Chapter four starts…NOW.
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, they belong to Bryke.
Day to Day
Katara watched the sunset from her window. She always felt better as the sun crawled beneath the hills of the Earth Kingdom. It meant that the moon would be rising soon and her feeling of dread that welled up inside her everyday would dissipate slightly. She dreaded many things, but the most important thing was the child growing inside of her.
It had been a month since the Festival. She had visited Toph shortly afterwards and now knew what she was carrying. It was a boy. A sweet boy and she wished that the name she had chosen could be his name. Sol. That's what she wanted and she knew it was appropriate, since it was the ancient Water Tribe word used for the sun. But Aang could not know. So she went along with his name and never let hers leave her mind. He wanted to name the boy Gyatso.
She had a feeling that none of this would end well at all. A sigh escaped her lips as she decided to sit outside on the bench in the panda lily garden she and Aang had in the backyard. For some reason, however, she did not like the flowers. They were red in color, and red made her heart yearn for a lover she could not have.
"Katara," Aang yelled from the house. Katara looked up in surprise; she had forgotten he was home. She sighed as she started to stand up from the bench. She did not feel like being inside today. But instead of her going inside, Aang came out and sat beside her.
He plucked a panda lily from the ground and handed it to her. "Here," he said, "they're supposed to be romantic."
She took the flower and smiled sadly, hoping he didn't catch the fact that she wished it was someone else who handed her the flower, "Thanks, Aang."
He smiled up at her, reminding her of the goofy kid she has released from the iceberg so long ago. She sighed. She was doing a lot of that lately.
"I talked to Sokka," Aang said.
"Oh?" Katara asked, not sounding even mildly interested.
Aang didn't catch the un-interest in her voice and continued with his story, "He said he was heading to the Fire Nation to do some negotiating with Zuko about shipments to the Southern Water Tribe."
"What is there to negotiate?" Katara asked.
Aang shrugged, "He said there really isn't anything. It's all just to keep up appearances at any rate."
Katara nodded her head. She knew Zuko would take care of the Water Tribe.
Unconsciously, she placed a hand on her abdomen. This did not go unnoticed by Aang. He too, placed a hand on her belly. He looked at her and she was sad to see his beaming face.
"Do you think he'll be a bender like his father?" Aang asked.
Katara looked away into the setting sun; she could not let him see the tears forming in her eyes, although he would mistake them for tears of joy over sadness.
"Yes," she finally said, "He will be."
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Zuko looked out at the moon as it rose to its full height. The moon brought him painful memories of Katara and the child she was carrying. He knew it was a boy and he knew what she had so desperately wanted to name it. Sol. He thought it was a perfect name for a firebender born of a waterbender. However, he did not want to think the boy would be like his father in any way.
He looked back at his desk. The paperwork that he should have been filling out for the past two hours lay on it, untouched. It was getting late, judging by the moon, and his should have been brother in law was coming to do "negotiations" in the morning, and Zuko should be ready for it.
He exited his office and found his way to his room. He was glad that he and Mai had been given separate rooms at his request. When asked, he would simply say that the Firelord, at this time, could not afford any distractions, lest his throne be challenged in any way. He got to his room, and stood in the doorway.
He looked around it. It was a red. Everything, was red. There was a Fire Nation symbol over his bed and the sheets were red with the symbol embroidered on it in gold. But amongst all the red was a single blue object. It wasn't a big object. It was Katara's latest letter. It contained the news of the baby boy. He had not written back yet.
Zuko closed his door when it immediately opened again. Mai stood in the doorway, her hair was, unnaturally out of its buns and she was in a robe of red silky fabric.
"What can I do for you, Mai?" Zuko asked.
Mai did not step further into the room, she stayed rooted to her spot when she said, "I want to talk to you about children."
Zuko's eyes popped, "Not now, Mai." He attempted to close the door gently, but Mai grabbed it with her hand and forced it open.
"I'm sick of being pushed aside, and I will not be ignored, Zuko," she said angrily and Zuko was saddened to see the tears that were beginning to lace her grey eyes.
He took his hand off the door and stepped aside, "Come in, then."
She took a seat on his bed and he grabbed a chair and sat across from her, "What do you need, Mai?"
She sighed, "The Fire Council," she said, "they want to know about plans for heirs. I've told them what you said, but that was a month ago, Zuko. They want to know that the line is secure."
Zuko cursed the Fire Council in his mind. How could they be doing this to him? After everything he had done for this accursed nation? After all the things he had given up? He had given up his own child for this damned nation and all they wanted to know was when he and Mai were going to reproduce?
"Tell them, now is not the time," he said.
"Then when is the time, Zuko?" Mai asked with unexplainable amounts of emotion in her voice. Zuko looked into her face to see the tears in her eyes. And that's when it hit him.
This whole arrangement was not only unfair to himself and Katara, but to Aang and Mai as well. It was obvious Mai loved him, and that hurt more than anything. He got off the chair and sat next to her.
"I don't know when," he said.
Mai cried into his shoulder, "It's her isn't it?"
Zuko held back his surprise, "What are you talking about?"
She stopped crying long enough to look into his eyes, "Katara, you love her, don't you?"
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Well there's my extremely shot chapter. Leave a review if you please!