Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Cold Shoulder	By : AloofandAndrogynous Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female Views: 23509 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-one
- 2-two
- 3-three
- 4-four
- 5-five
- 6-six
- 7-seven
- 2
- 3
- 4
Cold Shoulder
Chapter 3
Disclaimer…You know by now ATLA doesn’t belong to me though I wish it would…
~~~~~
For a while she stayed at the healing hut, taking lessons from the older healers. It helped to take her mind off unpleasant matters. Yaguda welcomed her with a smile and she had learned a few things from the elderly woman and the other healers who were currently working with her, for she had moved far beyond the beginner’s class, and was now good enough to help with healing more serious injuries.
After a few hours with the healers, she left and wandered through the city, without mentally tracing her steps. It took her no time to lose track of time or path. Her stomach rumbled a bit with hunger but she ignored it, wishing to avoid her husband for as long as possible.
Pakku meanwhile had gone out to work with some of his better students – although there were none as good as Katara – and come home for a short nap. When he awoke, the sun had just gone down… and his wife was nowhere to be seen. Unbeknownst to him she hadn’t done this intentionally, for she was genuinely lost.
But he didn’t know that, and thought she was being defiant yet again. He scowled darkly, thinking she had made good on her word to run off. A quick glance around revealed that she hadn’t taken anything from here from the looks of it, and he didn’t think she would actually steal supplies from anyone else…would she? Or perhaps…she was hiding somewhere in this large city to spite him.
He climbed from the furs and whipped on his parka and boots, storming outside and drawing out his small gondola, quickly sailing off through the canals. He slid through the canals asking around. There were still plenty of people around as the Water Tribes were different from the other Kingdoms, for they liked to stay up late especially when the moon was out, so they needed no other light to move through the dark.
Katara sat on a bench, crying softly as she looked out at the moon and ocean. It was dark and she was lost, and Pakku would certainly punish her for this. She was too stubborn and afraid to ask someone for directions, and now she wasn’t exactly sure where her new home was amongst all of these buildings.
Faintly, she heard someone call her name but didn’t respond. She just sat there, her hands folded on her lap under the thick fur cuffs of her parka.
Pakku climbed off his gondola and rushed up the steps, thankful to the person who had seen her come this way and pointed her out. He came onto a large public platform, with a few benches and a fountain in the middle. Currently his wife was the only occupant. Her back was to him, and quietly he stepped around, seeing her profile. She looked beautiful as the light of the moon glistened on her tears and he paused, staring at her for a few moments before striding over to her and grabbing her arm, pulling her off the seat.
Katara put up no resistance whatsoever as he led her back down the steps and to his waiting gondola, taking her seat and keeping her head bowed.
He stepped into the gondola and set it into motion with a flick of his hand before he looked back down at her.
"Where were you?" he asked, bracing himself for a angry or sharp response. But there was none of that. In a small voice, her head staying bowed, she said,
"I got lost." Her voice offered no resistance, no anger, nothing that might suggest she was lying. He paused before sitting down next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders and holding her close.
"Let’s go home." Pakku said simply and she said nothing, sitting there as he waved his arm to keep the gondola moving swiftly. His harsher side wanted to reprimand her for wandering off or not asking someone for directions but for once he managed to hold it back.
Her eyes moved along the canals, this time memorizing the way so if she came this way she wouldn’t get lost again. When they got back home, she climbed out of the gondola without waiting for him to help her, and walked up the stairs to their apartment without a word. He said nothing, docking the gondola and walking after her, feeling saddened.
As soon as both of them were in their home, he closed the door and she turned back to him.
"Do you still want me to make supper?" she asked as if it didn’t matter to her either way.
"I do." Pakku replied softly. She nodded before removing her parka and boots and setting them aside and going about, putting supper and tea together as he sat down and meditated.
His meal was set down in front of him without a word and she sat across from him on the other side of the fire, eating her own meal and not making any attempts at conversation or even eye contact. He himself was unsure of what to say to break the proverbial ice between them without setting her on the defensive again. When supper was finished, she took his dishes away from him and washed them with her own before putting them away and laying on one side of the furs.
