A/N: I'm so pleased that so many of you liked the last chapter. I was very nervous about posting it, wondering how you might all react to the explanation and the Reiki Kizuna. I can't wait to see your reactions to this chapter. Mwahahaha!
xx-Kitten.
Brightest Nights or Darkest Days
By Kittenshift17
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It was almost dawn before they'd all gone to bed. Katara lay stretched out on her side, facing toward Zuko where he lay next to her. He was on his back, his scarred eye the one closest to her as he stared at the ceiling, still simmering in his anger and mulling over the plan his Uncle had laid out for how they must proceed.
The door connecting their room to Iroh's was closed, Katara having offered to fill the bathtub in his room for the General's use and him having gratefully accepted, saying that a hot bath would do him a world of good. He'd also pointed out that he snored, and so had closed the door to his room to allow them to sleep without him disturbing them.
Laying there in the dark beside Zuko, some of the earlier sexual tension between them had dissipated, though whether it was a result of what they'd done pushing with their chi against one another or if it was because Zuko was distracted, Katara didn't know. His jaw ticked occasionally, the muscle there jumping as he gritted his teeth on what she expected might be more rage filled words he'd love to scream at his father.
She didn't know what to say or how to comfort him. It was one thing to offer comfort over a mutual loss, but she'd never known anyone who lived with the pain of knowing their mother was only their mother because their father forced himself on her. She didn't know how to comfort him over the fact that his father seemed to be evil incarnate or over the fact that his sister was following in their father's footsteps. She didn't know what to say to offer comfort that he'd eventually find his mother again when it was all over and seeking her out would be safe.
"You're staring, Water Bender," Zuko said softly without looking at her, apparently feeling her gaze on him even if he wasn't paying attention to her.
"Sorry," Katara whispered. "I don't really know how to help, but if there's anything I can do, please tell me?"
His lips twitched little and he turned his head to stare at her across the pillows, the light from the hearth fire illuminating his eyes in the most alluring way. Katara held his gaze and she found that he didn't have to speak for her to know there really wasn't anything she could do, just as there wasn't anything he could do beyond what they'd begun plotting with his Uncle. Supposing that he might appreciate a distraction, as she often did when things troubled her, Katara smiled just a little bit and shuffled a bit closer.
Under the covers she slid her hand across the sheets until she found his hand. She curled her pinky-finger around his, sighing softly when their chi immediately brushed once more.
"We should start a new game," Katara told him quietly.
Zuko raised his good eyebrow in silent question.
"All this time we've all be playing the games of what we'd do if there wasn't a war, or what things might be like if the war had never started," Katara elaborated. "It's time for a new game. We're going to play what we will do when the war is over. Not in some hypothetical or fanciful notion kind of way, but solid, actual plans for what we'll do when this war is finally over."
Zuko's lips twitched again and Katara could tell that he knew she was trying to take his mind off his troubles, but she suspected he was also just a little bit amused by how resolute she was that they would win and that the war would be over soon.
"You go first," he told her. "What do you want to do when the war is done with?"
Katara smiled widely.
"I want to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe," she told him, the very first thing that popped into her head a memory of what life had been like when she'd been a little girl with her Mum and Dad and Gran Gran and Sokka, living as a family. "I want to use my Waterbening to help them rebuild the civilisation down there and I want the sense of community and happiness to return for them."
Zuko shook his head. "Those aren't the types of things I had in mind for the game, Water Bender," he said. "Those are things that will be done and must be done. Those are the tasks we'll all have to tackle when the battle is done and we all have to put out own Nations back in order. Tell me something you want to do when you don't have to hide from the soldiers or worry about fixing the world. What's something personal that you'd like to do?"
Katara thought about it, shuffling a little bit closer to him across the sheets, seeking the warmth of his body pressed to hers.
"Something silly and personal that achieves no good other than to make me happy?" she confirmed.
Zuko nodded, watching her. Suddenly she smiled.
"I want to go penguin sledding again," she confessed. "And I want you to come with me."
"Penguin sledding?" he asked, snorting in amusement. "Is it what it sounds like?"
Katara nodded. "You take some fish into the colonies of penguins and you catch or befriend one. And then you jump on its back as it slides on its stomach all the way down from the colonies to the flats at the edge of the ocean. I hadn't done it since I was a girl until Aang popped out of the ice and I haven't been home again to try it since we left. It's really fun."
Zuko looked amused. "You want me to come with you?"
She nodded.
"Promise you will," she demanded, gripping his pinky-finger tighter with hers and shuffling closer again, lifting their joined hands until she could tuck herself into his side despite the warmth of the fire and the blankets, and despite the size of the bed.
"Why would you want me to come penguin sledding?" Zuko asked. "I'll be Fire Lord by then. You really want to invite me down to the South Pole and your homeland – after what I did to it the last time I was there – just to ride on the back of a penguin with you."
