A/N: hi HAHA I'm still very dedicated to the sasusaku fandom, but I wanted to post zutara fics too now that I've been rewatching avatar hope no one minds T-T so obviously this is my first zutara fic hope it turned out ok!

Zuko sighed as he dropped to sit on the foot of his bed, taking down his hair and removing some of his outer layers of clothing. He was in trouble.

Fire Lord Zuko, the young and pure Zuko who had been thrust into power after his father and sister met their mutual demise in an explosive Agni Kai. Zuko had sustained injury, resulting in his prominent scar, when he tried to put a stop to their duel. But the battle raged on, both family members too incensed by uncut ambition to listen to reason. Uncle had to drag him away from the scene to protect him further. It made sense that two of the strongest fire benders would be the ones to extinguish the other's light.

Fire Lord Zuko, who wasn't ready to take power and still heavily leaned on his uncle's wisdom and support. Fire Lord Zuko, who was hardly an adult and still had plenty of growing up to do. Fire Lord Zuko, who was panicking at the strange feelings bubbling up inside of him — his first crush.

He had been notified that Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe was a formidable, but modest man and would be traveling with his two children as his main companions. The two leaders had yet to have the pleasure of meeting, so Zuko could not have predicted this, could not have prepared himself to be faced with the most beautiful girl in all the nations.

If someone had just told him, "By the way, Katara is stunning and will rip your insides apart both literally and figuratively, so watch out," then maybe Zuko could have practiced his introductions more carefully and avoided stuttering like a bumbling fool.

But he was born unlucky, cursed to be...like this.

"Chief Hakoda," he had greeted easily upon the family's arrival, "I'm pleased to meet you and welcome you to the Fire Nation. I hope your travels were smooth." But as the party drew closer, close enough where Zuko noticed the particular shade of blue in the girl's eyes, he stumbled. "I see you've brought your...your, um...your family. They are also most, uh, honored. Honored guests. Your two children. Both of them."

Hakoda must have chalked his bumbling speech up to nerves — Zuko was so very young — and he chose to greet him warmly.

Oh spirits, he knew how to greet other leaders, but how was he supposed to greet...a girl?

Luckily, her brother gave a rather informal introduction and promptly asked where he could locate a snack or, if Zuko was feeling generous, a seven course meal. "Oh yeah, and this is my sister, Katara."

"You'll have to excuse my brother. If you're wondering, yes, he's always like this."

Zuko was wary of sisters, he had been royally screwed over by his own. He was even wary of girls in general after seeing how crazy his sister and her friends were.

But he could tell immediately that Sokka and Katara were dramatically different from Azula and himself. His heart squeezed a bit at the thought of what could have been, but he pushed it aside and transitioned into the welcoming host that he had been training to be. He really was glad to have them there — it was a true benchmark of the peace and cooperation spreading across all four nations.

Thankfully Uncle, always there to save the day, came around the corner and offered tea like it was the most natural thing in the world. (And to him, it probably was.)

"How was your trip?" he asked warmly while guiding them in the right direction. "Not too bad, I hope. It must be nice not getting seasickness!"

Hakoda chuckled, "Yes, it wasn't anything that we're not used to. The Fire Nation is a bit far, but the journey was worth it." Crossing the open ocean with his two children was really only missing one thing.

Pulling a piece of jerky from seemingly out of nowhere, Sokka joked, "Yeah, sometimes the water got a little jerky," and then remembering where he was he became serious, "but nothing the Water Tribe can't handle." He took a bite of his snack and Katara rolled her eyes.

"Even when the sea isn't feeling kind, Sokka and I are able to steer easily thanks to Katara's help."

Zuko spoke up, "Oh, are you a ship captain?"

Katara smiled at him, "No, I'm a waterbender."

Duh. Of course she was a waterbender. But also, why didn't anyone tell him that not only was she pretty but she was a waterbender too? Those lengthy council meetings couldn't have included just a little debrief on this girl?

"Oh. That's cool. I'm a firebender."

"Makes sense."

He needed to get it together before someone would be able to waterbend the sweat off his palms.

Thankfully the conversation was cut short by their arrival to the tea room. Surrounded by red, black, gold, and the smell of herbs, Zuko felt instantly comforted. As they settled around a low table, he found himself wondering what Katara would look like in Fire Nation red. Probably cute.

He was shaken from his daydream by his uncle asking the room if they preferred jasmine or chamomile. "Even though this is supposed to be an official trip, I hope you can still enjoy some more leisurely activities during your stay. All work without play makes your day become gray," he said wisely.

"Tonight, we have a banquet planned in your honor," Zuko chimed in, "but the meetings tomorrow should only take up part of the day."

