Author's Note: A follow-up fic to "Burn It Up" but it can be a standalone. Please note that this fic is a bit more mature than Burn It Up. Either way, I hope you enjoy it :)

Daybreak

"..Things in the Earth Kingdom are going well. I've been traveling from town to town with Aang just to make sure that things have been in order and to sort out any problems that there may be. It's a hectic life, but it's no different than when we were teens. Well, except that there's no longer any war..

Be sure to send Iroh our love and thanks for the tea set that he sent us. We've been using it every day ever since. Sokka and Suki say hello, and Toph wanted to send a punch in the arm but we couldn't quite figure out how to send that in a letter. But we all miss you. Especially me.

With love,

Katara."

Zuko carefully folded the parchment, well-worn from re-reading it night after night ever since it arrived days ago, and he placed it under his pillow for safe-keeping. The sun had not quite risen yet, but he could already feel the pull of its impending rising deep inside his veins and down to his very core; the rapidly approaching energy coursed through his veins. He closed his eyes to savor the growing rush of warmth that began to spread over his body as he imagined the chime and melody of Katara's gentle voice echoing deep inside his memories. Sighing, he withdrew himself from the soft scarlet and golden lined depths of his regal bed, suddenly missing the comfort not even a second after he rose.

"I rise with the moon, you rise with the sun huh?", she giggled and her eyes crinkled at the joke. Zuko slapped his forehead and mentally kicked himself for ever having said that.

He crossed the large room in wide steps while pulling on a plain robe, but before he left his chambers he paused to gaze at his sleeping wife who lay rigidly beneath the covers. Her black hair spread across the silk pillows, but contrasted with the deep scarlet sheets her skin looked ghastly and pale. At one point in his life, he was drawn to her creamy visage but now he was only reminded of a ghost everytime he saw her gliding from room to room. Even in her sleep she looked painfully bored. In that moment, he was reminded of smooth bronze skin that smelled of seaspray and the rays of the sun, wrapped in the scarlet and gold of his bed and just as quickly, the memory was gone. Zuko shook his head, suddenly aware of his loneliness, and he turned to leave the room.

It was still very early in the morning, and his countless attendants and servants scurried across the palace to prepare for the day at hand. This life had quickly become a bore and he strangely longed for nights spent under the stars or hurtling through the sky on the back of Appa, marveling at the glow of cities sparkling silently beneath them. He even began to miss the lowing of the tsungi horn during his Uncle's music nights during his days as an exile. His feet echoed along the expansive hallways. His eyes were fixed at a single point in the distance, and he made no move to acknowledge the bowing servants who pressed their faces to the floor at the sight of the Fire Lord.

Zuko found the small bud of a white rose on his desk in his study - their signal, and his heart began to race in anticipation. He found her waiting patiently in a room, long deserted in the furthest wing of the palace, with an intense fire burning in those clear blue eyes. It was a look of pure hunger and need. She lay leisurely on an old chaise lounge and she beckoned the Fire Lord to her side with a finger, and he willing obliged, hypnotized by her haunting eyes.

The Fire Lord continued to walk on. He passed by windows that were filled with the blinding light of the rising sun and the heat of the day had already started to rise and fill the air. He was supposed to be out in the courtyard practicing his fire-bending, but he simply didn't feel like it today. It could wait until later, he decided. And he followed his feet, which carried him around the palace.

He had to get back at her for her smoldering gazes from across the long dinner table. He knew that she purposely nibbled on her lips as if to say "Don't you wish you could have a taste?". A mix of lust and longing bubbled up deep inside him, built up and long since forgotten. Mai just wasn't as passionate somehow; nothing seemed to satisfy her and Zuko was always left deeply annoyed and irritated. But this time, he made up for time lost and quickly yanked off Katara's robe to reveal her soft, supple skin. She smiled devilishly and pulled him in for a heated kiss.

Zuko stopped in front of a large tapestry. It was one that he had commissioned after the fall of his father to commemorate the start of a new chapter in the Fire Nation but mostly to remember how far he had come over long years. It was woven with the finest of silk. Zuko reached up to run his fingers along the woven edges, gazing fondly at the rich greens, browns, and blues that spread widely across the front. But he drew his attention to one corner of the tapestry, where a lithe brown-skinned girl bended a fine stream of water surrounded by a background of icy blues and whites. He smiled, remembering when Katara squealed with delight when she found her likeness emblazoned on the tapestry.

The heat between their entwined bodies continued to climb with each kiss. Katara mounted Zuko and pinned his hands above his head. She wanted him to be in agony without being able to touch and feel her as she rode him fiercly, breasts bouncing wildly. Zuko's heart was fit to burst as he was consumed with his desire and love for the Waterbender. He suckled her nipples hungrily, taking pleasure in the way she arched her back and hips into his. He clenched his teeth as he thrust his hips up to meet her every move. More, more, more, he begged.

Without knowing how or why, Zuko found himself with his hand poised on the doorknob of the room where he and Katara would steal away whenever the Gaang flew in for a visit. A rare, wide smile spread across the Fire Lord's face.

Their moans grew louder and louder as they rocked faster and faster on the couch. Hands still held fast by the Waterbender, her thighs wrapped tightly around him. Zuko's head spun, his heart raced. He was getting closer until...

He found himself laying face down on the old, scarlet chaise lounge. He could still catch a trace scent of Katara's hair. Zuko rolled over on his back, covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily. The emptiness of the room bore heavily down upon him, doing nothing to fill the void left in his heart.

He dressed Katara carefully, making sure to painstakingly rearrange her hair as to not rouse any suspicion from their friends. Their eyes met briefly and he felt a shock snake through his body and race up his spine when he saw a slow smile stretch across that beautiful face of hers. Zuko placed a kiss on her forehead before embracing his lover tightly in his arms. "I'll never let you go, Katara. Don't forget that", he whispered into her hair. A long pause, a wistful sigh. "I know", she replied. She left his strong arms and smiled at him one last time before walking out of the door.

Suddenly, the Fire Lord let out an angry scream, balling his fists and letting forth a burst of flame from his mouth. Though this was the life he had always dreamed of, always wanted, had fought for desperately since his banishment, it still wasn't enough for him. After what felt like hours, Zuko picked himself up and slowly crossed the floor. The sun would be fully up now and Mai would soon stir from her sleep, eager to see her husband waiting for her by the bedside. As Zuko walked back to his chambers in defeat, he thought of the next letter he would send to Katara and the Avatar in the coming days. Fire Lord Zuko is requesting a visit. Soon, very soon.