Archive of Our Own

The “Annual Get the Gaang Back Together for at Least a Week or Sokka Fights Someone Operation” (trademark pending) was a smashing success. They’d missed the first year after the end of the war - everyone was busy and their various duties had them seeing each other often enough anyway. But, with everything beginning to settle into a routine, and Sokka proposed a getaway reunion, everyone was eager to accept. Zuko had volunteered their old stomping grounds on Ember Island, and the pact was sealed. Every year, they’d have a friend retreat.

Aang had made the rounds to pick everyone up on Appa. Katara and Sokka were first, eagerly switching out their parkas for light summer clothes as they flew further from the South Pole. Next was Toph, who left her metalbending students with a substitute and instructions to plead innocent if/when they brought the whole school down in her absence. Well, ‘plead innocent’ might be too generous. Her exact words were ‘deny everything.’ Katara’s so glad the future of a new form of bending is receiving such…inspiring guidance. Last was Suki and Zuko from the royal palace. Suki had greeted Sokka with a kiss and explained that the Fire Lord was ‘finishing up some last minute tasks.’

Toph groaned. “That dunderhead doesn’t know how to take a break. Come on, let’s go get him.” And then the earthbender is moving down the halls of the palace before any of them can object. The halls are familiar to all of them by now, and the servants all recognize them on sight, bowing slightly as they pass. Suki leads them to Zuko’s study, and Aang doesn’t pause before bursting in.

“Hey, Lord Hotman!”

Zuko spits out his tea, barely missing the documents spread out in-front of him. “Aang! Can you knock?!”

Sokka saunters in, leaning an elbow on Zuko’s shoulder. “Can youuuu take a break for once?”

“I am taking a break! That’s why I have to get these done before!”

Katara strolls up to his other side, leaning over the desk to look at the documents. “These are correspondents.” She raises a brow, shuffling a few letters aside when she spots her own handwriting among the parchment. Zuko’s cheeks tinge pink with embarrassment, tapping his thumbs together as she inspects the letter, and then smiles. “You even responded to this one already. Come on, none of these are that urgent.”

“Oooo what’d you write, Katara?” Sokka grins, going to snatch the letter from her hands, but she pulls it out of his reach.

“GranGran’s recipe for Sea Prune Stew,” she quips back easily, rolling the parchment up and bapping her brother on the forehead with it. “And general updates on life.”

“‘General updates,’” Suki smiles slyly, glancing between Zuko’s flushed cheeks and Katara’s raised eyebrow. 

“I’ve got a general update for ya!” Toph starts to herd everyone out the door, shoving Zuko up out of his chair when he doesn’t comply. “We’re losing daylight! Up and at ‘em, Sparky!”

Zuko gives the desk full of papers a distressed look as he’s pushed away from his work. “But I-”

Katara laughs and takes his arm, gently pulling him along.  “I’m sure your uncle will manage it just fine while you’re away.”

Zuko sighs, giving in and letting himself be steered away from his office. They make a pit stop for Zuko to change out of his heavy Fire Lord robes into something more comfortable, and then they’re on their way, soaring through the clouds on Appa’s back. It brings a warm feeling to Katara’s chest to be here again with all of her friends. Her family.  

Sokka and Suki cuddle, leaned against the lip of the saddle and excitedly updating each other on the going ons of their lives. Toph, Zuko and Katara are all seated together near the back. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other in-person, and Katara almost laughs at the way Zuko’s grown out hair billows out behind him like a lionturtle’s mane. Toph is astounded when Katara points this out.

“Sparky’s got long hair? ”

“I’ve been growing it out,” Zuko smiles, clearly pleased with himself. “It fits into a topknot better that way.”

“Okay, no, you gotta let me feel it now.”

Zuko rolls his eyes goodnaturedly and awkwardly tilts his head so that Toph can feel the length of his hair for herself. His and Katara’s eyes meet and they both snicker at Toph’s surprised exclamation.

“It’s soft! ”

Katara’s brows raise, and she smiles mischievously. “Really? Well now I’ve got to know for myself, too.”

