AN: Briarmoon, coming at you with my first-ever songfics! These aren't going to be related, I don't think. I'm just going to choose a couple and a song and write about them. Hope you like it! This was going to be edited by my best friend turned Beta, but apparently she accidentally put her copy in a Vanishing Cabinet, where it naturally vanished. Unfortunately, we don't know where the second cabinet is, so you'll all have to deal with my unedited writing on this one!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize, I just borrowed it for the purposes of letting my creative juices flow!
Couple: Zutara
Song: Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift
Rating: T
Setting: In the Fire Nation, on the Ember Island beach house before the defeat of Ozai
The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm
And I'm a house of cards.
You're the kind of reckless that should send me running
But I kinda know that I won't get far.
Was it legal to practice firebending half-naked? I just came out to get some water, and what do I find instead? Aang and Zuko, practicing firebending. In the courtyard. Half-naked.
Both boys had their shirts off, but the obvious differences were that Zuko was not sweating as much as Aang – probably because he was used to this climate – and Zuko was a heck of a lot more muscular and attractive. I shook my head slightly as I realized I had just thought of Zuko, our new team member, as attractive. That's definitely not allowed. Sokka would have a hissy fit if I started dating Zuko. He barely approves of Aang's all-too-obvious crush on me, and Aang has the maturity level of a twelve-year-old. I put the bucket down and bended some water in rather than manually pumping the handle. No, I was definitely not allowed to like Zuko.
And you stood there in front of me
Just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope
You couldn't see what I was thinking of.
Later that night, I was in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes from dinner. I had finally finished, thank La, and as I turned to put away a large bowl, I collided with something warm, tall, hard, and – was that muscle? I had literally walked into this unidentified person, so just as I started to reel backwards, about to fall no doubt, a pair of warm, strong arms wrapped around me and held me upright. I opened my eyes, which I had closed to anticipate impact with the unforgiving floor, and saw Zuko staring back at me. For a minute, no one moved. All I could think about was that Zuko was holding me in the kitchen, at night, well past the time we should have been asleep. Then I noticed he was still shirtless and almost passed out.
Drop everything now,
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain
I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around.
Cuz I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
"You okay Katara?" Zuko's voice broke the heavy silence between the two of us, and it was like some magic spell had been lifted. I gathered my feet underneath me, and stood upright. His arms fell away from my shoulders and waist, and I secretly missed their warmth and the feeling of security I got from them.
"I'm fine, thanks to you. I would have had a nasty bruise if I'd hit the floor." I carefully kept my voice calm, disguising what I was really thinking about. All I wanted was for him to tell me that Mai meant nothing to him and that he really loved me, and then he would take me into his arms and kiss me…
"Katara? Did you hear anything I just said?" I jumped as I realized Zuko was waving a hand in front of my face with a little smirk.
"Sorry, I didn't. I was thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing important," I said in a rather downcast voice with an internal sigh. More like 'nothing that would ever happen in reality.'
"If you're sure," Zuko said skeptically. I forced out a grin, and nodded.
"I'm totally fine Zuko." I really liked saying his name. "You can go up to bed, I was just finishing up here anyway so that I could get some sleep." He nodded slightly and headed for the door. Then something occurred to me.
"Zuko?" He stopped moving and turned his head towards me a little. "Why are you up this late?" The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed for a minute, then relaxed.
"I had a nightmare in which my father arrived in the middle of night. He killed everyone instantaneously except you and I because he wanted to torture me and you fought back. He managed to catch you, and then told me that if I didn't swear loyalty to him, he'd kill you. Then I woke up." And he swept out of the kitchen without another word, leaving me stunned.
My mind forgets to remind me
You're a bad idea.
You touch me once and it's really something
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be.
I'm officially screwed.
Two days after the whole kitchen thing with Zuko, I realized that while I was doing the dishes from breakfast, I was obsessively staring at him while he and Aang were training. I nearly beat my head against a wall.
Because, against my better judgment and knowledge, I have fallen in love with Zuko.
Sokka's going to kill me.
