Sweetness In The Sour

Author/Artist: MuffyTaj
Pairing: Zuko/Katara
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Theme: #23. Candy
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or the series.

Zuko hadn't said a word since they'd tied him up in a sack. His uncle, on the other hand, had kept up a pleasant flow of conversation, even with his hands and feet tied together. This might have been because they had gagged Zuko as well as bound him so tightly his fingers were starting to turn red.

"Do you have any tea?" Iroh asked, licking his lips, "I'm afraid I'm getting rather thirsty, and I imagine my nephew must be as well."

"We've got water." Katara said. Sokka was sulking, because both Aang and Katara refused to stop 'fraternizing with the enemy', as he put it.

"Something to eat then? It's just it's been a while since we last ate, for our food was on our ship, you know." He tactfully did not add 'The ship which you destroyed last night', which Katara thought was very polite of him.

"We do have some candy!" Aang said cheerfully.

"Hey!" Sokka shouted, jumping to his feet, "You are not giving the enemy our candy! It took me ages to earn enough money for that!"

"But he looks so hungry!" Aang said pitifully. Iroh's eyes wobbled.

"I don't care, it's ours!"

Katara ignored both of them, and carefully offered Iroh some of their candy. "It's more boiled sugar than anything else," she said under the noise of the two boys fighting, "but it does taste nice."

"Thank you," Iroh said as he popped some in his mouth.

She crouched down by Zuko's sack, and looked sternly at him. "I'm only going to take off your gag and give you some if you promise not to set me on fire. Understood?" Zuko just glared at her.

"He would never dream of burning the hand that feeds him." Iroh said casually. "Isn't that right, Zuko?"

Zuko flushed and, still glaring at Katara, nodded. She slowly removed his gag, and pushed the piece of candy into his mouth. His lips closed around her fingers, and for an instant she was afraid he was going to bite her. Instead his tongue snatched the candy out of her hand, and he shut his mouth again, still frowning. But as the sweet candy flooded his mouth his expression relaxed, and he almost smiled at her.

Her fingers were still warm from where he had touched them, and slightly damp. Something shifted within her, before reality hit. "Ew, prince slobber." She said, and wiped it on his shirt. His smile disappeared, and he went right back to glaring at her.