Disclaimer: Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender nor its characters belong to me, nor will they ever
That night at dinner, Zuko dismissed the servants
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"If we're supposed to get to know each other again, it'll be easier to do out from under the prying eyes of servants. Unless you disagree."
She didn't. Usually, dinner was quiet because she felt free conversation was limited when it was in front of the dinner staff. Zuko and Iroh managed to discuss plenty, and Iroh tried to keep conversation lively, but it didn't necessarily make thinks more comfortable between husband and wife.
But tonight, Katara was surprised that conversation flowed easily. Zuko discussed a recent border dispute he was settling with two governors and Katara listened intently. He, in turn, asked her how she liked attending court, and from her swift frown, he made mental note to keep her away from court. He had told Uncle she wasn't one to sit around and gossip, and now his suspicions were confirmed.
After dinner, they walked to their room together. They weren't touching, but every so often, their hands would graze each other lightly, and Katara finally just clasped both of hers in front of her tightly.
Jien and Zuko's manservant, whose name was Fah, she'd learned, were waiting for then outside their room, and Katara found herself dismissing Jien for the night. With no complicated dress to take off or hairstyle to undo, she didn't need her friend this night. Fah, too, was dismissed.
As Katara undressed behind her partition, she could here Zuko climb into bed with a sigh.
"You'll wake me up tomorrow morning?"
"What?"
"You…you said I could start attending council meetings with you. I…I thought I could start tomorrow."
"Oh, right. Sure."
She crawled into bed quietly, careful not to disturb the mattress. Zuko was already half-asleep. She thought he was the weirdest sleeper. He never tossed or turned. He merely laid on his back, hands at his side, and fell asleep.
She turned on her side and whispered, "Zuko?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For today."
A moment passed before he whispered, "You're welcome, Katara."
Smiling, Katara blew out the bedside candle and succumbed to sleep.
"Katara. Katara. Katara!"
"What?" Katara shouted, thrusting out her hand to push away the source of the noise. The heel of her palm made contact with something that crunched.
Zuko groaned.
Suddenly awake and alert, Katara sat up, and she could see Zuko holding his hand to his nose, blood dripping between his fingers.
"Tui and La, Zuko! I'm sorry!"
"I was trying to wake you so you could go to the council meeting with me this morning. I see I have…made a mistake."
"Oh, here, let me," she said, summoning water from the skin on her bedside table. With a water-gloved hand, she began healing his nose. "Oh, I broke it. I'm sorry. Hold still," she commanded, bringing her other hand up to cradle the back of his head.
"I guess I should have known better," he said as she finished.
She glanced out the window, scooting back to lean against the headboard. "Zuko, you have to admit, it is early. The sun's barely up."
"Well, this is when I wake."
"I didn't know you wake up so early."
"I usually meditate and practice my bending for an hour before I clean up and dress for breakfast."
"Really? I didn't know that. You're so quiet; I never hear you."
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, but looked over his shoulder at her. "You're usually sound asleep."
"Really?" she asked, skeptical.
Nodding, he said, "Yeah. The minute I leave the bed, you roll over and sprawl, taking up the whole thing."
She could feel her face flushing with embarrassment. "I do not."
"Yeah, you do. Every morning. Go back to sleep, Katara. I'll…try to wake you again in an hour."
"No," she said, pushing away the covers. "I'm up already. I'll go with you. You can take a shot at my nose."
She said it jokingly but Zuko scowled. Before he could continue trying to convince her to go back to sleep, she crawled out of bed and began changing into training clothes. When she emerged from behind her dressing screen, Zuko was waiting for her, and she followed him to the training room.
"You've been remodeling quite a bit, I see," she said when she noticed a newly built water feature in the corner of the room.
"It was time," he answered, and she wasn't quite sure she understood what he meant. But as he traveled to one corner of the room, sitting down to meditate, she made her way over the man-made pond, pulling off her shoes to wade into the water. While she didn't feel the need to meditate, she did feel more at peace when she ran through her waterbending forms methodically, rhythmically, her blood slowly beginning to quicken its pace though her body.
The hour passed quickly and she knew already that she'd be sore tomorrow, without having done anything strenuous. She made a mental resolve to get back into shape. Palace life had made her soft, and that was inexcusable.
