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It wasn’t long before life surged back through Zuko, but Katara didn’t notice. Eyes fixed on the glow around her hands and the broken, angry energy underneath. She couldn’t stop, she had to keep going, she can’t lose him, she won’t. She could feel the tension in her body, feel it crying out to be released, it was a sharpness that kept her focussed on the wound in front of her. On the body in front of her. Katara pushed the panic away and her hands glowed brighter.
A splash of water landed on her face oh good, its beginning to rain but the water that joined her hands did not come from the sky. She leant away from the boy in front of her and tilted her head back – the sky was clear. Then where? Oh. The mottled skin around the wound was blurred by tears yet to fall. Katara numbly regathered the water around her hands and resumed healing. As she pressed the water into his skin, she felt a hand on her cheek. She jerked towards it, eyes wide, her lips sticking together from dehydration.
“Katara”
“Zuko” she didn’t recognise the sound coming out of her mouth. It sounded so small, broken. She couldn’t see. She blinked and her cheeks were wet. Zuko’s thumb caught a tear as it fell. Zuko’s thumb. Zuko. Her eyes widened again as she finally caught up with reality. He’s alive.
Katara fell forward, her hold on the water around her hands disappeared, the water falling against the cobbled floor of the palace courtyard as her tears disappeared into Zuko’s skin. Her fists dug into his chest as she pressed herself closer, feeling the heartbeat in his neck against her cheek.
“Katara, breathe”. He sounds so far away.
Her lungs burned as she gasped, her head pounding, she squeezed her eyes pressing closer into his skin. Someone was sobbing on the other side of the courtyard. Zuko’s hand was warm against the back of her head.
“It’s okay, I’m okay” I’m the one crying.
She pushed herself up, bringing her face above Zuko’s. His eyes, half closed, gazed softly back up at her and all the tension in her body fell away. She pressed her lips to his.
The hand at the back of her head moved to cup her jaw as his lips moved against hers, his tongue brushed against her bottom lip and she met it with her own. Another hand rose to press against her back, holding her close, as a sense of urgency overtook them both. Both of Zuko’s hands were in her hair as he pulled her away, their eyes making contact, the hunger in them palpable, flicking down to glance at red lips before diving back in.
Katara ran her hands down the valleys of his chest, moving under his arms to lean on the floor as the hands in her hair pulled her closer and closer until the only gap between the two appeared when their lips parted to change angles. Then Zuko lifted his knee.
Katara jerked away from the scream, scanning his face twisted in anguish before she realised. She called the water to her once more and placed her hands on his abdomen, holding it there until his muscles stopped spasming and his eyes found hers again.
“Thank you”
She blinked.
“Zuko, it should be me thanking you”. The boy just smiled.
Katara moved the water back into her waterskin, shifting to lay her forehead against his. Her eyes closed, hand coming to cup his jaw. The stubble there tickled her palm as they breathed each other in for a moment.
“Welcome back, don’t ever leave me again” a hint of sharpness entered her voice and he chuckled. Before she could feel affronted, he tilted his chin and captured her lips in a soft kiss.
“Never”
***
The muscles around his abdomen were crying in protest, his voice the channel for that outcry, the pain sharpened in his attempt to stifle the noise, so he gave up. A cool hand came to rest on the area, relief following soon after. He pressed his lips to the mass of hair by his shoulder in thanks.
Blue met gold as Katara returned his gaze.
“Be careful, there’s a lot of broken tissue, I need more time to heal you properly”, a small smile broke across his face, “what?”
“You’re so beautiful”
“And you’re delirious, c’mon sparky”
They made their way across the courtyard, the anguished cries of a broken princess fading into the background as they navigate their way through the palace to the Royal sleeping quarters. Katara moves them through the first door she sees.
The cool silk sheets contrasted against the heat of his skin, Zuko decided Katara’s hands were much better.
“Shit, you’re burning up”. A shadow fell over his face as something tapped against his cheek, “Zuko, stay awake, where’s the bathroom?” his head fell to the side, directing her gaze to the door of the en suite. The shadow fell away and Zuko began to feel restless against the sheets. He turned his cheek into the pillows, the cold distracting from the burning heat above his belly button for a moment before it intensified. A gasp pierced the air of the fire nation bedroom, a deep groan following after. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut,
“Katara!”
“I’m here, I’m here”, cool hands and colder energy replaced the fire in his centre as the fall of Zuko’s chest quietened. The whisper of the evening breeze accompanied Katara as she worked, the blue glow of the fresh water casting a soft light against her features. Zuko traced the light as it fell against the curve of her cheek and down the bridge of her nose. The soft brown of her lips shone pink as her tongue came out to wet them. A different sort of heat rushed through Zuko. They locked eyes.
“Are you serious right now?” the incredulous tone in her voice belied the gentle pull of her healing “if I knew that healing you from a mortal wound was what got your gears running I’d have sparred with you sooner”
Zuko huffed out a laugh “You don’t have to do anything to get my gears running”
The rise of a deep blush and the heated look Katara sent his way was response enough. Zuko pressed his arm into the bed, squashing the sharp pain of the motion and ignoring Katara’s protests, as he snaked an arm around her middle and pulled her down next to him. Now his trousers were wet but Katara was closer, so he didn’t mind. He pressed his nose into her hairline.
“Zuko, I need to keep going” her voice small in the space between them
“You can keep going after a nap” his voice deepened with exhaustion
“What if you wake up in pain?”
“I’m holding you in my arms, nothing can hurt me”
“Zuko!”
His laugh was full and loud in the setting light of day, hers an accompanying melody. The final chuckles dwindled down as the last rays of light sank behind the horizon.
“I’m feeling fine Katara, thanks to you. You need your rest to keep going, we’ll be okay for a few minutes”
Katara’s eyes were already closed as she yawned out, “Okay, a few minutes is fine”
Soon sleep overcame them, the exhaustion from the day, the relief of their survival, and the warmth of each other’s arms sending them into the first good sleep they’ve had in a long time.