"Prince Zuko, Katara," Iroh's cheerful voice broke through Katara's sleep. "Unless you're planning on skipping a meal, it's time the two of you woke up so that you can eat the breakfast that's been prepared for you.
Zuko and Katara groaned together, Zuko burying his head beneath his pillow while Katara forced herself to sit up, smirking at the tired prince. Wrapping her blanket around herself, Katara clutched her pillow in one hand and walked over to the edge of Zuko's bed.
"Zuko," she called, raising the pillow over her head. "Time to wake up."
"Go away," came the muffled response.
She slammed the pillow downwards, smacking Zuko's back and getting a suppressed cry of alarm from him before he was ripping his pillow away from him, murder in his eyes as he locked onto a grinning Katara.
"It always worked on my brother," she shrugged, turning to toss her pillow back onto her mat and walking to the table Iroh had ready for them.
She sat down, stomach growling as the smell of the food reached her nose.
"Hurry, Zuko," she ordered, taking a deep sniff of whatever was on her plate.
Groaning, Zuko managed to get himself out of bed, pulling a robe over his clothes as he sunk to the ground on the opposite side of the table of Katara.
"I hope the two of you enjoy it," Iroh said, smiling at Katara as she thanked him.
He left them both after that to eat their food, Katara diving in, satisfying her hunger as the flavors exploded in her mouth. Zuko ate with eyes half open, looking ready to fall asleep at any moment. By the time he was halfway through with his food, Katara had finished and was wondering if it'd be worth the risk to steal some of Zuko's food.
"Aren't you happy this morning?" Katara teased, trying to test his mood.
"Shut up," he mumbled.
"Aww, too tired to make a good comeback?"
"Shut up," he said again. "It's too early to think."
Making her decision, Katara waited until Zuko's eyes shut for a brief moment before swiftly snatching some of the food off his plate.
Zuko was awake now.
"Exactly, what are you doing with my food," Zuko asked, voice deadly quiet.
Katara swallowed her stolen bite, trying hard not to laugh.
"Eat faster next time," she told him, placing her chopsticks back on the table and making a hasty retreat out of the room.
Deciding to look for Iroh or Aika, Katara began wandering the ship, heading up higher into the tower. Different soldiers ran into her as she climbed, nodding as they passed. Within a few minutes, she'd made it to the top of the tower, mouth opening in awe at the view she saw of the ocean spread out below her in all directions, the windows on each side of the tower allowing her to see outside.
"Why Katara!" Iroh said, looking up from the Pai-sho game he was playing. "What brings you up here?"
"Hello, Iroh," she responded with a smile. "Just wanted to see the parts of the ship I haven't seen yet."
"Then you should go out into the roof up here," Iroh told her, gesturing above his head with one hand while he used the other to slide one of his pieces to a new position.
Looking around, Katara noticed the ladder leading up to a hatch on the ceiling. Crossing the room, Katara scampered up the rungs, pushing open the hatch with a grunt and clambering out onto the roof.
The view was worth every stair she'd taken to get here. It was almost like she was on Appa again, riding over the sea with the wind in her hair. She breathed it in, warmed by the sun streaming down, walking up to the edge of the roof. Grasping the railing that ran all the way around, Katara grinned as she looked out across the ocean.
Turning around, she looked up at the smoke stacks that rose even higher than where she stood, watching the grey smoke pour into the sky. She frowned at it, saddened to see it marring the scenery around her.
A scuffling sound brought her attention back down to the hatch, where Zuko's head was appearing.
"What are you doing up here?" he asked as he pulled himself out, sitting on the edge of the hatch.
"Flying," Katara deadpanned. "Didn't you know? I'm an air bender."
"Ha," Zuko said as he rolled his eyes, climbing out the rest of the way and shutting the hatch behind him.
Worry filled Katara's eyes as she looked at the closed hatch.
"We can get back down, right?" she asked him.
"No," Zuko said flatly.
"What?"
A smirk appeared in Zuko's eyes, making Katara huff and turn away from him to hide her growing smile. She sat down at the edge, putting her feet beneath the bottom railing so that her legs dangled in the air. Joining her, Zuko crossed his arms on the railing, leaning his chin over them to watch the water.
They sat there together for a long time, watching. The silence felt comfortable, letting Katara relax as she hadn't for a while.
She took a side glance at the prince beside her and saw that his eyes were closed against the light.
"Aren't you supposed to be commanding your ship or something?" Katara asked him, getting Zuko to crack open his eyes.
"The ship is moving, isn't it?" he pointed out. "What else do I have to do?"
"Something besides sitting around all day is what I would think."
"Isn't that what you do every day?"
Frowning, Katara nudged him with her elbow, Zuko's eyes widening slightly when he realized he'd irritated her.
"That's because I have nothing else to do," she defended herself.
"You spar with Aika, don't you?"
"It's not like I can do that all day, and she has other work she has to do as a soldier here."
"What would you do on your flying bison all day?"
The question made Katara pause in surprise, having to think about the answer for a moment.
