Author's Notes:
Disclaimer: ATLA is of course not mine. I'm just borrowing.
Five Years Later
"Fire Lord Zuko, sir, when you have a moment…"
"What is it?"
"A letter sir."
Zuko scowled. "I'm up to my neck in paperwork as it is." He was sitting at his desk in his private office, trying to review dozens of requests and complaints from various regions of the Fire Nation – and these were just the ones that had been screened and deemed important enough for personal review by the Fire Lord. Though honestly, Zuko thought, as he looked down at a request for additional toilets at the capital opera house, whoever did his screening needed more training on the meaning of "important."
"Sir?"
Zuko sighed. "What does it say?"
"It has the Avatar's seal, sir," the assistant said. "I…er…we thought you should open it…"
Zuko leaned back in his chair. Over the last few years, Aang had devoted himself to restoring and rebuilding the air temples, and when he wasn't doing that he toured the world, visiting places that were in need of the Avatar's assistance. Aang always made it back for the Fire Festivals in the spring, but sometimes that was the only time Zuko saw the kid all year.
"Thank you," Zuko said to the assistant. "I'll take the letter."
The assistant bowed and left Zuko alone with Aang's letter. Zuko broke the seal.
Hiya Your Fire Lordliness, (Zuko rolled his eyes.)
It has come to the attention of your friends and family that you have failed to take a vacation in over two years. As General Iroh often says: "A man needs his rest." This is especially true when that man is the leader of an entire nation. I know how important it is to you to fulfill your duties as the Fire Lord, so you can consider this an Avatar-intervention. I am hereby calling a Peace Summit to be held in two weeks time. Our most important leaders and masters have been invited. That means you, Zuko. There's something I want to do and I'm going to need your support to make it happen.
No excuses! But just in case you thought you might get sick at the last minute: the Northern Water Tribe has graciously agreed to host. You DO know what that means, don't you?
See you in two weeks, buddy. Better start packing.
Aang
Zuko set the scroll down and mulled it over. He looked over all the paperwork on his desk and groaned. Maybe Aang was right – a vacation did sound nice. Though Zuko wasn't sure why Aang thought hosting the event at the North Pole would be incentive for him to show up. Couldn't they have gotten together on Ember Island or maybe that new Convention Center out in the Si Wong Desert? Zuko had heard good things about that place. There wasn't anything he wanted to see at the North Pole. Katara had been doing some waterbending training thing with the female waterbenders of the Northern Water Tribe, and every time Zuko wrote to her he made mention of the fact that waterbending works just as well on a sunny beach as it does in the freezing arctic. He thought of the time he'd nearly frozen to death at the North Pole trying to capture the Avatar. Yeah, Zuko thought. Katara was probably the only thing in the whole North Pole worth going to the summit for.
Wait…what had Aang said in his letter? Zuko quickly scanned it again. Was Aang implying…?
The assistant knocked on the door and peaked in. "Is everything okay, sir?" he asked.
Zuko read the letter a third time. Aang probably just meant this would be an opportunity for everyone to get back together again. Maybe he needed that. To see…everyone.
"Prepare my ship," Zuko said, making the decision on the spot. "Tell them to pack for the cold. We're heading to the North Pole."
"Nina, that's a great water stream – try extending your arms a little more – good. Po Yun – impressive shield! You can also try freezing it and attaching it to your arm, like this, see?"
Katara moved from student to student, correcting a form here, giving encouragement there. She loved working with her class, and she found that a little positive reinforcement went a long way with these motivated benders.
A tall figure with a square jaw and thick brown hair came up behind her. "How's it going?" he asked, giving Katara a quick squeeze around the shoulders. Katara blushed and a few of the women in her class glanced up and smiled knowingly.
"Hi Keiro," she said. "We were just wrapping up our lesson."
"Perfect," he said. "Then I'm just in time."
Katara smiled. "Just give me a minute," she said. She turned back to the warriors. "Ladies! Great job today! Enjoy your afternoon – we'll have another lesson tomorrow morning." She bowed to her students to dismiss them and they bowed back, singing out "thank you Sifu Katara" as a chorus. That part kind of still got her a little.
"You're an amazing teacher, Katara," Keiro said, laying the complement on thick. "They're so lucky to have you."
"Well, I do my best with them," she replied, packing up. "They've really come far in the last year."
