Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the songs "Any Moment" and "Moments in the Woods" by Stephen Sondheim. They are from the musical Into the Woods.
Author's Note: Well, I had to soften you all up with some Kataang first because I knew I was going to do this one. I thought of making it a different pairing, but I decided to challenge myself by actually attempting a Zutara scene. It took a lot of thought, but I'm placing it between Bitter Work and The Library, at a time when Katara might be inclined to feel a little more sympathetic toward Zuko and when he's kind of frustrated with life. The rating is changed mostly due to the implications in the lyrics rather than the story itself.
MomentsHim: Anything can happen in the woods.
May I kiss you?
Any moment we could be crushed.
Her: Uh—
Him: Don't feel rushed.
Her: This is ridiculous,
What am I doing here?
I'm in the wrong story.
Wait one moment, please!
We can't do this!
Katara was out in a sparsely wooded area, gathering food for the group. Sokka was probably hunting, but he tended not to consider anything other than meat to be food, so Katara had taken it upon herself to handle the fruit and vegetable side of the menu.
Toph and Aang were busy with earthbending lessons. Katara tried not to be jealous about Aang spending so much time with Toph. After all, she knew it was silly. Aang did need to work on his earthbending, and Katara still got to practice waterbending with him sometimes. Katara just hadn't realized how much she'd grown accustomed to sort of having Aang all to herself. She wasn't his only teacher now, though, and she would just have to get used to sharing him.
Katara heard a noise somewhere to her right. Setting the basket of food down carefully, she crept toward the sound and saw a man, apparently doing the same thing she was, collecting fruit. He began to turn toward her, and she saw the distinctive scar. Zuko! Wasting no time, Katara lashed out with her bending water, sweeping him off his feet and making him drop the pear he had just picked. From a partial sitting position on the ground, Zuko started to raise his hand to retaliate but then lowered it, wearing a dejected expression.
"What's the point?" he asked rhetorically, lying down in a defeated attitude. Confused, Katara retrieved her bending water and came cautiously closer. Belatedly, she recalled the last time she had seen him.
"Is…is your uncle okay?" she stammered. After all, she didn't really have anything against the old man, and she had offered to heal him. Zuko gaped at her in astonishment.
"He's still hurt, but it looks like he'll survive," he answered at last. "I was just getting some food for us."
"Yeah, me too." As a peace offering, Katara picked up the dropped piece of fruit, wiped it with her skirt, and handed it to him. Their hands touched briefly as the pear exchanged owners.
Him: Of course, you're right. How foolish.
Foolishness can happen in the woods.
Once again, please—
Let your hesitations be hushed.
Any moment, big or small,
Is a moment, after all.
Seize the moment, skies may fall any moment.
Katara pulled back quickly, but his eyes held hers. She'd never really looked into his eyes before, and there were things there that she didn't expect. He just didn't seem…evil, and the way he'd cried out when his uncle was struck…well, he appeared to be human after all.
"So, I suppose the Avatar is close by?" Zuko commented, as though he were remarking on the weather. He stood up and tucked the fruit into a bag.
"Not too far, but not too close," Katara replied evasively. "Are you still chasing him?" Zuko lowered his gaze.
"I don't know anymore. Uncle says that even that may not help us now."
"That girl – that was your sister?" Katara wondered.
"How did you know?" The prince looked surprised.
"Aang said she told him."
"Oh. Yes, I guess you could say our family's had a little falling-out." This seemed like the understatement of the year, but Katara decided not to comment. Having apparently exhausted that topic of conversation, both fell silent. Katara knew she should just leave, but she felt like they weren't quite finished yet.
Him: Days are made of moments,
All are worth exploring.
Many kinds of moments—
None is worth ignoring.
All we have are moments,
Memories for storing.
One would be so boring…
"I'm sorry about knocking you down just now," Katara apologized, not knowing what else to say. "It's kind of automatic to fight you, I guess."
