After another full day of work, the beach house was starting to look less like a hideout for teenage war refugees and more like a vacation resort. After cleaning all the surfaces throughout the house with the combined prowess of their bending skills, they worked together to make bricks for some of the necessary repairs. Toph would gather the dirt and clay to make the bricks. Katara would add water so that it would be pliable. Aang would use air to dry them into blocks while also removing any air bubbles that got trapped inside. Then Iroh would firebend to set the bricks. It was a brilliant display of the four elements coming together for a cooperative and creative purpose.

"So, what happened here exactly?" Iroh asked as he examined the missing portion of the west wing wall.

"Um… Zuko had a little rant one day?" Aang said sheepishly.

"Oh dear. My nephew and that temper of his." Iroh shook his head while raising his palm to eyeball measurements.

"Well, in Zuko's defense, he was using some training method where you attack the student to see what progress they've made," Katara explained.

"Oh, is that what that was?" Toph snickered. "That was right before the Melon Lord attacked! Mwa-ha-ha!"

Aang and Katara shared nervous glances. Those last few days before Sozin's Comet were not their best memories at Ember Island for sure. Katara knew that Aang felt especially sensitive about their conversations and decisions from those days.

"Toph, send up some of those bricks." Iroh had climbed a ladder and was peering down at them. "You and I can work from the outside. Katara and Aang can head upstairs and help from the inside. Operation SOWS, ready? OK, go!"

After the wall had been patched, the group took a break for some watermelon juice. Aang offered to help Katara in the kitchen again.

"It will be nice to be here and truly relax," he said.

"Yeah. It will be great. I hope Zuko can actually relax." Katara laughed a little as she remembered the times when she tried to massage his shoulders to help him relax. It never quite worked out the way she planned. Then, she noticed Aang frowning at her. "Aang, what is it?"

"Do you think? I don't know. If things had been different. Would we?" He swallowed hard. "Would we have had a chance?"

Whoa. Did not see that one coming.

"Um. I don't know, Aang. I guess you can always wonder what if… but it doesn't change what is, right?"

"It's just when you found me in the iceberg, I knew right then we were meant to be together. But I guess I was wrong. When did you know? About Zuko? It wasn't that same day, was it?"

"What!?"

"The first time you saw him. In the South Pole."

"No, Aang. Oh spirits, no. I hated him then."

"How could you start out hating someone and then come to love him? Katara, I never hated you."

"Oh, Aang. I never hated you, either. I've always loved you as…"

"I know, I know. As a brother, like a friend. But you understand it was different for me."

"Well, I don't understand actually. I don't know how you can love someone the first time you meet them when you don't know anything about them. It took ages for me to fall in love with Zuko, and even then, it was based on a solid friendship. It's how I know that we'll last, Aang. Gran Gran used to say that relationships built on thin ice will break under the slightest pressure, but those as thick as an iceberg—"

"Iceberg, Katara!" Aang interrupted her. "Where you found me. Doesn't it feel like destiny? You finding me after hundred years, against the odds. Of course it doesn't make sense, but it doesn't have to when it's love!"

"Well, you're the Avatar. It could've been destiny for me to find you for the sake of the whole world, Aang! I mean, Sokka was there, too. In that moment, it doesn't have to be about just you and me… you know?"

"I guess that makes sense."

"I feel more certain about destiny when it comes to Zuko and me. Because we were never meant to be together, yet somehow we are. Once enemies, now friends. Because even when we were pulled apart, we kept getting pushed back together." Push and pull. Like the tides, like tui and la.

"Zuko talks about love with just as much confidence. I just wish I knew for sure."

"Oh, Aang. You will know for sure when it happens. It may not be a sudden realization, and it may take a while to develop, but don't worry about it now and don't rush into it. You're only 13! You have a lifetime full of adventures waiting for you."

"I just turned 14. And you're only 16, Katara. Does that mean you're already done with adventures? Are you really ready to settle down?"

Katara bit her lip, partly in response to his question, partly out of embarrassment for somehow forgetting her friend's birthday. "Um… I don't know. I wonder if Fire Lady would be an adventure all its own, but it does scare me, honestly."

"It sounds like a lot of boring meetings and paperwork if it's anything like Zuko's job." Aang shrugged.

"Hey you chattermonkeys! Whatever happened to that watermelon juice?" Toph hollered from the courtyard, effectively ending what Katara thought to be an awkward and unnerving conversation.

With Iroh electing to stay in his own room as expected, Katara chose to sleep in Zuko's room. While she definitely felt exhausted from the day's work, curiosity got the best of her, and she did a bit of snooping before calling it a night. Zuko's room was pretty bare which wasn't surprising since he kept his room back at the palace so sparse. She remembered his words, "I've learned that you can't be attached to places or things."

