#zutara week throwbacks

[soopersara]

Awkward

Another year-late oneshot? Yes. Gotta clean out the backlog before I can start on anything new, I guess. (To be fair, though, this is the third prompt off of this anon’s list that I’ve filled, so... it’s just the first one I’m filling specifically for them. Oh, and Tumblr ate the ask because it’s the worst.)

AO3 | FFN 

Zuko knows that Katara is worried about the upcoming comet, so he does his best to cheer her up.

He lets out a slow breath. He isn't sure why he's doing this. He wants to cheer her up, but surely there are other ways—better ways, less humiliating ways to do it than this. But Zuko has never been very good at plans, and this is the only idea he can think of. It will have to do for now.

He finds Katara exactly where he left her, legs curled up to her chest and staring into the darkness out the window. She looks small right now, small and uncertain.

He would do anything to change that. That's why he's here, he reminds himself. This is for her.

That doesn't make it any easier to begin.

"You're still up?" he asks.

Katara looks up, startled, then gives him a small, faint smile. "Yeah. Just—a lot to think about, I guess."

She curls inward again, and Zuko ventures a little closer.

"Worried?"

She nods. "Aren't you?"

He is. He has been worried for ages now, almost for as long as he can remember. He isn't sure he remembers what it feels like to not be worried. But Katara—he isn't sure why, but it stings to see her so consumed with worry. Even though he knows the reason for it. Even though he feels the same.

"I brought something."

She cocks her head to the side and her eyebrows raise. By the dim light of the lamp on the table in front of her, she is illuminated in shades of copper and gold.

"Is 'something' the scientific term? It sounds very specific."

His face flames, and he forgets what he planned to say. He produces the broad, flat box from behind his back and drops it beside the lamp.

"Here. Uh—" The words refuse to come back, and he turns to leave.

"Zuko, wait." Her voice is soft, just a little hesitant, and it pulls him to a halt. "Could you stay for a little while? I can already tell it's going to be a really long night."

He turns back. Of course. For her, of course he'll stay.

"Besides," she adds, smiling. "You can't just bring a box in here and not tell me what's inside."

On second thought, maybe he doesn't want to stay. This was a stupid idea. She's worried about the comet, and about Aang—about all of the innumerable ways their lives could change or end in the next few days. Silly distractions aren't going to help. And if she opens that box, she's going to know what kind of an idiot he is.

But he's quickly losing all ability and desire to tell her no. Especially now. When they're all fighting to keep from falling apart, he doesn't want to refuse her anything. Even if it makes him look like an idiot.

Honesty, he decides, is the best option. He can't force himself to leave her alone—he doesn't want to leave her alone, so he'll just tell her the truth. That the box is nothing worth her concern. That he's more than happy to talk to her, or to listen, or to sit in silence for the whole length of the night if she forgets about the box.

"That," he begins, rounding the table to take a seat on one of the cushions beside her, "is a stupid idea I had. It's nothing. Really."

"I don't think you have stupid ideas, Zuko."

His face heats as he settles in.

"At least not recently," she amends.

"I broke my less-stupid streak," he says, staring out the window along with her. "Sorry. It's nothing. I should have left the box where it was."

Katara's curiosity isn't so easily satisfied, and she leans forward, resting a hand on the cover. "Can I be the judge of that?"

Zuko swallows. "I guess so."

This is going to be humiliating.

He looks away, but from the corner of his eye—his good eye, the one that can see her all too clearly on the periphery—he watches her hands lift up the lid and push aside the fabric wrapping inside. Zuko clenches his fists, bracing himself for the inevitable awkwardness, and Katara's hands trail delicately along the edges of the box.

"What's this?" she asks, her voice quiet and almost breathless. She lifts out the first portrait and holds it at an angle to take advantage of the lamplight.

"It's—my family. When I was younger. Since you went looking for pictures, I thought—"

"I wasn't looking for them!" Her words come in a rush, and when Zuko turns her way, he thinks she might be blushing. He envies how subtle her blushing is. "I told you guys. I was just looking for cooking pots."

Though he can't bring himself to look at the portrait, or at her, he can't keep the smile from creeping slowly over his face. "Right. Of course that's why you ended up on the other side of the attic with all the portraits. When the kitchen is already full of cooking pots."

"Shut up." She nudges him, but the smile is evident in her voice.

"Anyway." Zuko shifts uncomfortably."Since you found the wrong baby pictures, I thought you might want to see the right ones."

"You thought right." She reaches toward him, her hand brushing against his. "But come on, Zuko. You have to at least tell me who everyone is. Here." She leans back, the portrait in her hand, and her head comes within a few inches of resting on his shoulder. "You have to be in this one, right?"

He takes a deep breath before he nods. "Right there. I must have been two or three in this one." He tries not to look too long or too hard, but the image is already burned into his mind so well that he could draw it from memory.

"Awww." Katara's voice softens, and she leans even closer, pulling the box onto her lap. "So that must be your sister—who's the older boy?"

He looks at the portrait again, at the sleeping infant in a little basket on the ground and the squirming toddler held around the middle by a boy with a gap-toothed smile. "My cousin, Lu Ten."

She nods, and her fingertip trails over the image of tiny Zuko. A soft, placid smile settles on her face, and after a minute, she pulls out the next one. "This is you too?"

In this one, Zuko is a little older, probably four or five, and crouched over a tidepool, small hands outstretched for something just beneath the rippling surface. He nods. He remembers that day. He remembers being that small and curious, full of eager questions that his mother was always willing to answer.

He clears his throat. "I kept asking my mother questions about all the things moving around in the tidepools. She was telling me all the names of the fish and the crabs and snails—" he trailed off for a second. "And after that, we collected seashells all afternoon and she helped me figure out what they used to be."

He feels Katara's gaze on him, warm and soothing. "That sounds nice." Her voice is barely more than a breath, and he can feel the slight heat from her cheek bridging the gap to his shoulder. She pulls her eyes away and looks at the portrait again. "Do you still remember all of their names?"

"I—I'm not sure. It's been a long time." He remembers some of them. The soot-tipped snails and the little colorful lilypetal fish—he can't think of any of the others right now, not with Katara's head hovering so close to his shoulder.

"You're going to have to tell me all about them when this is all over," Katara says quietly.

Right. When this is over. Just a few more days now. He tries not to think about what that will look like—what could go wrong in the meantime.

Instead, he only nods. He can't linger on that. He is meant to be cheering up Katara. That's more important right now. Even if his face burns and his stomach ties itself into knots with each new portrait she looks at.

Katara pores over the pictures one at a time, examining them all, asking questions like she's thirsty for every tiny detail she can glean from his past.

Zuko doesn't know exactly how he feels about that. No one has ever really been this curious about him before, so excited to know more about him. Usually, no one digs any deeper.

With anyone else, he might think that there is malice beneath the surface of her interest, that she wants to know him so that she can cut through him with less resistance. That's been his experience with most people. But Katara—there is something in the softness of her voice, the wide-eyed wonder as she looks over his memories that softens him as well. He is still wary. He isn't sure that he'll ever reach a point when wariness isn't his first response. But he tries to trust her. Though his insides quiver a little in anticipation every time she begins another question, he does his best to answer. He stumbles over his words and forgets what he's trying to say, but Katara doesn't seem to notice. Or if she does, she doesn't react.

At long last, she reaches the last portrait in the stack and pulls it into her lap.

Her fingertips trail along the edge of the canvas, and this time, she doesn't speak. She doesn't ask any questions. She just studies the portrait, the painting of little Zuko, age nine, still unscarred and happier than he would be for too many years after. She lets out a slow sigh, and Zuko can see the soft smile on her face as she leans toward the side, letting her cheek finally come to rest against his shoulder.

"Sometimes I can't believe how cute you are," she says, her voice quiet.

Zuko is stunned by the weight of her head on his shoulder. Too stunned, for a moment, to even realize what she's just said. How cute you are. Present tense.

It has to be a mistake. Katara almost never misspeaks, but if Zuko was ever cute—and he's not sure that he ever was, even before the Agni Kai—those days are long gone.

"Maybe when I was little," he concedes. Though he knows that it's not exactly true, he can't bring himself to contradict her.

Katara nestles in against his side. "Nope. I'm an expert on the subject. You're cute, Zuko." She tilts her head just enough to meet his eyes.

Zuko frowns. She's wrong. He can't be cute, especially now, but her expression is perfectly sincere.

"I—" he begins, then swallows. He can't remember what he was going to say, and his mouth feels very dry all of a sudden. Then, against his will, words spill out of him. "You're cute too."

His face flames when he realizes what he's said, what he's done, and he pulls away, burying his face in his hands. "Spirits. I'm sorry, that's not what I—"

Katara has no time to react to his sudden movement, and she lets out a small yelp as the shoulder she was leaning against moves out of her reach. She falls over, landing on her side against Zuko's back.

Zuko is fairly certain that he's going to either combust in a puff of smoke or melt into the floorboards, leaving a big, stupid, reddish smudge where a firebender once sat. People would go on tours of this place someday, and they'd see the puddle that used to be Zuko, and some stuffy old tour guide would point to the spot on the floor and announce to all the spectators that, 'Here lies all that remains of the disgraced former prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. He met his end in a most undignified manner after admitting that he found a waterbender pretty.'

Zuko's impulse is to pull away again, to wrench himself from underneath Katara and to run out of the room without explanation. He stops himself, though, when he realizes that he would only send Katara toppling again. His face grows hotter and hotter, and he doesn't dare to move.

Still half-sprawled across Zuko's back, Katara giggles. Then laughs. Then keeps laughing as she rolls onto her side and wraps her arms around him from behind in a strange, lopsided hug.

Zuko can't decide whether staying still and silent while Katara hugs him from behind is the best course or not. He can't make this any weirder than it already is. If he does, then Katara is going to be that stuffy old tour guide telling people about how Zuko died of sheer embarrassment and melted into the floor. Except that she's Katara, and she'll never be stuffy. She'll be beautiful no matter what her age, and—oh, spirits, he really has to stop thinking before he lets anything more slip out.

"I'm so sorry," he manages to croak after a too-long pause.

Katara is still laughing, and she squeezes him tighter. "Don't be," she manages between giggles. "You just wanted to cheer me up." She pulls herself all the way up this time and holds onto his shoulder to steady herself between more bouts of giggling.

"I made everything awkward," he laments.

"And that's what I love about you."

Her words don't sink in until she lets out a surprised squeak, claps a hand over her mouth, and buries her face in his shoulder.

"Wait. What did you just—"

Katara shakes her head. "Nothing," she says, voice muffled against his shoulder. "I didn't say anything."

"Katara." He takes hold of her shoulders and pushes her back just far enough so he can see her face.

Oh. She's blushing. Zuko isn't imagining it this time—her cheeks have taken on a slightly darker hue, and she's avoiding his gaze. His heart skips. She meant it? He doesn't want to get his hopes up, but she wouldn't be blushing if there weren't some truth to it, would she?

"Did you just—" He breaks off, his eyes wide and his face aflame.

Katara meets his gaze and gives a small, crooked smile. "Um—surprise?"

His head spins, and he can feel his mouth pulling into a smile. He never would have dared to hope, but Katara is smiling, and he's smiling, and he has to remind himself to breathe.

