Hello to all my readers who have patiently waited for me to update this. I was having a bit of an issue with this story. However, now I want to finish this story. Hardly 4-5 chapters more to go. This story is not one for action or thrill. It is simply a story of healing and relationships. That's what I want to focus on, not elaborate on politics and stuff. That said, I had a tough time writing that letter, but I think it did turn out decent. What do you think? Do let me know in the comments.

I plan to update this fic on Tuesday/Wednesday and Friday/Saturday.

An update on my other fics:

Subterfuge: The fic is on a brief hiatus for such time that I am finishing this one. Once I am done here, I will get back to that.

Sleepless in Ba Sing Se: It is a small love story that I am writing to address a condition I have. I am trying to pay an ode to the monkey on my back – insomnia. Do check it out.

Trigger Warning: Mild sexual content.

Chapter 33

With a sigh, Katara leaned against Zuko's chest. He rubbed her arm slowly as the water sloshed around them. His skin against her back was warm and sent small electrical jolts through her body. He kneaded her shoulders. His fingers traveled to her collar bones and then, settled on the pendant around her neck.

"I love seeing this on your neck," he said. "When I carved this, I wondered if you would wear it. I knew what your mother's necklace means to you."

"I had to. This was the first thing you gave me after marriage."

He smiled and gave a small kiss on her shoulder. His hand moved from the collar bone to her bare breast, cupping it and squeezing it none too gently, eliciting a moan from her. But then he dropped his hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She turned her head a little to look at him and spotted the frown on his face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Azula. I can't stop thinking about her. I thought she was fine, but clearly, she was not. I don't know what to do about her."

Katara turned around to face him, the water moving with her, "Zuko, she will be alright. I know she will."

He sat up and she saw his adam's apple bob, "Katara, what I'm about to ask you… I'd understand if you said no."

"Tell me."

"Azula… You know exactly what she is feeling, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Will you be with her? Support her through this?"

Katara smiled, "You don't have to tell me twice, Zuko. I'd do it happily."

"Thanks," he said and pulled her into his arms. "I can't tell you how relieved I am."

Katara drew back and scowled, "Did you really think I'd say no?"

He shook his head. "No. I didn't. But I wanted to give you the option to back out if you wanted. I mean, you have enough issues of your own to deal with."

She gave a half shrug, "I have you for that."

He gave a small chuckle and leaned in closer, "That you do."

Over the next half an hour, Katara learned that Toph had indeed been right. A Water Bender and Fire Bender did make for the most pleasurable bathing experience, ever.

Katara lay on the bed, her hair fanned out behind her. Her brows were knit together as she read a document about the irrigation project that she was working on. Zuko sat next to her, reading a report of his own. He leaned over to pick up the quill to make a notation when a knock on the door startled him. He exchanged a perplexed look with Katara.

"Who is here now?" he wondered as he got off the bed.

"I hope everyone is okay," Katara said, sitting up on the bed. Zuko stopped mid-stride as she robbed him of his breath. Half her hair wass falling on her bare shoulder, with a strand finding its way on her cleavage. The blue silken slip she had on provided a stark contrast against her darkened skin and he felt the stirrings of desire in him yet again.

"Stop letching and go answer the door," Katara said with a laugh as she pulled the housecoat from the nightstand.

"I'm letching at my wife. Perfectly acceptable," he replied but made his way to the door. Opening the door, however, his mood soured. Standing there, looking down was Sokka. "What are you doing here?" Zuko knew his voice was sharp, but he did not care.

"I… I figured I owed the two of you an apology," Sokka said, not meeting his eyes.

"Oh, accuse in public and apologize in private, is it?"

Sokka squirmed, clearly uncomfortable. "Toph tore into me this morning," he said, fidgeting with his shirt. "She pretty much said the same thing that you did. That I don't know anything about the truth."

Zuko crossed his arms, only then realizing that he was shirtless, and leaned against the doorframe, not allowing Sokka in the room. "So you are here to demand the truth, disguised as an apology?"

