Yon Rha was lying face up.
The icicles Katara had formed moments ago now protruded at awkward angles from his body. Most of them landed in his torso, while others pinned his arms and legs to the ground. One icicle had managed to lodge itself in his neck. Blood oozed from each punctured area of his body, forming an expanding circle of dark red on the ground. His face still held the look of terror he had before, but his eyes stared unblinking at nothing.
No, she thought. This wasn’t supposed to-
With the flick of her wrist the icicles turned back into water. She began to walk towards Yon Rha, but stopped when she felt a hand grab her wrist.
Somewhere in the past few moments she’d forgotten about Zuko standing a few feet behind her. The events of the past day flashed through her mind. Finding Zuko sitting outside her tent, him telling her he knew where to find her mother’s killer, her bloodbending the captain of the Southern Raiders, confronting Yon Rha… Remembering she only wanted to scare him with the icicles instead of…
“Let go Zuko,” she said through clenched teeth. His hold on her wrist only tightened. Fine, she thought. Have it your way.
She quickly twisted herself out of his grip, and dashed towards the body. She only made it a few steps before Zuko grabbed her again, spinning her around as he pulled her to him. Her eyes welled with tears as she struggled and thrashed in his arms. “Let me go!” she shrieked. The tears spilled over and ran down her face, mixing with the rainwater. “Zuko, please! I have to-” Her breathing labored, each breath ripping through her lungs. “I can heal him Zuko! You have to let go of me! I have to heal him!” Tears blurred her vision as she tried to shove Zuko away, but he just held on harder.
“Katara breathe.”
Hearing him say her name sent an agonizing pain through her heart. Knees buckling she clutched the fabric of his shirt in her hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make the unbearable pain in her chest go away.
“HE CAN’T BE DEAD ZUKO!”
Beneath her hands, she felt him stiffen. Her head pounded as she erupted into deep heaving sobs. She felt his grip on her loosen, his hands sliding from her back to lightly hold her elbows. “I didn’t mean- I should have stopped. I- I should have-”
“Hey,” Zuko said softly. “Look at me.”
Katara reluctantly looked up at him. A million things ran through her mind as she stared into his soft golden eyes. Don’t tell me it’s going to be okay. Don’t lecture me. Don’t yell at me. Don’t tell me that what I’ve just done is justified. Her heart ached at the last thought that appeared before Zuko spoke.
Please don’t hate me.
“I’m here okay?” he whispered, now cradling her face in his hands. “I’m always going to be here for you.”
Her tears had slowed, her breathing becoming easier as she processed his words. He’s here for me? The calm that had come over her morphed into anger. The more she heard his voice in her head, the more furious she became. Blood boiling, she shoved him as hard as she could, watching as he fell to the ground.
“What is wrong with you?!” she screamed.
The look of confusion on his face broke her heart, but she couldn’t stop. The words came out before she had the chance to register what she was even saying. “How can you be so calm right now?! I just- I just killed someone, Zuko! You might be used to this kind of thing happening, but I’m not!” Her anger deflated as her voice cracked, the pain coursing through her body beginning to consume her. “Why aren’t you lecturing me, or-or-or yelling at me?! That’s what everyone else would be doing right now!” He slowly got to his feet, keeping his eyes locked with hers. He closed the space between them cautiously, stopping inches away from her. “I just- I don’t understand how can you be so accepting of this,” she whispered.
“I’m not,” he said quietly.
Katara bit her lip and started to look away from him, but he brought his right hand to the side of her face, bringing her eyes back to his. “But it isn’t my place to tell you what to do. You don’t need to be lectured or yelled at because that won’t help you right now… That isn’t what you need.” A tear slid down Katara’s face, stopping dead in its tracks as it collided with Zuko’s thumb. “You get enough lectures from everyone else, and I don’t want to fall into that category with you… I need you to know that you can come to me with anything and I won’t give you a speech or scream my opinion at you…“ He brushed a stray hair sticking to her face away, tucking it lovingly behind her ear. "That no matter what you do, I’m always on your side.”
“Why,” she whispered. “After what you just saw me do, why would you want to do that?” The question was pointless, because she already knew the answer. It was written all over his face.
Gently tugging his shirt, she pulled him closer to her. Their noses bumped lightly before she hesitantly brought her lips to his. Much to her surprise, Zuko immediately pushed back, and wrapped his left arm around her waist. His right hand cradled the back of her head as he pressed his lips harder against hers. She wished they could just stay like that, kissing each other in the rain forever. But they couldn’t.
She pushed softly against his lips one last time before she pulled away and wrapped her arms around him.
“It was an accident,” she mumbled, burying her face in his chest.
She breathed in the smell of his shirt, listening to the sound of his heart beating in sync with hers. Zuko tenderly rubbed her back, holding her tighter. I’m here for you.
“I just wanted to scare him. I didn’t mean-”
Her voice cracked as the reality of what she’d done sank in. She was surprised to find she wasn’t crying. Maybe I’ve cried myself out. She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on the boy holding her. The boy who promised to always be there for her. She hugged him harder as he placed a kiss on the top of her head and stroked her wet hair.
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