"Since we're already making things awkward," she resumes, "there's something else I might as well tell you."

Zuko can't stop staring into her eyes, falling deeper and deeper into the endless blue that looks almost like silver by the pale light of the single lamp.

"There is?"

Katara nods. "I really want to kiss you right now."

His mouth goes dry again, and he is numb when he manages to nod. "That—that sounds good to me."

And that was a stupid response, he tells himself, but before he can think of a more dignified one, Katara's lips are pressed against his.

Zuko's eyes close, and a bit of the tension drains from his shoulders. Maybe he can handle this, he decides. He's still the most awkward person he knows, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing after all.

[heavensenthearty]

#71 for the Zutara throwbacks?

Oh, my!! I really didn’t expect you’d send me a prompt, I’m so honored!! 😍 😍 😍

So honored that I might (maybe, probably) have come up with something a bit intense (still T-rated, tho) for the prompt First Kiss, but I hope everyone enjoys it. 

Read under the cut or in AO3 or FF.net (I didn’t feel like going through the quest that it is publishing something on Wattpad, sorry, it’s just 2:00 a.m.)

                        Zuko

It’s just a kiss… Just a kiss… Just a…

“Zuko, I have my eyes closed and I can tell you’re shaking.”

Even with her eyes closed, Katara’s smirky face is infuriating. I let go of her and step back.

The smirk doesn’t leave her face when her eyes open. “You have kissed someone before… right?”

I scoff. “Of course I have!”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“I’m not nervous – ” I cross my arms to distract the trembling of my hands “ – I just… I…”

The words are difficult to get out.

“I want it to be special,” I say.

The curve of her mouth lessens into an indulgent, understanding smile. “Zuko, kisses are always special as long as they are with the person you want to kiss.”

“Yes, but…”

I want this to be special for you.

“Maybe you should be the one who closes his eyes,” she suggests.

“What?”

She steps closer until our bodies are almost touching again. “Let me show you something special.”

The shaking comes back in full force for having her close.

I comply, dropping my arms hanging limply at my sides.

“You ready?” she asks from behind the darkness of my eyelids.

“Yes.”

Her hands appear holding my jaw. “Relaxed?”

“Yes,” I press, with a tad of impatience.

I can tell she’s giggling.

But before I have time to mention it, her hands pull my face forward and her lips touch mine, everything so gently it feels as though I’m in a dream.

                      Katara

Zuko’s lips are thin, yet just as soft as the rest of his skin. They are hesitant at first, trembling too, as if he isn’t sure how to proceed once our mouths touch. I move my own against them, parting them and stepping closer to fit our bodies one into the other. My hands remain on the sides of his face, sensing his angular features; his mouth is thin, but still luscious.

                        Zuko

Katara feels somewhat smaller pressed against me. Warmer, smoother. Her lips certainly are, they are plump and throb the more we kiss. She tastes like rainwater.

I put my hands around her hips and pull her closer. So close that it hurts the way our bodies seem to try to blend together, as though her ribs are trying to join with mine so we’ll share one heart. The thought sets my lungs on fire and I kiss her deeper, embracing her with my arms around her waist. Her hands climb and bury in my hair.

                      Katara

Zuko’s hair is slick, so is his mouth. I gasp pulling at a fistful of his hair.

Somehow I feel like I’m drowning, but I’m not complaining. Zuko is enveloping me, taking away my oxygen, but also feeding me with hotter, denser, addictive air that I can’t seem to get enough of. It takes away my strength, makes me looser. I keep unraveling in Zuko’s arms at the same pace my mind turns into white bliss, mixed with red heat from Zuko’s skin. His pulse beats in the back of my throat.

I didn’t expect our first kiss together to be so… intense, but, like I said, I’m not complaining.

                       Zuko

Katara’s heart rate and breathing synchronize with my own; they are all growing erratic.

Her hands go down my neck, caressing it and then holding on to my shoulders, digging her fingers into my muscles and her nails past my shirt.

The faint pain brings some reality to the dreaminess of the moment – it makes it better, it means I’m not dreaming.

My heart continues to thunder as if it was to escape my chest and find Katara’s and I do nothing to stop it; I want to chase Katara’s feelings. I like the sensations they awaken in me, the euphoria, the loveliness.

Love.

Katara.

                      Katara

I put my hands on Zuko’s chest… and delicately push him slightly back, separating us.

He complies, he doesn’t force himself on me.

“Is something wrong?” he wonders with real concern.

“No,” I say, smiling. “I think that’s why we need to stop now, to keep things from escalating.”

His eyes widen. “Oh, right! Sorry!”

I giggle, a tad giddily, like I was drunk. “Don’t be.”

My hands cradle his face once again. “But see? I told you I would show you something special.”

[dreamstar-moonlight]

Previous entries:

Zutara Week Day 1: Hair (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 2: Disguised (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 3: Glowing (My post | Eastonia's post)

ZUTARA WEEK: DAY 4

Origins & Cycles: Mythology

(2008 throwback prompt)

A collaboration with @eastoniablogs and AireensColour

@zutaraweek

Here's my entry for Day 4!

Stage 4 (of 7): Light Study

Would you look at the shading, the lighting, the texture and the effects on the top panel? Now imagine what the whole picture would look like if it had that kind of shading and lighting all over!

Good news is you don't have to wait long! Today's Day 4. Hang in there till Day 7 for the big reveal!

The fourth in a series of art-progression entries, this one goes with Eastonia's brilliant write-up on today's throwback prompt: Mythology.

Ready for some world-building lore? Here's an excerpt:

You would think that with the closure of Wan Shi Tong's library, all remaining archives of the origins of the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit - aside from what little was passed on by word of mouth was lost.

When the Gaang took some downtime in Ba Sing Se, the Earth King excitedly told them of archives they had found that the Dai Li preserved. In it there was a lost creation myth of the Fire Nation that was surely stamped out due to the implication that the Fire Nation was borne on the back of a Koi of all things.

Hope that caught your attention. Now shoo!!! Head over on to Eastonia's blog to uncover a hidden myth and other long-lost tales, including one about how the Painted Lady came to be known as the legend she became, and how the connection between her and the Blue Spirit went even farther back than anyone imagined!

Next entries:

Zutara Week Day 5: Mend (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 6: Spirits (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 7: Stories (My post | Eastonia's post)

[the-badger-mole]

TBT: The Letter

I wrote this piece for Zutara Week in 2018. Fun fact, this was also the very first work I posted on AO3! 

Okay...maybe it wasn’t that much fun.

I’m not very good with titles, guys. The prompt for this day was Letters. At first I wanted to do the obvious thing and make it a series of love letters between Katara and Zuko at different stages in their relationship, but then when I actually sat down to write this I suddenly couldn’t think of what they would write to each other. 

I know, right??? EYE was at a loss for Zutara fluff. 

Well, then I thought about using letters not as the medium, but as the driving force of the plot. After I let go of the idea of having a series of letters between Katara and Zuko, I finally got hit with inspiration. 

The opening scene was actually something I had written a while ago, but it wasn’t really going anywhere. I don’t even think I was intending to turn it into this story when I opened it up that day. But then I wrote the first garden scene, and everything else just kind of fell into place from there. I love it when that happens!

This story focuses on the friendship between Katara and Zuko instead of the romance. The romance is still there a very little bit, though. It’s really hard for me to write a Zutara friendship without dipping into the romance of it, too. I think their friendship is integral to their romance, so even when it’s not there blatantly, I feel it coming through their interactions as friends. 

I make no apologies for that, by the way. I’m just telling you my thought processes.

Maybe it’s not as heavily romantic as I think, but you tell me. 

This story does dabble in Kataang, but you know me by now. You know how that’s going to go.  

The link is in the first reblog. If you like it, leave a review and share the link with your friends! I don’t make money off of this, so I accept attention and accolades in lieu of payment. 

[shewhotellsstories]

Throwback to my friend getting her sibling to draw a Zutara modern au as a birthday present in honor of Zutara Week.

[dreastblogs]

Zutara Week 2021!

It’s been a while, but it’s that time of the year again!

ZUTARA WEEK!

This year, I’m collabing with @dreamstarmoonlight and AireensColors to create a series of worldbuilds and headcanons that follow the prompts of this year, with a throwback prompt to 2008 as our pick for day 4.

The overall theme of our series is called Origins and Cycles. Hope you enjoy when we post!

Day One: Hair (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Two: Disguised (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Three: Glowing (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Four: 2008 Throwback - Mythology (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Five: Mend (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Six: Spirits (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

Day Seven: Stories (Link to the full sized art!) [AO3 version]

[zktop10]

Author Feature: SooperSara

Only late by ONE DAY!

SooperSara ( @soopersara​ ) is a podfic CHAMP and an utter inspiration to me. I mean, can we talk about the EXCELLENCE? The ACCESSIBILITY? The sheer TALENT?

Take a look and go have a listen!

Title: Brightest in the Dark Rated: G Summary: A less-than-friendly interruption in the crystal catacombs pushes Zuko and Katara together, and they have to work together to find a new path.

Canon divergent from Crossroads of Destiny Score: 9.8 / 10 Rated G Complete: 10 / 10 Tags: Canon Divergence, Fluff, Light Angst, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Podfic

Title: Day 6: Found   Rated: G Summary: When Sokka comes up with an idea to get rid of Joo Dee, Katara finds herself in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se with a tea server she did not expect to meet.

Part 6 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 9.8 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 10 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Series, Chance Encounter, Podfic

Title: A Tale of Ice and Smoke - Water Rated: T Summary: After eighty-six years of war, a new Avatar is born into the Southern Water Tribe. Fourteen year later, Katara realizes the full extent of her powers when she finds a child with strangely familiar abilities frozen in an iceberg and a prince comes searching for her. Along with Sokka and Aang, she flees for the North Pole, and Zuko is never far behind.

**Currently updates every two weeks**

Series Part 1 of A Tale of Ice and Smoke Score: 9.0 / 10 Rated T WIP: 5.9 / 10 Tags: Series, Avatar!Katara, Slow Burn

Title: Day 2: Speak Rated: G Summary: Stealing from pirates doesn't go as well the second time around. But at least Katara doesn't have to be alone after she's captured.

Series Part 2 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 8.9 / 10 Rated G One Shot: 10 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, One Shot, Series, Blutara, Podfic

Title: Day 1: Gifts Rated: G Summary: When Sokka drags him out on a "manly shopping expedition" on Ember Island, Zuko finds a gift for Katara.

Series Part 1 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 8.9 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 10 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, One Shot, Series, Podfic, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck

Title: Day 7: Easier Rated: G Summary: When Zuko arrives at the Western Air Temple, he tries to reconcile with Katara. Which involves doing lots of chores.

Series Part 7 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 8.8 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 10 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, One Shot, Series, Podfic

Title: Secret Rated: G Summary: Katara doesn't want to let anyone know that she's been having trouble with nightmares, and when Zuko finds out on his own, she struggles to accept his help.

Based on the Day 4 prompt from Zutara Week 2011: Secret Prompt #25

Series Part 1 of Zutara Week Throwbacks Score: 8.7 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 9.9 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Podfic, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Title: Day 5: Youth Rated: G Summary: Zuko and Katara try to figure out how this parenting thing works.

