Chapter 6: Coming into feelings

Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers, I wanted to say thank you for reading still. Also, moonsunearth, I wanted to thank you for reviewing and reading after almost every chapter! You really make me want to open my word document and continue writing. (:

I have a couple of chapters written already, I just need to go back and revise them. For the most part they are done, but I'm trying to make them longer since work will keep me away from my laptop for more than 9+ hours. Hopefully anything that happens will keep you guys wanting more of this... on the go story !

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, If I did I would have kept the original Zutara pairing :( Not kataang!


Zuko woke up to the smell of tea as he slowly opened his eyes. He began to focus his vision, as he looked to his side and saw Katara leaning against the bed. Her breathing was steady and slow which meant she had already fallen asleep. Getting up, his head ached. Exactly how long had he been asleep?

"I wouldn't push yourself."

"Uncle... What happened?" He asked quietly.

"Apparently, you jumped into the ocean, Nephew," The Master bender said as he took a sip of tea.

The Elder Bender put the cup down and picked up his china tea pot. Taking an extra cup, he poured the warm liquid inside and handed the drink to the Fire Lord. A long moment passed and Zuko did not know if Iroh was angry at him. He wasn't scared of being yelled at, but he did dread the lectures that was sure to make him feel horrible.

"Katara, was really worried..."

"I'm sure she was..." He whispered as he looked at the water bender.

"She refused to get dry until she knew you were okay. She even healed the small bruises that showed up on your body from the impact of the waves. The poor thing was shaking from the water."

Zuko sat there. At this moment, he wished that Iroh would lecture him, not tell him things that got his heart to sink to the bottom of his stomach.

"Why did you jump off the boat," The General asked calmly.

"I...well...it's like..." He thought, "I want to say it's because Katara told me to jump, but..."

"Nephew, I know you well enough to know that you would never do anything that you did not want to do. I also know you well enough to know that you rarely listen to anyone when they tell you to do something outrageous, like jump off a ship at night," The elder remarked.

"I don't know why I jumped," Zuko said as he tried to remember what state his mind was in before he took a leap of faith, "I'm just confused!"

Iroh looked at his nephew, wondering where this talk was going to lead him.

"One morning I wake up and the Fire counsel tells me I'm marrying someone from the Water Tribe to create 'unity.' I spend hours blowing off steam and the next thing I know, I learn that it's Katara. My heart gets a pinch of relief that it was at least someone I knew, but then it hits me; what if she doesn't even like me? I have to then decide if I want to write to her and get her opinion on this 'marriage,' but before I get the chance, You and General Tai tied me up and threw me onto the Fire Nation's ship... Where I spend 2 agonizing days worrying about this meeting! Suddenly, I walk out, in the cold, and I see Katara. I keep thinking about what she means to me and my brain keeps shouting that she only thinks of me as a friend - or a brother! or... I don't know, Uncle. I don't know what I'm doing..."

"So you jumped off the boat?"

"I Didn't jump off the boat," Zuko remarked, "I simply just stepped over the side... and tried to walk on the air... and failed..."

"So now you want to be Aang?" Iroh asked mockingly.

There was a long silence as Zuko couldn't find any words to say to his uncle. Iroh knew that Zuko was only doing stupid things because he was falling in love. The problem was, Zuko didn't know it. His nephew was never good at handling his emotions. When he was trying to catch the avatar, he always rushed into everything. No surprise that love would show the same exact nature.

"Zuzu, how do you know that she doesn't think anymore of you?" His uncle asked.

"Well... She keeps yelling at me, Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed as he suddenly remembered that Katara was still sleeping near him. In a lower tone he spoke more calmly.

"She keeps arguing, she doesn't take any of my compliments, we only talk about the past, and she... she... she just keeps yelling at me!"

"I hate to break it to you my nephew, but it has only been a day since you guys been together and I believe that Katara is aggressive by nature," Iroh said while trying not to laugh, "Isn't that a quality in her that you like?"

"Still..." The fire lord whispered.

