The Liar's Kiss

Chapter 10

The Liar's Kiss

Come Closer

...

Katara pushed a stray strand of dark brown hair over her shoulder and turned her face to the evening breeze. It was sunset, and the palace gardens were bathed in pink and gold from the fading light. Leaning back while enjoying the view, she took in a long, deep breath filled with the scent of the distant ocean and summer blossoms. As she did, she noticed Suki's curious eyes watching her.

"What?" Katara asked.

"Nothing," Suki said simply.

Not caring to press further, Katara looked over her shoulder towards the outdoor training course down the path from the tree they were sitting under. If she squinted hard enough, she could see the light reflecting off of the faux weapons some men were sparring with.

Watching their swift movements and the occasional smooth blast of fire from their fists made Katara itch to join them.

However, she was not going to. She was purposefully sitting out there with Suki and her nephew to do some much-needed chatting. It started out as any other conversation they had, but Suki stopped talking at one point and decided to give her curious glances and contemplative silence.

Katara wouldn't mind it, but it dragged on to an almost uncomfortable level. When she met Suki's eyes again, this time with a downward turn on her lips, her sister-in-law finally seemed to get the message.

"Sorry," she said, "I was just thinking about something."

"What?"

"You've been spending a lot of time with Zuko lately."

"Well, now that I'm actually being included in political talks, I am."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?" she asked as she pulled a purple flower out of her nephew's hands before he finished shoving it in his mouth. To keep him from crying over his suddenly lost toy, she distracted him by handing him a stick. He took interest in it immediately and hobbled over to Suki to sit on her lap.

"You guys are up late almost every night."

Katara ran a hand through her hair in contemplation. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Hm."

"Hm, what?"

"Hm, nothing. It was just a comment."

"I haven't spent that much time with him."

Suki raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you have."

She looked down and started pulling at the grass. "You know how busy we are. There's a lot of work we have to do, and Zuko specifically asked that I be included in business now that he's feeling better."

"If political talk is all you guys are doing late into the night, it's a wonder why you aren't walking around with stress headaches every day."

"It doesn't bother me. I like being a part of things. Work isn't all we talk about."

"Okay, what are you staying up late to talk about?"

Katara was quiet for a moment, unsure what to say exactly. Now that she thought about it, there wasn't anything in particular they chatted about into the late hours of the night. They lost track of time changing from one random topic to another. "Things. Is there something wrong with it?"

She shrugged. "Nope."

Katara did not like the look Suki was making, but instead of saying something more, she laid down on the grass and stared at the sky.