"Promise me, Zuko," Katara said, burrowing closer to him until she could prop her chin against the middle of his bare chest, rolling closer until she actually rolled right on top of him, spreading her body over the top of his like she were a blanket.
He looked amused by the way she helped herself to his person, but it was the best spot to lie where she could still talk to him and hold his gaze whilst pressing as much of herself to him as possible, soaking up his warmth and giving plenty back, still feeling cold and strange since their internal chi push earlier.
"Promise," she repeated when he didn't answer. "Promise that even though you'll be Fire Lord and busy with all those tasks we're all going to be worried about to fix our own Nations and repair the international relations between all four, you'll still come penguin sledding with me. I want to see your face when you're clinging on for dear life, flying at high speed down an icy slope on the back of a penguin. It's fun, I promise."
"We won't have much time for fun, Water Bender," he reminded her. "We'll be busy with all those other tasks."
"Promise!" Katara insisted, thumping her fist against his chest lightly.
Zuko shook his head at her insistence, but he smiled.
"I promise that when we've got the time, if we both survive, I will come penguin sledding with you, Water Bender," Zuko pledged quietly and Katara beamed at him.
"Good," she said. "Now it's your turn. What's something you're going to do just for the sake of being happy when this is all over?"
Zuko frowned a little.
"I don't know," he said after a long, contemplative silence. "I can't actually remember ever doing anything that made me happy."
Katara nearly cried at the very idea.
"What did you do for fun when you were on your ship?" she asked him, frowning.
Zuko shrugged. "I didn't really have fun on the ship. Uncle dragged me to most of his morale building nights with the crew, but I didn't like participating because he liked to try and make me dance or play the Tsungi horn. And I'm rubbish at both."
"Nonsense," Katara declared.
"You've never heard me play, how would you know?" he laughed at her apparent certainty.
"I don't know about your horn-playing skills," she smiled. "But I doubt very strongly that you're rubbish at dancing, Zuko. I've watched you Firebending and fighting with your swords or even just your bare hands. I've seen the way you move. Dancing isn't so different."
Zuko looked doubtful but he didn't argue.
"I was expected to take lessons as a boy," he confessed, frowning a little. "And I wasn't very good."
Katara rolled her eyes, knowing after seeing him bend that should the need ever arise, he'd dance just fine.
"What else did you do on your ship, between searching for Aang and attending your Uncle's parties?" she asked him.
"Played Pi Shoh with Uncle," Zuko shrugged. "But I'm not very good at that either. The rest of the time we just sailed around searching for the Avatar and interrogating people. Whenever we made port the men would all head to the local whore-house or ale-house in each town and Uncle occasionally dragged me along, when I was old enough."
Katara snorted. "What an honour for those innocent concubines and tavern girls," she smirked. "Did any of them know they were bedding the Fire Nation prince?"
Zuko smirked in return. "A few of them. Most didn't, though. They just wanted to get through with their job to get away from the angry jerk with the ugly scar on his face."
"You know, when you talk about your life it makes more and more sense to me that you're such a grouch, Zuko," she told him. "You need to lighten up and learn how to have fun. Didn't you ever have fun with friends at the Palace? What about Kuzon?"
"Kuzon was the son of one of my mother's servants. We weren't supposed to play together. And I was only seven when he was banished. The only person I've ever had who could be called a real friend was my Uncle."
"And me," Katara smiled at him.
"You've been here a week," he rolled his eyes. "And before this, you and I were trying to kill each other, remember? I'm not sure that qualifies you as a friend."
She'd have been offended if she didn't think he was being literal and logical, rather than hurtful.
"I am your friend, you know?" she said. "I'm an integral part of the plan to dethrone your father and restore you to your crown when we save the world, remember?"
"That makes you my ally, not my friend," Zuko pointed out.
"I throw snowballs at you," she said.
"That just makes you mean."
"You throw them back," Katara protested.
"I've never denied my own mean streak," he smirked.
"I've bathed with you," she said, her cheeks warming.
"That makes you a potential lover, not a friend," he said.
"Most lovers are friends, Zuko."
"None of mine. I've fucked plenty of girls and don't even know any of their names," he said.
"Well that just makes you a scoundrel," Katara replied contrarily.
Zuko laughed.
"As opposed to the Waterbender who's only fucked a crazy guy," he rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" Katara blushed. "I've already confessed that it was a mistake to sleep with Jet because I rushed into it before realising what a horrible person he is. But at least I know his name."
Zuko smirked. "Funny how the next person on your list is an even worse person and you know it, but you still want to fuck me."
Katara blushed crimson. "I never said that."
"You did," he argued. "In the bath. And confessing such means that you still don't count as my friend. You just want to get laid."
Katara swatted him. "If that's what I'd wanted, I'd have slept with you in the bath then, wouldn't I? But I didn't, because I consider you my friend and because I didn't know if you were going to turn around and turn on me when we encountered your Uncle or my friends again. One mistake that ended in betrayal was enough for one lifetime, thank you."
