I don’t own the Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.


Day 2 – Utopia and Unite


The Fire Lady walked through a corridor in the royal wing of the Fire Palace. For more than a week now it had been only her who took care of everything, since the Fire Lord left to the Earth Kingdom to settle some difficulties around the borders.

The silence which surrounded her in the moonlit area signed that her children either found themselves a game which did not include yelling and shouting as usual, or…

When she reached the room of Kazuki her lips curled upwards into a smile. Both the prince and his 8-year-old twin sister were soundly asleep on the huge red sheeted bed.

Amaya was lying on her back, her head on a pillow while her legs were crossed upon her brother’s back, who rested his head upon his arms, right above an opened book.

As she got closer, Katara could see a picture beside Kazuki’s head which she recognized at once… the illustration showed a ball room lit with only candles where – right in the middle – two figures danced, holding each other’s gaze: the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady, Zuko’s and her alter egos.

This book told the story of the second play she had seen on Ember Island, which was about the tale of how the Fire Lord found his true love… She found it incredible that anyone would be interested in the two of them, but Zuko explained that it had been almost a custom in the Fire Nation to be curious about its leader. And he thought that if they were going to see their lives on the stage again anyway, he would rather face with reality this time…

But when the play turned out to be a success, even he had been surprised. And the fact that Katara changed her mind about watching plays – certainly not to his joy – meant that they have seen it themselves for a few times already. Amaya loved it the most, Kazuki enjoyed those parts more where the Blue Spirit turned into action…

Lady Katara stroked her son’s brown hair, whose blue eyes popped open. He slowly blinked and started smiling when she whispered his name. “I would save you from the pirates too, Mom…”

The waterbender tried to suppress a giggle with raising a hand before her lips then spoke again. “It’s time to sleep Kazuki.” She removed his sister’s legs from his back before the boy lifted himself up from the book. He murmured something about getting in his pyjamas, but she stopped him with blowing a kiss on his forehead. “You’re already wearing them sweetie…” She closed then put the book down to the boy’s bedside table before turning to his sister.

The dark skinned and haired girl was hugging a doll with a smile. The doll itself was a figure of Toph’s actor from the previous play of the Ember Isle… of course it was Auntie Toph herself who brought it to the kids. She thought it was ‘awesome’. When she showed the twins that if its hand was pulled it would blench, Katara could say anything but the youngsters did not want to let go of it. She realized that if she had protested more fiercely they would have only loved it more, so this time she gave up… while inwardly cursing their Auntie Toph.

Katara brushed a feather away from her daughter’s forehead, but Amaya only frowned without opening her golden eyes at all. Her mother gently scooped her up, and her gaze fell on her son, who started to walk away from his bed. “Kazuki, where are you going?”

“Potty break…” The boy murmured, while rubbing his eyes. “Good night, Mom.”

“Good night…” Katara only whispered now that she lifted Amaya up, but this short conversation was enough for the princess to stir awake.

Her arms circled her mother’s neck while her hand still held the doll. “I’m not tired yet Mom…” She mumbled in her neck before a yawn escaped her, but the Fire Lady only shook her head slightly then kissed her cheek too.

Kazuki walked out of the bathroom in the same moment as they stepped out, and with almost completely closed eyes he got in his bed. He yawned once, while stretching his arms but before the sleep overcame him, he whispered seemingly only to the darkness. “Good night Dad…”

But of course the darkness wouldn’t have blinked in surprise several times because of that, before silently sneaking out of the room.

--

“My little princess…” Katara lightly laughed. “Soon I won’t be able to carry you like this.” Amaya smiled with her head on her mother’s shoulder as she went on. “And now that you have your own room you keep on going back to your brother’s one…”

“We were reading about you, Mommy…” She said before lifting her head up to look at her. “And that dance Mom, I so love that!” Katara carried her into her room while Amaya slowly whispered: “…and they were the most wonderful dancers the World had seen. They knew not who the other was, or if the other had someone too… but that night, they were no longer the Fire Lord and the Ambassador of the Water Tribes…” When her mother placed her down in her bed, she leaned backwards with a smile gracing her features as she finished. “That night, in full disguise, without words… they had been free.”