"I understand." Without warning, he crossed the distance between them and stopped just in front of her. He raised a hand to finger the necklace she wore. "I see you got this back." Katara's heart was pounding. Having him so close was both frightening and exciting.
"Y-yes." Katara cursed herself for stuttering. "Aang gave it to me after he fought you."
"It must mean something to you?"
"It was my mother's. She was killed by the Fire Nation, and it's all I have of hers." Of course, it had technically been her grandmother's first, but it was still an item her mother had worn, so it was special.
"I'm sorry. It's not quite the same, but I lost my mother to the Fire Nation, too."
"Oh," Katara breathed, feeling a sudden connection and wondering about the story he wasn't telling there. She didn't know who leaned first, but before she realized what was happening, they were kissing. It was her first real kiss, and she couldn't help giving herself up to the feeling. His taste was faintly metallic, but his lips were soft and warm.
Her: But this is not right!
Him: Right and wrong don't matter in the woods,
Only feelings.
Let us meet the moment unblushed.
Life is often so unpleasant—
You must know that, as a peasant—
Best to take the moment present
As a present for the moment.
Katara broke away as the complete wrongness of the moment intruded upon her consciousness. There was a need in his kiss, a need she wasn't certain she could fulfill, even if she wanted to.
"I – I –" Zuko began, not seeming to know where to go from there. Katara didn't know if he was intending to apologize, but she didn't think she wanted to hear it either way.
"Don't say anything," she advised him, backing up further. "Just don't say anything." He nodded, also retreating. Katara was putting aside her reaction to the kiss for the moment. There would be time for her to think about it later. She needed to be firmly in the present right now.
"This is just…all wrong," she said, feeling like she needed to offer an explanation.
"Why? Because I'm a prince and you're a peasant? Look at me!" Zuko gestured at his plain, brown clothing. "I don't think any of that matters now. I'm living like a common refugee!" In that instant, though, Katara could see the arrogant brat she had known, the single-minded firebender who had chased and fought her and her friends.
"You're still the enemy," she informed him quietly.
Him: I must leave you.
Her: Why?
Him: The Giant.
Her: Will we find each other in the woods again?
Him: This was just a moment in the woods.
Our moment,
Shimmering and lovely and sad.
Leave the moment, just be glad
For the moment that we had.
Every moment is a moment
When you're in the woods…goodbye.
"I never saw it that way, not really," Zuko replied. A memory came back to Katara.
"You once told me that you needed the Avatar to regain something you'd lost," she reminded him curiously. "What was it?"
"My honor. It's a long story."
Katara regarded him silently for a long moment. She thought she was beginning to understand him better, but it didn't matter. Her first priority was to help end this war.
"I should go," she said.
"Yes, I should check on my uncle, too. I suppose we'll have to move on soon. Azula's probably tracking us."
"Us too."
And that was it. Katara left in a kind of daze, barely remembering to retrieve her basket on her way.
Her: What was that?
Was that me? Was that him?
Did a Prince really kiss me?
And kiss me? And kiss me?
And did I kiss him back?
Katara took a roundabout way back toward their camp, still not trusting Zuko. Finally, she dropped down to the ground. She needed to think about what had just happened. She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes, remembering.
Had she and Zuko really kissed? Already, it seemed a little unreal. Still, there was something exciting and dangerous about it, like what she might have imagined kissing Jet to be.
Ugh. Jet and Zuko. Apparently, I have horrendous taste in men.
What about Aang? whispered a voice in her mind.
Aang?
Yeah, Aang. Remember him? Cute kid, savior of the world?
Of course I remember Aang, Katara thought with irritation.
Really? It sure didn't look that way a few minutes ago.
What? It's not like Aang and I are…a couple or anything. Even as she thought this, though, Katara felt a twinge. There was something more than friendship there, no matter how much she might try to deny it.
Was it wrong? Am I mad?
Is that all? Does he miss me?
Was he suddenly getting bored with me?
Wake up! Stop dreaming.
Stop prancing about the woods.
It's not beseeming.
