Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fire Lilies

The Fire Lord’s Palace was usually quiet, yet bustling with servants, guards and the like during the day. They tended to the Lord and Lady of the nation, protecting them, serving them, and upkeeping the Palace. It was dawning outside, and the Fire Lord rose from his bed. He looked down at the red silk sheets, feeling peaceful while looking at his sleeping wife. She looked so wonderful like this, bathed in the rising sunlight, her hair glinting a familiar brown. He dusted a hand over her tan skin, savoring how soft it was under his fingertips. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes lazily. He caught sight of her blue irises, so beautifully clear. It reminded him of water, cool to the touch, that he could swim in forever.

Busy staring into her eyes, he didn’t see her glare of annoyance until she playfully smacked him, batting lightly at his face. He chuckled, then stroked her hair.

“I know you rise with the sun and everything, but you could take to letting me sleep in instead of waking me up every morning,” Katara growled, rolling her eyes.

“Ah, why such anger? You’ve only just woken up, and you're already hurting my feelings,” he feigned hurt as he hung his head.

He heard a bit of rustling and looked up, only to be met with her sitting up in bed, just mere inches away from his face. Even though they had been together for a long time, even five years after the war, he blushed at their proximity. She kissed both his cheeks, though one of them could not feel it, and then carefully laid a smooch on his lips. She then caressed his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wanted to pull her closer, but her protruding stomach prevented bringing her to him.

“How are they?” He asked, bringing a hand down to lay over her clothed abdomen. He rubbed there, just a second, and felt a kick.

“They’re doing just fine. I think there’s a firebender in there; they’re awake, even before I am, just like you,” She gave him another tender kiss and smirked into it, attempting to pull him back into the sheets and trying to convince him to go back to bed.

“Conniving temptress, you will not take me today!” Zuko exclaimed, freeing himself from her grasp with difficulty.

She pouted as he rose from the bed to get dressed. He stood and laid a peck on her forehead before walking to his wardrobe to pick an outfit for the day. She smiled at him and stretched, reluctantly getting out of bed too. Her back hurt from carrying not one, but two other people along with herself. She sighed and hung her shoulders a bit before straightening them.

Letting out the tense air, she yawned and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he pulled out a formal robe for himself. He felt her stomach pressed against his back and felt as if a flame had risen in his heart. It was warm and tender, not buring. He loved her, so very much.

“We have a long day ahead of us, don’t we?” She asked quietly, rubbing his abdomen and feeling muscles there.

He said nothing, but huffed in amusement at her and she disentangled her hands so he could change. Now having access to the closet, she looked around for something to wear as well. Her wardrobe now consisted of maternal dresses, which, for the most part, all looked the same. She shrugged and chose a gown which had mid-length sleeves and a slight v-shaped neckline. It was red with gold embroidered designs, which made it look like flames licked up the length of the fabric. Upon her neck laid a finely crafted betrothal necklace Zuko had carved for her. She hadn’t expected to get one from him; he was from the Fire Nation, after all. However, he had always respected and was very supportive of her beliefs. It was a red band with an intricate Fire Nation emblem adorning the charm. She dusted her hand over it and smiled to herself.

He had given it to her five years ago, just after he had taken the throne. The wedding was grand. Pakku and Gran Gran had attended with Hakoda, and Sokka brought Suki along. Aang and Toph had been there, too. They all took a bow after she was named Fire Lady, bringing tears to her eyes. These people were her family. They had been through so much together. Why did they bow to her?

She shook herself from her thoughts as Zuko rubbed her back. He had already changed into a deep red silk robe with long sleeves and a matching undershirt. He wore dark charcoal pants below. She noticed that he wasn't wearing his shoulder pads, so today must not be as important as she thought. He put his head atop hers as he stared into the mirror they were in front of, amber eyes wide as he stared at them.

“Agni, you’re so beautiful,” he mused, playing with a strand of her hair.

She blushed, even through their marriage, and took in the sight of them.

“I love you,” she murmured as he pulled away.

She was thankful they had moments like this, living in such bliss and happiness, where they had each other to confide in. She realized, with a pang, that his mother had never been this happy with his father. She had slept in separate rooms, adjoined to Ozai’s. They slept apart, unless he commanded it. They didn’t share love like she did with Zuko. Ursa had escaped back to her home village and made a life there, leaving Zuko and Azula behind with their father.

Katara was glad knowing that would never befall her or Zuko. She glanced down at her stomach, feeling her children grow restless. She made a move to change, but she was slow in her movements. She felt no rush, enjoying the feeling of being in the same room as him making her happy and calm.