Despite that sentiment, she found some interesting things stashed in a cupboard in the young Fire Lord's Ember Island retreat. He did, in fact, have family photos that he'd kept, one of his mother and one of his uncle. She also found his dao swords which she thought was peculiar. Why didn't he take these when we left for Sozin's Comet? Maybe he thought the power boost he'd get for firebending would be enough?

Then, toward the back of the dusty cabinet, a bundle of rough fabric caught her eye. She carefully unfolded it and revealed a topknot crown unlike any she had seen before. It had two small flames on each side of the closure, and it looked much older and less shiny than Zuko's current single flame he wore at the back of his topknot. It felt heavy in her hand—valuable, significant. Perhaps there is somebody who knows… She poked her head out into the hallway. The light in Iroh's room indicated that he was still awake.

His door was open slightly, and even though she knew it was bad manners to peek in, she did anyway. It was her Ember Island curse, the incessant eavesdropping. Or maybe it was just what she did when it came to matters of Zuko. Iroh was perched on the edge of the bed and appeared to be admiring a necklace. The carvings were white, and its material reminded her of her mother's necklace at first, but as she studied it more, she saw that it was a continuous string of white flowers. The white lotus, she gasped when she recognized the shape.

"Oh hello, Katara. Come in, dear." Iroh tucked the necklace into his palm.

"It's beautiful," she remarked still feeling a bit embarrassed about being caught at the door.

"Oh this?" He pulled the necklace out again, and Katara noticed that small beads were clustered together to form the flowers' centers. "It belonged to my wife, Giya."

"Oh." Katara knew about the death of Iroh's son, Lu Ten, but nobody had ever mentioned anything about his wife.

"Oh, Katara, don't make that face. If we only speak about our lost loved ones in terms of their death, then we deny them the legacy of the life they once led." Iroh ran his fingers gently over the flowers before laying the necklace down on the bed beside him.

"Well, then tell me about her." Katara smiled.

"Giya was a gifted artist. She sang, she danced, she played instruments, she wrote poetry. She was even well versed in the art of politics."

"That is quite an accomplishment."

"Well, she would tell you that her greatest accomplishment in life was the one she gave to the world before she left it. Some say a mother doesn't know a child until it's born, but she knew Lu Ten every day in the womb. She positively glowed when she carried our child."

"Did you see the box of Lu Ten's things? Sorry, I couldn't help but—I mean, I saw it when I stayed in here…"

"It's quite alright, Katara. When I lost Giya, I had Lu Ten. When I lost my son, I felt like I had nothing."

Katara noticed that Iroh had picked up the necklace again. "Did she like the white lotus as a flower? Or was she just really good at Pai Sho?"

Iroh chuckled. "She was terrible at Pai Sho."

"No way!"

"Her father was the Grand Lotus before me. He taught me how to play the game, but more importantly, he inducted me into the society and showed me the virtues that transcend the four nations."

"Wow! So, it was your father-in-law, then. I always wondered how you didn't get caught up in the Sozin-Azulon-Ozai madness."

"Well, I had other influences as well. But I do hope that Zuko will find a positive influence in his own father-in-law someday."

Katara saw Iroh wink at her. "Oh, but Uncle, he has you, too."

"It is always good to draw wisdom from more than one source."

Katara nodded and felt a sudden need for a big polar dog hug from her dad. She would get those urges every now and then. She instinctively started to wrap her arms around herself but then remembered what she was holding. "Oh, I found this in Zuko's room. It looks kinda old, so I was just wondering if you knew about it."

Iroh took the topknot piece from Katara, and she thought she could see sparks in his eyes. "So, you think because this is old, and because I am old, that naturally I would know of its origin?"

"Oh, um…"

"Well, you're right, of course! I know exactly what this is! This, Katara, is the topknot piece of the crown prince of the Fire Nation!"

"But… it wasn't Zuko's… was it?"

"No… it belonged to Crown Prince Sozin before he gave it to his dear friend Avatar Roku."

"Wait. They were friends?"

"Yes, before Sozin became Fire Lord and power-obsessed. You should ask Aang sometime for Avatar Roku's perspective. It's truly heartbreaking, I'm sure."

"And Avatar Roku is Lady Ursa's grandfather."

"Ah yes, so you know of Zuko's heritage and therefore his inner battle between right and wrong."

"Yes, but there's something else." It's not just about good verses evil. There's something about power there. What was it?

"I'm not sure what you mean, Katara."

"The bloodline!" It was coming back to her. "It was something Ursa's brother, Zukon, said. That Azulon sought out Roku's heir specifically because he wanted a more powerful bloodline."

"Well, and the end result is Zuko. He's powerful, for sure, but not power-seeking. I guess it backfired in a way…"

"But they wouldn't have intended Ursa to marry Ozai, not initially. Weren't you the crown prince until the events of Azulon's mysterious death? Wouldn't they have wanted to continue the Avatar's bloodline through you?"

