Chapter Five
Zuko waits until he gets back from the summit to break up with Mai. She's furious, after all he did promise not to break up with her again, but by the end she admits it's for the best. She leaves for Kyoshi the next day.
He stays up all night trying to write a declaration to notify the council of his decision to marry for love that doesn't sound like he's a lovesick turtleduck, but nothing ever sounds right. He ends up issuing a decree that he would marry whoever he wanted, when he wanted, because he was the Fire Lord and the next person to bring up the topic would be kicked off the council. He knows they aren't happy but they have no choice but to keep their grumblings to themselves.
By that time, he finally has a letter from Katara. She had made it to Omashu, and was going to spend more time there than originally planned because of an outbreak. He isn't surprised when she doesn't make it to the Fire Nation for another month, for all the villages she saved along the way.
He is surprised that she starts with a small fishing village, Jang Hui, and it takes him five letters (and three cross-referencing with Sokka) to learn the story of how she dressed up as the Painted Lady and saved the village. He does his best not to linger on the feelings that arise at the realization that Katara was saving his people even when they were her enemy. It's hard enough to deal with the fact that she is in his country, traveling to save his people, and he's not with her. She feels so close, and yet never further away.
He is bolder with his letters, or at least he thinks he is (he's never been good with words), but he doesn't fight to keep his growing feelings from making their way onto the pages. He tries not to read into it when the tone of her letters seem to change, too.
(But he fails, oh Agni he fails).
They plan to cross paths three times, but each time falls apart for some reason or another. First Katara is kept by a baby that decides to arrive a full week later than expected. Then Zuko has an emergency security meeting, after the new Ozai Society almost breaks Ozai out. Then a storm keeps their ships from reaching land at the same time.
He realizes he's running out of chances when she tells him she's considering heading home, to the Southern Water Tribe, to see her family. She's not sure what she'll do from there, but it's been a long time since she's been home.
He convinces her to spend a week in the Capital with him before she goes home, under the guise of relaxing after all her travels before working at home.
(Really he would say anything, would do anything, to get her to come, to stay, but he doesn't admit that).
He meets her at the docks, and she sprints into his arms for a hug. He picks her up and whirls her around and she is laughing and he decides that her laughter is more beautiful than any music he's ever heard.
(He thinks he should care that she has this power over him, the power to make him forget all his formal Fire Lord etiquette and whirl her around. But he doesn't).
He carves out every free minute possible to spend with Katara. They spar every morning, and he is thankful to have a sparring partner that won't hold back on him (though he almost regrets it when on the fifth day she royally kicks his butt, but she heals the bruises and he doesn't even care how much it hurts, he'll suffer anything to have her healing hands on him). He has breakfast, lunch, and dinner with her. He invites her to council meetings because he already trusts her more than half his council combined. He openly laughs when an advisor suggests she shouldn't be attending the meetings because she's a girl. He laughs even harder when she ices the advisor to the wall. He wonders what it means that he's glad to see her fight someone that isn't him (though it wasn't much of a fight, if he's being honest. No one really stands a chance against Katara).
When she's not with him, she's with his mother, making rounds at the hospital. He hears nothing but praises from the doctors about their work. And he tries not to blush too hard when his mother praises Katara for her work and her beauty.
The week is almost over before he knows it, but the night before she leaves, he gets a report of a rebel outbreak. He tells her he hates to keep her from her family, but he could really use her help. She accepts, and together they successfully disband a rebel group, she heals all the wounded, and they replace the corrupt governor that allowed the rebellion to happen in the first place.
By the time they return to the palace, it's almost the fifth anniversary of his coronation, and he convinces her to stay for the gala his Uncle and Mother insist on throwing. The gang descends on the Capital, and he is glad to see his friends again. But dignitaries come as well, and his heart sinks when he has to greet Chief Hakoda because he knows he will take Katara with him when he leaves.
Somehow he manages to distract himself from that thought, and enjoy his last days with her. He decides to use the gala as his one chance to tell her how he feels, to present himself as an option in her list of things to consider when she goes home. He plans a surprise, and prays every day to Agni that it is enough.
