Well, looks like Zutara Week is winding down...I always love this time of year. Think, Zutara Week is the most popular of the shipping weeks! Nothing will keep us down, no matter how many canon couples nor Bryke! WE ARE ZUTARIANS!

(Sorry, had a Spartan moment for a couple minutes. Carry on)

ZUTARA WEEK 2011

DAY SEVEN: CAUGHT

The boy brushed his shaggy dark hair out of his eyes as he quickly hid behind one of the palace pillars as the young Ambassador, brown hair swaying behind her and blue eyes focused on the turtleduck pond, passed right by him. The young lord breathed a sigh of relief, for the girl did not notice him lurking behind his hiding place. He watched as she began to bend the water into several icicles and exclaiming every time she hit one of her targets, then created a spinning wave to knock back an invisible opponent. Even thought the Hundred Year War had ended many years ago, everyone was still on guard and honed their bending or fighting skills. He knew the girl had also been encouraged to heal, since healers usually turned the tide of the battle when many were wounded, and was inwardly pleased that the girl had graduated at the top of her class when she went back to the North Pole.

The young man cursed himself many times as he ducked behind the pillar yet again as her water whip sailed just over him. Why couldn't he just get up the nerve to talk to her? He was Fire Nation Royalty, for Agni's sake! He should not be hiding behind a pillar, tree, bush, fountain, a box, a person, or a barrel whenever she passed by! Damn that Waterbending girl, with her pretty eyes and dark hair and smooth skin and teasing manner! What made her make him feel like a common peasant before a queen? He felt giddy since she and her boyfriend broke up months ago, but as soon as she visited the Palace for her duties, he found himself sputtering, stuttering, tripping, and generally acting like a drugged mental patient around her! He growled in frustration and punched the pillar, unintentionally bending streams of flames heading for his friend. He started to run forward, but she skillfully blocked the attack with a gush of water from the pond.

"Who's there?" The girl whipped around and shouted. "This better not be an assassin again! Remember that I am the Princess of the Water Tribe and a Waterbending Master! Come out if you want to fight!"

He gulped as she peered around with her ever-watchful eyes. Damn! Shit! Crap! Fuck! Hell! The royal swore with all his might in his head, ignoring the mental look of his mother glaring at him, saying, "You should not cuss like a pirate, especially—"

His thoughts were interrupted as a water whip grasped his ankle and threw him to the ground. He winced as his forehead collided with a root of a tree. Damn.

Her eyes widened, and she dropped her guard, hurrying over to turn him over. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! Why did you sneak up on me like that?" she scolded, though gently smoothing a healing water glove over his bruise.

"I-I'm fine." he answered to her first question. "I, uh, was wondering..." He, in vain, searched for a witty and observant comment when his request for a lunch at a popular restaurant left him wobbling over a cliff. "Uh, did you see Admiral Wang's face when he tasted the stewed sea prunes...haha..." He blanched over his friend's angry face. Needless to say he got his sense of humor from his father. Oops.

"Stewed sea prunes," she said sternly, "are a traditional and delicious Water Tribe delicacy that, obviously, your shriveled-up taste buds cannot understand."

"They are a bit bland—"

"They are not! And for your information, you didn't think I saw your look! I helped make those sea prunes!"

Shit.

"You complete uncultured, selfish, idiotic—"

And he kissed her, with the added bonus of silencing her rant about him, Fire Nation dishes, and general name calling to the two latter topics.

"Iraku, your instructor said that your ten minutes late for—" Fire Lord Zuko stopped in the middle of his scolding to gape at his first-born son kissing the Ambassador-in-training, Dashia, in the garden. They immediately broke apart, flushing a shade of red that matched Iraku's robes perfectly.

Zuko pointed an accusing finger at his son, who seemed torn between running from his father or staying to kiss Dashia. "You-you—"

A chiming laugh broke the awkward silence as Zuko's wife, Katara, strolled into the garden.