Series Part 5 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 8.5 / 10 Rated G One Shot: 9.9 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Series, Momtara, Dadko, Podfic

Title: Dragons Rated: G Summary: Zuko and Katara revive a forgotten Fire Nation tradition to solidify their engagement.

Based on the Day 1 prompt from Zutara Week 2016: Dragons Prompt #57

Series Part 2 of Zutara Week Throwbacks Score: 8.0 / 10 Rated G One Shot: 9.8 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Series, Podfic

Title: Zutara Month 2020 Rated: G Summary: A collection of 100-word drabbles written for Zutara Month 2020

All in-universe, and a whole mess of different moods Score: 8.0 / 10 Rated G Complete: 5.7 / 10 Tags: Drabble, Zutara Month, Fluff, Humor, Angst

Honorable Mention: Day 4: Mentor Rated: G Summary: Zuko and Katara get advice from their friends before their first date.

Series Part 4 of Zutara Week 2019 Score: 8.0 / 10 Rated G One Shot: 9.8 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, One Shot, Series, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Podfic

There was a three way tie, but Mentor was the lowest of the 8.0 scored fics.

[jaxsteamblog]

Could I request #33 on the Zutara Week throwbacks?

Better late than never! And this is a teasing Zutara so, sorry. 

--- 

“So is the Fire Lord going to keep serving tea?” Katara asked.

Zuko looked over and smiled before turning back to look out the open door. He leaned in the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and he was watching the people walking on the street.

“Do you think they’ll let me?” He asked and took the tea cup she offered.

“Isn’t the point of being Fire Lord to be able to do what you want?” She retorted.

Zuko snorted but didn’t answer. Katara stood next to him quietly, also looking out. A few people called out to Zuko, calling him Lee. Zuko would smile and raise his tea cup, making him laugh or hoot. 

“What are you thinking about?” Katara finally asked him.

“How all of this is a dream.” Zuko said. Turning, Katara tilted her head to look at him.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“All of this, the only way to keep it is if I choose to live in a dream. Once I leave for good and people find out who Mushi is…” Zuko trailed off and looked down into his tea cup. Katara stayed quiet, waiting for him to find his voice.

“I definitely thought about it. There’s this girl-” Zuko stopped himself but raised his head. 

The admission shocked Katara and she straightened.

“A girl?” She asked.

“She.” Zuko shook his head and drank his tea. 

“What?”

“I feel like talking about her is,” He hesitated, looking pained. “Disrespectful.” 

Groaning, Zuko tapped his tea cup against his forehead.

“Blazes, when she finds out who Lee really is.” He muttered. 

“Who?” Katara pressed. Zuko sighed and chugged his tea, taking the time to regard the empty cup.

“Her name is Jin and she lives in the Lower Ring. She, well, I went on a date with her.” He said.

“Oh.” Katara said in surprise. 

“It was nice and she liked me. Even with, you know, this.” Zuko said, gesturing to his face.

“Zuko.” Katara said softly but Zuko gave her an incredulous look. 

“Not a lot of people find the scar appealing Katara.” He said dryly.

“It’s not about appeal Zuko.” Katara snapped. “Anyway, did you like this girl?”

“I could have. I mean, she was nice and really pretty.” Zuko said, looking at the street again. Katara felt her face flush and she turned away as well. 

“But enough to consider leaving everything behind to live here with her?” She questioned.

Zuko shook his head. “I think it’s more the escape that I want. And the avoidance of pain, I am really a fan of that.”

“Pain?”

“She’s a refugee. She was burned by the Fire Nation.” 

“Ah.”

They were quiet and Katara hesitated. Raising her hand, she watched Zuko’s face as she reached out. When she touched his arm, he glanced at her. 

“Why don’t you go talk to her?” She asked.

Zuko shrugged and Katara took her hand back.

“Not everyone wants something from me to make things better. Sometimes I can’t do anything.” He said.

“Ah, come on, you wouldn’t leave me alone till I talked to you and then you helped me find Yon Rah.” Katara said lightly. 

“That’s different.” Zuko replied.

“How?”

“Because it wasn’t just about making amends. I also wanted to be the one to make you happy.” He said, finally shifting so that his back was against the door frame and he was facing her. Like always, he looked stiffly serious.

“What?” Katara turned slightly and gripped the tea cup in her hands.

“You. Ugh.” Zuko sucked on his teeth and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking frustrated. “Both you and Jin wanted to touch my scar. She was trying to show how we were the same but we weren’t. She didn’t deserve her burn and I-”

“Zuko.” Katara said softly and touched his arm again. 

Zuko stopped, his hand hovering above his head, and he looked at her. As their eyes met, Katara felt a jolt and she stepped back.

“You just wanted to help break me free. But I rejected it.” Zuko lowered his arm as he spoke and Katara saw his fingers twitch down by his leg. 

“You were in a difficult place.” Katara said.

“You don’t need to make excuses for me.” Zuko said with a smile and Katara frowned. 

“So what, you owed me?” She asked.

“My heart is ever at your service.” Zuko said with a laugh and Katara stepped back. He laughed again and touched her shoulder.

“Sorry, it’s from a play. And actually a pretty flippant response.” He explained. “I just wanted to make you happy because that’s what you would have done. It’s what you tried to do for me.” 

“Hey, Lee!” Someone called and both Zuko and Katara looked at the street. Three men stood in the middle of the sidewalk looking back at them.

“Is that your girlfriend?” One of them asked while the other two hooted. 

Zuko laughed and shook his head.

“I can’t date people that have kicked my ass Hui.” He replied.

“Hey Lee, they say the Avatar is back in town so a bunch of restaurants are saying he’s there to try and get people to come.” Another of the men said.

“How many Avatars are in Ba Sing Se now?” Zuko asked.

“Last count was eleven.” The man replied and they all laughed. 

Katara watched Zuko, seeing how his face brightened as he spoke and how easy his laughter was. 

“We’re going to check one out, come with?” The middle man asked.

“I can’t. I have to stay and help my uncle.” Zuko replied.

“Aw yeah, Mushi is the BEST.” The first name said. Zuko chuckled and waved as the three men walked off. 

“You look happy.” Katara said.

“It’s a dream.” Zuko repeated. “And it’s not the one that tugs on my heartstrings the most.” 

“There’s another one?” She questioned. 

Zuko turned to her and his smile was smaller, but warm. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Sure. It’s one where I don’t have this scar.” He replied and walked back inside the tea shop.

Katara touched her hair and felt the tips of her ears burning. Looking back into the street, she felt her own heartstrings tighten. 

[kdinthecity]

Zutara Week 2017: Confessions of a Teenage Sugar Queen

The title is a throwback to a movie I liked when I was in high school, so that is the voice I’ve chosen for this AU. (Not Lindsay Lohan’s from the movie, just me trying to channel my inner teenage Katara...)

All of my @zutaraweek submissions will be part of one continuous story. Get ready for some slow-burn Zutara angst starting with Day One: Fire Lady.

“I can’t wait until summer!” A blur of orange brushes past me in the school hallway. “I’m gonna go hang gliding and kite surfing and eat ice cream for breakfast and donuts for lunch!”

That would be Aang. He lives with his head in the clouds on most days.

“Let me guess. Cream puffs for dinner, Twinkletoes?”

Toph is pretty solid for a freshman. She keeps Aang grounded when he starts to get too flighty. I like hanging out with them, but sometimes their immaturity annoys me. I can tell this is one of those moments. No one can eat dessert all day. Talk about a serious sugar crash.

“What about you, Sugar Queen?” Toph asks.

I don’t know why she calls me that. OK, maybe I suggested once that I could survive solely on fudgsicles and moon pies, but that was only after that bad breakup with Jet. Toph elbows me hard in the ribs, her usual gesture for getting my attention.

“Oww! I have plans this summer, alright? I can’t just goof off. I’m going to get a job and do something that matters for my future!” I hate how haughty that sounds, but I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I hurry past them before I say anything I might regret.

“Geez, what’s with her?” Toph mutters. Aang sighs airily in response.

They just don’t get it.

I’m the only sophomore to participate in the school’s summer internship fair this year. My brother calls me crazy. Well, I think he’s crazy because as a junior, it’s his last opportunity to gain this experience for college applications. Yet, he’s blowing it off to go fishing in Alaska with Dad. Maybe Sokka will end up taking over the family business, but I know he’d rather pursue engineering than commercial fishing.

The truth is, Dad cannot provide for our college tuition with his income. Sokka doesn’t think about these things, but I do. I’m getting an internship this summer so I can help pay for stuff like clothes and school lunches. And then hopefully I’ll get a scholarship for a top tier school like Atlas University. I will not be a burden to anyone.

“But what do you mean I can’t get any of the paid internships?” I am nearly in tears as I approach Principal Pakku.

“I’m sorry, Katara, but you’re under the legal working age. You can apply for one of the volunteer positions.”

“I’m a hard worker! And a straight A student!” I want to add that I’d do a better job than half the junior class.

He folds his arms across his chest. “Rules are rules.”

The pale blue of his suit starts to blur in my vision, and my bottom lip trembles, but I refuse to cry in front of this man. “But I'm turning 16 this summer!” My birthday is actually at the end of August. Had I not gone to Montessori kindergarten, I would be an entire grade younger according to the age cutoff for public school.

Ms. Yugoda, the school nurse, senses my distress. “Katara, sweetheart, it will still look good on your college applications, and it will help you land a top notch internship for next year. You still have time.”

“But, I need… the experience.” I will not beg for money.

“There’s nothing I can do.” Principal Pakku claps his hands and rubs them together as if that settles the matter. “I’ll put in a good word for you. How about… the zoo?”

I brush the back of my sleeve across dampened cheeks and stomp my foot. “I do not want to be scooping up ostrich-horse shit all summer!”

The principal’s expression is scolding, but I can’t stand the look of pity Ms. Yugoda is giving me right now. Before I have a chance to apologize for my outburst, Ty Lee sweeps in from the adjoining door that leads to the nurse’s office.

She hooks a bandaged arm through my elbow and escorts me out into the hallway. “What’s an ostrich horse? Sounds… magical!”

Her high-pitched giggle grates on my last nerve. An ostrich horse happens to be an imaginary animal from this fictional world I created. Sometimes I write about characters with amazing abilities to bend the elements. For me, I've always wanted to control water—like command the waves, summon the tides. My earliest memories are of Mom at the beach, so…

“Katara?” The knitted brow and slight frown look out of place on Ty Lee.

“Sorry.”

“You can always join the circus with me!”

“Right.”

I should have asked her what happened to her arm, but apparently I am too self-absorbed today to care about my friends.

“The Marine Science Center has a few openings. Here, take a brochure and see if anything interests you. We are a non-profit organization, so we can’t pay our interns unfortunately, but sometimes our students come back to work for us after they graduate.” The woman has an almost ethereal look about her.

“So… I wouldn’t be cleaning up seal sh—poop? I mean, it’s OK. I just don’t want to do that the whole time.” I cringe, but she smiles.

“No, no. That’s not really a valuable learning experience, is it? I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Yue.”

“Katara. Nice to meet you.”