Pakku got up and sat next to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. He hadn’t wanted to make her upset, and the two sides of him raged against eachother about the best course of action to take with his wife. All he wanted was a happy marriage with her, but she kept pushing him.
Because you keep pushing her first, that small voice inside of him piped up. He genuinely cared for her, had done so since she had first challenged him over a year ago. Course, back then he had been irritated but her inner fire had planted something inside of him, something that had only grown as he continued teaching her Waterbending.
She lay there silently, ignoring him as she felt his hand on her shoulder, feeling tears come down her cheeks as she kept her face turned away. Pakku noticed her expression and pulled her into his arms, touching her cheeks with his fingers and wiping away her tears, causing her to pull away.
"Please don’t patronize me, Pakku. It's bad enough that you condescend down to me and order me around."
"I'm not patronizing you." he replied calmly, feeling a bit sad that she was suspicious even of his gentle gesture.
"...Then what are you doing?" she asked curiously.
"Holding my wife." he replied calmly and she eyed him warily.
"Does that mean you want me to lie back and…" she let the sentence dangle in the air, not wanting to say any more.
"I enjoy doing that with you, wife, but not right now, no."
"Okay." she said softly, although she still felt a bit confused, but she lay there and let him keep his arms around her.
The Waterbending Master held her in his protective embrace, enjoying her warmth and her scent.
Please don’t hate me, Katara. I care about you. I really do and I don’t mean to hurt you, but these words died before they could be spoken. Other words took their place.
"Can't you just accept the fact that things are not that bad here with me as you obviously thought it would be?" he asked calmly and she looked up at him quietly for a moment.
"You call condescension and spankings not bad?" she asked with a small amount of not anger, but bitterness in her quiet voice, "I never asked for this marriage, you went behind my back and then you go and order me around and make me feel like a thing."
"Would you have said 'yes' had I asked?"
"I don’t know." she said frankly, "I mean, you are my teacher and all. Perhaps if you had actually asked me yourself and showed me that you respected me by doing that instead of what you did…but never mind…" It was too late, she was now married and there was no way to redo the past. She pulled away and lay down with her back to him, pulling a blanket over herself.
"Never mind what?"
"Nothing. Never mind." she repeated with a soft sigh, "I’m tired. I do not want to fight."
"Nor do I." Pakku replied and she nodded, saying nothing more and staring at the wall as she felt his fingers gently caress the side of her neck. Then she felt his nose and lips on that same area as he nuzzled her. Finally she spoke again.
"Is it so much to ask to be treated like a human being? A equal?" Katara asked softly, "Not a woman who has a ‘place’ where she has to be in or a child that is incapable of making their own decisions?"
"I treat you very well." Pakku said as he looked down at her, wishing she would look back at him.
"You insult and spank me and order me around."
"I only did that because you keep mouthing off like a spoiled brat."
"That’s because of how you treat me."
He held back a sigh, feeling a headache come on from constantly arguing with her. Why couldn’t she just shut up and be happy about living comfortably and getting lessons?
"I liked you a lot better when you were my teacher and nothing else." Katara added before falling silent and waiting for his response.
"And I liked you better when you weren't arguing with me."
"Well frankly, I'd rather not fight but when you condescend down to me or insult me..." she trailed off for a moment, "But that’s what you get when you get my marriage behind my back and treat me like this. You got yourself into this." she said, speaking in a soft and calm tone, offering no challenge, just fact.
"Ahh good, shift the blame claim it was my actions that cause you to do that, nevermind the choice you made to go ahead." he shot back.
"Choice I made? What choice?" Katara asked, turning her head to glare at him.
"The choice to fight back."
"What do you expect when you belittle and insult someone?" she asked, glaring at him fiercely for a moment before continuing.
"It hurts…" she said softly, climbing out of the furs, not caring that she was leaving the warmth of the pile as she looked down at him, "And it hurt when I found out what you and my father did." she added even more quietly; laying out her parka near the fire and curling up on it.
"Life hurts young one, accept it."
