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soopersara · 5 months

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Zutara Week 2023: Day 1

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

A journey across the Earth Kingdom to find Zuko's mother comes to an end.

She can’t sleep.

It isn’t that she’s not tired. After several weeks of near-constant travel, this is the first night that they’ve had the luxury of leaving their tent packed away, the first night when she and Zuko have been able to rest without first scraping together a meal for themselves and all their friends. By all rights, they should both be exhausted, and this night of stillness and solitude should be a relief.

But she can sense Zuko lying awake beside her, staring up into the darkened rafters of the barn. Though he is quiet, though he is careful not to move too much, the tension alone is enough to keep her awake.

Her fingertips brush against his arm. “Zuko, you should try to sleep.”

He gives a start and turns to meet her eyes. “Oh! I—” There is a pause, and even in the dark, she can see him swallow. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you awake.”

Katara almost wants to laugh. His restlessness has made it difficult to sleep, that much is true. But it isn’t so much that he’s been keeping her awake as it is that the stillness feels unnatural. Ordinarily, he is a quiet sleeper, but ordinarily, lying beside him doesn’t feel like lying next to a statue. If he weren’t trying so hard to keep from disturbing her, she might have drifted off a long time ago.

She nestles in against his shoulder and loops her hand idly around his. “I would have sworn that you were more tired than me.”

His head tilts in her direction. “Why would I be?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” she counters. “Today was—a lot.”

He grunts by way of acknowledgement. “I guess.” A small sigh, and though he seems to deflate a bit, the tension doesn’t leave. “I just have a lot on my mind. Don’t worry about it. You should sleep.”

She ignores that last part. She knows Zuko well enough to realize that despite what he might say, he’s never really expected their search to succeed. That after a few weeks of chasing fruitless leads around the Earth Kingdom, he’d practically resigned himself to returning home empty-handed. That splitting off from the others to follow their last few leads was less a matter of making their search more efficient than it was an effort to draw the journey to a close before he could succumb to guilt over wasting the others’ time.

But they’ve been away from the others less than a day, and already it feels like all of that has changed. Like maybe, just maybe, they’ve found his mother purely by accident.

“Do you really think we found her?”

“I know we did.” His voice, though soft, grows more intense. “Noriko is my mother. I would know her anywhere. I just—I didn’t think that she would have a new family.”

Katara raises her head just far enough to see his jaw tightening and traces her thumb softly along his jawline. “She has a new daughter, not a new family. No one is replacing you.”

They’ve both done the calculations by now. Kiyi is nearly eight years old, and Ursa has been gone for eight and a half years. If they’re right about Noriko and she really is Zuko’s mother in disguise, then Ursa was almost certainly pregnant before she left the palace behind. If they’re right, then Kiyi is almost certainly every bit as royal as he is.

If they’re right, then Ursa has almost certainly stayed in hiding for fear of what the world might do to another little Fire Nation princess.

“Even if Kiyi is my sister, I don’t know if that means much,” he says. “Noriko didn’t remember me. How could my own mother forget if she still cared about her old family?”

Slowly, Katara rolls onto her back to stare into the rafters along with him. “What if she didn’t forget?”

“She didn’t recognize me. She would have said something if she did.”

A frown finds its way across Katara’s lips. She remembers the brief flashes of confused uncertainty on Noriko’s face when they arrived, guiding Kiyi back from where she’d gotten lost in the forest. Katara remembers the surprised delight in Kiyi’s eyes and voice when Noriko invited them to spend the night as repayment for guiding Kiyi back unharmed. And Katara remembers all the pauses after that when Noriko would watch Zuko, brows furrowed like she could almost recognize him.

It's hard to know whether Zuko missed all of those moments, or if he’s just too afraid to hope.

“I’m not so sure about that.” She clasps Zuko’s hand again and traces a thumb across his knuckles. “It’s been a long time, Zuko. Even if she remembers you, she might not know how to say it. And I’m sure you look—different now than you used to.”

“She’s never seen my scar before,” he concedes after a pause. “Maybe she doesn’t want anything to do with me because of that.”

Frowning, Katara pokes him in the ribs. “That’s not what I meant. You know that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

She takes a moment to find the proper words. “You’ve always told me that your mother did everything she could to protect you. That she took care of you when no one else would. So now—maybe she’s ashamed. She thought leaving would keep you safe, but it didn’t work out that way.”

Zuko is quiet for a while. Then, “I guess you could be right.”

“You don’t sound very sure about that.”

He sighs. “How can I be sure? I haven’t seen her in years. And since then—so much as changed.” For a few long seconds, he goes quiet again. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do if it turns out that my own mother doesn’t want me anymore.”

All Katara can really do is snuggle closer against his side. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think she’ll see how easy it is to love you just the way you are.” Her hand rests softly on his chest, just near enough to the scar at the base of his sternum to feel the ridges at its edge. “But no matter what happens, you’re not going to be alone. I’ll still be here. You’ll always have a family, I promise.”

Zuko’s chest shudders ever so slightly as he exhales, and he wraps an arm around her. Though he can’t seem to find any more words, his embrace speaks volumes all on its own.

⁂

It’s still early, just past sunrise, when the barn door creaks below them. Katara tenses, and Zuko edges toward the ladder, but before either of them can do more, a small head pokes up into the loft.

“I knew it. Mom told me not to wake you up too early, but I knew you’d already be awake.” Kiyi clambers up the last few rungs into the loft, then grins at them both. “I brought some tea.”

The pot in her hand isn’t steaming, and the cups balanced upside down on its lid are battered and chipped, but she settles in the middle of the floor, looking pleased with herself just the same.

“It might be a little old.” Kiyi bends over far enough to squint down the teapot’s spout. “But I think Mom just made it last night. That’s not so bad, right?”

Zuko cracks a smile and sits an arm’s length away from her. “I don’t think so. But I have an uncle who really likes tea, and he might try to disown me if he ever heard me say that.”

Kiyi cocks her head to the side, then thumps a cup in front of Zuko. “He sounds silly.” She thumps a second cup down next to Zuko’s and motions for Katara to sit as well. “This one is for you.”

There is something in her frankness that makes Katara smile. Though she still can’t be as certain as Zuko that Ursa and Noriko are one and the same, it’s impossible to deny the fact that Kiyi looks a great deal like Zuko. If she isn’t his little sister, then the universe has done an uncannily good job at replicating both his features and his mannerisms.

