuko watched her as if she really had gone as crazy as King Bumi. But as she seemed to be able to break off and chew mouthfuls of the crystal, he decided it was worth a try. Tentatively biting down on a small spur of crystal, Zuko was amazed at the sweet taste that filled his mouth. Not wasting any more time, he wolfed down the rest of the crystal in a few crackling bites.
Seeing that he had finished his first chunk, Katara tossed him another large piece. After consuming the second almost as quickly, Zuko was feeling slightly giddy and euphoric.
"And this stuff really will keep growing?" He asked enthusiastically.
"Yes! It won't exactly give us a balanced diet, but we should be able to survive off of it until someone comes for us." Katara felt so exhilarated between the sugar now coursing through her body and the alleviation of her fear of starvation. She felt like dancing in place. Instead, she grabbed Zuko in a massive platypus bear hug. He sort of squawked as she squeezed him tightly for an instant then practically skipped over to the water to refreeze the block.
Pleased but unsure how to react, Zuko stood stunned for a moment. Deciding not to mention the hug, Zuko asked, "Do you want to do some bending practice?"
"Let's take the day off. We just found out that we're not going to die of starvation, let's take a mini holiday!"
"A mini holiday to do what?" Zuko had not ever truly taken a day off before in his life unless you counted resting on that raft to recover from the cold and injuries sustained in the North Pole.
"Anything! I can teach you to play some of the games we play during the Polar Nights," Katara offered coaxingly.
Zuko had only ever played games with his sister or pai sho with his uncle. With a note of suspicion in his voice, he asked, "What sorts of games?"
"Well, let's start with some easy ones… maybe two truths and a lie," Katara said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as Sokka was wont to do.
"How do you play that?"
"Really? Okay, I say three statements or tell three short stories. Two of them are the truth, and one is a lie. You have to figure out which is the lie."
It seemed obvious now that she said it. His ears flushing a bit, he said, "You start."
"Momo was named for the first food he shared with Sokka. My favorite fruit is papaya. And Sokka is a savant at picking up girls," Katara rattled off in a practiced, confident manner.
Zuko snorted. "There is no way your brother is good at picking up girls. That one is clearly the lie."
"Nope! He is actually frighteningly good at it. I know of at least four girls who have openly expressed interest in my brother in the last year alone. I don't understand it either, but he has a gift. The lie was about the papaya. I absolutely detest papaya." She shuddered in revulsion then smiled expectantly at him. "Your turn."
Zuko had to think quickly while his mind still spun at the idea of the gangly Water Tribe boy being a lady's man. "Okay… My komodo rhino's name is Thunderfoot. I play the tsungi horn. And I am better with swords than I am at firebending."
Katara paused, looking at his hands then lifted her gaze to stare fixedly at his mouth. Zuko tried not to squirm as she inspected him. "The komodo rhino is the lie," she said at last.
"Yes. What gave it away?" Zuko asked in impressed disbelief.
"Your hands have calluses that are compatible with lots of swordplay. You have a good lip for horn playing and excellent breath control, so by default, it had to be the komodo rhino," she answered with the slightest edge of smugness in her voice. Then her tone changed to one of excited curiosity. "What is it called, really?"
Shaking his head, Zuko sighed, "Petals."
"Petals?!" Katara sputtered.
"My uncle named her." It was a lie, but he did not want Katara to know he had been sentimental enough to name the animal after its favorite food.
"Petals," she repeated to herself, chuckling, earning her a scowl. "I would love to hear you play the tsungi horn sometime. Alright... While we were at the Northern Air Temple, I learned to fly without airbending or Appa. I once led an earthbender rebellion on a Fire Nation prison ship. And I visited a fortune teller who told me I would marry a man from the Northern Water Tribe."
Zuko felt a sudden sinking feeling in his chest at her last statement. He was being ridiculous, he told himself. Studying her face carefully, he began, "I know the prison ship is true. We refueled there right after the revolt happened. That is where I found your necklace, by the way. I know you went to a fortune-teller because of tracking you with that bounty hunter, but I also know they have flying machines at the Northern Air Temple. So which is it?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "I am going with the fortune teller was the lie. My uncle told me about the Water Tribe betrothal necklace tradition once. You would have come away with a different necklace if you were engaged to a boy from the Northern Tribe."
