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Katara waits patiently in Zuko’s chambers, watching him flip through the papers on his desk with a fierce concentration.
He’d told her he’d be done in a second, but that was surely more than ten minutes ago. His brow is furrowed and there’s a crisp tension radiating off his shoulders. He looks like he’d snap if he so much as moved the wrong way. He’s been that way for weeks.
Katara had asked him to spar a few days ago in hopes that a good fight would loosen him up. But it’d seemed to have the opposite effect if any. There was even a moment during the spar where she could have sworn his tension had a different source entirely.
But Zuko was with Mai, and so Katara would never think of making a move. Still, the fact of the matter is that he’s been wound tighter these days than she’s ever seen him, and she knows no one else will have the guts to say something about it to his face.
“You need a good fuck,” Katara tells him, confidently.
Zuko drops half the stack of papers in his hands onto his desk at her words, mouth open as he looks back at her with wide eyes. “Excuse me?”
“I just mean, I really think you need to get laid.” Katara almost laughs at his expression, he looks so completely shell-shocked. “Oh come on, we’re adults now. And we’re close enough that we should be able to talk about this sort of thing,” she reasons. “You’re so on edge lately that some of your council members have even come to me asking if you’re okay. When’s the last time Mai came to visit?
“You didn’t know?” Zuko mutters while he restacks his paperwork. “Mai is together with Ty Lee in Kyoshi.”
“So? Mai visits Ty Lee pretty often, doesn’t she?”
“Katara,” he lets out a tired sigh. “I mean they’re together.”
She blinks at him, trying to process both the fact that Mai and Ty Lee are seeing each other and more importantly, that Zuko is now presumably single.
She really can’t believe she somehow missed all that.
But she has spent more time in the south lately, having just gotten back from a trip last week.
Also, even though she now considers Mai to be her friend, her and Katara were never all that close. Mai and Zuko never were ones for public displays of affection either and they were still close friends, at least if they were already broken up the last time she’d seen them together a few months ago. Plus, Katara might have made it somewhat of a point not to talk to Zuko about his love life in the past due to her silly childhood crush that never really faded.
“So when did you end things?”
“Last solstice,” he mumbles.
Katara looks at him with wide eyes. Last solstice was almost a year ago. Now she really can’t believe she hadn’t noticed.
“So has it been that long since you had sex with anyone?”
Zuko makes a slight choking noise before responding. “Agni, Katara, if we’re gonna talk about this I’m gonna need a drink.”
“I’ll join you,” she smiles and Zuko takes a bottle of fire nation whiskey from his liquor cabinet and pours them both a glass.
They sit next to each other in front of the fire and she smiles at the feel of the soft Arctic-wolf fur underneath her hands. Zuko’s had a set laid out like this in his room for years now, since she first mentioned off-handedly that they remind her of home.
She finally breaks the silence after he’s taken his first sip of amber liquor. “Can I ask why it’s been so long?”
“I doubt I can stop you,” he replies and she just beams back at him. “I mean, how am I supposed to find someone who’s actually interested in me, especially when I’m this busy?”
Katara allows herself to stare at him openly, taking in the way his long, dark silken hair flows just past his shoulders and the way the shorter strands in the front frame his angular face. His jaw is strong and his eyes fluctuate from gold to honey. And right now, his silk red robe is half open and showing off a bit of his chiseled porcelain chest that makes her lick her lips without thinking.
It might have been a while for her too, but that’s a different matter entirely. She really can’t imagine it would be all that hard for someone like Zuko to find someone interested.
She raises an eyebrow at him. “You do know you’re a catch right?”
“Katara,” he sighs, “I don’t want to be with someone who only wants to have sex with me because I’m the Firelord.”
“I wasn’t talking about that...Zuko, you know you’re hot, right?”
“Well I am a firebender,” he deadpans and she elbows him in the shoulder.
“I mean you're sexy.”
“I’m—what?” he asks, his eyes comically wide.
“Have you really not noticed the way all the court ladies hit on you?” Katara shoots him a look but he just frowns in response. “Are you really that clueless?”
