Zuko's face contorted in pain against the fresh scar on his chest as he lay in the red silk sheets. His eyes were closed, eyebrows pulled into a tight frown, forcing his mind to concentrate on anything but the blistering pain pressing onto his lungs, pushing all the air out. Katara's tense form leant over him, bending water over and through his chest to alleviate what pain she could, eyes focused determinedly on his torso. She reached out, arms shaking, to feel the singed nerves and melted tissue, trying to ignore Zuko's pained expression so she could heal him as well as she could. The water flowed through his chest, pooling minutely around areas of blocked chi. She drew her lips together tightly, frowning deeper as she drew a deep breath to steel herself before she sharply pulled her fingers, breaking through the tension and releasing the swirling pool of energy. Zuko's eyes flew open and he gasped in pain, "Agni, Katara!" before screwing his eyes shut again. She noticed water dripping onto his chest and realised she was crying.
"Just…..just hold on a minute," she said through shaky breaths, barely recognising her own voice as she fought against the panic bubbling steadily in her chest. She felt the blood begin to flow through the newly unblocked areas and used her water to soothe the sting. Closing her eyes, she focused on the broken vessels, willing them to heal and gently pulling blood back into his system where it escaped. She felt him relax under her ministrations and he released a long deep breath, his head sinking back into the pillows. His brow unknotted slightly as he began to breathe properly again. Her eyes flicked briefly to his face, the faint glow from the water reflecting the concern in them. Her expression softened in relief seeing that her healing was working and a fresh warm set of tears ran down her cheeks. Turning back to his chest she continued working her way through the scar, listening to his breathing become deeper and easier the more she healed. When she was finished she bent the water speckled with bodily fluids and Zuko's blood away from his body. He winced sharply as the liquid was removed. She eyed the red droplets with uneasiness, discarded the liquid in a basin by the bed and placed fresh water over the wound. She bent the surface of the water to a film of ice so that the cool liquid stayed in contact with the burned skin as she pulled her hands away, allowing the water to remove the heat from the scarred flesh. Releasing a large breath she didn't know she had been holding, she dropped back into a chair by the bed. Her whole body was still trembling as her mind struggled to catch up with the finished task. Zuko's breathing was slow and steady as he drifted off from the pain exhaustion and Katara closed her eyes, trying to stop shaking, drawing another long, ragged breath. Another tear rolled down her cheek, dripping off her jaw onto her tattered and dirty blue robes. In her lingering hyperawareness she felt it's faint impact on her skin through the worn fabric. It felt cool against her warm leg.
Suddenly, all the fears and nerves of the last twenty-four hours came rushing upon her at once and a strangled sound escaped her as she covered her face with her hands, falling forward so her forehead was on her knees and cried. Ugly sobs wracked her body and she buried her face into the fabric of her skirt, trying to stifle the sounds so as not to wake up the now sleeping prince. She sniffed loudly, hurriedly trying to wipe away the water that wouldn't stop leaking down her cheeks, gulping in air whenever she could, trying to focus on bringing her breaths back to normal.
After a while, her grieving ebbed and she stilled, eyes swollen and watery, throat sore from repressing her sobs. She sat slumped back in the large mahogany chair staring blankly ahead in numb silence. Her eyes drifted slowly across the room. This was Zuko's room. The desk.. the armoire… the set of drawers… the wooden floor… The room smelled like Zuko as well, a musky, spiced, wood-smoke sort of scent. She turned her head heavily to look at the unconscious fire bender on the bed. Her expression took on some character as her eyes fell on his sleeping form and rising from her chair, she moved closer to him and sat carefully on the edge of the deep red quilt. She reached up to gently brush his dark hair away from his face and out of his eyes. Her hand lingered by his temple as her eyes caught his scar and she softly lowered her hand to it, thumb brushing over the reddened brow, palm against the rough skin surface. One from his father, and now one from his sister. To save…her. His eyelids fluttered slightly and he lifted his hand to rest on her wrist by his neck. "Katara…" he mumbled. She felt a fresh wave of grief hit her at the beautiful scarred boy before her. How could someone have been born into such an awful life and still be so selfless as to sacrifice his own life…..
