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Chapter Text

One Year Post-War

Katara was pretty sure she was cursed.

That was her best guess at explaining her current predicament.

She must have unknowingly angered a spirit somewhere; maybe it was just that morning when she was leaning over the edge of the ship that brought her to Ember Island and she accidentally dropped her apple core into the ocean.

An anti-littering spirit was now getting its revenge.

Because surely something supernatural was at play. If Katara had been acting of her own free will she would have never, never done this.

She supposed she might be due some misfortune anyway. Her life since the war ended had been remarkably pleasant and calm, tucked away with her family at the South Pole, with the heartwarming sights of her revitalized tribe and a couple young students eager to learn waterbending from a master.

Maybe it was just a matter of time before things took a turn for the worse.

Or perhaps the Fire Nation is to blame. Her problems only started when she arrived here, or more specifically when a certain firebender arrived.

At first, she was thrilled when an annual trip to Ember Island was suggested. Just their friends, gathering to enjoy each other’s company after the anniversary of the comet. A promise to always make time for each other even though their duties kept them apart for most of the year.

She was ecstatic when everyone actually managed to clear their schedules and confirm their attendance and make travel arrangements.

She should have known it was too good to be true.

It started out perfectly fine. Maybe the curse hadn’t set in yet when Katara and Sokka disembarked from the boat that had agreed to take them right to Ember Island’s harbor in exchange for Katara’s assistance with the rougher waters.

Aang, Toph, and Suki had been waiting for them at the gates to the grand beach house estate and had greeted them as enthusiastically as she could have hoped for.

After much shrieking (Sokka), hugging (Aang), laughing (Toph), and slobbery kisses (Appa, but also Suki and Sokka) they’d gone down to the beach. No signs of supernatural interference there, as Katara absolutely destroyed all her friends in a game she was calling “wave monster.”

It was while she was basking in her victory and everyone else stayed in the water that she finally heard a noise from up near the house and turned to see that the last member of their group had arrived.

She was on her feet and running up the steps to the house before she had consciously decided to do so (the first sign that she was not fully in control of herself).

And there was Zuko, looking quite regal in his fancy clothes and with the sunlight behind him making him almost glow. He grinned widely upon seeing her, and Katara’s stomach did something strange, presumably a reaction to swimming so shortly after eating lunch.

The first thing she noticed was his hair. Half up in a top knot and what was left down reached just past his chin. It wasn’t that much longer than when she last saw him, but the difference was striking. He looked older. Somehow it hadn’t occurred to Katara to imagine him looking any different than her memory, but he did. Noticeably.

From the letters they’d exchanged since his coronation, she got the impression he was struggling a bit with his new role even if he never quite said as much. She’d been looking forward to seeing him in person where he wouldn’t be able to deflect so easily. However, determining his general well-being would require closer study, because judging from just his physical appearance Fire Lording had treated him quite well.

She supposed it made sense, given that when she knew him before they were underfed and overstressed. Zuko was presumably still overstressed, but palace life certainly seemed to agree with him.

When she reached him, she followed her instinct and momentum and barreled right into his chest.

My compliments to the royal exercise regimen. That thought was presumably caused by the curse.

Katara threw her arms around him and he laughed, lifting her off her feet.

He set her down and his smile was almost as wide as her own, if a little embarrassed. Katara knew he was not usually one for grand displays of emotion.

It was then that she experienced a moment of true insanity, or possibly heat stroke, or someone was bloodbending her, or as she was now quite convinced: a spirit had cursed her. Because she most definitely did not approve of her two hands lifting towards Zuko’s smiling face and running her fingers right through his silky hair. Slipping in at the base of his skull and combing through to the ends.

In the future maybe she’d be grateful to whatever forces were controlling her limbs, because at least now she knew what his hair felt like (soft as a newborn penguin), but in the moment she only wanted lightning to strike her down.

As soon as her fingers slid out of his hair Katara’s whole body froze, which was probably for the best as it clearly couldn’t be trusted, and she looked into Zuko’s comically shocked face.

“I’m--uh--just…” she knew she needed to explain herself but had no idea how to end that sentence. I’m just…an aspiring hairdresser? Checking you for lice? A lunatic who can’t keep her hands to herself?

“It’s a Water Tribe thing.” Tui and La please forgive me. “When someone’s been away for a long time that’s how you greet them.”

If an upside existed to having an imperialist nation decimate your homeland and suppress all international knowledge sharing for 100 years, it was that Zuko would have a hard time catching her in this lie, stupid as it was.

Zuko blinked a couple times, in understandable confusion. “Oh, okay.”

Then, to Katara’s mortification, he raised his own hands and slipped them behind Katara’s neck and into her frizzy, sweaty hair.

“Like this?” He didn’t quite comb his fingers through, thank La; his hand getting stuck in her tangles would have been too much to bear, but brushed his hands through as best he could.

Katara’s face must have been the color of a tomato. She nodded and made a squeak that was meant to be an affirmative.

It was then that she noticed Mai standing behind him.

Oh, good, maybe she’d be stabbed to death.

When the others finally caught up, they welcomed Zuko with an enthusiasm that easily matched Katara’s, which she hoped would make hers stand out less.

Then she had to bury her face in her hands when Zuko ended his hug with Sokka by giving his wolf-tail a little tug.

—

Katara took quick inventory of the kitchen supplies and started setting out pans and food for dinner, using the familiar tasks to settle herself.

She was a little thrown before, when Zuko and Mai arrived, but that was surely perfectly natural. It was only normal to be nervous after not seeing someone for a long time and then also seeing their girlfriend who you’ve only known as a knife wielding supporter of fascism.

Okay, that’s unfair.

She’d heard all about Mai’s defiance of Azula in support of Zuko, and she’d been polite (if rather formal) in the few interactions they’d had. Katara was completely willing to start on a clean slate with Mai. And now would be the perfect opportunity.

Although that might be an uphill battle after the way Mai’s eyes had narrowed at Katara’s admittedly odd greeting of Zuko. She didn’t know Mai well enough to interpret the nuances of her glares, but she could guess why Mai was unhappy with a girl throwing herself into the arms of her boyfriend. A suspicion supported by the possessive hand Mai seemed to keep on Zuko’s arm or wrist or shoulder for the rest of the day.

To Katara’s horror, she’d come to the conclusion that Mai saw her as a threat to their relationship. Which was absolutely ridiculous. Katara would just show Mai that that idea was patently absurd.

Also absurd was the tiny feeling of disappointment Katara felt when she first saw Mai in the courtyard. Not because of anything improper! She just hadn’t been expecting Zuko to bring a plus one to their beach vacation. She certainly did not have designs on Mai’s boyfriend, so she would appreciate an end to the sharp looks. Mai’s presence only rankled because it meant she’d have less of Zuko’s attention.

Okay, so that sounded bad, but she didn’t mean it like that.

Bottom line, Katara was completely happy with and unfazed by Mai’s presence. She’d repeat that until it was true.

And to help herself along she’d volunteered to prepare their meal.

After she’d announced that she’d get dinner started, she received several offers to help, to her great surprise. Perhaps some things did change.

But she waved them off, perfectly happy and in fact rather excited to be cooking for the group again, not to mention in need of some time to herself. Being in charge of meals was never a chore Katara minded much, and now she was positively nostalgic for it.

She filled a pot with water and went to light the stove when she remembered another quirk of Fire Nation kitchens, or at least this one.

She’d wanted to slip into a routine to relax her, but on Ember Island, her routine had included the help of a firebender.

Luckily for her, Zuko apparently assumed that her dismissal of help did not include him, which he was of course correct about. He appeared in the doorway to the kitchen and hovered a bit awkwardly.

His familiar awkwardness was reassuring (he was still the same shy Zuko) and at the same time seemed comical on his broader, taller frame. Someone who looked like that shouldn’t nervously shrug so much.

Great, now she was thinking about his shoulders again.

He still hadn’t moved from the doorway, perhaps unsure if she wanted him there. 

She was actually very pleased to see him, so the fact that a bowl immediately slipped from her grasp and smashed on the tile floor was down to the curse.

That finally spurred them both into action and they quickly swept up the shards. When Zuko gestured to the pot of water with a tilt of his head and said “May I?” Katara just nodded.

From there it was much smoother sailing, both of them stepping into their roles easily. She chopped vegetables while he did the rice, then they wordlessly switched places as Katara cleaned the fish and Zuko took over roasting it in a pan.

She had to fight a smile when a dish appeared next to her exactly when she needed it, or when she met his eye and he stopped adding spices to the vegetables that were already plenty spiced. His guilty smirk made her stomach clench with nostalgia.

This was the closeness that she was most worried wouldn’t survive a year apart.

In those tense weeks on Ember Island before the comet, they had been so attuned to each other. Whether sparring full out or doing chores, Katara remembered being taken aback at first by how seamlessly they worked together.

She’d asked him about it once, about how he always seemed to know exaclty where to be, and his only answer had been, “I don’t know. I guess I pay attention.”

She couldn’t wait to spar with him again.

When the food was prepared and they sat down at the large dining table, she was brought back to reality by Zuko’s choice of seat. Not next to Katara like he did last year, but next to Mai. As was proper.

Her eye was drawn by Mai’s hand resting on Zuko’s shoulder and Katara resisted the impulse to roll her eyes.

We get it. You’re a couple.

When Katara glanced up Mai’s eyes were on her, causing Katara to quickly turn away, face heating at being caught staring.

In analyzing her own discomfort, Katara came to the conclusion that she was not jealous of Mai. Katara had grown used to being Zuko’s partner by default. In anything that might be done in pairs, it was just assumed that it would be Katara and Zuko.

Now Zuko’s first choice of confidant, or sparring partner, or shopping buddy would be Mai.

Which was fine! Katara had no problem with that. It would just take some getting used to, was all.

What she didn’t like was having to feel uncomfortable around one of her best friends.

Katara was not some… homewrecker and she very much resented feeling cast in that role.

She knew she dug herself a bit of a hole with that hair thing when they first arrived, so she’d just have to make it perfectly clear that Mai had nothing to worry about.

Her resolve to show just how little she was interested in Zuko as more than a friend hit a snag when they all adjourned to the courtyard for some after dinner sparring.

It was Sokka’s fault of course, for teasing Zuko that his hair was long enough that Zuko couldn’t be mad at Sokka if he accidentally cut some off with his fancy space sword.

Zuko grinned and reached up to tie back his hair.

Katara must have let her guard down too much, because the curse came back in full force.

Katara was mesmerized by the simple action. His hands undoing the string, then the way his arms moved as he gathered the rest of his hair to tie back, how he dropped his arms and rolled his neck once he finished.

Zuko’s eyes met hers and Katara immediately turned away blushing furiously.

What was wrong with her? She couldn’t just ogle her friends!

For the love of Tui and La. Katara really needed to meet other boys her age.

--

The next morning, Katara’s misfortune extended to waking up disgustingly early, which then led to her eating breakfast with just Mai and Zuko. It did not escape Katara’s notice that Mai’s chair was scooted rather closer to Zuko’s than necessary.

They managed to have a not entirely uncomfortable conversation about Katara’s future plans and where she might go now that she’s been feeling a bit restless at home.

Katara’s attention was pulled from the place on the table where Mai and Zuko’s forearms rested, almost touching, by Zuko saying her name. Had the curse affected her hearing?

“Hmm?”

“I asked if you’d considered visiting the Fire Nation again,” said Zuko. “If you’re planning to travel, you could come to the Caldera for a bit?”

Katara had considered this. She’d only recently decided she’d like to work abroad again, but the idea of seeing Zuko, and Toph and Aang, more often was very appealing.

Plus, if Katara wanted to be involved in directing relief and reconstruction efforts, which she did, the Fire Nation would be a reasonable place to be.

“Of course,” Mai added, her voice was gentler than Katara had ever heard it. “We’d love to have you in the capital.”

Mai’s words and expression were polite, but Katara felt as if Mai might as well have held a dagger to her throat.

“I’m going to the North Pole!” Katara blurted out. Sure, why not.

It wasn’t a bad idea, but certainly not one Katara had decided on before the words left her mouth.

