Chapter 5: When in the Fire Nation, play with fire

There are six months to go before the year ends and Dr. Sozin stops being her teacher. So there are six months to go for Katara to keep their relationship a secret. If Dr. Sozin is unhappy with this arrangement, he never shows it, working as hard as her to make sure nobody finds out.

Not to say that there haven't been some close calls.

The first one comes a month into their changing the tag on the relationship from casual to let's not see anyone else but let's not discuss where this is going. They have managed to find a restaurant far enough away from campus such that nobody they know would visit, agreeing on a dinner (nobody uses the word date) there. They arrive separately, hoping to keep any suspicions down.

Katara gets out of her car, checking her reflection in her side mirror. She smooths down her deep blue miniskirt, pulls on the sleeves of her white turtleneck, checks her makeup, and heads inside the izayaka. Zuko is already sat there, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone with his chin in his hand. He has on the same knit as he was wearing the first time they slept together - Katara suppresses a girlish thrill at the sight and sits down opposite him.

"Hi," she says a little breathlessly.

He tosses her an easy smirk, flicking his eyes down her body. "Hi."

When he doesn't look away, she hides her blush by tucking her head behind the menu in front of them, the word date rattling insistently around in her brain.

"The okinomoyaki here is really good," Zuko explains, tapping the top of the menu so that she lowers it.

"Oh," she replies, twisting her mouth thoughtfully. "Have you been here before?"

He nods. "Lu Ten used to sneak us out of the palace when I was younger and we'd come here."

It is still strange to hear him refer to the Heir to the Fire Nation throne so casually. "Didn't anyone catch you?"

He smiles fondly. "All the time. It turns out we had guards trailing us from a distance the whole time. Uncle always knew what we were up to, but he was good about giving us some space and freedom."

Even stranger to hear him refer to the Fire Lord so casually. "He sounds really nice."

"He is." He catches her hand from across the table. "You should meet him some time."

Date, date, date, her mind chants, but she is spared from answering by the waiter that turns up to their table. He immediately double-takes at the sight of Zuko's scar and Katara quells an angry impulse to call the man out on it, but Dr. Sozin doesn't seem to have noticed it, so she doesn't bring attention to it. They give their orders and the man leaves. Katara turns back to Zuko.

"It must have been cool growing up in the palace," she says, pulling towards her the steaming cup of genmaicha the waiter has placed in front of them.

He shrugs with one shoulder, taking a sip of his own tea. "I never really saw it as cool, to be honest; I just thought that's what people's lives were. And a lot of it is kind of a pain. Before the blanket ban on paparazzi following us by my uncle, it was really irritating to go anywhere."

"How do you ban paparazzi?"

"By promising to blacklist them from any palace-related events or news. They're really desperate to get inside the palace and get some dirt on my uncle - he kind of sacrificed his own freedom for ours."

Katara traces the rim of her teacup. "He really does sound amazing."

"He is." Zuko hesitates for a fraction of a second. "Ever since my dad left, he's been my actual father. He'd turn up for all my school events, he's funded mine and Azula's education using his own personal wealth, he's come to visit me every two weeks in my office despite the fact that he's the Fire Lord and I really should be going to him. He's done everything my father never did."

Katara swallows, looking up at him. Aside from saying that he didn't get along with his father, Zuko remains taciturn about the man who's supposedly skipped out on his family. But Zuko doesn't seem like he's in the mood for elaborating, so Katara lets it go.

"Tell me about Azula," she prompts.

His smile turns wry. "We hated each other for a really long time. I don't know, my dad kept pitting us against each other, and I guess we both knew that he only had a finite amount of respect to give, and we both really wanted it. Azula kept getting it, of course. She was more intelligent, more tactical, she understood what was going on in the courtrooms easier, and she knew how to manipulate people. She was everything my dad wanted. And I was just my mother's son, which held no weight with him when she passed away. So I really resented Azula, who I think really resented me for being weak in front of my dad."

"That's - "

"She was a child," Zuko interrupts, anticipating her admonishment of his sister. "It was wrong, of course, but she didn't really know better. And when my mom died there was just a part of her that never really healed; she would always push her sadness really deep down, and it would manifest in really unhealthy ways, especially towards me. So we really hated each other. Until she met Ty Lee."

Katara's brows furrow. Where has she heard the name before?

"Tai Chi with Ty Lee," he reminds her. And she does remember: a few years ago, almost overnight, Ty Lee's workouts went viral, promoting a long-lost form of ancient Fire Nation tai chi that became popular even in the Southern Water Tribe.

"Lu Ten's wife became really into it, and Ty Lee used to come by the palace all the time. She noticed Azula's 'black, scary aura' and somehow convinced Azula to take some of her lessons - long story short, Azula really needed some form of therapy, or closure, or something, and Ty Lee offered it to her. They're married now, and Azula is still really manipulative and weird, but in a normal way, almost."