Zuko gives her long suffering look, but he shakes his head and smiles all the same as he allows Katara to feel his hair as well. She blinks, running her fingers through the silky strands. “It is soft.” It’s softer than her own hair! Now how is that fair? “Zuko, what do you use on it?”

He shrugs, glancing up at her from the corner of his eye. “I don’t know, actually. Sumie is the royal hairdresser and she does wonders with it.”

Katara huffs, but there’s no heat to it. “Well, maybe I’ll have to give Sumie a visit when we get back,” she teases, ruffling his hair for good measure. 

“Hey,” he smiles playfully, batting her hand away. “That could be arranged.” He leans back against the lip of the saddle next to her, casually resting his arm along the edge behind her. She can feel the warmth emanating from his body from here, and she subtly shifts closer.

“Zuko!” Sokka shouts over the wind. The Fire Lord immediately sits up straight, like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Quit using your hair to romance Toph and my sister at the same time!”

Katara makes an indignant noise at the same time Zuko’s face flushes. “I wasn’t-” he starts, then sighs, looking down as a smirk spreads across his face. “You’re just jealous your hair can’t compete with mine.”

Sokka makes an offended noise. “The wolf tail is the peak of Southern Tribe fashion, I’ll have you know!”

“Sokka, your hair does you more favors when you wear it down anyway,” Zuko argues.

“Wha- that’s not-” He looks to Suki, who is avoiding eye contact. “Suki?!”

“It looks good both ways!” she says, but then smiles shyly, looking away when she adds on, “But I do think the hair down look is a…particular victory.”

Sokka gapes in disbelief as Suki plants a gentle kiss on his cheek. Katara doesn’t manage to choke down her snort of laughter. Zuko smiles, pleased with himself as he leans back against the saddle once more, but this time he crosses his arms and doesn’t put his arm around her.

Dang it, Sokka!

They’d spent the afternoon at the beach, playing in the waves and building in the sand. By the end, Toph has built a whole watchtower out of sand, which she stands atop and hucks sand balls at her friends as they make a game of climbing the tower without getting hit. Zuko and Aang win by teaming up.  Zuko dodges his way to the base of the tower and crouches while Aang dashes forward and uses Zuko’s shoulders as a springboard, with a little airbending thrown in to get him all the way to the top. The two cheer victoriously and then the whole gang has the pleasure of kicking down the tower together.

By the time the sun has started to set, everyone is starving and Katara volunteers to fix dinner for the whole group. She's about a quarter of the way through when Zuko shows up in the kitchen. “Can I help?”

Katara smiles, sliding the cutting board she'd been using over to him. “Sure!”

He nods, a light smile pulling at the corner of his mouth and takes the knife, picking up her vegetable chopping where she'd left off. Katara starts prepping some cuts of meat. The two work in silence, just enjoying being there together working with a comfortable familiarity.

Katara sets to rubbing salt into a piece of cow-pig, but as she’s forced to be looking down at her work, her hair keeps falling in her eyes, still mussed from surfing earlier in the day. She attempts to blow the hair out of her face, but it falls right back down. With a grunt of frustration, she attempts to brush it back with her shoulder, as her hands were still dirty from working with raw meat. 

“Need a hand?” Zuko offers, setting the now-chopped vegetables aside.

“Please,” Katara sighs.

He huffs a small chuckle through his nose at her exasperated expression. She pulls away from her work, expecting Zuko to take a slice of meat, but instead he moves behind her. Katara starts with surprise when he starts gently gathering her hair back. She turns her head to glance at him over her shoulder. 

“Ay,” he gently scolds her, losing a few of her hairs as she turns. “I can’t help if you keep moving.”

She blinks with surprise, before a full laugh escapes and she obediently turns her head forward and holds still. His hands are warm and calloused, gently brushing across the nape of her neck and over the top of her forehead as he pulls her hair together. Katara closes her eyes contently as he takes to finger-combing the hair over the crown of her head, making sure it lays smooth, before he starts tying it back in a ponytail.

“The humidity brings out your curls,” he murmurs as he works. 

Katara hums in agreement, eyes still closed. “It’s even worse if it’s been wet, like today.”