Zuko looked surprised and said, “Oh, okay.” Mai gave a small hum, looking mostly bored again, but Katara assumed that was Mai’s version of smug.

Katara just sighed and took a bite of fruit.

An apple in the ocean surely wasn’t enough to warrant all this. Smart money was on it being Ember Island’s fault. Good thing she’d only agreed to visit every summer for the rest of her life.

Chapter Text

Two Years Post-War

Katara drummed her fingers on the wooden railing where she leaned out over the veranda and watched the sky for any trace of her friends. Her tapping increased in speed until Sokka shot her a look and she stilled.

He was hardly any better though, jerking up and pointing every two minutes, thinking he saw Appa soaring towards them.

So far what he’d actually seen was half a dozen birds, two very fluffy clouds, and one particularly bison-shaped leaf.

She couldn’t blame him for being excited though, not when she was practically bouncing on her heels herself. Plus that leaf had been pretty convincing for a second.

Katara might have expected to approach the prospect of another trip to Ember Island with a touch more equanimity than last year. But from the minute she stepped off the ship she’d sailed on from the North Pole, her racing heartbeat and sweaty palms told her she was just as much at the mercy of the strange spell of the island as ever.

To her great annoyance, she actually felt even more anxious now than she had a year ago. She was dealing with the regular excitement of seeing her friends in addition to lingering embarrassment from last summer and the worry that this year would be no better.

She couldn’t help but cringe when she remembered her behavior from one year ago; even as she was still stubbornly blaming it on general Fire Nation curses, or spiritual interference, or possibly some questionable seal jerky she ate on the journey over…

But this year she had a plan. Her thinking being that even if it was just the island itself making her so on edge (and really, what else could it be?) at least she’d be prepared for it now.

In analyzing what went wrong last year, she’d come up with a three step plan to counteract the strange spell that she could already feel now that she’d set foot back in the Fire Nation after another year away.

Step 1: Become friends with Mai. Actual friends. Much of Katara’s discomfort last year was the result of awkwardness between her and Mai. She’d put a stop to those cold looks and arched eyebrows by becoming Mai’s new BFF. By the end of the week, they’d be braiding each other’s hair and sharing tips on where best to conceal a blade on your person. (Katara assumed that was Mai’s preferred type of girl talk.)

Step 2: Return to familiar patterns by suggesting more group activities. For some reason, the curse was strongest when Katara was one-on-one with people. Safety in numbers. Don’t be alone too much with Zuko. Or, uh, anyone.

Step 3: Act fucking normal. Self-explanatory.

Katara craned her neck to scan the clouds for any sign of Appa, but froze when she noticed that she was a mirror image of Sokka standing on the other side of the porch. Acting like Sokka was a clear violation of step three.

Not to mention, Sokka was impatiently waiting to see his girlfriend and Katara did not like the implications that came to mind by behaving too similarly.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly, forcing herself to appear relaxed, at least on the outside.

She would not let weird island curses get the better of her. She’d helped end a war! Defeated Azula during Sozin’s Comet! She could handle whatever mysterious power on Ember Island was determined to make her look like an idiot.

She’d been studying and training and teaching at the North Pole for the better part of a year now and she liked to think she’d matured a bit since last summer. She’d acted as a representative of the Southern Water Tribe, helped train new waterbenders, and studied the properties of the Spirit Oasis. By her own estimation, she was hardly an easy target for supernatural influence.

To keep herself focused, Katara had come up with a mantra while sailing from the North Pole. I am calm, dignified, and poised. I am a master waterbender and healer. I am stronger than curses. I will not touch Zuko’s hair no matter how soft it looks. I am calm, dignified, and poised.

She turned to lean with her back to the railing, forcing nonchalance, only to immediately whip back around when Sokka yelped and leapt down the steps into the courtyard.

He was right this time (23rd time’s the charm?) and Katara walked (calmly, unhurried) to join him as Appa descended from sky to land in front of them with a soft thud.

Aang and Toph hopped down first, followed by Suki and Zuko, who they’d picked up on their way. Katara gave Aang, Toph, and Suki quick hugs, then darted under Zuko’s outstretched arm, not even sparing him a glance, as she leaned up to wait for Mai to exit the saddle. Katara was determined to put her plan in place from minute one.

When Mai didn’t appear after a few seconds, she whirled back to see a confused Zuko watching her curiously.

“Where’s Mai?” Katara demanded.

Zuko’s hand went to the back of his neck, slipping under his now shoulder length hair.

“Oh, Mai actually isn’t coming. She’s visiting her family for a few weeks.”

Katara frowned. How was she supposed to befriend Mai if she wasn’t even here?

Well played, Ember Island.

Zuko cleared his throat. “…But, uh, it’s good to see you?” He sounded unsure, and Katara couldn’t blame him. So much for getting off on the right foot.

With a resigned sigh, Katara marched forward to give Zuko a brief hug. Yes, he’d gotten even taller.

She ignored the way her stomach flipped when she felt his hands on the skin of her arms.

I am calm, dignified, and poised.

---

“Move it a little lower.”

Katara followed her brother’s instruction with a sigh and pulled the brim of her hat further down over her face. “Except now I can’t see.”

“Well not that low, then. Like this.” Sokka gestured to his own hat, perched on his head at a jaunty angle.

Katara rolled her eyes and adjusted her hat so it sat normally. For her it hardly mattered if the hat obscured her face. Firstly, because Katara was not the recognizable figure that some in their party were and secondly, because this hat had a piece of gauzy fabric hanging down from it, not unlike what she’d worn when she dressed as the Painted Lady.

Today was a Summer Market Day in the main town square on Ember Island, where in addition to the usual shops, more vendors would set up stalls with treats and souvenirs. Zuko remembered it fondly from his childhood and suggested they all go (fun group outing: check), to which everyone quickly agreed.

Of course, for some of the group, walking around an open marketplace was not such an easy task. Aang and Zuko tended to receive a lot of attention when they went out in public. Aang never minded much, but Zuko was uncomfortable with being fawned over. Plus, as Suki kept reminding them with increasing exasperation, it was a security threat.

A condition of Zuko’s ability to visit Ember Island without any guards from the Capital was that he maintain a low profile and agree to defer to the resident Kyoshi Warrior when she saw fit.

So a plan was agreed upon. They’d go to the market in disguises. The disguises were hats.

Obviously, “Operation: Hats” had been Sokka’s plan and Katara wondered if the Caldera guards would be so willing to let their Fire Lord go unsupervised if they knew how easily Suki was persuaded by a little flattery from her brother.

Katara fully supported this group activity, stupid hats notwithstanding, because it complied perfectly with her plan to thwart the curse.

So far, her efforts had been a bit mixed. Obviously, Mai’s absence was a huge blow to the strategy.

On the positive side, group activities and meals were going well. She’d yet to inadvertently fondle anyone or break any pottery. And if she found herself sitting with Zuko more often than not, it was probably just habit. It was during these times that Katara had to remind herself that it was very unfortunate that Mai hadn’t come and that in fact she really wished she had.

So it was in their casual Fire Nation clothes and less casual oversized hats that they walked down the hard packed dirt road to the main town square.

When they reached the edge of the town center Katara was impressed by how crowded it was, both with people and vendors. It was hard to believe the population of Ember Island could support such an event. It was like a little festival, and the smells of delicious food and the sounds of live music lured them in.

Predictably, Sokka insisted they first get some food, which led to trying as many different types of candied fruits, roasted meats, and fried rice cakes as they could. They also ate something with cubes of raw fish, which Zuko claimed was a local favorite. Toph and Aang skipped that part on the basis of “it seeming gross” and “being vegetarian”, respectively.

After eating their fill they wandered a bit aimlessly, letting themselves be drawn to whatever vibrant colors or sparkly trinkets caught their eyes.

Katara stopped in front of a table selling hand-made jewelry; simple but elegant items mostly made of leather string and beads. A bracelet with turquoise beads on either side of a smooth white shell caught her eye. She picked it up to examine it more closely. It was pretty but not something she necessarily needed.

It wasn’t expensive, but she never wore much jewelry aside from her mother’s necklace.

She set it back down, only for a hand to reach from behind her and pick it up again.

“I’ll buy this, please,” Zuko said to the young man behind the table.

Katara whirled around and met his sheepish smile with her own wide eyes.

“I never got you anything for your birthday a few weeks ago,” he said, with a little shrug. “I wasn’t sure if a hawk would reach the North Pole before you left… so this is a late birthday present. Sorry.”

Katara felt a blush staining her cheeks. Receiving unexpected gifts was not one of her anticipated situations. But step three of her plan dictated that she not freak out.

“Oh—thank you.”

Zuko paid for the bracelet and Katara found it easier to look at the table in front of her than at him. Then, on impulse she reached out and grabbed another bracelet, similar to hers, but with fewer beads and the string was red.

“And I’ll take this, please,” she said to the seller.

Zuko turned to her with a confused expression.

“Your birthday is in two weeks. This is an early birthday present,” she said and held the bracelet out to him in her palm. He regarded her for a moment then carefully picked it up and replaced it with the blue one.

Katara was suddenly struck with the fear that wearing matching items had some meaning in the Fire Nation she was unaware of, or that Zuko thought she was wildly overstepping. “Like friendship bracelets,” she clarified.

He held it in his hand for a minute then finally grinned. “Thank you, Katara.”

They ambled through the aisles of stalls, keeping an eye out for their friends, when Zuko paused at a stand selling lovely painted fans.

Some of the designs were very beautiful, but didn’t quite seem like something Zuko would normally buy. “That’s pretty,” Katara said, gesturing to the fan Zuko was touching.

“Oh—I, uh, was thinking of getting something for Mai. A lot of Fire Nation women carry fans in the summer.”

Katara hummed in response. The idea of getting a gift for Mai was nice, but it was hard to imagine her delicately fanning herself.

“Maybe she could modify it to hold a dagger or something,” Zuko added.

Ah, that was more Mai’s style.

The shopkeeper turned to them then, an older woman who offered them a warm smile. “See anything you like?” she asked.

Zuko nodded, and picked up a fan with a black frame and a colorful geometric pattern painted on it. “This one, please.”

“A lovely choice. Is it for your girlfriend?”

“Um, yes.”

The woman wrapped the fan in a piece of paper, then handed it to Katara with a wink. Katara accepted it as a reflex before the woman’s insinuation sunk in.

She yelped and dropped the fan back on the table like it had burned her.

Both the shopkeeper and Zuko looked very alarmed by this outburst.

I am calm, dignified, and poised.

Katara cleared her throat and affected a prim tone. “I mean, thank you ma’am, but you are mistaken.” She picked up the fan and handed it to Zuko before turning sharply on her heel and marching off into the crowd. Poised, indeed.

--

Eventually Zuko caught up with her and thankfully didn’t ask her to explain herself. Then all six of their group reconvened and after a final ice cream, everyone agreed to go back to the house.

In the bustle of leaving; securing purchases, discarding empty cups, avoiding Suki’s questions about Katara’s new bracelet, and making their way to the road that led back to the royal compound, Katara found herself at the back of the group with Zuko. Her first instinct was to run and catch up with Suki and Sokka, only a dozen paces ahead of them, but she resisted on the grounds that doing so would be ridiculous.

She exchanged a small smile with Zuko as they set off after their friends.

I am calm, dignified, and poised.

Katara could do this. She could make casual conversation with her friend. 

“How’s Fire Lord stuff?”

Sweet La , what was wrong with her? 

Zuko, graciously, chuckled. “Fire Lord stuff is alright. My uncle is in the Caldera this week. I think after putting up with his insistence on five tea breaks a day, my advisors will be thrilled to have me back.”.

Katara gave a small laugh.

They walked in only slightly awkward silence for another minute.

“How’s the North Pole been?” He asked.

It felt a little silly to be talking like people who barely knew each other, but Katara persevered.

“Great! I’ve learned a ton about differences between southern and northern bending styles, plus I’m mastering advanced healing and teaching some girls how to waterbend.”

“They're lucky to have you. Do you plan to stay there for awhile?”

“I don’t know. I love training, but I think I’d rather be doing something that helps people more directly. I miss traveling around and helping out where I can.”

Zuko hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I know the Earth Kingdom has some relief projects helping rebuild from the war. I’m sure they’d find a waterbender very useful.”

