They all had their own rooms at the palace. Even Toph, who only visited and never stayed. They had all been designed by the people who maintained the entire building, but the rumor was that Zuko had explicitly said that all designs had to be approved by him.

Her rooms, and there were multiple, were apparently fit for a foreign dignitary. The small receiving room was definitely different from how the Fire Nation usually set such things. There was very little wood available to the Water Tribe, as most of it went to building and maintaining their ships. Dung and liChang burned in their fires, and their smoky lanterns boiled blubber. Here, the oil was better refined but were still fitted to sconces on the walls. The floor was covered in furs. The low table and couches, Fire Nation furniture given a Water tribe touch, were made of a polished wood that looked like ivory. Katara slipped off her shoes and dropped her satchel to the floor. Feeling the soft fur through her socks on her feet, so unlike the coarse insulated bristles of the creatures who were hunted at home, she almost decided to sleep on the floor right there.

However, the weight of expectation kept her shuffling forward.

Instead of a door, there hung a tapestry that was much finer than the oilskin or rare canvas that covered the openings at home. She pushed through it and walked into the bedroom. The bed was nothing like what was found in the Southern Water Tribe. The wood was dark and polished to a high sheen. The blanket was made of various blues that looked like the swirling waters of the arctic seas. The pillows, which were bountiful, were bone white and stood like a wall of snow at the head of the bed. More furs on the floor. More softly burning sconces on the walls.

Katara fell onto the bed face first.

In her dream, at least she was sure she was dreaming, she was home. The rooms she now occupied were clear and glistening, made from the purest sea ice. But they were empty, save for the gentle cracking and groaning that came from all the ice.

Taking a few steps, Katara could hear the faint sounds of voices, but they were coming from rooms much further away than the ones she could see around her. Still, she turned, trying to place what direction the voices were coming from. When she turned a full circle, she found a table suddenly in front of her. The table was round and made of ice. On it sat an ice vase which held a bright explosion of striped orange flowers.

At the base was a small card.

"Congratulations," the card read. "I wish I could be there, but I would surely melt."

Katara looked back at the flowers. The vase was sweating and seemed to start sinking in on itself. With a sudden snap, the vase cracked around the middle and water rushed over the table. Where the flowers landed, the surface of the table began to sag under the petals.

Katara woke up and was disoriented. As amazing as her rooms were, there wasn't a window, so she was unable to figure out how long she had slept. With a dry mouth and a fluff filled head, Katara flung back the blankets she had somehow climbed under and put a foot on the rug. She must have also taken off her socks in her sleep as well.

Putting her other foot down, Katara pushed them up and down the rug, feeling the soft bristles bend under her rough skin.

Slowly, she became aware of movement coming from the sitting room. She raised herself and padded over to the tapestry, flicking it back a little to peer into the next room. A servant, dressed in red and black, was kneeling at the low table arranging flowers in a tall vase. Katara felt herself relax and she stepped out into the room. The servant, an older woman, stood and bowed, but didn't face her.

"Good evening Lady Katara. My name is Chang and I am to attend you during your visit."

"Thank you Chang." Katara said as she let the tapestry fall behind her. Chang stood upright and now turned to her. Her eyes shone a brilliant green and Katara was taken aback. Chang laughed at her expression

"My family is from Kyoshi, but I moved to Yue when I was a child. I met my husband there." Katara rolled her eyes but smiled all the same.

"Let me guess, he's a Firebender?"

"No." Chang moved around the couches and stood by the door that lead out into the hall. "But our son is."

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Chang." Katara said and walked over to the woman.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well Lady Katara. Now, the Fire Lord has requested a visit from you after you woke up. Do you have time?"

"I did come here to see him."

"Then I will escort you. If you would." Chang took a hand from the sleeves of her robe and gestured downward. Katara looked and found a pair of slippers. She slipped into them and Chang opened the door, standing to the side to let Katara through.

"So what brought you to the capital?" Katara asked as they both began to walk down the hall.

"My husband was the valet to the governor for a city in the Yue province. After it was nationalized, the good Governor chose to return to the Fire Nation and he asked my husband to go with him. We did, and I got a job serving in the Palace."