"Right and wrong. You got the lie right, but the lack of necklace has nothing to do with it. The Southern Water Tribe does not keep that tradition anymore. But we do keep one betrothal tradition; no one can offer for me until I am of age, and I am currently only fifteen. We come of age at sixteen in the Water Tribes," she explained smilingly.
"You're only fifteen?" He asked, surprised.
"Yes, I turned thirteen the day I found Aang in the ice. You arrived in our village two weeks later. Why? How old are you?" Katara realized that she had never stopped to consider Zuko's age. He was obviously older than Aang or her brother. Unexpectedly, she hoped that he was not too much older.
"About to turn seventeen," he replied. "So how old are the rest of your group?"
"Sokka is a year older than me, Toph is a year younger, and Aang is two years younger if you don't count the decades he spent asleep in the ice."
"No, I wouldn't count it." Zuko privately thought that the Avatar behaved like a child several years younger than his actual age. "I guess it's my turn again... I have always wanted to fly on your bison. I wish the Avatar was still encased in ice. I think your healing is even more impressive bending than Azula's lightning."
Katara frowned then flushed at the second and third statements. "But Zuko, you have flown on Appa, when we rescued Aang from you at the North Pole." She winced slightly, thinking of the preceding fights.
Similarly, thinking of their earlier battles, Zuko pointed out, "If you remember, I wasn't exactly conscious for the flight back to the oasis with you. Someone had thoroughly knocked me out."
"It made us even. So, I think Appa is a truth because anyone but Toph would want to fly. Hmmm…" Katara once again watched his face carefully. Zuko could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she weighed the two remaining statements. After a lengthy pause, she said slowly, "I am going to go with the healing and lightning is the lie because we have caused you nothing but trouble since I found Aang. The Fire Nation's victory would be almost certain without him. Besides, being able to create lightning is far more useful in combat."
Shaking his head, he gave her a quirk of the lips that might have been a smile. "Wrong, wrong, and wrong. The Avatar was the lie. I do think the healing is more impressive. All benders can cause damage with their attacks. The lightning is just more effective. But no other bending can save a life beyond the obvious keeping you warm or preventing you from falling." Again Katara felt herself blush; she hoped the green light hid the pink in her cheeks.
"As to the Avatar," Zuko continued. "I'm glad he is out of the ice for two reasons. First, capturing him was my only way to go home, and if he was trapped in that ice forever, I would never have had hope." Zuko paused, clearing his throat before resuming, "The second is that I would never have met you if not for the Avatar." At this last Zuko, looked at the floor, hating that when he became embarrassed, his body temperature rose noticeably. Spirits, she can probably feel me blush.
Fortunately for Zuko, Katara was too busy being pleased and embarrassed to notice the wave of heat emanating from him. Her thoughts were in turmoil as she debated with herself. What does he mean by that? Meeting me was worth all this trouble? No! Don't be silly, Katara! You always read too much into things. Look at what happened with Jet. Zuko is the Prince of the Fire Nation. He is not flirting with you. But if he doesn't mean that, what does he mean? Maybe, just that fighting with you has made him a better bender? Fighting him has made you better.
Needing something to do with her hands, she turned and broke off two more hunks of rock candy and tossed one into Zuko's lap. "Here," she said to dispel the now loaded silence as her mind continued to race.
Zuko deflated a little at her general lack of response to his confession. He had clearly bungled it. His uncle would have known exactly what to say to Katara. Apparently, even her idiot brother knew how to talk to girls, why was he, Zuko, so useless at it? He bit into the candy contemplating his seeming inadequacy.
Katara was still busy trying to understand what exactly he had meant by it. Finally, she concluded that Zuko must now see her as a friend, and never having had one before was happy to have met her. Mostly satisfied with this interpretation, which would have caused her brother to facepalm, she suggested a new game.
"Let's try another one. Put up one hand with all your fingers out, like this," she said, demonstrating. "Then we take turns saying something that we have never done, if the other person has done it, then they put down a finger. The winner is the one who goes out last. Oh, and don't be like Sokka and say stuff like 'I have never bent water before'. That is just lame. Got it?"