Zuko smirked wickedly and Katara squirmed, thinking it might be a good idea to get off him after all. She'd held off on sleeping with him earlier out of fear and concern for the future, but they'd just spent a good long time detailing what that future might look like and she was definitely in it with him for a good long while yet. Worse, eventually he was going to have to 'betray' them and return to the Fire Nation capitol. He was going to have to do everything in his power to integrate himself back into the political life of the Crown Prince, and that might very well mean seducing certain people – most likely Mai – for the sake of bringing the government down from the inside.
Until they encountered Aang and Sokka again, Iroh had also suggested that it would be in their best interests to continue feigning a relationship. Katara wasn't so sure it was a good idea. She didn't know if she could keep kissing him without giving in to more and if she gave in for more she might fall for him and then she'd have her heart broken when he had to be with other people for the sake of their coup.
"Uncle mentioned that with this Reiki Kizuna nonsense it might be a bad idea if we fuck," Zuko told her, his smirk fading slowly and a frown forming once more.
"As though that would be the only bad idea about it?" Katara rolled her eyes.
Zuko held her gaze. "Still worried about your brother, then?"
"More concerned that if we do and it's terrible, I'll still have to talk to you for years to come," Katara sighed, resting her chin on his sternum and looking away from his eyes, her fingers toying with the faintest dusting of hair that decorated his chest.
She felt more than saw him nod in understanding, recognising that it was certainly a possibility. She knew his opinion on the matter that they would have to roll the dice and find out if they ever really wanted to know. Katara was of the opinion that it was better to be safe than sorry, especially now that they had months or even years where they'd be working together and even living together in close quarters.
She sighed softly, letting her eyes drift closed as the exhaustion of the long day began to catch up with her, feeling safe and warm and utterly at home in his presence, even if she was stretched out on top of him in the bed. Zuko slowly lifted his hands from the bed and rested them on the middle of her back, making Katara arch into the heat of them when he dug his thumb into the muscles that were a little bit sore, foretelling that soon her moon-time would come again, making her grumpy and sore for the coming days. She didn't know how he knew she was sore there, and she didn't ask, but she wasn't above accepting the relief of the caress.
"Katara?" Zuko asked quietly when she'd pillowed her cheek on the middle of his chest and burrowed her hands under his shoulders, cuddling into him where she laid atop him.
"Hmmm?" she hummed so he'd know she was awake even if she didn't want to move.
"You've said you don't want to risk it in case it's terrible," Zuko said. "But, what if it's not? What's if it's amazing?"
"It'll still be amazing when the war is over and you're not going to go off seducing people for the sake of the coup," she replied quietly, wondering if he'd realised that she was afraid to go further than the kisses and touches they'd shared because she feared that if they did, she'd fall for him.
She'd fall for him and then he'd have to leave and no amount of promises or reassurances would undo the betrayal and hurt she knew she would feel over the idea of him seducing anyone else, even for the sake of their plan and world peace. She didn't think she was strong enough to forgive something like that if she'd fallen in love with him first.
"What if we don't live that long?" Zuko asked and Katara's eyes opened when she realised she hadn't even thought of that.
They might not survive the invasion. He might not survive the viper's nest of a palace with his crazy sister and his evil father. Especially when the plan hinged on Iroh surrendering as a prisoner and eventually escaping prison to re-join their forces when it was revealed that Aang was alive after all. At any moment either one of them could be killed with a stray weapon or a well-placed blow.
The idea presented a crossroads within her mind. It was always better to be safe than sorry, but it was also better to have loved and lost, than to not have loved at all. What if she was destined to fall for Zuko and to die during the battle to restore him to his throne? What if she was destined to love him now and let him go at the end, when it was all over and the fight was done and they had to get back to their own Nations and rebuilding their homes?
What if she was too scared and she missed out, only to die in the end? What if her loving him was the thing he would turn to for strength when his faith was tested and the pull of blood and family called louder than the pull of the world or of friendship? Katara mulled it over, sleep suddenly seeming impossible once more as she tried to figure out what she was meant to do and how this was all supposed to go.
"What did your Uncle say about it being a bad idea for the two of us to be sexually intimate when we share a Spirit Bond?" Katara asked.
"That sometimes giving life to the Kizuna through physical joining cements the bond and makes it impossible to deny from then on," Zuko said.
Katara raised her eyebrows and lifted her head to peer at him sleepily once more. "Meaning that the feeling I already had earlier of not being able to sleep because you weren't in bed with me would be permanent and might cement some sort of romantic bond between the two of us for the rest of our lives?"
Zuko held her gaze, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's not guaranteed. He said it's possible. But if you already felt like you couldn't sleep after what we did earlier then it might be that the use of the bond with whatever training he was talking about causes that, not being intimate," he said. "What did it feel like for you, anyway?"
