Her fingers traced across the scar, the skin beneath her fingertips raw and jagged. She kept her silence, mindful of her sleeping partner, though part of her longed to wake him and look into his amber colored eyes once again. But, they'd had a long day and she supposed he deserved a full nights rest. She probably did as well, but sleep eluded her, as it so often did these nights.
Though the battles had long since ended, though the fight for peace and stability was won, she still felt restless. Though Zuko's throne was secure, she still felt worried. She supposed after growing up in the turbulent times that she had were the reason behind this, but she'd grow used to peace eventually… Wouldn't she? Besides, it left her so much more time to do the things she'd never before done.
Like, sleep beside Zuko in his grand bed.
Katara couldn't really say when this had happened… It just had. Three years after the end of the war, he'd called her back to the Fire Nation and now, two years later, she'd yet to leave. Her rooms had gone from across the palace, to in the same hall, to the Queen's chambers just across from his. Katara had argued that she didn't deserve such rooms, but then Zuko had slipped a ring on her finger and asked her to be his Queen. It didn't matter that she was a peasant, that she was born from another nation… Zuko loved her, his people loved her, the world loved her. She was a heroine to all of the world, a friend to all nations, and realistically their match had been quite politically sound.
She returned her gaze to the scar upon his chest, the road map of destructed skin left behind by an attack that had been meant to kill her. Katara would never have been laying there beside him if he'd not stepped in front of that lightning bolt, nearly losing his own life in the attempt to save hers. That day felt like eons ago, the day that she and Zuko had squared off against his sister in one final grasp to take back what was his: his crown, his title, his nation. They had won, but just barely, and they'd both walked away with scars of all kinds. Katara trailed her fingers across his scar and it was then that he grasped her hand, his touch warm and strong as his golden colored eyes fluttered open. "I didn't mean to wake you," she said by way of apology, a smile taking root upon her features. Zuko squeezed her hand and propped himself up a bit further on his pillow, eyes lifting to meet hers.
"Can't you sleep?" He asked as she settled into place beside him, her head resting lightly upon his shoulder. Threading his fingers through hers, Zuko listened to her sigh, the silence telling him she was thinking up the words to say. "This isn't the first night…" He murmured as he tilted his head against hers, feeling the gentle squeeze of her hand against his. "I know you've not been sleeping." Of course he did, Katara thought to herself with a laugh. There was no hiding anything from Zuko, he always caught on in the end, no matter how hard she tried to hide things.
"I've just been thinking a lot." She admitted, her voice soft in the darkness. Zuko said nothing, but she knew he was listening. "It's that time, you know." Of course he knew, how could he not? They were coming upon the anniversary of the comet, of that fateful final battle that had changed everything. Her free hand slid up from the blankets to his chest and Zuko felt her press her palm against his scar, against his heart, and then felt the shiver race through her. It was the anniversary of the day they had fought for their lives and for their nations, the day they'd almost lost everything they'd been fighting for. "We could have lost everything."
Zuko nodded, listening intently to what she said, knowing how deeply she felt because he felt it too. There was nothing that could ever scrub from his mind the fear he'd felt that day, the fear he'd felt when he thought he was going to lose her. He could still recall the way the lightning lit up her face as it raced towards her, he could still recall her frightened call when he took the blast himself. There hadn't been a lot of things that made sense in his life up until that point… But that moment, saving her… It had been a moment of clarity stronger than anything else had ever been. He had known that it was his duty to protect her, his mission in life had suddenly become to protect that beautiful, blue-eyed girl. In the end, she saved him as much as he'd saved her. And in more ways than she probably even realized.
"But, we didn't," he said softly, his words causing her to lift her head from his shoulder, instead turning to stare at him with her beautiful blue eyes. Zuko reached out his hand that once held hers, using it to brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead, his eyes meeting hers. "Everything is right here at our fingertips." He cupped her cheek into his palm, recalling how it had felt to feel hers against his so many years ago in Ba Sing Sei, the first human touch he'd had in months. He'd never forget that moment, it was one of many of her burned into the back of his mind. So many moments, big and small, all of them tucked away into the corners of his heart and mind. Every little thing he'd ever noticed, it was all there, committed to his memory… The flicker of her smile, the sway of her hips, the radiance of her eyes in the starlight. The sharp wit of her anger, the softness of her hair, the fierceness of her bending prowess. All of those things, and so many more, were there in his memory banks, easily accessible when he needed a reminder of just how lucky he'd become.
As always, Zuko knew what words she needed to hear. As always, he knew how to calm even her deepest of fears. They had come so far, Zuko and her, from frightened kids fighting a war bigger than themselves, to a ruling Fire Lord and a bending master, from enemies to friends, and from friends to lovers. Their transition from those days to these had been slow but steady and she supposed looking back, she always should have known Zuko would be the one at her side. Now that they were here, there really wasn't anything else in her life that had ever made as much sense. Pivoting herself so she sat up straight and facing him, Katara could not help but to smile. "I love you," she whispered into the darkness, though his amber eyes were glimmering as bright as stars. She felt him shift and then his forehead was pressed against her own, his arms coming around her, warm and secure. In an instant, his lips were on hers, a million unspoken words pressed into that single kiss, and to her surprise she felt a tear gliding down the curve of her cheek. Zuko must have noticed too, for he pulled back and swiped it away with his thumb, his mouth still hovering over her own.
"I love you," his voice was raw as he leaned back in, bringing his mouth back over hers. In a moment such as this, he could not help but want to hold her, touch her, kiss her. Her passion was ignited and he felt her kissing him back, her hands sliding up into the messy raven locks upon his head. "Katara…" He murmured her name as he drew away, instead to trail kisses along the length of her jawbone and down to the exposed flesh of her throat. The sound she made filled him with lustful thoughts and one of his hands trailed the length of her body, his teeth sinking into the soft flesh of her neck. She let out a surprised, yet sensual sound and Zuko could not stop himself from pushing her onto her back. Leaning over her, Zuko offered a silent prayer to the universe, to whatever spirits were out there listening to him back when he'd longed for a family… When he'd longed for a companion, a friend, anyone at all to stand beside him. He'd never expected those wishes to come true, but he was forever thankful that they had. Katara was laughing as his hands tore at her clothes, slipping her free from them with a single tug, leaving her exposed beneath his stare. As he always was, he was reminded of her beauty, of her true perfection. And then he leaned down, kissing her like he'd never kissed her before, hoping that would be enough to explain everything he'd never said to her.
Later, when Katara lay fast asleep beside him, it was Zuko's turn to look over her as she had done hours before. He idly brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, smiling to himself when it sprung right back into its place. His hand slipped beneath the covers, fingers tracing the length of her side, all the way down to her hip, where beneath the pads of his fingers he could feel the softness of her skin. It was still hard to believe that this beautiful, wonderful woman had decided him worthy of her love, of even her presence before him. A few years ago, she had not thought him worthy of much at all. Back then, he'd never felt more strongly about anything in his whole life… The effort to get her approval, it had been everything to him back then.
A content sigh escaped him and Zuko finally lay down beside her again, drawing her warm body close to his. And then he closed his eyes, his face buried in her long raven hair, and knew without a doubt that he was the luckiest man in the world. And he owed it all to her.