As she stood in her state of undress, she felt a sudden need to pee. She made an effort to finish dressing, but found that she couldn’t control it, feeling a few drops run down her leg. She put a hand to her face, rubbing there, sighing very heavily, and craning her neck to see him working on his hair. He was just putting his hairpiece into his topknot.

“Hm, Zuko?” She asked quietly, taking a deep breath to stabilize herself.

“Yes, Katara?” He replied, smoothing out the top of his hair, turning to her.

He saw that she had paled and noticed a river starting to flow down her leg and onto the floor. Immediately, his eyes widened and he felt like he was paralyzed.

“Oh. They’re coming, aren’t they?” He questioned, feeling panicked and dizzy, but trying not to freak out.

She nodded, and he bolted from his seat. He gently handed her the sheet from their bed and as she wrapped herself, he opened the door to their quarters, shouting for assistance, first for servants, then for the midwife.

Katara felt a ringing in her ears and she stood there, feeling like she had vertigo. She felt like she might pass out, but then, Zuko was there to pick her up and lay her on the bed, treating her like fragile glass. There was a lot of commotion in the room, she noticed, but she couldn’t hear anything except his voice and her beating heart, loud in her ears.

The Palace was usually quiet, but at this moment, there were echoes of footsteps and running, whispers of both excitement and urgency.

Chapter Text

Fire Lilies

The room began to clear out as the midwife arrived, ordering everyone who wasn’t essential to leave. The help had been eager to assist the Fire Lady, who was going to provide the nation with two heirs. All the commotion had stressed Katara, and at this point, she was anxious and on edge. She was laid down on the silk, her eyes forced closed tightly.

The midwife, Mishen, was an older woman with white hair and golden eyes. She had aided the birth of both Zuko and Azula, years ago. She was kind and soothing as she caught sight of Katara in panic, instructing her to take deep breaths and center herself.

“It will do you no good to excessively worry, my Lady,” Mishen commented, lifting the sheet that covered Katara.

She carefully guided her legs open, and Katara squeaked helplessly, embarrassed.

“My Lord, if you would like to leave,” Mishen addressed Zuko, who sat next to his wife on the bed, “I suggest you go now. I assure you, Lady Katara will be taken care of.”

Zuko shook his head adamantly and reached to hold Katara’s hand, “I’d rather stay here with her. I am not like my father.”

Mishen nodded slowly, then pulled a chair to sit in front of Katara. She readied everything, taking a damp cloth to Katara’s head, making sure she was comfortable. She also warned Zuko to prepare himself, much to his confusion.

Throughout the six-hour labor, there were what seemed like endless contractions where Katara would grab Zuko’s hand, hard. He became nervous, asking questions as to why the babies hadn’t come yet. Mishen dismissed him, telling him that his mother was in labor for twelve hours before she gave birth to him. He paled, looking at Katara gripping his hand so hard both of their fingers had turned white.

Mishen carefully lifted the sheet again and announced that it was time for the first child to arrive. Zuko nearly fainted, trying to soothe Katara, who was currently yelling expletives at him.

“This is your fault, you monster! Look at what you did to me! Look!” Katara shot, her eyes looking wild.

Zuko winced, trying to comfort her as best he could while she glared at him.

It seemed like time stood still when he heard the first whimper of a baby, then a loud cry. Katara was crying. Well, sobbing. Mishen examined the baby.

“A girl,” Mishen announced, cleaning the baby, then handing her back to Katara, swaddled in a soft red blanket. The baby had dark hair, not quite black. Her eyes were a startling blue, like her mother’s. She had tan skin, he knew, from the way she was pigmented already.

Zuko beamed at his firstborn child, his daughter. He wanted to look at her closer, but Katara growled at him like a polar bear dog when he attempted to move the cloth away to look at the girl’s face. The baby wailed until Mishen guided her to latch to Katara. From there, he could see her face, red and scrunched up. She looked like she had a slight sunburn. Zuko teared up a bit, then looked into Katara’s watery eyes. Their gazes met, then both drifted down to their daughter.

Their moment was cut short when Katara groaned again, grasping at the sheet below her. Zuko quickly replaced them with his hand, striving to comfort her. He felt worried and guilty, especially after what she had accused him of earlier. She looked at him gratefully, having calmed down quite a bit. As much as she could while giving birth, at least.

Minutes later, a second cry broke the air. Mishen inspected his second child, “Another girl,” Mishen declared happily, ”Congratulations Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara, on your two wonderful, healthy girls. May the gods bless you, and them.”