Zuko chuckles. He laughs more these days, she notices. She finds that she quite likes the sound of it. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Zuko says, a smile evident in his voice.  She opens her eyes as he finishes tying it back and steps to her side. “Better?” he asks.

She shakes her head, letting her hair fly back and forth in the ponytail, and sighs with relief of having it out of her face. “Much better. Thanks, Zuko.”

“No problem,” he smiles gently, and sets to peeling garlic. Katara notices his topknot is gone. He’d used his own hair tie ribbon. A little part of her heart feels lighter at the sentiment. 

“I can see why you let people play with your hair now,” Katara teases, returning to rubbing salt and seasoning into the cuts of meat.

He glances over, and…is he blushing? “I don’t-” he clears his throat. “Just…just you and Toph.”

A light heat tinges Katara’s own cheeks, and she smiles gently without realizing it, lowering her gaze to her work. “For the record,” she says softly, “I like the long hair.”

Out of her periphery, she spots Zuko’s face flaming the reddest she’s ever seen it, but it’s joined by his biggest smile yet.

It’s a bitter feeling when the end of the week rolls around and the friends are forced to part yet again. Everyone disembarks from Appa when they reach the palace to see Zuko and Suki off. Iroh greets them at the gate, smiling and waving as they approach. Hugs and farewells are exchanged. Aang and Toph start heading back to Appa. Suki and Sokka take a moment together, lingering in each other's arms and murmuring something Katara can’t hear, when Katara remembers something.

“Oh, Zuko, I forgot to return this to you.” She reaches in her pocket and pulls out the thin, red hair tying ribbon he’d lent her. It rests in her palm as she offers it back to him.

“Oh.” He blinks in surprise, looking down at it, and then back to her face. He goes to take it, but instead he rests his hand in hers. “I lose those all the time. You should hold onto it. Keep track of it for me.” Katara tilts her head, an amused smile creeping across her face as he hesitates for a moment, before he takes her hand more firmly and turns it over so he can press a kiss on her knuckles.

A happy chuckle escapes her, and Katara has to fight a grin off her face as Zuko raises from the kiss with a light pink dusting his cheeks. “I’ll take good care of it.” Katara says.

He steps back, preparing to leave. “Don’t forget to write. And…I’ll let Sumie know to be ready next time you come to visit.”

Katara raises a brow playfully. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was an invitation, Fire Lord.”

He smiles. “Maybe it was.”

“Zuko!” Sokka interrupts by enthusiastically embracing his friend. “Gonna miss you, buddy!”

Katara holds back a laugh at Zuko’s surprised expression, before he chuckles and hugs Sokka back. “I’ll miss you too, Sokka.”

Sokka pulls away, letting his hands rest on Zuko’s shoulders. “I’m going to start reading your and Katara’s letters,” he says casually.

“No you will not!” Katara yells.

“Ha! I knew it!” Sokka shouts triumphantly. “There is something going on!”

She grabs Sokka by the ear and starts dragging him back to Appa. “Bye, Suki! Bye, Zuko!” Katara yells over her shoulder. 

“What was that about?” Aang asks as Katara clambers aboard with Sokka in tow. 

“Nothing,” Katara mutters, glaring at her brother as he rubs his sore ear. As they fly away, Katara catches the knowing look Iroh gives his nephew, gently elbowing him in the side as they make their way into the palace. When she turns back to look at her friends, Toph is giving her a shark-like grin.

“Your heart was going awfully fast for a goodbye, Sugar Queen. Wanna share with the class?”

Aang, Sokka, and Toph are all staring at her. Katara hmphs. “I wasn't- that was…Goodbyes make me emotional,” she lies.

Toph’s grin only grows. “I don’t need to feel your heartbeat to know that’s a lie.”

“Suki said Katara and Zuko are penpals,” Sokka tattles. Katara punches him hard in the shoulder. Toph laughs, but doesn’t comment further.

As it turned out, Zuko came to visit Katara at the South Pole before she had the chance to come visit him. Well, ‘visit her’ might be wishful thinking. The Fire Lord was there on official business to discuss new trade routes with her father, but Katara would be sitting in on the meetings as an official ambassador, and that was close enough. 

