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Katara had never imagined that the winter solstice celebrations could be such a big deal in the Fire Nation; she figured they’d be more of a summer people.
“Well, sure, but the winter solstice is still part of the sun’s journey,” Zuko had said. After his and Aang’s experience with the Sun Warriors, he had been particularly interested in turning his people’s attention back to the sun – one of the origins of Firebending – so that they might gradually stop sourcing so much of their inner power from anger and aggression. The Fire Nation people had a terrible reputation with the other nations; it wasn’t undeserved, and Zuko wanted to change it. He had been one of the first to make that transformation in his bending, and he wanted to be an example for his people.
He wanted to avoid sounding preachy, or he knew they’d be less likely to follow his advice. So, instead of telling them not to focus on anger, he tried to encourage them to focus on the energy of the sun instead, and hoped they made the transition on their own eventually.
One of his ideas was to revive the huge solstice and equinox celebrations the Fire Nation used to have more than a century before, prior to Sozin’s reign, where there would be many reminders of the sun’s power and its relation to their people. He also had plans to reform the entire Fire Nation school system, and Firebending training would be one of the first things to be changed, but that was a large undertaking, and it would take time – decades, perhaps. For now, he’d assumed the best way to gain the people’s favor would be celebrations of some sort, and he’d been right. The winter solstice festival had lasted three days, and he’d had to be present for most of it. At the end, he was exhausted and slightly cranky; the social aspect of being a politician was probably the part he was worst at. Katara had also been present for a lot of it, but they hadn’t had much time to be alone, just the two of them.
She missed it. And as she sat in his private quarters with a pot of tea, waiting for him to retire for the night, she hoped he missed it, too.
“Hey,” she said as soon as he’d walked in and closed the door; she didn’t want to startle him. He seemed to jump slightly at the sound of her voice, anyway. Then he smiled. The fireplace provided the only lighting in the room, but she figured it was enough. He ran a hand through his hair, removing his crown and throwing it rather unceremoniously on the bed. His hair fell from its topknot as he removed the outer layer of his formal robes, then his shoes. He walked over to the tea table where she sat and kissed the top of her head before sitting down himself.
“Didn’t expect you to be here,” he said.
She smiled. “I know. I just figured…you know, since we didn’t get to be alone much these past few days…” she trailed off, trying not to blush and probably failing. “I mean, in general,” she added, and his smirk turned into a soft smile. He reached for a large candle that had been on the center of the table and brought it closer to them, then lit it.
“I missed you, too,” he said, a bit shyly.
She poured them the tea and they sat quietly in the candlelight for several minutes, enjoying each other’s company in the simplest, most domestic manner. It touched something inside Katara’s heart, and she smiled as she realized what it meant. She loved their more passionate moments – the sparring, the sex – but it was this that lasting relationships were really made of: the knowledge that ultimately, she could spend her days having quotidian moments just like this one with him, and she’d be happy. The world demanded so much from the both of them, but their relationship didn’t contribute to that – even though it might cause some of it. Instead, it provided relief from it.
It was impossible to forget the difficulty of their situation, but the realization lent her a spark of hope that made her almost giddy – hope that everything might work out in the end, that she might be able to keep the love of her life now that she’d found him (wasn’t that supposed to be the hardest part – the finding?). As they finished their tea, she stood and walked over to him, then settled herself on his lap. His arms went immediately around her like being straddled by a Waterbender was the most natural thing in the world, and she rained little kisses on his jaw and neck. “You have to remember to wake me up as early as possible, or I won’t be able to sneak out properly,” she said sternly.
“I will.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to his bed.