A/N: Wow. Hardest. Prompt. Ever. I really dislike writing out of canon time periods. Idk, why. It just kinda takes away from the story to me. And we totally had AU last year, but I guess I can't be too picky. Anyway, I feel like I branched off the prompt big time here. How? With a little game of Rumor. Hehe…
"Okay. So you whisper a message into the other person's ear, and you can only say it once. Then that person whisper's it into the next person's ear and so on until the last person hears it. Then they have to tell us what they heard."
Everyone looked at the airbender who stood there with his arms stretched out and a happy look on his face. Aang had insisted that they play an abundance of games throughout the day. It was obvious that the boy was doing what he could to get out of training, but Katara couldn't blame him. She understood he was only twelve and needed a break now and then. They all did.
"I still don't get it," Toph said from her spot. "What makes it fun?" Aang dropped his arms and gave her a frown.
"Since you have to whisper and can only say it once, sometimes the message gets mixed up and when the last person says it out loud it can be completely different from what was said at first. We used to play this all the time when I was little. It's a hilarious game," he explained again. Reluctantly, everyone moved into a small circle and sat on the ground.
"Who wants to start?" Aang asked.
"I'll start!" Sokka said excitedly. "I've got a good one."
With that he leaned down and whispered into Toph's ear. She perked at what he said and chuckled. Then she yanked Aang down to her level and did the same. Katara watched as his eyes widened slightly and he hopped up to tell Zuko. Then to Haru, The Duke, and then Teo. Teo laughed out loud and Katara leaned towards him to take her turn.
"Fire Lord Ozai has frown lines," he whispered almost too loudly and Katara shook her head sadly. She should've known Sokka would come up with something amateur.
"Fire Lord Ozai has from lines," she repeated out loud and Sokka burst out laughing.
"That's it!" he said through his fit and Katara rolled her eyes.
"He kind of does," Zuko said from his spot and the group giggled.
"Okay! Now we switch spots to keep it different and start again," Aang said as he jumped up and ran to the other side of their small circle.
Katara stayed where she was and watched as everyone else moved to a new spot. Though, when she noticed Zuko take his spot next to her, she immediately wished she had moved. She still wasn't too happy with the fact that he was around.
"I'll start this time!" The Duke piped up and he quickly leaned over to Toph. She nodded with a sly smile and leaned over to Teo. Sokka was next. Then Haru.
"What?" he asked clearly confused, but Sokka shook his head and pointed to Aang. Haru sighed, shrugged and then motioned for Aang to come close.
Katara noticed Aang's face turn from excited to confused and laughed. She suspected what got said was completely different by now and she watched curiously as he leaned over to Zuko and whispered the words. Zuko then motioned for Katara to come closer.
Eager to hear the message, she leaned in close and tried to ignore the feeling of his hand on her cheekbone or his lips brushing against her ear. Once he pulled away, she sat up quickly.
"I love you!" she exclaimed excitedly and received lots of weird looks from the group.
"That's not even close," said The Duke. "I said that Sokka makes bad jokes." The group immediately burst into laughter except for Sokka and Katara.
"I do not!" Sokka pouted.
"Yeah, you do," Toph told him and more chuckles erupted.
"Let's play Hide and Seek now!" Teo chimed as he zoomed past the crowd on his chair. The others quickly got up and followed leaving a very stunned waterbender and a very quiet firebender behind.
When the others disappeared, Katara turned to Zuko with wide eyes. His expression was content and full of curiosity as he leaned back on his hands. When she furrowed her brow in question, he simply nodded once and smiled at her. It was the first time Katara could ever recall seeing him smile and she couldn't stop herself from smiling back.
"I know the perfect hiding spot," he told her as he stood up and brushed his pants off. "Want to go hide?"
Katara stared at his outstretched hand and felt her heart speed up. However, after a moment of thought, she slipped her fingers over his palm and let him help her up. With that, they ran off into the temple opposite the others.
A/N: So there it was. My third piece for this amazing week. I felt like this was my best so far, even if I really didn't like the prompt. Maybe cause it was short and simple. Anyways, let me know what you think :D
Happy Zutara Week 2011! :]
Also, if you guys know the Korean band BIGBANG, doesn't G Dragon seem like the perfect Tom-Tom? Like he grew up and just stayed cute? Idk. Just my random thought for the day. Why? I ship Tom-Tom and Hope. Just a little bit. And every time I picture Tom-Tom grown up I see GD. Lol…I know…I'm weird.
