Nine: Pirates! Part II
They crashed into the forest, Zuko in the lead, yanking Katara behind him.
"Where will we hide?" Katara gasped, trying not to stumble. "There's nowhere they won't be able to find us on this island!"
"Just shut up and keep running!" he snapped back at her.
Katara grated at his demanding tone. But behind her, she could hear the approaching shouts of the angry pirates.
"They're catching up!" she panted.
Ahead of them, Zuko could see glimmering torchlight through the trees. And there, to the right, and the left!
"Shit!" he swore, making a sharp turn, trying to pull them through a gap between two groups of pirates. They had circled around them, effectively trapping him and Katara.
"What do we do now?" Katara said, coming to a stop behind him.
Zuko thought quickly. They were trapped, with no way out, no escape. Flight was gone, which left only-
"Fight," he said resolutely, shifting into a ready position.
There was a shocked silence behind him followed by a stinging slap to his head.
"You don't help me win by hitting me!" he snarled, rubbing his skull.
"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "It's like fifty million against two! We'll never succeed!"
"I'd rather die fighting," he answered her bravely, straightening up, "than running like a coward."
"Who said anything about dying?" she screeched into his ear. He winced. "You go right ahead and die, you miserable excuse for a human being! I'm—I'm going to... I'm going to..." her voice trailed off uncertainly.
"Going to what?" he said acidly, and heard a rustle of leaves behind him.
When he turned around, she was gone. He searched blindly for her in the darkness. "Katara?" he called, trying not to sound worried. "Katara?"
A hand shot out of the bushes in front of him and gripped the front of his shirt, yanking him to the ground. He hit the dirt, and something soft, and groaned slightly.
"Shut up," she hissed, breath tickling his ear. "Or you'll give our position away!"
"I thought you said we wouldn't be able to hide—"
"We'll hide as long as we need to until we make another plan!" she answered him, hand twisted at his collar.
He shifted, and realized he was half on top of her. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. They were squashed underneath a bush, against the trunk of a tree.
"They're coming closer," she murmured, body tensing.
He could feel her breath on his face, and one of his arms was around her waist.
The angry cries of the pirates approached. "And closer," she said nervously, other hand clenched on his sleeve.
Zuko leaned in, so he brushed her neck, and then up the line of her jaw, to her cheek—
"They're gonna kill us!" she trembled, and then booted feet rushed by them, so close that one of them stepped on the end of Katara's braid. She squeaked, twisted her head away, and his lips brushed over hers—
She broke away and punched him.
"Shit," he swore, rolling off.
A sword sliced through the leaves above their heads.
Zuko slapped a hand over Katara's mouth.
----
"I can't believe we were almost captured," Katara hissed, face pressed into the dirt, "because of your stupid hormones."
Zuko said nothing, just stared up, through the bush, at the full moon. She slid a bit farther away from him.
"I don't even want to know what you were thinking when you ambushed me," she continued, "because I'd probably be scarred for life then."
Zuko wished Katara would just stop talking.
"It really doesn't help that we are, in fact, trying to hide from dangerous pirates," she fumbled, "and all you could think about was—was—"
"Sex?" Zuko interjected dryly, his tone of voice making it clear that he was being sarcastic.
Katara kicked his knee, hard. He grimaced in pain but made no other noise.
"Aren't we," he gritted through his teeth coldly, "supposed to be quiet so we don't get discovered by the pirates?"
"I hate my life," she said, rolling over so her back faced him.
----
Some time during the night Katara drifted off.
Zuko stayed awake, listening to the frustrated sounds of the pirate search party.
Around midnight, he heard a cannon shot.
Sitting straight upright, he stared through the darkness of the forest.
Another cannon shot. Then a blast of fire. And then frightened screams.
Perhaps… perhaps the pirates were rebelling against their leader? A mutiny? An internal civil war?
Whatever it was, Zuko hoped they killed each other off.
Lying back down, he scooted a bit closer to Katara.
It took awhile, but eventual the sounds of fighting died off.
He didn't know he'd fallen asleep.
----
In the morning the beach was empty.
"Where did they go?" Katara stared at the sand, devoid of everything but the remains of the blown-up alcohol crates. "Did they just… leave?"
"Apparently," said Zuko, squinting his eyes in the sunlight.
"I don't believe it," she said. "I bet they're trying to trick us or something."
The two made a full circle around the tiny island. There was no ship on the horizon, no secret ambush waiting to jump out at them. They were alone. Again.
Zuko shrugged. "I believe what my eyes tell me."
Katara turned an incredulous face to him. "This is impossible! Don't tell me you really think that they just gave up and left!"
"Well, I don't see them anywhere," he snapped, "Do you?"
Katara wasn't looking at him--instead, she stared off into the distance, over the ocean. "I'm going to make another circle around the island again."
She strode off, leaving dark footprints behind on the wet sand.
Zuko growled low, before giving it up and following her. He had to make sure she didn't get herself killed somehow.
----
"Well that was certainly a waste of time," Zuko said spitefully, dropping to the sand. "And where are you going now?"
Katara was a distance away from him, flitting around the remains of the "pirate treasure".
"I'm trying to see," her voice was slightly muffled as she bent over, shifting through some broken planks and bottles, "if there was any food here that didn't get blown up during your daring rescue mission."
Sounded like a good idea to him. If they were lucky, they'd be able to find something else that would give them a break from those damn coconuts.
He joined her, hefting the waste on the top away so they could search underneath. Zuko came upon a crate, burnt slightly at the corners, but surprisingly whole and undisturbed.