"Nephew, you only had one real relationship before Katara and that was because Azula and Mai loved to bother you. How are you so sure that what you feel is nothing more than a strong friendship?" Iroh inquired, trying to help the Fire Lord recognize his true feelings.

"The palace has hundreds of concubines for the workers, counselors and generals and everyday at least 10 of them approaches me and asks if I want special services. I know they are only asking because I am the Fire Lord. Girls on the street cling to me, they fall and expect me to help them up, why? Because I have this stupid crown on my head!"

Iroh looked at the fire bender. He had realized where Zuko was going because he has seen it with his own eyes. How long has it been since he had wish for someone to come and show Zuko that he is fine the way he is- honor or no honor, title or no title.

"But," Zuko continued, "Katara knew me as an enemy before anything else. She didn't care that I was a prince, she hated me anyways. Yet, as we joined the journey and worked together, she liked me for who I was... not what I had."

"So you jump off a ship, nearly drowned, and killed about 5 years off of her life simply because... she likes you for you?" Iroh asked coyly, "Zuko... I don't know if you knew this, but you could have just told her you liked her."

Zuko was quiet toward Iroh's words. He hated when his Uncle was right, it made him feel smaller than he already did. He hadn't realize how stupid his actions were until they were pointed out. Yet, did he like Katara? He had always wanted to protect her, even if it meant risking his own life. When he found out she hated him, he wanted to fix it. He wanted to know everything about this girl; what made her laugh, what made her sad... But that was because she was his friend, right?

"I guess... I jumped off because I wanted Katara to know I trusted her and that... I hope she could learn to trust me too. I don't want her to think I'm isolating her."

"Trust doesn't come from fear, Zuko," Iroh said softly, "It comes from action, but you can't expect Katara to trust you just because you drove into the ocean. You have to built it, slowly, just like how you rebuild the Fire Nation from the mess your father created. In time she will reciprocate your feelings, but until then please do not jump off anymore ships... or we will leave you back in the Fire Nation from now on."

Zuko chuckled as his uncle got up, "By the way, you slept for almost a day. We should be returning to the Fire Nation in a couple of hours. Try not to wake Katara up. The poor thing was up all night and morning trying to take care of you."

As Zuko heard the door open and close, he let out a sigh of relief. Getting off the bed, he stood beside Katara. How could a girl this small be able to do so much? Slowly, he placed his arm behind her back and under her leg to pick her up. As the water bender stirred by the small motion, Zuko froze. He was determined not to wake her up, but he wasn't sure how light of a sleeper the water bender actually was. As Katara readjust herself in Zuko's arm, her breathing returned to a slow pace.

The fire lord placed his fiance onto the bed. Pulling the blanket over her body, he took another moment to examine Katara. She had no bruises or cuts, but she did look a little pale. Her hair was a tangled mess and her face was back to its natural appearance. She must have chosen her own clothes after the incident because she was now wearing a red shirt with a red fire nation skirt. The necklace he had given her was still around her neck which made him instantly smile.

"Katara," He whispered as he leaned down slowly, "I... really... like... you."

With his final words, he gave the water bender a soft kiss on the lips, making sure he didn't put too much pressure on her. As he pulled away, he couldn't help but grin, leaning in to place one more kiss on her lips before heading out the door.

"I'm going to make myself better," Zuko thought, "It'll be like finding the Avatar all over again. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make Katara fall in love with me."


x x x

A few hours passed and the ship was an hour away from docking into the Fire Nation. Katara stirred in the bed as her body popped up. She looked around realizing she was in Zuko's bedroom still. Everything was the way it was earlier, except for one main thing; Zuko had suddenly gone missing. Running out the door and down the hallway Katara ran onto the deck. Looking around, she saw Iroh and General Tai drinking tea while playing on the Lotus board.

"Ah, Lady Katara," The General said as he got up to bow.

"Katara!" Iroh exclaimed, "How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Uncle Iroh, where's Zuko?" She asked suddenly, disregarding the men's comments.

"Don't worry about him, he got up a few hours ago. If you would like to say hi, Zuko may be in the office at the moment. However, we should be arriving inside the Fire Nation in just about an hour," Iroh mentioned.

