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Every Christmas day, Katara always - always - lost her mittens. She didn’t know if it was a curse by the Christmas gods or whatever deity up there that loved to torment her. Whether it was destroyed a day before due to Sokka’s mischief, or that she couldn’t find it in the mess of their house until the next day.
It sucked.
She tried counteracting this by buying multiple mittens. Even then, they’d all disappear, leaving her hands cold and shivering on Christmas day. She tried to have a pair of emergency mittens ready - she even bought a safe for La’s sake. But the moment she opened the safe, her emergency mittens vanished without a trace. Aang told her she must’ve angered some sort of spirit for this to happen. Katara didn’t even know what she did for this unfortunate nuisance to occur.
Here she was, covered from head to toe with the warmest clothing she had. She was covered everywhere except for her hands. She tried to gather warmth in the pit of her armpits, but Tui, it was still cold and she was still shivering. She flailed her hands so that the movements could somewhat warm them.
Still cold.
She exhaled a warm breath into the cup of her hands.
Still cold.
“Ah, screw it.” She slipped her arms through her sleeves so that they were stuck to the side of her body. The parka sleeves now flopped beside her due to the lack of arms holding it up. She looked like a fool but she’d like her hands not to suffer and become numb.
“What are you doing?”
Katara twirled around, the sleeves twirling with her like a ribbon in the wind. She frowned when she met Zuko. “What’s it look like to you?”
Zuko was one her roommates in the house, unfortunately. The Gaang - as Sokka eloquently put it - managed to find a fairly big house and they’re all working together to pay for it in their early adulthood years. Sokka brought the pain that was the house debt upon them. Sokka pleaded and even begged for Toph to use her parents’ money to pay for the debt but Toph didn’t want anything to do with her parents.
Zuko was just a late addition. He only managed to get invited because someone came from a rich family. Everyone else may have forgiven him but she remembered how he kept bothering them during high school. It subsided once he was a senior and when his kind-hearted uncle Iroh took him in. She didn’t want to know if the left scar he received during the same year was also the cause for his change of behaviour.
“You look like a penguin with jelly arms.” He said with neutral face.
“I do not!” Katara tried to look intimidating but it was hard when she looked armless. “Look, why don’t you go back and join with the others?”
'Why don't you leave, more like.'
“I thought you wanted to ‘kick my ass’ in the snowball fight.” He frowned. “Which you wouldn’t, by the way.”
“You’re looking at the snowball fighting champion.” She puffed her chest with pride. “I beat Sokka every time.”
“Eh, that’s not much of a standard.” He bit back. Katara wouldn’t say they were friends; in fact every interaction between them was always banter, banter and banter.
“Oh, if I had my mittens, you would’ve been pelted by hundreds off snowballs by now.”
“You’re not wearing your mittens?”
Drats, she didn’t want him to know she had a problem. Which was why she wasn’t going to tell him about the Christmas Curse.
“Well duh,” she tried to reply coolly. “Which is why I’m trying to warm up.”
“Well, is it working?”
To be perfectly honest, it really wasn’t. Sure, it gave some warmth but she was left restricted.
She heard him sigh grumpily. “Take out your hands.”
“No, I’m fine here.”
“Just take it out.”
“Hmm... no!”
“Agni’s sake,” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t you...” He huffed. “Don’t you have a title to defend?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because Toph said if she beats everyone, she gets to shower soil everywhere in the house. She is currently winning.”
“She wouldn’t dare.”
Zuko only raised his eyebrow.
“And my room?”
“Especially your room.” Zuko answered.
Quick as lightning, Katara’s arms burst through the sleeves. Her hands met the cold, much to their distraught, but the anger fuelled the fire inside of her. Toph could try but she would never ever get a single speck of dirt over the threshold of her bedroom door. Not when she had to do anything about it.
Before Katara could stomp her way to the battlefield, Zuko yanked her hands and immediately put something warm and soft around it. Katara blinked at the black mittens that suddenly covered her hands. Katara shot him a look of confusion, subsiding her ire for a moment.
“Before you plan to hold the snowballs with your bare hands.” He said as he left to the battlefield.
Katara pouted. This was going to be added to the list of the-nice-things-Zuko-has-done-to-show-maybe-he-has-changed. She calmed her heated face and rejoiced that her hands weren’t going to be cold on Christmas day for the first time since forever.
As soon as Katara joined, it turned over to the favour of a dirt-free house. She didn’t want to admit that she’d been wondering how Zuko seemed to manage to hold the snowballs in his hands unaffected.
Two hours later, the black mittens disappeared.
The second Christmas Day at the Gaang’s house, they all decided to go on the ice rink. Once again, the Christmas Curse has struck. No mittens, the usual.
Aang volunteered to help Toph how to ice skate, and Sokka and Suki were doing what couples do while ice skating. Katara was laughing maniacally as Zuko continued to fall on the ice over and over. It got to the point where Katara even felt guilty. She was still laughing though.
She huffed as she skated her way to his lying form. “Alright there, Prince of Imbalance?”
“Perfectly fine.” He scowled.
