Disclaimer: I do not own.

A/N In honor of my return to Fanfiction, I am gifting everyone with this lovely smut fic. Oh it's good to be back.

Katara didn't really guess why she would expect this to be any different. The healers said it would hurt the first few times, to give herself some extra attention before going into the main event. It's pretty much a muscle, they said, and it basically just went through a tremendous workout. Give it time to feel pleasurable again, because it will.

What they didn't tell her was that her lust for her husband wouldn't waiver after childbirth. That watching him hold and caress their newborn child would send a flaming spark to her now empty belly, and every time his arm wrapped around her and pulled her close at night made her squirm with desire. His bright eyes would lift to hers and all she would want to do was disregard their warnings and make love to him, but she would brush it aside when a sharp pain in her center reminded her that she couldn't act on that impulse.

Her body reminded her that she wasn't really ready, yet.

Even with nights of gentle caresses and kisses, Katara couldn't take the edge of her burgeoning ardor for Zuko. So one evening, after the baby was put down to sleep, she came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She began peppering kisses to the top of his shoulder, heading towards the juncture at his neck, as she began stroking his abdomen down towards the hem of his pants.

"Katara..."

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?"

She dragged her teeth along his skin, savoring in the slight hiss that escaped his lips, and then murmured, "I'm tired of waiting."

Zuko put one of his hands on top of hers and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "Did the physician say it's okay?"

Katara shook her head against his shoulder blade and replied, "No, but it's been four weeks. And I can't wait anymore."

There was a pause, as if Zuko was contemplating her answer, and he turned slowly in her arms, looking down at her with darkened eyes and a thoughtful expression. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." She gave him a smile. "And I'd rather go through a little bit of pain than have to wait another few weeks. I need you, Zuko."

That was enough to light that fire in him that she wanted oh-so badly. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, not waiting another minute as he began pushing her backwards towards their bed. When her knees his the mattress, he broke the kiss and gently shoved her down. As she settled into the plush of the bed, he climbed on top of her, wedged his knees in between hers, and rested himself on top of her. He began kissing her again, not holding back on any of his fervor- he must have been wanting this as badly as her, she realized- and started running one of his hands up her side towards her breasts.

When he cupped one in his palm, she didn't expect the lack of sensation. She thought they would be as sensitive as they had been before, possibly even more so, but even as his thumb ran over the fabric covering her nipple she could barely feel it. For a second, she felt a little upset. That had been one of the things she enjoyed most in their couplings, but then she rationalized that it was from the baby breastfeeding and that it would take some time for those to become normal, too.

Zuko broke the kiss so he could pull her slip off, leaving her just in a pair of thin underwear. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes travelling as they took in her new body. Her breasts were larger and her stomach wasn't as taut as it had been when they first met, but there was nothing in his gaze that made her think that he thought of her as anything less than beautiful. And just as he leaned down to kiss her again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his body, pressing himself against her entirely so she could feel every muscle, bulge, and bone.

There was nothing Katara wanted more than her husband in this moment. To prove that point, she slipped her arms around his neck and quickly rolled them over so she was straddling his hips. His look of shock was lost on her, because her abdomen told her that she wasn't quite ready for that movement. She needed to make a mental note that she would need to start working those out to bring back her strength.

But she brushed that aside and began grinding her hips downwards against his, just as she leaned down and began suckling on the sensitive skin of his neck. She enjoyed this part just as much as Zuko did, because she got to see the usually controlled and stoic Fire Lord fall apart just by the ministrations of her mouth. His hands clenched on her- now wider- hips, digging into the skin when she dragged her teeth against the pulse. His back would arch up when she began kissing downwards and ground herself against the bulge in his pants, and his breathing would pick up when her lips kissed the bare skin of his chest and stomach as she traveled down towards his hips.

She pulled his pants down- he lifted himself up so she could get them over his butt- and began kissing a slow circle around his crotch. He was obviously just as excited as she was right now, based on the way he throbbed and jerked every time her mouth came in contact with his hip bone or inner thigh. His breathing was shallow and she could feel his heart race when she touched his skin. He was wanting this just as badly as she was, if not more.

And when her mouth wrapped around the head of his cock, he inhaled sharply and his hips thrust forward. She took no time teasing him, instead she wrapped one hand around his shaft and the other cupped his ballsack, and she began pumping up and down as she sucked and twirled her tongue around the head.