The day of the gala he barely sees her at breakfast before she is whisked away to be pampered and prepped. His preparations begin after lunch, and he is dressed in the full Fire Lord Regalia (which has been redesigned to look more modern, a subtle suggestion from Katara so he doesn't feel like he looks like Ozai). He stands at the entrance to the ballroom, greeting guests formally, but when he sees her he finds he can't speak (or breathe).
She has always been beautiful, but tonight in a red and blue gown, with her hair pulled up in a style that isn't quite Fire Nation but isn't quite Water Tribe either, he can see how much the years have made her gorgeous. Gone is the girl who became an unexpected ally, and before him is the woman he has fallen in love with.
(It's the first time he admits it to himself, and he doesn't even care anymore, he realizes he gave his heart to her a long time ago).
As soon as everyone is in the ballroom, he reveals the first part of his surprise. He presents Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Aang with medals to thank them for their actions in ending the Hundred Years War. He gives a speech before presenting each medal about their actions, and he doesn't even pretend to care that he says twice as much about Katara as anyone else.
After the banquet, Aang opens the floor for dancing, and Zuko manages to dance with Katara three times, each time more passionate than the last, before she is whisked away by her father, her brother, Aang, and everyone else. But he doesn't let it bother him because he has one more surprise planned.
Before the last dance, he steals her away to the gardens, and they sit in front of the turtleduck pond for a few moments, enjoying the cool from the night. The moon is full and he sends a prayer to Yue for extra luck before pulling out a small box from his robes.
"I have something for you," he says, hoping he sounds more confident than he feels.
"Oh, you mean besides this?" she teases, playing with her medal.
"Yes. I uhm, I thought the medals were overdue. They are my gift, a recognition of your past. You have done so much good in your life. For the world, for the Nations, for me."
She looks up, her expression softening, and his heart melts.
"This," he hands her the box, "this is my hope, really a wish, for your future, for- for our future. That you'll keep saving the world, and keep saving me."
She gives him a curious look before opening the small box. She fishes the crown from the box and gasps, shock spreading across her features. He had it custom made, the gold shaped into a crescent moon over waves, but it is distinctly a Fire Nation crown.
"Zuko is this…? Are you…?"
He laughs to hide his nervousness. "I'm not proposing to you, Katara, not yet. Not that I would if you don't want me to! But I would be a fool to not tell you how I feel. I'm in love with you, Katara, and I want to spend my life with you. I have no doubt that whatever you decide to do with your life, you will have a huge impact on the world. But I would love it, if someday, you wanted to make that impact with me. I can't ask you to stay with me, because I would never want you to feel like I'm keeping you here. I just, I want you to know it's an option. That I'd wait for you, if you wanted."
"Oh Zuko," she reaches up and cups his scarred side, and he leans into her touch, "Zuko, you are so much more than an option." And then she kisses him, and he's frozen for a moment, surprised that Katara is actually kissing him, but it only lasts a moment before he's returning the kiss, one hand cupping her head and the other around her waist, pulling her closer.
She breaks the kiss and pulls back, her eyes full of passion and love and he is hers, only hers. "I love you, Zuko." He blinks in disbelief.
"Wh-What?" he splutters. She laughs, and he doesn't care that she's laughing at him.
"I love you, Zuko. I love you." And by the third time he finally believes it and he is grinning before he is kissing her again.
She still leaves the next day with her father, but she takes the crown with her as a promise. Four months later she writes that Gran Gran isn't doing well, and he decides it's past time for him to visit the Southern Water Tribe. He tries not to feel guilty about using the trip as a way to ask for Hakoda's blessing, but it fades when he sees Katara.
(Hakoda gives him his blessing. The chief knew Katara would always do what Katara wanted, and while he's sad to see her go, he's glad she'll now be in one place consistently to visit).
It's a bittersweet trip. Getting to spend time with Katara's family, her people, with her, makes him happier than he's been in ages. But when Gran Gran passes, he mourns with Katara, and his heart breaks seeing her hurt.
They leave together a week later. When they board the ship, he asks Katara if she's sure, if she's ready, if she really wants him (because he still can't believe how lucky he is to have her love), and she just holds his cheek and tells him, yes, she's sure. Her next words have his heart swelling, and if he wasn't already convinced his heart was hers to break, he was sure now.
"Let's go home, Zuko."
A/N: You guys have me in my feels with reviews! I love reading each and every one of them. They truly make my day but also help me notice things I didn't realize.