Chapter Text
Peace never comes easily.
The mantra echoes in Katara’s head as she washes the stains out of another one of the acolyte’s orange robes. After weeks, their efforts to restore the Southern Air Temple are finally complete, even if Katara’s duties were primarily focused on doing laundry and making meals.
Of the four Air Temples, Aang had requested that they visit this one last. Katara had a feeling his request stemmed from his last visit to the temple. She remembers the anguish on his face as he viewed the remains of Monk Gyatso and the way he clung to her as she consoled him. It still hurts to think about how alone he had felt, with only she and Sokka there to make up for all he had lost. So she only encourages him when he gathers the strength to see his old home again.
During the first few days of the cleanup, Katara stood by Aang’s side, holding his hand as he viewed the sight where his own people had been erased, leaving him the sole survivor of centuries of tradition. Although there was still underlying sadness in his eyes, Aang looked to her and the acolytes carrying a sense of optimism that he could eventually restore what had been lost.
Now weeks into the endeavor, he no longer needs Katara by his side. While he teaches and meditates with his eager disciples, Katara makes sure to keep them clean and well-fed, as she had been doing since she met Aang five years ago. She doesn’t necessarily enjoy doing chores constantly, but she prefers it to sitting in the corner, watching as the acolytes worship Aang’s every move.
During the past year that the acolytes had been traveling with them, it had taken them four months to stop referring to Katara solely as “the Avatar’s girlfriend.” The phrase angered her to no end, but she kept her reprimands light. She wouldn’t ruin one of the few chances he has at reviving his culture by letting her petty feelings get in the way. Instead, she looked for ways to distance herself from the group to avoid conflict, which gave her plenty of time for self-reflection.
In the nearly five years since the war ended and Aang had defeated Ozai, peace had been difficult to bring and even harder to maintain. For months on end, she and Aang traveled, working to restore the delicate balance between the nations and rebuild what had been lost to a century of fighting. Aang met with ministers, sorting out treaties and trade deals and Katara spent her time in villages, healing those who were sick and wounded from the war.
It pained her especially to see small children, whose homes had been torn apart, suffer so greatly. In their faces, she saw herself, a young child who’d just lost the person she looked up to most at the hands of a Fire Nation soldier. She vowed to herself that she would never let such senseless violence occur again in her lifetime. And she knows that Aang is the key to making sure that her vow is honored.
Not only had Aang brought peace to the nations, but he’d brought it to Katara’s life as well. With him, she no longer needs to fight as she did when she was younger.
Aang has it all planned out. Around a month ago, as they flew on Appa’s back to the Southern Air Temple, he detailed to her his aspirations. In a few years, they would settle down and have children, and he’d continue to teach the acolytes the culture of his people while she could practice her healing. As he told her this, she couldn’t help but smile softly at his excitement. He’d gone from a young boy with no family to an adolescent on the cusp of adulthood with a bright future ahead of him. And she is glad to have helped bring that change to his life.
Despite her happiness for him, her smile didn’t fully reach her eyes. The life Aang described to her probably would have pleased her more when she was younger, before she had seen the world. What girl wouldn’t want to be loved by the Avatar for the rest of her life while she cared for their children?
Something inside her told her, no, she wouldn’t want that anymore. A fourteen-year-old girl spoke in the back of her head, reminding her what it felt like when she left the South Pole all those years ago. Away from home for the first time, she saw all the possibilities available to her, all of the systems in the world in need of change. “I want to fight,” she had bellowed to Pakku, daring for a challenge, for a chance to prove that she could make it.
She remembers the pride running through her veins when she was declared a master, silently calling out for more.
But, even then, she knew she wouldn’t be a young and restless teenage girl forever. In the years since, the four nations have seen a tremendous amount of change. The world no longer has a need for fighters, it needs some who could heal its wounds. It needs someone to help the Avatar maintain peace and balance, and she will only be able to do that if she stays by Aang’s side. Maybe she won’t be satisfied, but at least she’ll be happy. And so will Aang, and that’s what matters most.
“Hey Katara!” She turns from the wash bin to see Aang bounce towards her.