Not wanting to disturb Zuko, she slipped from the training room, knowing they couldn't clean for breakfast at the same time. As luck would have it, she emerged from the bathroom in her towel just as Zuko was reaching for the bathroom door handle. Her face flushed involuntarily, but Zuko's eyes focused somewhere above her head and he slipped into the bathroom behind her wordlessly.
She summoned Jien to help her dress, desiring her to help her pick out something appropriate for a council meeting. She picked out a dress she described as "powerful," and Katara stepped into it without question.
"Katara? Should I just meet you at breakfast?" Zuko called from the other side of her dressing partition.
"No, I'm ready," she answered, just as Jien was setting her crown in her topknot. She emerged from behind the partition to find Zuko in his armor and dress robes. He stared at her for a moment, and she held his gaze, before he put his hand on the small of her back to lead her from the room.
They had already begun eating when Iroh joined them.
"Oh," he said, surprised. "You have both beat me to breakfast this morning, I see."
"I joined Zuko's meditation hour this morning," Katara explained.
"Really? That's nice," Iroh said slowly, smiling at his nephew.
Zuko threw him a look before shoveling a pile of eggs into his mouth.
Katara had to smile; the old man was hardly subtle.
"Katara will be joining us for today's council meeting. Actually, she'll be joining us for them from now on, I think."
"Wonderful idea," Iroh exclaimed. "Don't know why you didn't think to invite her from the beginning."
Zuko's frown returned but he said nothing.
After breakfast, Zuko led Katara to the throne room, balancing her hand on top of his as they made their way to the dais. The council members around the room bowed at their entrance and straightened when Zuko permitted them to with a wave of his hand.
They sat in silence before, seemingly annoyed, Zuko said, "Well…proceed."
A few of the councilors murmured amongst each other before one man said, "My lord…with Lady Katara…."
"Yes, Fire Lady Katara will be joining us for council meetings. Now, if we may proceed."
One man with a long white beard stood and said, "Very well. My lord, if we may continue our last discussion regarding taxation—"
"I thought I made it clear we were done discussing raising taxes for this year. Move on."
The councilman was visibly upset, but he sat and another man stood, nervously broaching a new subject. For the next few hours, Katara sat and listened intently. Most of the issues presented seemed trivial, but others were very serious. She noted that Zuko listened to each presentation carefully, asking detailed questions. Some he shot down immediately, but most he considered thoughtfully before requesting that the propositions be sent to his office for further review.
The meeting broke a few hours later for lunch. Katara followed Zuko to a small verandah that overlooked the main palace courtyard. She could see women flicking about like hummingbirds, and she could imagine the rumors churning. Stepping away from the railing, she sat next to Zuko.
"You were quiet." Zuko's voice startled her from her thoughts.
"Hm?"
"At the meeting. You didn't say much. I thought…well, I thought you'd have more to say."
Katara pursed her lips, trying to hide her smile. "I thought it would be beneficial to do more listening than speaking. At least for my first few meetings."
Zuko looked down at his plate. "That's…very wise of you."
Feeling her face grow warm, she reached for a piece of cheese and nibbled absentmindedly. "I was wondering what happened with the one councilman…."
Zuko tore a loaf of bread in half. "You mean the one who wanted to discuss raising taxes."
"Yes. It's just…you shot him down so quickly."
"It's an issue we've discussed already. Numerous times. His region is in debt and he thinks raising taxes is the solution. I disagree."
"In debt? From what?"
He looked uncomfortable but answered, "The previous Fire Lord used this councilman's district as a…base during the war. A lot of private property was destroyed. I ordered the homes and buildings to be rebuilt using the district's budget. The villages have been rebuilt but money is…tight. But it needed to be done. And charging the people for damage the crown caused…I won't do it."
Katara's stomach twisted. The previous Fire Lord had been his father, and how he dismissed that so easily with his words yet carried it so obviously in his eyes and body language and actions… It was something he would carry the rest of his life, she knew. "I see. But how do you decide, or know, which issues are…pressing and which are not?"
"Research, a lot of research. I cannot simply take councilmen at their word, not anymore." Suddenly, a servant entered the room carrying a large stack of papers bound together by a leather cord. Zuko waved him forward and took the papers from him, handing them to her.
"What's this?"
"Study material. It occurred to me that you might want to be more informed before our council meetings. That way you aren't pressured into coming up with thoughts or ideas on the spot. And can develop a...less biased opinion. Often, issues are presented from only one side. I like to see all sides. It's only a suggestion, but..." He finished with a shrug.
