It's been awhile, I know. Not as much as I'd like to give you but hope you agree with me: a short update's better than no update!

Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever.


"You kissed her? Ugh, you kissed your betrothed; imagine that. How did that go?" Reike took another swig of saké.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Better than I'd anticipated, actually. She didn't slap me."

The two of them were sitting on one of the cushioned pallets in Uncle's apartment in the city. After the formal "kidnapping" ceremony had taken place—which meant Iroh and Reike and even Sokka and Aang had sneaked into his royal bedchambers, awoken him, dragged him from bed and down the quiet streets of the Fire Nation, drinking fire whisky and other strong liquors Zuko wasn't really in the mood for—they were joined by Hakoda and Pakku and some others from both the Water Tribe council and his own council. Most of them were young men, maybe only a few years older than himself; Aang was easily the youngest in the room. The rest of the party was spread around the apartment. Some were even on the balcony that overlooked the marketplace. Although they were still holding up Fire Nation tradition, some adjustments had to be made; normally, the groom's party celebrated in town at a local establishment, but for safety reasons, this was not possible. Accordingly, royal guards and a section of Firebenders surrounded the apartment. Iroh relayed that the captain of the royal guard nearly had a heart attack when he had been informed of tonight's plans; not only would the Fire Lord be out and exposed, but so would a whole contingent of Fire Nation and Water Tribe dignitaries. He had put his foot down on celebrating in a location that was unsecure, thus, the party was to be thrown in Iroh's private apartments.

Everyone was drinking and laughing, even Zuko's soon-to-be father-in-law. Everyone but Zuko.

"I really don't see why you think it's a big deal. You'll be married soon. You'll be expected to do more than kiss."

Zuko frowned. Reike was one of his closest friends, if not the closest, but some things he still preferred to keep private. His sex life was one of those things. "It's just…it's different with Katara. I respect her. She's a friend. I've never viewed her…in that way before."

"In what way?"

Reike just wanted to hear him say it. "In a romantic way. Or sexual way."

This, of course, was untrue. When Zuko first met Katara, he'd been sixteen, and her pretty blue eyes and exotic features hadn't escaped his notice. And as the years passed, that fourteen-year-old girl with pretty eyes had grown into an attractive, fiery young woman, developing soft curves and breasts. And he was a male with eyes. But he didn't want Reike getting any ideas. His attraction to Katara had always been innocent—relatively, anyway—and he never intended to act upon it.

Reike was not stupid, though. He had eyes, too. "Right."

Zuko frowned into his untouched cup of fire whisky. He wasn't really in the mood to celebrate, let alone "celebrate his last days as an unmarried man." It was a ridiculous tradition, anyway, especially for him to partake in. It was rooted in the idea that a man could spend his last day "unmarried" passing time drunk in brothels and whorehouses before he was tied down to one woman by marriage. The way he viewed it, although he hadn't been betrothed to Katara for very long, his commitment to her began the day that contract was drawn. And even if his sentiments were different, it would not be proper for him, as Fire Lord, to visit a brothel. He was constantly trying to prove to his people that he was a different kind of leader; visiting one of those places of business would only manage to do the opposite.

He had no desire to sleep with those kinds of women, anyway, not when he—

He caught himself before he finished that thought. He'd been thinking, not when I have a woman like Katara at home. He shook that line of thought from his head, for he did not have Katara at home. Well, technically he did; she was back as his palace. But just because they are to be married doesn't mean she'll really want anything to do with him, let alone will she be willingly waiting for him to come home and share her bed.

He wondered if she would even want to share her bed after they married. The thought that she won't want to had crossed his mind a few times. Not that he would blame her. Aang was the only person he knew of that Katara had dated, and he couldn't imagine her being intimate with very many more, if any at all. He wouldn't ask her, of course. He could only imagine the watery weapons she'd send his way if he did.

Taking a deep breath, he finished his whisky with one swallow.

No, he didn't feel like celebrating. He didn't feel like celebrating anything at all.


Katara had let her ladies-in-waiting help her undress before dismissing them for the night. Just as she slipped on one of her thin nightdresses, the door to her bedroom burst open, giving her only a few short moments to scramble for her robe.

Her gran strode into the room with a big smile on her face, followed closely by Toph, Suki, Ty Lee, and even Ma Lin and Jien. Jien looked a bit uncomfortable as Ma Lin pulled her into the room by her wrist, but she adapted her formal façade and bowed to Katara when she entered. Ma Lin and Lien were both carrying large ceramic jugs.

"Gran! Wha…what are you doing here?"

"You knew we were coming, dear. It's a much smaller party, and the median age is probably greater than it normally is, but it will do."

"What are you taking about?"

"This is your pre-wedding celebration."

"I still don't—"

"It's where you and your friends go out and get drunk and talk about sex and celebrate your last days as a single, independent woman!" Toph said. At the silent response she received, she said, "What? What's the point of beating around the bush?"

Suki rolled her eyes and Gran-Gran pretended not to hear the Earthbender's outburst, but when Katara let them into her room, that's exactly what they did. The women all sat in Katara's lounge. The ceramic jugs, she discovered, contained wine and another Fire Nation alcohol that burned Katara's throat and made her dizzy, but she found herself drinking more than she could tolerate as her grandmother talked about sex and "pleasing" her future husband. She and Ma Lin sat her down as if they were schoolteachers and she was their student, giving her a very formal lesson, but Katara was overcome with embarrassment, especially when Toph would burst out laughing or Suki would giggle or Jien would make a quiet suggestion that made all the other women look at her and smile. Katara took another swig from the jug, and she blacked out before she could hear any more of her grandmother's advice.


Both the Fore Lord and his intended woke the next morning with killer headaches, and Katara became sick several times before she could get dressed and join everyone else for breakfast.

Because Katara and Zuko were not permitted to see each other this day, her family was dining in the main dining room and Zuko would be dining with his uncle and Reike, probably, in another dining room. For this, Katara was grateful, for she was sure she would not be able to look him in the eye with all of her grandmother's "advice" running through her head.