Katara turned to him with a smile.

“That’s a good idea! Maybe I’ll write to King Kuei.”

“You should.”

When Katara looked ahead again, they were in view of the beach house, Aang’s laughter reaching them from inside the gates. A whole walk and Katara had only slightly embarrassed herself!

This conversation had been so normal, if a tad formal, that it almost made Katara think she should just throw her plan out the window and let herself stop worrying.

They stopped a few feet from the entry to the courtyard and then Zuko was right in front of her and made to reach towards her. Katara gasped and flinched back so hard she almost fell over and swatted his hand out of the way.

"Sorry!" Zuko yelped, holding his hands up defensively.

“It's just—uh—here, your veil is caught.” He slowly moved his hand behind her ear, where the sheer fabric had bunched under the brim of her hat. His face was close, and his eyes, almost brown under the shade from his own hat, were focused entirely on his task until they snapped back to hers as he smoothed the veil through his fingers and took a step back.

Katara was fairly sure her heart had stopped during the approximately four seconds that Zuko was in her personal space, and was now making up for it by hammering in her chest as if she’d just run for miles.

“Thanks,” she squeaked.

Zuko just nodded and gestured with his arm for her to walk ahead of him. 

Right then, the plan was still very much necessary.

Chapter Text

Three Years Post-War

Katara dropped to sit in the sand and leaned back on her hands, letting the ocean water cling to her skin and hair rather than bend it off. Even as the sun began to set over the horizon it was hot enough that she’d be dry soon enough anyway. And after spending months in the hottest parts of the Earth Kingdom, she was well accustomed to the heat.

She looked out at the ocean and timed her breaths with the gentle crash of the waves. Maybe she was just growing up, but she felt like her perspective had shifted this year. The tropical climate and bright colors of the Fire Nation felt welcoming, rather than like something to fight against. She even felt a fondness for the humidity, no longer fretting about the state of her curls.

A lot of things about Ember Island were less frightening this year. The heat, the humidity, even the near constant butterflies in her stomach were more like an (annoying) old friend. So, Toph, basically. 

In fact, “not fighting” was the gist of her mindset this summer. She wasn’t going to surrender to inevitable embarrassment, but she wouldn’t make things worse for herself either. She’d be like her element and go with the flow. Her strategy was to be easygoing, yet vigilant.

If possible, she’d avoid high risk situations, but not at the cost of looking like an idiot.

She was different now. She had a boyfriend now. A nice earthbender who worked with her on the relief project set up by King Kuei. So she obviously didn’t need to be weird around Zuko, because she wasn’t even single.

In the spirit of ceding control, she’d consented when Sokka and Suki offered to take over dinner tonight, and once her swimming clothes were dry enough she pulled her light tunic back on and went to join the group by the fire where they’d decided to eat on the beach this evening.

Upon reaching the spot where her friends sat in a circle around the fire, the spot they’d left for her was between Zuko and Toph, and Katara didn’t overthink it or force Aang to switch with her like she might have done in the past.

Easygoing Katara didn’t stress about such things. Easygoing Katara had a boyfriend and didn’t have to overthink her interactions with her male friends. 

If the seat next to Zuko were open, she’d take it. If he was the one who volunteered to go for a swim with her, that was fine. If he asked her to help put sun lotion on his back, then—actually, no she wouldn’t do that. But she’d decline in a very easygoing way. 

Katara had a boyfriend, Zuko had a girlfriend (both of whom were not in attendance, incidentally) and there was absolutely no deeper meaning to seating arrangements.

Katara relished how casual she was being all through the meal, until the sun had fully set and Toph had to put her relaxed attitude to the test.

“Ooh, let’s play truth or dare,” Toph said and everyone but Sokka groaned.

“Aren’t we a little old for that?” Katara asked .

This was the exact type of thing she was keen to avoid. The whole point of this game was to embarrass people, and with Katara’s history she’d probably end up breaking a bone or having to watch Zuko go skinny dipping.

That was just a random example, not something she’d actually thought about before.

Did she mention she had a boyfriend now?

“Speak for yourself, grandma,” said Toph. “I’ll start. Aang, I dare you to eat the rest of the sea prunes.” 

Katara and Sokka’s offended outbursts were drowned out by Aang asking, “Don’t I get to pick whether I want a truth or a dare?”

Toph relented, which led to Aang picking truth and being forced to admit that Toph was his scariest friend (much to her delight), then rudely claiming he was still glad he hadn’t eaten sea prunes.

Then Sokka was dared to fit himself inside Appa’s mouth, followed by Sokka daring Suki to kiss him which even Suki agreed was an embarrassing waste of a dare.

Suki turned to Katara next. “Truth or dare, Katara?”

Katara thought it over, but not too much because that wouldn’t be going with the flow, and picked truth. 

“Tell us about your boyfriend.”

Katara scoffed and expected everyone to look annoyed at Suki’s not-particularly-probing question, but to her surprise each of them (except Sokka) was all ears, as if they expected some juicy secret.

Katara wasn’t sure if this was a set up for something worse, so she started hesitantly.

“He’s an earthbender, we’ve been working together on the team King Kuei organized to restore Earth Kingdom villages that still don’t have access to clean water.”

Everyone still gave her their rapt attention; she could feel Zuko’s eyes on her from her left. For some reason she was drawing a blank on what to say. She continued: “Lee’s from outside Gaoling and... likes ginseng tea.”

“His name is Lee? Lee, your Earth Kingdom boyfriend who no one has met?” Toph asked, voice thick with incredulity. “That sounds made up.”

“He’s not made up! Lee is a common name.”

“I believe you, Katara. I’ve met lots of people named Lee,” Aang added cheerfully.

“All the more reason to use it for a fake boyfriend,” muttered Toph.

“If he’s real, why didn’t you invite him?” Toph asked at her normal volume.

“Maybe because I knew all of you would embarrass me.”

Actually it had never occurred to Katara to invite Lee. Barely three months together was awfully soon for trips, right?

Even Mai didn’t join them anymore. Although Katara wasn’t about to bring that up. She’d written a letter to Zuko awhile ago expressing that she looked forward to seeing both him and Mai and in his reply he’d simply said she couldn’t make it and in the same sentence changed topics.

Unhelpfully, Sokka turned to Zuko and asked, “Wasn’t your name Lee when you were hiding in Ba Sing Se?”

“Yes,” he answered, then on seeing Katara’s annoyed look added, “but… that’s because it’s so normal. I also believe he’s real.”

“Is his middle name Mushi?” asked Aang, laughing.

Katara rolled her eyes.

Their teasing was stupid, but got at a feeling that Katara hadn’t been quite able to articulate before. Obviously she was not making him up, but being with her friends made the rest of her life feel very far away.

Like someone her friends had never met might as well not exist. It was surprisingly difficult to imagine Lee, or anyone really, becoming part of their group. Someone who hadn’t gone through all the things they had might never truly fit in with them.

Which was ridiculous, of course, and perhaps unhealthy. Codependent even. The war hadn’t left anyone untouched. They’d never talked about it much, but Katara knew Lee had his own share of unpleasant memories.

They seemed to have their fill of needling Katara and let her move on to dare Toph to please follow proper hygiene standards for the rest of the week.

Then, supporting the theory that her main purpose on earth was tormenting Katara, Toph dared Zuko to go skinny-dipping. He refused and accepted his back-up dare of eating all the sea prunes, grimacing the whole time. 

---

The cellar at the Royal Family’s residence was gross. Probably no members of said royal family ever came down here, leaving it the domain of their servants, and apparently not worth the effort of cleaning. 

Katara wouldn’t have ventured into the basement either, if not for a game that had gotten out of hand the day before and led to the several pieces of deck furniture being smashed to bits. She used the term “game” loosely, it was really just Toph hurling rocks at her friends while they all frantically dodged. 

But Katara quite liked sitting on the porch, so she’d gone looking for some extra chairs to replace the ones that had been destroyed.

The large space was cobwebby and dark, a torch was set into the wall beside the staircase, but was unlit. The only light was from the open door at the top of the steps, leaving her with one swath of daylight, but enough to see the old chests and spare furniture that had presumably been accumulating dust since before she was born.

Surely some of this stuff was usable, and Katara was glad that she hadn’t gotten a spider in her hair for nothing.

“Katara?” Zuko’s voice drifted down from somewhere on the main floor.

“Down here!” She called back, lifting a sheet to inspect what was underneath it. A moth-eaten sofa, maroon of course. The Fire Nation’s obsession with red furniture bordered on pathological.

She heard Zuko descending the stairs on light feet and turned to look just as the door swung shut above him, plunging them into darkness.

“Zuko!” Katara scolded, as he immediately produced a flame in the palm of his hand, illuminating his surprised face and her annoyed one.

“Was that supposed to stay open?” He asked timidly.

Katara rolled her eyes and stomped back up the stairs. “Yes, Zuko, that’s why it was propped with a stool.” She gave the door a shove but it didn’t budge. She pushed on the handle harder, then tried wiggling the door in its frame. It didn’t move an inch. 

She spun back to look down at Zuko still standing with a flame in his hand at the bottom of the stairs. “Why isn’t this door opening?”

He had the audacity to chuckle. “I guess that’s why I was never allowed to come down here growing up.”

“Zuko! We’re stuck in here!”

“I could try to blast it with a fireball? But I might burn the house down.”

Katara banged her fist on the door a few times and shouted out for her brother. No answer

“Where is everyone?”

“They went down to the beach right before I came to look for you.”

Katara’s head fell forward to thump on the door.

Zuko was infuriatingly calm as he said, “It’s been over thirty minutes since Sokka last ate, I’m sure they’ll be back inside soon.”

With a groan, Katara trudged back down the stairs and slumped to sit on the bottom stair while Zuko transferred the flame from his hand to the torch on the wall. 

Trapped in a dark basement with the one person she’d been (casually, kind of) avoiding. Ina way, it was almost satisfying to be proven right--there was officially no doubt that a higher power was out to get her.

Zuko sat down next to her and Katara leaned forward to wrap her arms around her knees.

“Why were you down here anyway?” He asked

“Looking for chairs to put on the porch now that the old ones got smashed by rocks.”

“They what?”

“Oh, yeah, all your deck furniture is broken.”

Perhaps sensing that she was not in the mood to explain, Zuko only nodded and they lapsed into silence.

After a moment Katara noticed him fidgeting with something in his lap.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Oh--this is, uh, for you.” He seemed a bit nervous, though it was hard to read his expression in the glow from one torch. He held out the object for her to take. “It’s why I came to look for you. Happy Late Birthday. Again.”

Katara removed one arm from her knees and took the item, which she now saw was a stone of some kind. A little larger than the palm of her hand, smooth on one side, but sharp and crystalline on the other.

“I know it’s just a rock, but, um, they’re nice to look at, and kind of rare, so I thought you might like it.” He was rambling and Katara wondered if perhaps her curse was contagious. “They’re decorative mostly, but now that I say that, you probably don’t want to be carrying a decorative rock around while traveling--”

“Zuko. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

He gave a short nod. “You’re welcome. And sorry it’s late again.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s nicer in person. I’ll give you your gift while we’re here too.” Note to self: buy Zuko a birthday present.

“I was hoping you’d think that, instead of just that I’m lazy.”

“Don’t worry. Toph said my present was that she’d let me almost beat her in a sparring match, which hasn’t even happened yet, so you’re not last.”

“I can let you beat me too if you want?”

“Or you could just not whine about it when I beat you fair and square.”

“I don’t whine,” he said in a distinctly whiny voice. They both laughed.

Katara held up her gift to better let the light from the torch reflect off it. 

“It does a trick, too,” Zuko said quietly. Katara was about to ask what he meant when he waved one hand and the torch went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

Or not complete darkness. There was a faint turquoise (some might say green) glow emanating from the stone in her hand. Katara gasped as she brought it closer to her face. It didn’t really cast light, it’s glow only extending a few inches around itself.

She couldn’t see Zuko, or even her own feet, but she could feel him breathing next to her. Her own breaths seemed far too loud in the dark with only the faintly glowing crystal to look at.

Then a flame relit the torch and Katara blinked at the sudden ability to see again. 

