Part 4: Chapter 26
"Three shining notes were all he had,
And yet they made a starry call—
I caught life back against my breast
And kissed it, scars and all.
-Sara Teasdale, excerpt from "Wood Song"
Katara watched the airship dock at the Western Air Temple courtyard, remembering how Zuko and Sokka had arrived with a similar one sixteen years ago. As the gangplank lowered, she heard her daughter scream in delight.
"Fire Lord Zuko!" Kazia cried as Zuko descended the gangplank in red and brown traveling clothes like he used to wear while training Aang. Katara watched her daughter sprint into Zuko's arms as he caught her and spun her around.
"Kazia, you're getting too big for this," he groaned. Katara didn't miss his grin.
Kazia just giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm only ten," she said.
"Gods, you're ten already? Maybe I'm just getting old," he joked. As they talked, the fifty-five airbending pupils dressed in red and yellow soared into their courtyard on gliders or zoomed in on air scooters. Katara's heart swelled to see glimmers of Aang in each child. Zuko disappeared under a mass of children, high-pitched laughter and voices drowning out all other sounds. To his credit, Zuko seemed to withstand the storm of affection from the children, as he hugged and greeted each airbender by name. As Katara watched, Appa lumbered into the courtyard to give Zuko and the children wet licks. Momo clung to one of his horns. Everyone turned to the sound of a loud horn.
"Children, line up! The ceremony begins soon!" a woman called from a door leading into the courtyard. The children detangled themselves from Zuko and ran to form two lines: thirty-two boys and twenty-three girls. Kazia ran to line up with the airbenders as well, so Katara took advantage of the rare moment of calmness to greet Zuko.
"Fire Lord," she said, bowing with her hands placed in traditional Fire Nation style.
"Master Katara," he replied, returning her bow with the traditional Water Nation position.
She grinned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, his hands slipping around her back in a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you again, my love," he whispered into her ear.
She laughed and said, "It's only been two months!"
Zuko discretely kissed her cheek. "Two months is two months too long."
Although she agreed, she pulled away. While they tried to maintain propriety, it was a well-known secret throughout the world that they were engaged in a close love affair. Katara knew that a generation ago, an unmarried Fire Lord openly having a lover, especially one from another nation, would have sent shockwaves throughout the world, but as the four nations began to rebuild after the war, tradition was changing.
"Have you seen the woman of honor yet?" Zuko asked as they leisurely walked through the courtyard.
"I did, and she was not happy to have all her hair shaved off," Katara said. "I think the poor barber almost wet himself."
Zuko laughed. "I think she's got as much spunk as Aang ever had."
"And that's saying something!" Katara added.
. . . . .
As the sun set over the temple, fifty-four of Aang's children and representatives from the other three nations sat in silence as Kelsang stepped onto a dais. She was shrouded in a dark robe and she knelt at the center. Iroh, dressed in his navy and white robes of the Order of the White Lotus, stepped up behind her.
"We are gathered here during the year 130 at the Western Air Temple to celebrate Kelsang as she transitions to a master airbender, having completed all thirty-six airbending tiers. Kelsang has accomplished what no other airbender has done, as she was taught by non-bending spiritual centralists. She has proven herself to be both clever and hardworking. Her father, Avatar Aang, received his tattoos at the age of twelve after inventing the air scooter. Today, Kelsang joins her father in the ranks of master airbender at the same age. " Iroh ceremoniously lowered the hood to reveal Kelsang's shaved head and blue arrow extending down her forehead. "Congratulations to you, Master Kelsang! May your days be bright and the wind be ever at your back!"
The audience burst into applause and cheers as Kelsang stood. Katara felt tears spilling down her cheeks as Kelsang turned to hug Iroh. She could see her daughter clapping as she sat beside the other airbenders. Beside her, Zuko squeezed her hand. She looked at him, and she could hear his voice in her head: Aang would be so proud right now.
. . . . .
After a feast of steamed tofu, mung bean curry, rice, dumplings, and plum pie, Zuko congratulated Kelsang and told his uncle goodnight. Walking through the dark tunnels of the temple, he reminisced about the weeks he had spent there with his friends, training Aang in the day and thinking about Katara all night. His old room was taken, but quarters had been set up for him in a newly-built wing. When he entered the bedroom, Katara was already waiting for him.
"Do we need to worry about any interruptions?" he asked as he closed the door.
Katara smiled. "Kazy's sleeping in the dorms with her sisters tonight. We've got the whole night to ourselves."
In two strides, Zuko had her in his arms. He held her tightly to him as they kissed, their lips hungry for each other. Katara ran her hands through his hair, loosening his tight bun. She smelled like salt, like the ocean during a storm. He'd never stop loving her smell.
