Zutara Drabbles And Things

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[fireprunes]

memories to remain: teashop scene

So last year for Zutara Week 2017, I began writing an AU for the prompt soulmates. Well, one year and 12k words later, my soulmate AU still remains in my google docs folders unfinished.

For an entire year this fic has haunted me, but I feel like I owe it to the public and myself to show it was something I worked on and that does exist. So, for Zutara Week 2018, I thought I'd share an excerpt that correlates to today's theme: tea.

She should have run.

In another life, perhaps, Katara did run. She did what any sensible person would do and went to tell someone who could do something about the situation in front of her. In another life, she was smart, and her judgment wasn’t clouded by the draw of something that shouldn’t be real—by the draw of something entirely too real.

But that life was not this life, and so Katara did not run.

Instead, she stood, watching the boy who chased her and her friends halfway around the world with complete and utter fascination.

Really, she should have known he'd be here. Why wouldn't he be? She'd felt the telltale pull to the tea shop, almost like an untapped reflex kicking into action after not being used for so long. All through her time in Ba Sing Se, she had felt something tugging on her, calling her somewhere all too familiar yet all too unknown. Learning of the Jasmine Dragon only made the pull worse; it was like she finally had the destination she was looking for.

She should have known why. Maybe a part of her did know why. Maybe she'd always known why.

It didn't take long for him to notice her. It never did; it never would. She hadn't been staring more than a minute, watching him work in a teashop of all places.

He wore some uniform she'd never seen before. The smile on his face was just as foreign.

To anyone else, there was nothing out of the ordinary when he turned and caught her eye. Just a tea server acknowledging a new customer before going to help another. No one in the shop would think that something bigger was happening. Or, if they knew, they'd think that the two finding each other would just be coincidence.

Nothing about them had ever just been coincidence.

Katara was sure that time had stopped for the two of them. For a while, they did nothing but stare at each other. Everything around her seemed to stop moving. The clatter of dishes, the steady stream of soft conversation from the customers, the bustle of the crowd—they all melted away and all that was left was him: the gold of his irises, the black of his hair.

The red of his scar.

Zuko looked at her with an expression she couldn’t quite place. If she had to describe it, he looked like she felt: an impossible mix of terror, confusion, and longing.

Eventually, he made his way to her, slowly, as if he was worried that moving too fast would scare her away. He came as close as he would dare, smelling of ginseng and honey and slightly of smoke—and after a moment of nothing but waiting, saying nothing, he asked her one vital question:

“Do I know you?”

The answer should have been obvious. Of course he knew her. How could he not? How could he look at the girl he chased, the girl he fought, the girl who was his enemy, and ask if he knew her?

But that wasn't what he was asking.

It was never that simple.

“I think you do.”

They sat on the roof for what seemed like hours.

Zuko had always felt that destiny was against him. It fought him every step of the way, and now, here she was. The last girl he would have asked for or expected turned the one girl he’d always held out hope for.

Nothing about this was fair, or right. All of this was wrong, horribly wrong.

He always imagined his soulmate would be some beautiful girl from the Fire Nation, someone he would meet once he reclaimed his honor and was once again the rightful heir to the Fire Nation throne. She was supposed to be someone he met at his best, who would help him bring to the Fire Nation into a new, better era.

It wasn’t supposed to be her—this girl whom his people had fought against for so long, this girl who saw him only at his worst, most destructive self.

Why, he wondered, did his soulmate have to be the one girl who was least likely to ever accept him?

“Do you want anything?” He blurted out. She looked at him, slightly surprised and confused. He coughed awkwardly. That’s not how you break an awkward silence, he scolded himself. Though, truth be told, it hadn’t been that awkward. They had barely said anything to each other—neither knew what to say—but the tension never got bad, at least not to Zuko. Sitting with her, looking out into the night and seeing the stars above shining, it felt right somehow.

So of course Zuko had to ruin it by asking stupid questions.

“Uhm,” he coughed uncomfortably. “I mean, are you hungry? Thirsty? I can get you something from downstairs, if you’d like.”

Katara looked at him, skeptical. “I’m okay,” she said, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around her knees. “But thank you.”

He nodded, unsure of what to say next. In his head, he had a million questions for her, like where her friends were, or why she was in the city. But, he figured that the situation was fragile enough without him asking her where the Avatar was. He decided it should be her choice whether or not she told him any information.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to you,” Katara admitted. She looked at him sheepishly, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear. Zuko thought that if this girl ended up not being his soulmate, he’d fight the spirits above for teasing him with someone like her. “Ever since I left the South Pole with Aang and my brother, I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’m out of my comfort zone. But this is…” she trailed off, and even though she didn’t have an end to the thought, Zuko knew exactly what she meant.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “This is…”

Katara narrowed her eyes at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and turned away. Before Zuko could say anything else, she changed her mind again, swinging her head back before saying, “I mean, what are we supposed to say? ‘Hi, yes, I think there’s a chance we might be soulmates. Why don’t we just say screw it, run away together, and see if we can’t make this work on some farm in the Earth Kingdom’?”

Zuko’s eyes widened at her suggestion, and some selfish, longing part of him wished he could say yes, let’s do exactly that.

Instead, he sighed. Realistically, he didn’t know what they were supposed to do. There was no guidebook or instruction manual titled “What to Do When Your Soulmate is Also Your Enemy”.

For now, he’d just have to wing it.

“We could test it out.”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “What do you mean?”