Zuko is very professional in the meeting setting and he doesn’t often make eye contact with her. Both of these have benefits. Seeing Zuko in a take-charge situation, straight backed and confident, is rather…oh she’ll just admit it: it’s attractive. And the fact he doesn’t look over often allows her to stare at him unnoticed. It was an excellent meeting, though Katara would confess she doesn’t remember much of what was discussed.

As the meeting comes to a close, Zuko and her father rise to their feet and clasp each other’s forearms - a Water Tribe show of mutual respect. “Katara,” her father addresses her, “Fire Lord Zuko has not been to the Southern Tribe since we have begun our rebuilding project. Why don’t you show him around the city?”

“Of course,” Katara smiles, rising to her feet. “Right this way, Your Majesty.”

Zuko rolls his eyes, and follows her out of the igloo. “It’s ‘His Majesty the Fire Lord’ to you,” he teases when they’re out of earshot of the Chief, bumping against her side as they start down the street, the crunch of ice accompanying each footstep.

“Oh, right, of course. Do forgive me, Your Fiery Majesty, Fire Lord Hotman Zuko,” she replies with mock reverence. He snorts, shoulders shaking with restrained laughter. A few Water Tribesmen watch them with curiosity as they pass. Zuko doesn’t exactly blend in, dressed in a down insulated coat decorated in Fire Nation red, highlighted with royal gold, and the crown headpiece glinting in the pale sunlight.

“How long will you be in town?” Katara asks as they walk, casually waving to the people they pass. 

He sighs. “I leave tomorrow morning, unfortunately.”

Katara hums. “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”

Zuko frowns at her, brows drawing together. “Why is that?”

“Well,” she smiles mischievously, “that means you won’t miss the Huntsman Festival tonight.”

“The Huntsman Festival?”

“It’s a tradition we’re trying to restart. We’ll be holding one every summer to celebrate the coming of age of the young hunters in the village.”

“I see,” Zuko says in a way that suggests that he does not, in fact, see.

“There’ll be food and music and games and dancing,” she says. Zuko opens his mouth to speak, when she adds. “It would be very un-official for the visiting Fire Lord not to join in the festivities.”

He sighs. “I suppose you’re right.” His jaw sets. “So what are my responsibilities regarding this festival?”

“Have fun?” Katara asks, bemused. Why does he look more stressed at the concept of fun?

“Right.”

She rolls her eyes, smiling, and loops her arm around his. He’s so warm. “Relax! It’ll be great! Now come on, I gotta show you where we keep the otter-penguins!”

Despite his trepidation, a small smile wins out as Katara leads him by his arm through the city.

It’s late afternoon when Katara glances up at the sun’s position in the sky. “We better go get ready for the festival.” She pulls Zuko along back towards her family’s igloo.

“Get ready?” He asks, stumbling as she quickens her pace, and adjusts to match it. “I don’t really have any fancier robes that are warm enough for this kind of weather.”

Katara waves him off. “You won’t need that. Nobody wears ceremonial clothing except for the new hunters and the Chief. I’m doing a waterbending demonstration though, so I need to wear face paint.” Zuko nods along with the explanation as they arrive at the igloo. Katara pushes the door flap aside, heading inside with Zuko close behind.

“What kind of-” he starts to ask as Katara leads him into the common area of her home, but he cuts off as he spots her father messing with the cooking fire positioned to the side of the room. The man glances up at them,  and Katara observes how Zuko had shifted his stance. “Uh-” Zuko dips into a respectful bow. “Chief Hakoda.”

Hakoda’s brows raise and he glances over at Katara, before his expression falls into something carefully neutral and he straightens up. “Just Hakoda is fine outside of meetings, Fire Lord.” He gestures to the whole of the common area. “Go ahead and make yourself at home.”

Zuko nods, rising from his bow. “Thank you. And you’re welcome to just call me Zuko.”

Hakoda casts another look at his daughter, before nodding approvingly. “I’ll be in my room. Call if you need anything,” he says, and steps through a thick door flap on the other side of the room. 