“Oh hey, Aang.” She does her best to keep her voice cheerful, despite the jumble of thoughts running through her head, leaving her tired and confused after attempting to sort them out. If he notices something is off, he doesn’t point it out.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?”
“Of course, sweetie. I’ve pack most of our stuff, we should be ready to go in the morning.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see everyone again. It’s feels like it’s been forever since we met with them.”
She nods in agreement, her fingers delicately threading a needle so she can stitch a tear in a pair of pants. Despite her inner turmoil, she is genuinely excited to leave the air temple and pick up their friends in the Earth Kingdom for their annual reunion on Ember Island.
Since the end of the war, they’d dedicated a few weeks of summer to putting their duties aside and wasting their days on the beach. Well, most of them put aside their duties. The Fire Lord insists on bringing his work wherever he goes.
Katara understands Zuko’s dedication towards helping the people of his country but she’s afraid that he’s burning himself out.
In his latest letters to her, she could sense that he was more stressed than usual, even if he didn’t want to admit it. She hopes he will take advantage of his time away from the palace or else she’ll have to confront him about his self-destructive behaviors. Zuko has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, and she doesn’t want to see one of her closest friends turn into a shadow of himself.
A couple days later, Zuko sits on the shore outside of his Ember Island residency. His fingers rake through the sand while his eyes scan the sky for signs of a flying bison.
Earlier that morning, he’d dismissed his servants and guards to their own accommodations on the island, telling them that he would expect his friends to arrive soon. This has been the case every year since the end of the war, based upon the compromise he and his advisors had reached.
They argued for a staff, which he deemed highly unnecessary, no matter the political status of his fellow guests. In the end, he agreed to let his staff clean and keep watch while he’s alone on the island but insisted that they leave for their own vacations once his companions arrive. He’d been there for roughly three days already, adjusting to doing his work away from the palace for the first time in a year. He no longer has meetings to attend, but there is no shortage of paperwork to be filled out or read. No matter his distance from the palace, his duties follow him everywhere.
Over the course of the years, his work as Fire Lord never seemed to get easier to handle. If anything, it feels like more problems arise every time he thinks he’s making progress.
While public opinion of him has certainly improved, considering the number of recent assassination attempts is down to zero, there are still many who protest his rule. Recently, parents sent him and many teachers strongly worded letters about how the change in school curriculum to include less imperialist propaganda is going to be detrimental to their children’s learning.
He doesn’t have much support inside the castle either. Most of his advisors were conservative and constantly disagreed with him on how he should run the nation. With Uncle Iroh in the Earth Kingdom, Azula seeking medical treatment, and Mai out of the picture, Zuko relies on letters for company. But letters can’t replace people, so most of the time, he finds himself alone.
Even worse, his advisors constantly remind him of his lonely state by asking him about marriage prospects. Being the young ruler of an unstable nation is already presents itself to be an issue, and it is one they argue could be relieved slightly if he has a partner and plans for an heir. Some of them even tried to appeal to him by saying that marrying a woman of a different nation could lessen the tension between nations.
He knows they’re right. All eyes are watching the Fire Nation, hands resting on their weapons in case Zuko slips up one day. Negotiating a marriage with a noble woman of another nation would likely ease some of the hard feelings felt towards his nation.
It’s not that Zuko dislikes the idea of marrying outside of his nation. In fact, he is far more welcome to it than his advisors could possibly imagine. When he envisions himself getting married, there is always a particular pair of blue eyes staring back at his own. A pair so blue that they could never come from the Fire Nation.
But the person those eyes belong to had found love in someone else. So Zuko would have to find someone else too.
He doesn’t want to be in a loveless relationship with someone he barely knows, but he’ll do it for his people. The Fire Nation needs a powerful leader with a strong companion by their side, and Zuko will ensure that it happens, even if he feels sick at the thought of a faceless woman standing beside him at the altar. Maybe the two of them could even become friends, like Uncle and his wife had been.
Zuko assumes his own friends will start marrying soon too. He has a feeling that Sokka is going to propose to Suki during their trip this year and he’s certain that she’ll respond with a resounding “yes.” They deserve to be happy together. All good people deserve to spend the rest of their lives with the ones they love. Just like Katara would spend her years with Aang.
