#katara does NOT like malina

[the-badger-mole]

Hello! I loved all your drabbles,, is it alright if I request the number 38 for zutara? Thanks!

It sure is! It's quite alright!

"You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”

Katara shouldn’t have come to school today, but her dad’s girlfriend was visiting. Katara couldn’t bear Malina’s attempts at maternal care patiently.

By the end of the day, she was both freezing and overheated. Her last class was debate, and he was her opponent. Zuko stood by the door, studying his notes. He looked up, that stupid scornful smirk on his face. The earth shifted when she met his eye, and suddenly he looked scared. He caught her as the ground rushed up towards her. He still smirked, but there was a worried furrow in his brow.

“You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn’t have to faint in my arms,” he said.

[melzula]

North and South

part two

pairing: zuko x princess!reader

notes: part two is here! again, there’s some notable changes from the comics to fit Princess into the story but i think it works! hope you guys enjoy :)

summary: team Avatar is together again, but Galik’s vendetta against the Northerners prevents them from enjoying their time at the festival

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

Hakoda and Malina are waiting outside the palace for you when you finally return from your talk with Katara. Both look eager to speak to you, and you’re not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad one. The trio had been vague when requesting your presence for an impromptu meeting, so you weren’t exactly sure what they wished to discuss with you, but if you had to guess you’d assume it has something to do with the oil refinery they wish to build.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us at such short notice,” Malina professes earnestly as the two escort you to your office. “I know how busy you must be what with the festival being tonight.”

“It’s not a problem at all. I always look forward to hearing new ideas for the improvement of our tribe,” you assure her with a shake of your head. “But I do have to ask, what exactly are you hoping to discuss with me?”

“You said you wanted proof that the construction of the oil refinery would be in the tribe’s best interest,” Hakoda notes thoughtfully as the three of you finally reach your office. “Well, Maliq and Malina managed to bring the proof to you.”

You furrow your brows in uncertainty at his words and open your mouth to ask just what exactly he means by that, but your is question answered when the doors of your office are finally opened. In the center of the room stands Maliq with a content smile on his face, and beside him stands none other than the Blind Bandit herself.

“Toph!” You exclaim in surprise before rushing forward to envelope her in a tight hug. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!”

“I’d say the same thing if I could see,” she notes with a humorous grin. “Nice to know you missed me, your highness.”

“Of course I did! It’s been much too long.”

“Wouldn’t have been so long if you’d told me about that assassination attempt,” she notes wryly before giving you a harsh punch to the arm. “I would have kicked that guy’s butt in an instant if you’d asked.”

“Yeah, my mistake,” you note sheepishly, rubbing the tender spot on your arm from her punch. “What brings you here now?”

“We thought it would be best if you heard from a representative of a successful oil refinery yourself to see just how impactful this project could be for the South,” Maliq answers on Toph’s behalf.

“Representative? I’m an executive partner now!” The girl corrects with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

“Miss Beifong here oversees Earthern Fire Industries and has offered to supply us with the materials needed to extract the oil and build the refinery,” Malina explains animatedly.

“Wait a minute, how are you being offered supplies for a project that doesn’t exist yet?” You retort with a raised brow, looking at the two siblings expectantly. Malina turns meek under your gaze, but Maliq doesn’t seem to have a care about being caught in the lie.

“We may have bent the truth to get Miss Beifong to come here today,” he admits with a shrug. “But does it really matter? Now that she’s here she can tell you all about the success her refinery has had and how important such a project will be here in the South! We figured if you wouldn’t listen to us, maybe you’d listen to a trusted friend.”

“Going behind my back for something like this is unacceptable,” you scold firmly, doing your best to keep your anger at bay. “You have no right to make these types of decisions without my approval. I am Chief, and you two are visitors. Don’t forget that.”

Maliq is stunned by your words, obviously not expecting this type of response from you. He thought you were smart enough to understand how big this project could be, how desperately your people needed something like this. Why were you being so naive?

“I’m sorry, y/n, I didn’t know this was an ambush,” Toph repents, awkwardly grasping at the back of her neck. “As much as I love Malina and Maliq’s work, I wouldn’t have come if I’d known you weren’t onboard.”

“You’re making a mistake!” Maliq tries to argue. “You need to stop seeing things through such a Southern lens and look at the bigger picture here!”

“Southern lens?” You retort in offense. Malina picks up on your displeased tone and quickly steps in for her brother.

“You’re right, we shouldn’t have overstepped,” she apologizes on his behalf. “We just want to do all we can to help lift up the South.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but if you keep going behind my back then I won’t be needing your help any longer,” you warn before turning your disappointed gaze to Hakoda. “I appreciate all you’ve done and all you’re doing as advisor, but this cannot happen again.

“Understood, Chief. We shouldn’t have lied to you,” he repents with a sigh. "Perhaps we just got a little carried away.”

“I don’t want to hear anymore about this oil refinery,” you say with finality before turning to Toph. “I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing, but I hope you’ll stay for the festivities taking place tonight in honor of Sokka and Katara’s return home.”

“Free food and games? I’m in,” the girl replies with a grin.

You’re able to say nothing more as a knock on the door interrupts your conversation. All heads turn to the doorway where your mother steps in, a sheepish smile on her face.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she apologizes bashfully, “but Chief y/n is needed in the courtyard.”

“No, of course not, mother. Our conversation is over,” you tell her, giving the group a pointed look. “Hakoda, could you please take Toph to Sokka and Katara? They can get her situated while I’m gone.”

After giving your orders, you follow your mother out of the office and into palace hallways towards the front doors. “What needs my attention?”

“You have a visitor is all,” she notes with a giddy smile. “They requested your immediate presence.”

“It better not be another representative,” you grumble irately. You’re still frustrated over the fact that you were lied to by your advisor and that the siblings had tried to go behind your back with their project, but the feeling doesn’t last long when you see who’s standing outside the palace doors.

Bouquet of fire lilies in hand and a tender smile on his face, Zuko immediately opens his arms for you to throw yourself into his embrace. He’s impossibly warm and his hold on your figure is impossibly tight as he hugs you close to his chest.

“Zuko, you made it!” You exclaim, escaping his hold to cup his face in your hands and pull him down to meet your lips in a kiss.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he replies breathlessly after breaking your kiss. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.”

“Definitely not as much as I’ve missed you,” you argue with a careful smile, your face growing warm as he hands you the bouquet of flowers before pressing a chaste kiss to your cheek.

“Thank you for hosting me and allowing me to stay in your home,” Zuko says to your mother, bowing in respect to the woman.

“After all you’ve done for my daughter? It’s the least I can do,” she smiles with a passive wave of her hand. Then, looking to you, she says, “I’m going back to the square to finish setting up for the festival. I’ll see you two there.”

Now alone, you eagerly take Zuko’s hand in your own and practically drag him back into the palace.

“Oh, I have the perfect outfit picked for you to wear to the festival tonight!” You exclaim elatedly while Zuko struggles to match your pace. With your back turned to him, you don’t see the way he looks at you as if you hang all the stars in the sky.

