No one talks about Izumi’s mother because no one actually knows who she is. Well, most people don’t. Rumors circulate all the time about who the mystery woman might be, even in the palace when they think the Fire Lord isn’t listening. It always gets back to him though. He never comments on it. The important thing is his daughter is healthy and loved and cared for and his. All his.
Her mother is on a need to know basis. Zuko knows her, of course, and so does Iroh. His close friends are all varying degrees familiar with who she is, despite not having met her themselves. A very select few members of his court are aware too, which makes sense considering they’d spent the better part of a decade reminding the Fire Lord that he needed to produce an heir, and quickly.
Zuko wasn't even opposed to it, actually. He spent much of his time after the war working through the trauma his own upbringing caused him and started to consider life with a child of his own. Maybe all he needed was a little external pressure to get the ball rolling.
And he really did try to meet someone after he and Mai broke up. His duties often kept him busy and he would’ve much preferred to date someone he was familiar with, but considering the size of his social network, this wasn’t exactly an option. Sokka and Suki were always entangled in something in their little corner of the world, Toph fell off the grid any time she wasn’t actively visiting, Aang’s discernment when it came to suitable partners for Zuko was… questionable, and Katara? Well, Zuko never really had a reason to talk to her about romance, did he?
There were a number of topics in which she was his first point of contact. His dating woes were not one of them.
So when advisors asked Zuko to meet eligible ladies, he did so without so much as a fuss. They’re all lovely of course. Well educated, well spoken. Many of them are kind and understanding.
Most listened to his stories about his travels across the world eagerly. Nodding at all the right moments. Giving empathetic sighs at all the appropriate times. On more than one occasion, Zuko found himself on the brink of beginning to hope. Maybe this time was different. Maybe this time, he had found someone he might actually be able to build something with, settle down, step into that next stage of life…
The one thing they all seemed to have trouble understanding however, was the scar on Zuko’s chest.
See, there’s already been … rumors about the current Fire Lord circulating the nation. Many people still remember watching the play on Ember Island where they recounted Zuko’s brief affair with the girl from the Water Tribe. A few people even claim there’s a well known bounty hunter who confirmed the relationship herself. Completely fabricated of course, but still fodder for the court of public opinion.
And worse, it’s common knowledge that Zuko and that girl are still close, though the extent of that is rather unclear. Most summers she and the Avatar spend some time with the Fire Lord, though it’d be a lie if the servants in the palace said there wasn’t just a touch of tension in the trio. The Avatar always seemed to squeeze his way into the middle of them whenever he was around, and while the Water Tribe girl and the Fire Lord were hardly ever without the Avatar (unless there was something of extreme importance to occupy the latter's time), sometimes it seemed that his presence wasn’t wholly missed.
Suddenly on those occasions, the Fire Lord was all smiles. Genuine ones that took over his face, gleaming and glowing even after the Water Tribe girl took her leave. And it didn't matter who was around to witness either. Because they keep it quite platonic. Friendly hands resting on shoulders. Hugs that never lingered too long. Fire Lord Zuko is very good at upholding the image of a responsible, serious and dignified leader, mostly. Just not when that girl is around.
Still. Nothing to dwell on. The Fire Lord is allowed to have friends after all. Friends that he would do anything for. Friends that he would die for—
Well, that seems to be precisely the problem.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Zuko being so attached, it’s just … the additional context makes things seem a bit funny. It’s one thing to have a close friend. A friend who you’d stick by until the end times. To this day, the story of Sokka holding onto Toph for dear life during the comet still sends chills down Zuko’s spine. No one bats an eye at that. We’d all do the same for a close friend. We all have someone we’d want beside us in our last moments.
But then, to die for them.
Zuko can see it on everyone’s face when he explains it. He and Katara were in a life or death situation. He asked her to be his accomplice. And then her safety, her life, her very being were in danger, and Zuko didn’t have to think twice, he simply risked everything to save her—
If you put it like that, it does sound like there’s something between them. But there isn’t! Genuinely. Unless you count Aang physically wedging himself between Zuko and Katara as the years go on.
But besides that, nothing!
Heaven forbid you get Zuko talking long enough to describe the way his relationship with Katara evolved in the first year of knowing each other. You'd never get him to shut up.
Zuko is not an idiot, though. He can tell after the first few encounters with potential matches that something in the story isn’t landing right. So he tries to switch the narrative a bit. Whenever the topic of the scar on his chest comes up, he does his best not to get cagey. He omits some details, embellishes others, but somehow, no matter how he tells it, the response he receives is always the same.
