Zutara - Falling Slowly

WARNING!!! VERY LONG!!!

Song is “Falling Slowly” from the movie, “ONCE”. I do not own it.

[EDITED:]

I deleted my comments about the whole screenshot thing. It was bringing back some mixed feelings but with it come the wolves out of hiding to bash us again over this thing. I do NOT want another war. AVATAR IS OVER!!! Zutara wasn't canon. I don't care anymore about that more. I'm doing my own version and I'm happy with it. No more. So, bashers, PLEASE! I only hide comments when they fan the fire. I don't want to argue back! Who cares if this whole screenshot thing is real? I don't. Nothing made it change the ending and it won't. It's OVER! I'm not going to fight. That's all I have to say. If you bash, I'm just hiding it.

--

The reason I drew this is because seeing the screenshot with the second episode of Season 1 brought back a lot of good memories from that season. It stands as my favorite season because I think it has the most beautiful subtle Zutara moments and it’s just a brilliant season. I also just loved Zuko’s personality here because this is where he established himself as the hotheaded Prince and by the third season, he had changed so much that I really missed this side of him. But it also brought back a story I wrote a long time ago. It was called “Right Here” and began in Season 1 where Zuko captures Katara as a ransom to draw the Avatar to him. But while holding her hostage, they slowly fall in love along the way. It was a beautiful story – sad to say, I never finished it.

~~ While this picture wasn’t a scene in the story, I thought it should be –

After hearing the door slam aggressively, Katara woke up from her slumber and fell out of Zuko’s bed she had been sleeping on. He had just captured her two weeks ago today and as time went on she wondered if Aang or Sokka would ever save her. She and Zuko had hardly spoken any words to each other and most of her conversation had been with the friendly crew and his well-humored uncle. Zuko was withdrawn and quiet and the only talking he usually did was yelling at his crew members. The reason she was staying in his room was still making her uneasy. He insisted she had so he could be the first to capture the Avatar when they arrived to save her and her uncle mentioned the fact that the soldiers had been away from women for such a long time that it would be best to stay with Zuko so they didn’t try anything with her.

She preferred to take her chances with the soldiers rather than stay here with the short-tempered Prince. As if on cue, Zuko looked her way angrily before turning away and digging through a chest of clothes. “You’re still wearing that thing?” Zuko growled at her.

“I just washed it!” she barked back at him while standing up and putting on her shoes.

He didn’t reply. He just continued to go through the chest before loudly shutting it. Zuko muttered to himself before removing the red tie that held his queue up. His hair fell down across his nape and along his shoulders. He had just finished training with his uncle who did nothing but shout basics at him. He was a Prince trying to find the Avatar so his father would be able to win the war and his uncle was teaching him basics?

Zuko growled under his breath as Katara watched his every move with her eyes wide. During this time, she was forced to get to know him better through his uncle because there was no way she was risking her life by asking Zuko a few questions. She heard vague things of his past, his family, the Fire Nation, and why Zuko was chasing down Aang. It saddened her to know that he was an outcast from his own nation just for speaking out of turn.

Zuko felt eyes staring at him and turned angrily to find Katara staring absentmindedly from where she was standing.

“What?!” he growled.

“Nothing!” she replied while being broken out of her state of mind.

“Why are you staring then?!”

“I wasn’t staring!”

“Yes, you were!”

“Was not!”

“Were too!” Zuko replied when he realized just how childish they were both sounding.

“Was not!” Katara said trying to still argue with the Prince while her cheeks began burning a bright red.

“Forget it.” Zuko replied before removing his shirt and flinging it to the corner of the room.

Katara’s eyes widened at his muscular naked torso but quickly rebuttled. “Where were you anyway?” she asked trying to break the tension that was slowly building in the room.

“I just finished training and took a shower. What of it?” Zuko said while glaring at her face.

“Just wondering why you were gone since 5 am until nearly bedtime! My goodness! Is that all you did?!” Katara asked.

“retty much.”