She pulled him backward with her, and they tumbled to the bed, legs intertwining as they kissed side by side. Zuko ran his hands along her muscular back, still marveling at how her body could be both soft and hard. She reached down to untuck his shirt, and he untied his pants' laces before reaching for the knot at the front of her robes. His cock was already hard in anticipation, but holding her breasts again made him ache with desire. She moaned as he kissed and gently bit her nipple. He kissed her neck, slowly rising up her body to nibble her earlobe and jaw. At the same time, she reached down to stroke his cock. When her hand started moving faster, he pulled away. Without a word, he slid down the bed and hitched her knee over his shoulder, taking advantage of the angle to kiss the ember above her cunt. She moaned, digging her fingers into his hair, her body twitching in response to his tongue. He slid a finger inside and rubbed the place that always drove her over the edge. After several minutes of wonderful stimulation, he felt her tense muscles relax as she fell into the little death.
. . . . .
Katara had barely caught her breath before she felt Zuko's cock push against her cunt. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he bent to kiss her. Their joining always brought a feeling of euphoria, of knowing this was the exact place she needed to be. As he rocked back and forth, she scratched her nails along his back, arching her spine to brush her chest against his. When she started to become frustrated with the slowness of his thrusts, she pushed him off her and straddled him. His breaths came out in moans as he eagerly squeezed her breasts. She moved quickly on top of him, squeezing her intimate muscles to stimulate him more, pressing her hands into his sweaty chest.
"Slow down," he gasped as he grabbed her hips, trying to pull her further down onto him. Katara gasped in the pleasure of the feeling, and rocked backward. Zuko sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his scarred ear against her chest. Katara moved slowly, gently, as he held her tightly. She didn't have to rush. They had all the time in the world.
. . . . .
Afterward, they lay in bed, Zuko resting his head on Katara's chest to hear the comforting lull of her heartbeat. She gently stroked his hair, her nails lightly scratching his scalp.
"It's so nice to see all of Aang's kids again," he said finally. "How do you feel about it?"
Her fingers stopped stroking his hair for a second before continuing, and he worried he'd said the wrong thing. He tried not to sigh in relief when she resumed.
"It was hard in the beginning. I never got to meet them with Aang, and after he passed I didn't want to even think about them. But once Kazia was a toddler, I thought it was important for her to meet them. And I've never regretted it. I've told her they're not her blood siblings, but it doesn't seem to matter to her. She calls them her siblings, she talks about them all the time. And you know what? Seeing them every year has reminded me that Aang's not completely gone."
Zuko nodded, running his fingers from her hip to her breast.
"Plus," she added. "They're such funny kids. Did you see Pasang put fire flakes on Centrist Tanin's pie when he wasn't looking? I thought the man was going to dunk his whole head in a fountain!"
Zuko laughed. "I don't even know where Pasang got fire flakes," he said, running a fingertip in small circles around her nipple.
"He probably snuck aboard your airship," Katara replied as she squirmed under his touch.
"Sounds about right."
Katara rubbed his shoulders, and Zuko melted into her. He had never felt so content, so at peace. All the worries about being a just and honorable ruler for his nation disappeared for another day.
"I hate to ask, but where are you and Kazia off to next? Back to Omashu to see Toph? Or Kyoshi Island to see Sokka and Suki?"
"I was going to bring that up, do you mind if we come back with you to the Fire Nation?"
Zuko leaned up to kiss her. "I'd love nothing more."
She squeezed him tightly, and they lay together in contented silence for several minutes, listening to the lemurs chirp outside the window.
"Any more signs from Kazy?" Zuko finally asked.
Katara shook her head. "Nothing."
"What do you think?" It was a question that haunted him day and night.
She sighed. "I hope not. For her sake. Being the Avatar isn't an easy life. You and I probably know that better than anyone."
"I've tried to ask my uncle, but he and the Order won't tell me the results of the test. We'll have to wait until she's sixteen like everyone else."
"I haven't told you something." At the concern in her voice, Zuko looked up. "When we were at Omashu, Toph tried teaching her some basic earthbending forms."
"And?" Zuko prompted.
"She didn't bend anything, but Toph said she took to the stances quickly. I was hoping she'd be able to tell me definitively or not."
"You can't control this, my love," Zuko said.
"I know," Katara said with a sigh. "I just wish I could."
He watched her eyes close and carefully rolled off her. When she turned to her side, he snuggled against her back, one arm draped over her waist. "Sleep well, Zuko," she said. "I'll be here in the morning."
AN: Pretty much every review from the past week on AO3 and FF has been something along the lines of "where's Zuko's happy ending?!" Well, the story isn't over yet, but I did promise you this was a Zutara fic.