I know this has been done before and all that jazz, but I felt the need to write some Zutara drabbles. They are each 100 to 200 words ;) They are set in no particular time order, but they are set during or after the series. Kind of a Zutara alphabet… Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Atla… :(

Angel

Zuko could feel himself drifting as the pain coursed through him. But he couldn't let himself be still… he couldn't let himself fall asleep. She was out there fighting the one that did this to him. He had to help. He had to.

Azula was his sister… but Katara… Katara was everything else.

He could not lose a friend he had just gained. A companion and trusted one. So when the lightening had shot from the hands of his only sibling and it wasn't headed for him, had had moved to catch it. Because, he couldn't lose her. Not when he finally gained her trust.

Zuko watched as she managed to get Azula tied down and he felt utter relief. It's ok to close my eyes now.

But then there were soft hands helping him turn on his back and running over his wound. There was a soft glow as the pain receded.

Zuko stared up at Katara and she looked back with her blue, blue eyes. Yes, he thought, she was everything else…

An angel was just one of those things, his guardian angel.

"Thank you, Katara."

Burn

Katara knew it shouldn't have taken her off-guard. It shouldn't have, but it did anyway. He was a firebender, it was in everything he did, everything he was.

When he fought, it was with a ferocity that was unique to fire. He burned down all that was in his path, his strength uncompromising.

When he came up with a plan, his speech burned with excitement.

When he had purpose, he used his inner fire to burn his way through.

When he was embarrassed, it was his cheeks that burned.

So, really, when Zuko kissed Katara, she shouldn't have been surprised when his lips, his passion burned.

Conundrum

"Katara…"

"Yes, Zuko?"

"You just, wow, you look… well…" She looked at him expectantly.

"You look really good, today." He muttered, shifting awkwardly.

"What, I didn't look good, yesterday?" She narrowed her eyes.

"N-no! That's not what I meant! I mean, I just think you look extra great today-"

Her blue eyes glared at him. Zuko repressed the urge to smack himself.

"-not that you didn't look great yesterday! I mean, look at you! How could not look good?" Still glaring. "I mean, just look at you, you're clearly the most beautiful girl here, or anywhere-"

And suddenly, she leapt forward and tackled him. But instead of the pain he expected, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and immediately he felt his face burn. Just as suddenly she pulled back and walked away, a bright smile on her face.

"What?" Zuko said to no one in particular.

Girls. What a freaking conundrum.

Dao

The mask stared out at her for only the slightest moment, its blue standing out against the darkness of his clothes.

Katara ignored the fact that he had taken down three men without fuss. She ignored the fact that he had moved so fast, striking down his opponents with an eerie accuracy, but not killing them, never killing them. She ignored the fact that he had rescued her.

She even ignored his stupid blue mask, because all she could see were his swords. Those dual dao blades that she had seen only once before.

And she knew. So she no longer ignored how he had protected her or how fast he was. She didn't ignore his mask.

Because she knew.

Zuko.

Eyes

Katara knew a lot of different people from a lot of different places and she had come to believe that you could tell everything about a person because of their eyes.

If you looked at Aang's for example, you could tell that he was a good person. They had an almost innocent quality about them. Sokka's, on the hand, were always sparkling, even in the most dire situations. You could tell he was intelligent, even if he hid it sometimes under his goofball persona. With Toph, of course, you could tell she was blind from the almost white sheen in her eyes. But, you could also see she was fun-loving and confidant.

The only person Katara had trouble with reading their eyes was a certain banished prince. Zuko's eyes were a warm hazel color, almost golden but they were always guarded, as if he didn't trust anyone.

Sometimes though, when he stared at her, Katara could swear she saw something beautiful and secret sparkling in them.

Just for her.

Father

As Hakoda laughed about something Sokka said, Zuko could not help the envy that made its way through his heart. The minute he had met Hakoda of the Water Tribe, he had known he was nothing like his own father.

There was just something about the aged chief that screamed 'good guy' and, if the way he treated his children was something to go by, then Zuko's assumptions were definitely true. Hakoda seemed to truly care about Katara and Sokka, always ready to comfort them or help them out.

