AN:

Chapter Two

The Fire Palace was larger then Katara remembered and while both her children instantly squealed and charged toward the heavy door, Katara lingered on the lawn and stared up at the tall towers. Zuko paused and looked back at her, watching her weary expression carefully. "You all right?" he asked as she caught him looking at her.

"Fine. Just realized how many memories I had left behind here." She smiled and gave a small sigh as she caught up to Zuko. They walked slowly together as Rika and Kuzon played tag on the lawn.

Zuko smiled. "There were sure a lot, weren't there?"

"Mmm," Katara agreed as she fiddled with her necklace. Zuko casually noticed that it had changed, and was no longer the simple blue stone, but an elaborately woven string with a couple precious stones hanging off it. They glimmered in the light and Zuko looked away.

"You'll probably want to get settled before dinner, then. If you come…"

"Settled? I thought we were just having dinner Zuko." Katara's tone was dangerous again and Zuko chose his words carefully.

"Rika and Kuzon will probably be pretty tired after we eat. Do you really want to drag them down back into the city and try to find an inn to stay in?"

"I don't know Zuko." Katara sighed. "I don't think that it's a-" A loud crash to their right cut Katara off and she jumped in surprise. "What was that?" She asked as she looked around.

"Sugar Queen, is that really you?" Rika and Kuzon paused in their game and looked around, eyes landing on a tall woman standing a boulder beside the palace. Her black hair fell loose around her back, and her white eyes stared unseeingly toward them. "I suppose," Toph continued with a smirk. "That these would be your children then." She leapt gracefully from the rock to the ground and grinned brashly at Katara.

"Welcome back to the Fire Nation, Sweet Cheeks." Katara laughed and hugged her friend. In the ten years since she had last seen Toph, the young Earth bender had grown taller, her voice and attitude were still harsh and yet she seemed softer, slightly gentler.

"How have you been Toph?" Katara asked as she released her friend and looked her over once.

"Eh, you know, some Earth bending here, some ass whipping there. The usual."

"Your hair got longer." Katara observed.

"And apparently you had kids."

"Yeah, this is Rika, and this is Kuzon," she placed her hands respectively on their heads, knowing Toph could see them clearly through the earth.

"Your eyes are really pale." Rika informed her. "Are you blind?"

Toph grinned at the little girl. "Through my eyes, yes. But I bet you I can see twenty more things around us than you can."

"Nu-uh!" Kuzon giggled.

"Yep. Like for instance, there's a bird in the tree behind me, and right by Rika's big toe is an ant." She grinned as Rika squeaked and stepped back.

"That's so cool!" Kuzon stuck his tongue at his squeamish sister as she shifted nervously." Toph nodded in amusement.

"It's ok Rika, the ant's on Kuzon's foot now." It was Kuzon's turned to yelp and shake the small creature off. Rika smiled and looked up at the older woman. Her pale eyes stared blankly back, but by her smirk, Rika knew nothing was hidden from her.

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"That one looks like an ostrichhorse," Katara sighed as she pointed to the cloud just above them. Toph snorted and Zuko shook his head.

"No it doesn't, if it looks like anything it looks like a pillow." Katara punched him lightly on the arm.

"Use your imagination." She chided and then scooted closer and pointed again. "Look straight above us, you see? That part's the head, that's the saddle and those are the feet. Do you see now?" Zuko followed her lead and looked where she pointed.

"I see that you are clearly insane," he muttered. "Why bother cloud gazing, the shapes never really hold for long, and it all matters on perspective."

"Yeah, why bother looking at things that aren't connected to the ground? It's all I need to see. Anything beyond that is pointless. Oh, I know Katara, we should grass gaze. Hey, that one looks like a blade of grass." Toph added with a smirk, tapping the ground with her foot and smirking.

"But that's the point," Katara told Zuko after she sent an exasperated look toward Toph. "The perspective. Everyone looks at things differently, and so when two people see something indefinable the same way, it means they have a connection." She sighed and flopped back on the ground, pulling a disgruntled prince down beside her. "My brother and I used to do this when we were little, and we always ended up seeing one thing the same way. I'm not giving up until we do too." Her tone indicated she was serious and Zuko resigned himself.

"Fine. That cloud looks like…" Zuko searched for something that the big cloud of fluff looked like. "It looks like a house." He said finally, and pointed to which cloud he was talking about.

"Really? I thought that one looked like a platypusbear." Katara laughed and gestured to what she seemed to think was the head and tail." Zuko shook his head in disbelief.

"It doesn't look anything like that." He muttered, but kept searching for another cloud to name. "How about that one? It looks like a rock."

"That one was the ostrichhorse." Katara laughed and Zuko and Toph rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"Sugar Queen, you're insane." Toph mumbled and rolled over onto her stomach and closed her blind eyes, palm resting on the ground."

