Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever

Katara awoke the next morning to a knock at the door. She blinked against the morning light, slightly disorientated. Then she remembered she was in Zuko's room—or rather, her new room. She sat up and realized she was alone in bed.

"Um, come in," she said.

Jien, Sun, and Kai entered the room. Jien was carrying a tray of food, and the other two women went to her wardrobe and bathroom; Sun began laying out her clothes for the day while Kai began pumping water for her bath.

"Did you sleep well, my lady?" Jien asked, setting the tray on the bed next to her.

"I did, thank you. Where is…" She choked on the words my husband.

"The Fire Lord said he had some last minute business to attend to before you leave for your honeymoon trip at noon. He asked that we bring you breakfast and help with whatever you needed."

She nodded, sipping some juice and nibbling on a slice of bread. She was supposed to join her family for breakfast, but she didn't feel like rushing to see them this morning.

Had she and Zuko been married in the Southern Water Tribe, elder women from the tribe's council would have inspected the bridal sheets, to make sure she had been pure for her new husband. But they didn't have that practice here, she realized—probably because a woman here didn't have to be pure on her wedding night.

So instead of inspecting the bedding, the women flitted about the room, finishing the packing for her trip.

She dismissed the women from the bathroom so she could bathe by herself but she did let Jien help her dress into a lightweight traveling dress made of a dark red, fitted linen. She also helped Katara fix her hair, setting her new crown in her topknot. She would need some time getting used to that.

For their honeymoon, the Fire Lord and his new bride would be touring the Fire Nation, traveling to a few major cities and outer provinces, so that the people could meet their new Fire Lady. It meant they would be spending most of their days greeting large crowds, visiting with governors, while their nights would be spent on a ship as they traveled from place to place. Katara grimaced thinking about it; it felt like she had just arrived in the Fire Nation via ship.

"I will finish your packing, my lady, and meet you on the ship," Jien said. "Is there anything special you'd like me to pack for you?"

"Wait, you're coming with me?"

"I have been asked to accompany you, yes. Aeza, as well. If it pleases you, that is."

Katara smiled. "Oh, it does!"

Jien smiled in return. "Good." She bowed and resumed helping the other women pack.

Her family was finishing breakfast when she walked into the dining room some time later. They greeted her warmly enough, but she could tell most of them had been up well into the night and had their fair share of wine. Sokka had his fists pressed to his eyes and shushed her when she said, "Good morning."

Katara was partly surprised when Toph made no jabs at her "wedding night" experience. Instead, the girl asked, "So, where you two heading first?"

Katara reached for an orange so she could keep her hands occupied. "Um, I'm not sure actually. Uncle?"

Iroh, who was sitting at the other end of the table near Gran-Gran and Pakku, stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Oh, I don't know, but I would think you'd visit Ember Island, Fire Fountain City, Shu Jing, maybe…." Iroh seemed to hesitate before he added, "I know Zuko was thinking of visiting Hira'a, but I don't know if he's made up his mind."

"What's so special about that city?" Sokka asked around a mouthful of fried komodo chicken.

"It's where his mother is from."

Katara's throat tightened, and by the silence that suddenly settled over the table, she could tell she wasn't the only one affected by this news.

Breakfast dragged on a bit longer before the group moved to one of the palace's courtyard gardens while they waited for Zuko to finish whatever business to which he was attending. Iroh had brought out a case of teas that he had collected on his latest journeys in the Earth Kingdom and he, amazingly, had captured the attention of most of their group. Katara, figuring she would have a lot of Iroh and his teas in the coming years, seated herself in the shade of a large tree. She could see servants carrying trunks down the hall of the family wing, presumably to the ship awaiting them in the harbor

When Suki joined her, Katara quietly asked, "Did you tell him yet?"

Suki shook her head. With a smile, she asked, "Are you kidding? Do you think he'd be functioning normally right now if I'd told him?"

Katara smiled. "No, I guess not."

"He's going to freak out." Suki's head was down and she was plucking at blades of grass distractedly.

"Yes," Katara said cautiously, but she reached for her sister-in-law's hands and squeezed affectionately. "But then he's going to be happy. So happy."

"You think?"

"I know."