Keiro watched while she finished gathering her things. "They couldn't have done it without you." She tied up her satchel and he snatched it away from her, lifting it easily over his shoulder. "So, Sifu Katara, how do noodles sound?"
Katara felt her stomach rumble. Waterbending really took a lot of energy. "Like lunch," she said.
"Ming's Noodles it is then!" Keiro said enthusiastically. They walked back into the settlement together.
Katara liked Keiro's easy spirit. She had met him in the fall, when she first came to the North Pole to work with the women and teach them to waterbend. He was a waterbender too, and he was pretty good. Sometimes they sparred. She let him win every now and then – it was the only way he ever could win – but he made comments that made her think he knew what she was doing.
She liked his family. His father had died in the attacks on the Northern Water Tribe back during the war, but his mother was still around and he had two younger brothers. His mother was sweet. She invited Katara to dinner sometimes. His brothers were rambunctious, so Katara was getting a lot of practice healing small wounds. But despite the fact that she had gotten to know Keiro pretty well over the last several months, Katara wasn't sure she was ever going to feel more than friendship with him. There was a spark missing between her and Keiro. He had kissed her a few times, but it never felt quite right. Still, he hung around and as long as there was a chance that whatever this was would grow into something else, she didn't mind.
"You must be thrilled to have your friends coming into town in a few weeks," Keiro said, slurping up broth from his bowl at Ming's.
Katara twisted her noodles with her chopsticks. "I am. They're coming from everywhere. The Kyoshi Warriors will be here first, and I'll introduce you to the leader, Suki."
"Your brother's girl?"
"Yep," Katara said. "Sokka will be in soon after, so maybe you can meet him then. He's coming with Toph."
"The earthbender?"
Katara sipped on her broth and nodded. "That's the one. Aang wrote me a few days ago to say he's going to try to come in early." She hesitated, thinking of the one friend she hadn't yet mentioned, but then she plowed on. "Zuko will be the last to show. He's always late."
"Wow. Do you really still think the Fire Lord will show up?" Keiro's eyes bugged out and there were noodles hanging from his mouth. He always got a little starstruck when Katara mentioned Zuko, and it was one of the reasons she avoided talking about Zuko with Keiro. The other reasons were harder for her to explain, even to herself.
"He does have an entire nation to run," Katara said. "But I think Zuko will make time for this. We haven't seen each other in so long."
"You do realize you're on a first-name basis with the Fire Lord, right?"
"Well, he's on a first-name basis with me," she responded, slightly annoyed. "So is the Avatar. And so are you."
"Yes I am," Keiro said. He was handsome when he smiled, and he had deep blue cobalt eyes that shined when he looked at her.
Maybe there could be something there, Katara thought.
Keiro swallowed down another huge scoop of noodles sloppily, leaving one noodle hanging down his chin. She resisted the urge to say something about it and wondered how Keiro would get along with her friends. She imagined him slurping up noodles in front of Zuko.
Keiro plucked the stray noodle from his chin and ate it. Maybe not, she thought. He smiled and patted her hand affectionately. She hoped they wouldn't serve noodles at any of the Peace Summit banquets.
Zuko knocked at the door of the Jasmine Dragon Due, a branch of his uncle's Ba Sing Se based tea shop located in Capital City in the Fire Nation. Zuko knew his Uncle was in town, and he was overdue for a visit.
"Nephew! What a pleasant surprise!" Uncle Iroh said, standing up from his pai sho game to greet Zuko with a warm hug.
Zuko hugged back. "Uncle, it's good to see you." His uncle had aged slightly over the last few years, but was still in excellent health. Zuko was incredibly grateful for Uncle's devotion to such things as longevity-promoting tea and meditation techniques. There were very few people Zuko could turn to for true love and support, and Uncle Iroh was at the top of the short list.
"Please, nephew, come in and have tea with me. How does green tea sound to you?" He uncle ushered him in and started bustling around the shop.
"Great, Uncle Iroh," Zuko said. "Thank you." He sat down at a table and stared at a sign that read "MAKE TEA, NOT WAR" while he waited for his uncle to bring out the tea. The Jasmine Dragon had gained much notoriety over the last several years, and Zuko was very proud of his uncle. It was wonderful to see how happy the tea shops made him.
"So Zuko, tell me what is on your mind," Uncle Iroh said, sitting down with his nephew.
"Actually, Uncle, I'm here with an invitation."