Zuko twisted his hands in his lap. “Cool, right?” His voice was soft, and his eyes seemed to search hers. Maybe trying to confirm she understood the significance.

She did, of course. Really, it was not at all a subtle gift, it was literally glowing green crystals, and much more sentimental than she would have expected from him.

She offered him a small smile. “It’s perfect.”

They didn’t bother to talk much after that, one of them occasionally speculating on what the others might be doing and how much longer they’d have to wait.

Katara was about ready to propose blasting the door open with fire, risk be damned, when Zuko spoke again.

“How are things with Lee?” 

Right, her nice Earth Kingdom boyfriend.

“Good. It’s pretty new, but he’s nice and we get along well.” She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “It’s...easy.” She had never once felt incapable of speech in Lee’s presence.

“How are things with Mai?”

Zuko let out a breath that might generously be called a dry chuckle. “Hard.”

Katara had no idea how to respond to that, but was saved from having to by the door above them flinging open. 

Both Zuko and Katara jumped and stared up at Toph and Sokka who were looming in the doorway.

“What took you so long? It’s been like an hour,” Katara snapped as she began to climb the stairs. “Didn’t you guys wonder where we were?”

“No,” Toph replied easily. “Figured you guys were just having some Katara and Zuko time.”

“That’s not a thing!” Katara said sharply while Zuko spluttered behind her. 

Toph ignored that and said, “I actually could tell you were down there twenty minutes ago, but thought I’d let you hang out awhile.”

Not for the first time, Katara lamented that Toph couldn’t see rude hand gestures. But she was easygoing, so she did it anyway and stalked off.

Chapter Text

Four Years Post-War

Another year gone, another summer trip to Ember Island. Some things changed, some things stayed the same.

Changed: Katara’s relationship status

Unchanged: Katara’s general state of panic at all times

Changed: Katara’s desire to avoid Zuko because…

Changed: Zuko’s relationship status

Unchanged: Malevolent forces conspiring against her

---

It was almost six months ago to the day that Katara received a letter from Zuko where he went on for an entire page about his uncle’s plans to open a second tea shop and then included one line at the end saying Oh, by the way, Mai and I broke up . 

She’d thought about the letter nearly every day since, and it probably counted as her most valued possession, simply based on how carefully she kept it stored away and how often she checked that it was still there in her satchel. 

She’d re-read it so often that she felt very confident in her assessment that a Fire Nation location of The Jasmine Dragon would do quite well, and yes, the Ba Sing Se branch runs smoothly enough to survive Iroh’s absence. Oh, by the way, Mai and I broke up. 

It was about three months after Zuko’s letter that Katara sent her own detailed account of a village where the the residents were so grateful for Katara’s healing abilities that they insisted she accept a fish the size of a small child for her efforts. Ending with P.S. Lee and I are no longer together. 

They’d only exchanged a couple letters since then, with Katara’s travels making steady correspondence difficult. The content wasn’t overtly different, but Katara felt like every word she wrote was laced with double meaning. Whereas before she’d write looking forward to seeing you like it was nothing, now she agonized over word choice and in turn studied every line of Zuko’s like she might confirm that Uncle says hello could actually imply that not only does he discuss her with his family, but that also he probably wants to marry her.

Her anxiety approaching this return to Ember Island put any previous nerves she’d felt to shame. Starting almost a month before Aang was due to pick her on his way from Omashu, Katara had been jumpy and restless. And then she felt embarrassed for being so jumpy. 

She repeatedly had to remind herself that the fact that Zuko no longer had a girlfriend didn’t necessarily mean anything for Katara. But she couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen now that Zuko was single. About what was now allowed to happen.

Despite most of her thoughts and actions in relation to Zuko over the past few years, Katara was surprised at how strongly she reacted to the news of Zuko’s break-up. She’d been adamantly denying her attraction for so long that she’d started to believe it. 

A fiction that could no longer be maintained when the curse that infected her on Ember Island apparently travelled to the Earth Kingdom and caused her to whisper the name of the current Fire Lord while kissing her Nice Earth Kingdom boyfriend. Lee had tactfully ignored that slip, but they broke up the next day.

It turned out that acknowledging her crush on Zuko did not ease her mind, but only made her that much more nervous to see him. Especially as she had no reason to believe it was mutual. 

The whole ride on Appa’s back, Katara felt like she might puke, and not from bison-sickness. 

She tried her best not to spiral out thinking of the sheer potential , but she was mostly losing that battle. She needed to sort through her feelings before she did anything rash. What did she hope would happen? Should she tell Zuko how she felt? How did she feel?

Even if she told Zuko that she felt some more than friendly feelings for him, and even if he somehow reciprocated...then what? Where could things realistically go from there?

When they set down at the beach house and said their hellos, Zuko’s first words to her were: “You don’t look so good.” She could not say the same about him.

“I think the ride made her nauseous,” said Aang. “It’s been too long since you’ve flown on Appa!”

As the group adjourned to the house to catch up, and Zuko made her a cup of tea for indigestion, Katara decided she should play it cool. She had a whole week to spend time with him and sort through her feelings.

It was for the best if she didn’t force the issue. Maybe the tension would boil over, maybe it wouldn’t. She’d let things happen organically.

---

Organic was overrated. 

Waiting for things to happen on their own sounded fine in theory, but Katara was working on a deadline. 

For days, she’d been patiently waiting for an opportunity to pull Zuko aside, or meander away from the rest of their friends, but one never came. 

They still spent plenty of time together, just always with the group. And from these interactions Katara had come to a thrilling conclusion: Zuko liked her too. Maybe.

It was a little hard to tell with him, but she was pretty sure they were flirting . Some evidence:

At the beach the other day Katara had knocked him into the water with a vicious water whip, and he stayed under for long enough that she almost got worried, when he suddenly gripped her by the ankle and pulled her under as well. When she kicked free he managed to pick her up and then tossed her into the waves. Play fighting, with significant physical contact, was classic flirting. But then Aang thought it looked so fun that he insisted on being thrown by Zuko next. (Aang was far too tall for that now, but it did mean that Katara got to heal Zuko’s shoulder after he dislocated it.)

At meals Katara teased him about his food. “More fire flakes, seriously? Isn’t it hot enough already?” He’d answered, “Well, maybe I like it very hot.” Katara didn’t quite know what that meant, but it sounded like innuendo, so she was counting it. “I like them too,” Sokka had gasped through the tears leaking down his face.

After finishing some afternoon tea, Zuko playfully offered to read Katara’s tea leaves. “Oh, wow,” he’d said, mock serious. “This is really interesting. See this one?” He tilted the cup towards her so she could look at the clumps of leaves. “That means you’re destined to lose a sparring match later.” She’d rolled her eyes and bit back a smile. “You don’t need tea leaves to know that,” Toph said from the other end of the table.

A game of Pai Sho had devolved into placing tiles in any spot they wanted and claiming to be winning. She placed a tile randomly and Zuko said she’d “made a grave mistake” to which Katara grinned back saying “Actually, I think you’ll find I now have you at my mercy.” He’d laughed and looked her right in the eye. “Can’t argue with that.” They might have sat there smiling like fools for hours if Sokka hadn’t looked up to see their board and gone off on an offended rant about them “disrespecting a classic game of strategy.”

The week had been full of shy glances and accidental touches and sustained eye contact. Katara felt confident that anyone of those lingering looks could have evolved into lingering something else, if only they’d not had an audience.

But that was the problem. They always had an audience. 

In years past it often seemed like something was forcing her into compromising situations with Zuko, now when she would absolutely love to be compromised, she couldn’t get him alone for the life of her.

A younger Katara might have found something to enjoy in the idea of star-crossed lovers, always tragically kept apart by circumstances and missed connections. In stories, it was romantic. In practice, it was really fucking annoying.

A non-comprehensive list of things that had thus far prevented Katara from kissing talking to Zuko: Sokka, Sokka’s stomach, a scary jellyfish, Appa’s farts, Toph killing a butterfly, Aang holding a funeral for a dead butterfly, Sokka again, and a small kitchen fire.

She couldn’t decide if it was better or worse that the frustration appeared to be mutual. On the one hand, it made her feel lighter than air to think that Zuko returned her feelings. On the other, what hope was there if the island was after both of them?

It had been six days of interruptions. They’d all leave tomorrow. As Katara cleaned up the dishes from their final dinner together, she knew she had to make sure she got to talk to Zuko before he left. But her efforts so far had not gone well.

A real low moment was that morning when she’d engineered a run-in with him by “accidentally” meeting him as he walked up the house from the back garden. It was pathetic really, that she’d been hiding in the doorway until she saw him returning from his meditation and then skipped down the steps to catch him on the side of the house, out of view of the main courtyard.

He’d smiled when he saw her, but Katara hadn’t so much as torn her eyes from his bare chest when a tiny white blur fell out of the sky and landed on her head.

Zuko doubled over laughing as she yelped and shoved Momo to the ground, but Katara did not find this funny in the least.

On the ground, Momo was still tugging insistently at her shoe.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Katara yelled at the lemur. He blinked up at her and held out a worm.

Aang hurried over from the courtyard. “Katara!” He sounded shocked. “Please don’t shout at Momo.”

Katara gritted her teeth and forced a breath out through her nose. “Sorry, Momo.”

Screaming at animals was the last straw; it was time to call in reinforcements. For obvious reasons, Katara had refrained from discussing her situation with anyone, but the time for self-preservation had passed.

She walked through the foyer where she could hear Aang showing Zuko and Toph a new airbending trick and around to the porch on the other side of the house where Suki was reading in a lounge chair.

Of course , Katara thought, rolling her eyes, when I want to get Suki alone, nothing stops me .

Suki glanced up as Katara leaned back against the railing opposite her.

“Hey, girl!” Katara’s voice came out too high and Suki raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with Katara’s faux casual greeting. She set her reading aside and gave Katara her full attention.

“Oh, are you finally going to tell me what’s going on with you?” asked Suki.

“You think something’s going on with me?”

“Well, I’ve noticed you seem a little...on edge. I heard about you yelling at Momo.”

Katara winced then heaved a deep breath and launched into her tale. Going back to her first suspicions of angry spirits, her erratic behavior, and concluding with her current inability to get a moment with Zuko.

Suki took all this in placidly, offering the occasional laugh, but not interrupting. 

When Katara finally stopped unloading her story she looked expectantly at Suki.

“So, to sum up,” Suki started, speaking slowly, “you think Ember Island is making you... horny for Zuko?”

“Suki!” Katara whipped her head around to make sure no one was within earshot, then plopped down on the seat next to her and swatted her shoulder.

Suki laughed and continued, “Sounds like a reach. Are you sure it’s not just his face and body?”

Katara felt her face heat and dropped her head into her hands with a groan.

“Although now that you mention it,” Suki added more thoughtfully, “I have experienced something similar while on Ember Island.”

“You’re into Zuko?”

“No, but your brother gets extra handsy.”

Katara’s answering groan was loud enough that Momo skittered out onto the porch looking for the source of the noise. “Sorry, Momo,” mumbled Katara. “ Tui and La , never say that again, and please help me.”

“What’s the problem? I think you should go for it.”

It eased something in Katara’s chest to hear Suki casually support her in this, but that wasn’t what she’d come for.

“The problem is that I also think I should go for it, but I can’t seem to spend more than ten seconds with him before something interrupts us.” 

“So how can I help?”

“I don’t know. Maybe keep everyone distracted so they’ll leave us alone for a bit?”

Suki smirked. “Leave it to me.”

---

Thankfully, Katara didn’t have to wait long for Suki to act. The next morning after breakfast Suki shot a wink at Katara and then with a performance worthy of the Ember Island Players, suddenly went to the window and cried out, “Hey, there’s a litter of baby lion turtles down at the beach! Everyone, come look!” 

Aang leapt up excitedly, and Katara watched everyone hop out of their chairs. “Except you, Zuko,” Suki said as he began to stand up. “Katara needs help with...something.” 

Zuko frowned, Suki winked, and Katara blushed. Not the most subtle, but Katara would take it. She watched Suki hustle everyone out the door then shut it behind her with a click.

“You don’t want to see the lion turtles?”

