It took several weeks but finally, we all formalised a plan. King Kuei decided that he would give us the land that we asked for as a sign of goodwill and thanks for the Avatar and his companions for saving the world and his kingdom. I was ecstatic, already beginning to get things rolling with plans, sending out messenger hawks to get in contact with people we would need to help us build as well as figuring out ways to fund it all. It was like our very own pet project, where all of us got involved.
Even Zuko was a part of it, all the nations coming on board to help build this new city that in our heads, was going to be a centre of cultural exchange and the standard of hope we had for the future. I was excited, it was easy to tell as I walked around with a spring in my step, looking forward to having something to focus on, like it was my calling in life. "You look happy." Hearing Zuko's voice, I turned around from where I had been enjoying some time in the fresh air, sitting on the balcony ledge to see Zuko leaning casually against onto of the inner pillars.
"I am happy." I answered him, even smiling as the wind began to tug at my hair so I held it back. "This is the kind of thing I've been searching for my whole life, a higher calling and it just falls right into my lap. I really want this to succeed."
"It will." He told me assuredly, cautiously approaching before he leaned over the ledge next to me, leaving a large enough gap between us in a clear attempt to make me feel more comfortable. "With you, Aang and the others at the lead, there's no way it'll fail."
"You're a part of this too. For this to work we need all the nations to participate, that way all four nations will feel like they've contributed and will be less likely to become hostile towards it in later years." Turning back to continue looking over the city, I couldn't help but imagine things in my head. Our way of life had been so simple, but with new technological advances, things were rapidly changing. I just hope we can keep up.
"When we first talked with the Earth King four years ago over what was to be done with the colonies, you mentioned that this was something that might need to happen, integration between the nations. You knew from the very beginning that this was the only way peace could be brought between the four nations, didn't you?" Zuko asked me so I merely smirked proudly, leaving an air of ambiguity but he knew me well enough to know what my silence meant. Of course I damn well knew. "I always got the feeling you were forward thinking. You always thought things through before you committed to something, I remember all the times you got mad at me because I just went in without thinking."
"It drove me crazy. You'd make half a plan but then never think about your exit strategy. It's like you'd just focus on reaching your goal then forget about the rest." I chuckled nostalgically, my arm draped over my knee as my skirt fluttered in the breeze. "That's why I never let you plan anything after you became Fire Lord without me there to remind you to consider all the variables. For the first few weeks you were like a baby moose-lion just learning how to walk, all shaky and unbalanced but then you got used to things."
"I couldn't have done it without you." He said to me honestly so I shrugged.
"I just happened to be there, you had plenty of advisors and ministers there to teach you how to be Fire Lord, I just taught you to think for yourself. Besides, there was always Uncle Iroh, though you never bothered him because you wanted him to have the quiet life he always wanted with his teashop." A pensive silence followed as both of us started to get wrapped up in our own thoughts. Oddly I felt rather relaxed with Zuko here, warm and fuzzy nostalgia taking me back into my memories and my head started to dip as sleepiness came over me.
I really had no sense of danger, because as I started to fall asleep under the comfortable sunlight with a cooling breeze against my skin, my arms slipped down and I started to sink, body going lax. Zuko saw me beginning to slide down, thankfully away from the ledge and towards the balcony ground, but he still dove forwards in order to hold my head in the palm of his hand, supporting my head, neck and upper body as I breathed deeply and lightly. I'm pretty sure he said something, still registering some external surroundings before I fell asleep fully with Zuko standing with me, cupping the back of my head so that my neck was at a comfortable angle and I could just sleep to recover from the exhaustion of debating and arguing with thick skulled ministers.
People told me I slept a lot, but that was just how I'd always been. After all, I'm lazy by nature. I eat, sleep, eat again then sleep some more. That was my version of the perfect day. Although it was only a short nap, no more than thirty minutes, it was still refreshing and exactly what I needed, but when I opened my eyes to find Zuko holding my head like he were a pillow, I looked around to find myself still sitting on the balcony ledge. This made me yell sharply, instinctively grabbing onto his shoulder for extra balance and I quickly got down as I looked over the edge. "How could I fall asleep here?!"
"You used to take naps in trees all the time. I guess old habits are hard to break." Zuko reminded me with mirth in his voice as he let me steady myself against him and recover, recollecting myself before I quickly stepped back and blushed from embarrassment. There goes my pride. "The amount of times you'd fall off, sometimes you wouldn't even wake up when you hit the ground."
"Because usually it was a soft landing. I picked my trees carefully." I argued with a pout, still slightly annoyed at myself. Zuko and I were standing rather close now, closer than we'd been since we'd seen each other again. With his voice thrumming with a mellow chuckle, Zuko looked at me for a while, with that same soft tenderness that I'd seen hundreds of times before.
"I've missed seeing you smile."
"What?" Confused as to why he would suddenly come out with something like this, I blinked when Zuko's hand came to brush against my hair, tucking it behind his hair as he continued to gaze down at me.
"Your smile. When we first met, I thought you smiled way too much, but then I started to want to see it every day, and when you were sad or upset, I wanted to find ways to make you happy again, but back then I wasn't very good at comforting people." Remembering all the times Zuko would try and comfort me whenever I was missing my mother when I first became lost, I couldn't help but feel a tender warmth rise in my chest towards him. He was just too damn adorable sometimes, though he tried to hide it with that tough guy façade.
"Well, since we're now technically partners and cofounders of the new city we're going to build, you'll probably be seeing me around a lot more. Maybe I'll even smile for you on special occasions." I teased, though Zuko knew me better than that.
"You smile at everything, you even fine Sokka's tasteless jokes funny."
"Hey, some of them aren't half bad." I defended, though I frowned in thought. "Though he is trying to come up with a new name for the city. So far we've had 'Great City of Four Nations' Harmony', 'Sokka Land', 'Four Nations Central' and I think the last one he's trying to advocate is 'The City of Harmonic Nations United'." Both of us made a face before laughing together. Sokka was still the same, always trying to come up with names for things but ending up with just some kind of goofy gimmick.
"Sokka Land?" Zuko repeated as we continued laughing together.
"That one was his favourite. I think he's still trying to persuade everyone it's a great name." We laughed again before lulling into a more comfortable quiet. Feeling brave and more than a little curious, I reached up towards Zuko and touched his face, brushing back his hair and gently exploring how his features had changed before I then brought my palm to rest against his scar. I could see just how much he'd changed not just physically, but mentally as well. His eyes had never been clearer or more beautiful, a bright shining gold as they began to reflect the light of sunset behind us. He stayed very still, accepting my touch and seemingly relishing in it as he closed his eyes and turned towards my palm slightly.
It was in that moment that I suddenly felt a sense of clarification come over me, where I felt a sense of what we used to have before start to come back and I let it rise to the surface instead of pushing it down like I used to before. It was both painful and beautiful, taking me back through the ages as I seemed to relive every single moment we'd ever been together in the space of a few seconds until I felt Zuko's thumb brush against my lashes, making me close my eyes before I then looked to see a teardrop on his thumb and I realised that I'd started to cry without even knowing.
Lifting his thumb to his mouth, Zuko licked it away lightly, making me flush a deep crimson at the rather intimate expression before I quickly ducked my head in order to hide my face. I fled before I could do or say something I may regret later, and before the pounding in my chest became loud enough that Zuko might hear it. I ran until I was completely out of breath, stopping to sigh with relief and rub my face in torment, now totally lost as to what to do and how to move on from here.
