Amongst the Fire Lilies
Katara struggles to juggle all of the scrolls in her arms, as she strolls through the halls of the fire nation palace. After years of traveling to each nation to study its society's healing methods, her journeys finally brought her to the fire nation. Although she initially planned to squat up somewhere discreet, he came knocking on her door just a day after her arrival along with several servants to carry her luggage. Of course, she teased him and of course, he stumbled over his words, not at all the paragon of power he was supposed to represent.
After the reunion and shift to a chamber in the palace, filled with awkward glances and unspoken words, they had settled into a pleasant peace. Most nights were spent in Zuko's office, both working tirelessly on their respective responsibilities. The endless work was somewhat bearable when they occupied the same space. Katara would insist, okay, more like force Zuko to take a break and she would have desserts or whatever they craved delivered to the study. They ate and talked and laughed and soon it was like no time had passed at all.
On one particularly late night, last night to be exact, after too many scrolls and a sudden appearance of fire whiskey, she admitted that she missed him and apologized for not staying in touch. He was silent for a long while, his steady amber gaze trained intently on her. She squirmed under his intense stare and the warmth of the alcohol was pressing its way through her bloodstream. She suddenly noticed how close they were, shoulders leaning on each other for support. He leaned down to place a quick, chaste kiss on her lips. After that, everything was fragmented. She remembers giggling a lot and waking up in her bed…alone.
She tries to shift the scrolls to one arm, so she can open the door to her bedroom. She backs into the room, balancing everything in a delicate manner. "Hey." She squeals and drops everything. Zuko stands in the middle of her room, but that's not nearly the most startling surprise. He is surrounded by fire lilies, an entire hill's worth in fact. From wall to wall, every table and chair, her bed, everything was covered in the blazing reds, brilliant oranges, and dazzling golds.
She laughs a breathless laugh. "What is all of this?" His face perfectly matches the flowers surrounding him. He scratches the back of his head, cursing his inability to form coherent words when it really counts. He can't help it. She's dressed in scarlet fire nation robes, draped loosely around her shoulders, skirt wrinkled from sitting in the library all day. Her thick waves are tossed up into a messy bun, held only by a golden hair pin with a dragon weaving its serpentine body around the ornament. The warm tones of the flowers compliment her rich bronze skin. The sun is setting as well, so she and the room are bathed in a stunning golden glow. Her blue eyes shine in a rebellious contrast to her environment, as she surveys the room in awe and wonder.
"I want to do it right this time." He gathers his courage and closes the distance between them, taking her hands in his. Her mouth parts, ready to feign ignorance to what he means by "this time". He starts rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, causing her cheeks to burn. This is exactly why she desperately wishes for the sweet comfort of the alcohol. It is not at all that she doesn't return his feelings. It simply scares her how intense she feels them. He is all passion and ardor and she is too. It just took being around him for her to realize it, or rather, accept it.
Katara hooks her arm around the back of his head and leads his lips to meet her own. Finally they both think, settling into a rhythm. He rests one hand on the small of her back and uses the other to remove the hair pin, allowing her deep brown waves to fall freely. She sighs contently. Their bodies mold to each other, mixing breaths and familiar scents and the sweat of a fire nation summer day. The flowers fill the room with their intoxicatingly heavy smell. He picks her up and leads them to the bed, laying her on her back. She is lying in a bed of fire lilies. He is trying extremely hard to understand how she could exist, how this moment was happening.
She rakes her hands up his tunic and he kneels on the bed to help her remove it. And then his love is strikingly visible. The faded pink twisted flesh stares back at her from his abdomen. There is a moment of heavy silence as Zuko is above her, his hands beside her head and his knees flanking her hips. She is still staring at the scar. He is about to say something– anything– but she doesn't give him the chance. Her masterful body swaps their positions in an instant. Her eyes are a blazing blue fire and she kisses him, tasting everything he is: his doubts and desires, his hopes and fears, aiming to reach his core, his inner fire. Her tongue darts out to swipe his bottom lip. He takes the opportunity to claw his fingers through her hair and form his hand into a fist, diving his tongue into her open mouth.
They move together: pushing and pulling, igniting and diminishing, rising and falling. They throw years of tension and misunderstandings into every touch, every taste, every glance, every bite, every moan. Clothes fall. Limbs tangle. Voices mix. Positions change. Sweat drips. Emotion and passion spill from every movement and whisper. There is no more space between them, both physically and spiritually. Zuko worships every part of her, leaving no space of skin untouched by his lips. He marks her throat possessively and she returns the favor on his chest and back. She matches his ferocity without hesitation; he's not surprised in the least. The blows they traded during the war and the times he ended up on his back was enough to hint at the beast she hid so well.
And then they shatter. The world could have been ending outside the door and they would be none the wiser, completely encapsulated by one another. The only sound is their breathing slowing to a normal pace. Amber is locked on sapphire. Words are useless at this point. Every message they wanted to convey, every complex feeling and unnecessary explanation fades away, burned by the fire, dissolved by the waves. They lie on their backs in complete and pure bliss. Katara bites her bottom lip, halfheartedly trying to hide her wide smile. Zuko isn't trying at all to hide his joy.
"No, but seriously. What's with all the flowers?" She can't keep the laughter from her voice. She rolls to her side and traces sloppy circles on his chest. "Isn't it obvious?" Her eyebrows knit together, signaling that no, it was, in fact, not obvious. He holds her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "I was intending to deflower you." She collapses onto his chest in a fit of laughter and he joins her. "That has to be the worst joke you've ever told."
"It worked, didn't it?" She kisses him on the lips, savoring the sweet taste. "Yeah, this time."