Quotes are from Rodney White pictures. I don't own them or avatar the last airbender.

Yay. So as u might have guessed the oneshots progress literally in the months, so its like a zutara YEAR! Their relationship friendship = lovers in 12 months.

~I gave her roses and she blamed me for the thornes~

February - Ow

The sparring session finished and Katara rose from her final attack position. Her new opponent cowered beneath her and he sat, ready for the icicle that had been flying at his head recently to make impact. Of course it never did. Katara smile down at the quaking boy and offered him her hand.

"Don't be afraid." She asserted herself with a wave of her hand. "It's not unusual for your elders to be beaten by a waterbender in the first few minutes of a fight. Much less so if that waterbender is a master and the avatar's sifu. You're just not used to the fighting style." The young boy grinned up at her and leapt to his feet, barely using her hand.

"Thank you, Sifu. You have been a great help." He bowed and Katara was suddenly reminded of a younger Aang as he skipped off.

"Kinta!" She called after his retreating form. The young boy whirled around to face her, eyes bright as ever and eager to please. "Please tell your father that your mother is waiting very patiently for your sister to show up to her lessons." It was a little known fact that the avatar could produce children of any bending style, yet the gAang had found out the hard way. Yue knows what had possessed Toph and Aang to reproduce together but in the end they did produce a beautiful set of twins. Kinta and Jinta, a fire bender and an earth bender were truly their parents' children. In every possible way.

"Ok Aunt Sugarqueen!" He giggled as Katara rolled her eyes and then he turned to go find his father, almost smacking straight into Zuko. "OH! Good morning Uncle Hotpants!" Zuko rolled his eyes and knelt down to look at the boy.

"Did you have a nice lesson with your Aunt?" He asked sincerely, winking over the boy's shoulder at Katara.

"Uhhhhh…." He looks slightly guilty. "She beat me. Badly…" He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a huge smile before side stepping Zuko and running off. Truly his father's son, Zuko thought. Katara laughed as he rose from his crouch and walked over to her.

"I remember the first time I sparred with you and lost…" He said as he came to a stop beside her.

"Me too. As I recall it was the first time we sparred…" She gave a playful brush to her shoulder as if wiping off invisible dirt (though there was plenty there to wipe off) and smirked. Zuko laughed and punched her in the arm. She grabbed his fist and twirled it around his back.

"None of that mister. It may be a month after your injuries healed, but we don't want anything to happen to you now do we?" She gave her sweetest smile to Zuko who mocked her until she pushed a little harder on his shoulder causing him to shout.

"Ow, Kat!" He glared at her daring her to push a little harder. Katara, not being one to back down from a dare, of course, obliged.

"OKAY, OKAY, OKAY!!!!" Zuko gave in "I'm sorry, I won't mock you again." She let him go, shaking his now stiff arm out.

"You better not, or I'll just whip your tushy again…" She muttered.

"Doubt that you could powederpuff…" Zuko muttered.

"WHAT WAS THAT Zuko?" Katara shouted, it wasn't very convincing though, considering she was smiling. "CAUSE IF YOU JUST SAID ANYTHING BESIDES: YOU'RE RIGHT IM A POWDERPUFF, YOU ARE DEAD MEAT!" Zuko simply laughed and Katara unable to maintain the pretense of being mad, gave in herself.

"Oh well. We'd better get out of the training rooms before the waiting soldiers have kanipshits." Katara laughed as she pulled her parka on over her skimpy training outfit. Zuko too pulled on his coat, and they headed out into the gardens. They icy gloss that covered everything made for a beautiful scene full of reflected light and rainbows playing on the surfaces. It shone like another sun was up in the cold, making a perfect union between light and dark, cold and hot.

"I love winter." Katara remarked inhaling deeply. "but I do miss the flowers. The roses especially. They always smell so beautiful." She went over to the rose bush where she ran she fingernails over the glossy coat on the leaves and branches. She could see a bud, frozen under the ice having come too early. Zuko noticed it too and leaned toward her and the bush.

"Close your eyes." He whispered and she, much to his surprise and delight complied. Zuko cupped his hands around the flower and began to heat up the bud. The plant was a specialty of the nation, called a Sun Rose, designed for specifically this purpose. All it needed was heat from a life source, like a fire bender, and the bud would blossom. Originally designed so chefs could decorate cakes for winter birthdays, it clearly had other uses too. The rose grew rapidly and blossomed into a deep burgundy flower with white flecks at the edge. Simply beautiful, Zuko thought. Katara had a good eye for buds. He plucked the stem from the bush and moved so he was in front of Katara.

"Open." He said and Katara opened her eyes looking slightly confused. She looked at Zuko and then her eyes found the rose and widened.

"OH it's sooo beautiful!" She squealed with delight and immediately plucked the flower from his fingers. She held it up to her nose and looked simply ecstatic. Zuko was immensely pleased with himself. However her finger slipped down the stem slightly and soon became impaled on a thorn.

"OW!" She shouted, dropping the bud and sucking on her wound.

"Awwww, did little Katawa get a boo-boo?" Zuko taunted whimsically. She simply pursed her lips and glared at him as he ran a finger down his cheek imitating tear drops. She then reached out grabbed that hand and flipped him to the ground where she sat on his back looking pleased.

"AHHH. What happened to me being injured??" Zuko wimpered.

"That went out the window when you decided you were well enough to antagonize me!" She smirked.

"But… But… But… you can't blame me for the thorns!" Zuko protested.

"You wanna bet?" She challenged. Then drove his arm further to the side.

"Ahhh, ok, ok, thorns my fault… better?" He smiled into the dirt.

"Much." Said Katara clearly proud. There was silence for a few minutes and neither of them moved.

"Can you um get off of me now?" Zuko asked, feeling the cramp in his muscles begin to take its toll.

"Nope." And that was the end of that conversation.

haha, once again, i would love u more than life itself if u would reviewwww, eh????

toodles