After dinner, Katara suggested that Suki join her in the fields. Due to the severity of the damage done to the soil, the groundskeepers worked in three shifts throughout the day, every day. It involved hauling water and soil and dispersing both over the large acreage of the palace grounds.

When the pair walked out to the grounds, the sun was setting and the air was cooling rapidly. In these more temperate areas, Katara often forgot that it was even winter. As it was, she didn't think she'd consider this weather to be anything similar to what she remembered as winter.

"How long has it been like this?" Suki asked offhandedly. With her boot, she scuffed at the earth and uncovered a clump of melted rock and ash.

"Generations. Zuko is really insisting on restoring it." They walked to a cart loaded with burlap sacks. A weathered man standing in the bed of the cart handed one down to Suki, who wrinkled her nose at the smell.

"Bone meal and turkin manure. It's good for the plants." The man shrugged but they all managed a chuckle before setting off. Katara worked on the water brigade, helping to bring water from one of the underground sewers and dispersing it over a distance of field.

It was tiring work, and soon Katara's arms started to shake, her back moving from a muted ache to a twisting spasm.

When she had approached them earlier in the day, the workers had been extremely reluctant to have her assist. On one hand, it could be assumed that they did not want to be seen calling on a foreign representative to help, while on the other Katara believed there was too much Fire Nation pride.

Or the sort of pride that is tied too closely to guilt.

However, as Katara worked hard, and the others found their loads made lighter with her bending, they started to ease around her. Katara heard gossip about Zuko and Mai, about the Avatar, and about the glitz and glamor of Republic City. Katara hadn't wanted to tarnish their dreams about the place, so she kept quiet about the dusty roads and foul smelling gutters.

Now, with Suki with her, the workers seemed to relax even more.

They approached Katara with a sharp smelling liniment that someone worked into her upper back. It made her skin tingle but soon she felt more relief. They cautioned her about overtaxing herself.

Suki moved like a plow horse, slowly trudging down a prescribed row with the burlap sack thrown over her shoulder. Someone had split the end open and dirt spilled down in a rich dark line. Others followed behind with rakes to spread the soil and manure mixture. People with sacks worked almost shoulder to shoulder and Katara often found Suki laughing or singing with the other people in her line.

They worked until the moon had reached its zenith, then the next shift was scheduled to come in. Torches were being lit and carried to checkpoints on the field. Katara and Suki sat back with the evening team and drank water from leather bags. The air had taken on a distinct chill and the sweat on their skin made them shiver, but the water still held the body heat from being carried all day.

"How expensive is this operation?" Suki asked idly as she handed the bag of water to someone else.

"Not as bad as you would think." An older woman replied.

"There are a few families, usually ones who struck it rich in the colonies, who help pay for this." Another voice added.

"And the labor is dirt cheap." Laughter rippled among the shadowed crowd and Katara looked askance at Suki.

"We're paid about a quarter of a day's wage." The old woman clarified and Katara looked shocked.

"That's basically enslavement!" She said and laughter rang out again.

"You have to understand Lady, if this were still the days of Fire Lord Ozai, most of us would be in prison."

"What." With zero comprehension, Katara couldn't even form the confusion to make that word a question.

"I was to serve six months in prison for selling merchandise without a license." The old woman replied.

"I burned down my neighbor's barn and was going to serve eighteen months." A man's voice said.

"His barn?" Another voice chimed in.

"His son promised to elope with my daughter, but ran off with her dowry and virginity instead." The first man answered.

"Okay then." The other man said.

"I mugged someone for a handful of copper pieces and got three years! You burned a barn and got eighteen months?" A third voice yelled.

"Wait, so you're all, criminals?" Suki asked.

"Some of us are volunteers." The old woman said and took a drink from the leather bag. "But most of us are working in the hard labor force as credit for serving time."

"And we wouldn't be making any money at all if we were locked up." The barn burner said.

"And we get to go home after work." The mugger added.

"You mugged someone and you get to go home?" Suki asked, incredulous. The man shrugged.

"I didn't have a weapon."

After they had cooled off a bit, Katara did notice that a tall woman who had been working at the carts made it to their group with a clipboard. She called out and checked off names, depositing a small amount of coins to the outstretched hands. That was their on-site work officer.

"Lady Katara, Lady Suki, would you like an escort back to the palace?" The officer asked as another laborer shuffled away.

"No thank you. I'm sure Chang is around here somewhere." Katara replied. The pair waved their goodbyes and started along the path toward the palace. Within a few paces, a lantern melted out of the shadows and Chang was indeed leading the way.

"Did you have a nice evening ladies?" Chang asked.

