giftfic for juni: it's hot in the fire nation; atla
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Title: (In Which) It's Hot In the Fire Nation
Chapter: N/A; complete oneshot
Characters/Pairings: Zuko, Katara, brief mention of a guard; Zuko/Katara
Genre: Humor, Romance
Word Count: ~1300
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own nor am I associated in any way with anyone or anything who does own. Please don't sue unless you're willing to accept payment in pocket lint.
Notes: This is Juni's giftfic from over a year ago. She requested AtLA, Zutara, hot summer day. The rest of the fics are coming soon, promise.
--
The heat at the height of summer in the Fire Nation was oppressive, to say the least. The palace was designed to be open and airy - at least in the interior of the structure - but it was still stifling inside the office. Zuko was dripping sweat, and all he was doing was sitting with a pen in his hand.
Katara was at least up and walking around. Sure, her arms were full of books and scrolls and papers, each of them written in dry, boring language - that had more than once made her want to poke her own eyes out with a rusty spoon - detailing each law of the Fire Nation, but she was moving around. She'd been at it for hours; her feet ached and her thin silk robe was sticking to her skin. She'd pulled her hair into a tail high on her head shortly after arriving that morning, and wisps of her impossible curls had escaped. They were tickling her ears and face.
Finally, she couldn't take the irritation anymore. Katara dropped the law materials onto a table and flopped into a chair, freezing her sweat as soon as her hands were free.
The cold hit almost instantly, chilling her skin. She let out a strange sound, somewhere between a sigh and a squeak, at the sudden sensation. Zuko looked up. His eyes narrowed when he saw the beads of ice on her. He cleared his throat pointedly.
"Yes, Zuko?" Katara asked breezily.
"Can you...?" He gestured at her.
She contemplated feigning confusion for a moment, just to screw with him, but decided it was too hot to play games. In a moment, Zuko looked like a Fire Lord-sicle.
"Hot damn, I love having a waterbender around," he said happily. Katara chose not to be offended by that statement, instead leaning her head back and letting her eyes slide closed with bliss. She reveled in both the quiet and the relief from the heat.
"So, how are your lessons going?"
Trust Zuko to ruin it. She loved the man, truly she did, but sometimes she just wanted to gag him.
"Zuko," said Katara firmly. She didn't raise her head - didn't even open her eyes.
"What?" he asked edgily.
"Shhh."
Silence reigned until the ice on their skin began to melt, which took all of two minutes. She refroze it instantly for both of them. Around the fourth time, Katara realized it was probably too much trouble to keep doing this over and over, only for her work to be spoiled in a couple minutes. She began to tour the palace in her mind, searching for someplace that was easier to keep cool.
There were ponds in all of the gardens, or the steam rooms, or the baths.
The steam rooms were the first to be discarded - they were natural chambers filled with steam from the volcano's hot springs. After a moment's thought, Katara rejected the baths too. They were the hot springs, heated by magma.
"Zuko, come with me to the pond."
Zuko made token protests and even went so far as to pack up his paperwork and stuff it into a portable desk to take with them, but in the end he was sprawled across the grass in the shade of a tree. He was nearly naked, stripped down to just his pants, which he'd rolled up to his knees. She took a moment to admire the view before removing her outer layers and shoes and wading into the pond until she was waist deep.
Taking her stance and falling into the proper breathing pattern, Katara cooled the water until a thin crust of ice formed on the surface. It took a lot of energy and she plopped into the water with a splash when she was done, floating on her back.
It was bliss. The hot sun melted the ice fairly quickly, but the water stayed cold. Zuko joined her in less than three minutes. He sighed with ecstasy and dove under the water. The waves rolled Katara around. A short while later, she found herself scooped up in his arms.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked. He cuddled her tight against his chest, and she was intrigued by the contrast from the frigid water from her hips down and the heat radiating from Zuko.
"Yes," Katara answered happily. Her mood had improved greatly with the cooling down, and even though they both had work they should be doing, she was feeling a little mischievous now. She pushed her mouth against his neck, a move she knew perfectly well drove him crazy, and whispered, "This morning before I was even completely awake. It was...amazing."
--
Zuko shivered, but not from the chill. He drew away from her slightly, golden eyes molten, and his hands began to wander from her waist - one to the base of her neck, the other to her thigh below her rear.