“So, we have a position that works with the medical staff. Most of the marine animals we treat are sick or injured, so we nurse them back to health, tag them, and set them free. Another position studies the water, looking for contaminants and identifying potential threats, like factory pollution, for example. Then, you can work on a government petition to shut those facilities down or enforce environmental safety regulations. And lastly, we have a group that goes to schools, summer camps, and museums to talk about all these things.”

I skim my fingers across the panels of the tri-fold brochure as she speaks. Rehabilitate. Advocate. Educate. I always swore I would never go into fishing, but this is different. I care about the environment. I even organized a beach cleanup day as a community service event for the honor society. (This is how I know the juniors are lazy dipshits.) And I want to be either a professor or a doctor when I grow up, so the experience would be relevant. I take an application, give her my best smile, and express my sincere interest in the positions.

I sign up for a few other things before deciding I’m done. There isn’t much interest in the unpaid internships, and my eyes are drawn to the crowd on the other side of the gym. The largest group gathers at the table for Future Fire Technology. I've heard quite a bit about the company because the CEO’s daughter is in the honor’s track with me. Azula talks nonstop about how the former weapons company has rebranded and now manufactures cutting edge robotics. I couldn’t care less.

Azula will undoubtedly secure a position at her father’s company for the summer. She’s ambitious like that. Her brother, Zuko, will likely work there, too. He strikes me as different somehow—not really the corporate type. He’s not one of the half-assed juniors, though. He’s still pretty intense. I’m a little intrigued by him, but Sokka warns me to leave him be. Well, Sokka can’t tell me who I can and cannot talk to… I just wish I could get up the nerve to… oh monkeyfeathers!

“There aren’t many sophomores here, y’know,” a voice rasps. Zuko is standing right here. Talking to me. Sokka says he never talks to anyone.

“I, uhhh…” I want to slap my forehead for being such a blubbering idiot.

“I saw you at the Marine Science Center table. Sounds cool, huh?”

He was… watching me? The pink that rises to his cheeks would indicate that yes... yes, he was. I'm dying to ask about that mysterious scar across his left eye, but I guess that won’t make the best first impression.

“Katara,” I say.

“What?” he asks, his single brow raised in confusion.

“I’m Katara.” I hold out my hand like a dork.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Zuko.”

We are now shaking hands. Like dorks.

“And yes.” I clear my throat. “The Marine Science Center looks cool. I hope I get it.”

The results are posted the following week. With everyone crowded around the bulletin board outside the gym, it feels like we’re clamoring to see who’s made the basketball team or the cheerleading squad. I’m the only sophomore and of average height, so it takes me a while to wiggle my way to the front so I can see.

There are three names listed for the Marine Science Center.

Me! I got the position I wanted!

Then, Hahn. I don’t really know him, only that Sokka hates him, which should be interesting.

And… Zuko?

I scan the crowd for his unmistakable face, but he’s nowhere to be found. I can’t help but notice the red-clad crew off to the right, however. Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai are all on our school’s beach volleyball team. Either they just came from practice, are headed to a game, or just want an excuse to wear their uniform. Two seniors, Ruon Jion and Chan, hover nearby, enjoying the view. Ty Lee offers a shy wave when she catches my eye.

“Congrats to the newest Future Fire Lady!” Azula salutes Mai.

The dark-haired girl simply huffs. “But Zuko won’t be there. He got some stupid job at a water park.”

I fight the urge to march right up to her and emphasize how respectable and meaningful the Marine Science Center internship is, but the look on Ty Lee’s face stops me. Her bottom lip protrudes in a full-on pout, and I remember that she told me about Mai’s childhood crush. Apparently it is one-sided, and everyone wishes she would just get over it. Mai's scowl confirms that I should let it go.

“Of course Father wouldn’t give him a job after the equipment malfunction last year.” Everything Azula says comes out like a sneer. “He’s such a disgrace to the family. We need someone who is competent and level-headed in the company, Mai. Not lovesick and forlorn. Should I retract my recommendation I made to Father?”

Even though she’s shaking her head, I swear I hear Mai mumble bitch under her breath. For some reason, I am mesmerized by the exchange. The crowd finally thins out as everyone heads to class. With only two weeks left of school, the summer will be here before we know it. And I will be nursing injured seals back to health with Zuko?

Toph nudges me with her elbow. “Hey Sugar Queen. Watch your back, will ya?”

“What? Why?”

She’s gone before I can ask what the hell she’s talking about.

Chapter Two: Underwater  |  Chapter Three: Steamy

Chapter Four: The Fall

[soopersara]

Date

Well... as it turns out, it took a little over a year before I got a chance finish this one, but I got there eventually! @zutaradreams​ has probably forgotten all about this request by now, but I come bearing some very, very belated fluff.

AO3 | FFN

Prompt #18 from this list, originally Day 4 of Zutara Week 2010

When Katara takes a post as ambassador in the Fire Nation, Zuko wants to celebrate her and give their friends a proper sendoff. But their trip to the Equinox Festival doesn’t go quite as he planned.

⁂

"Well, I think that settles it." Katara plopped onto the bench next to him. "We've been ditched."

"Seems like it." Zuko's mouth was dry, and he scuffed his sweaty palms against his trousers.

This was not going according to plan. And technically, it was only half his plan anyway. So it wasn't really his fault that it was all going sideways.

It had been almost three years since they'd all been together in the Fire Nation. Almost three years since he'd had a chance to see Katara for more than a few days in a row, since he'd been able to talk to her outside of letters and political meetings. And the rest of his friends too. Of course he'd missed all of them.

But he would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that it was Katara who occupied his thoughts most often.

And now they were back together, all of them, and while the others were preparing to leave in a few days' time, Katara was here to stay. It had nothing to do with him personally. He knew that. The Southern Water Tribe needed an ambassador in the Fire Nation, and Katara was far and away the best candidate. That didn't mean that he wasn't excited to have her back. That certainly didn't mean that his feelings for her had gone away. He was only human, and he liked her very, very much.

It had been Zuko's idea for the group to spend some time together before Sokka and Suki left. It had not been Zuko's idea to go to the Equinox Festival. That had been Sokka's suggestion. More specifically, Sokka had suggested a double date at the festival.

Zuko had tried to protest the idea, he really had. He and Katara were not dating. This couldn't possibly be a date. He just wanted to see his friends again before they left. And spend time with Katara. Mostly spend time with Katara. But not on a date.

Not that he would mind dating Katara. In fact, Zuko would have been delighted to date Katara. But he was fairly certain that Katara didn't feel the same, and Zuko was working very hard to learn how to quit while he was ahead.

But then Sokka had talked a lot and very quickly, and somewhere along the way Zuko must have agreed to the plan because the next thing he knew, he was standing sheepishly outside Katara's door and inviting her to the festival.

He really needed to figure out how Sokka did that. It would make his most crotchety advisors so much easier to deal with.

To Zuko's surprise, Katara had agreed. She even seemed excited about it. And Zuko had begun to hope that the festival might still be the kind of celebration he had pictured. For all of them. But mostly for Katara.

Then Sokka and Suki had ditched them.

He snuck a glance at Katara. She'd taken to wearing deep blue Fire Nation silks sewn in traditional Water Tribe styles. The color, she had informed him, was reserved for warriors at the South Pole, and now that she had earned the right to wear it, she had no intention to ever wear another shade of blue again. Zuko couldn't blame her. She'd more than earned the honor.

But it was a bit of a problem too. She was luminous in her warrior's blue, and it made it exceptionally difficult for Zuko to look away.

"Since we're here anyway," he began, voice rough, "Maybe we should—" He gestured lamely at the festivities.

Agni, why was this so difficult? He spoke in front of his advisors every day, and they were much less pleasant than Katara.

She followed his gaze, then turned back, smiling. "You're right. We definitely should."

⁂

Katara was tempted to tease him. Zuko, the wise and beloved leader of the Fire Nation, who had an impeccable sense of direction honed by years at sea, was completely lost in the middle of a festival in his own city and getting more flustered by the minute.

"I just don't understand! The street performances should be in the theater district. It doesn't make sense to have them anywhere else!" He grew more and more animated, punctuating every point with a broad sweep of his arms.

The impulse won her over. "I don't know about that. I think it would make more sense to put them in the straw-hat district," she deadpanned.

"Why on earth would we put street performances in the—" Zuko met her eyes and stopped short. His brow furrowed, and he made a grumpy little sound. "You're trying to tease me, aren't you?"

Grinning, Katara took hold of his arm. "I'm pretty sure I'm succeeding."

Zuko made another grumpy noise. "For the record, we don't have a straw-hat district. This isn't Ba Sing Se. We're not big enough to be that organized."

"I'm glad," Katara answered, still holding his arm as she kept pace beside him. "It's going to take me enough time to learn my way around as it is."

Zuko's hand rested ever so lightly on top of hers. "I'll make sure you don't get lost."

Katara's heart fluttered. She'd missed him. Exchanging letters was nice, but it was nothing compared to being with him, being able to talk face-to-face. A few peace summits and meetings a year just wasn't enough. But she hadn't expected to find herself alone with him so soon. Not unless it was on official business of some sort.

She suspected that Sokka and Suki had ditched them deliberately, though she couldn't decide whether it was so Katara would be left alone with Zuko, or so that Sokka and Suki could spend some time alone. The latter made more sense, which was exactly why she suspected the former.

She felt her cheeks burn and looked forward. "Good. I wouldn't want to make the Fire Lord's personal guards search the city every time I step out of the palace."

"I'd look for you too if you got lost."

Katara looked up in time to see his warm golden eyes soften. Her grip on his arm tightened just a fraction, and Zuko looked away, clearing his throat.

"And—uh—of course the city makes a lot more sense when the theater district isn't full of koalasheep petting stalls."

Katara laughed. It did look a little odd to see children petting fluffy animals in front of ornate, gold-trimmed theaters, but as far as she could tell, the festival had overtaken the whole city.

"You really had your heart set on finding the street performances, didn't you?"

He reddened. "I was looking forward to it. I heard from the palace staff that there was going to be an outdoor production of Love Amongst the Dragons."

She poked him in the elbow. "I seem to remember you complaining about having to watch that play."

His lips pressed together. "I complained about having to watch that play at Ember Island. It's a good play. The Ember Island Players are just bad."He paused briefly. "I guess we're not going to find out if this one is any good if I can't figure out where it is."

"Too bad you're in your fancy Fire Lord clothes. Otherwise you could climb up on one of these buildings to get a better view." She snuck a sideways glance at him. "Or does that only work when you have your mask with you?"

He scowled. "Very funny."

"You're grumpy," Katara observed, smiling.

He frowned. "I am not."

"Grumpy because we're missing a play."

"I'm not."

"You're the grumpiest."

She thought she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. "Stop."

"Fire Lord Grump."

He made a valiant effort at scowling but gave in when she laughed and hugged his arm.

"I'm not grumpy, Katara." The smile was evident in his voice, and when she looked up, the soft warmth was back in his eyes.

Her stomach did a pleasant little flip. "See, now I believe you." She let her head rest briefly against his shoulder. It felt good to be close to him again. Tugging him forward, she wound her way up the street, past a cluster of children ogling a pen full of moo-sows and the parents watching from a few steps back, past a tall woman giving another group of children an impassioned lecture about the gentle nature of komodo rhinos while holding one by the bridle.

