REVIEWER: Cherokee96

FANDOM: Avatar the Last Airbender, 'A Delicate Subterfuge' Universe

COUPLE: Zuko x Katara

TROPES/REQUESTS: Iroh watching Zuko and Katara fall in love in TPC

Iroh's desires and drives in life were simple; live in a way that made one happy. It had always been a difficult balance for him, growing up and knowing that one day, he'd have to take over the Fire Nation.

He was not sure his father was a good person before he took that seat on the large flaming throne, but he knew that he was a worse person afterward. Any remnants of goodness that he had, it seemed had been snuffed out, like someone licking their thumbs and pressing the flame until it died. He went from being a man who, on occasion, Iroh had memories of playing with, to a man who was consumed by power, greed, and avarice.

He was not sure if one immediately became a bad person after taking the throne, or if it was a swift demise, but Iroh thus lived his entire life trying to counteract it. He took pleasure in the simple thing. He loved what he loved unapologetically. He tried to look at everything from each specific angle before making a choice. He read every book he could on morality and committed it to memory.

It had been a long time since Iroh had loved anyone romantically. When he'd had his own choice, he'd thought it was a scam. He knew that there was only begrudging respect between his parents, so it seemed unrealistic that he'd find someone so perfect.

Nia had been intelligent, soft-spoken, slow to anger, and easy to give affection. The years he'd shared with her, and their young son had been the best of his life. Though it had been eons since Nia had passed, he still remembered the flutter in his chest the first time they kissed, how his heart had pounded before he asked her to marry him, and how he had looked at her and found her to be his best friend. He couldn't imagine that anyone would want to compromise on less than this.

One may think that Ozai would surely understand what his son was going through more aptly since he was still married, but Iroh isn't completely sure that his kid brother ever really learned how to love properly. No, rather, as Zuko enters his own Choice, Iroh does feel a strange sense of protectiveness. He loves Zuko as much as he loves his own son, and he too wants Zuko to find not a compromise like his father did, but true and real love as he had.

He remembers the first time he thought that Katara might be that match for Zuko. Ozai had been grilling him on his opinions of the girls, back when there was still quite a handful of them. Zuko had just dismissed a good number of the ladies upon first meetings, and needless to say, there were some Ozai wished had been given the boot too.

"You're keeping that Southerner?" He'd spat, his lip curling into a deep scowl as he'd just eaten raw and maggoty fish.

"Yes, I am," Zuko said. He'd been wavering on all the others, perhaps able to change his opinion, but for some reason, he was firm on Katara.

"In Agni's name, why? She's uncivilized, she doesn't know how to keep her lips shut, and she is our direct enemy."

"So you'd rather have her at home, instead of watching her here?" Zuko said, face passive, throwing back all of the underhanded skills Ozai had passed down.

Iroh watched Ozia's eye twitch. The older brother got the acute idea Ozai would rather have her dead.

"You cannot be convinced?"

"No," Zuko said, but Iroh could tell there was more than he was letting on, "She's friendly. I think I could really find a companion in her."

It wasn't a declaration of love. It wasn't an outpouring of affection. It was the start of a friendship. He knew that Ozai would scoff at that if he were paying attention to the words his son was truly saying, but it filled Iroh with uncontainable glee. That's how the best love stories started.

He made a note to watch the Water Tribe woman more carefully after that.

He saw their relationship bloom. He saw what everyone else saw, and perhaps more. While people were set to talk or deceive others, Iroh had always been good at waiting. Seeing what others did not. So indeed, he saw the moments when something like a realization would pass over Katara's face, or when Zuko would linger in the space she occupied, and he could not help but wonder if this choice would be over far sooner than anyone expected.

"Uncle, may I ask you something?" Zuko asked him one day, near the first ball.

"Of course, my young nephew."

"When did you know that you loved Aunt Nia? In the Choice?"

Iroh gave a sad smile, thinking back to those halcyon days.

"It was not so much a singular moment," He said quietly, pouring Zuko a cup of tea, "More just a feeling. Do you suspect that you are in love?" He'd bet his entire tea collection on who it was if someone asked.

