DISCLAIMER: don't own AVATAR.
Yippee! This is first, and true, one-shot! (the rest were poems and song fics)
Katara sighed happily and rather lazily as they soared gently above the clouds. She had finished teaching Aang waterbending, and he was now a master. They were now heading towards the Earth Kingdom, in search of an earthbending teacher.
"Hey, guys, we already know some earthbenders, which one do you wanna go to?" Katara sighed dreamily.
"How about Haru?" She suggested. Aang nearly growled, and dangerous fireworks went off inside him. They were all fueled by jealousy. He loved Katara like no other, and no man was ever going to steal her from him. If they did, they would be in mortal danger.
"No, I don't think he's a master." Aang said. Katara, who had been lying on her back, staring at the clouds, turned over onto her stomach, and looked up at Aang.
"Then what about his dad? I'm sure he's a master earthbender." Aang shook his head, trying to get rid of the jealousy that was coursing through him very powerfully.
"Maybe, but can you prove that for a fact?" Aang asked quizzically. Katara shook her head.
"No, guess not." Aang could have leapt for joy. They weren't going to see Haru.
"Well then, even though I hate suggesting this, what about King Bumi?" Aang's eyes suddenly brightened up.
"Thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful bender you'll ever see."
Aang thought back to his duel with his old friend back in Omashu.
"Yah, Bumi's a master, he would be the best candidate for teaching me earthbending." Katara nodded.
"I guess." Aang grinned.
"Then it's decided. Off the Omashu, and my next stage in becoming the fully realized Avatar: mastering earthbending!"
The trio sighed happily as they lounged against trees in a forest, as the day neared dusk. They had flown for a day, and decided to stop in a forest for the night.
"I'm glad we got those supplies in that last village," Sokka said gratefully. Aang and Katara nodded in agreement.
"Me too." Katara replied.
"Me three!" Aang added. Katara giggled quietly. After Aunt Wu's prediction, and after Sokka had said that stuff about Aang being a powerful bender, Katara had looked at the Avatar in a whole other light.
A sharp cry arose, and laughter and music followed. Aang, Sokka, and Katara quickly rose to their feet, and ran to the source of the noise.
They followed it to a town, decorated completely in red and green. Green they understood, but why red? This was an Earth Kingdom town, wasn't it? Or had it been captured by the Fire Nation?
They walked down, and looked around confusedly at all the red and green, wreaths of pine and garlands. A young dancing girl, carrying a basket full of little, plump red berries, landed gracefully in front of the trio.
"Holly berries, children? No, don't worry about money, tonight is of celebration, no need to worry about money! Please, have some berries, you look weary and tired, these wonderful holly berries are the best, they shall make you feel alive like you never have before the moment their juices hit your tongue!" The children put away their small sack of copper pieces, and helped themselves to a great deal of the small red berries. After they had their fill, the dancer danced back into the crowd, continuing to offer people the berries.
The dancer was right, the children felt well and happy and merry again after enjoying the berries. The trio wandered further into the crowd, enjoying all there was to see.
"Katara?" Katara whirled around at the sound of her name being called, and found herself staring into hazel eyes.
"Haru!" Katara cried, and flung her arms around him. Haru returned her embrace happily.
Aang and Sokka looked around frantically when they saw Katara was no longer with them. Sokka felt relieved when he saw Katara, but was slightly surprised when he saw her hugging Haru. Aang just looked on with jealousy incredibly evident.
"Hey guys, long time no see, what brings you here?" Katara began to answer.
"We-"
"We were just stopping by, before we continued onto Omashu, so that I can find King Bumi, and learn earthbending." Haru cocked his head a little.
"You know, you could stay here for a while, and my dad can teach some of the basics-" Aang raised a hand, and shook his head.
"No, no, we don't want to spend too much of your time, and I've been anxious to see Bumi for ages." Haru nodded forcefully.
"Alright." The trio, accompanied by Haru, wandered farther into the celebration.
"Haru, just wondering, but what's with the red and green? And the wreaths and garlands and those berries? Red is a Fire Nation color." Katara asked. Haru nodded.
"Yes, while Red is Fire Nation, today is Christmas Eve, and the Christmas colors are red and green." Katara and Sokka looked at Haru, bewildered.
"What's Christmas?" They chorused. Haru looked surprised.
"I remember Christmas. The monks always celebrated it. The whole temple would change for two days. Pine trees decorated, wreaths, garlands, and lots of holly berries imported from the Earth Kingdom." Haru, Sokka, and Katara looked back at Anag, who was lost in his memories.
"Yes, and don't forget Father Christmas." Anag smiled, for the first time, in Haru's presence.
"Father Christmas?" Katara asked. Aang nodded.
"Yah, he is said to live in a hidden part of the North Pole, protected by seals and a horrible blizzard. Every year on December 24th he comes down in a giant sleigh pulled by 8 flying elk (does the Avatar world have reindeers? I don't know, so I'm using elk) and he stops at every house, giving the good children presents, while he gave the bad children coal."