It’s good to be back.

~~~

Despite the celebration being held in honor of Sokka and Katara’s return home, you haven’t seen much of the siblings since the start of the festival. You remain glued to Zuko’s side as you stroll through the square and admire all the work that went into putting the festivities together.

“You certainly outdid yourself,” Zuko compliments with a faint smile as he watches a group of children play ring toss in hopes of winning the giant stuffed koala otter on display. The South is warm and full of life, so different from what Zuko was used to, but he enjoyed it all the same. It felt nice to finally spend time with you without having to worry about his sister or his father or any other nonsense that often got in the way of your peaceful life together.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” You ask with a sheepish laugh. “I wanted Sokka and Katara to feel appreciated, but I also just wanted to give my people the chance to have fun for a night and not have to worry about any of their troubles.”

“You’re a wonderful leader, and the South is lucky to have you,” Zuko compliments before giving you an affectionate kunik.

“Y/n!” A voice interrupts. Aang and Katara walk arm-in-arm towards you, and everything finally feels complete when the Avatar greets you with a hug.

“Aang, it’s so good to see you! I’m glad you could make it,” you express earnestly. “I was worried my invitation might have gotten lost before it could reach you.”

“It’s nice to be back in the South,” he sighs happily. “Everything looks great!”

“Everything tastes great, too!” Sokka adds as he and Toph join your group. He holds multiple skewers of meat and passes one off to you and Zuko while Toph trails behind holding a plethora of stuffed animals. “Isn’t this amazing?! Team Avatar back together again!”

“It certainly does feel like old times,” you note wistfully as you think back to your time during the war- how things have changed. “I want to thank you all again for being here, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“We’ll always be here,” Katara says with a warm smile. “No matter what.”

“Y/n,” your mother calls from across the way, interrupting your little reunion. “It’s time for your speech!”

“Oh, of course. Sokka, Katara, come with me,” you tell the siblings, giving them no time to argue as you take each of their hands and escort them to the front.

Using your bending, you send a blast of ice into the air that erupts into a flurry of tiny snowflakes. The act catches the attention of your people, and they watch in awe as the snow begins to fall over the festival.

“People of the Southern Water Tribe, it is my great honor to have you here tonight to celebrate the return of our heroes Sokka and Katara!” You announce, earning an eruption of cheers and applause for your friends. “It is because of their bravery and sacrifice that I stand here before you today. Our tribe took a hard hit during the war, but we’ve persevered and come back even stronger! Every day that passes brings the Southern Water Tribe into a new era of strength and hope. At this time I’d like to take this moment to also thank our Reconstruction team Malina and Maliq for their help in our rebuilding process. I have great hope we can accomplish great things with the help of our sister tribe, and I’d just like to say that-“

“-Everybody needs to get out of here now!” Toph interrupts frantically as the ground begins to shake beneath you. Panicked gasps and murmurs spread throughout the crowd as you try to gain your bearings only to falter at the sight of the giant drill that emerges from beneath the ground. Your people have scattered away in search of safety, and you’re left standing horrified at the display.

At the top of the drill stands Galik, surrounded by fellow warriors with their battle regalia on and weapons at the ready. His features are angry, his eyes dead set on the Northern siblings as he begins his rant.

“Brothers and sisters, I am Galik of the Southern Water Tribe!” He proclaims. “I am your warrior, your blood, your true brother. So believe me when I say that those scoundrels from our so-called “sister tribe” are not here to help us! They are here to subjugate and humiliate us!”

“Galik, what is the meaning of this?!” You demand harshly as you approach the man despite Sokka’s warning voice begging you to stay put. Zuko watches on anxiously from the sidelines without making a move; he doesn’t want to interfere in water tribe business, but he’s prepared to do what he must to protect you if anyone so much as raises a hand towards you.

“I am sorry to ruin your celebration, Chief y/n. I know you had good intentions when inviting these outsiders into our home, but we can no longer stand by and watch them take advantage of your trusting nature. They tend to strip our land of its oil and destroy everything we’ve worked to build!”

“That oil will bring prosperity to your people!” Malina tries to argue. “These plans are for the benefit of the South!”

“Those plans,” you correct firmly, shooting a harsh glare at Malina, “no longer exist. I shut them down, Galik. No one is taking our oil.”

“So you think,” Galik corrects before producing Maliq’s missing briefcase. “Those foreigners plan to claim our oil for themselves! They plan to colonize our tribe, to have our Chief step down from her duties and allow the North to take control!”

“What? That can’t be true!” You cry indignantly before looking towards Malina. The woman doesn’t meet your eye, and slowly you feel the disappointment begin to rise within you. “Can it?”

“It was true,” she murmurs shamefully. “We never used the words colony or colonize, but we worried that the South wasn’t ready to handle such important resources. We worried that such a young girl wasn’t fit to rebuild an entire tribe.”

“And we were right,” Maliq butts in harshly much to his sister’s dismay.

“No we weren’t! We realized we were wrong and decided to abandon our original plans!”

“No, you decided! I never agreed to a change of plans!” Her brother lashes out before angrily pointing a finger at you. “Your Chief is too stuck in the past to move forward into the future! She can’t handle such a big responsibility, none of you can!”

“That is enough!” You try to interrupt only for his construction crew to block your path. Zuko is by your side in an instant, taking their transgression as his cue to step in.

“Watch it,” he warns them lowly, his eyes blazing with fierce protectiveness for his Princess.

“We’re building that refinery with or without your permission, and once that oil is out of the ground it will be under Northern control!” Maliq declares much to his sister’s trepidation.

“See how they disrespect our Chief?!” Galik counters to the group of onlookers that watch the scene unfold. “Our blood and sacrifice kept them safe during the war, and as if that wasn’t enough, now they want our oil! They want our home! They’ve wormed their way into our affairs like parasites, feeding off of our land for their own benefit! Hakoda has abused his position as advisor and led us astray. I’m sure he’s conspiring with them to take the throne for himself much like that traitor Koa tried to do!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sokka cries angrily from the crowd. “Our father would never approve of this!”

“Hakoda is too much of a coward to stand up to his own Chief!” Maliq asserts before turning his critical eyes back to you. “But I’m not. I expected better from a Princess, a girl who’s traveled the world and seen for herself the success of other nations, but I guess you really are just a Southerner after all. You can’t be trusted to know what’s best for anyone, and that’s why the South needs the oversight of an actual civilization!”

“The South needs you to leave! Immediately,” you proclaim harshly, staring down the man until he finally backs off. The air is thick with tension after Maliq’s outburst, and no one knows just what to do or say. Finally, Galik interrupts the silence.

“Your kind heart fails you again, y/n,” he says with a shake of his head and a menacing tone. “After all they’ve done, they don’t just get to leave.”

“For the tribe!” He and his warriors cry before charging at the siblings.

“Quick, we have to help them!” You urge Zuko before discarding your parka to allow you a greater range of motion to bend.

“After everything they’ve done?! He completely disrespected you!” The Fire Lord adduces.

“That doesn’t mean they deserve to be killed!”

You quickly use your bending to procure a wall of ice to block the group from reaching the siblings. You catch Aang and Katara in your peripheral fighting off Galik’s men while Sokka and Toph attempt to crowd control, and beside you Zuko shoots blasts of flames to ward off the attackers.

Suddenly, a heap of rock knocks your feet out from under you and sends you sprawling into the snow after colliding into your figure. You’d been so engrossed in warding off Galik’s men that you hadn’t even noticed Maliq and Malina’s crew sneaking up behind you.

“Don’t hurt her!” Malina protests only for one of them to dismiss her concerns.

“If she was such a “big and powerful” Chief she would have been able to defend herself,” the earth bender argues. “She’s nothing but a Southern bender.”

A ball of fire is suddenly shot in his direction and the quickly man ducks to the ground in fear. Peering up from the snow, Zuko towers over the man menacingly with his hand ready to strike. “Want to say that again?”

“H-Hey, it was just a joke! Honest! She’s a really good water bender!” The man splutters. He screams in terror when another blast is shot his way, but it only lands on the side of him and narrowly misses his head.

“Don’t you forget it.”

While the wind was momentarily knocked out of you from the impact of the rock, you’re quick to recover and get back on your feet to fight. However, you falter at the sight of Galik standing before you. He holds a hand up in surrender to signal he has no intentions of fighting you, and so you do the same.

“This has gotten out of hand, Galik. You need to call off your troops,” you plead breathlessly. “We shouldn’t be fighting.”

“I’ve tried to be patient with you, y/n, but I can only do so much,” the older man admits with a sigh. “They deserve what’s coming to them.”

“I’m just as upset as you are about Maliq’s plan, but this isn’t the way to go. At the end of the day we’re all a family.”

“Family?! Did the Northern scum care when our water benders were desecrated by the raiders? Did they care when our Princess was taken from us by the Fire Nation? Did they care when your father lost his life in battle while their Chief got to hide behind a wall of ice? They are not our family, and you need to realize this before it’s too late.”

“If we continue on this way we’ll be proving them right!” You argue desperately. “We’ll only show them that we can’t handle our own affairs! Just stop this and I’ll make it right!”

“It’s much too late for that now, Princess. The situation has gotten out of hand and needs correction. You’ve done all you can to rectify the problem, but your judgement is clouded by your love for the Fire Lord. The ash maker has brainwashed you.”

“How dare you call him that?!” You yell fiercely, your blood boiling at the insult and your patience just about worn thin. “You’re the one that’s brainwashed if you truly believe such crazy conspiracies!”

“It’s not a conspiracy, it’s the truth! How many times have you let foreigners take advantage of you?! You risked your life to save Zuko’s and yet you are the one that carries the scars on your hands! You opened our home to the Northern scum and yet they wish to take the throne away from you! You’ve had your chance to do things your way, but it’s time for me to take over now, Chief.”

You notice his eyes are no longer focused on you but on something behind you, and you immediately react by whirling around and using a water whip to disable your approaching attacker before they can reach you. Your move sends them flying across the courtyard and into a nearby food stand. Guiltily, you make a mental note to pay the owner for the damages your attack has caused.

