This is just something random that popped into my head one day, and I just had to write it. This plot isn't meant to be serious or taken seriously. It's meant to be ridiculous, unrealistic, funny, and fun.
Enjoy.
Feel free to let me know what you think.
It was the morning after Zuko and Sokka had returned from Boiling Rock with not only Hakoda but also Suki and Chit Sang.
The new inhabitants of the Western Air Temple are currently sleeping along with the rest of Team Avatar. They all stayed up late last night to celebrate the freedom of Hakoda, Suki, and Chit Sang. There were lots of tea-drinking, joke-telling, and story-telling, such as Sokka telling Team Avatar the whole story of the Boiling Rock escape. There was also a good amount of poking fun at Zuko, whether it's about his past misdeeds or his attempt at joining the group. Zuko was, no doubt, embarrassed about all that, but he eventually started laughing along. It felt good. Some time after midnight, people were starting to get tired and so they had to cut the celebration short.
Aang wakes up pretty early, just before the sun fully rises. He looks around at his sleeping allies, wondering how long it will be until they wake up. As he looks around, he realizes that a couple of people were missing from the bunch - his Waterbending teacher and a certain Fire Nation prince.
Where are they? He wondered.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Western Air Temple, there appears to be two individuals trying to have a private moment. It's the aforementioned "missing" party members, Katara and Zuko, all by themselves, away from everyone else. They sit down on a blanket together, sitting hip to hip, and decide to spend this alone time together away from the team…
Kissing?
"I hate you," Katara whispered with a soft growl.
"I know," Zuko responded, simultaneously amused and intimidated.
They lock lips again for a few seconds. Katara seems to groan and sigh in frustration in between kisses. Zuko does not respond and just proceeds with the lip-locking. He was subtly smiling, which seems to frustrate Katara further.
"Don't you dare think that this changes anything between us," Katara warned.
"That's a shame," Zuko said, sounding disappointed. "I thought you'd be happy to have your father back."
"I am," Katara confirmed. "But this was Sokka's stupid, dangerous plan. I know you only helped him to gain his favor."
"Well, think of it what you will," said Zuko. "As long as you're happy…"
Zuko kisses Katara again. A low "ugh" comes out Katara's lips, but she still kisses him back anyway.
"You disgust me," Katara snarled.
"Then why are we even doing this?" Zuko asked.
"Why are you doing this?" Katara deflected, smirking as she did. "Sokka said that Mai girl is your ex-girlfriend. What are you doing here kissing another girl then?"
"Yeah, I guess this looks really bad for me," Zuko admitted.
"And you're shameless about it. Unbelievable," Katara criticized.
"You don't make it easy," Zuko accused with a teasing smile.
"And you're blaming me? You're such a jerk," Katara snapped.
Katara shoves Zuko in the chest, not enough to knock him down but it wasn't painless either. She surprisingly follows this up with another kiss, a pretty long one. Zuko tries to match and even surpass her strength as he kisses her back. Katara chuckles for a brief second before continuing the kiss. Zuko is tempted to hold her, but he tries his hardest to resist. It was part of the agreement when they decided to do these private sessions. Lip-to-lip contact only, no touching.
"Do I need to remind you how we got here?" Zuko asked.
Katara goes for another kiss before resting her head on Zuko's shoulder, with a furrowed brow that speaks a lot.
"I'd rather if you don't," Katara replied, cringing at the memory.
"We didn't have to keep doing this if it just makes you angry," Zuko pointed out.
"I know," Katara said, ashamed of herself.
"Unless you're not really angry, are you?" Zuko guessed.
"As if," Katara denied.
A few weeks ago…
It was the night after Aang and Zuko have returned from learning an ancient firebending form from the Sun Warriors and the dragons. While everyone was preparing for sleep, Zuko is taking some time for himself somewhere far away from everyone. He's just practicing his firebending, wanting to be absolutely sure that his bending remains strong. To see it so weak that it's almost nonexistent was a bit scary. It's a good thing he found his drive, his inner fire once again. Before he knew it, he was smiling as he continued firebending. The Dancing Dragon started to influence his footwork and his other forms. To bend without relying on rage, it felt freeing. Maybe that explains the smiling.
