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The Price of Peace	By : Looneyluna Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Katara/Zuko Views: 19176 -:- 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.

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A/N – Thanks to all who have reviewed. I won’t get mushy or sentimental, but I just wanted to let you all know they are greatly appreciated.

Summary – Zuko seeks peace, only to find Katara in his way.

Chapter Five –

Climbing the rocky path, Zuko exhaled. Excitement grew. For a few hours, he was free – free from responsibility, from politics and palace life. As he ascended the steep path to the hot springs, he smiled. He lived for these moments of solitude, where he could slow down and mull over the events that were bothering him.

This had been his mother’s refuge and now it had become his. She had brought him here when he was a small child, coaxing him into the warm water with treats and cookies. At first he did not care for the hot springs. But, over time, he grew to love them.

The rocky path turned into a smooth, worn trail. The full moon provided light for his way. Zuko came to a grouping of trees that bordered the natural haven. Swiping the lush, green branches out of his way, he pushed onward. He was almost there, grunting and sweating with the effort of his journey. He could hear the bubbling waters and the cool wind blowing across the springs. But there was something else.

Singing! The melody reached his ears on the breeze, freezing him in his tracks. Only one layer of bushes remained between Zuko and his goal. Methodically, he moved the foliage to the side and crouched low. His euphoric state came crashing down around him as he discovered who the interloper was.

“No, no, no, no! Not her!” he growled under his breath as he watched Katara partake in the pleasure of the hot springs. She was humming a melody he had never heard -- the notes of it strangely calming, until she hit the high notes. Her voice cracked as she strained to hit the notes, but she merely cleared her throat, unperturbed as if it happened every time.

As she bathed in her element, Katara smiled. Her lips curled and she laughed softly, amused with her own thoughts. She looked like a carefree water sprite, like the ones in the stories his mother used to read to him. Her dark skin glistened as if it were just another part of the water.

Closing his eyes, Zuko envisioned the flesh that he knew to be under the dark water. He had pictured it so many times in his dreams, having seen her in her under clothes during the perilous journey to the Fire Nation.

He had not wanted to listen to his uncle back then. To betray his father and nation had never entered his thoughts. His search and pursuit of the Avatar had blinded him to everything greater than his own pain. Through his uncle’s teachings he had come to realize the delicacy of the balance between the elements. Taking the side of the greater good had been a slow and painful process.

Zuko had sat on the sidelines, bemused over Aang’s first attempts of learning Firebending. Ironically, his uncle’s patience had worn thin, and Zuko had ended up teaching Aang. It had been the time between travel and training that he had come to know Katara. She had been the buffer between him and her brother and an Earthbender named Toph.

As long as Sokka had been annoying Toph and vice versa, they had left him alone. Not that he had gotten along with Katara. He hadn’t. She had argued with him continually, championing Aang’s efforts and belittling his. On day she had pushed him too far.

He didn’t know who had been more surprised, him, her, or those watching the fight.

Katara had been pinned beneath him and he had kissed her, effectively shutting her up and subduing her.

Lost in the memory of their first kiss, Zuko paid little attention as the wind howled through the trees, frightening the birds to flight.

Stooping low in the water, Katara turned toward the noise. “Hello?”

The trees swayed, dancing with the wind. Realizing it was just the wind, Katara chuckled. “Silly wind.”

“Isn’t it fortunate that I am not an assassin?” a snide voice commented from behind her.

She spun around in a striking stance. “Zuko!” she gasped in relief. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he retorted, an irritated edge in his voice. He approached the spring, dropping his towel on a rock. “Why haven’t you returned to the South Pole? There is nothing here for you.”

“I am waiting for my betrothed,” she replied, swimming away from him. “And yes, it is fortunate you aren’t an assassin. If you were, you’d have an icicle driven through your heart.”

His eyes narrowed as he watched her play in the water like a mischievous turtle duck. She had on a white halter-top and bottoms, but even those left little to the imagination. Whipping his robe off, he looked smug. “You’re a healer, Katara, not a warrior.”

Blushing, she averted her eyes and turned away from him. “Would you care to test that theory, Zuko? It’s a full moon tonight.”

He eased into the hot water and sighed. “The sun always rises,” he retorted, splicing through the water toward her.

She kept her back to him. “You would be dead before that happened.”

Closing in on her, Zuko felt as though his blood was on fire. He would teach her a lesson she would never forget. He was behind her now. All he had to do was reach out and touch her. “You’ve always been so sure of yourself,” he murmured next to her ear. “I’m almost envious.”

Heat curled in her stomach, an unfamiliar awareness prickling her skin. “That’s rich!” she joked halfheartedly. “You envious of a ‘little peasant.’” She threw the hurtful words back at him that he had uttered so long ago.

His fingers caressed her shoulders and she turned around. Her eyes widened and her hands went up to his bare chest. He was trying to intimidate her and it was working.

Zuko sneered, grabbing her wrists and trapping them between their bodies. “Your arms are trapped. How would you defend yourself now, little Waterbender?”

Struggling to break his hold, Katara hissed, “Let me go!”

He tightened his hold, lowering his head to hers. “You know.” His breath swept across her face as he licked his lips. “Perhaps I spoke in haste. You should stay.”

She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage. Her gaze lingered on his thin lips as they descended to hers. Closing her eyes, she readied herself for his kiss.

“With the proper training, you…” He touched his lips to hers. “…Would do well as a concubine.”

Opening her mouth to protest, she moaned as he kissed her. She couldn’t move. She was pinned between the edge of the pool and him, feeling sensations she’d only ever heard of. The intimacy startled her, but she held on to the shreds of her dignity and continued to struggle against his invasion.

Zuko broke the kiss, trailing his lips along her jaw. “Yes,” he murmured, his voice thick with desire. “You will do very well as my concubine.”

He still held her wrists, but her fingers were free and he was wet. Wiggling her fingers, she exhaled sharply, turning the droplets of water into ice.

Yelping as the ice encased his stomach and chest, Zuko jumped back.

Katara swam to the shore, escaping him and temptation. Climbing out of the pool, she huffed. “How dare you!”

Squatting in the water, he glared at her and rubbed the ice from his chest. “You little –”

“I am no man’s whore!” she railed, grabbing her clothes and jerking them on. She would not be secondary to anyone. “You are a selfish, spoiled, arrogant…child!”

He moved closer to the edge, his intentions clear.

“Don’t you move!” Katara was poised to strike, as she backed away.

“You little witch!” Zuko seethed with anger, the water and his rage melting the last of the ice from his body.

Katara smirked. It was a full moon and he was in a pool of water. “Some Fire Lord you are,” she taunted. “You wallow in self-pity, holding it like a shield. You use it as an excuse. No one can get close to you. You won’t allow it. You are friend to no one and loved one to all. You’re alone, Zuko, even when you surround yourself with people.”

She paced in the clearing, searching for words. “You can’t defend the people of your nation by yourself. You can’t…”

He stared at her -- his amber eyes flashing with promised retribution.

Throwing her hands in the air, Katara exhaled. “This is like talking to an iceberg. Pointless!” Her frustration getting the better of her, Katara gathered Zuko’s robe and towel and threw it at him. “I’m going home!”

Zuko eyed her retreating backside and quelled the desire to go after her. She may be of the Water Tribe, but her spirit was pure fire. He shivered, hunkering down in the water and contemplating his next move.

He would have her, even if he had to take drastic measures to do so.

--

TBC
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The Price of Peace