Oh how lovely, they all seem to say. You have a permanent scar that shows how much she means to you.
He’s in purgatory. He’s been branded.
Zuko's a merciful man. He can tell when the interest of a potential match wanes and decides to put them both out of their misery when they inevitable start putting too much stock in a decision he made as a teenager.
Except he’s only getting older, the nation has no heirs, and somehow every woman he meets thinks his heart already belongs to someone else.
For the record, Zuko would've jumped in front of lightning for anyone. Well, he thinks he would, probably. If he ponders it for long enough, there isn't anyone he would let take lightning instead of him, which is essentially the same idea. Kind of.
There is no one else that he would've asked to accompany him to near certain death. Irrelevant, of course. Nothing anyone needs to look into further.
There’s one summer where Katara visits on her own and he takes every opportunity not spent in meetings to stay by her side. He’d be lying if he said it wasn't just a tad bit nicer to have time with her without Aang, but if feels horrible to admit that. Zuko loves Aang. Aang is one of his closest friends.
Katara just happens to be a bit closer.
At least, that how Zuko usually sees it. For most of this visit, it feels like there's something that hasn't been said. Zuko prods a few times, but leaves the door open for Katara to tell him what's on her mind.
Then she does. She's with child. And she's smiling when she says it, but it's odd. Rehearsed. Zuko knows something is off when the only things Katara has to say are about repopulating the air nomads, not even giving herself the space to hope the future baby might have her eyes or wits or bending ability. Just locked into a future of someone else's choosing.
Which is weird and stupid and maybe even a little creepy because Katara and Aang have been together forever. They've become so ubiquitous that it's a surprise they haven't already had a few kids over the years. But something just doesn't feel right. Why would Zuko ever feel anything other than joy for two of his dearest friends?
When Katara leaves this time, Zuko hugs her for much longer than is appropriate and spends the next few weeks throwing himself into finding a suitable partner whenever he has time. There's just something he can't shake as he continues filtering through women by the dozen, that somehow he's been locked out of something he didn't even know he might of wanted.
The new matches Zuko's being set up with all feel the same. They're so dainty and proper and kind, until they learn of that damn scar and the disdain begins to set in.
Nobody wants this baggage, and if he's being quite honest, he doesn't want to meet anyone else anymore.
The years go by and baby Bumi starts to get so big, or so Zuko hears. He seems to see Katara less and less and wallow in his thoughts more and more. And if he's being honest, there's no one else, platonic or otherwise, he would've taken that lightning bolt for.
There's still a part of him that likes the idea of parenthood, quite a bit actually, but he can't imagine doing it with someone he wouldn't die for.
It takes another change of seasons before the idea finally comes to him.
Zuko starts floating the idea of adoption around for months before his court starts seriously considering it. There were select few times in the past where someone was adopted into the royal family, but the heir to the throne? That was particularly unheard of. How awful a precedent it would send that the nation's highest position could just be up and given to someone unrelated, by the whim of the Fire Lord? What kind of infighting might that cause?
It takes several more months of back and forth before Zuko reaches a semblance of agreement with his court. He may adopt a child, but they must keep things as private as possible. A baby is preferable. The younger the better. With a mother who at least resembles someone in the royal family. Zuko adds his opinion that if appearance is a factor, they should use Ursa's side of the family as a baseline. His advisors concede, and start to search for someone suitable.
It's surprisingly difficult to find someone that meets the criteria. It takes weeks before Zuko's advisors start coming up with possible leads and then months before he finally meets the expecting mother.
She's kind and smart, just not of a high enough social class that she and the Fire Lord would have ever crossed path organically. They talk for a bit casually, and Zuko learns a lot about her. Her interests, the life she was preparing to put on hold to raise a child. The one name she fixated on the moment she found out she was pregnant. Izumi.
Of course. He can't outrun the tides, can he?
She does eventually ask Zuko when she gains the courage if there was anyone who viewed as a suitable partner for him prior to considering this arrangement. He answers honestly, with a hand over his chest as he does.
They meet again three weeks later, and again after that. Zuko does his best to soothe any doubts Izumi's mother may even though he has no obligation. He is Fire Lord, after all. What he says goes. But he's meticulous in making sure Izumi's mother is sure this is what she wants.
Zuko promises to shower Izumi in love and praise, to extend financial support to any living relatives, to allow visits when possible, to move Heaven and Earth.
When Izumi is finally born, Zuko finds that for the first time in several years, there may be a second person he's willing to take that lightning bolt for.