What is it about the woods?
Katara put her head in her hands. This was all so confusing. She felt like her entire understanding of the world had been shaken out of her mind and put back together in a jumble that made no sense.
Had Zuko felt anything? Was he still thinking about her now? What was she feeling?
She was going crazy. That had to be the answer. She let herself get too hungry and somehow dreamed the whole thing. In an attempt to combat this, she grabbed a handful of berries from her basket and munched on them. Then, she took some deep breaths to steady herself.
No, it had really happened. While it had been kind of nice, it wasn't exactly what she had expected. She leaned back again and recalled another situation, another boy.
The torch was burning out in the Cave of Two Lovers. She and Aang were leaning towards each other. His eyes drifted shut, but Katara kept hers open, so she saw the crystals. She broke off, a little disappointed, but what choice did she have? He'd said he didn't want to kiss her. Right?
Back to life, back to sense,
Back to child, back to husband,
You can't live in the woods.
There are vows, there are ties,
There are needs, there are standards,
There are shouldn'ts and shoulds.
Shoving aside the feeling of rejection, Katara stood up and brushed herself off. She had a job to do and people who needed her. She had to collect more food find her family. It was time she returned to her senses and got back to real life.
When had she become so boy crazy, anyway? She'd made it through several years without any of this sort of thing muddying her thinking.
That's not much of a virtue when there aren't any boys around to be crazy about, pointed out that relentless voice in her head. Well, Katara supposed that argument was valid.
Why not both instead?
There's the answer, if you're clever.
Have a child for warmth,
And a baker for bread,
And a prince for…whatever—never!
It's these woods.
However, as she continued picking fruit and leaves, Katara's mind wandered. Would it be possible, she wondered, to somehow have it all? The Avatar as a best friend, her brother for stability, Zuko for forbidden desires?
No, that was both impossible and insane! Her parents and grandmother had raised her better than that. Not to mention Sokka…she almost giggled at how he would react if he knew she was thinking this way.
Besides, Katara was only fourteen; she didn't need to be planning out the rest of her life yet. She just had to help Aang prepare for meeting the Fire Lord. Once the war was over, she would have time to think about her future.
Face the facts, find the boy,
Join the group, stop the Giant,
Just get out of these woods.
Was that him? Yes, it was.
Was that me? No, it wasn't,
Just a trick of the woods.
With a new sense of purpose, Katara headed back toward camp. It wasn't long, though, before she realized that she was hopelessly lost. In taking a circuitous route to avoid leading Zuko to the place they were staying, she had managed to lose herself.
Looking up at the sky, Katara saw that the sun was getting quite low. She felt panic squeeze her throat. Surely, the others would begin looking for her soon. Would it be better to stay put or keep trying to find her way back?
Katara tried pressing on for a little while before giving up and sinking back down to the grass again. She chose a place that was open to the sky, in case it was Aang who found her. Oddly, this was similar to when Sokka had disappeared not too long ago. At least Katara wasn't stuck in a crevice. She looked around anxiously to make sure that there wasn't any sinister hole just waiting to ambush her.
Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment…
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always "or"? Is it never "and"?
That's what woods are for.
For these moments in the woods.
Oh, if life were made of moments,
Even, now and then, a bad one--!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.
Now, she was quite sure she was going crazy. Unfortunately, all this time alone also gave her ample opportunity to go over her encounter with Zuko, again and again. If things had been different, if they weren't from nations so clearly opposed to each other and working at cross purposes…who knew what might have happened? Was her life always going to come down to these difficult decisions?
It was just a moment, she decided, one that was now definitely in the past and not likely to come again. Katara could remember it and hold it close to her, but she didn't intend to share it with anyone. Upon reflection, her feelings toward Zuko now were that of a person trying to save an injured animal. She recognized a wounded spirit in him that she wished to heal, but was that any foundation for romance?
