Some hours later, Kouji wandered out of the palace to feed Qiang. She gave him a rather annoyed, irritated look when he got there. “Hey, don’t give me that,” he told her. “I don’t plan on doing it again. My head still hurts.” She just sighed, nuzzled him briefly, and then turned to the far more important matter of the food he’d brought.

While he was feeding her, his mind’s eye maliciously brought up the memory of Lady Mai bare inches from his face, and he groaned, turning red again. “I have got to get laid,” he muttered, resting his head on the dragon’s flank.

She gave him another rather annoyed look. Dragons who bonded humans never mated — and dragons who bonded other dragons only mated with their partner. “It’s different for humans, girl,” Kouji assured her. “And the fact of the matter is that I’ve never mated, and my hormones are going crazy. Meanwhile my twin sister is going with just about anyone she fancies, and driving Ichi-ni crazy by not marrying.”

She blew an annoyed smoke ring.

“Hell to the no. She’s five years older than me and used to date Zuko. Also, I think Ichiro likes her.”

She sighed and flicked her tail, nudging him a little.

Now the young man blushed. “I… I kinda want my first time to be with someone I like. Not someone I paid.”

She rolled her eyes and snorted.

“…you’re not too good at this therapy thing, are you.”

She just gave him a look. Kouji sighed and patted her flank. “I know.” She nuzzled him affectionately, and he hugged her. “We’ll go flying tonight, I promise.” She licked him, a faint flick of her tongue against his cheek.

“…you know what I need?”

She stared at him, and he flushed. “Yes, apart from that. I need a vacation.” She considered this for a moment, then nodded. “I’m as bad as Zuko is,” Kouji went on. “I’ve been here, what, thirteen years? I’ve never been on a vacation — travelling with Zuko doesn’t count, that’s his vacation.”

She made a little noise in the back of her throat.

“Well, yeah, but still. He only ever goes to one place, anyway. I wanna explore. Travel in the Earth Kingdom, maybe visit one of the Poles. …and Iroh is here, and Leilani and Katara, so I guess I can take a few months off…”

She nodded, and nuzzled him again.

“Yeah, I will. Thanks, Qiang.”

She nuzzled him yet again. He laughed and finished feeding her, then headed back to the palace.

* * *

It’s been a long day, Zuko thought, that same evening, settling into his chair in his study, then caught himself. It hadn’t been any longer than what he’d considered a light day a year ago. Groaning inwardly, he sank back a bit, closing his eyes, daring to wonder if he would last through the next ten years. I have to. Simple as that.

The door whispered open, and Kouji slipped inside. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“…you look beat.”

“I’m always tired,” he said, taking care to enunciate.

“You should get some sleep, then.”

“I s’pose so.”

Kouji awkwardly shifted position.

“…Something wrong?” he asked, hearing the younger man move.

“…not exactly. Um. There’s not going to be an all-encompassing crisis in the next six months, is there?”

“Hope not.”

“Would it… would it be okay if I took some time off?”

“Go ‘head.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah.”

Kouji smiled. “Thanks. You should go to bed.”

“Think I’ll stay here,” Zuko replied, eyes still closed.

The younger man paused. “…uh, Zuko… a bed would be a better idea.”

“I think I will sleep in my chair,” the Firelord replied, once again taking care to enunciate. If he slurred, he’d sound even more tired. Or possibly drunk. Either way, it was a bad thing. “I like this chair. It is a very nice chair. It wouldn’t be in my study if it wasn’t. What is wrong with my chair? Do you have a problem with it?”

Kouji’s expression was priceless. “…Katara’s making you sleep on the couch. Isn’t she.”

“Nope. Two bedrooms in our suite, for when she’s pregnant or we’re fighting.”

“And you’re not going to bed why?”

“I like my chair.”

“Zuko, you need to sleep in a bed.”

He cracked one eye open. “What’s wrong with my chair? It’s a very nice chair.”

“Zuk— fine. You’re sleeping, that’s the important thing.”

“‘Zactly,” he said, eye drifting shut again. “Why’s it matter where I sleep? My house, my chair, I can sleep here if I damn well please myself to.”

“Then sleep well, big brother.”

“‘Kay…” And he was out.

Kouji watched him for a few minutes, then dug around until he found what looked like a coat. Gently he spread it over Zuko’s sleeping form.

The Firelord shifted a little, but didn’t wake up.

The young man smiled, then slipped away to plan out his trip. He could tell Iroh and Katara tomorrow.

* * *

There was nothing Firelord Zuko disliked more than sitting through budget meetings. They were invariably long, complicated, and hellishly boring. When he finally got out, Kouji, looking somewhat stiff, was waiting for him. “Yo.”