“I strongly suspect there are none.”

“Oh,” Zuko’s hand went to the back of his neck. “What did you need help with?”

“Um--nothing.” Despite having orchestrated this moment, Katara was at a loss for how to proceed.

She stepped around the table to stand in front of him, gathering her courage. “Well, I mean--” 

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and a curl got stuck in her mouth. “Stupid, frizzy hair,” she mumbled pulling it out of her face.

“I like it,” Zuko said with a smile.

“Yeah? Not too wild?”

“Yeah. Or--no. I mean, it suits you.” He was blushing. She strongly suspected she was too.

“Thank you. I like your hair too.”

He grinned and carefully moved the curly strands behind one shoulder. But he didn’t move his hand away, instead resting it on her arm. His smile faded, replaced by something much more serious.

Katara’s throat suddenly felt very dry and she slowly looked from Zuko’s hand on her shoulder to his face.

With a surge of bravery, she reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and then lightly smoothed her hand over his scar. His eyes drifted shut and then opened again. Katara gasped slightly at the intensity of his gaze. Her eyes dropped to his lips. He leaned in, so did she. 

The sound of the front door slamming open behind her was the loudest thing Katara had ever heard and she and Zuko immediately sprang apart. He actually jerked back so much that he toppled into a chair and both he and the chair fell to the ground.

Whoever interrupted this moment was now Katara’s worst enemy.

“Uncle?!” Zuko cried from where he still sat on the floor. “What are you doing here?”

“Nephew!” Iroh beamed at them, then took in Zuko’s strange position. “Why are you on the floor?”

It turned out that Iroh had come to Ember Island to secure the lease for his new tea shop and figured he’d drop in on his nephew and accompany Zuko back to the capital. Katara regretted ever supporting such an endeavor.

She could almost be impressed at the diligence with which this curse was committed to ruining her life. As it was she seethed through lunch while Iroh never left his nephew’s side, and then it was time for them to depart.

When Katara hugged Zuko goodbye, she was shocked to find that she was near tears. She pulled back and saw that Zuko’s expression was similarly anguished. 

“I wish I didn’t have to wait a whole year to see you again,” she said quietly.

“So don’t. Come to the Caldera sometime. You don’t need a reason.”

She wanted to reply that she did have a reason and he was standing right in front of her. But, instead she just nodded and said, “Okay. I will.”

He exhaled audibly, and then Iroh called out for him to board the airship, which he did, maintaining eye contact and walking backwards a few paces, before he turned to step onto the ship.

Katara released the breath she’d been holding and watched them take off, then grow smaller in the sky. 

Maybe when she next saw him they’d have better luck.

Chapter Text

Five Years Post-War

Zuko was late. And Katara was furious.

The agreement was that once a year they all drop everything and come to Ember Island. Not “everyone else comes on time and Zuko shows up three days late.”

When they saw each other as infrequently as they did, three days was a long time!

It was rude, frankly. Shouldn’t the Fire Lord have better manners? Honestly, it wasn’t even about her. Didn’t he care about… Toph? Or Aang? Didn’t Zuko know how much they looked up to him? Sure, they were putting on a brave face, but Katara could tell by the way they were fighting over who’d take Zuko’s room that they were really quite heartbroken.

Katara wasn’t heartbroken. She was just appalled by his bad manners.

And he didn’t even warn her! She’d been so excited to see him, only to be greeted by a letter, addressed to the group, informing them that he was delayed.

How dare he! He had the audacity, the gall, the nerve, the...another word that means he’s stupid.

The letter included details, something about a bridge collapsing and a resulting food shortage. Undoubtedly, a very serious issue, but Katara barely registered anything after “I’ll be late.”

Was this payback for Katara failing to come to the Caldera this year? She’d had no choice! Her grandmother had fallen ill just when Katara was meant to leave. She’d ended up staying in the South Pole for almost half the year, making sure Gran Gran recovered fully.

At the time Zuko claimed he understood, said he admired her devotion to her family, and even sent a chest of tea hand-picked by his uncle for Gran Gran. But apparently he’d just been biding his time, waiting to get his revenge.

Katara’s face heated in shame when she thought of the fantasies she’d allowed herself to indulge in of warm reunions and close embraces. Of running and leaping into his arms and participating in that classic Water Tribe custom of running her hands through his hair. His hair was probably so long now--

No, thoughts like that were not helpful.

Irrationally, she blamed Zuko personally for his lateness, even though he likely didn’t have a choice. And even if he technically did, Katara would probably be more upset if he abandoned his people in a time of crisis just so he could see her three days sooner. If she was being rational, she knew that the Fire Lord couldn’t very well just go on vacation while his people struggled.

But she didn’t want to be rational. She wanted to be mad.

She now had three whole days to stew in what felt keenly like rejection, and that is exactly what she did.

At the beach she thought: did Zuko not care as much about these trips as she did? Was he not as eager to see her as she was to see him?

While cooking dinner she wondered: had she let herself get carried away with fanciful notions that were not actually real? Had she maybe just imagined that there was something more?

On a morning walk she realized: nothing had actually happened between them that indicated they were more than friends. So much of what she took as near misses and shared feelings was based on tiny moments and silent looks. They’d never done or said anything definitive. There was every chance that she had invented this whole almost-romance where none existed.

In her mind, she and Zuko had been on the cusp of something major. But for all she knew, he was relieved nothing more had happened between them. Or worse yet, he hadn’t even noticed anything was happening at all.

He invited you to the Fire Nation, her mind whispered back. Well, that was hardly proof of anything.

Before Iroh showed up, he leaned in. Maybe he was just unsteady, perhaps he tripped and was mid-fall.

She couldn’t take this anymore. Real or imagined, whatever was going on between them was clearly not meant to be. Maybe they really were cursed, or just had the worst timing of any two people alive, but Katara had had enough.

Whenever Zuko deigned to show up, she needed to make a change. No more pining, or flirting, or dancing around each other. She’d put a stop to all of it. They could be friends and nothing more.

She was spiraling, she knew. Her self-awareness was intact enough to realize that this was probably an overreaction.

But she was so tired of having all these emotional ups and downs. The constant nerves and anxiety, the getting her hopes up only to have them repeatedly dashed. She didn’t think she could go on like this.

She needed to gain some control of the situation or she felt like she’d lose her mind.

It had been a mistake to indulge in silly fantasies that would never be reality. It was better for everyone if they just put any other feelings behind them.

Katara knew that behaving the same way she had in years past would only lead to more heartache though. She needed to establish firmer boundaries, set up some rules for herself. Even if that meant giving him a slightly cold shoulder. For example, don’t think about his shoulders.

It was with that mindset and her stomach in knots that she joined the others in the courtyard when Zuko’s airship touched down.

Her first thought on seeing him was that his hair had indeed gotten longer.

Her second thought was that it was extremely rude of him to look so handsome when she was mad at him.

Her third thought was that it didn’t matter if he looked attractive because that was no concern of hers. (This was a lie, but she had to get in the habit of thinking this way.)

His eyes seemed to seek her out and he smiled widely. Her stomach swooped, but her only outward response was a tight smile and one-armed hug. His expression faltered a little, but again, that did not affect her in the least.

Possibly slightly quicker than was polite, Katara excused herself to the house and retreated to the kitchen for a glass of water and some quiet.

She really should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. No sooner than she’d leaned back against the counter, water in hand, Zuko entered, looking slightly wary.

Good, she thought, let him be uncomfortable.

“Hi,” he began, “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” she answered brightly.

“I’m, uh, sorry I couldn’t be here sooner, there was an emergency with the--”

“Oh, no problem! We understand.” She took a sip of water and smiled placidly. His eyes flickered with a hint of confusion.

“Katara, are you okay?”

“I’m great.”

“You seem... annoyed.”

“No, I’m just busy.”

“Busy...drinking water?”

“Yes, Zuko, I’m busy drinking this water.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“No.”

“Because I had to come late?”

“No.”

Zuko shifted and his arm jerked strangely. Like maybe he’d been about to touch the back of his neck but aborted the movement. Katara had to suppress a smile. He’d mentioned in a letter (before her cancelled visit) that it had been brought to his attention that this particular nervous habit was unbecoming of the Fire Lord and he ought to overcome it.

Pity, she thought, it had always been kind of endearing.

No, she turned her head away, I will not be endeared.

“Katara, can we at least talk about it? I was really hoping we could talk about what happened last year when—”

“I don’t think we should.”

He reeled back a bit at that. “Why not?”

Katara sighed. She really did not want to have this conversation. “Look, Zuko, I think we should pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Pretend it didn’t happen? We almost kiss—"

Katara cut him off with a sharp noise. This topic was not conducive to being normal friends. Although, it was kind of nice to have confirmation that she hadn’t imagined that part.

 She had to end this. Where was Momo to leap onto her head when she needed him?

“Zuko,” Katara set her glass on the counter and crossed her arms over her chest. “I think we probably just got carried away, but we should put it behind us.” She thought she was being quite mature about all this.

He crossed his own arms. “I disagree.”

“What?”

“I disagree that we should put it behind us.”

Katara moved her hands to her hips. “We don’t even know what ‘it’ is! We never actually see each other long enough for anything to happen!”

Zuko seemed unfazed by her outburst, just shaking his head. “There’s obviously something between us.”

She just barely resisted the impulse to roll her eyes. Now, he was so confident? “It’s not enough. You can’t change my mind.”

“I get why you’re mad, but I’m gonna fix this. I’ll show you that we can’t just ignore it.”

“Oh, yeah? How do you intend to do that?”

Suddenly Zuko smiled, almost predatory, and Katara gulped. “You’ll see.” Then he winked at her and left the room.

She didn’t move for a full minute, until Momo climbed in through the window and did jump on her head.

---

Katara wasn’t worried about whatever Zuko had up his sleeve. He only had four days here now, and Katara had been told many times that she was uncommonly stubborn. She could keep up her walls for four days. Besides, this was Zuko she was dealing with. Awkward, shy Zuko.

Or maybe not so shy. She perhaps should have accounted for the fact that five years of leading a nation had apparently done wonders for his confidence.

That first day, his strategy seemed to be unfailing politeness. Lunch was praised as perfectly flavored even though she hid the fire flakes, so he was eating plain rice. Then he offered to make her tea, which she declined, and do the dishes, which she accepted. She wasn’t softening her stance, but she might as well get something out of it. By dinner, every other word out his mouth was about how smart she was or how skilled she was at waterbending. When he said to the table, “Have you all noticed that Katara has extremely good handwriting?” she’d had enough, sending his soup into his lap with a flick of her hand.

It was an impulse she came to regret when he immediately jumped up with a gasp and pulled off his soiled shirt. He met her eyes with a glare, but shifted to a smirk when she noticed where her attention had gone. She’d call that one a draw.

The next day he turned up the heat. Instead of politeness, he was being shockingly forward. Or maybe only slightly forward, but the effect was enhanced by his constant shirtlessness.

They were on a beach vacation; a certain state of undress was not uncommon. But she hadn’t seen any fabric on the top half of his body all day. Which was especially noticeable when he stepped up behind her in the kitchen, crowding her against the counter, (“just reaching for a glass”) or caught her by waist when she tripped in the yard (she saw him give a thumbs up to Toph after that which made her believe that it was no natural divot she’d tripped in). He caught her staring more than once which resulted in a smug smile from him and an embarrassed eye roll from her.

What she had no intention of telling him was that it was the scar in the center of his chest that drew her eye as much as his admittedly fantastic abs. Seriously, shouldn’t the Fire Lord have less time to work out?

But it was the reminder of that day, one of the scariest of her life, when he could have died for her that sent her heart fluttering more than his looks. She was sure he didn’t realize that, though. It had always been amazing to her that he seemed so unbothered by it, not self-conscious at all. Not that he had a reason to be, but some might not wear a scar like that so proudly.

She could avert her eyes from his body, but that still left her vulnerable to the way he leaned in close to her and whispered the most mundane things in the world in her ear, apparently content in his ability to rile her up with his proximity alone. Unfortunately, he was quite correct. “You have a little cabbage in your teeth” had never sounded sexier.

