Not much, just a chapter of pure fluff. Enjoy!
Chapter 21
Katara sighed, allowing her element to flow down her body. Unsurprisingly, she thought of the last night. In fact, the last night had not left her thoughts, even for a moment. It had been the happiest she had been. Ever. Without any doubt. They sat on the roof long after the bard had finished the song, in companionable silence. Her head on his shoulders, his one hand threaded through hers and the other playing with her hair. Neither had felt the need to break the silence or the moment. Finally, when Katara's head had dropped off his shoulder in sleep, Zuko had urged they step inside. Neither of them even seemed to question anything as they lay on the bed in Katara's room and went to sleep immediately.
He was gone by the time Katara woke up, which was not a surprise. Even back in the days when they camped together, he had always been the first to wake up, right at the crack of dawn. 'It's a Fire Bender thing,' he would say. But judging by the warmth of the bed and the lingering smell, he had left much later than his usual time. He had lay there for at least an hour longer than usual. She knew him well enough to know how much he despised sleeping in. Even after he had been struck by lightning, once he had woken up from his three-day-long stupor, it had taken the combined efforts of herself, Iroh and Toph to keep him on bedrest. Toph had, in fact, cuffed his feet to the bed so he would stop fidgeting. Even then, his eyes would snap open with the sunrise. And he would fidget. Non-stop. At one point, Suki had attacked his face with a pillow and Sokka had threatened to shove his boomerang in… err… unmentionable places, before Zuko had calmed down enough to keep still.
But this morning, he had stayed in the bed for at least an hour. Katara did not believe he had been asleep. It was physically impossible for him to stay sleeping once the Sun had broken through the horizon. But he had not fidgeted either. Katara was not a heavy sleeper. She would have known if he had. He had stayed absolutely still. Doing what, though? The answer eluded her.
Perhaps he was sleeping, Katara told herself as she washed her hair. He didn't sleep very well the night before and they had gone to bed late last night. Besides, he had been rather out of sorts when he had come to her room.
"You're overthinking, Katara," she muttered as she bent the water out of her hair. "So he slept in, big deal."
But he doesn't sleep in! Another part of her mind countered stubbornly. She dried herself and draped the bathrobe on herself before stepping out of the bathroom. She walked into her bedroom and stopped in her tracks. Strewn all over her bed were rose petals, with an outfit laid out for her amid them. That gesture was highly unlike Zuko. Based on her previous experience, Zuko would thrust something in her hand and grumble that it was for her. This rather over-the-top gesture seemed very out of character for him. But it had to be him. No one else was there to make a gesture like this. She walked over and lifted the outfit to study it. Green halter-top and slacks paired with a translucent yellow shin-length cloak that was open in front. It was a pretty enough ensemble, but she could see this as being better suited to someone like Suki or Ty Lee. Yellow clashed terribly with her skin. But if Zuko had chosen this outfit for her… she didn't want to disappoint him. So, despite her misgivings, Katara changed.
She found Zuko downstairs, working. She smiled. Trust Zuko to find a way to work during vacation.
"I thought you were on a break?" Katara said as she poured herself a cup of tea and settled on the chair opposite him.
He looked at her and gave a quick, but genuine smile. No reaction to the outfit. He took a sip of his tea before saying, "A messenger hawk brought this in this morning. Some changes in the housing policies of the Earth Kingdom colonies. It needs my approval. Uncle can't do it because I was the one that drafted the original proposal to begin with. And this needs to be done because the previous contract lapses by the end of the month. If I wait till end of the week, it might be a little too late."
"Oh yes, I read that policy. Didn't realize you'd drafted it," Katara said, nodding. "The colonies have become a major source of contention between you and Kuei, huh?"
Zuko dropped the quill he had been holding and let out an irritated huff. "Oh, don't ask! I had originally proposed not to disturb the status-quo of the civilians. My plan was to recall the military troops in stages. No point destabilizing the economies of both the colonies and the Fire Nation at the same time. But Kuei wanted them gone. Immediately. He gave me one month. One fucking month to recall all troops. But how could I do that? I can't bring in thousands upon thousands of people into the country overnight. Where am I going to keep them? What will I feed them? What are they going to do?"
Katara shook her head, "That sounds like a nightmare. I had expected better of Kuei."
"Really?" Zuko raised a brow. "This is the King that allowed the Dai Li to basically run amok in his country while he was busy playing games with his bear. He ran away with his bear to 'explore the world' when Ba Sing Se fell. Why is this a surprise?"
"Has he improved any?"
"Oh yes, he is much better now. He now gets politics and sometimes even comes up with intelligent solutions. I would take ten Kueis over half a Hahn."
Katara snorted.
Zuko grinned and picked his scroll back up. "I would never forget the day Bumi flicked a pebble at Kuei's head and then blamed his pet, floosy…flippy, something, for it."
"Flopsy," Katara provided.