“It’s not like I don’t notice, but I know they only want me because I’m the Firelord.”
“Yea, and because you’re a hot piece of ass.”
Zuko promptly chokes on his whiskey.
“Why are you so focused on how long it’s been for me?” he counters. “I don’t see you entertaining any of the men trying to court you.”
“What are you talking about?” Katara gives him another look and his mouth gapes open.
“And you thought I was clueless? Katara, do you know how often I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying something about all the men that drool at you like dogs hounding a piece of meat. You really haven’t noticed?”
“That can’t be—I mean—I’m not …” she stammers out, her brow furrowed.
“You’re not what?”
“I'm not that attractive.”
Katara knows she’s not as feminine as most men like. The Northern Tribesmen treat her like she might as well be a man.
She’s a warrior, and she likes that about herself, but she knows it comes with unfortunate side effects on her appeal to the opposite sex.
She hesitantly looks up and sees Zuko looking as if he’s about to choke again. “Are you joking?”
Katara blinks at him owlishly. “No?”
“Really, Katara? You’re beyond attractive. The way you look. The way you move. I mean I noticed even when we were kids. Even before I was on your side. And that was before—“ he cuts himself off and looks away from her abruptly.
“Before what?”
“Well, you know you don’t look the same as you did as a kid,” he says, still not meeting her eye.
“Well yea, I’m built like a fighter now. More muscles than most women, so I know I’m not most people’s type.”
“Who on Earth told you that?” he asks, looking up at her with such intensity that she can feel herself start to blush.
“I mean, that’s just how it’s always been,” she answers. “When I broke up with Aang and went back home, it wasn’t like anyone was lining up to try to date me. Granted most of the men from my own tribe are older or practically family. But there were plenty of northern men who didn’t hesitate to find fault in me. And most men outside the water tribes can’t get past the fact that I used to be ‘the Avatar’s girl’,” she frowns bitterly at the title even as she says it. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a few flings throughout the years, but I know I’m more manly than most men like. I’m not what a northern man would want at least.”
“I think ambassador Turruk would beg to differ,” he scoffs and her eyes widen.
“Really?”
“Oh come on,” Zuko says with a raised brow. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you.”
“I—I didn’t. Does he really?”
Turruk is the current northern ambassador and although she’s never thought about him this way, she can’t deny that he’s a good looking man with his icy blue eyes and strong frame…and it really has been a while…
“You know, he’s not the only one.”
Katara looks up to see Zuko gazing down at her with hungry eyes that immediately have her heart pounding.
“Zuko?”
“Do you remember the first ball you attended here as ambassador?”
She smiles at the memory.
“How could I forget? You were acting so weird that whole night. You kept stuttering because you were so nervous about the speech you were gonna give. You insisted you were fine but I thought you were gonna burst into flames at one point,” she teased.
“It wasn’t because of the speech,” he rasps out and she can feel her heart thudding wildly in her chest.
“Then what was it?” she asks softly, though she has an inkling.
“I was trying so hard not to stare at your ass and your cleavage in that Agni-damned dress. It was driving me absolutely crazy,” he confesses with a light blush.
She’s suddenly very aware of what she’s wearing now, a light blue dress in fire nation style with gratuitous cut outs that leave her side exposed. The neckline isn’t as low as the gown she’d worn to the ball, but it’s tight enough that she hadn’t bothered wearing the upper portion of her underwraps and there’s definitely enough cleavage to be noticeable.
Zuko laughs softly, and her eyes snap back to him to see his blush spread and deepen. “I had to keep adjusting myself discreetly. Toph still hasn’t let me hear the end of it.”
“Adjusting yourself?” Katara’s eyes go wide. He looks at her before his own eyes dip down to his lap and then back again.
Katara can feel a dark heat encompassing her, burning her cheeks and the tips of her ears as she swallows roughly.
“I kept getting hard every time I saw you dance,” he mutters as he looks away from her. “Like a damned teenager.”
She takes another long drink for courage, breathing in and out deeply as the whiskey burns her throat.