"It was certainly something." Suki said and shook her head. "I didn't realize Zuko had gotten into the habit of hiring criminals." She caught Katara's look and held up her hands. "I'm not judging!"

"You're judging a little."

"I'm judging a little, yes."

"It was a smart plan. It costs more to house criminals than to pay them less than a day's wage for a day's worth of work and it helps more people. Right now, the rule is only non violent offenders get to volunteer for hard labor so we haven't had any issues." Chang explained.

"What," Suki interjected. "Zuko plans to let murderers work off their sentencing?"

"If a woman murders her abusive husband, she has committed a crime. This exchange of work for time served is a way to deal with the more, morally gray situations that arise."

"And we all know Zuko prefers shades of gray." Suki pulled a face and Katara laughed.

Chang brought them back into the palace proper and they all walked into the guest wing together. Katara bid the other two women goodnight and stepped into her room.

It was pitch black in the room, but Katara could still sense a body. Her hand went to her waterbag at her side, just as the figure began to loom taller.

"I looked for you." Katara's hands hesitantly moved away from the bag.

"Zuko?"

"Where were you?" His voice was pained, but Katara still bristled from what seemed like an accusation.

"I was out working on the palace grounds with Suki." She paused and when he didn't respond, she went on. "Are you okay?"

"No." She went to him, and easily found the outline of him in the dark.

"Was it very bad?" Her arms went around his neck and he pressed his lips to hers.

"I don't know how long I can keep on like this." His hands were moving under her shirt, trying to shrug it up.

"I stink Zuko."

"I need you Katara."

"And I need a shower." He swung her up into his arms and strode quickly back toward her bedroom. Meandering through the small rooms, he put her down in the bathing room, all in the dark. They each undressed without a word, and Zuko pulled the chain to get the water flowing. Katara stood in front of him and he grabbed a soap bar from the basket. He lathered the bar in his hands and dropped it back with the others before gesturing for her. When she stepped closer, Zuko put his fingers in her hair and started massaging her scalp. Between the warm water and his fingers, Katara relaxed and slouched a little, resting her forehead against his chest.

She closed her eyes and listened to the patter of water hitting the tiled floor. Zuko's hands moved from her scalp and ran out the length of her hair. He coiled it and rubbed the soap into bulk of it. When he finished with that, she felt him let go and her hair hit her back. After a pause, his hands were on her again, rubbing in circles over her shoulders and down her back. Coming back up, he rocked his knuckles into her flesh and she sighed.

"Why are you working so hard on a home that isn't yours?" He asked. She turned her face so that her cheek was pressed against him and she shrugged.

"It's important to you and you're important to me." She replied. Zuko put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed so that she stood. Moving back into the water, Katara started to rinse off.

"Am I?" He asked, and Katara felt a twinge. Rubbing her eyes, she stepped out of the stream and looked at him.

"Of course. Why?"

"I…" Zuko stopped, looked away, and quickly looked back. "It's hard to feel important sometimes."

"Well, you are very important to me." She went to him and kissed him. With their bodies pressed together, she felt him stir against her and she smiled.

"I've had my shower now." She murmured.

Katara thought he would have taken her there, still in the stream of water. One of his hands holding up one of her legs, the other bracing himself against the wall. Instead he moved her out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He gently patted her dry, himself steaming to get rid of the moisture. He then carried her back to her bed and laid her down, moving over her as he did.

He bedded her, very gently, as if he could go no faster without hurting her.

They fell asleep after, but Katara found herself restless and waking. She figured she must have only been asleep for a few hours, as Zuko was still lying in her bed when she woke up. At her waking, Katara noticed that she was fully awake, with only the fuzziest of edges that told her she could still easily return to sleep, but only if she did it immediately.

Instead, she found her robe and went out into the sitting room. At some point, someone had come in a lit the various candles and lanterns in the room. On the table there was an envelope.

Katara picked up the envelope and sat down on the small couch. She recognized the handwriting on the front, yet she felt that dry disconnect of being awake at an hour when all else was sleeping. She could no more get angry about the letter than the letter could get at her.

My Beloved Katara,

I am sorry for our fight. I understand that it was probably why you and Toph pulled that prank, and why you have gone to see Zuko. I have had some time to think it over and I realized that wanting to feel right doesn't make up for the sadness of not seeing you. Especially since I know you have to return to the South Pole soon.

I heard that your brother and Suki are also visiting, so I thought it would be a good time for all of us to have a reunion. I think it will be nice! Though I'm not certain I could either find Toph or convince her to join me, it's not like we can ever get all of us together at one place anyway.

I miss you Katara, and my days have been empty without you here. I've sent the bird, since I knew it would get there fastest, and I should be arriving at the palace within a day or two of you receiving it.

