Zutara: Our Bond Grows Deeper

Zuko couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How could his sister do something like this? How could she turn on him once more, trying to take away everything he held dear? But there was no time to answer those questions. The sparks were already electrifying the air around Azula, and Zuko watched in horror as she brought both her fingers in line with each other. Time seemed to stand still as the blazing hot lightning shot forth from his sister’s hand and spun through the air towards the defenseless waterbender.

In the split second he had, Zuko had run as fast as his legs could carry him, willing every fiber in his being to beat Azula’s lightning before it hit its mark. And as he ran, several thoughts and emotions rolled around in his head, creating a mess of emotional instability. Then he gazed upon her. The look of fear on Katara’s face made his heart beat faster than it ever had before. He couldn’t let anything happen to her. He had to save her. Even if it cost him his life, he would risk everything for her. Because in that brief moment that he had to look on her, he realized what he had wanted and needed all along. As the lightning struck his heart and sent him flying across the palace floor, one thought remained in his mind. He loved nothing at all so well as her. And then his world went black.

“Zuko!” Katara yelled as the tears formed in her eyes. She had watched in fear and horror as Zuko jumped in front of her, taking the full effect of Azula’s blow and being thrown to the ground several feet away from her. She looked after him with longing. She wanted to rush to his side and heal his wounds. But what if he were already dead? Zuko’s entire body looked as if it were on fire. Smoke rose from every thread of clothing that he wore, and Katara feared the worst had befallen him.

But it was in that moment, that simple, horrid moment, that Katara realized something. She couldn’t live without him. She had never wanted anything more in her life. He had been there to help her through her grief over her mother, he had been there to defend her from her mother’s killer, he had fought beside her, he had laughed with her, talked with her, even blessed her with the rarity of his smile. How could she live without him? There was not one part of her that protested this feeling, and she could no longer hold it within her. She loved Zuko.

As the tears streamed from Katara’s eyes, she turned to face Azula with an anger so fiery that she dropped the water within her grasp and lifted her hands up close to her face. Closing her eyes, she summoned every power of the moon she could grab hold of, and she could sense Yue’s strength resonating within her as she furiously moved her arms about her, bending and twisting Azula’s body to her will. Katara couldn’t even think about her movements, her tears clouded her vision, and all she could see was the body of a woman being tormented and twisted. With each flick of the wrist, Katara determinedly took a step closer and closer to the struggling firebending protégé. And when she stood right in front of her, Katara brought her hands up to her face and slowly moved them down until Azula knelt before her.

“What…what did you do to me?” Azula asked in amazement, looking up into Katara’s blazing blue eyes.

Katara ignored Azula’s question, and instead, through the use of her bloodbending, she picked up Azula once more and brought her to stand next to a pillar where Katara proceeded to tie her up with chains. When Azula tried to protest and even began to heat the chains, Katara grabbed one of the soldier’s swords from the ground, and hit Azula across the head with the hilt, knocking her unconscious. She continued to tie her up, making sure every chain was holding fast before turning her gaze back onto Zuko’s still form.

The tears sprung into her eyes much quicker this time, and she ran as fast as her legs would carry her to the other side of the room. She didn’t even pay attention to where she was going, and she tripped and fell over one of the fallen soldiers, catching herself on his sword and leaving a deep gash on her leg. Her screams shook the palace courtyard, but she no sooner fell than she was up on her feet again. All she wanted was to be next to Zuko. And even though her leg bled furiously and made her want to writhe in pain, she sprinted even faster until she was kneeling next to the man who had saved her life.

“Zuko! Please, Zuko, please, wake up!” she desperately called his name as she shook his shoulders. But there was no movement, and she feared that he was gone. Katara desperately reached for her water skin but it wasn’t with her. She frantically looked around the room, and then she spotted it several yards away. It must have fallen off during her battle with Azula. Jumping to her feet, Katara ran as fast as her legs would carry her. But once she reached the water skin, her leg gave out, and she hit the floor hard. The tears came even more profusely as she pushed herself up and tried to run back to where Zuko lay. She eventually had to fall to her hands and knees, crawling along in desperation and longing to be near him.