"Very well. Thank you."
He nodded. "I was also thinking...if there's ever a topic or area or...project you find yourself particularly interested in, feel free to adopt it as your own."
She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
He rubbed his jaw and looked out the window over her head. "I mean, it's hard to know everything and everything. I try to keep informed, but it's not easy. I know the most about war procedure and strategy, because, I believe, all the time I spent...well, you know. And I was always around soldiers and sailors. I also have my fair share of experience with international relations. I don't know as much about the correlation between healthcare and grain production—but believe me when I tell you there is one. Things like that require more research, and that's where I focus more of my energy, in researching issues I don't know as much about."
It made sense. "But isn't that what your advisors are for? Shouldn't they be well-informed, and in turn keep you well-informed?"
He grimaced. "Ideally, yes. In reality...about a year ago I caught one of my advisors in a self-serving lie. He thought I would trust his word and wouldn't bother to fact-check. I made an example of him, and I don't think any on the current board would try that, but it's not a perfect system. Not yet, at least."
She nodded. "I see."
He leaned forward, like he was about to tell her a secret. "I'm working on establishing a new system. Essentially a new council, made of elected city representatives instead of nobles. It'll be awhile until it's in place, but it's time."
"I…I had no idea."
He returned to his lunch. "Your soup's getting cold."
"Zuko…."
"Katara, I'm…I'm not used to…sharing my plans. While you're adjusting to being Fire Lady, I'm adjusting to having one."
She sighed. "It can't be easy, I'd imagine."
He looked at her for a moment before answering. "Actually, you make it easier than I'd anticipated."
"Really?"
He nodded. "Finish your lunch. We need to get back to the meeting."
Katara attended two more meetings that week, slowly growing more accustomed to how they ran and what was expected. She moved into her new office, lining the empty shelves with law and history and waterbending scrolls from the library. And each morning, she got up early and went to the training room with Zuko.
It addition to having something else to occupy her time, Katara found that attending these meetings gave her and Zuko a breadth of conversation topics to cover at lunch and dinner and as they lay in bed together at night. Talking about government and policies loosened his tongue, and she found herself hiding her smile while he went on a rant, knowing if he saw her, he would stop, and she found she liked the sound of his voice, like the passion behind his speeches. It was a different way to learn more about him, as well. And the more she learned, the more she liked, which didn't scare her as much as she thought it would.
"Are there always this many meetings in a week?" she asked before bed one night.
He was closing the curtains. "No, it's the end of harvest season. A busy time. It'll settle down in the next week or two then pick back up again in the spring. Katara…."
"Yes?"
"You…you did really…well this week. I think you surprised a lot of the councilmen and, to be honest, you surprised me, too."
She thought she heard a swell of pride in his voice. "Just…doing my Fire Lady duties."
He moved to stand in front of her at the foot of the bed. "I know, but—" He reached for her hand but just as quickly withdrew. Instead, he took a step back, but his eyes flickered from her lips to her eyes. "I just thought you should know."
Struggling to find her voice, she answered, "Thank you, Zuko."
"No. Thank you, Katara."
He reached for her again, and she closed her eyes as he brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger as they slid down her jawbone.
"You look beautiful tonight," he whispered.
She swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "Thank you," she managed.
He angled his head and she swore she could actually see a fire smoldering—growing—in his golden eyes. "You look beautiful all the time," he admitted, as if correcting his previous statement.
"Zuko," she said admonishingly, looking away.
His lips were pressed to hers before she could blink. Shock reached her first, causing her eyes to grow wide and her arms to stiffen at her sides. But then, as his warm lips caressed hers, she responded in kind, her eyes sliding closed and her hands reaching to grip his upper arms.
His kiss was like everything and nothing she'd imagined. He was gentle, but not too gentle. He held her tight—his hands on her hips pulled her flush against him—not as if she were fragile or going to break. She nearly gasped when his tongue slipped into her mouth and pressed against hers. He tasted of tea and smelled of smoke.
But just as quickly as the kiss started, it stopped. Zuko stepped away from her, holding her back with his hands on her hips.
"I—I'm sorry, Katara. I shouldn't—"
"Zuko, it's—"
"I'm sorry," he repeated, quickly releasing her and crossing the room.
"Zuko, don't leave," she called, but the slamming of their bedroom door behind him drowned out her plea.