A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews/favorites/and follows from the last chapter! Enjoy this one!
Katara awoke once again, but this time it was morning; very early morning, but morning none the less. Aang was already dressed and walking out the door as Katara was wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Bye, have fun today!" Aang said, waving to her, a huge grin on his face. She didn't even get the chance to open her mouth and respond before he was gone. She sighed as the door slammed, staring at the patterns on the blanket that was still covering her legs.
Finally, Katara got out of bed. It was still early, maybe about 5:30. No one else in the palace would be awake yet, so instead of heading down to breakfast, Katara made her way to the bathroom that was down the hall. It was large and ornate, everything bathed in the same deep red and gold as her bedroom, just like everything else in Zuko's palace.
Katara looked around, finding all of the required items for maximum relaxation, then filled the large tub sitting in the middle of the room. When she had the water just right, with all of the herbs and oils she'd found, she undressed and slipped into the soothing bath.
She immediately felt more relaxed than she'd been the entire trip so far. And when she closed her eyes, she could imagine she was back home in the South Pole.
In the past few years, Katara had taken to baths to relax; Gran Gran had taught her about all of the herbs and salts that were relaxing, plus it was the perfect place for her to think. She could just shut out the world entirely (something that seemed almost impossible seeing as she was always dealing with the world's problems) and just be alone with her own thoughts.
As she laid in the bath, Katara let her mind wander to the previous night. She thought about how it felt when Zuko touched her shoulder before he walked away; not awkward, but definitely tentative; as if he weren't exactly sure he had permission. As she thought about it, she could feel the warmth again on her skin, the warmth that constantly radiated out of the young Fire Lord. Katara couldn't believe how weird things were between them, the entire scenario was very strange.
But then again, Katara and Zuko's relationship had always been strange. They had gone from being enemies, to two people who bonded in a cave, back to enemies, then finally to actual friends who cared for each other. They had gone from having a sort of love/hate relationship, with constant bickering (which Katara had always attributed to the whole fire/water-opposites thing), to this cool, awkward unfamiliarness.
Though they had remained close friends for many years (Katara had even helped Zuko on his search for his mother), they had grown apart shortly after that. Zuko became wrapped up in his duties as Fire Lord, and Katara became wrapped up in her duties as the Avatar's girlfriend.
Katara felt a twinge of sadness as she thought of her relationship with Aang. It was difficult, she decided, for two people to grow up and continue to grow in love.
It was not impossible; Katara had seen it happen with her own brother. Sokka and Suki were set to marry one another in the fall. She wished with all of her heart that she and Aang were able to do the same someday, but she knew deep down it probably wasn't meant to be.
To be honest, Katara had grown tired of everything, not just of being with Aang, but also with worrying about her relationship with Aang. In the past year, it had become her full-time job. And it wasn't as if she kept these fears and worries to herself; she told Aang that she felt neglected. He always promised to make it up to her, to make more of an effort, but it never lasted more than a few weeks. After six years, could anyone really be blamed for the way the relationship was turning out? Katara decided that sometimes people get stuck in ruts they can't change, and the only way to fix them is to get out.
She felt horrible about it.
Katara wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been in the bath, but judging from the amount of sun coming in from the window, and from her wrinkled fingertips, she guessed it had been about an hour.
Katara jumped out, waterbended herself dry, slunk into a robe, and left the bathroom. She walked quietly down the hall and back into the room she was sharing with the Avatar. Opening the large, wooden armoire, Katara grabbed one of what she called her "fire nation uniforms." She had several outfits in the Fire Nation's signature red and gold accents, but she never found herself wearing them unless she was actually in the Fire Nation. They were a little more revealing than what she wore at home or in the Earth Kingdom, but the weather here demanded it.
Katara could feel that today would be especially hot, so she pulled on a simple shirt that looped around her neck via gold fabric and left much of her stomach showing (as it only just covered her breasts). The shirt was backless except for another thin piece of gold fabric that was attached at the bottom of the shirt, much like the bathing suits that were popular on Ember Island. The only difference between what the locals called "bikinis" and the red fabric that made up the front of Katara's shirt was that her shirt went halfway up to her neck and allowed for absolutely no cleavage. She pulled on a pair of gold shorts, followed by a thin and translucent red skirt that went down to the middle of her calves. She wished she could handle the heat better, but she was simply not accustomed to weather like this.
She looked at herself in the mirror: her tan skin looked radiant against all of the red and gold, but her blue eyes stood out in stark contrast. She momentarily contemplated fixing her waist-length hair in the style popular here, but that would have taken an awful lot of effort. She then thought about quickly braiding it as she would at home, but finally decided to just leave it be. Her curls were a little wild, but she almost never wore it down like that and she was far too hungry at the moment to worry too much about hair.
On her way to the kitchen, Katara wondered if anyone would be up at this hour. She realized that of course there would be, this was the Fire Lord's Palace! She was bound to at least run into the staff on her way to breakfast. But she didn't.
When she reached the kitchen, she swung the door open to find the Fire Lord once again. He had his back turned to her and he was gathering different ingredients from shelves and cabinets, but he looked just as he had the night before: like a normal 22 year old. He turned when he heard the door open, and smiled as he said, "Good morning Katara, you're up early."
As he moved to the island in the middle of the large kitchen to set his ingredients down, Katara smiled back and said, "As are you."
"Haven't you heard? We Fire Nation folk rise with the sun!" He placed both hands on the counter, which was just below waist level on him, and put all of his weight into his hands, leaning closer to Katara as she walked towards him. It took everything in her not to drool over his arm muscles at that moment.
"I have," Katara said with a sly smile, "Just not when it comes to you." She was glad they seemed to be warming back up to each other.
"Actually if I'm being honest, I never went to bed," he said, standing up straight and focusing on what was right in front of him; the food he had pulled out of the cabinets. "So I decided I'd make you a traditional Southern Water Tribe breakfast!" He gestured proudly at the ingredients before him. "I did think I'd have more time so that it would be ready when you woke up."
"Really?" She asked, "That's so sweet! But do you have time to do that? Also, where is your staff, don't they usually cook everything?"
"Katara, I'm supposed to be in Republic City," he said as he spread his arms open wide, "I've got all week!"
As he spread his arms, Katara noticed the scar in the middle of his chest and she looked away quickly. Not because it disgusted her, but because she couldn't bear the memory that came with that scar.
Zuko was still talking when Katara finally met his amber eyes again. "…gave my staff the day off. I thought I could keep you company today."
"That sounds great, Zuko," Katara said honestly. "Wow, you seem so chipper, all things considered." She was testing the waters. Six years ago if she had made a comment like that, he wouldn't have even bat an eye. Katara was curious to see if their relationship really was moving past whatever awkward phase it was in.
As Zuko mixed the ingredients and Katara sat picking at them, he said, "Mai was right. It was a low blow, yes, but only because my ego was wounded. Besides, Mai is looking for some epic love that will last for infinity, and I know I could never have given her that. I'm just sorry we both wasted so much time."
"You don't think you could love someone for infinity?" Katara asked. It sounded like a silly question, and she felt like such a girl asking it, but for some reason she knew his answer was important.
"I'm not really looking for infinity," he answered, never looking up from his work. "I'm looking for something more present than that."
Katara's brow creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, if you're always too focused on trying to make something last for infinity, you can't really live in the moment," he stopped for just one moment to look her in the eye and say, "You miss out on all of the good stuff happening right now."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know what you think!