Though the tea that Kiyi pours them is cold, Zuko shows no hesitation in drinking it. Katara takes a more hesitant sip—the tea is slightly bitter, but not so much as to be especially unpleasant. Kiyi looks pleased with herself when they’ve both tasted the tea, and she settles back against a crate, happily cradling her own cup between her hands.

“Where is Noriko?” Katara asks. “If she told you not to wake us—”

“Oh, I think she’s still sleeping.” Kiyi takes a sip from her cup. “But last night, she told me a lot of stuff about good manners around guests. I think Mom thought I was going to make a lot of noise because we’ve never had guests before, but it’s not like I was going to say anything if you were still asleep.”

At that, Zuko looks a bit surprised. “You’ve never had guests before?”

“Nope. Ever since I was a baby, Mom said that our house was just for family. The garden is for friends, but it would be impolite to make people sleep in the garden.”

“I see.”

Katara feels Zuko glancing her way, and she allows her hand to brush against his. That sort of paranoia would certainly make sense coming from Ursa. Keeping both friends and strangers from the house makes perfect sense if she’s on the run from the Fire Nation. And since Zuko and Katara have been allowed to stay—albeit in the barn instead of the house—maybe Ursa really does recognize Zuko after all this time.

Kiyi leans forward conspiratorially. “Do you want to know a secret, though? Me and Mom don’t have any other family. I don’t think so anyway. When I was really little, I think she told me that I had a big brother and sister, but I never met them.” Briefly, she frowns, cocking her head to the side. “I wonder if Mom thinks you’re my brother.”

It isn’t a question, and judging by the look on Zuko’s face, he probably wouldn’t be able to answer if it were. Katara squeezes his hand, and after a few seconds’ pause, he regains his composure.

“I guess I don’t know what she thinks. It was nice of her to let us stay either way.”

If she notices his hesitance, Kiyi seems unbothered by it. So unbothered, in fact, that rather than continuing the topic, she launches into a series of cheerful stories about her life with her mother—about journeys that take the two of them on crisscrossing paths across the northern Earth Kingdom every year. About riding from town to town on a cart drawn by their ostrich horse, meeting people from far-flung places, and exploring distant mountains and forests for new plants to bring back home.

Noriko, it seems, has carved out a life for herself where travel is both normal and expected. Where her work as an herbalist and chemist takes her on regular journeys for new ingredients and seeds, for customers and colleagues. Where, if her old life ever reemerges to endanger herself and her daughter, their escape will draw no notice whatsoever.

“I thought I was really good at directions,” Kiyi says, sounding a little sheepish. “Me and Mom go lots of places together, and I’ve never been lost before. But I guess I don’t play in the woods here at home very much, otherwise I wouldn’t have got lost yesterday. I still feel kinda silly.”

Zuko shakes his head. “You don’t have to feel silly about that. Everybody gets a little lost sometimes.”

“Even if they travel a lot?”

“Even then. For a few years, I lived on a ship, and it’s still hard to find my way sometimes.” There is a steadiness to his voice, and judging by the way that Kiyi beams at him, the reassurance is welcome.

“Maybe I’ll learn how to draw maps someday,” she says. “Then I won’t get lost ever again. And maybe I can give you some of my maps too.”

Zuko seems ready to reply, but before any words make it out of his mouth, the door below them creaks again.

“Kiyi? Are you in here, sweetheart?”

“Up here, Mama!”

There is a relieved-sounding sigh, and Noriko emerges at the top of the ladder a few moments later. “I thought I told you to give our guests their privacy. Come on. We’ll go back to the house, and they can join us for breakfast when they’re ready.” She gives them both an apologetic nod, but it’s painfully obvious that Noriko is trying not to stare at Zuko.

“But they’re already awake, Mama. We’re having tea.”

Katara shoots a glance at Zuko, and as he inhales, his shoulders tense. Gently, she loops her hand through his and gives a reassuring squeeze.

Noriko climbs the last few steps into the loft. “I understand that. I’m glad you didn’t wake them, but it’s impolite to—”

After another slow breath, Zuko squeezes back and pushes carefully to his feet.

“Wait.” His voice is soft and hesitant, but Noriko freezes stone-still, eyes alight with nervous hope. “This might sound strange, but I’ve been meaning to ask you—was there ever a time when you went by the name Ursa?”

Noriko’s eyes widen, and for a moment, it looks like she might faint. But then, just as quickly, she steps forward. “It is you. Oh, my sweet boy.” Though Zuko stands a full head taller than his mother, she sweeps him up in an embrace like he’s still a little boy. “My little Zuko.”

It’s enough to make Katara’s eyes burn, and as she blinks away the prickling, Kiyi scoots sideways until their shoulders nearly brush.

“Was I right before?” Kiyi asks in a whisper after a few moments watching the reunion. “Do I have a big brother for real?”

Smiling, Katara wipes her eyes and nods. “Yes. Are you okay with that?”

For a few seconds, Kiyi frowns, apparently deep in thought. Then, “If he’s my brother, are you gonna be my sister someday?”

“I think there’s a pretty good chance of that.”

A grin breaks across Kiyi’s face. “Then this is the best day ever!”

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara week #zutaraweek #zutara week 2023 #zutaraweek2023 #Home #soopersara's scribbles

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the-badger-mole · 2 years

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OPENING LINES GAME!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories. (If you have less than 20, just list them all!) See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Tag some people to play the next round! Tagged by @stardust948

1. Katara stared at the forms before her.

2. Katara had to remind herself to walk calmly as she ascended the steps of the palace.

3. Crown Prince Zuko first heard about the mysterious healer woman on Ember Island when he went to visit his family’s beach home.

4. Katara chewed at a bit of loose skin around her nails as she stared intently up at the sky.

5. The pain that woke her was blinding.

6. “If we’re going to have many more nights this late, I’m going to need you to provide more coffee and snacks,” Katara told Zuko.

7. If she were completely honest with herself, at least part of Katara's motivation for what she did was to reclaim some sense of control.

8. He hadn’t expected to be struck by inspiration so soon after his last project.

9. The woman had caught his eye immediately when she walked in. She was far too elegant looking for this spot.

10. If her father and brother knew what she was doing right now, Katara knew she would never hear the end of it.

11. For a moment, Katara felt as if she were watching herself from outside of her body.

12. Usagi sat down at the bus stop and sighed in defeat.

13. When Zuko walked into his office and saw Katara seated at his desk scribbling in a notepad, his immediate instinct was to turn around and leave.

