Title: Fighting for You
Pairings: ultimately Zutara
Rating: PG17/M
Warnings: Language, some violence, some citrus, modern AU
Summary: Katara is the Princess of the SWT, a branch of The Tribe, a waterbending mafia based out of the North Pole, establishing themselves in Ba Sing Se. Zuko the banished prince of The Nation, a firebending syndicate, is involved in the amateur fight scene of Ba Sing Se. Katara's financial interests turn physical as they raise up in ranks but glory has a price when Zuko's past comes back.
OooOooOooO
"Liang, hurry up. I want to get there before the fireworks start," Zuko ordered, shrugging on his sweatshirt, double checking for his wallet and keys. Liang sat on the floor, slowly tying her shoes murmuring the rhyme to remind her how to do it, "Rabbaroo hops 'round the tree and down the hole and out the other side." Zuko glanced over puzzled at how long it was taking her. Normally she'd be done and out the door and yelling at him to hurry up. She was stalling. But why?
Then a knock on the door startled him and before he can answer Liang tied both shoes in record time and flung open the door. To his surprise Katara is there, casually dressed in jeans and a hoodie. Damn she looked good, much preferring this look to her normal high style. "Hi," she smiled brightly to Liang who hugged her back.
Zuko furrowed, "What are you doing here? Toph said I have the week off. Did I need to-?" Katara lifted her hand cutting him off. "Your daughter invited me to come with. She was shocked I had never been to a Fire Days Festival - frankly I didn't think there was enough of you people around here to justify having one but whatever- so she invited me along. That's okay, right?" Aside from being confused about her presence, he was also confused about when on earth his daughter spoke to Katara. Then Liang spoke up, "Besides she's been lonely and she needed-"
Katara forced a laugh and put her hand over the child's mouth. "That's enough. Thank you for letting me tag along." The lift of her brow and quirk of her lip told him he'd be an idiot to say "no", so he shrugged. "You're the boss, right? I have to do what you say." To his surprise both women in his life agreed with this statement.
They walk the four blocks to where the entire narrow street was doused in reds and golds, dragons and flames. The first spicy scents of his homeland hit his nose and his mouth watered for the Flaming Fire Flakes only available during the traveling festival. While his childhood had left much to be desired it was the simple things, like those Fire Flakes, the fireworks that made him miss home. He was thankful that they came to this area so that his daughter could experience some of his culture. Glancing over to Katara though, she seemed to have a much different opinion being surrounded by faces that mirrored his own. He could have sworn he saw a flicker of terror before blinking back to reality, putting that brave smile on her face, and taking Liang's offered hand heading to the nearest booth. Zuko's ears picked up the different dialects from the Fire Nation and it felt like home for the briefest moments. They walk the booths and he notices the confusion on Katara's face as he negotiates deals for trinkets in his dialect. Once they had picked out the perfect masks, he smirked, "You're not the only who speaks something besides Earthese."
Before Katara could comment, Liang pulled both their hands leading them to the small stage where the puppet show was underway. She had settle in on the benches with the other children while Zuko and Katara set up on the sides with the other adults. The puppet dragon entered and swirled around with the Fire Lord in fancy robes came out and suddenly there was a swarm of men dressed in funny rounded hats and green robes that began throwing little grey balls of paper made to look like rocks. He had to laugh at the cheesy dialogue and then he felt Katara nudge him, "What are they saying?"
"It's an old folktale," Zuko began, moving close to her ear so he wouldn't disrupt the others around them. "A long time ago there was a Fire Lord, the ruler of the Fire Nation, and he rode a powerful dragon. One day the Fire Lord decided that he wanted to rule the earthbenders too and attacked them. The Fire Lord's best friend told him not to do this because it would only cause heartache. Well, he wasn't very bright because rocks beat fire but he tried and tried and tried until he was too tired and fell asleep on a nice rock bed. The earthbenders saw that and encased him in the stone where he remained for the rest of his days. The moral of the story is wisdom over power, little firebenders." The crowd of children cheered as the story ended and the dragon sped away in a ball of flame. Zuko should have pulled away from her ear but he didn't. She could have pulled away too but she didn't until after a few moments when her blue eyes met his and he got that breathless feeling again. He swallowed thickly and turned away to find his daughter bouncing over to them, demanding they get dinner. Half expecting Katara to find the meal too hot, he was surprised how she seemed to relish the spicy dishes. He was quite taken with how at ease she seemed to be, even during transactions at the stalls and the language barriers she was patient and despite getting the best bargain for a trinket or whatnot, she always paid the full price. Then at one of the stalls, the middle-aged man looked at him questioningly. "I know you. Where do I know you from?"