Zuko fell in step beside her, following her lead, still wearing that small, soft smile whenever she glanced back at him.

Katara gave his arm a light squeeze. "Do they perform Love Amongst the Dragons very often? Maybe we could see it some other time." She motioned toward yet another petting stall. "When the theater district isn't full of moo-sows and koalasheep."

He reddened a little, but this time, it was softened by the warmth in his eyes, by the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. "I'm sure we could. If you want to."

She felt something warm inside her. "Deal."

⁂

Her hands stayed steady on his arm, a gentle line of connection between the two of them. He softened into it. He liked the contact with her, the sensation that felt almost like tenderness.

She was just making sure that they didn't get separated. Zuko knew that. That didn't make his heart beat any slower or his face feel any less warm.

He cleared his throat and looked ahead. He was a grown man. The Fire Lord. He shouldn't be blushing so much just from the sensation of Katara's hand looped around his arm.

They wound their way past the last of the animal pens and up to the next street, where a wave of aroma washed over them. Spices and cooking meat and sweets—every type of food he could think of mixed into a single, heady aroma.

Katara groaned, and her grip tightened on his arm.

He looked down at her. "Katara? Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, her lower lip jutting out a bit. For all that she'd grown, for all that she was more graceful and mature than he remembered, she could still manage the most adorable pout he'd ever seen.

"I just realized that I'm starving." She eyed the food stands ahead. "Possibly to death."

He couldn't hold back a snort. "Somehow I doubt that last part. I've seen you sneaking into the palace kitchens in the middle of the night.

A finger found its way into his ribs. "Only because you were sneaking around too. I'll have you know that I'm very sneaky about my midnight snacks."

He rolled his eyes and poked her arm back. "The sneakiest. That must be why I hear you walking past my door both ways every single time." He paused, turning his eyes down the street again. "Though you are a lot sneakier than Sokka, I'll give you that much."

"So generous." Her head swiveled from side to side, eyes wide as she examined all the carts and stalls and trays of fried snacks stacked into ornamental spires and pyramids and spirals. "What do you recommend? I don't even know what most of this stuff is."

Zuko gave his best thoughtful face. "Well, my favorite are always the fire flakes—" He cut off with a laugh when she jabbed her elbow into his side.

"Something I can eat. I'm a waterbender. I'm not supposed to breathe fire after I finish a snack."

"Wimp."

"Says the man who couldn't eat a pickled eel squid when he visited the South Pole last time." She smiled up at him, and Zuko's heart sped up. "I mean it. What's the best thing here that isn't so spicy that it'll burn me from the inside out?"

He considered. There were kabobs of different types of meat, all richly marinated, and several of them probably too spicy for Katara's liking. There were savory buns packed with spices, and dumplings smothered in peppery broth. And fire flakes, of course. She wouldn't like any of those. But everything else seemed equally likely. Stopping in place, he scanned the booths. There had to be something that would blow her away. Something more special than the cakes and pastries she was always stealing from the palace kitchens, sometimes to deliver to him, and sometimes not.

Something special enough to make up for the play she wouldn't get a chance to see tonight. Something special enough for her.

A smile crept over his face, and he cupped his hand over hers. "Wait here for just a minute. I think I know exactly what you'll like."

⁂

Katara waited. Not because she wanted to—she had her own money, and she was perfectly capable of picking out her own snacks. But Zuko had darted off through the crowd so quickly that she didn't really have a chance to stop him, and the crowd was so thick, so bustling, that she was a little afraid of getting lost if she moved too far from where he'd left her. Though she'd grown, she still wasn't tall enough to see over the crowd, and Zuko, though tall, wasn't so absurdly tall that he stood out from the rest of the crowd.

She was a tiny bit apprehensive. She trusted Zuko, of course, but he was almost too excited, and he really didn't understand how terribly spicy Fire Nation food could be. He didn't know that some of the milder treats that he'd sent along with his messages while she was still at the South Pole had given Gran-Gran an upset stomach or that Sokka had taken the spicier treats and challenged the rest of the warriors to an eating contest that left them all in tears. Of course, Katara's tolerance was considerably higher than Gran-Gran's, but she didn't want to accidentally make a fool of herself. She was enjoying her time with Zuko too much.

Only a few minutes passed before Zuko emerged from the crowd again, beaming, his eyes crinkled in joy and excitement. He held a small paper pouch between his hands and stopped a few steps away from her.

"Close your eyes."

Katara raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"It's a surprise."

"I'm not sure I trust that smirk." She stretched upward, and Zuko raised the pouch so she couldn't see inside.

"Uh-uh. No peeking or you'll ruin the surprise. Eyes closed."

Katara made a face. "Fine. But if you're trying to feed me fire flakes, I will blow stinky spice-breath in your face."

"Noted. Now open your mouth."

She obeyed, and she felt Zuko come closer by the soft, ever-present heat radiating off of him. She wanted to lean even closer, to rest against his chest and get lost somewhere in his arms.

Zuko popped something small and dense onto her tongue. "Okay. Try it."

Almost the instant she closed her mouth, she was hit by a rush of salty, sour tang, and her eyes popped open. It was chewy, whatever it was, and the outside encrusted with a thin layer of crispiness. As she chewed, the sharpest edge of the flavor wore away, softening into a sweet, mild taste.

"What is this?" she asked, staring at Zuko, wide-eyed. It was a bit like some kind of dried fruit, but it wasn't a type of fruit that she recognized, and the slight hint of salt remained as she chewed, and she could have sworn that she knew the flavor from something, but it was just different enough that she couldn't place it.

"Do you like it?"

She nodded. Whatever that thing was, it was wonderful.

Zuko's smile grew. "Candied ocean kumquats. I remembered that your family ate them stewed when you were all in the Fire Nation, because—"

"Because they're just like sea prunes."

Zuko nodded. "I don't really get the appeal of stewing them, but the candied ones are pretty popular."

Katara couldn't keep her smile from growing wider and wider until it felt like her face would crack. The candied ocean kumquats tasted good enough on their own, but Zuko had chosen them just for her, and he knew her well enough to know that she'd like them, and he was right, and—she reached up and snatched the paper pouch from his hand. If she didn't do something quick, she was going to be in very real danger of kissing him.

"Just for that stewed sea prune blasphemy, I'm taking the whole bag."

"Hey!" he protested. "I didn't say they were bad. Just—slimy."

Grinning, Katara popped another little candied kumquat into her mouth and spun out of his reach. "I'm keeping them. All of them."

Zuko seemed to catch her teasing tone and caught up with her in just a few steps. "Give me one."

"Why should I?" She gave a little sniff and held the pouch out to the other side. "You called my favorite food slimy."

One of his long arms snaked around her, and Katara yelped, pulling the pouch in against her chest.

Laughing, she ducked under his arm and stepped back a few paces. "You'll have to fight me for them, Fire Lord." She folded the top of the pouch shut and dangled it out at arms' length.

"Are you sure you want to challenge me? I'm taller than you. I can reach wherever you try to hide them."

"You may be taller, but I'm hungry, and a very nice man just bought a snack for me." She opened the top of the pouch again, just enough to slip out another piece of candied kumquat between her fingertips.

Zuko took that as his chance to lunge, and caught her by the waist, lifting her off the ground.

Katara couldn't stop laughing. Through the irrepressible fits of giggling, she saw him laughing too. Her heart fluttered. How had she forgotten how wonderful his laugh was? It was rare, but every time she'd ever heard his laugh unweighted by stress, every fiber of her being lit up along with him. His arms around her waist were warm and strong, and being pressed against his chest was every bit as perfect as her imagination had suggested. She would be perfectly content to stay pressed up against him forever.

Smiling, he came to a halt, and holding her with one arm, grabbed the pouch with the other. "Got them," he said quietly, not pulling the pouch away from her.

His breath brushed against her cheek, and she realized anew how close he was, his face only inches away. In fact, with the way he was holding her, with her feet dangling a few inches from the ground, she was perfectly level with him. So close that if she just leaned in—

Her lips crashed into his, and she saw Zuko's eyes widen for the briefest moment before she closed her eyes. She'd kissed before. Not often, and not with many people, but this one felt different. There wasn't fluttering or uncertainty, there was no feeling that she was going to lift off the ground and float off into the sky. This felt like landing. This felt like reaching shore after weeks at sea, like her feet on solid ground after flying away from danger. This felt like home.

She only pulled away when Zuko's grip on her waist slackened enough that her feet touched the ground, and she stared up at him, breathless. Zuko's face had gone crimson—even his scar looked a shade darker than usual, and his eyes were wide.

"You—you just—"

"Did something I've been thinking about for a long time?"

"You did? You have?"

Katara smiled and pulled the pouch of candied ocean kumquats out of his loose grasp. "And I think I won these back." She dangled the pouch in front of him again.

Zuko kept gaping at her for a few seconds longer.

She looped her free hand through his. "Did I break the Fire Lord too?"

"Maybe." He looked down at her, and her heart fluttered in her chest. "Definitely a little bit."

"Hmm." She squeezed his hand and turned for the food stalls again. "In that case, I'm going to have to have you point out your favorite food in this whole place, and it'll be my treat."

"And if I say that it's fire flakes?"

She leaned a little closer to him as a cluster of people pressed past them down the path. "Then it might be a little while longer before I try that kissing thing again." She snuck a glance up at him through her lashes.

His mouth curled into a slight smile, and he returned the pressure on her hand. "Then I think I can handle finding another favorite."

[heavensenthearty]

Zutara week throwback asks: 25 please

Like I said, a very special one-shot for a very special someone! ☺️💖🤗

I’ve been rewriting and rewriting this ever since I got your ask. I really wanted you to like it, so I made something a bit different for the prompt Secret. Here’s a summary:

Ember Island Players AU – Katara has tribal Water Tribe tattoos she has keep secret and Zuko wonders about them.

Read under the cut or in AO3 or FF.net

                                                       Katara

I’m glad we left Ember Island Theatre so quickly. My makeup is starting to wear down, if somebody saw me…

I launch myself throw the house’s door still covering the lines on my chin.

“You want some help to put your makeup back on, Katara?” Aang asks. “I’m kinda the expert at keeping secret tattoos.”

“Yeah, Sugar Queen. I would offer to help with that myself but… you know…” Her hands wave exaggeratedly in front of her eyes. “Blind.”

All my friends are entering our Ember Island house – I mean, Zuko’s Ember Island house calmly, unhurriedly, while I observe hidden in the shadows.

“It’s fine, guys,” I say, “We’re gonna stay in for the rest of the night anyway, there’s no need to cover my tattoos. I’ll be in my room in case anybody sees me.”

“But we’re already inside – ”

I run to my bedroom and shut the door behind me before anyone can finish their sentence. (And I becoming paranoid like Sokka?) (Is that genetic?)

Well, nobody can blame me for being paranoid about this. If I was recognized as a waterbender because of my Water Tribe markings while we are inside the Fire Nation…

I go to the drawers where I keep my makeup – a face powder Suki helped me prepare with clay and her own ingredients for her warrior face paint – and another water vial for cleaning it. I don’t use my bending, I just pour the water into a piece of discarded fabric and start wiping the powder off from my chin. And my right shoulder. I take away the rings that I use to cover the ones on my fingers and wash my hands, too.

