Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, The Last Airbender
Katara buried her face into Zuko's neck as she took in his smell. The last few days had been pure bliss for the waterbender as her new craving was constantly satisfied by the prince.
Over the last few days he had become daring with his hand placement. He had just about traveled over everything except her more private areas. Katara completely welcomed it as just about every part of her got a wave of firebending heat. Most mornings now consisted of him waking to go train Aang and leaving her to rest peacefully in his lingering smell and warmth.
Right now though he managed to give Aang a morning off in which Katara absolutely loved. An extra hour or two with the firebender was no problem with her despite their heated past. Zuko guided a hand across the back of her neck and warmed it. She sighed in relief and pulled him even closer.
Katara had learned to let her hands wonder as well. Normally the prince went to bed shirtless, allowing her the opportunity to feel every fine toned muscle. She traced circles along his back playfully as she drifted in and out of dream world. Her warrior instincts and logic told her to stop, but her hands would not. He had almost completely taken over every tendency and sense.
Zuko was trying to convince himself that he was just tolerating her behavior to gain some leverage. Maybe he could get her to owe him some favors later but he had to admit he was beginning to enjoy it as well. At first he had stamped her as crazy but she had begun to overwhelm him.
Her soft skin compelled him to explore her petite form. Just the opposite of what she wanted he welcomed her cold, finding it a great way to balance him out and send him into a peaceful sleep. She smelt strangely of a blend of blueberries, panda-lily's, and the ocean. Everything about her had intoxicated him and he felt himself slowly becoming addicted to her as well.
"It's almost noon," he whispered to her.
She groaned and subconsciously ran a hand through his hair. Zuko felt the move a little more forward than usual but he pushed it aside. "Just a little longer," she pleaded. He rolled his eyes. Slowly he tried to slip from her grasp but he felt her restrain him from moving. "Please Zuko."
The need in her voice was all he needed to stop moving. He sighed as he was forced to give up. It's not like he was in a complete hurry to leave her but he was sure that if he spent any longer there he would become as addicted to her as she was to him. "Fine, just a little longer."
He saw her smile in victory. "I guess you're not completely heartless," she whispered.
Zuko felt a little anger swell within him but it melted away as she closed her eyes again and buried her face in his chest. Her soft hair along his skin calmed him down instantly. With a sigh he pulled her tighter. Katara casually drifted off into the warmth that was Zuko.
An unwelcomed absence of Zuko awoke Katara somewhat violently. She shivered and stirred awake into the coldness. Her attention immediately went around the room in an attempt to find Zuko. He was not present, and all that filled the room was the gentle touch of the sun. How long had she been in bed?
The question was pushed aside as she angrily remembered that the prince had abandoned her. Pushing the covers away she stood from the bed and left the room in a hustle.
Zuko leaned back peacefully on the makeshift bench in front of the fire. Being alone in the peaceful afternoon felt good. It gave him time to catch up with his own thoughts and admire the small things around him. He had decided to give the Avatar a full day off upon discovering the boy asleep until mid afternoon. He deserved a small break.
He began to lean his head back in relaxation when a noise broke the peaceful crackle of the fire. He looked to the source to see a flustered waterbender approaching him with an aura of bitterness in tow. Her anger was apparent as she stomped up to him and crossed her arms.
"Why are you out here?" she asked.
Zuko looked around confused. "Well..." he said. "I could go somewhere else..."
"Why did you leave me?" she asked, obviously irritated that he didn't pick up the meaning of her first question. "I asked you to stay for a little while longer."
"Yeah," he agreed while standing to meet her gaze. "You said a little while longer. I have other things to do besides stay in bed with you all day." Zuko knew that was a complete lie. He wanted to stay with her for the rest of the day, but his logic demanded that he didn't. He knew that if he did he could cross into a zone where he would be dependent on her. Zuko did not like being dependent on things; especially annoying waterbenders who threatened his life.
Katara only mustered a small string of mumbles before giving up angrily and walking away. Zuko sighed as he rested back onto the ground and drifted back into his happy place.
Katara stormed away angrily. If she was going to get what she wanted she needed to get Zuko to need her as much as she needed him. It was probably going to involve some things that she didn't really want to do, but if she wanted to get as much as him as her body demanded she had no choice.
Zuko had kept his distance from the bitter waterbender the remainder of the day, instead attempting to gain some knowledge of the rest of his new comrades. As a result his evening had been rather boring and annoying when he had discovered the water tribe warrior had a horrible arsenal of jokes and stories. The blind earthbender on the other hand seemed to share a sense of humor that Zuko always admired; a mix of insults and sarcasm. As much as Zuko tried to keep away from the Avatar the young boy insisted on sharing tales of the old Fire Nation with him, seeming to only throw salt on Zuko's emotional wound.
