A/N: I don't have a beta reader for this so if there are any errors, I apologize! Please let me know right away if you find any so I can fix them. Also, I can't stress enough how much I thrive on reviews! They're what keep me motivated, really. So if you want to see more of this, if you love it, if you hate it, if you have anything to say at all, please don't hesitate to let me know. That said, enjoy! :)

Summer Air

Chapter One

"Suki! Suki!"

"Let the woman sleep for once! Everyone knows you do enough for two people, Snoozles, and she really is two people."

"Hey, don't call my wife two people!"

Toph merely folded her arms. "Whatever. She's sleeping. Now what are you hollering about?"

"I can't find my boomerang. I wanted to show Katara. I carved it and—"

"Well, here, let me help you look," Toph said, with a sweet smile.

Sokka finally stopped running around frantically. "Oh, thanks, that would be— Hey! I mean it, Toph, if I lost that thing already—"

"Big old thing made of wood, right? With all kinds of weird squiggles and niches in it? I gave it to your kid to play with."

"What?!"

"He threw it at my head! So I told him he could keep playing with it if he took it out of my house. I've got some nice stuff in here, if you haven't noticed."

"You sent him outside?" Sokka's voice was almost breaking by this point.

"What's wrong with going outside? Are you going to say he can't get fresh air now? Wow, Snoozles, I didn't think you were that much of a stick in the mud."

"No, that's not what I meant— Ugh, you're just as bad as ever. We're in the Fire Nation if you haven't noticed and who knows what kind of people might be out there just waiting to kidnap some innocent kid!"

Toph merely wore a smirk. "The only people in my courtyard are my servants. But don't worry, I'll be sure to tell the cook that you'd prefer not to eat food prepared by a potential kidnapper from now on."

Sokka blanched. "Now I didn't mean that either! You're impossible! I'm telling Suki when she wakes up. And I expect you to buy me a brand new boomerang if anything happened to my old one!"

"Don't worry, nothing happened to it."

Both Sokka and Toph completely clammed up at that, the shadow in the doorway soon dragging a muddy but otherwise untouched Satoru behind her with the boomerang still clutched in one of his chubby hands. It only took a moment before the shock wore off and Sokka was on the move, snatching up his sister in a bear hug.

"Katara!" Even while he still had a deathgrip around his little sister he was hollering again, "Suki, Suki, wake up, she's here!" That was, until Toph kicked him in the shin.

With a grimace, Katara unwound her arm from her brother and drew Satoru closer by the little hand she was still holding. "So I found this little guy about ready to knock out some of your ostrich horses, Toph," she offered, trying to take some of the attention off of her. She'd never felt entirely comfortable when all eyes were on her –including Toph's blind ones.

Satoru simply hung his head.

"Agh, your mom is going to kill me when she hears about this!" Sokka seemed torn between burying his face in his hands and wrenching the boomerang from his son's grasp. Needless to say, after two years he was still perfecting the art of parenting.

"When I hear about what?" came Suki's sleepy voice, the young warrior and mother-to-be coming around the corner with her hands already massaging the arch of her back, highlighting her slightly burgeoning belly.

That was all Sokka needed to make a decision, snatching the boomerang from his son's hands and hiding it behind his own back. "Ah, nothing, honey. Look, Katara's here!" He even ruffled his son's hair for good measure, although with the way the boy ducked away from the attention there was more than likely a warning in the affection that he better not play with a boomerang again soon.

"Katara, it's so good to see you," Suki said, making her way over to give Katara as much of a hug as she could manage. "You look beautiful. Doesn't she, Sokka?"

Sokka had a look on his face that said nothing more than 'ew, that's my sister.'

"Thank you, Suki. You look lovely, too. How's your pregnancy been so far? Hopefully it's gone as smoothly as the last time."

Toph was the one who finally voiced her distaste. "What's with all the women talk right away? Besides, you're only just in time to get ready for the dinner tonight. I'm guessing you'll want to clean up, right? Unless you've changed your mind over the years about how a nice layer of dirt never hurt anybody."

"Dinner?" It was a unanimous question.

"Oh, didn't I say anything about it before? Yeah, we've been invited to some state dinner at the palace. No big deal."

"Toph!!" Again unanimous.

"Wow, Appa's hungry. He kind of ate all the fruit off that tree in your courtyard, Toph," Aang sheepishly announced as he waltzed in, quickly taking stock of the shocked and angered expressions around the room. "What'd I miss?"

It was just like old times as all hell broke loose.