Katara smiles at his smile.

"What about you?" he asks. "Tell me more about your family."

The waiter arrives, placing their food in front of them. "You've heard me talk about my brother enough," Katara starts. "He's really great. I think you'd like him. My dad is still in the Southern Water Tribe. I tried to convince him to move closer to us but that's where his roots are; I think he's staying put. He's actually getting remarried in the next year or so!"

Zuko raises an eyebrow, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "How do you feel about that?"

She shrugs. "I really like Bato. He's been a really good family friend ever since my mom died; I think she'd be happy that he's remarrying. So if she'd be okay with it, then I'm okay with it. And I love weddings! It'll be held some time in Winter in the Tribe I think. Besides, he's good for my dad. My dad's really serious most of the time; the only time you see him act like an idiot is with me or Sokka. But Bato's really silly all the time, and I think it helps Dad take life less seriously now that we're away."

Zuko nods. "And your grandmother?"

"Gran Gran. She's pretty old now, but ever since my mom died she's kind of become my mother-figure. It's not really the same, but she's really cool because she's super progressive. Everyone thought she'd freak out about my dad marrying a guy, but she was really nice about it. She keeps saying that she escaped an arranged marriage from the North so that her family could marry whomever they liked. I mean, she's really tough, don't get me wrong, but in a really resilient way."

"She sounds great, too - "

"Shit!"

"What? What?" Zuko turns around to where she's staring, wild-eyed, at the door, but Katara reaches over and pushes his head down on instinct. He slides low down on his seat, more than a little disgruntled.

"It's Meng!"

"Who?" Zuko asks blankly.

"Meng Makapu!"

Zuko's mouth makes an 'o' of understanding just as Meng spots Katara. Just as she nears their table, Zuko slips under the tablecloth.

"Katara!" Meng waves, and although Katara replies somewhat unenthusiastically, it does not deter the girl from coming to stand right next to her. Meng looks at her plate, and then Zuko's plate, and back to hers.

"Um," Meng says.

"I was on a date," Katara blurts. Under the table, a warm hand wraps around her ankle, and she nearly jumps out of her skin.

"Oh!" Meng's eyebrows ride high in surprise. "Where is he?"

"He, um, isn't here."

Meng nods sympathetically. "He left?"

"... Yes." Katara kicks Zuko when he snorts softly.

"Oh! I can keep you company for a while; I don't think my grandma will be here for the next half an hour or so!"

"No, uh, that's alright, actually... I was planning on leaving..."

"No way! Don't let the fact that someone stood you up halfway through a meal on a Friday night when you probably don't have anything else to do bother you!" Meng plops down across from her and Zuko scrambles to press himself closer to Katara's legs.

Katara's eye twitches. "... Thanks, Meng."

"So! Tell me about Haru!"

Against her legs, Zuko stills.

"There's nothing to tell, really," Katara explains, slowly beginning to eat her food again. No point in being hungry. "We're still friends."

"But he asked you out!"

She cuts the okinomoyaki into little triangles with the sides of her chopsticks. "Doesn't mean we stop being friends. We're all good."

"Oh." Meng visibly deflates. "I liked the party you threw."

Katara grins. "Thanks, Meng!"

"It was so much fun! I got asked out by a final year. I said no because he's not really my type; I like tall, dark, and handsome. Like Dr. Sozin!"

The hand on her ankle begins stroking the back of her calf. Katara tries to kick his hand away, but he catches her other ankle with his spare hand as he ghosts his hand up the inside of her thighs.

"Really?" Katara asks, fighting to keep her voice even. "He's not really my type."

The hand pinches the inside of her thigh and she jumps a little in her seat. Luckily, Meng is staring dreamily off into the distance.

"What's not to like about him?" Meng asks just as Katara feels a pair of soft, firm lips against the inside of her thigh. "Didn't you see how hot he looked the night of the party?"

Zuko's hands spread her thighs open, and she knows by his sharp, quiet inhale and his fingers digging almost painfully into her thighs that he's discovered the present she has for him: she's not wearing any underwear. Zuko's tongue licks against the outer seam of her pussy and she tries to push him away, but he remains where he is.

Asshole, she thinks distantly, trying to quell the sudden stream of slickness between her thighs at his ministrations.

"Actually," she manages, "I thought he looked pretty average."

Meng's scandalised gasp covers Katara's helpless whimper when Zuko bites into the inside of her thigh in rebuke. Meng begins waxing poetic about Dr. Sozin in response, and Katara might have normally allowed that to crawl under her skin and itch until she seethes, but she instead allows relief to wash over her as she focusses on the feeling of Zuko's tongue against her.

It starts as it usually does, against the inside of her thighs, before his fingers carefully pry her open. He dips his tongue into her entrance briefly, and she makes a strangled noise that she hastily disguises as a cough. His hot breath puffs over her eagerly before his tongue finds her clit, and at this she shivers visibly. Luckily, Meng doesn't notice anything, still daydreaming about the hot professor, while said professor begins to work Katara over steadily and relentlessly. Just as Katara begins to peak, pushing away his head, Meng suddenly calls her name.

