They slept for a long time, Zuko laying nearly on top of Katara. Around sunset, he drifted back into consciousness. He expected to feel achy and tired, but the only emotion he could understand was excitement. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he pulled Katara closer against him, breathing her in and holding her in his lungs as if that would keep her there forever. He kissed her neck and she sighed as he ran his hand over her shoulder, down her side, and across the curve of her hip. She murmured his name in her sleep, and peace came over him, but it was quickly dislodged by another thought.
Not hiding meant letting everyone know, which meant he might be able to marry her, which meant she would be not just wife, but Fire Lady. And there were things about ruling the Fire Nation she didn't know, things he hadn't been able to tell her because she was still an outsider. These were things she might not understand, and things she would almost certainly not like. Zuko sighed and kissed her shoulder again. You think you solve one problem, and another is born.
But for now they had a job to do, and he would have to push that back until it could be looked at with a clearer mind. They needed to get ready, and he had two messages to send out. Reluctantly, he shook Katara.
"Go away," she said groggily.
"No. We've got stuff to do." He kissed her cheek before sliding out of bed and putting on fresh clothes. He pulled out his dao, checked the blades, and did the same for his dagger. He filled all four of Katara's waterskins, then checked the rope for any tears or fraying. When he satisfied himself that their gear was sound, he began rifling through the drawers, looking for paper.
Katara was rolling over in the bed, pulling the covers over her head. Muttering about lazy waterbenders, Zuko ripped the covers off her. He gave her ass two firm slaps, and she let out an angry scream, rolling onto her stomach and glaring at him.
"Have you lost your mind?"
He kissed away her glare, following her when she tried to move away, removing the blankets that she tried to replace.
"Quite possibly," he said.
Zuko went back to searching for paper, and found it in one of the drawers. He turned around to make sure Katara was getting out of the bed, and she did so reluctantly. On the paper, he drew a crude map of the area, from the inn to the prison, then wrote a quick note: Phoenix Brigade. Exterminate. Rehabilitation not possible. Proceed with extreme caution.
This was the part about being Fire Lord he hated the most. He could live with the meetings, having to go over so many documents, and figuring out just where all the money had gone. It was weighing someone's deeds against the value of their life that got to him. He'd been on the wrong side of that decision once, and that was the whole reason he and Katara were in the tiny Fire Nation town and running through the forest, fighting like the war was still going on. Azulon said he wasn't worth keeping, his mother thought otherwise, Ozai agreed with Azulon, and she paid a heavy price. This was another wrong he needed to right. And not just because of that horrible nagging guilt that's been eating at him since he was ten.
He would be a negligent leader if he let the Phoenix Brigade live, especially since they were so pro-Ozai. All he needed was for them to hook up with someone in the Earth Kingdom who hated his guts, or who still distrusted him for his part in the coup. That would make all the other assassination attempts look like a training exercise and give some nut the chance to re-launch the war, destroying the peace so many people died to establish. Sometimes he divided people into 'good' and 'bad' categories, though he knew this was dangerous and horribly reductive. Too many times, he would have fallen in the bad category and not have been able to redeem himself. Still, it made signing the death warrant easier.
"We can grab a quick meal. I need to see if Atem is still here so she can deliver a message for me." He turned to face Katara.
She was pulling her shirt over her head, then tucking it into her pants. He stood in the middle of the room, just breathing and watching Katara as her hands moved quickly through her hair, braiding it.
"Did you get new underwear just for this mission?" Now was as good a time as any to ask.
Katara stopped braiding and looked at him. She blinked a few times before smiling and braiding again. She didn't answer until she was done. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Zuko rolled his eyes, but he smoothed the fabric at her hips, admiring the way it clung to her. He leaned in a little, and Katara stood on the tips of her toes, throwing her arms around his neck. She kissed him sweetly, innocently, and those were the kisses that made him feel like a gangly, uncertain teenager.
"Do you think your mom really would like me?"
"Yes," Zuko said after a brief pause. He hadn't thought she'd heard that. "Yes." This time he said it with more conviction.
He nodded toward the door, and Katara let go of him. Zuko grabbed the letter and ten gold coins before following her out of the room. She looked at the money, but he only shook his head. When they passed Gen and his mother at the front desk, Gen was eyeing them funny. He looked between the two of them, then smirked, as if he knew something they didn't. Zuko kicked himself. Gen had probably heard Katara moaning, and came to his own conclusions, which were undoubtedly right.
He leaned on the front desk and fixed Gen with a firm stare while sliding some of the money across the desk.
"You can make trouble, and I can make trouble. But remember, any trouble I make will always be bigger, worse, more damaging personally, and far more destructive to your property."
If anyone was going to start talking about him and Katara seriously as a couple, it would be him, and he would do it in a controlled manner. Hopefully, and in his own time. The old woman looked absolutely horrified, then glared at her son.
"Yeah? You don't even live down here. What's to stop me from telling who shares your bed?"
"How loyal are you to the White Lotus Society?" Zuko asked, addressing Gen's mother.
