The Art Of Finding Each Other (Zutara)

Erratic Headspace

A few tingling rays of sunshine made their way through the window. Zuko felt its warmth gently inviting him to wake up. With his eyes still closed and taking the time to shed the sleep from his brain, something caught his attention. He was definitely not alone in that bed.

An arm delicately wrapped around his torso, a head resting on the creek of his neck, his hand grasping someone else's back. An extra heartbeat, pounding in harmony with his own.

Katara.

Zuko couldn't help but smile while recalling the way he had fallen asleep. Oddly enough, he remembered them resting with their backs against the wall, a little - or, to be honest, very - tangled into each other. But now their backs laid flat on the bed. How did they end up like that? Whatever the answer, he didn't care all that much, simply feeling grateful to have her by his side.

Opening his eyes, the tenderest of emotions took over him. Katara was sleeping on his chest, with a peaceful expression on her face. She was holding onto him and so was he. Her breathing was the most soothing sound he could've ever asked for. For a moment, Zuko felt the need to pinch himself and check if it wasn't all a dream because having the person he was head over heels oversleeping right next to him certainly felt like one. The distance between them - both emotional and physical - had done nothing but shortened over the last couple of months. And the possibility of her reciprocating his feelings acquired more and more sense as time flew by. Though he didn't want to push his luck just yet. For now, their newfound closeness should be enough.

But not everything was as easy as sleeping next to Katara. The revelations about his mother echoed across his mind. Weeks of planning, researching, and anticipation for him to just have to go back to square one. The last thing he had foreseen was having to start over, especially after dragging her into such disarray. It was heart-rending.

All the happiness that had flooded his body whilst waking up suddenly faded away, leaving space for a distressing concern. He would have to face his father once again. It couldn't get any worse than that, right? Despite having talked to him about his mother before, the idea of doing so this time around - knowing some of the truth about her - made him feel instantly exhausted. If his father was his only hope of knowing where she could be at the moment, then he'd better come up with a way to make him talk once and for all.

Resolving his joyful instant had already been tinted with sorrow, thanks to his current situation and excessive worrying about it, Zuko decided to get started with his day. He carefully grasped Katara's arm and lifted it from his torso, as he moved to the edge of the bed. He also made sure her head would comfortably rest on the pillow once he straightened up. He planted his feet on the floor, tilting his head to look back at her. Finally, he got up and took the blanket out of the other bed, gently covering Katara with it. Despite the warmer weather, something urged him to do so. No matter how scared for the future he felt, the waterbender peacefully sleeping in front of him always managed to shed a little light on his most dreadful thoughts.

And well, that was a whole different issue. Zuko wasn't entirely sure about how much longer he would be able to conceal his feelings for her. To his eyes, it was already more than obvious. And apparently, Toph and Mai had also sensed things that way, according to what both had said to him on the subject. But even if the way he felt about Katara was crystal clear, nothing guaranteed she felt the same. Even more, in the ideal case that she had feelings for him as well, what about Aang? Or Mai? Or everyone else for that matter?

No, he couldn't afford to think about it at the moment. Not without first figuring out what to do regarding the search of his mother. Of course, he would prefer to just spill his heart out to Katara and hope for a chance, but cautiousness was needed. And he wasn't exactly in the right headspace for a confession. His mind felt foggy, invaded with preoccupation. Things had to be sorted out first.