Chapter 34
A soft, insistent cry pulled Katara from sleep. She squinted in the darkness, groaning as she freed a breast from her sleeping tunic. Gently stroking her daughters soft cheeks until she found her open mouth, she helped the baby latch and relaxed back against her pillow. The summer night was warm, bordering on uncomfortable, and Kya's tiny head was damp with sweat where it lay on her bicep. Katara leaned down to kiss along her downy forehead as she nursed happily despite the excess warmth.
Kya was nearly four months old and Katara sometimes wondered if she would ever sleep through the night again. It wasn't so bad. Mostly Kya would wake to eat and Katara would usually fall back to sleep as she did so. This sleeping arrangement was normal for her people, even in the North. When Zuko had initially protested, she had been shocked to learn about something he called a crib. It was strange to her to imagine Kya sleeping in her own bed so young and in a whole other room. No wonder the wealthy Fire Nation women had wet nurses. How else would they sleep?
Zuko had quickly conceded however when she had reminded him who it was that would be caring for their new daughter at night. Eventually he had decided he liked having her close. Even though they had kept her identity as the new Avatar a secret, not even the high walls of Ba Sing Se could completely assuage his fears for her safety. She knew he worried his father would discover her in his quest to find the Avatar and somehow take her from them. Azula had been able to infiltrate the city after all, it was not unbelievable to think Ozai could do the same.
Katara sighed when she felt Kya's mouth slide free, asleep again. Now with her thoughts turned to ever looming threats, she could not join her daughter and husband in sleep. Huffing in frustration, she delicately slid her arm free and rose from the bed. Creeping to the wide window ledge, she sat and drew her knees up under her chin, watching her family slumber on without her.
The first time Zuko had held his daughter, one hand holding her head the other cupping her wriggling body, he had stared at her with such awe Katara was sure she had never loved him more. Then he had proven just how wrong he had been about himself. It had been awkward for her husband at first, as she knew it was for most who were unaccustomed to infants. Fumbling to hold her correctly and poorly pinned diapers, he had been completely unsure of himself when trying to sooth her.
It wasn't until one night when Kya was almost two weeks old that he seemed to find his footing. Katara had been unable to get her back to sleep and was very near tears when Zuko had taken Kya from her and told her gently to go back to sleep. Uncharacteristically doubtful of him, Katara had lay awake expecting him to bring her right back. Only he hadn't. She had watched him, Kya's sweet face propped on his shoulder, as he walked circles around their apartment patting her back and singing softly. It hadn't taken long before Kya drifted back to sleep and he returned, lying her beside Katara. He had looked so proud of himself as he stared down at the pair of them, and his confidence had only grown since then.
Watching them now, Katara tried to push down her blooming anxiety. No one outside of their immediate family, well besides Toph, knew who Kya really was. So far there had been no signs of infiltration or movement on the part of the Fire Nation and Iroh was confident they were safe here. Sighing heavily, she slid from the window seat and went back to bed.
She woke some time later, sunlight streaming in on her face and the bed empty beside her. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as Zuko's voice drifted in from the other room. It was an octave too high and it sounded as though he was encouraging Kya to roll over. Katara rose, wrapping herself in her robe as she went, and joined them in the main room. She laughed heartily at what she saw.
Zuko was sprawled out on the floor in front of his daughter, the girl's head half turning her body in an effort to watch her father's movements. Evidently he figured she needed a visual reference to learn the new skill. Katara had both hands over her mouth to stem her laughter as she watched her husband roll back and forth on the floor, calling out for Kya's attention all the while.
"See? Just flop over, like daddy! You're halfway there Kya, just watch daddy." With overly dramatic motions, he rolled from his back to his stomach and back again. Rather than follow her daddy's movements, Kya burst into a fit of gurgling laughter. It was the first time either of them had heard her laugh and Zuko quickly abandoned the rolling lesson in favor of scooping her up into his lap. "She laughed! Did you hear that Katara? I made her laugh!" He leaned down to kiss her cheek as Katara came to sit beside them.
"I did hear, do you think your daddy is funny? Hmm?" She kissed the girl as well before kissing Zuko, Kya reaching up to tug on her mother's hair as it dangled above her. Katara smiled against Zuko's lips before pulling back to look down at the smiling baby. "Oh you are so cute!"