"I've been helping them out every way I know how since I was a little girl," she said, proudly. "I would remove my own tongue before I betray them." Gen scoffed at the overdramatic remark, but Zuko didn't doubt her sincerity.
"Good," he said, lifting his hair so that she could see his scar. "See to it that your son keeps his mouth closed. I've got enough shit to worry about without him, and you've been good to us, so I don't really want to cause trouble for you."
The old woman gasped, and seemed quite on the verge of having a heart attack, even more so when Katara came over and put her hand on Zuko's back.
"Atem's here," she said. When she noticed what Zuko was doing, she slapped his hand and his hair fell back in place. "Cut that out, Zuko." She turned to the old woman. "Please don't bow to him, you'll draw too much attention."
It seemed to click just who Katara was, and if it was possible, the old lady's eyes got wider, and she seemed to understand the situation. "So the rumors are true!"
"Some of them, anyway," Zuko said, pushing the money toward her with a grin. "But I'm not saying which ones." Dammit, that goofy teenager feeling was still with him, and Katara's hand was still on his back, and he decided that's where it belonged.
"I can get twice that for this information."
Zuko was about to say something threatening and to question what happened to Gen being afraid of him, but Gen's mother gave him a hard uppercut to the stomach. Gen doubled over in pain and melted to the floor below the counter as Zuko and Katara looked on in shock.
"You both have my word that your secret is safe. For what it's worth, I think you're exactly what this nation needs: a little love and commitment. And never you mind what I said before about Hau and that agreement. May the Lotus always bloom, my lord, my lady," the woman whispered as she dumped the money in the front of her shirt and nearly bowed to them.
"May the Lotus always bloom," Zuko returned.
Katara was trying to correct the old woman, but Zuko just pulled her toward Atem's table.
"Why're you letting her think we're together like that? Won't that cause you some problems?"
Zuko stopped when they were nearly to Atem's table at the back of the front room. "Last night…" He couldn't quite bring himself to look at Katara, just in case she would say she hadn't meant it. "Last night, you said you were tired of hiding. You said you were ready."
When a quick glance showed Katara's face lighting up, he knew that she'd meant every word. She was ready to stop hiding in dark corners and ducking into storage closets and travelling through secret tunnels for late night trysts and secret cuddles. Zuko thought he could be ready for her, but quite frankly, he found the idea a little scary. He squeezed her shoulder, knowing the gesture was more than inadequate, but that it was all they could do. For now. He smirked. What would Uncle say when he realized the answer to all his questions about Zuko's loneliness were staring him in the face with a smile and stunning blue eyes?
Atem had already ordered a light dinner and jasmine tea, and the meal was waiting for them when they sat down.
"Here's something you might be interested in knowing," Atem said as soon as they sat down, swirling the tea in her cup. "Your stalker friends were both here today. They asked Gen about Hau's latest hunters."
"Shit." Zuko scanned the parlor for the two, but he didn't see them. Giddiness mixed with anxiety. He'd been thinking about it off and on, and he couldn't make up his mind about who on his long list of possibilities was most likely to send someone after him. Ozai's supporters, maybe, but they wouldn't be tracking if Zuko was so close to the prison and Ursa. They would have attacked by then.
"Don't get your panties bunched," Atem said, gesturing at Zuko with her chopsticks. "I scared them off."
"How?" Katara asked, almost disbelieving.
"Have you so little faith in me? I've been working for your boyfriend here for years and I haven't failed him yet."
"He's not my boyfriend." Katara said halfheartedly and with a bright smile.
"You know, it doesn't have the same effect when only one of you says it, and that with a silly little grin on her face."
Katara blushed and looked at Zuko, who was also smiling. If they were going to be together, and people were going to understand that it was for love, there needed to be someone who could say that was true. He found it weird, though, that he was just now getting that stupid fluttering feeling in his stomach. It's not like they could walk into the capitol holding hands and everything would be alright. They'd have to struggle and fight and scheme. He'd have to make political concessions, grease some palms, let her in on all those Fire Lord secrets…
"That's completely beside the point," Katara was saying, trying to regain her composure. "We're about to put ourselves in some serious danger, and we need to be sure we don't have people waiting to ambush us."
"I can't ever guarantee you that," Atem said, "but what I can guarantee is that you need to muzzle Gen. He hates your guts, now, and the political storm he could cause by talking about your delicious bedroom habits will be nothing compared to him telling people their Fire Lord is doing some secret undercover spying, especially since he'll have to make up most of the details. That and I'm pretty sure no one knows you're here, right? If they did, they certainly wouldn't have let you come alone."
Zuko was about to protest and say he wasn't alone, but Atem was rolling her eyes.
"She doesn't count."
Zuko groaned and let his head drop to the table.
"Although, letting him confirm rumors about who you make scream in the night will take care of some concerns expressed by a few council members. Unless you intend to confirm those rumors yourselves."
Zuko was glad he couldn't see Atem. She was probably going to laugh at him, and it would be loud and it would draw the attention of too many people, which would only make things worse.