"Huh?" Katara asks, entirely dazed.

"I said, my grandma just sent me a text; she's at the wrong izayaka, ugh. I have to go! See you on campus!"

Katara manages a meagre smile towards the grandmother and a half-hearted wave towards Meng before Zuko redoubles his efforts, intent to bring her over the edge. Stars burst across her vision and Katara grabs the menu, burying her face behind it as an orgasm hits her like a freight train. As it always does when Zuko makes her cum, it feels like lightning is arcing through her violently. She grips her menu tightly as the aftershocks wrack her body. Zuko works her through it, finally easing away when she jerks in oversensitive pleasure.

She allows her breathing to get normal, glances around to make sure nobody is looking, and mutters to the table, "You can get up now."

He does, smirking at her when she gapes at how wet the lower half of his face looks. He wipes it with a napkin next to his now cold food.

"I - I can't believe that you - and Meng was right here - "

"Oh please, Katara," he tells her in a low, satisfied voice. "You were riling me up. I just had to prove that I wasn't average."

Okay, so maybe she was riling him up. She humphs, and his smirk widens at her near-admission.

She gestures with her chopsticks to his cold food. "Should we get you something else to eat?"

"Oh," he purrs, "I think I've eaten enough today."

The second time they're almost caught, it's more their fault than anything.

Katara had told Zuko, half-embarrassed, about her fantasy of having sex with him in their lecture hall. Ever the studious man, he makes the fantasy come true less than a week later. He calls her into the lecture hall one weekday evening with some entirely flimsy excuse. She turns up promptly at half past seven, having spent the last fifteen minutes toying with the idea of going home to wear something cute, instead of her mismatched and entirely utilitarian underwear.

But she's really pretty keen to see what he's going to do with her, so she instead pushes the door open with one hand, the other supporting her textbooks.

"Hi," she says, dropping her stuff off on the nearest seat. Dr. Sozin says nothing, standing behind the podium and surveying her sternly. She shivers, remembering all those days before he expressed any interest in her trying to pay attention to the lecture, and not to his arched eyebrow and crossed arms when he challenged her zealous answers to all of his questions for the class.

After a moment of doing nothing but staring at each other, Dr. Sozin crosses his arms. Katara gulps.

"Miss Kanna," he says, his voice commanding. "Strip."

She eyes the door she came through nervously.

"Katara, I won't tell you again. Strip. Skirt on."

What would happen if she didn't, she wonders. Still, she shakily shrugs off her CU jumper, and in response Dr. Sozin walks to lock the door behind her.

"Keep going," he says, loosening his tie and rolling up his sleeves. He puts his hands in the pockets of his trousers as he comes to stand in front of her. When she has stripped to just her short skirt, he smiles, satsfied.

"Now, as I remember," he starts, almost conversationally, as he bends down to his bag and begins rummaging through it, "your fantasy included me, in the classroom, just watching you for a while before I fuck you, isn't that right?"

She nods, voice gone. In her fantasies, he's never quite able to take his eyes off her during class, and the tension subtly builds, unbeknownst to anyone else. At the end of class, he calls her over, bends her over the podium behind which he usually stands, and ravishes her until she's hoarse from screaming.

Or something like that.

"Well," Zuko interrupts her daydreams, laying out a few items on the podium that forces a choked noise out of her, "I thought we could modify it a little bit. Instead of talking about pathology - and I suspect that would get you going too - I'll watch you do something else for me. What do you think?"

"Yes," she whispers, then clears her throat and tries again: "Yes, sir."

He grins. "Good girl. Safe word?"

"Blue Spirit."

He gestures with his chin to the seat right behind her. "Sit," he commands, picking up a long piece of rope and twining it around his hands. She does, swallowing unsurely at the sight of the rope. He drops to his knees in front of her, smiling at her gently.

"You ever done something like this?" he asks. She shakes her head.

"Would you like to try?" he asks next. She nods.

"I'm just nervous," she explains.

He nods, leaning forward to kiss her softly. "The rope won't be tight. And I'll get you out of it in a second if you're uncomfortable. I promise."

She bites her lip, contemplating for a second, before raising her wrists in front of her face. He gives her a fond, half-smile in return, shaking his head and using his spare hand to gently guide her own hands back to the armrests.

"We'll tie you up like this," he clarifies. When he begins to loop the ropes around her wrists and the armrests, he does so with two fingers between her wrists and the ropes. When he pulls the rope taut, he wiggles both fingers out, and there is enough room for Katara to move so that the circulation is not cut off, but not enough for her to escape.

He is watching her reaction carefully. "What do you think?"

"It's not so bad," she finally concludes.