Reaching into his shoe, Zuko pulled out the knife that Iroh had given him. He unsheathed it, letting the silver metal shine and reflect the glow of the moon overhead. “We don’t know for sure if we’re… you know. Connected. Linked. Whatever you want to call it.” He twirled the blade lazily in his hand, flipping between one inscription to the other. “For all we know, everything we’ve experienced has just been weird coincidence.” Lifting himself up with his hands, Zuko shifted how he was sitting so he could face Katara and not the streets below. Watching him, Katara followed in suit, their knees brushing against each other as she adjusted herself.

“So you’re suggesting, what?” Katara asked incredulously. “You cut yourself, and I see if I feel it?” Zuko nodded. “How do you know I won’t just lie and say I felt it?”

Zuko gawked at her, feeling his cheeks warm. Did she just… imply that she would lie to make him think she was his soulmate? She must have realized what she said, too, because her eyes widened in shock. Katara’s face turned a deep maroon, and her eyes quickly left his, fixating on a very interesting streetlamp below.

As much as he wanted to focus on what she just said, Zuko decided it was best not to make the situation any more awkward than it already was. He coughed, hoping to clear some of the tension. “Well, you could turn around, so you wouldn’t know when I did it, or where.”

Slowly, Katara shifted her attention back to him. She nodded, but still appeared uneasy. “Yeah, that could work.” She didn’t say it, but Zuko could hear the but at the end of that sentence.

“But…?”

Her look of uneasiness turned to one of guilt, and Katara began lightly tugging on her braid. “But, I don’t know if I want to know.”

The look Zuko gave her must have made her feel even worse, because she quickly jumped in to explain. “It’s just, for so long, all of this has been hypothetical. There’s always been a chance that it’s not us. That it’s like you said, all of what we’ve experienced has just been coincidence.” She sighed. Her hand went up to her necklace. “But, if we test this out, no matter what happens, the answer is going to be final. One way or another, everything is going to change the second you put that knife to your skin.” Her eyes were desperate, as if begging for him to understand. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.”

Zuko understood. Katara was right; this was bigger than they were, and both outcomes meant a lot of decision making, more questions, and some sort of change. “So what do you want to do?”

She studied his face for a moment, as if the answer lay somewhere buried in his features. “Let’s just… have tonight.” Pulling her hair free, Katara laid back onto the roof, her brown curls pooling around her face. “Let’s just lay here, and look at the stars, and not do anything. It’ll be our break from everything else that’s happening right now.” Her eyes found his, and Zuko suddenly felt like his soul had been exposed. “I don’t know about you, but, I could really use a night where nothing else that’s going on in our lives can touch us. A night where we just lay here, undisturbed, waiting for the sun to rise.”

Zuko stared at her, amazed and in disbelief that this girl—this girl who he chased and fought for months—was asking for a night, just the two of them, to sit and be at peace with one another. He laid himself out next to her. Searching her eyes, he looked for any sign of hesitation or discomfort. When he found none, Zuko gave her a ghost of a smile.

“Okay,” he said softly, “Let’s have tonight.”

[j-sson]

Visit Original Link

How can I forget your love? How can I never see you again?

[fireprunes]

Ahh I'm so excited for your Soulmate AU! I love your writing so much. And take your time with the AU, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait :)

Omg thank you so much!! I’m really excited about it too! Right now it’s at about 8k words, so this is by far the most massive thing I’ve written to date. 

[fireprunes]

ZK Week Update

Hey y'all! Alright so, first off, I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the survey for which Soulmate AU prompt I should write. It’s really nice to know that y'all like my writing enough to vote and get involved with what you’d like to see from me in the future. With that said, it’s about 10pm here and my soulmate AU is… very much not finished. This is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever written, and it’s kicking my ass right now. With that, I think that this is going to end up being one of my best works, and because of that, I don’t want to rush through the rest just to get it out to you in time. I think it's pointless for me to burn myself out tonight trying to get this done and just writing not-quality stuff out just for the sake of finishing. I want this to be amazing, and so while I’m not going to be able to get it out and posted in time for Soulmates Day, I promise it’s coming very, very soon. Have a happy Zutara Week, everyone!

[fireprunes]

Me, having spent an hour and a half writing: Oh man I really feel like I got a lot done I’m so pumped about this I wonder how much I wrote! 

Word count: 1k words

Me:

[webwrecker]

me: i’ve got another idea for a fic

them: you literally have seven unfinished works

me:

[fireprunes]

I NEED Y’ALLS HELP

Okay, so as we all know, Zutara Week is this month, and one of the prompts is ‘Soulmates’. I want to write a soulmate AU, but there are literally so many Soulmate AU ideas out there I don’t know which to choose from. 

I’m going to make a poll that people can vote on for which one you’d like to see written at the end of the week, but before then, please send me Soulmate AU prompts. I will compile them and add everything sent to me to the poll to be voted on, but I need y’alls ideas in order to do that. 

Thank you!!

[fireprunes]

Aggression

Oh my gosh, I actually finally posted something. Crazy, right? This is one of the prompts for zutara smut week. It’s not the first prompt, smut week is over, and there isn’t even any sex in it. I know, I’m great at following directions. Hope y’all like this Boiling Rock AU anyways! 

Zuko was exhausted. As nice as the family reunion between Hakoda and his children was, Zuko hadn’t gotten a good night sleep since before venturing to the Boiling Rock. As the family hugged and cried and caught up, Zuko slipped away, doing his best to leave unnoticed.