"Katara…"

"So what happened first? Did you fall in love with Giya or did Ursa fall in love with Ozai? There must have been consequences to upsetting Azulon's plans, I mean—"

"Katara, you've been living in the Fire Nation too long, dear. You can sniff out one of our conspiracies as easily as a shirshu."

"Conspiracy! Is that what you call it!? We're talking about love here. And marriage. And people's lives!"

"Katara, when it comes to the Fire Nation royal family, lives are expendable. Yes, Ursa was brought to court in order to become my betrothed. Yes, I had eyes for another woman. Yes, this displeased my father. It was a fortunate coincidence that Ursa fancied my younger brother. It was unfortunate that their firstborn son did not show early signs of this supposed almighty power as promised by the Avatar's bloodline. My father said it was better we find out this way." Iroh's eyes narrowed and his jaw clinched.

"My brother was furious. I think that was the point in which Ozai decided he would go after my birthright. Whatever the cost, whenever the time was right to strike. And we know what happened after that, or do you need me to keep talking like this is some twisted form of a bedtime story? I assure you these stories won't help anyone sleep better at night."

"No, sir. I get it. I—I'm sorry." The Dragon of the West roars again.

Iroh sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have snapped at you, Katara. Part of me does not wish to uncover such darkness from the past, but another part of me thinks you should know."

"I want to know whatever will help Zuko."

"He doesn't need any more darkness. And he could really use a good night's sleep." Iroh yawned. "As do I, my dear."

Katara took the hint and headed for the door. She looked back when he spoke.

"Katara, Zuko's future is brighter because you are in it. Of that, I am sure."

A/N: Welcome to more head canon madness. It never made sense to me that Azulon would seek out Ursa as Roku's heir to marry his second son. If he wanted to strengthen his bloodline, I would imagine he'd want to do so through the crown prince which would have been Iroh at the time. Perhaps Iroh was already married, but his wife is never mentioned, so she gets to be part of my head canon as well. I also added in Ursa's two brothers, Zukon and Cheng, so this is how I think it played out...

The Fire Sages advise Azulon to unite the bloodlines of Avatar Roku and the Fire Nation royal family, but the specifics of that revelation and its reasoning I plan to explore further in my sequel, Rising Tide. Azulon seeks out Jinzuk and Rina's family where he finds their oldest son, Zukon, a nonbender in whom he has no interest. Cheng is the second son and a talented firebender, but they live in the village, Hira'a, and he's had no access to formal training. Azulon wants to take him back to the palace to train him and test him—to see if the Avatar's power is evident in the bloodline. Ursa is the youngest and following in her mother's footsteps as an herbalist. Azulon is pleased to see that she is also a firebender, but thinks that employing her at the royal hospital would be the best strategy. Iroh is often visiting his wounded soldiers there. Azulon is not sure where his son gets this streak of compassion. Doesn't he know that will make him weak in war?

Azulon is quite the strategist and a war general himself. He favors Iroh, and that drives Ozai crazy. Iroh is oblivious to the young, pretty girl who has come to court, but Ozai is not. While Iroh has eyes for another woman, Ozai make his move and pursues Ursa. Ozai is closer to her age, anyway, and she falls for his charm. Of course, Azulon's plans have been thwarted, and Fire Lords don't typically respond well to that. More of this family drama will be revealed in Rising Tide, so stay tuned!

Also, since we're inside my head right now, a word about eye color. It seems to be a significant thing in canon, but if not there, then definitely in fanfic. Especially with Zutara, we can't resist the beauty and passion of her blues and his golds. And of course, the eye color is tied to the nationality and even one's bending as it seems that only firebenders have the golden eyes with a certain spark?

So I stray from this a little as you may recall. In my head canon, Zuko has his father's features, but his mother's golden eyes. And Azula looks just like her mother, but has her father's eyes. In the show, Ozai does have those striking gold eyes, but Azula doesn't. Hers are a little darker. (They're lightened up in the comics, but oh well.) So, I've made it that Ozai and Azula have more of a metallic copper color, which should be seen as no less striking and certainly very regal—and even more powerful. Why? Because electricity. They're like copper wires, electrical conductors, the ones who can wield the lightening. So, yes, by that formula, Iroh has copper eyes, too.

Ursa and Zuko have gold eyes, the color of honey, a product of nature. The color of the sun's glow at the end of the day—they know the true source of their power. They're malleable, like gold, not set in their ways. They embrace change when it is necessary, and they are brave enough to change themselves. Precious metals are molded by fire, and when Zuko and Ursa emerge from the heat, they are strong, yet still compassionate; hardened, yet still forgiving; radiant, yet still reachable.

And unlike copper, gold does not tarnish easily.