Spa Treatments

Chapter 2: Steam and Confessions

Aang had just kissed her.

Okay, so it didn't just happen. It happened hours ago, during the performance of The Ember Island Players. Katara had tossed around in bed for hours before giving up on sleep altogether. She made her bed and opened a closet to look for a shawl.

Once she got what she needed, she stepped out onto the balcony and watched the stars shine brightly. She felt the cool and gentle breeze caress her face and inhaled the fresh sea air. She had to admit, the Fire Nation was definitely a beautiful place… that is as long as they kept their vicious tendencies to themselves.

Katara sighed, exasperated with herself. A war was going on and all she could think about was Aang's kiss. "This is pathetic," she finally said out loud… to herself. She groaned in exasperation, suddenly feeling boxed in. She clutched her shawl closer to herself and headed towards the main door. Maybe all she needed was a short walk to clear her head.

Katara walked towards the beach, going straight for the shore. She removed her slippers just before her feet touched the water and just walked along the shore, enjoying the peace and quiet of the sea.

In all honesty, Katara didn't know what to think, and she was tired of replaying conversations with herself. It was making her feel stupid and silly. Things like this really shouldn't be prioritized at the eve of a great battle. At least, that's what Katara thought.

Katara's footsteps came to a halt once she found herself in front of a cave. She peered inside but was faced with sheer darkness. She squinted in a vain attempt to see through the darkness. It didn't work but she did feel steam coming from the cave.

"Huh," Katara mused, "must be another hot spring."

"I wouldn't recommend you to swim in it, though."

Katara jumped in surprise. She dropped her slippers and was about to attack the silent intruder until she met the Zuko's ever angry scar. "Zuko!" She exclaimed, holding a hand to her rapidly beating heart. Once she got her bearings, she went ahead and thumped his arm, "you really shouldn't be sneaking around! And especially not in the dark!"

Zuko raised an eyebrow, "I've been walking behind you the past ten minutes, you really didn't notice me?"

Katara huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and "I have a lot on my mind at the moment"

Zuko nodded, "No kidding." There was another pregnant pause before Zuko went ahead and broke the silence, "do you… want to go inside?"

Katara frowned, "It's pitch black in there."

Zuko frowned at her as he lit a flame with his hand, "Firebender, remember?"

"Oof," Katara groaned, feeling stupid, "right, how could I forget. Ugh."

"Something must really be bugging you. You're normally more alert." Zuko observed, a little worried by Katara's behavior. They walked inside the cave, guided by Zuko's small but strong flame.

"It's nothing," Katara waved off, making Zuko scoff in disbelief. "I mean," she paused, unsure what to say, "in the grand scale of things at the moment… it is nothing. But I guess…"

She trailed off, not really sure what to say. She decided to change the topic. "What are you doing here anyway? Do you make a habit of following girls to dark caves?"

Zuko awkwardly scratched the back of his head, "I wasn't following you. I come here every morning, before dawn, to meditate."

"Oh." Katara said simply, feeling a bit presumptuous, "...is it really okay that I tag along, though? This is your meditation time."

Zuko shrugged, letting her attempt to change the subject to pass. "I don't think I'm in any position to turn you away seeing as I interrupted your 'meditation time' the other day."

"Besides," Zuko continued, "you clearly need to get something off your chest. Whether you decide to tell me or not, I'll listen."

Katara looked up at Zuko, "Thanks. I don't really want to get into it yet… but thanks."

They reached a small pool of water and by this time, Katara was already sweating bullets thanks to the hot steam. She looked over at Zuko and found him lighting small flames around the cave. Now that Katara had a better view of her surroundings, she realized this place was the ideal place to get away from anything. It was a small space, and the sound of the bubbling pool echoed around the space.

"What did you mean earlier when you said you wouldn't want to swim in there?"

Zuko had just finished hanging his shirt on one of the rocks. He looked at Katara and shrugged, "I guess it's okay for me to go in there, but that's because I'm a firebender. Seeing the amount of bubbling and hot steam from that pool, I'm guessing it'd have to be really hot."

Katara considered his words, "I'm almost tempted to dip my finger in there."

Zuko gave a small smile, "True. You could always heal yourself once you got burned." He sat down with his legs crossed, getting ready to meditate. Once he closed his eyes, Katara went and looked around the room a little bit. The heat was really starting to get to her and so she folded her shawl and removed her outer clothes, leaving her in her sarashi.

The silence was pressing but it wasn't awkward. She moved a few paces near Zuko and proceeded to stretch. With a few yoga poses she learned from her various trips around the world, she soon felt the calm and relaxation she was pining for earlier. By the time she had finished three whole repetitions of her usual routine, she noticed that Zuko had yet move a muscle.

Katara almost felt fully at peace. She knew she had to get the whole Aang issue out of her system. Just for the sake of her peace of mind. She bit her lip, not really sure how to broach the subject with Zuko.

"Uhm, Zuko" she awkwardly started, her voice echoing around the cave.

"Yeah?" Zuko answered almost immediately. He opened his eyes and his gold eyes were only enhanced by the general atmosphere of the cave.

"Well…" She trailed off, "have you ever, um, been in a relationship?"

Zuko blinked. That was the last thing he ever expected her to ask. "Err… yeah, I was with Mai back when I was welcome to go home."