He wasted no time falling into bed, practically jumping into it once he entered his room. It wasn’t until his time as a refugee that he realized what a luxury beds were, and from now on he was going to thank the spirits every time he got to sleep in one.

Zuko’s eyes hadn’t been closed a minute when he heard the door to his room open. He opened his good eye to see Katara standing in the doorway. Zuko shot out of bed, surprised by the intrusion. She must have seen him leave and immediately followed him back. 

Katara was leaning against the doorframe, her demeanor cold and hard as steel. Normally, Zuko would be afraid seeing her so icy, but her intimidating facade was betrayed by her eyes. The look she gave him was filled with doubt and skepticism. In any normal circumstances, given what he had just done for her, Zuko would’ve thought the surprise visit would be for her to thank him privately for saving her father.

But knowing Katara, and seeing how she was standing there, he doubted this is what she was coming to do.

“Why did you save him?” Katara asked firmly, wasting no time.

If he was honest with himself, Zuko didn’t really know why he did it. There was no one reason. He didn’t go with Sokka because he had some grand motive behind it. He just wanted to help Sokka; he knew Katara’s brother wouldn’t be able to do it alone. He wanted Sokka to trust and rely on him, to know he was no longer the angry person who chased them around the world. He knew that this was important to the Water Tribe siblings, and wanted to help them reunite with a parent who loved them.

“I didn’t save him,” Zuko finally responded. “Your brother was the one who came up with the plan, and the strategy, and was the one who saved him in the end. I was just there to help.”

Katara’s eyes narrowed, obviously not satisfied with that answer. “But why? Why did you help?” Arms crossed, she pushed herself off the wall. She took a step towards him, as if being closer would help her pick out the lie. The doubt Zuko originally saw faded into suspicion.

“When I told your brother about the prison, he was determined to go and find your father.” Katara opened her mouth, probably about to blame Zuko for planting dangerous ideas in Sokka’s head, but he kept going. “There wasn’t anything I could do to change his mind, so I went with him. It would’ve been a suicide mission had he gone alone.”

 When Katara struggled to find a response, Zuko kept going. “You know,” he added, annoyed, “Most times when people save other people’s estranged fathers from prison, they get a thank you, not accusations about ulterior motives.”

 He knew he shouldn’t be picking a fight with her, his relationship with Katara was the rockiest one he had with all of the group, and he needed to do everything he could to not make it worse. But he was also tired. He wanted nothing more than to just sleep, and he was sick of all of Katara’s attempts to paint him as the person he used to be.

 Now, Katara looked downright angry. “Well excuse me for not trusting you to be Mr. Humanitarian,” she shot back bitterly. “I’m just having a hard time believing in your little ‘ally and friend’ act.”

 As she spoke, Zuko had a realization. He looked at Katara dumbfounded. She took a small step back, suddenly unsure. “What?” she asked hesitantly.

 Zuko took a step closer, now towering over her. “You, do, though, don’t you?”

 She raised an eyebrow. “I do what?”

 Another step closer. “Believe me. Trust me. You don’t think I’m going to turn on you, do you?”

 Katara scoffed, incredulous. “What? Of course I do. Why would you think that?” 

 “Because,” Zuko explained, “Ever since I was accepted into this group, you’ve been mean to me, but never distrustful of me. Like with Aang. If you really thought I was still on my father’s side, you’d have never let him leave with me, not in a million years. If you really didn’t trust me, you would’ve thought it was an obvious trap for me to get the Avatar alone, capture him, and take him home.”

 Katara paled, instantly looking guilty. “That’s ridiculous,” she said weakly, “The situation with Aang was different, I—”

 “You don’t like me.” Zuko finished for her. “Despite trusting me, you still don’t like me; you still hate me. With Aang, it was different, because you knew he needed to learn firebending, despite who it was that was teaching him. And when Aang started to consider me a friend, that was fine with you, too. Aang is too friendly for his own good, so of course he’d be nice to me despite how I acted in the past.

 “But Sokka is a different story. He’s your brother, and despite what Toph and Aang might think of me, you were able to count on your brother to mindlessly hate me, even though I’ve repented for what I’ve done. But now, he doesn’t hate me. Your brother sees me as a friend, and even worse, your own father likes me too. So I don’t think the issue is that you don’t trust me. The issue is you feel alone, and I’m the reason why.”

 Zuko was thankful that Katara wasn’t a firebender, because if she was, his whole room would probably be ablaze by now. In all his time of knowing her, he had never seen Katara this angry or terrifying. “How dare you?” she shouted, loud enough for the entire temple to hear. “You act like you know me, you know my family, but you don’t! And you have the audacity to try to make me feel like my family is against me? Not all of us have horrible families like you, Zuko. You have no right to try and tell me things you know nothing about!”

 She stormed towards Zuko, and he fumbled backward, trying to get out of her reach. His room was small, though, and soon his back was up against the wall. Despite him being taller than her, she had risen onto her toes, so her face had come to be closer to eye level with him. Their noses couldn’t have been more than an inch apart.

“You don’t know me at all, Zuko.” She spat, voice barely louder than a whisper, but filled with venom.

 Zuko’s heart was beating out of his chest, and his mind was swirling. All he could see in that moment were Katara’s eyes, blue and storming like the ocean before it claimed another ship.

 “I know you better than you think I do,” he whispered, barely audible. “I know you better than you’d probably like.”

The waves in her eyes crashed, looking deadly. “Yeah?” she asked, matching his volume. “Prove it.”

 Then they collided.