"And what about..." he trails off meaningfully, looking at the items laid out on the podium.

She blushes from head to toe. "Yes."

He grins fully, wickedly, and she ends up with the plug back in her ass and a vibrator pressed against her clit. Her skirt is flipped up and her legs are spread wide open so that the plug and her pussy are visible to him where he stands, forearms resting leisurely on the podium. He works her through her first orgasm of the night almost lazily, leaning forward with interest as she shakes against the bindings keeping her still. The pressure on the vibrator suddenly goes up, and she tries to gasp his name - "Zu - " - but is reprimanded immediately by Dr. Sozin turning up the vibrator once more.

"You will call me sir tonight, or I will take you across this podium and spank you."

She hears the words as though from far away, focussed on little else other than the feeling of the vibrator against her oversensitive pussy and the plug jostling inside her as she squirms on the seat. As she approaches her second orgasm, Dr Sozin groans lowly in his throat.

"So pretty, for me, just like that. Do you know how many times I've imagined you like this?"

She moans in response, hips bucking as best they can against the impending crest of her second orgasm.

"All the fucking time," he answers for her. "Such a good little girl for me, are you going to cum again?"

She is, and she shrieks when he suddenly increases the pressure of the vibrator, pushing her straight into her second orgasm.

"Please, please," she's begging him, but whether it is for more or for a respite, she's not sure. The pressure against her clit is unrelenting and she's seeing white behind her eyelids.

"I know, Kitten," he says soothingly, and she hears the sound of his slacks being unzipped and opens her eyes, looks through the sheen of tears at him working his cock slowly between a tight fist, stopping at the head to twist slightly. Something about that sight makes the tears come out faster - she doesn't want to come without him inside her, she wants to feel him as she comes, wants to feel his cock twitch in response and his sharp teeth against her shoulder when she clenches against him.

"Oh fuck, Katara, you look so good like that, good enough to eat - I'm going to make you cum again, and then I'm going to taste you, what a pretty little mess you are, are you that wet for me? Are you going to cum for me?"

"Zuko - Zuko - " she sobs, unable to stop herself from seizing up in orgasm, her exhausted body contracting around itself as waves after waves of her endless orgasm are ripped from her as he keeps the vibrator on high. But it stops suddenly, and Zuko is kneeling in front of her, pulling the vibrator away and untying her quickly. She looks up at him, tired, but he gives her a disapproving look that makes her stomach flip in anticipation, as it does whenever Dr. Sozin gives her the same look during their debates during class.

He flings her over his shoulder - she shrieks in surprise - and sets her on the podium, leaning her forward so that her ass is sticking out.

"What did I say?" he growls, knocking her legs further apart with a knee wedged in between.

She bites her lip. "To call you sir," she whispers.

"And did you?"

She shakes her head until he grabs her hair and pulls her head back. She looks up at the ceiling of the lecture hall, her bare nipples puckering where they are pressed against the cool surface of the podium.

"No, sir," she finally says.

He strokes his spare hand down her back. "And what did we say the punishment would be?"

"A spanking," she replies, shame and arousal swirling within her as she feels her own wetness start to stick to the inside of her thighs.

"That's right," he replies gruffly after a beat. "Ten spankings. Count them, or I start again."

She doesn't dare disobey orders again, so even when the first hit lands right against the plug nestled between her ass, she hiccups out a shaky, "one."

"Good. Again."

Two and three are against her plug as well, and she jolts forwards at the third one, feeling it in her toes. Four, five, and six are against her ass cheeks, rough and stinging so that she can feel them well after the spanking ends. Seven and eight are exploratory, moving further down; nine is exactly against her pussy, and she nearly chokes his name out at the shock and pleasure of it. Ten is the roughest, landing over her clit, and she jerks and spasms at the sensation, eyes watering at the sensation.

"Good girl," he purrs, "so good for me."

And then he lines himself up and slides in; her moan is so loud and obscene that were anyone in the department, they'd come running. The sensation is overwhelming, with the butt plug still snug inside of her. His pace is slow and brutal, each thrust filling her up in a way that it seems like he's carving out space inside her. She grips the podium, pushing back against him at each thrust, needing more.

"Zuko," she whimpers, and is met with swift retribution when he lands his palm on her ass, sharp and sweet. She jumps in his hold, moaning his name again, and he catches on to her game quickly.

"Such a fucking brat," he pants, spanking her steadily until the sting gets too much. She struggles in his grip and he relinquishes his hold immediately, playing with her clit until she spasms around him. He empties himself inside of her, collapsing on top of her in exhaustion. They lay there for a while, catching their breath and sharing lazy kisses with each other.

"That was nice," Katara mumbles, wanting to crawl into Zuko's bed and sleep for a week solid.

"Yeah, it was - "

"Hello?" someone calls out. "Anyone here?"

Katara and Zuko share a wild look before he pulls out of her quickly, yanking his slacks back up and helping her pull her clothes back on. He gathers all her stuff in one arm and opens the door opposite the one she entered from quickly.