"Concerns?" Katara asked. She was poking his shoulder.
"I've never made a show of taking a woman into my bedroom," Zuko said. "Even Uncle is concerned about my 'loneliness'." He could already feel himself blushing, and was very comfortable keeping his head on the table where his hair might hide most of it. "Some members of my council are concerned that I won't be…inclined to make an heir."
"Well, that's just ridiculous," Katara said, huffing. Mercifully, she stopped there and didn't claim any private knowledge of his preferences. He really didn't think it was appropriate conversation given the circumstances, and would be quite glad when they moved on. Atem started laughing, and didn't seem to care about stopping.
"And could you please stop making thinly veiled references to what goes on behind doors that I close?" Zuko asked Atem.
Atem snorted and turned to Katara. "We all heard you down here, honey."
It was a few minutes before all remnants of Atem's laughter were gone. Feeling comfortable enough to slightly lift his head from the table, Zuko pulled out the letter and pushed it toward her.
"When's the next time you'll meet with the White Lotus?"
"When do you want me to?"
"Soon."
Outside, the sun had dipped below the horizon, and Katara was squeezing his leg with a resigned sigh.
"We should be leaving soon."
"Eager to head into danger?" Atem asked.
"Eager to be out of it." Katara shrugged.
"Before we go," Zuko said, facing Atem. "What did you do to those guys to scare them off?"
Atem smiled. "This might make you feel better. They're not fighters at all. Their job is simply to track. What you really want to know is who wants you followed."
"How did—"
Zuko held up his hand for silence. "I'm going to hazard a guess that her answering a different question instead is code for don't ask, and I won't have to tell. You only ask after that if you really, really want to know. And can live with the answer."
Atem nodded sagely. She tipped her glass to them, then downed it in one gulp. "Lotus ever blooming and all that muck." Zuko and Katara returned the salute properly before heading back upstairs to get their weapons.
Outside in the night, Zuko stood and let the moment become real. They were heading into danger, and while they knew the trackers weren't fighters, it didn't erase the fact that someone else was hunting them, too. Releasing a breath, Zuko adjusted the strap for his dao, considered the placement of his dagger, then thought better of it.
Pulling it out of his belt, he handed it to Katara. "I want you to have this just in case."
Without arguing, she accepted it, and tucked the dagger into the sash at her waist. They stepped into the forest and followed the now familiar path to the prison, each keeping alert for any attackers. Zuko willed himself into a meditative state, opening his mind to the world around him, reaching for that inner flame that would give him the strength he needed. He concentrated on balance and harmony, just in case he needed lightning. Which he probably would. Guilt, he locked back in that tiny room with all the bad war memories. He didn't need that now.
Hearts pounding, they stopped half a mile out from the wall and climbed a tree, opting to go overhead, rather than sneak up and wait for the guards to pass. In the minute interval, this would give them more time to get closer to the prison before having to hide again.
Zuko frequently checked behind him to make sure Katara was able to keep up, and that no one was following them. She struggled a bit with the branches, but was able to use her bending to counterbalance her lack of stealth. Zuko was thankful for a breeze that night; had the branches been moving in still wind, the guards would have been suspicious. They kept a close eye on the circulating guards, and with a series of awkward hand gestures and mimed actions, they decided to circle the prison and see if there'd been any change in the way the guards were gathered.
As they made their final circuit, Katara bent the branches into a solid bridge, allowing them to move quicker from one place to the next. It was a handy skill she said she learned from the swamp benders. It would have been useful earlier, but they'd agreed to not let Inara know they were benders. The less she knew about them, the better.
There had been no change in the guard. The majority of them were still clumped together on the left side of the prison, but for the moment, they were still toward the front. The metal door was propped open at the back of the building, which Zuko was sure was seriously against regulations, but it could mean a lucky break for them. The night was a little warmer than it had been the past few days, and with the windows sealed and barred, the brick building was probably roasting like an oven. After more awkward hand movements and miming, they agreed to take the less guarded route, even though it would leave them without cover. Speed would have to carry them through. Crouched low, Zuko and Katara headed back to the shady overhang Inara showed them.
Zuko dropped down first, rolling into a crouch and doing his best to stick to the very slim shadow against the wall. He didn't even wait for Katara's feet to firmly hit the ground before he began inching around the perimeter of the wall toward the back entrance. He listened carefully as the soldiers joked and laughed at the front of the building. Some of their words sounded a little slurred, and Zuko wondered if there was even anyone at the prison, or if they were just waiting for someone to show up. Their ease at getting inside seemed to suggest that it wasn't even active.
Perhaps things wouldn't be so hard after all. He should really try this new optimistic thing Sokka told him about.
A/N: We're halfway there! There've been a few people who said they were frustrated with Zuko running off and not being Fire Lordy. I've pm'd mostly everyone, but in case some of you are still feeling frustrated with him...continue to do so! I'm not going to lie-it is completely irresponsible for Zuko to be running off so soon after the war when much still needs to be accomplished. Perfect characters are, however, imperfect for fiction, and when the house comes crashing down...