"Come on, use your imagination." Katara urged Zuko once more and the pointed to a large cloud. "What does that one look like?"

"Umm, A lump of fluff?" Zuko tiredly lamely and avoided Katara's amused glare. "Ok, ok… I don't know, two people holding hands?" A smile of satisfaction spread over Katara's face and she nodded.

"Good," She grinned at him as she let her arm drop down beside her and stared aimlessly at the clouds. "That's what I saw too."

"So we have a connection?"

"Yep, we're on the same track."

"If you say so." Zuko closed his eyes, enjoying the sun. Toph smirked off to his right.

"Hey! Katara!" The water bender propped herself up on her elbows and shaded her eyes against the sun and get a better look at her waving brother. "We just got a letter from dad! Come and see." Katara grinned and leapt up immediately.

"Really? Is he back in the south yet?" She asked as she hurried toward his brother. Zuko listened to her go and then opened his eyes again and sighed.

"Did you know," Toph commented casually as she blindly looked over her nails feigning interest in them. "That you're heart beats faster when Katara's around?"

x

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"Mama, this food is weird, do I have to eat it?" Rika asked with a frown as she looked down at her plate and then up at her mother.

"Yes, you don't know you don't like it until you try." Katara answered her daughter and smiled. "Just give it a taste, you'll like it." She urged.

Kuzon was happily chomping away at his own food. "It's good Rika," he told her as he chewed loudly. "It's a bit spicy, but yummy!"

Rika bit her lip. "I don't like spicy things." She whimpered.

"Neither did I, sweetie, but I like this. Just give it a try."

Zuko watched quietly and then reached over and pointed to the duck. "That's not spicy." He smiled reassuringly. "And these," he gestured to the dumplings. "Those are really good." He pulled back and glanced at Katara. She sent him a thankful look, but then looked quickly back at her own plate. Rika looked doubtfully at him, and then carefully tried the duck. She considered carefully before she smiled and took another bite.

"It's yummy." She announced and Toph smirked.

"I'm glad you never tried to convince me to eat anything Zuko, it looks like no one can resist your charms." Her tone was light, but there was an obvious second meaning from the way she was looking intently in Katara's direction.

Zuko quickly changed the topic. "So, is the Fire Palace any different from how you remember it?" he asked Katara. She shrugged.

"I guess it seems a bit bigger," Katara remarked thoughtfully as she rested her chin in her hands. "But then again, we've been living in a small Earth Kingdom village for a while, haven't we children?" Rika nodded, her mouth full. She had finished off the duck and the dumplings and moved on to the vegetables. Kuzon nodded too.

"It was very, very small." He added.

Zuko bit his tongue as a question rose to mind, but now was not the time to ask it. He opted instead for a safer question. "Was it a nice village?" Small talk, small talk was good. In the years of being Fire Lord, he had quickly learned small talk was everything.

"Yeah," Rika spoke up, her plate now clean and empty of food. "All the villagers were nice. And they really like Daddy." She perked up and turned toward Kuzon. "Do you remember the time that Daddy accidentally knocked the watch tower?" She giggled at the memory. "He was so upset and ended up rebuilding the whole thing himself. The whole village respected him…" she trailed off suddenly and Zuko realized the question he had thought of before was definitely for another time.

"He told of lots of stories," Kuzon picked up, ignoring his suddenly quiet sister. "He told us about all of these old adventure stories about a little boy who was supposed to save the world."

"Did he?" Zuko asked with interest.

"Yeah," Kuzon giggled suddenly, "He told us all about this pretty girl and her older brother who traveled with the boy. Did you know the boy was stuck in an iceberg for one hundred years? Well he was," Kuzon told him in all seriousness. "And then there was this really powerful Earth bender who was just a little girl," Toph coughed suddenly, and then sniggered discreetly into her napkin. Katara ginned and winked at her. " They all had to stop an evil bender from destroying the world. And finally," Kuzon finished waving his arms excitedly "There was a bad prince." Toph suddenly fell silent, and Zuko who had been listening intently with an amused smirk started. Katara paled.

"Bad?" Zuko asked softly.

"Yep," Kuzon continued ignoring the suddenly tense atmosphere. "A bad prince. He was always chasing the little boy and his friends. He wanted to take the little boy to the bad bender. He was evil."

"That's enough Kuzon." Katara cut in quickly her voice harsh.

"But Mama, I'm just retelling Daddy's stories." He looked up confused at his mother. "Why can't I tell Daddy's stories?"

"Another time dear." Katara caught herself and her tone had returned to soothing. "It's getting late, anyway." She stood from the table. "Let's get you two off to bed." Rika stood up with a grumble and Kuzon followed suit.

"Well, I guess I'll tell you more later." Kuzon grinned at Toph and Zuko, both who were quietly subdued. "Good night!"