"Run," Zuko hisses, and Katara does not need to be told twice. They sprint until they reach Zuko's motorbike, struggling to catch their breath. Katara looks at Zuko - Dr. Sozin - hair in disarray, tie askew, and completely panicking, and she cannot help it.

She laughs.

But it is the third time that petrifies her the most, because she has willingly agreed to walk into the dragon's den.

One day, five weeks before the end of the term, an official from the Palace arrives at Dr. Sozin's door as Katara hides in his bathroom. Even through the thick doors, Katara can hear the official's proclamation: "His Royal Highness Fire Lord Iroh formally invites Prince Zuko Sozin to attend the Royal Palace's Festival of Lights celebration". Oh, and a plus one.

When the official leaves, Zuko knocks on his bathroom door and then enters, looking entirely too awkward. Katara cannot help but smile - despite the fine lines around his eyes and mouth, he looks like an awkward teenager. She can almost picture it. He smiles back at her absently, leaning against the doorframe. Katara perches herself up on the counter beside his sink, brushing her unbound hair away from her entirely too naked body.

"So," he starts, absently pushing his own hair away from his forehead. "Festival of Lights."

"Yeah," Katara says.

"Er, the plus one - "

"Don't worry about it," Katara interjects quickly, waving a hand dismissively at him. "I understand."

His brows furrow. "Understand what?"

"It's far too soon; we've barely been... seeing each other for that long, and there will be a lot of people there, and we want to keep it under wraps, so I think it just doesn't make sense to - "

"I was going to invite you," he says, a little blankly.

"... What?"

"Unless you don't want to go. I understand that too."

"No, wait!" Katara hops off the counter and catches Zuko's hand just as he turns around, catching the tail end of his blush and suppressing one of her own. "I wouldn't be... opposed, but I mean, what about all the people?"

"It's a private affair, Katara, nobody who my Uncle hasn't vetted will be there. It won't get out."

"And what about your family? I mean, I love my brother, but I wouldn't tell him about this yet because he's about as likely to keep secretes as Toph is to wear a dress and makeup, which she hasn't ever done apart from that one time she was thirteen and her parents forced her, but that's not really the point - "

"Katara," he interrupts, a little impatiently. "My family is also sworn to the utmost secrecy. I'd like you to meet them."

Katara falters. "You would?"

He looks at her flatly, a little disbelieving. "Of course I do."

She swallows. "And nobody will know?"

"No."

She squeezes his hand. "Okay."

He stares at the wall opposite her for a second, swallowing, before pulling her into his arms and kissing her thoroughly.

Which is how, three weeks later, she stands at the entrance to the Royal Palace, decked in all red apart from her mother's bright blue necklace, which she wears only on the most special of occasions. Besides her, Zuko is dashing in all black and red, his hair pulled out of the way and traditional arm bands wrapped around his biceps. She stares unabashedly at his arm before he catches her eye, giving her a small smirk and extending a crooked elbow out to her. She holds on to him and they ascend the steps, the golden dragon statues on the carpet beneath them glaring the whole way.

At the top is a beautiful woman Katara recognises immediately - Azula - and a vivacious woman gripping her elbow.

"Azula, Ty Lee," Zuko greets coolly, and Katara wonders at the tone of his voice.

"Brother," Azula greets with equal frostiness, but the slight tilt to each siblings' lips give them away.

"Oh, and you must be Katara! I'm Ty Lee, I'm Azula's wife, I'm so excited to meet you! I've heard all about you, of course - "

Zuko clears his throat loudly. "Where's Uncle?"

"Dealing with a... situation," Azula's blood-red lips are tilted downwards suddenly as she examines Katara.

"Um, hi." Katara steps forward, extending her hand towards Azula. "I'm Katara."

"So I've heard." Azula raises an eyebrow, appraising, before shaking Katara's hand.

As the two siblings fall into line, regal and commanding, Katara suddenly misses her brother, who could wade through the mire of decorum with unabashed self-assurance. Katara glances down at her outfit, thrown together on a budget, and tugs the hemline of her top down further.

Ty Lee is immediately next to her. "Sorry about Azula. But I think she likes you! She usually ignores the people she doesn't like."

"That's... nice?"

"Yeah!" Ty Lee replies, entirely oblivious to Katara's discomfort. "Anyway, this is the Royal Palace - welcome, by the way - and that way is the way to the Royal Suites! I guess you and Zuko would have figured that out tonight anyway! And up ahead is where the banquet will be held, and to the right are the gardens, which you should totally check out, because it's amazing, and - oh, what is it?"

Azula and Zuko have stopped short of the banquet hall, listening to a guard who is gesturing to where the Royal Suites are. Azula nods tersely and glances at Katara, and after a second, so does Zuko. There is something in his eyes that she can't quite pinpoint.

