jennickels | Avatar the Last Airbender fic: When Pirates Happen

When Pirates Happen

When Zuko is kidnapped by pirates, his friends come to find him. Written for Zutara Month 2022 on tumblr for the prompt: pirates.
585 words | [PG]

The last thing Zuko remembers is standing on the beach at his family's summer home on Ember Island. He'd closed his eyes, soaking up the first rays of the sunrise. The next thing he knows, he's waking up slowly to the swaying of a ship on the sea.

He rolls to his side—head aching—and groans. "What happened?"

"You have come into the hands of Longwei Dong—the greatest pirate in all the Earth Kingdom."

Zuko scoffs. Pirates. Just what he needs. "Never heard of you?"

Longwei sputters then unsheathes his sword, pointing it at Zuko's throat. "You will know me very well indeed when this is over."

"And how exactly do you see this ending?" Zuko stretches his neck from side to side then shakes out his arms. "Because I don't think it's going to go the way you think."

"I think," Longwei says, stabbing his sword with each word, "your family will pay handsomely for you."

Zuko actually laughs at that. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Might have been these fancy clothes you're wearing or that big house with a private beach or-"

Zuko laughs even harder until Longwei thrusts his sword closer. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you'll get nothing for me. There isn't anyone missing me." A pang of sadness settles in his chest at that thought. Maybe if Uncle Iroh knew, he'd do something about it, but Zuko has no clue where Iroh disappeared to after escaping prison.

"Is that so?" Longwei says, breaking through Zuko's thoughts. "In that case, we'll just have to put you to work."

Zuko doesn't like the sound of that, but he doesn't even get off one single fireball before something slams into the back of his head. He falls face-first to the deck with an unsettling thud.

When he wakes up again, he's tied to the main mast as the ship rocks dangerously in a storm. He blinks through the rain, trying to make sense of his surroundings, but his head is killing him and everything is moving too erratically. In the distance, he swears he sees blue skies. It's as if the storm is centralized over the ship.

On deck, the pirates run to and fro. They don't seem to be fighting anything, though. Except maybe the waves of water that keep rushing the deck. Zuko watches with fascination as tendrils of water move around the ship, knocking pirates around like toys just as a whirlwind of mist snakes across the deck, picking up Longfei and tossing him into the sea.

"What the?"

And then suddenly, Zuko is very aware of someone behind him, their breath warm on his neck.

"Don't worry, I'll save you from the pirates," Katara whispers into his ear—her voice deep and sultry, setting butterflies off in his stomach.

She cuts the ropes tying him to the mast, and he stumbles a moment, trying to get his footing on the swaying ship. He looks over his shoulder, but Katara is off fighting a pirate. Well more like demolishing a line of pirates that she easily knocks off the ship. His heart has stopped working and is now stuck in his throat somewhere as he hears her voice echo over and over in his head while those butterflies dance in his stomach.

He swallows hard when she shoots him a smile that jump-starts his heart. Zuko isn't quite sure what's happening, but he doesn't hate it. No, he doesn’t hate it at all.