He knew that there were members of The Nation in the city but they were insignificant members compared to those back home in the Fire Nation. In his years in Ba Sing Se, he had managed to distance himself from the organization quite well then a loaded question like that would be asked. Using his typical answer, "I'm nobody," he stepped away, leading Liang away with a firm hand on her shoulder. Katara stood shoulder to shoulder, while she didn't understand their language she caught on quick that Zuko was uncomfortable with whatever was being said.
"No. No. I know you!" The vendor tapped his chin and finally came up with the answer, "You're that fighter. Zuko Long! The champion of the Fire Nation! Lu! Chang! Come out and see!" Zuko blushed as a small group of men surrounded him, a couple kids, and a few women. Pens and scraps of paper or cloth were shoved in his direction for his signature. Liang began bragging about her father to the little boys who waited their turn for the autograph. "Wow! A real celebrity." "I saw that fight against that huge earthbender weeks ago and you were amazing." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katara smiling at him proudly, arms crossed over her chest. If he had been anyone else, this would have stroked their egos, but it made him uncomfortable to say the least. Cameras flashed in his eyes, more pens shoved in his hands to sign whatever was presented for him. Finally Katara came up and pulled Zuko and Liang from the mix. "Okay, okay, the celebrity has to go now. Thank you. Thank you."
"That was awesome!" Liang decided. "Dad, you're really famous or something."
"Just because a couple folks think I'm good at what I do does not make me famous," he chided, leading the two to the courtyard where the fireworks were soon to start. Katara nudged his shoulder with her own, "Actually you are kind of up and coming. I meant to tell you that this Wednesday there's a photo shoot for some sports magazine."
"What?" The news made him stop in the middle of the crowd, upsetting those who were trying to get past.
Katara grabbed his hand pulling him along. "Oh, it's no big deal."
"It is a big deal. I won't do it."
She tilted her head slightly and tapped his chest. "Yes, you will. Remember, I'm your boss and you have to do what I say." He gaped for a second, then sighed heavily pinching the bridge of his nose. "Besides it's not like you have to get naked or anything. It's not one of those magazines." Well, thank Agni for that. Still.
"Fine." Just then the fireworks blasted into the night sky, golds, blues and reds, greens and whites sparkled and shimmered, casting lovely colors across the audience. In the midst of the explosions, Liang tugged her dad's hand and cuddled in tight. Then he felt Katara pull in tight as well. His inner Iroh was tempted to wrap an arm around her but reason outweighed the feeling and he just allowed her to stand ridiculously close. Glancing over at her, he caught her eyes and for a moment he felt compelled to kiss her. How was this happening? One minute he wanted to strangle her, the next he wanted to kiss her. Surely this wasn't healthy. Or normal. He wished she stopped looking at him that way. Or maybe because he'd been alone for so long he was reading more into it than he should have.
The fireworks concluded and following the crowd, the threesome made their way back to Zuko's apartment. Halfway there Liang complained about being tired so Zuko carried her the rest of the way. Once back at his place, he put Liang to bed and came into the living room where Katara waited. For what he wasn't quite sure. "Thanks for having me along. It was fun," she smiled.
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice," he joked. They both looked around the small room carefully avoiding each other's gaze.
"Do you mind if I hang out for a bit? I'm waiting for my driver to pick me up," she explained, fiddling with the zipper of her hoodie.
"No, that's fine. Want some coffee or tea or something? I have beer and juice boxes." he opened the fridge door and scouted for something appropriate to serve her.
She giggled at "juice boxes". "Thank you. No. I'm stuffed from earlier. This is a nice apartment." Sitting stiffly on either end of the couch, they let small talk fill the gaps of silence as she waited to be picked up. "How come you haven't moved from here?"
Zuko shrugged. Instead he blurted, "I'm sorry about you and Jet."
As soon as the words slipped from his lips her face hardened. "It was bound to happen eventually. Besides, it's no concern of yours."
Isn't it though? he wanted to ask.
OooOooOooO
Between a focused Zuko silently watching videos of his next opponent in action trying to learn his weaknesses on Katara's laptop trying his best to ignore the tension around him, a pissed off Jet on his right side who was knocking back the drinks like they were water and staring out the window, across the aisle an even more pissed off Toph still grumbling about being forced into the flight rather than driving with Aang next to her soothing her as best he could, behind him Longshot and Smellerbee, now six months pregnant having insisted on coming even though she no longer was the cutman she was still part of the team, sound asleep under the blanket, and two seats up a disturbingly quiet Katara sat flipping through the magazine without actually reading, the flight to Omashu was tense to say the least.