14. Katara shot up in bed. Her eyes were wet with tears, but for a moment she couldn't remember why

15. Zuko's head was pounding. The day hadn't even begun yet, but already he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that needed to be done.

16. Usagi ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her. Around her, Tokyo lay in shambles, but she didn't dare slow down to assess the damage.

17. Aang gazed at the thick white swirl of clouds ahead of him as he guided Appa through the mist.

18. The sea spread itself around the warship like miles of the smoothest black satin sheet beneath the starry night sky

19. Usagi fumed all the way home. Life was so unjust, and when she thought her friends would have her back, they go and defend that….that…

20. Usgai Tsukino blinked sleepily, trying to clear blurred vision as she looked at the alarm clock.

All of the stories these opening lines belong to are linked! Just click on the lines, and leave a review if you like the stories 😉😊

tagging @zutarawasrobbed @soopersara @night-heron-writes and anyone else who's interested

#atla #zutara #sailor moon #usa/mamo #usagi #mamoru #this is over a decade's worth of writing here

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zutara-is-canon · 3 years

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✨ It's them ✨

CTTO: @soopersara (Zutara Scribbles)

#zutara #ship dynamic #zuko #katara #zutara canon!!!#katara x zuko #zutara memes #avatar the last airbender #atla #z u t a r a

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airiustide · 3 years

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works in progress game

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Oh, fun. Thanks for the tag @thesavagedaughter0627 and @f1dget-scribbles

Currently being written with words:

i choose us

the bloodbender and the dragon king

the barest outline and otherwise all up in my head:

i choose us in the end

model katara/photgrapher zuko fic

fractures

living through cracked screens

the room

we play among the stars (then fall so low)

the prince and his pet

a game played right twice

phoenix, gold and flames; revised (formerly phoenix to the golden flames)

tagging: @soopersara @origo-tentaculum @fictionissocialinquiry @fiction-vixen @kexwrites @spicyswordlady and anyone else who wants to take part.

#tag game #WIP game

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neva-borne · 3 years

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NEW WIP GAME - Send me a WIP number, page number and then a number between 1 and 4 and I'll post an excerpt!

Any surprise it's @thesavagedaughter0627 who has tagged me in this?? No?

Anyway, I only have 3 WIPs that have words and that aren't fully posted on Ao3, so...

Broken Moon (69 pages, posted up to 36)

These Scars Will Fade (46 pages, posted up to 15)

Rewrite the Stars (56 pages, posted up to 30)

I write with 1.5 spaces and don't double space between paragraphs, so there's not many pages, but a whole lot of words xD

Tagging @zukos-calming-tea @laadychat @rideboldlyride @soopersara @f1dget-scribbles and anyone else wanting to play!

#wip game #ask game #ask #wips #zutara #fanfic #fanfic asks #excerpt #excerpt reveal

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soopersara · 10 months

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I've been fighting with the colors on this thing off and on for MONTHS now. I'm still not entirely convinced by how it turned out, but this is as good as it's gonna get for now.

Definitely proud of how that lily came out, though!

#zutara #zutara fanart #soopersara's scribbles #TBH I wasn't sure what type of flower I wanted Zuko to put in Katara's hair for a long time #I kind of wanted to go with the pink peony from the finale #but then I realized that I actually had to DRAW a flower #and lilies are easier #like A LOT easier #and I have been too damn lazy to set up my drawing tablet #(I did the whole painting with my mouse)#so I needed the easiest flower I could find

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soopersara · 1 year

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[ID in alt text]

I decided to play around with some vector drawing software yesterday, sat down with the intention of just figuring out poses for something I wanted to eventually work on, and came back to reality three hours later with this thing finished! Gotta say, I'm pretty pleased with how it looks for three hours' worth of work.

(And I may have sort of, kind of, definitely put this together because I finished my I&S Book 1 podfic this week, and I've got like... 20-ish old podfics from before the time when I owned an actual microphone that I want to remake, and if I'm going to remake a bunch of podfics, I might as well have some accompanying art to go with them so that I can make video podfics and put them on youtube. I may have a problem called, "I'm incapable of not making extra work for myself".)

Transparent version below the cut because why not?

#zutara #zutara fanart #blutara #paintko #and what's the ship name for when they're both disguised?#Painted Blue #maybe???#it's been a while since I had a conversation about all the possible variations of their vigilante ship names #soopersara's scribbles

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soopersara · 5 months

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Jewel

Zutara Week 2023: Day 4

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

While searching the palace for bandages after the Agni Kai, Katara finds an old souvenir hidden away in Zuko's belongings.

The palace isn’t what she expects.

It’s enormous and lavish, of course. Gilded trims and flourishes adorn almost every surface, and the cavernous rooms seem to stretch on forever. The empty darkness, the copious ornamentation in red and gold, all of that suits her idea of his family perfectly.

But Zuko’s room, despite the opulence, is almost bare. After Katara helps him to his bed, she sets to work digging for something, anything, that she can use to bandage the wound in the middle of his chest. Still, though she opens one drawer after another and pokes her head into every cabinet she can find, there is nothing but more empty wooden shelves.

“Isn’t there anything I can use for bandages in this place?” she calls back to him. Even a clean tunic will do, but aside from the blankets on his bed and the curtains catching the gentle evening breeze, there doesn’t appear to be any usable fabric anywhere in his whole extravagant bedroom.

His face is pale and his breathing faint and reedy, but there is a strange sort of steadiness in his eyes when he looks her way. “Towels, maybe? In there.” With one arm still wrapped tight around his middle, he gestures vaguely in the direction of a second, slightly less ornate door.

A small, dim washroom greets her on the other side of the door, and though she is relieved to find that the gilded taps still produce twin streams of clear water, every shelf in the room is bare. Katara lets out a sharp breath. They’ve seen burned-out husks of houses less barren than this.

“Nothing,” she says, returning to his side just in time to steady him when he sways. He probably shouldn’t be sitting upright in his condition, but a not-inconsiderable part of her worries that if Zuko lies down before she can bandage his chest, he might not be able to sit up again.

“Hmm. Guess Father burned everything I left behind.” Though the words are somewhat indistinct, his tone still carries an unusual calm. Like this is normal. Like it’s expected for a father to burn all his son’s possessions in a fit of rage.