Later that same day, I snuck out after dark to the seashore to practice my bending in peace, where there would be no Sokka telling me he was hungry so I should make him food or Aang looking at me with a puppy-love face. If he gave another less-than-subtle hint about how much he wanted me for a girlfriend, I might just kill him. I shook the violent thought from my mind with a soft sigh and removed my outer robe so I was just in my white underclothes. I waded out to my knees and began to bend. A wave of calm rushed over me as the water flowed around me peacefully. I don't know how long I just stood there bending the water into increasingly complex shapes and forms. I was in the middle of combining several thinner water whips to make one more powerful one when a jet of flame hit one of the whips, causing a burst of steam. I didn't think – I just reacted. I spread my fingers and twisted on one heel and as I faced the shore, I threw my arms forward and let my other foot hit the ground in a single, powerful step. Too late, I realized it was Zuko on the shore, and I tried to redirect the water. I thrust my arms out away from my body, leading with my wrists. The water swarmed around Zuko like possessed snakes, but didn't touch him. He just stood there, openmouthed with shock as the water rippled around him. I giggled softly at his shock, because he looked hot right then. I pulled the water back to my sides, then let it fall back into the ocean. He turned to me, and grinned.
"All I want to do is get your attention, and what do I get? I almost get flooded by a crazy waterbender, that's what!" He could barely finish the sentence because we had both started laughing hysterically at the absurdity of the whole situation. I was standing knee-deep in the ocean, wearing nothing but my underclothes. And I had almost drowned Zuko because I thought he was an enemy, even though no one knows that we're here on Ember Island. I waded out of the water, bending the excess water from my body as I hit the dry sand.
"Why are you out here this late anyway Zuko?" I really loved how his name rolled off my tongue. He shrugged.
"I couldn't sleep. And then I heard all this splashing about and thought someone was drowning. Silly me, forgetting that you're a waterbender." I grinned.
"I'm surprised that you'd forget I can waterbend, considering how many times I beat you when you were still trying to kill us!" My grin was growing as Zuko adopted a mock-enraged expression.
"I'll show you!" His voice was teasing and he threw a tiny fireball at my feet. I jumped back, into the surf. And so began a mock-fight with Zuko.
It wasn't like we'd never trained together before. It was just that we'd always had at least one of the others there when we fought, and it had been daylight. And both of us had been wearing full sets of clothing. I was, of course, in just my underclothes, while Zuko was only wearing loose sleep pants. His flames flew toward me as I knocked them away with water whips. I don't know how long we fought, but it seemed like one minute we were several strides from each other and the next he was gripping my arms with his face inches from mine.
His hands were still warm from the flames and he was breathing hard, something I noticed never happened when he sparred with Aang, as long as he restricted his pupil to only one kind of bending. His gorgeous black hair had flopped into his eyes at some point and his amber eyes were sparkling. His breath softly ruffled the strands of hair that had fallen in my face during our fight, and I couldn't breathe. His eyes flicked down to my lips, and for just one second, I thought he might kiss me.
But just as suddenly as he had invaded my personal space (not that I was complaining) he stepped away, releasing my arms as he did so. He bowed slightly to show his respect for my abilities, a gesture I returned with a numb sense of hurt. He turned and headed back to the house. I didn't follow until several minutes later, so I missed the wistful expression he wore the whole way back.
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world,
But with you, I know it's no good.
And I could wait patiently but,
I really wish you would
Drop everything now,
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain
I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around.
Cuz I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
Two days after our midnight training session (and almost-kiss) I found myself heading into town with none other than Zuko for company. We needed some supplies, mostly in the food category, and Zuko was the only one willing to make the trek into town with me. We walked in total silence until we got to the town gate, where the usual security guard was waiting.
"Names please?"
"Lee," Zuko said as he turned to me.
"I'm Sapphire," I said with a grin. The guard knew us both, but he had to follow protocol.
"What're y'all doing in town today?"
"We're just headed to market to grab some assorted food items," Zuko said with easy casualness. I marveled at his ability to look so relaxed and open while lying through his teeth. The guard nodded and allowed us to pass.
"Have a nice day you two," he said with a tip of his hat. I smiled and Zuko nodded. He was rather stoic, especially in town.
We headed towards the center of the small town, where a bustling market was underway, even though it wasn't even noon yet. Zuko's eyes widened a fraction, something that very few people would notice. It was his equivalent of his mouth involuntarily opening slightly.
"There's a lot more people here than usual today," he murmured in a deep voice that made my spine tingle. "I have a really bad feeling about this." His eyes were flicking over the crowd in a way that made me feel like he was looking for some sort of danger that we both knew wasn't there.