"What are you two talking about over there?" Toph shouted across the garden with a knowing smile, causing everyone else to look at them, too.

Sokka squinted his eyes at his wife and sister, suddenly suspicious.

But Katara just smiled. "We're just starting plans for the next wedding: yours."

Toph's smile swiftly transformed into a scowl that would have rivaled Zuko's, and she stuck her tongue out at the new Fire Lady.

After the attention shifted away from them, Suki asked, "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you…okay?"

Katara bit her cheek. "Yes. I am. It will take some…getting used to, I guess."

"What will?"

"Everything, probably. I mean, I know I have a lot of traveling experience, but I've spent the majority of my life in the Southern Water Tribe. It was a…small town life, to be sure. And I've never…ruled. My father may be a chief, but that's a far cry from Fire Lord. And…I'm a wife now. And we have to have an heir within two years—"

"Wait, slow down. You have to what?"

"It's part of the marriage contract," Katara explained dismissively. She didn't really want to talk about that right now.

"But, Katara—"

"Suki, I said it and I mean it: I am okay. Really."

The other woman didn't look so sure but said, "Okay."

About an hour later, after tea had been served in the garden, they received word that Zuko was running late and wanted to meet Katara at the ship in the harbor. She had wanted to say her goodbyes at the palace, but her family insisted on accompanying her. So all nine of them packed into two carriages, but this time Katara rode with her father and grandmother and Pakku.

It started off quiet enough, with Gran telling her to make sure she washed her face and brushed her hair. Katara was just relieved she didn't feel the need to share more "bedroom" advice.

However, her father seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say.

Finally, just as they reached the harbor and stepped out of the carriage, he said, "Katara, I—"

She looked up expectantly. "Yes?"

"I want—all I've ever wanted—is for you to be…happy. I think—I believe that this is a…good match and that, one day, soon, you will be…happy, that is. You have to believe me."

Katara swallowed her lump in her throat. "I do. It is a…good match. Zuko is a…good man," she said honestly. "I hope I can…make you proud."

Hakoda looked like he was in physical pain, and he reached to stroke his daughter's cheek. "Oh, Katara. There's nothing you could do that wouldn't make me proud of you. I am so proud of you. So proud. And I…I'm—"

He was going to say "sorry," she could feel it, and she shook her head. It was done. Now, there was nothing for him to apologize for. "Don't," she whispered.

He pulled her into his arms and held her close. After a few moments, she pulled away and smiled up at him. "Don't miss me too much."

He smiled, too. "That's an impossible request." He looped her arm through his and led her to the gangway where the others had gathered. She went to each and said her goodbyes, hugging and laughing and suppressing tears with all of them, even Pakku. Iroh gave her a box of teas for the trip, and Sokka tried to give her a spare boomerang, to "fend off Zuko," but she declined his gift. She reminded him of all the meat still left to eat at Zuko's palace and he was less offended.

Aang was the last to claim his hug. His skinny arms could nearly wrap around her twice, and she could feel him hold onto her a moment longer than necessary, but she let him. If this was what he needed to say goodbye, to let her go, than he could have this moment.

"It's weird," he said, stepping back. "Seeing you in red."

She looked down at her dress. "I've worn it before."

"Yeah, I guess you have. Good…good luck, Katara, and congratulations."

"Thank you, Aang. Will you visit soon?"

He pulled his earlobe as he thought. "Maybe. I was going to head to the Eastern Air Temple, spend some time in the Earth Kingdom after. But then I might go to the Northern Temple, so maybe I'll stop and see you and Zuko on my way there."

"We'd like that," she said. After a breath, she was hit with the shock of the words she said: she'd said "we." She hadn't even been married a day and she's said "we."

Taking another, steadying breath, she took a step back toward the ship behind her.

"Oh, where is that boy?" Iroh scoffed.

"What kind of ship is this?" Suki asked.

"It's a decommissioned and reconstructed war ship. It now runs off a similar heat sourcing as Sokka's war balloons and burns much cleaner than the old coal-powered ships, only requiring the bending of three or four benders for the whole ship."

"Well, I wouldn't call them my war balloons," Sokka said, uncharacteristically modest. "I just made some…improvements to the technology."