"I'm surprised they hired someone from the Earth Kingdom. No offense."

"None taken. And really, I think there were many who didn't want me around. But the Fire Lord made it a point to hire people from the other territories. Luckily, I'm only a servant and a non-bender."

"Apologies Chang, but I've been to Kyoshi. There isn't a woman from there who is 'only' anything."

"Ah, Lady Katara, I can assure you that I do not understand what you are trying to imply." Chang kept her hands hidden in the wide sleeves of her robe and her footsteps were quick and silent.

Katara didn't press the issue.

They moved very quickly through the halls, but took various turns that Katara soon found, as she often did, that she couldn't remember how she had gotten to where she was. They had passed by a few openings and she could see the setting sun over the tops of the high walls that surrounded these small enclosed gardens.

They stopped at a door and Chang knocked firmly.

"Come in." A familiar voice called out. Chang opened the door and let Katara step into the room.

Zuko sat behind a large desk that was covered in paper and scrolls. He had his hair pulled back tightly from his face and was writing with a thin charcoal pencil. He didn't look up as she entered and Katara turned to look at Chang. The older woman shrugged and shut the door, leaving the two of them alone.

"Zuko?"

"Just a second." His brow was furrowed and it drew lines around his eye that matched his scarred patch.

She had offered, a second time, to heal the scar. Or at least try to. But he had rejected the offer, stating that it was a brand, one that he now chose to embrace.

Katara sat down on one of the chairs that formed a half circle facing the desk and looked around the room, idly.

The room was almost bare of personal touches. A few scrolls with beautiful calligraphy were hung at random intervals. A wooden clock ticked from the wall behind Zuko.

"I'm really sorry Katara. I just needed to finish that before I started speaking with you. Or else it would never have gotten done." Katara brought her attention back to her friend.

"Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all. I was procrastinating before I got your letter."

"I appreciate you letting me just, fly in here." Zuko shrugged and leaned back in his own chair.

"It's not entirely altruistic. With Uncle being gone, I'm usually pretty solitary. It's nice to have company."

"How have you been Zuko?"

"Can I be honest?" Katara was startled into sitting up straighter.

"Of course. I would hope you always are." She said. Zuko nodded, but didn't immediately reply. Instead, he stood up and walked over to one window in the study, the one furthest from where she sat.

"The reason why Mai left me…" Zuko trailed off as he gazed out of the window.

"You don't need to-" He cut her off.

"It's because I keep visiting my father." Katara snapped her mouth shut and stayed silent. From where she sat, as far away as Zuko was, she could see how tense he had become.

"That's not unexpected Zuko." She said. He brought his hands together behind his back and she watched as he squeezed his wrist.

"I've been asking him for advice. For direction. But he just keeps saying that I'm ruining his country."

"That's probably why Mei thinks you shouldn't visit him."

"She thinks." Zuko abruptly stopped again. This time, Katara sat silent with him. She could feel his pulse thudding madly in his body. It strummed the air in the room and she could feel it in her fingertips.

"She thinks I should execute him. For being a traitor." He finally said.

"Zuko." Katara found herself standing and reaching out to him. She pulled her hand back and bit her lip.

"He is a traitor Katara." Katara walked over to him but stopped a few steps before reaching him.

"What does your uncle think?"

"He is letting me make my own decision. My, father, he thinks I should do it. He says it will show the people I am strong."

"You remember the man who killed my mother." Zuko shuddered and slumped over, putting his hands on the window frame to brace himself.

"He's my father Katara." Katara put her hand out hesitantly, but let it land on the rounded bump of his spine.

"Zuko. I forgive you." Still slumped over, Zuko turned his head to gaze at her. She stood on his right side and so saw the smoothness of the right side of his face. But his eyes, the golden iris was sharp.

"For what." He said evenly.

"For not killing your father." He stared at her for a minute before hanging his head down again.

"He's a monster."

"No, he's your father." Zuko nodded and stood up, so Katara let her hand fall limply to her side.

