Right, I wanted this up sooner, but that didn't happen. Sorry you guys. Enjoy!
Chapter Five: Confessions
And the day had started so well for Jiro, too. He got laid, found his soul-mate, helped Hikari come up with a clever and witty way to Break Up The Not-Couple-But-You-So-Know-They're-Going-To-Be, and it actually seemed to work this time.
"OH MY GOD!"
Then Taro opened his big fat mouth, and look where that got them.
Honestly, Jiro could count on all of his fingers and toes and someone else's fingers and toes and still come up with better places to be than in between the venomously angry waterbender with the entire sea at her command in the middle of the night, with a full moon none the less! and the always-temperamental Fire Prince.
Now, instead, he was standing beside Taro, who looked as though his life was about to end (and probably would if the Not-Couple-But-You-So-Know-They're-Going-To-Be had their way), and Iroh, who smiled pleasantly as if he planned the whole thing. Probably did, the old General was crafty. The trio was standing dumbfounded, staring back and forth between the Not-Couple-But-You-So-Know-They're-Going-To-Be, watching as their tempers flared, though horribly, not at each other.
Jiro gulped. It was moments like this that he wished he were never somber. These were the things that could drive a man to drink. Or maybe even quit drinking, as in Jiro's case, but that probably wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.
"Someone best start talking." The Fire Prince warned. "Or else."
The "Or else" was, of course, accompanied with a pretty show of firelights glowing from the Prince's fingers that threatened bodily harm if no one spoke up. Iroh looked proud.
"Indeed." The water witch glowed; accompanied with an also brilliant display of water whipping splashing about her feet that was awfully threatening looking. Jiro didn't know who he wanted to tick off more –they both looked like they would kill him if given the chance.
So Jiro did what he always did when he was in doubt: he blamed the person next to him.
"IT'S ALL HIS FAULT!"
XXX
Katara winced as she bit her lip helplessly, staring at Zuko rather blank expression and wondering exactly how long it would stay like that.
"I'm sorry." She muttered quietly, hoping he had heard her.
"You knocked my Uncle into a coma." Zuko said rather exasperatedly.
Katara frowned. "I didn't mean to."
"You knocked my Uncle into a coma." Zuko repeated, dumbfounded.
Katara sighed. "Look, I'm sorry! I was just so angry…when Jiro said it was his fault…I just sort of…hit him."
Zuko almost smirked. "Hit him with a gigantic wave large enough to knock him into a coma." He said, sounding almost impressed.
"I don't know what else you want me to say." She said tiredly.
"You don't get it, do you?" Okay, now he really was smirking. "You knocked my Uncle into a coma."
"So you've said." Katara muttered, annoyed at the Prince's repetition.
"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?" Zuko smiled, surprising Katara greatly. "You're my hero."
"He's your Uncle!" Katara attempted to guilt him.
"And?" He asked teasingly. "Fai says he'll be alright, just passed out for a little while…I've wanted to do that for so long…"
"I'm oh-so glad I was able to help you, your Highness." She mocked him begrudgingly, crossing her arms sourly. "We still don't know who started those rumors, you know."
"Perhaps not." Said Zuko with a yawn. "But it is late at night, and I'm tired of being angry."
Katara looked at him like he grew an extra head.
"What?"
"You just said…you were tired of being angry." She blinked.
"And?" He replied, stretching.
"You're always angry. It's like a hobby for you or something."
"I'm not always angry!" He growled, feeling his temper rising.
She just stared pointedly, as his he just proved her point.
He growled. "At least I'm not the only one with temper-problems."
Now it was her turn. "I don't have temper-problems!"
He stared at her as she had done to him. She blushed.
"Well, maybe I only have a little temper problem…At least I admit it!"
He just laughed at her, and Katara remembered exactly how much she liked his laugh, however rare a thing it was.
"At least I control my temper enough so that I don't knock old men into comas." He turned to look at her, her blue eyes shimmering with mischief. Were her eyes always like this, so big and so blue, like he could get lost in them forever?
"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" She gave him a small smile, and for a second, he felt his heart race.
"Of course not, you thief." He reminded her of something else he had caught her doing that she wasn't suppose to. She giggled softly.
