*This chapter gets inappropriate towards the end. Not full lemons, but zesty!*

(Chapter starts three weeks after Zuko/Iroh's conversation about Katara and the Aang/Katara breakup.)

Fire Nation Capital

The sun had finally gone down which meant that Zuko could conclude meetings with the politicians for the day. Zuko found himself very thankful for his cabinet of officials on more than one occasion. Most of them were grateful Zuko was in power and not Ozai because that meant maintaining peace and not always plotting war conquests. Maintaining peace doesn't chip away at the soul like war does and Zuko's officials relished in the feeling of being human and helping people again instead of attempting to dominate everyone. Any officials who longed after the reign of Ozai were firmly dismissed and stripped of any and all power, but not without a pension. Zuko would not tolerate uprisings, but he couldn't be the reason another man starved. After shaking hands with everyone as they walked out the door of the throne room, Zuko rolled his eyes at the throne and heavily plopped on the couch the scribes normally sat on. Uncle Iroh was still in the room and got up from his seat at the right of the throne, and pulled up a folding chair next to his exhausted nephew.

"Zuko, you handled that very well. I think convincing the cabinet to set aside a fund to further restore the Earth Kingdom was very wise and will help strengthen the alliance. From my travels, I no longer sense strive from the Earth Kingdom, but King Bumi did seemed disheartened by the amount of his people who were still in poverty."

Zuko knew it was a good idea but it did make him happy to hear his uncle say so. Zuko was Fire Lord which meant he had to sometimes make decisions not everyone would like, but he always felt more confident in his decrees when Uncle Iroh supported them. Zuko started rubbing his temples before responding, "Thank you Uncle. Father hoarded away so much gold that I'm almost ashamed of the amount. It doesn't feel right to keep it all to ourselves." Zuko was so tired he almost fell asleep but it was still too early. He asked Iroh, "Would you like to go to the turtle duck pond? I would love some tea."

Iroh smiled, "Nephew, nothing would make me happier." As they were walking, Iroh enjoyed the easy conversation with his nephew. Iroh knew Zuko became exhausted after all of the meetings, so he talked only about easy things like food, weather, plays, and music. When they reached the patio, Iroh warmed up the water from the tea set they always kept there for their regular breakfast time.

Zuko always preferred tea when Uncle Iroh made it. If being a tea bender was such a thing, Zuko knew his uncle would be a master of that craft.

Iroh took a sip of his tea before starting the conversation, "So Zuko, have you heard from young Katara yet?" Iroh tried to hide his smile while he watched his nephew blush. Iroh almost felt bad for the surprise he had in store for Zuko, but he thought it was better than letting his nephew get overly anxious with nerves. He was surprised by the sad tone he heard in Zuko's response.

"No, I haven't. I was almost hoping Katara would send word after Aang sent the hawk telling me about their engagement ending, but she hasn't. I wanted to send word to Katara, but it didn't seem appropriate unless she initiated contact. To tell you the truth Uncle Iroh, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since our talk a couple weeks ago. I wasn't expecting her to fall into my arms, but I thought we could rekindle the friendship."

If Iroh had known Zuko felt that way, he would've given Zuko a heads up sooner. "Zuko, you should know. I received a letter from Katara last week. She didn't know how busy you were, so she let me know that she would be staying in the capitol for a couple weeks, maybe longer. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry and I thought it would be a nice surprise."

Zuko felt his face get red from anxious blushing, "When is she arriving? I would've sent a fleet to transport her. My hair must look like a ratmonkey's. I hope..."

And that's when he saw her. The sight of Katara sent all of Zuko's blood straight to his heart and groin; he couldn't discern which body part was more affected. Katara had certainly grown up since their late teens years. Zuko stared at Katara across the pond in the outdoor hallway before she could noticed. The first place Zuko's eyes went to was her hips. From all of Katara's flying, walking, and swimming in her free time, her backside had grown from muscle mass and become toned in a way that made her rear very round. The sun exposure only deepened her tan while also creating beautiful, natural highlights that looked perfectly golden red. She changed her hairstyle to mostly hanging free with a simple braided top knot to keep some hair out of her face. When Katara turned, Zuko couldn't help but appreciate the new style of tunic wrap Katara wore that showed a modest, but still incredibly arousing, amount of her cleavage.

Iroh blushed at the sight and whispered to Zuko, "I'll leave you two alone. Remember, don't offend fate by wasting a second chance. That avatar may be powerful and all, but he's a fool for letting a walking masterpiece of art like that get away. " Iroh bowed his head and walked away.

Katara saw Iroh and waved at him as he walked away. Iroh returned it with a smile that warmed Katara's heart. She saw Zuko for the first time in three years. She could see he took his hair out of the silly Fire Lord hair bun and let it fall down. Zuko still had the scar, but it seemed to have faded in color with time. He had draped his robe over a chair so his firm muscles were exposed out of his sleeveless tunic. Katara couldn't help but think of Aang's lean muscles paling in comparison to Zuko's strong, defined biceps. Without thinking, Katara's immediate train of thought went to what Zuko's thighs must look like under his linen pants. Katara had forgotten how tall Zuko was. And the strain of his job must have been affecting him because Katara could see that Zuko's eyes had shifted from that of an angsty teenager to an old soul trying to do all things for all people. That made Katara sad, but not for long because she quickly realized Zuko's eyes also looked much kinder. Katara thought one of the turtleducks must have splashed her because she suddenly felt a little wet between her legs, but then she realized the moisture was much too warm to be the cold water from the pond. She blushed mildly in embarrassment.

It wasn't until Zuko smiled at Katara and waved her over to the patio for tea that Katara realized she was holding her breath after seeing the handsome young Fire Lord.