Katara blushed. "I think you already know," she said, looking down once more, her cheeks warming. She could feel him grinning.
"Relieved some of that tension, then?" he asked.
"Did it not feel that way for you?" she asked.
"A bit," Zuko said. "Without the mess."
Katara snorted, unable to believe they were even having this conversation.
"Felt a bit like Bending, too. I wanted to try Firebending at you, but… on the inside," he said. "When you did it back while I was in a rage it didn't feel that way, though."
"No," she shook her head. It hadn't felt that way then for her either. When he'd lost his temper and she'd used it to encircle his chi it hadn't made her feel more attracted to him or like she'd achieved release. It felt like something else. Something more. Something good and strong and safe. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she lifted her eyes to his once more, realising that when she'd done it to him it had felt a bit like she imagined it would feel were she ever in danger, but safe with him.
It didn't feel that way when she calmed Aang down out of the Avatar state. It had felt more intimate. Closer. With Aang it always felt like a relief to have him calm down so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else and it felt good as his friend and as some who cared for him very deeply. With Zuko it had felt more like she imagined it might feel to hold someone's heart together for them.
"This is… complicated," she said, looking into his eyes and seeing the same confused, and worried, and perhaps even hopeful sparkles in them as surely as they were in her own.
Zuko nodded in agreement.
"Sex will only complicate it further," she pointed out.
Zuko nodded again, acknowledging the truth of that fact. She could see that he felt as conflicted about it as she did.
"What are you going to do if we do this and then you have to return to the capitol?" she asked him quietly. "It's one thing to say that waiting might be wretched if we don't survive, but what if we do? You're going to be Fire Lord. If we have sex and it does something to the Reiki Kizuna that makes us crave each other forever that would mean I would have to be…."
Katara trailed off, frowning at him.
"The next Fire Lady," he finished for her, his voice raspy with exhaustion and maybe a little desire. "And who knows how the Fire Nation would react to that idea, since you're a Waterbender?"
"Cooperation between Nations would have a poster-couple, though," Katara mused, frowning thoughtfully. "But I'd have to put up with your bad moods forever. And we'd be ripped apart by the need to help our own Nations rebuild. And you'd have to put up with me – and I can tell you that I don't like most of what I've seen of your Nation's customs, Zuko. I wouldn't make a particularly respectful Fire Lady. This isn't just some discussion over the idea of dating or breaking up when you have to go back to fool them all and take the government apart. If our Reiki Kizuna does something that means we're even more linked than we already are, that's the rest of our lives. You realise that, right?"
Zuko nodded slowly, his brow furrowed too, obviously thinking hard about it all and trying to come to some kind of conclusion.
"Would Aang know anything about them?" he asked eventually.
"He might," Katara nodded. "He was only twelve when the Air Nomads were wiped out and he went into the ice, but he'd mastered Air Bending enough to gain his tattoos before then, so I'm sure he must know everything about his own culture. If it really was such an integral part of their people's culture to the point of being blamed on them, he'd surely know something about them. We could ask him when we find him again."
"And until then?" he raised his eyebrow at her, looking mildly amused by the way she lit up with hope that Aang might be able to shed some light on this thing.
"Until then we risk being stuck together permanently," Katara said. "Do you really want to be stuck with me forever?"
"I've never been stuck with anyone before," Zuko frowned a little.
Katara lifted up enough to sit straddling him as she stared at him, trying to understand all the things he didn't say whenever he said things like that. Suddenly the memory of the way he'd kissed her before they'd entered the tea shop and run into Iroh surfaced once more and she could almost taste his lips upon hers again.
"Zuko, why did you kiss me before we went into the restaurant?" she asked him quietly. "There were no soldiers paying us any attention that you had to hide from."
His mouth twisted to the expression between a smile and a frown and Katara jolted slightly when he lifted his hand to brush his fingers across her cheek before tracing the shape of her lower lip with the pad of his thumb.
"Does it matter?" he asked softly, his cheeks colouring faintly.
Katara searched his face carefully for some hint of emotion, some tiny clue of what he'd been thinking or why he'd done it.
"Yes," she said. "I think it does. Tell me why."
Zuko's lips twitched. "Bossy little thing, aren't you? Keep ordering people around like that and you'll be a prime candidate for Fire Lady."
Katara almost keeled over in shock and she was sure her knees would've buckled had she been standing. Before she could open her mouth and ask where that comment had come from and what he'd meant by kissing her for no apparent reason outside the restaurant, Zuko sat up far enough to reach her, his hand slipping into her loose hair and guiding her head down enough that he could steal a kiss from her lips. Katara squeaked in surprise, kissing him back just the same when the warmth and desire between the two of them kicked up a few notches, making her aware of just how she was sitting, straddled over his hips and dressed in nothing by her sarashi wraps.
When he pulled back, he lowered back down until he was lying flat once more, a hint of amusement glittering in his eyes.