"No no!" he said, finally meeting Zuko's eyes. Seeing his friend's red rimmed, puffed eyes, Zuko felt a twinge of pity for him. He had clearly spent a while crying, something Sokka had always decried as unmanly. "Zuko… I hurt my baby sister. And my best friend. I have to make amends. I can't let this slide."

Zuko nodded and said, "I'll let you in, but on one condition."

"Anything."

"You won't press for anything. She is the one who decides how this conversation will go. She forgives you or chooses to stay angry, you will accept it."

Sokka smiled and laid a hand on Zuko's shoulder. "She's lucky to have you, man. I promise. I'll take whatever she gives."

"Come in," he said and moved to the side. The warrior took a deep breath and stepped into the chamber. Katara was still sitting on the bed, mercifully wearing a housecoat on top. He had a feeling that Sokka was not in the right frame of mind yet to see them as husband and wife. Zuko lowered himself on a chair and gestured at Sokka to take a seat. Katara was looking at her brother expressionlessly.

"What do you want?" she snapped, not bothering to diminish the hostility.

"I…I wanted to apologize," Sokka said. "I should have known you both are much too honorable to do this. I'm not trying to defend myself or anything, but I always thought you both had feelings for each other. Just that neither of you ever acted on it."

Zuko shared a glance with Katara. When she didn't say anything, he leaned forward and said, "Neither of us acted on any feelings that we might have had for each other because we both had other people in our lives. People we loved and cared for. We never betrayed our partners."

"But why didn't you?" Sokka asked. "In Ember Island, both of you were single."

"We were also in the middle of a fucking war!" Katara replied shortly.

"And I'm not exaggerating but the weight of the world was on my shoulders," Zuko added. "Shared only with a twelve-year-old, overpowered child."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said the things I said."

"And most definitely not in front of everyone," Katara added. "Why did you think that was a good idea?"

Sokka groaned and hung his head. "I thought if everyone was around, you would not hide anything. But I didn't think it through. You know how I get when an idea comes to me. But I realize now that I overstepped my boundaries."

"I'd say you pole vaulted over it, buddy," Zuko said.

Katara climbed down the bed and began pacing. Her words were still cold when she spoke, "You are my brother, Sokka. You have every right to ask me questions. But ask me. Not in front of everyone. And you don't have the right to fucking demand answers. You can ask, whether I want to answer or not depends on me."

Sokka nodded, "I know what I did was terrible. I just hope you don't cut me out because of that."

"No, I won't," Katara said as she walked around the bed and came to sit face to face with her brother. "But, it's time I set some hard boundaries for you. You don't get to ask me questions about Aang and why I'm not wearing his necklace. If you want to know what happened to his necklace, I threw it away. It's probably lying somewhere in the ravines of Eastern Air Temple. Make what you want of that bit of information. I am not telling you anything more. Another hard boundary for you is that you don't get to ask anything about how things are between me and Zuko. In short, you don't get to ask anything about my relationship with my husbands. Am I clear?"

Sokka nodded, his face pinched.

"Depending on your behavior from here on, I will decide if the boundaries can or cannot be eased. Any doubts?"

Sokka shook his head.

"Then you may leave now."

"Katara… will you forgive me?"

"Eventually, yes," Katara replied. "But not just yet."

He nodded in acceptance and looked at Zuko, "Zuko? Will you?"

"I wish you had trusted me enough to at least come and talk to me about your doubts," Zuko said. "Anyway, what's done is done. My forgiveness here is immaterial. If Katara forgives you, consider yourself forgiven by both of us."

Sokka nodded again and stood up. "Thanks. Good night."

"Good night," Zuko said while Katara simply waved.

Respected Chief Hahn,

We trust this letter would find you in the best of your health. Ideally, this letter should have reached you earlier, but we did not send it because we were firmly of the opinion that we were mistaken.

Recently, there was an assassination attempt on Fire Lady Katara. Let us reassure you, the Fire Lady is in perfect health. The reason we are sending this letter to you, is because the assassin, for some reason, is under the impression that he was sent by you. We interrogated him several times, but the man remains adamant. The assassin is now in a high security prison.

