Punching Therapy
It had been a few weeks since the incident with Smellerbee had occurred Katara was tired of waiting to be cleared. it seems as if the team did nothing but wait on her hand and foot.
Sokka was the worst, honestly. He had treated her as if she was dying. Katara was NOT dying, not like her mother had died.
" Sokka, get away from me." She snapped at her older brother suddenly.
Sokka stepped back as if he had been punched in the face as he dropped the tray of food.
" huh?" he swallowed hard and stared at Katara.
" I told you a thousand times today that I'm fine. I swear if you ask me again I really will throw a table at you." She had been so pent up and angry with having to stay in bed that she didn't realize she was overly snappy to everyone. They had wanted to help, and she was repaying them by being an asshole.
Katara softened after a moment, noticing that her tone was quite harsh. She sighed, then looked at Sokka. " Look, Sokka, in' really sorry about that" she stammered out slightly.
Sokka shakes his head and smiled at his sister. He understood that she was hating it, and she just wanted to get out of the apartment so of course she would be overly grumpy. " don't apologize to me, I understand. I invited the team over by the way. Suki and I are going to the movies. I promised her I would take her out tonight."
Katara pouted at that. She wanted to go. Literally stepping out of the apartment to go to walk to the dumpsters would be better than sitting here.
" You can't go cause we are gonna be making out the entire time." Sokka said.
Katara's face fell as she groaned and made a disgusted face. " okay, ew never mind that then. I won't ask to go. Thank you for inviting the others to come and hang out with me. The doctor said I could go back to work soon"
" If you go one day without a headache, then you can go to work tomorrow, 'Tara." He sighed as he leaned over to hug his sister gently. Katara hugged Sokka and then smacked him in the back. " okay, don't crush me. off."
Toph, Zuko, Aang and Suki had burst into Katara and Sokka's apartment. Toph stomped up the stairs and screamed at the top of her lungs " Sugar Queen, how ya feeling?"
Toph's entrance had made everyone in the entire building cringe. Honestly, Sokka and Katara had gotten twelve noise complains in the last week from the other residents in their apartment building and the landlord had threatened them more than once to keep the noise down.
" shush!" Sokka whined a bit as he faced the blind woman. " dude, if you're any louder we're literally going to get thrown on our asses out the window! Our neighbours hate us and so does our landlord. We don't want to be homeless cause you're loud as fuck!" he complained to Toph.
Zuko laughed softly, shaking his head. " you could always come crash with me and Uncle"
" thank you for your concern and your hospitality. " Katara blurted, stretching slightly as she looked at everyone.
" you look terrible" Toph said suddenly.
" HEY! I don't look that-"
The whole room got dead silent at the sudden realisation.
" TOPH" Suki gasped, slapping Toph's shoulder. " stop doing that. You know we forget you're blind."
Toph laughed loudly and flopped down onto Katara's bed, wiping her eyes slightly. She had laughed so hard she made herself cry. That little shit.
" anyway, Suki and I are going to watch a movie like I said earlier, K." Sokka grinned.
" Zuko is on babysitting duty!" Toph called, getting up and grabbing Aang by his hoodie.
" where are you two going?" Zuko asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
" I dont know. Somewhere where we don't have to look at Katara being upset over being bed bound" Toph shrugged
" hold on you-" Zuko paused, shaking his head. He was tired of having to do this over and over. " whatever. Don't get into trouble or I swear I'm not going to bail you out of jail"
" who said anything about doing deviant shit? " Toph replied.
" you're Toph and Aang. You always do deviant shit"
" actually, I was planning on going to look at animals from the animal shelter.."Aang trailed off. He was a lonely man, perhaps a dog or cat to keep him company would be good.
Zuko shakes his head once more and waved the pair off. " fine, go look at cute puppies and leave me to take care of little Katara over here" he made a fake pout and patted Katara's head.
Katara glared at him. If looks could kill,Zuko would be ten feet under right now.
Toph and Aang left the apartment not too long after Suki and Sokka had and went on their way. That had left Katara and Zuko alone.
" twenty minutes passed and Katara was already tired of being under Zuko's watch.
" I want to get out of here." Katara complained to Zuko, giving him a slight pouty face. " please can you take me somewhere?"
Zuko sighed, raising his eyebrow curiously as he placed his phone down on the table top. " and where are you suggesting we go?"
" the gym? I haven't been in days and I feel so out of shape and horrible.. please Zuko I never ask you for anything!"
Zuko thought for a moment. " okay, you said you haven't hear a headache all day right?"
" yep. I promise I've been a good girl. I ate breakfast and lunch with no complains and no sickness feeling whatsoever." She grinned
" wow, you really weren't kidding when you told me Sokka has been nursing you like you were dying."