Zuko didn’t know which of them acted first. He didn’t think it really mattered. What mattered was that Katara was kissing him, hard, and he was kissing her back in equal fervor. Everything about their kiss was ravenous, hungry, and rushed.

He was stuck between the wall and Katara’s body. Her hands ran up and down his chest, her fingers latching into his shirt and pulling him even closer. By the way Katara moved her tongue clumsily and impatiently, Zuko could tell she wasn’t very experienced. It didn’t matter to him, though. He didn’t know if it was the high emotions running, or the desperation, but he thought that this was somehow still better than every experienced kiss he had shared with Mai before. Before he had never known, but now he realized that where Mai had experience, she lacked passion. With Katara, her passion more than made up for any technical finesse she lacked.  

Katara’s arms wrapped around Zuko’s neck, and as her fingernails scraped against his hairline, Zuko felt himself rising to her passion.

He grabbed the back of her legs and pulled her up, making it so that he was holding her. Her legs twisted together behind his back, and he flipped their position, so it was her against the wall. There was a bed not two feet from them, but he preferred her there, in his arms, solely relying on him for support.

His mouth parted from hers, and he kissed his way down her neck. Her back arched forward in pleasure, her chest now glued to his. As he sucked her collarbone, he rolled his hips into hers, and the moan that escaped her lips was music to his ears. 

Zuko felt a sharp pull on his hair and pulled back to look at her. Her lips were slightly swollen, and the ocean in her eyes was still raging, but this time filled with undeniable desire. She unwrapped her legs from his back and hit the ground. Removing her hands from his hair, she slowly reached down to the tie on her dress. Undoing the knot, her dress opened to reveal thin bindings. Zuko nearly lost himself right there. She wanted this. Wanted him. Soon there would be no going back.

He didn’t want to. 

Their lips met again, and Zuko drank her in, like a dehydrated man finally getting a cool drink of water. He stopped just long enough to peel his own shirt off of him, throwing it back behind him without a care. As his hands roamed up her muscled stomach, a million questions entered his mind. Is this okay? Do you want this? Katara?

“Katara?”

At the sound of Sokka’s voice, the two shot apart in an instant. He was on the other side of the door, coming closer. Zuko panicked and quickly grabbed his shirt, while Katara looked at him horrified. There was a knock on the door, and without thinking, Zuko pushed Katara against the far wall as the door opened.

Not a moment too soon, either. As soon as her back hit stone, the door opened, concealing her from outside view. “Hey Zuko, have you see—” Sokka stopped when he saw Zuko shirtless, tunic strategically held over his waist. “Oh, dude, sorry, I didn’t realize you were changing. I thought I heard Katara in here.”

From the corner of his eye, Zuko could see Katara mouthing something, but he didn’t dare look at her, not even for a second. “Oh, yeah,” Zuko said slowly, clearing his throat. “She… just left. I don’t know where she went.” Katara closed her eyes, letting out a silent breath of relief.

Sokka frowned slightly. “Damn. Hopefully, she went back to Dad, he was looking for her. That’s why I’m here.” His eyes narrowed slightly at Zuko. “I heard shouting. You guys got pretty loud. I would’ve thought she’d be thanking you for helping bring Dad back.”

Zuko just shrugged, unable to look the brother of the girl he’d almost just slept with in the eyes. Sokka softened. “Look,” he said, “She’ll come around eventually, I promise. I was hoping what you did for us would’ve warmed her up to you but…” Sokka let the sentence die, not knowing the end of his own thought. “I never thought I’d say this, but, you’ve kind of become one of my best friends. If she won’t thank you, I will. Thank you, seriously.” He turned to walk out, but at the last second added: “If she comes back here, tell her I’m looking for her.”

Zuko was shocked at the admission, but before he could say anything, Sokka was gone. Just like that, the door was once again closed, leaving Zuko and Katara to stare at one another. 

Neither knew what they were supposed to say. As Zuko looked at Katara standing there, hair disheveled and dress sloppily pulled together, he was struck by just how beautiful she was. It was a fact he felt he should have always known because in that moment it was so glaringly obvious Zuko wondered if up until now he had been just as blind as Toph. How was it that he had never seen Katara for what she truly was until now? It was no wonder Aang was in love with her. With hair that fell in beautiful brown waves down her back, flawless dark skin that practically glowed and eyes that told a million different stories just with one look, it was a wonder that there weren’t already ballads dedicated to her beauty.

For a moment, part of Zuko—a big part—wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and kiss her again. Their last kiss had been an out of control flame, angry and crackling and burning with aggression. This time, he wanted a slow burning fire, something intense, but soothing, a kiss that would flow warmth and tender passion through his veins. 

But then Katara coughed uncomfortably. Just like that, the illusion was shattered, the moment over. All that was left were two half-dressed teenagers standing alone in a too quiet room.

“I…” Katara started awkwardly, “I should go. My dad and Sokka are looking for me.” She made no move to go. She just kept looking at him, waiting for him to respond. 

He didn’t understand why, but everything in Zuko wanted to tell her to stay just a little bit longer. Not even because of what had almost happened. He’d be content just to hold her, or talk to her, just something where she was involved. That terrified him, and his mind filled with a thousand different contradictory thoughts. How could his perception on a person change so drastically in so little time? How could this girl before him go from a distrusting ally to his whole world in mere seconds? She was hypnotizing him, clouding his judgment, and all he wanted was to become more lost in her. 

Instead, Zuko turned away from her and nodded. “That’s a good idea,” he said, quickly building up a wall against the thing he thought could only end in disaster.