The evening had worn him out, and he found himself looking forward to a good night sleep. Zuko had honestly not expected to find the waterbender in his room after their small disagreement earlier but he found her sitting comfortably on his bed while combing her hair.
Upon his entry the golden orbs he claimed narrowed suspiciously. She was wearing her white undergarments that she normally practiced her bending in. He had seen her training in the peculiar attire and dismissed it as a training method to help her relax. He didn't think she wore it on a regular basis. He simply forgot her appearance, assuming that she had returned from training.
Removing his shirt the prince slipped under the covers quietly and turned his back to her in a pathetic attempt to show his still lingering bitterness. She seemed to ignore his hint as she slipped under the covers and pressed herself against him like always.
The Prince's eyes immediately widened as he realized she was still in her undergarments. He had assumed that she would be changing before getting into the bed with him. Nervously he shifted his weight.
"Is something wrong?" Katara asked, already knowing the answer.
Zuko mind screamed a million answers, some of which seemed appropriate and others that did not. "You're comfortable sleeping in the same bed as me wearing that?"
She sighed quietly and Zuko could actually feel her roll those blue orbs of hers behind him. "I may not trust you with Aang, but I trust in my own abilities to beat the crap out of a firebender who tries anything funny with me."
Zuko had noticed above all things that she didn't say she would kill him if he tried anything. It was a small stepping stone of progress for him and a good indication that she was warming up to him. With a breath of annoyance and surrender he accepted her embrace but still refused to turn towards her.
It didn't seem to stop her as she pulled him tight and absorbed his warmth. Zuko had to try and focus on anything besides her chest being pressed onto his back. One hand was clinging to his shoulder while the other draped lazily on his stomach. Despite his awkwardness and discomforting feeling of the girl next to him overwhelmed everything else and he managed to drift into sleep.
The next morning Zuko awoke lying flat on his back. Katara rested peacefully next to him, her head resting on his chest and her arm over his stomach. Her feet were pulled up towards her body. Zuko radiated more heat, resulting in a light sleepy moan and tighter grip. Zuko took the moment to admire her in sleep. She rested very peacefully yet he knew she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. His eyes scanned the curve of her feminine body that rested quietly. Zuko had to fight the urge to run his hand along her stomach and hips, remembering the threat she issued the night before.
His mind chose to ignore it and he rested a hand along her taut stomach. Watching her eyes the entire time he took in the feel of her delicate skin. Calling upon his firebending abilities he let warmth travel from his hand along her bare stomach. The waterbender smiled in her sleep and mumbled incoherent words. One of her legs traveled up Zuko's and wrapped around him, trying to get as close as she could. Zuko smiled as he realized the power he had over her.
Deciding to play with his new found power a little he retracted the heat from the air. It resulted in a light pout from the sleeping girl and she tucked her head into his chest. Zuko smirked as he found a new game to play.
Zuko was enjoying his session of experiment for a short while. "You seem to have forgotten what I said last night," she said with her eyes still closed.
Zuko's eyes widened and he pulled away from her. "I-I-, um...It seemed like you were enjoying it..."
"Just be quiet and keep going," she said, still not opening her eyes. He got the sense that she was almost angry for allowing him to continue, yet her need for the feeling pushed aside any reason for him to stop. Zuko was dumbfounded as she lifted his hand and placed it back where it was on her stomach. Sighing in defeat over an attempt to understand her he continued to warm her.
Her reply was a pleasant moan and an intake of his aroma.
Zuko couldn't help but smile at her satisfaction. It was odd for him to smile at all, let alone to the sight of a waterbender he was sleeping with happy. It was a sign of what he was praying would not happen. She had become his drug like he had become hers. Maybe it was her ability to make his mind drift to a more peaceful place, maybe it was the gracious curve of her form, or maybe it was just that she was actually close to him. Zuko didn't know what pushed him over the edge but it had happened.
"Zuko?"
The prince looked down to see her still resting quietly with her eyes closed. "Yes?"
"Would you say my name?"
Zuko was a little confused by the question. "What?"
"My name, say it," she said. "You do know my name right?"
"Of course," he said honestly remembering the Avatar's mention of her. "But why do you want me to say it?"
"In the entire ordeal that we have been through, every encounter or conversation, even today, you have never said my name."
Zuko thought about it for a moment. She had been right. Even in the crystal catacombs he had not said her name. The only reason Zuko could think of for not saying it until now was some crazy method of distancing himself. "Katara."
Katara smiled as her name rolled off his tongue. His strange and dark tone made her name sound just as mysterious as the speaker. She enjoyed hearing it. Touch, smell, and hearing; the senses he had taken over. How much longer was it going to be before he took over everything?