Katara squeezes his shoulder softly. “If you left anything important, I’m sure we can find it. He couldn’t have burned everything.”

“He could. But—” Zuko’s forehead creases, and it takes a few moments for him to resume. “I don’t think I left anything that matters.”

She hopes not. After all that they’ve been through, losing an important keepsake is the last thing she wants to think about.

“I’ll find something,” she says, half to reassure herself. “As soon as I get you bandaged up, you can get some rest.”

With unsteady hands, she tips out the contents of their packs and sifts through the jumble of clothes, washed and unwashed, until at last she comes across a fresh towel folded up at the bottom of his pack. Finally. There is a soft clattering sound when she shakes the creases out of the fabric, and although Zuko seems interested by the sound, she can’t bring herself to care. Until he is bandaged and comfortable enough to rest, nothing else matters.

Zuko, however, is either much more or much less focused than she is. As she sets to work tearing the cloth into strips and winding them snugly around his chest, he strains from one side to the other. “I heard something. Katara, what was that noise?”

“Something fell out of your pack. Hold still, would you? I don’t need you hurting yourself by squirming around.”

If he hears that, he pretends not to. “I need to see what it is.”

“Hey.” She flicks his forehead to get his attention. “I’ll find out what it was in a minute. Just let me finish this, would you?”

It takes some time, but eventually Katara finishes binding his wound and gets him settled back against his pillows. His cheeks are pale, his forehead glistening with sweat, and yet he grabs hold of her hand and squeezes with a surprising amount of force.

“Is it still there?” He cranes his head to the side as though he might be able to see his possessions spilled across the floor from the bed. “Katara, I need to see—”

With an exasperated sigh, she pushes him back again. “You’re impossible. Have I told you that before?” Then, before he can try to squirm past her and out of bed, she crouches to make a quick search of the floor.

It’s probably nothing, she tells herself. A hard sliver of soap, or a wooden spoon packed into the wrong bag. Zuko is probably just disoriented by pain and fever and too confused to realize that they’re alone here, that the Fire Sages are guarding the palace, and at least for now, they’re as safe as they can hope to be.

But when she searches the floor, nothing stands out to her at first. There are clothes spilled absolutely everywhere, but at first glance, there’s nothing hard enough to explain the clattering sound. Nothing, that is, until a strange distortion in the shadows catches her eye, and her fingers close around a translucent piece of stone roughly the size of her thumb.

Brows creased in bemusement, she perches back on the side of the bed and holds the stone up for him to see. “Have you been carrying rocks around in your pack for fun, or is Toph sneaking them in there?”

To her surprise, Zuko seems relieved, and he reaches weakly in its direction. “I thought I lost that.”

“You didn’t.” She presses the stone into his hand before smoothing a few strands of hair away from his eyes. “So—why have you been carrying a rock around?”

He is quiet for a few seconds, but when he speaks again, his words feel more considered, more deliberate than before. “Remember the crystal catacombs?”

Katara nods. Of course she does. She tries not to think about it too often, but forgetting would be all but impossible.

“I kept a crystal,” he rasps. “It still glows a little when it’s dark outside.”

In the fading evening light, it’s difficult to tell, but she thinks she can almost see it. Despite its milky translucence, the crystal casts almost no shadow at all, and where the shadow should be, there is a faint, blue-green cast instead.

“When I decided to leave, I had to take it with me. The crystal was there the first time we talked. I had to have it with me or I would never find you again.” He falls silent for a few moments, then frowns and shakes his head. “Maybe I’m delirious. That sounds silly now.”

Slowly, Katara shakes her head. “You might be delirious, but it isn’t that silly.”

Zuko rolls his head just far enough to the side to give her a skeptical look.

“I mean it. We’re both still here.” She closes both her hands softly around his. “And as long as you stay here with me, I don’t care if it’s because of the crystal or not. I can believe anything as long as you get better.”

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara week #zutaraweek #zutara week 2023 #zutaraweek2023 #Jewel #soopersara's scribbles

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soopersara · 5 months

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Respite

Zutara Week 2023: Day 5

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

At the Western Air Temple, Zuko and Katara can't stop arguing. But at night, to let the others sleep, they go by different rules.

“Can’t sleep?”

“No. You?”

Zuko shakes his head. “Still not used to the snoring. I thought my uncle was bad, but between Sokka and Aang, there’s never a quiet moment after sunset.”

He’s lying. Katara has heard him jerk out of sleep enough times to know that he has nightmares, and she suspects that he’s noticed the same about her. But they’ve come to an understanding by now—they may not be friends, but after dark, they don’t have to be.

They don’t argue. That might wake the others.

They don’t ask too many questions. That might make them argue.

It feels like a delicate balance sometimes, but their nighttime truce hasn’t failed them yet. By now, it’s beginning to feel natural.

“The snoring doesn’t bother me too much. You get used to that pretty quickly when you grow up in a tent.” She peers at him from the corner of her eye. “I’m less used to Toph kicking me in her sleep.”

If he recognizes the lie, he gives no sign of it. Instead, he gestures toward the empty space farther down the terrace. “I made enough tea for two cups if you want some.” He raises his cup enough to give its contents a sniff, and his mouth pulls to the side. “It’s—probably a little better than last time.”

“Did you make two cups deliberately, or did you just forget how much water you needed?”

A shrug. “Possibly both. I think I used too many tea leaves last time, so extra water has to be an improvement. Right?”

She perches an arm’s length away from him, allowing her legs to dangle over the edge. “You taste it first. If it’s better than last time, then I’ll think about having a cup.”

“Fair enough.” He doesn’t immediately taste the tea, opting instead to look out over the moonlit valley while the cup steams gently in his hands. “Did I ever tell you that I’ve been here once before?”

“No. But I guess I’m not really surprised.”

She looks downward too, her eyes tracing over the ribbons of mist forming along the rivers and streams in the jungle below. He’s been traveling more than three times as long as she has. After so much time, it’s no wonder that his path has folded back on itself.

“Is everything the way you remember it?” she asks. So long as she doesn’t look his way, she finds that she doesn’t mind his conversation. He is more soft-spoken, more thoughtful than she usually gives him credit for, and if she doesn’t meet his eyes, the anger that would ordinarily roil inside of her lies dormant.

“Mostly. And not at all.” Zuko pauses for a sip of tea, frowns in thought, then pours a second cup and passes it her way.