Zuko obviously missed fellatio, seeing how they didn't even do much foreplay in the last few months of her pregnancy, and he was starting to show that he was already about to come. But Katara didn't want that, so she slowed down her hand, removed her mouth from him and went down to slowly suck on his testicles. That was one of his favorite things, especially when she would stroke his shaft slowly while her tongue lapped against the wrinkled skin of his balls. He would always stop her when she did this, because he would be right on the precipice of orgasm when she would return her mouth to his rock hard erection.

He didn't disappoint today.

Katara barely could blink when he sat up, pulled her away from his crotch, and spun them around so she was on her back again. Her underwear were pulled off swiftly and Zuko's mouth quickly latched onto her nipple, tongue twirling around the nub before he gently sucked on her. It was still a little numb, compared to before, but there was something that made her stir and wriggle for more.

Zuko let go of her nipple with a wet 'pop' and smirked up towards her. "Well, that was unexpected."

"Huh?"

Without replying, he began pressing languid kisses on her stomach, heading towards her center. She had practically forbade him from doing this while she was pregnant, just out of self-consciousness, but now as he sucked on her hip bone, she couldn't come up with any reason as to why she even did that. Because when his tongue slipped down the center of her slit and flatted out to spread it apart, she shuddered with the familiar sensation that she had missed so much. He wasted no time, yet remained gentle, as he dragged his tongue against her clit, swirling in circles and lapping against it like a cat sipping cream.

Every passing of his tongue sent a jolt down her legs to her toes and made her belly tighten and flutter. He slowly, almost at a cautious speed, slid one finger into her center, as if he was testing the waters. Katara figured it was because he was afraid of hurting her, knowing that their second first time was going to be a little uncomfortable for her.

This was anything but.

His finger just made her speed towards an orgasm even faster, and he must have figured that out, too, because he began pumping it in and out in cadence with his tongue. He drew this out as much as he could, moving his lips to kiss around her pubic area and the insides of her thighs. All of his attention was making that cresting sensation of orgasm start to build quicker than it had in the past. She wondered if that was what happened when she was voluntarily neglecting herself for so long.

Zuko must have figured that out, because he crawled back up her body and pressed slow and purposeful kisses up her stomach and in between the valley of her breasts. When he reached her face, he brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her softly on her lips before nudging her opening with his erection.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded once, feeling apprehensive, and gave him a reassuring smile as she took him in her hand and guided him inside. He pushed himself all the way in, and she had to bite her lip to stop from gasping out. It hurt, like a stinging pain she would get when she would stretch a muscle that was stiff from overuse. It was nothing compared to childbirth, but it felt like her muscles were tearing all over again, just in that one instant.

But as Zuko settled into her and she relaxed into the embrace, she could feel the pleasure budding inside of her once more. It was faint, but it was there. Just starting to overshadowing the pain enough to make her want to continue, even if she had to feel that sting every time he moved inside of her.

When Zuko saw he growing comfort with their position, he began to slowly move out of her. They rocked together, careful at first but growing into that steady pace that made both of them gasp for breath. Katara clawed at Zuko's shoulders and he gripped the silk sheets with white knuckles, teeth biting down onto her neck as he groaned into her skin.

All pain subsided and was replaced by pleasure, enough to make Katara cry out and push herself up against him. He responded eagerly, hooking his elbow underneath her leg and pulling it up to his shoulder. The deeper he went, the more Katara forgot about the pain she had felt when they started. And that building sensation of her orgasm took over every part of her mind and all she could think was how to get there faster. The leg that wasn't on Zuko's shoulder was now wrapped around his hips, heel pressing into his ass and pushing him even deeper.

He sped up, grunting with every thrust and twisting his face in concentration. He was climbing up that same ladder she was, faster than they used to, and he came just as her orgasm crested and spread to every part of her body. She was left tingling and sweating, falling down from that high that she missed so much. Zuko was panting, his eyes screwed shut and a small smile gracing his lips.

Katara tilted her chin up and kissed him gently on his cheek before settling back into the mattress. She then brushed his matted and sweaty hair off of his forehead and whispered, "I missed you."

There was a shrill cry from the other side of the room and Zuko dropped his forehead to her collarbone, letting out a chuckle. "I missed you, too."

A/N ah the joys of parenthood. Trust me, I should know.