There were some advantages to being a noble in not one but two kingdoms, Katara soon realized. Toph's closet was brimming with all the latest fashions – that she doubted the girl ever wore – and a tailor was perpetually at her beck and call. Thus, when Katara adamantly insisted on wearing something blue instead of the traditional, formal red worn by Fire Nation guests of honor, the thought of more money filling her pockets had the young seamstress all the more eager to create something extraordinary under otherwise impossible circumstances.

"Sure you don't want to, you know, blend in and stuff, Sweetness?" Toph asked, while stretching out on her bed and wrinkling the sage green silk of her own gown hideously. It had already been a shock to find the ambassador did in fact dress the part of her gender these days, not to mention, she was even taller than Katara.

"It's not like I'm looking for a disguise, Toph. The last time I was in the Fire Nation I had to wear red. This time I don't. Besides, you're wearing green."

"I'm blind. I won't notice all the people staring at me."

Katara dutifully lifted up an arm so the sleeve could get a few snips from the young woman still bustling about with her scissors and needle and thread. "Suki's wearing green."

"Everyone will be staring at her belly, not her clothes."

"These are educated people, Toph. It's not like they've never seen a pregnant woman or the color blue before."

Toph merely shrugged. "Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Hours later as they climbed the steps of the palace, Katara only wished she'd heeded the warning. While the nobles that passed them didn't stop and stare, they did take a good long look before turning to whisper amongst themselves. The only small consolation she had was that Aang and Toph had been there enough times to know where they were going, so they didn't look a bunch of ragtag misfits who also had no idea which direction the dinner hall was in. However, that quickly became a large consolation when she realized what a maze the palace was. For a brief moment, she had a pang of sympathy for everyone who had to work inside its walls.

"Do you think they'll have those Flaming Fire Flakes again this time?" Katara imagined she could almost hear Sokka drooling as he asked it.

"Again? You've been to dinner at the palace before?" she immediately asked, only to receive a sheepish nod from her brother and a slight smile from her sister-in-law. "Is that why I'm the only one feeling completely out of place here?"

"Well, Katara, you have spent a lot of time up north…" Aang, as always, was trying to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately, it simply turned her attention his direction, to see that he was even wearing Fire Nation garb.

"What, you're wearing red? Since when do you wear red?" Even after five years her temper could sometimes run away with her, though she did bite her tongue after that snippy second comment was spoken.

"Uh… Er…"

"Give it a rest, unless you want me to start calling you Fussy Britches again, Sweetness."

"Come on, Katara, it won't be too bad." Sokka wound an arm around her shoulders. "Just tell them you've been in hibernation or something. They might think it's some Water Tribe thing."

With a slight growl she shrugged him off, but as Toph instinctively led them to their seats, she was already feeling better. It was a state dinner. That meant plenty of guests, plenty of business to be conducted, and they were just a handful in a veritable sea of faces. They even had the luxury of sitting near the end of the table, away from the ornate chair she could only assume was Zuko's at its head. She certainly didn't envy him the attention, but he was used to it. She doubted they'd even get a chance to talk to him before the night was over.

For some reason, she felt relieved about that. It was a funny feeling, and she quickly dismissed it. If she was glad not to see Zuko it was simply because she had no idea how to act around the Fire Lord himself, especially in front of all the already curious gazes their way.

Eventually everyone had taken their seats at the long table, the guest list numbering at least two hundred by Katara's rough estimate. How anyone could keep track of anyone in such a crowd was a mystery to her. As if she wasn't uncomfortable already, the stiff formality of the whole affair had her even more on edge. There was an appropriate time to bow when Zuko stood from his seat, a way to nod, a way to hold the spoon to eat the soup, everything. She found herself silently cursing Gran Gran for getting her into the situation in the first place.

"Uh, Sis, if you're not going to eat that…" Her brother was already eyeing her plate from her left.

All Sokka got in reply was a glare. She scooped a huge forkful of whatever it was in front of her and shoveled it straight into her mouth—only to find it set her tongue on fire! "Ahhh!" she began to exclaim before she smacked a hand across her lips to keep herself silent.

"I think Sweetness got a mouthful of something other than sugar for once," Toph snickered from across the table.

It was all she could do not to fan her open mouth with one hand. "Water," she croaked, only to have a glass pushed her way courtesy of Aang. It wasn't water but as she gulped it down it had the desired effect, soothing her throat. "Why didn't any of you warn me?"

"It's not like this is your first time to the Fire Nation, remember?" Sokka received another glare.

"Sorry, Katara. It's really not so bad. Just, uh, take smaller bites from now on," Aang tried to offer sagely.

"I can't believe you do this all the time, Toph." Katara definitely had a new appreciation for the bravery of her young friend.

"You think this is bad? Just wait."

"Wait? Wait for what? What's going to happen now?"