"Thank you Katara." His voice was husky and, though he wasn't looking at her, she nodded.

"My father wants me to take over the chiefdom and Aang is mad I won't get pregnant right away." Katara said and crossed her arms over her chest. Just as Zuko faced her, she looked out the window. She could feel him studying her face, looking for a sign, a hint, for how he should respond. Katara kept looking out the window.

"Well, let me know when the ceremony is." He said finally. Katara faced him, looking bewildered.

"What, would you go?"

"Of course. Though you know I'd freeze."

"Oh, you survived The Cooler."

"You could say I'm too hot blooded to freeze." Katara groaned as Zuko laughed.

"May the tide take me, did Sokka infect you all with the awful urge to use puns?"

"Are you hungry?" He ignored her annoyance and Katara huffed out a sharp breath.

"I could eat." She said.

"Let's eat in one of the gardens. I want to show you something." Zuko strode over to the door, looking like he hadn't just come close to an emotional breakdown. She wondered just how much he was keeping lose to his chest.

As he opened the door, Chang stood in front of them and bowed.

"We'll be taking dinner in the plumrose garden." Zuko said.

"Of course Fire Lord." Chang straightened herself but did not leave. Instead, Zuko walked past her and Katara followed. Chang followed a discreet distance behind them, and Katara only cast back one questioning glance before turning to Zuko.

"Is Mei, coming back?"

"No." Zuko said coolly. Katara felt a wave of shame wash over her and she turned away.

"I'm sorry Zuko."

"Don't be. I fell in love with her when I was a different person. She thought I was the same, and I so desperately wanted to be, that I went along with it. I wasn't honest with her." He sighed and shook his head. "I wasn't honest with myself."

"That's always the hardest thing to do in my mind."

"Ah, here we are." Zuko slipped out of his slippers at the open door that lead onto an uncovered porch. Katara followed suit and they stepped into sandals that were placed out. Zuko held out his arm again and she took it before he led her to the edge. He jumped down to the grass and turned back to her.

"I can-" Katara started but suddenly his hands were on her waist and he pulled her down. She broke away from him and scowled. "I could get myself down." She snapped. Zuko gave her a small smile.

"It's not about your capability, only that you didn't have to get down on your own." Katara sniffed and Zuko walked over to a rather short and squat tree. As it was only the beginning of winter, the thick, stretched out branches still had a few brown leaves clinging to them.

"Trust me, this is much more impressive in the summer when it blooms." He said as he sat down on a thick quilt that had been laid out on the grass next to the tree.

"I'll have to take your word for it." She replied and sat down next to him.

"This just has the best view of the gardens for watching the sun rise."

"Hate to break it to you Zuko, but that's hours away."

"The moon also rises in the east Katara." Katara bit back a remark as two servants entered the garden carrying two lacquered boxes. They set them down before the pair and bowed before backing out of the garden. Katara turned and found Chang standing on the porch.

"She moves in mysterious ways. I stopped asking questions."

Katara turned back and watched as Zuko slid the lid off his box. He flipped it over and took out a pair of slender chopsticks from a thin niche.

"These are clever." She said and opened her own box.

"Sokka designed them. I needed a way to pack meals for travel."

"Of course he did." Katara said lightly and took her own chopsticks in hand. The meal was simple; cold rice topped with slices of fish. A small mound of some kind of relish sat next to it.

"They'll bring out tea in a minute." Zuko said before putting food into his mouth.

"So why are we watching the moon rise?" Katara asked as she brought a mouthful up. While he chewed, Zuko pointed with the chopsticks. With her mouth open, food almost at her lips, Katara turned to the sky and stopped.

The moon loomed over the wall. It was massive and glowed with a bright light. She could see in almost clear detail the shadows that marred the face of the white orb. With her mouth still agape, Katara lowered her hand.

"You're beautiful." Katara felt spikes run through her body and she turned sharply to Zuko. He sat, looking up at the moon.

"What?" She choked on the words. Zuko turned to her, his face blank.

"I said it's beautiful. I'm surprised you forgot the Akna Moon was tonight." He continued to eat as Katara's thoughts twisted around in knots.

