A/N: Just to clarify, this is, in fact, a Zutara fic. Honestly, I had no intentions on developing Shin's character in the beginning but the writer in me loves to make my readers on edge. Although, I have grown to love his character so he will play a key role in future chapters. Thank you to those who left reviews, it is greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender
"Your Majesty, it has been a pleasure to accompany you on this fine day." The Fire Lord and his guest stood at her chamber's door.
"It was a pleasure to have you as my company, Lady Poppy." Zuko smiled. This was the third noblewoman he had to escort this week and worst of all, the most annoying one.
"Until next time, your Majesty. I wish you a good night." Poppy slightly bowed.
"And you as well, Lady Poppy." Zuko mirrored her bow and waited until she entered her room. The noblewoman went to slowly close the door but not without gracing a small smile on her red lips. When the door finally closed, Zuko relaxed his face and rolled his eyes. That was the most excruciatingly boring woman he's ever met. And that's saying a lot considering he married one. But Mai wasn't as shallow and forceful.
Lady Poppy couldn't quiet down for the life of her. Almost every word that's came out of her mouth was forced and off topic. She came up with almost anything to keep talking and he barely could get a word in. What he wouldn't have given to be deaf in those moments. He was definitely not courting her. Granted her beauty was to behold but that mouth of hers was not worth making her the Fire Lady. He was one hundred percent sure she'd drive the palace staff to suicide.
When it was clear no one was around, The Fire Lord practically jogged away from Lady Poppy's chambers in fear that she had something else to add. When he was in the clear and his jogging turned to fast walking, he tripped over something on the floor, using his hands to brace himself before he hit face first into the marble flooring.
Zuko lifted himself back on his feet, he noticed the odd bump in the flooring and narrowed his eyes when he heard laughter. "Toph! Seriously?"
Toph came up from behind a pillar with a pinky in her ear and holding her belly to contain her laughter. "I never seen anyone try so hard to escape another person. You should've felt how you ran, Sparky!"
Zuko growled and brushed himself off. "Well, you would too, if you had to hear that chatter-bird all day."
Toph contorted her face and gagged. "I could! Nothing would make me strike up a conversation with that woman. I'm pretty sure she could out nag Sugar Queen if she wanted to."
The Fire Lord didn't want to think of Katara at the moment. He had noticed her in the gardens having tea with his uncle. He had managed to keep the other two noblewomen from running into her but Zuko mentally panicked when she had turned their way that morning. He wanted to run so bad only to turn around again to find her gone and his uncle looking his way with an expression of confusion and worry. He exhaled a sigh of relief. Wait, why was he so worried about Katara seeing him with another woman?
"Yeah, that's be pretty awful…" Zuko forcefully stated.
"By the way, have you seen Sugar Queen?"
"Why?"
"No one's actually seen her all day. Except for Iroh, who had tea with her this morning." Toph balled her fist and set them on her hips. "Since Sokka's been gone, she's been stuck to the hip of whoever's available to deal with her."
The Fire Lord has noticed her clinginess. He understands her need not to be alone, it was the very reason he had invited his friends to keep him company.
"He was so small, Zuko." Katara told him one day while they were in his office. He couldn't leave, there were too many treaties and forms he had to review and he barely had time to see any of his friends let alone Iroh. Her presence was welcomed though, he needed a bit of distraction from the whole match making thing. The waterbender laid out on the rug in the front of his desk, arms and legs spread out. She was obviously hot and the sheen of sweat on her stomach, that was toning out again, glistened. Zuko did his best not to allow inappropriate thoughts to surface. He was genuinely curious about the birth of her son.
"He had eyes like periwinkle. It was pretty amazing." She laughed sadly. "Obviously, a Northern Water Tribe trait." The Fire Lord was aware of this Songak, and if he ever laid eyes on that man, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't burn him to a crisp. "They let me hold him…after he had died. They said he had a seizure twice before he was gone." A tear ran down the side of her face. "I'm a healer and I could do nothing to save him." Katara shut her eyes tight and began to sob. A few minutes into her crying she felt a body shift next to her on the floor and gently brushed her hair from her sweat drenched brow.
"I am sure there was little you could've done, Katara." Zuko bent over in order to meet her face to face. "I could never imagine what it's like to lose a child but one thing I know for sure is that you did what you could for him and his spirit will rest knowing he had a mother that loved him so much. You have the scar to prove it." He hesitantly placed his hand over her lower belly.