Katara shoots him a sideways glance before accepting the cup. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean the temple hasn’t changed very much, but—I don’t know. I guess I look at things differently now.”

Her hands clench, and she drags her eyes down toward the valley again. It’s nighttime. As frustrated and angry as she might be, she can’t argue with him now. Not when it could wake the others.

Still, a sharp tinge of bitterness finds its way into her voice. “Why? Because you’ve just changed so much?”

If her tone bothers him, Zuko doesn’t show it much. Dryly, he says, “I’m taller than I was last time I came here. And I can see out of both eyes since I don’t have half my face wrapped up in bandages.” A pause, and when he resumes, his voice is softer than before. “I am different now. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to, but I have changed. Maybe not as much as I should, but at least being alone with my thoughts sucks less than it used to.”

“Hmpf.” Rather than responding immediately, she takes a swallow of tea. Though the flavor isn’t spectacular—it never is when Zuko brews it—the tea is at least pleasant enough to drink. Pleasant enough that she can hardly complain about it, even jokingly. She’s had worse in dozens of small village teashops. “I’m still waiting for you to prove that.”

“I know. I’m trying.”

She spares him another sideways glance. The fact that he always manages to sound, to look so earnest unnerves her a little. She doesn’t want to believe him, to trust him, but at the moment, she can’t convince herself that he’s lying. At the very least, he believes what he’s saying.

Maybe that quiet conviction is the problem. Why is it that he can be so certain when she doesn’t know what to believe anymore? It doesn’t seem fair. She’s been on the right side all along. She ought to know who she can trust by now. Zuko shouldn’t have this sort of clarity when he’s only just realized that his nation is in the wrong.

Katara leans back on her hands. She isn’t going to argue with him, but she refuses to give him credit for any clarity either. They have their truce, and if the only way she can maintain it without ceding any ground is to change the subject, that is exactly what she’ll have to do.

“Of all the Air Temples I’ve seen so far, I think I like this one best. The others felt so much—emptier than this one.”

For a few seconds, she can feel Zuko’s gaze on the side of her face, but then he turns forward again. “I get that. The northern and southern temples are so high up that they almost feel untouchable. Like they’re so far away from everything else that no one should be able to reach them.”

“What about the eastern temple? What’s that one like?”

He glances her way again. “You haven’t been there?”

She shakes her head. “The others left me behind in Ba Sing Se when Aang went to visit.”

“Oh.” His voice is almost impossibly soft, and he presses his lips together briefly before clearing his throat. By the weight of the silence, she suspects that he knows exactly when that visit was, exactly what being left behind led her into. “I’ve only been there once myself. It was—more open than the northern or southern temples, I guess. Spread out across a few different mountaintops, and I guess the extra space just made it feel different.”

“Hmm.” She exhales and takes another sip of tea. “I wonder if I’ll ever get the chance to see it.”

“I’m sure you will, someday.”

“What, are you some kind of optimist now?”

He shrugs. “You and the others have always managed to find a way before. I don’t see why this would be any different.”

Katara narrows her eyes. The same ember of frustration that has been sitting in her core flares up again, but this time, she can’t quite manage to contain it. “Oh, so that’s it? You decided to join us because you were tired of being on the losing side?”

“What?” His brows furrow.

“You keep telling us that you’re just here to do the right thing. I don’t think that’s true. If you really wanted to do the right thing, you could have started a long time ago.”

They’ve tread this ground before. She knows what’s coming—he’ll insist, yet again, that he’s trying to be a better person, then she’ll push back, and the cycle will go on. They’ll argue over and over, and it will never end unless he gives up or finds a way to finally change her mind.

The trouble is that even she doesn’t know what that might take.

There is a sort of melancholy that comes over his face, and his shoulders hunch. “I’ve been telling you the truth.”

A bitter laugh claws its way up her throat. “You keep saying that. Do you really think repeating yourself is helping anything?”

The tired defeat in his eyes feels like it should break her resolve, but Zuko just shakes his head and looks out over the valley again. “You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to.”

“You really don’t get it, do you? I do have to believe you. Everyone here is my family, and if you’re going to be around them, I have to trust that you’re not going to hurt them. And—” Despite her best efforts, her voice begins to wobble. “And I can’t trust you.”

“Oh.”

For what feels like a long time, that is all Zuko says. She thinks she sees his hand hover hesitantly toward her shoulder once or twice, but he never quite makes contact. She can’t decide if that’s better or worse. He cares enough to want to comfort her—or enough that he wants to make it look that way—but he’s either too disingenuous or too frightened of her to actually try.

“It was you,” Zuko says at long last, not quite looking her way.

“Excuse me?” She can still feel the heat in her own voice, and she stares daggers at him.

He clears his throat. “The other reason I came here. I mean—I did want to help. I still do. But—” He looks down into his teacup. “I had to leave home. By the end, Father just wanted to see the rest of the world burn, and I was tired of walking on eggshells to keep him from turning me into an example for everyone else.”

That figures, she wants to tell him. He’s the son of the Fire Lord. Sooner or later, life with his own family was bound to become too painful, too dangerous to bear. But the fact that he had no choice but to flee does nothing for his trustworthiness.

Zuko isn’t finished yet. With a sigh, he rubs his eyes with the heel of his hand. “It took me a while to realize that I couldn’t run away unless I had somewhere else to go. But as soon as I did, I thought about what you said to me in the catacombs, and—I guess I felt like I’d finally found my place.”

Her temper spikes. Maybe he’s telling the truth, or maybe he’s not, but it doesn’t really matter. True or not, the idea that he’s here because of her just hurts.

She slaps her teacup down and pushes back from the edge of the terrace. “Don’t say that. Don’t you dare act like what happened in the catacombs mattered to you.”

Zuko rises just a moment after her. “Katara—”

She starts marching back toward her own room. If she has to stew in there alone for the rest of the night, she will. Anything to stop this conversation.

“Do you remember what you said to me?”

She fixes her eyes straight ahead. Just keep walking. Sooner or later, he has to give up.

“You told me that you thought I’d changed. And I had, a little. But now things just keep changing, and if I can’t stop that, I want to at least have some say in where I’m going.” He pauses, almost like he’s hoping that she’ll turn to face him again. “You thought I could be a better person. I wasn’t back then, and maybe I still haven’t gotten there. But I want to. Whoever you thought I could be back in Ba Sing Se—I’m still trying to figure out how to be that person.”