"Why not a luxurious yacht?" Toph asked snarkily. "Doesn't the great Fire Lord have a bunch of those at his disposal?"

"He does," Zuko answered, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "But this ship is my fastest. And safest."

"Your footwork is improving," Toph retorted with a smirk. "I almost didn't hear your approach."

Toph may have heard him, but Katara had not. He had arrived without a flourish, with only one Firebender soldier accompanying him, dressed in a rather simple black tunic and pants.

He looked across the small circle of people at her and asked, "Are you ready?"

Katara swallowed and nodded. She watched Zuko say goodbye to the group, as well, though he was much more somber than she had been, bowing respectfully to her father and grandmother and Pakku, shaking hands with Sokka and Aang. He nearly smiled at Suki, and he let Toph hit him on the arm. However, he did hug his uncle affectionately.

He then straightened and cleared his throat. "Shall we?" he asked Katara, gesturing toward the gangplank.

She had to hug everyone one last time before she began making her way up the gangplank, and she had to avoid thinking of the next time she might see them all again to abate the stinging in her eyes. When they reached the deck of the ship, Zuko introduced her to the captain and his crew, who all bowed respectfully.

As they began to make way, Katara went to the railing to wave goodbye to her loved ones on the dock, who all waved back enthusiastically. But then, she stepped away and joined Zuko and the captain at the helm. He looked surprised to see her there, and she couldn't blame him. She was sure he expected her to watch her family until she couldn't see them anymore, and she had been tempted to do just that. But while they would always be her family, Zuko was her husband, and if this marriage was going to work, she needed to focus on their future, not her past. And this started, she decided, with standing by his side as they began their honeymoon.

That night at dinner, Katara was a ball of nerves. Their quarters on the ship were very tight, and they were only a few hours away from the first city they were to visit, where she would be introduced as the new Fire Lady, and she had something she wanted to discuss with Zuko, but she didn't know how to bring it up. The first bite of dinner made her stomach churn, so she settled for nibbling on a roll and sipping her wine.

When the silence became uncomfortable and Zuko was more than halfway finished with his meal, Katara put her wine down. "Zuko?"

He took a sip of his own wine before saying, "Yes?"

She took a deep breath. "Although we've both agreed—not yet—I just want to know…I mean…."

"Just say it, Katara. It's all right."

"I know it is required of us," she said, slowly at first, "to provide an heir. But, to me, it wouldn't be just an heir. It…he or she would be my child—our child."

Zuko sat up a little straighter and put his chopsticks down.

"What I'm trying to say is: there's no way I wouldn't be a mother. That would be my child, and I won't have a nanny or nursemaid raising my child. But I understand this is merely part of your duty….

"I guess what I want to know is: what would a child mean to you?"

Zuko sighed and sat back. "Would you believe me if I said I honestly don't know? Fatherhood has never…quite appealed to me; I didn't have the best role model growing up."

Katara nodded, understanding and managing to disguise her disappointment.

"I wouldn't have any objections to you raising our child, though. None. I know you, Katara. I wouldn't expect anything else."

"What would you want to be to the child?" she asked quietly, unable to meet his eyes. "Would you want to be…involved? At all?"

Zuko was silent. He looked at the wine glass in his hand and swirled the burgundy liquid around.

"It's okay—"

"No, it's just…." He looked at Katara. "Would you hate me if I wasn't? If I didn't want to be?"

Katara looked away, fighting the rising pain in her chest. Finally, her voice very soft, she answered, "No, I wouldn't hate you. I could never hate you. I'd understand—"

"You say that now. Hate is like water over a fire. One minute, it's fine. The next, it's too hot to drink, too hot to touch. Even the steam burns."

"Oh, Zuko—"

"You would hate me if I wasn't there to raise our child. You said it yourself: he or she would be our child. Worse, I would be here, but I—I don't know if I could—"

She hesitated. "I think you're making too many assumptions. I think," she said, holding up a hand to silence his arguing, "neither one of us can know what will happen. We can just…wait, and see what happens then."

"Katara—"

"It's all right, Zuko," she tried with a pathetic smile. "Let's just…enjoy the rest of dinner."

Too bad neither of them were hungry anymore.