Kissing the top of her head once more before handing her to Katara, Zuko agreed. "Yes, you are my little turtle duck. So beautiful." He stood to finish getting ready to meet Sokka, Tarak and Natuk. The northern man had decided to join them when they went to find work every day. Lately, Katara knew, they had been working with other refugee laborers to construct new dwellings. As more people came into the city every day it seemed, this had proved to be a steady job.
He called out to her as he went back into their bedroom to find a clean tunic. "What do you two girls have planned today? More training with Sitka?" Katara stood, Kya propped against her shoulder, and followed him to their room as she answered.
"Yes. Toph was going to join us today, a little friendly sparing to practice what I've taught Sitka so far. Master Pakku wasn't exaggerating when he said how skilled she was. She's picked up everything I have shown her so fast, almost as quick a study as Aang was…" She paused and snuggled Kya a little closer when she felt the familiar pang of sadness at her friends memory. Letting out a sigh she continued. "I think in a few more weeks I'll feel up to a full on spar too. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't sparred another waterbender since… well since Hama." She shuddered at the memory and sat back against the pillows, adjusting Kya as she nursed. "Do you think you could spare an afternoon soon? She'll be fighting fire benders someday after all."
She noticed Zuko pause, a shadow passing over his face at the reminder of their approaching return to war. He didn't let it linger and turned to smile at her.
"Of course. Maybe I could take you both on at once." His smile turned smug when she scoffed at him. "I'm sure two waterbending peasants would be no match for me." He laughed as he dodged the small water whip she sent his way. "I'm joking love, but I could use the training myself. We should make it regular. As much as I just love manual labor, I have gotten lazy." He walked over to join her on the bed, stroking Kya's hair as he went on. "I've gotten so comfortable with our life here. It's so easy and Katara, I've never been this happy. If I could I would stay here forever. The comfort is making me forget why we're here at all and I have neglected my own training." Gold met blue and Katara felt her heart squeeze at the conflicting emotions she saw there. "When we eventually face the war again, I am going to have to face my father. I can not afford to forget who I am, what I'm meant to do."
Katara's eyes misted as she listened to him. Zuko was right, their life here had been comparatively easy and immensely happy despite the danger hanging over their future. It made her heart soar to know how happy he was here with their little family. From her brief time in the Fire Nation palace, she had gotten a sense of the life he must have had there. Even though she knew he had never truly been happy there thanks to his oppressive family dynamic, she occasionally wondered if he missed the luxury of palace life. To know he would have chosen this modest apartment over the gilded palace if he could pleased her immensely. If only they had that luxury.
Blinking back her tears, Katara reached for her husband, pulling him into a kiss. It was soft and familiar and warm and promised everything. Zuko pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers.
"I am glad you are so happy Zuko, I am too. No matter what happens when we leave this city I will always treasure our time here. You're right though. Come to the upper ring with us as often as you can. Bring Sokka and the others too. We should all be doing everything we can to prepare ourselves. A year seems an eternity when you think of it like that but it will be over soon enough and we can't be caught unprepared."
Zuko kissed her again, then leaned down to kiss his daughter before standing. "I love you both. Tell Uncle I said hello when you see him after your training. Perhaps I'll join you tomorrow."
With one last smile at them over his shoulder, he turned and made his way to meet her brother for the day. Looking down at Kya, Katara let out a long sigh.
"Alright my little turtle duck, shall we go find Auntie Toph?"
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Their training session with Sitka and Toph had been exhausting but Sitka was proving more every day that she was a force to be reckoned with. Toph had brought one of the benders she had been teaching to metalbend and had laughed herself horse when Sitka had handily defeated him. Afterword, Sitka had collected her young son and walked with Toph's student back to the lower ring. Katara and Toph had taken Kya to meet Iroh in his middle ring tea house. He loved that place so much, Katara often wondered what he planned to do with it once they finally defeated Ozai and ended the war.
Sitting in the cushioned chair at their table in the back corner, she watched the last of the afternoons patrons leave. Beside her, Toph was fiddling with something that looked like rock but was too smooth to Katara's eye.
"What are you doing with that rock Toph?"
The earthbender turned it over in her hands and smirked, holding it up to Katara.
"It's a Momo! For the little ankle biter. I've been playing around with smaller, focused bending lately. Here, what do you think? I was working from memory, it's been awhile. I wonder… I wonder what happened to him..."
Katara took the stone lemur in her hand and was amazed at how light it was. The edges were smooth and it did indeed look like Momo. While drawing seemed to be beyond the blind girl, sculpture apparently, was not. Kya reached out for the trinket, her small pudgy fingers wrapping around the smooth stone.
