OKAY so I'm back?

It's been a couple of years since I last touched this story (my first and probably one and only attempt at a fanfic). And all it took is a nationwide lockdown and quarantine situation and a really kind review that motivated me to re-read my story and start writing again.

I just want to say to anyone reading this that I hope you, your families and your loved ones, are all ok during this difficult time. We live in unprecedented times and it is scary.

I am really sorry to anyone that loved the hide & seek part of chapter 13 but when I was re-reading and trying to get back into writing this, I just couldn't work with the story. I'm sure 2 years ago I knew where I was going with it all but coming back to it after so long, I had to make some adjustments to this chapter and re-write chapter 14 to help get back to into the story.

I'm sure the next couple of chapters might feel a little lifted from the original plot so I'm sorry but the point of this fic is that its heavily influenced by that plot. It will eventually take it's own turn away from that but at the moment a lot of the key things that happened in the show are key to this story too!

I have surprised myself with how many hours it has taken me just to rewrite a chapter and to start writing new chapters too. I am still working a full time job from home so hope you can appreciate the hours I've put into this using my spare-time. I just really want to finish this story.

As always, kind reviews are much appreciated. It really does help motivate me to know that there's someone out there enjoying this story.


"Zuko…"

Zuko's shoulders tensed at the warning tone of Katara's voice. He was prepared to fight her on this issue though; it had been bugging him for weeks. Determined, he pulled his arms out of the soapy water and crossed them as he turned to face her.

They had had this argument before, weeks ago when he had tried to help her with the dishes and she had accused him of trying to 'sneak' their marriage onto her.

Katara frowned at him from the kitchen doorway of the holiday home on Ember Island, folding her arms in response to Zuko's defensive position.

"You've already prepared and cooked all the meals today, as well as every single other day. As your friend, it's not nice to see you doing all the work. Let me do this," Zuko argued, trying to remind her that yesterday she said she would be nicer to him.

"But I don't mind doing it. And you're doing your bit to help already; you're training Aang!" Katara countered, stepping forward.

"It's not the same thing and you know it! You help Aang with his waterbending practice too. I want to help; you're not being fair."

Katara paused for a moment. "You really want to help do the dishes? There isn't anything else to this?" She checked.

Zuko scowled; what did she think he was going to answer? Yes Katara, doing the dishes is part of my master plan to trick you into being my wife. Oh wait, you already are my wife and already agreed that you wouldn't deny that fact anymore. So really this is part of my other master plan to… trick you into forgetting how to do the dishes.

"I just want to help," Zuko answered instead, having learnt that a sarcastic retort wouldn't help him convince Katara of anything. "It sounds odd, but I know Uncle would be disappointed to see me letting you do all the cooking and cleaning. He taught me better than that."

"But…" Katara began, trying to think of a way to argue. Finally, she opted for just telling him the truth. "I just like to keep busy; it's my way of coping with all of this."

Zuko sighed. "That doesn't mean you have to do it all by yourself. We can both do it."

Katara gave him a hard stare while she mulled the idea over. "Fine. I'll wash and you can dry."

Zuko picked up a nearby cloth from the marble countertop and towelled off his dripping forearms. He figured that even though he hadn't convinced Katara to take on fewer chores, at least she hadn't screamed at him for trying to help. It was progress.

Katara looked into the bowl of dishes and then back at Zuko. "I didn't think royalty did the dishes," she said, a question in her tone.

"Me and my Uncle were busboys at a tea shop in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se," Zuko shrugged as they stood side by side.

Katara nodded but didn't respond, instead beginning to clean the bowl in front of her using her bending. Zuko assumed it was because she was uncomfortable with the reminder of Ba Sing Se and his betrayal. In truth, Katara had been struck by the realisation that although she was married to Zuko, she knew very little about him.

"I miss it sometimes," Zuko admitted quietly. "Working in Uncle's tea shop."

Katara looked over at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. Before Azula… summoned us, I had really started to enjoy my life there. It was peaceful," he explained wistfully.

"I have to admit, I hated living in Ba Sing Se!" Katara scrunched up her nose. "There were so many rules."

They grinned at each other and at the odd sensation of making pleasant small-talk while they worked. Katara was almost disappointed when she handed Zuko the last dish to dry.

"I slept in this morning," she told him. He nodded, listening as he ran the cloth over the bowl, looking up at her when she didn't carry on with her story. "Normally, well, I guess I'm used to waking up at the sound of you and Aang getting up," she explained.

"Ah," Zuko realised. "The rooms are much more spread apart here then the sleeping quarters of the Western Air Temple. It's harder to hear other people."

Katara nodded. "Well, I was starting to like getting up early… would you mind waking me up too next time?" She asked.

"Of course." He placed the bowl on top of his stack of dishes and moved to place them away in the cupboard while Katara deposited the clean chopsticks and utensils back into the cutlery drawer.

"Thanks, Zuko." She smiled as they made their way to re-join the group in the grand living room. Aang and Suki were playing a game of Pai Sho, while Toph sat next to the board laughing as she listened to Aang slowly losing the game again. They were sitting on the floor, with Suki's back leaning against the sofa that Sokka was lounging on as he read a scroll from the library.

The next day, Katara temporarily regretted her request when Zuko knocked timidly against her half-open door which was half open. She liked being up early, but the actual waking up part was horrible.

Katara struggled to open her eyes, squinting at Zuko from across the room.

"Uh… morning," He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Okay," Katara grumbled, remembering that she had literally requested this. By the time Katara managed to pull herself out of her bed, she could faintly hear the sound of Zuko and Aang making their way down the stairs.