Katara stops walking, and her hands tighten involuntarily into fists. She wants to believe him. That fact surprises her more than she wants to admit. A person like him, like the better version of him, would make everything better. He could take an immense weight of responsibility off of her shoulders if only his change was real.

Maybe if she could shake free from the mistrust that has gripped her for so long, she would find that it is. That Zuko really is better now.

“Please,” he adds, voice soft. His footsteps come just a little closer, angling to one side where he can make out her face in profile. “I just want to know what I’m still doing wrong. I’ll fix it all if I can, I just need to know where to start.”

She shakes her head. “Nowhere. Don’t you get it? You aren’t doing anything wrong, it’s just—” Her voice wavers, then breaks. “It’s just that I believed you once before. I don’t think I could take it if I messed up and trusted the wrong person again.”

With one last, surprisingly light step, Zuko comes close enough to touch her shoulder, and this time, she feels the soft, warm weight of his hand. “You weren’t the one who messed up in Ba Sing Se.”

Though she is still both furious and hurt, she can’t help but lean into him. “What difference does it make whomessed up? I almost lost one of my closest friends. And I did lose someone else who I wanted to be my friend.”

She can only see him from the corner of her eye, but he appears briefly stunned by her candor. Then, instead of retreating as she expects, he offers her a tentative hug. “I’m not going anywhere this time. Not unless you want me to. If you ever decide to give me another chance, I promise I’ll be right here waiting.”

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soopersara · 5 months

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Union

Zutara Week 2023: Day 3

Read it on AO3 | @zutaraweek

Everyone seems to know that Zuko and Katara plan to get married someday. The only question left is when they'll finally get around to it.

For what feels like the dozenth time in a row, Zuko checks his own pocket. In his thick polar leopard fur parka, even a set of solid gold hair beads and combs is small enough, light enough to feel insubstantial. Still, he is aware of its presence. Almost too aware of it at times.

“I’m surprised the two of you haven’t gotten this all settled before now.” There is a familiar look in Hakoda’s eyes, the same one that Uncle gives him every time the subject of marriage comes up. A look of curiosity and impatience that usually comes just before another casual inquiry about when Zuko plans to marry Katara. But Hakoda isn’t quite as pushy as Uncle. “I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d decided to elope before you made it back to the South Pole.”

Zuko offers a sheepish shrug. “Apparently that’s not the proper way to do things. I’ve thought about it every day for months now, and I doubt Katara would have minded, but I don’t need to make her life any more difficult by proposing the wrong way.”

“And what about my life?” Kanna thumps her walking stick against the floor. “I’m not getting any younger here. If you two don’t hurry up, I’ll never get to meet my great-grandchildren.”

Hakoda frowns. “Mother.”

“It’s a fact of life, dear. We can’t all be King Bumi and live as many centuries as we please.”

“I’m going to ask her,” Zuko says. “Before we go north again, I swear.” His pulse quickens at the sound of his own admission, and he checks his pocket for reassurance. The engagement gift itself is as close to perfect as he can ever hope, but he’s less sure about his ability to actually propose. “I’m not sure about kids yet, but you’ll at least know if she wants to marry me before we leave.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that part.” Kanna waves a knobby hand at him. “I’ve known my granddaughter long enough to know the look she gets in her eyes when she’s made up her mind. She’s decided what she’s going to say. And frankly, I don’t think she would have dragged you all the way down here if it was no.”

Though Zuko’s heart still races, he manages a smile before Katara bursts into the house, cheeks flushed with cold, and hair glistening with ice crystals at its tips.

“There you are,” Kanna says. “We were just talking about you, weren’t we, boys?”

Zuko feels his face flush, and Katara looks from him to Kanna and back again. “Well, that’s always reassuring. Thanks, Gran-Gran.” Before there can be any further response, Katara grabs his hand and pulls back toward the door again. “I think we’re going to leave before you fill my boyfriend’s head with any more embarrassing stories.”

He makes no effort to resist, and before he knows it, Katara has led him out into the snow and halfway down the street toward the burgeoning waterbending academy.

“So how bad is it?” she asks, looping her mittened hands around his arm. “Did they tell you about the time when I froze all my dad’s underwear to the side of the council hut because he wouldn’t let me keep an otter penguin in our tent?”

His eyebrow creeps ever so slightly upward. “You did?”

“Okay, I’m going to take that as a no, and also as a sign that I need to stop giving away my secrets.” Still walking, she buries her face in his arm. “Stop me the next time I try to embarrass myself, okay?”

A snort bursts out of him. “I would, but I know for a fact that Uncle tells you so much worse about me every chance he gets. Even Sokka is too busy to tell me any embarrassing stories about you most of the time.”

“I’d really like to keep it that way.” They make it only a step or two farther before her mood seems to lighten again, and she pulls just far enough back to steer him around a corner. “Maybe you can come with me to watch waterbending lessons tomorrow instead of spending the whole morning alone with Dad and Gran-Gran.”

He certainly isn’t opposed to the idea. Any excuse to spend more time with her is always welcome, even if all that entails is sitting quiet at the sidelines while Katara guides a group of noisy, energetic children through their waterbending forms.

He agrees, and as Katara leads him past the bending academy, pointing out all the practice space and sparring areas, he checks his pocket one more time. The combs and beads still rest there, exactly where they should be, and Zuko lets out a long, slow breath. Two opposing impulses battle inside his chest—on the one hand, he’s been waiting to find the right moment, the perfect moment for weeks now. If she’s going to remember this for the rest of their lives, the least he can do is propose to her properly.

But on the other hand, his patience with himself is running thin, and the brilliant warmth of her enthusiasm strains his resolve to its breaking point. If he doesn’t ask her soon, he might well lose his mind.

So when their winding path takes them to the far side of the village, he can hardly bring himself to stop alongside her.

“Oh, spirits, we should probably go back before you freeze out here.”

“What?” Though his face tingles a bit when a breeze passes by, though he’s certain that his cheeks are crimson from the chill, he doesn’t feel cold. Not enough to turn back, at least. “No, I’m fine. It isn’t that cold.”

Katara raises an eyebrow.

“It isn’t,” he insists. “I was just—thinking.”

“About what?”

Under the intensity of her gaze, his mouth goes dry, and it takes all his will to keep from checking his pocket again. Instead, he nods toward the path leading out of the village. “I was thinking that there’s probably a great view from the hill over there. Especially around sunset.”

