Reservations

Summary: Her son had always been a reserved boy, and Ursa has doubts with how well he got along with his friends, particularly the waterbender. Written for Zutara Week 2019, Day 2: Speak.

A/N: Okay, so I've read a bunch of fics where Ursa likes Katara immediately, and here is my take on that lol. This is just a short entry for Zutara Week, and I know it's late but I still hope you all enjoy this!

Her son had always been a reserved boy.

She supposed both her and Ozai were equally to blame; his cruelty drove him further into his shell, and her protectiveness encouraged him to stay there, where he was safe.

So it came as no surprise to Lady Ursa that the reserved boy she once knew had grown into a reserved young man.

What came as a surprise, however, was the company that Zuko chose to keep: The rambunctious, rowdy, riotous company that consisted of the over-eager Avatar, two constantly bickering Water Tribe siblings, and the blind earthbender whose mouth was as filthy as her bare feet. (Ursa had been scandalized to discover that the last one was Poppy and Lao's daughter— she didn't even know the Beifongs had a daughter, much less one as… unique as Toph.)

This was not to say her son's friends weren't good people— of course they were; these teenagers brought the Hundred Year War to a grinding stop, after all— but the more Ursa observed how the group interacted, the more worried she became that Zuko would be pushed to the fringes of their friendship.

In a fit of unshakeable and very-much-justified motherly concern, she sought Iroh out as "Team Avatar" (the title irked her son greatly) reunited for the fourth anniversary of the war's end.

Her brother-in-law just chuckled as he sipped his ginseng tea, and it agitated Ursa even more.

"Do forgive me, my sister," said Iroh, motioning for her to sit at the Pai Sho table. "But I simply do not see what the problem is."

The unmistakable rumble of earthbending swept through the palace, followed by shouts and shrieks and splashes.

"I understand that Zuko trusts them completely, and it is not my place to disapprove of those he considers his friends, but…"

There was a crash and a resounding clang outside, followed by the Avatar's sheepish apologies. Ursa winced delicately.

"How did the Avatar's friends interact with my son during the war, brother?" she asked instead.

The retired general just shrugged as he poured her a steaming cup of tea.

"They had a rough start, yes, but once Zuko accepted his destiny, they all got along swimmingly," explained Iroh. "I presume he already told you of the mission Ozai sent him on when he was a boy?"

Ursa nodded and took a small sip of tea, but was not soothed.

"I'm afraid they will not stand by him, now that their shared goal has been realized," she admitted. "They do not seem the kind of company Zuko would choose to keep for life, either."

Iroh's eyes widened in surprise.

"Nonsense, Lady Ursa! Your son would readily give up his life for any of his friends, and any one of them would do the same for him."

Lady Ursa sat in unconvinced silence; Iroh placed a hand over hers reassuringly.

"Perhaps it would appease you if you got to know them better, my lady. After all, it has been a year since you've returned; I'd say proper introductions are in order."

She nodded, and set out to do so during the Peace Summit. It was easy enough to observe the group; they interacted as though invisible strings bound them together.

The Water Tribe boy was obviously a brother to Zuko: they would practice their sword-fighting in the mornings and call each other names, put each other in headlocks and rough-house with an easy camaraderie that banished all doubts from Ursa's mind.

The blind earthbender presented another surprise, as though her entire persona wasn't surprising enough: Toph was apparently one of Zuko's staunchest protectors, having fought off more assassins than the Royal Guard could count, and would often use her unique lie-detecting skills to weed out those who sugarcoated their words around the Fire Lord. Whether she showed it through punches or blithe words, she was her son's friend, and cared very much for his well-being.

Ursa also learned that the Avatar, while so boyish and carefree, held wisdom far more than his years and steadfastly worked for peace as doggedly as her son did. He was always the first to come to Zuko's defense, the first to stand up to the council when Zuko's honor came into question, the first to suggest a break when crotchety nobles started getting on her son's nerves. He was also the first to wake Zuko up in the morning for meditation, the first to greet him cheerfully during meals, and the first to remind him that he needed to have some fun once in a while.