"Good night," Toph recovered quickly and Zuko nodded.

"Sleep well." He said softly. Kuzon waved and hurried after his mother and sister who were already half way across the hall.

The two left at the dinner table were quiet and Toph shifted anxiously.

"Evil?" Zuko asked softly and looked up at her.

"You know Aang," Toph said quickly laying a hand on Zuko's arm. "He over exaggerates. He probably just wanted to build up the tension for his children. You know he would have eventually told them how the 'brave' and 'noble' prince ended up joining the boy and his friends, and defeated the evil bender." She laughed. "And then fell in love with-"

"Don't finish that sentence." Zuko suddenly snapped. "Don't you dare finish that sentence Toph." Toph withdrew her hand from quickly from the enraged Fire Lord's arms and pushed back her chair as Zuko fumed, steam pouring from his mouth. "I don't need to be reminded now." Zuko told her, his voice suddenly soft.

"I'm sorry Zuko." Toph whispered. "I didn't mean…"

"No," Zuko said quickly. "I over reacted. You were just trying to cheer me up." Zuko sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Toph scooted her chair back next to Zuko. She draped a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"At least you get to see her again, right? I mean that's something isn't it?"

Zuko looked up at her sharply. "I mean," Toph continued, "from the way it looks now, I'm not sure if I'll ever see… him again." She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her face away. Zuko sighed in defeat and lifted his own hand to place on Toph's shoulder in comfort.

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's something."

x

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Zuko didn't look up when he heard the heavy library door swing open. He knew who it was. He didn't bother to call out either, because she always found him, no matter how tucked away he way, she always popped up. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to concentrate of the text in front of him, but his lack of sleep and the late hour made it increasingly difficult, not to mention the rustling that Katara caused as she shifted through the many books and scrolls. The crackling fire in hearth in front of him lolled him and he fought to stay awake. Finally there was a soft cry of triumph and seconds later the young water bender settled herself beside her friend.

"Found you." She tapped him on the head with a scroll and then flopped backwards on a cushion, lying so she looked up at him, her head dangerously close to the fire.

"I'm trying to read." Zuko reminded her and ignored the tongue stuck out in return. "What are you doing up so late anyway?"

"I can't sleep." She muttered as she opened the scroll and let her eyes quickly pass over the words without taking much in. "Too much to think about." She cocked an eyebrow at him. "What about you?"

"Studying. You're hair's down." He added as an after comment as he glanced toward her.

"Yeah, well, I don't leave it up when I sleep. I like it when it's down anyway."

"Then leave it down. It's nice like that." Zuko told her. He caught Katara's blush out of the corner of his eye.

"What are you studying for anyway?" Katara asked as she rolled over onto her stomach.

"I'm becoming Fire Lord in less then two years. You have no idea how much studying Uncle is making me do. Even with all this time, I'm not sure if I'll even be able to complete it." He yawned and shook himself. Katara cocked her head and considered him for a moment and then suddenly snatched the book away from Zuko.

"Hey, brat, I need that." Zuko complained and tried to retrieve his stolen book but gave up as Katara moved out of his reach. She flipped through it and Zuko groaned, stretching out and warming his face near the fire.

"Let me help you with this," Katara said after a moment and lay down beside him. "I bet it will be a lot easier if I read it aloud and you just listen."

"Fine." Zuko grumbled and closed his eyes as Katara propped herself up on her elbows and cleared her throat. "Fire Nation agriculture," she started before Zuko interrupted her.

"Spare me," he pleaded only half joking. Katara only shook her head.

"All great leaders need to know about their country and all of their people's life styles to run the country well. If you don't, well you end up neglecting the people's needs without even knowing it and within a few years; you've got uprisings all over the place. So much for Fire Lord Zuko." She smiled and Zuko just rolled his eyes.

"Just listen, it's not so bad." She reasoned and began to read.

"Slowly, Zuko's eyes drifted shut and his breathing evened out. Katara's voice was soft and soothing and he eventually stopped listening to the words, concentrating on her voice. The ups and downs, the pauses, the way she slowed down on a difficult sentence. His mind began to wander and soon before he knew it, he was woken up by someone cuddling up against him. He opened a single eye in interest and found Katara curled up by his side, the book abandoned on her other side.

"Katara?" he asked sleepily and she 'hmm'ed softly in return. "What are you doing?" He asked as he attempted to prop himself up on his elbows and failed.

"Trying to sleep. You're warm, stop moving." She mumbled and shifted closer. Zuko found himself torn between waking the girl up fully and escorting her back to her room, or giving into sleep and staying there till morning. However, Katara's contented sigh and gentle breath against his arms made up his mind for him, and he lay back down beside her. "That's better," came her near inaudible response. She moved again, resting her head against his chest, and Zuko was suddenly wide-awake.