Suddenly, he was hit from behind by a splash of water, knocking him down on his knees. He turns around sees Katara walking towards him with a water whip in hand, seemingly looking for a fight. This confuses the firebending prince.
"Hey! I didn't do anything to Aang!" Zuko swore. "You saw him when we got back. He's fine. He didn't ask for any healing."
"This isn't about Aang. It's about you and me," said Katara. "Consider this sparring. Show me what you can do, Dancing Prince."
Katara bends her water whip towards him. Zuko dodges the whip with a duck-and-roll. Katara makes a puddle of water beneath and around Zuko's feet and freezes it, causing him to slip and fall on his back. Zuko rolls off the ice and fires a fire blast, which misses Katara's feet by inches. Katara looks at Zuko with a puzzled expression on her face, but she immediately realized what he did. It was a warning shot. He didn't mean to hit her.
Katara creates a ring of water around herself and sends it towards Zuko. He uses a wall of fire to protect himself while the ring of water passes by. Zuko shoots three small bursts of fire from three quick punches, but these blasts are small and seem to be made with the intent of deterring Katara rather than hitting her. Katara is starting to get frustrated.
"Stop holding back!" Katara shouted.
"I don't want to hurt you," said Zuko.
"Don't lie to me," Katara accused.
Katara takes water from a nearby fountain and starts skating literal circles around Zuko, while fire water blasts at him, trying to provoke him to take this sparring session seriously. Instead of giving in, he takes advantage of the fact that Katara is heavily focused on him. He keeps her eyes on him by keeping his own eyes on her while he raises his fist, preparing for an attack. Zuko quickly fires another fire blast, which lands right in front of Katara, disrupting her skating and causing her to tumble across the stone floor.
Katara quickly gets back up and uses a water whip to snag Zuko by the angle and trips him, trying to drop him on his back again. Zuko uses his hands and feet to soften his landing and gets back upright before shooting an arc of fire at her, this time aiming higher. Katara extinguishes the flame with a water shield before sending that shield at high speed at Zuko, who gets rid of it with a strong fire blast.
Katara starts sprinting towards Zuko with tentacle-like water arms. She tries to trip him with a sweeping low strike, but he jumps over it. Zuko shoots his shot mid-air. Katara blocks the incoming fire blast with her water arms. She freezes the water around her hands, turning them into ice gauntlets. She engages Zuko up-close, who dodges every punch thrown her way. She can't help but notice the grace in his footwork as he dodges all of her punches. It's like he's dancing.
Katara can't help but realize that her own footsteps feel like dance steps themselves. Her mind wanders back to her dance with Aang in that secret dance party with his classmates. She keeps trying to attack Zuko, who ducks and blocks her punches, not realizing the look on her face. Zuko notices it - her smile. It makes him smile in return.
Zuko grabs Katara's left arm at the same time she grabs his shirt with her right hand, locking themselves in an awkward but graceful position, their faces only inches from one another as they try to catch their breath. Katara sees the smile on the prince's face, making her realize that she's smiling as well.
Beautiful, he thought.
Cute, she thought.
Embarrassed by such thoughts, Katara looks away from the prince. Zuko eases his grip on her arm and unwittingly steps closer, closing the gap between their faces all the more, much to Katara's surprise. The heat in her cheeks rises as she slowly lets go of his shirt, stepping back from the awkward position.
"I guess the Dancing Dragon is not that big of a joke," Katara jabbed.
"Well, let me show you what else I can do," Zuko declared.
Zuko shoots another fire blast, which Katara blocks with her gauntlets. Zuko starts spinning left and right while creating rings of fire with the same poise and grace of a dancer. He ends the move by sending all the fire rings at Katara. Katara frantically uses her own water rings to take out the flames, only to get scorched on her right forearm.
"I'm sorry," Zuko apologized.
"Oh, now you're sorry?!" Katara responded angrily.
Katara quickly heals the burn on her arm before summoning a huge stream of water, levitating it next to her as she runs towards her opponent. Zuko does something similar and charges at her with a curtain of fire right by his side. Katara sends her gigantic water blast accelerating forward, prompting Zuko to bend his fire curtain forward in return. The water and fire collide, cancelling each other out and creating smoke, blinding both benders.