But suddenly everyone was too hungry to talk anymore and they all avoided her gaze—except for Toph, who wore a smirk. It wasn't very long until she found out exactly what she was waiting for; dinner was hardly the bulk of the evening. No sooner had the dishes been cleared away than the buzz of conversation began. They were expected to socialize.

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara noticed Suki's hand on her brother's arm. As if on cue, Sokka cleared his throat for a quick, "Suki and I are headed back so she can get some rest."

All of her friends were rising from their seats and she followed suit, forcing herself not to lash out despite feeling suddenly abandoned by the only other ally she truly had: her brother. "I'll go with you," she said instead, alight with hope that the plan might work. "I mean, I can put Suki more at ease—"

The look on Sokka's face and the blush Suki wore stopped her short, however. Oh. Right. They weren't just going home to get some rest. Katara was soon wearing a blush to match.

"Nice try, Sugar Queen. Looks like you're stuck making nice with the locals. I'm sure they'd love to hear about the North Pole. I've got some stuff to do anyway."

"What? You're leaving, too?" Her last hope was Aang, who was already looking sufficiently apologetic. "Aang, don't tell me you have 'stuff to do' too."

"Well, I kind of promised Zuko I'd talk to one of the visiting dignitaries…"

"Sure, fine. All of you go. I can handle myself. I'm a grown woman now. I'll do fine. I'll see you back at the house later." If she didn't end up bending apart the whole palace in her frustration, that was.

Before they could protest she was already weaving her way through the crowd, belatedly regretting her choice of attire again. The blue of her gown caused heads to turn and while she wasn't entirely sure the attention was negative, attention at all wasn't what she was looking for. She wanted an escape. The maze of the palace had to have a map or something, right?

"Lady Katara, you're not leaving without even saying hello to an old friend, are you?"

Katara froze, but couldn't help the grin that suddenly stole across her mouth. "Iroh," she greeted as she turned to face him, extending her arms to give him the hug he deserved. "I thought you would be in Ba Sing Se serving that delicious tea of yours."

"And miss the solstice? The shop can run itself. And to be honest, I've heard it is my nephew who needs the holiday, and if I was not here to see that he takes one, who would?" The old man chuckled as he stepped back. Katara noticed that despite the addition of a few wrinkles here and there, Iroh seemed the same as ever. "You look so beautiful. I am glad to see you in blue."

She blushed. "I look completely out of place." Still, it was nice to get the compliment. Even she could recognize blue was a good color for her.

"Not out of place. Unique. You've grown over the years."

Now she could only blush again. Was Zuko's uncle trying to say she'd matured physically? Awkward.

"Thank you. I… Well, you look the same, actually."

He laughed at that and cast a glance behind him, probably on the lookout for any of her friends. Toph was wearing a smug smile as she spoke to some nobleman and his wife, while Aang was surrounded by a bunch of curious visitors who wore Earth Kingdom colors, and Sokka and Suki had already made their escape. "I see your friends have left you to the mercies of the court. Quite unfair of them." But before she could launch into just how unfair she truly thought it was, he was gently grasping her elbow to give her a nudge toward one of the scarlet drapes nearby."Through there I believe you'll find a lovely view of the courtyard from one of the balconies. Perhaps if you wish to avoid the crowd, you could enjoy the fresh air until I might have the privilege of escorting you back to Lady Bei Fong's residence?"

It was a lifeline. "Oh, thank you." She had to keep herself from running to the balcony and never looking back. "But I couldn't expect you to—"

"Nonsense. I would enjoy visiting your friends again over a nice cup of tea."

And that was the end of it, for he was already turning to play the cultured royal gentleman that he was to a nobleman who was currying for his attention, and he gave Katara a not-so-subtle hint with the nod of his head toward the balcony. It was something, at least, even if it meant she'd have to wait. She could do that as long as all the eyes weren't on her anymore.

Iroh was right. The view was lovely. She couldn't remember if she'd ever seen the courtyard before, but considering her haste to be out of the Fire Nation for good once the war was over, she doubted it. It was breathtaking at that hour, bathed in the last remnants of the sunset and with the evening fog already beginning to creep across the pond. It seemed as out of place in the middle of the palace as her blue gown did, but just as the old man had so wisely said, what was unique could definitely be beautiful in its own way.

The crowd was dwindling behind the drapes. As the moon began to shine she heard fewer and fewer voices. It was just as well. The silvery light always empowered her, made her feel alive, made her feel as if she could do anything. Suddenly even the prospect of another state dinner didn't seem quite as bad.

Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts, footsteps sounded on the stone behind her. "I was beginning to think—" But as she turned and took a step, she finally came face-to-face with the last person she expected to see: the Fire Lord himself.

Zuko.