Hi! Zutara weeeeeek~
Hi! Long time lurker, new time poster. 'ello, howdyedo, etc. and all that? I thought it'd be nice to introduce myself along with my Zutara Week entry. :D
G-rated.
It was an extended vacation, her father told her. To the Fire Nation.
Why do we have to go there? she had thought unhappily.
"Don't worry," he had said. "Uncle Iroh will be sure to find you a playmate while we're there. And you always have Sokka," he'd added with a chuckle.
She pouted. Sokka or otherwise, she wasn't happy.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
He said his name was Zuko and she could play with him if she wanted to, as long as she didn't make him dress up her dolls or whatever it was girls did.
(He didn't really know because Azula wasn't exactly a girl.)
She'd huffed, gone off on her own-she didn't need a stupid boy to play with.
Somehow, by the end of the trip, they were best friends. When her father came to collect her on the last day, she'd pouted.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
Years later, her aging father held up a scroll, a messenger hawk perched on his shoulder. The words of a young ruler were scrawled on the parchment, an invitation to come to his home for a few weeks in the summer.
She hadn't seen him in so long. He must've changed. They would have grown apart. Far apart.
That frightened her.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
It was nowhere near this hot, she thought, stepping off the boat, last time.
She didn't know if he would be there to greet them; he was fairly important, after all (she nearly snorted), and probably had scores of appointments and meetings and things he needed to go to-
But no. He stood at the foot of the ramp, draped in red robes, looking oh-so-dignified. And the only thing that came to her mind was, You look older.
But then he smiled, a slight wisp of an expression, and she was immediately taken back to their childhood romps.
They relearned how to communicate, falling back on old memories when the silences got too long and awkward. Eventually, they even built up a firm rapport-he still hated to be teased (but she knew he secretly didn't), and she still hated it when he belittled her bending skills (but they both knew he didn't mean it).
And she found that he had changed, but then again, so had she.
Somehow, that brought them closer.
But the days flew past, and finally, she found herself standing on the dock in front of the ship. Her time on the burning island and was over once more. He had come to see her off, but that didn't keep her from feeling he was a thousand miles away.
"I don't want to go." She hadn't meant for him to hear.
He swallowed.
"Then don't."
G-rated.
It was an extended vacation, her father told her. To the Fire Nation.
Why do we have to go there? she had thought unhappily.
"Don't worry," he had said. "Uncle Iroh will be sure to find you a playmate while we're there. And you always have Sokka," he'd added with a chuckle.
She pouted. Sokka or otherwise, she wasn't happy.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
He said his name was Zuko and she could play with him if she wanted to, as long as she didn't make him dress up her dolls or whatever it was girls did.
(He didn't really know because Azula wasn't exactly a girl.)
She'd huffed, gone off on her own-she didn't need a stupid boy to play with.
Somehow, by the end of the trip, they were best friends. When her father came to collect her on the last day, she'd pouted.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
Years later, her aging father held up a scroll, a messenger hawk perched on his shoulder. The words of a young ruler were scrawled on the parchment, an invitation to come to his home for a few weeks in the summer.
She hadn't seen him in so long. He must've changed. They would have grown apart. Far apart.
That frightened her.
"I don't want to go."
She had to go, anyway.
-
It was nowhere near this hot, she thought, stepping off the boat, last time.
She didn't know if he would be there to greet them; he was fairly important, after all (she nearly snorted), and probably had scores of appointments and meetings and things he needed to go to-
But no. He stood at the foot of the ramp, draped in red robes, looking oh-so-dignified. And the only thing that came to her mind was, You look older.
But then he smiled, a slight wisp of an expression, and she was immediately taken back to their childhood romps.
They relearned how to communicate, falling back on old memories when the silences got too long and awkward. Eventually, they even built up a firm rapport-he still hated to be teased (but she knew he secretly didn't), and she still hated it when he belittled her bending skills (but they both knew he didn't mean it).
And she found that he had changed, but then again, so had she.
Somehow, that brought them closer.
But the days flew past, and finally, she found herself standing on the dock in front of the ship. Her time on the burning island and was over once more. He had come to see her off, but that didn't keep her from feeling he was a thousand miles away.
"I don't want to go." She hadn't meant for him to hear.
He swallowed.
"Then don't."