While the boys practiced their mediation and training in the courtyard of the villa, Katara headed down to the beach. She had learned how to fashion herself a surfboard out of ice using her waterbending and began hitting the waves. For someone who was a self-taught surfer, she was rather proud with her progress.

But Katara was more surprised after breakfast when Zuko insisted on helping her dry the dishes again. She had assumed it would be a dinner-only thing for some reason.

"This is getting excessive," she told him when she found him in the kitchen after lunch with the dishes.

Zuko smirked at her. "Yeah, your chore-load is excessive."

Katara rolled her eyes and flicked some of the dirty dish water at him.

And by some miracle, that became their routine. He would wake her in the morning and insist on helping her clean up after every meal. Katara found herself taking longer and longer to wash the dishes after each meal, enjoying the conversation too much to focus on the task.

On their sixth night on Ember Island, Katara noticed Zuko quickly clearing the plates and cutlery from the table. She watched him warily as he piled up the dishes into his arms, and with a mischievous glance at Katara, he dashed away to the kitchen.

Suspiciously, Katara followed him, which made Zuko walk faster.

"Hey! Zuko! What are you up to?" She rushed into the kitchen after him and found him standing by the sink. He flashed her a grin as he tossed the drying cloth at her across the space. It hit her in the face lightly as her arms flailed and failed to catch it.

"I'm afraid you've been demoted."

"No way! That's not how this works!" Katara complained playfully, smiling as she gripped the cloth between her hands.

"You snooze you lose, you can dry this time," Zuko teased. Grumbling to herself, she joined him at the counter.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before Katara spoke. "I still find it weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house."

"I told you, my father hasn't come here since he was actually happy. And that was a long time ago."

Katara still couldn't fathom growing up in a family like Zuko's, and she wondered how Zuko felt living with their group now, a group of people so different to Azula and her clique. The gang were a group of caring friends, somehow finding a way to laugh together as they held what felt like the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Saying that, the group hadn't exactly always been caring and friendly to Zuko while he'd been travelling with them. Or, more specifically, Katara hadn't been friendly to Zuko while he'd been travelling with them; Not until this week at least.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you when you first joined the group, Zuko, and for a long time after that too. You've made real changes, and I'm sorry it took me so long to trust you when everyone else could see it," Katara told him.

Zuko's hands stilled in the water as he looked over at Katara. He was surprised by her change in topic, and surprised further by her unnecessary apology.

"Katara, you don't need to apologize. I understand."

"No, Zuko. I was awful to you because I couldn't let go of my prejudices," Katara shook her head at him as she hugged the tea pot that she had been drying to her chest.

Zuko frowned at her. Why, even when she was being nice to him, did they always have to argue?

Zuko let out a sigh and returned to scrubbing at the pot in front of him while he spoke. "Listen to me. You had good reason to hold on to them, Katara. You trusted me once and I let you and Aang down. I mean, did I spend those weeks severely wishing that you would get over it? Yes."He sighed. "But I also knew it was important for you to let your anger and disappointment out, and that you had to work through your feelings on your own terms rather than bottling them all up. I know you're a good person, Katara. But you don't belong on a pedestal. We all need to let out our rage and frustration sometimes and we don't always want to be nice to people we consider our enemies. You're only human."

Katara felt relief at his words, but she still couldn't shake the guilt that had begun to plague her recently. Gran Gran had always taught her that it was important to own up to your errors, and with the comet only days away it felt more important than ever to make sure she had made her peace with her mistakes.

"You don't have to say that because we're…. friends now. I was a bitch to you," she admitted as she placed the teapot down before hopping up onto a clear space onto the marble countertop. Her legs dangled over the counter and her hands gripped at the edge of the marble as she frowned at him.

Zuko scrubbed harder at the pot, even though it was clean now.

"When I returned home after Ba Sing Se, I was so irritated and mad with my family and my friends. Even though going back to my old life was something that I had craved for years, once I got there… I was miserable," Zuko admitted. "I knew that my father and sister were not good people, but Azula was, in her own twisted way, looking out for me. They were treating me like family, but I was still furious and unhappy. It took me a long time to acknowledge how angry I felt and even longer to realise why. I was angry at myself for the choices I had made; for making the wrong choices."

Zuko looked up to meet Katara's eyes. "I'm not telling you this because I want you to feel sympathy for me at a time when I didn't deserve any. I'm saying it because I've been in that position before, where you bottle all of your emotions and I know how painful it is."

"As frustrating as it was that you were not nice to me, at least I knew where I stood with you.," he said quietly. "I knew that you were mad at me and I knew that it wasn't a game or a trick; it was how you genuinely felt. You're never afraid to show your actual emotions - you don't suppress them or hide them - and I guess you don't know how rare that is for me to see in a person. I'm not used to it. So even if you hated me, I could respect that those were your feelings."

Katara nodded, letting Zuko's words sink in for a few moments. She wasn't sure how to respond. Slowly, she pushed herself off of the counter and stood at his side, gently placing her hand on his upper arm. Zuko turned to face her gradually, offering her a small smile.

Katara took this as a sign that it was okay to hug him and she wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head into his chest as Zuko brought his arms up around her in return. Just like when they had hugged on the pier after their trip together, what was intended to be a brief hug ended up lasting longer than expected as she couldn't help but linger in Zuko's arms. Comfort was a rare feeling these days, and Katara couldn't help but try to steal a few extra moments of it.