Zuko keeps his guard up and waits for a sight of or sound from his opponent. Squinting, he sees a bit of blue within the smoke to his left. Katara jumps out of the smoke with her water arms ready. Zuko startles her with a wall of fire, followed by a fire blast straight at her right arm. Katara reacts quickly enough to swipe at the fire blast. Zuko gets low and performs sweeping motions with his hands, sending waves of fire at her. Katara puts out the incoming fires while spinning and skipping with the gracefulness of a true waterbender, once again looking like she's dancing. Zuko was impressed and even mesmerized by her moves.
Katara once again engages Zuko up-close but without her water arms. She attacks him with her ice-coated fists, mixing in some hand-to-hand combat she's seen over her journey. Zuko dodges and blocks her attacks while trying to stay balanced on his two feet. He once again can't help but notice Katara's footwork resembling that of a dancer's footwork. She doesn't even seem to be fighting him with 100% seriousness. It looks like she's just playing around, much to his surprise. Earlier, she was dead set on making this sparring session hellish for him, but now, it seems like the whole Dancing Dragon showcase got to her a little.
Katara steps back and summons more water, gracefully bending it towards Zuko. The prince dashes forward as he conjures a stream of fire, intentionally shooting it over Katara's head. The two zip pass one another, glancing over their respecting shoulders at one another. It feels like a dance between two people.
Whoa, Zuko thought.
Distracted by the majestic sight of Katara's dancing and waterbending, he fails to notice the huge blast of water coming from his peripheral vision. He gets pushed towards a pillar. Before he can counterattack, Katara grabs his hand as she freezes him from to pillar, neck to toe. She puts his free hand over his head and freezes it to the pillar as well.
Katara stands near the frozen prince as the two take deep breaths. It doesn't escape Zuko's attention that she's standing dangerously close to him. The sight of her beautiful face so close to his was creating heat beneath his skin that definitely was not from firebending.
Katara studies the prince's face closely, noticing the sweat dripping down his face and the faintest shade of red under his right thinks about their entire sparring session, which was supposed to be her opportunity to test him with little to no constraints. Instead, she found her eyes glued to his fanciful footwork while firebending. She would not admit it out loud, but he impressed her. That one moment where they were holding each other with only a small gap between them, face and body…
It was only now that Katara realizes just how close she was standing to her perceived enemy. He could just melt his way out of the ice, but he's just staring at her. She could freeze his face for the fun of it, but she just stares at him back. The nervousness on his face, the unsightly view of the very scar she once laid a hand on, the unscarred side of his face that made her extremely curious, Katara just couldn't tear her eyes away and she doesn't know why. All she knows is that she had… fun… and she was feeling a different type of exhilaration, one that she didn't expect to feel when she challenged him. Her heart quickens, her nerves heats up, all of it was forcing her to stay in this very spot, in this very situation. Neither one of her nor Zuko made a move. There was something about the look on his face that compelled her to look closer.
And closer…
And closer…
Before Zuko knew it, Katara's lips are pressed against his. Instead of stopping her, Zuko feels like his mind was slowly getting number the longer the kiss lasts. His eyes slowly close as he slightly leans in, kissing her back.
Katara suddenly pulls back.
Katara is shocked, shocked at herself. What in Spirits' name possessed her to kiss the man whose life she just threatened not too long ago? Why in the name of Yue did she do some romantic act towards the man who she blames for the Avatar's "death" in Ba Sing Se? She's supposed to be watching for signs of treachery, not kissing him like some love-struck teenager… even though she is teenager. She's struggling to understand why she did it. Was it the adrenaline from the sparring? Was it because his form and movements caught her eye? Was it because of how cute he looks when he's nervous around her?
Bad Katara! She scolded herself. He's the enemy!
Katara growls and puts her hands on her head, her fingers digging into her skin as if she's trying to drill into her brain and remove the memory of kissing Zuko.
Zuko… he's still here… and he certainly won't forget about this…
Katara turns around and glares at the still-trapped prince. He doesn't say a word. He just looks confused and still nervous. Well, the confusion is understandable. The girl that threatened his life at the first sign of betrayal just kissed him on the lips. Zuko can't wrap his head around how such a development happened this soon. He hadn't gained her trust, not even partially. They just sparred and more or less danced with each other. He can't lie to himself that he didn't feel something swirling inside his chest before, during, and after the kiss. Watching her waterbend was a pleasant sight, one that ignited that swirling feeling within. Being so close to her was making that feeling feel worse… or better. When she kissed him, his brain nearly shut down and he just wanted to lose himself in the kiss.