"How do you know about the Akna Moon?"

"Because I know you and this is important to you. This is probably the reason why you're feeling out of sorts. I bet your bending has gotten out of hand recently too." He said. Katara, remembering what happened when she tried to saddle Dawa, coughed and hastily began to eat.

"I was looking forward to it. But I got distracted." She muttered between bites.

"Was it a bad fight?" Zuko asked idly.

"Can we not talk about it? I feel like I've been stuck in an emotional riptide since yesterday."

"That's fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"How do you handle being a leader?"

"Yeah, that's definitely an easier conversation."

"Sorry. I'm just worried about this thing with the tribe. I never expected to be a leader, and especially not being allied with the Northern Water Tribe."

"Well, how about you tell me what you're afraid of and I'll try to work with that." Katara sighed and tapped the chopsticks against the edge of the box.

"The Water Tribes are both extremely patriarchal. I'll be the first woman to take any sort of leadership position, I'm worried I won't be taken seriously."

"That's a legitimate concern. I was worried that my council would actively try to work against me in light of open rebellion against my country."

"So what do I do?"

"You be the legitimate leader. If you show any sort of wavering in your confidence, that can be used against you."

"I'm worried that the only reason why the Northern Water Tribe is even thinking of allowing me to be my father's heir is because they figure I'll marry the prince."

"But you're with Aang." Katara stopped tapping the box and lowered her head.

"Right."

"Katara." Katara up into Zuko's face. "You're a different person now." She nodded, sighed, and resumed eating.

"Anyway, you're allowed to change the rules. That's part of being the legitimate leader."

"So you're saying I shouldn't worry?"

"Oh, definitely worry. Just not about that. Whenever you're at the Northern Water Tribe you should probably always be on high alert. At home, you'll just have to handle all the day to day drudgery."

"Wow, that sounds so thrilling." Katara muttered.

"Then why are you doing it?"

"Because this is my chance to do something good for my people. To raise up the women of my tribe. To improve our standing in the rest of the world."

"Then focus on that. It'll sustain you."

"What sustains you?"

"You do." The spikes again.

"Excuse me?"

"All of you. My friends. You all make me think I can achieve these amazing things. Like I can be something better than what I am."

"Zuko, you already are amazing." Zuko raised his eyebrow and Katara sputtered. "I mean, you know. You always talk about yourself like, like you're something bad. You're not. You're one of us." Zuko smiled and put his box down before leaning against the tree trunk.

"Thank you for that Katara. You're the only one that can get me to begin to believe that." Zuko turned to look back up at the moon. Katara put her box down and leaned on one hand to look up as well.

"How long did you want to stay?" He asked.

"My ship arrives at the end of the month."

"Sounds good to me." Katara looked down at him. The moonlight bathed him in bright, cool light and glinted in his gold eyes.

She hadn't said she would stay that long.

The tea was brought out, with one cup being offered to the silent Chang who now sat on a cushion on the porch. Other small dishes followed, a few that were served cold but burned Katara's mouth.

The two of them talked, jumping from various topics but skirting around the present issues. As the moon reached its zenith, dainty plates of desserts appeared, as well as crystal glasses filled with fire wine. As they ate and drank, the stories became more casual and humorous. Zuko relayed one instance where he had been sick and, feeling the need to maintain his duties, had gone to an advisory council meeting with a raging fever. With the traditional fire screen going, the heat overcame him and he fainted. It was only due to his uncle's watchful eye that he managed not to fall forward into the fire.

Katara told him about the night she had spent with Toph, and the statues that they had erected. Zuko fell over with laughter and Katara turned to look behind her. Chang was gone, though her cushion was left in its place on the porch.

"I am so glad you're here Katara." She turned back and saw Zuko lying on his back, one arm behind his head, and he was looking at her.

"I'm glad I'm here too." She said and took a drink from her crystal glass. It had been constantly refilled through the night and she couldn't fathom how many bottles they had finished.

"I've missed you." Katara felt the tips of her fingers chill and her heart leapt up into her throat.