We are of the opinion that this is a conspiracy to undermine your position as one of the leaders of the free world. We have all fought hard and sacrificed so much to put an end to a century long war and attain balance. We know that you, as the benevolent and kind ruler of the esteemed Northern Water Tribe, would never do something to jeopardize the hard-fought peace. We at Fire Nation do not take the attack of a member of the royal family lightly. Neither should you take an attack at your integrity lightly. If there is conspiracy afoot to undermine you, we would recommend you look into it. We are willing to assist you in any manner that you would need.

Best Regards,

Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Katara.

Katara nodded, put her seal in the bottom, and rolled up the parchment. It had taken them a while to come up with a response where they could threaten Hahn, yet not hurt his overlarge ego, not appear accusatory, and yet communicate to him that they were not going to take him lightly. It was a delicate balance that took them several tries to get the tone right. She put it into the canister and handed it to the servant. The man bowed and excused himself.

That done, she stretched and stood up. Sokka's apology last night did soothe her pained heart a bit and gave a slight spring to her step. She did not like fighting with Sokka. He was an integral part of who she was and fighting with him felt like cutting a part of her own body. Setting the hard boundaries with him was tough but a much-needed precaution. As much as she loved Sokka, she needed him to understand that he could not just do whatever he wanted without any repercussions. He was a smart man and she knew that he would get the message.

Katara walked along the corridor, making her way to Azula's chamber. She turned the corner, and almost ran into Zuko. She gasped comically, while he grabbed her arm to steady her. "Careful there."

"Sorry, didn't see you there."

"No problem. Where are you headed to?"

"Azula's chamber, like I said last night?"

"Ah. Come, I'll walk with you."

Katara frowned, "Don't you have a council meeting in some time?"

"I have fifteen minutes. I want to check on Azula too."

The two of them walked along in silence for a while before she said, "I sent the letter to Hahn."

Zuko nodded. "That's one big headache solved. Do look over the end-of-war anniversary planning later today. I could do with a fresh set of eyes."

"Okay," she said. Slowly, Zuko was pulling her more and more into the role of Fire Lady, easing her into her responsibilities. He gave her a brief of what to expect, what she needs to make sure is included and add any suggestions she might have. The duo reached Azula's chamber and Katara stopped in front of the door.

She licked her lips and placed a hand on Zuko's arm. "The last time Azula saw you, she blamed you for everything. I saw the pain you were in after that. I don't want to see you go through that again. Do you really want to go in there?"

Zuko bit his lower lip for a moment and said, "I know what she did. But that is my baby sister. I can't just let her be in this state."

"I understand. Let's go."

Katara knocked on the door and was met with silence. She pushed the door and stepped in, not knowing what to expect. The Azula she saw now was not who she had seen since the wedding. Nor was she the broken woman whom she had seen on Mai's birthday. This Azula sat huddled in her chair, staring out into nothing. Katara took a step towards her, but stopped, not sure how to approach her. Seeing her indecision, Zuko took the initiative.

"Azula?"

Silence.

"Azula?"

Silence.

Zuko shook his head and looked at Katara. "She doesn't even know I'm here."

"Go to your council meeting, Zuko," Katara said. "I'll take care of her."

Zuko looked from her to his sister and back at her. "Call me if anything changes."

"Will do."

Once Zuko left, she walked over to Azula and sat down next to her. If the woman knew she had company, she said nothing. She was lost in her own world. Katara reached over and took her hand in hers, feeling encouraged that Azula didn't pull her hand back. The two women sat there, in silence, holding hands till the horizon began to darken.

"Come, let's have dinner," Katara said, knowing full well that the request would be denied. Azula let go of her and dropped her hand on her lap. Katara ran her hand over her head and said, "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Katara was almost at the door when she heard her name. "Katara?"

She spun around to find Azula looking at her. "Yes?"

Azula licked her lips and said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there."

"Anytime, Azula. I'm not leaving my sister alone."

Azula's lips drew into a ghost of a smile before she was lost in her own world again.