Dance with the Enemy

8. A Question

Zuko hung up his apron on the kitchen rack tiredly. He only had the day shift, yet he was still exhausted from all the work. To make matters worse, today was the day he had decided to go meet with Katara. It occurred to Zuko that this was the first time he would go after her, instead of bumping into her in an unexpected fashion. The banished prince glanced at his uncle, who was meticulously watching a tea kettle boil in the small, dinky kitchen.

“Uncle, I’m going to see if I can find Katara,” Zuko said flatly.

A small smile found its way onto the old man’s face, but he didn’t look away from the kettle.

“I hope you can spend some quality time with your girlfriend, Zuko,” Iroh chuckled softly.

The Prince rolled his eyes, but didn’t flame in anger like he usually did.

“I’ll be back by evening,” the boy remarked as he left the kitchen, his uncle still smiling softly.

Despite his cool attitude towards Iroh, Zuko was rather nervous about setting off to find the waterbender. His palms were sweaty with nervousness and his heart thumped rapidly in his chest as he made his way through the busy streets of the Ba Sing Se Square. Only when he had finished the second block did he realize he had no idea where to find Katara. He found himself making his way toward the forest where they first met. At least, where ‘Shin’ and Katara first met.

Zuko was once again very frustrated. “Why would she be in the forest? I’m such an idiot,” he thought to himself. He began to turn away from the direction of the woods when a strange sensation overpowered his mind. Zuko knew the chances of seeing Katara in the forest were slim, but something in his gut told him to check it out for himself. After all, the other places he’d seen her before were pointless to check now. The dance was long over, and the shops Katara visited before were already closing. The forest was his last resort.

Zuko stormed into the vast greenery, pushing branches away from him as he followed the path from days prior. He walked and walked until his feet could not take him any farther. The prince began to wonder whether he was trying to find Katara or really just trying to run away from her. He let out harsh gasps, slowing to a stop in the middle of the brush. “This is useless.” Zuko thought.

Suddenly, the sound of rushing water engulfed his ears. He closed his eyes and focused on the sound, feeling his pulse abate and a new sense of calmness take over. Zuko heard the river’s waves cascade harmoniously to the left of him. He opened his eyes, then walked toward the noise. Surely enough, the crystal clear blue stream was a mere few feet away from him. And so was a beautiful girl, sitting at its bank. His pulse came to a complete halt.

He actually found Katara. She sat at the side of the stream, her feet dangling in the water. Her long dark hair was in a loose braid to her side, held by an intricate silver clip. The waterbender was lazily kneading the water in the stream, creating a rhythmic push and pull of the waves. She hadn’t seemed to notice him yet.

Zuko, once again, was struck by her beauty and peacefulness. Water was such a different element than fire. Gulping slightly, the firebender tried to calm his racing heart. Katara hadn’t noticed Zuko yet; he wanted to take the opportunity to have some mental preparation before he would try to truly befriend a member of the Avatar’s group. Zuko took a deep breath, readying himself to do what he’d been dreading and desiring to do all day. Suddenly, while he shifted his feet, Zuko stepped on a small twig. A loud crack sounded from his place, and the now panicked prince shot a glance at the waterbender by the river. Katara quickly turned her head toward his direction.

“Who’s there?” Katara shouted, as her hands rapidly swerved in front of her. The river was now flowing in a completely different direction: in between her delicate, but quick palms. Katara had a look of ferocity as she scanned the forest around her. Zuko, luckily, planted himself between two large spider-oak trees just in time. He gulped, while Katara stayed poised in her stance. Moments that felt like hours passed, until Zuko finally found the courage to speak from the trees.  

“...It’s me, Katara.”

The waterbender recognized that deep voice anywhere. She immediately lowered the body of water she had held in the air. Still skeptical however, she kept the water flowing close to her with one of her hands. Zuko, seeing her close to being unarmed, stepped out from the trees that concealed him. Upon meeting eyes, Katara finally dropped the water back into the stream. Her eyes were wide at the sight of the boy she had thought about since the last time they were both in this very forest. A little grin found its way onto Katara’s lips as she relaxed and sat back down.

Upon seeing Katara’s smile, Zuko involuntarily beamed back at her. The kind behavior that Katara seemed to trigger in Zuko had shown in the prince once again.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Zuko lied with a grin. “Lie after lie, how many more do I have to tell?” Zuko thought forlornly to himself.

Katara looked down from the prince’s striking amber eyes in subtle shyness, pushing a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

“Oh, really? You’re a pretty good guesser.” Katara responded with a laugh. Their eyes met once again, and Zuko felt an even stronger tingling sensation than he had before. He felt like cursing at himself for being so weak; he was too susceptible to this girl’s charms.

“Thanks. So, what brings you back to the forest?”, Zuko said openly. He crossed the grassy area separating the two of them and the closer he came, the faster his heart pounded.

“Well I...I always come here, just to think,” Katara replied thoughtfully, her eyes studying the forest floor.

Zuko slowly took a seat on the grass a few feet away from the girl. He couldn’t help but admire the soft waves of dark hair that framed Katara’s face.

“Oh...I see,” the prince replied, carefully choosing his words, “I was actually searching for you.”

At Zuko’s reply, Katara’s cerulean eyes shot up to meet his amber. She was surprised to notice a light dusting of pink on the boy’s cheeks, and couldn’t manage to contain her blush either.

“...R-really?” she inquired, feeling nervous and slightly self-conscious.

Zuko took a deep breath mentally. He kept telling himself that he was only trying to get close to Katara for the sake of meeting the Avatar, but it was hard to think straight with her bright blue eyes holding his gaze. All he knew was he couldn’t let her slip away from him again; she had to become his and his alone.

“Yeah. I...I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the dance, Katara.” he managed to express.“Would it be okay if I...asked y-you out on a date?” he asked nervously. Zuko wanted to slap himself at how Katara seemed to just hypnotize him.

The blush on Katara’s cheeks started to burn ever stronger, but she didn’t move her eyes away from Zuko’s. Even though nervous, the waterbender managed to put a cheeky smile on her face.

“Well, my answer depends on whether you actually are going to ask me out,” Katara grinned.

Zuko gained some confidence at the sight of Katara’s smile, and willed himself to finally ask the waterbender the long awaited question. The fiery prince looked up at Katara, eyes filled with desire, and spoke.

“Katara, I think we are great friends, and.... I only want to us to get even closer. So, would you do me the honor of... going out with me?”

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The moment of truth guys! Or more like 'half truth', Fire Prince still be lying :3 It's only gonna get better guys, keep reading! Sorry for the little cliffhanger there, I promise the wait won't be as long as last time(SCHOOL IS A BITCH.) xD Make sure you comment what you think and any suggestions you guys have, I'm open :) Vote if you liked it too! Thanks for reading guys! <3