concoursec | (no subject)

Character(s):

watertides
Location: Zuko's dorm
Rating: Uh. PG?
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: Hours after this. Katara goes to speak with Zuko about what was left unfinished in Home EC.

It was just after dinnertime. Zuko had left the Home Ec. class early with permission from his Instructor. He had finished his gardening project and had promised his teacher he would revise his notes after his physical therapy session with Dr. Kadowaki. His schedule had looked something like this: Home Ec, physical therapy with the doctor for an hour and a half, a walk to the showers and then to the Cafeteria to grab some food, then a walk back to his room where his tray of food sat untouched on the table.

The words exchanged with the waterbender earlier had left a sour taste in his mouth and his stomach churning. He had practically accused her of being no better than Ozai, something he shouldn't have done. Zuko knew she was a good person deep down. Well, he didn't know but he had a pretty good feeling considering she'd been there to take care of him and help with the pain most of the beginning he was on the mend.

It wasn't easy to find the words to explain his thoughts properly. Not to her.

Golden eyes opened to glare at the five thick candles that sat in front of him on a low table. He was trying to meditate, a towel rolled up to hang around his neck, his hair still wet from his shower. It was frustrating, how his thoughts were distracting him from being able to find peace in the simple act of meditation.

"Why isn't this working...?!" he then growled out, jaw clenching. The flames on each of them rose a little higher, flickered, and then lowered again.

Zuko exhaled, irritated, and closed his eyes to try again.

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His hand slipping away from her wrist made Katara realize that her own fingers were still pressed against the scar tissue of Zuko's cheek. Reddening slightly, she quickly pulled her hand back and smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in her skirt, taking a step back from him.

"Well, I guess that's all I really came here to talk about." She shifted the weight from one leg to the other, eyes lowering to look at the ground.

He didn't step back, he stayed where he was feeling just as awkward now that they were just standing around. He was never good at this stuff, never when it came to girls and never when it came to 'friendship'. And being alone with her didn't exactly help either.

"All right..." Zuko watched her while her eyes were lowered to the ground, quietly studying what he could see of her face.

It was weird; they should have been at each others necks this entire time. His room should have been completely burnt and flooded by now. Why weren't they locked in a struggle to the death? Why wasn't he drowning on the water in his body and why wasn't she screaming in agony while frying on the floor next to him?

Comforting... As awkward as it was at that moment, having her around was, believe it or not, a comfort. But Zuko wasn't going to believe that shit, he was going to believe that because his roommate was long gone, he was just lonely for some company.

Yeah. Yeah, that had to be it.

It couldn't be any other reason-- but maybe that was just a lie his mind had made up. All those years searching for the Avatar at sea, Zuko had been alone minus the company of his uncle and the crew members on the ship. Although one wouldn't exactly be alone then if they'd had his uncle talking nonstop about tea and the weather and 'music night' and Pai Sho, and there being no one his age. Everyone had been much older than he.

Remembering his times with his uncle, a part of him really wished that his Uncle Iroh were here to help with this. He cringed then as he thought about it and then realized that maybe ... maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.

Zuko glanced away for a moment, coughing to himself, and then back at her. "Sh-should I--" But he trailed off and gestured helplessly to the door.

Edited 2010-09-08 21:33 (UTC)

Katara was equally surprised at how relatively civil they had been towards one another during the duration of her visit. The last time they had been remotely calm towards when conversing ended with a heated argument that lead to Zuko storming out of dance class; needless to say, this was a vast improvement. Katara was even a bit proud, in combination with being extremely confused, that she didn't particularly have the urge to encase the firebender in a pillar of ice, the automatic reaction to his presence for the longest time. And besides, wasn't this what Sokka and Toph had asked of her? To not pick anymore fights with Zuko and give him another chance?

She couldn't forgive him just yet, though-- no matter what, his betrayal had hit her hard. Trust was something extremely important to Katara, and she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Perhaps later if Zuko proved that his words were true, that he was different, that he had changed for the better honestly this time-- maybe then she'll be able to bury the hatchet. But for now, all she had were empty words that had nothing to back his sincerity, if he had even been sincere in the first place.

His stuttering managed to break her out of her thoughts, and with wide eyes she glanced over to the door before understanding what exactly he was asking. "Oh, no-- I think I know my way out." All the dorms were designed the same, after all. Making her way to the keypad, she pressed the button which let the door slide open. Stepping through the opening, there was an awkward pause as she stood on the other side, her eyes glancing up at Zuko. Perhaps she should actually say something?

"So... don't forget to water your plant. It needs lots of sunlight and water or else it'll wither."

Zuko had followed her anyways to the door to see her out. The moment she moved towards the door, his feet were on auto-pilot and guiding him into following her regardless. He watched her the entire time, eyes meeting hers when she looked up at him.

Ironically he had been wondering the same thing; should he actually say something?

"Ye-yeah... Sunlight and water." Awkwardly now he brought up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "I'll remember." He nodded.

"I'll uh. See you later...?"

Katara was surprised he'd even bothered to follow her to the door-- she had expected that he'd remain in place and let her leave without another word. His obvious uneasiness with the situation didn't go unnoticed by her either, and she found that her own uncertainty with the situation matched his.

She gave a quick nod, before holding a hand up in a small wave. "Right. See you later." They did have an several classes together, and first thing next morning would be dance class.

Deciding not to linger any further, Katara began to make her way down the corridor, careful to keep her pace even and measured despite how much she wanted to just scurry back to her room.

Edited 2010-09-09 01:09 (UTC)

Right. Dance class. Insert groaning here.

Zuko hesitated before peeking out of his door to watch her go. The first hing he noticed was how her skirt swayed. His brows furrowed and he stepped back into the room, door sliding shut.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Muttering he went to the table and stared down at his tray of food. He should probably eat and then meditate and then get to work on his notes.