Katara's eyes opened and the blurriness of tears faded to reveal Zuko's gentle smile. She couldn't help but smile at his consideration. When she went into labor two months before her due date, she was advised that the child was breech, the only suggestion Gran Gran could give her was an incision into the lower abdomen to remove the child. The result: Her death. The procedure wasn't mastered and few women have ever survived it. Katara considered no other option, it was either her or both their lives and she chose the former. Miraculously, the operation was successful and both mother and child seemed healthy. It was only two days later that the baby boy, whom Katara named Kayo, had uncontrollable seizures and his body shut down without any known cause.
"You risked your life for his. Despite the imperfect bastard that helped you conceive him." Katara chuckled, "Your son had the perfect mother. There's nothing better he could've had in his short life here on earth." Zuko looked into her cerulean eyes and she looked back with such admiration for his words. His heart beat faster than he expected and he knew why but he had to refuse its message. He needed to, or he would drown in those blue eyes and never resurface.
"Yeah, it is strange that she'd suddenly seclude herself from the rest of the gang." Zuko replied to Toph.
"Well, if you see her, send her my way. I have plenty of fire whiskey." Toph grinned and moved her eyebrows up and down.
"You!" Zuko exclaimed. So, she was the culprit behind Katara's drunken behavior the night she snuck into his room. "You know Katara is not a drinker! Why did you offer her alcohol knowing she couldn't handle it?"
"Hey." Toph put her hands up in the air as though surrendering. "I didn't know she was going to sneak into your room for a late-night booty call."
"What-No! That's not what-ugh…" He sighed. Did he even have to ask?
Toph tapped her right ear with her index finger. "I know everything, Sparky. Everything." She smirked and made her way down the hall towards her chambers, whistling.
Katara sat at the vanity in her room, brushing her dark brown locks. She had thought about the day's earlier events. It felt like everything was hitting her all at once and she wasn't sure what direction to go. A part of her felt horrible for allowing trivial things to bother her when she just gave birth to a child and lost him six months earlier. Of course, it never stopped him from popping in her mind every morning when she woke up. How could someone she barely knew capture her heart in such a way? But she still smiled thinking about the way his periwinkle eyes slowly opened the first time she held him hours after he was born. She was dizzied from pain and blood loss but her vision miraculously focused only on his precious face.
Was this wrong? Katara feared that she was repeating the mistake she made with Songak by accepting Shin's invitation to take her out. But he did say it wasn't a date.
Oh, who was she kidding? She wasn't oblivious to Shin's stray glances her way. No one else seemed to notice and Katara hoped that she was just being shallow. She was aware of how her body filled out in certain places.
Shin was extremely handsome, no doubt about it. Him and Zuko looked very similar for just cousins, only Zuko took more from his father. Katara could tell when she joined Zuko years ago to confront the previous Firelord numerous times on Ursa's whereabouts. Although the current Firelord was more built and a few inches shorter than his General.
Katara slammed her brush down when she realized she was comparing the two. What good would that do? She sighed, aggravated. She didn't want to lead Shin on, he didn't deserve that. At least, that's what she thought from the months she's resided the palace. He never really spoke of himself and was always so formal. Who was Shin?
Lifting herself up from her chair at the vanity, she figures she had enough of trying to make sense of herself and needed some sleep.
Katara stabbed her fish with her chopsticks, trying to block out Lady Poppy's chatter as she sat to the left of the Firelord at the head of the dining table. She wanted to avoid Zuko and the noblewoman as much as possible, however, she hadn't eaten since yesterday morning when she had tea with Iroh. He couldn't join them for breakfast due to some letters he had to send to his apprentice back in the Earth Kingdom.
Suki sat at the left of her and Toph at her right. Shin sat across and seemed to be trying his best not to contort his face in irritation at Poppy's never-ending blabber. Suki clenched her teeth in annoyance and Toph placed her hands over her ears and lifted her feet from the ground.
Zuko grabbed Poppy's hand, almost wishing it was her vocal cords, and squeezed it. It did not go unnoticed by Katara. "Poppy!" He announced, louder than he meant to. "I think…we should take a walk before your departure." The Firelord could tell his friends were not thrilled by the noblewoman's presence.
