The Dragon and The Ocean // Zutara

Sleep

Zuko's POV

I wake up to a soothing pain in my chest. My eyes are still tired, but I am able to feel the pain leave my body. Once my vision clears, I see glowing water on my stomach and chest. I look to my right to see Katara is bending the water and healing me.

"Katara? Is that you?" I ask her with a tired voice. 

"Ya. I thought that if I healed you while you were asleep, it wouldn't be as painful for you." she says. 

"Oh. What time is it?" I ask her, looking out the window to see that it is completely dark outside.

"It's late." Katara says, still focusing on the water. Her face is serious, but tired. I can tell that she is exhausted. 

"Katara, if it is so late then you should be in bed." I say to her, grimacing slightly as I try to move my hand to stop her healing. 

"I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway." Katara says, groggily. 

"Well then why don't you sleep in here with me?" I ask her without thinking. 

It was a dumb thing to say. Knowing Katara, she would just shoot that down. But she has a different reaction. She carefully bends the water away from my wound, which completely darkens the room. Painfully, I make a small flame on my hand to be able to see her. She looks surprised.

"You... you would be okay with that?" she asks ever so quietly. 

"Of course. Anything to make sure that you are okay." I reply to her, certainly. I want her to be able to sleep.  

"Are you sure?" she asks. 

"Yes." I tell her, putting my hand on hers 

"Okay," she says, "I will, but let me finish your healing session first." I sigh, hoping that I could have avoided that answer. I know that when she heals anyone, she uses her own energy, which can be very exhausting. The more she heals me, the more exhausted she gets.

But, she must not be thinking about that right now, because she bends the water back out of the bowl and around her hands. She places it on my wound to where the water is barely making contact with it, but it still stings. However, the water quickly starts to glow, and the pain eventually goes away.

After a few more minutes of healing, Katara bends the water away from my wound and I prepare for the burning comes rushing back. However, Katara must have done something different during this session, because the pain is almost muffled. I can still feel it but it's muffled. 

Katara puts the bowl back into the bathroom and when she comes back out, I see that she has the bandage roll in her hand. Maybe now she will be able to put the bandage on without it hurting when it rubs up against the wound.

"During this session, I was able to leave some of the energy from myself and the water inside your wound. It doesn't last forever, but it does sort of block off the wound. When something comes in contact with it, it shouldn't hurt as much. It thought that if I did that, then we could bandage you up to prevent infection." Katara says, still with a tired tone.

I nod and point out that the pain does feel muffled. Katara leans over and helps me sit up. She helps me as though I am helpless and even though I am, I hate feeling like it. She holds my arms out and I try my best to hold them there.

She starts with the bandage on my shoulder and pulls it across my chest. I brace myself for awful pain, but it isn't as bad as I thought. She stops and asks if it hurts really badly and I shake my head slightly, so she continues to wrap the bandage around me. She wraps it from the top of my chest all the way to the bottom of my stomach which covers the whole wound.

When she is done, she rips the bandage off of the roll and tucks the access in. Then she carefully flattens the bandage against my chest and back, making sure there are no wrinkles. I must admit, once the bandage is secured, my injury feels much better, as if the bandage has healed it. I know that it is just there as a barrier to keep things from irritating my wound, but I just feel sturdier with it wrapped around my entire upper body.

Katara places the bandage on the small table next to my bed and then walks around to the other side of the bed and hesitantly crawls under the blankets. She sits there stiffly for a while, unsure of what to do.

I decide to somewhat, test, my new found stability and weakly pull her down toward me. She doesn't resist and carefully cuddles up against me. Her knees curl up close to her body and she rests her head on my non bandaged shoulder.

It's comforting to have her near me. And the fact that she is so careful of my wound makes her so much better. She makes sure that none of her body is touching it, which means less pain for me. I smile at the fact that she finally seems a little bit at ease. 

I slowly wrap my arm around her and grab one of her hands. Her other hand mindlessly runs patterns over my knuckles. I can tell that she is tired, but I have the sense that she is waiting for me to fall asleep first. Instead of doing so though, I just comfort her as much as possible.

Katara's POV

Feeling Zuko next to me is so calming. I didn't think that is was possible for me to just lay down next to someone and feel much more relaxed. He is so warm that I almost become hot when I'm underneath the blankets. I am careful not to touch the bandages or wound. That way, he isn't uncomfortable with me there.

Zuko provides this comforting shield around me. Whenever I was with Aang, I knew that he was trying to be protective and comforting, but it never had that effect. Zuko, however, will probably always have that effect on me, even when he is hurt. 

I try my best to stay awake, or as I see it, to stay strong for Zuko, but his warmth and gentle comfort makes that almost impossible. I am able to stay awake for about three minutes before Zuko's warmth and comfort puts me to sleep.

Before I fall asleep completely, I hear Zuko say, "Katara, I will give anything and everything that I have with you. Always. Don't be afraid to ask me." He gently kisses the top of my head, and then I lose to the battle of sleep.

This one was short, but hopefully it was the Zutara that you all were looking for. Thanks again for whoever is reading. The number keeps going up, way faster than I thought it ever would and even though it's just by a few, it still shocks me.