I uploaded twice in one day to make up for my prolonged absence! Hope you enjoy it!
The twenty six year old Fire Lord stood tall on the docks despite the laboring heat from the sun that shone above him. To anybody else, he would have looked normal, calm and well-put together. But if they cared to take a closer look, they would see how his fingers kept fidgeting with his sleeves, and the slight clenching and unclenching of his jaw.
Today was the day she arrived. He hadn't seen her in a year, and they had hardly been able to send any letters since. He wondered if she'd changed at all. If she was still healthy. Was her tribe doing well? Had she been getting enough rest? Were her eyes still as bright as he remembered?
All in all, Zuko was nervous. Just a little.
Suddenly, he heard a cheer emit from somewhere in the bay. Snapping back to attention, Zuko saw the blue and white ship sailing into the port, and leaning over the deck's railing was a small, indigo-clad figure waving ecstatically to him. He allowed a small smile to curve his lips, and waved back. He watched the ship finally dock, and he waited anxiously as the crew tossed a plank out. Several men began unloading large crates from the ship, and Zuko chewed his cheek in anticipation.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, he saw her step out, gracefully gliding down the plank and stepping onto the dock. His heart gave a little squeeze, and he lost his breath for a second. Her traditional watertribe garb, altered slightly to accomadate for the Fire Nation humidity, hugged her curves gently and made her dark complexion even richer. Her hair, half pulled up, revealed a well-defined, kind face that smiled at him. As she walked closer and closer, Zuko grew increasingly more panicked. He had never been very smooth when it came to the opposite gender.
Katara stopped a few feet from him, and an almost awkward silence stretched out before them. Zuko, not knowing what else to do and in need of something to say, folded his arms into the familiar Fire Nation flame, and bowed to his friend. "Welcome back to the Fire Nation, Lady Katara."
Another silence. And suddenly, his arms were full of Katara. She pressed her face against his chest, and hugged him until it was hard for him to breathe. His face heated up and he ignored the whistles and catcalls being sent their way from the water-tribe warriors.
"Since when have we ever been ones for formality?" He heard her say in a teasing tone. Relief swept over him like a wave. After all this time, she was still the same Katara.
His own arms wrapped around her, and he leaned a cheek against the crown of her head. A blissful smile rose to his lips, and he tightened his grip on her.
She was still Katara, his Katara.
Author's Note: A cute little fluffy ones just for you guys! Usually I kind of hate writing these kind of drabbles just because they seem so...cliche. But then again, it wasn't too terrible.
Poor Zuko. Always the ladies man, eh?
MI3