On the third day he still hadn’t found a shirt, presumably having noticed that tactic hit its mark, but he dropped the overt flirting. Instead he seemed to regard her with an intensity that was almost unnerving. And sometimes when she glanced up and met his heated gaze, he’d be the one to look away quickly, almost embarrassed. If this was strategic it was highly effective. Without the teasing or the bravado, his emotions were plain on his face. It felt crueler every second to stick to her plan and her cold shoulder.

It made Katara want to reach out to him, ask him what he was thinking about. She went to bed early that night, repeating to herself all the reasons she was right to deny him.

The last day of their trip dawned with grey skies that threatened rain. Katara felt a terrible mixture of relief and sadness. She didn’t know how much longer she could fend off Zuko’s advances, but she was also miserable at the thought of leaving him again.

He seemed rather subdued himself, even wearing a shirt to breakfast and only telling her once how nice she looked that day.

It wasn’t until mid-day that he sought her out, finding her alone in the library reading the same few lines of some story over and over.

He knocked lightly on the door frame, and walked over to her, tentatively gesturing to the sofa where she sat, asking permission to sit next to her. She swallowed and nodded, setting her reading aside and folding her hands primly in her lap.

He sat down, leaving a respectful distance between them, and looked at her earnestly, taking in her crossed legs and tense shoulders.

“You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to try to convince you anymore.” His voice was quiet, resigned. Katara didn’t know if she was disappointed to hear that.

“I just wanted to give you this before you leave.” He held out a scroll bound with a leather tie. “Happy belated birthday.”

She opened it and began to read, but she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. It had the royal insignia on top and contained legal terms about...ownership rights?

“What is this, Zuko?”

“It’s the deed to a ship. A small decommissioned frigate. It’s yours to use as you want. It can be docked here when you don’t need it. You could visit your family more often, or...you know, whoever.”

“You got me a boat?”

“Ship.”

Katara’s throat felt tight as she looked at the scroll in her hands. This was too much to take in, what she really needed was space to process her thoughts.

Abruptly, Katara stood and walked quickly from the room and out the front door, ignoring Zuko’s worried calls and how foolish she surely looked. It had started raining lightly, but she ignored that too as she broke into a jog that took her down to the beach. She couldn’t sit there looking into his hopeful, golden eyes without breaking.

Of course, this was Ember Island, and things couldn’t ever be easy for her. Zuko caught up with her quickly and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her to face him. He looked concerned, which was even worse.

“Katara, stop. I’m sorry. You don’t have to take it.”

She tugged her arm from his grasp and took a breath. She had to stay angry. That was her best defense.

“It’s too much,” she said sharply. “Not just the boat, everything.”

She squinted through the rain falling on their faces and held up a hand to create an umbrella over the two of them.

His jaw clenched. Good, she thought. Annoyed Zuko was easier to deal with than Thoughtful Zuko. “Well, I’m sorry. Sorry for wanting to actually talk about things like an adult—"

“—an adult? I’m the one trying to be mature about this.”

“—and you won’t even tell me why you’re mad at me!”

“I’m not mad!” She yelled.

“So then why are you acting like it?” He yelled back.

“Because I missed you!”

“Well, I missed you too!”

They were both breathing hard. When had they moved so close together? Katara could feel the warmth radiating off him, heating up their little rain-enclosed space. He took another small step forward, he was really standing far too close now. When he spoke his voice was a soft rasp.

“I like you, Katara. As more than a friend.”

What was her plan again? Something about...shoulders? Her brain was not functioning, but apparently her voice knew better.

“Me too.”

Zuko’s eyes were dark, and she couldn’t tell if she was still breathing. “Katara,” he said in a low voice that cut through the sound of the rain, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

No, she was definitely not breathing.

“Unless you don’t want me too.”

“I want you to.”

“Okay.”

He still moved so slowly, like he was waiting for her to change her mind. But for once, she was not overthinking.

He used one hand to tilt her head, and then his lips were on hers and her eyes fluttered shut.

He kissed her softly and her hands drifted to rest on his chest. He was gentle, like he might startle her if he moved too suddenly, but when his hands moved to her hips and she sighed into his mouth he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

The sudden crash of rain on their heads had them jerking back, both blinking the water from their eyes, but Zuko’s hands didn’t leave her hips.

“I, uh,” Katara breathed, “lost focus.”

Zuko’s now much rainier face twitched with a smile. Katara rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so smug.” He immediately schooled his features but pulled her back towards him by the hips.

“Does this mean you’ll keep your gift?” He pressed another kiss to her mouth. She moved her hands to slide through his wet hair.

“Okay.”

“And you’ll use it? For...your travels?”

“Yes, I’ll use it.”

Ironically, kissing in the rain led to Katara’s shoulders (and the rest of her) getting very cold, but it was okay because Zuko was warm enough for the both of them.

Chapter Text

Six Years Post War

“So,” said Toph, brushing sand off her feet and onto the towel, “you kiss in the rain and it’s very magical.”

“Right.”

Katara did her best not to fidget in the face of this blunt assessment of her love life. She had boldly dragged Suki and Toph down the beach, away from the boys, and insisted on a “girls only” chat, but was a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny. She’d been skeptical of asking for romantic advice from these two because Suki was now engaged to her brother (showed a lack of judgment) and Toph was Toph, but they were her best options at the moment.

“And this was right after he gave you a boat so you could go make out with him in the fire nation whenever you want?”

Katara rolled her eyes, “Not in those exact words, but yes.”

“Yeah, he’s your boyfriend.” Toph pronounced.

Suki nodded and said, “And then you saw each other last fall, when you were both in Ba Sing Se—"

“Yes, but—"

“—and in the spring, you went to the Caldera.”

“Fancy gifts, traveling to see him, plus the constant mooning over each other—"

“I don’t moon.”

“—All that adds up to mean the Fire Lord is your boyfriend.”

Katara sighed, playing with the edge of the towel she sat on. “Well—we haven’t really discussed what we are to each other.”

“So? Have a discussion!”

“We haven’t needed to yet. When we were both in Ba Sing Se last fall we were so busy, and then when I went to the Fire Nation a few months ago, it just didn’t come up.”

“It didn’t come up?”

“We were, um, distracted.”

“Please don’t elaborate.”

Katara huffed. It wasn’t what Toph was implying. Well, it kind of was. But mostly it was that they’d been so happy and maybe a little wary of bursting their newfound joy with serious conversations that they always found an excuse to put it off.

Katara had only been able to spend about a week in the Fire Nation when she visited, but she wasn’t opposed to spending considerably more time there in the future. She just wasn’t quite sure what she’d do there. Being Zuko’s...whatever she was, wasn’t exactly a full-time job.

But now their uncertain future was beginning to weigh on her. So, in a moment she was counting as significant personal growth, she decided to ask for advice instead of spiraling. Though, she was now questioning that choice.

Katara looked towards the other end of the beach where her maybe-boyfriend was sitting with Sokka and Aang. “Do you think the boys are having the exact same conversation right now?” Katara joked. She laughed a little at the idea of Zuko getting relationship advice from them.

Suki and Toph did not laugh.

“Yes, that is what they’re doing. I told Sokka to talk to him.”

Katara waited a beat to see if they were joking, but when their expressions remained serious, she began to rise to her feet.

“Oh, La, I should go save him.” Suki’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Not yet. Although those are the kind of girlfriend instincts that will serve you well.”

Toph shifted forward and pinned Katara with her unseeing stare. “In conclusion, you need to stop being a baby and define the relationship. Talk to him.”

Katara made an offended sound at Toph’s pronouncement. “How do you know this stuff?”

Toph laid back in the sand with her arms folded under her head. “I’m very worldly.”

Katara arched a brow at Suki, who only shrugged and mirrored Toph’s pose.

The rest of the day passed without incident, if you didn’t count the meaningful looks and not-so-discreet thumbs-ups from her friends any time she and Zuko were speaking. Which was quite often. Though not yet about their future. But Katara was just waiting for the right moment.

In the meantime, it seemed they had quite a lot to say about the way the light reflected off each other’s eyes, or the how cute Appa was while he was sleeping. Important stuff.

It appeared Zuko had mustered the courage (or someone had mustered it for him) first, when he literally ran into her in the hall after lunch, stumbling out of the kitchen and directly into Katara’s path. The door behind him closed seemingly on its own power, though she had her suspicions when she heard faint voices from the other side.

Zuko regained his footing and after a glare at the door he’d likely just been shoved out of, he offered her a smile. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Um, I was wondering…” His hand found the back of his neck. He’d mostly stopped that habit, but apparently some situations still provoked it. “Do you have plans later?”

“Plans? No.”

“Okay. Uh, me neither.”

A groan came from behind the door that sounded suspiciously like Sokka.

Zuko cleared his throat. “Then, since you’re not busy, maybe we could hang out. And talk?”

If this conversation was any indication, talking might be quite a struggle. But it had to be done.

“Okay,” Katara said with a smile.

The door behind Zuko swung open then and Sokka, Toph, and Aang tumbled out onto the floor, Suki remained standing, but had the grace to look embarrassed.

Katara turned back to Zuko. “Maybe not here, though.”

“Good idea.”

---

Katara stood in front of her mirror and sighed. She’d just spent longer fussing with her appearance than she possibly had ever in her life, which was fairly ridiculous considering Zuko had seen her less than an hour ago when she was looking objectively gross after a friendly round of dirtball. (That was when Toph encased everyone in a ball of dirt until she felt like releasing them or they rolled away, whatever came first)

All the more reason to look nice for their night out, she decided. They’d agreed to go into town for dinner, with Suki conceding that Zuko didn’t have to wear a hat or cloak as long as they were discreet.

It was silly to be nervous, she knew. While they hadn’t labelled things, Katara felt confident in her feelings and in Zuko’s. It just seemed like whenever they tried to talk about it, they ended up tongue-tied. Sometimes literally, Katara thought with a blush.

Katara released a breath and adjusted her shirt for the tenth time. She wore this on Suki’s recommendation, but was now second guessing her choice. It was a fairly standard Fire Nation style, not dissimilar to what she’d worn here before the war, and definitely less revealing than her swimming clothes she wore every day.  But, she was 21 years old now, and the effect was a bit more...adult than when she was fourteen.

When she came down from her room everyone was sitting in the foyer and all heads turned to her upon her entrance. Sokka just said, “Nope,” and Suki hit him on the arm.

Zuko and Aang were quiet, but wide-eyed.

Toph broke the silence. “Wow, Sweetness, you must either look really good or really bad. Every single person’s heart rate picked up when you walked in. Although, I assume for different reasons.”

Katara blushed, then arched a brow. “Even Suki?”

Suki just shrugged. “Hey, I’m not blind.”

Katara laughed and Zuko stepped forward. “You look really nice.”

“Thank you. So do you.” He really did, dressed in his casual robes and his hair half up while the rest fell down to his shoulders.

As they waved good-bye and made their way to the door, Toph called out, “Have fun on your date! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

Sokka scoffed, “No, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Zuko frowned, “With your sister, or…”

Sokka slapped his forehead. “Ugh, never mind. Just leave.”

---

Katara had never fully appreciated how beautiful Ember Island was before. Sure, it had a lot of bugs and the odd life-ruining curse or two, but you couldn’t beat the views.

The view she was admiring at the moment was a beautiful sunset on their left as they sat on the patio of a charming restaurant, with candles on the tables and lanterns strung overhead. Across from her was an equally arresting view: a very handsome Zuko cast in orange and gold.

Dinner had been very lovely so far, not including a minor incident where Katara accidentally flung her chopsticks over her shoulder and into a nearby patron’s hair (he was very understanding). And one moment where Zuko had set his sleeve on fire reaching for her hand (A sweet gesture and he put it out quickly).

And they hadn’t broached any topics more serious than Uncle Iroh’s gout flare-up (he’d found a new tea blend that was really helping). But other than that, things were going great.

After he paid, Zuko suggested a stroll around the square and maybe an ice cream, to which Katara happily agreed.

They walked slowly down the main street, the sound of the nearby ocean in the background. Katara sighed contentedly. “It’s so beautiful here.”

“Mmm, it’s a popular place for weddings.” Katara turned sharply to look at him. Was this his way of segue-ing to their relationship?