Katara huffed before she looked up at his face while he stood beside a small table that had four candles on it. With a quick flick of his wrist, they all lit up. Her eyes didn’t leave his face as he sat on the ground and stretched his arm out. “Are you alright?” she asked expecting to be barked at.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Zuko answered softly instead. “Just hurt myself a bit training.”

“Oh. Want me to help?”

“No. I don’t need it. Especially from you!” He barked finally.

“I was just offering!” Katara huffed back at him. “You don’t have to be so cruel about it.”

Katara’s face fell as she sat on the floor in front of him and played with her fingernails as she tried to fight back the growing tears in her eyes. He was aggravating her to no end and the longer she stayed here, the more it was bothering her. Zuko noticed the soft glittering of tears in her eyes and immediately felt guilty. His uncle had been dogging him to no end about the way he treated Katara. She was a peasant. She deserved to be treated that way though, right?

Zuko looked her expression and had hit himself many a time when the thought passed his mind on how beautiful she was. But he couldn’t deny it any longer. She was beautiful. Her dark, inviting complexion, her long locks of endless brown hair, and her oceanic blue eyes were driving him wild. She was so unlike any other woman he had seen and he’d known for a long time now that he had wanted her but he was too enveloped in his chance for the Avatar to do anything about it. And why was he even thinking that? She’d never want him anyway…

The deep scar on his face drove away many and he knew how hideous it looked… She was so beautiful and innocent to ever want a man like him. He was in way over his head. He had wanted to many times to just drop her off on some remote island and forget about her but he just couldn’t. Watching the meticulous movements she made with her fingers in front of him was driving him crazy.

For the longest time now, he wanted to tell her he was so sorry for every mean thing he said to her, but this time, his pride got in the way. She slowly looked up at him and the complex look on his face was unreadable to her. He had always been a mystery… She looked at the Prince and had always seen her enemy but ever since she got over her initial fear of him, she started to notice slight behavioral patterns and his personality shine a little more each day.

Zuko was a very tortured 16 year old boy and that had more traumas over his short life than she thought possible. There was a reason for him to be the way he was but she also could see something softer underneath his hard surface. She scooted closer to him and he watched her move. She placed her hand on his chest and she slowly made it up to his face. He wanted to push her away and yell, but something was holding him back even though he had no idea what it was.

Her perfect blue eyes looked up at him so innocently and her lips were parted ever so slightly. He swallowed hard and flinched when he felt her move her hand over his scar. While the tissue was mostly dead and he could barely feel the weight of her hand on it, he knew it was there. She softly caressed the scarred tissue as she looked deeply into those golden eyes. She had no idea why she wasn’t removing her hand. She had tested herself to see how far she would go in trying to communicate with the Prince. She wanted to know more about him and if this was the only way, so be it.

“Why are you doing this? Aren’t you scared?” Zuko asked. His voice breaking the serene silence around them.

With a shudder in her voice and her eyes glaring deep into his, she replied, “…no…” She looked at his handsome face and was hoping for an answer in his eyes. Even with this horrible marking across his left eye, she seen the softness his eyes were now showing. She doubted anyone had ever got this close to the Prince at this type of level but for some reason, she trusted him. Feeling the scar underneath her hands, she felt Zuko’s fingers touch her face as he closed his eyes and lowered his mouth to meet hers.

Zuko had no idea what drove him to do this, but for the first time in his life, he felt as if he knew exactly what he wanted. Feeling her silken lips was almost too much for him. His heart was beating tremendously fast and he felt as if it would burst out of his chest. He thought this would be wrong and it was… But it felt so right at the same time…

Katara’s eyes only remained open for a second more before she felt his lips upon hers. Instead of being hard and chapped as she imagined, the soft skin pressing against hers sent a shiver up her spine. Her first kiss was something she hadn’t imagined would be spent in captivity of some sort with a person that was supposed to be her enemy, but for some reason, she knew he would always be something more…

Lyrics:

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along