When she finally reached him, Katara turned Zuko around and ripped open the front of his tunic, paying little attention to the blisters that began to form on her fingers because of the searing heat from his wounds. She didn’t care about her own pain. All she wanted was for him to live, and she would do whatever it took to bring him back. Opening the water skin, Katara swirled the water around in front of her, brightening it up with her healing glow before placing it atop Zuko’s chest. She couldn’t even tell where the wounds were for his torso looked as if it were covered in black ash. She tried to wipe it away with her other hand, but the tears in her eyes would not subside and she couldn’t even see what she was doing. In anger and frustration, she dropped the water around her, and brought her blackened and blistered hands up to her eyes, rubbing away the tears, willing herself to stop so she could concentrate.

Picking up the water again, she went to work. She tore off some of Zuko’s tunic and tried to rub away the grisly darkness that had engulfed his flesh. And then she saw it. The wound that had saved her life and taken his. The lightning looked as if it had pierced through his heart. A gaping wound lay open in the middle of his chest, and Katara focused all of her attention in that one area. She tried desperately to bring the skin back into place, to close it up, to start the blood flowing again. But the longer it took, the more she lost hope of him ever returning. His heartbeat had already stopped. How could she even start it up again? The tears returned and as hard as she tried to hold them back, she just couldn’t. As she knelt over Zuko, frantically trying to heal him, her sobs could be heard echoing through the palace corridors. Was there any hope at all?

The tears clouded Katara’s vision, and the loss of blood from her own body began to take its toll on her. She suddenly felt very weak, but she refused to give in to her own suffering. Looking over at Zuko’s face, Katara began to sob anew. Why had she taken this long to realize her love for him? Why couldn’t she have seen it sooner? Why now? Why when all hope was lost?

Katara didn’t even realize what it was that she was doing, but suddenly she felt herself molding her hands into a position where she could bloodbend Zuko’s heart back to life. She had never done such a thing, but it was the last option she had left. She willed every cell in Zuko’s body to bend to her will, to pump the blood and water back into his heart. She wanted desperately to hear that one sound, the simple beat of his very soul. Time seemed to stand still. The tears in her eyes dried up as she became more determined than ever to save the man she loved. She stared at Zuko’s chest, begging for him to take just one breath, for her to hear just one beat.

The gash in Katara’s leg was leaking more and more blood, creating a ghastly red pool around her and continuing to weaken her. She was losing her strength. She couldn’t go on anymore. All hope was lost. Zuko was – then she heard it. The faint beating of his heart. Her own heartbeat quickened, and she guessed that her mind was playing tricks on her. But she heard it again for the second time, the third, the fourth. Then she saw it. A slow breath rising from his chest. He was alive! “Zuko!” she called his name, and she heard a faint moan come from his mouth.

She couldn’t give up the fight just yet. Katara went back to work on Zuko’s wound, willing his flesh to mesh together. And because his heart was picking up the regular beating again, his wound began to heal more quickly, and Katara began to cry once more, smiling as she worked. Zuko was alive!

And just when the wound was almost healed completely, she heard the sweetest sound coming from Zuko’s lips. Her name. “Katara.”

“Oh, Zuko, I thought I had lost you.” She wanted to fling her arms around him and never let go, but she had to finish the healing process. It took all the strength of character she could muster to not stop then. She even had to push Zuko back down when he tried to rise. “You’re not all done yet. You’re still hurt pretty badly. Just a few minutes more.”

Zuko didn’t protest. He lay back down and let her healing touch soothe his wounds as well as his soul. But all the while that she worked, he couldn’t help but gaze upon her in wonder. How had he never noticed her before? The way her hair framed her face just right, the way her eyebrows narrowed in concentration, the way her blue eyes blazed with that of fire, and the way her smile lit every flame within him. But more importantly was the way she understood him, could relate to his past, would listen to his every word as if it were the spirits themselves talking, and the way she could see beyond his scar, his past mistakes, and behold the man he was becoming.

Katara brought her hand away from Zuko’s chest, letting the water fall around her. It was all gone. The wound had disappeared. Not even a simple scar remained. Katara brought her hand over his chest once again, feeling the smoothness of his skin under her fingertips. Not even a scratch.

“Katara! You’re bleeding!”

Zuko’s sudden look of panic made Katara look down at her feet. Her leg. It must have been cut deeper than she realized. Zuko sat up, and as soon as he did, Katara fell into his arms, weakened by the loss of blood. “Zuko, I’m out of water, I don’t know what else to do.”