“Y/n!” Zuko calls as he rushes towards you. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but Galik got away,” you huff in disappointment. Surveying the area, you notice that both the Northern siblings and your friends are missing from the square. “Where are the others?”

“I’m not sure, but they must have run after him.”

“I’m sorry things always seem to get out of hand when you visit the South,” you say with a demeaned frown. “I promise it’s not always like this.”

“Hey, it’s much better than the stuff I put you through when you visit the Fire Nation,” Zuko jokes in an attempt to lighten the situation. “You handle the stress of being a leader far better than I ever could.”

Smiling faintly, you give his hand a comforting squeeze before urging him out of the square. “Let’s go find Gilak.”

“Chief y/n, you have to come quick!” A guard calls from the distance, alerting you of her presence and interrupting your conversation with Zuko. The next words to come out of her moth are the last words you ever expected to hear, and they fill your stomach with dread when she shouts, “Hakoda’s been stabbed.”

| atla tags: @niktwazny303 @sirkekselord

| zuko tags: @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @taeeemin @lora21 @livelaughlovekuni @lovialy

| fire lilies tags: @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @xapham @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch @docackerman @rinalsword

[orlissa]

Ask me: FANDOM EDITION

A - Your current OTP

C - A pairing you have never liked and probably never will

N - Your favorite fanfiction or fanauthor

O - Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of

X - 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go

Oopps I got carried away, if you don't want to do all of them just choose two or three at random 😊

Hiiii! :)

No worries :)

A: Darklina

C: To stay on brand: Malina.

N: Err, I don't really have one. It's like asking for your favorite book.

O: Okay, let my shuffled playlist decide... Bwhahaha, okay, the first song that came on is "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" from The Producers XD Yeah, that doesn't remind me of any OTP XD Skipping, skipping, skipping... Okay, it's not gonna work XD So I'm gonna say "Hogyha kell egy tánc" ("If I want to dance"). It's a song from the musical Elisabeth, about the life of Sisi, the empress of Austria. The musical itself is rather... gothic. It's narrated by Sisi's murderer, and there is a love triangle amongst Sisi, her husband Franz Josef, and... Death. Death is in love with Sisi and follows her through life. This song is a duet between the two of them, where Sisi reasserts her newfound independence and power ("If I want to dance/I'll choose my partner"), while Death encourages her and kinda reminds her that it's due to him. And yeah, once again, staying on brand: Darklina XD

X: Rogue/Gambit, Skye/Grant Ward, Zuko/Katara

Z: Um, fan related? So I translated The Prison Healer not so long ago, which is a YA fantasy, and I had my reservations at first, but it turned out to be pretty good. Really good. Good enough that I wanted to see what happens next right away. See, it's a trilogy, and I could get my hands on the second book, no problem, but the third book came out in Australia two weeks ago (the athor is Australian), and yesterday in the US/UK, but I haven't been able to get it yet, and it's driving me mad, because I'm at like 90% into book 2, and I don't want to finish it until I have the third book. But, at the same time, before The Prison Healer, I translated Anthiny Ryan's The Pariah, which is medieval fantasy, and that was sooo good as well. And the second book in that series is coming out on the 30th, but I did manage to snatch an ARC from Netgalley, and I'm about halfway through, but... I'm not feeling it as much as the first book? In the first book the landscape, the situation, the power balance everything kept changing (the protagonist went from outlaw to prisoner to scribe to soldier), but this second book just has a lot of sieges. And the author is I think is a historian, and he really knows his stuff when it comes to medieval warfare and whatnot, but I'm itching for the characters to have an actual conversation instead of fighting all the time.

[jaxsteamblog]

Healing

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

The day after the eclipse, Katara still felt weak. But even as she struggled to walk very far on her own, she was still shoving Zuko to leave.

“You are the Fire Lord. You can’t be spending all of your time in the North Pole.” She snapped angrily. Her quilt was piled on top of her but still dragged behind her as she pushed against Zuko’s back. While he was a slender man, he was still taller than her and had been trained to not be pushed around by an invalid. 

“Katara, I can’t leave you like this.” He said.

“I have my family here, plus the palace staff, and the oasis. I’m fine.” She stated.

“That’s all well and good but I, your intended husband who will be caring for you the rest of your life, cannot leave you like this.” 

Katara stopped pushing and rested her head against his back.

“They’re going to overthrow you and, I don’t know, put Azula on the throne and I do not need that pain in my life.” She said. 

“You make a good point and I am slightly conflicted.” Zuko said. He craned his neck to look at her behind him. “I want to talk to Sokka first.” 

“Fine.”

“And you go back to bed.”

“Zuko.” 

Katara yelped as Zuko turned and picked her up, walking her over to the bed and dumping her onto the pile of blankets and pillows.

“The doctor put you on bedrest.” He said.

“I am the greatest healer in all three tribes!” Katara said.

Zuko turned and started to walk out of the bedroom.

“I healed my own wounds in an active battlefield!” She yelled after him. “No one can tell me what to do!”

Zuko said nothing as he left, shutting the door behind him. 

“I bet he’d change his tune if he were stuck in a bed.” Katara muttered, nonetheless burying herself in the warm nest they had constructed over the past few days. 

She must have dozed off, because the next moment had her startle upwards as her door slammed open.

“Shush!” Zuko’s voice was sharp.

“She’s going to kill you regardless.” Sokka said angrily.

Sitting up, Katara pulled her quilt back over her head like a hood. Sokka stood in the doorway with Zuko’s arm around his neck. Her brother held onto Zuko and Katara looked down.

His right leg was in a cast.

“Spirits above, what on earth happened?” Katara asked.

Sokka grumbled incoherently as he staggered forward, supporting Zuko, and led him to the bed. 

“I broke my leg.” Zuko said, easing himself onto the bed as Katara moved over. 

“I can see that, yeah.” Katara retorted, annoyed.

“This idiot got into another fight with our father, tried to do something stupid to prove a stupid point, and fell off a wall.” Sokka clarified. 

“You did what?” Katara exclaimed.

Zuko looked calm as he got comfortable on the bed. He then turned and looked at her, seemingly unbothered.

“I broke my leg.” He repeated.

“Zuko!” Katara grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. 

“Tui’s gills and La’s fins, I hope she beats some sense into you.” Sokka grumbled. 

“I can’t heal you right now!” Katara said. “I’ll exhaust myself resetting a bone.” 

“As you can see, the bone has already been set and I am in a cast. I can heal like the normal people that aren’t engaged to the greatest healer of all three tribes.” Zuko said. 

Katara hit him with the pillow again. 

The palace, remembering Zuko’s previous unannounced visit to the North Pole, was more prepared for his stay this time. A temporary space was made for him in Katara’s office, and Zuko made a call back to Caldera. 

The prime minister, having an irascible relationship with Zuko at best, inquired how long he would be away. Katara had forced Zuko to say three days, as she would have her full strength back and be able to heal his injury at that point. 

His assistant Toyo, a man Katara couldn’t totally pin down, was on a chartered flight that night with all of Zuko’s accumulating paperwork. 

In the North Pole, Arnook was doubly displeased. He had kept to himself after Katara’s coronation, but after Zuko’s own crowning, something had set him off again. 

Katara wanted to assume the former king would be pleased with the results, all things considered. 

Sokka kept Arnook away, yet Katara knew that stressed him out. Things had already been tense with the eclipse, and now it was getting worse. 

“What did you two fight about?” Katara asked as she helped Zuko get ready for bed. 

“It was something ridiculous, and not at all the point.” He said, moving awkwardly to assist more than he needed to. Katara swatted his hands away and gently pulled his pajama pants up over his cast. 

“What do you mean?” She pressed.

“Well it’s obvious they don’t trust me.” He said.

“Sure, but I do and so does Thuy. And we can beat you up if we need to.” 

Zuko gave a bark of laughter and Katara sat back to let him adjust his waistband. 

“Your dad isn’t worried about me hurting you, though that’s what he says. He’s worried about my people.” He said.

“They won’t do anything to me.”

“They already tried.”

“That was your father, you know that.”

“Katara, come on, you know what they’re saying.”

“And? They’re saying the same things about you here.” Katara laid back and Zuko held her awkwardly, the rough cast bumping into her legs. 

“Yeah but-” He started and she clapped her hand once firmly against his chest.

“You matter, stop it. You’re going to be my husband. You are going to be part of the tribe.” Katara stated. 

Zuko held her hand against his chest and looked up at the ceiling. 

“I just want them to know I’m not planning on taking you away. That I want to be a part of the tribe.” He said. Turning his head, they looked at each other. 

“They’ll get it.” Katara said.

Toyo arrived bright and early, immediately putting Zuko to work. Arnook, grumbling about the growing red stain, shut himself in his rooms with his wife. 

Suki and Thuy showed up with Rohan, mostly to make fun of Zuko. Whale Thuy and Rohan pestered both Zuko and Toyo, Suki slipped off to wherever Sokka was hiding.

As she felt better, Katara wandered through the palace, wondering where her family had gone.

Unfortunately, she ran into Malina.

“Oh! Katara!” Malina said, smiling brightly after the surprise. “Are you feeling better?”

“Much.” Katara replied, slipping her hands into her sleeves like a muff. 

“Are you looking for your father?”

“Sokka.” 

“I think they’re together actually.”

“Wonderful.” Katara croaked and Malina’s smile fell. 

“You know, your father misses you terribly.” She said.

“He seems to be filling his time just fine.” Katara shot back. 

Malina sighed but didn’t fight back.

“I think your father and Sokka are in our rooms.” She said and walked away, leaving Katara to make her way alone.

Her family and Arnook kept their private rooms close to Katara’s and it wasn’t an arduous journey by any means. But as she approached the door, she saw Suki outside, leaning against the wall. 

“Hey.” Katara called out. Suki turned and stood up.

“How are you feeling?” She asked as Katara approached.

“A lot better. I might be able to heal Zuko tomorrow.” She replied.

“Don’t push yourself.”

“I won’t.”

The conversation died and Katara tilted her head.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

Suki sighed and rubbed the back of her neck; a gesture she borrowed from Sokka. 

“Sokka hasn’t been here since before we all went to the Swamp. It’s making him anxious.” She said. 

“What about you?” 

Suki shrugged.

“Is Sokka with my dad?” Katara inquired.

“Yeah. I wouldn’t bother them right now.” Suki said, glancing at the door. 

Katara followed her gaze and frowned.

That night, Katara tested her bending as she washed under Zuko’s cast. It didn’t tire her as quickly as she feared, and Katara knew she’d be able to heal him at the Oasis. 

“How does it feel?” She asked as she dumped the dirty water.

“It aches, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Zuko answered, hopping backwards onto the bed. 