"And so...that gives you the right to hurt me?" she asked, her eyes filled with pain as she lifted her head to look at her husband. She had already been hurt enough, with the loss of her mother and grandmother, her father leaving for war, the difficult life she had to lead overall in a poor village, every day a struggle to keep warm and healthy and safe. And then she lost her best friend as Aang left to master Earthbending
Pakku growled a little as her words sunk in, feeling angry with her for saying such a thing, but feeling angrier at himself.
"I reserve the right to do so every time you provoke me and snap at me as if you are better than a man who is smarter and more experienced in any and all matters."
She looked at the fire, crying softly.
"I didn’t say I was better than you, or that you had less experience. You're the one who insults me and belittles me." she sniffled.
"That's after you continue to defy me."
"You're the one who orders me around and never says anything nice to me!" she snapped back before catching herself and quieting down a little, "I once respected you and admired you." she said bitterly as she glared into the flames, her back now to him.
"I see no reason to offer anything but the truth."
"And what's the truth? That I am just a toy for you? Something for you to take your frustrations out on? Someone to replace what you lost?" she asked bitterly.
"The truth is you are still a child and do have a place, your attempts to overcome that place are nothing more then an irritation. If you stopped defying others, learned and accepted your place you would have more time to devote yourself to water bending properly." he replied stiffly.
"Child?" Katara asked, her voice dripping with a new bitterness Pakku had not heard before and she turned and looked over her shoulder at him, "I stopped being a child the day my mother was killed." she stated before turning around to face the fire again, wiping away her tears.
Her mother was killed? He had not been aware of that. He had indeed noted that Hakoda had never talked about his wife, but it was not his place to ask. Pakku stared at her for a moment, about to say something tender to soothe her and make her feel better when habit took over and he became the harsh schoolmaster once more.
"You have yet to become a mature young lady, and when you do, you will have more patience and more control of yourself and your emotional state."
Katara sat, staring at the fire resentfully, hardening herself against him. It seemed to be the only thing to do against the barbs that he sent her way, so she said nothing.
Pakku stared at her back for a few moments before he realized he would get no response. For once, she was not snapping back at him and he allowed himself the barest of smirks. At least now she was getting her emotion under control.
But he thought wrong. Anger raged in Katara like never before, and she continued bottling it all up. The more stupid things he said to her, the more it would well up inside of her. She was sick of arguing and fighting.
Her tears froze into a hard lump at the back of her throat. I hate you and I wish you would die, she thought furiously to herself.
"Hate me all you wish, but you know I speak clearly. You lack patience and get angry easily and that is dangerous because you command a power greater then any other. You command a force that can give life or take it away and every time you get upset, you become a danger to everyone around you, because you can drown a person or freeze them or crush them with the pressure from the water around them. that's why it is important to not act like a child and let your emotions get in the way."
Well, I wouldn’t be so fucking emotional if you were not such a fucking asshole, Katara wanted to yell at him.
"How would you feel if you harmed someone out of anger? Like your family or Aang? You lack control and that coupled with how easy it is for you to get angry or upset is why I tell you to control your emotions and stop acting like a child!"
Silence met him and she got up only to make herself some tea.
"If you keep this up, then there will be no more lessons and don't give me that look." he said as Katara flashed her eyes at him angrily, "I've been a water bender teacher for years. I take pride in teaching and when someone I am teaching ignores my experience and instruction I find them to be lacking in the maturity needed to master their abilities."
Whatever, Pakku. Whatever she thought as she put the kettle over the fire. And what was this about her ignoring his instruction? When he was her teacher she had followed his instructions without complaint, taking in everything he taught her.
"Ahh so now you ignore me and offer a 'cold shoulder' because you do not like what I've said. Well, too bad, you won't listen and that's why you will not be that good at water bending."
Her face remained emotionless as she stirred the kettle before getting herself a cup and pouring into it calmly.
She turned around a bit to look at him with that dull expression.
"Am I showing any emotion now at all?" she asked in a deadpan voice.
"I'm going to ignore your insolent tone…" he said coldly, "you shape up, or I will cease to teach you. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." she replied dully as she swallowed the deep pain she was feeling, "So you are telling me that men can’t be emotional or dangerous?" she asked as she looked down at her tea.