"Oh, of course, Your Majesty! That sounds so lovely. There's so much I have to tell you before I go. In fact my father sa-"
"Yes, my Lady. But let us leave the dining hall before we proceed." Zuko hissed. Poppy didn't catch on to the shift in his voice and shrieked in delight causing everyone in the room to jump.
When they finally left the dining hall, everyone else made a sigh of relief.
"Spirits, I'm glad I don't have to listen to that anymore!" Suki placed her hand over her eyes and slumped in her chair.
"I feel more bad for Sparky. No one should have to put up with that kind of torture." Toph groaned, stuffing some rice in her mouth when she freed her hands from her ears.
Katara didn't join the conversation. She didn't want to even think about it.
The waterbender's eyes widened when she felt something bump her foot. She jerked her head up to see Shin smirking at her. He placed a single finger to his lips and averted his eyes down. Katara raised her brow and bent over a bit to look under the table. She could see a small piece of rolled up paper lying on the floor inches from her feet.
She looked between Toph and Suki who were still complaining about Lady Poppy and scooted her chair back and bent over, claiming something was in her shoe. Katara quickly grabbed the note and sat up, placing it quietly in the pocket of her skirt. She patted the pocket and looked at Shin, who nodded his head quietly and sat up to leave.
Katara exhaled a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she felt eyes on her. Looking between Suki and Toph, she could see the wide grins on their faces. Uh-oh.
The master waterbender abruptly stood up from her chair, almost knocking it over, "I-uh-gotta go pee!"
"Oh, no, you don't! Suki grabbed Katara's wrist, twirled her around and snatched the note out of her pocket before she could think twice about what was going on. Katara lifted her foot to get it back and the floor swallowed her feet, surrounding her ankles and trapping her in place. She turned around to glare at Toph and growled. The heiress smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
"What could the highest General of the Fire Nation possibly be sneaking notes to the Southern Water Tribe's Master Waterbender for?" Suki mimicked a curious pout and then grinned when she rolled the note open. "Oooooh, a love note, perhaps?"
"No, it's not! He just wanted to show me around the city. That's all!" Katara defended. It most definitely is not a love note.
"Hmmm…well, let's see 'Meet me in the palace kitchens at dusk'." Suki read.
"Seems pretty suspicious to me. Sure it isn't a date, Sugar Queen?" Toph snickered. Katara grunted in response and tried to squirm her way out of the earth bending hold.
"It is not a date! He just wanted to take me out as a friend."
"The way he's been looking at you lately does not intel that he is interested in being just your 'friend', Katara." Suki rolled the note back up and handed it to her friend as Toph loosened her imprisonment on Katara's feet. "You sure it's a good idea to do this?"
The waterbender sighed, slumping her shoulders in disappointment. "That's what I've been asking myself…" She mumbled.
"No. I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't asking because I think it's wrong, I'm asking because I think it's time you moved on but only if you feel ready. Are you ready?"
"How do I know if I am?" Katara was becoming frustrated with her inner turmoil. She practically felt like she was betraying her son…and someone else but pushed the latter out of that thought process.
"Sometimes you always don't. I'm not saying to go out with him, I'm not saying to turn him down. All I'm saying is, don't force yourself into something you're not ready for."
Katara looked between her friends, they're playful attitudes turned into an air of genuine concern. She felt her heart soar at how much they sincerely cared for her wellbeing. She was fortunate to have them in her life and Katara finally settled on the answer to the questions she's been asking herself since yesterday.
Grabbing the two girls, she brought them in for hug, squishing their cheeks together and smiled ear to ear. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you guys."
"Damn straight! Your self-conflictions are pretty exhausting. I was starting to wonder if I was going have to use puppet strings to get you out of your silly funk." Toph pried herself from Katara's hold but affectionately punched her in the arm. Suki giggled when Katara winced.
"Yeah, I've been pretty depressing lately. I know I've been kind of clingy and dependent. Maybe it is time to take a step forward, even if it's small."
"That's the spirit!" Suki grinned widely. "So, what are you going to do about General Hotness?"
Katara responded with a knowing smirk.
The waterbender played with the ends of her hair out of nervous habit, biting the corner of her plump lips. She wasn't sure if it was a date or not but she was only fifteen when she got her first boyfriend and Aang and her discovered all their firsts together. From the first time they kissed to the first time they awkwardly touched each other's bodies. Her time with Songak she never put any real effort into, considering she wasn't dating him at all and sex only happened once out of a blur of pure lust.
