"Zuko, you need to calm down." Katara was sat on their bed going through some scrolls in preparation for tomorrow morning's council meeting.
"Calm down!? How can I be calm right now?! We're facing a major crisis!" Zuko was pacing around the room; hands waving about and getting more animated as his frustration grew. "We have to do something," he exclaimed, "we have to stop this!" He turned to look at Katara. She sighed and looked up to meet her husband's exasperated gaze.
"I did try to warn you, my love," a soft smile spreading across her face. "Following them was never going to turn out well."
"But why did that have to happen?!" Zuko whined, dropping to sit on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. Katara chuckled at his melodramatics.
"Oh thanks a lot," he cried. She smiled lovingly at him as she put down her scrolls and crawled off the bed, moving round to kneel in front of him, taking his hands in hers.
"I'm sorry almighty Fire Lord, but there are some things even you just can't control. It was going to happen sooner or later." She placed a hand on his scarred cheek and he lifted his gaze to meet hers, her eyes filled with a sadness. "Though it pains me to admit it, Izumi's not our little baby any more." Zuko sighed and pulled his wife into his lap. She relaxed into him as she recounted their daughter's excitement at her new friend being permitted to stay in the palace for a few days. "She's 15, Zuko, and has been gushing about this Kuzo boy for weeks now."
Zuko chuckled softly as he thought about how their last few family dinners had gone. Izumi had been very talkative when asked if she was settling into her new class okay.
"You even had Jee run background checks on him and his entire family, so don't tell me you weren't expecting something to happen between them this evening," Katara teased.
"I know, I know," he said with a smile. "I just didn't think I'd have to witness anything myself for a few years yet," he said through gritted teeth.
"Well, my dear, if you didn't want to see your daughter kissing her boyfriend, you shouldn't have hidden in that tree!"