Ozai had had nothing but cold stares and cruel words for his son. And he had fire. Lots of fire to burn Zuko with.

As thought on this subject the banished prince did not even notice Katara looking at him with a concerned gaze. Nor did he notice when she said something to her father.

He did, however, notice when he was invited to traditional Water Tribe dinner by the Chief of the South Pole himself.

Girl

At first, Zuko always saw Katara as an enemy. Nothing more. He even used to think she was nothing to worry about, after all, when they first met at the South Pole her waterbending was seriously lacking.

But now he had joined 'Team Avatar' and she was no longer an enemy, even if she didn't think so. So, when Zuko walked out to the river to bathe, it wasn't as if he knew she would be there training. He wasn't chasing Aang and his friends anymore, so why would he need to know Katara's whereabouts? Right?

When he reached the river, he soon noticed she was there, however. And he noticed how very… little she was wearing.

As his cheeks turned red, it became very clear what Katara was.

She was a girl.

Tomato-faced, Zuko backed away slowly, trying to go unnoticed. Of course, he was luck was never that good.

"Zuko! You pervert!" Came said girl's shrill yell.

Hunger

"You call this food?" Zuko questioned, annoyed. He was cranky, he was tired, and he was hungry. Never a good combination. Of course, he was not the only one who felt this way; the entire gang was in the same position. The only difference, he was the only one with enough courage to say what they were all thinking.

"Excuse me?" Katara hissed, glaring at him. "I'll have you know this is sea prune stew and it is considered to be very delicious where I come from."

"Well, not all of us are from the middle of nowhere where!" Zuko exclaimed in return, his hunger making him unwise.

Silence. Pure silence.

And then the concoction of sea prunes and boiling water was quickly bended into his hair.

The war had begun and Zuko was not going to lose.

Intelligent

Katara thought he was intelligent. She had honestly believed he was smart enough to figure out her signals. He was a prince! Shouldn't he be somewhat perceptive?

But it just wouldn't happen, so Katara decided to take matters into her own hands. If he wasn't going to notice, she would make him notice. So, with an air of decisiveness, she marched over to where Zuko sat, quietly meditating.

Reaching him, she immediately took his face into her hands and fell into his lap.

"Katara, what-?" His question was cut off by a pair of soft lips over his own. It took him a moment to overcome his shock, but soon enough he responded and wrapped his arms around, pulling her tighter to him.

There, Katara thought smugly, he noticed.

Joke

Katara didn't understand why she kept crashing into Zuko everywhere she went. She had lost count of how many times they had ended up walking straight into each other. She blushed just thinking about the time he had been walking back from training, shirtless, mind you, and how she had fallen onto the ground on top of him.

It was getting so ridiculous that she beginning to feel they were being set up. So, one day, instead of 'accidently' bumping into the Fire Nation prince, she found him purposefully, ready to put an end to this joke.

And even though Toph and Sokka never saw what was coming for them, somehow, Katara still ended up bumping into Zuko.

Katara

Zuko knew exactly who Katara was. She was a waterbender of the highest caliber. She was the daughter of a chief, almost a princess in the South Pole. She was a great friend and sister, highly protective and the most caring person he had ever known.

She was beautiful and kind and everything he wasn't and didn't deserve. But, he couldn't help himself when he told her.

"I love you." He whispered. She smiled at him widely, the happiness clear in her eyes, with another look in them that was meant only for him.

"I love you too." She replied and Zuko could do nothing but pull her into a kiss.

Lantern

The fireworks went off in a bright splash of color, lighting up the Fire Nation sky with bright blues and reds. It was a celebration worthy of royalty. They sat together in the palace grounds, watching the night sky transform into a piece of art, their formal wear hanging off them both regally.

Indeed, it was magnificent, but then again it was not everyday that a nation's Fire Lord got married to a waterbending master from the South Pole.

Katara stared at Zuko as he unfolded the paper lantern and lit a small flame in it. It lit up in a gentle glow and he handed it to Katara. It was traditional for a newlywed couple in the Fire Nation to light a lantern and set it off into the sky as a symbol of their new lives together.

