Dangerous Ground
Chapter 15
An unspoken truce existed between Zuko and I now. He did not speak of what he'd shared with me the night before, but the intimacy of the moment remained. We didn't need to speak of it. A month ago, I might have insisted, wanting to draw him out and reveal more of himself, but I learned something from Zuko. Sometimes, what is not said is just as powerful as what is said.
The little scene with the captured firebender did a lot for Zuko's standing in the Earthbender army. While before the soldiers had looked at him with suspicion or even hate, they now looked at him with a gentle kind of acceptance, almost as if his being shamed by a member of his nation made him one of them. Zuko would never have tolerated this kind of thinking if someone said it, but the soldier's kept their mouths shut and their thoughts to themselves.
We settled back into our old routine. Zuko would train the soldiers, with a little less reluctance now, and I would mend clothing, with as much reluctance as ever.
Alone in our room one night, however, I pushed aside my pride and got up the courage to ask the thing I'd wanted to ask for almost three months now, ever since he'd beat me with his fancy technique.
"How do you do that?"
"Excuse me?" Zuko asked, poking the fire and urging it to burn brighter. We were now in deep winter, and walls seemed made of ice.
"How did you beat me that first time?"
"Fire Nation fighting technique." He said it as if I were dumb. I sighed. Great. He was crabby tonight.
"I know that. I was wondering if... if you'd..." I began. He cocked his head at me and smirked. Just spit it out Katara. I said to myself.
"I want a rematch!" I crossed my arms and stared at him, daring him to refuse me. He considered me a long time, the fire flickering over his face, revealing nothing of what was going on in his head. After a long silence, he spoke.
"Yes." He grinned his little "I've-won-this-battle-already" grin. Hmph. Now he was in a good mood. That boy had more mood swings than a woman during her cycle.
Slowly he stood and began to unbutton his tunic. I averted my eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"Just a little intimidation tactic." He smirked at me, now bare from his waist up.
"That's not fair! I can't do that." I complained. Zuko remained silent, that smirk still on his face. The silence was worse than anything he could have said. It could mean anything. It could be a taunt that once again, I was weak because I could not do something he could do, or it could be a dare. I blushed and got into a fighting stance. I wouldn't let him intimidate me. I was just as strong a fighter as he was! I'd proved it one more than one occasion. But I had no water.
"No bending." He said. I nodded. Then he came at me.
I ducked under his arm and brought my foot hard against the back of his knee. But he was ready this time, knowing that I'd picked that place out as my favorite weakness of his. He jumped and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me across his hip and knocking my footing out from under me. I landed on my knees and pushed my hands out, catching him in the stomach. He doubled over but recovered quickly, taking my arm and twisting it behind my back. I gasped and stiffened, but he did not hurt me, only whispered in my ear "Do you yield?"
A smile crept over my mouth. I turned to face him "Never." Our faces were so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. I held his gaze...
...And spun, kicking his side and pushing his shoulders back. He stumbled backwards, but came at me again, placing his hands on my waist and pulling me to the ground with force that I could not resist. He was on top of me, pinning me to the floor. He smirked. He'd won again. Unless...
I brought my knee up. Not high enough to hit anything sensitive, just high enough to knock his knee out from under him. In the split second that he lost his balance, I wrenched my shoulders up and over, knocking him to the ground beside me. Before he could react I was on him.
"Now who's uncomfortable?" I smirked. Zuko's eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. It was the same look he'd given me that day I'd tricked him into eating his soup. I smiled down at him and said teasingly "That's right, Prince Zuko. A water peasant has bested you."
To my surprise, he smiled. It wasn't a smirk, or a bitter sneer. It wasn't a triumphant, arrogant grin. It was a genuine smile. I'd never seen him do it before. But now, as I watched him, I wished he would do it all the time. He really was handsome when he wasn't scowling.
That's when I realized how close we were. Only inches apart. Our breath mingled together, our pulses raced in touching palms. Our gazes were locked on each other. I felt myself drawn to his eyes...
To his cheekbones...
To his mouth...
Our faces were almost touching now. His body was warm beneath me. No, not just warm... hot. Really hot, as if his blood had been replaced with fire. It felt good in the cold room. I closed my eyes and...
Oooooh, what do you think is going to happen? Hee hee hee...