His fist clenches at the thought of Katara and Aang together. Smiling with their arms wrapped around each other. Her eyes crinkling as she lets out a laugh. He’s aware that she deserves only the kind of love that the Avatar can give her. But that doesn’t stop her from plaguing his dreams most nights, the fantasies of her touch lingering when he awakes the next morning.
He can’t escape it, the way pieces of her persist in every corner of his life. Some days, he won’t look in the mirror, the star-shaped scar on his chest only reminds him of her. For the past few summers, he fell into the beds of anyone he could, trying to rid his feelings for her, but nothing could change the fact that he was hopelessly infatuated with Katara.
But Zuko knows that he can't entertain his selfish desires. The Fire Lord should be focused on bettering his country, rather than worrying about his schoolboy crush on the Avatar’s girlfriend. For the sake of the four nations and Katara’s own happiness, he’s accepted that he must suffer in silence, knowing that with time he’ll move on. It’s the most honorable path to choose.
Besides, he had been able to keep this a secret for years, he’ll certainly be able to keep it for a few more weeks.
The Avatar and his companions arrive around noon to find the Fire Lord waiting on the beach for them. Aang sets Appa down on the shore before jumping off and racing to greet his friend with the others following suit.
“Zuko!” Aang engulfs the older boy in a hug, knocking the wind out of him. When they step apart, Zuko is mildly surprised to find that Aang had grown a few inches taller than him in the last year. He grins at the younger boy’s cheerful attitude before turning to the rest of the group.
Sokka and Suki greet him next, each giving him a hug of their own.
“How have you been? I’m sure the palace is in shambles without me,” Suki teases, referring to her time as a member of Zuko’s guard with some of the other Kyoshi Warriors. The group of elite female warriors serve as Zuko’s personal guard in the palace, with members alternating who spends time in the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. On Ember Island, Zuko usually brings his Fire Nation guards, giving the Kyoshi Warriors time to spend together, minus Suki, of course.
“The Fire Nation certainly misses you, but I couldn’t keep you away from Sokka for too long. Every letter he sent was just him complaining about being lonely.”
“Hey! I didn’t complain all the time. You’re completely exaggerating,” Sokka whines, crossing his arms.
Suki turns to him and pats his cheek. “Oh, sweetheart, we both know it’s true. There’s no need to lie.” Sokka doesn’t even try to resist, a flush spreading on his face as he accepts his girlfriend’s words.
“Long time, no see Sparky.” Toph says with a punch to his shoulder, her usual greeting for him.
“Toph, you’ve never been able to see.”
“Exactly,” a wicked grin settles on her face.
Katara is the last person to greet him, but he can’t even overthink the reasoning behind that because she leaps up and wraps her arms arounds his neck. His heart skips a beat and he timidly places his hands around her waist. He doesn’t want to overstep his boundaries, but she relieves this fear by tightening the hug. Zuko almost sighs aloud when he inhales the scent of her hair. They stay together for a few seconds longer, and a small, selfish part of him doesn’t want to let her go.
She pulls back and tilts her head up to look at him with large eyes, and Zuko struggle to breathe correctly. His pulse quickens and he has to look away from her bright smile, for he fears he might do something he’ll regret. Just one smile from Katara would be enough to make him jump into the ocean in his full royal attire if she asked. If she tries harder, he might even be willing to give up his country for her. But then again, he thinks to the scar on his chest, hasn’t he always been?
“Hi Katara.”
“Zuko, it’s been so long, I’m so glad to see you!”
Logically, he knows that she probably greeted all their friends like this, but that doesn’t stop the blood from rushing to his face. He scratches the back of his neck.
“It’s good to see you too, Katara. It’s actually great to see all of you, I wish we could have spent more time-” he says to the rest of the group.
Toph cuts him off. “Oh Sparky, we know you can’t live without us, but there’s no need to get all sappy right now.”
“Of course, Toph. I’ll try to do better,” he quips back.
“That’s what I love to hear. The rest of you, take notes.”
