sanlorenzo | (no subject)

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[ this is a conversation she's tried and failed to start every night for about a week now. honestly? she's getting a little frustrated, though it's more with herself than anything else. it's with a sigh that she folds her legs beneath her and seats herself across from zuko at the small table in the guest house they've been given in the town they've stopped at.

she pushes a warm cup of tea across the tabletop to him, and hopes that she isn't as transparently nervous as she feels. ]

So, Zuko...

[ katara clears her throat and takes a sip of her own tea, wincing as she affirms that yes, it is in fact still a little too hot. ]

The people here seem pretty receptive to you.

[ horrible, stilted smalltalk. but she can't just launch into this, can she?? ]

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[ She probably is, but the good news for her is that Zuko's been too distracted to notice. After all the damage his family has wrecked on this land there's so much Zuko has to do to make up for everything, so much he has to do to try and fix it. And he knows that he won't be able to fix everything, certainly not immediately, but he wants to so badly it almost hurts.

It's hard to sit still at night like this, even though he knows he needs to. Patience has never been one of Zuko's virtues, and it's good he has a friend here with him to help distract him from his own thoughts.

Just... maybe not as good that it happens to be his most distracting friend.

It's not that it's Katara's fault exactly. It's not like it's anyone's fault. Maybe it's Zuko's? He's not sure, but there are times when he really should be focusing more on the speeches people are pushing on him, or memorizing information about the area they're visiting, but he's a little too busy watching Katara talk to the local kids, or the way her face lights up when a village elder thanks her for her help.

Still, overly distracting or not, he's glad she's here with him, and he forces a small smile as he takes the drink from her, completely missing how stilted the start of the conversation is.

Then again, he's the master of awkward and stilted, so it takes something pretty serious for it smack him in the face. ]

This village wasn't directly under Fire Nation control, they don't have a reason to hate me as much as some of the others do.

[ Cheerful. And look at him being gravely serious while Katara tries to sweetly start a chat with him. ]

[ instinct here is to argue that no one has a good reason to hate you, but katara knows him well enough to know exactly how that conversation will go. so she swallows the remark and shakes her head, curling both hands around the warm teacup as she rests it on the tabletop. if anything, they need to be talking about their plans for tomorrow, or where they're going next, or how zuko plans on winning over some of the more stubborn crowds.

that's what i'd be talking about if i had my priorities in order, at least, katara thinks, and leans back enough to drop her hands into her own lap. ]

You're pretty great, Zuko.

[ she tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear because that's flirting, right??? that's how flirting is done with one of your best friends??, before shooting him a look filled with gentle and earnest warmth. ]

Anyone who spends enough time around you is gonna see that. I did.

[ She's right, he'd absolutely argue with her over that. Or at the very least that opinion wouldn't end up sinking in with him as he continues to believe that even if he isn't his father he has to make up for so much of what he did. He did, after all, inherit his nation. Which means he also inherited all the problems that came with it.

At least he's got support while he struggles with it, and even if he still hasn't really learned to love himself or even particularly like himself most days, it still feels nice to have friends say things like that about him.

Especially from this particular friend. And even if the gentle, warm look is more motherly than particularly smoldering flirting, the hair behind the ear still catches his attention for a moment. Not enough for him to come anywhere close to catching on to what she's aiming for here, but he does see it.

He takes the cup and smiles back at her. ]

Thank you, Katara.

[ he's not getting it. he's absolutely not getting it, and for a split second, katara can't figure out if he's being deliberately obtuse to spare her feelings or if he's just earnestly dense. so she takes another breath, holds it, and approaches this from a new angle. ]

Anyway... I was hoping I could ask the wise and noble Firelord for some advice.

[ He is definitely not getting it. He's also not being obtuse at all, when it comes to girls Zuko's never been good at reading them. And the more blatant the flirting the better if a girl wants it to register on him.

Besides, they've been friends for so long, so maybe it's just her saying nice things because... friendship? Would his other friends say something like that about him?

Not in those words, at least. Not like that. ]

I can't promise my advice will be any good, but I can try. What is it?

Well... there's a boy.

[ she manages to hold eye contact with him for a split second, before she feels her cheeks go a little warm and she cuts her eyes casually to the ceiling. she waits a moment, tries another sip of the tea, and then continues. ]

And I've been trying to tell him how I feel about him for a while, because sometimes I'm sure that he likes me the same way I do him, but then sometimes I'm just not sure, so...

[ katara drags her gaze back down to zuko's face, and she smiles almost sheepishly at him. ]

I was hoping you could provide some male insight.

[ Did Katara think that was going to be obvious to Zuko? That it'd give him the kick he needed to realize that she was talking about him all this time?

... It doesn't quite. He's not a complete idiot. The thought crosses his mind, but the even more (far less) likely thought crosses his mind that she's talking about someone else, and she's honestly asking for his advice as a male friend.

He doesn't really want to give it to her.

Instead of drinking his tea, Zuko spins the cup in his hands, trying not to look as agitated as he feels. ]

I'm not sure I'm really the person you want to ask about that... considering my track record.

[ Mai... oh Mai...

It's also a good excuse to getting out of this.

Or a good way to make it sound like he's not interested. Like an idiot he was. Was it mentioned he wasn't a complete idiot? Well, he's still mostly one. ]

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