“Well, at least you did a good job hiding it.”
“What do you mean?” he asks, meeting her eyes once more with a gaze made of pure gold.
“When we first got to Ember Island, I couldn’t stop looking at you every time you trained without a shirt,” she admits with a laugh. “You really didn’t notice?”
“I thought you were just keeping an eye on me.” His eyes are wide and she can only laugh louder.
“Oh, I was keeping an eye on you, alright,” she chuckles.
“Well that was a long time ago,” he says pointedly, even though he’s now blushing redder than his robe.
“Okay, you’re right,” she swallows another big gulp and this time she barely feels the liquid as it glides down her throat. “Do you remember the spar we had a few days ago?”
His mouth opens wide as he looks at her with darker eyes. “Yes.”
“Well, when you, umm…when you—“ she stutters, not quite sure how to tell him that the moment he’d pinned her to the ground had been haunting her dreams in the most delicious ways the last few nights.
“Was it when I pinned you down?”
Her eyes snap back to his. “So you knew?” she pouts.
“No. I just—I felt it too,” he tells her in a low voice that pulses through her and settles between her legs.
There’s something thick and warm between them now, like all of Zuko’s tension has shifted to the air and she’s left caught in the crossfire.
“Do you feel it now?” she whispers, hoping she’s not imagining the way he leans forward.
“I do.”
She can’t tell who moves first because they’re on each other in an instant and she’s soon lost to the feeling of his warm, soft lips. She feels like she’s being consumed by Zuko’s fire now and she opens her mouth eagerly, hungry for his heat.
Katara’s hands find purchase around his broad shoulders and his in turn rise up to tangle in her hair. She moans into his mouth as his tongue slides against her own with a heady desire that leaves her dizzy. It’s a million perfect moments later that they take a second to breathe, her forehead resting against his and her right hand wandering up to cradle his face, thumb stroking gently on the edge of his scar.
He nuzzles his face into her touch before turning back to her. His eyes are a burnt amber now, darkened with desire but tempered with a soft affection that leaves her breathless. It feels like Zuko has personally started this roaring fire in her heart, but the burn is sweet and only leaves her wanting more.
“I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he breathes out.
“Me too,” she answers with the full weight of what those words mean to her and just how long she’s been craving his touch. His gaze is fire too now as it flickers down to her mouth and back and this time she knows she’s the first to move, capturing his lips with a ravenous hunger as she presses herself closer to him.
Zuko’s hands trail slowly down her backside, caressing the curve of her ass before he pushes her into his lap, her knees now straddling his thighs.
She can feel the hardened length of him through her clothing but it’s nowhere near enough friction. She pushes him down into the furs so he’s laying on his back before she slowly pulls up her dress, making eye contact as long as she can before it’s over her head and her chest is bare.
But when she looks back, his brow is furrowed and he looks troubled in a way that makes her wish she wasn’t so exposed.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, struggling not to cover herself and wondering if maybe the reason he’d thought she was attractive before was only because he hadn’t seen enough of her to know better.
But when he speaks, his gaze is revenant and the sincerity in his voice makes her breath catch.
“How do you not know how beautiful you are?”
She can tell that he means it but it still feels too good to be true. She doesn’t know what to say, so she just leans down to kiss him again. This one is slow and languid and warm in a different way that has a stream of raw emotions bubbling against her throat. But all the feelings are eclipsed by hunger when his hips move up to meet hers and his cock grinds into her core through his trousers.
“Pants off,” she demands. “Now.”
He follows her order quickly and she moves around him to help him pull the fabric down his legs. When she sits back up on his thighs, the sight of his freed cock is mouthwatering, rosy and thick with a pearl of precum leaking from the tip.
“Katara, let me see all of you,” he rasps, pushing himself up to a seating position and tugging at her wraps.
She kneels forward and helps him get them loose and when they finally fall, she sighs contentedly at the feeling of the cool air against her bare pussy.
“You’re beautiful there too.” His voice is almost a growl and she could swear she's getting even wetter by the second.
