Katara, of the Fire Nation

Chapter 19

The next morning, Katara dresses and heads into Zuko's room as the sun slowly rises.

"Zuko?" Katara knocks softly on the door, but no one answers, she opens the door and finds the room empty, not even Mai is in the room. Katara looks around and then goes to the hidden door that leads to the office.

Katara finds Zuko slumped over his desk, he is leaning on his arms with his face to the side and a small smile on his lips.

"Zuko," Katara breathes, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, his skin is warm to the touch.

Zuko groans as he rolls his head on his arms, he wakes up and then looks to Katara.

"Hey," he groans, he rubs the sleep from his eyes and sits up.

"Hey," Zuko sighs, stretching his back.

"That looks better," Katara says, looking to Zuko's bare chest and the healing blister, "Another healing session should make things all good."

Zuko clears his throat and then leans back, exposing his chest to Katara.

"I'm all yours," Zuko says, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Katara smiles and bends water to her hands, she focuses on healing Zuko's chest that she doesn't notice Zuko start to shift uncomfortably, his fingers unlacing and laying in his lap.

...

When Zuko leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head, he realised that thigs were still pretty stiff down below. Zuko shifts uncomfortably and tries to rearrange himself so his situation isn't so evident.

"What are you doing?" Katara asks, finally noticing Zuko's fidgeting.

"Nothing," he huffs, his cheeks flush red as Katara's water stops glowing, the tightness in his chest subsides but that doesn't aid the tightness in his pants.

Unfortunately, Zuko's fidgeting directs Katara's attention to his lap.

"Oh," Katara breathes, her eyes widening in shock as she notices the sizable bulge, "Um."

Zuko's cheeks redden even further as Katara takes a step back, pulling the water back into her pouch.

"I'll, um, I'm going to go," Katara backs towards the door, "I'll see you later."

Katara leaves the office quickly, her cheeks flushed and warm.

At midday Katara changes out of her water tribe blue into Fire Nation black and red as Mai's father 'demands' an audience with Zuko.

"Well," Zuko sighs, as Katara joins him walking to the throne room, "I wonder what I'm going to be yelled at for, now."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Katara says, wiping her hands from lunch.

Zuko huffs as he enters the throne room and then sits on his throne, Katara stands to his right, leaning on the pillar that holds the coving over the throne.

"Send him in," Zuko says as Katara folds her arms over her chest.

"My Fire Lord," Mai's father greets, he strides into the room as if it was his own, "Thank you for seeing me."

"You've been hassling me for the past week," Zuko says, the fires in front of him raise in annoyance, "It's not like I had much choice."

"Things have been terrible since you've become Fire Lord," Mai's father says.

"Crime rates has gone down," Katara says, pushing off the pillar, "there is peace in the fire nation, how can you say that things are terrible?"

"Half of the fire family are in a cell," Mai's father says, glaring at Katara, "And there is no sign of a new fire lady."