"It's beautiful Toph, thank you! It looks just like him. So light, is it hollow?"
"Sure is. Pretty proud of that one too, it only took me a dozen tries. I guess I've missed him lately. Silly fuzz ball…" Katara noticed her friend wipe her hand across her eyes quickly before sitting up and forcing a smile. "Probably not gonna be the best when she gets teeth but.." She shrugged, reaching a hand out to ruffle the feathery hair of the aforementioned ankle biter.
Iroh finally bustled back to them after bidding his guests goodbye. He let out a long and satisfied sigh as he sat down with them, a fresh pot of tea in hand. Setting down the pot, he reached across and grabbed his granddaughter from her mother, a broad smile lighting up his face as he did so.
"Give me my granddaughter. Ah yes, just what one needs after a long day."
Katara laughed and Toph commented smugly. "What, not tea?"
Katara had not been at all surprised by how enthusiastically Zuko's surrogate father had taken to Kya. He doted on the girl whenever he saw her. Ignoring Toph's joke, Iroh kissed Kya's cheek and babled to her in a sweet voice.
"Hello my sweet little girl, how have you been today, eh? Have you enjoyed watching mommy and Auntie Toph teaching bending? Hmm? You just wait my dear, one day they will teach you everything they know." He chuckled when Kya tugged on his beard and looked up to Katara with an amused light in his eyes. "She is truly a joy my dear. Now, there was something in particular I wanted to speak to you about."
Katara poured them all tea as he settled Kya in the crook of his arm.
"As you know, if everything goes according to our plans in less than two years my nephew will be the Fire Lord. There will be much uproar when it is discovered that Zuko is not only already married but to a Water Tribe women at that. There has never before been a Fire Lady from another nation. Even before Sozin's war began the FIre Lords married their sons to ranking Fire Nation daughters." While the look on his face was not grave, his words sparked anxiety in her chest.
"Uncle, Zuko has not said anything about this and while it crossed my mind, both his and your silence on the matter stopped me worrying." Thoughts of angry Fire Nation people and being forced to divorce swirled in her mind as her heart raced. Toph reached for her hand and squeezed it.
"Calm down Katara…"
She turned to Iroh, the panic evident on her face. "Why haven't you said anything until now? Are we going to be able to stay together? He won't be forced to set me aside will he?"
Iroh brought a hand up, smiling sympathetically.
"No, no my dear. I apologize for worrying you but no, you needn't worry about that. If I had thought that was likely I would have spoken to the pair of you before you married. While there will be many mixed feelings and perhaps even some dissent within the court, no one can command the Fire Lord in this." She sagged slightly with relief at his words. "You see, all I have ever wanted for my nephew was for him to find peace and happiness. He has found that with you Katara. I know that together the pair of you will overcome whatever the future has in store for you." He smiled at her as he stroked Kya's feathery hair. "The thoughts that I had pertaining to your relationship were more about how we should share it. How we introduce your marriage to the people will be of the utmost importance."
Katara sipped her tea as she thought about what he was saying. He was right she knew, but it made her feel better knowing she was not in danger of losing her husband.
"What do you mean, how we introduce it?"
Iroh turned his body to sip his tea away from Kya before answering.
"When we land in the Capital, there will be people from all three nations represented. I haven't thought out all of the details as we don't know what we'll face or how much support we'll have yet. Regardless it will be important that the people see you not as a foreign war bride to manipulate the Fire Lord but as someone with compassion for the Fire Nation people. I believe by the time we arrive, they will be suffering greatly. As I said I haven't worked it all out yet but, I thought perhaps if I shared what I was thinking, you might think on it as well."
Katara nodded and looked to Toph who appeared thoughtful. Compassion for the Fire Nation people? She already knew that she had that, but would they accept it from her? The idea that she would be the Fire Lady had always felt so vague and far in the future. She hadn't given so much thought to what that would mean. The people in the Fire Nation were people just like her own. They were mothers and fathers, children, bakers and hunters, shop owners and farmers. A hundred years of war had impacted them as well, and from what they had heard from Lieutenant Jee she knew Ozai was indeed making them suffer for his mistakes. Even though they had so much in common as people, would they be able to accept her?
Watching Iroh babble at her baby girl, she prayed that they would.
A/N And there we have it! The end of the first part of the story. Get ready for a fall through time and a short departure from our favorite couple. Fear not, we shall see the young family again soon. 'u'