“We’ll get the cast off tomorrow and you’ll be back on your feet by the afternoon.” Katara said, joining him under the blankets.

“Are you sure that’s not too soon?” Zuko asked. 

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” She quipped and Zuko grumbled in annoyance. 

“I don’t want to leave you.” He said.

“It’s only a few more months until the wedding. Then I become Fire Lady and I’ll be in Caldera all the time.” 

“No you won’t.”

“Watch me.”

“No one here is going to let you be in Caldera for very long.” 

“No one else here is Queen of the Water Tribes.” Katara snuggled close to Zuko and she smiled as he kissed the top of her head. 

The next morning, the doctor arrived to cut away Zuko’s cast. He brought a wheelchair and Katara pushed him down the halls toward the Oasis. Thuy and Rohan joined them, chattering about the Oasis and other spiritual places in the world. 

To her surprise, a lot of other people were waiting for them at the entrance. Arnook and his wife, Hakoda and Malina, plus Sokka and Suki.

“This is a sacred place, Fire Lord.” Arnook said before Katara could ask about his presence. She frowned but Zuko nodded.

“Of course.” He said.

Katara ignored them and wheeled Zuko in, careful not to jostle his leg as they went over the bricked path. Stopping before the bridge, Katara walked around and started to take off her parka. 

“What’s going on?” Zuko asked.

“I’m getting in.” Katara replied. 

“I thought we were going to the pond.” Zuko said.

“No need.” Katara said, dropping her outer layers on the grass. “I’m close enough to La I can practically hear its weird, fishy thoughts.” 

Walking to the edge, Katara touched her foot to the water. It always surprised her when she found it warm. She continued into the water, slipping a bit on the slick mud under her feet.

When the water reached to her waist, she turned and looked at the gathered audience. 

“Can someone bring him to me?” She asked. 

Sokka stepped forward but Zuko held up his hand.

“Wait, I need you to promise me something.” He said.

Katara crossed her arms over her chest and eyed him.

“What?” She asked.

“You only heal the leg.” Zuko said.

“What?” Katara repeated, confused. 

“Not the lightning and not the burn.” He said.

“Zuko…”

“Only the leg.”

They stared at each other and Katara sighed when she gave up.

“Fine.” She said.

Sokka helped Zuko up and steadied him as he hopped to the bank. He sat at the edge and put his legs in as Katara held out her hands.

“Only the leg.” He said again.

“I promise.” She replied. 

Zuko pushed himself off the bank and Katara caught him as he sank into the water. 

Having him close and being in the Oasis, Katara felt her heart hammering in her chest. With every beat, light shimmered over the top of the water. Joy filled her and Katara squeezed Zuko. He hugged her tightly and they both started laughing. As he was still trying to hold himself up on one leg and with the mud offering nothing in return, they both slid as they held each other. 

Katara gasped when she went under but Zuko hauled her back up, sputtering and trying to shake her hair out of her face.

Blinded by her hair, she jumped when Zuko suddenly kissed her. Still, she relaxed and kissed him back, pushing her hair back after he pulled away. 

“I love you.” He said. 

“I love you.” Katara murmured. 

“You’re soaked.” Zuko said and laughed again.

“Well you’re…” Katara gasped and pushed on his chest. “You’re standing up!”

“Yeah, you healed me.” He said.

“I didn’t!” She exclaimed and Zuko frowned.

The glow on the water dimmed and they both turned to look back at the grass.

Everyone was looking at the pond past the bridges.

Sokka suddenly sat down and Suki crouched next to him, rubbing his back. Arnook and his wife held onto each other, while Hakoda and Malina walked to the water’s edge.

Hakoda held out his hand to Zuko.

“Welcome to the family.” He said.

Zuko hesitated but took the offered hand and Hakoda pulled him out of the water. As water streamed from his clothes, Zuko pulled up his pant leg to look at his injury. The skin was smooth and unbroken, without even a bruise to hint at the break. 

“What happened?” Katara asked, pushing herself onto the bank and looking around.

“When you went under the water, a black circle glowed where you had been.” Malina said and then looked back at the pond. “And the pond glowed white.”

“Yue?” Katara asked anxiously, taking a step toward the bridge.

“No.” Hakoda said. “But, it was Tui.” 

“It was her.” Sokka said, his voice thick. “She.”

He cut off and lowered his head, putting his hands on the back of his neck while Suki hugged his side. 

“She told him he didn’t need her forgiveness.” Suki said. 

“She said we shouldn’t seek forgiveness for falling in love.” Arnook corrected, finally turning around. “Still, I feel I should apologize to you, Fire Lord.” 

“Oh.” Zuko said, moving to stand beside Katara. “It’s okay.”

“Katara.” Hakoda said and Katara glared at him.

“Don’t ruin it.” She said. “I’m not Tui.”

Holding onto Zuko’s hand, Katara used her bending to remove the Oasis water from their bodies. After returning it, she bent down to grab her clothes and walked off. 

She had done the healing she had come to do and that was enough. 

“Hey.” Sokka said, grabbing onto the parka under her arm and forcing her to stop. 

Katara looked down at him and Suki.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“Can I have a hug?” He asked in reply.

Katara dropped Zuko’s hand and her clothes, falling onto Sokka. They hugged and Katara pressed her cheek against Sokka’s. 

Then again, she’d do anything for her brother. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

[whattheheehaw]

Thoughts and feelings while reading North and South Part 2 (electric boogaloo?):

why is sokka depicted as an idiot in front of malina? my boy might have his moments but he’s not that stupid.

malina’s fake tan is wearing off. she’s looking really pale in some of these panels. i can’t believe she’s water tribe, not to mention maliq’s sister. they don’t look anything alike.

Everything else is under the cut because spoilers and this got kind of long.

oh shit. OIL EXTRACTION???? WHA- the South Pole is turning into a petrostate. they’re... they’re really doing this, huh?

wait are they just drilling for oil or are they fracking? does fracking even exist in this time period? what the actual fuck is the time period right now?????? 

ok ok ok. so google says commercial fracking started in 1949, which means that malina and maliq are probably using traditional drilling methods to extract the oil judging by the inventions shown in this comic.

but the inventions don’t even make sense? like, the writers really started jumping around in the invention timeline. in part 1 there was a fucking snowmobile and in this comic (as well as The Rift) there’s a fucking forklift????? forklifts were invented in 1917 and snowmobiles were invented in 1927. HOW THE FUCK IS THE SETTING IN LEGEND OF KORRA IN THE 1920s???????? AFTER ALMOST 70 YEARS OF TIME THERE HASN’T BEEN MUCH OVERALL PROGRESSION. AT THIS RATE I WOULD EXPECT KORRA TO TAKE PLACE IN A 1940s SETTING AT LEAST. 

tOPH?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! SHE’S AN EXECUTIVE PARTNER OF THE EARTHEN FIRE REFINERY????

they really made aang show up after hakoda talked to katara about true love i-- girl bye 🏃‍♀️

ok so the betrayal was obvious and i saw it coming but damn. the north wanted to colonize the south? the hell? that’s messed up.

since when did chi blockers exist in the south pole? when and how did they learn chi blocking? did ty lee come for a visit? did they study anatomy books? what’s the big deal here? 

i swear in every panel malina is so much more pale than any of the southerners. it’s jarring.

what type of pocahontas-esque relationship do malina and hakoda have? “she changed her mind about colonizing us after meeting the people and seeing our way of life.” i’m calling bs.

i know hakoda getting stabbed by gilak is supposed to be a really emotional scene, especially with katara trying to heal him and saying “stay with me” but man i couldn’t help myself from laughing. like, imagine being hakoda for a sec. you survived numerous raids on your village, you survived fighting in a war overseas, and you survived a prison break from the most heavily guarded prison in the world. and now you’re going to die from a stab wound by another member of your community? that’s so stupid i can’t--

i don’t understand why everyone is so against gilak. he actually makes very valid points. the north and south weren’t really in communication for a very long period of time, and when the south needed some backup in the war, the north didn’t do anything. the south doesn’t owe the north jack shit. sure they might have helped rebuild and “civilize” (ugh i hate that word so much) the south but that doesn’t necessarily mean the south owes anything to the north. WHY IS THE ONLY PERSON WHO’S TALKING SENSE PORTRAYED AS THE VILLAIN HERE?????

[zi-i-think]

7 | Bridge of No Return

Pairing: Zuko x Ama (OC)

Word Count: 7000+

.☽☼☾.

         It was the first time that Ama was going back home to the South Pole since after the war. Despite her break up with a certain Fire Lord, Ama tried to enter her homeland with a positive attitude. Not for herself, but for her dad and for her siblings.

         "Hey, Ama!" Aang called for her excitedly. He was currently sitting on Appa's head while the waterbender laid on his back, looking up at the night sky. "We're here!"

         She jumped up quickly and looked over, seeing the snow covered ground getting closer. The city looked so different. There were actual buildings, some fountains, shops. By the looks of it, there was a festival going on, based on the fancy lights, games and food booths.

         "Wow." She marveled at the lights and the large buildings close by. "The South Pole looks really different."

         "Yea, well it has been a while." Aang chuckled and the sky bison landed on the ground.

         Aang and Ama jumped out the moment they could. Aang ran to Katara for a hug while Ama ran to her father and he engulfed his daughter in a hug.

         "Dad!" She exclaimed.

         "My goodness." His father chuckled, pulling away to look at his daughter. "I didn't think you could grow up any more." Ama grinned. Hakoda was right. Since the last time he had seen her, she had matured a little more, having recently turned 18. "Now, where is that young man that had stolen my daughter from our tribe." He teased. Ama just gave him an awkward smile.

         How do I tell my family that I broke up with the Fire Lord? And that it wasn't a good breakup?

         "Yeah, I thought Zuko was supposed to come visit with you." Katara piped in, joining the conversation.

         "Things are getting a little rough in the Fire Nation. He's really busy." Ama opt out of telling them in the moment. She nervously rubbed her arm and looked over at Aang. He looked confused as to why she didn't say anything.

         "And the spirits?" Katara wondered.

         "Actually, it wasn't spirits at all. It was Azula." Aang informed.

         "At least the Kyoshi warriors are there to help out." Ama shrugged.

         "Avatar Aang." Hadoka greeted Aang formally with a bow.

         "Good to see you Chief Hadoka." Aang greeted back.

         "It's actually Head Chieftain Hadoka now." Katara corrected.

         "Really? Wow! Congratulations, Head Chieftain Hadoka, sir." Aang congratulated.

         "Yeah, congrats dad." Ama grinned.

         "You can just call me Hadoka, Aang." Ama and Katara's father said. "But, thank you."

         "What's going on? How come you guys are out here?" Aang realized that they were outside of the city walls instead of in the city, enjoying the festival.

         "Just playing it safe. Don't worry, it's nothing my officers and I can't handle." Hakoda told him. "Why don't you three enjoy the festival?"

         "Thanks, dad." Katara replied as she and Aang were starting to head to the festival.

         "You sure you don't want company?" Ama wondered. Sure the festival seemed fun, but it's been awhile since seeing her dad.