There was a second that Zuko thought he saw Katara’s face fall, but when he turned to fully look at her again, her face was unreadable. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. She hurried to the door instead. 

Before she closed the door all the way, though, Katara spun back around. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “You saved my father, and I should’ve thanked you, not attacked you. So… thank you.” Without waiting for him to respond, Katara turned to leave again, but Zuko gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

“For what it’s worth,” Zuko told her softly, “I’m sorry about Ba Sing Se. I really am. That day is one I’ll always regret, and I don’t—” He was sharply cut off by her lips pressing against his.

This was the kind of kiss he wanted from her. It was tender and compassionate, but over all too quickly. Katara pulled away, hand cupped gently over Zuko’s scar, and looked up at him. Her eyes were unsure but bright, and she smiled at him. Her thumb ran along his left cheek lightly, and Zuko closed his eyes.

Her hand pulled away, and when Zuko opened his eyes she was gone, leaving him with an empty room and a full heart.  

[alexangery]

how to trick writers into giving you more fanfic to read

[fireprunes]

“Does This Actually Sound Good and Somewhat Poetic or Is it Just Fucking Stupid?”

A Question every fluff writer has had when trying to write angst

[maureenjohnsonbooks]

What's your writing routine like?

[fireprunes]

Hi! Could you write something about Katara starting to be the fire lady and Zuko supporting her? Thank you!

AN: This is a really great prompt and I love the idea, but I’m so sorry I’ve rewritten this like 4 times and I’m so unsatisfied with everything I’ve tried to write. I’m going to just post this because it’s been in my drafts forever and I don’t want to start on my new promts until I get this one out but bleh I am really unhappy with this I’m sorry

“Hey, are you okay?” 

Katara let out a sigh of relief when she heard Zuko’s voice coming towards her. As she turned, she saw her fiancee walking down the hall, heading in her direction. She had been pacing in front of the large door, but stopped when she heard Zuko. 

She offered him a smile. “Yeah, I’m just… nervous.” Zuko raised an eyebrow at her. 

“You? Nervous?” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you nervous.”

Katara glared at him teasingly. “Yeah, well, this is important!” 

It really was. Zuko had proposed to Katara three days ago, and today was the day they were to officially announce the engagement to the Fire Nation. Katara had been working towards this day for a long time. Ever since the beginning of their courtship, Zuko and Katara both knew this relationship was going to last. So Katara had been studying Fire Nation history and practicing how to be a good Fire Lady from the start. 

All the practice in the world, however, couldn’t make the people like her, and Katara was terrified that the people wouldn’t accept her.

“What if they don’t want me as their Fire Lady?” Katara asked quietly. She looked away from Zuko, embarrassed. She know she shouldn’t have these doubts, but they came to her anyways. She was a waterbender. Would she ever be good enough? What if the people refused her? 

Zuko reached out and cupped Katara’s cheek, gently pulling her face toward him. “Hey,” he said softly. “Look. I know you’re nervous, but honestly? I think the people of the Fire Nation love you more than they love me.” Katara scoffed slightly. Zuko offered her a crooked smile. “I’m serious!” He insisted. “You know they love you, Katara. They are going to be so happy. And even if they weren’t, I wouldn’t care. You would prove them wrong, I know you would. 

“If every person out there hated you now, I bet after just a week of being Fire Lady they wouldn’t. I love you, and that’s what’s important.” His gold eyes looked onto Katara with nothing but love and pure adoration. He leaned in, kissing her sweetly on the lips. 

When he pulled away, he smiled at her again. “I believe in you, Katara. I love you.” 

Katara smiled back at him, taking his hand in hers. “I love you, too.” And she did. She loved him so much. She would do anything for Zuko, no matter what. 

“Are you ready?” He asked. Katara nodded. 

The double doors opened. The sunlight shone on Katara, blinding her. Though she momentarily could not see, she could hear the Fire Sage’s booming voice. “Now presenting: Fire Lord Zuko and his betrothed, Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe!” 

She could also hear the deafening cheers and applause. 

[fireprunes]

“She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”

… But Katara doubted there would be any beauty to be found within the prince. How could there be? How could there be anything but lies, hatred, and evil to be found in someone who would allow this to happen to her? 

She was taken from her family, from her home. The soldiers threatened everyone she loved. Years ago, they took her mother from her. This time, they came in their war ships and demanded her father as well, in order to make sure the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe would not become a threat to the nation. Katara refused to be parted from another family member. She refused to be left without a father as well. 

So she stepped up in his place. Katara demanded that the soldiers take her back to the Fire Nation instead. What threat could an old man be who wanted to do nothing but help his people survive when there was a young and healthy chief’s daughter with a vendetta against the Fire Lord himself? 

When Katara arrived, the general of the royal family, Iroh, had requested she not to judge Prince Zuko based on his appearance when she was brought in. She had yet to see the prince when she was asked this, but she didn’t need to. Whatever he looked like, it couldn’t compare to the ugliness of his soul; the soul that she was told gave the command for this capture mission in the first place. 

Sitting alone in her tiny cell, a small room at the bottom of the palace prison, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned her head away from the door, refusing to look at whoever it was that came into the room. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of a civil conversation. 

[fireprunes]

PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE

Katara couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes. Had he just invited her to... stay? Why? What was the change of heart from him wanting her to leave? Had he not just ordered her away a second before? 