The two went on to talk for the remainder of the morning. Katara enjoyed learning more about Zuko's reason for betraying his father. His answers cleared some questions while arousing others. Above all she wanted to know where he got his scar from. She was slightly afraid to venture that far in their strange new relationship; one between distant friends and a couple who absolutely hated each other. Katara still reminded herself that she still loathed this firebender, yet her physical needs pushed the past away for the time being.
The waterbender had honestly confused Zuko beyond any measure understood by man. She voiced her despise for him constantly and even went as far to threaten his life. Then she insists on sleeping with him because it helps hers sleep, and finally she chews at his conscious and emotions like some parasite. She had invaded his thoughts more often, whether it was just a picture of her sleeping peacefully or the mental recording of her soft voice as she rested.
Upon leaving to do her chores Katara found herself really looking forward to the next night. She hoped that Zuko had warmed up to her new sleeping attire, a method she used to take him over as well. Katara pondered her new understanding of the prince.
She still did not completely understand his entire past, nor why he betrayed them. She felt that with a few more mornings of talk she could uncover more of his mysterious past and hopefully uncover his true intentions and identity. Katara knew that her mixed feelings for Aang and the undeniably rocky past the two shared would prevent anything beyond a physical admiration for the prince. Yet she found no reason that she couldn't milk the cow for a while longer.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Aang approached her while she prepared dinner.
"Katara?" asked the young Avatar.
"Yes Aang," she replied, not making eye contact.
"I have something I want to show you, I think you'll like it," he said with a smile. Katara turned fully to him from the fire she had been preparing.
"What is it?"
"Follow me," he said with a gesture of his hand. Katara followed him away from the main platform on which they usually ate. He led her through a small labyrinth of halls until they arrived at a similar platform, though this one was nestled far in the back of the temples. A row of columns supported a high covering above a large fountain of water. A small waterfall fell from a rock outcropping into the fountain. "So?"
"What is it?" she asked while stepping forth to observe more closely. She noticed how smooth the stone was inside of the fountain, likely crafted by the running water. The stone itself was handcrafted into seats inside the water.
"It's a bath," he said. "The water is recycled down into a filtering system in the side of the mountain. The monks used to use it as a sauna, but the heating mechanism was destroyed in the invasion. I thought you could still use it as a bath or for waterbending practice."
Katara smiled and turned back to her friend. "Thanks Aang."
"No problem." He began to walk away. Katara turned back to the pool of water and thought for a moment. The heat was broken huh? There was probably a way she could fix that.
Zuko noticed how restless Katara had been in bed that night as she struggled to find a good position along his body. He had made sure that he distributed a good amount of heat, and he saw no problem with the bed. Something must have been on her mind. He tried to find a reason to not ask her but her restlessness was preventing him from sleeping as well.
"What are you doing?" he asked rather angrily.
She stopped moving altogether and sat up, looking around the moonlit room. "Zuko, I need you to do a favor for me."
"What?" he asked, more curious than angry.
"Well, have you ever heated your body in water?" she asked.
Zuko sat up as well, rubbing his tired eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, warming water, like a hot tub at a sauna."
He nodded with a yawn. "Yes, I can," He was too tired to notice her smile. "Now go back to sleep."
"But I still need you to do me a favor."
"It can wait for tomorrow," he said while burying his face in a pillow. "Go to bed."
Katara sighed while resting back down on the bed. As of habit she wrapped her arms around Zuko. Normally she would angrily demand that he do it right away, refusing to take no for an answer and would even play the 'you owe me' card. Still, she felt she needed to warm the prince up to her more before she called in a favor of that nature.
The following morning called for the normal routine. The two talked for a while and Katara purposefully left out her little favor. He left to go train Aang and she rested a little while longer in the bed before getting dressed and proceeding to make a late breakfast for everyone.
When Aang and Zuko had finished their training session they sat with the other guys around a dim fire and exchanged tales, most of exaggerated adventures. "And then this giant platypus bear came out of no where and-"
"Zuko!" Sokka stopped his story and the attention of all the boys went to Katara standing to the side.
"Oooo Zuko's in trouble," joked Sokka. Zuko ignored his stupid comment and instead noticed that the warrior had not called him 'jerk'. It seemed that Katara was not the only one warming up to him.
Immature snickers following him Zuko approached the waterbender. "What is it?" he asked rudely.
"You still have not done me that favor," she reminded him with a scowl.
"Well you haven't told me what it is, so it would be difficult for me to do something when I don't even know what it is."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Just follow me."
Zuko was dumbfounded as she began to turn around. "Why should I?"
The waterbender stopped in her steps turned around angrily. "You want to play it that way?" she asked. "Maybe I should just stay in my own room tonight."
Zuko felt an unfamiliar feeling in his gut; a sort of drop of his stomach. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her now. Her presence in his bed had become almost a necessity and if she had left he probably would not be able to sleep. He also knew that she probably could not either.
"Please," he scoffed. "You and I both know that's not going to happen."