"An invitation!" Uncle Iroh exclaimed. "I hope it is to a royal ball. I'm quite the dancer, you know." He chuckled. "Remember how I taught you to dance?"
"Yes, Uncle," Zuko said flatly, thinking back to a particularly embarrassing afternoon. "How could I forget?"
Uncle Iroh laughed again. "Certainly the soldiers I made dance with you will never forget! But a royal prince must be a man of many talents, eh? To what am I invited?"
"We're both invited actually, along with a contingency of our best benders," Zuko explained. "Aang is holding a peace summit, to be hosted by the Northern Water Tribe, and I would be honored for you to attend with me."
"Ahhh…then you will be able to catch up with all of your friends! I am sure they will be excited to see you." Uncle's eyes twinkled. "Especially Lady Katara. Is she still single?"
"Uncle!" Zuko yelped quietly, blushing hard and looking around to make sure no one nearby was listening too close. "She's just a good friend."
"A very pretty good friend, nephew. Of marrying age."
Zuko shook his head. "I would never jeopardize my friendship with Katara by bringing…er…romance into the equation. How can you even suggest that?"
"Unless you are willing to take a risk, you will never reap the reward," Uncle advised. He held his tea in both hands, sipping it like he was hiding a smile behind the cup.
"Katara isn't a reward!" Zuko cried.
"Of course not," Uncle said, raising his eyebrows mischievously. "I only meant to say you should have more faith in your friendship with Katara. It was strong enough for you each to risk your life to save the other. Surely it is strong enough for a shared bowl of noodles and a nice evening stroll."
"You don't understand," Zuko said, frustrated. "Anyway, I'm not going to the North Pole for a date. I'm going for the peace summit."
Uncle laughed merrily.
"So will you come with me?" Zuko asked, swallowing down the irritation his uncle was inspiring in him.
"No, Lord Zuko, I will stay here, and attend to my tea shops. I am getting too old for trips around the world, and the North Pole is too cold for me."
"Are you sure?" Zuko pressed. "The ship's galley is stocked with your favorite dumplings, and plenty of tea."
"It is your turn for diplomacy now," Uncle replied. Then he paused and added happily: "And dating is often more pleasant when you have the ship to yourself, don't you think?"
"Uncle!" Zuko said, his cheeks on fire.
Uncle Iroh grinned. "Oh Zuko. You're going to have to marry someday. The Fire Nation needs an heir to the throne. You won't live forever." He eyed Zuko like he was trying to decide how far he could push his cause, then he leaned back and chuckled. "Well, how about a nice game of pai sho now?"
Zuko groaned but capitulated. Anything to get Uncle off the subject of his need for a wife. The rest of their time together that afternoon was blissfully free of the subject of Zuko's marital problems (or lack thereof), but later Zuko decided to walk back to the palace on his own. He couldn't help thinking about what his uncle had said.
Zuko's last girlfriend, Mai, had broken up with him. She claimed she was bored with their relationship, and he didn't doubt that, given the amount of time he spent behind his desk. Being the Fire Lord was surprisingly tedious. He had to get up at dawn just to make time to train and keep up his physical strength and bending. By the end of the day, he was often exhausted, and he had very little time for anything other than work. Mai said she needed more than just shared dinners and brief conversations, and he was sad when she left.
He'd heard again from Mai about a year back. She was married to a merchant who traveled all over the world, and it sounded like she was never bored now. He had thought hearing from her would be depressing, but instead he was truly happy for Mai. He didn't miss her anymore. He hadn't in a long time. At the same time, he had started to feel lonely. He walked the halls of the Fire Palace alone many nights. It would have been nice to walk with someone. Of course, he'd thought of trying to date – and Uncle had sent many a girl his way – but no one was special enough for him to try for a second date.
Zuko sighed. Uncle was right about one thing: Katara was a very pretty girl. But he just couldn't bring himself to think about her that way. It wasn't that he wouldn't have wanted to date her or that she wasn't special enough. It was the opposite. He would never have asked her to date him. Katara wrote to him every few months, and he always wrote back. He shared an easy relationship with her. It was hard won, but next to Uncle there wasn't anyone he would have trusted more.
Which was exactly why she was out of the dating pool. Zuko was looking forward to seeing Katara, as well as Aang, Toph and even Sokka. But he wasn't going to the North Pole to find a wife, and that was that.