"I'd hope so," said Hakoda good-naturedly, "this tea is fantastic and I'll need some more in the coming days."

"It's Uncle's specialty, I'm glad you enjoy it. We'll have to give you a tour of the grounds."

"Speaking of a tour, wouldn't you say the garden is very nice? Rather romantic don't you think? Why don't you take Katara there, she'd certainly enjoy the, uh, water in the pond!" Iroh wore many hats: loving uncle, wise advisor, fierce warrior, and now, insightful matchmaker.

But Katara didn't sense the awkwardness, her face lit up at the mention of water, as if they hadn't spent ages at sea. "A pond! I'd love to see it! Oh, and I'm sure the garden is lovely."

"Excellent! Zuko, why don't you guide her there? I can show our other guests the weaponry." This time, it was Sokka's turn to light up like a firecracker.

While normally Zuko would find it very sensible of his uncle to delegate tasks like this, he was feeling a little resentful that he was forced into a situation that made him so unbelievably nervous.

Alas, he had a duty to perform. He stood up and gestured, "Let's go."

Katara made small talk the whole way, asking questions about the palace and its history and the weather. Zuko was relieved that he knew all the answers. He should show her the library too.

"Do you come to this pond often?" She cringed, feeling like she was dropping a pick up line, but she really did want to know why Iroh suggested it out of all places.

"Not so much lately, but I used to sit in the gardens all the time with my mother."

She didn't respond except to smile at him with a genuine, meaningful warmth in her eyes.

The garden was even more breathtaking than she expected it to be, and the glittering pond was just begging her to come closer. It was so lush and just different from what she was used to (snow, snow, and more snow) that she couldn't help but let her mouth hang open in awe.

Zuko led her to the usual spot without thinking much of it. She gasped in delight when she saw the little creatures gliding through the pond, "And just what do we have here?"

"They're turtleducks. They're cute, but don't mess with them too much. The mother turtleduck can be feisty."

But Katara was only half listening, having fun making little waves to gently lift the babies. They kept swimming up to the edge of the pond, quacking as if they were saying, more, more, more! Their mother watched safely from the other side of the pond, but she never swam over to intervene. "They are really cute!"

"Oh," he said, sounding clearly surprised, "they like you."

The dinner that night was festive and bright, but left Katara feeling pretty tired. While foreign, the Fire Nation palace was rather comfortable. After such a long trip to get there, the riot of new sights, sounds, and smells, and perhaps a little too much food all at once, gave Katara the sense that she'd sleep easily that night.

She had a certain amount of trepidation visiting the Fire Nation, but it really was nothing but pleasant so far. It didn't hurt that the Fire Lord, rather than being old and stuffy and weird, was very cute. He was probably also, uh, really good at his job and at firebending. Or something.

As she settled into the fluffy pillows and drew the deep red comforter closer, she thought that if she saw him in her dreams, she certainly would not mind. She counted turtleducks in her head before drifting off.

While Uncle's company was normally more than enough (and on a bad day, too much), but the morning after meeting the lively Water Tribe family felt distinctly empty when they had yet to arrive at the table.

Zuko sipped his tea, not yet cold, but it felt like so much time had passed since he sat down that it might as well have been. "Where are they? It's been...many minutes! Do you think they just decided to jump ship and head back to the Southern Water Tribe?"

"Patience, patience. I'm sure once the scent of breakfast and the greatest tea in all four nations wafts over to their rooms, they will come running."

"Maybe we should wake them up."

"Why the rush?"

"Shouldn't we at least check? What if they died?"

"I would hope not."

"What if a faction is conspiring against us and killed all of them — and will frame us for the murder?! This will launch another war that we are responsible for."

"That would be very bad!" He could see the gears turning in his nephew's mind, so he decided to play along to help placate him.

Zuko stood up abruptly, shaking the table, "We can't just sit around and wait. I'll check on Katara. You go look for the others." He stormed out of the room before Iroh could even object.

Not that he would, though. Seeing his nephew take action was very pleasing.

He marched all the way across the palace to the guest bedrooms, but before he knocked on Katara's door, he stopped in his tracks like an invisible wall was in his way. Initially so confident in his decision, he was now filled with uncertainty. What would he do if he really found Katara's limp, poisoned body laying on the bed?

Or worse: what if he barged in and she was naked because she was in the middle of changing?

He took a deep breath to center himself. There was no use in panicking. He could do this. He had faced more intimidating enemies, more foreign situations.

But the longer he thought about it, he realized he had never had to deal with a girl.