"Mai? As in the tall girl who loves black and sharp knives?"

Zuko grinned at her description, "yeah, that sounds like her."

Huh, I guess brooding and brooding do make a pair. Katara thought. " So...was? As in past tense?"

Zuko nodded, glad she was okay enough to be observant again.

"What…what ever happened to you guys?"

"Oh, well…things didn't really end well with us." Katara noticed he was a bit uncomfortable with the current topic but she appreciated that he did his best to answer her questions.

"So...what happened?" Katara urged anyway. Maybe she'd find an answer to her Aang Issue somewhere inside Zuko's reflection of his past relationship.

"I broke up with her by writing a letter."

Katara blinked. "That's the worst way to break up."

Zuko gave her a sheepish look. "Yeah, she didn't take it very well when we saw each other at the Boiling Rock."

Katara scoffed, "No girl - actually, no person - would ever want to know their relationship was over through a letter."

"I'm not proud of it," Zuko said a bit defensively, "but I didn't want her involved with my 'traitorous actions'"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess," Katara finally said, a bit unsatisfied with Zuko's answer. She couldn't write a letter to Aang explaining what she felt now, could she? ...or could she? No. No, she couldn't.

Katara groaned in frustration, she was just short of pulling her hair out. As much as she appreciated Zuko's honesty, this wasn't helping her in any way.

"I take it my supreme experience with relationships are less than helpful?"

Katara laughed, "Yeah, that didn't help, but I appreciate your honesty."

Zuko shrugged. "You're easy to talk to."

They exchanged a meaningful looked, remembering their talk in the forest. Katara wiped the sweat from her forehead before finally deciding to tell Zuko just what was bothering her.

"Aang kissed me."

Zuko was startled by her admission. "Oh," he started lamely, "I knew you guys were close but I didn't think you guys were…"

"We're not!" Katara interrupted. Her voice echoed around the walls of the cave, the small flames flickered and steam only seemed to increase. Katara flushed, her face red with embarrassment and the heat of the room. Zuko looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to talk again.

"I mean… it's just… I haven't really thought about whether or not I want to be with him. I haven't really had the time to even think about it. We're in the middle of a war! But, we kissed on the day of the Black Sun but that was just a spur of the moment thing! I thought the war would be over after that or… or something! I don't know. Aang says he wants to be more than friends but I'm too overwhelmed with everything that's happening - It's the last thing on my mind! - but, ugh I don't know!"

By this time Katara was already hugging her knees to her chest. Zuko was sitting just across from her. He sighed and went to sit next to her. He stared at the wall in front of them, listening to the calming sounds of the cave and waiting for Katara to control her breathing.

"Do you like him?"

Katara tensed at Zuko's blunt question. Did she like Aang? She wasn't really sure.

"I do," she started, "I mean, he's a great guy. He's nice and full of energy, he's incredibly sweet, he's so young but he's determined to help everyone and he's the Avatar."

Zuko nodded along with Katara. There was no denying that Aang really was a great guy.

"I like him," Katara finally whispered again, "but I don't think I like him in that way."

Katara's shoulders slumped at her confession. She felt bad for not liking Aang but realizing the truth made her feel lighter and less boxed in. She looked over at Zuko, he had his hands clasped together with his elbows balancing on his knees. It looked like he was deep in thought.

"You should tell him about this." He finally said.

"I know," Katara resigned, "but… I'm kind of afraid this would put this out of his game or something. He should focus on the war."

"I agree with you," Zuko replied. "But you walking on eggshells around him will affect you."

Katara was ready to retort that she could handle herself damn it, but he looked over at her, his piercing gold eyes looking straight at her soul. "This whole thing has clearly messed with your focus. You barely noticed me walking behind you at the beach, you forgot I was a firebender, and this whole thing cost you a night of sleep. What would happen to you when it's time to fight? You could get seriously hurt."

Katara built her lip in shame. Zuko was right. She couldn't help but feel like a child being scolded.

"How did you know I couldn't sleep?"

Zuko shrugged. "I'm a light sleeper, I could hear you tossing and turning the whole time. That, and I can see the bags under your eyes. Stop changing the subject, Katara. If you ever got hurt, Aang would be devastated. And it's not just Aang, there's Sokka, your dad, Suki, Toph, all your friends and family" And me. I'd be devastated. But Zuko chose to omit that last part.

Katara sighed. Nothing could get past Zuko once he got serious. "I'm sorry and you're right. I need to clear the air before anything big happens."

She took Zuko's hand and squeezed, "Thanks for this, Zuko. I really needed it"

Zuko squeezed back. "Anytime."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, their hands loosely clasped together, just enjoying the peaceful company of one another, listening to the quiet melody of bubbling water and flickering flames. It wasn't long before the two decided to get up and leave. By the time they made their way out of the cave, the sun's faint glow of a new day greeted them.

A/N: Yay! Here's chapter 2! Hope you guys like it. So I sort of have a direction regarding the progression Zuko and Katara's relationship. It's just a matter of translating it into words. Hope I didn't make their interaction too forced or anything- the best thing I love about Zutara is how well they just understand one another. Tell me if you guys see any mistakes, I'll correct them immediately. Also, thank you for the love and encouragement from the last chapter! I love you, guys! Don't hesitate to leave a review hihi :) xx