(Zutara) Hold it Gently; My Heart Burns For You

The Winter Solstice Part Two: Avatar Roku

Sorry for the delay, my Wattpad has been acting up for some reason, but here is the new chapter!

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Senlin bids Zuko's ship a hasty farewell, disappearing with the setting sun at their backs as they turn their ship. Zuko stares into the purple gloom, savouring the last of the sun's rays on the back of his neck.

She's safe, he thanks Agni, tipping his head forward in silent prayer.

His men have orders to sail hard and sail strong for the crescent isle, especially after Zhao's attack; they lose the Avatar's trail, they lose their position on Zuko's ship. As happy as they'd be to set back on dry land, being dismissed from the banished prince's ship will guarantee a shoddy station for the long-term assignments.

Zuko is under no illusion. No one wants to be on his ship.

Against his will, as are most of his thoughts, his mind drifts to Katara. Agni's warmth chooses then to dip below the horizon. Replaced by a chill, he shivers as melancholy fills him as it so often does. He has to grip the rails until his knuckles go white, fighting to dispel the rage that almost turns his ship around to finish Zhao once and for all.

When that missile struck the side of his ship and smoke burst from the engine, Zuko almost bolted then and there. How deep did the missile penetrate? Far enough to reach Katara's cell, four levels deep, drier than the desert and no water?

She'd have been incinerated in seconds.

Breathe, he reminds himself.

Once again, a fight has led him to abstain from seeing her. Saving face? Maybe, he can't tell. Not like he has to see her every day. She's his prisoner. So why does he feel like his skeleton is trying to jump out of his skin so it can run to her? Why is he still holding off? Still, after today?

He's only hurting himself, but he can't seem to help it. He has little left to his name, he can't afford to give up his pride as well.

And Katara won't be missing him the way he misses her, even if she's just a few levels below. Might as well be across the world. And it's not fair how many things he has to remind him of her; clouds growing heavy with rain on the horizon. The tsungi horns being warmed up for the evening's entertainment. Even his Kata exercises hold remnants of her awe, her wonder as he performed the Snapping Willow.

She's infected everything he does. Maybe this confrontation he speeds towards will be the last. He'll capture the Avatar, and finally be rid of the waterbender and this hold she's slowly tightening around him.

He's not looking forward to it. The last time he was face to face with Zhao was an experience he'd rather forget.

"Prince Zuko?" His uncle's voice arrives just in time to distract him from the ache in his heart. "Dusk is almost gone. What are you still doing up here?"

Brooding, Katara would tease with a nudge into his side. Only now that it's not there does he wonder when he got so used to her casual touches. A product of growing up perpetually freezing, he suspects. An unconscious habit to seek warmth wherever it may be.

Even from him? Maybe, as a last resort.

"Watching the sunset."

His uncle hums as he comes to stand at his side. Both know he rarely uses his free time for peaceful activities. "You are facing the wrong way for that." Spreading out before them, the gloomy purple sky deepens to match the dark ocean. "Unless you are growing a new fondness for blue?"