Best case scenario, she was in there with a great explanation as to why her family was late to breakfast and his nerves would be soothed like putting aloe on a sunburn. Yeah, he would go with the most ideal situation for now.

Maybe he should still practice, just in case.

"Hello, Zuko here!"

The looming wooden door didn't respond.

"Good morning! Um, no, that's not right. What if she's having a bad morning? Uh, how do you do there? How is the Fire Nation treating you? Too formal, she's not a dusty old diplomat." His shoulders drooped. He needed to get this done before Uncle (or her own family members) came and interrupted him. This was his chance. His chance at what exactly, he wasn't sure, but he was just going to go for it.

He knocked sharply, loud enough to wake any long-slumbering air bison. Just for good measure, he called out, "It's Zuko!" And all his hemming and hawing and practicing was really for nothing because not long after, Katara flung the door open.

Without her hair tied back, it ran wild and curled around her face. Her eyes, normally so wide and crystal clear, were half shut and bleary with sleep. "Yes?"

"Yes! Hello. Uh, good morning. I just wanted to see if you would be joining us for breakfast this morning." He added a little more quietly, but also a little more like himself, "I was getting worried."

"Good morning," she nodded. "What time is it?"

Zuko glanced around, "I'm not exactly sure, but the sun is up."

Katara gave him a small smile, "I see. Well, have you ever considered that not everyone rises with the sun?" Or code for, firebender, can't you see I'm tired?

He immediately started apologizing, feeling a blush creep up his neck. He had interrupted her hopefully peaceful sleep because he was missing her at breakfast. Nice one.

Katara held up a hand to stop him, then scrubbed it over her face to wake herself up more, "It's really fine. We're guests here and should be running on your schedule. I can be ready in a minute."

"We're hosts and should be more accommodating. I'll leave you to it, breakfast won't go anywhere without you." He turned away, feeling a little silly for freaking out, but Katara's voice stopped him.

"Actually, Zuko?"

"Yes?"

"Can you maybe wait here for me? I don't want to get lost on my way to breakfast. You know, that would just waste more time," she laughed awkwardly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I'll be here." He was still smiling widely when she shut the door in his face.

"Your first full day here, is there anything else you'd like to do?" Iroh asked when everyone was finally gathered for breakfast. The meetings were purposely scheduled for after lunch when the sun was high in the sky and all the grumpy old advisors were in their best moods.

Sokka attempted to be casual, "Well I don't know about everyone else but I'm feeling like I could stretch my legs some more. Like, sure, we got to see the armory and it was super cool. But! It would be infinitely cooler if we could actually, you know, play."

Zuko lit up like a match, "We should spar!"

Sokka backpedaled, waving his arms around, "Woah, woah, woah! Nonbender versus Fire Lord? Do you see the problem here?"

Iroh spoke with pride, "My nephew here is not only a talented firebender, but he is also trained in the art of the sword, the dao sword."

"So he can make fire and he has two swords? Kind of unfair, but not scary enough for me to decline. But no bending!" A true warrior never backed down from a challenge.

While a club and a boomerang might not seem like much, Zuko quickly realized he'd have to keep his guard up if he wanted to put up a decent fight. And it had absolutely nothing to do with looking cool in front of one out of the three members in the audience. Wouldn't any sister want to see her brother get it handed to him anyway?

By the time they threw the towel in, Zuko could feel the sweat dripping down his back. So much for being invigorated by the sun. It was reassuring to see Sokka crawl back to sit next to his father.

As he put away his swords and took a refreshing drink of water, Katara stood up, "Don't think we're done here."

He raised his eyebrow, "Your waterbending versus my firebending? You're on." He was tired but definitely still had some fight in him. It would be dishonorable to refuse.

As soon as they started, Zuko's eyes widened. Okay, so by now he knew she was a waterbender, but seriously, why didn't anyone tell him that she's a master waterbender? Honestly, you'd think this girl would have built up a reputation across the nations. Based on the wide-eyed palace staff watching from the corners, she was definitely going to earn one in the Fire Nation.

Giving as much as he got, they danced around in circles for what felt like ages. Katara was a resilient, dynamic fighter and Zuko hadn't felt so challenged in ages. He didn't want to end the match because he wanted to keep studying her. It was rare for him to be able to battle a waterbender, let alone one so capable.

But Zuko's fire had caused most of Katara's water supply to evaporate and she was running out of places to draw from. In a last ditch effort to come out on top, she quickly made a razor thin water whip and managed to land a hit on the side of his face. His fire faded away into shimmering heat almost immediately.

He didn't see it coming — really, the whip was so thin and came on his scarred side, so he was mostly stunned when it cut into his cheek. Katara gasped as she saw rich red blood start to drip out of the wound.