"Encore?" he murmured, voice gone husky.
"Not in the garden," Katara said briskly, pulling out of his embrace completely and flashing an impish smile his way. "Anyone could walk by and see us!" She splashed him lightly, missing his grip on her.
He smirked. "So that's how it is?" He flicked a spark at her.
She shrieked and flung up a wall of water, then threw it at him. Laughing with glee, she told him, "It is now."
Zuko's eyebrow rose. He lunged at her and ended up in a bubble of ice. It was perfectly clear, affording him an excellent view as she spun, literally perfectly in her element. She was gathering the pond's water to her command while he melted the bubble.
The fleeting thought crossed his mind that his handlers would be beyond furious if they knew where he was and that he was blowing off important national matters to play with his wife like they were irresponsible children. He shoved it away and went after her again. This time he got doused with a waterfall, Katara giggling from the middle of the pond. She had one hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound, a faint blush on her cheeks, and dancing, merry eyes.
Zuko dove under the water, cutting a path briskly to where she was treading water. She could have easily stopped him, but she didn't. He stopped beside her, grabbed her ankle and pulled her under. He surfaced at the same time she did, bobbing just above the surface and waiting with a mouthful of water.
Katara spluttered, wiping her eyes clear, only for him to ambush her. She splashed water in his face again, with her eyes closed this time. Zuko took advantage and propelled forward, taking her by the shoulders and kissing her firmly. Her mouth gave pleasantly under his.
"Zuko," she murmured when he broke the kiss. He could see her blue eyes glimmering contentedly. "I don't want to go back to the office. But if we get caught out here..." She sounded almost like she was whining, not that he could blame her. He didn't want to go either.
"Let's at least dry off," he said, flipping over onto his back and lazily paddling toward the shore where they'd left their clothes. He made it there well before she did, settling in the shade. He was still cold from the pond when Katara laid down beside him, snuggling into his side.
The captain of the guard found them there two hours later, wrapped around each other in sleep and sweating like stuck cow-pigs. He smirked to himself and left them where they were. They'd learn their lesson when they woke up.
Also at FF.net
Title: (In Which) It's Hot In the Fire Nation
Chapter: N/A; complete oneshot
Characters/Pairings: Zuko, Katara, brief mention of a guard; Zuko/Katara
Genre: Humor, Romance
Word Count: ~1300
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own nor am I associated in any way with anyone or anything who does own. Please don't sue unless you're willing to accept payment in pocket lint.
Notes: This is Juni's giftfic from over a year ago. She requested AtLA, Zutara, hot summer day. The rest of the fics are coming soon, promise.
--
The heat at the height of summer in the Fire Nation was oppressive, to say the least. The palace was designed to be open and airy - at least in the interior of the structure - but it was still stifling inside the office. Zuko was dripping sweat, and all he was doing was sitting with a pen in his hand.
Katara was at least up and walking around. Sure, her arms were full of books and scrolls and papers, each of them written in dry, boring language - that had more than once made her want to poke her own eyes out with a rusty spoon - detailing each law of the Fire Nation, but she was moving around. She'd been at it for hours; her feet ached and her thin silk robe was sticking to her skin. She'd pulled her hair into a tail high on her head shortly after arriving that morning, and wisps of her impossible curls had escaped. They were tickling her ears and face.
Finally, she couldn't take the irritation anymore. Katara dropped the law materials onto a table and flopped into a chair, freezing her sweat as soon as her hands were free.
The cold hit almost instantly, chilling her skin. She let out a strange sound, somewhere between a sigh and a squeak, at the sudden sensation. Zuko looked up. His eyes narrowed when he saw the beads of ice on her. He cleared his throat pointedly.
"Yes, Zuko?" Katara asked breezily.
"Can you...?" He gestured at her.
She contemplated feigning confusion for a moment, just to screw with him, but decided it was too hot to play games. In a moment, Zuko looked like a Fire Lord-sicle.
"Hot damn, I love having a waterbender around," he said happily. Katara chose not to be offended by that statement, instead leaning her head back and letting her eyes slide closed with bliss. She reveled in both the quiet and the relief from the heat.
"So, how are your lessons going?"
Trust Zuko to ruin it. She loved the man, truly she did, but sometimes she just wanted to gag him.
