Zutara week day 6--Stare

Aang froze, staring at them. Zuko and Katara were kissing, lying on the ground. They shifted, and Zuko pinned Katara's wrists to the ground as he kissed her. He put his hand on her neck, and Katara made a faint noise, almost like she was scared.

"Stop it, Zuko!" Aang ran forward, grabbing Zuko's shoulders and trying in vain to pull him off. After a few seconds, Katara turned her head to the side and gasped. She saw Aang and froze.

"Aang--"

Zuko sat up. Aang shoved him, but to no effect. "What were you doing to Katara?!" His eyes shone with tears.

"Nothing--"

"Aang, he wasn't--" Katara pushed herself up, glancing at Zuko before looking at Aang. "Can we talk about this later?"

"No! He was hurting you, I saw him!" A tear rolled down his face. "You-- you didn't want--"

"Yeah," Zuko said. "She did."

Aang backed away, his eyes flicking from Zuko to Katara. "But--" Another tear streaked down his face. "Katara, I thought-- Why didn't you tell me?"

"Aang, I'm sorry. I just don't--can't we talk about this?"

"No! I don’t want to talk to you!" He turned to look at Zuko. "I thought I could trust you!"

Zuko looked confused. "I didn't know--"

"Yes you did! You knew!" Aang backed even further away. "Everyone knew! I-- I love Katara! How could you do this?"

"Aang--" Katara started, but Aang turned his back on her.

"Just leave me alone!" He took off. Katara hesitated, then turned to look at the slowly setting sun. She glanced at Zuko. "We have to go. The comet--"

" I know." He stood and grabbed her hand. "It’s time."


“He has to be in here,” Zuko said as they made their way down a long, winding stone corridor. “This is where he always goes when there are attacks.”

The light from the torches flickered, casting their shadows against the opposite wall.  They both looked disheveled from their fight with Azula (and admittedly what had happened after). Zuko grabbed one of the torches, then extinguished all the rest. They were suddenly surrounded by darkness. Katara moved closer to Zuko, feeling unnerved. Without the light, it was hard to check the wall for other shadows. Azula could be behind them without them even knowing--

No. She couldn’t. She was dead. Katara swallowed, trying to push the image out of her mind. She had to concentrate. The comet would be coming in only a few hours, when the sun rose again. If they hadn’t defeated Ozai by then…She couldn’t think about that either.

Suddenly, Zuko stopped. Katara looked around. All she could see was blank stone. “Is the entrance here?”

“What?” Zuko asked, disoriented. He glanced around. “Oh. No. I just…” He looked at her. “Thanks for healing me.”

“Oh.” Katara blushed. “Well, you did save me.”

“I guess.” Zuko awkwardly pushed his hair out of his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “About what happened after, I wasn’t…I wasn’t hurting you, was I?”

“What? No.” She stared at her feet. “Aang…I don’t think he really understands love yet. He thinks--” She pulled on a piece of her hair. “I guess he thinks that if you love someone, they have to love you back.

“Oh.” Zuko looked off down the corridor.  “Well, we have to get going. My father--“

“Right.” Katara started walking.

A few minutes later, Zuko stopped again, looking at a torch on the wall that hadn’t gone out. “I think this is it.” He grabbed the shaft of the torch and slid it downward, revealing a panel of blackened stone. Zuko pressed his palm on it until it glowed red. Then it slid back, revealing a key.

Zuko felt along the wall until he found what looked like a chip in the stone. He inserted the key into the crack and turned. The stone slid apart, revealing a long hallway. He started down it. It was hot and dry inside, and every so often Katara caught a glimpse of lava through a hole in the floor. When they finally reached a door, Zuko grasped the handle. Then he hesitated.

Katara took a deep breath, then nodded. Zuko opened the door, and they slipped inside.

“My SON! Where is my son?!” A woman with long black hair was screaming. Ozai was facing her, looking just as angry as she was.

“How should I know? I told you, he left! He’s a traitor to--“

“I don’t care WHAT he is, I--”

“Mom?”

There was a long silence. The woman turned to look towards the door. When she saw Zuko, her face turned to a combination of relief and horror. She hurried over, embracing him, but when they pulled apart, she stared at him.

“What…happened?”

Zuko looked down. “There was...a war meeting. And--”

“A war meeting?” The woman turned to Ozai. “Did you do this to him?”

“He needed to learn.”

The woman’s face turned from horror to fury. She ran towards Ozai, whipping a ring of fire around her and at him. He managed to deflect most of its blow, but the fire still stung his arm, ripping his sleeve.

“Come on,” Zuko said, grabbing Katara by the arm. He pulled her out the door, keeping his eyes on his mom the whole time. In the hallway, he started to run towards the entryway hidden in the wall. When they found it, he shoved it open. Katara stumbled into the corridor. Zuko turned back to the passageway, but she caught his sleeve.

“What are you doing?” She asked. Zuko shoved the torch into her hand.

“Saving my mom. You have to find Aang. No matter how angry he is, he has to defeat Ozai. Bring him here. He can firebend his way inside.”

“But--“ Katara stared at Zuko. “What if your father…” She trailed off, gazing at him.

Zuko leaned in and kissed her. Then he pulled back, stepping through the doorway. “I love you. Whatever happens, just remember that.”

Katara watched him as he held his palm against the stone again. She thought back to the time they’d been imprisoned together. She thought of how she’d threatened him at the Western Air Temple. She thought of how he’d gone with Sokka to rescue her father. “I love you too,” She whispered, watching him smile in that sweetly nervous way of his.

And then he was gone.