Katara wasn't sure where the general was taking her and she was hoping it wasn't anywhere formal. She dressed herself in a red strapless top and trousers and a skirt with a slit on one side. She wore sandals that crisscrossed around her ankles and put her hair in a high ponytail.
She sat on the kitchen counter top, lips pursed and swinging her feet back and forth. Her arrival was a bit early and the kitchen staff didn't seem bothered by her presence. They liked the waterbender, she was kind and always willing to help when she'd stop by to greet them. Snapping out of her thoughts when she felt warmth envelope in front of her, she looked up to see the general smiling at her casually. Katara was surprised to see how different he looked outside of his armor. He seemed more relaxed and a lot less intimidating.
Shin wore a simple red, gold and black tunic and black trouser along with traditional pointy fire nation boots. He wore gold armbands and one partially covered the tattoo of a fox made of red and yellow flames that ran from his elbow to his shoulder. His coal black hair was tied in a low ponytail and hung over his right shoulder. Katara's throat went dry.
Chuckling, he reached his hand out for hers. "Are you ready?"
This was it. She wasn't sure what she was getting herself into but she hoped there was no regrets in the end. Mirroring his smile, Katara took his hand and jumped off the counter. She was so close to him, she had to crane her neck up because he was well over a head taller than her. "Yes."
Holding on tight to her hand, much to Katara's nervousness, he led her out of the kitchens and through a door she hadn't noticed before. She guessed this is where the staff left out of the palace when they retired for the evening. Making their way out of the back of the palace, it took them about ten minutes, the silence starting to feel awkward, to get to the back gates. Shin nodded his head at the guards posted, not relinquishing the hand he was holding, and they opened them for him.
The evening breeze blew at her face when she seen the sun sinking to allow the night to take over and down the hill from the palace the city below lit up like a fiery glow. Obviously, there was a celebration, Katara could see lanterns and white smoke rising in the air, most likely food vendors. She smiled widely. She's only been to a Fire Nation festival once in one of the colonies but it was nothing like what she was looking at.
Out of natural excitement, she jumped forward and pulled Shin to hurry him along. He laughed at her outburst of excitement and allowed her to lead him. They practically jogged all the way to the city, Shin, entranced by how Katara's hair swayed back and forth between her bare shoulders. The way her shoulder blades moved beneath her smooth mocha skin presented inappropriate thoughts.
Making it to the edge of the city, they stood for a while to catch their breaths.
"I take it you've never been to a Fire Nation Festival?" Shin asked and Katara removed her hand from his much to his disappointment.
"I have once but this is different. Everyone is dressed up in strange attire."
He nodded, "It is a festival to celebrate the harvest. During this time of the year, it is believed that bad spirits roam free, raining disease on people and their harvest. Every year, civilians dress up in costume to scare the evil spirits away, bringing peace and good harvest to the land."
"Wow," Katara whispered, "Let's go!"
She walked ahead of Shin, laughing when he strode to catch up with her. A man pushing a barrel selling masks stopped in front of her and offered one for sale. Katara told him she'd take two and Shin dug some currency out of his pocket to pay the man.
Giving one of the mask to Shin, shaped like a red demon with horns and fang, she placed the other over her face of what looked like a white and blue creature with wide hallow eyes and the mouth forming in an 'O' as if frightened. Katara giggled when the general placed his over his face.
"Very handsome." She mocked.
"That's a compliment worth accepting coming from the Painted Lady."
"Oh, so you've heard." Katara moved the mask off her face and smirked.
"The Fire Lord has told me numerous stories of his friend's adventures but yours seem to stick out the most. Destroying a Fire Nation factory is extremely daring for such a small lady."
"Well, I had help." Katara smiled sadly, remembering Aang. She was starting to miss him.
"Ah, yes, the Avatar. I assume he will be arriving to Fire Nation sometime soon."
Katara shrugged. She didn't want to think about Aang right now. She looked around her surroundings and her stomach growled at the smell of food in the air. She was so nervous all day she hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast and she awkwardly looked Shin's way, certain it was loud enough for him to hear.
"I take it you're hungry. Let's get you something to eat."
They walked through the streets, children running by and laughing as they showed off their costumes to passer byers. Katara giggled at their antics. Looking around to see what food vendors were displaying, a stand caught her eye and she asked Shin what they were serving.