I love you.

Yours,

Aang

Katara refolded the note and put it back in the envelope. She then placed the envelope back on the table and looked down at it.

"Katara?" She turned and saw Zuko walking into the room. He was naked still and seemed to not care.

"Did I wake you?" He put his hand on her shoulder and she kissed it before placing her hand on top.

"No. I just notice when you're gone." He moved around the couch to sit next to her, sliding his hand past her neck and she moved into his embrace.

"Aang is coming."

"Should we wait for him?"

"Wait for him?"

"Right. I was going to tell you." Katara looked up at him and Zuko smoothed some hair back from her face. "I found letters my father intercepted from my mother. I think she went back to Hira'a. I'm going there in the morning." Katara reared back and pulled a face.

"When were you going to tell me?" She asked.

"Before you seduced me." He said and kissed her between her eyes.

"Excuse me," Katara said and pushed his chest. "You seduced me mister."

"If I remember correctly, you lured me into the shower."

"Only after you tried to take me here in the entrance room!"

"I do believe I was only kissing you." Zuko said and pulled her back to him. "Which I am inclined to do again." He kissed her and she, laughing, pushed him away again.

"Seriously Zuko, you're leaving?" He sighed and pulled her back.

"Maybe. I want you to come with me." He said and started kissing her neck.

"Me? Why me?" He was now undoing the loose knot of her belt.

"Well, I need Sokka and Suki to help contain my sister. But I want you there when I go to find my mother." His hands passed over her stomach and Katara shivered.

"Again, why?"

"Because I love you Katara and I want you there to make sure I don't lose my head." He slipped the robe down off her shoulders and he kissed her collarbone.

"Zuko, this is not the way to have this kind of conversation."

"I am the Fire Lord. I have to be able to multi-task." He said and cupped one breast while his mouth went to the other.

"WELL I CANNOT PARSE OUT THESE EMOTIONS ZUKO."

"Fine, we'll prioritize. Sex first, conversation later." He pushed on her with his body and they fell back onto the couch.

"How do you even want me this much?" Zuko's other hand had gone to her thigh and her muscle tensed as he squeezed.

"I love you and every time I think about the fact that you'll have to leave me soon, I can either get sad or bed you."

"Is that what you were thinking about?"

"Actually, I was thinking about Aang coming back and I got jealous." He gently bit her nipple and Katara gasped. Her back arched and Zuko's hand moved from her thigh to her backside.

"I don't belong to him." She said and Zuko raised his head to look at her.

"I was more insinuating that we belong to you Master Katara." Katara gaped at him and then glared.

"That is ridiculous."

"Look, if you're not going to listen to me," Zuko shifted up and started moving away from her. "I'm just not going to talk to you anymore." He lowered himself down between her legs and she laughed.

"Zuko-"

"Nope! I'm done with those lips." Then, with his lips, his tongue, he kissed her.

The couch, being as short as it was, didn't last long as their chosen spot, and they once again moved back into Katara's bedroom. This coupling was briefer, though Zuko seemed more at ease and they laughed together as they wound through the sheets, and they fell asleep once again.

When she woke up again, Zuko was gone. Feeling a little sore, Katara moved slowly out of the bed. She dressed and went out to find a breakfast tray in the sitting room. It sat on top of the envelope.

She pulled it out and looked at it as she ate, though she did not read the missive again.

When she thought about Aang, there was no longer a pain in her chest. She couldn't tell if Zuko had made it easier to move through the wreckage of that relationship, or if he was only distracting her from it. Surely, when she either saw Aang again or was alone back in the North Pole, she would come to face the reality of it.

She knew that she did not want to see Aang again. Not right now. She didn't want to have to take that relationship and try to fit it next to what she had with Zuko. There was no definition to her feelings for Zuko, no established boundaries. Since she wasn't even thinking about the fact that this was temporary, she hadn't wanted to try to pin anything down.

But Zuko, in all his doom and gloom, he was thinking about the end. He was thinking about the day that Katara would board her ship for the North Pole.

They could write to each other, as they always had through their friendship. But would these feelings die over the distance? So much of what they had was tied up in their physical intimacy.

And everything about Aang was tied up in the lack of it.

Would he be able to notice? Would he be able to tell that she was no longer a virgin? Aang was, in theory, though Katara had her suspicions. But there had never been a moment when she had looked at him and noted that there was a change about him. Perhaps Katara hadn't been marked by the times she had been with Zuko.

Katara shook her head and bit into piece of toast.

She wanted to go to Hira'a. She didn't think it was likely that his mother would be there, it just didn't make sense. Zuko had told her years ago that she had been exiled after poisoning his grandfather at the demand of his father, in order to keep him from killing Zuko. To go back to her home town would have been too obvious and Katara didn't believe for a second that Ozai had intended to let his wife live.