"Well, Miss Peasant, it's time for you to go to bed." He said, grinning. "I think I'll walk you to your room. Don't want you to escape on me, do I?" He can be sweet when he wants to, he just doesn't want to admit it. She thought as she walked beside him, chitchatting about things that didn't matter much to either of them. It was hard to believe this man had once been her sworn enemy, and now she was walking side by side with him, hands almost touching, truly enjoying his company.
What happened?
"Here's the girl's room." She said softly, almost not wanting their little walk to end.
"I suppose it is." He said, thinking much the same as she was.
She smiled softly at him. "Good night, Zuko."
"Good night, Katara."
And as soon as the door closed, Zuko and Katara's world fell apart as they realized something had happened that was oh-so-horrible it was almost unimaginable:
They had fallen in love.
Oh ye gods, what have they done?
XXX
Jee knew it wasn't going to be good when someone knocked on his door in the middle of the night. He yawned tiredly, stretched, checked himself to make sure he was decent, then opened his door, surprised to see the Fire Prince standing in front of him, looking almost shy.
"Prince Zuko! What are you doing up at this hour?"
The Prince shifted his feet nervously. "Kat—the waterbender knocked my Uncle into a coma, and I don't exactly have anyone else to talk to…Can I talk to you, Jee?" He asked, sounding much like a lost child who had nowhere else to go.
Every fiber in Jee's body told him to slam the door in the Prince's face and go back to bed; it was, of course, some odd hour in the morning, and he had to be up in a few hours, not to mention he wasn't being paid extra to be the Prince's babysitter. He would have, too, except he could hear his wife's voice echoing in the back of his mind, berating him for leaving "that poor, misguided child" all alone in the world.
He knew he was going to regret this once he was completely awake.
"Come on in, Prince Zuko. I'll get some tea going."
XXX
The tea was warm, and it was probably the only thing that was keeping Jee awake. The Prince looked much like a cat in clothes, fidgeting and squirming in his seat as if he was so very uncomfortable.
"What seems to be the problem, Prince Zuko?" Jee asked, sipping his tea in an attempt to stay awake.
"Can I tell you something, Jee? And will you promise not to get mad at me?" The Prince asked, shifting his feet again, not drinking his tea at all.
I make no such promises so early in the morning. He thought, but begrudgingly nodded to the Prince. "Of course, Prince Zuko. Your secret's safe with me."
"Really?" The Prince sounded hopeful.
"Of course."
The Prince smiled, taking a small sip of his tea. "You know Kata---the waterbender, right?"
Jee nodded, not liking where this was going one bit. "Yes."
Zuko smiled half-heartedly. "I think I'm in love with her."
Jee spit out his tea, (he couldn't get away by not, could he?) and then did what he had been threatening to do since the beginning of this mess:
He hit the Prince, right square in the jaw.
XXX
Katara sighed, rolling over in her pillow once again.
Hikari frowned. "What seems to be the problem, Katara? You keep fidgeting so much your making me nervous."
"I know, Hikari. I'm sorry. I'll try to go to sleep." She murmured, but it was enough to grab the young girl's attention.
"Not now, you aren't." Hikari grinned. "Tell me what's wrong."
"Alright." Katara smiled softly. "Can you keep a secret?"
Hikari looked at her like she was stupid.
Katara blushed. "Sorry…Well, can you try to keep this a secret?"
"I make no promises based on how gossip-worthy it is."
Katara laughed, smiling almost love-sickeningly. "I think I'm in love with Prince Zuko."
Any and all happiness Hikari might've felt before then vanished in thin air.
"You're kidding me, right?" She blinked.
"No, I'm not." Katara said, mildly amused at Hikari's reaction. "I know it's rather sudden, but I do like him. A lot."
"Tell me you're joking, please."
"I'm not joking." Katara said seriously. "I think I love him."
Hikari began grasping at straws. "Even after all those nasty things he said about you."
Katara sighed. "Zuko didn't say those things about me. I know he didn't; who told you that, anyway?"
"Uh, I can't remember." She lied quickly. "Are you sure your in love with him? This isn't just some cruel prank your pulling on me, is it?"
"No, Hikari, I love him." Katara laughed. "What's your problem, anyway?"
"Why!" She screamed at her. This was not happening, this was not happening, this was not happening…
It was a plausible question, so Katara took some thought and answered her. "Well, he's sweet, and he has a really nice laugh. He's kind and he's good-looking, and I just love him."