“You’re absolutely sure I’m not allowed to outlaw numbers?”

Kouji smiled wryly and patted his shoulder. “Yes, Zuko. Positive.”

The older man sighed. “What is the point of being an autocrat if I can’t outlaw numbers when I want to?”

“The part where everyone needs numbers.”

“What for?”

“Shopping.”

“There is a wonderful thing called a barter economy.”

“Which won’t work for trading with foreign nations.”

“…Damn.” They’d reached Zuko’s study by this time, and the Firelord sank into his chair, creaking faintly.

“You look achey,” Kouji commented.

“Always,” he muttered, displeased.

The younger man sighed.

“You seem a little stiff, too,” Zuko pointed out.

“Fell asleep on my desk last night.”

“I see.” He leaned forward — definitely creaking this time — to search through the mounds of paper on his desk for what he’d been working on that morning before going into the meeting.

Kouji made a face. “We can’t do that again,” he said. “Beds for both of us tonight.”

“All right, I’ll try to remember.” There it was. He pulled it out of the mess and resumed reading through it. The younger nobleman found a seat and mentally went over his travel plans.

The two of them sat quietly in the office for the next two or three hours. At around that time, Zuko realized he’d read over a few lines of the text something like four times and couldn’t remember what they said. he swore under his breath, checked the time, and swore again, just as quietly.

“…bedtime, I think,” Kouji told him.

“Not quite finished here. I’ll stay up another hour or so. You can go if you want.”

“And if I don’t want?”

“Then stay.”

“I will.”

“Right, then.”

A half hour later, he drifted off to sleep.

With a small sigh, Kouji got up and went to drag the Firelord off to bed. He jerked awake when touched, reaching for a sword he no longer carried. “Zuko, it’s just me,” the young man said quietly.

“Oh. ‘Kay.” He relaxed a bit, and turned back to the report he’d been fighting through when he fell asleep.

Kouji rolled his eyes and started counting down. Sure enough, ten minutes later, Zuko was out again. This time, the other noble just touched his shoulder gently. He jerked awake the second time, hand twitching again as if going for a weapon, but he recognized the younger man on his own this time. “Oh, s’you.”

“Yes. You’ve fallen asleep twice in the past twelve minutes. It’s past time for you to go to bed.”

“My hour’s not up yet,” he replied, stubbornly.

“You’re not gonna get much done if you keep falling asleep.”

“I’ll get something done.”

“Look, you remember that talk you had with Leilani about slowing down? You should listen to your body now, so you can fight it later.”

“I am slowing down. This is already four hours earlier than I would have even considered going to bed six months ago.”

Kouji sighed and subsided — Zuko was right. And he managed to remain awake for the rest of his hour — barely. “Okay, Zuko,” said Kouji at the end of it. “Bedtime is now.”

“‘Kay,” the Firelord replied, standing and wobbling a bit.

The younger man grinned and passed the monarch his cane.

“Right,” he said, taking the cane and steadying himself with it.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

“‘Kay.”

Step by step, Kouji escorted Zuko back to his own rooms. Once there, the Firelord sank into his bed and was asleep in moments. Kouji covered him up, then watched him for a moment before sighing and attempting to sneak out. “How is he today?” Katara asked, standing in the doorway.

Only barely did the younger bender keep from flinching. “Tired and achey.”

“More than yesterday?” She was watching Zuko sleep, not looking at Kouji.

“Yeah, but that’s probably ‘cause he slept in his chair last night.”

“…Why didn’t he come back here?” she asked, annoyed, now turning to the young nobleman.

He raised his hands as if to fend her off. “I don’t know. He started bitching at me last night when I suggested it.”

“What about?”

He scowled now. “Wanted to know what I had against his chair.”

Katara sighed, and turned back to watching her husband sleep. “Which probably meant he didn’t think it was worth the effort to walk back here.” She bit her lip.

“…maybe I should put my trip off…”

“If you do that, you’ll just keep delaying and never go. Take the trip. If… something changes, we’ll write you.”

“Are you sure?” Kouji asked, looking at her. “I don’t want to run away from this or anything…” Except that was exactly what he was doing.

“I’m sure,” she said. “You’ve more than earned some time to yourself.”

“Okay.”

She managed a smile at him.

Somehow, he dredged up a returning one.

“You seem a little stiff yourself,” she said, after watching him a minute.

Kouji sighed. “I was planning out my trip last night, and put my head down on my desk for five minutes. And woke up seven hours later.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sit down, let me see if I can help. Also, don’t do that again.”