"You asked me in the bath if I would stay," he murmured, his fingers still tangled in her hair. "Just before I kissed you outside, I realised that I wanted to."
Katara blinked in shock to hear him say it, having thought that he hadn't come to that decision until after reuniting with his Uncle and finding out about their Reiki Kizuna and realising that his Uncle wanted him to do the right thing, rather than continuing to work with the Fire Lord. The idea that he'd made the decision before all of that, when he might end up stuck travelling with just her, or with her, Meng and Kuzon until they reached the city seemed to override all common sense inside her head and without really thinking about it Katara leaned down toward him until she could press her lips to his.
Zuko groaned softly against her lips when she leaned into the kiss, her tongue darting out to trace his lower lip, begging entrance. He granted it, both of his hands fisting in her hair and pulling her to him more firmly while his hips bucked beneath hers. Katara's head swam with pleasure and warmth and desire, lust fogging her brain and making her crazy, and she felt all over again the way she'd done before Meng and Kuzon had arrived to interrupt them on the road four days ago.
When Zuko rolled them both across the bed, pinning her beneath him and kissing her harder, Katara let her hands wander his bare torso, her fingers tracing shapes over his back and learning the width of his shoulders, the feel of his warm skin, enjoying the heady rush of simply feeling him. As she kissed him delusional, Katara forgot all about the worry that he might steal her heart and break it, or that they might not survive the battle or that Sokka and Aang would be furious with her or even that she might be stuck with him forever if she let him have her now.
None of those things mattered. All that mattered was the feel of his body pressing hers into the mattress deliciously and the way his lips and tongue tasted against hers. All that she could feel was pleasure and happiness and desire as she arched under him, seeking friction, suddenly crazed with need. Tunnelling a hand into his hair, Katara kissed him harder, stroking his tongue with hers hungrily while her free hand abandoned his skin to tug at the ends of her wraps, trying to get them undone.
Zuko broke from her lips when she tugged the end of the sarashi, kissing along the length of her jaw and ducking his head to pepper kisses over her throat that drew a low, breathy moan from Katara. His hands traced hotly over her taut stomach while she tried to get her bindings off, the touch searing her skin in the most delightful way and making it hard to focus on her task.
"Having some trouble?" he asked, his voice wickedly husky and amused when she made a noise of frustration.
"Yes," Katara admitted, releasing his hair to push him back slightly so she had more room and could use both hands to better disrobe.
Zuko laughed wickedly, shifting further down her body to nuzzle his nose against her bare abdomen. Katara hissed at the ticklish sensation when he traced a line of burning kisses along the strip of skin just above the waist band of her sleep-pants. Heat pooled below her navel and she whimpered, arching against his mouth as she finally managed to untangle her wraps enough to unwind them from around herself.
When she'd freed her top half Katara froze only to find Zuko had done the same, his eyes fixed upon her hungrily, glittering with lust as he drank in the sight of her naked torso.
She'd expected him to curse. Or to immediately get grabby or to lunge for her with a hungry mouth. Jet had done all of those things when she'd stripped this far with him. He'd been on her before she could even process that she was half-naked with a boy and she'd been swept up in it all.
Not Zuko.
Unlike the nonbender she'd bedded, Zuko was a Firebender and that meant he understood control and restraint. She'd bet he also understood the simmering, tantalizing effect of making her wait, squirming beneath his gaze, rather than pouncing and offering instant stimulation. And squirm she did. The way he looked at her then made her whole body thrum with need and the feel of his chi rushing against hers, caressing her as though he already had his hands on her just made her want him even more.
"Have you ever been with a Firebender before?" he asked seriously after dropping one little kiss to her stomach just beneath her navel.
Katara shook her head. "I've never been with another Bender. Only with…"
Zuko nodded his understanding. In truth he'd never been with another Bender either.
"I've only fucked nonbenders, too," he admitted. "But I've heard stories that it's…"
"Intense?" she guessed.
"Dangerous," Zuko corrected her. "I imagine two benders of the same element wouldn't have too much to worry about, but we're opposites, Katara."
Katara shivered involuntarily, goosebumps racing across her skin at the way he said her name like that.
"You think we might hurt each other?" she guessed, folding her arms over her chest when her self-consciousness got the best of her.
"I think I could hurt you," he admitted. "Water is primarily a healing and soothing element. Fire is pain and destruction. When I still had my ship a few of the crew admitted that early on in their explorations they accidentally hurt their partners. The same way strong emotions affect Bending, sex affects it. I haven't… uh….I haven't fucked anyone in a while. And I haven't hurt anyone in even longer, but I've never fucked another Bender, so I have no idea what might happen if we proceed."
"You know, you could've told me all of this before I stripped," Katara grumbled.
"You wouldn't have paid as much attention," he smirked. "Just be careful that you don't flood the room with snow, and tell me if I burn you, alright?"