"They can but they have better control… at least those who are older and wiser."
"It's not women who wage wars." she replied calmly, "Even though we are supposed to be the more emotional and prone to anger. I’ve seen my brother fly off the handle and get in fights. I’ve seen older men in the Earth Kingdom get in brawls over the stupidest things when they let their anger take over. You men are always so eager to let your fists fly. Who declares wars? Who fights? Who makes weapons? Who brags about having warrior spirits?"
"Either gender can wage a war if they desire to do so…"
"Then you do agree that women can fight and can make decisions that men make?" she shot back. He cursed himself silently, glaring at her for tricking him, and with his own words, no less!
Katara said nothing, not even bothering to smirk when she saw she had gotten him, and sat there, slowly bringing the cup of tea to her lips as if she were a automaton, her body now running on its own as her mind shut down.
Pakku calmed himself down before he spoke again.
"Look… I do care about your safety and welfare. You are my charge and I do not want to see you destroyed by your own potential. That is why you must have a clear mind, not one filled with uncontrolled emotion. The best warriors are those who can turn off their emotions and keep going and fighting with a clear mind, something that you and your brother seem to not be able to do well, more him than you though. One reason why I am somewhat pleased to have you as my charge and not him."
Charge? Somewhat pleased? Is that all he had to say? She swallowed the fresh feelings of pain that came from his condescending words. Why couldn’t I be married to Aang? He cares about me. He would never speak to me so hurtfully.
"And you may think of being married to someone else but at the very least I am honest with you, all you have to do is strive for excellence… if you are capable of it, that is."
She strived for excellence with each lesson he gave her. Did he not see that? He watched her, holding back a proud smile, seeing a flash of determination by the way her shoulders squared a little. He suspected that she would not rest until she had figured something out and proved herself, something that pleased him because he knew she'd rise to his challenge. Hence why he was glad she was his wife and his star pupil, there was no one else worthy enough.
"I cared about what you thought of me when you were just my teacher, I tried so hard to please you and make you proud of me. I took in everything you said and even though you were stern I respected you. But this marriage...all the things you have said...the way you make me feel...I don’t care anymore. It’s obvious you don’t care so why should I?" she said flatly, looking up at him for a moment before looking down again.
"You still have ways to go and if you want my respect and for me to be proud of you, that means you need to keep trying unless you are too afraid to try and earn an old man's respect."
"Why should I care?" Katara asked dully as she poured herself some more tea, staring into the fire, "
I am is a wife, a slave, a thing for you to belittle and make fun of."
By now her emotionless tone was definitely creeping him out. He started to realize that something was wrong here, that she was not just giving him the cold shoulder but something more.
"Do I make fun of you?" he asked keeping his own temper in check.
"Yes." Katara said flatly.
"If I made fun of you I would be laughing at you."
"Sometimes when Sokka made fun he didn’t laugh. And you never laugh anyway." she shrugged.
"I've never found anything worth laughing about." he replied quietly. Katara heard his tone but said nothing.
"You are the most aggravating person I have ever met." Pakku stated. Still no response.
"I am not your brother, I do not make fun or scorn you. If I did, you would know it." he continued and she still ignored him.
The fact that he condescended down to her, said she had a 'place', spoke to her as if she was a child and called her one, everything about his attitude towards her spoke to her otherwise than what he was saying right now.
Katara turned again so her back was to him. Pakku sighed softly, getting up and walking over to her, sitting behind her and wrapping his arms around her middle. He hated the fact that she had chosen to shut herself off, and he hated more knowing he was responsible for this even though he wouldn’t admit it.
"I admire your drive and determination even if I do not admire how you defy me at times." Pakku whispered into her ear and she pulled away. She had no desire to be touched by him or spoken to him whatsoever.
"You can't keep ignoring me forever." Pakku said as he sat there, watching her scuttle away, longing for her warm body to hold and touch. She continued ignoring him and nursing her tea.
"You know that is really childish, ignoring me because you don't care for what I say, it shows you have a lot of growing up to do."
Katara chose not to respond. She sure as hell was not going to take the bait. Or show any emotion.