         Ama always had a strong relationship with her father, more so than her mom. She got his humor. She'd go out hunting with him. And when she was 14, the girl was able to easily convince him to take her ice dodging, despite it being more traditional for the young boys. Many of her qualities came from him.

         "Actually, I'd like to talk to you about something before Katara and Sokka tell you." He said, and they two started to walk the perimeter of the festival to make sure everything was safe. "I've been seeing someone." He told her nervously.

         "Dad, that's great." The waterbender grinned. It was about time that her dad found love again.

         "Her name is Malina. She's from the Northern Tribe and is here to help the South Pole progress."

         "I'm happy for you." Ama pulled her dad in for a hug. "Things are really starting to look up."

         "Not really." Her father said regrettably. "Gilak and some other southerners believe that the North is here to mock us and only want our oil. He wants them all out."

         "That's terrible."

         "That's why many of us are posted out here instead of enjoying the festivities." Hakoda gestured around them. "We fear Gilak could attack tonight."

         "Well if he does, he's in for quite a fight." Ama smirked and punched her palm while her father chuckled.

         But she spoke too soon. There was a loud ruckus from inside the festival and the booming voice of a man.

         "Hakoda-" A soldier ran over to them.

         "I hear it. Gilak got past us somehow!" Hakoda interrupted him. "Hurry." With that the warriors and Ama sprinted to the festival. They were met with Galik's warriors throwing punches and weapons. Ama did the best she could to not hurt them, using her waterbending to freeze them in place or to cover them in snow.

         "Ama!" Katara shouted with Aang following. The battle had died down and Ama was looking around. She hadn't even realized that she got separated from her dad. "Have you seen-"

         "Dad?" Ama finished. "Not since this started."

         The three of them ran to the entrance where there were a couple of soldiers standing around a woman and a man, both from the North, trapped under a net. Her father was speaking to Galik close by. But just as the three had got there, Galik took his knife and plunged it into Hakoda's gut.

         "Dad!" Katara shouted.

         "What did you do to him?!" Ama manipulated the water to ice to form around Galik, entrapping him. Aang bent the snow so that the rest of Galik's people wouldn't escape.

         Katara was the one to run to Hakoda to heal him best she could. "I'm here, dad, stay with me." She whispered. "Stay with me."

         They took him to Gran-gran's hut so that he could heal and rest. Hadoka's three children sat by the bed, hoping and waiting for him to wake up.

         "Katara." His weak voice spoke.

         "Dad!" The three kids exclaimed.

         "You saved my life." He thanked his youngest before turning to see the rest of his children. "Thank you for being here kids."

         "You had us scared for a bit, dad." Sokka smiled.

         "Alright guys, we should let him rest." Ama told her siblings and they stood up to leave.

         "Don't you worry. Pakku and I will take good care of him." Gran-gran assures them. "Let him rest, you can come see him in the morning. You know this isn't good. You coming to visit my hut twice in two days. This isn't good at all." She was obviously speaking to Katara and Sokka since the oldest sibling had only just arrived. "Wounds flow from wrong actions. Wrong actions flow from wrong beliefs. Someone needs to re-examine their beliefs."

         "Yeah and that someone is Galik!" Sokka claimed, crossing his arms over his chest and grimacing. "Hope that's what he's doing while he sits in jail tonight!"

         "You mean, those someones are Malina and Maliq!" Katara refuted. The two siblings then entered a fight about who was in the wrong. Ama didn't want to get involved in the argument, despite siding more with Sokka that the oil could bring more opportunities for the Southern Water Tribe. Instead, she led the way outside where Aang and Toph were waiting.

         The siblings filled Ama in on everything. How the North was essentially taking Southern Oil for themselves. How they were planning to make the South a colony of the North. Ama didn't think the North had any right to Southern property, but she also knew that they needed something in order to improve as a tribe.

         "Sweetie, how is he?" Aang asked Katara when she stepped out of the igloo.

         "He woke up." The girl answered him.

         "Then he'll be alright?" Toph wondered.

         "He'll be fine." Ama responded and pulled Toph into a hug. "Been a while Toph." The young earthbender was there as a representative for the Earthen Fire Refineries, constructing homes and other buildings.

         "It's only been a few weeks." Toph chuckled and returned the hug.

         "Hey." A new feminine voice spoke somberly. She wore lavender clothing, her skin tanned and her light brown hair was short. She was the same woman who Gilak attempted to capture before in the net.

        "What are you doing here?" Venom came from Katara's voice.

        "I swear to you all those things my brother said, I don't believe them." The woman said.

        "Anymore." Katara refuted.

        "What do you mean?" The woman asked.

        "You don't believe them anymore." Katara argued. "Not after you 'fell in love' with my dad. But what happens when you fall out of love, Malina."

        "Oh, so this is dad's girlfriend?" Ama whispered to Sokka who responded with a dry "yep".

        "Katara, it goes deeper than that." Malina claimed.

        "I'm going to ask you again." Katara said. "What are you doing here?"

        "My brother and the rest of my crew were released from custody on the condition that we leave tomorrow." Malina told her. "I came to say goodbye to your father." Ama's heart broke when hearing that.

        "You don't deserve to say goodbye." Katara said rudely.

        "Katara!" Ama angrily scolded her sister.

        "No, no. I get it." The woman said and started to walk away.

        "Malina." Gran-gran called at the door, getting the woman to stop in her tracks. "Hakoda wants to see you." Malina kept her head down as she walked into the hut to talk to Hakoda while Katara stared daggers into the woman's back.

        "Katara, that was a little rude!" Ama crossed her arms and frowned at her sister..

        "What's it to you?" The other waterbender got defensive.

        "Can't you see that Dad and Malina are in love!" The girl fought. "You have no right to get in the way of that."

        "All she wants is to take our oil and make us a colony of the North!" Katara pointed at the hut, or rather she was pointing at Malina.

        "Okay, so that's not great." She mumbled. When she was being filled in about everything, Ama was also told that Malina was under the impression that they changed the plan so that the South had property over their oil. "But you can't just get mad at her for something she doesn't exactly have complete authority over."

        "I know you just got here, sis, but she was acting against the South." Katara scoffed.

        "I don't have the energy to argue, Katara." Ama sighed, the exhaustion of traveling and then fighting, then waiting for her dad to wake up, was finally getting to her. "Can we just go- wait. Where are we staying?"

        "Dad has a house not far from here." Sokka wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulder, leading her down the snowy road. "But, soon enough. He's gonna have his own palace."

        "A palace?" Ama chuckled. "That doesn't seem like dad."

.☽☼☾.

         Hakoda had told Malina that she was allowed to stay, but the others didn't have that exception. Ama had offered Malina to stay with her as the construction for the building was still in process.

         "I should leave, Ama" the woman said with guilt. "My presence is causing tension."

         "Malina, you're the only person who knows the plans from beginning to end. If we're gonna do this, we need you here." Ama rebutled. "And besides, my dad got most of the southerners on board with the project."

         "Then what about-"

         "The folks outside the gate?" The two looked over to the gate where there were protestors were chanting and holding signs for foreigners to leave the South. "Once they see that this would benefit the whole tribe, they'll come around."

         "I hope you're right." Malina sighed. Ama saw the sad look on Malina's face and tried to cheer her up.

         "These won't last that long." She shrugged, looking over at the protestors. "I think it was a little over a year ago that these types of protests would happen everyday in front of the Fire Nation palace. They die out."

         "Right, you're with the Fire Lord." Malina remembered.

         "Not anymore." Ama sighed. This was only the second time that she's admitted that outloud.

         "Oh, I'm sorry." Malina frowned.

"It was bound to happen." The young woman shrugged, acting like she wasn't saddened. But it was almost like she was trying to convince herself that. "I mean, a fire bender and a water bender? Not a great combination."

         "Everything happens for a reason." Malina put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

         "I guess you're right." Ama gave her a thin smile. "Just do me a favour and keep this between us. Aang is the only one who knows."

         "My lips are sealed." Malina swiped her index and thumb across her lips like she was zipping her mouth.

.☽☼☾.

         Later that evening, the Gaang sat around a roaring fire in Hakoda's living room. Hot cocoa in their hands as they laughed and talked. Katara sat on the couch cuddling into Aang.

         "Honestly, how much closer can the two of you get." Sokka messed with them. The two blushed deeply.

        "Let's just be glad that Zuko isn't here." Toph laughed. "He and Ama would be all over each other."

        The oldest water tribe sibling shifted uncomfortably and her smile disappeared. Aang also looked a little uncomfortable with the comment, being the only other person there who knew about the breakup.

        "Ama, Aang. Are you guys okay?" Sokka noticed their shift in demeanor. "You usually throw a snowball at me or stick up your middle finger when I tease you, sis."

        Ama cleared her throat. "Zuko and I broke up."

        "Woah." Toph said in shock

        "Ama, I'm so sorry." Katara immediately left her boyfriend's arms and sat by her sister. "What happened."

        "Zuko was terrible at communicating. At letting me in." Ama shook her head, the reality of it hitting her. "I couldn't take it anymore. But it wasn't just him." Everyone was quiet, letting her talk.

        "In the month that the two of us didn't talk, I realized that I couldn't be with him. We're in two completely different situations. He's the damn Fire Lord. He has responsibilities. I felt so tired in that palace. I need to do things and he was too scared to worry me. I'm in no way the 'Fire Queen' type."

        "Then when I was you guys again, going from town to town. I felt... more satisfied with myself." She continued. "Like I was starting to understand myself. I can't learn about myself in a damn palace all day. So, I broke up with him... And it didn't go well."

        Ama rested her head on Katara's shoulder. Her chest tightened, the tears were threatening to spill and her voice started to break while she spoke. "He thought I was jealous of Mai. He used my own insecurities against me." Katara put her arms around her sister, pulling her closer. "He barely even raised his voice, but he wouldn't even let me speak and I yelled at him."

        "Do you still love him?" Katara asked softly.

        "I always will." Ama answered truthfully. That's when the waterworks started. Ama gripped Katara's clothes and sobbed. "I broke his heart. He's in a tough position. Always having to worry about his nation, his family. And he broke mine by not even hearing me out."