Her brow crumpled and she collapsed forward, burying her face between the crook of his neck and his shoulder, crying loudly, unable to restrain herself this time. He winced as she knocked his collarbone sharply with her hand as she covered her face, water escaping from beneath her fingers. She cried for everyone, for Aang who was still fighting the Fire Lord, for Sokka, and Suki, and Toph, battling against Fire Nation soldiers, for her father, leading an army against the Fire Nation troops, for Teo, for Haru, for all their friends who could still be risking their lives, for Azula, who'd been horribly twisted so young, and for Zuko who had somehow come out of all this mess and a horrible, insane, abusive family and held strong to his good spirit despite the scars that now forever tarnished him. The world punished him relentlessly for standing up for people, and protecting people and the injustice of it all was too much to bear.
She clung to him, careful to avoid touching his chest. He tried to sit up but a searing pain through his muscles forced him back onto the sheets. His right arm was trapped by her heaving torso and with a grimace he stretched it out, releasing his forearm so he could place his palm on her back comfortingly, holding her as close to him as his injury would allow. "It's ok, Katara," he soothed against her shaking form. She pulled her face up to look at him through water filled eyes. Reaching her hands into his hair, she pressed a kiss to his scarred brow before dropping back and pressing her face into his neck, sobbing loudly.
"Why… w…why….," she tried to speak through her hysterics. Zuko's hand moved up to stroke her hair, giving her the encouragement she needed to lift up her head and look him in the eyes. His golden eyes held a tension as he fought against the pain in his chest but were tinted with concern.
His hand moved to cup her left cheek, brushing the tears away with his thumb. She held onto his wrist for a moment, then pushed his arm away. "Why….why would you do this?" she managed, containing her sobs, tears threatening to spill from her eyes again. Zuko looked up at her, eyebrows pulling together in slight confusion, unsure of how to answer. "You could've died!" she exclaimed, clutching at the silk sheet, almost seeming angry.
Her shattered resolve broke his heart, he had never seen Katara so vulnerable, but he kept his gaze steadily on her. "Because I couldn't let YOU die," he rasped, barely above a whisper. "I saw the lightning go towards you and…. I didn't even think…. you…. you're the only person to ever give me so many chances… you're strong and you're beautiful and you care so much about everyone… I l-...' he bit his lip, eyes widening slightly as he realised what had almost slipped out. Katara stared intently back at him and he sighed. "I couldn't let you die," he finished.
Katara sat in silence, staring at him, eyes wide. They held each other's gaze for a moment. Suddenly she darted forwards pressing a forceful kiss to his lips. He was caught off guard, but surrendered to her touch instantly, closing his eyes as his left hand moved up into her hair, holding her close to him. Breathing in, he could smell salt and sea, everything that was Katara. He ran his tongue along her lower lip and she gladly let him in, diving into his mouth to taste as much of him as possible, both hands in his hair at the back of his head. She moved her lips quickly against his, kissing with as much passion as she could and he returned with just as much fervour, each pouring their heightened emotions into the other, releasing the fear, pain and relief they felt as their kiss intensified. Her hand trailed down his neck, stopping at his collarbone as she remembered the wound on his chest. They slowed, breathing hard, his hand relaxing in the curls at the back of her head, Katara's thumbs tracing soft circles on his jawline. A few tears ran down her cheeks onto his face and he broke their kiss completely, opening his eyes to look at her. Her eyes stayed closed, brow twitching, trying to hold herself together. He gently pecked her lips, silently telling her that it was ok and he held her face pressed to his as another sob wracked her. He kissed her cheeks and eyes, wishing he could stop the torrent of sadness. He whispered soothing things into her ear, telling her that everything was alright even if he didn't know if they were. She hiccuped and her crying slowly ceased. "Katara?" he whispered into her hair, asking if she was ok without needing to say it. She mumbled a slight affirmation and lifted her face to look at him, staring into his comforting golden eyes, seeing her impossibly sad blue irises reflected in them. Her lids drooped as she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her. As if in response, he felt his own eyelids grow heavy and planted a kiss to her forehead before leaning back onto the pillows. She moved forward to press a last, weary kiss to his lips, before curling up next to him as they both drifted off into unconsciousness.