Katara rolled her eyes but she nodded. Zuko dropped another kiss to her stomach, lowering his mouth to her skin and beginning to ascend her body toward where she'd folded her arms over her breasts. She squirmed again, heat and tension and something else rushing through her, building up inside of her. When he reached the underside of her breasts he lifted his head to peer over her arms at her, raising his eyebrow at her.
"This tends to be easier if you're not cringing and hiding, Water Bender," he told her before frowning slightly with worry. "Do you want me to stop?"
Katara frowned at him, considering saying yes for a moment because the butterflies rioting in her stomach were making her jittery and nervous and she still wasn't sure this was such a good idea. Reaching for him before she could blurt all that out, Katara tangled a hand in his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers. She could feel him smirking against her lips when he kissed her, obviously realising she was nervous and not entirely sure what she was doing, no matter her torrid, if short-lived, affair with Jet.
As he crawled back up her body, positioning himself over her despite the fact that they were both still wearing pants, Katara whimpered against his lips when he slotted his body between her spread legs, making himself at home in the cradle of her hips before grinding the rigid heat of his body against the junction of her thighs and making her see stars. She squeaked when his hot hands shifted to cup both of her breasts, skin on skin, and Katara arched under him subconsciously.
She got lost in his kiss and the feel of his hands on her body. She wasn't even thinking, she'd just begun to act, instinctively recalling what to do and where to touch to make him as crazy and as ready for it as he was making her. Zuko nipped her lips when she bucked her hips under him, grinding herself harder against the bulge in his pants and she whined, low and needy, when he kissed his way down her neck and over her chest.
When he laved her right nipple with his tongue Katara wondered if she had died. His fingers pinched the taut peak he'd made of the left nipple while he tormented her and his low, smug laugh only taunted her all the more as he licked and nipped her sensitive flesh before switching sides, moving his mouth to her left nipple and pinching the right one between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it in such a way that she was sure she might actually die.
"Stars, Zuko," Katara gasped raggedly and she blinked open lust-dazed eyes to find him watching her face as he tortured her, plucking the strings of her body just to see what sounds he might draw from her.
She was much too far gone to feel self-conscious or embarrassed as she arched into him again, wanting more. At some stage she'd tangled her fingers into his hair. Belatedly she realised that he had her at his mercy and she felt a little flare of defiance glow within her. Drawing one knee up, she rolled the two of them again until she was straddling him once more, making him lose his hold of her breasts as he found himself on his back under her. Katara repaid the attention he'd given her, trailing her mouth over his torso curiously, tracing the lines of muscle definition with her tongue and smirking just a bit at the way he writhed when she dragged her tongue over the ridges of his abs.
When she reached the waistband of his pants, Katara lifted up slightly, her fingers toying with the ties, her eyes drifting to his face. He watched her in return, his golden eyes glowing with lust and just daring her to keep going, to undo them and delve below his waistband. In her mind's eyes an image of him in all his naked glory when he'd stood, still glistening from their shared bath earlier filled her mind and Katara knew she wanted to keep going, even if she was nervous.
When she pulled the ties to undo his pants, Zuko smirked at her but she barely got them pulled open and began nuzzling her nose along the narrow treasure trail of hair that led south before he suddenly flipped them both back over. Katara squeaked when she almost fell off the bed at the sudden shift of position.
"What are you doing?" Katara breathed when he suddenly hauled her up against his chest, holding her to him firmly, stretched on her side and facing him, her nose burrowed against his chest.
"Shhh," Zuko breathed by her ear, going still but to loop his arm over her in such a way that her nudity was hidden.
Just before she could open her mouth to ask what was wrong and why he was stopping, the door between their room and Iroh's creaked open and the General peeked inside. She realised that Zuko must've heard him knock while Katara had been too busy trying to get into his pants. Iroh crept into the room and Katara had to stifle a nervous and amused giggle when he tip-toed over to the teapot and the tea-chest they'd abandoned earlier.
He picked up both, shooting a worried glance in their direction when Zuko shifted slightly, pulling her to himself a little more firmly lest Iroh catch a glimpse of her topless form. Through mostly closed eyes, Katara watched the way Zuko's uncle smiled at the pair of them fondly, looking rather like he approved of the way they were so entangled with one another, the sheets strewn haphazardly over them thanks to Zuko's quick reflexes, but nonetheless snuggled together.
He looked thoughtful and pleased as he watched them for a long moment, the type of pride she recalled seeing from her Gran Gran and her parents glittering in his eyes as though he were happy for Zuko. She supposed that after so long hoping his nephew would change his ways and grow as a person, it would certainly be something to be proud over. She wondered if, like her, Iroh was trying to puzzle out how much of Zuko's change of heart had to do with her, personally.