“Here.” Katara gestures for Zuko to sit on some of the pelts laid out over the floor for seating. “I’ll be right back.” She heads off to her room, and returns with a small wooden box, a dried stick of pigment, and a bowl. She sits across from Zuko while she breaks some of the pigment off into the bowl and sets to mixing it with some water to make the face paint. Zuko watches the process with interest, observing silently, she freezes a sheet of ice to use as a mirror and sets to painting a design that outlines her eyes. 

“Do you mind if I…?” Zuko points to the small wooden box she had brought along, and Katara nods before he starts poking through it. It’s just full of hair beads and her meager supply of accessories, anyway. He shuffles through it as she continues painting, but she glances over when he pauses. Hidden among all her other accessories, is the red hair tie Zuko had given her. Her heart feels a little warmer at the smile that creeps across his face when he sees it, before he tucks it back away among the other things.

When she’s finished, Katara’s eyes are outlined in a fierce yet gentle design. It’s a waterbender’s face paint, different from that of the warriors, but still designed to be intimidating. She turns to Zuko. “How does it look?”

He looks up from his browsing, gaze moving over the design, before settling on her eyes. There’s something very warm in his gaze. “You look great.”

She smiles, grateful the paint hides the better part of her embarrassed blush. Katara looks him over for a moment, before an idea occurs. “Can I try something?”

Zuko raises a brow. “You’re asking me?”

“I wanna do your hair.”

“Oh.” He shrugs, smiling shyly. “Sure, go for it.”

Katara grins and stands, moving behind him so she can mess with his hair. “Pick out a couple of beads you like while I work on this. Also, here-” she gently removes the crown headpiece from his topknot and hands it to him. He rests it on his lap while she gets to work, taking out his topknot and combing her fingers through any tangles. Once again, she can’t get over just how soft his hair is - any knots seem to slip right apart. As she preps to re-tie his hair, she holds the hair tying ribbon he’d had holding his topknot (nearly identical to the one he’d gifted her) between her lips to keep both hands free. She braids the top layer of his hair from just behind his ear on both sides until the braids come together at the back of his head. She ties it into a secure wolf tail. “Crown, please!” Zuko hands it to her over his shoulder. “I hereby dub thee, Fire Lord Zuko of the Southern Water Tribe.” She says, nestling the crown in between the hair tie and his scalp, the braid holding it tight against his head. Zuko chuckles, leaning to look at himself in Katara’s ice-mirror. “Hey, you’re not finished yet!”

She circles around to sit cross legged in front of him, and he sits back with a disappointed frown as she blocks his view of the mirror. “Almost done,” she promises. “Did you pick out beads?”

Zuko holds out his palm to show her several blue and white beads of about the same size and various shades. Katara reaches for them, when a memory harkens back to her, and she smiles mischievously. She places her hand in his, holding the beads between their palms just as Zuko had done with his hair tie back at the palace. She holds his hand, turns it over, and places a quick kiss on his knuckles. “That’s payback,” she teases, taking the beads from him. He laughs, grinning warmly in a way that makes her heart melt.

“Wow, that was smooth. I’m impressed with myself,” he winks. Katara snorts with laughter, and she starts pulling a few strands of hair forward onto his forehead and weaving the beads in. They’re quite close throughout the process, sharing breath. Katara has to keep herself from looking at him, because every time she does from this distance her stomach does a veritable tap dance of jitters. She weaves three beads into one chunk of hair, two into another. She’s just about finished, starting to lean back, when Zuko’s hand comes up to her face. She freezes, still holding onto the strands of hair so as not to lose the bead, but she turns to look at him. Her heart beats faster as he firmly draws his thumb across her cheekbone. “Your face paint had smeared,” he says by way of explanation, glancing back to meet her eyes with a smile, before lowering his hand.

Katara smiles, resuming her work and ignoring the butterflies dancing in her chest. “Hey, Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re full of it,” she says playfully.

“Oh absolutely,” he agrees seriously.

She finishes the last bead and leans back, observing her work. “There. You can look now.” Katara shifts aside so he can see his reflection. 

He regards himself pensively, turning his head this way and that to see it all. The finished product has half of his hair down, spilling down his shoulders, with the top layers braided and tied back, and in the front he has two small chunks woven with five beads total, hanging down over his temple. “I like it.” He says after a moment of consideration. “You should teach me how to braid.”

