『𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆』

Chapter 6

Dressed in her fine robes and her hair done in the Fire Nation style, Katara knew she shouldn't have sought out the young prince, but there was an aching, gaping hole inside her that needed to be filled. She didn't want to talk to Iroh because as unfair as it was, she blamed him for all this. She missed her brother's sometimes ridiculous, sometimes practical advice. She missed her father's gentle wisdom. Most of all, she missed Aang...because he could get her out of this. Since none of them were readily available, she was going to heal herself with the baby's innocence. Fire Nation prince or not, she needed to hug his warmth to her if only for a little while.

In an hour, she was scheduled to go stand on a balcony with Zuko, wave her hand at her future subjects and smile...or not smile. The thought of it made her want to crawl into a hole but since there were no holes to be found, she went to the next source of comfort she had available to her.

The maids had directed her to the nursery and she'd found Lu Zuo there with his nurse. Katara wasn't sure if she could order the woman around but she scurried away without a word, leaving Katara with the baby and she was more than happy to have him in her charge. So now, Lu Zuo was sitting in her lap and was proceeding to try to climb his way to the top of her head. Laughing, Katara tried to keep him from his goal, but he was proving to be a squirmy, elusive foe.

He was dressed in a simple white shirt and short pants, clearly his sleeping attire and his hair was pressed down in one side. His golden eyes were shining up at her and Katara couldn't help falling in love with his earnest little face. She could see echoes of Zuko there, but she pushed that thought aside. She was holding Lu Zuo so that she could forget his father.

The nursery doors opened and instinctively, Katara placed the prince on the other side of her body so she was between him and the new arrival. The Fire Lord was dressed in his more formal robes topped with the shoulder armor that followed the spines of the golden flame in his hair. Katara had the slightly rude thought that he looked like an angry red pine tree.

"Good morning," Zuko said, his hands behind his back. "I didn't expect to find you here."

Katara opened her mouth to respond but instead she let out a cry when Lu Zuo yanked at her hair, using it as a rope for climbing. Her eyes tearing up, Katara scooped him up in her arms and started to stand but Zuko held out a hand for her take. They stared at each other. She wasn't going to apologize and she could see he wasn't either, but they had to start somewhere.

"Truce?" she said, lifting her hand so that it hovered over his.

"Truce," he said with a nod and clasped her hand in his.

His grip was warm and strong, and he pulled her to her feet. Lu Zuo started to reach for Zuko but when Katara started to hold him out, Zuko shook his head and she noticed then that a pair of amber eyes were watching her from over his shoulder. With visible reluctance, he got down on one knee so that Maiko could climb down from his back. She was dressed in the same way he was, though her reds were almost pink in their lightness, and she held on to the back of his robes as she looked up at Katara. Her eyes were still sleepy and she looked like she was ready to drop back into slumber at any moment.

"What do you say, Princess?" he prompted.

"Good morning, Lady Katara," Maiko lisped.

"What else?"

"I'm sorry I kicked you yesterday."