Zutara Week 2012- Day 1: Serendipity

In the beginning, all he wanted was her forgiveness.

Zuko had a mental list of the Avatar and his friends, one that had been there since the very day he disembarked his ship at the remains of the Southern Water Tribe and first laid eyes on the illustrious twelve year old.  For a year, they had gone without names, just faces in his mind's eye that infuriated him to the point where he felt like punching through steel.

They were the Avatar, the waterbender, the Water Tribe boy, the blind Earthbender; nothing more than obstacles in his path towards gaining back his honor.

How shocking it was that things had changed so much, that all he wanted from them now was their trust and friendship.  And how ironic was it that the Avatar was the first to wholeheartedly give it to him, even though he had initially harbored doubts.  Now, they weren't just faces anymore.  

He knew these people.

They were his friends.

Probably the only real friends he'd had in years.

He wasn't just the Avatar anymore, he was Aang.  She wasn't the blind earthbender girl, she was Toph.  He wasn't the Water Tribe boy, he was Sokka.  She wasn't the waterbender, she was Katara.

Katara.

Oh, how impossible Katara could be, not that he blamed her.  When she offered him the hand of friendship, the chance to heal his scar for Agni's sake, he had thrown it in her face all for one last desperate claw at his honor.  He had traded his first chance at redemption all for the love of a man who'd never cared about him in the first place.  How stupid he was to have not realized it then, before it was too late.  Because the way things were going now, Zuko didn't think Katara would ever forgive him for what he'd done.

But that didn't mean he couldn't try, and so he did.

He was extra polite and helpful to her, assisting in the cooking and cleaning wherever he could.  Even when she tried to glare him off, his held his head high.  Sometimes, she would try to convince one of the others to help her, as a way of 'giving him a break from so much hard work,' but everyone just blew her off.  Not even Aang stuck around for long, something had been bothering him lately and no one seemed to know what it was.  Zuko made a note to try talking to him at their next firebending lesson, then went back to scrubbing one of their cracked clay bowls clean.

The chores were cathartic for Zuko.  He'd spent most of his life in the lap of luxury, with servants catering to his every whim.  He never gave them much thought beyond that, never wondered how much work went into keeping his home neat and orderly.  After a couple of days of shining and washing and sweeping and organizing, Zuko had at least a small idea of what they must go through.  If he ever got to live in the Palace again, he'd have to remember to increase their pay.

For all the good it may have done him, it never brought him any closer to reaching Katara.  Eventually, she gave up trying to make him leave and just took to ignoring him.  She would hand him something to be cleaned or take something from him and refuse to say a word.  Days went by with no improvement and Zuko was starting to lose hope.

Looking back, it was actually kind of funny, the way he finally got back in her good graces.  Where the random acts of kindness had failed, helping her track down her mother's murderer had succeeded.  He had been wholeheartedly behind Katara in her desire to take the man's life.  Not that he wanted her to become a killer, that was a burden no one should have to bare, but he wasn't going to stop her.  It was her choice and her right to take revenge.  Zuko was doubtless that he'd do the exact same thing in her situation.  The thought of his own mother and the very real possibility that he might never see her again only made him support Katara's quest all the more.

And when it was over, so was the silent treatment.  Her anger and resentment was gone, and she'd even hugged him, a sign of the forgiveness he'd worked so hard to gain and finally had.  Zuko slept well that night, content with the knowledge that in his twisted and messed up life, at least something had gone right for him.

It didn't stop there.

Because after that came the duel with Azula, where Zuko had put everything on the line to protect her.  He would have given his life if it meant Katara would live.  The pain had been unbearable, death's hand was slow to reach for him.  It was pure, unending agony that ate away at him for what felt like days on end, until something touched him.  Something cold and soft and wonderful that made the pain fade into nothing and brought fresh air into his lungs and strength to his tired muscles.  The first thing he saw were Katara's eyes, deep blue and brimming with unshed tears and unmasked relief that he was alive.  It was the most beautiful thing Zuko had ever seen.

For a split second, he wanted to kiss her.  He wanted in a way he hadn't known it was possible to want someone.  Not even with Mai had he ever felt something like this.  

It was gone before he knew, just a passing fancy brought on by the shock of his near death and misplaced gratitude for his savior.  That's what he told himself then and for the next few years, while he and Katara went on with their lives in separate nations with separate responsibilities and separate relationships.  Said relationships would go on to fail spectacularly, but still separately.  

Time passed and the world constantly changed, but that little thought in the back of Zuko's mind never faded, only grew.  Every time he saw her again, it was worse, until he could no longer take it.  Feeling this way made no sense to him, this wasn't what he'd wanted.  

But it was what he had, and he had to act on it.

Now, here he was, seated on the dark red sheets of his large and regal bed.  The crown of the Fire Lord rested on it's stand beside him.  The enormous window was wide open, granting him a perfect view of the clear sky and the endless stream of fireworks shooting off one after another, as the Fire Nation celebrated well into the morning hours.  Zuko shook his head.

"They keep that up, we'll never get any sleep," he said.

Dark skinned arms snaked around his bare stomach, pulling him back against a toned, feminine body.  Her chin came to rest on his shoulder, and Zuko placed his hands on her forearms, holding her in place.

"Sleep's not really on my mind tonight," she said with a sly smile.  "Don't tell me that's what you've been thinking about all this time."

Zuko chuckled, turning his head as best he could to look into her eyes.  They were the same blue eyes he'd fallen in love with so long ago.

"No, actually I was thinking about the past," he said.  "How we met and how we became friends."

Katara nodded in understanding.  "That was something else."

"You're telling me," Zuko said quietly.  He leaned his head back and let go of her arms.  She ran fingers through his thick hair, a simple, affectionate act that nonetheless caused heat to pool in his stomach.  "I'm sometimes amazed that we've come this far.  I never thought we'd be here like this."

"It's definitely not how I expected my life to turn out," Katara murmured in agreement, her grip becoming tighter, but no less gentle and loving.  "But I'm glad it did.  I wouldn't change this for the world."

And with that, Zuko had had enough of talking.  He twisted himself around and pushed Katara down on the bed, covering her with his body and claiming her lips.  A squeak of surprise stuck in her throat, but she returned the kiss with an urgency that made Zuko's head spin.  

He battled her for dominance, refusing to give in and letting his hands roam freely across her body.  There were so many places he'd been longing to touch, and now he finally could.  She was his, and he was hers.

Katara.

His Katara.

His best friend.

His wife.

He held her all night, long after they were both spent and she peacefully slumbered.  His hands caressed warm, naked skin.  The happiness he felt was like nothing he'd ever experienced before, and it would stay for as long as he could hold this beautiful woman in his arms.

In the beginning, all Zuko wanted was Katara's forgiveness.

In the end, he had that and so much more.