Katara didn't have to think about it once as she lifted the contraption and let it float into the sky.

Zuko didn't have to think once about the kiss he bestowed on his new wife, either.

Mother

Before Ba Sing Se, Katara would have laughed at anyone who had claimed she had anything in common with Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. But in the crystal catacombs Katara learned a great many things about the other teenager.

She had learned that he had been affected by the war as much as she. She had learned that he was not all he seemed. It all made her change her view of him.

But it was when she learned of his mother that she truly understood that they were not so different.

It made his betrayal hurt all the more.

No

"Can I do it?" She asked.

"No!"

"Please! I promise I won't mess it up or anything." She was almost whining, looking at him with big blue eyes.

"I said no, okay?" Zuko exclaimed, frustrated.

"Come on! It'll look so much better." Katara cajoled, a pleading expression on her face.

"No!"

"Zuko, look at you! We can barely see your face anymore." She shook her head. "I did Toph's and Sokka's!"

"Well Toph's blind and Sokka's your brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means no!" Having enough, Zuko turned and tried to make his escape.

"Zuko! Let me cut your hair!" Katara exclaimed, chasing after him.

Opposite

When Katara had first told her father about her relationship with Zuko, Hakoda's immediate reaction had been that they were so different and it was true. Everything about them scream 'opposites', down to the respective elements they bended.

They were fire and water, black and white, yin and yang. They were different.

But that's what made them work. That's what made them stick with each other through thick and thin, always at each other's side.

Zuko had even stayed by Katara's side when both Hakoda and Sokka had threatened him with bodily harm if he ever so much didn't do the laundry for their only female family member.

So, yes, Katara thought, they worked together.

Pain

Zuko had thought he knew the worst pain there was to be felt. He thought he knew agony after his father had burned him. He knew the feeling of a blistering fire as it scarred his face, so, surely, he knew pain?

But that was pain of the body. Pain of the soul was much, much worse. That pain made his scar seem like nothing more than a healed cut.

And Zuko only found that out when he saw her body lying broken on the ground, her heart no longer beating.

She was dead. Gone from him for good.

His Katara.

Questions

"What is the first thing that pops into your head when you think of Aang?" Katara questioned.

"Avatar." Zuko said like it was the most obvious answer.

"Sokka?" She continued.

"Boomerang. No, bad jokes." At this, Katara nodded in agreement.

"Toph?"

"Crazy barefoot twelve-year-old with a nickname complex." Zuko answered so seriously that she could not help but burst into laughs whilst he simply looked down at her with a smirk. Once her stomach hurt from the laughter, Katara moved to her next question.

"Hmmm… Suki?"

"Uh, Kyoshi, I guess?" He replied, wondering why she was suddenly asking all these questions.

"Me?"

"Beautiful." He answered without hesitation.

"Right answer." Katara said with a secret smile on her face.

Right

"Why did you think we fell for each other, Zuko?" Katara asked as she leaned against him, his arm automatically wrapping around her shoulder.

"Why does anything happen?" He answered cryptically causing Katara to glance up at him and roll her eyes.

"I'm serious. Why do you think?" She questioned again, turning back around to stare at their linked fingers. It was silent for a moment as Zuko contemplated the answer. Soon enough he had it.

"It's because we are right together." Is all he said before placing a kiss to Katara's lips, cutting off any more of her questions.

Later, Katara realized there really was no better answer.

Scars

Zuko wasn't quite sure how they had gotten here, to this conversation.

"How did you get it, your scar?" She asked, her bright blue eyes filled with gentle curiosity.

"It's not a nice story." Zuko rumbled, locking eyes with her.

"I can handle it." She whispered.

And so he explained. He told her how he had defended the soldiers, his people. How he had been foolish and accepted the Agni Kai. He told her how his father had stared down at him with calculating eyes and he told her about the pain, the utter agony.

By the end there were tears slowly dripping down her face and he was in her arms as they held on tight to each other and it was Zuko that ended up comforting Katara.

It really wasn't a nice story.