        Katara stroked her sister's hair, letting her cry it out. "Need me to beat him up?" Sokka tried to sound sincere, but his jokingly, Sokka tone was still there, making his sister smile slightly. Ama was there for him when Yue turned into the moon. He'd be damned if he wasn't there for her.

        "I'm not even going to ask. As soon as I see that guy, he's got a date with my fist." Toph punched the palm of her hand.

        "Maybe, not as soon as you see him." Aang nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

         "Why not? He won't even see it coming." Sokka waved his arms, ready for a fight.

         "Zuko and King Kuei are coming over in a few days." Katara sighed. "Dad needs to discuss how the Southern Water Tribe can contribute in trade and things of that sort."

         "Perfect." Toph gave a sinister smile. "There won't be a lot of Fire Nation soldiers to protect him. That boy's gonna get it."

         Ama chuckled. She knew that Toph was more serious than Sokka. And as much as it amused her, she couldn't let them attack the Fire Lord. "You guys are the best, but don't hold anything against him. If you weren't listening to me, both him and I were in the wrong. Plus I already threw pond water at him."

         The others chuckled at the thought of Ama chucking water at Zuko in his royal robes and all. "Maybe him coming is a good thing. I'll try talking to him again."

         "Fine." Toph sighed. "But if you're still sad after your little talk, boy's going to pound town."

.☽☼☾.

        In three days time, the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation blimps were arriving. Sokka volunteered to greet the two leaders while the others stayed at the town hall making preparations and awaiting their arrival.

        Ama set a pitcher of water on the meeting table while Katara set cups by every seat. "So did you tell dad?" Katara wondered. Ama knew just what she was talking about.

        "Well I don't want him to say anything and make everyone feel awkward." Ama shrugged. "But I didn't tell him everything. Just that I broke up with him and that's that."

        "Hopefully, everything goes well." Katara said. Just then they two girls heard Sokka's voice. They're here. Katara and Ama stole a quick glance and headed into the hall where everyone was standing already to greet each other. Ama and Zuko's eyes locked. It was awkward and different, for obvious reasons. Zuko broke the eye contact first and focused on Head Chieftain Hakoda.

        "Welcome." Hakoda greeted them. "It's an honor to have you here."

        "It's an honor to be here, Head Chieftain Hakoda." Zuko bowed respectively.

        "Yes." Earth King Kuei agreed. "I'm glad to be inside now, though. I didn't expect it to be so cold."

        "We'll try to keep everyone warm." Hakoda chuckled. "Please follow me so that we can begin our meeting."

        The meeting went smoothly. Ama's father explained the plans for the south well and articulated everything expertly. "... A modernized harbor would not only give the world access to our tribe, but also our tribe access to the world. And finally we would like to establish embassies in both of your nations. We, of course, invite you to do the same. And that my friends is our vision for the future of the Southern Water Tribe." He wrapped up.

        "Here, here! Here, here!" Sokka cheered before Katara made him sit down and they whispered to each other. Katara was till convinced that all of this was going to change the Southern Water Tribe's traditions and destroy the things they loved about it, but Sokka was more than excited.

        "As I'm sure you can imagine, the Southern Water Tribe's economy has been - how should I put this - under extreme duress for the last century." Hakoda continued. "We don't have the proper resources to make this vision a reality. And that's why we're asking for your partnership."

        "You can count the Fire Nation in, Head Chieftain Hakoda." Zuko already agreed. "Your people have suffered so much destruction at our hands. We are grateful for this opportunity to help you rebuild."

        "I'm sorry that the Earth Kingdom cannot offer our support so readily. We have so many of our own needs back home." King Kuei spoke. "But if I could show my advisors that the Souther Water Tribe is going to make measurable, concrete progress towards civilization."

        "Excuse me?" Katara jumped in defensively. Even Ama looked at him with her mouth agape, being somewhat offended by what he said.

        "Oh, dear, please excuse the clumsiness of my words, Katara." King Kuei realized his slip up. "Of course what you already have here is a form of civilization. We would simply want you to achieve a high form." Katara and Ama's expression of being offended was clear. They knew that King Kuei wasn't a well-articulated person, but that didn't hide the fact that what he said was an offense to them. "In fact, we'd be honored to help the Southern Water Tribe develop into a cleaner, safer place. And perhaps warmer, too."

        "With all due respect, your majesty, compared to the outer ring of Ba Sing Se, the South Pole is-" Katara started before being interrupted by one of the guards.

        "Head Chieftain Hakoda!" The guard ran in. "We've just received an alert from the prison! Gilak and his army-" But then a boomerang flew by, knocking the guard out.

        "Are here." Gilak himself finished at the door and his boomerang flew back into his hand. Everyone at the table jumped up from their seats, expecting a fight. "Look at you, 'Head Chieftain' Hadoka! So eager to sell out your tribe to foreign masters."

        "Officer Liren, you're with them?!" Hakoda asked one of the women officers with Gilak.

        "I'm sorry, but Gilak is right about our tribe. We're in terrible danger and you're too blind to see it!" Officer Liren spoke.

        "Don't you hear the cry of your people, Hakoda?!" Gilak shouted. "Foreigners out!" And with that, Gilak and his multiple fighters began to attack.

        "Stay back!" Zuko shot flames at the feet of two who were charging at him.

        "Ash maker!" Gilak yelled, swinging his sword at Zuko.

        "Whoa!" Zuko dodged quick enough so the sword fell onto the table.

        "That's not very nice, fuck face!" Ama defended her ex, bending the water from the table to smack him on the floor.

        "You have betrayed the Southern Tribe, Ama." The man grumbled, looking at her from the floor.

        Team Avatar fought to keep the attackers separated from Hakoda, the Earth King and Malina. After all, they were the ones that Gilak was after. Then his warriors smashed in through the windows.

        "If you want to get to them, you have to go through me!" Hakoda warned, standing between Gilak and the two they were protecting.

        "You think I came for the foreigners? No, Hakoda. I'm here for the real enemy" Gilak grumbled. "You!" He swung his sword, but Hadoka blocked the attack with his own weapon. "My stay in prison gave me time to ponder all that's happened 'brother.' I realized that you are the root of our problems! You're too weak to lead us"

        Both of them lost their weapons from the tension. "The Southern Water Tribe needs a leader who's strong. A leader who won't betray his people. A leader like me!" Gilak threw a punch at Hakoda, making him fall to the ground and pass out.

        "Dad!" "Hakoda!" Ama and Malina shouted at the same time.

        Galik threw Hakoda over his shoulder and ran to the door. "Let's go! We got what we came for!"

        "Stop him!" Katara yelled desperately.

        "For the tribe!" Galik called and ran out with the other behind him.

        Katara was quick to bend water and shoot it at the warriors retreating. "Monkey feathers! He's moving too fast!" Called Aang.

        "Dad!" Ama yelled as team Avatar ran out into the hall, where Gilak's fighters were standing to keep them from passing.

        "He's almost at the door!" Zuko pointed.

        "Too many dunderheads in the way." Toph also noted.

        "Aang, he's gone!" Katara said.

       "No he's not! Hang on!" With that, Aang picked up Katara and they flew over the warriors to catch up with Galik.

       "Alright pricks, out of the way!" Ama demanded, bending water to make the ground icy and slippery. In the middle she expanded it like a ramp, making the attackers slip and crash into the wall. Ama turned the ice in the middle to water and then froze the attackers feat to the ground so that the group could run past them. They ran till the city entrance where Katara and Aang had already gotten Hakoda from Gilak, and the coward ran off.

       "He got away." Katara noted regrettably.

       "We saved dad, Katara. That's what counts." The older sister reminded her.

       Ama and Sokka held up their dad as they headed back to the City Hall. As they got closer, Malina was waiting and ran to Hakoda.

       "Malina...?" Hakoda started.

       "Thank heavens you're okay!" Malina breathed out in relief.

       "Never thought city politics would be so rough." Hakoda grumbled while they went inside.

       "Where...?" Zuko realized something. He ran to the double doors for the meeting room and looked around. "No!"

       "What is it?" Toph asked.

       "They took Earth King Kuei." He told them.

       "We really can't catch a break can we?" Sokka grumbled as he and Ama helped their dad onto a couch to rest.

       "We need to go look for him." Aang started to lead. "Hakoda and Malina, stay here. The rest of us will try to look for him."

       "Please be careful." Hakoda grunted as he got comfortable on the chair.

       "I can stay with you." Said Ama, putting a pillow under his head.

       "I'll be fine, Ama. Malina is here with me." Hakoda grunted as he allowed his body to rest. He stole a loving glance with Malina. Ama gave him a thin smile and left with the group outside.

       "Look, they left footprints." Sokka pointed out. And sure enough there were footprints embedded in the snow. "Let's see where they lead." The footprints led them to a series of underground tunnels. Tunnels that stretched for miles and miles. In defeat, the team trudged back to the city.

       The walk was gloomy and everyone was exhausted. Ama could feel the glances Zuko took at her. And she glanced back, but never at the same time. This entire meeting was going terribly, leaving no time for the two to talk. It'd have to wait.

       "Any progress?" Hakoda asked as the group entered.

       "I'm afraid not." Replied Aang with disappointment.

       "Thod and his crew left footprints, but they lead into a maze of underground tunnels." Katara added.

       "Tunnels that go on for miles and miles. I could feel them." Toph informed.

       "It'll take us days to search through them all." Sokka slouched on an armchair.

       "Maybe weeks." Zuko added.

       "Not to mention they'll be moving from one corner to another all the time." Ama finished.

       "We came to check on you guys." Aang told the adults.

       "And on Bosco. Look what we brought you, buddy." Katara spoke to King Kuei's bear while Momo held up half a fish. "Some yummy dried fish. You want some fish?" The bear roared and gladly took the fish.

       "Listen, team. We'll rest for a little bit, but we need to get back out there as soon as we can." Aang instructed.

       "Yeah, no disrespect to the Earth King, but that guy won't last long in a freezing tunnel." Sokka said.

       Just then a messenger hawk crowed and flew to the window. "A message!" Hakoda realized and took the paper .

       "What is it?" Wondered Katara.

       "It's from Gilak." Her father grimaced. "He wants to make an exchange. The Earth King's life for mine."

       "Can I see it?" Sokka asked and his father handed it to him. "Gilak wants to meet at the bridge of no return."

       "The bridge of no return?" Toph asked.

       "An old rope bridge up in the mountains not far from here." Ama responded.

       "Supposedly, the bridge was how to deal with our criminals." Sokka continued.