"Honestly, Fire Lord, Iraku is sixteen and is entitled to kiss a girl, especially his best friend who he's been looking at for years," Katara smiled at her son. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I do believe your Firebending instructor, Master Jeong Jeong, is still waiting for you. He's pretty angry, but if you've mastered the eighty-fifth technique, you should be okay. Now, run along, you can talk before dinner."

Iraku happily fled the scene, while Dashia muttered something about being late for a meeting and crashed through the hedge. Katara laughed again at her husband's shocked look.

"They're growing up fast, aren't they?" she asked fondly. "Pretty soon Hurai will kiss his own girl, and Akita will be bringing home a boy to dinner."

"Katara, she's six!" Zuko said frantically. "And Hurai is ten, and dear Agni, what if Dashia and Iraku have—"

She pressed her cool fingers to his lips. "Shh, Fire Lord Zuko. I was teasing. Akita thinks boys are icky, and Hurai is still avoiding girls after 'the talk.' And Iraku will not want to have sex with Dashia until they are married, for the Water Tribes wait until marriage, and he seems like he will wait for her, as you did for me."

Zuko sighed. "I'll miss our kids. I miss the anticipation of firsts, you with a big round belly with your crazy food cravings and mood swings, the crying, bedtime stories, teaching, playing, diapers—wait, not those..."

Katara smiled at Zuko. "Me too."

Iraku had recovered from the tongue lashing of his sifu and just had asked Dashia, hiding in the library, to come and talk with him. She agreed, and he decided to take her to one of the storerooms. Maybe he'd show her that cheese she liked so much; he'd ordered an extra shipment for her (his father wasn't too pleased about that when he learned Iraku had stolen his seal). She was seen sometimes with a book in his hands in the turtleduck garden, snacking on some bread with a slap of cheese and a waterskin of the fruit juice from the kitchen.

Almost skipping with joy and elation, he offered Dashia his arm when he reached the storeroom. She smiled as he opened the door, saying, "It's nice and cool here, and no one will disturb us..."

His voice trailed off at this odd grunting noise. There were sighs and moans, and his ears turned red. Hiding lovers usually were found in closets, behind a tree, in a garden, in corridors, and private spots, but...who were they? Only the kitchen staff and the Royal Family had access to the storerooms!

When he saw Dashia's embarrassed face, something snapped. Thanks to his dad, Dashia had hidden in the library for two hours! Now, a bunch of nameless lovers were ruining the carefully executed plan! The logical way was to laugh it off and find another storeroom, but Iraku wanted for his plan to go his way. (It was a trait argued often by his parents) He stormed right into the dark and dramatically flipped on the light, yelling, "Get out of here, you—"

His eyes widened at the sight of his bare-chested father, about to take off his pants, that were pooling around his ankles, dipping his mother, who was equally naked with a toned leg thrown over his hip. They looked up from kissing, and everyone blushed or looked away. Dashia was muttering apologies and flaming red, Zuko looked mortified, Katara looked surprised and was trying to reach for her robe (they were still tangled together out of sheer shock), and Iraku? Iraku covered his eyes and said in a strained tone, "You know what? Never mind!" Dragging poor Dashia along with him, he flipped off the light and decided to make a break for it.

Zuko was still shell-shocked as he hurriedly began to adjust his pants and pull on his robe. It wasn't the first time Iraku had caught them (the first was when he was five and had heard strange noises coming from their room and decided to do a 'monster hunt.' Katara had kindly given him The Talk when Zuko was almost comatose), nor the second. It was the first, however, when Iraku had seen them fully naked. He was sure Iraku and Dashia would be scarred for life.

Katara laughed as she finished tying her robe. "Well, now, they better get used to it if Dashia's going to be living in the palace."

"Do you mean that Iraku would marry...?"

"Why, yes. Why not?"

Zuko laughed and kissed his wife. "I think I'm starting a new tradition."

"How?"

The Fire Lord gently leaned his forehead against his lady's and murmured, "Marrying a Waterbender."