No doubt about it: the Avatar was the Fire Lord's friend.

The only one Ursa had doubts about was the waterbender.

While she was certainly part of the gang, and teased Zuko as often as her brother did, Ursa had yet to see the two of them spend time together. Between them, there were no sparring rituals, no friendly pieces of advice that the group often offered, no forceful urging to leave "Fire Lordy" responsibilities behind in favor of "not sitting on your ass all day arguing with a bunch of old pansies". In fact, the waterbender made herself scarce during the entire Peace Summit, only appearing at meal times and at the required panels.

The only time Ursa saw them together in a less than official capacity was when the old waterbending master from the North Pole asked the young waterbender to showcase her talents, and she almost immediately chose Zuko as her partner.

The fight was almost feral, as though they were on opposite sides rather than on the same one, and the way she taunted Zuko— unlike her brother's harmless comments— led Ursa to believe that whatever past misunderstandings "Team Avatar" had with her son, the waterbender had not quite gotten over it. It didn't help that her son returned the insults with equal fervor— Ursa had to fight the urge to tell him to wash his mouth with soap when he called the waterbender a "filthy peasant"— and he didn't seem to pull his punches the way he did whenever he sparred with his other friends.

It then left Ursa puzzled, and more than a little concerned, when the waterbender announced during the summit that she would be staying indefinitely in the Fire Nation as the Southern Water Tribe ambassador. Would her tenure as ambassador spell out trouble for her son's reign?

It was only when Ursa drank tea with Iroh later in the week that she found out her name: Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, the last waterbender of her people. It came as a surprise that Iroh spoke very highly of the young lady, and quickly dismissed Ursa's questions about her loyalty to Zuko.

"Oh, there's no one in the world that Zuko trusts more than Master Katara," Iroh said with a chuckle, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I should feel offended, but Katara seems to feel the same way towards him. I wouldn't want to get in the way."

Ursa frowned at that.

"If they are so close, why haven't I seen them together more often?" she asked, abandoning all pretense of small talk. "Why did they fight that way if they are such good friends?"

"Pit them against each other and they are merely equals; put them together and they are a force to be reckoned with," Iroh sad as he set down his tea cup, the twinkle in his eyes telling Ursa that he knew more than she did. She sighed in frustration.

"I have not seen them work together since 'Team Avatar' arrived, brother."

"Well, perhaps you should talk to them about it, my lady," Iroh said cheerfully. "After all, the white dragon bush only blooms when watered."

Ursa pressed her lips together.

"That's always your solution for me on this matter, Iroh."

Her brother-in-law simply smiled mysteriously.

"Different leaves brew at different temperatures, my sister."

Needless to say, Ursa left Iroh's chambers that day wondering if the old general's retirement has messed with his head.

Still, she did not have any other idea aside from Iroh's suggestion, and it still pained her that her brother-in-law seemed to know more about her son than she did, so she walked to the royal family's wing and stood in front of Zuko's chambers.

Before she could knock on his slightly ajar door, she heard voices inside.

"I want her to know about this first, Zuko—"

"But we're not ready to tell anyone yet!"

"She's your mother, she has every right to know what's happening in your life!"

"Not about this!"

Ursa crept closer, curiosity getting the best of her. Zuko's back was to her, all tensed and hunched, and Katara stood before him, hands planted on her hips and a fierce look in her face.

"Zuko, it's only a matter of time before everyone else finds out! Suki knows some of it because she accidentally read your letter when we were in Kyoshi— don't give me that look, you were the one who sent it via Hawky, and you know how he gets! Anyway, Toph definitely knew something was up the moment I stepped foot in the palace, and I bet she told your uncle the minute she found out; Aang's been acting weirder around me lately, but I know he'll get over it; and Sokka— well, Sokka's just been as dense as usual, so we've got no worries there."