The waterbender fought a blush furiously while struggling an urge to kill him were he stood. He had called her bluff, and now she had almost nothing left except one thing. She stood up close to him and looked up into his eyes. "You know that you owe me," she whispered and snarled at the same time.
Zuko sighed as he picked up her hidden meaning. He had actually thought for a second that they had grown to a companionship beyond the incident in Ba Sing Se. That dim hope was crushed when she spoke though.
"Fine," he said between clenched teeth.
"Good," she said while backing off. "Now follow me."
Sokka took another bite of his enormous apple. His jaw issued low crunchy noises while he absentmindedly watched Katara and Zuko talk on the other side of the platform. "I wonder what they're fighting about now," he thought aloud.
Aang was unusually passive about the situation. "Let them work it out," he said. "I think Katara is starting to accept him a little."
"It didn't look like it from the conversation they just had," chipped in Teo.
Aang shook his head. "Trust the Avatar on this one, there is nothing overly strange or bad going on with Zuko and Katara. They have a troubled past, just let them work through it. If I have to intervene then I will."
Zuko followed the annoying waterbender reluctantly through a short maze of temples before arriving at a hidden platform back in the mountain. It was secluded yet provided an excellent view of the ongoing chasm and a portion of the sky. A waterfall rushed gracefully into a pool made specifically for bathing or relaxing Zuko guessed. The stone seemed smooth from the years of running water, yet the water itself looked very clean and almost crystal clear.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's a bath of sorts," she said. Zuko was so focused on studying the fountain that her didn't notice her disrobing down to her normal sleeping attire; the white undergarments. She stepped in slowly; inhaling sharply as the cold overwhelmed her bare leg in the water.
"So...what do you want me to do?"
"This water is freezing," she replied while stepping out. "I need you to warm it."
Zuko's eyes narrowed at her sarcastic tone. Taking a position in front of the pool he took a deep breathe. Katara watched as he closed his eyes and seemed to focus for a moment. With one more deep breath he exhaled through his nose. Steam filled the air as the water before him warmed considerably. Zuko stepped back and gestured to the water.
Katara stepped into the water again, although this time she sighed with pleasure as she felt the temperature. The warmth of the water melted her and she slipped in peacefully. Positioning herself one of the seats she let her head go back and voiced her extreme satisfaction. "This feels amazing."
"You're welcome," Zuko mumbled before turning to leave.
"Wait a second!" The firebender stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing her voice. With an angry growl he turned back around.
"What!?"
"Where do you thick you're going?" she asked while drifting to the side of the bath closest to him.
"I'm going back to the camp," he said.
"To do what?"
Zuko found himself at a loss for words. He had nothing else planned for the rest of the day, but he had planned on just relaxing. "It doesn't matter, I'm going back."
"No you're not," she said with a stern voice. "You're getting in here right now."
"You can't be serious," he said with a more disbelieving tone than angry. "Who do you think you are?"
"You're in no position to say no to me," she reminded him. "Do you expect this pool to stay this warm forever?"
Zuko closed his eyes as he saw a white flash of anger. He had to force himself to calm down, realizing the truth behind her words. After all he had done to them and especially her he could not bring himself to keep walking. Forcing his feet to move he went back to the pool. Reluctantly the prince slipped his shirt off and threw it away.
Katara waited patiently in the pool for him to enter. Pushing himself on Zuko stepped into the pool. The warmth was overwhelming to his senses. If anything it was a much better way of relaxing then listening to Sokka's stupid stories. The only downside was the waterbender sitting next to him.
Katara smiled as she went back to lounging in her spot. Zuko forced his body to relax and his body temperature to climb, maintaining the heat around them. A blanket of steam clouded the cold air around them, making anything ten feet away unrecognizable. Zuko hated feeling so vulnerable, but he let his mind drift into a stress free zone.
Katara had been gone the moment she stepped in the pool. The feeling had completely taken her over and she found another reason to keep Zuko around. The warm water around her skin was absolute bliss. She was able to let every worry go at the moment and she even let her self drift around in the shallow pool. Drifting around the pull she eventually came close to Zuko, who had also let himself go and managed to sit back in the pool and relax.
Almost like uncontrollable instinct Katara came closer and rested her head on Zuko's shoulder. Her body curled up against his in the water and she absorbed the heat from the water as well as him.
"Once again, if you tell anyone about this I'll kill you."
"Of course you will Katara," he said while wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
Katara just smiled when he said her name again.
I was really pleased so many people enjoyed the first chapter. Just like last time if this one gets enough good feedback I plan on adding another chapter. I was worried that this one was not as good as the first, so let me know if it was better or worse. I enjoyed writing the name part of this chapter because I actually realized that we support a relationship where one of the character has actually never said the others name. That won't doesn't stop me from hoping though. Hit me up with some reviews so I know if you want another chapter and thanks for reading.