"Very well then, I will just have to discipline you again." He grabbed and put her over his knee, raised his hand palm open and made it come down with a resounding smack across her backside. Again, her clothes absorbed most of it, but like before, he was just trying to prove a point.
Even as his hand came down she didn’t scream or yell or claw out or anything. She just didn’t seem to care. He smacked her several more times, trying to get a rise out of her but still nothing.
Go on, Pakku. Does this make you feel good? Katara thought, as she felt his hand on her posterior.
He released her and she sat by the fire again, but not before giving him a quick glance and in her eyes he had seen cold disdain for a moment before her face went blank again.
It seemed that everything he did pushed her further and further away. He just couldn’t stop himself from reacting whenever Katara showed her defiant streak. He had never been in a real relationship with a woman, and his courtship of Kana had been brief. He was now unsure of how to proceed as a husband or a man. Deep down inside he knew all the things he had said was hurtful and Katara didn’t deserve them but he was so used to being harsh and stern that kind words were difficult.
Now thanks to what had happened today and tonight she might decide to actually run off…or shut him off for good. He was afraid of that. He didn’t want it to go on like this forever and he couldn’t imagine having Katara giving him the silent treatment for the rest of his life.
Please don’t hate me Katara. It’s just hard for me to say kind words. I can’t seem to stop picking at you.
He was a good husband! He kept her warm and safe and comfortable and gave her lessons!
Well, not necessarily, that part of him said, You keep hurting her with your words and she is not a child.
He was now unsure of how to proceed as he stared at her back. He wanted her to look at him!
You know she’s only acting like this because of what you did. Remember how she was when she was simply your student. She was so eager to please you.
They all were, his students, hoping to become Waterbending masters yet most of them failed anyways.
Not her. She is the best and you know it. Isn’t that why you took her as your wife? Because she is the best there is?
That had indeed been the case.
And yet you scorn her and belittle her and tell her she is a child and make her feel unwanted and unloved.
She was acting as one arguing with him constantly defying much of what he said sulking and ignoring him like one!
After the way you treated her can you really expect her to smile and take it? You would hate it if someone did the same to you, and you know it.
He was only trying to better her… was that so wrong?
You tell her that she is a child and spank her like one. You order her around as if she is a servant. Have you done anything to make her feel valued?
He had told her he admired her drive and her determination.
That's not the same. You mixed that in with a bunch of insults.
He growled in annoyance, telling his conscience to leave him be. After all, he had suffered more then enough. He had hardened over the years and he strove to maintain that shell.
Suffered what? You lead a relatively comfortable life compared to hers. You are a wealthy and powerful man. Get over Kana. You married Katara because she is something more.
Not that the defiance and insults she had shown him helped any…
Ahh, she didn’t make the insults until you did. She was perfectly fine until you put her on the defensive.
Pakku held back a growl, knowing that his conscience was right. And he had almost forgotten that he even had one…
Katara sat there silently, opening her eyes again and bending a tiny water whip out of her teacup making it dance as she remained cold to him. She could imagine herself becoming cold to him forever, shutting him out and becoming ice…
She continued bending her tea, ignoring him as he drew close to her again, sitting behind her, his chest pressed against her back as he wrapped his arms around her middle. She continued playing with her tea. He placed his chin on his shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent and placing a light kiss on the side of her neck. She turned her head away from him, returning the water to the cup and continuing to drink her tea, and he held back a sigh.
I am cold. I have no feelings. I am a statue. Pakku cannot hurt me Katara told herself, ignoring his embrace and touch.
"Are you going to talk to me or no?" Pakku whispered, his breath warm on her ear.
Why the hell should I? You criticize everything I say or do, Katara thought bitterly as he hugged her more tightly and she fought back the urge to elbow him in the stomach. She was just tired of being put down and being told where her place was.
"Talk to me, Katara." her husband whispered firmly and she shook her head. Give me a good reason to, husband of mine. She had only been married to him for a day and night and it was hell already.
"Please." Pakku whispered and she held back a gasp. She had never heard him say please, never. But she quickly swallowed her surprise and remained silent. She was not going to let him win!