Her lips twitch into a crooked smile, and the grip on his hand tightens ever so slightly. “You do realize that the sun isn’t really going to set for a few more days, right? If you want to wait out there until sunset, you really will freeze.”

“In that case, I guess I can settle for half an hour. But I think you’re underestimating my ability to keep myself warm.”

“I could never. You’re the one who keeps my feet warm every night.” She bumps him lightly with her hip before starting up the path. “But you might be underestimating the South Pole’s wind.”

It’s all that Zuko can do to keep his composure as they make their way up the sloping path. But he waits, and when they reach the crest of the hill, Katara stretches before turning a brilliant smile back on him.

“Okay, I’ll admit it. Freezing or not, this view is worth it.”

Though Zuko has trouble focusing on the landscape, he can’t help but agree with her. The afternoon sun paints shining bronze streaks through her hair, and her eyes shine as bright as he’s ever seen them before.

He grasps her hand before she can go any further. “Katara—I wanted to ask you something.” His heart sits in the back of his throat. Despite her family’s confidence, despite his own suspicion that Katara will say yes, he can’t seem to push the worry away.

“Oh?” She looks up, and her gaze pierces him.

Silently, he thanks the spirits that it’s cold enough to keep his mittens on so that Katara won’t know how much his palms are sweating. He fumbles in his pocket until at last his fingers close around the little box of combs and beads. “Being with you has been one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Every day that we’re together, you mean more to me, and now—” He succeeds in extracting the box from his pocket and fumbles to turn it right side up.

Before he can finish, Katara lets out a squeak of surprised excitement and claps her hands to her mouth. “Yes. Yes, of course I will.”

Zuko blinks, and a surprising amount of tension leaves his chest and shoulders all at once. “You—you realize I haven’t finished the question yet. Right?”

“Oh! Right, I knew that.” She makes an apparent effort at bringing her expression back under control, then motions for him to continue. “Go on.”

Despite his best effort at solemnity, a smile breaks across his face. “I’m not sure I can remember what I wanted to say anymore. I swear I had this all planned out yesterday.” Looking down, he clears his throat and slides open the richly engraved lid so that she can see the beads and the combs lying in neat rows inside their case. “But I love you, Katara. And even if I can’t remember the right words, I would be honored if you would marry me.”

This time, Katara isn’t content to merely smile at him. This time, she springs forward and throws her arms around his neck. “Yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Zuko laughs, and as his arms close tight around her waist, the world seems to slow.

Right now, with Katara in his arms and the future opening up around them, all the urgency in the world is gone.

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soopersara · 2 months

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A Tale of Ice and Smoke

Chapter 21: Splintered Plans

With the lessons and the battles of the North Pole behind them, Katara and Zuko set off on separate journeys across the Earth Kingdom. While Katara pursues her next element, Zuko flees the nation and family that tried to destroy him. Though their paths promise new friendships and new challenges for them both, destiny seems determined to bring them back together someday.

This time:

News from Omashu turns the future on its head for both Katara and Zuko.

Read it on AO3

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soopersara · 5 months

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After confronting the man who took her mother's life, Zuko and Katara take an extra night away from their friends so Katara can begin to sort out her emotions.

Podfic on AO3

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soopersara · 8 months

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Glowing

After realizing her feelings for Zuko, Katara goes looking for romantic advice.

Read it on AO3

“I thought you said you weren’t going to laugh at me!”

“I’m not!” For nearly five seconds, Suki succeeded in holding her expression steady before a snort burst out of her, and she doubled over, consumed by giggles.

Scowling, Katara whacked her with a cushion. “A lot of help you are. I just need some advice about what I should say to him. I don’t need you making fun of me for having a crush.”

Despite an obvious effort to compose herself, Suki couldn’t seem to stop giggling. “I’m not making fun of you.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure you have some other great reason for laughing at me, then.”

“Oh, come on, Katara.” Suki sat up as straight as she could, shoulders still shaking with barely-suppressed laughter. “You can’t ask me how to figure out if Zuko likes you back and expect me not to laugh.” She wiped her eyes. “I always thought Sokka was supposed to be the oblivious one in your family, but even he saw this coming ages ago.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Katara. Everyone can tell that you like him. It’s been obvious for a while. I think the only person who doesn’t see it is Zuko.” At long last, Suki’s expression steadied. “And incidentally, he’s also the only person worse at hiding his feelings than you.”

Katara pressed her lips together. Sure, she’d had feelings for Zuko for a while now. It wasn’t entirely unbelievable that the others might have noticed it at some point. But when it came to Zuko, nothing seemed that clear. She had noticed her own feelings shifting one morning when he offered her a hand up after a particularly long sparring match, but she’d never noticed any change in the way he acted around her. Even now, when she couldn’t look too deep into his eyes without forgetting how to string words together, he was still just—Zuko.

“Oh, don’t give me that face. You must have noticed it.”

“I haven’t,” Katara insisted. “I mean—yes, we’re friends, and I’m pretty sure he likes spending time with me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

Suki rolled her eyes. “First of all, the fact that he likes spending time with you is a big deal. If you weren’t around, I’m pretty sure that Zuko would be perfectly happy not to leave his office more than once every three days. And beyond that—you can’t honestly tell me that you’ve never seen the way he looks at you.”

That was an exaggeration. Right? It had to be. Katara talked to Zuko all the time, and she would have noticed if there was anything out of the ordinary in the way he looked at her.

“And how exactly does he look at me?” she asked.

For a few seconds, Suki just stared. “You’re being serious, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am. He’s always looked at me the same way. Ever since he found us at the Western Air Temple, he’s just been—him.” Katara hugged her knees tight to her chest. “I think I’m falling in love with my best friend, and I really can’t tell if his feelings have ever changed. Can you please just help me figure out what to say to him? I really don’t want to mess things up if he doesn’t see me that way.”

There was another pause, this one almost longer than the last. “Fine. I’ll give you some advice, but I’m not telling you what to say. I don’t need anyone blaming me if you chicken out.”

Katara scowled. “Thanks a lot for the confidence.”

Without acknowledging that comment, Suki leaned forward. “You need to start paying attention to how he acts with everyone else. The difference when you’re not around is ridiculous, and once you see that—”

“Wait a second. If I’m not around, how am I supposed to see how he acts?”

“I don’t know. Just—” Suki waved a hand in the air. “Spy on him. Sneak up on him if you have to. It’s not like he’ll ever get mad at you over something like that. My point is that as soon as you see how much he lights up around you, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure the rest out on your own.”