"Please make sure you ask the servants to prepare your appearance," General Tai added, "Starting from the docks, you have an image to up hold for not only our nation, but for the royal family."

Katara looked at herself and realized that she must have looked horrible. Kicking the thought from her mind she turned around and ran back down the halls. She had left so frantically that she had missed the subtle grin Uncle Iroh gave her before the two Generals returned to their match.

"Ah ha!" Iroh screamed, "I win again, that will be 10 gold coins, General Tai."


x x x

Katara arrived in front of the doors leading to the office. Without even knocking, she burst through, her chest heaving heavily as she breathed in much needed air. Zuko looked up from the documents he was currently reading and stared at the water bender.

"What are you doing up? Why aren't you resting? Are you crazy?" Katara blurted out as she ran toward the desk, "Come on, Lord Hot Head, You need to rest!"

"Katara, I'm fine," he replied smirking.

"You're not fine, you were passed out for so long1 Let's go eat something!" She continued as she grabbed his arm.

"I had food already... it's alright," He said softly.

The water bender looked at the fire lord. His golden eyes were softening as he tried to reassure her that she didn't need to worry so much.

"Are... you sure...?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm perfectly fine. I feel as thought I can take on an entire army of fire benders."

"Then," Katara said as she took a deep breathe in, "DON'T YOU EVER DO SOMETHING SO STUPID AGAIN!"

Zuko was slightly taken aback. She was so worried a moment ago and now she was mad. He didn't have anything to say, but in the back of his mind he could hear Katara lecture him about stupidity and water restrictions. This was the girl he was going to marry.

Normally, he would never be caught dead acting so improper and childish, but he had already determined that he was going to make her fall in love with him. He had spend his entire life being a grown up and for once he wanted to be a teenager. He couldn't chose where he was, but he can chose what he did.

"This is the girl I'm going to love," He thought smiling.

"I don't care if I'm dying and you have to jump into lava to save me don't-"

As Katara was rambling on about the things that Zuko could not do, he grabbed her arm and pulled her down to his chair. Without a moment of hesitation, he crashed his lips onto hers, almost as though it was the last thing he was ever going to do. The kiss itself was innocent, but as innocent as it was, it felt amazing. The two of them had kissed before, but the other one didn't know about it yet. Perhaps that was what made it so much more magical now. The two of them were actually awake to experience it together. As The fire lord continued to hold onto the bender's lips, Katara wrapped her arms around his neck, taking a seat on his lap as the two of them began to turn innocence into desire.

Katara had kiss other boys before, but this was different. She could smell the scent of cinnamon intoxicate her mind as her lips yearned for Zuko's. A few moments had passed before the two benders pulled away from each other. As Katara's blue eyes stared into the Fire Lord's, she quickly averted her stare to hide the blush that was creeping across her cheeks.

Giving her a small hug Zuko quietly said, "I'm Sorry, Katara. I won't do anything to upset you again."

"I.. Um.. ha?" The water bender replied as her mind went blank.

"Please, ask one of the servants to get you ready, we should be entering the Fire Nation soon."

Zuko flashed her a smile as he lead her to the door while calling a maid over. As she was being whisked away by the help, she turned her head back to see the fire bender leaning against the frame of the door. She wasn't quite sure what had happen, but she didn't regret it either. In some part of her mind, she was even wishing that it went on longer. As she felt the tugs and pull of the maids, her mind drifted into another state of thinking.

"Zuko," She thought, "Is definitely not just a friend anymore..."

She felt her lips lift up into a small curve as her finger tips ran themselves across it. She barely heard the cries of a maid who nearly fainted over the fact that Katara had messed up all the hard work she put into doing her lips. At the moment, Katara didn't care if she looked ugly. She couldn't help, but wonder what else could happen if in just 2 days her whole world got turned upside down.


Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers, I always love to see when my review count changes. It really makes me happy to see that people are taking their time to write me a comment. I wanted to leave you guys this chapter because I am about to go to work, but when I come back I am definitely going to revise the next chapter so it can go up tomorrow.

Thank you again lovelies :)