Katara sighed. " he thought I died. We lost our mother when I was eight and he was ten, so I guess he just panicked and wanted to make sure I really was okay. I don't blame him. It was kind of nice to be mothered for a while.. then I realised it was really freaking annoying. I don't know why he lets me mother him sometimes" she admitted to Zuko with a small frown. " our father was in the military and he would be gone a lot, so we would live with our Gran-Gran. She practically raised us."
Zuko frowned and rubbed his thumb over Katara's hand lightly. " it's okay. All of us are here and we're a family now right?" He said softly. " you get up and get ready. We're going to the gym." He ordered her
Katara let out a happy squeal and nearly flipped the bed over as she got up and raced to her closet to get changed.
Zuko chuckled and shook his head affectionately as he left her bedroom to let her have privacy.
Katara stepped out of her bedroom in a pair of blue shorts and a tank top with the logo of a moon. She had tied her hair In a high ponytail and grinned at Zuko excitedly " can we go now, please?"
Zuko nodded a bit and motioned to the steps. " yeah, okay. You tell me if it's too much and I will stop and take you home right then and there. I will not have you getting even more hurt, you hear me?" He poked her nose with his index finger.
She furrowed her brows and slapped his hand away. " I got it, Spirits!" She cried in annoyance." I am not a child, I will tell you when enough is enough. Trust me a little, why don't you?!"
Zuko chuckled and watched as Katara made her way down the stairs carefully. Zuko grabbed a water bottle for the both of them in one hand and then grabbed his car keys in other.
" Wait a second. you're letting me sit in your sexy Camaro?"
Katara gasped in shock, placing a hand over her heart as she scampered towards the red beauty.
" well, yeah, do you wanna take your mom van instead?"
" hell no. I've only ever been this close to a Camaro once and that was when your rude ass stole my parking spot" she glared
" right." Zuko said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. " I'm sorry about that. I was in a hurry and I needed to find somewhere to park."
She glares at him once more. " unlock the damn door." He obeyed and got in, starting the car up.
Katara gasped, placing her hands along the dashboard of the car, rubbing it sensually. " this car is so beautiful.."
" yeah, perks of being rich, I guess" Zuko mumbled. " I got it for my twenty first birthday." He admitted to her.
Katara's mouth fell open, but she didn't say anything back to him.
Zuko revved the engine for her playfully, his amber eyes sparkling in excitement as he took off, purposely speeding as much as he could to get a laugh out of Katara.
As soon as Zuko had pulled into the parking lot for the gym he turned to look at Katara once more. " you're a hundred percent sure that you want to work out, right?"
Katara nods. " I literally told you that I'm fine, Zuko. I'm gonna kick your ass if you keep asking me!" She hissed out in frustration.
Zuko snorted " kick my ass? You're tiny. What do you think you're gonna do? Kick my shins?"
Katara glared. " that's it. I'm getting boxing gloves. Square up with me. Right now! "
" are you- did you?" He choked out a laugh, glancing at her in confusion.
" god damn it, I said get the gloves on. I'm kicking your ass! Oh and by the way, I'm not that small. You're just a lanky freaking tree!"
Zuko wasn't sure what to say to that. If sparring with her would get all of her feelings out. She was cooped up for so long so who knows how much pent up energy she had.
Zuko gestured to the door to the gym " okay, you're on." He agreed.
Katara stomped to where the boxing gloves were and thrusted her pair on her hands in annoyance, glancing back and waiting for Zuko to grab his.
" we could do it without the gloves. It would be easier and more fun."
Katara's eyes narrowed.
Zuko opened his mouth to continue " and we can do other things than just punch each other."
" sold." Katara agreed, throwing them to the ground. The poor gym manager was staring the the two in utter confusion and shock. Was the girl ever gonna pick up her gloves and put them back?
The manager didn't care. He picked up his phone and clicked on a picture of his alarm system. He sighed dreamily as he stared into the image of his beloved cabbages.
Katara circled Zuko, her eyes full of annoyance and rage.
" are you gonna just glare, or are you going to attack?" Zuko taunted her
" I'm gonna kick your ass. I told you I was gonna do it, so now I'm gonna." She hissed out, reaching her arm out to send a hard punch in his direction.
Zuko grabbed onto her fist and pulled her closer to him, glaring down at her. " you really want to play, Katara?"
" yes."
Zuko let go and shoved her back slightly.
Katara stood her ground, instead kicking her leg out in a high kick, hitting Zuko directly in the chest. Zuko gripped onto her leg and twisted it slightly, which caused Katara to spin and twist a bit. She turned her body before she landed on the ground and did a small flip. Zuko was surprised by her strength and ended up letting her go.
Katara panted as she stood back up from her flip, catching Zuko's arm just as he had reached for her. The pair spun again. It was like an elaborate dance between the pair. Every hit and kick was matched. They worked well together, and anyone who was in the gym watching could see that.
Katara grunted in anger as she elbowed Zuko in the sternum. Zuko grunted In reply, but placed his legs between hers and knocked her slightly off of balance. Katara locked her legs around his and then rugged as hard as she could.