Gathering what was left of her water, she rushed up to him and immediately got to work healing, "I am so, so sorry. I wasn't seriously trying to hurt you, I thought you'd block it like you blocked everything else. I'm really sorry, Zuko, I feel terrible."

But he harbored no resentment. It was an exciting match and he was still too shocked to feel real pain besides the soreness in his muscles.

And the cut had landed just beneath his scar, so Katara's hand covered the bottom part of it too. No one had bothered to touch him there in a long, long time, let alone heal him.

"Katara," he said softly. She was so focused on apologizing that she hadn't realized the cut was long gone. Healing water was useless on his scar at this point. But he didn't mind anymore. The burnt skin was less sensitive than the rest of his face, but he could still feel the cool relief seeping into him.

She jumped back, letting the water splash to the ground between them. "Right, sorry. Again."

He chuckled, "It's okay. I didn't know you could heal. What can't you do?"

"Uh, firebend. I'm no avatar! So that means I can't earthbend or airbend either. Would be awfully convenient if I could."

"Right, me neither. I mean, I can't waterbend, that is. I can firebend. But you already knew that."

"Yes! I did, I did. You can also fight with swords, though, and that's another thing I can't do. So I think a better question would be what can I do, you know?"

Sokka, growing tired of their lame jokes, interrupted from the side, "So who's hungry?"

Zuko, though worn out, wasn't feeling particularly hungry because it seemed that a colony of butterflies had decided to occupy his stomach.

After cleaning up and taking a quick lunch, they sat through a series of meetings that left Zuko a bit weary, but hopeful. The nations working together peacefully was truly a dream come true. He had watched wistfully as Hakoda encouraged and listened intently to the suggestions of his two children. At least Uncle always valued his opinion.

Before dinner, the young man was finally allowed to have a moment alone with his thoughts, and they turned to Katara. He wandered aimlessly through the palace halls. Maybe he should seek her out? But for what reason, didn't they just spend hours together?

The decision was made for him, though, when he nearly bumped into her as he rounded a corner. He reached out to grab her arm to steady her. For a waterbender, her skin was awfully warm.

"Oh, Zuko! I was actually just looking for you."

"You were?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice even though he was too, kind of.

"I had a question for you. The Southern Water Tribe is expanding at a pretty fast rate, but I still feel like we're missing something. And I think it would help if we had some sort of library, you know, for future generations to look at and learn from. I've been gathering things, but most of our history has been told through oral histories. Would the Fire Nation happen to have…?"

It was a valid question, given the way the Fire Nation had plundered the other nations. Zuko nodded in understanding, "I can show you the library. If you see something you think would be helpful, it's yours." It was the least he could do to start making up for years of mistreatment. Ozai had done so much damage.

The royal library was truly worthy of marvel and Katara probably could have spent ages inside, but she had a mission. Without her needing to ask, Zuko led her to the relevant section. The fact that the library had a section at all was pretty hard to wrap her mind around.

"Wow, if I were you I'd just spend all day in here."

"Yeah, I wish. But I've got a job to do and I don't know how much a book can teach me about it," he said with a hint of bitterness. He knew there were plenty who opposed his rule, criticized his every move, but he couldn't hide from them.

"Well I think you're doing a great job," she said with an easy smile before pulling out a title. She gave out compliments like water, but it still felt nice to be on the receiving end of one. Despite it being a passing comment, Zuko couldn't help but dwell on it as she scanned the pages. The sincerity of it struck him most acutely.

As they went up and down the rows, Zuko toyed with the idea of offering to carry her growing stack of books. Would that come across as polite or suggest that she wasn't strong enough? Is it hot in here? Would his hands singe the pages? Do they have to be quiet since it was a library? Should he say something?

Luckily, Katara swung around to look at him sheepishly, "If you don't mind, can I take these home with me?"

"It would be my honor if you took them back to their rightful place." It was a good thing his father never decided to burn down the library.

Zuko's eye sockets hurt. He had experienced a lot of kinds of pain during his young life, but this was a new one. He kept trying to look at Katara during dinner without actually looking. He couldn't put his finger on why he was so interested in looking at her rather than something like his plate of food, but it was hard to balance normal conversation with the desires of his eyes, traitorous things.

It had been a long time since so many people he actually liked were at the dinner table. Of course Hakoda, Sokka, and Katara would have to go back eventually, but he would miss them. If anything, he definitely made some friends.

Uncle tried to get everyone to play pai sho that night, but it only stuck with Hakoda and Sokka. While their strategizing was admittedly impressive, Zuko just didn't have the patience to keep watching. He noticed that Katara had stepped outside for some air, so he decided to join her.