Everyone who knew those two knew that Jet and Katara would split then get back together, it was like a cycle but this time around it felt more permanent. Immediately after, Jet had knocked on Zuko's door, eyes blood-shot from drinking and crying (though he denied the crying). There had been a scuffle, an accusation of his best friend's fidelity, and a collapse on the floor, words of indifference muffled by the carpeting.
"I'm sorry, man," Zuko said sincerely, laying the blanket over his friend's prone body. Jet smiled and nodded and tucked the blanket under his chin. "I s'pose if I had to lose her to anyone, better you than some asshole right?" his bitter laugh faded into heavy snores leaving Zuko to ponder the words left heavy in the air. Jet had promised his friend to finish out the season with him but he was leaving when it was over. "I need to find something else before I get too old to have any more fun," he announced at the breakfast table. Liang had cried at the thought of losing her "uncle" and Jet had promised her that he would keep in touch. "Sometimes grownups need some space, kiddo." Then she slugged him hard in the arm. "You better," she demanded, giving that same scowl inherited from her father.
Now here they were all together, three weeks later, enclosed in the private plane doing their best to pretend that they were all being professional and civil. Zuko's next bout was Saturday and they wanted at least two days to prepare in the city itself to acclimate themselves to the higher altitude. Toph had already made arrangements with a friend for the perfect place to get in some last minute training. Katara had them booked at one of the nicest hotels in the city and after check in, the group parted ways calling dibs on their own rooms. Unfortunately she had only booked four rooms, not having anticipated her and Jet not sharing their room, and the hotel was completely booked for the upcoming event and the other hotels in the area were filled as well. Zuko offered to bunk with Jet giving his room to an appreciative Katara. After settling in, they all headed to the gym to get in the last minute light workout session, except for Katara who remained in her room, claiming to have other things she needed to get done. Late afternoon, they changed and headed downstairs for dinner and drinks, to relax and toast to tomorrow night's big event. Despite the tension between Jet and Katara, everyone was in good spirits by the time everyone slowly trickled to their own rooms for a good night's rest, Jet however remained behind. Zuko was fast asleep by the time he heard the door open and Jet slink in, not alone. He was shushing a female giggle and Zuko suddenly thought he had reconciled with Katara and had brought her but opening an eye he saw a twig of a young lady hanging off him.
"Hey!" Jet whispered, "Zuko! Buddy?"
"What?" he growled back, trying to pull the covers over himself.
"Hey, could you take off for awhile?" Jet asked, nodding behind him at the girl leaning against the wall who looked nearly as drunk as Jet sounded. Zuko looked up incredulously, "Are you fucking kidding me? I have a match tomorrow and all you can think of is getting laid?"
Jet looked wide-eyed innocent, "What? You wanna join or something? I know it's been a while since the last time you fucked someone. I'm sure she'd be up for a threesome." He laughed and held out his hand for a fist bump, "Hell yeah! Let's do it. Tag team."
Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose then threw back the covers. He grabbed the jeans lying on the floor and shoved on the nearest shirt. "You're sick and I need to sleep."
"Aww, baby, don't be like that," he hiccupped through his laugh, "I'll always love you the best," reaching out to give Zuko a hug. Zuko easily tossed him so that Jet landed face up on the bed. Somehow the girl had materialized from the doorway to Jet's side and Zuko had to bite back his gag reflex. Not wanting to argue with a horny drunk man, he grabbed his room key.
"Yeah, whatever. Have fun. I'll be back in the morning so just," he waved his hand at the bed, "make sure things are picked up."
"Thanks, man. I owe you big time," Jet's attention clearly shifting gears as Zuko closed the door to giggles.
Looking up and down the hallway, Zuko debated who to hit up for a place to crash. Toph would probably kick his ass, Longshot and Smellerbee were all in "happy family" mode, so that left Katara. Slinking to her door right next to his room, he knocked softly then louder. Finally she answered the door, hair still damp from the shower she had just gotten out of and looking perfectly fresh and clean makeup free and in, of all things, penguin PJ bottoms and an old t-shirt. She eyeballed him suspiciously, "Can I help you?"