He didn't look like he was going to move, either, leaning in the doorway holding the tea-box and the pot as he watched them 'sleep' with all the pride and love of a father. Zuko shifted very slightly again, kicking one of his legs in what she suspected might be an attempt to ensure that his Uncle didn't see his erection. Katara had to bite her tongue on a giggle and supposed it might be a good idea to feign half-wakefulness as a result of the light pouring in from Iroh's room when he kept the door open that way.
Stirring in Zuko's hold, Katara lifted her head slowly, blinking and squinting first at Zuko to make Iroh think his restlessness had woken her, before she looked toward the light coming in through the door.
Iroh looked worried and apologetic when she met his gaze.
"Sorry for disturbing you," he whispered when Katara raised her eyebrows at him, feigning confusion.
"Is everything alright?" Katara asked, hoping he would think the huskiness of her voice was the result of just waking up, rather than because Zuko was driving her mad with need.
Iroh nodded, pushing away from the door and hoisting the teapot and tea-chest aloft for her to see. "Just retrieving these. Go back to sleep, Katara. It will be a long day tomorrow."
Katara nodded, laying her head back down, purposely burrowing her face into Zuko's chest and licking his nipple, smirking a little bit when he groaned very softly. Iroh lingered a moment longer before pulling the door closed. Zuko stayed still for another moment and Katara giggled very softly, nipping his chest lightly.
"I'm beginning to think the Universe doesn't want me to fuck you," Zuko grumbled, pulling back from her slightly to peer down at her.
"People do seem to have a way of interrupting us," Katara agreed, giggling some more.
"What did he want?" Zuko asked, glancing toward the door.
"The teapot and the chest," Katara told him.
"You know you're Golden Thread is in that chest, don't you?" Zuko smirked suddenly.
"He's already seen it, hasn't he?" she asked.
Zuko shook his head. "He had a little canister of green tea that he'd grabbed from somewhere on his travels since we were separated. He hasn't opened that one, yet."
Katara's cheeks flamed at the fact that Iroh was going to know she was taking contraceptive tea and she glanced guiltily at Zuko.
"This is your fault," she accused.
"You stole it, Water Bender," he reminded her.
"You insisted I drink it," she countered.
"You were the one undoing my pants and planning to require the tea," he said and Katara swatted him in frustration.
He laughed at her reaction, catching her arm and pulling her across him once more. Katara sighed softly, her stomach flipping when she spotted the smug grin on Zuko's face. Snuggling closer to him, Katara laid her cheek on his shoulder, her fingers tracing patterns over his abs once more, wandering slowly lower.
"The sun is rising," Zuko murmured quietly, one of his hands tracing patterns over her lower back while the other toyed with her left nipple.
"Is that an innuendo?" Katara snorted, lifting her head to look at him.
He blinked at her for a moment before grinning and glancing down at the front of his pants.
"No," he said. "That had already risen. I mean the actual sun, which means that anything else just got a lot more perilous."
Katara frowned in confusion, not sure what he meant until he pinched her nipple lightly.
"I've told you before that I rise with the sun, Water Bender," Zuko reminded her. "Every Firebender's energy increases tenfold as the sun rises. If I fuck you now, I'll accidentally hurt you."
"How? Katara said.
She blinked in shock when he exhaled and breathed fire by means of demonstration. She could feel his body temperature rising too, his chi suddenly racing against hers faster, hotter, surging within him as the power of his bending source grew. She knew the feeling. She felt the same way as the moon rose each day, and she realised that much like she was in the evenings, he was suddenly filled with energy and the urge to Bend just for the sake of Bending.
"Probably not the best time to be attempting sex with another Bender for the first time, then," she said, feeling more and more of his power increase, rushing all around her own.
"Probably not," he agreed. "Though it would certainly be a good outlet for all this energy."
Katara smirked at him. "There are ways to relieve energy and tension without sex," she reminded him, reaching for her courage and slipping her hand under the waistband of his pants, trailing south until she encountered the hottest part of him.
Zuko's breath hitched when she smoothed her cool hand over him, tracing the shape, size and length of him with her fingers nervously and watching his face. His eyes drifted closed when Katara wrapped her hand around him, squeezing lightly. She tried to remember the way Jet had showed her to do this, smoothing her hand up and down slowly and watching carefully for his reaction. She was careful about it, feeling how much of his energy and his pent up need was positively racing around them both, his chi practically fizzing and boiling it's ways around hers.
Katara jumped when, after a few experimental strokes, Zuko curled his hand around hers, tightening her grip slightly and guiding her hand the way he liked it. When she had the rhythm right he let go and Katara smiled as he moved his hand to her cheek, guiding her closer until he could steal a kiss from her lips. She could taste the fire on his tongue and feel it bubbling in his blood, blistering across her skin and making her whole body ache with need.
Her stomach flipped and she felt strangely powerful when his breath turned to ragged gasps as she trailed her mouth from his lips along his jaw and toward his scar without even thinking. He didn't stop her, even when she kissed along the outline of it below his left eye, her hand never ceasing its quick, sure strokes.