"Ty Lee," Azula says after a beat, her voice level and clipped, "take care of our guest, will you? Zuzu and I have some important family matters to deal with."

"What - oh!" Ty Lee's eyes widen when Azula gives her a hard look, and Ty Lee turns to stare at Katara, biting her lip. After a second, she smiles brightly.

"This way!" Ty Lee grabs her elbow, pulling her towards the banquet hall, and Katara turns to give Zuko a desperate look, maybe to tease him about the nickname Zuzu, maybe to ask him what's going on, but he's studiously avoiding her gaze.

The banquet hall is as ornately dressed as one might expect of the world's richest dynasty. The ceilings swirl with angry dragons expelling fire, the walls are adorned with portraits of haughty Fire Lords and Ladies, the exception being Fire Lord Iroh, who looks down at all of them with a kind, cheeky smile. There are multiple circular tables dotted around the room, with the exception of a large space cleared out in the middle for dancing. The hall leads out into a large balcony that overlooks the city imperiously, and the firecrackers lit by the citizens fill the room with brilliant colour.

Katara is unsure where to situate herself in all of this, but Ty Lee has already plucked two long wine flutes filled with xirxiu wine and hands her one. They clink their glasses together and Ty Lee leads her to a knot of people standing near the balcony.

"You'll like them," is all Ty Lee says before shoving Katara into the fray. "Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen; I just wanted to introduce to you Katara, a medical student at Caldera University. She's here on a full merit scholarship - the Sozin Scholarship. Lady Wu here is a large part of the reason why the scholarship even exists - she's very generous in her donations."

A lady decked in a long, black cheongsam raises her eyebrow. "Impressive. I'm particularly proud of the Sozin Scholarship; it really does good to encourage foreign students to come here."

"Thank you," Katara stammers.

"What year are you in?"

"Third year; I'm graduating next year."

"Ah, so you probably wouldn't know Dr. Sozin - he's teaching Pathology for final year students."

"Actually," Ty Lee interjects, and ignores Katara's warning look, "Katara is such a genius that she's advanced to final year pathology!"

A man on the other side of Ty Lee, with a bushy beard and a thick moustache, leans forward. "Amazing. I'm an engineer myself - professor at Kyoshi University - but I've had a stint in medicine and I had to quit because Pathology was just too much for me."

"Oh, Piandao, you exaggerate," Ty Lee laughs.

The name rings a bell. "Piandao? Dr. Piandao? Oh - oh my god! You're my brother's supervisor!"

Piandao narrows his eyes at Katara. "You wouldn't happen to be Sokka sister, by any chance, would you?"

The conversation flows like water from there, both sharing stories that would be sure to embarrass her brother, and Katara is filled with a familial warmth that eclipses the fact that Ty Lee is suddenly nowhere to be found. Half an hour into chatting - Piandao parades her around the room and introduces her as the girl who comes from an extremely intelligent family, her brother's sudden bouts of stupidity aside - the conversation shifts into traditional Fire Nation Festival of Lights celebrations.

" - which is why we light little lamps, to light the way home for the hero who returns from his long exile - oh, Prince Zuko - Dr. Sozin!"

He's suddenly at her elbow, a distance away from her but reassuring nonetheless. "Indeed. It is one of our most revered customs, and you honour us by gracing us with your presence, Lord Pigu."

Lord Pigu gives Zuko a simpering smile, before looking at Katara. "Oh, you must know each other - apparently she's in your class - "

"Yes. Miss Kanna, surprised to see you here. Let me introduce you to a few people."

The introduction never comes. As Katara follows Zuko towards the side of the banquet hall, he glances around surreptitiously and pulls her out the door.

"Ow - hey!" Katara rubs her elbow where Zuko has suddenly grabbed her.

"Sorry," Zuko winces. "My family is in our dining quarters; I thought it would be better for you to meet them in private, before the Royal Ceremony."

"What's the Royal Ceremony?"

"We light our own firecrackers and Uncle gives a long speech. That's it, really. This way." They walk down a long, dimly lit corridor.

"What's the emergency that you had to deal with? I had to fend for myself," Katara tries to joke, but it must land flat because Zuko sighs and rubs his hand up and down her bare arm.

"I'm sorry. It's not a big deal; the emergency has been dealt with. I'll be next to you for the rest of the evening... with the exception of the Royal Ceremony, or else people would get suspicious if you're standing with us."

Katara nods. "Alright."

Zuko gives her a small smile before nodding at a set of guards flanking a tall, golden door. They push the door open and Katara follows Zuko into a smaller, no less ornate room, where four figures are kneeling by a tatami dining table. Azula and Ty Lee, she already knows, and the man at the head of the table is easy enough to recognise, as the most famous man in the world. This leaves the man sitting to the right of Fire Lord Iroh, who Katara can only guess is Prince Lu Ten.

