Fever

Zuko collapses before he's barely made it inside the apartment. His swords clatter to the ground, but the blue mask is gone. She dashes over as Uncle kneels to check on his nephew.

"What happened?" she asks.

But of course Uncle can't understand her. He doesn't talk to her like Zuko does either, so she's left to piece it all together through his worried murmurs. Apparently, Zuko had wanted to get Appa and her for himself so he could lure Aang into a trap. Or something like that. The idiot hadn't thought his plan through well enough. (If he had, he would have realised there's nowhere for him to keep an air bison in the city).

In any case, Zuko had been unable to find her (for obvious reasons) and had been persuaded by Uncle to let Appa go. All should have been well after that, except now he's collapsed on the floor and burning up badly. She's never seen him look so weak, not even when he was a bruised, battered mess at the North Pole.

Uncle fetches water and a cloth to help cool him down. Concern is etched in the heavy lines on his face. "Be strong, Nephew," he encourages over and over. "You can get through this."

Katara pads closer. Her stomach feels all hollow yet also oddly weighted. All she can think is that the last time Zuko had tried to talk to her, she'd bitten his finger and scratched him.

"You'd better get well, Prince Idiot," she murmurs.

His eyes remain shut and his fever continues to burn.

oOo

She curls up on his chest. He's sweating and gross, but she doesn't want to leave him. Sometimes he murmurs snatches of things as he tosses and turns, but none of it makes sense. He is lost in fever dreams.

When Uncle dozes off out of sheer exhaustion, she takes over his duties. She picks up the cloth with her teeth and dunks it into the bucket of cold water before dragging it back to Zuko's face. It's impossible for her to wring the thing, so she just slaps it on his forehead drenching wet, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Go down," she orders the fever. "Just go down, please."

He feels so hot. She doesn't know how he can even be alive with a temperature that high, and that scares her. This is the boy who took her in, fed her, tried to play stupid games with her, and was just so warm and affectionate. Losing him would be like losing Sokka, Aang or Toph. She can't imagine it. She doesn't want to imagine it, especially not after learning he chose to let Appa go free.

She bumps his cheek with her head, nuzzling him a little. "You have to get better, 'kay? You have to fight this."

He doesn't respond. When he does stir later, he only rasps that he's thirsty.

She tries to bring him the ladle filled with water, but it's too heavy and slops back into the bucket. She can't move the bucket closer either, nor can she help him up so he can drink it himself. He moans and keeps rasping for water, but there's nothing she can do. She is just a cat.

"Uncle!" she cries, rounding on the snoring old man. "Wake up!"

The old man lurches up in surprise. He soon realises the situation and is quick to help his nephew. "Thank you, Cat," he says, giving her a strained smile.

She just settles back on Zuko's chest and watches him with round, worried eyes. He has to get better. He has to …

oOo

"Cat?"

Katara is nestled against his neck, half asleep, but she quickly emerges from her burrow and finds herself meeting a pair of golden eyes. Lucid golden eyes. "The fever broke!" she exclaims happily. "You're okay!"

He's still sweaty and looks exhausted, but he smiles now and gives her a scratch behind the ears. "Have you forgiven me then?"

Her purr is loud and content.

"I'll take that as a yes."

She nuzzles his hand over and over. In truth, she has an urge to lick him as well, but she manages to resist giving into that one. There are some lines she refuses to cross.

"Thanks for watching over me," he whispers.

Then he pulls her closer (gently, always gently) and kisses her on the head.

Oh.

Oh.

Yeah. Her brain might be broken again.

For those also following The Undying Fire, there will be no update this week. I made the mistake of trying to marathon-play KH3 on top of my usual writing habits, and I basically triggered the old carpal tunnel that much faster. (Turns out the game is pretty big). In short, typing this was a pain. May have to take a wee break, though I will continue to update this fic if I can. I'm sorry my decrepit hands give out on me so much, lol.