Zuko exhaled, glad that it had gone successfully and no one was injured. Aside from Katara, and his hand, at least.

Two babies screamed this time, the second having woken up the first. Mishen told Katara how to calm them from their stress of being brought into the world. Katara followed her directions, cooing at them and closing her eyes as they quieted.

Zuko studied his second daughter. She had black hair and eyes like his, ones that looked like flames, yet were calm. He knew she had fair skin, and her body was wrinkled and stained red, like her sister.

Zuko spent a long time staring at Katara and his daughters, pride enveloped his heart as the two laid on their mother’s chest. By this point, both had latched and were well fed. They were fast asleep. Mishen sat nearby, ensuring nothing was wrong with Katara as she sighed tiredly. Mishen had cleared Katara medically and said her goodbyes, though she would be staying in a guest room for the next day to monitor the new mother. Mishen bowed dutifully before taking her exit, leaving Katara alone with him and the babies.

The sun had almost set by now. Katara opened her an eye to look at him. He smiled at her, a genuine smile that was filled with love. She couldn’t help but smile weakly back.

“Have you decided on a name?” He asked her, stroking the back of her hand. They had agreed they would each name a baby. He wanted her to go first, for obvious reasons.

“Kya,” she said almost immediately, “For my mother.”

Zuko smiled at her. He kissed her hand lightly, “That’s a perfect name. Kya, firstborn daughter of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Katara. I like the ring of it.”

Katara gave him a lazy smile, staring into his amber eyes with adoration, “What about you? What do you think about this little girl?” She looked down at the other baby.

“I like how Izumi sounds. Like a flowing fountain,” Zuko replied, smiling down at them. Katara yawned and gently tugged his hand.

“I like that. I like that a lot,” she mused, “Come lay with me.”

Chapter Text

Fire Lilies

The first thing Zuko noticed after the twins were born was the absence of his wife at night and early in the morning, even before he had risen. Katara had decided that her way of life in the South Pole was the way she would raise the twins, and that meant that she would take a room for herself and the twins, in order to be there for them as they adjusted to life outside the womb.

Where she was from, there were often many women who had given birth around the same time, and they would help each other during this period, often pitching in to breastfeed other children. They had a sort of maternity bunkhouse where they would all stay together and care for the children until they were stable enough to go back home. However, Katara had declined having a wet nurse, saying that she would rather have a bond with her own children. She had moved to live nearly across the Palace, so Zuko would not be awoken at night by the crying babies. After all, he had a lot of work to do, and it would do no good to keep him up.

However, this did nothing to ease Zuko’s sleep. He had slept next to her for five years since they had married. Although they had slept apart when he went on trips for the Nation, or she had gone to visit family when he could not get away, it had never been so long. He looked over and missed her beside him in the bed. Her body was cool against his, which was often too hot. She balanced him out.

He brushed a hand over her pillow absently, recalling back to two months earlier when she had gone into labor. He knew that this was a hard time for her. He had talked to Mishen often, and she had said Katara was suffering intense sadness after having given birth. Mishen told him it was normal, but still, Zuko felt guilty.

With the birth of his daughters also came the outrage of the people. They had expressed that they disapproved of him marrying a waterbender; after the birth had been announced, there was a lot of unrest at the possibility of having two waterbender children, which meant that there would be no rightful heir. Zuko himself was quite nervous, though he did not make this vocal.

It was the middle of the night, but he found himself out of bed and walking to the opposite side of the Palace, where he knew Katara was staying with the twins. He hadn’t seen her as much as he liked, dealing with the political unrest and outrage within the nation, and more beyond that. He tried to see his daughters more often, but he was often too busy to visit during the day, so he was left to visit them at night, when they were asleep. It had been two full days since he had seen any of them.

He came to her room and stood in front of it for a few moments. He didn’t know what to say to her. She had birthed his children two months ago, and he had barely slept since then. Her absence had made him irritable and lonely. He raised his hand to knock, but heard the muffled sound of crying behind the door, and decided to open the door immediately rather than knock. The room was dark, but the moon peeked through an open window. It was chilly inside the room, he noticed almost immediately.

Zuko spied Katara sitting rigidly on a sofa in the sitting room. She didn’t look up as he entered and closed the door quietly behind him. He wondered if she even knew he was there. He held a small flame in his hand to light the room so he could see her. At this, she raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she sniffled loudly. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept. The bags under her eyes were so dark that they looked like shadows in the dim light.

“Katara?” He whispered, feeling guilt overwhelm him.