"Not much," she admitted. Maybe that was why Aang insisted on stopping in every place that seemed interesting. He was worried they'd all die of boredom.
"Is this what it's like?" Zuko asked, pointing out to the sea. "Flying?"
"Almost," Katara laughed. "Except Appa moves a lot more and sitting on metal is pretty different from sitting on fur."
"Well at least the food's better here I bet," Zuko muttered.
"That I will admit to."
They fell quiet again, somehow enjoying each other's company. The mention of Appa had begun turning Katara's thoughts back to the time before she'd been captured, when her brother and Aang had been running from Zuko. It had been a while since she'd thought of their threesome, she realized in shock. What surprised her even more though, was the pain of missing them that had always been there when she'd been thinking about those times didn't seem as strong this time.
That worried her.
Her expression changed, and she went from looking at the sea to searching the sky, wishing Appa would appear from behind one of the clouds to take her out of here.
"Were you ever lonely up there?" Zuko wondered.
Katara looked at him in surprise, seeing him looking up at the clouds himself. She hesitated to answer him, having to think about it for the first time. Going back to watching the sea. Katara's hand tightened around the railing.
"You alright?" Zuko's gruff voice asked her softly.
Meeting his gaze, Katara saw the concern in his eyes he'd had from watching her.
"Have they come for me, Zuko?" she asked.
Zuko's eyes went wide, but he didn't look away like Katara expected. Instead, he stared at her before sighing, shoulders slumping as if in defeat.
"Yes," he admitted. "They came several times and nearly got to you a couple of times, but they'd always pull out right before we could capture either of them. I guess your friends didn't want me to have any more bait or power over the three of you or something.
"We lost them after the storm. They must've had to take shelter and haven't been able to find us since."
"Are you looking for them then? You're trying to capture Aang with me, right? Or are we just heading towards the Fire Nation right now?"
Zuko sighed, finally looking away to stare forwards, eyes back on the water.
"I'm not sure what I'm doing right now," he breathed.
Katara stared at him, not sure she'd heard him right.
His gaze slid back to her, Katara unable to read his expression.
"You're making things very hard for me, waterbender," he growled.
She wasn't sure who started leaning in first, but it definitely didn't matter as their lips met for the second time, Zuko's kiss just as gentle as before, even as they deepened it. Zuko's arm came up around her waist to brace her as she placed her hands on his arms, wrapping her fingers around him tightly.
He was warm, making Katara want to draw in closer to him as the wind from the movement of the ship and the sea blew around them. As she shifted, Zuko's other hand went to the railing, keeping the two of them stable.
Bam!
Katara and Zuko threw themselves apart just before Rizen's head popped up, the soldier having just opened the hatch.
"I heard the two of you were having a party up here without me," Rizen called cheerfully, completely oblivious to the murderous look on Zuko's face as he climbed onto the roof.
He bounced over to them, sitting down on Katara's other side, grinning at her as he offered a plate of food he'd brought up with him. Katara shook her head at the offer, glad her tan skin hid most of her blush that had spread from nearly getting caught.
"Suit yourself," he said, beginning to eat, legs thumping against the tower, creating a loud banging sound.
"Prince Zuko," Iroh's voice could be heard coming from the room below.
With a groan, Zuko got to his feet after shooting one last dirty look at Rizen that the receiver completely missed seeing.
"I'll come find you later," Zuko said to Katara as he began climbing down the ladder.
She nodded, not missing how he left the hatch open this time for them. Turning back to the sea after Zuko had vanished, Katara couldn't keep the smile off her face as Rizen began humming as he ate, his feet continuing to cling against the tower.
"Rizen!"
The two of them spun to see an angry Aika at the hatch, glaring at Rizen who swallowed nervously.
"Knock it with the banging, would you?" she snapped. "I have an entire crew down here that I'm trying to assure we're not all about to be eaten by some giant sea monster."
Rizen looked at her, an innocent expression on his face before he hit the tower with his heel again. Aika's eyes became slits, fire spreading across her fingers as she eyed him.
"I didn't realize you didn't have any attachment to your legs," Aika threatened, fire giving her eyes a scary glint. "I can take them off for you if they bother you that much."
"Ok, I'll stop!"
Rizen exchanged a look of fear with Katara as Aika disappeared before the two of them laughed. Gaze becoming mischievous, Rizen swung both feet out into the air before slamming them against the metal tower.
Three seconds later, Aika reappeared, Rizen gulping loudly.
"It was nice knowing you, Katara," he told her, voice shaking.
"You too, Rizen," Katara responded quietly as Aika began stalking forward.
"If I make it through the next hour, I expect a huge celebratory meal," Rizen ordered.
"Oh I don't think she'll have to worry about that," Aika said, snatching Rizen by the ear.
Katara managed to snag his plate as he yelled before he could drop it off the edge of the tower. She waved goodbye to Aika as she dragged the soldier towards the ladder, shoving him through the hatch and jumping down after him, leaving Katara alone on the top of the tower again.