"Zuko," said Katara firmly. She didn't raise her head - didn't even open her eyes.
"What?" he asked edgily.
"Shhh."
Silence reigned until the ice on their skin began to melt, which took all of two minutes. She refroze it instantly for both of them. Around the fourth time, Katara realized it was probably too much trouble to keep doing this over and over, only for her work to be spoiled in a couple minutes. She began to tour the palace in her mind, searching for someplace that was easier to keep cool.
There were ponds in all of the gardens, or the steam rooms, or the baths.
The steam rooms were the first to be discarded - they were natural chambers filled with steam from the volcano's hot springs. After a moment's thought, Katara rejected the baths too. They were the hot springs, heated by magma.
"Zuko, come with me to the pond."
Zuko made token protests and even went so far as to pack up his paperwork and stuff it into a portable desk to take with them, but in the end he was sprawled across the grass in the shade of a tree. He was nearly naked, stripped down to just his pants, which he'd rolled up to his knees. She took a moment to admire the view before removing her outer layers and shoes and wading into the pond until she was waist deep.
Taking her stance and falling into the proper breathing pattern, Katara cooled the water until a thin crust of ice formed on the surface. It took a lot of energy and she plopped into the water with a splash when she was done, floating on her back.
It was bliss. The hot sun melted the ice fairly quickly, but the water stayed cold. Zuko joined her in less than three minutes. He sighed with ecstasy and dove under the water. The waves rolled Katara around. A short while later, she found herself scooped up in his arms.
"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" he asked. He cuddled her tight against his chest, and she was intrigued by the contrast from the frigid water from her hips down and the heat radiating from Zuko.
"Yes," Katara answered happily. Her mood had improved greatly with the cooling down, and even though they both had work they should be doing, she was feeling a little mischievous now. She pushed her mouth against his neck, a move she knew perfectly well drove him crazy, and whispered, "This morning before I was even completely awake. It was...amazing."
--
Zuko shivered, but not from the chill. He drew away from her slightly, golden eyes molten, and his hands began to wander from her waist - one to the base of her neck, the other to her thigh below her rear.
"Encore?" he murmured, voice gone husky.
"Not in the garden," Katara said briskly, pulling out of his embrace completely and flashing an impish smile his way. "Anyone could walk by and see us!" She splashed him lightly, missing his grip on her.
He smirked. "So that's how it is?" He flicked a spark at her.
She shrieked and flung up a wall of water, then threw it at him. Laughing with glee, she told him, "It is now."
Zuko's eyebrow rose. He lunged at her and ended up in a bubble of ice. It was perfectly clear, affording him an excellent view as she spun, literally perfectly in her element. She was gathering the pond's water to her command while he melted the bubble.
The fleeting thought crossed his mind that his handlers would be beyond furious if they knew where he was and that he was blowing off important national matters to play with his wife like they were irresponsible children. He shoved it away and went after her again. This time he got doused with a waterfall, Katara giggling from the middle of the pond. She had one hand over her mouth, trying to muffle the sound, a faint blush on her cheeks, and dancing, merry eyes.
Zuko dove under the water, cutting a path briskly to where she was treading water. She could have easily stopped him, but she didn't. He stopped beside her, grabbed her ankle and pulled her under. He surfaced at the same time she did, bobbing just above the surface and waiting with a mouthful of water.
Katara spluttered, wiping her eyes clear, only for him to ambush her. She splashed water in his face again, with her eyes closed this time. Zuko took advantage and propelled forward, taking her by the shoulders and kissing her firmly. Her mouth gave pleasantly under his.
"Zuko," she murmured when he broke the kiss. He could see her blue eyes glimmering contentedly. "I don't want to go back to the office. But if we get caught out here..." She sounded almost like she was whining, not that he could blame her. He didn't want to go either.
"Let's at least dry off," he said, flipping over onto his back and lazily paddling toward the shore where they'd left their clothes. He made it there well before she did, settling in the shade. He was still cold from the pond when Katara laid down beside him, snuggling into his side.
The captain of the guard found them there two hours later, wrapped around each other in sleep and sweating like stuck cow-pigs. He smirked to himself and left them where they were. They'd learn their lesson when they woke up.
Also at FF.net