It hurts to keep these a secret. I wonder if this is how Aang feels all the time.

Someone knocks on my door.

“Coming.”

It’s Zuko.

Unsurprisingly, he looks like he doesn’t know what to say after I open the door: “Hey! Um… You seemed kind of tense back there. Do you want to talk?”

I have to smile at the effort he’s making. (He’s… not the most conversational person.) “No, I’m fine. It’s just a little difficult to keep a secret identity with…,” I gesture to my face, “You know.”

“Right,” the word does sound tense between his teeth. “I’m sorry that you have to keep your tattoos a secret to begin with. Sokka told me what they mean; they are for celebrating your accomplishments at the Water Tribe, right?”

“Yes; see?” I point to the lines on my chin. “The ones on the chin are for celebrating a girl’s entrance to womanhood.”

“You still have some of the face paint on,” he says after staring at the dark lines for a moment, “Um… Do you want help for taking it off?”

It takes me a moment to realize that I am blushing, and then to wonder why am I blushing. I agree quickly to push the weird feeling away: “Yeah. Sure, why not?”

I open the door further and step aside for Zuko to come in. Self-consciousness stings me once I realize the foundation is also only partially removed on my hands and my shoulder, it looks like I had only been playing in the mud. Toph wouldn’t care about that, but I…

“I didn’t know you had tattoos on your hands and…”

Zuko trails off as his cheeks color when his eyes land on my exposed shoulder. The design of that particular tattoo is a pattern that extends through my clavicle and all over the exposed right side of my chest due to my one-cold-shoulder Fire Nation top.

“Well, that means I have done a good job hiding them,” I say jokingly, pulling a triumphant face.

He looks down, embarrassed. “Right. Sorry. It’s just that… It looks… It looks like they were painful. Are you – I mean, were you…”

“Zuko, I’m fine if that’s what you’re wondering,” I emphasize, standing in front of him so he can see me better in the shadowiness of the room. “And yes, the tattoos were painful,” I rub the back of my hands easing the memory of the sensation, “but they were something I wanted. It’s a waterbender’s dream to get these.”

Suddenly I feel the heat of his hands over mine before I look down at them. My skin became reddish for the friction I put into scrubbing them, Zuko is keeping me from causing some unnecessary damage. His hands are well-formed and kept, mine look smaller in them.

“I’m glad you accomplished your dream,” he says, sincerely, “And… again, I’m sorry you have to hide them. When… When the war is over, I’ll make sure you never have to hide yourself again.”

I smile, (for the promise and the extra effort he’s putting into being optimistic.) “Thanks.”

“Besides, I like them.” One of his hands goes up to my chin. His thumb brushes the remnants of powder off from it. “They… They look pretty.”

[dreamstar-moonlight]

Previous entries:

Zutara Week Day 1: Hair (my post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 2: Disguised (my post | Eastonia's post)

ZUTARA WEEK: DAY 3

Origins & Cycles: Glowing

A collaboration with @eastoniablogs and AireensColour

@zutaraweek

Here's my entry for Day 3!

Stage 3 (of 7): Flat Colours

Don't you just love it how a black-n'-white sketch transforms into something magical when the colors seep in? And this is only the beginning!

We have 4 more days till Zutara Week ends, so I hope you stick around till the end to witness AireensColour work her magic and add shades & texture & a bunch of other effects to bring this artwork to life in all its dazzling glory!

This is the third in my series of art-progression entries to go with Eastonia's world-building write-ups. Want to see what she's cooked up? Here's a glimpse:

Azula doesn't understand it. She's losing. She can't lose - she never loses. Then she sees it. A way to win.

The minute Azula's target switches from Zuko to Katara, he knows he won't make it. 

Azula's eyes widened as silver and blue and gold, gold, gold leak around Zuko, his eyes pupiless and glowing as he does the impossible.....

Head over to her blog now to find out what happens next! Hurry!

Next entries:

Zutara Week Day 4: Mythology (2008 throwback prompt) (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 5: Mend (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 6: Spirits (My post | Eastonia's post)

Zutara Week Day 7: Stories (My post | Eastonia's post)

[soopersara]

Zutara Week Throwbacks

I came late to the fandom, and I’ve always been sad about all the Zutara events I missed over the years. But then I realized... nobody’s going to stop me from doing the prompts late. Really late. And I’ve been wanting to write more one shots to celebrate some arbitrary follower milestones. So I decided to turn it into a thing!

2008 1. Denim 2. Electrifying 3. Smug 4. Manipulative 5. Mythology 6. Stare 7. Pinch

2009 8. Crossover 9. Blood 10. Jealousy 11. Cactus Juice 12. Fireflies 13. Rhythm 14. Lick

2010 15. Family 16. Change 17. Pain 18. Date 19. Harmony 20. Alternate Universe 21. Storm

2011 22. Masks 23. History 24. Social Networking 25. Secret 26. Awkward 27. Legendary 28. Caught

2012 29. Serendipity 30. Momentous 31. Transcend 32. Whimsical 33. Heartstrings 34. Faded 35. Seasons 

2013 36. Calor (Spanish for “heat”) 37. Euphoria 38. Voices 39. Gravity 40. Bound 41. Soothe 42. Spark

2014 43. Melancholy 44. Jubilant 45. Motorcycle 46. [Cobalt] Blue 47. Unrequited 48. Socks 49. Slow Dancing

2015  50. Happenstance 51. Vigil 52. Clandestine 53. Rue 54. Voyage 55. Integrity 56. Maelstrom

2016 57. Dragons 58. Reincarnation 59. Memories 60. Lilac 61. Fever 62. Coffee 63. Candles

2017 64. Fire Lady 65. Underwater 66. Steamy 67. Icarus 68. Modern Times 69. Soulmates 70. Starlight

2018 71. First Kiss 72. Letters 73. Tea 74. Turtleduck 75. Crystals 76. Bloodbending 77. Element Swap

2019 78. Gifts 79. Speak 80. Shattered 81. Mentor 82. Youth 83. Found 84. Easier

Send me a number and I’ll write a fic for the prompt! (I’ll shoot you the link if it’s one I’ve already done). I’d really like to write them all someday, and doing things in order is overrated.

If anyone else wants to do this with me, feel free to reblog! I also have an Ao3 collection set up for these, so go ahead and add your own. Latecomers and procrastinators unite!

[soopersara]

@thecrazyone42​ I’m sorry I can’t answer your original ask because Tumblr is a hungry little jerk and ate it, but I finally got around to finishing this request for you!

Secret 

AO3 | FFN

Prompt #25 from this list, originally Day 4 of Zutara Week 2011

Katara doesn’t want to let anyone know that she’s been having trouble with nightmares, and when Zuko finds out on his own, she struggles to accept his help.

⁂ 

She paces from one end of the terrace to the other, heart in her throat. She is the strong one. She is the one they all rely on.

She can’t go back to them.

Not yet.

Not when it’s all so fresh, when she can still hear the screams, when she can still see Aang plummeting to the ground, lifeless. Not when closing her eyes, even for a second, brings it all rushing back.

It’s better for all of them this way. If she tries to sleep, the dreams will come back. If the dreams come back, she might wake them up. It’s too great a risk. The war is drawing to a close, and if they mean to win, they all need their rest.

It’s better if Katara faces this alone.

She keeps pacing. East to west and back again, measured steps and measured breaths. Twenty times, thirty, fifty—she loses count every time her mind twists the shadows into the shapes of her friends, her family in danger again.

She can do this. She can handle this alone, she has to.

Her throat stays tight and her eyes burn. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. She’s checked on them all, she knows that they’re safe, but her pulse refuses to calm and her eyes continue playing tricks with the darkness, turning shadows into scenery and glints of blue-gray moonlight into lightning.

A shadow shifts, and Katara tells herself that it’s just another cruel trick of her mind, but this shadow is different. This shadow speaks.

“I don’t want your sympathy.” The words tear out of her, hot and bitter. “I don’t need your help.”

Though he is little more than a pale smudge in the dark, Zuko manages to look awkward when he runs a hand through his hair. “I—if you don’t want to talk to me, I can get one of the others.” The usual harsh edge of his tone is softened somewhat by fatigue and he comes a little closer. “The Avatar or your brother—”

“No. I’m fine on my own.” She folds her arms tight and plants her feet. She would keep pacing, but she knows better than to turn her back on him.

“Okay.” His rasp is almost gentle, and this time, he doesn’t come any closer. He hovers at the threshold of the terrace, half-lit by the moonlight.

“I’m fine,” she repeats. Her eyes still prickle and burn and a knot of dread settles in the center of her chest when her mind replays the dream again, but she is fine. “They all need their rest. I’m not going to bother the others over something this—this stupid.”

“You do this a lot, don’t you?” It isn’t a question, not really. Zuko’s gaze is steady, his expression unchanging.

Katara bristles anyway. “I do what a lot?”

“You don’t let the others know how much weight you’re carrying on your own.” His voice is soft as ever and he looks away.

She wishes it weren’t. Arguing with him, hating him is easier than whatever this is. “I do what I need to do. They need me to be strong, so I—”

“You pretend that you’re okay because the moment you stop, everything else falls apart,” Zuko finishes for her. Silence hangs between them for a moment before his eyes widen and he flushes a shade darker. He meets her gaze again. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

A harsh laugh claws its way out of her throat and she perches on a piece of a fallen column. She hates how easily he reads her, how he sees the depths she keeps hidden from all the others. As though the softness she saw in Ba Sing Se has been there all along.

“It’s your fault anyway.” Katara gives him a look fit to turn his blood to ice. “I wouldn’t be having nightmares about Ba Sing Se if you hadn't—” She breaks off. If he hadn’t offered her that threadbare truce. If he hadn’t been kind enough to convince her. If he hadn’t changed his mind and let his sister steal Aang’s final breath away.

Katara takes a deep breath. It’s okay now, she reminds herself. Aang is alive and safe and healthy, sleeping in the next room. They’re all safe. He doesn’t change that. She won’t let him.

Zuko steps a little farther onto the moonlit terrace and lowers himself onto what might have once been the base of a statue.

“In that case,” he rasps, “Maybe I should be the one losing sleep over it.”

For an instant, Katara agrees. This is his fault. He should be the one to fix it. But she sees that look in his eyes, that stupid, almost-sincere look, and she scoffs.

“Don’t act like you care.”

“I—” He stops himself mid-protest and something almost like sorrow flashes across his face. He rubs the back of his neck before he begins again, a little slower. “I want us to win this war. We can’t do that if we’re not all at our best.” His eyes, faded almost to silver in the faint light, pierce her. “I know how important you are. Without you—without you, we don’t stand a chance.”

An uncomfortable sensation settles in her stomach and she frowns. A small, nagging part of her thinks that he might have a point. A more irritating, insidious part thinks that he might even be talking about her rather than the endless support she lends the others.

“So—what? You want me to tell you all about my nightmares?”

Zuko nods. “If it helps.”

Katara takes a deep breath. The last thing she wants is to hand her secrets over to Zuko. He doesn’t deserve them. He doesn’t deserve her trust.