She wiped her tears and rushed to him. He wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his robe. He didn’t know what to say, so he just looked down at the top of her head and kissed her there, rubbing his hand soothingly on her back.

She hiccupped a bit, then looked up into his amber eyes. He realized how much he missed waking up to look into the blue pools. Carefully, he led her to the sofa, where he coaxed her to lay down with him. She laid first, facing the cushion, and he laid next to her, spooning her back with his body. She was freezing when he wrapped his arms around her, so he used his body to warm her.

“I miss you,” he said quietly, nuzzling into her neck.

“I… I miss you too,” her voice cracked.

“Will you come back? And bring Kya and Izumi?” he asked, sounding like he was pleading with her.

She sniffled again and was silent, but after a moment, she nodded her head so lightly he almost didn’t notice it. He brought her closer and she relaxed in his arms. It had been such a long time since he held her like this, he thought.

“I’ll stay here with you tonight,” he said in a tone that meant no argument.

She exhaled slowly, and he could tell she was letting sleep claim her already. He studied the back of her head, wishing he could kiss her, but not wanting to disturb what little sleep he knew she was getting. He ran his hands down her spine, like he knew she liked, and she shook in his arms.

“Goodnight, my Lady,” he spoke quietly into her ear, starting to drift off himself.

He didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but he was up in seconds when Katara nearly jumped over the cushion on her side of the sofa to calm their crying children. Zuko smiled as she brought them both into the sitting room and sat on the sofa by his feet. He wasn’t angry at being disturbed from his slumber. In fact, he was rather happy to see his wife holding their children close to her, talking to them in a soft voice. He stared at them, pride welling in his chest. She turned to look at him as she nursed both of them at once, and she looked slightly worn out.

He thought idly that she was such a good mother, and that she was brave for staying with them in her own quarters, when she could so easily have a wet nurse to care for them. He recalled how strong willed she had been when they were traveling, and how she wouldn’t back down from what she thought was right. He sat up and moved close to her, feeling that she was now warm and alert. She sang them a song he had heard as a child, and he wondered where she had learned this Fire Nation lullaby.

As if sensing his surprise, she leant against him when she was finished and mused, “Mishen said your nurse would sing that to you to make you fall asleep.”

He smiled and kissed her cheek. The babies had once again been lulled to sleep, and he wondered if maybe they had inherited his love for her voice. She really was a strong woman. She had stepped up, even where his own mother had lacked.

“I love you,” he proclaimed sweetly.

She let out a tired chuckle, “I love you too.”

He looked around for a crib, and spied one in the corner of the sitting room. It looked unused, and he was confused. She caught his gaze and smiled.

“They sleep with me in the bed. It’s much easier to feed them that way.”

He couldn’t help but smile back at her. She blushed, he could see in the light that poured in the window. The sun was coming up. She thought, even after all these years, his smiles gave her butterflies. He had rarely smiled when they were traveling during the War, and now his smiles were reserved for her and their twins.

She laid a light kiss on his scarred cheek. He didn’t feel there, and all the nerves had been long since dead. He thought he might feel a tickling tingle there, where her lips met his skin, but it was a sensation that was not physical. He had never let anyone else touch his scar, and he was happy that she treated it as a good part of him, and that she wasn't afraid of it. He frowned a bit, and wondered if his daughters would be scared of his face.

Again, she seemed to sense his unease and kissed him there again.

“They won’t be scared of you, Zuko. They won’t see fear when they look at you. After all, you now will be all they’ve ever known. Even I didn’t see you without it in person, and I’m not scared of it.”

He looked at her sadly, and she knew what it meant. When she had seen him in Ba Sing Se and he betrayed her, she then associated the enemy with his face; with his scar. He hung his head a bit.

“You know, I regret it. I regret it every day. I’m sorry I was like that to you… When you opened up to me and I put you down for it. When I took your trust and broke it.”

She looked at him, and he couldn’t read her face.

“I forgave you long ago, Zuko. You don’t need to apologize anymore,” she insisted softly, looking down at the twins, “Do you really think I’d marry you if I hadn’t forgiven you? I wouldn’t have carried our children, and I certainly wouldn’t be here right now. I love you.”

He shivered a little, though he was not cold, and felt a prickle of a tear in his eyes. Was he really about to cry? Gods, he loved this woman.

“I love you more than you’ll ever know. Can we go back to our room? I want to sleep in today,” he asked kindly.

She smooched him on the lips and stood carefully, holding their sleeping twins.

“Of course, Fire Lord Zuko. Lead the way.”