She had a million thoughts running through her head, but she said nothing. Instead, she took his arm once more. He didn’t flinch this time, and she was able to heal the cut. His eyes widened as the water washed away the wound, but like her, he said nothing in response. He just watched her. 

Looking away from the fully healed arm, Katara finally spoke. “Thank you, by the way. For saving me. I mean... I only ran away because you yelled at me, which you shouldn’t have done I had no idea I didn’t know it was your room; I mean yes I shouldn’t have been in there but... still!” Katara paused, taking a deep breathe. She was supposed to be thanking him, not blaming him. She turned her head back so her eyes met his. He was looking at her as if she were slightly crazy, but didn’t say anything. 

“Thank you. I’m trying to say thank you. And, I’m sorry.” 

[fireprunes]

I'm crying I asked my sister to at least try Avatar and she was like "ugh idk I don't think I'll like it" and we finished the first episode and she was like "yeah that's fantastic" I'm crying this is a good day

[fireprunes]

Omg dude!!! You gotta continue this one of Zuko and Katara at the gym and you also have to continue that Blue Spirit and Painted Lady one too, they're sooo good!!! World of Warcraft can wait!!! 😂😂 Lol I'm jk! Enjoy your game but whenever you get the time please continue these two!

I’m working on both!! I’m 100% going to write the gym scene again from Zuko’s PoV. And I am currently plotting a multi chapter fic for the superhero AU. Right now, I’m estimating it’ll have five chapters, but that may change. I’ve also got school, and my Katara and Zuko! story, and my book 4 fic (have yet to post anything for that yet but… it’s in the works, I promise), so I’ll try to update as often as I can!

[fireprunes]

zutara - “i came to the gym to work out but holy god i can’t stop watching you do one armed push ups that’s so hot” pls???

AN: Sorry I didn’t write like… anything this past week. I made a post earlier this week about how my friend sucked me back into the black hole that is World of Warcraft. Plus my graduation is in 2 weeks from now so I’m going to be a lot busier until then. Just a heads up: I am in love with this prompt. Can I marry it please???

This was it. Katara was done. She was going to file a complaint with the gym, because this guy had no right to do this to her. 

How dare he? How dare he come into her gym, the place where she was supposed to be able to focus and work out in, and distract her like this? At first she thought maybe it wasn’t intentional. Maybe this guy didn’t mean anything by what he was doing. He was purely here to work out and Katara was just reading too much into this. 

But seriously? One armed push-ups? Who does that? What normal person just does one armed push-ups just for the heck of it? Does anyone really do those as part of a normal workout routine? He was doing this just to mess with her, Katara was sure of it. 

Smug bastard, she thought. She bet he was one of those guys who did this kind of thing just for fun. Katara bet he had a nice, but slightly stupid, girlfriend back at home that had no idea that he came to gyms to torture unsuspecting single girls like Katara who had no chance with the ripped guy doing stuff like this. He’d come in all cocky and pull out moves like this in order to fluster Katara and waste her money. 

Katara paid for this gym membership, damnit! But because of him, all she was paying for was an hour of ogling at this gorgeous unobtainable guy. 

And oh the looks he would give her. He just knew Katara was staring at him, and he was reveling in it. He’d probably go and shower after his workout and just laugh at her. 

But this… these one armed push-ups were Katara’s limit. She was done. When he glanced up at her, making eye contact, Katara marched over to him, ready to give him a piece of her mind. 

“Excuse me, sir? Do you mind?” Katara spat rather angrily. The shirtless guy now below Katara looked up at her, shocked. His eyes widened in confusion, and slight fear. He stood up awkwardly.

“Uh… what?” He asked, looking at her warily. 

Katara scoffed. “Seriously? Do you mind? I’m sick of this, what you’re doing. You think you’re so smug, huh? I pay for this gym, too, you know? And I really hate guys like you. Yes! We get it!” She practically screamed. “You’re attractive!” If this guys eyes were to get any wider, they would’ve fallen out of his head. He turned a deep shade of red. “But I’m trying to work out here! And I think you’re being a real douche bag-” he mouthed the word back to her as a question while Katara continued, “-by trying to distract me? Is this how you have your fun? Huh?” She pointed an accusing finger at his chest. He was half a head taller than her, but he shrunk as she continued yelling at him. “You come in here, all confident and cocky, and you pick your prey, and you go about doing shit like this,” she gestured wildly at all of him, “with your one armed push-ups and you give random girls these looks like you just have them all figured out! Well I’m sick of it! Leave me alone!” 

He took a small step backwards, slightly terrified. His face was completely crimson, and he looked absolutely mortified. “Oh my god…” he whispered softly, “You think I’m… look I wasn’t trying…” he stumbled over his words, apparently not knowing what to say next. “I wasn’t trying to give you a smug look I thought you were cute and… I’m so sorry I wasn’t trying to harass you I just… oh my god I’m sorry I don’t know what…” 

Katara looked at him incredulously as she listened to him ramble on with repeated apologizes and shocked exclamations. As she watched him, Katara slowly realized what she had just done. She had assumed this guy was a total dick, some player who liked to bother uninterested girls in gyms. Her eyes widened as she watched this obviously shy and awkward person apologize for… what? Working out in his own gym? 

“Oh my god, stop.” Katara finally told him, becoming more and more embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I totally misread this situation.” Katara’s face was turning red, too. “I didn’t mean… I just assumed… look when you’ve been a regular at gyms for a long time like I have you tend to think the worst of the guys here and…” Now Katara was rambling. But shit if he wasn’t cute and she had just made a complete and utter fool of herself. “You know what?” Katara said. “I’m just going to go! I’m going to leave and I’m going to cancel my subscription to this gym because I’m so embarrassed right now that I just yelled at you and I kind of just want to crawl into a hole so yes alright goodbye.” 