She raises a brow. “I’ll teach you when your hairdresser spills what she uses on your hair with me.”

“Oh, I actually asked. After last time.”

“And?”

“It’s a mix of seaweed oil, a couple of different spices, and a kind of incense.”

Katara deflates. “There’s no way I’m going to be able to put that together in the South Pole.”

Zuko shrugs. “I’ll send some home with you next time your ambassador duties send you my way.”

She smiles. “Deal.” Katara pulls her braid over her shoulder and takes the tie off, unbraiding it a few pleats. “You separate it into three chunks, and then you alternate taking the outside strands under.” She demonstrates, fingers nimbly braiding her hair back to where it had been. “Simple enough?” Zuko nods, and she turns her back to him. “Give it a try.”

He scoots closer to her on the floor, undoing part of the braid and trying to rebraid it the way she’d shown. Even without looking, Katara can tell his brow is furrowed with concentration. After a few minutes, and many frustrated grunts, he reties her hair. “Okay, how is that?”

She pulls the braid back over her shoulder and looks over his work. It’s significantly looser than the top half of her braid that she’d done, but, maybe it’s due to the fact that the strands were already separated, it’s actually quite even and lacking tangles. “Not bad!” she says honestly. She glances over at him to find Zuko wearing a pleased look.

The sound of a door flap moving draws both of their gazes towards her father’s room. Hakoda emerges, wearing ceremonial Chief's garb. “You two ready?” he asks. They nod, rising to their feet, and they all head out together.

The festival is a hit. The roads are alive with people and laughter. Small lanterns and decorative candles line the streets like fairy lights. The smell of cooked meat floats through the air. Katara drags Zuko off to try fire roasted seal-turtle and Zuko finds a performance of trained otter-penguins that they both enjoy. There’s games, too, most of them are supposed to represent some kind of hunting skill. They both try (and fail at) spear throwing. Katara wins at tug-of-war, though it was admittedly only because she cheated and created a slick patch of ice under Zuko’s feet. He didn’t even fall. In-fact, he’s remarkably steady and stays on his feet as his boots slide right across the ground and over the line. He gets back at her in the artillery battle (snowball fight) when he dumps a bunch of snow down the back of her coat. 

They’re both laughing as they head over for the ceremony, bumping shoulders affectionately and messing with each other. People seem more pleased to see a smiling Fire Lord than disgruntled at his, perhaps unprofessional, mannerisms. Katara parts with him when they arrive, letting him find a seat while she goes to take her place behind the stage-like platform where the ceremony would be taking place. She finds Sokka backstage, helping their father get everything ready and directing the young hunters into their places.

“Where have you been?!” Sokka asks. Katara shrugs.

“I’ve been enjoying the festival,” she says simply.

“Oh, right.” Sokka smiles deviously. “Dad told me how much you’ve been enjoying the festival.”  

“What?”

“Oh come on! You’ve been hanging out with Zuko all evening, haven’t you?”

“I think I hear my cue, I’ll catch up with you after, Sokka!”

“Katara! You can’t-”

She absolutely can, because it really was time for her to perform, and she hurries out onto stage. As she performs her waterbending demonstration, she spots a familiar face wearing a red coat in a sea of blue. He’s wearing a soft smile that makes her feel warm inside. It was her best performance of the demonstration yet.

The ceremony goes over wonderfully. Katara meets up with Zuko afterwards, and she doesn’t even think about it when she takes his hand as she runs over. “You were amazing,” he greets her.

“Thanks,” she smiles bashfully, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear with her free hand. The two start to pick their way down the road, hand in hand. The position feels so natural for them. His thumb rubs small circles over the back of her hand, and she finds herself wishing that they weren’t wearing thick mitts.

“So, what now? Is that it?” He asks. They seem to have a mutual agreement not to comment on their linked hands, like acknowledging it would make it unreal.

“Oh no,” Katara says deviously. “There’s still a dance.”

Zuko lets out a long suffering sigh. “You’re lucky I like you.”