Turning his attention away from Toph, Zuko’s grin falls slightly when he sees that Katara has returned to Aang’s side. Their hands had found their way together and the sight hurts Zuko more than he cares to admit. He needs to get himself together. It’s been years, and Katara and Aang are happier than ever. There’s no use pining after a woman in a healthy relationship. He promises himself that during their time on the island, he’ll work harder to move on from Katara, otherwise he risks losing her as a friend too.
He clears his throat. “Okay guys, the house is all set up for you, we can go whenever you’re ready.”
“Whoo! Let’s do this, guys,” Sokka cheers. He races to the house, Suki’s mouth wide open with laughter as he drags her along with him. The others start running after them, Toph playfully pushing and shoving Aang as they speed up. Only Katara notices someone is missing and looks back to see Zuko still standing where they left him.
“Are you coming Zuko?” she calls.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second.” He answers, jogging to where she stands waiting for him.
That evening, Katara is preparing food in the kitchen when Zuko walks in. He settles beside her and starts chopping vegetables, and they fall into a comfortable silence as they make dinner together.
Their steady routine came an idea from when they were younger and Zuko noticed that Katara did all the cooking and chores. During the war, Zuko pointed this out to her, but she refused to let him do anything about it, arguing that she didn’t want to stress out the others too much before the comet. She could tell he disagreed with her, so she allowed him to assist her in her chores when he got the chance. Although she wouldn’t admit it at the time, she enjoyed his company when they washed dishes together or when he sat watching her as she sewed a tear in Toph’s tunic. However, when the war ended, she agreed that the others could do more, so they assigned roles for different tasks.
For meals, Aang covered breakfast, usually just cutting up fruit and serving it to them. Sokka and Suki took hours to make lunch every day, but everyone knew they spent most of the time doing things other than cooking. Then, Katara and Zuko made dinner together. Somehow Toph always avoided meal preparation and simply appeared when the food was ready to eat. Katara had considered calling her out on it, but decided it was probably for the best, considering the cleanliness of Toph’s hands. She knows Zuko won’t confront Toph about it either, it’s clear he has a soft spot for the younger girl.
As they prepare the food, Katara catches her eyes drifting towards Zuko. She blames it on his new haircut. The ends of his dark hair now brush against his jawline, reminiscent of his appearance when he first joined their group as a teenager.
But the rest of him certainly doesn’t resemble a teenager. Despite her growth in height, he’s still a full head taller than her. With sharp cheekbones and broad shoulders, she can’t deny that he’s attractive. She tells herself that she’s simply acknowledging his handsomeness in a purely objective fashion.
She knows she isn’t the only person that finds him good looking, so she’s curious as to why he hasn’t been in a real relationship since he ended things with Mai three years ago. Mai had already moved on from him, going through multiple relationships before finding love with Ty Lee, but she had yet to hear the same of him. Someone of such high status and looks is bound to have plenty of people pursuing them.
Maybe he still hadn’t gotten over Mai. Or maybe he was in a relationship and just hadn’t told Katara. It’s not like they discuss their love lives much when they write to each other. But her stomach churns at the thought of him being in relationship without telling her.
She breaks the silence. “So, how were the past couple of days here? You know, you’re never going to get that peace and quiet back as long as Sokka’s here.”
“Oh um, they were fine. I mainly worked in the study.”
She frowns, “Zuko you can’t just spend the whole time here working. You need to take a break, or you’ll make yourself sick with stress.”
He turns towards her, taking in her crossed arms and worried expression. “I’m fine, Katara. I was just doing some paperwork since I had free time.”
“Okay, sure,” she uncrosses her arms. “Just promise me that you’ll take some time off for yourself.”
“Okay, I promise.”
They put the finishing touches on the plates and bring the platters of food to the table outside where the others are already seated.
“Finally, I’m starving,” Toph exclaims with her feet on top of the table. Katara laughs to herself, imagining if Ozai could see what his outdoor dining table was being subjected to by a petite earthbender with bad manners. She briefly considers commissioning a portrait of the sight and sending it to him in prison.
Zuko and Katara set down the food and take their seats at the table. As the sun goes down and they enjoy their meal, Katara’s worries from the previous days slip away. She can think about destiny and her duties another time, but on Ember Island, surrounded by the ones she loves, she momentarily finds herself at ease.