But she is tired, so unbelievably tired, and every time she closes her eyes, the dream comes flooding back. She can’t go on like this forever.

Her brow hardens into a scowl. “This doesn’t mean that I trust you.”

“I know.”

Another slow breath.

“I was in the catacombs again,” she begins, staring into empty darkness. “Fighting against Azula and the Dai Li—”

⁂

The next morning, she catches him watching her. While she serves breakfast to the group, his eyes follow her, even as he tends the cooking fire and serves the tea. Katara straightens her spine and tries to ignore him. He knows about her nightmares, but that means nothing. They aren’t friends. The secret he holds for her doesn’t change that.

By midday, even Sokka seems to notice the weight of their silence. He brandishes Space Sword and swipes at the air between them.

“Stop it, Sokka,” she tells him. “No swords around the cooking fire.”

Sokka waves Space Sword again. “Not a chance. Me and Swordy are doing a very important scientific study.”

Zuko’s sigh sounds nearly as irritated as she feels. “What kind of study involves waving that thing around like an idiot?” Zuko grabs Space Sword by the hilt and rams it back into its scabbard.

Sokka yelps and twists out of the way. “For your information,” he says loftily. “I wanted to find out if the tension between you two was actually thick enough to cut.”

Toph cackles and Sokka folds his arms, looking pleased with himself.

“Maybe there wouldn't be any tension if you all hadn’t decided to invite the enemy into our camp.” Katara levels a glare at Zuko and catches a glimpse of the same unreadable expression he’s been giving her all morning.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know what your problem is, Sugar.” Toph waves a dismissive hand in the air. “You’ve made that pretty clear. I want to know what’s going on with Princey-Pants.”

Zuko grunts at the nickname. Either he likes that one better than the others, or he’s becoming accustomed to Toph’s never-ending supply of them. “Not enough sleep.”

Katara expects him to go on, to explain everything, to claim credit for his flimsy “help"—anything to prove that his presence is worthwhile—but he stops there.

“Awwww, Hotpants misses his nice, fluffy royal bed.” Toph pulls her finger out of her nose and flicks what comes out into the fire.

Zuko’s fiery gaze flicks toward Katara, but his expression doesn’t change, and he turns back to Toph just as quickly. “More like I can’t stand the snoring. Seriously, you all put my uncle to shame, and that's saying something.”

Sokka lets out a stream of creative, high-pitched protests, and Toph cackles some more, her small face scrunching into a mess of gleeful creases. But Zuko doesn’t smile, and his gaze finds its way back to Katara once again.

⁂

“Katara?”

She isn’t surprised by his almost noiseless approach. She scowls at the ground, knees pulled to her chest. Why does it have to be him? Out of all the people who could have taken an interest in her nightmares, Zuko is her last choice by far. Too bad that doesn’t seem to dissuade him.

He pauses a few strides away and shifts his weight uncomfortably. “Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?”

Katara scoffs and swipes a hand over her eyes. “Great guess, genius. How did you figure that out?”

She peeks up long enough to see his forehead crease and his brow furrow. But he doesn’t take her bait—he’s good at that. Or getting better, at least. She wishes he weren’t.

Zuko rubs the back of his neck. “Do—do you want to talk about it?”

She shrinks into herself even further. This time is even worse than the last. The moon is nearly full, and she can feel its power in her veins, calling her the same way it did that night with Hama. A bitter laugh forces its way up.

“Don’t strain yourself, Zuko. This one didn’t have anything to do with you, so you can go back to sleep with a clean conscience tonight.”

Zuko is quiet for a moment before she hears him move. She looks up, expecting him to leave, but instead he slides down against the wall, sitting a few arms’ lengths away. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t watch her, he just sits alongside her, staring into the darkness and waiting.

The silence hangs heavy between them and Katara fidgets with the hem of her tunic. The darkness isn’t quite so unbearable when there is someone else with her. Even if it’s him. Even if it’s still too quiet.

She stares straight ahead and tries to count her pulse, but it’s too quick, and she can’t focus with the moon heightening both her bending and her senses. She can feel every drop of water, even the ones she wishes were still invisible. She can feel Zuko, the blood in his veins, his steady pulse, his even breaths. It calls out to her—she could take hold of his blood if she wanted and squeeze—

She jolts back to reality with a gasp, and Zuko leans forward, concern written across his face.

Katara lets out a shuddering breath. This is worse than last time. So much worse. If she keeps it bottled up, there is no telling who she might hurt.

“Do you know how much of the human body is made up of water?” she asks.

Zuko looks surprised and takes a moment to school his expression back to normal. “I guess I’ve never thought about it before.”

She shakes her head. “Nobody does. I mean, I always knew. But I never really—knew. Not like this.” Her hands tighten into fists. “I couldn’t feel it before. And now I can’t make it stop.”

Zuko doesn’t speak, doesn’t seem to react. He is quiet and watchful, and eventually, it is enough to pull out the words Katara has been holding back.

She tells him about the spooky night in the forest and how Hama frightened them at first, then took them in. She tells him about their discovery in the attic and how Hama took Katara on as a student. How Katara was elated to learn the bending traditions of her own tribe. How everything seemed perfect until the awful moment when nothing was right anymore.

She watches Zuko for a reaction, expecting shock and horror on his face. She is not disappointed. But when Katara tells him how she took hold of the old woman’s veins and brought her to her knees to keep the boys alive, he doesn’t leave despite his stricken expression. Instead, he leans forward.

“Are you okay?”

Katara swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Perfect. Thanks so much for asking.”

Zuko frowns. “I know you’re not.”

“Then why ask?”

Zuko scratches behind his scarred ear and shrugs. “Isn’t that just what people say?” He sighs. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

“You’re really not.” Katara takes a steadying breath and stares down the empty corridor. “You’re probably scared that I’ll bloodbend you off the cliff by accident or something.”

“No.” His voice is quiet, almost gentle. “I don’t think you could ever do something like that by accident.”

She freezes. She is so used to—so sick of—the others telling her that she would never hurt them. That she could never cause any harm. But this—this is different. And as much as her mind rebels against anything that Zuko has to say, she can’t help but latch onto his last sentence.

“What was that?” she asks, barely over a whisper.

Zuko’s brow furrows slightly. “I’m not afraid?”

Katara shakes her head. “The other part.”

He watches her, expression inscrutable. “I don’t think you could do anything like that by accident.”

She swallows back the painful lump in her throat and looks away. “You really believe that?”

“You’re one of the strongest benders I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen you lose yourself to your element.” His tone is soft and certain. “Of course I believe it.”

The lump in her throat rises again and she swipes at her eyes. It’s silly that she is so relieved, but his certainty anchors her.

She manages a wobbly laugh. “So you’re just afraid that I’ll bloodbend you off the cliff on purpose, then?”

Zuko shrugs. “Maybe a little.”

Katara laughs again, and a weight lifts. Her shoulders lighten, and all at once, she can breathe again.

“I’m not going to bloodbend you off the cliff.”

“Thanks.” Zuko’s voice is soft, with no trace of his habitual dryness.

Silence hangs between them for a few long minutes, and it is easier, more comfortable than she expects. She can still feel Zuko’s pulse, the quiet ease of his breath, but with his words echoing in her ears—I’ve never seen you lose yourself to your element—its call is gentler. She can match her breath to his without the crimson glow blinding her.

Slowly, her eyelids slide closed. When they open again, she finds herself in her own bed, a blanket tucked around her shoulders, and Zuko making a silent retreat out the door.

She thinks she smiles.

And in the morning, he finally smiles back.

⁂

It isn’t the first time she’s heard him jolt awake in the dead of night, but after he waits outside her tent and follows her across the sea on a quest for justice, she can’t ignore it any longer. After he stands at her side in silent support, after she finds relief and safety in his embrace, she doesn’t want to.

His strangled gasp rouses her and by the time her eyes manage to focus, he is seated upright, fighting to control his breathing. His hair sticks up a little in the back and clings in jagged streaks across his forehead. His shoulders heave, and by the faint light of the waning moon, she thinks she can see patches of sweat on his tunic.

She sits up, but before she can say his name, Zuko bolts, the airy draperies trailing in his wake.

She finds him a few minutes later, perched on the steps overlooking the beach. His shoulders are hunched and she thinks she can see him shaking ever so slightly.

“Zuko?”

He starts and jerks around to face her. An almost feverish sheen glistens on his forehead, and his jaw clenches and unclenches.

“How—how long have you been there?” His voice is strained and he refuses to meet her eyes.

“Not long.”

He gives a stiff nod and turns back toward the ocean.

It isn’t an invitation, but Katara sits beside him anyway.

“Are you okay?”

He lets out a shuddering breath. “Not exactly.” His hands clamp on the top of the step and he closes his eyes as if steadying himself. “I’ll manage. You might as well go back inside,” he says after a pause.

A few days ago, she would have obliged. A few days ago, she wouldn’t have even made it this far. But now she can’t force herself to entertain the thought. She turns her gaze out to sea and times her breath against the lapping of the waves. She can feel the roar of his pulse, the frantic rush of blood in his veins. She could take hold of it if she wanted, could slow its beating back to normal, but instead she only listens.

Gradually, Zuko’s pulse evens, and Katara feels his gaze flicker her direction a few times. She keeps her eyes on the water, waiting.

“Why are you still here?”

Katara wraps her arms around her knees and refuses to turn his way. She knows exactly what he means, but she doesn’t have an answer yet. Not even for herself.

“It’s even more beautiful here at night.” She draws in a deep breath of cool salt air.

The weight of Zuko’s gaze doesn’t lift. “That’s not what I meant.” His voice is a soft, small rasp.

“I know.”

“You don’t have to sit with me just because—” He lets out a puff of air and waves his hand in the air. “You don’t have to help me.”

Katara chances a look in his direction. “Neither did you.”

He freezes, his lips slightly parted. For a second, she loses track of his pulse before it roars back, a little quicker, a little louder than before.

“That—” He pauses to clear his throat and turns his eyes back toward the sea. “That was different.” “How?” She watches him now, the tension in his shoulders, the set of his jaw. “You came to sit with me when I had a nightmare. How is this different?”

He pulls his knees up, mirroring her, and crosses his arms on top of them. His hands clench and unclench. “Because I—” He swallows and doesn’t finish.

“Because you felt guilty?”

“Not just that.” His voice drops so low that she scarcely hears it, but he can’t hide the way the blood rushes to his cheeks.

Briefly, Katara wonders if this is anything like the way Toph sees the world—the inner workings all laid bare, even in the dark. His pulse quickens, but there is something softer than panic beneath it.

He runs a hand through his hair, a few damp strands standing on end. “It—it’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” She leans back on her hands and stares up at the stars. She is almost near enough to rest her head on his shoulder, and part of her wants to. Very much.

She feels him watching her, his gaze nearly as warm as his touch.

“You really don’t have to stay with me.”

She turns toward him. There is a familiar look in his eyes, a thread of loneliness that runs clear down to his core. He expects her to leave. He must expect everyone to leave.

“And what if I want to?”

His eyes widen, and she can feel his pulse skip. For a moment, he struggles for words.

“Then—” he finally begins, “—I think I should at least make you some tea.”

Katara smiles and lets her hand brush against his. “I think I’d like that.”