       "If you did something really bad, the tribe would make you walk across and then make sure you never ever came back." Katara added in.

       Ama chuckled lightly, thinking back to her childhood. "My friends and I always dared each other to walk across when we were kids." Then her smile faded. "I can't imagine how steep that drop is."

       "Not to mention the terrain on the other side. It's the most treacherous in the entire South Pole. Nothing stays alive there for very long." Sokka finished describing it.

       "Yikes." Aang commented.

       "So Gilak wants to meet at the bridge." Sokka told them about the message. "Him and his army on one side, dad on the other. He'll send Thod and a couple of his disciples over. We have to allow them to chi block all of our benders."

       "What?!" Toph obviously wasn't fond of the idea.

       "Makes sense. They know we can easily overpower them otherwise." Zuko said. "They're essentially asking us to lay down our weapons."

       "Then as soon as dad starts across, Gilak will send Earth King Kuei over." Sokka continued. "Any funny business and Gilak cuts the bridge."

       "You know he's going to cut the bridge no matter what, right?" Zuko grumbled like it was common knowledge and crossed his arms. "Even if we give in to all of his demands. No way Gilak's going to pass up the opportunity to get rid of two of his enemies at once."

       "Zuko's that's so cheaty." Aang argued against it.

       "Not just cheaty. Evil." Katara added.

       "I used to be a bad guy. I know how bad guys think." Zuko reminded them.

       "I can't believe that gasbag has the gall to think we'd agree to this!" Toph punched her palm.

       "He has all the leverage." Ama shrugged.

       "That's right. He knows that if anything happens to the Earth King, the Earth Kingdom is liable to start a new war." Zuko said.

       "Kids, I can't let you go through with this!" Hakoda refused. "Getting chi blocked would leave you vulnerable to who knows what!"

       "It's an impossible situation." Malina added.

       "Nothing's ever impossible. We'll come up with something!" Aang told them and then turned to look at Sokka. "So what's the something we're gonna come up with, planner guy?"

       "I thought you'd never ask." Sokka cheerfully said with a plan mind.

.☽☼☾.

       The plan was to take place that next night. Once Sokka came up with the plan, explained it and prepared, everything seemed to be in order. And they went to the Bridge of No Return.

       "Everything in place?" Sokka asked once last time.

       "All according to plan, planner guy." Aang confirmed.

       "I hope this works." Ama crossed her arms and looked across the deep chasm. "The bridge looks so much scarier than it did when I was little."

       "Cause there's a lot at stake today." Sokka stood next to her and looked in the same direction as her. "How come you never let me come with you and your friends?" Sokka then remembered how Ama always refused to let Sokka hang out with her and her friends.

       The older sister chuckled, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him into a side hug. "Sorry, little brother, you weren't cool enough for us."

       Sokka frowned at that while Ama laughed. Then the two looked over at Katara who was worrying about something. "Sis. You okay?" Sokka asked, and they walked over to her.

       "This isn't how I imagined our trip back home." Katara said somberly. "I always assumed that once we defeated Fire Lord Ozai, the South Pole would go back to the way it was supposed to be. Our lives would go back to the way they're supposed to be. But with Galik and those protestors and all the unrest and now this whole thing... Like I said, it's not what I imagined."

       "Katara, I get what you're saying." Sokka started. "But none of us have an actual idea of what things were like before the war. Nobody alive does, not even Gran-Gran."

       "Katara," Ama was careful not to anger her sister. "What if the South Pole you're imagining, the one where everything's how it's supposed to be, never actually existed?"

       Before Katara could respond, Aang called. "Heads up, guys! Gilak's here!" On the other side of the bridge stood Gilak, Thod, their soldiers, and as promised, Earth King Kuei.

       "We ready to do this team?" Sokka got into a warrior stance.

       "We better be." Aang said. Thod and two young Water Tribe members walked across the shaky bridge with smug looks on their faces. "Here come the chi blockers."

       After chi blocking Katara, the black-haired girl went over to Ama. "We haven't really met yet, but just so you know. I hate you, traitor." The girl told Ama before chi blocking her and she fell to the ground.

       "Good to know." Ama said sarcastically on the ground.

       "I must confess, I'm going to enjoy this, ash maker!" The old man grumbled happily. "After all the despair you and your people have caused, I can't believe Hakoda let you set foot in our land." Moments after, Zuko fell next to his ex-girlfriend.

       "Hi. You new 'round here?" Ama couldn't help making a quip. Even with the awkward tension between them, the nerves made her tell a joke to anyone.

       Zuko looked away from her and mumbled. "Let's just hope this goes according to plan."

       "That's all of them." Thod said, proud that the benders were helpless.

       "Kids! You're not hurt are you?" Hakoda concerned as he turned her head to look at them.

       "We're fine, dad. Good thing the snow's so soft." Sokka called to him.

       "Go on now Hakoda." Thod urged Hakoda to cross the bridge just as King Kuei started to go across.

       Once the king and the Head Chieftain were halfway across the bridge, Gilak took his sword and started to cut through the rope. But just as planned, Malina and Toph's metal bending students jumped in to stop him.

       "Malina and the metal bender have come out of hiding!" Sokka announced.

       "Our turn." Toph said with a challenging tone.

       Aang reacted first, engulfing Thod in ice. "What is this trickery?!" The old man cried out.

       "I think you should apologize to my friend for calling him an ash maker." Aang told him. "It's not polite to use slurs like that, you know."

       Ama and Katara bent that water to freeze the one girl and Toph used her earthbending to get the girl's brother. "What'd you dunderheads say this was?" Toph asked.

       "I remember, Toph!" Katara responded. "Payback."

       "How?" Thod wondered how they had passed the chi blocks.

       "Check out this chainmail armor. Pretty slick right?" Sokka said proudly revealing the armor under his shirt. "Designed by me and made by the students of the Beifong Metalbending Academy."

       Galik didn't seem to like that he was up-handed and started to cross the bridge to take care of it himself with his sword and a torch, lighting the bridge on fire. Malina ran behind him to stop him.

       "Zuko-!" Ama pointed at the fire. Even in their delicate relationship, he was still the fist person Ama thought of to take care of the situation.

       "I got this!" The firebender replied, running across the bridge to put out the fire. At first, everyone thought that he got there in time, but then the rope snapped.

       "No!" Ama shouted.

       "Dad!" Katara called out. Everyone else was shocked and angry.

       Luckily, everyone was holding onto the boards. And Zuko was able to use firebending to fly his way up with the Earth King.

       "Oh thank heavens! Thank heavens!" The king thanked, happy to be on the ground.

       "One down, three to go." Zuko said, ready to go back down and get the others.

       "Don't go back down there, Zuko!" Sokka called and Zuko stopped right on his tracks. "That bridge isn't going to hold for long! Your weight will only make things worse!"

       "I'm gonna try to buy us some time, but you guys have to figure out a way to rescue them!" Toph bent some rocks on the unstable boulders used to tie the ropes.

       "Come one, sweetie!" We'll climb down this way!" Katara shouted to Aang and she made an ice ladder. The two started to climb down in order to get the remainder of the people stranded on the ladder.

       "Okay, that nickname was cute at first, but now it's getting annoying." Ama muttered to herself.

       Aang took his airbending staff and flew down, grabbing Hakoda's hand to lead them up. But Gilak was struggling, making it harder for Aang. And not long after Gilak fell, purposefully. Refusing to let Hakoda "win."

       "Hakoda, the two of us are too much weight for the Avatar." Malina said with a shaky, terrified voice. But she gave Hakoda a loving smile.

       "Hang on for a little longer, Malina." Hakoda begged.

       "Then all three of us will die." She said. Aang was having more and more trouble getting them up. "Goodbye, Hakoda."

       "No! No!" Hakoda yelled as his love's hand slipped from his.

       Katara was quick to make an ice slide, grabbing Malina and getting her to safety. Ama smiled in relief. She let herself sit into the snow, feeling it's cold through her thick clothing.

.☽☼☾.

       The next day was calm. The siblings went to mom's grave, a rock with flowers and a circle of rocks around it. It was mainly Katara who needed to be there and speak to mom, in a sense. Sokka and Ama were there for emotional support.

       "Go on, sis. Say what you need to say." Sokka placed a supporting hand on his little sister's back.

       "You know, when Sokka and I finally came back, I was hoping to find a home where everything's how it's supposed to be." Katara started, he head hanging low. "But I realize now, that just isn't possible. Because a home where everything's how it's supposed to be is a home with you still in it, mom."

       "Yesterday, I had to save this woman named Malina. You've never met her. She's different from you - really different - but I have a feeling you would've liked her." Katara smiled. "When I saved her, I felt a courage deep inside, a familiar sort of courage. I'd felt it when I saved Aang as we left the crystal catacombs. And when Admiral Zhao killed the moon spirit and we had to bring it back."

       Her hand lightly touched her necklace, thinking back at the memories. "That was your courage, mom. The courage you passed on to me. Things are still changing here. I haven't yet convinced dad and Malina to not build that oil refinery. And the protestors haven't gone away. But through it all, I don't have to keep hoping for what's 'supposed to be' because you've been with me all along."

       Katara had a sad smile on her face and she leaned into her older sister, who comforted her with a hug. Then they had to pull away when two young girls and Aang ran over.

       "Hey, Ama. Zuko is almost done going over some thing with Hakoda if you still want to talk to him." Aang told her, his thumb pointing in the direction on the village.

       Ama gave him a thankful smile. "Time to smooth things over with my ex." Ama fiddled with her fingernails as she walked away.

       "If it doesn't go well, we'll take care of business." Called out Sokka. Ama laughed at him nervously.

       She arrived at Town Hall just as Zuko was leaving. When Zuko saw the waterbender, he sighed and walked down the white steps while Ama waited at the bottom.

       "We need to talk." Zuko said. Those four words that must have been spoken thousands of times at this point.

       Ama nodded in agreement. "There's a cliff not far from here with the most incredible view. Plus there won't be anyone there to stare." The two looked over at the town square. It was a busy area so they were some giggling girls and older people glancing over at the two.

       "As long as you won't throw me off." Zuko chuckled.

       "I make no promises." Ama quipped with a shrug and walked past his toward the cliff. Zuko huffed a laugh and walked beside her.

       "The South has changed a lot since I've last been here." Zuko said to make light conversation till they got to the cliff and to avoid the awkward silence.