Obediently he sat. “I don’t plan on it, believe me. Once was more than enough.”

A few minutes later, she’d finished. “There, that should ease the stiffness some.”

“Thanks, Katara,” he said, relieved.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, smiling a little and tousling his hair the way everyone used to when he was eleven.

“Katara!” he protested, ducking away. “I’m not a kid anymore!”

“Did I say you were?” she asked, her smile widening a bit.

“…well, no, but…”

“Sleep in your bed tonight,” she reminded him.

“That’s my very next stop, mother.” He reached out and hugged her.

She hugged back. “Good boy.” Just to be annoying, she reached up and mussed his hair again. He made a muffled noise of annoyance and wandered away.

* * *

A week later, Kouji and Qiang left the Fire Nation’s capital so the young man could explore the Earth Kingdom. With just the two of them, it took three weeks to arrive in Ba Sing Se; Kouji left the dragon hidden in the woods just outside the city, and entered the place alone using the alias ‘Kouichi’. For three days, he explored Ba Sing Se and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city.

On the third day, a very ornate invitation was delivered to his hotel room — apparently, he was a harder man to hide than he’d thought.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” he said when he found it. “Do these people not understand the word anonymous?” Carefully he opened it.

It was an invitation to him — under his correct name — to stay at the palace for the duration of his visit in Ba Sing Se.

“And of course it’d be diplomatically unfeasible for me to refuse. Spirits damn it.”

And so, finding no polite way out of it, Kouji presented himself at the palace, where he was whisked away to meet the Earth King — and his eleven-year-old daughter, Princess An Wei. Kouji put on his best Diplomatic Face so as to hide his severe irritation with this turn of events, though he noticed the Earth Queen didn’t look as pleased with the proceedings as her husband was.

Once the initial pleasantries were over, the King got to the real reason behind not allowing Kouji his anonymity — the Princess. More importantly, the potential of a betrothal between said Princess and Mito.

You have got to be kidding me. Kouji did not voice his thought aloud. “You have to understand,” he said cautiously, “that while I may be the Firelord’s aide, I have no power over international negotiations like those that would be needed for any betrothals.”

“But you can at least bring this up with him, right?”

Kouji squirmed slightly; the Earth King didn’t seem to notice, but his wife’s eyes narrowed, and the young man subsided. “I could, but I won’t be returning for several months yet.”

“But when you do,” the Earth King insisted, and one of his aides pressed a letter into Kouji’s hands. “If you could please give him that letter, we would appreciate it.”

The younger man bit back an annoyed sigh. “Yes, sir.”

He smiled. “Thank you!”

“Is that all, sir?”

“How long do you plan on staying in the city? Of course, you’ll stay here with us…”

“…uh, actually sir,” Kouji tried, “I’ve a room in the city that’s quite comfortable…”

“But you’re the Firelord’s right-hand man,” the Earth King replied, puzzled. “We couldn’t possibly let you stay anywhere else.”

Which is why I was travelling under another name, Kouji thought sourly as the Queen leaned and murmured something in her husband’s ear. The Earth King frowned, and whispered something back. The Queen nodded and subsided, and Kouji sighed. “If that is your wish…”

“Excellent! I hope you enjoy your stay here with us.” The King smiled brightly at the young man.

Kouji couldn’t help but smile back; it would be like kicking a puppy to show how displeased he honestly was with the situation. Maybe later he could just break rocks somewhere.

During his stay in the palace, several of the Earth King’s advisors cornered him on various diplomatic issues — the potential betrothal being only one of them, though by far the one most frequently mentioned.

As a result, Kouji’s relaxing vacation away from the annoyances that came from being Zuko’s top aide was becoming quite stressful, and he was looking for the earliest opportunity to gracefully extract himself before he went mad. Whenever he could, he would slip away from the palace to look around the city or tear up the bending arenas.

Finally, finally, after two weeks, he was able to make his polite escape. He all but ran to Qiang, trying to avoid any who would seek him out for last-minute conversations. He got lucky. No one bothered him, but he didn’t relax until they were airborne. “Oh, man,” he groaned. “What a nightmare.”

She made a questioning sort of growl.

“The Dai Li weeded me out and I had to spend the rest of the trip staying at the palace.”

She snorted, making her opinion of that quite clear.

“Yeah. Exactly. Ugh.” He sighed, looking down at the ground.

She questioned him again.

“Uh… hey, Toph’s supposed to live Eastward, right?”

She made an affirmative noise.

“Then let’s go see her. She must be going crazy with nobody to beat up on.”

Qiang laughed and changed direction.