Pirates {a zutara fic}

part iii

Meeting those amber eyes is almost too much for her to bear. It’s hard to tell what he’s feeling, but that’s nothing new. His face is twisted up like he wants to say something, but Katara knows he won’t. He hasn’t before.

His mouth opens, and for a minute, she thinks he’s about to prove her wrong.

It clicks shut and fury burns bright again. The adrenaline rush isn’t over yet. 

“You bastard,” she says in a low voice. “You traitorous bastard.”

Zuko says nothing, prompting her further. The jet of water that blows him off his feet surprises them both, neither one of them expecting it. Zuko is blown back by the force, slamming forcefully into a trunk and gasping for the air that won’t come. 

Katara doesn’t know how long she’s wanted to do that until she sees him like that, on his knees from her doing. She hasn’t realized it, but she blames Zuko for everything that has gone wrong, even for the little things that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with him. Everything thing is his fault, and she’s so angry. She needs this – badly.

“Do you know what you did?” she yells at his crouched figure. Water surges on both sides of her, like serpentine guardians watching over her shoulders protectively. They follow the angry movements of her hands.

Zuko has caught his breath, holds up one hand in a defensive position. He rises to his feet warily. “Katara,” he says, “I don’t want to fight.”

“Well, that’s too bad, because I want to fight you!” The water whip lashes out in her oldest, most reliable move. It leaves a clean slash in where Zuko’s head was not two seconds ago. “You made that happen when you turned against us!”

Forced to defend himself, Zuko sends a blast of fire from his palm, evaporating the water in midair as it’s launched towards him. Their eyes blink, adjusting to the sudden brightness in the forest. “I did the right thing!” he shouts back, and now he’s furious. His insides twist at the recollection of that battle, that final shot delivered by Azula, striking the Avatar down at the zenith of his power. He was not the one who issued the killing stroke, and Katara has no right to assign him the blame. “I restored my honor!”

Another blast, another one dodged. Sweat breaks out on Zuko’s forehead from the close call, he can feel the tiny droplets of water spraying his face as it flicks over his head, barely missing him. Thrust out palms deliver his first offensive attack, still hesitant on fully engaging her. He doesn’t want to hurt her. 

Katara dives to the side as the fire passes over her, squishing in the mud as she rolls. She’s shaking with rage, with the ridiculousness of his excuses. “Your honor?” she seethes, and the water behind her quivers. “You traded your honor for the love of your uncle, Zuko. Was it worth it?”

“Don’t talk about my uncle!” Zuko bellows, and fires off a series of violent shots. He forgets his silent promise to try to not hurt her. Flames lick the surfaces of the burning wood, consuming it with a putrid smell. Her nose wrinkles, at both him and the scent. 

“Poor Zuko,” she mocks cruelly. “So confused yet so stupid. Stupid enough to stay in the middle, never picking one side and sticking with it.”

He can pull his hair out in frustration right now. It’s one thing to think that way, but it’s another thing for him to hear the sinewy waterbender dangle it in front of his face.

They both call their element to them, willing it to be more powerful than the others’. Hands at their sides, fists clenched, Katara’s are encased in water while Zuko’s are engulfed in flame, both too furious to realize how much the other person is hurting.