⁂

This was starting to feel silly.

It wasn’t that Katara mistrusted Suki’s advice—though, admittedly, she’d found the idea of sneaking up on Zuko a little absurd at first. She could see the logic in the idea of it. If Zuko really did light up around her, his uncanny ability to recognize the sound of her footsteps meant that she wasn’t likely to see it herself. If he liked her enough that her mere presence was enough to change his whole demeanor, she would probably have to put in a fair amount of time and effort to catch him off guard.

The trouble was that now, when she’d made up her mind to at least try Suki’s idea, it was proving difficult to sneak up on him. Absurdly difficult. So difficult, in fact, that she’d begun to question whether this much effort could really be worthwhile. She liked him a lot. Of course she did. But if it was this hard to figure out whether or not he felt the same, maybe she would be better off if she accepted the fact that they would only ever be friends.

Maybe. But for now, at least, she’d gone a bit too far to back down without making herself feel even sillier than she did already. Because while she’d contented herself with meandering up behind Zuko while he was distracted yesterday, today, she’d gone a step further and stashed herself in the hollow space behind a tapestry outside of his council room. And as much as she might regret the desperation that had brought her to this point, she couldn’t just leave. Any moment now, the doors to the council room would open, and a dozen stuffy old Fire Nation noblemen would file out right in front of her.

The last thing she needed right now was to humiliate herself quite that thoroughly. It was one thing for Zuko’s council to think she was stubborn and unreasonable in her demands when she attended summit meetings. It was quite another to let them think that she made a habit of hiding behind the tapestries around the palace.

Katara leaned back against the wall and let out a long breath. On the bright side, while the tapestry she’d chosen was opaque enough that no one would see her from the hall, she could at least make out vague silhouettes from here. It probably wouldn’t be clear enough for her to make out anything significant in Zuko’s expression or mannerisms, but she could deal with that for now. As long as she could escape with her dignity mostly intact, she could worry about figuring out Zuko’s feelings later.

She waited in the darkened hollow for longer than she was proud of. Long enough that she would have had several good opportunities to creep back out and return to her room if she’d been brave enough. At long last, the door did open, though, and she watched the advisors file out one after another and another. Including Zuko, there should have been around ten people in the room, so she counted the figures as best she could as they passed by the tapestry. Sure enough, after she counted ten of them, the hall went quiet again.

Silently, she counted down the seconds until a minute passed, then another. Then, when she was absolutely confident that everyone was gone, Katara pushed the tapestry to the side and stepped into the corridor.

At almost the same instant, there was a startled gasp behind her, and a squeak burst out of her mouth. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she spun on the spot.

“Katara?” Zuko hastily dropped back out of his bending stance, and his expression shifted from shock to confusion to something between surprise and relief. “Um—what are you doing out here?”

There was certainly something that changed in his eyes when he realized that it was her, but Katara wasn’t willing to assume that was what Suki had been talking about. She had just burst out from behind a tapestry, after all. Zuko was probably more relieved to see that it was her and not a stranger or an advisor than anything else. It was certainly more relief than infatuation, at least.

Katara did her best to regain her composure. “I don’t suppose you would believe me if I said I was birdwatching. Would you?”

“Probably not,” he answered slowly. “There aren’t any windows in this hall, to start with. And I’m pretty sure I would have heard something if a bird got into the palace.”

“Right. I probably should have guessed that much.” She scuffed her palms against her thighs to wipe away the gathering dampness. “I might need a few minutes to come up with a better excuse.”

Though he still looked bemused and bewildered, the corners of Zuko’s mouth pulled upward. “Whatever you were doing, it looks like you’ve got some cobwebs stuck in your hair.”

Her hands flew up to her head. “I do? Oh, ew! Gross, gross, gross!”

Gently, he caught hold of her wrists. “It’s just one spot. Hold still and I’ll get it.”

He leaned in closer, and Katara froze. That small, soft smile playing across his lips was familiar, but something about it did feel different. Warmer, maybe. Or brighter, or—something. His fingertips brushed lightly over one of the narrow braids hanging by the side of her face and plucked a bit of fine, wispy spider silk out of her hair.

Maybe it was just the proximity. Or maybe Suki’s words were just too fresh in Katara’s mind, but when the usual fluttering in her chest started up again, there was another, newer sensation sitting alongside it.

“There. I guess the next time that the palace staff starts bothering me for things to do, I can have them clean the tapestries. I had no idea they were so full of cobwebs.”

“Neither did I,” she said, her voice scarcely rising above a whisper. Spirits, what was that feeling? The fluttering was beginning to fade, but if anything, she felt herself being drawn even closer to him. It was steadier, though. Calmer and stronger than anything else she’d felt for him before.

“So you weren’t birdwatching,” Zuko said. The amusement was obvious in his voice, but it, like everything else, was gentle. “Can I ask what you were doing, or is that a secret?”

She didn’t have to tell him the truth. She didn’t have to say anything at all, she knew that. Maybe it was just his proximity or the light in his eyes—she couldn’t be certain, but she spoke almost without thinking. “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you. But I knew that you were meeting with your advisors, and I didn’t want to talk to them, and—well, in hindsight, I probably could have found a better way to accomplish that.”

He snorted. “Honestly, I might have to steal your hiding spot someday. I like spiders a lot more than I like some of my advisors.” He turned, stepping back just far enough to give her space to start walking alongside him. “What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

Her face went hot, and she silently thanked the spirits that he wasn’t looking at her. “I was just wondering if you might want to have dinner with me. Tonight. Just the two of us.”

Zuko stopped walking. “Do you mean that? I mean—are you sure?”

There was such a tentative hope in his eyes that it took all her will to resist the urge to reach up and run her thumb along the lower rim of his scar. She smiled up at him instead. “I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh.” His cheeks flushed scarlet, and he cleared his throat. “Okay. Then—yes. I’d like that. I’d really like that.”

Her heart skipped, and she felt her smile broaden involuntarily. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you around dinner time, then.”

His smile warmed until his eyes practically glowed with pure happiness. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Maybe a late dinner time,” she amended hastily. “I have a feeling that I’ll have to wash some dust and cobwebs out of my hair before then.”

Zuko laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can wait that long.” Then, smiling almost blindingly bright, he took a small step back. “I’ll see you later this evening.”

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