Fire and Water (A Zutara Fanfiction)

Halloween

'You guys cheated! I saw Ty Lee jumping on and off the pumpkin and using her feet to push them forward!' Katara yelled, striding toward the winners with a confused Zuko in her wake.
'You cheated!'

'Lighten up, Katara!' Ty Lee laughed, not at all intimidated by the sparks shooting from Katara's eyes. 'You saw me almost fall off the pumpkin. Akio caught me and pulled me back up.' She giggled and stroked the arm of her tall, muscled companion.

'But did your feet touch the ground?' Katara raged, refusing to believe that it was an accident and not sabotage of the sport.

'Well. Yes. But just for a moment!' Ty Lee shrugged.

'THAT IS CHEATING!!!' Katara screamed.

'Whoa, Katara...' Zuko our a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.

'Hey! Can someone help me? I'm stuck! Again.' Said a voice and they turned to see the Cabbage Man (for lack of a better name) pinned under a particularly large pumpkin.

'Push it off.' Katara said shortly.

'My arms are pinned.' The man shrugged.

'Does everything have to be my responsibility?!' Katara stomped toward him and he cowered under her shadow. Everyone watched in shock as the man's arms slid up the slide of the pumpkin and pushed it off of home with strength he most definitely did not possess. The scariest part of this was the shocked expression on his face. He was not in control of his limbs.

Zuko turned to see Katara, with her eyes bloodshot and her hands outstretched as she controlled the man's body as if he were a puppet.

'Katara!' He yelled and her concentration broke. The full weight of the pumpkin weighed on the man's straight arms, which had been suddenly relieved of the superhuman strength Katara had given him. The man screamed as both his arms broke under he pressure and the pumpkin slammed into his chest.

Chaos broke out as people rushed forward to help the man, while others merely stood and stared at the powerful and terrifying water bender before them.

'Katara?' Zuko started toward her. She leapt back, terrified.
'NO! I'll just hurt you too,' her eyes filled with tears and she rushed toward the village and vanished behind a building.
______

He followed the soft sobs through the dark until he found a hunched figure sitting on the abandoned back porch of a boarded up shop.

'Hey.' He said. She made no acknowledgement of his presence as he sat down beside her. 'What happened back there?'

Katara hiccuped and wiped the tears from her face. 'I am a monster.'
'That's not true.' Zuko said firmly.
'Yes it is!' Katara whipped around to face him, eyes red from crying. 'Look what I did back there! Look what I did to that man! I almost killed him!'

'You didn't mean to.' Zuko said, cautiously putting a hand on her shoulder and rubbing slow circles with is thumb. This seemed to calm her and she leaned into his touch, letting him slide an arm around her shoulder and pull her closer to him.

'I don't know what's wrong with me. My power has been acting up lately and I was afraid this would happen,' Katara sniffled, burying her face into his shoulder and clinging to him like a lost child.

'There is nothing wrong with you,' Zuko whispered in her ear, tenderly tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

'Then why am I like this?'

'Power can do one of two things to a person. It can either go to a person's head, make them believe they deserve the power and can wield it however they chose. Those are bad people, who eventually go so far as to say that anyone who disagrees must be gotten rid of.' Zuko pulled her closer, feeling her tense up. 'But it could also make a person more aware of the needs around them, and realize that they can help. You are the second.'

'But I hurt that man.' Katara whispered.

'Yes. But you didn't mean to, and you were trying to help him. You are afraid of this power you have, and so you don't know how to use it right.' Zuko said, brushing his lips against her hair. 'You tried to help him.'

Katara sighed. 'I can't practice using this power. It is evil and I don't want to be able to do it.'

'Remember when we found that little duck turtle that had been bitten by a venomous snake? You used your blood bending to draw out the toxins and save the animal's life. Imagine, with practice, what you could do. How much you could help.' Zuko paused. 'Kind people can be overwhelmed by power, especially one like this. But as long as you remember who you are and hold tightly to what you believe in- helping people- you will find a good way to use your power.'

'I guess so.'

'Was all this why you were avoiding me?' Zuko asked.

'I was afraid that I would hurt you. It's happened a lot lately where I'll try to help but end up hurting someone.' Katara said miserably.

'You could never hurt me.'

'Yes I could. I could kill you if I wanted. That's why I am so scared,' Katara began to pull away by Zuko wouldn't let go, gently stroking her arm until she relaxed.

'We all have the power to hurt one another. That's why there is so much pain in this world. But we all also have the power to help one another, and although it's hard at times, it is worth it in the end. You just have to learn how to use your power for good.' Zuko said. Katara lifted her face and he gently stroked it with his thumb, his golden eyes staring deeply and tenderly into hers. 'Have I ever told you how how beautiful you are?'

Katara chuckled and blushed a little, standing up. 'We'd better get back. Maybe I can fix it.'

'That's the girl I know and love.' Zuko pauses and felt his face heat up. He had never told Katara he loved her before, but it felt so right.
She smiled.

'I love you too, Zuko.'

Zuko gently took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly. Then they grasped hands and joined in the festivities together.

A/N I know this is lateeeee
But here is the promised short story!!! I hope you guys liked it! Please vote, comment or something to let me know what you think! I am using these fanfics to work on my writing style and I would really appreciate some feedback!

There are probably not going to be a lot of updates anymore due to my new schedule. Things are picking up pace as I'm getting closer to finishing school (not going to tell you which school I mean. Middle years, high school, college, I'll let you guys guess lol)

Anyways, hope you guys had a great Halloween! Stay safe, healthy and happy! ❤️