She turned to walk away, but the guy grabbed her arm. “Wait!” He said quickly. He scratched the back of his neck and looked at Katara nervously. “Would you want to… uhm… I’m Zuko?” He offered. He didn’t sound sure that Zuko was his name. 

Even his name is cute, Katara thought dumbly. What’s the protocol for flirting with the guy you just yelled at for being too attractive? 

She smiled at him, unsure. “Katara,” she said, awkwardly holding her hand out. “I’m Katara.” 

[fireprunes]

“She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within.”

… But Katara doubted there would be any beauty to be found within the prince. How could there be? How could there be anything but lies, hatred, and evil to be found in someone who would allow this to happen to her? 

She was taken from her family, from her home. The soldiers threatened everyone she loved. Years ago, they took her mother from her. This time, they came in their war ships and demanded her father as well, in order to make sure the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe would not become a threat to the nation. Katara refused to be parted from another family member. She refused to be left without a father as well. 

So she stepped up in his place. Katara demanded that the soldiers take her back to the Fire Nation instead. What threat could an old man be who wanted to do nothing but help his people survive when there was a young and healthy chief’s daughter with a vendetta against the Fire Lord himself? 

When Katara arrived, the general of the royal family, Iroh, had requested she not to judge Prince Zuko based on his appearance when she was brought in. She had yet to see the prince when she was asked this, but she didn’t need to. Whatever he looked like, it couldn’t compare to the ugliness of his soul; the soul that she was told gave the command for this capture mission in the first place. 

Sitting alone in her tiny cell, a small room at the bottom of the palace prison, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned her head away from the door, refusing to look at whoever it was that came into the room. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of a civil conversation. 

[fireprunes]

PART ONE || PART TWO

Katara had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get away. 

In hindsight, running out into the streets of a city you’ve never been to before, in a country that is not your own, was pretty stupid. But Katara was terrified by Zuko’s outburst. She was embarrassed, she should have just listened to Ty Lee and stayed away. 

After running out the courtyard and past the palace gates, Katara found herself in the heart of the capital city. She wove through the streets, passing people and vendors and shops. The city was just as red as the palace. She couldn’t discern where she was going. If she had walked in a giant circle, she would have had no idea. Nothing was familiar. 

She turned the corner into an uncrowded alley. She needed to stop and breathe. Should she go back? Had she just endangered her father and people again by running out? 

A firm hand grabbed her shoulder. “Well… look what we have here…” a deep voice whispered in her ear. Frightened, Katara look to see several large men standing before her. She tried to quickly shrug off the one who grabbed her, but his hand just tightened. “What?” he teased. “Leaving so soon?” He leaned into her, his face close enough for her to smell alcohol. “I don’t think so.” 

Katara struggled against him, thrashing her limbs in an effort to free herself. It was no use; there was no water for her to bend, making her completely defenseless. The man’s smirk turned into a scowl. He violently threw her against the wall. As she slid down the stone, looking at her three attackers, Katara realized the fear she felt at Zuko’s anger was nothing compared to this moment. 

I may die here. 

[zukos-honors-blog]

Zuko watched as the three brutes surrounded Katara, Zuko saw Katara shrink back away from their touch. Watching them prowl around her like animals infuriated Zuko.

One man grabbed Katara and tried to lift her skirt up, one other man grabbed her chest. That’s when Zuko ran towards the men, fire in his hands. He ran up to the men stealthily, when he reached the one man he clapped his hands over the man’s face, leaving his hands on his face for a few long seconds, burning the man’s face.

The man screamed and fell to the ground, his face badly burnt. Zuko stood up and stared at the two other men with a deathly glare. The two remaining men unsheathed their weapons, one man had a hand axe, while the other had dao swords, swords that he would use to practice.

“Step away from her.” Zuko seethed, his nostrils flaring with anger.

One man, the one with the hand axe, laughed at this. “Only if you let us have a little…fun with her.” The man made a crude gesture.

That was all Zuko could take. He lunged forward, more fire in his hands, he dodged each swing the man had with the axe, getting closer each swing the man had. The man was starting to overexert himself and grew tired, Zuko found this as an advantage.

Katara was standing watching them, in awe. Zuko looked at her.

“Don’t stay here. Run.” Zuko yelled at her. He didn’t want to watch her get ambushed, he needed to fight these men, but he saw her still standing there. “What are you doing? Go!”

Zuko kept fighting the man with the axe, the man did his last swing, before Zuko kicked his arm, breaking it into two. The force of his kick made the bone move awkwardly in the man’s arm, the man screamed out in pain.

Zuko smirked, and looked over at the man’s friend. The man ran up to him with his dao swords, Zuko dodged those with ease, the man kept his stance though. Zuko shot jets of fire at the man, letting the fire move to the rhythm of his steps, he was very calculated and moved with ease. The man dodged him, he suddenly ran and met Zuko halfway.

The man with the dao swords swung his left hand and sliced Zuko’s bicep, Zuko looked down at his arm for a split second, he yelled in rage and ran towards the man, able to dodge each swing and hand movement. He tackled the man down to the ground. The dao swords flying to the ground besides the man.