"Katara?" he asked again, but the girl had already fallen asleep, her slow breathing tempting Zuko to join her in sleep. Finally, Zuko smiled and let his head fall back. This was normal for friends right? To fall asleep like this? Of course it was, he told himself as he brought his arm up to stroke her hair. There was nothing wrong for friends to be close, to use each other for pillows when they were tired. Zuko fell asleep with a smile on his face.

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Katara stood in the door of the grand common room. It wasn't too different than she remembered. It was still mostly red, but blue, brown and white had worked their way into some of the decorations that hung on the walls and above the mantle. Zuko was seated in a large throne-like chair, his back facing her, and Katara timidly took a step forward. He probably already knew she was there, she mused as she waited for him to speak. It was so awkward now, she thought sadly.

"Zuko," Katara started and crossed the remaining distance to touch the back of his chair, "About what Kuzon said…"

"Don't worry," he cut her off smoothly and turned to face her, golden eyes warm. "It doesn't matter." He gestured to a chair next to his and Katara automatically took a seat, shifting her chair just slightly away from the fire. "What does matter to me though," Zuko continued as he rested his chin in a lightly curled fist and cocked his head to examine Katara, "Is the fact that you're here." He smiled as Katara rolled her eyes. "Why, Katara?" he asked suddenly soft. "Why now?"

Katara hesitated, nibbling her lip, and then plunged forward. "I don't know," she shook her head as she stared into the fire. "I could have gone anywhere, but I just ended up here. I was actually planning on returning to the South to see Sokka again. Did you know he's our new leader?"

"Got a letter from him last month," Zuko said with a smirk "He thought it would be important for me to know he was now my equal."

Katara grinned. "Did you write him back?"

"Yep. Told him that if he wanted to be my equal he had to first learn to beat me in battle."

Katara shook her head with a laugh. "That's just like you two, always competing for one thing or another."

Zuko smiled too, but he pushed himself to stay on topic. "Where's Aang?" he asked casually. Katara suddenly sobered and looked up at him, her face suddenly closing off and becoming unreadable.

"He… he's disappeared." She said finally.

"Disappeared?" Zuko repeated slowly. "How? When?"

"Two months ago." Katara looked away and back into the fire. "I was out with Rika and Kuzon, when we got back, he was gone. Nothing was out of place, no note. Nothing."

Zuko stared at her in disbelief. Aang just up and leave his family? Leave Katara? That wasn't the Aang. It wasn't possible. "He just left you guys?"

Katara nodded. "We stayed in our home for a while,, hoping he'd come back. But he never did. The villagers began to talk, so Rika, Kuzon and I decided it was time to leave. And now we're here." She smiled sadly at Zuko.

"And now you're here." Zuko echoed and returned his eyes to the fire. Something wasn't right about this picture, but he cleared his mind of it for the time being. It clearly upset Katara to talk about it, and why wouldn't it? She had loved Aang, she had married him, had kids with Aang, chosen Aang over him… Zuko abruptly cleared his mind.

"You know," he started. "I never had really imagined you as a mother before." Katara looked up in surprise. "It suits you," Zuko rushed quickly. "You look really happy, you love them a lot, don't you."

Katara smiled softly. "How could I not? They're my babies. They're both so wonderful." She hugged herself and smiled warmly. "I'd die for them." She looked back up at Zuko.

"Kuzon is a lot like his father." Zuko remarked casually.

"So is Rika actually. She takes after him in more ways then one." Zuko was about to interrupt her, but Katara kept going, changing the subject.

"So what about you? I haven't heard about anything you've done in the past ten years. Spill. Is there anyone special? What about Toph? I never expected her to stay here this long. There must be something between you two." She grinned and leaned in, adding a touch of secrecy to the air and looking hopefully at Zuko.

"Toph? No, she's more like a sister, " Zuko said, leaning in toward Katara as well. "…There was someone once," Zuko said slowly and Katara cocked her eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but she left a long time ago." Katara pulled back quickly.

"Oh…" she mumbled and once again they fell into silence. Katara fiddled with her necklace and then stood. "Well, it's getting late." She sighed and smiled down at Zuko. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Zuko stood as well. "Of course." Katara nodded and started out of the room.

"Wait," Zuko quickly called after her. She stopped and turned just slightly so that she could see him. "If you have no where else to go, stay here." Katara turned to face him fully, looking skeptical, but Zuko was by her side in an instant. "Please," he breathed. "Rika and Kuzon like it here, and you probably have no idea how much Toph has missed you. Besides, this was your home for four years. Stay." He realized he was pleading but he didn't care.

Katara sighed and then nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "But only for a month or so. After that I…"

"After that you're free to leave." Zuko told her and then smiled.

"Goodnight Zuko."

"Goodnight."