Don’t Be Smug


“Hey, Katara, come look at this!” Zuko shouted into the kitchen.

“What? Is it important, because I’m making dinner for everybody in here right now.”

“I don’t know if you’ll find it ‘important,’ but you might find it a bit interesting to say the least.”

“Your addiction to the computer is starting to worry me you know. Alright I’ll be there in a minute. If it’s something dirty, I swear I’ll kill you.” Katara took one look at the computer screen and screamed.

“WHAT?!”

“…OW! Don’t screech like that.”

“What the heck is that? I’ve never kissed Aang like that before! Gross.”

“It’s a site called-”

“I don’t care what it’s called, how did someone get a photo of me kissing Aang if I never even-”

“KATARA, relax. It’s this cool site called deviantART. People post tons of art and writing here. It’s all fake. Someone drew that picture.”

“But it looks so lifelike. Who drew it? They have one sick mind if they ever thought that I’d do THAT. I’m leaving a nasty comment saying…um…something nasty!” Katara tried to reach for the keyboard, but Zuko pulled it away from her.

“Why would you do that? Someone obviously likes you and Aang together on the show so don’t just bash them.”

“Ugh, fine. Do they have any other pictures of me? You know, where I’m NOT eating face?”

“No, I don’t think so…”

“WHAT?!”

Zuko held his ears. “Stop DOING that. I was just kidding. Jeez. Let me search your name…k…a…t…a…r…a…‘33,264 results for katara.’”

“HA! I bet even YOU don’t have as many as me.”

“Fine. I bet you that I do…z…u…k…o…‘35,784 results for zuko.’”

“WHAT?!”

“OHMYGAWDSTOPTHAT!”

“Sorry, but how do you have so more than me?”

“I know enough about our fanbase to know the answer to that very question. One word: FANGIRLS. They love me Katara. Face it, you’re nothing compared to the scarred Fire Nation Prince.”

Katara sighed. “God, could you be any more conceited?”

“Maybe, but I think I’ll show you something else I found.”

“What are you typing in...Kataang? That’s my ship with Aang on the show. Why would you-oh, that’s a…um…NICE number…I think.”

“Yup, now look.”

“Maiko? Ehh…that’s a small number. Only a little over sixteen hundred.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“What about Zutara? Our ship. How many?”

“Currently we have…woah.”

“What does it say?”

“‘17,765 results for zutara.’”

“Wow, we’re popular.”

“Yup, and it’s going up by hundreds everyday. Apparently it’s ‘Zutara Week’ where our fans submit TONS of work.”

Katara looked at Zuko who had an interesting expression on his face. “What’s with the smug look all of a sudden?”

“I just realized something. I must be extremely popular among our fans.”

“How’s that?”

“I beat the master waterbender, PLUS the Avatar for his gal. Did I also mention all the fangirls?”

Katara rolled her eyes. “Zuko, do you even realize that the only reason they like you is because they feel bad for you?”

Zuko stared at her for a moment, his smile gone. In a small voice he asked, “Then why do they keep calling me ‘smexy’?”