"Hey," he called to Katara, and she looked up. "Hey, look what I found!"
She looked over his shoulder, all of a sudden excited. "Maybe it's bread!"
"Maybe it's a gourmet meal of fried shrimp and beef noodles—"
"Maybe it's mangoes and papayas and—"
Zuko broke open the top.
They stared down at a dozen bottles full of sloshing amber liquid. About half of them were broken and had drained out.
Katara groaned behind him and slapped a hand to her forehead. He reached in, picked up a bottle, and held it up to the light.
"What do you think this is?" he asked, more to himself than anybody else.
Katara, a disappointed expression on her face, shrugged. "Whatever it is, it's not going to help us."
"Think it tastes good?"
She turned back, giving him a suspicious look. "We are not going to get drunk, Zuko."
He ignored her. "I've never had rum."
"Zuko—"
He turned to face her. "Who's going to stop us?"
"That's not the point—"
"Don't tell me you aren't tired of the same coconut juice, the same grimy water, the same fucking clams," he said, popping off the cork of the bottle, "over and over and over again."
"And—and rum is any better?" She was flabbergasted.
"It's a change," he said, and tipped back his head.
Katara watched, hands on her hips, as Zuko doubled over, coughing harshly.
"Serves you right," she said, smirk on her face.
Zuko wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's not bad," he said, glaring at her. "Just kind of strong."
"Whatever."
----
She didn't like that look in his eyes- the half drowsy, half bright fever in his gold irises. When he moved closer, she leaned away slightly.
"You should try some," he said, "It makes you feel warm inside. Calm."
"No," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, "I won't be reduced to a glibbering mess by a heathen drink—"
"You'll forget," he said, wavering slightly. He spoke like he hadn't heard her. "You'll forget. No worrying about finding 'nough food or water," he leaned in closer, and she turned her head to the side to avoid breathing in the scent of alcohol on his breath.
Zuko continued, "You'll forget everything, forget right, and honor, and pain. Forgetting—orgetting—" he reached up with his free hand, sliding it over her unmarked cheek (so much smoother than his own) "feels good."
She held her breath in tightly. Zuko came closer, warm, rum-soaked breath sliding across her face—too dangerous—
She sat up suddenly, startling him, and snatched the bottle from his hand. "Fine," she snapped. "I'll drink a little just to make you stop bothering me."
He smiled as she tipped her head back and gulped it down.
----
When Zuko gulped down his first bottle, he wondered for a brief moment where the Avatar was.
After he finished the second, he wondered if his father missed him.
On his third round, he hoped Katara forgave him for making moves on her last night. She had to understand that he hadn't been thinking clearly--so many days of coconuts and clams and salt-tinged water had done something wonky to his head. Or his hormones.
He could always blame the hormones.
Thinking of this, he turned to the side to check up on her.
She lay on her back, breath coming in shallow heaves, eyes glazed over.
Zuko leaned over her, worried. "Katara?" he slurred. Had she drank too much, too fast? "Katara—you awake?"
Katara groaned and tried to roll over before encountering his body. "Geroff me," she mumbled. "I'm fine—jus' fine."
"Good," he said, eyes half-lidded, watching her reach for her bottle. "Thought you were dead there, fer a second."
"Not dead," she mumbled. "Never dead."
The two teenagers lay under the cold, bright stars in the sun-warmed sand, getting as drunk as possible off pirated alcohol.
Katara drained the last of hers, and reached for another glass, the last in the crate, but Zuko got there before and held it away from her reaching hands.
"Mmm," he said, sing-song voice, "Mine."
"Gimme," she muttered, and her hand drooped. Her hand shifted in the sand, and she lost her balance, landing half on top of him and half off.
Neither of them said anything for awhile. Katara couldn't figure out how to move her limbs again, and Zuko didn't exactly understand what was going on.
"Warm," she muttered. He could feel her breath through his thin shirt. The bottle slipped out of her limp hand and drained onto the sand.
What a waste, he thought drowsily, watching it through half-lidded eyes.
She sighed and shifted, scooting closer.
----
On the distant horizon, a metal-hulled ship chugged steadily towards the island. The remains of a smaller, wooden pirate ship littered its deck, and there were new occupants in the brig tonight.
An old man stood at the prow of the Fire Nation ship, staring across the water at the tiny island.
"I'm coming, Zuko," said Iroh.
A/N: I think this chapter is bad. I don't like it at all. Lots of questions, I know, what happened to the pirates, how did Iroh find them, and whatnot. All to be answered in the next chapter.
LTE's giving me a hard time. I'll try to update by the end of this week but no guarantees.
Time to PIMP some Avatar fics I've recently read and really enjoyed. Now for your own reading enjoyment:
Culture Clash by Rashaka (3 chapters so far, humor/parody, slight Zutara)
Everyone Knows That Cooties Don't Exist by Rashaka (4 chapters, humor/parody, slight Zutara)
Sokka's Guide to Fixing Your Life and The World by totallystellar (3 chapters so far, humor/parody)
The Chosen: Scroll One by hotspur (7 chapters so far, drama/action/adventure)
The Ho'Wan Island Carnival by Vicki So (7 chapters completed, general/romance, Zutara. Plus there's a sequel, Bent!)
Do not email me asking me to pimp your fic when I update. Because it's not going to happen. These are stories I found, or were recommended to me, and I genuinely enjoyed, and want to share with the rest of you. Do not, I repeat, do not review and say "OMFG READ MY FIC LIEK, NOW, plz omgwtf kthxbai," because I'll get annoyed, and no, annoying me does not make me want to read your story.
Thank you.