He pulls her to him and kisses her hard and then he’s the one pushing her down, trailing a line of hot, opened mouthed kisses down her chest and stomach until he’s settled between her legs. She whimpers when he caresses her thighs and slowly pushes them apart, leaving her completely exposed before him.
“You're so wet,” he groans, before licking up her weeping slit with broad steady strokes of his tongue. She whimpers at the friction, so desperately needed, and she can feel a familiar heat pooling in her belly. She threads her fingers in his hair, scraping gently at his scalp, and he hums into her pussy.
She’s mewling wantonly by the time he licks up to her clit. His mouth hovers with warm exhales, ghosting over her sensitive flesh before he finally licks and sucks at her bud.
“Yes, just like that, just a little more,” she moans. Then she chants his name like a prayer until she finally feels the tension inside her snap, and lets out a broken cry as she dissolves into pure pleasure.
She’s panting when he comes back into focus, smiling as he moves his body over her own. He lines himself up with her entrance, easing himself in to her gently and she delights at the sweet stretch of his cock against her walls.
She nods for him to move and he starts slow with even, shallow thrusts as he looks into her eyes intently. She feels like she might just drown inside those pools of molten gold.
“You feel so good inside me,” she moans softly.
“Yea? You like that?” he teases, mouthing at her neck and biting gently at her shoulder as he pumps himself inside her.
“I like that,” she purrs, pulling him up so he can see the smirk tugging at her lip. “But I want you to give it to me harder.”
“Fuck,” he groans. “Yea, Tara. Anything you want.”
Zuko unsheathes himself almost fully before snapping his hips back hard. Her mouth falls open into a silent scream as he slams into her.
Katara moans out his name as he works up a fast, steady pace until he’s pounding into her hard with every thrust. His cock is hitting perfectly against her walls and the tension in her belly mounts, threatening to make her come undone once more.
“Please, yes. Just like that. Fuck me just like that,” she begs without a care, completely taken over by baser needs at the feeling of Zuko fucking into her so perfectly.
“You’re so beautiful like this,” he groans, cock hitting right into her sweet spot until she sees stars. “Just like I dreamed.”
“You’re better than I dreamed,” she whimpers.
His tempo is unyielding now, a brutal pace she could only ever thank him for. The pleasure builds rapidly, her nerves on fire as he relentlessly pistons himself inside her.
She’s bucking her hips wildly to meet his thrusts now as a steam of strangled, desperate sounds rip from her throat.
When he moans out her name, she can feel herself break and her whole body convulses as she comes apart around his cock. He fucks her through her orgasm as steady as he can, but she can feel the way he’s starting to shake.
“Fuck, I’m close,” he tells her, his thrusts turning frantic. Her hand reaches to stroke his cheek as she smiles at him blissfully.
“Come inside me, it’s okay. I want to feel you,” she hums and it’s only a few moments later that he shouts her name as his hips stutter and she can feel his warm cum painting her walls.
The room is silent save for the sound of them both panting to catch their breath. He slips out of her and rolls to her side, giving her a small smile that makes her heart swell.
She closes her eyes and sits with the pleasant warmth inside her for a moment before going to the bathroom to clean up. It only takes her a moment and when she comes back, Zuko is laying on one of the furs he's moved onto his bed and she smiles wide at the sight.
“Come to bed, Tara,” he says, and she wastes no time complying, nestling into him with her back to his front.
Zuko’s arms wrap around her as he kisses the back of her neck and she feel her heart singing as she does her best to memorize this perfect moment.“I love this so much,” she mumbles into the soft fur, sleepy and sated.
“I love this so much too,” he replies easily as he pulls her into him. She nuzzles into his chest as he kisses her temple.
“I swear, I’m gonna make it so you never doubt how stunning and incredible you are ever again,” he whispers to her sweetly and she hums her agreement into his neck, greedily inhaling the warm, smoky smell of his skin.
Katara knows for certain he’ll fulfill his promise, because she’s never felt so beautiful in her entire life as she falls asleep to the sound of Zuko’s beating heart.