[soopersara]

57 and/or 76!

Me? Finally filling a request I got 5 months ago? You’d better believe it! (I’ll do both prompts eventually, but for now): 

Dragons

AO3 | FFN

Prompt #57 from this list, originally Day 1 of Zutara Week 2016

Zuko and Katara revive a forgotten Fire Nation tradition to solidify their engagement.

⁂

"Come on, Zuko. I'm sure this will be fine. Druk loves me."

Zuko let out a gusty sigh. He should have known better than to let Katara waste her time digging through the royal archives. Little good had ever come from his family, even before Sozin's time.

"That's different." He watched the flame in his hand rise and fall in time with his breathing. Steadier than the last time he was here, steadier and brighter and more fluid, more alive. "Druk thinks you're his mother."

"Or maybe I just have a way with dragons. You don't know."

"All I'm saying is that you don't have to go through with this. There's a reason why my family stopped asking Ran and Shaw for approval before marriage."

"And all I'm saying is that you can't change my mind." Katara paused long enough to cup her free hand around his scarred cheek, and gave him a dazzling smile. "Nice try, though."

Zuko groaned as she marched on ahead. "You know you don't have to prove anything," he called after her.

"I'm not trying to prove anything," she called back.

Zuko rolled his eyes and took the steps two at a time until he caught up with her. In the pale light of predawn, her hovering tendril of water gave off enough light that he could almost convince himself that it was a flame.

Almost.

The records had been a little unclear about what the dragons expected in this situation—firebenders seeking instruction had to bring an offering from the eternal flame, he knew that from experience, but marriage blessings? No matter how hard they looked, neither of them had been able to find the specifics of the old ritual.

But Katara wasn't a firebender anyway, and she insisted that a gift of water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole was just as good as a piece of the eternal flame.

It wasn't that Zuko disagreed necessarily. Katara was usually right about things like this. But they weren't here for lessons, and even Druk was unpredictable. Ran and Shaw—they had roasted people alive. Including a few generations of Zuko's ancestors. He couldn't decide whether he was glad that information had made it into the old royal scrolls or not.

"You remember everything we worked on?"

Katara pursed her lips. "Zuko. Master waterbender, remember? Best in the world? Of course I remember." She smiled and bumped him with her shoulder. "Hey. You went ice dodging for me. And did the midwinter spirit vigil. I can handle this."

"It's not you I'm worried about," Zuko muttered.

As they climbed higher, the sticky summer air gave way to the chill of the sky, and Katara's step lightened despite the thinner air. She thrived on this.

Zuko trailed along beside her, wordless as the valley fell away beneath them, the remains of the Sun Warrior's ancient city shrinking to doll-like proportions. They crested the stairs together and stepped onto the platform at the same instant.

Katara paused, the early morning light casting a silvery sheen over her face as she looked back down the way they'd come. Her gaze turned back to Zuko.

"This is it," she said, her tone a little breathless, her eyes bright. Her orb of water twisted itself into a spiral before she shaped it back into an approximation of a flame.

Zuko nodded, drawing a steadying breath. "This is it," he agreed.

"Hundreds of generations before us—" She turned on the spot, her loose curls catching the breeze. "It's like I can still feel them here." She turned back to Zuko. "It's so beautiful."

He nodded again and tried not to stare too hard at her. The scenery was nothing in comparison with her. He pulled his eyes away and they landed on the faint, smoky marks that years—centuries—of rain had yet to wash away from the ornate platform. That wasn't entirely helpful. Seeing ancient evidence of the dragons' wrath was a far less pleasant form of distraction.

Zuko pointed to a mark on the ground. "You stand there." He crossed the platform to the matching symbol and gave a silent prayer to all the spirits he knew that they hadn't been too far off in their guesses about the ritual. "The second the sun touches the horizon—"

She nodded and settled into her stance. A mischievous smile flashed across her face. "Sure you're ready for this, Fire Lord?"

He felt the corner of his mouth twitch despite his best effort to keep it still. "More ready than you, Master. Remember I've done this before."

Katara gave him another quick smile before she turned her concentration back to her water.

Zuko broadened his stance and dragged his attention back to the flame in his hand, to the tiny, endless pulse that echoed his own. He exhaled, slow and steady, and felt the flame swell in response.

He was ready.

He felt the sun reach the horizon before he saw it, and the flame in his hand blossomed into a burning globe. Across the platform, Katara mirrored him, shaping her water into a shimmering sphere.

Inhale. He stepped forward, his back turned toward the center of the platform, and pulled the flames in near his chest. Exhale. Another step, and he pushed the flames up and out.

This wasn't firebending in the usual way. This was nothing like what his childhood tutors, or Uncle, or even the dragons themselves had taught him. It couldn't be. Water didn't behave like fire, and fire didn't behave like water. But there was a point of balance between the two, a point where the two disciplines intersected, where Katara's water would flicker and dance along with his flames, where his fire would flow, smooth and steady, along with her water. It was a well-practiced dance by now, and the movements came as naturally as breathing.

When they were halfway through the sequence, there was a rumbling from the caverns at either end of the platform, a rumbling that cut straight through to his core. He didn't flinch, and across the platform, he caught a glimpse of Katara, equally unshaken. Despite the approach of the ancient dragons, it felt like their weeks of practice at the palace, moving in a careful sequence around the edges of the gardens while Druk pranced between them, rearing up and trying to catch stray water droplets and sparks on his forked tongue.

They worked their way clear around the rim of the circular platform, then inward until they met in the center and came to a stop. Zuko twisted his flame into the shape of a dragon, and Katara did the same. Together, they sent both dragon-shapes whirling in an upward spiral, higher and higher until they reached the limits of their bending and both dragons broke apart simultaneously.

Katara beamed up at him, her hair lightly mussed by the wind, and a wide, breathless smile on her face. For a moment, Zuko forgot Ran and Shaw. He wanted to kiss Katara, to cradle her face in his hands and lean in so close that he could feel the soft warmth radiating from her face. He wanted to be so close that he could bask in the glow of her exhilaration.

Instead, Zuko smiled back, and with a small nod, they both turned outward, bowing low to the dragons. Then they faced one another once again and bowed a second time.

For a long moment, everything was silent. The dragons waited, watching them from the bridges that led back to their caverns. Even the wind seemed to still.

Drawing a deep breath, Zuko closed his eyes. Calm settled over him, and he found Katara's hand. Ran and Shaw were about to make their decision, but they were together. That was what mattered. As long as they were together, nothing could go too wrong.

The silence shattered with a roar from both sides, and Zuko opened his eyes to see the dragons—both of them—bearing down of the platform. Zuko stepped instinctively closer to Katara, bracing himself to shield her. She stepped closer too, and her free hand raised ever so slightly, ready to pull a deluge straight from the air.

But as the dragons came closer, they never attacked. They never threatened to. Instead, they crawled around the rim of the platform, massive claws scraping against the stone, eyeing the two of them and tasting the air.

The blue dragon was the first to break out of the circle and approach. It kept its head low, gliding just a few feet over the ground until it was near enough to sniff Katara's hem. Its tongue flicked out the same way Druk's did when he was curious.

Zuko tightened his grip on Katara's hand, and she squeezed back. Neither of them wavered as the blue dragon continued its investigation, as the red dragon slowly crept forward to join its curious mate. For a while, they both circled close, inspecting Zuko and Katara from every possible angle.

Then, as the sun rose higher in the sky and the shadows began to shrink, both dragons halted their circling and came to stand side by side in front of Zuko and Katara.

Katara moved first, a small step forward with her free hand outstretched.

The blue dragon bowed its head just enough to allow Katara's hand to rest on its snout.

"I'm not a firebender," she said quietly. "I never will be. And I know I'm not the person the rest of the world had in mind to rule beside Zuko."

The blue dragon puffed out a gust of hot, moist air, and its enormous golden eyes bored straight into her.

"But a long time ago, you decided that Zuko was worthy of knowing your secrets. Now he's chosen me, and I've chosen him. I hope you can trust our choice enough to give me your blessing."

Ran and Shaw looked at one another as though conferring, and Zuko kept his grip on Katara's hand firm. He would fight for her if he needed to. He would use his body as a shield—he'd done it before, and he'd do it a thousand more times. He had chosen Katara. He would always choose her.

In tandem, both dragons turned their faces to the sky and unleashed a roar of what sounded like triumph. Plumes of flame erupted from their mouths, but it was nothing like the first time Zuko had faced them—this time, the flames from each dragon remained distinct, two ropes of colored fire rotating around one another, whirling outward until they nearly eclipsed the sky.

When the flames finally dispersed, Zuko glanced down at Katara. She was smiling, eyes bright. He was smiling too, he realized. He couldn't help it.

Ran and Shaw lowered their heads again and lumbered back toward their respective caves, and Zuko felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

Wide-eyed, Katara watched until the dragons were gone, then laughed and threw her arms around him. "It worked! Just wait until your council hears about this!"

A startled laugh burst out of Zuko too as he returned her embrace. "I thought you weren't trying to prove anything to them."

Katara pulled back just far enough to meet his eyes. The glow of the morning sun turned her skin to copper and glinted off the beads in her hair—both blue and gold now. "I wasn't. But if you think I'm not going to gloat, you don't know me very well."

He let his arms tighten around her and leaned his cheek down against the top of her head. "I can't wait to see their faces."

Katara pulled away and found his hand. "Come on, Fire Lord. Let's go tell them the bad news." Even without seeing her face, he could hear the smile in her voice. "They're stuck with me now."

"You're going to be the best thing that ever happened to the Fire Nation," he told her. When she looked back over her shoulder, he couldn't help but smile again. "You already are."

[soopersara]

I live! 

I mean, obviously. I wouldn’t have finished Zutara Month if I wasn’t alive. 

But now that I’ve been done with Zutara Month for a week, I might as well give you all an update on what’s going on in my fic-writing world. 

So! I have a new canon-divergent Zutara fic, Brightest in the Dark, nearly completed. As in, I’m halfway through writing the last scene, and I’ve already done extensive editing on earlier scenes. It was originally my “in case the Zutara Zine actually needs a fic from their pinch hitter” fic, but since it sounds like everything is still on track with the main contributors (yay! They’re awesome and I’m so excited to see what they came up with! And TBH, I’m crossing my fingers that no one will drop out at this point because I think this thing is too long for a zine fic), I’m planning to post it online after the final deadlines in a few weeks. Since it’s clocking in a lot longer than I expected, I’m still debating whether it will be a long one-shot or a short chaptered fic, but 🤷‍♀️ I’ve got time to figure that out. You can expect that fic (or the first chapter) to be posted around March 21 or 22. 

And then... A Tale of Ice and Smoke will be back on the top of my priority list once I’m done with Brightest in the Dark. Chapter 11 and 12 have made it through editing and I’m all set to start plugging through edits on 13 and 14, so hopefully (hopefully), I’ll be able to focus all my writing time back where it belongs and get all four chapters done in a reasonable-ish amount of time. Once they’re ready, weekly updates will be a thing for a while!

Oh, and I do still have some Zutara Week Throwback requests waiting. 😬 Whoops. I definitely chose the wrong time to take prompts, but I haven’t forgotten, and I will get to them sooner or later.