Kiss THIS!

Stupid job is trying to kill me. Yesterday I worked from 1 to closing (9:30 p.m.), today I worked from 10:45 to 6:30 p.m. (feet hurt) and tomorrow I have to work 8 am to 4:30 pm. I is dead, I tell you, just dead.

This is, again, a nonchallenge/no prompt thing, mainly because I only have one last 30kisses to write (well, finish is a better word) and I really don't feel like working on it right now.

Also…:wibbles:( Does nobody love me? Where'd you go? Was last chapter really really really bad and you just didn't want to hurt my feelings? My poor ego is use to more reviews. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, as I do love the ten of you that reviewed and am absolutely grateful for every single review I get, I'm just curious. I usually get 20-30 per drabble, and only getting ten makes me wonder if my writing has gone down the drain or something.

This drabble is…random. I was playing a video game that I haven't played in a while, and this little piece of dialogue hit me funny so I felt the need to twist it and make it zutara-y. (BLUE SPIRIT FOR TEH WIN!)

Enjoy!

Jak

The Usual

Had it really been so long?

It didn't seem like it was that long ago. Or maybe it did, he could hardly tell. Every day had seemed like a thousand years since they parted company, but now that they were reunited it was as though those horrible long months had been measly hours, a vast over exaggeration of the truth. She didn't look different at all, at least not to him. Every bit of her still seemed just as perfect as he remembered.

In truth, she was probably a bit thinner, and her face a little more mature, but deep down she was still the same Katara. The same blue-eyed girl he had rescued as the Blue Spirit, the same young woman he had shared his first kiss with, the first lover he had ever had. And even though it had been months, almost a year, since he last saw her, nothing had changed. She was still just as beautiful as before, if not more so; just the sight of her sent a wave of butterflies fluttering through his stomach, and he welcomed the feeling warmly.

And she smiled when she saw him. "Zuko…is that you?"

He could not help but smile back, shyly. "Yeah, it's me."

"You came with them to…to rescue me?" There was doubt (or was it hope?) in her voice, quivering oh-so-slightly at the thought. In truth, he came by himself to rescue her, only to find that her brother, the Avatar, and the little blind girl were there as well, for the same reason as him. It seemed silly not to work together, though Zuko was quick enough on his feet not to mention Katara, and instead came up with an imaginary excuse ("I'll help rescue your friend if you help me defeat Azula.") that allowed them to work together temporarily.

"Don't flatter yourself, Katara." The blind girl, Toph, said shortly, bringing them out of a daze. To their luck, Toph was the only one with them (Aang and Sokka were stuck guarding the entryway), and she was a bit more preoccupied with unlocking the self-shutting door than whatever it was Zuko and Katara had to say. "Angry Boy is just here because Aang thought he could help us rescue you (Not that we needed it), and he needs us to help him defeat his sister."

But the pair of mirrored eyes said differently.

She smiled softly in response, her gaze never leaving his. "Even still, it is nice to see you again." Even if I wasn't suppose to. She thought quietly.

"It's been a long time." He nodded, too long.

"What have you been up to?" She asked quietly, the world around them fading away like fireflies in the twilight.

He grinned back at her cheekily. "Oh, the usual. Rescuing damsels in distress, saving them from pirates and the like. Only now I do it professionally. I have a mask and a business card." Sarcasm was never his forte, but she still couldn't help but try to hide a giggle at him.

His gaze softened. "What about you?"

There was a glow, a twinkle of hope, and in an instant a flash of memories flooded him.

She kissed him gently as a way to say thank-you.

His mask fell.

She wasn't afraid (surprised, but not afraid).

Close, too close, and it was too dark and too cold, that's why she stayed by him even though she knew who he was. That's also why she found herself in his arms, or so she told herself.

He wasn't use to being so close to another person, and, well, she had kissed him first, hadn't she? It was natural that he would kiss her, too.

Who knew it would feel so good?

When they woke up the next morning, naked and scared, yet feeling more alive than ever before, they agreed that they should not meet again, and if they did, they would not mention this night. There was too much at stake, they were too young, and it wasn't right (they weren't in love, not really).

It was the grown up, mature, sensible thing to do.

(so why did it hurt so much to let go?)

He still thought about her every day. How could he not? There was so much…feeling that had come out that night; it was impossible for him just to forget. And if the light in her eyes was anything to go by, she felt much the same way.

She stepped closer to him (Not close enough, but it was a start). "I guess I just needed to be rescued again."

He rolled his eyes. "As usual."

"Yeah," she agreed, nearly silent. "As usual."

XXX
END

HOMG FRUITSEXUAL I LOVE YOU.

(check out fanart in profile.)

Jak