Again with the Zutara100. I'm like, obsessed. I love it. XD

Prompt: #65 - Taste
Word Count: 394
Rating: PG
A/N: I just needed to write something amusing. And sad as it is, this is probably probable. (Oh, try saying that five times fast.)

"Zuko, what are you doing!" Katara cried in shock and horror.

He stared at her like she'd grown a third eye. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He responded dryly.

"Iroh told you that you are to absolutely never, under any circumstances whatsoever, do that!" Sounding terrified, she grabbed the teapot from his hands.

As luck would have it, Iroh chose that exact moment to wander over towards the pair.

"Oooh, Katara, you made tea!" He cooed, pulling a teacup from his sleeve. Before either stunned teen can utter a word of warning, the elderly man had already poured the tea and raised the cup to his lips.

"No!" Katara tried to warn, but it was too late. Iroh had already taken a sip of the tea.

And promptly spat it back out.

"Zuko's tea, then," Iroh confirmed with a sour look on his face.

"I tried to warn you," Katara told him matter-of-factly, shaking her head in pity as she handed him her waterskin.

"A bit faster next time, please," the old man admonished, taking the skin. Unscrewing the lid, he drank deeply, swished the liquid around in his mouth, and spit it back out.

Several swish-and-spit cycles later, Iroh complained that he could still taste the sad excuse for tea in his mouth, and that he was getting a stomachache.

Zuko, for the record, thought they were overreacting. His tea wasn't that bad, was it?

"I guess I'll go dump this in the river now," he said with a sigh, turning to leave.

"NO!" Iroh and Katara exclaimed in unison, causing Zuko to jump in surprise.

"That stuff might be a biohazard," the girl explained as calmly as she could. "It could kill the fish."

Rolling his eyes, Zuko continued his trip to the riverside alone.

My tea can't be that bad, he thought to himself. Glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, he dipped his finger into the teapot and licked the liquid off the offended digit.

Twenty minutes later, Katara found him on all fours in the middle of the shallow river in what appeared to be an attempt to wash out his mouth.

Laughing, she picked up the discarded teapot off the ground and went back to camp, leaving the ill-fated prince to realize just how bad his tea really was.