Work Text:
Zuko’s fingers ghost the outline of the budding ink on Katara’s brown skin, looking over the intricacies in the dim light of their bedroom. The tips of his fingers graze the bevels of the coiled, serpent shape over her thigh, across her hip, and back down, as he admires the shape and design of her new tattoo. It was shaded in a muted maroon, and looked fierce, but gentle at the same time, as its tail ended just above Katara’s knee.
“It’s so detailed,” Zuko whispers in awe, his fingers skimming over the scales of the dragon on her skin.
Katara had just come home after spending months in at home in The Southern Water Tribe and he’d missed her so much, but knew she was glad to spend time at home.
When she came back, Katara made it quite apparent equally as elated to see her husband, and the duo wound up tangled amid sheets. They now were left in each other’s arms, catching up, as Zuko spoke of Katara’s new inked design.
“Did it hurt?” Zuko murmurs, continuing to caress her skin affectionately.
“Only a little bit,” replies Katara, watching as her husband traces her skin and leaves goosebumps in the wake. She loved the way his fingers felt on her skin in the comforting ministrations and the soothing sound of his voice. It put her at peace, knowing he was right there and she could always rely on him.
“The artist was really good though. She knew what she was doing,” Katara explains, “I’m really happy with it.”
“It looks great… I love it,” agrees Zuko, smiling with a warm blush to his cheeks as Katara smirks wickedly.
“Oh, I thought you might,” she quips, “Though, I can’t imagine now… my fire bending husband liking such a horrid thing on his own wife’s skin.”
“Oh no… you're right, Ambassador, I am appalled. The Fire Lord is quite against such ways of tainting one’s own flesh,” he jokes, leaning up as he climbs over her and then kisses Katara tenderly.
“Well then, Fire Lord, good thing it’s not your flesh to worry about,” Katara retorts with a teasing wink, speaking against Zuko’s lips amid their jesting repertoire.
“This is true. Master Katara does as she pleases and the Fire Lord is but subject to her whims,” Zuko whispers, kissing her again as he smirks against her lips, continuing to run his hand up and down the bevels of his wife’s skin. "Though, lucky for me she's been a benevolent ruler," he adds, continuing to tease her before embracing her close for a few more moments.
“What made you choose that tattoo?” He asks, breaking their tender silence.
“You,” replies Katara—plain as day. Katara then brushes her nose against Zuko's, as her hand moved up over his chest, resting over his scar that lied there. She could feel the steady beat of his heart and her fingers curled in slightly, not wanting to forget the peaceful rhythm she so cherished.
The darker parts of Katara’s mind drifted to worries when she left. Many people would like to see her husband removed from the throne by force and the fear couldn’t be shaken on the ship rides back to the Fire Nation that she’d return to an empty bed.
“It reminds me of you,” Katara explains further. “You love your dragon and… well, Zuko… you’re like a dragon yourself… even besides being a fire bender. You’re fierce, but gentle. You protect the people you love fiercely, but… you’re loving and tender with those who are good… you're kind and empathetic to all people,” whispers Katara as she continues caressing Zuko’s chest and his fingers dance along her skin.
Zuko’s heart warms as Katara explains her rationale. He thought maybe Druk inspired it, but to know that it wasn’t just inspired by him, but a deeper meaning of who he was made him melt.
Tattoos were an important cultural tradition in the Southern Water Tribe too and Zuko knew to get one was a big deal to her people— and she had chosen it for him.
He laughs, his eyes fluttering shut to hide the tears that gather at his lashes as Zuko furrows his head against Katara’s neck lovingly. “You chose that for me,” Zuko says, posed as a question, but it wasn’t. He knew she spoke only ever the truth to him. There was no one he trusted more to guard his heart.
Katara wraps her arms around him in turn, snuggling against him with a comforted smile, her cheek pressed to his soft, silky black hair. “Of course I did, you fool,” she teases him and he squeezes her tighter.
“I want one for you too,” Zuko says and the suggestion makes Katara smile.
“Yeah?” She replies, her heart aflutter. Despite the years that had gone by, the man still had her heart ensnared. He still knew how to make her feel so preciously treasured and he didn’t go a day without making sure she knew it. “What will you get for me, Zuko?”
“Waves like the ocean, I think,” he mulls aloud, “Or the moon,” he adds. “I haven’t decided yet,” he mutters against her neck, pressing lazy, loving kisses.
“You’re strong like the ocean… always pushing and pulling and keeping on… always there, always working so hard,” Zuko murmurs, “But… the moon too… is so… Kat to me. A guiding light in the dark… what the ocean relies on, a leader to the ocean, in a way, just like you— a strong, bright one who guides all the other stars in the sky and keeps the ocean tide going… like you—a gifted leader who's brave, even when it's hard, and looks out for others and keeps them steady. Someone who's strong, but caring to a fault… noble and intelligent… shining bright with ambition. That's what I think of when I think of the ocean and the moon—and some of the many things when I think of you."
Katara laughs then, overcome with emotion herself at Zuko’s words before he even gets the ink on his skin. She hugs him close too, having missed him so badly and loving every inch of him, even the things that might scare others off. She didn't care; she knew Zuko held her through those things in her too, as he had been since she was caught in the rain at but fifteen.
She says to him then, speaking from the heart in turn, “The moon works together too, you know… with her partner— her equal— her friend through thick and thin, the sun.”