"It has been awhile since we were all last together." She said and shivered involuntarily. Zuko sat up.

"Are you cold?"

"A little." Why couldn't she look at him?

"Come here." Katara glanced up and found that Zuko had once again reclined against the tree trunk. He held his arm out and Katara moved into him, resting against his side. His arm went around her shoulders and again, she could feel the warmth of him. It was light but constant, like the warmth of the afternoon sun.

She couldn't tell if the pounding she felt was his heartbeat, or her own.

"Katara." She looked up into his face and clenched her jaw, so that it wouldn't clatter. "Can I kiss you?" She could smell the traces of fire wine on his breath, sweetening the words. She could taste it in her own mouth.

"Yes." She said and his lips were on hers.

With her eyes closed, her head swam. She could feel her pulse, definitely hers, throb in her throat. She put her cold hands to Zuko's chest and he wrapped his other arm around her.

She tried to think, but every time her mind started to settle on anything coherent, Zuko shifted or moved his hand to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him, and suddenly she was just floating in the sensation of her body.

She shuddered against him and Zuko pulled away, but only slightly.

"Is this okay?" He whispered.

"I don't know." She gasped and he lightly pressed his lips against the side of her neck. His hands were warm and did not shake.

"I'll stop." He said and relaxed his hold on her just enough for her to move away. Instead, she put her head on his chest and let him embrace her. She shivered still, but it was subsiding. "Katara." He murmured into her hair and she closed her eyes again. She couldn't remember opening them.

"It was the wine." She said firmly.

"No, it wasn't. I'll play that game with anyone else, but not you Katara."

"Zuko, we can't…" She opened her eyes again, but looked out into the garden.

"I know there are plenty of reasons why we shouldn't. But I just want you to understand. This isn't because I'm drunk, or that I miss Mai, or that I'm lonely. This can be the only time something like this happens, but I want you to completely understand that it was intentional."

"Why?" She felt like the only real warmth in her body was lingering in her lips, echoing where he had held her tightly.

"Because it's you Katara."

"How can you say that like it's so simple?"

"Because it is that simple." She looked back up at him and felt smaller spikes pierce through her as he returned her gaze.

A cough startled them. Katara whipped her head over to see Chang standing on the porch. Zuko didn't move, only turned to look over her head at the woman.

"You have an early meeting Fire Lord." She said.

"Thank you Chang." Zuko stood in a fluid motion, bringing Katara to her feet. He held her hands as he stood in front of her. "Come with me?" Katara blinked rapidly and shook her head.

"I can't. Not right after…" She couldn't finish the thought and Zuko nodded.

"I understand." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, softly. He let go of one of her hands and escorted her over to the porch. He handed her off to Chang.

"Get her to bed. I'll stay out here for a few moments longer." He said as Chang helped Katara up.

"Of course Fire Lord." Chang said.

"Thank you Chang. And good night Katara." Zuko said as Katara put her feet back into her slippers. She braced herself against the frame of the opening and looked at him.

"Good night Zuko." She said and he smiled at her. Chang stood beside her and glanced askance at her.

"Come along Lady Katara." Katara staggered after Chang but managed to regain her composure after a few steps.

"Are you going to tell me that was a bad idea?" Katara asked after they had turned a corner.

"I would never think to chastise a lady of your station. I would just recommend discretion, for the Fire Lord's sake if not for your own." Chang glided next to Katara. "I can tell you with the utmost confidence that this court is not fond of inter-bending relationships."

"You said your husband used to be the governor's valet. What does he do now?" Katara asked as they approached her rooms.

"He is the valet to General Iroh." Chang answered primly.

"You're not only a lady-in-waiting are you?" The two women stopped and Chang opened the door to the sitting room.

"Discretion, Lady Katara. I implore you." Katara stayed silent and walked into the room. When the door shut, Katara turned and found herself alone. She took a breath and released it before walking to her bedroom. Off to the left of the room was another covered doorway. Beyond it was a small wash room. Katara sat at the small vanity and poured herself a cup of water.

As she brought the cup to her lips, she thought of Zuko. She drank deeply.