"Ah yes, Flopsy. But you know the best part? Flopsy was nowhere near the room."
Katara threw her head back and laughed, "That sounds like Bumi, alright. He was such a nutter. But a great King."
"Truly. He could really think of out of the box solutions," Zuko agreed, his eyes scanning the lines on the scroll. "I miss him sometimes."
"Have you eaten anything yet?" Katara asked.
"No, I was waiting for you," he answered without looking up.
"Mind if I whip something up? I haven't cooked in ages."
"Please, go right ahead. I like your cooking."
Katara became aware of a wide grin on her lips as she made her way into the kitchen.
Later in the morning, the two of them walked over to the beach. Being so close to ocean, Katara was itching to have a go. Zuko sat back on the sand and watched her as she took off her cloak and walked into the water. She got in the water waist-deep and held out her arms. She raised the water to her command and began to whirl it around herself in a great arc. Push and pull. It was like watching a Goddess in her element. As she took a stance, he realized that she was using Earthbending moves. Or, to be more precise, Toph's moves. It was a sight to behold.
Zuko lay back on his elbows and threw his head back, basking in the warmth of the Sun. His inner fire stirred and without thinking, he lit a flame in his fingers and twirled it in his hand. This morning, like always, his eyes had snapped open at dawn. The first thing he realized was that he could not move his arm. It had taken him a few moments to realize that it was pinned down by Katara, who was fast asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, they had moved closer and she was lying on his shoulder.
Zuko didn't believe in magic. But at that moment, had anyone told him what he was seeing was magical, he would believe it. Completely. He had lay there, unable, rather unwilling to move. He took the unprecedented chance to study her. Her black hair fell in soft waves on her angelic face. At this distance, he could spot a couple of white hairs in the dense mass of black. He wasn't surprised. Given how hard her life had been, the stress would manifest somewhere physically. Her lashes formed tiny half-moons on her plump cheeks. She had a pert little nose that turned slightly upwards. Funnily, it had been her nose that he had noticed first as a teenager. When he had grasped her hands, mouthing the corny line, 'I'll save you from the pirates,' he had noticed the nose. His first thought had been that it was a ridiculously cute nose. Even now, he found her nose adorable. His eyes dropped further down to her lips. Full and delicate, they beckoned him. Last night, he had been moments away from claiming them. He wondered if they would taste as sweet as they looked. Unable to stop himself, he lifted his other hand and with his thumb, outlined them slowly. In her sleep, Katara stirred and snuggled a little, making him draw his hand away. Unfortunately, given the way she had moved, accentuated her cleavage, drawing his eyes there.
Oh no!
Zuko scrunched his eyes, trying to rein in the wayward thoughts. But the thought had planted itself firmly in his mind. He could see her in his mind's eyes, in her complete splendor, beckoning him. Zuko found his body answering and he had to shuffle away, lest he wake her up. Just then, Katara let out a soft grunt and turned to the other side, releasing his arm. Zuko had all but shot out of the bed.
"I was right, wasn't I?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. Zuko looked up, blinking against the Sun to find Jet standing there, looking at him.
"Oh you," Zuko said, putting as much disdain as he could in his voice. He took his eyes off him and looked back at Katara who was now surfing the waves. "What exactly are you prattling about?"
Without an answer, Jet flopped on the sand beside him and said, "You're a Fire Bender."
"Congratulations. Do you want an award?"
Jet snorted, "Tell me something, Lee. How does a guy like you end up with a girl like her? What does she see in you, man?"
Despite his irritation, Zuko paused. Jet had asked him the one question he had been asking himself too. What did she see in him? Why had she loved him the way she did? Zuko sighed, "I don't know. You'll have to ask her."
Jet grinned, "You mean, I should talk to her? Happy to comply."
Zuko's irritation flared again and he turned to look at Jet. He let a lick of flame on his finger and said delicately, "I would like to see you try."
"Typical Fire Bender," Jet scoffed. "Using intimidation to drive their point."
"Jet," Zuko said getting up to face the man, "What is your problem? Why don't you just leave us alone?"
"I can't," Jet replied, softly. "I know I should, but I can't. I just… I like her too much."
Zuko gritted his teeth, "Jet, that's my wife. Keep your eyes to yourself. The only reason I am not doing anything to you is because I have always felt guilty that you fell in the Dai Li's clutches because of me. But my guilt has its limits. I won't tolerate you bothering my wife."
Jet opened his mouth to say something but Katara's voice cut them. "Jet! Why are you here?"
As one the two men turned to look at the Waterbender and Zuko's throat dried. Droplets of salty water lined her body, making him want to lick them off her. The wet fabric clinging to her skin in ways that left little to imagination. Her wet hair dropped down to her waist in soft curls. Words left Zuko's mind, all that was left was a heady lust. Next to him, Jet swore under his breath. Zuko didn't need any special powers to know what was going on in that man's mind.
"I knew those clothes would suit you," Jet said, making Katara gasp.
6
