The Dragon and The Ocean // Zutara

Solutions

Zuko's POV

As I walk back to Katara and I's room after a long day of meeting with the Earth King, it's almost impossible to keep to myself and not yell at every servant who asks me if I need anything. The fact that I'm seriously thinking about firing people for doing their job is just sickening to me, but the best I can do is to just reject them as calmly as possible.

Just like yesterday, the meeting with the Earth King went nowhere. We can't make progress if someone doesn't make sacrifices. I already offered to make a sacrifice, but he on the other hand still refuses to do so. I know that the Earth King was never the brightest and has always had quite selfish tendencies, but this is pushing it too far.

I barely make it to the room before I can't hold anything back anymore. I slam the door behind me before leaning against the wall and slamming my fists against the hard surface. None of the punches are enough to break the wall, but I wouldn't be lying if I said that I didn't want the wall to break.

Once I lose interest in that I make my way over to the sitting area and break down the tables next to the couches with a blast of fire. After that I collapsed onto the longest couch with my hands over my face, trying to keep myself from destroying anything else.

I hear the bedroom door open, but I don't look up to see Katara. I can only imagine the disappointed look on her face. She wouldn't be too happy with this destruction. That thought normally would have made me worry half to death but right now I am too frustrated to care.

A few seconds later, her face comes into view between my fingers as she kneels by the couch. I hesitated for a bit, before just deciding to face her anger and move my hands away from my face. It's a complete surprise to me when she doesn't look mad like I thought she would be. She just looks worried, almost.

Once she sees my hands move away from my face she throws herself on top of me and wraps me up in a warm embrace. Without even realizing it, my body immediately relaxes. I feel more at ease right now than I have been all day, all thanks to Katara.

I turn to the side to relieve some pressure from my wound. Katara doesn't apologize like I thought she would. She must have something else on her mind. Whatever it is, she stays silent, keeping the atmosphere calm.

We continue to lay there in silence and she keeps her arms wrapped tightly around mine. I feel her start to stroke her fingers up and down my spine, which relaxes me further. I would hug her back but she placed her arms about where my elbows are so I can't really move my arms all that well.

I decided to go with the next best option and nuzzle my nose into her neck. She laughs ever so slightly at the action before going quiet again. By this point, I have almost completely relaxed, bathing in Katara's love and her scent, which actually smells more like me if I think about it.

"Feeling better now?" Katara whispers after a few more minutes.

I nod my head, so she slowly pulls herself away from my body and sits us up. Once we are only touching by our hands, I already find myself longing for her warmth, for her to embrace me again. The only thing that keeps me from just pulling her back into a never ending embrace is her beautiful blue eyes, which are gazing up at me. It's clear that they are asking me questions.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks, the new look in her eyes, telling me that if I don't want to, she will pretty much completely understand.

"I....I don't wanna rope you into it." I replied hesitantly.

"Zuko, whatever it is, it is making you very upset and frustrated. Don't you think that as your girlfriend, I deserve to know?" She asks, outsmarting me.