“C’mon, get up.” She held out her hand.
“I don’t need your help.” But he took it anyway. He didn’t have any mittens on. Huh.
“A ‘thanks’ would be nice.” She said as he let her hand go. As soon as he did so, his body immediately swayed back and forth before he desperately grabbed Katara’s hand again for balance and to retain the remnants of his dignity.
“Thanks.” He grumbled.
“I’ll teach you how to skate.” She offered a smile. Last year, she wouldn’t have done that. She couldn’t believe it, but maybe she was growing fond of Zuko.
As she took off to lead them, his eyes warily watched at his feet.
“Zuko, copy how I do it.”
He did so and as they lapped around the rink, he was somewhat getting better. He even managed to pull his own weight so Katara didn’t have to drag them alone. They didn’t let go of each other’s hand though. Katara didn’t mind. He had warm hands - which made sense, of course, since he was a firebender.
“Hey, where are your mittens?” Katara asked out of the blue.
“I don’t know. I seem to recall someone losing it last year.” He said while his lips curled.
“I said I was sorry. You didn’t even let me pay it back.”
“It’s fine.”
“Why didn’t you buy another pair?” Surely he could’ve afforded another pair of mittens.
He sharply inhaled. “Okay, don’t laugh but... according to everyone else, you get this weird curse where you lose your mittens every Christmas. I guess... I didn’t want you to suffer alone?”
She stared at him.
He winced at himself. “It’s kind of stupid.”
“It’s a bit stupid since it’s freaking cold,” Katara smiled, “but thanks.”
His eyes widened, then a small smile appeared on his face.
Even though Zuko could already skate on his own, they didn’t let go of each other’s hand. Katara indulged in the warmth of the heat coming off from his hand.
When Katara’s stomach began to flutter, she didn’t mind.
The next Christmas Day, a blizzard hit, causing a power outage. Everyone else were still stuck in their workplace, leaving Katara alone in the house. Well, alone with Zuko.
Without the electricity, the heater that usually repelled the cold was off. The insulation of the house did nothing as the cold managed to creep its way through. Katara covered herself in her parka and her blanket as she rested in the comfort of her bedroom. She heard noises downstairs and begrudgingly left her bed, taking the blanket with her.
She walked down the staircase, the blanket around her like a cape, and found Zuko in the kitchen.
“Hi.” She called out.
He jumped a bit and turned with two cups in his hands. “Hi. I... I was going to bring these upstairs.”
“What is it?” She noticed that the cups had steam coming off them.
“Tea.” He said. Katara went to sit crosslegged on the couch in the living room. He sat beside her and handed one cup over. Katara graciously wrapped her hands around the cup to warm her freezing hands.
She took a sip and sighed as the warmth filled inside of her.
“Let me guess, no gloves?” Zuko chuckled.
“Nope. But this tea is a pretty good alternative.” She smiled at him. “It’s nice to have a firebender around.”
He rubbed the base of his neck. “Well, good thing, you didn’t kick me out the first time I came.”
“Yeah.” She laughed. “I’m glad you stayed.” She took a sip for more warmth. “Even if you had to deal with me.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
They sat in silence, drinking their tea as a candle was lit to illuminate the dark. Katara pouted when she downed all the tea and the warmth for her hands disappeared. She tried to grab the remaining heat from the cup but it eventually became cold. She sighed.
Zuko coughed, causing her to look up at him. He pressed his lips as he reached out his hands to her. “Here... I can warm your hands for you...”
Katara blinked back at him and felt blood rush to her face. She reluctantly reached out and placed her hands in his. He wrapped around her small hands, still holding it gently. Then the warmth came back. Katara felt tingles going up and down her arms. She could feel the rough calluses as he rubbed his thumbs against the back of her hands in a calming circling motion. He hasn’t looked at her since he held her hands.
Katara wondered if he could feel the erratic pulse in the veins of her hands. Katara relaxed herself as she tried to enjoy the only source of heat that’s warming her hands - maybe even her heart. She blinked at the thought.
After a moment of silence, both being lulled by the lack of noise, ice cold temperature, and soft heat, he suddenly brought her hand up to his face. Katara’s eyes widened when he pressed a kiss on her knuckles so softly that it seemed like it didn’t happen at all. The cold in her body suddenly disappeared as she was overwhelmed by the sudden heat after he...whatever he did.
“Zuko?” She whispered.
“I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have done that. I... I made you uncomfortable. I can leave.” He let go of her, but Katara leapt to grab his hands again. He stared at their connected hands bewildered. “What?”
Katara’s lips smiled gently. The heat stayed in her cheeks, but she stared into his golden eyes unwavering. “Stay...”
He gulped and they continued to sit like that.
When morning came and the blizzard ended, her friends didn’t wake them up as they spotted them sleeping on the couch. The blanket was on the floor, yet Katara felt warm and contented. She rested her head against Zuko’s chest, his chin resting on the soft curls of her hair. Their limbs around each other, refusing to let the other go as they slept.
On the next Christmas day, Katara found her mittens. She left it in her drawers in favour of holding Zuko’s hands.