“No! I mean, in general! I wasn’t implying—we’re not—not that we couldn’t—I just—" Zuko covered his face in his hands.

“It’s okay, I know what you mean,” Katara reassured him, but her voice was higher than normal.

Zuko dropped his hands and heaved a breath. “I’m sorry for being weird. I’m just nervous, I guess.” He didn’t have to explain what he was nervous about.

“Me too.”

He shifted and his eyes caught on the sign of the building just ahead of them. Katara followed his gaze to a sign that read “Ember Island Wine & Spirits.” Zuko quirked his eyebrow.

“I have an idea that will either help a lot, or make things much worse.”

Katara smirked. “No risk, no reward.”

---

Ember Island Wine & Spirits was a bar. The interior was clean and small; a handful of customers sat at the long polished bar or at the dozen or so tables around the room. The decoration was plain, but like at the restaurant, lanterns hung from the ceiling, offering a warm glow. She and Zuko sat at a table by the window and were quickly approached by a waitress.

“What can I get for you?” She glanced between them and did a double take when she saw Zuko.

“What do you recommend?” Katara asked, hoping to divert her attention.

The waitress pulled her eyes slowly from Zuko to Katara, but seemed take Katara’s cue and didn’t push. “Well, our house made gin is quite popular.”

“Great. We’ll take two,” said Zuko.

“Make it four.”

The waitress looked up from her notepad. “Are you sure? It’s pretty strong.”

Katara scoffed. She was from the South Pole; they were a hardy people. This Fire Nation liquor probably wouldn’t even affect her.

“We’re sure.”

---

“And I was like, ‘you will teach me to fight, you old loser!’ and Pakku was like, ‘ew no’ so then I challenged him to a duel and basically was awesome so then he had to teach me.”

“But you guys get along now, right?”

“Nah, he still sucks.”

Zuko laughed and Katara relished the sound. Their first round had been followed by a second, before they switched to beer, and she was feeling pleasantly warm and very giggly.

It turned out Zuko had a real skill with impressions. Well, skill might be the wrong word. He had Katara in stitches with his versions of his various advisors and secretaries, some of whom Katara had met, though that didn’t make it any easier to tell who he meant to be impersonating.

“Minister Hiroko is the worst, he always says,” Zuko took on a haughty expression, “‘Fire Lord Zuko.’”

After a beat, Katara laughed. “Is that all?”

“Yeah, but he says it weird.”

Katara laughed harder. Zuko was hilarious. He did not get enough credit for his sense of humor.

---

“Well, if you didn’t put fire flakes on everything maybe you’d appreciate their delicate flavor!”

“Delicate flavor? They taste like something died, rotted, and then you left it the ocean for a year.”

“Sea prunes are a Water Tribe delicacy and I’m going to force your cooks to make them when I’m there next time—”

“Next time?”

“Um, yeah. I mean, if I’m invited.”

“You’re invited.”

Was this the moment? Should Katara ask if that invitation was open-ended? Did it make her his girlfriend? How long was she invited for? She had so many questions, but the one that came out was: “Another drink?”

“Yes, please.”

---

“Your hair is so pretty.”

“Your hair is so pretty!”

Katara wasn’t sure when she moved her chair so close to Zuko’s, but she was glad it happened since it gave her better access to run her fingers through his hair, which had come loose from his top knot at some point and now hung loose around his shoulders.

“Can I braid it?”

“Maybe later.”

She only just now noticed that his hands were making their own exploration, one entwining with hers and the other brushing up her arm and carefully twirling a lock of her hair around his finger.

She met his heated gaze and became much more conscious of their position, in each other’s space, playing with each other’s hands and hair.

It made her realize how hot the room had gotten, almost stifling. His hand moved from her hair to her arm, adding considerably to the heat on her skin, yet oddly making her shiver. It made her long for him to her elsewhere, like her neck or—

“Do you want to get some air?” Zuko rasped.

“Okay.”

---

This was such a good idea, Katara thought, as Zuko pressed her into the wall outside the bar and kissed her soundly. She wrapped both arms around his neck and arched into him when his hands moved from her hips to rest on either side of her head, caging her in. She hummed against his mouth when she tasted gin on his tongue. How strange to think that she’d never cared much for the taste of alcohol before. Now she was sure she’d never tasted anything better.

One hand wove into her hair at the base of her neck, his thumb pressing into her jaw. La, he was really good at this.

“Thank you,” he murmured while pressing light kisses below her ear.

Had she said that out loud? Eh, it was true.

She pulled his mouth back to hers to prevent any further unintended comments.

---

They’d returned to their table inside after a while, sacrificing privacy for the ability to get more drinks. Zuko had gone though his very quickly and now was staring at her intently.

She sipped her own drink, raising her eyebrows at him over the rim.

“I’m ready now,” he said with a firm nod of his head. “To talk. About us.”

Katara swallowed and set down her glass. “Oh, okay. Well--”

“Can I go first? I’ve practiced.”

Well, that was adorable. And since Katara was not all confident in her own speech, she nodded for him to go on.

He took a deep breath. “Katara, I--” he stopped and glanced down at her hand resting on the table top before enclosing it in one of his own.

“Katara, I know we haven’t been able to spend that much time together since we started...this.” He nodded at their hands. “But I know how I feel about you and I know I want to be with you more. Like, all the time, preferably. So, I have a question for you.” His eyes bore into hers and she needed a sip of her drink but didn’t dare risk breaking the moment.

“Will you be the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador to the Fire Nation? I know it’d be a big change, but I think you could do a lot of important work.” His eyes dropped back to their hands and he began speaking more quickly. “You could still travel part of the year if you want, but you’d be based in the Caldera. I already confirmed that you could go home for the winter solstice every year, plus any additional trips as needed. And you can change the job description if you don’t like what I have so far. The post has been vacant for the last...106 years, so we’re open to suggestions. I thought in addition to advocating for your tribe and advising on foreign policy you might like to work with the city’s hospitals and--”

Zuko looked up at her and whatever he saw in her face made him stop abruptly.

“Oh, no Katara please don’t cry. It was just a suggestion.” Shit, she was crying. She could feel the tears now, beginning to spill onto her cheeks. She shook her head frantically trying to make him understand.

He wiped her face with his thumbs, trying to comfort her. “You don’t have to. I mean, I did already mention it to Doctor Nishikori and he’s really excited, but--”

At that Katara only cried harder, to Zuko’s clear horror. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, Zuko,” her voice was nasally, but her sobs had subsided a little. “It’s perfect.”

“What is?”

“Being Ambassador. Your ideas. You.” She gave a watery smile. “You’re perfect.”

Zuko’s shoulders slumped in relief. “You mean, you want to move to the capital?”

Katara grinned and nodded. “Yes.”

Zuko’s answering smile was dazzling. “You know, I love you, but you don’t make it easy on a guy.”

Katara’s mouth dropped open again. “You love me?”

“Oh! Well, I--that was--” He swallowed and squared his shoulders. “Yeah, I do.”

Katara launched herself out of her seat, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him far more enthusiastically than was appropriate for a public setting. In the back of her mind, she heard Suki’s voice begging her to be discreet. Oh, well.

Zuko blinked as she pulled back, his hands settling on her waist. “I love you, too, you know.”

“Well, now I do.” He leaned in again, apparently also having no care for discretion.

Katara broke the kiss again and Zuko looked adorably confused. But there was one last thing she needed to clarify. “You’re my boyfriend right?”

Zuko laughed and kissed her lightly. “If you’ll have me.” Katara chose to express her agreement non-verbally.

They should definitely drink more often.

---

The next morning Katara trudged into the kitchen, rather worse for wear, urgently needing some tea or toast or possibly a new head, one that didn’t throb at every sound. There was still food on the table from breakfast (what time was it?) so she dropped into a chair and grabbed a plate.

Sokka entered with a wave she did not return and pulled out his own chair. Katara winced at the scraping sound it made against the floor.

“Nice of you to join us.” His voice was amused and disgustingly loud. Only the fact that Katara certainly didn’t have the energy for it kept her from icing him to the wall. He stole a piece of fruit from her plate and popped it in his mouth, but that didn’t stop him from talking. “Your boyfriend just puked in the ocean.”

She groaned at him in response, but then the words sunk in. A dopey grin made its way across Katara’s face.

“What?” Sokka asked. She smiled wider.

Her boyfriend just puked in the ocean.

Chapter Text

Seven Years Post-War

Zuko thought Ember Island might be cursed. 

Historically, he’d be willing to blame any number of weird accidents and misfortunes on his own perpetually bad luck. His whole life had been one disaster after another and Zuko was used to that. 

Lately, however, things had been pretty good for him. Scratch that, they’d been absolutely fantastic.

So when he arrived at Ember Island this week and was tripped up (sometimes literally) at every turn, he was less inclined to blame himself than he would have been in the past. An island curse seemed a likely culprit as any for why all his plans went awry.

He came to this conclusion after the third time he’d fallen flat on his back in the dirt while trying to climb out of this stupid ditch. 

Oh, yeah, he fell in a ditch in the woods.

He’d gotten into this predicament because he’d been wandering the dense trees behind the house, searching for a specific spot he remembered from his childhood. A small clearing with a reflecting pool, surrounded by tall trees and wildflowers. It seemed like a place Katara would appreciate.

Although apparently the journey there was more treacherous than he thought. He stood up, wincing slightly, and brushed the dirt off his hands, readying himself for another escape attempt. 

The pit was deep enough that Zuko’s hands reached just shy of the top when standing on his toes, which wasn’t easy after his hard initial fall. Maybe the hole was meant to be an animal trap, or an abandoned well, or just some rogue earthbending. The opening hadn’t been camouflaged but was obscured by some tall grass, which was how Zuko didn’t see it until it was too late.

This was a very inconvenient time for Ember Island to turn on him.

In general, he was very fond of the island. It was the site of practically his only happy childhood memories, and as an adult it was a refuge as well as a rare chance to see his friends. These trips had become the highlight of his summers. They were always special times, and this year would be the most special yet, provided he didn’t die in this stupid hole first.

He had a very important plan this year. That’s why he'd been searching for the pond. It seemed like it might have been a very nice place for a moonlit walk with Katara. He imagined she’d gasp when they got to the clearing and she’d smile at the moon reflected in the water, maybe she’d bend some shapes out of the pond and laugh when he put a flower in her hair. Then he’d get down on one knee and ask her to marry him.

A plan that he would now alter unless he wanted to propose in the bottom of a ditch. Really, this current situation was only the latest in a series of misfortunes that had him suspecting a higher power was involved.

His other idea had been to treat Katara to a romantic dinner that he would prepare himself. She’d followed through on her threat to force his chefs to make sea prune stew, and Zuko had in turn asked them to teach him. He could now admit it was something of an acquired taste. He still didn’t love it, and Katara would surely say his new tolerance was due to the fact that he burned all his taste buds off by now, but he could eat a whole bowl without making faces. He’d carefully transported a case of sea prunes from the Caldera, somehow without Katara’s knowledge. He’d gone to great lengths to keep them hidden in the kitchen, but they hadn’t even been on the island two hours before Momo found them and showed his appreciation for Water Tribe cuisine. 

He’d never tell Aang, but Zuko suspected Momo might be evil.

After that he’d considered a scenic picnic on the rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean. A literal swarm of scorpion crabs had conspired to ruin their afternoon.

So a new plan was needed. 

He was unsure of his exact method, but he’d been thinking about the question for a while. He and Katara had talked about the idea, vaguely. First, with little references to things they’d do together years in the future. Then more seriously, with tentative conversations about the role of the Fire Lady. What it had been in the past and all it could be in the future.

He almost blurted it out at Sokka and Suki’s wedding a few months ago, when she’d mentioned an item she’d left at home. Zuko had been confused for a moment, until he realized she meant the Fire Nation when she said ‘home.’

Then on her birthday last month, he’d come close again. The official celebration was a state dinner with the nobility. It was a gesture worthy of her and a promising sign that his government respected her as much as his people did, but it was more “stuffy and diplomatic” than “fun and romantic.” When they’d finally escaped to be alone, Zuko had spent hours in awe of how easily and gracefully she inhabited her role. It had been on the tip of his tongue, but something stopped him. He didn’t love the idea of proposing based on the deft way she charmed old men into supporting social programs, impressive as it was.

