A/N: Ayye thank you all for the wonderful feedback, it honestly makes my day! And as for whoever said that the characters are ooc: Zuko is angry, and he gets pretty awkward with that anger. He makes rash decisions, as shown in the end of The Chase (I think), and plenty of other times. Katara is very selfless but I don't think I'm making her too selfless; she did say herself 'I'd do anything for the people who need me' and thus she's obviously conflicted because she knows that both Zuko and Aang need her. Also hastily having sex w/ Zuko and falling asleep w/ him when she was still in a relationship aren't totally moral decisions... So yeah, I'm trying to keep it as "realistic" but it's still my story and this is how I think the characters would react in such situations.
Also I just use "break" to separate a scene/perspective. I'm extremely new to FF and I tried using dashes to separate scenes but it didn't work or something...so I saw some other authors using the word "break" and it kinda stuck even though i know now that there's other ways to separate. If it's really annoying I'll change it but yeah...
Anyways thank you so much and enjoy!
Zuko knew he should leave. He knew he should return to his room, in the event that the Avatar or someone else decided to surprise Katara in the morning, or they'd see him leave in the early hours of the day, or…
She was so beautiful laying in his arms.
He shook his head. She was asleep, he had to leave. As of the moment, they were both in relationships. Sure, that'd all change by the morning, but for now, they had to honor their commitment with their significant others...right?
As Zuko began to unfurl his arms from around the sleeping girl however, his heart clenched when her face scrunched up into a disgruntled expression.
His heart lit itself on fire when Katara snuggled closer, closing the gap that he'd made in his attempt to leave.
Her smile returned.
This girl, she was nothing like Mai. Mai was great, and she had her own charm. Deep under her facade, she was quite a charming girl. And there was something to love about that.
But Katara, Katara was so much different. Katara was strong, and her strength came from the fact that she wasn't afraid to hide anything. She poured her heart into what she believed in, she'd do anything for those that she loved.
Mai was strong in her own way, but Katara, she was strong in a different way. A way that Zuko couldn't help but stare at, slack jawed and wide eyed.
It honestly came back to that day when they'd found Yon Rha. If it was Zuko who'd had his mother taken away by such a man, he would've killed him unthinkingly. But Katara, she didn't forgive the man, but she had the strength to realize it wasn't worth getting her hands covered in blood just for vengeance. It was truly something to admire.
He'd never seen Katara the same after that day.
And now, with her curled up beside him, clutching to him in the midst of her dreams, it was...it made him feel such feelings he didn't know were possible. He hadn't known such content since before his mom had left, since his dad had marred him, since his sister had gone insane. It was as if...
Sighing, he knew he had to leave. But when he drifted off to sleep that night, it wasn't dread or worry he felt towards the idea of marrying Katara. There was none of the sort.
break
Today was not a good day.
She'd only bathed and changed, and she knew it was not a good day. But the reasons were obvious.
The fact that'd she'd woken up cold and alone and had thrown up twice before the sun had completely risen didn't help anything.
She had to get this over with, she knew that much. But as for how to do it and what to say, she was at a loss.
If only she could ask Sokka for advice. Sokka was the idea guy, but she already what his idea of how to handle her situation would be.
Push Zuko off a cliff would probably be idea number one.
Sticking Space Sword through his gut would probably be idea number two.
Hand on the doorknob, she stood there frozen. Should she tell them now? After dinner?
Her stomach rumbled.
After breakfast it was.
She strided towards the dining room, lost in her thoughts the entire way. She breathed.
In, out. In, out.
Aang's going to hate you.
In, out.
Sokka will never see you the same.
In, out.
Toph's going to think of you as a whore.
In. Choke. Cough. Out.
It wasn't long until the others arrived, and to them everything was just peachy; completely and totally normal. Sokka was cracking horrible jokes at Suki, Toph cackling in synch with Iroh and Aang's laughter. It was all so normal, just as those few days after the war had been.
Until she had kissed Aang on that balcony. Then she didn't know what to think.
Stupid, stupid stupid.
As hungry as she was, Katara didn't feel like she'd be able to stomach any of it. She sighed, and was about to rise when she was interrupted.
"You need to eat."
Katara's eyes shot up to find Zuko glaring, his gaze sliding between her still full plate and her eyes. She cocked her head at him, wondering why Zuko would give a shit if she ate, or how much she ate, or-
Oh. Right.
"Why does she have to eat, Zuko?"
Katara sunk back into her chair, squeezing her eyes shut. Damn Toph and her damned feet.
Zuko didn't flinch.
"Because not eating is unhealthy."
Toph gave a grunt, but did not glance away. This of course wasn't a lie since it was indeed fact, but Toph could tell there was something up. She could always tell. Damn her.
She was about to speak again, but something snapped inside Katara. She didn't know what it was; perhaps it was her nerves getting in the way of her eating, or they way Toph scrunched up her face at Zuko. Or maybe it was the way Aang stared lustfully towards her, grey eyes shining. But whatever it was, she couldn't take it anymore. The nerves were unbearable. It had to come out, and now was as good a time as any.
"I have something to say."
No one said anything, but they'd all dropped their conversations to look over to her.
In, out.
"I'm pregnant."