But within seconds, Zuko had produced a very small water skin that he had kept within his pocket. “What is this?” Katara asked.

“I have carried this for a while now in case there was ever a time when you needed water. Now might be the perfect time to use it, Katara.” Zuko explained, frantically opening the water skin, begging for her to heal herself.

“Zuko, I don’t think I have the strength.”

Zuko turned Katara in his arms until she was looking into his eyes. “Katara, you saved me, you brought me back to life, you healed me of a fatal wound, and you don’t have the strength to heal a simple gash on your leg? If you want, I could just burn it shut.”

“No!” Zuko smiled at Katara’s sudden protest. “I’ll do it.”

Katara sat up, bringing her leg towards her. Once again she bent the water to her will, and her leg was sealed in a matter of a few minutes. But the loss of blood from the wound and her exertion of strength over healing Zuko still left her weak and exhausted. Zuko gladly let her fall into his arms, and he held onto her as if she was all that mattered to him in the world.

“Zuko?”

“Yes, Katara?”

“Why did you save me?”

Zuko looked down at her in astonishment. “Don’t you know why?”

Katara sat up straighter, looking into Zuko’s eyes, as she shook her head.

“Well, I had to save you, Katara. There was no way that you could have survived such a strike.”

“And what about you? You didn’t survive it quite well either. I thought you could redirect lightning. Why didn’t you?”

Zuko’s expression softened. “Because. My emotions were so jumbled up, I just couldn’t concentrate.”

Katara knew where this was going, but she had to ask all the same. “What emotions, Zuko? Why couldn’t you concentrate?”

Zuko was about to answer, but then he decided to turn the questions back on her. “Well, what about you? You could have healed your leg first, but you tried to heal me instead. You were bleeding terribly. What if that wound had been deeper than you realized? What if you had died?”

“I didn’t care if I died. I had to save you.”

“But I’m the Firelord’s son, spreading war and violence and hatred is in my blood. Why would you want to save someone like me?” Zuko asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“But you’ve changed.”

“Well…you sure didn’t think so. You threatened to kill me, you know. There was your chance, and you just let it all slip away.”

“Zuko!” The prince looked into the beautiful blue eyes of his healer, and he couldn’t help but smile. How was it that she made him act like this? He had never been so happy in all of his life. He couldn’t believe he was even teasing her in such a way. It just somehow came naturally. It was like they were meant to be like this. Together. Just the two of them. His Uncle was definitely right. Destiny truly was a funny thing.

“Zuko?”

“Yes?”

“What did you really feel when Azula was about to take me down?”

Zuko sighed. He sat up straighter and turned Katara towards him, helping her sit up as well. “I was afraid for you. I had never wanted harm to befall you before, but this was different. In that moment, Katara, I realized something.”

Katara gazed into Zuko’s golden eyes, and she couldn’t help but place a comforting hand upon his scarred face. Unbelievably, Katara found that she loved his scar. Somehow it defined who he was, it made him a better man, and she loved looking at his face, into his eyes, gazing upon his beautiful smile. “What was it, Zuko? What did you realize?”

Zuko melted into Katara’s touch, and he had never felt more love in his life for one person. He couldn’t even believe he was feeling this way. It had appeared out of nowhere, so unexpectedly, so sudden. But he knew it to be true, for he could see it in her eyes, feel it in her touch. She wanted this as much as he did. There was no need for words. They had spoken many times before, words of understanding and comfort. They had found that in each other, they had found just what they needed and wanted. Everything they desired. What more could they ask for?

There was nothing more. They had it all. And in that moment, Zuko cupped his hands around Katara’s face, slowly drawing her lips to meet his own. She didn’t resist, she moved with him, desiring his touch as much as he desired hers. And when their lips met, they both felt a sense of completion. Katara wrapped her arms around Zuko’s neck, digging her fingers into his hair and pulling him nearer to her while he brought his hands down around her waist, holding her close in his arms. Neither one of them wanted to relinquish their hold, and yet they both wanted to say what was on their minds. So for a brief moment, they pulled back and stared into each other’s eyes, gazing at the wonder and joy they found there.

“I love you, Katara.”

“And I love you, Zuko.”

And then slowly their lips met again in true love’s first kiss.