"Not a word of this to anyone, or else," Katara said threateningly.
Zuko just nodded.
"Katara!"
"Katara!" Hakoda called.
After noticing that his daughter was not amongst the waking party, Hakoda wondered where she could be. He, Sokka, and Haru split up to search for the waterbendering master. He's also keeping an eye out for the ex-prince of the Fire Nation, as he, too, was nowhere to be seen in the team's sleeping area. He wonders if his daughter and the prince are together somewhere in temple. As he searches, he starts hearing voices in a certain direction.
"I can't believe you!"
That definitely sounds like his daughter.
"Look, I said I'm sorry."
That sure sounds like the prince.
Hakoda follows the voices and finds Katara and Zuko, seemingly in an argument. Well, Katara is the only one yelling, but Zuko appears to be trying to calm her down. Hakoda stays quiet out of curiosity, but intends to intervene.
"Why didn't you take me with you to Boiling Rock?" Katara asked angrily.
"Your brother figured everyone needed you back here," Zuko answered.
"Oh, so you think my precious little babies can't go one day without their sweet mom?" Katara responded sarcastically.
"Why would you call yourself a mom?" Zuko asked.
"Forget that!" Katara shouted. "You risked my brother's life just to prove yourself to him. You're the worst. I ought to freeze you to the side of the cliff…"
"Okay, that's enough, Katara," Hakoda interrupted.
"What do you want, Dad?" Katara asked.
"I was wondering where you were," Hakoda answered. "I see you're here trying to tear the prince a new one. I think that's the last thing he needs after a heroic journey."
"Don't tell me you trust him, too," Katara complained.
"I can't say I fully trust him, but he did help Sokka break me out of prison," Hakoda said with gratitude. "I'm willing to look pass his title and birthplace for the sake of my son."
"Thank you, Chief Hakoda," Zuko said gratefully.
Katara sighs, frustrated, but does not try to reason with her father.
"So, Katara, should I prepare breakfast myself or would you like to do it yourself?" Hakoda asked. "Everyone's awake."
"I'll be there in a minute," said Katara. "Just let me finish here."
"Don't worry about me, Chief Hakoda," Zuko assured. "I can handle a little verbal abuse from your daughter."
"Me? Abuse you? That's rich coming from a traitor," Katara shot back.
"Traitor?" Hakoda questioned.
"Not now, Dad," said Katara. "Just go."
Hakoda doesn't question any further and turns around to return to the others. He's mildly surprised by his daughter's hostility towards the prince, only because the others behaved in a much friendlier manner towards the firebender in comparison.
When Hakoda was out of sight, Katara sits back down on the blanket. She gestures for Zuko to join her. He sits back down next to her. They both look at the view for a while before Katara kisses Zuko on the side of his lips. She then proceeds to kiss him, showing significantly more passion than before her father interrupted them. Zuko
"Aren't we gonna go back?" Zuko asked.
"Just five more minutes," Katara answered.
"I still don't understand why you're doing this with me," said Zuko.
"I still don't understand why you agreed to do this with me," said Katara. "For all I know, you're using my confused feelings against me. You don't fight back to lull me in a false sense of security."
"Or maybe I just think you're worth sharing moments like these with," Zuko flirted.
"Honestly, I don't understand why I'm doing this either," said Katara. "Maybe I just want an up-close and personal look on who you really are."
"And what have you learned?" Zuko asked.
"That you're an unfaithful, inconsiderate, pathetic excuse of a lover," Katara replied with mild fury. "You break up with Mai, then you start kissing me, then she saves your life, and you agree to kiss me after coming back."
"I do feel like I'm betraying her," Zuko said, guilt all over his tone. "Maybe I am as horrible as you say I am."
"A half-admission? Consider me shocked," Katara sassed.
Katara follows up that remark with another kiss. It amuses Zuko how quickly she is to just kiss him despite taking any opportunity to further express her distrust in him. He can't refute her statement about how awful he is as a person for agreeing to these private kissing sessions, but he's gonna roll with it until they finally decide to stop.
