Today's prompt: mend.
Happy reading!
No one dared to move.
The sound of the expertly crafted stone hit the ground with a loud thud and the scream of Katara could be heard from halfway across the beach.
Aang's gray eyes widen as he watches the stone he Earthbended at Katara comes slamming down on the precious heirloom.
Sokka and Suki are on their feet in seconds ready to free the pendent from under the rubble, but Toph is already there bending the rock away from the fallen necklace. Katara surges forward, but a choked sob break from her throat as she falls to her knees in front of the shattered necklace.
Slowly, Katara reaches out gingerly to pick up the ribbon. Part of the pendant still hangs, catching the light of the afternoon sun. But three large chunks of the crafted sea glass lay in the rubble.
"Katara…"Aang steps forward but stops when Katara glares at him.
"How could you! This was my mother's necklace! The only thing I had left from her!" Aang steps back, truly frightened by Katara. She has never yelled at him like this before. Her voice broken and full of emotion.
Zuko glares at Aang as he takes a step forward and kneels down next to Katara.
"Hey, look at me." Zuko takes her chin in his hand and forces her to look away from the fallen necklace. She drags her gaze away, forcing herself to look at Zuko. She feels her throat tighten again and the tears start to fall.
"Zuko…" She lets the ribbon fall from her hand as she throws herself into Zuko's arm and sobs uncontrollably into his chest.
"Shhh…it'll be okay." He rocks her gently and strokes her hair trying to calm her down. He glances at their friends around them and motions for them to leave them alone.
Aang tries to step towards Katara, but Sokka places a hand on the young monk's shoulder. He shakes his head and gestures for him to follow the rest of the gaang back into the beach house.
After a few minutes, Katara grows silent but her breathing still hiccupping ever so often. The tears have stopped but the pain was all too real.
I can't believe it's gone…
She sniffles again and pulls slightly away from Zuko. He gives her a small smile as he wipes away a few stray tears.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asks. The warmth in his eyes makes her want to cry even more. How did she get so lucky to have such an amazing person in her life?
She rubs her eye with the back of her hand and sighs, "Probably not, but I don't think I can cry anymore."
Zuko nods. "Do you want to head inside?"
"Yeah." Zuko stands up and offers his hand to Katara. She smiles up at him and gladly accepts it. Together they walk back to the beach house hand in hand.
Zuko glances back at the fallen necklace and starts to form a plan.
Later that night, Zuko goes back out to the courtyard to retrieve the broken necklace. He gathers all the missing pieces and heads off into town in search of a glass blower. Within a couple of hours, Zuko comes back to the beach house with an almost perfectly mended necklace.
It's well after midnight when he knocks on her door. He can hear the slight movement on the other side of the door before it swings open, revealing a disheveled looking Katara.
Zuko frowns seeing how red her usually bright blue eyes were. Her cheeks puffy from brushing away tears, and her nose red as a cherry from her sniffles.
"Kat…" Zuko envelopes her in a tight hug and pushes her door closed with his foot. "Have you been crying all day?"
"Mhmm." She mumbles into his chest before pulling back enough to gaze up at him. "Where have you been all day?" her voice was thick with emotion.
He dips down and brushes a kiss across her forehead. "I had to go into to town for something."
Katara frowns. What was so important that he left his girlfriend grieving all day by herself?
"Was it important?" She couldn't help but let the slight heat enter her tone, she was upset after all.
Zuko smirks at her tone; of course she would be mad.
Her eyes widen, "What are you smirking about! I literally just went through something terrible and this is amusing to you?" she yells before pushing away from him and settling back into her bed.
Zuko sighs and follows her.
"Sit up."
Katara turns to him with a bewildered look, "What?"
He motions with his hand for her to sit up, "Just do it."
Katara rolls her eyes but does as she's told.
"Hold your hair back."
She glances at him, not understanding why he's asking her to do this.
He sees the look on her face and lets his shoulders slump, "Just…please trust me."
Her blue eyes soften a bit, "Of course I trust you."
"Good."
Facing the wall in front of her, she hears Zuko open and close a case. She feels him move closer to her on the bed, his chest close to her back as he reaches forward. She feels her heart rate pick up at the close contact, she'll never get over how Zuko makes her feel with only being near her.
Suddenly her vision is full of blue. The same shape and design as her mother's necklace, but slightly different. The circular stone now held together with clear glass mending the pieces back together.
Katara gasps as the newly repaired necklace is draped around her throat and tied with gentle fingers.
When Zuko moves away from her, she lets her hair fall and her hand instinctively reaches for the pendant at her throat.
She whirls around and tackled Zuko to the bed, peppering his face with kisses.
A laugh bursts from deep in Zuko's chest at her reaction, "I'm guessing it looks good then?"
She gives him one last kiss on the cheek before hovering over him, "Zuko, how did you..?"
"There's a glass blower that works in town and I've seen a few of his pieces before. I figured he could mend you broken necklace, even if it's not the same, it still looks like your mother's."
A fresh wave of tears hit Katara, "It's perfect, thank you."
He pulls her back down to him, their faces inches apart. "Anything for you, my love."