"Lee," I started, laying a hand on his arm. "We're both very capable of defending ourselves if we have to. Don't worry." He turned his intense look on my face. While most people would think he was trying to make me run away screaming in terror, I saw the hints of fear, worry, and genuine concern I assumed was directed at me.
"I know you can handle yourself, but your methods of defense aren't exactly appropriate in this setting." I almost laughed, because it just seemed so funny that he couldn't mention waterbending. Of course, it was completely logical, seeing as we were in the middle of a Fire Nation town. I nodded, understanding his worries. Waterbending in the middle of a Fire Nation town might just give us away and possibly suggest that the avatar was near. We forged ahead, and I soon found that no matter which direction we moved in, we always seemed to be working against the flow of people.
An hour and a half later, we barely had half the things on their list, and I was exhausted. I looked over at Zuko, who was holding the list.
"Now what do we need," she asked. My voice, even to me, sounded dull, lifeless, and downright exhausted. Zuko looked at me sympathetically, and I realized that life in the capital city must have acclimated him to overzealous crowds. He opened his mouth to tell me, his eyes flicking to the paper, when a single raindrop hit him in the nose. He spluttered with surprise, and wiped the droplet of water off his face. We simultaneously turned our faces skyward. To our astonishment, the once-blue sky was blanketed with ominously dark clouds.
"Uh oh," Zuko said. It was all he got out before all hell broke loose.
The heavens opened up, pouring down what felt like a waterfall of immense strength directly on our heads. Zuko make a strangled yelping noise in surprise, while I laughed giddily. The rain was my friend. I could control it and shape it, and even if I got soaked, I could always dry myself off later. Zuko grabbed my hand and I grabbed onto the basket, and we began to run out of town. When we were almost to the gate, I realized that I was laughing hysterically just because this entire situation felt unreal. Here we were, former Prince of the Fire Nation and the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, holding hands while running down the street and laughing our heads off in the middle of a full-on rainstorm. I could barely wrap my head around the thought. We charged through the gate, and kept sprinting until we made it around the bend in the road where we couldn't be seen from town. Then I made the rain fall harmlessly around us, so we were in a bubble of dry. Both of us were breathing heavily and still giggling from our near-hysteria while running.
"That," I said with a gasp. "Was the most fun I've had in a really long time." Zuko nodded with a breathy laugh. I put the basket on the ground and pulled the moisture from my clothes and hair, because there was no reason to stay unnecessarily wet. When I was done, I looked up at Zuko, who was patiently waiting for me to finish drying myself. With a few movements of my hands, I pulled the wetness from his body as well, and returned it to the air. We stood there a bit longer, just catching our breath.
"I guess we should get back," Zuko finally said with obvious reluctance. I didn't see why he was so eager to stay. We weren't talking or doing anything interesting. In fact, all we were doing was standing and breathing. I was drinking in the way his ashy smell blended with the rainwater to produce an unidentifiable, but definitely good, scent. I nodded, and picked up the basket. We set off down the road in our bubble. It was actually quite odd, to be walking through the rain but not getting wet. I was in the middle of a thought when Zuko suddenly grabbed my shoulders, causing me to almost drop the basket.
"Zuko, what-"
"Get down," he hissed urgently, practically shoving me in a ditch. I didn't question it, just leapt off the road. There was a bit of the stone that had been hollowed out over time, and into it we dove. It was very cramped for two full-grown people, but I was just thanking Tui and La that we didn't have another person with us. I looked at Zuko with a question on my lips, but he put a finger on his own and pointed to the road above us. I nodded slightly, and waited. A moment later, I heard footsteps. They sounded like they were in the middle of a march, actually. Just as this occurred to me, I had a horrible thought – Fire Nation soldiers! I looked at Zuko with a horrified expression, and he nodded in return.
"Company halt!" I froze as a commanding voice rang out through the air. I heard a scuffling sound that I knew to associate with a person dismounting an ostrich-horse. Then there was a different scuffling sound, which was a lot more like a person kneeling in the dirt. After a long, tense moment, the same voice rang out.