"Oh, you'll like it." He ordered two servings of it. "This is called Suya." He handed her a stick with meat on it. Sniffing it, she found it to smell delectable and went in to take a bite. It burned. She quickly swallowed the meat and stuck her tongue out trying to fan it.
"It's too spicy!"
"Really?" Shin raised his brows and took a look at the treat he was consuming. "Taste pretty mild to me." he muttered.
Fire Nation. Of course he would say that. Katara rolled her eyes. "Where to next, Hotman?" she chuckled.
Hotman? He silently mouthed, his face contorted in confusion. "I suppose there are some games we could play."
"Oooh, goody. Come on." Katara put the mask back on her face and Shin did the same. They walked the streets playing different games and trying different foods. Shin was considerate enough to avoid the food stands that were too hot for her. He even won her a stuffed dragon, much to Katara's amusement. The more the night went on the more she realized this was starting feel like a date but for the moment she didn't seem to mind. If she got too uncomfortable she'd have no problem telling him.
They spent hours hanging out and talking. Katara enjoyed hearing about Shin. He was related to Zuko through his father's side, being Ursa's younger brother. His father and his aunt Ursa always wanted to be theatrical performers back in his home town of Hira'a. That dream died when Ursa was taken to the Fire Nation Palace to be wed. After his grandparents died not long after being severed from contact with Ursa, Shin's father married and he was born only a few years before Zuko.
"I joined the military when I was sixteen, not knowing I was related to His Majesty. He was already banished by then. I worked my way up. The one hundred-year war ended and when the Fire Lord was in search for his mother not long after his reign, we soon discovered we were related. After trusting me for several years he promoted me to High General. It was indeed an honor." Shin finished.
They sat on the hill right off the streets looking down at that crowd. Shin casually laid out on the grass propping himself up on his forearms. Katara sat next him sitting up with one hand and her body facing in his direction, knees bent. "That's impressive. Who knew Zuko had you so close to him all those years and didn't know."
Shin shrugged. "That's not really impressive." He sat up and folded his legs Indian style. "Although I do find water tribe language pretty interesting." He grinned.
Katara laughed. "It's not that interesting."
"I beg to differ. How similar is the Northern and Southern Water Tribe language?"
"Eh, Northerners have a much thicker accent. They stick more to traditional pronunciation while the South is more relaxed since our tribes separated hundreds of years ago. Why?" She looked at him and chuckled, putting in her mouth what he called 'cotton candy'. It was the single most amazing thing she's ever come across since Zuko introduced her to chocolate. He would joke that it reminded him of her skin color. She blushed at the thought. Stop thinking of Zuko!
"Tell me.." his eyes averted to the sky and he pursed his lips, "How you say 'good morning' in water tribe?" He looked back at her.
Katara grinned. "Ulaakut."
"Oo-lay-cut." He tried to pronounce to Katara's amusement.
"No." she tried to contain her laughter. "No, no. Ulaakut."
"Hey, don't tease me."
"Haha, I'm sorry, no one outside my tribe has ever tried to learn our language. Try again."
"Oh-la-cut."
"Here. Pronounce it like this oo-lah-coot."
"Ulaakut."
"There we go! What else you want to learn?" The waterbender was starting to have fun. "There's Siksik, which means 'arctic squirrel'. Ooh, there's Siqiniq, that means 'sun'…"
"What about beautiful?"
"Uh…" Katara's cheeks turned red and she averted her eyes shyly. "Yura."
"Yura? That was easy." Shin gently placed his hand on Katara's cheek and she held her breath. "Yura." He repeated softly.
"Qujannamiik." Katara released a shaky breath. They sat in silence for a moment never taking his eyes of hers. She cleared her throat to break the silence. "Uh, it means 'thank you.'" She grinned nervously.
Shin removed his hand from her cheek much to her relief. "How do you say, 'you are welcome'?"
"Ilaali." she croaked.
"Eh-la-lee."
"Ee-lah-li."
"Mmm." He hummed, coming close enough so that his face was inches from hers. "Ee-"he kissed her right cheek and katara giggled, "lah-" then her left, the waterbender's breath hitched, "li." and then gently placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
A/N: From what I researched online, those are Inuktitut words:
Yura-Beautiful
Ulaakut-Good Morning
Qujannamiik-Thank you
Ilaali-You are welcome
Siqiniq-Sun
Siksik-Arctic Squirrel
Hope you guys liked this chapter. Until next time.