But perhaps being there, and seeing a part of his heritage that he was always kept from, might be good for him. And Katara wanted to be there. She wanted to support him and to experience it with him.

Especially if Katara was both right and wrong, and Zuko might find where his mother was buried.

Touching her necklace, Katara thought about her mother. When she had come to accept her mother's death, the void she felt in her left started to heal over. There was still a scar and something was missing, but it no longer haunted her in the same ways. It was just a moment that starkly defined part of her character. It was a memory that she had handled so often that it had lost its edge.

Once Zuko found out what had happened to his mother, perhaps the void his family had created in him would finally begin to heal over. Another scar for him to carry.

Her hand moved down to her abdomen and she looked at the envelope.

Zuko carried many scars. She really needed to be there for him.

Once she left her room, Katara found Chang waiting for her.

"Everyone has met in the courtyard." Chang said and Katara nodded.

"Has it been decided then?" She asked as they started down the hall.

"They are only waiting on your arrival." Chang replied and Katara chuckled.

"So Sokka and Suki are coming?"

"They have been tasked with keeping the Fire Lord's sister contained." Chang paused and looked over at Katara. "I am coming as well."

"Aren't you waiting for your husband to get back?"

"He can wait for me. My duty is to be at your service."

"Aw Chang. Thank you." The made it out to the courtyard that Katara had landed in weeks ago. Sokka and Suki stood chatting with Zuko, while Azula stood a few paces to the side, shackled at both her wrists and ankles. Her head was lowered and she seemed not to be aware of her surroundings.

"Katara!" Sokka waved and Katara sped up as she got closer. "Ready to go on a trip?" Suki elbowed him and he grinned.

"This isn't a vacation Sokka." She said, but had a smile of her own.

"Katara." She turned and looked at Zuko. He looked tired. "Do you think Dawa would be able to make the trip?" Katara thought and shrugged one shoulder.

"How far is Hira'a?"

"Only a few hours by sky bison." Katara thought more and nodded.

"There is a chance she'll need a break but I think she can manage that trip with six people."

"Six?" Zuko asked and looked genuinely confused. Chang approached and bowed, her hands hidden in her sleeves.

"I will be attending to the Lady Katara like normal." Zuko looked at her and sighed.

"Would you mind alerting the stablehand that we'll be needing Dawa out here and saddled?"

"Right away my Lord." She bowed again and stepped away.

"That woman doesn't let you get away with anything does she?" Sokka asked and Suki scoffed.

"You have no idea." Zuko said and glanced over his shoulder at Chang's retreating figure. "When Uncle is around, the two of them feed off of each other and I get more life lessons that is possible to fit in one lifetime." Katara smiled and briefly put her hand to Zuko's arm.

"What is her family like?"

"Her husband is great. He'll be the one to find me when Uncle and Chang have chased me off and bring me sun brandy. The man is a genuine saint. I haven't interacted much with her son, but I've heard that he is a very talented Firebender and an honorable son of the Fire Nation."

"Found yourself a replacement family there Zuzu?" Zuko closed his eyes as he let out a breath before turning back to the group.

"So the catatonic princess awakens. Have you got anything meaningful to say Azula?" Azula had raised her head and met Zuko's stare but said nothing. "Then stay quiet."

At his tone, Katara recoiled a little. Even seeing his temper flare was nothing like the razor sharp edge he took with Azula.

"Just so we're all on the same page," Sokka spoke up and they turned to him. "She can still firebend even chained up like that right?"

"Would you like to see?" Azula asked menacingly.

"Shut up Azula." Zuko said and addressed Sokka. "She can but she won't. She needs to get to Hira'a as much as I do. I doubt she'll cause more than a fuss till we actually get there."

"Great." Sokka dragged out the word and looked over at Suki.

"I could always break her hands and feet if it makes you feel better." Zuko said. The three stared at him and the Fire Lord's face was stern, so they didn't know if he was joking. "It's what the pins are for, in the shackles."

"What in the freezing depths is wrong with you people?" Sokka balked and Zuko laughed.

"Yeah, it's pretty barbaric. But considering how dangerous we are no matter where we are, some sort of precautions have to be taken." He said and Sokka shook his head.

"I am beginning to understand why Ty Lee and your girlfriend are the way they are." Sokka muttered and Zuko laughed harder.

"That is the kind of woman this city breeds." Zuko smiled and glanced over at Katara. She was standing to his left and the scar pulled his eye into a narrow glare. So despite the smile, she couldn't shake the feeling of something predatory.

Zuko did carry many scars.