AN: Zutara week 2020, day 1! I'm so excited! Leave a review, let me know what you think!

Reunion

Nice to meet ya! Where ya been?
Let me treat you to a drink!

- Niall Horan

Zuko knows he made a wise decision by telling his mother to stay in Raikiri Village.

On the journey back to the capital, he had been tracked and ambushed, and he had barely escaped. When he finally returned to the palace in the middle of the night, he thought he was safe, but the assassins had followed him all the way there. Zuko should have guessed someone would make use of his absence to set up an assassination attempt.

At least the Fire Lord was the only target. Uncle wasn't harmed, for which Zuko is thankful.

Weeks later, Zuko is lying in his bed, still resting after his near brush with death. He munches on fire flakes while reading all the mail he missed during his trip. There's a whole stack of letters from Katara that came in while he was recovering, which he still hasn't replied to.

Zuko doesn't want to tell her that he almost died again, so he's putting off writing to her.

He opens a letter from Sokka.

Hey Zuko,

Guess what?! We—that is, Suki and I—got engaged a few weeks ago!

Zuko grins. Finally.

Anyway, we were thinking that since we're both important leaders to our respective peoples—not that we overvalue our own importance or anything—but we were thinking that we should host the wedding somewhere neutral to both our cultures.

He hums. Wise move.

We figured, given the current state of the world, friends of the Avatar hosting a big wedding might become an unintentionally political event if we don't choose the location carefully.

The Fire Lord nods to himself. Also true. Sokka has become rather skilled at politics these days.

So we decided we're going to host the wedding at Ember Island!

Zuko nearly chokes on his fireflakes.

Ember Island? Seriously?

We'll be at the capital by next week to begin preparations, if you don't mind.

- Your bro, Sokka

The Fire Lord sighs in exasperation.

Sokka and Suki will be in the Fire Nation. By next week. Which means Katara will probably be with them.

Zuko is doomed.

. . .

A knock on his office door. Zuko sighs. "Yes?"

"My lord, the Southern Water Tribe ship has arrived," says the guard captain.

His friends are here.

"Escort them into the city," says Zuko, "but do not, under any circumstances, allow them into the palace." He pauses. "And ask someone to bring me a pot of tea. Jasmine, please. I'll be at the pond."

Zuko finishes up the paperwork he's looking at, then gets up and limps through the palace halls using his crutches. He finally sits down on a bench by the turtleduck pond. Soon a waiter arrives with the tea set and places it beside him. "Your tea, my Lord."

"Thank you. You may leave."

Zuko pours himself a cup of tea and takes a sip. He exhales slowly, breathing out steam, and he wonders when he started keeping secrets from his friends. The Fire Lord looks down at himself, at the bandages over his arms and his chest, the agonizing pain in his right leg. He can't let them see him like this.

They don't know how close he came to death, and it's best if it stays that way.

Maybe some secrets are for the best.

Pounding footsteps echo nearby. Zuko raises his head, ready to reprimand whichever servant is making so much noise.

"ZUKO!"

His thoughts come to a standstill.

Katara looks older, more mature. She's grown into her curves but she still looks strong as ever. Her hair is now wild and untamed, cascading around her face. Other than that, she's exactly the same. Beautiful, graceful, proud. And at this moment, also furious.

Zuko has forgotten how to breathe.

"WHAT THE HELL, ZUKO!?" shouts Katara as she approaches the pond. The water rises with her fuming presence. "Your guards aren't letting us in! And Iroh says you nearly died! Did you forget that I could heal you? Never mind that, I thought we were friends! And you didn't even tell me? Not even a letter? Not even just a Dear Katara, I almost got killed?"

Katara suddenly comes to a stop. Her eyes widen as she takes in each detail—his badly sprained ankle, the multitude of bandages, the scabbed cuts all over his arms and face.

"Tui and La," she breathes.

Zuko smiles despite his pain. "Hi, Katara."

"You are such an idiot, Zuko!"

He laughs weakly. "It's just a scratch."

"Shut up and let me heal you!" She rushes to sit down beside him and draws water from her flask with one hand, unwrapping his bandages with the other. "You shouldn't even be out here! If you die from an infection I will never forgive you or your stupid Fire Nation healers!"

Before she can start healing, he touches her face with one hand.

"I'm fine, Katara," he says. "I've been in the hospital for over a week. Believe me, I feel a lot better than I look." She glares at him in disbelief. Zuko rolls his eyes. "Seriously, you're overreacting! You can heal me later." He brushes a lock of her hair behind her ear, his fingers trailing her jaw. "For now, just talk to me! It's been so long!"

Katara blushes. "Okay. Sorry."