Rubbing the back of his neck, he answered sheepishly, "I kind of got kicked out of my room and was wondering if I could crash on your couch." That look he got confused the hell out of him. It was angry, confused, and yet hopeful. After a moment of silence he turned, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't impose. I'll see-"
"No. No, it's fine. C'mon in," she smiled demurely (he hadn't even been aware she could have that expression but it was strangely a turn on) and opened the door for him. They made small talk as he opened up the sleeper sofa and settled the blankets and spare pillow from her bed on top. "Well, good night."
"Good night."
Zuko's eyes had barely fallen closed again when there was a loud thump, then another, then another. Sitting up he tried to pinpoint the noise finally establishing they came from next door, in his room. Letting out a disgusted sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled the pillow over his head to try to muffle the sounds. It was no use. The steady thumping was soon added by other muffled noises. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on and part of him was strangely turned on thinking about what was causing the noises (Agni! It had been nearly a year since he'd last been with a woman.) but that arousal disappeared when he heard Katara shifting around in her bed. He kind of felt sorry for her.
"I swear he does that shit on purpose!" she finally announced, flipping the light next to the bed on and shoving the blankets aside. "He's such a jackass sometimes. You wanna get out of here?"
"Please." So much for a good night's sleep. He tied up his running shoes as she slipped into the bathroom to change out of her pajamas. Soon enough they were downstairs walking in the hotel's courtyard to the pool outside. The stars and moon glimmered off the smooth water's surface. The night air was crisp and warm. Finding a spot at the edge, Katara sat, slipping off the flip flops and dipping a toe into the water, little circles forming from the painted nail. Zuko plopped down next to her, taking off his shoes and socks as well and turned his head to the sky, finding the familiar constellations and a sense of peace from something so simple. It almost startled Zuko when she finally spoke. "You know, he does that shit all the time. Up there in the room. Tries to make me jealous or something by going around with those other girls."
"Why were you with him then?" he finally asked, turning to look at her.
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she breathed out. "Does it matter?"
Leaning back on his arms, he closed his eyes. "He's a dickhead."
"He's your best friend." Was that really condemnation in her tone? Opening his eyes, he saw it clearly on her face.
"Yeah and he's still a dickhead. I'm sorry you had to hear him or whatnot." He meant it. .
"So you really want to know why I was with him, huh?" Zuko shrugged, getting the sense that she needed to talk about it regardless of if he agreed or not. "Since I was 14 every boy who came sniffing around only wanted two things from me," she held up one finger, "my body," she held up another finger, "to use me to rise up in the organization. Unless of course they were too scared of my family, what we do, to even subject themselves to attempting. In your other life I'm sure you had that too." He nodded. "Well then I meet Jet. I'm about 18, maybe 19, at the time, fresh into the world and here's this cute boy who doesn't care about any of that. He likes me. Not the Kuruk name. Just Katara." She took a deep breath before continuing, "You know him, you know what kind of crap he does, and well my family didn't look upon that too well. My family is everything. I can do without money and clothes and cars, I've done without before, but without them none of it even matters. I don't think he ever quite understood that. He always blamed them for us not working out. Then when he did finally realize that, I think that's when he started using me to get what he wanted. And in some ways I started using him right back. I guess five years of that gets draining and I got tired of it. The funny thing is that I know outside of us, he's a totally different guy. He's always looking out for the underdog, so to speak, and I guess I hoped that that would carry over to a relationship but it never did. "
Zuko nodded in acknowledgement not quite knowing how to respond to that. Instead she asked, "How about you?"
"How about me?" he asked, confused.
She nudged his shoulder with hers, "Yeah. How come I don't see you with the hordes of girls that obviously want to be with you?" He must have had a "who me?" expression come over his face because she laughed lightly, "Yeah, I see all those girls checking you out, big shot. Trying to get you all to themselves."
"Yeah, well, I've got one girl in my life and that's enough for me," Zuko admitted, still fiddling with the laces on his running shoes, repeating her words from earlier, "She's my everything and without her none of it matters." His eyes met hers and she had an almost wondrous expression as though seeing him for the first time.
She then stood and dropped her pants and unzipped the hoodie leaving her in nothing but white bikini underwear and a cotton bra. Admiring the view he barely had time to register her leaping into the water and her tan head bobbing above the blue surface.
"Gonna join me?" she smiled up at him from where she treaded water.
"No thanks."
