Avatar Szeto chuckled to himself as he rested in his room. Zuko had acted like he was going to have a fight on his hands to get the acceptance of the nobility and commoners alike when he became Fire Lord. Yet, the reality was obviously quite different from Zuko's perception.

It had been a whole day since he was hidden away, and the guards that were to keep his presence in the palace a secret were, in fact, doing just that. He figured if his presence was betrayed to Ozai, that would just force their hand and speed up the plan. The benefits had been worth the risk.

As it stood, a large portion of the palace staff, guards, and nobility had been preparing for Zuko's arrival and anticipating the death of Ozai. The guard keeping him hidden and the staff keeping him clothed and fed had been very discreet. He knew the moment he was betrayed; if he was, he would know of it. Ozai wasn't a patient man, and he would storm in and attack immediately. The plotting, cunning man he used to be was taken over by the crazed angry ruler. He wasn't his old calculating self.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened just enough to let a lithe, beautiful woman in. She looked at him with wide eyes and a sweet smile. "You're really the Avatar?"

He gave a lopsided smirk, "my whole life." He then Airbent, and her mouth dropped open. He noticed his hand was shaking, and he mentally berated himself. He was fifty-one years old, and he could still be overwhelmed by the sight of a woman —a wildly sexy woman.

He watched her blush and take two steps towards him before halting suddenly. "I'm Ainu, I'm… the Madam and Lady Katara sent me."

"Lady?"

She blushed, "well, she isn't, but… she's so…." She gently shook her head and squared her shoulders. "She is a Lady. And I would think even though she doesn't have the title; everyone could see that." By the end, her voice was firm and almost defiant.

Szeto replied, "oh, I already like you very much. How old are you?"

She cocked her head. "Why? Are you going to reject me based on my age? How old are you?" She took a tentative step toward him. "I don't mean to be impertinent, but does my age really matter?"

"I'm fifty-one. I have to look old to someone like you."

Rolling her eyes, Ainu replied, "you look like a powerful man to me. We are both making use of our biggest advantages. I'm pretty and young, I'm twenty-four, by the way, and you're one of the most powerful benders in the world. Let me keep my age as an advantage and don't look down on it."

"You want me because I'm the Avatar?"

She shrugged, "you want me because I will be your lover. We have to start somewhere. But Katara trusts you, and that gives me a strong hope this will work out."

"You trust her that much?"

She rolled her eyes. "So do you. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here in the palace or have me in your room. Or am I wrong, and you trust women?"

"I haven't trusted anyone in decades! Every lover I ever took reported to Ozai, and he loved making sure I knew about it every time. He made sure I learned that trust and human connection wasn't anything I could have."

"And yet here I am."

He nodded and scratched the back of his neck. "I've finally found those that want to stop him just as much as I do. I trust that. I believe for the first time in a very long time I have comrades in arms."

"And me?"

He smirked, "I still need human connection."

"Ah, so you want to connect," she teased.

He raked his eyes over her body, "with you? Very much." He took two steps towards her. "I'm not a harsh lover."

"If you turned out to be Katara would kill you herself," she said laughing.

"I'm old," he said, going back to his original worry.

"And I still don't care. Do you want me to leave?"

"No."

She smirked. "Good. Now stop mentioning age. I'm young enough to safely bear you a child. You do want one, don't you?"

He closed his eyes and tried to keep the desperation out of his voice. "Yes." As much as he was born to be the Avatar he had alway wanted to be a father.

"If you were with a woman your age, she couldn't give you a child."

"True."

She peeled off her dress, letting it fall to the floor, revealing she wasn't wearing anything underneath it at all. "Plus," Ainu added, "I have a firm body and perky tits. Do you approve?"

He blinked twice and nodded. "Yes. I… wow."

"And my age?" She asked playfully.

"Who the hell cares?!" He admitted. He lusted after her with his whole being. His resistance fell away, looking at her naked. He wanted a connection, and he had been starved of human contact for too damn long. His momentary altruism didn't last long against the desire that flared wildly in him when she offered him her body.

