Chapter Text
Zuko walked down the hallway slowly, stretching his arms above his head as he made his way towards his quarters. He had had a long day filled with meetings and reports that kept him up longer than usual. After five years of being Fire Lord, Zuko became used to the long days and nights, not once complaining if he could help it.
With a small sigh, he continued with his trek down the hall, though a light flickering from under one of the doors caused him to pause. Shaking his head, he approached the door, raising his hand to give it a firm knock.
Of course Katara was still awake, not that Zuko was surprised at all. Ever since becoming Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara had been known to work well into the night, not relenting in her work until Zuko practically forced her to go to bed and rest. She was the same Katara he knew growing up, the Katara who put everyone else’s needs before her own without even a second thought. She was selfless in that way, but it bothered Zuko whenever he watched her run herself ragged.
“Katara?” he called out, rapping one hand on the door while the other reached for the door knob. “Katara, are you still in there?”
When he got no answer, Zuko furrowed his brow. Usually when he came knocking, Katara always called back out to him. Worried, Zuko opened the door slowly.
“Katara, I’m coming in,” he warned as he poked his head inside the office.
The image on the other side surprised him: Katara’s arms were folded on the desk, her head laying atop them as if they were a pillow. She let out a small snore, her breath causing a piece of parchment laying next to her head to blow away from her. Zuko couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as he stepped inside of her office and made his way towards her desk.
Looking down at her, he watched her steady breathing, the flush of her cheeks as she let out another snore. Smiling to himself, Zuko placed a hand on her head.
“Katara,” he whispered, leaning towards her. “Come on, Katara, time to go to bed.”
She mumbled under her breath in her sleep, nonsense words that Zuko couldn’t make out. He shook his head, moving his hand closer to her face in hopes that his touch would wake her up. However, when his palm slid across her forehead, he stopped. Frowning, Zuko flipped his hand over, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead; Katara felt warmer than usual, as if her temperature was rising. That could explain the flush of her cheeks. Without a second thought, Zuko removed his hand from her face and bent down towards her, pressing his lips against her forehead noting the way her forehead burned against his lips.
While Zuko was no healer, he could tell that Katara definitely had a fever.
Sighing, Zuko placed a hand on Katara’s shoulder. “Come on, Katara, let’s get you to bed now.”
“Can’t move,” she muttered, her arms muffling her voice. “Don’t feel good.”
“You’re getting sick, Katara,” Zuko explained gently, not removing his hand from her shoulder. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”
Katara didn’t answer, but she did open her eyes, eyeing Zuko warily. “When did you get here?”
“About two minutes ago,” Zuko told her, giving her a reassuring smile.
She let out a soft hum, finally lifting her head from her arms, squinting in the light the candles emitted. “My head feels like it’s filled with rocks,” she complained, pressing the heel of her palms against her eyes. “I think I might just stay here tonight.”
“No can do, Katara,” Zuko stated, removing Katara’s hands from her face. “We have to get you to bed.”
He helped Katara sit up, a groan escaping her lips as she moved. Zuko grabbed her hands and tried to pull her to her feet, but her legs wobbled when she stood. Her eyes still drooped closed, fatigue clearly written in her features as Zuko tried to have her walk forward.
“You leave me no choice.” So she wouldn’t argue, Zuko quickly swept her up into his arms, one arm under knees, the other against her shoulders.
Surprisingly, Katara didn’t argue, just pressed her face into his chest as he made his way out of her office.
“You must be really sick if you’re not yelling at me to put you down,” he teased lightly as he made his way down the hall, now towards Katara’s quarters.
She just hummed, one of her hands settling against his chest just below where his scar resided. He felt a pang in his heart when he looked down at her and caught the grimace on her face. Zuko picked up his pace, nodding at various guards that passed him as he walked.
When he made it to Katara’s quarters, he did the best he could to open her door one handed while trying to keep Katara steady in his arms. Once he finally opened the door, he walked inside, kicking the door closed behind him so no one could disturb them. He took her to the bed, laying her down on top gently so that she was laying on her back.
He placed a hand on her forehead again, trying not to wake her up as he felt her skin burning beneath. Letting out a breath, he went to her feet and sat down, slipping her shoes off as carefully as possible and placing them on the ground next to the bed.
“Zuko,” she rasped, her voice breathless.
“Yes, Katara?” he replied, placing a hand on her leg to let her know he was still there.
“I didn’t finish my work,” she replied, her voice groggy. “I need to meet with Minister Xao tomorrow…”
“Don’t worry about that now,” he assured her, his thumb rubbing circles into her calf. “Just get some rest now, okay?”
“Mhm,” she replied, pulling her legs away from Zuko and curling up on her side.
Zuko let out another small chuckle as he stood up from the bed. He grabbed Katara’s blanket that she had draped at the end of her bed and placed it over her, being sure to tuck it under her so that she was warm. She was still in her clothes, but he didn’t want to risk undressing her without her permission. Even if they were friends, Zuko knew his boundaries. He placed one last soft kiss on her forehead before heading towards her door, placing his hand on the door knob before turning to take one last look at Katara.
He could hear her steady breathing from across the room, and through the open curtains the moonlight fell upon her now peaceful face. With one last smile, Zuko left her room, closing the door behind him as quietly as possible.
As he made his way back to his room, he decided he would check on her tomorrow. After all, Katara took care of everyone else, why not take care of her for a change?