"Oh, c'mon. I don't bite. Unless that's your thing." She teased, leaning back in the water so that the tips of her breasts were unintentionally peeking above the surface. Agni! His male brain kicked into high gear imagining if those tips pressing hard against the bra were large chocolate circles or small pink buds. Dear sweet Agni, give him strength not to dive in and kiss her senseless and make love to her so good she'd be asking "Jet who?" Before he could second guess himself, his clothes were in a pile next to hers leaving him in the boxer briefs. He dove in and shuddered against the cold water that enveloped him. Bursting to the surface he took a lung full of air, "Holy shit that's cold!"
Her voice was closer than he expected and he found her within arm's reach. "Then warm it up, firebender." And gladly he did. "Happy?" he said, brushing back the wet strands of hair from his eyes.
She bit her bottom lip, "Yes," and slunk beneath the surface so only her eyes visible. From the way the word slipped out, it was almost as though she meant more than just him joining her. Then a splash of water hit him right in the face and he heard her laugh. He quickly sliced through the water and with equal power splashed her right back. They were like two little kids, back and forth, until he caught her by the waist and lifted her out of the water to throw her back in. Their eyes met and her arms slung around his neck and instead of tossing her he held her tighter against his chest and she seemed to have crawled higher against him. Without thinking he lowered his mouth just as she lifted hers.
"It's been a while," he breathed against her lips. "And... I really want to kiss you."
"So do it. Like I said I don't bite." She licked her lips in anticipation. "Besides I'm kind of your boss. You have to do what I say."
Suddenly the logical part of his brain kicked in and he let go of her, swimming backwards to put some distance between them. He watched with a tinge of regret the way her face twisted into disappointment. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not that guy."
She tilted her head puzzled over him closing the distance between them yet again. "What kind of guy would that be?"
"I don't want to take advantage of you. I mean you practically just broke up with Jet and then hearing him with someone else and that just seems inappropriate and mmph-." Her lips pressed firmly yet softly against his, her body warm and pliant under his hands, and gods he wanted more. He cupped the back of her head and pressed back against her. Their lips explored and tasted before finally breaking to catch their breaths, eyes opening slowly to question and answer.
"You can't take advantage of someone who's willing," she whispered. "I don't say things I don't mean and when I told you at that party that I shouldn't feel the way I do I meant it. I shouldn't want to feel you this close to me, but I do. So much of my life is pleasing others and with Jet, yeah it was pleasing myself, but I wasn't happy. It's weird with you, you know? It's like I can be myself with you and that's rare in my world."
"We hardly know each other though," Zuko breathed, resting his forehead against hers.
"Can't we change that?" she ran her hand over the curve of his cheek, the stubble tickling her fingertips. Exiting the pool, she bends the water from their bodies and he heats the air around them to finish the process. Getting redressed (and catching glimpses of bare flesh quickly getting covered up) they headed back to her room. Lying opposite each other on the huge bed, she passed one of the ear buds to her iPod over to him and together they fell asleep to the sounds of the music rather than the sounds on the other side of the wall.
OooOooOooO
The stadium was huge. Bigger than any one he had been in to date. The music was loud and thrummed through him even way back here in the locker room. Katara had wished him good luck before leaving to discuss some things with the other promoter. Longshot and Toph wrapped his wrists and ankles, checking and double checking his gloves. Jet however was off to the side, chatting with a few female reporters, and getting some phone numbers from what Zuko could tell. In his mind, he focused on the video footage from the past couple days of his opponent, playing and replaying the information in his head. When he kicks right, he steps back and opens up his left flank. Usually finishes with a double strike combo and a left hook. Finally one of the event coordinators announced it was time and led Zuko and his team through the halls, to the arena where the crowd cheered and leered. The multi-colored lights flashed as he entered the ring, across from him he saw his opponent bouncing and tapping his gloves together. Toph gave some last minute reminders, tapping him on the head, "Give him hell, Sparky."
The ref motioned for them to approach the center. Biting at his mouth guard, chomping like a horse ready to race, he was ready. The first couple hits were tests like always. They had been right about this guy. He was challenging. Fortunately Zuko loved a challenge. Kicks and punches, lunges, and sweeps, arm bars, and tap outs until finally in the middle of the fourth round the man beneath him smacked the mat to give the final tap out just as Zuko's knee landed in the other's man rib cage with a crunch as the bone beneath cracked. It was unanimous. Zuko won. Lifting his arm in the air, the crowd roared their approval. Cameras flashed as the winner exited the ring to return to the locker room while the loser limped off into the sunset.
One down, two more to go.
Thanks, as always, to all the reviewers and to you lurkers for the favs and alerts. And thanks to xxZutarafanxx for her prompt reminders to get this thing done. :D