"Odd. This dirt here is drier than the dirt over there, which is more like mud from all this damn rain. You three, there! Yes, you three! Search for anyone that looks suspicious!" I was completely frozen with horror. What if we were discovered? I had no doubt that Zuko and I could fight these soldiers, as they didn't sound like the best the army had to offer, and especially since I had the rain on my side. The real issue would lay in what to do with them once they were defeated. I didn't notice that Zuko had taken the basket from my hands until he tugged on them urgently. I looked up at him, and was about to ask what we should do, but the look in his eye stopped me in my tracks.
"Forgive me," he murmured in a low voice that sent tingles down my spine. Then he leaned in and kissed me passionately.
I run my fingers through your hair
And watch the lights go wild.
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me
It's just wrong enough to make it feel right.
And lead me up the staircase,
Won't you whisper soft and slow.
I'm captivated by you baby
Like a fireworks show.
The minute Zuko's lips crashed on mine, any coherent thought vanished from my mind. I forgot that it was pouring rain, that we were supposed to be getting supplies, and that there was a company of hostile soldiers directly above us. All I could think was that Zuko was kissing me, Katara, finally. I had waited for this for so long, a lot longer than I had ever realized, since the crystal catacombs of Ba Sing Se, if I was honest with myself. Without consciously doing it, I put one hand on his shoulder and slipped the other into his hair. One of his hands was in my long, flowing brown hair and the other was loosely looped around my waist. He tilted his head to get a better angle, and I was in heaven. He tugged me a little closer, and I could feel every muscle in his body, not to mention that he was really warm. I supposed that was because of the firebending and all. Suddenly, his tongue slipped out of his mouth and he ran it across my lips. I gasped, my mouth opening, and he slipped his tongue inside.
Our tongues were fighting for dominance when a male voice yelled out.
"Hey there! You two!" Zuko pulled his mouth off mine with clear reluctance and sat up slightly, cradling me to his chest. I'd never been happier to be in danger of discovery. I raised my eyes to the man and saw that it was one of the soldiers. Normally, I would have started internally freaking out and reviewing my most effective waterbending moves, but my brain was still a little fuzzy from kissing Zuko.
"Yes sir? Is there a problem?" Zuko's voice was sweet and questioning, and I felt his chest rumble when he spoke. His scar was hidden by his hood, which I had unintentionally shifted when I ran my fingers through his hair.
"You wouldn't happen to know why there's a drier patch of dirt out here, would you?" The soldier sounded like he knew we wouldn't know anything, he was just asking to make his commander happy. Zuko's face twisted in thought.
"Um… maybe a cart stopped there for a few minutes or something? I'm sorry sir, I didn't see or hear anything. Did you Saph?" I immediately liked the nickname and the way he looked at me with warmth and concern in his eyes. I puckered my lips in apparent thought.
"No, I don't remember seeing anything either. I'm so sorry sir. We could help you look if you want." I made the offer only because I knew he would refuse. His manly pride wouldn't allow him to let a couple of teenagers help him search for something that might not be there, especially if one of those teens was a girl.
"No, no, it's fine. You kids just try to stay dry, hear me? It's raining quite a lot out there." We both nodded in apparent thanks for his advice, and he jumped back onto the road. We heard the company muttering amongst themselves, then silence.
"Company, march on!" And the rhythmic pounding of feet started up again as the soldiers headed out for town. Zuko and I simultaneously let out huge sighs of relief, then exchanged amused glances. My mind was still reeling from that kiss, and even as Zuko pulled the basket out from behind our heads and led me out of the little hollow, I was thinking about it. It was pretty much the best kiss I'd ever experienced. I was still musing when I noticed Zuko's hand waving in front of my face. I twitched slightly in surprise and looked into his face.
"We're getting wetter by the minute," Zuko reminded me gently. I grinned sheepishly and with a quick movement made our bubble again and dried us off. We resumed walking in silence, the only sounds being the storm and our feet.
Drop everything now,
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain
I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
We got back to the house without further incident, except when I tripped over a rock and almost broke my nose on the ground. Thankfully, Zuko managed to catch me before that happened. But I felt like I was losing contact with him, that he was slowly pulling himself away from me. He had been quiet the whole way back, and even when we arrived he only spoke to the others. I was heartbroken. After having the best kiss of my life, I'm then ignored by the guy who kissed me.
Clearly some sort of destiny spirit or something hates my guts.