Zuko nodded as he instantly started thinking of things he had not done that Katara had, most of which he had to admit would not pass her Sokka lameness criteria.
"Never have I ever," Katara began. "Written poetry."
Zuko looked at her, startled by her opening salvo. He put his thumb down. "How in the world did you know about the poetry?" he asked, part embarrassed, part impressed.
"Zuko, every boy who plays the tsungi horn writes poetry. They go hand in hand," Katara smirked.
How would she know something like that? How many tsungi playing male poets has she met? Zuko decided he was happier not knowing the answer to that question.
"Okay, showoff. Never have I ever been given a gift that someone made for me."
Katara put down her thumb. She looked a little sad. Then she realized most of Zuko's gifts had probably come from the finest merchants, craftsmen, and artisans in the world, but still, a pang lingered for the scarred boy sitting across from her.
"Never have I ever been encouraged by my family in my bending."
Zuko put down a finger, surveying her face carefully before asking, "Why didn't they want you to bend?"
"None of them are benders obviously, and it only ever caused problems at home. Particularly for Sokka. He would always tell me to stop playing around with my magic water. Mostly, it made them worry for my safety."
Zuko took a moment to absorb this, thinking these games were plumbing much deeper waters than he thought they were usually intended to. Next, he said, "Never have I ever spoken with a Spirit." He had a hunch that traveling with the Avatar might have provided such an opportunity.
And indeed, Katara put down a finger. Before Zuko had the chance to ask about it, Katara said, "Never have I ever wanted to be royal."
Zuko raised an eyebrow at that one as he put down a finger. "I thought everyone wanted to be royal." What a strange thing for a peasant to say. Thinking rapidly, he said, "Never have I ever met the ruler of another nation than my own."
"All I'm missing is a Fire Lord to complete my set," she laughed as she put another finger down. "Of course, I have met you, your uncle, and your sister, so I think I have the future Fire Lord pretty well covered." She got a grumpy face for that remark.
"Never have I ever ridden an ostrich horse." Zuko put down his fourth finger. The next round could decide the game.
"Never have I ever had a crush on a non-bender." He cringed inwardly as soon as he had said it. He had no idea what had possessed him to choose that topic. He felt his heart sink as Katara put down a finger with a less than happy expression. Zuko decided that he definitely did not want to ask any follow-up questions about that one.
After a longer than usual pause, Katara said, "Never have I ever killed anyone." She paled noticeably.
Zuko was taken aback that she had wasted her turn on something so off base when he realized it had been her way of finding out more about him. Maybe she thought my banishment had to do with me killing someone. Zuko held up his one remaining finger and wiggled it. "Better luck next time."
Katara let out the breath she had been holding and grinned at him sort of sheepishly. "Sorry, I just had to know," she apologized.
"Don't worry about it," Zuko said stiffly. He did not like that she had wondered if he was a murderer. Returning to the game with effort, he said, "Never have I ever not gone after something I wanted."
Katara stopped to think about that one properly. Had she ever really wanted something and not pursued it? Bending, no; leaving home, no; helping others even when it was not the smartest idea, no; even her brief and disastrous triste with Jet, she had pursued until its horrible end. She looked up at Zuko and wiggled her remaining finger just as he had.
Zuko let out a defeated sigh; this game was turning out to be much harder than it should be. Smiling at his reaction, Katara wracked her brains for something she had not done that Zuko might have that passed the Sokka test.
"Never have I ever been given romantic advice by a relative."
Zuko put down his last finger, saying, "Be grateful that you haven't. I can't get my uncle to stop giving me advice."
"What were some of his suggestions?" Katara asked with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Oh, you know, comb my hair, give her something pretty, compliment her, smile, that sort of thing." Zuko glared uncomfortably at the floor. "I guess you won."
"Not quite, you get a chance to tie it up as I got one more turn than you."
"Never have I ever been so open with another person," he blurted. He watched her anxiously as she again paused. Then meeting his eyes, she smiled, still holding up one finger.
Zuko felt himself smiling widely back. He had never been so happy to lose anything in his life.