"Oh." Haru smiled warmly.
"My favorite part of Christmas is the mistletoe." Katara looked up at Haru.
"What's that?"
"It's a little piece of pine and holly berries wrapped up with a piece of ribbon, and hung over a doorway. When a boy and a girl both walk under the mistletoe, they have to kiss." Aang smiled greatly. There had never been any mistletoe at the Air Temple, since it was all boys, but now, he had a chance to kiss Katara!
Katara nodded.
"Well, I have to go, the holly berries are being eaten by the minute, and I want a basket, see you guys later!" Haru called, and disappeared in the crowd. Katara looked to her brother and friend.
"Well, I say we split up and enjoy ourselves, Christmas comes only once a year, so let's make the most of it!" Sokka and Aang nodded, and disappeared into the crowd. Sokka went to find more holly berries and whatever else he could find to eat, Aang went to look at the toys they had to sell, and Katara just wandered around.
"Uncle, I don't want to go celebrate your dumb holiday!" Zuko snapped as his uncle shoved him toward the village.
"But it will be good for you, Prince Zuko. The holly berries here are suppose to do wonderous things to you!" Iroh pleaded. Zuko looked over his shoulder.
"Like what?" Iroh shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but they're said to make you feel happy enough, to enjoy the holiday, no matter what mood you're in!" Zuko looked uninterested. Iroh was forced to lie.
"It also is said to grant you one wish if you eat the berries, no matter how impossible it seems." Zuko seemed interested now. He had failed to catch the Avatar so many times, he was willing to do anything by now to capture him. If it meant turning himself over to his sister, so be it.
Zuko looked around with a bored expression as they walked through the town. A dancer with a basket of holly berries bounded before him.
"Holly berries, sir? Sure to make you feel alive like never before!" Zuko grabbed a handful of berries, and the dancer danced away.
Zuko chewed the berries quickly, repeating the same thing over and over again in his head.
I wish to capture the Avatar. I wish to capture the Avatar. I wish to capture the Avatar. IwishtocapturetheAvatarIwishtocapturetheAvatarIwishtocapturetheAvatar-
It continued like this for several minutes, but nothing ever happened, so he gave up. And decided to find his uncle, after all, he had lied.
Zuko was passing by a group of giggling women, and he couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"Oh my gosh, do you know what happened? You got me under a mistletoe!" All the other women giggled, and started screaming.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Another women piped up.
"Did you kiss him?" The first women nodded excitedly.
"Of course I did! It's a tradition, a rule that can't be broken!" All the women started giggling, and asking which one she did it under.
"The one under the arch, right over-" But Zuko didn't hear the rest as he bumped into someone. He looked down and saw a pleasant, and beautiful young woman looking bewildered up at him.
A heavy blush covered her cheeks as she looked passed the Prince's head. He looked up.
"What are you-" The last two words were dead in his throat. He was at the arch the woman spoke of, and, sure enough, there was the mistletoe. The girl started to move away.
Zuko caught her hand, and pulled around to face him.
"Where do you think you're going? That's a mistletoe, and the tradition is to kiss the person under the mistletoe, traditions are rules that can't be broken." Zuko hissed, the girl looked up at him, her cerulean eyes wide.
Katara looked at Zuko frightened, they were under the mistletoe, together, but she couldn't possibly kiss him! There was no way out of this one, she felt so lonely, so frightened, she didn't want this! She didn't-
But her words were cut off as Zuko lowered his head and pressed his lips up against Katara's. Katara felt surprised, he was such an aggressive person, she never expected him to be so gentle as he was in this kiss. One of his hands wrapped around her waist, while the other came up, and pulled at her neck, deepening the kiss. Her hands, originally on his breastplate, slid up, and wrapped around his neck. This was such a wonderful experience, and Katara regretted when it ended. Zuko pulled away, but Katara clung onto him, hoping to re-experience what had just happened. Zuko gently pushed her away.
"Thank you." Zuko whispered quietly, before he slid away. Katara tried vainly to find him, before she gave up. She slid to the ground, silent tears running down her cheeks, she wondered what had just happened, but, she wanted, whatever it had been, to happen again. The rush of emotions that she had felt during the kiss was incredible, and she wanted to feel it again.
Katara felt her lips tingle, as if remnants of Zuko's fire was still there.
"Miss, are you alright?" An elderly woman asked. Katara forced a smile.
"I think so."
Zuko walked through the crowd quickly, bewildered. What had just happened? He now recognized the girl he had kissed as the Avatar's companion, the enemy! He had kissed the enemy! This wasn't suppose to happen! And yet, it felt so wonderful, he loved that experience, and someday, Zuko would find that girl again, after this war was settled, and re-live the experience.
Zuko almost swore he heard the jingling bells of a sleigh overhead and a hearty laugh from Father Christmas.
If you couldn't tell, this was a Christmas based one shot! And I loved it! Tell me what you thought! C'mon now, don't be shy!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
INSANITY AT ITS FINEST Zukoscute2
LONG LIVE THE HIPPIES!