September 101AG

A gaggle of little girls ran right up to Aang when Appa landed on Kyoshi Island. Koko lead the charge. "Aangy!"

Zuko thanked Aang for the ride and escaped the swarm. The Avatar was headed to the Southern Air Temple to start the reconstruction, but he made a detour to Kyoshi Island, so Zuko could get to Suki.

When he got to the warrior house, it was empty. They must be doing their rounds right now. He left the house and went to the market, getting some koi fish, tomato carrots, and a bottle of moon peach wine.

He had to learn to cook since he had been on his own for the past year, and he wasn't half bad at it.

When Suki and the other girls did get home, they heard someone in their kitchen.

Suki had her katana drawn and tiptoed into the kitchen just to shriek.

The other girls came running just to see Zuko kissing Suki. He had her pinned to the wall and her legs were locked around his hips.

The girls snickered as they headed upstairs.

"I was not expecting you," Suki said after Zuko put her down.

"I didn't think I'd get any time off until October, but then the meetings that were supposed to be next week got pushed back, so I decided to come now."

"I'm glad you did."

After Suki had a chance to bathe and change her clothes, they had dinner. The roasted koi was delicious, but Suki was not a fan of the skin, so she peeled it off.

Zuko ate hers. "It's my favorite part."

"Yuck!" She went for the moon peach wine. They usually got beer for the fridge instead because it was cheaper. "This tastes like candy." It was so easy to drink.

"They served it at a political function I went to last month. By the end of the night, everyone was stumbling drunk and I saw this giant cache of bottles as I was leaving. I think the average was a bottle per person, maybe more."

That night, they went for a walk on the beach. Suki had on this loose fitting shirt that kept blowing open in the wind. Zuko pulled her into a kiss, and they fell on the beach.

It was starting to get chilly, but his heatbending kept them both warm as they fumbled to open the other's clothes.

Suki gasped at the hot tongue lapping at her thigh. She looked around. It was already dark, and no one was around. She hoped they didn't get caught.

Zuko had no such qualms. He was on autopilot, must ravish Suki. He curled his long fingers forward, finding the sensitive spot inside of her that made her hips lurch forward. He hovered over her, tall, strong, and shirtless as his hands pushed in and out of her.

Their bodies moved in tandem, rocking and writhing as he brought her over the edge

She shrieked as she came and then he got ready to fill her.

"Fuck!" he hissed as her legs wrapped around his hips. She was so tight. They had only been intimate a few times, damn the distance between them. She flipped him over and took the lead, the moon backlit her perfectly. She was a goddess and for now, she was all his.

After a few days of rutting, the warriors were ready to soundproof Suki's walls. "We love you Suki, but you scream like a banshee."

Unperturbed, Zuko had an idea for the rest of his vacation time. "We could go to Hira'a, so I can introduce you to my mom and half-sister."

Suki could use a vacation. "I think we should stay in the inn."

"I agree."

Zuko wrote to his mother before they got on the ship. Two days later, they were in Hira'a.

"What a quaint little town."

Zuko thought quaint really meant boring. Well, this place is pretty boring.

They made it to his mother's house. Kiyi had been playing in the yard with a neighbor.

She ran up to her brother and hugged him.

"Hey Kiyi. This is my girlfriend, Suki."

"Hi Suki!"

The girl looked like a miniature Azula with brown eyes. Despite their similar faces, they had very different personalities. "Do you like my doll? Her name is Kiyi!"

"She's very cute," Suki told her. What a sweetie!

They got inside, and Ursa was just starting to make lunch. She looked up and saw her son.

"ZUKO!" She hugged him happily, and "you must be Suki," Ursa hugged her next. "Zuko's told me all about you!"

Ursa's hugs were warm. She seemed very kind.

They started talking about Kyoshi Island, and Ursa continued to make sandwiches. Zuko tried to swipe one early, but Suki smacked his hand.

"Even as a boy, he'd always try to pinch sandwiches."

"Tell me embarrassing stories from his childhood."

Zuko frowned. "I'm going to go play with Kiyi." He ran outside.

When Ikem got home, he saw Kiyi on Zuko's shoulders, and Ursa cooking dinner with Suki.

When he got into the kitchen, Ursa turned around and gave him a kiss. "How was your day?"

"It was pretty ordinary. How was yours?"

"It was swell."

He snorted. "Who uses the word swell anymore?"

"I do."

"It's not the 70s anymore," though he kind of wishes that it were. He kissed her again.

Before Ozai came along, everything was so simple. He and Ursa were in a theatre together. They thought they would have a nice, simple life in Hira'a no interruptions, and then one day in 81AG; Azulon and Ozai came and everything changed, but now they're dead and gone. Ursa was at home with his child, right where she belonged.

Dinner was a strange affair. Everything Suki made tasted good. Everything Ursa made did not. When Zuko was eating off the plate, he had no idea if he'd want to smile or spit it out.

Suki knew exactly what she cooked and steered away from everything else. Maybe they should get her a recipe book.

"Do you think you'll be able to visit for All Saints Day (December 25th)?" Ursa asked her son.

"Hopefully. I should have off work." The government offices should be closed.

"We'd love to have you and Suki with us."

Suki was surprised they were having it here. "You're not going to the palace?" Don't they usually do stuff like this?

"I wasn't planning on it," Ursa said curtly. She would never say it out loud, but she didn't want to forge a relationship with her older daughter. In Ursa's view, people had two roles, their role for their family and their role in society. Azula flouted every rule that Ursa had been taught as to what a woman should be in both roles.

She ignored her mother's teachings, usurped her older brother's crown, and planned on having her boyfriend be a stay at home father. It sounded harsh, but those who flouted the rules got shunned. It's why Hira'a stayed the way it was. The women stayed home with the children and the men went to work.

Despite the social progress in the rest of the nation, Hira'a stayed the same. It was in this world that Ursa wanted to stay. Azula would never belong here.

Suki was a much better fit. Sure, she was working now, but she would age out of the warriors and then be the good wife who stayed home and bore Zuko children. She would be a suitable daughter for Ursa.

Zuko and Suki stayed in Hira'a four days. Suki had to get back to the warriors and Zuko had to get back to Ba Sing Se. They said their goodbyes and got on their ship.

Suki found it odd that Ursa hadn't mentioned her older daughter at all. Zuko didn't think much of it.

"They don't really get along."

"Why?"

Zuko shrugged. "Azula always liked Ozai better."

"But she jailed him?"

"I don't really know." Zuko didn't find it very pressing.

Suki didn't ask again, but something about this situation was very odd.