Katara doesn’t manage to hide the shy smile that creeps across her face. “Come on, you.” She pulls him along to the place where the dance is being held. It’s a far cry from what she’s sure Zuko is used to in the Fire Nation. The main instrument is a drum and various different percussive instruments made from bone and hide. Partners dance in quick rhythm, clapping along and shuffling in set footsteps. 

Zuko hesitates. “Katara, I don’t know how to-”

“Trust me,” she says seriously, meeting his eyes.

He smiles gently. “Okay.”

She leads him through the dance steps, sometimes shouting instructions about the upcoming section. Zuko is a fast learner, and while he trips a few times over his feet, he quickly picks up on patterns and falls into the rhythm. Even though, at times, he doesn’t do the steps quite right, he stays in-time enough that it’s hardly noticeable. Soon, they’re both enjoying themselves, smiling and breathing heavily as they keep tempo. 

As the night comes to a close, Zuko walks her home. She clutches his arm, leaning into his side, and enjoying the cold night air after the warmth of all the dancing. They pull to a halt at her igloo.

“Katara, I-” he clears his throat as she releases his arm to face him. “Tonight was a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, it really was,” she agrees, smiling softly.

He moistens his lips, not meeting her eye. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you again soon, right?”

“Of course. I’ll be there to see you off before you leave tomorrow.” She wrinkles her nose, smiling. “You can’t scare me away that easily,” Katara teases. 

He chuckles softly, his breath misting in the cold air. “Okay.” He reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She squeezes back. Their eyes meet. “I…I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he breathes.

Slowly, he pulls away, and though logically with her thick mitts over her hands it didn’t make a difference, she could swear her hand is colder when his leaves.

“See you tomorrow,” she says. He gives her one last smile, before she watches him walk off into the dark streets, heading for his ship.

Katara wakes like a firebender the next morning. That is to say, she rises with the sun. It’s terrible. She’s wide awake, though, when she goes to see Zuko off. He’s already bid farewell to her father and given Sokka a hug goodbye when Katara approaches. Her brother and father are still in the council building, and Zuko’s retinue are aboard the ship, leaving the two standing at the edge of the gangplank.

“Hey, before I forget, these are yours,” he says, reaching into his pocket to extract the beads that she’d weaved into his hair the previous night.

She pretends to seriously consider the beads for a long moment, her lip poking out thoughtfully. “Mmm, no.” She chuckles when Zuko blinks at her. “See, I lose them all the time. You should keep track of them for me.” He chuckles, looking down as she slowly closes his fingers over the beads.”

“Dang, I guess I better leave you with something too, then.”

Katara quirks a brow. “Oh yeah?”

His free hand comes up to rest on her cheek, the rough seams of the mitt brushing over her skin. Her heart beats faster as he leans in, head tilting to the side. Her breath catches, eyes fluttering closed. She feels his breath on her face, as he pauses, letting the moment linger, before he presses forward.

Their lips meet. His skin is warm against her cold face, but still not as warm as the swooping sensation in her gut. She feels his lips tilt up in a smile as she kisses him back, her hand reaching up to find the back of his head. They stay just as close when they break apart, resting their foreheads together and sharing breath.

“Well, now I definitely have to come visit,” Katara murmurs. Zuko chuckles, pressing another kiss between her brows.

“I’ll eagerly await your arrival then, Lady Katara.” He smiles, pulling away to meet her eye.

She rolls her eyes playfully. “That’s ‘Supreme Master of Water Lady Katara’ to you.”

He smirks. “I’ll be sure your title is updated in our official files.”

They stay there, unsure how to part from each other. Finally, one of Zuko’s crew appears to announce they’re ready for departure.

“I’ll write soon.” Zuko promises, giving her one last kiss, before he steps back.

“You better.” Katara smiles, waving goodbye as Zuko boards, and watches long after the anchor has been hoisted and the ship disappears among the glaciers. Footsteps approaching from behind her signals Sokka’s arrival. Her brother clears his throat.

“So, uh, when were you going to tell me you were smooching the Fire Lord?”

She turns beet red. “Sokka! How long were you watching, you creep!?”

He laughs obnoxiously. “Hey! I’m not complaining! I’ve always wanted Zuko for a brother!”