"Why don't we tell Sokka first and if I survive his space sword, we'll tell my mom?"

Katara huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"First of all, way to make a losing bet— you know you can beat Sokka any day. Face it, sweetie, the only one who could still beat you in a sparring match is me."

"I would've won last time if your step-grandfather didn't interfere."

Katara's lips quirked into a sly smile.

"Well, it was getting a little too heated," she said pointedly. "And don't change the subject! How do you think your mom would feel if she finds out about this from somebody else?"

"I—" All the fight fled from Zuko's body. "You're right. I'll talk to her."

Katara relaxed from her stance with a relieved sigh.

"Good. Because I'd really like to get to know her better, you know, but every time I'm around her, I feel like I have the words 'I've dating your son for a year' tattooed across my forehead."

Zuko laughed— a real, honest-to-Agni laugh that Ursa hadn't heard since she returned to the palace— and his shoulders finally loosened. When he spoke, she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I can't believe it's been a year," he said, placing his hands on Katara's waist and pulling her close, touching their foreheads together. She smiled back at him and gently brushed stray strands of hair from his face.

"I know. I really missed you," she replied softly, but then her voice took on a teasing note as she played with the collar of his tunic. "But let me remind you, Fire Lord, that you were the one who wanted to take it slow."

"Hey, you agreed to that!" Zuko reminded her, another laugh escaping from him. "You even argued that the council will have a field day and it would just distract people from all the rebuilding work we've been doing!"

"I know, I know. You're gonna need all the support you can get once they find out, and that's why I think you should tell your mom." Katara paused. "Especially now, since she's been listening in on us at the door."

Ursa laughed as Zuko turned around in comical surprise, almost literally jumping out of his skin.

"Mom! You've been here the whole time?" He turned to Katara without waiting for an answer. "Did you know she was here the whole time?"

"No, I just saw her a minute ago," laughed Katara, placing a soothing hand on his arm. She then bowed to Ursa in the traditional Fire Nation way. "I'm sorry for exposing you, Lady Ursa, but I couldn't resist."

"It seems there's no need for such formalities, my dear," she said, finally entering the room. She couldn't help but look at her son in amusement. "Did you really think you can hide something as important as this from your mother, Zuko?"

Zuko hid his blush behind his hands.

"I did it for a year," he mumbled, his voice muffled, and both Ursa and Katara chuckled at his expense.

"Well, you hid it fairly well," said Ursa, glancing between the two. "I never would've guessed, with how you two interacted."

"I may have overdone it when Gran-Pakku asked us to spar," Katara said apologetically.

"You didn't," Zuko assured her. "It was the most fun I've had in months."

"Well, I still had to hide from everyone who might find out, which wasn't fun, by the way," retorted Katara, sticking her tongue out at him. Ursa tsked in disapproval.

"Zuko, women don't like it if you act as though you're ashamed of them," she said lightly, to which Zuko immediately protested.

"I'm not ashamed of Katara! But the Fire Nation's still unstable, and the only reason half my council's agreeing to my demands is because they want me to marry their daughters and nieces and granddaughters—"

"Sweetie, don't get your topknot in a twist; I'm not upset," interrupted Katara, eyes twinkling in amusement. Zuko rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously.

"Well, now that the owl cat's out of the bag, I think it's about time I got to know you better, Katara," said Ursa, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "How would you like to join me for tea?"

"Oh, I'd love to!" replied Katara. She cast a mischievous glance at Zuko. "Maybe you can tell me embarrassing stories from Zuko's childhood."

"That is an excellent idea, my dear," Ursa said, leading her out of the Fire Lord's chambers arm-in-arm. "You know, one time, when Zuko and I were sitting by the turtleducks' pond—"

"This is why I didn't want her to find out!" Zuko called after them, pinching the bridge of his nose. Katara only giggled and rolled her eyes in response.

"You'll have to excuse Zuko, my dear," Ursa said with a smile, her mind finally free of worries. "He's always been a reserved boy."