Team

Zuko was only really part of the team when Katara had finally accepted him, and it was only after that happened that he realized just what being a team member meant.

It meant caring about others more than yourself. It meant always thinking of the group, not just the individual. It meant waiting for the entire group to make decisions together. It meant taking the others' thoughts into consideration.

It meant becoming friends. A family. The family that Zuko hadn't had since his mother had left.

And Zuko was only in the family because of Katara and, for that, he would always be grateful.

Underneath

Katara was not one to judge on appearances; she knew all too well how deceiving they could be. Look at Toph, for example, on the surface she seems to be a helpless blind girl, whereas she is in reality one of the strongest warriors she knows.

The same goes for her brother and Aang. They were both so different than what they seemed.

But, of all the people whose appearances were the most misleading, she would have to say Zuko took the cake. On the surface he appeared to be a tough soldier, with the scar to prove and, in some ways, he was. But Zuko was also the gentlest person, underneath it all. He had a caring streak and was more compassionate than she had ever thought him to be.

Some people might call him ugly, because of his scar, but Katara disagreed. Though she didn't truly care for appearances, she knew for a fact that Zuko was beautiful person, inside and out.

Vex

Zuko was vexed. Terribly vexed. He didn't understand how she had figured it out. How she had heard. It was his worst nightmare and now that Katara knew, they would all find out.

They would all find out he used be called 'Zuzu'. He shuddered at the mere though.

Luckily, however, he had found the solution to prevent widespread knowledge of his nickname in the next few days as he and Sokka had had a nice, detailed discussion. Katara would never tell now, not after he found out her own nickname.

Katara-Cat.

Zuko was still chuckling.

Water

Zuko used to always worry what would happen if he lost control of his father. He used to worry about what would happen if he ended up burning others like he had been burned. It was the reason why he kept his fire under a tight control as much as he could.

Most benders freely used their element, confident and trusting in their own ability and in their elements. But Zuko had lost that confidence the day he had been cast out by his own family.

He never got it back, but he did get something else. He began trusting in another bender and her water to put his fire out if he ever lost control.

Xara

Zuko panicked as the little being was placed in his arms. She was so tiny that the Fire Lord was convinced he would break her, this beautiful little girl. He almost wanted to hand her right back to the nurse. What if he became like his own father? What if he became Ozai?

What if he hurt her like Ozai had hurt him?

"Zuko." A gentle voice and he turned to look at the baby's mother. Katara gazed back with knowing blue eyes. "You are not him."

And that was all the reassurance he needed for Zuko to do what he had been wanting to do ever since his newborn daughter was placed in his arms.

"Hi Xara." He whispered. "My name's Zuko and I'm your daddy."

Yes

"So…? What do you say, Katara?" Zuko asked as he stared down at her, shifting nervously from foot-to-foot. He tried to stop fidgeting but found it was near impossible under her shocked gaze.

"Could you ask that again, just one more time?" She asked, looking at him with wide eyes, her face slightly blushing.

"Katara… I was wondering if maybe, you know, once we get all the stuff sorted in our countries and everything…" Zuko stalled a bit, trying to swallow his nerves. "Well, I just wanted to know if maybe you would to go out, you know, on a date…? With me? As a couple?" His question came out so awkwardly that Zuko wanted nothing more than to smack himself and call himself 'stupid!'.

Katara's answer, though, made the whole painful experience worthwhile, Zuko noted as the Water Tribe girl jumped into his arms and kissed him fervently. As she pulled away, Zuko managed to get in another question.

"So I take it that's a yes?"

Zuko

Katara was one of the few people that knew Zuko, truly knew him. He was a man of many faces. Crown Prince Zuko, the Blue Spirit, the firebender, the fugitive and just… Zuko.

She knew of his many mistakes and even more of his victories. Zuko was like no one else she had ever met, nor would she ever find someone similar.

He was just Zuko with her, the man she loved with all her heart. The man who treated her like a princess but was not afraid to stand up for his opinions. The man that was both gentle and fierce in the same breath.

So, when he had asked her to marry him, she had not a single hesitation when she said yes.

FIN

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!

RW