Kaida Queen Of Ice <<ATLA; Book two: Earth>>

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I ran as it started raining. I tried calling his name over the rain. I sighed and gathered the water creating the dragon and making it up the mountain as fast as possible. As soon as the first sound of thunder rang through my ear I froze in my spot.

"Z..Zuko.." I whispered.

"You've always thrown everything you could at me!" He yelled into the sky. "Well, I can take it! And Now I can give it back."
I was close behind him but I saw the lightning and heard the thunder once again. "Come on! Strike me! You never held back before!"

"Zuko, stop!!" I cried out the tears mixing with the rain, falling down my face. "Please let's...let's go!" I heard him scream and I ran over hugging him. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and we both fell onto our knees.
I buried my face into his neck as the thunder still boomed loudly, I couldn't help but jump.

"You're afraid of the thunder and lightning." He whispered in my ear.

"Y..yeah." I whispered shivering, I want to say it's because it was cold rain but that's not true.

"You knew it was going to rain and you still followed me. Why?" He asked.

I pushed away slightly the both of us locking eyes. My heart was racing against my ribs. "I..I'm not sure." I stuttered a crash of lightning flashed and filled my ear.

Zuko covered them for me as I slammed by eyes closed but then I felt his lips crash into mine. I hesitated and opened my eyes, vision blurred by the rain. Suddenly my heart slowed down and I closed my eyes tilting my head to kiss him back.
At that moment I only focused on him, his lips moving against mine, my skin growing goosebumps. It felt like we were the only people in the entire world. Nothing else happening around us. No rain, no lightning, and no thunder just our lips moving in sync in the deep kiss.
The strange and confusing thing was that this was actually keeping me calm. Zuko was distracting me from everything around us. He pulled me into his lap and I buried my hands into his hair, my skin felt like it was on fire. The rain stopped hitting us because an umbrella of ice formed over our heads, that's when we both slightly pulled away so we could breath. I placed my forehead on his the both of us heavily panting.

What did I just do?

⇢ ⇢ ⇢

We stayed up there still using the ice to prtect us from the rain, then we headed down and back into the house when the rain stopped.
   I dried the both of us and we looked at each other, neither of us saying anything.

"I see you got him back!" Iroh said and we both jumped forgetting he was with us.

"Oh uh yeah." I nodded. "Well... um..I should uh..." I stepped away from Zuko. "I'm gonna, go to sleep."
   I looked around but there was no other room. "Who built this house?!"

"What's wrong with her?" I heard Iroh ask.

⇢ ⇢ ⇢

That night I stood outside gathering the rain from the ground. I heard someone and froze them down by their feet, when I turned around I blushed.

"Oh.." I unfroze Zuko. "Don't sneak up on people, it's rude." I turned around but now I practiced.

"Don't you want to talk about it?" He asked and I looked at him. "The kiss."

"No, not really." I really wanted him to leave me alone. "You only did it to distract me, right?"
   When he didn't answer I turned to look at him once again. "Right?!"

"No, Kaida." He replied and I turned around ignoring him. "I wanted to do it back when we were staying with Lee and his family."

I had mixed feelings. I was scared. What about Yoshiro? What will Sokka and Katara think?

"Look Zuko," I faced him once again. "I don't know how I feel? Alright? I'm heart broken right now, I have a lot on my mind."

"Oh." He said and looked away.

I felt terrible. "Zuko, I...I lost the person I loved the most. I think I only kissed you back because I felt vulnerable and wanted to get away from everything."
   My heart broke for him, I felt a panic wash over me and I grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry, I told you before and-"

"No. it's alright." Zuko pulled my hand off. He went inside without saying anything else.

I sighed and my sadness was over taken by frusteration. I turned and shot the ice at an empty house, it knocked the remains down causing me to flinch.
I went back inside where Iroh offered me a cup of tea which I gladly accepted because I missed his tea so much. Zuko was just finishing his tea and lied down in his sleeping bag.

"We should get some rest and leave tomorrow." Zuko said.

"Right." I nodded and finished my tea before lying down and closing my eyes.

Falling asleep without his touch was harder than I thought. I never needed it before, but when we left the North Pole we were crammed onto the drift wood never having any real space, a part of us always touched, until we got to a Fire Nation village and some time in the woods. When we left without Iroh we were always touching, sitting against each other on the ostrich horse.
Now alone I felt abandoned like I was all alone. I heard a shift and looked over to see Zuko closer to me. I would be selfish to even touch him, I can't believe he came after what I said. I thought he would be mad, I would be crushed if someone rejected me.

"Go to sleep." He whispered and laid on his side with his arm tucked under his head.

"Right." I breathed and turned to face the wall, seconds later I felt his back pressed against mine. I sighed and instantly fell asleep.

༻Flashback/dream༺

I was in a pitch black room trying to feel around but then a voice boomed scarimg me into what I think was a corner. The voice belonged to Katara.

"You kissed him. You kissed him, how could you?! After his Nation killed your mother!
The Nation he wants to run in the future. You're a terrible person!"

"No, I'm not." I tried running down the endless dark tunnel.

If you had to kill for him would you? The loud voice came from nowhere
"No!"
"You sick traitor!"
Sokka and Aang yelled and the three of them chanted those words.

༻End of Flashback/dream༺

"No!" I shot up in a cold sweat. My heart rapidly racing against my chest as I tried steadying my breathing.
I looked over at Zuko, he was curled up the blanket not even on him, he gave it to me. I hugged my knees and watched his shallow breaths.
He's not a bad person.. He just had childhood trauma, he wants to belong. He wants his father's love.
I laid back staring up at the broken ceiling, he just needs help. That doesn't make me a bad person, I know that.

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Edited; 11/05/20
Re-Edited; 7/10/21