The pair went crashing to the mats underneath them. Panting and dripping sweat. Zuko gritted his teeth and slammed Katara under him and to the mat.
" give up?"
" never."
Zuko laughed as Katara wiggled underneath him again. She then moved to place her hand on the middle of his chest, shoving him hard enough to create a space between them. They were pressed so close together she could feel his breath on her neck. She wiggled again, escaping from his grip.
Zuko glanced at her, and gripped onto the back of her shirt, tugging her back down. Katara yelped and rolled slightly, landing on top of him. She was practically straddling him. She leaned over and placed her hands on his wrists as his palms faced up.
" aren't you a big girl now?" Zuko mused, panting a bit. He was impressed and a little aroused.
" I keep my promises. I told you I was going to kick your ass and I did."
" I didn't say I give up, now did I?" Zuko sneered back, twisting his wrists and escaping her grip almost too easily
The pair sparred for hours until they were literally soaked with sweat. Katara panted and pushed Zuko's shoulder " okay, I'm done this time for real." She said softly, pulling up the end of her tank top to wipe her sweaty face.
Zuko grinned and passed the water bottle to her. " I'm pretty impressed that you held your own." He said softly, looking down at her.
" well, I had to get my frustrations out some way."
" there was more than one way to do that, you know" he murmured under his breath.
Katara turned to look at him. " wanna get some dinner?" She asked
" ew no we can't go in public anywhere. we smell. Let's just have a pizza delivered to your apartment."
Katara nodded again. " sounds like a plan." She whacked him in the chest with her empty water bottle, turning to look back at him with a playful smirk plastered on her lips " gonna leave me waiting?"
" hell no." Zuko grumbled and tossed both of their empty bottles in the garbage as he followed her.
Katara was leaning over the Camaro, looking at the door as she waited for Zuko to come out. She was trying to purposely tease him. " wow, making me wait? So ungentlemanly of you."
Zuko groaned as he looked at Katara. Fantasies were running wild in his head. " f-fuck" he hissed out under his breath.
" stop being a bitch. Get in the car and order the pizza so we don't have to wait forever." He clicked the unlock button and waited for Katara to get in as he got into the drivers seat
Katara giggles girlishly and pulled her phone out, ordering pizza for them to share. Zuko focused solely on the road. He couldn't even bare to look at Katara. His jaw was clenched the entire drive back to the apartment. He was thankful that Katara either didn't notice he was aroused, didn't care, or she really was just oblivious to the fact that she was the sexiest thing he had seen in his entire life.
Katara looked at Zuko after a moment, studying his clenched jaw. He was so tense, it was unsettling.
" Well, we're back at the apartment. Did you order the pizza?" He asked suddenly.
Katara nearly jumped, not expecting him to speak. She was so out of it. They had been sitting in the parking lot for nearly five whole minutes now.
She nodded her head. " Pizza is ordered, says it's gonna be here in about thirsty-THIRTY minutes" She corrected herself, choking over her words. Damn girl, why was she suddenly so hot for Zuko? Sure she thought he was super attractive but something about the look in his eyes when they were sparring was drop dead sexy.
Zuko inhaled and chuckled a bit. " so, do you mind if I use Sokka's shower then? I uhm guess I'm pretty disgusting." He wrinkled his nose.
"Nope. Go right ahead. " Katara smiled and closed the car door behind her.
The duo were silent as they walked to the apartment door. Katara quickly jammed her key inside and opened it. " Sokka's bathroom is the third door to the right. You can't miss it. Im sure you can use some of his clothes. The clean ones are on his bed, you know where his room is by now" she quickly headed off to her own respective shower.
After Katara finished her shower she threw on a pair of loose pajama bottoms and an old shirt that belonged to her father. She had stolen it last time she had seen him.
Zuko walked out of the bathroom in a pair of gray sweatpants that hung loosely on his hips as well as his hair dripping. He was busy towel drying it, so he didn't have a chance to notice Katara until he heard her squeak in surprise.
" Shit, Zuko."
"Huh? Oh. " He looked up and noticed Katara had been staring at him with wide eyes.
" Sorry." Katara squeaked and turned back around.
The doorbell rang and Katara then took this as an opportunity to get the fuck outta there and grab the pizza, and that is exactly what she did.
She plopped on the sofa and turned on the tv to some shitty action movie.
Zuko and Katara complained about how it was inaccurate and made fun of it the entire time they watched it and ate their pizza.
It was nearly one am by the time the movie was over. Katara's legs were sprawled out over Zuko's lap and Zuko had his arm propped up on one of the sofa cushions. The pair were really struggling to stay awake now.
There was no sign of Sokka so Katara assumed he had gone to stay at Suki's house overnight. Katara sighed softly as she relaxed, cuddling herself up to Zuko slightly. There was no sound from the older man other than a few soft sighs from his lips. Soon enough Zuko and Katara had fallen asleep.