She walked over to him and brought his hands to her breasts and he grabbed on. "Do you like my boobs, or are they too big?"

He laughed. "There's no such thing as too big and you sure as hell know it."

"So, it sounds like I'm perfect for you."

He sighed contentedly. "Yes. You really are." He kissed along her jawline as he fondled her large breasts."I need this so much. You have no idea how lonely I've been. Thank you for coming to me and being willing to be my lover."

"And, I get to carry the child of the Avatar. Don't think this isn't wildly exciting for me. I want this, I want you. I get to have a man with true power —it's sexy."

He ran his hands down her body and around to grab her ass and press her naked body to his clothed one. "I think this will work out perfectly."

"Of course it will," she teased. "Katara said it would."

Emi moaned as he ran his hand over her body and kissed along her neck. "You are just so sexy."

He then paused and said, "there are whispers of something being up. No one knows what it is, but everyone is afraid to ask."

"Ozai is starting something?" She asked lightly.

"No. It's not Ozai. There is some secret Zuko and Katara have, and it feels like everyone is afraid to acknowledge it. Like if they did, Ozai would sniff something out. The other second sons talk about ignoring the odd pattern in the guards and warn the others to do the same."

She closed her eyes and worked to keep calm. She knew it was the Avatar that was being hidden. The Madam and Katara had trusted her with that information so she would know what she was listening for. She didn't feel the least bit guilty for keeping the secret from him.

Emi replied, "and?"

"And whatever secret you're helping to keep is working."

She opened her eyes and looked at him in shock. He placed one finger over her lips and shushed her. "I'm not ruining what we have here or challenging you. I have a sexy woman naked with me. This is the best time in my life." He grabbed her full breasts to emphasize his point. "Keep your secrets. This isn't a game where I can ask to be told what's happening. This is life and death for so many. I trust that you are working for the same side I am. That's all I need to know."

As he brought his lips to her nipple, she moaned. "Do you trust them? Will they stay content with not knowing? Men have delicate egos."

"I don't know the answer, but I promise to keep you updated."

She rolled him to his back and sheathed his cock. "We are a great team. Now, time for me to say thank you for your help."

Szeto sipped his tea and sighed in contentment. "Who would have thought the Dragon of the West could make such a good pot of tea?"

Iroh raised one eyebrow. "I have more self-respect than that. I couldn't go to battle on badly brewed tea. It helped me focus and make my strategies."

The Avatar chuckled, "I really think you mean that."

"I do."

Iroh then leaned back in his chair. "You have a nice setup here."

"Thank you. And I appreciate you coming to visit me. I can't really leave the room. I don't want to risk being seen yet."

"I'm a former general, and I understand the advantage of a surprise attack."

"You're still a general. You just wage a different kind of war. I didn't see that before, but I do now. You were fighting for Zuko's destiny all along."

Iroh sipped his tea and shrugged, "he found his own path."

"I don't believe that. You helped him find himself, and that gave him the confidence to be the man he is. In a way, you're right, but without you, he wouldn't be the man he is now. He'll make a good Fire Lord."

"I'm proud of him."

"You should be."

"And how is Ainu?" Iroh asked, unable to keep from laughing.

"I saw her and had a short-lived acute attack of conscience. Her body and her determination ended that attack quickly."

"Her body?"

"She's the sexiest woman I ever laid eyes on, and she was telling me she wanted to be my lover. I wasn't able to keep up my resistance. Not with how much I wanted her."

Iroh chuckled and couldn't help himself. After all, Zuko did say he gossiped like an old woman. "And, how was it?"

"I've always heard they train the women well here. They aren't lying. She is incredibly talented and so damn flexible. I think I'd even work for Ozai for sex like I'm having," he teased.

"Are you going to marry her?"

"Yes, I get hot sex, and she gets protection."

Iroh chuckled and had to put his teacup down. "I've heard of that very deal not too long ago. Be careful, or you might end up the same way they did."

"Who?"

"Zuko and Katara," he replied, smirking.