Hikari blinked. "We are talking about the same Prince Zuko, right? The one who kidnapped you, who's spent all this time chasing you and your friends, the one who's insulted you at every God-given chance!"
Katara frowned. "You're right…my friend's aren't going to like this, are they?" She stumbled. "I'm sure they'll get use to it…maybe even like him, given enough time…"
XXX
MEANWHILE SOMEWHERE ELSE…
"AH!" Sokka screamed, jumping up.
"Sokka! What's wrong?" Aang asked.
"I just had the most awful dream!" He said, panting. "I dreamed Katara said that I'd start liking Prince Zuko, if given enough time." He shivered coolly. "I'm getting chills just thinking such a horrible thing! Aren't you?"
Aang rolled his eyes before turning back over and getting back to sleep.
Sokka continued shivering. "It's almost like hell froze over…You don't think that's possible, do you, Aang?"
Aang didn't answer him, but a big man in red with horns on his head did. "You bet."
"Who the hell are you?" Sokka asked.
"Doesn't matter." The man said, swishing his pointy tail off the ground. "Say, can I borrow this blanket? It's awfully cold down here."
"Uh, sure." Sokka said, handing the spare blanket to the man in red.
"Thanks." The man said. "Enjoy spending time with your sister's new boyfriend! I'm sure you'll get along great." The man in red said, disappearing.
Yep, hell had frozen over.
XXX
BACK TO THE CIRCUS…
"Did it just get really cold in here to you?" Katara asked. Hikari frowned.
"Must be the wind."
"I suppose." Katara said, frowning. "Anyway, like I was saying, I'm sure they could get along," ("THE COLD! THERE IT IS AGAIN!" Sokka screamed. "Shut up and go to sleep, Sokka!") "given enough time."
Hikari sighed. "Your really serious about this, aren't you?"
Now Katara was getting annoyed. "Yes, I'm very serious about this, Hikari!"
"I guess I better start telling you the truth, then…"
XXX
"You hit me."
Jee frowned, watching the Prince nurse his cheek painfully. "So very sorry, Prince Zuko. I was just in such shock to hear you say you love a waterbender that I tried to knock some sense into you. I apologize. Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?"
Zuko blinked. "I already said it. I don't know if I want to say it if you're going to hit me again."
"Just looking out for your best interests, Prince Zuko." And loving every minute of it!
Zuko frowned. "Is it really so wrong of me, then?"
"If you were planning on destroying our nation as a whole, then I suppose not." Jee answered tartly.
Zuko winced. "It's not that bad."
"Yes it is!" Jee yelled. "Because you'll marry her!"
Now it was Zuko's turn to act shocked. "I'll—what?"
Jee winced. "That's what the fortune teller said, at least."
Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Fortune tell---Oh, it was you who started all this mess!" He screamed angrily.
Jee shuttered. "Not me alone, sir."
"Who else?" The Prince glared.
Jee gulped.
"I'm waiting, Lt. Jee."
"Jiro." Jee said, thinking of the first name he could think of. "Hikari. Daisuke. Taro. Shen."
"Anyone else?" The Prince asked bitterly.
"Not that I can think of, your highness."
Zuko sighed. "Okay, explain this fortune teller business to me…Why have you been harassing me and Katara so badly?"
XXX
"So," Katara began, listening intently to what Hikari had been telling her. "Aunt Wu said I was going to fall in love with Prince Zuko." That was all right. She'd believe it. After all, she also said she was going to marry a powerful bender, and she knew from experience that Zuko fit that bill perfectly.
"That's right." Hikari explained, glad to have this whole mess up front and on the table.
"…Did she say the world was going to end if Zuko and I got married?" Katara asked, frowning.
Hikari blushed. "We think it was sort of an implied thing."
"In other words," Katara added. "She said nothing of the sort, you just assumed that's what she meant."
"Basically, yeah."
Katara grinned. "Zuko's going to get a kick out of this when he finds out."
XXX
:end for now:
A/N: Right, I wanted this chapter up like two days ago. That didn't happen. My power kept going on and off multiple hours of the day, making it difficult to write or post anything. But here it is, and I'm happy with it. Not quite as funny as I wanted it to be, but it needed to be written. One last chapter and the epilogue, then this fic will be over with. I've enjoyed it while it's lasted.
Woo-hoo! Almost a hundred reviews! That's flippin sweet!
Also, I'm seventeen today! Yayness!