“for palm to palm is holy palmer’s kiss”: a drabble (for @sofileall)
Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Pairing: Zuko/Katara
Summary: Zuko makes an observation. (Aka @sofileall and I were analyzing gifs, realized that Katara’s hands look tiny compared to Zuko’s, and immediately decided that fic about this fact needed to exist.)
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Zuko has never considered himself to be particularly talented. He has never been a prodigious firebender or politician or...navigator of social interactions.
But even he must admit that he is remarkably talented at creating awkwardness out of nothing. He’s known this all his life, but never has he been more keenly aware of it than he is now, trying to stay still and resist the urge to shift against pillows that suddenly feel stifling as Katara bends glowing water around the star of burnt skin on his abdomen.
He watches her hands move - deft and confident and skilled without a trace of doubt that she knows exactly what she’s doing - and if he doesn’t want to feel dizzy with awe he knows he has to distract himself. He thinks he’ll always be distracted in her presence like this, but this time he’s a little out-of-it for other reasons - he’s been in and out of a high fever for a few days after his Agni Kai with Azula - and he can’t even pretend to be thinking straight. So he latches on to every passing thought that breezes through his mind: I could go for some fire flakes right now, someone should crack open a window in here because it’s getting too stuffy. Most of the trains of thought he boards for a few passing seconds are similarly inane. But others are a bit more distracting, like Katara’s hands are so tiny.
That one won’t leave him alone, for some reason. And when she decides she’s done all she can, stands up, and bends the water back into her waterskin, Zuko reaches out to clasp her retreating wrist without even thinking about it.
Katara’s eyes widen, and he sees the color rise in her cheeks and wonders if he’s made a mistake, but soon she sits again, a shy smile taking the place of the confused nose-scrunch of the previous instant. (Zuko doesn’t want to admit to being as fond of that nose-scrunch as he is.) “Do you need something?” she asks, neither moving to clasp his hand or removing his from her wrist.
“You have really tiny hands,” he tells her, and he’s certain his face is hotter than any fire he’ll ever bend. But something in him still finds the wherewithal to move his fingers from Katara’s wrist to her hand and he holds it, flat on its back against his palm, examining every line and crease. Katara’s cheeks are as red as his own now and she flips her hand to press their palms together, lifting their hands until they’re vertical and flat against each other.
Her fingers stop a few inches short of his. Zuko can’t help but smile because he was right, Katara’s hands are tiny compared to his own, and somehow, this is a Very Important Revelation. “See?” he asks. “Small.”
Real articulate, Zuko. He’d be annoyed at his sudden bout of awkward, girl-induced monosyllabism, but he can’t find it within himself to care. He’s basically holding her hand. That seems a little too significant to allow him to think about anything else right now.
Katara nods, still blushing. “I guess they are.” She folds her fingers through his, grabbing on tight with her palm still flat against Zuko’s. She gives his hand a little squeeze with her knuckles, which isn’t nearly as strong as she intends it to be because she’s only using half of her hand, but still makes Zuko wonder if he’s still delirious with the fever he’s only now recovering from. Reflexively, he pulls their intertwined hands closer to his face and brushed his lips against the back of Katara’s hand.
She giggles (he’s never heard her giggle before) a little nervously, but she doesn’t pull her hand away. Or...say anything. Or move.
It’s as if she’s frozen in place.
Zuko wonders if he’s done something wrong until, hesitantly, she mirrors the motion, kissing his hand the way he had hers, and-
Breathe, Zuko. Breeeeathe. (This is not helpful. He feels like he’s free-falling in the best possible way.) you’re okay. This is good. This is great! Don’t make it awkward! ...er than it already is!
“Sorry,” Katara mutters, pulling her hand away. “I shouldn’t-“
“No, it’s okay,” he reassures her. “I...” liked it. “Don’t mind.”
“Oh, okay.” She still looks a little flustered, but she rebounds quickly. “And how do you know it’s my hands that are small and not yours that are big?”
“They just are!”
“Tell yourself that.” She smirks, and with another quick squeeze, she drops his hand and turns to leave.
And Zuko’s left staring at his hand and wondering what exactly just happened.