Katara has searched up what to do. "Fire Lord Iroh," she murmurs, and bows low. When she straightens, the Fire Lord is beaming at her, walking towards her and swooping her up into a crushing hug.

"Uh, Uncle..." Zuko tries to interject, and the old man reluctantly lets Katara go.

"Such an honour to meet you, my dear Katara, and let me say that my nephew has failed to mention just how radiant you are."

"Dad," Lu Ten also tries to intervene, blushing, and for some reason this dislodges some of the discomfort she's been feeling all night. Underneath it all, they just seem like a regular family.

Lu Ten also gets up, walking over to shake her hand. "Katara. Nice to meet you. Apologies about my wife; she has currently returned home to the Earth Kingdom."

"Oh, no problem," Katara says, aiming for breezy but suspecting that she sounds nervous. But Iroh sits her down across from him, insisting that the Guest of Honour should have this seat, and Azula rolls her eyes from where she sits to the left of Katara. To Katara's right, Zuko sits down, eyeing her shyly with a half-smile on his face.

The Royal Family is excellent at conversation, and even Azula warms up to her after a while, joining Katara in a rousing chorus of make fun of Zuko. The atmosphere is jovial, complete with excellent tea that Iroh - the Fire Lord insists on informality - has brewed himself. Iroh and Lu Ten leave to make the rounds with the other guests, and it is only when she is feeling happy and a little drowsy that things go awry.

There is a brief scuffle heard outside - "Let me go, you ignorant brutes!" before the door is slammed open.

Katara spins around to spy a man who looks like the spitting image of an older Zuko, without the scar, glaring down at all of them. White streaks his hair, and where the fine lines on Zuko's face and the more prominent ones on Iroh's and Lu Ten's lends an air of warmth, the lined face snarling at them looks frightening.

Azula has stood up, pushing Ty Lee behind her. Zuko does the same, grabbing her elbow and pulling her behind him, so that she only sees the startling emptiness of the man's gold eyes before she's staring at the embroidery on Zuko's back.

"Ozai," Zuko says stiffly. "Get out."

She peeks around Zuko to watch the man, Ozai, wrestle himself free from the guards. "I have been formally invited by Lord Pigu, and I was Prince of the Fire Nation - how dare you cast me aside like the waste of space that you really are?"

Behind Zuko, a headache is brewing in Katara's temples. Her suspicions about who this man really is is quickly confirmed by Azula, whose face has gone from impassive, as it looks when Azula talks to her, to cold fury. The expression is immediately smoothed out.

"Father," Azula begins, smirking and conversational. "Surprised to see you join us! Of course, if I were dishonoured like you, I wouldn't show my face in the Fire Nation again."

"You little - "

"Why are you here?" Zuko demands, at once shifting into his professor demeanour. Imperial, distant.

There is a silence, and Katara peers around Zuko again to watch Ozai staring levelly at his son.

"I heard a rumour," Ozai begins, repressed rage masked by amusement, "about the invited guest of Prince Zuko's. Student of his. Foreign-born." His voice is all cruel mockery. Zuko tenses just as Ozai huffs out derisive laughter. "I came to see if the rumours are true," he continues. "Whether the Fire Nation, after centuries of purity, will be plagued by filth." Ozai's eyes slide past Zuko's and lock on Katara's, and she tenses despite herself.

"Is it true? That the second in line to the throne - a position that was rightfully mine - will wed a child? A disgusting, inbred, filthy - "

"Shut up," Katara says, holding on to Zuko's arm as he shakes in repressed anger.

"You dare speak to me, you bitch - "

Zuko rips his arm out of her hold and pounces on his father, aiming a swing, either by design or coincidence, on the left side of his face. There is a sickening crack before Ty Lee is leaping forward and pulling Zuko off, but when Ozai jumps up wildly, Azula is there with a knife at the tip of his throat.

"Get out," she hisses.

The room freezes for a minute, before there is a loud commotion outside once again and Iroh bangs the doors open. He resembles, for the first time, the portraits in the banquet hall, and she understands for the first time the raw power of the Fire Lord. Lu Ten is right behind him, his expression shifting from shock at the sight of his uncle with a knife to his throat, confusion at the sight of Zuko cradling his bruised knuckles, pacing like a caged animal, and horror at the sight of Katara.

"Guards, escort the man from the Palace. Tighten security at the borders. The man was not allowed in before; he will try to sneak in again."

"And escort Lord Pigu out," Azula snaps, and the guards bow deferentially towards her as well. She lowers the knife finally. The guards drag a livid Ozai out of the room, and the tension in the room abates somewhat.

Iroh takes the first step towards Zuko. "My son, are you - "

"I'm fine," Zuko snaps.

Iroh considers him for a moment before nodding and turning to Katara. "My dear, I'm so sorry you had to witness something so horrible - "

"I'm fine," Katara echoes Zuko hollowly. She tries for a smile, looking anywhere but at Zuko. "I'm fine. I just need some air."