"I just want to talk to my wife." Pakku said more gently, placing a light kiss on her earlobe. He was desperate for some attention from her, a smile, a kind look, and a gentle touch. He needed her and frankly the idea that she might be this way forever scared him, and again he cursed himself.
Finally she broke her silence although she still didn’t look at him.
"Every time I talk you condescend down to me. So there is no point in me talking."
"Am I being condescending now?" he asked and she shook her head silently. But you’ll just do it again.
There was no point in arguing with him. She knew he knew she was unhappy, he knew she hated being called a child, and all of that, she was not going to repeat herself. Why waste her time when he obviously didn’t care about her feelings?
"I...apologize for calling you a child and spanking you. I will not do it again. I was wrong." Pakku said simply. Katara was so surprised she had nothing to say, nothing kind or snappy.
He held her, taking her silence to mean she didn’t care or had gone beyond the point of letting him make it up to her, and sighed softly. But he would not give up.
"Please let me make it up to you."
"How?" she asked skeptically. He was silent and she sighed and shrugged, removing herself from his arms.
"Don’t bother." she said quietly, moving to the window, "I don’t care anymore. You obviously don’t care about my feelings or respect me so I will stop caring. If I don’t care then I can’t be hurt. It’s that simple. So do whatever you want, Pakku." she said with the same emotionless tone as she shrugged and sipped her tea. She would simply shut herself off and that would be that.
"And now you avoid things, Katara." Pakku said softly as he drew himself to his feet, slowly approaching her and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "look… why not try a compromise? I will not insult or belittle you or do any of the other things that upset you, if you agree to do the same."
"Why wouldn’t I want to avoid things?" Katara asked, not even bothering to flinch or pull away from his hand, "If I avoid talking to you then I avoid arguments."
"You are avoiding caring and simply shutting yourself off so that you do not have to face anything that you feel is too hard for you."
"And why not?" she shrugged. Her emotionless tone was seriously causing him to worry, her angry and rebellious tone was far more appealing to this and he would even be gladdened if she snapped or screamed at him. He had no desire at all to lose the spark that made her who she was.
"Because that is no way to live."
"Why would you care how I live? You showed me that you did not respect me by not asking me for marriage. You treat me like a child and a slave. You don’t care how I live as long as I serve you." Her voice was now tight.
"Actually, I do care. But, I do not know why considering how awful you treat me with your spiteful tongue."
"I only use that spiteful tongue when you insult me."
"Did I just insult you right now?" he shot back.
"Not really."
"So you said something that was untrue."
"No, it was not untrue." she said, staring out at the sky, "I simply said that I used my ‘spiteful’ tongue when you insulted me. When I am hurt I cannot help but retaliate. That is all."
"You used that spiteful tongue just a moment ago yet I did not deserve it."
"I was not trying to be spiteful. I was merely stating a fact." Katara said, feeling a bit of anger bubble up deep inside.
"That's how it came out."
"Well, I did not intend for it to come out like that, and I mean it. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you at all. Although I have to wonder if you like seeing me get angry or hurting me. It seems that… well, to be frank, I feel as if you enjoy picking on me."
"And neither do I times, and I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t like picking on you. I’m not trying to. That’s not why I married you. I don’t want you angry with me. I don’t like seeing you hurt." Pakku said quietly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. She said nothing, leaning her head against the side of the window and taking another sip of her almost-empty cup.
"Look… you and I can either keep going on like this or we can try to get along. Like I said last night, I didn’t bring you here to abuse you. And I don’t want to fight."
Well, getting along would be better than this... Katara thought dryly. They had gotten along well enough as student and teacher.
"Can't you at least try?" Pakku asked, taking her silence the wrong way.
"If you try then I will. I suppose trying to get along is better than...you and me fighting. We got along as student and teacher, didn’t we?"
"Agreed." Pakku said with a small smile.
"Fine then." Katara said, sounding a little relieved as she continued staring out the window. He drew closer, nuzzling her on the side of her neck. She said nothing, looking down at her teacup quietly, letting it warm her fingers.
"Would you like something to eat?" he asked, unsure of what else to say to his wife now and trying to say something nice.
"No, I’m not really hungry." she shrugged.