As she sat there, watching the shadows lengthen, the images in her mind were gradually replaced. Memories of Aang displaced any lingering thoughts of Zuko. They'd had their share of moments, too, she realized. She pictured him now: penguin sledding, trying to make her laugh, following her waterbending movements. The last image was again in the Cave of Two Lovers, just after the green crystals had lit. Her hand was over his on the torch, and their free hands were linked. She didn't even remember how that last part had happened. It had just seemed so…natural.
First a Witch, then a child,
Then a Prince, then a moment—
Who can live in the woods?
And to get what you wish,
Only just for a moment—
These are dangerous woods!
Katara felt a sudden rushing of wind and looked up to see Aang landing in front of her with his glider. She'd been so absorbed with her thoughts that she'd forgotten to look for him. He dropped the glider when he saw her, not even bothering to close it first, and rushed toward her. Katara rose also and went to accept his hug. It reminded her of the time he'd come back from the Spirit World after Sokka had been taken away by Hei-Bai.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Aang exclaimed, releasing her. "What happened?"
"I…I guess I went a little too far from camp and got lost." Katara looked into those incredible gray eyes and took in the happy smile. She smiled, too, and all at once, she wanted to taste him. She wanted to find out what it was like, how he compared to Zuko. She wanted to finish what they'd started in the cave of Oma and Shu, and she realized that she'd made this decision a long time ago, even if she hadn't quite realized it. Regretfully, she knew this wasn't the right time. It was too soon after Zuko, for one thing, and she also needed to find out what Aang's real feelings toward her were.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aang wondered, confusion bringing his eyebrows together under the point of his arrow tattoo.
"I'm just glad to see you, too," she said. "I suppose we'd better get back." Aang nodded and helped her situate herself on the glider with him. Clinging to him, feeling his warmth and smelling his familiar, slightly sweet scent, Katara knew she was where she was supposed to be.
Let the moment go…
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you've had an "and,"
When you're back to "or,"
Makes the "or" mean more than it did before.
Now I understand…and it's time to leave the woods.
--
Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129, Strix Moonwing, Avatarwolf, MormonMaiden, libowiekitty, Snows of Yester-Year, La Vixen de Amor, chocolatecoveredbananacheese, Aangy, and honorary member SnakeEyes16
Author's Note: Wow, that was a long two songs. I hope no one's ready to lynch me. At any rate, this is the chance for those of you who've told me I could even make a Zutara likeable to find out if you were right. Of course, I couldn't make it end up that way. Since you all suffered through that, I'm going to let you choose the next chapter. I have three ideas in the works right now: one about Yue and her feelings being the moon and presiding over lovers, Kana's feelings when she left the North Pole, and a Kataangy one. Whichever one has the most votes in two days will be next, and I'll post the winner probably Monday.
Review replies:
Thank you to cacman2, heartsyhawk, and libowiekitty for reviewing Chapter 2.
Snows Of Yester-Year: Yeah, why not? I mean he is the Avatar. Why couldn't he have had some inkling of what was to come, even if he didn't really understand it yet?
TTAvatarfan: Well, I hope you got a good start on that mountain of homework and that this chapter was okay.
Cole Alvina: If you're still following this, you got a Zutara tidbit here, my first ever (if you don't count the arranged marriage parody).
Aangs fangirl1214: I always figured we were supposed to get the idea that Aang fell in love with her at first sight, but what's fanfiction for except to speculate?
Let's Just Say I Loath It All: There's nothing wrong with newer musicals, but I tend to be more familiar with the classics. I've seen Titanic and The Lion King, and I'm going to be seeing Wicked later this summer.
Kimbalynn616: I confess the idea of a nine-year-old Sokka made me giggle. Well, you're the second one to mention Wicked. I'll be seeing it in July, but I've looked up some lyrics I'm considering using. I hear it's very good.
redskin122004: Sorry, but I kind of need lyrics for the story, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra doesn't provide that. Of course, I realize that "Silver Bells" has lyrics, but it's not from Broadway, and it's all about Christmas. I hope life is starting to look up for you.