Her mother smiled down at her after tucking her in. “Yes, and after the dance they went home and slept peacefully during the whole night.” She said, but Amaya only crossed her arms above her Toph figure with a frown upon her face.

“Mom, that’s not how the story went on…” She complained, but her eyes unfortunately started to close anyway while she tried to mumble. “There was a kiss too, and they were… awake for hours after… they part-… ed…” And with that, she had fallen asleep.

The Fire Lady’s smile reduced as she turned her gaze to the side. Where had Zuko been in that moment? In Omashu? Maybe in Ba Sing Sei…?

She recalled how hard it was for her not to toss and turn the whole night since he left. That double bed was too big to lay there alone… She slowly rose from the edge of her daughter’s bed so that she would not wake her again, then silently headed back to the corridor.

When he was there they always slept between blue sheets. He said he loved to see her with her true colours, not in his which always surrounded them anyway. But when he was not there, she only used red bed linen. Otherwise she probably wouldn’t have slept at all…

She reached up to her head, pulling out the flame shaped hairpin from her bun before opening the door to the bedroom. Her long wavy hair fell around her form freely as she came to a halt in the doorway. The sheets on the bed were changed to blue ones.

She let out a huff while her expressions changed into one which mixed sadness with a pained look. Some servants probably came in and did their job… she could not blame them for that. But this meant that even the second week had passed. Was that too childish to miss someone who you loved…?

Her hand let go of the door as she stepped forward with slumped shoulders, but then…

A gasp escaped her as an arm fell around her waist from behind then as she tried to hit backwards with her other hand the person behind her took a hold of her wrist. Her blue eyes slightly widened in the dark room as she felt the familiar warmth around her when the man behind her pulled her close… “Surprise.”

“Zuko!” She shouted as she whirled in his arms, placing her hands on the sides of his face. She felt tears gather in the corner of her eyes as she saw those golden eyes and the smile on his handsome face. “You’re here!” She cried, and when he was about to say something her lips collided with his, silencing him in the best way she could, and his arms pulled her even closer while her ones grasped and urged and stroke, before he finally needed to slightly push on her to let himself get some air…

“W-wow…” He breathed and he let himself make a smirk while they both took deep breaths. “That’s what I call welcome…” Katara did not even try to answer. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her head fell on his shoulder. For a long moment the only things that existed to her were his warmth and his scent which she missed so much… She listened to his steady heartbeat while his fingers played with her hair, lifting some locks up to his face to feel the wildflowers and faintly the ocean itself.

“How can you do this?” He whispered, making her lift her head to meet his gaze.

“How can I do what?” She asked confusedly. His smile softened and he pulled her even closer to him. As if he had felt that she would disappear if he let her go…

“How can you be more beautiful every time I return home?” She only smiled in his shoulder before slowly letting her hands move down to his chest. She felt as his hands trailed from her waist to her hips, then lower, and she peeked up to see his eyes focused only upon her, with a mischievous smile. “Would you dance with me?”

She gave him a look at first, because she did not expect that at that moment. “I’ve heard the kids…” He said, and she smiled up at him proudly, only how a mother could.

“But there’s no music.” She spoke but hardly had she finished it, somebody near happened to solve this problem, because the room filled with a low tune. Her smile brightened as her husband put out his hand, and she placed hers in his, letting out a light giggle as he spun around with her in a slow motion.

“We don’t dance enough you know…” He said lowly, and she only agreed with closed eyes while her body closely followed his.

As long as the music stayed with them – it did not last too long, only a couple of minutes – they only danced like that with smiles upon their faces while their eyes bore into the other’s, just like on a certain night, years ago.

Then, as the music died, they stopped but did not let any distance between them. “…And when last song reached its end,” Katara whispered, making Zuko smile as she slowly leaned towards him. “The Painted Lady’s hands lifted up the Spirit’s mask, while he dared not to move, fearing she would flee…” She said, but she did not go on after they shared a kiss once again.

Her fierce kiss, her urging hands… the glint in her eyes, which reflected his… When his lips met hers once again, he knew that this night, was far from over.


“And the tale lived on, about the Waterbender and the Fire Lord. The world’s saviours who were blessed by the spirits themselves…”