Only Toph seemed to notice anything was off with me at all, glancing a little too frequently in my direction. But I kept up my usual act of cheerfulness. I told them about the massive crowds in town while I was serving dinner. I sat down and let Zuko pick up the story as I started eating. He completely left out the bit with the soldiers, which I was thankful for. I really didn't want to explain to everyone that we'd kissed. Then my brother, and probably Aang as well, would never let Zuko be alone with me again. That was not something I would want.
After dinner, I was cleaning the dishes (why was it that people always came to talk to me when I was cleaning dishes?) when Toph entered the room.
"Hey Toph," I said easily while scrubbing a plate. "Something up?" She delicately balanced the plate on a stack of dishes, the plate being the final dish that needed to be washed. She began to put them away.
"Something's up with you Sugar Queen. Before today you got a little twitchy around Sparky, but now? It's like you're having a heart attack or something!" I winced at her observation, but knew that if I didn't explain myself, she'd pester me for days until I finally cracked.
"We… we kissed earlier. There were some Fire Nation soldiers and we knew that if they saw us they'd ask questions, so we pretended that we were a couple hiding from our parents. He kissed me and it was wonderful Toph! I was in heaven! But now he won't speak to me, and it's killing me inside, little by little. What am I supposed to do?" I hated the helplessness in my voice and the way it broke when I asked her what I should do. She just stood there, holding a couple of plates in her hands, apparently thinking.
"Well Sugar Queen, that's not what I thought you were going to say. But I'll tell you this – if you want Sparky to talk to you, you better talk to him first." With that, she put her plates away and left, leaving me to think about what she said.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around.
The next morning, I did exactly what Toph told me to. I knew that Zuko woke up at sunrise, as he'd told me it was a trait of firebenders. I woke up that early too, leaving my curtains open to make sure that I wouldn't oversleep. I got dressed in record time and bounded down into the yard.
Just as I'd expected, Zuko was out in the yard, meditating before the gorgeous sunrise. I settled down silently beside him, crossing my legs. I was resigned to watching him meditate until he chose to acknowledge me so I wouldn't disturb him.
After a few minutes, with the sun steadily climbing to its zenith in the sky, Zuko's eyes blinked open. He seemed at the end of his meditation as he stretched his arms over his head, a tiny smile crossing his face. Then he noticed me and started with surprise.
"Katara, what are you doing up this early? You should still be in bed." His voice was bright with concern.
"I wanted to talk to you. I feel like you've been avoiding me ever since that day we went shopping. Even after we," she started, taking a deep breath before plowing on. "Even after we kissed, you avoided me like the plague. I don't understand Zuko. I don't know what's up on your end, but that was the best kiss of my life and every time you look away from me or refuse to talk to me, I die a little bit inside. Why are you avoiding me?" I could feel a blush on my cheeks and neck, but I forced myself to look him in the eye as I spoke. He looked startled when I admitted it was the best kiss of my life, but he stayed and listened to me. That was a start, I suppose.
"You're right," he admitted with a sigh after a long moment. "I have been avoiding you, and that was wrong of me. I was just so confused, because I'm technically with Mai, but I liked kissing you a lot. Actually, it was much better than any of the kisses I shared with Mai. And for the past day I was really confused because I didn't know what I wanted, but I think I understand now. I need to do what my heart is telling me to do." He looked away, and my heart sank. I had a funny feeling that I was about to be dumped without ever being in a relationship. At least I'll make the record books for the only person that's ever happened to.
Just as I was about to sigh heavily and walk away, Zuko turned back and placed his hand on my cheek.
"I choose you Katara," he murmured in the deep voice I loved so much. Then he leaned in and kissed me firmly on the lips.
Cuz I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile.
A few hours later, Zuko and I were lying on the ground. My head was spinning from all the intense making out that had just happened and I felt like I was flying. My head was on Zuko's chest, with his arm around my waist. It was a position I'd wanted to be in for a long time, and there was no way I was ever going to give this up.
When the others came out, we were mocked mercilessly by Toph and Suki, while Sokka just spluttered in disbelief. Aang took one look at us and snapped open his glider, swooping away with a dark expression. For the first time, I had no urge to follow him.
I was happy. I had a hot, sexy, amazing boyfriend that I could count on. No matter what happened on the day of Sozin's Comet, I could now die happy.
And the sparks fly
Baby smile
And the sparks fly.
AN: What did you think? I think that the little button that says 'review' down there would like to know! If you have a song suggestion, put it in your review and I'll see what I can do! See you next chapter!