"Are you sure?" he asked and she nodded quietly. He gave her another nuzzle before gently grasping her shoulders and turning her around, placing a kiss on her cheek.
Katara blinked back tears when he held her tenderly, cradling her head against his chest. She just stood there, not saying anything, taking in the gentleness of this gesture, so she remained silent, not wanting to say anything that might ruin this tender moment.
He smiled as he lay his hand on her head, feeling her soft and thick hair, feeling her relax into his embrace, utmostly relieved that she was speaking with him again. He hoped she didn’t hate him anymore and thought about her words. Perhaps the marriage would have started out better if he had actually asked her himself, she hadn’t seemed to have any love interest back then except for the Avatar perhaps, but that had seemed to be more one sided with the boy mooning over her and her just taking things in stride. This one was so different from her grandmother…Kana had been strong but she was more sweet and shy and many of the men his age had been crazy over her, and he had been considered lucky when people saw that it was HIS necklace around her neck.
Out of the two it would have seemed that Katara would be the more likely one to run from a marriage, for when Kana had done so it was a huge surprise. Perhaps that spoke of Katara’s strength…she could have just run away from the wedding, he knew very well she was capable of caring for herself. He had never seen a woman as bold or fierce as his new wife.
He lifted up her chin to place a light kiss on her lips. She did not press back into the kiss but she didn’t pull away either, although he wished she would kiss him back. She simply stood there and he wanted to tell her that he really did care for her deeply, but he didn’t know how she would respond.
Katara looked up at him but for a moment and saw what she could have sworn was...tenderness and caring in his eyes, or was she just imagining it? She quickly looked down, saying nothing and he noted her sudden reaction.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." she whispered with a shake of her head as he kept her in his arms.
"Then why look down?"
"I…don’t know."
Pakku lifted her chin and kissed her again, and she closed her eyes as he did so. When he broke the kiss he pulled her closer, hugging her tightly. She managed to take a sip from the tea that she still had on one hand and he loosened his grip a little.
He decided to try something new, and raised his hand to his lips to blow her a kiss, something he had seen a few times among the younger lovers in the city. She raised her head slowly to stare at him curiously. He…almost looked sweet when he had done that and before she knew it a small smile had crept on her face. He smiled back at her, feeling more light hearted from her own, but before he knew it, she looked down again quickly and downed the rest of her tea before setting the cup aside. She returned to the furs and laying on her stomach, burying her face against her pillow and bundling herself up for sleep.
He stared at her for a moment, feeling he had lost whatever progress he had made with her and wondered what had made her look down. She had just smiled at him and then looked away from him as if she was afraid.
Pakku walked over to the furs and pulled her close, feeling relieved when she made no attempt to pull away, and she simply curled up against him. Her eyes remained closed as he straightened her hair, brushing a few loose strands from her face.
Again her beauty stunned him, and he placed a light kiss on her cheek, admiring how she looked all bundled up in the furs. He gently ran his fingertips along her face and jaw before nuzzling her again. She opened her eyes to look into his pale blue ones and he simply offered her a small but kind smile, continuing his gentle caress.
She snuggled closer to him a little, enjoying the feel of warmth and security and letting him touch her. What a change this was from the asshole from just an hour earlier.
She said nothing when he lifted the furs and slid into the pile, curling up to her.
"Are you cold?" he asked and she shook her head, wrapping a fur around herself, making it even more warm and cozy.
"Sure?" Pakku asked and she nodded again. She had after all grown up in much harsher conditions than this, and this thick pile of blankets and furs was heaven. But Pakku smirked and shook his head a little, pulling a couple more furs over herself and him.
"You really don’t need to, I'm comfortable."
"I want to though." Pakku said softly and she nodded, offering no argument, snuggling up under the furs and curling up contentedly. He smiled and pulled her close so her head was on his chest.
She closed her eyes and was asleep as he watched, feeling more than relieved that they were able to come to a compromise. He didn’t want her ignoring him or speaking to him emotionlessly, and hoped that this pleasant company would continue. And perhaps...one day she might care for him as he cared for her, and perhaps he could be honest with his feelings as well.
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Cold Shoulder