She settles on the bench next to him. He smiles and gestures to the pot. "Tea?"

"I'll get it myself," she says, stopping his hands before they move.

When their fingers brush, Zuko suddenly remembers everything about her that he's lived without for a year.

Her touch is cool and gentle, her smile soft, her eyes bright with kindness.

I missed you, he wants to say, but he isn't ready to say it yet. He wants to hug her, but that wouldn't be a good idea given his current condition. She pours herself a cup of tea and they both sit quietly for a minute, listening to the turtleducks. A familiar peace fills his heart.

"How'd you get into the palace?" he finally asks.

Katara blinks as if snapping out of a trance. Her gaze is fixed on his face. "Me?" she replies breathlessly. "I, uh . . . may have climbed in through a window."

Zuko snorts. "Katara, ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, master waterbender, snuck in through a window?"

"Hey, I wouldn't have had to use the window if your guards had just let us in!" she snaps defensively. "Besides, you're the one who taught me how to sneak around like that back when we tracked Yon Rha! I just put those skills to use."

Zuko raises a finger in an impression of Iroh. "Well done, my pupil. I am so proud of you."

Katara giggles into her tea. "Thanks. Sokka and Suki will find a way in soon, probably. And when they find you, they'll be angry."

"Fair enough." Zuko sighs. "I just didn't want them to see me like this. It's hardly a good omen before planning a wedding if your host almost got assassinated."

She jabs a finger at his nose. "Speaking of almost dying, don't ever do it again!"

Zuko can't help but laugh, despite the sting of his wounds.

"I'm serious, Zuko!"

Her eyes are bright and brilliant blue, focused on him. For a moment he feels braver. "I'll try my best not to die, but I make no promises." He leans forward and takes her free hand. "I'm happy you're here, Katara. I missed your constant nagging. I missed you."

Katara smiles warmly, interlacing their fingers. "I missed you too." She pauses. "Are we . . . everything that happened last summer . . . are we good?"

"Of course," Zuko replies.

She nods in relief. "Okay."

"I'm sorry I said those things," he adds.

"I know," she whispers. "I'm sorry too."

Zuko shakes his head. "It wasn't your fault. You were right. There was another way."

Katara's eyes suddenly light up. "Your mother! You found her?"

He nods slowly.

"That's great! Where is she?"

Zuko sighs. "Far from the capital, far from me, where she's safe."

"Oh." Katara's face falls. Her grip on his hand tightens. "I'm sorry, Zuko."

He shrugs. "It's better this way." The smile returns to his face. "She's alive. That's enough for me."

Katara's smile mirrors his own. "I'm glad you found her."

She looks away for a moment, then back at him. Her smile widens.

"What?" he asks.

"It's so different," explains Katara. "Being here. With you. It's so different from just reading your letters."

Zuko smiles. "You're right. This is better. More awkward, but much better."

"You know what would be even better?" she counters. "If I could hug you!" Katara glares at his bandages in annoyance. "The moment your injuries have healed, I'm going to hug you like a koala-bear and I won't let go until I've broken all your ribs. You have been warned."

Zuko laughs. "That's the cutest death threat I've ever received."

Katara smiles and sets her empty cup down with Zuko's at the edge of the bench.

The comfortable silence returns.

It's been a year. An entire year since he's spoken to Katara. They both have so much to talk about, yet they've said so little thus far. A part of him wants to never stop talking to her, but instinctively he knows they don't need to say much. They always did understand each other without words.

Their fingers are still intertwined. Katara nudges him with her shoulder and Zuko looks up at her face. She's caught him staring at their hands. Her smile is teasing.

"I don't want to let go," he admits quietly.

"I know," she whispers. "Neither do I."

The words seem to make Zuko's inner fire burn brighter. He can't explain it, but the emotion feels soft like her smile, warm like sunshine.

"HEY! LORD JERKBENDER!"

Zuko sighs.

"Mind explaining why you locked us out of the palace!?" shouts Sokka from down the hallway.

Katara rolls her eyes at her brother's dramatic entrance and jumps to her feet, helping Zuko up.

This wasn't the reunion he was expecting. To be honest, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but this . . . it's perfect. Perfect, like the blue of her eyes. Perfect, like a hole in his heart has suddenly been filled. Perfect, like the dark and lonely midnight of his life has passed, and these are the hours just before dawn.

He looks at Katara. She's smiling gently while supporting his weight with her arm.

In that moment, Zuko finally understands. Katara keeps him going, gives him hope even when she's not there, helps him stand when he feels like falling.

Katara is his dawn.

He hopes that one day he'll be able to tell her.

. . .