Iroh steps back to allow her to leave, and Katara takes a few unsteady steps out of the dining room, and then sprints towards a nearby bathroom before throwing up into the toilet.

Katara misses the speech and the Royal Fireworks. This, she can tell by the bright red flashing outside the window of the toilet she has sequestered herself in.

She is no stranger to racism - such is the life of anyone with dark skin living somewhere like the Fire Nation or the Earth Kingdom. She's heard all variations of racial slurs thrown at her, and she's learned how to shrug it off. What Ozai had said to her today was nothing new.

But it was humiliating nonetheless. To know that Zuko, the man she's... whatever, and his family, have heard someone say these things about her fills her up with a shame that she knows is irrational, but persistent nonetheless. It's not her fault, she knows, but when the words burrow beneath her skin she feels like there is no way to scratch them out.

She sighs, playing with the tassels on the curtains framing the window. She shouldn't have run. Awful as she feels, she can only imagine what Zuko is going through, and running away has probably exacerbated his feelings.

With this in mind, she unlocks the door and finds the nearest guard, who directs her to where Zuko is. She walks into the Royal Suites, pausing to ask a guard for directions occasionally, before a guard finally appraises her before pushing a set of doors open.

Zuko is inside, sitting at the end of a four-poster with his face buried in his hands.

"Zuko?" she says tentatively, taking a few steps towards him.

"Why are you here, Katara?" he asks, voice muffled.

Stung, she pauses. "What do you mean?"

His arms tense, before he lowers them suddenly and glares at her.

"Why are you here? Why are you staying?"

"Do you not want me to?"

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear what my dad said to you?"

Katara inhales sharply. "Of course I heard what he said - I've heard it all before!"

"Then why are you here, Katara?" Zuko stands up, hands fisted at his sides. "Don't you see how fucked up my family is? How fucked up I am?"

She suddenly understands his anger. "Oh, Zuko..."

"Why do you want to be anywhere near me?" he shouts, stalking over to her and towering over her. "I'm not good for you, Katara! I'm a pathetic, damaged old man, and you could do so much better!"

"That's not true - "

"My father gave me this scar. He burned me. For speaking out of turn at a tactical military meeting and embarrassing him."

Zuko's eyes screw up with tears, and Katara finds her own slipping down her cheeks. "I didn't know - "

"Is that what you need to hear? That I'm some poor, broken boy from a fucked up family? And I couldn't even protect you today - how could you not hate me - "

Katara sniffs. "Shut up, Zuko."

His jaw snaps closed as though he's been struck. She walks over to him and wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his chest and crying. He stays still as a statue.

"I love you, Zuko." Katara's eyes squeeze shut. "I love you." She doesn't wait for a reply before she leans up and kisses him, hard. There's a moment of hesitation before he's kissing her back, and they grip each other desperately. She peels him out of his clothes slowly before shucking her own off, kissing every inch of him before swallowing his half-hard cock in her mouth. He hardens almost immediately, gripping her hair and looking down at her desperately. When he's starting to buck his hips, she pushes him on to the bed and clambers on top of him, checking for her own wetness before sliding him inside.

They both muffle groans at the sudden fullness, and Katara rides him slowly, more tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I love you. You're not old, and you're not damaged, and I don't need your protection. I just need you. Please." She grabs his hand and puts it over her breast, and he squeezes lightly as he stares up at her, lost and scared. "You're so beautiful," she whispers, running her fingers from his sternum, by his tattoo, all the way up before cupping his face, right where his scar is. He shudders, gripping her hip and grinding his teeth. She leans down to pepper kisses on his scar and he cums inside her, muffling her name in her hair.

His thumb finds her clit and he rubs a few circles there. "Katara," he says. "Katara, Katara, I love you too, I love - "

She cums, hard, and the release of it allows her to cry openly, clinging on to him and nursing her own wounds as well as his.

Out the window, nighttime has ascended while the fireworks dance happily across the great expanse of the pitch black sky.

A/N:

Racism. I've been going back and forth about whether to rewrite this chapter, because racism is a really difficult topic. But I really like the angsty ending of this. I'm a brown woman from an island country, and so Katara was my only role model (unless you counted Princess Jasmine) growing up. She gave me the confidence to be proud of my own skin, and so when I write about her experiences I write about my own experiences with racism. I want to do justice by her, my most favourite character of all time, and pretending that she's living in the Fire Nation and racism just isn't an issue felt like a dirty game to me.

I've been toying with the idea of writing a Zutara fic which directly discusses racism and intercultural relationships, and I still might, but I think I need some more hardcore therapy before that becomes a viable option to me.

So yeah, here's an angsty chapter, expect the next one to be more lighthearted (I think).

On a more lighthearted note, Lord Pigu translates directly into Lord Butt in Mandarin. I don't regret it.

Please leave a review if you liked it, hated it, or thought it was really just ok!