She sat on the ground looking up at the sky — brilliantly clear with bright stars and an even brighter moon.

"Can I join you?"

"Of course."

Zuko nodded and settled himself in a similar position to Katara: cross legged, face turned towards the inky night sky. While not the familiar warmth of the sun, the moon really was beautiful. He turned to look at Katara and was struck by the way her profile looked illuminated by moonlight. He noticed that her hand was up by her neck, playing with the necklace she never seemed to be without. She wore a thoughtful expression and Zuko had to take a deep breath before speaking again. Despite the success and geniality of the trip, he could imagine that her family had mixed feelings about coming to visit.

"Katara?"

"Yeah?" She turned to look at him. Another breath.

"How are you?"

She smiled faintly. "I'm alright." She let her hand drop to her side.

Zuko shuffled into his room, feeling very ready for a nice night of sleep after such a long day.

He removed his crown, his hair falling loosely around his face like a waterfall. When he took off his headpiece, he was really just a teenager, not even an adult yet. He changed into pajamas and laid back on his bed, allowing himself to think teenage thoughts, ponder teenage problems. What was he to do about Katara? Or, how would he confront his feelings for Katara?

Zuko was, in a word, confused. He wasn't sure what these feelings even were, let alone how to deal with them.

There was no one he could turn to; his options were severely limited. Ask Uncle? Yuck, never. Besides, he'd say something that Zuko wouldn't be able to puzzle out until after Katara had left, like reading the tea leaves. Sokka was near his age, but he was Katara's brother. When he asked Zuko for tips on landing "the Fire Nation's hottest babes," it was cemented that Zuko could not ask him for anything, really.

And then there was his greatest challenge, Katara herself. He couldn't force her to return his feelings, and she very well could want nothing to do with him beyond a friendly political alliance. Even if his mother, father, or sister were here, he wouldn't be able to consult them. No, this was something he had to figure out on his own. This time there was no war to be won, no battle to be planned. This situation was like a fire lily: if it wanted to bloom, he would be pleased. But he couldn't do much besides water it and hope for it to respond.

But the more he thought about it, the more he was certain that he liked Katara. Like more than a friend. He had a crush on her. He had feelings for her. He like-liked her. Whatever you wanted to call it.

Oh boy.

He woke up from a restful night's sleep thinking about her. He groaned.

Oh yeah, he was in trouble.

He stretched and got dressed. Might as well go to breakfast with a smile on his face, even if he probably looked like an idiot. While still pleasant, the morning meal was quieter than their other ones. It felt strange to have to say goodbye already. And, oh-so-conveniently, right when Zuko had a better grip on these feelings of his…

But just like that, the visitors' time in the Fire Nation had come to an end. For now.

Zuko was confident that their visit created a strong foundation to build a better relationship on. They would probably be seeing each other some time soon. And they could send letters, friendly ones that lacked the normal formality of political correspondence. This was far from the last they'd be seeing of each other, something he found great comfort in.

"Thank you, Lord Zuko, it's truly been a pleasure. It brings me peace of mind to know the Fire Nation is in good hands. We'll see you again." Hakoda's words were brief but Zuko couldn't deny the wave of validation he felt after hearing them. Maybe he was doing a half decent job after all.

"Now that we've been here, don't be surprised if we pop in every so often. Oops, lost control of the ship and ended up on Zuko's door step! Don't blame me, blame the ocean spirit! Thanks, buddy." That morning's breakfast spread alone was enough to keep him coming back. And Katara didn't seem to mind, so all was well, right?

"I'll keep the rooms ready for you," Zuko promised while shaking Sokka's hand. The boy followed his father onto their ship, leaving Zuko to face Katara. As much as she looked forward to returning home, she was glad she was the last one to get on board.

"So…"

"You got everything?"

"Seems like it."

"That's good. Even the books?"

"Yup, even the books."

"Good, good. Well...I'll see you...later?"

"Definitely. You'll have to come visit the Southern Water Tribe soon," Katara said sweetly, playfully.

The promise dancing in her eyes made Zuko feel something undeniable: hope.

A/N: Yes I conveniently had Ozai and Azula take each other out HAHA now I don't have to deal with them. I don't know if I'll post another chapter because I /could/ write about them visiting each other but idk. I'll mark this complete for now, thanks for reading! Idk if it's too long but at this point I'm just like :]

Also, if you have a zutara twitter pls lmk/give me account recs! I want to see more on my tl but it's hard to find people esp when the zutara search is mostly people arguing lol and hopefully you either have a neutral or positive opinion of sasusaku 3