"I'm not sure," Zuko swallowed, "I worry about her all the time, but I know she's strong enough to fend for herself. I like to spend time with her, but that could just be friendly. I think she challenges me, which was frustrating at first, but sometimes it makes me think. She cares so deeply about everyone, it makes me want to be a better person. She just makes things better when she's there…" Zuko explained, swirling the tea at the bottom of his cup.

"Hmm," Iroh said, sipping his tea, trying to keep a wide smile from blooming across his face.

His intuition about these two was correct.

"Holy dragons, I think I do love her," Zuko whispered, blinking hard, "You always know exactly what to say," Zuko added, laughing to himself. Iroh was pleased Zuko felt so comfortable with him. Iroh wanted him to know that he could tell Iroh anything, anything at all, and Iroh would never judge him. Perhaps give him some sage wisdom, but as Royals, they were judged enough as it was.

"So I can expect wedding bells soon?"

"Uhm," Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, wincing, "We're just...friends. I'm not sure she...she feels the same," He muttered, looking down.

"I think you should have more faith, Zuko," Iroh said. The look of adoration whenever Zuko walked into the room, present on all the girls' faces but most markedly Katara's, could not be faked. Especially so that Katara tried to hide it, but it always bobbed to the surface when she let her mind wander.

"You don't even know who it is," Zuko clucked, rolling his eyes.

Iroh finished his tea, sighing. He was due in for a military meeting. As he passed, he patted Zuko's head, "Or do I?" And he grinned, "The unconscious soul speaks more loudly than words do."

Part of Iroh expected a wedding announcement within the upcoming weeks. But when it did not happen, he was not confused or upset. Disappointed, perhaps, for he thought the pair suited each other.

It was not like when he'd been looking for a wife. Things were so uncomplicated then. There were no whispers of the Avatar returned, nor a war that lapped at the edge of each day, nor a shadowy group of cowards that were attacking the palace mercilessly. He knew Katara came with her own issues.

He wished he could reach out if she did not think it odd, but he also did not blame her for saying no. That is if his nephew had gotten around to asking her.

While parts of the family might not have been welcoming if Katara were chosen, he went out of his way to make himself seem available. He did not want her to say no because she'd be adrift. It was his own suggestion that Sokka remains as a liaison; her mood brightened as soon as her brother became a more permanent fixture in the palace. If only Iroh could have foreseen the consequences of that...but alas, that is a concern for another time.

Whenever the pair were fighting, Iroh watched Zuko storm around in a terrible mood, biting off heads and snapping at anyone who dared near him. He also watched Katara's temperament sour, picking listlessly at her food or glaring daggers at Zuko. They were both so passionate that together when they were fighting, it was as though they were invoking an earthquake.

Nia had been just as quiet as he. Somehow, he didn't think Zuko would be satisfied with a gentle soul. He needed someone who matched his storms.

He did not want to meddle, not too much, but when he found himself alive after the Palace attack, he found himself swallowed in memories.

It had been such a mundane illness to take Nia, something even commoners recovered from. She'd gone from a sniffle to cough to dead all within a few day's time, too quick for anyone to save her.

And he'd mourned in deeper grief than he imagined anyone ever had before.

The palace attack, though there was no one dead that was in his family, brought forth those emotions.

As he and Zuko walked through the wreckage, Zuko's eyes frantically searching the halls for Katara's body, Iroh sighed.

"Zuko-,"

"Uncle, not now, I'm...she might be…" He gasped, unable to finish.

"Zuko, listen," Iroh said. His stern tone caught Zuko's attention, "You asked me once when I knew I loved Nia. Far earlier than I asked her to marry me. I knew it by the second week, but I felt as though I had to play the game. That I had to try to love others but I…" He exhaled, about to admit something he'd never told anyone, not even his son, "My biggest regret in life is that I did not ask her earlier, and had more time with her. You never know when you may lose someone...to an attack, or to something as innocuous as a simple cold." He placed his hands on Zuko's cheeks, watching as his nephew's golden eyes flickered, "Do you understand, Zuko?"

Zuko calmed if only an inch. His face changed and he nodded firmly, as though actually realizing what his Uncle was saying, "Yes, Uncle. I think I do."