He wasn’t really worried about asking, nor her answer, he just wanted it to be perfect. A story they could tell their grandchildren. Grandchildren that wouldn’t exist if he couldn’t get out of this mud pit and actually ask her to marry him. 

Shouldn’t the island have a little more respect for its sovereign? Had he unknowingly done something to incur its wrath?

Was this because he threw up in the ocean last year? That was a one-time thing. He was normally very respectful towards nature. Besides, Aang confessed once that he always peed in the ocean and his only consequences were that everyone now kept a safe distance while swimming and Toph sometimes called him Sprinkletoes. But nothing on the level of ancient curses. Perhaps that was an Avatar privilege. 

Since no similar benefit seemed to exist for the Fire Lord, he would have to make do. With as much of a running start as he could take in the small space, he leapt with all possible momentum and finally managed to cling to the edge long enough to scrabble his feet and hook an elbow over the top of the ditch. That, plus some very undignified wriggling enabled him to clamber out of the trap and lie panting on his back in the clearing. 

Okay, the woods were officially out of the running as a proposal spot.

---

“Where were you this morning?” Sokka asked as he walked a few paces back from Zuko and settled into his fighting stance. Their chances to practice their swordsmanship were infrequent these days, but no less fierce than they ever were. Sokka liked to say it was an important lesson in humility for the Fire Lord to lose a fight. If Zuko won (which happened more often than not) Sokka would inevitably say, “Well, you have two swords. Not exactly fair.”

Zuko had already dodged Katara’s questions about his limp, while still accepting her offer to heal his ankle, with a small lie about tripping on a tree branch after his meditation. He was about to offer the same excuse to Sokka, when a thought occurred to him. 

Zuko was surprised he hadn’t thought of it sooner. Sokka was his only friend who had proposed to someone, successfully, and he did it without anyone being seriously injured as far as Zuko was aware. Appropriately, it was the thought that Katara would surely tell him that it’s okay to ask his friends for help that tipped his decision.  

Zuko shifted into his starting position with his dao swords at his side and adopted a tone of nonchalance. “Oh, I was just exploring the woods around the house.”

Subtlety would be crucial here. Sokka was not the ideal person to know about Zuko’s plans, both because he was Katara’s brother and because he was not known for his secret-keeping abilities. Zuko needed to find a way to bring up the topic casually.

Sokka advanced a step and Zuko retreated to match.

“Anything cool out there?”

Sokka moved forward again, keeping Zuko on the defensive. He tried a quick jab to Zuko’s side, which he blocked easily.

“Out where?”

“The woods.”

“Oh, uh, no.”

Their movements brought them near the edge of the fountain, so Zuko stepped back on to the rim, then hopped down on Sokka’s other side. 

Zuko spun to narrowly avoid Sokka’s next swing, and used his momentum to push Sokka back. “There are a ton of cherry blossom trees out there, though,” Zuko lied, as breezily as he could while panting. “It reminded me of your wedding.” Perfect segue, Zuko. Great job.

“Yeah, they were everywhere on Kyoshi this spring. They’re not in bloom now are they?” Sokka lunged to Zuko’s left, forcing him back again.

“Uh, no. But, you know, the trees still made me think of your wedding.”

Sokka merely nodded in acknowledgement and swung his sword in a high arc while Zuko raised both blades to block, then shoved with enough force to push Sokka back a step. That was Sokka’s style, pressing his advantage as soon as possible. A tactic Zuko could maybe learn from. Just go for it, but casually.

“Oh, hey, I just realized, it’s so random,” Okay, that’s too casual. “I don’t know how you proposed to Suki.”

Sokka smiled even as he was forced back further, a dreamy expression taking over his face. “Oh, it was great. She was at the South Pole for the solstice and one night we were sitting up on the hill above the village and I just asked her. It was pretty perfect.”

Zuko stopped his advance to frown at his opponent.

“That’s all?”

“What do you mean ‘that’s all’? It was a very good proposal!” Sokka started forward again with a series of strikes that Zuko only just deflected. 

“You didn’t, I don’t know, plan a romantic dinner under the stars and then arrange a flock of penguins to spell out ‘marry me’ in the snow?”

“Yeah, I considered it. But penguins are very hard to train.” Sokka laughed and lunged again. “Really the only thing that mattered was that we were together and we wanted to stay that way.” 

The words distracted Zuko enough that he wasn’t prepared for the next attack and found himself stumbling backwards until he was sitting on the ground with Sokka’s sword at his throat. “I win!” Sokka yelled, then after a beat he furrowed his brow. “Wait...why are you interested in this now?”

Zuko scrambled to his feet and hurried off to the house before Sokka could pry further, calling over his shoulder, “No reason, gotta go, good match!”

---

Zuko spent the rest of the day mulling over Sokka’s words and decided he was right. (Don’t tell him Zuko said that.) It would be special because it was the two of them, not because of some elaborate plan. 

Still, a little ambience couldn’t hurt. 

Sunset at the beach would make a nice backdrop. As soon as dinner was over he’d ask Katara to go walk with him and he’d just ask her. 

He tuned out of the discussion going on around the table and mentally rehearsed what he’d say.

He’d practiced plenty of times in the mirror or to an audience of rapt turtleducks in his garden, but you couldn’t be too prepared. The turtleducks seemed receptive. His reflection had had some notes.

Katara, my love, you shine brighter than a thousand suns. Too flowery.

Your beauty is only enhanced by your ability to make grown men cower in fear. True, but a little impersonal.

I am yours, and I will spend every moment of the rest of my life happy if you say you’ll be mine. That’ll do.

And then after reiterating his unending devotion, he’d kneel down and offer her the ring that he’d kept on him at all times for the past two months.

He knew of course that she didn’t need a new betrothal necklace, as she wouldn’t want to replace her mother’s, and that was a Northern custom anyway. So he’d opted for an engagement ring instead, but not without some concessions to her tribe.

He’d chosen a silver band instead of gold, and the jewel in the center was not a diamond, but an opal adorned with small sapphires on either side. It made him think of the moon in the night sky and Uncle Iroh had teared up when he saw it.

As everyone finished eating he kept glancing out the window, monitoring the sun’s descent towards the ocean, hoping to time their walk perfectly with the setting sun. It was nearly twilight; maybe they should just go now.

Zuko had just begun to rise from his chair and leaned into Katara when Sokka stood suddenly.

“If I could have everyone’s attention please,” Sokka said in his serious adult voice. Zuko did not have time for Sokka to plead his case again for why he shouldn’t have to do the dishes. The chore schedule was not to be altered.

“So,” Sokka cleared his throat and looked to Suki who also stood and grabbed Sokka’s hand in hers. 

“We have an announcement,” Sokka said to the table. 

“You finally realized your hairstyle is wrong for the shape of your head?” Toph asked through a mouthful of stew.

“What? No. Do people think that?”

“They don’t not think it.”

“Wait, how would you know!” 

“You had an announcement?” Aang chimed in.

“Huh? Oh, right.” He shot a glare at Toph then turned to Suki again, and the look they shared was so fond that Zuko wanted to avert his eyes, so as not to intrude on a private moment.

“I’m pregnant!” Suki said with a wide smile. 

The reaction was immediate. Everyone exclaimed while Katara squealed and jumped up from her seat to embrace Suki, then her brother, then both at once. 

Aang and Toph joined in the group hug and pulled Zuko up with them. 

“I’m going to be an aunt!” cried Katara

“Me too!” said Toph.

“Yeah, but not as much as me.”

The hugging continued until Sokka forced them to stop crowding his future child. 

Zuko couldn’t help but grin at Katara’s misty expression and his friends’ looks of joy. He clapped Sokka on the shoulder. “I'm really happy for you.”

“Thanks, man.” Sokka pulled him into a real hug and Zuko had a perfect view of the sun slipping below the horizon . 

Oh, well. After sunset was romantic too.

---

Zuko and Katara walked slowly down the beach, hand in hand. Katara liked to drift close to the shoreline so the tide just brushed over her feet as it rolled in. 

It was a clear night, stars filling the sky, and a nearly full moon reflecting a silvery light off the water. The setting was as lovely as he could hope for, but now his concern was something different. Was it odd to propose after Sokka and Suki’s news? Was there etiquette for this?

“I can’t believe Sokka’s going to be a dad.” Katara said with a shake of her head.

“Me neither.”

“They’re going to have a baby.”

Zuko smiled at the thought and at Katara’s serious expression. She ran her teeth over her bottom lip, clearly caught on some idea. 

“It makes me think about how the whole community supports new mothers in the Water Tribe.”

His chest tightened with a new slew of worries. Was she thinking about how her duties would keep her from seeing the baby as often as she’d like? Would she want to move to the South Pole for a while, did she change her mind about living at the palace?

Her voice broke through his spiral. “From what I’ve seen, it’s not really like that in the Fire Nation. In some places, women are totally on their own during pregnancy. We should have a program for expecting mothers. We could send out healers to make sure women are prepared for a baby, maybe provide them with some basics.”

Zuko couldn’t stop his eyes from widening as she talked. At the way she was always thinking of ways to help others.

She continued, “I’m sure Dr. Nishikori would agree to help; he always talks about wanting more funding for rural clinics.”

As he listened to Katara speak so passionately, the night seemed to come into clear focus at last. He was on a beautiful beach with a woman so smart, and strong, and determined that she could do anything she wanted, make a difference wherever she went. And she chose to bless the Fire Nation with her gifts. She chose to spend her time with him. Why would he wait another second?

“Katara.”

She looked at him and apparently misinterpreted his awe for hesitance because she went on, speaking quickly. “I know, I know, it would be expensive, but the impact it would have could be huge. And think of the long term effects of all the children that would grow up in better environments--”

“Marry me.”

“--and not worry about…” She slowed to a stop and turned to face him. “What did you just say?”

“Marry me, Katara.” 

“Okay, that’s what I thought.”

He dropped to one knee and reached in his pocket for the box that had become such a familiar weight against his thigh. He opened the box and looked up at her, heart beating fast in his chest. The moon was behind her, leaving her face in shadow, and lending her an ethereal glow, as was only proper.

She didn’t speak, but her eyes dropped to the ring in his hands and Zuko cleared his throat, wondering if he should bring up that thing about how she makes men cower in fear.

“I love you, Katara, and I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?”

In the low light, he could just barely make out the tears that slipped over her cheeks as she nodded. “Yes, Zuko.”

His own vision went rather blurry as she reached for his hand and pulled him to his feet, winding his hand around her back and leaving it on her waist as she grabbed his face and kissed him.

It was barely a kiss since neither of them could contain their grins, so Zuko settled for peppering her face with kisses before he pulled back to slide the ring on her finger. 

“It’s beautiful, Zuko.” She brought her hands to his face again and the metal of the band was cool on his face as she beamed at him before closing the distance. 

“Oh, also,” Zuko leaned away just enough to speak. “I fully support your idea. For a specific program to aid new mothers.”

Katara’s face lit up and she brought his lips back to hers, responding with an enthusiasm that Zuko tried not to be offended by, even though it was considerably more ardent than after he literally proposed to her.

“You can convince the treasury to fund it, as an engagement present to me.”

“I’d be glad to.” He interlaced their fingers, turning her hand so the ring gleamed in the moonlight. “But I think we’re most effective when we work as a team.”

“That’s true. We make a pretty unstoppable duo.”

“That’s the plan.”

---

Some time later, the moon was low in the sky, and Zuko and Katara were lying back in the sand, idly playing with each other’s hands and occasionally making up names for constellations. 

“I used to think this place might be cursed, you know,” Katara said, not taking her eyes off the sky.

“Did you?”

“Mhmm. You probably didn’t notice, but I displayed some odd behavior over the years.”

“A few things come to mind.” Zuko chuckled then, remembering something from years ago. “One question: is that hair thing, putting your hands in someone’s hair after you’ve been apart, is that really a Water Tribe greeting?”

“Yes, it is. Please do it to my dad next time you see him.”

He laughed again and Katara continued, “But good things happened here too.”

“They did.”

“Still...let’s not come here for our honeymoon.”

“Deal.”