Zutara - I Want to Stare

Pale golden sunlight filtered through the trees, dancing across the shimmering water of the turtleduck pond.  Lemurtail reeds gently swayed about in the whispering breeze, tickling Katara through her skirts making her smile.  But his stare was what made her blush.

Zuko let his head rest against the tree’s trunk whose canopy spread out over the pond, but his eyes remained open, staring down his nose at the fire-clad maiden resting by the waterside.  She lay with her back to him on her side, propped up on an elbow, blatantly ignoring the grass stains growing on her skirts.  Her bodice left her mocha shoulders bare, allowing Zuko to admire them, along with her loosely worn hair, adorned with three blooming fire lilies, that rippled like ocean waves over the ground.  He couldn’t see her eyes, but they had, for three years now, left such an impression on his mind that he could conjure up the image at any moment.  And he did at every moment he couldn’t view those sparkling sapphire depths for real.  

A hum escaped the waterbender’s lips as her finger trailed through the water, attracting turtleducks for crumbs.  Zuko let his own sigh break free.  These were the moments he relished: the moments when he was no longer the Firelord, but just Zuko, not with the future Fire Lady, but with just Katara, old friends, new lovers, able to do and say and be whatever they wanted.  These were the moments that stuck with him.  He never could remember all the peace councils and the treaty signings at the end of the day: they faded away into the din of his mind and were forgotten.  But the fleeting chances when he could be with the woman he loved in silence and harmony, if only for a few moments, carved his memory in stone.  He could stare at her forever and never be tired of it.

“Zuko?” Katara’s soft voice woke the Firelord from his musings.

“Hm?”

Katara giggled a little, trying to be serious, but failing.  She didn’t turn to him when she demanded, “Stop staring at me.”

Zuko smirked.  “But you’re so beautiful.”  He liked making her blush.

The waterbender turned just her head to peer at him over her shoulder, arching it delicately, revealing, to Zuko’s delight, the slightest tint of red in her cheeks.  Her eyes sparkled deep cerulean.  “Am I?” she queried smugly, “Am I really?” She smiled mischievously, pulling the firebender into her trap.

Zuko took the bait.  He left his seat by the tree and crawled slowly over to her, taking Katara into his lap.  “Yes.  Yes you are,” he agreed, making his voice as corny as possible.  Katara laughed aloud, burying her face shyly in his shirt, rumpling the flowers in her hair.  She could be so innocent sometimes, and yet Zuko knew better than to think this woman naïve.  She was as slippery as a sea serpent and ten times as clever.  He added another line just for good measure, just to let her know his cards in their little game.  “You were always so beautiful.”

“So were you always staring at me, then?” Katara purred, challenging him.

“You never noticed, but always.”

“Even when you tied me to a tree?” she played.

“The moonlight made your eyes shine.  I just couldn’t look away.”

Katara smiled smoothly.  “What about when I threatened your life?”

Zuko’s smile never faltered as he answered, “You’re so pretty when you’re angry.”  And then he added, grinning smugly, “And I dreamt of you every time I looked at your necklace when I had it, thinking to myself, ‘Oh, if only I could see that Watertribe girl again so I could tell her that even if she was a peasant, she was still the ruler of my heart.’”

“You’re pathetic!” Katara cried, shaking with wild laughter.  Zuko dropped her out of his lap and pounced, pinning her to the grass with a kiss.

“Anything for you, dearest Katara,” he whispered in her ear.  “I win.”

“Not so fast!” Katara protested, shoving him playfully away and straightening her skirts with a exaggerated air.  “You still haven’t heard about all the times I couldn’t stop staring at you.”

“Just try and list them.  There are far too many to count!”  Zuko challenged, flashing a smile.  “You never could resist me, after all.”

Katara sighed deeply, rolling her eyes.  “Too true, too true, My Lord.  Why, when we first met, I knew I would be yours someday.  That armor made you look sooooo handsome.”

“Let’s not forget when we were trapped in that cave together,” Zuko offered, smirking.

“Oh, where to begin!” Katara exclaimed, playing with her voice to make it the whimpy, damsel in distress voice he despised so much.  “All the time I was yelling, all I wanted to say was how madly I was in love with you, and how you should just kiss me now and run away with us!  But I suppose playing hard to get is just part of me.  Forgive me for misleading you…”

“Forgiven,” Zuko agreed.  “But I still win.  I listed three things, and you only listed two.  So there, I get to stare at you whenever I want.  Not that you don’t like it…”

Katara feigned a pout.  “I guess not…”

Proud of himself, Zuko pulled the waterbender into his chest and wrapped his arms around her stomach, kissing into her hair before moving his lips down her neck.  Katara’s shoulder dropped to let him kiss it, and she relaxed in his arms, sighing contentedly.

“You know,” she whispered, the mischief barely hidden in her tone, “when you held my mother’s betrothal necklace up to my neck… you know when you had me tied to the tree?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“My heart skipped a beat, and I blushed.  And when I recognized you in your uncle’s tea shop,” Katara smirked, the grin hidden from her fiance by the deep chocolate curls framing her face, “it was all I could do to keep from asking you to have some tea with me in that adorable little apron.”

Zuko froze, his lips going still against Katara’s bare shoulder.  “Wait, you saw-”

“I win!”