"Agni, Katara," he breathed, reaching for her and pulling her closer, his hands hot enough to burn. His hips bucked as she kept stroking him, up and down, over and over again, feeling his body growing hotter by the second.
When he slid one hand down her stomach and under the waistband of her pants, Katara hissed in surprise, his hot fingers suddenly finding her throbbing flesh and searing her slightly.
"Wait," she whispered, using her free hand to fish his hand from her pants, not certain she trusted those fingers not to burn her when he broke.
He caught her lips again instead, his tongue sliding against her and making her want to let him get his hands on her once more. She could taste the fire now, right there on his tongue and she mewled with wanting it, wanting him. He moved his hips faster and she knew he was close to breaking. When he began pushing at her with his chi – accidentally or intentionally, she didn't know – Katara realised he was going to explode. His chi encircled hers completely, the pressure building in her as surely as it built inside him and he hissed a curse between his teeth, breaking from her lips and jerking her closer to him before breathing fire over her shoulder as his body spamsed once, twice, before hot stickiness coated her palm and his stomach.
Katara hissed when she realised it was hot enough to scald and Zuko's hands on her lower back seared burns into her skin as he broke apart. His chi squeezed her so tight she'd swear she was dancing inside dragon-fire and Katara moaned at the feel of explosion as it rushed through him and into her. She squeaked in shock when something dizzingly hot and delicious and terrible all at once suddenly coiled through her before tipping her head and opening her mouth like she might scream.
Fire poured from her mouth in favour of sound and Katara was sure she panicked because despite the fire, her whole body began to glow blue with the healing magic she wielded and Zuko jerked against her, his eyes wide and his breath uneven. She was positively reeling when Zuko fished her hand from his pants and rolled them both, pinning her beneath him. She was still glowing faintly, dazed and strung so tight that she might squeal. His lips crashed down on hers hungrily, gratefully, worshipfully.
He swallowed the moan he drew from her, pinning her to the bed, his hands hot enough to burn through the ties on her pants when he tried to get them undone. His movements were tight and controlled, but there was an edge of desperation to them too, his tongue frantic against her own and his chi still pushing so insistently that she might die. When he burrowed his hand into her pants and found her flesh once more he wasted no time, spearing scorching fingers deep inside of her and twisting them, searching for something.
Her whole body jerked when he found it and worked it mercilessly.
"Z-Zuko," she gasped desperately, her hands gripping his shoulders like vices, her nails cutting into him as she felt like she'd suddenly been pitched into a hurricane.
She'd lost control and for the first time in a long time she felt like she was being thrown about in a wild sea of passion and she couldn't control it. She liked it. She loved it. She hated it. She felt powerful and powerless all at once and Zuko's fingers felt like hot coals scraping insistently at something deep inside of her that was going to bring her undone. Snow and ice buffeted the windows of the hotel room, threatening to break them as something in her coiled tighter and tighter, just begging to snap loose.
It was like a tidal wave when in crested and crashed over both of them. Zuko's mouth on hers muffled her scream and his whole body jerked when she clamped down hard on those hot, insistent fingers, the only thing anchoring her in the hurricane as it broke with a boom like lightning in the wildest of storms. When she opened her eyes Zuko was glowing the bright blue of her healing magic and his eyes were wide, their chi still rushing and fizzing and coiling together.
Katara kissed him, pulling his lips to hers once more, heedless of her own breathlessness. She kissed him until the hurricane seemed to dissipate and until he collapsed, boneless on top of her.
"Wow," she breathed when he burrowed his face into her neck, still panting. She could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, matching her own heart's wild and erratic beat.
"Did I hurt you?" Zuko asked, his voice raspy.
Katara's whole body was humming with too much energy to feel any pain as he rolled to the side, staring at her with wide eyes.
"I don't know," she admitted. "Did I hurt you?"
She peered over at him to spot the half-crescents her nails had cut into his shoulders. They weren't bleeding, thankfully, so she hadn't broken the skin, but they were still there.
"You breathed fire," he said, looking at her across the pillows with confusion and awe.
"So did you," she said. "And you glowed like my hands do when I heal."
He nodded. "That was…"
Katara nodded too. That was intense. Amazing. Unforgettable. Addictive. She was doomed, she realised as she met his gaze. He seemed to think it too, but he didn't comment on it.
"Whenever you need to burn off excess energy," she began, grinning at him. Zuko laughed, grinning in return as he reached for her, not seeming to care that they were both covered in sweat and stickiness and each other. He tugged her across the slightly damp sheets, pressing her to his side once more.
"Just so you know, Water Bender," he said quietly as sleep rushed up to lay claim to both of them. "Rolling the dice was definitely worth it."
Katara hummed sleepily in agreement, feeling the way he pressed a kiss to the top of her head just before she drifted off into an extremely contented sleep.