"How long do you intend to keep this up?" Zuko asked.
"For as long as we have to," Katara answered. "Well, unless you decide to return to Boiling Rock to free your ex-girlfriend."
"They've likely tightened security since my visit," Zuko guessed. "As long as Azula hasn't executed her, saving her will unfortunately have to wait."
"You really do care about her, huh?" Katara wondered aloud.
"I do," Zuko confirmed.
"And yet you're kissing me, why?" Katara questioned judgmentally.
"Like I said, you don't make it easy," said Zuko. In a low but flirtatious tone, he says, "And I don't really hate doing this with you."
"I'd tell you I hate doing this with you, but you'd just call me liar," Katara said, sounding ashamed of herself.
For the first time in a while, it's Zuko who kisses her first. He's been content to just let Katara tell him when it's okay to kiss, but he couldn't help himself after her honesty. Knowing she enjoys this just as much as he does makes this all the more worth it, in spite of how a certain knife-throwing noblewoman would feel about it. I hate myself sometimes, he mentally scolded himself.
"Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to earn your trust?" Zuko asked, sounding kinda desperate for her approval.
"Are you expecting me to gift-wrap you a plan to fool me into trusting you again? Ha, as if I'd give you the chance," Katara denied him an answer, believing herself clever and one step ahead.
"That's a shame," Zuko said jokingly. "But, seriously, when does this thing between us end? Once the war is over?"
"Perhaps," Katara answered, uncertain.
Katara kisses him again, as if she really doesn't want this moment to end. It hasn't been five minutes yet, right?
"So, Your Hotheadedness, assuming you are indeed on our side, what would you do once we defeat your father?" Katara asked curiously. "Do you intend to take the throne? Become the new Fire Lord?"
"Uh, I was actually thinking about asking my uncle if he would like to take that title for himself," said Zuko. "It was his birthright."
"Your uncle surprises me. He's not what I expected out of the Fire Lord's brother," said Katara. "I remember when you tied me to a tree; he just talked my ear off about how the ocean represents the flow of life. He opposed Zhao in the North Pole. Toph mentioned something about how good he is with tea and advice. And he helped me escape from you and your sister back in Ba Sing Se."
"He's a good man," Zuko smiled.
"Well, better to have him on the throne than you," Katara dissed.
"I don't disagree," said Zuko.
"Or are you just masking your arrogance behind self-deprecation?" Katara suspected.
Zuko chuckles and says, "There's no winning over you, is there?"
"No," Katara replied bluntly. She then puts on a flirtatious smirk and says, "But you may kiss me and find out."
Zuko happily obliges. Katara lets out a little chuckle as she kisses him. The more they do this, the more passionate the kisses get from both sides, especially Katara. She playfully bites his upper lip before returning to the tender kisses. Zuko decides to get a little payback by biting her lip in return. Katara looks offended at first, but she just kisses him again before lowering her head towards his neck. Zuko can feel some kissing, and then some biting. He grunts in response, but he doesn't do anything. He just waits until the right time to retaliate.
"Katara!"
That was Sokka's voice.
Katara growled, frustrated that her family is unknowingly interrupting what is essentially a fun time for her. Zuko just looks at her frustrated expression with a smile on his face, admiring how she looks no matter what expression she wears. Seeing the prince stare at her, Katara gives him a teasing side-eye and a smirk that assures him she is still interested in continuing some other time. Zuko blushes from the thought of what her face is suggesting.
Mai will eviscerate me for this, Zuko thought.
Sokka will imprison me in the South for this, Katara thought.
"Same time, same place?" Zuko asked.
"Provided everyone here is an early sleeper," said Katara.
"If we're lucky, no one will ever have to know," said Zuko.
"Except for Toph," Katara pointed out.
"Oh, right," Zuko realized, remembering the blind earthbender's special way of seeing things.
So, what do you think?
Yeah, this was nonsensical and very OOC, but it's meant to be that way. If there was any lame justification for this... they're just dumb teenagers. Okay, there's no justification for what Katara and Zuko are doing, but there wasn't meant to be any. Should I have categorized this under the "humor" genre?