Fire Within: Zuko and Katara fanfic

After Oazi

Thinking back to that moment always gave me a rush.  A rush I felt guilty for feeling. I never felt that way toward Aang. With Zuko, it was a complicated feeling that I enjoyed trying to figure out. For the majority of our adventures, we hated Zuko. He had done inexcusable things to try to capture Aang- sending pirates after us, almost freezing Aang to death at the North Pole, and sicking a paralyzing ShearShew on us. But one thing that was extremely confusing to me still was when we were in prison together in Ba Sing Sae.

I had told him when I thought of our many enemies around the world, I could only see his face. A pathetic frown formed on his lips as he reached for his scar. "My face, I see," he mumbled. I realized what I had said brought up painful memories for him, and I immediately regretted saying it. I showed him the special water from the spirit oasis and told him it could possibly heal him. As I raised my hand to his scar, my fingers tingled with a sensation I had only felt once before- the moment I held Aang after Appa was taken from us in the desert. But it was stronger. Much stronger, almost like my fingers were so hot they had gone numb. I let them linger there on the healed burn. I wouldn't have moved them if Aang and Iroh hadn't exploded through the walls.

As Aang and I attempted our escape, all I could think about was Zuko. I was questioning whether he would have let me use the water on him, or if he was too skeptical. I wondered if the water would have worked on his scar, or if he would be disappointed if it didn't. Those questions soon became the least of my worries when Azula and a hoard of Dai Li agents began chasing us through the crystals.

The rest was a blur. Aang faced off  with the agents as me a Azula battled it out, fire versus water. The one moment that was amazingly clear to me was when Zuko joined the battle on Azula's side. That moment in time went on forever. I didn't understand why. The conversation we shared in jail was the only real talk we had ever had, but yet I felt betrayed. As I transitioned to fighting Zuko, I let my rage fuel my attacks. As all our battles raged on, it seemed as if only seconds has gone by when Azula shot down Aang from the Avatar State and nearly killed him. I held onto that rage as we planned our next moves. As Aang recovered from his near-death experience, I secretly plotted my revenge on Zuko. But I never did get the numbness fully out of my fingers.

Now, as I stand here on the porch of the Jasmine Dragon, I feel that rush looking back to all my friends laughing at Sokka's painting. Although I already know Aang is making his way out to the porch, I secretly wish that Zuko grabs him to talk to him, or that Toph gives him a random punch, just something to prevent or delay what I knew was coming. I pretended not to notice as he arrives at the railings, looking over the vast walled city. I see him turn towards me, trying to catch my eye in the process. I slowly shift so that I'm slightly closer to him, leaving just enough space for breathing. I wanted to rush this and get it over with, and it seemed this was the only way to make that happen. A small smirk covered the lower half of his face as his lips moved closer to mine. The small space I had left between us became filled with slow tension and warmth as it grew smaller and smaller. I closed my eyes just as I felt his lower lip brush mine, hoping that Zuko was not looking outside at this moment. Then we kissed. It was a sweet, simple kiss. Everything about the kiss was perfect. At our vantage point, we could see all of Ba Sing Sae. The sky was like an artist's color palette, with colors blending together to create majestic blues and burning yellows. It wasn't too hot warm outside, nor was it too cold. It was perfect. Everything was perfect, until I opened my eyes. I didn't see the little arrow headed teenager I had originally been kissing. I saw Zuko standing before me, lips still locked on mine.