Zuko sat over the man on his chest and swung his fists at him, hitting the man on each cheek. Each hit, hitting the man on either cheek, the man was a bloody mess. Zuko then raised his fist, producing fire in it. That’s when Zuko realized, he was the barbarian everyone called him. Zuko paused and stared at the man’s bloody face.

“I shouldn’t spare you for what you have done to this girl, but I’m feeling charitable today.” Zuko got up off of the man, leaving him lying on the ground, bleeding. As Zuko walked over to Katara, who was still standing there, frozen to the ground.

“You shouldn’t have stayed.” Zuko said quietly. The two looked at each other for a moment. “You should’ve gone to safety.”

Zuko raised a hand to stroke her cheek but stopped in midair, he let his hand fall.

The man with the axe rose to his feet, his badly broken arm limp against his side, the man was still quick on his feet. He had tear stains on his cheeks from the pain, the man raised his axe and swung it in an arc. The axe hit Zuko in the back. Burying itself into his back. Zuko cried out, he fell to the ground in front of Katara.

Zuko heard the man laughing, and then everything went dark.

[fireprunes]

“No!” 

Katara didn’t think. Acting purely on instinct, Katara felt out for the man who had just sliced Zuko’s back. Bloodbending was an art she was trained in; as a healer it had invaluable abilities. To use it as a weapon was considered taboo and an immoral practice. But now, she had no options, and she needed to protect the person who had just saved her. 

Zuko… Zuko had just saved her. He followed her out here and then saved her from her attackers. Why had he done that? And what had Katara done? Stood there dumbly watching? 

Katara hated feeling helpless, like someone who needed to be saved. But he had, he had saved her. When he thought that the threat was gone, Zuko had come over to her. He wasn’t angry or loud or explosive. He was… calm, and he was relieved. 

He had walked over to her, seemingly exhausted. For a ghost of a second, Katara thought he was about to reach out to her, but when he didn’t Katara decided it was her imagination. “You shouldn’t have stayed,” he had said, softly. “You should’ve gone to safety.” Katara didn’t have anything to say to that. She just looked at him, once again mesmerized by his gold, gold eyes. 

She should have seen the axe man coming. It was so stupid of her, but when she noticed him, it was too late. 

Now, Katara wielded the blood inside her opponent.  She controlled him, terrified but thrilled by the power she felt. She brought him to his knees. “Run,” she told him, tone cold and unforgiving. The fear in his eyes was glaring, and when she let go of him, he fled. 

As she watched him run, Katara glanced to Zuko. He lay on the ground, unconscious, axe still in his back. Just run, Katara thought. As soon as the idea came into her mind, though, she was disgusted with herself. How could you even think something like that? He just saved your life. 

She ran towards him, then. Kneeling beside him, Katara examined the wound. The axe was on the right side of his back. The wound was shallow, but deep enough for the axe to lodge itself in. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she pulled the weapon out. She felt him jerk underneath her, but he didn’t wake. She didn’t have water, so she’d have to heal what she could without. 

Using her bloodbending, she reached in and sealed the wound. It wasn’t perfect, and she’d need to cleanse it once she had access to water, but it’d do until they got back to the palace. 

The palace. How far were they out? There was no way she’d be able to find her way back, especially with an unconscious prince. She pushed him against the wall, into the shadows. “Don’t move,” she whispered; a pointless request. 

Running back to the main street, Katara looked for someone she could ask directions from. Instead, her eyes caught a lone ostrich horse. He was tied loosely to the bar. The street was so crowded… if she acted as if the horse were hers, no one would question her for taking him. 

It’s a start. And it’s a way back. Katara thought to herself. Hold on Zuko, I’m getting us back to the palace. 

[zukos-honors-blog]

Zuko went in and out of consciousness, the black flooding in and out of his vision. He was barely conscious, he opened his eyes and saw Katara bloodbending the man who had axed him, he reached towards her, but went out again. 

When he woke again, the axe was out of his back, and with a push Katara had it out. Zuko moaned out in pain, it felt like a million nerves were on fire, he felt tears fall down his face. Oh the pain.

“I’m sorry.” She had said when she pulled the axe out.  Zuko wanted to tell her it was all right. To leave him where he lay, and to let him bleed out into the streets. He didn’t want to be the monster everyone fears him to be anymore. Life was too unfair for him to live anymore. 

All Zuko remembered was reaching his hand out to Katara, to stroke the soft skin on her face, and then feeling an axe lodged into his back. 

He felt himself being dragged by an ostrich horse, back to the palace. Why didn’t Katara just leave him to die? He should’ve just been left to die. Why must this cruel world keep spinning around him? 

[fireprunes]

Katara poured some water into a glass bowl. 

Now back at the palace, finally, Katara sat before Zuko. It had taken much too long to get back from the city, but when her and the ostrich-horse finally reached the gates, several guards had rushed out to help them. 

Zuko woke shortly after they had settled in the small royal infirmary. Even though he was awake, he had yet to say anything. He wouldn’t even look at Katara. 

Several healers rushed in to tried and help their prince, but Katara firmly dismissed them. Zuko had saved her life, the least she could do was be the one to heal him. 

He currently lay on a bed, scratching at the slash on his forearm. Katara had been so focused on the axe wound earlier, she hadn’t even noticed it. “Don’t do that,” she gently scolded, bending the water out of the bowl. “Now I’m assuming you’ve never been healed by waterbending before, so this might feel strange. Don’t be alarmed.” 

She wrapped the water around his harm, but before she could start healing, Zuko jerked his arm away. She looked up at him, slightly irritated. She wouldn’t be able to help him if he didn’t let her.