       "It has." Ama agreed, looking at some of the booths for food and some for jewelry. "I forgot that the last time you were here you kinda destroyed the village."

       "Sorry about that." Zuko nervously rubbed his neck.

       "Well, I guess you're making up for it now. With the partnership and everything."

       "It's the least we could do." Zuko sounded like he was holding himself responsible for a century worth of destruction by the Fire Nation. And as Fire Lord, it was up to him to fix it. "The whole world is changing, and I'm supposed to react reasonably to all of it."

       "Well I can tell you right now that you're doing great." Ama assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Zuko couldn't help but take a sharp breath in. They had just broken up, and she was acting... normal. Like nothing had changed between them. It made Zuko feel uneasy.

       "Here it is." Ama said, removing her hand and stopping a few feet from the edge of the cliff.

       "It's an incredible view." Zuko noted. The sky was a light blue and the icy deep blue water looked like there were crystals reflecting from it. Ama took a moment to take the view in. It's been years since seeing it.

       "Look, about the break up..." Zuko started and Ama tore her eyes from the ocean to him. "I need to apologize. It's just that, you've been with me through so much, and just the thought of not having you with me made me feel lost. I resorted to trying to use your own weaknesses against you."

       "I also need to apologize." Ama sighed. "I felt unheard, so I yelled. That wasn't okay of me to do."

       "We both reacted terribly." Zuko crossed his arms. "This time, I'm ready to hear you and respect what you have to say."

       "Thank you." Ama gave him a soft smile and thought for a moment about how she should start off. "I think, we're both just too young. We're only 18. Before you, I've never even been in a real relationship." Ama pointed out. "I need to learn more about myself before I can fully commit to someone. And I think you need some more time being the Fire Lord and with your family before you do the same."

       "So what's your plan?" Zuko wondered. "How do you plan to learn more about yourself."

       "Well, I really missed traveling. The thrill of going to a new city and not knowing what you're going to come across and experience, I love it. And there's still so much that I haven't seen." Ama felt excited just talking about traveling again. "I'm staying here for a few weeks, then there's a whole world for me to explore."

       "And after that?" Zuko looked over at her with sadness in his eye. "Do you think we'll be able to be together again?"

       Ama gave him a flat smile. "I don't know." She whispered, leaning toward him to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "But what I do know, is that you will always be my first love, Zuko."

       The firebender wrapped his arms around Ama, and she wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't that loving, couple type of hug, but a bittersweet one. "If you travel through the Fire Nation, feel free to drop by"

       Ama smiled. He'd always care for her no matter what. This wasn't an end to their friendship, not in the slightest. Just an end of a chapter. One that neither of them would trade for anything.

.☽☼☾.

So? What'd ya think? While editing I realized that I misspelled Hakoda's name like 50 times to Hadoka.

This isn't the end please keep that in mind. I still have a whole plot planned out so stay tuned.

But please keep interacting! I love all the support and reads I've been getting. I know my writing isn't great, but I just want to write a story that others can enjoy reading. Hang loose, amigos 🤙🏼

[qiralync]

Shipping Opinions:

Enjoy:

Mai x Zuko: They have their cute moments and they do truly care for one another. Their relationship isn't perfect but they're teenagers.

Like:

Sokka x Suki: It's canon, I enjoy it. They do care for eachother.

Katara x Aang: They are cute at times but I don't really have strong feelings for this ship.

Yue x Sokka: They have their moments but I pefer Suki x Sokka

Hakoda x Bato: I can see this happening and they are quite close.

Tylee x Azula: I like it, it makes sense and they aren't canonically in a relationship with someone else. I think it could happen and it's a cute idea. I think it could happen if Azula was redeemed and treated Ty Lee right. I know Azula doesn't deserve Ty Lee but what can I say? It's a guilty pleasure.

Toph x Duke: I think it's a cute idea

Ok:

Jet x Katara: I don't like Jet.

Haru x Katara: I don't care much for Haru

Tylee x Sokka: Ship them with others.

Roku x Sozin : I like the idea of Sozin crushing on Roku and Roku not really feeling the same.

Eh:

Katara x Azula: eh don't like it don't dislike it.

Pakku x Kanna: I don't particularly think Pakku deserves Kanna but if she's happy about it.

Piandao x Jeong Jeong: I really couldn't care less about it

Ikem x Ursa: they have their moments I guess

Iroh x June: sort of bothers me the age gap but June seems to be an adult so I don't really care.

Dislike:

Aang x Toph: Pretty sure it would turn toxic or there would be a power dynamic. Plus they don't mesh well romantically.

Aang x Zuko: Too big of an age gap for me to be comfortable with shipping them.

Sokka x Toph: The age gap isn't bad but I still feel uncomfortable shipping a 12 yr old with a 15 yr old

Katara x Toph: I see them more as friends.

Zuko x Toph: too big of an age gap

Azula x Aang: Yeh I don't think that would end well.

Hakoda x Malina: I pefer shipping Hakoda with Bato more.

Sokka x Aang: Yeah I don't see it like at all.

Mai x Kei lo: I don't think they mesh well period

Mai x Ty Lee: Ship them with different people

Jin x Zuko: I don't enjoy the ship that much

Song x Zuko: I don't like the ship

Meng x Aang: Not a fan of Meng

Suki x Zuko: I don't enjoy it

Strongly Dislike:

OC x Any characters: I don't like OCs in general.

Reader x any characters: find it kind of dumb

Ozai x Ursa: Ozai didn't deserve Ursa and Ursa deserved so much better. Now this is an extremely toxic and abusive relationship.

Jet x Zuko: Zuko deserves better tbh and I can't see this relationship being anything but toxic

Hakoda x Zuko: Yeah no adult x teenager, thank you.

Jee x Zuko: No adult x teenager, thank you.

Hate:

Azula x Zuko: Yeah it exists...

Sokka x Katara: this exists as well apparently...

Ozai x Azula: and so does this...

Hate with a burning passion:

Zuko x Sokka: I really hate this ship... Sokka at least is already in a relationship. They give off more of a just being friends. And There's just too much of it! I don't see any chemistry between them whatsoever.

Zuko x Katara: I really hate this ship, Katara's already in a relationship. They make better friends. I see zero chemistry between them. I don't see them meshing well romantically. They actively deny it. I really don't think they want to be in a relationship with each other.

Iroh x Zuko: Yes apparently this exists and yes it actually seems to have a few shippers... This ship really disturbs me...

[kristallioness]

Feast your eyes

Summary: Katara gets a bit carried away while checking Aang's eye.

Word count: 2,657

Author's note: I've been rewatching "Call the midwife" because they started showing it from the beginning and I'm waiting for it to catch up to the season where it ended in 2017 (when I wrote my longest, now 2nd longest fanfic with the same name, inspired by the series), so I could hopefully see the new episodes. I already watched the 1st part of the season 7 Christmas special this Friday, it was pretty funny! There was this precious scene with two characters (who also happened to be my favourite couple), Doctor Patrick Turner and his wife Shelagh (who was previously a midwife). She got some pieces of hot coal stuck in her eye after an accident with a patient, so her husband checked her eye. During the examination he asked her to blink a few more times. She felt sure that it must've come out by then, and then he just said something along the lines that: "I know, I just like looking at your beautiful eyes and I thought I'd use the chance." Now I'm using the chance and writing Aang and Katara do the same, with her being the doctor (cause she IS a healer) who's checking (out) his eyes. Their dialogue is the same (word to word) as Patrick and Shelagh's (I rewatched that part of the episode and wrote it down). It's too sweet, I didn't wanna change it. The story takes place in the same room of Hakoda's office, where he rested after Gilak's attack in "North and South: Part Three". Also, here's an illustration of the scene that inspired the entire fic.

----------x----------

"..Now that the council has been formed, the members elected and each nation is represented, I hope that people's voices will be heard a lot better. Or at least they'll have someone to turn to with their problems."

Katara sipped her tea, lowering the cup back on the table to have a look out the window. She wiped away the fog that blocked her view onto the streets of her home tribe.

Another hand landed on the one she'd rested on the table, still having a firm hold on the ear of her cup.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that things have calmed down."

Her diamond blue eyes remained fixed on her 3-year-old son, who was having a snowball fight outside together with his daddy, uncle and aunt. Their screeches emanated through the frosty glass that separated his mother from the freezing surroundings, keeping her warm inside the chief's office.

Katara released a worried sigh.

"I hope so.. for Bumi's sake."

A mother's heart ached not only for the well-being of her own family, but for the prosperity of the community around them. All she and Aang had ever wanted was for their baby to live in a time of peace.

The turmoil that'd plagued Cranefish Town had finally seemed to start settling down. The remnants of the town that'd nearly been destroyed by the Great Fire were barely visible in the capital's largely growing silhouette. The newly-founded capital they'd decided to call Republic City was rebuilding terrifyingly fast.

Hakoda gave his daughter's hand a squeeze to get her attention.

"I'm proud of you, sweetie. And your brother, too. You've done well."

A warm smile formed on her lips, erasing the frown she'd worn while observing them having fun in the snow. She didn't yearn to join them just yet. She had everything she needed right in front of her.

"Thanks, dad!"

Katara reached for another slice of blueberry fruit pie, offering some more to her dad as well. She and Aang had baked and packed along two fruit pies, a blueberry-flavoured one and the other with cranberry filling. Her dad liked the bland taste of the first one more, whereas Malina had really indulged herself in the sweet red jam on top of the second one.

"How's Aang holding up? With Bumi and everything else happening in the capital?"

Katara swallowed the spongy piece of pie in her mouth and licked her lips clean of the blue jam before answering.

"We manage. With the council taking on a bigger responsibility of governing the city and Toph's police force helping maintain order, we're hoping that he'll have more spare time so he could be at home with Bumi while I work at the hospital."

Hakoda had noticed the bags under his daughter's eyes the day they'd arrived, when his son-in-law had landed their pet sky bison in front of his office and she'd hopped off the animal to tackle him with a big hug.

Caring for her baby boy, being married to the Avatar, with whom she shared her worries and in turn listened to his own, keeping the temple clean, rising in the ranks among her colleagues at the hospital - Katara had been overworking for far too long. She hadn't slept so heavily in months as she did that night in her old home, together with her husband and son.

"I've tried to reduce my workload in the meantime, so I'm away from home only until the late afternoons. I don't wanna miss out too much on seeing Bumi grow up."

"That's a very good idea, Katara. If Aang ever needs help, in any political matters or anything, I'm right there for him. The entire Southern Water Tribe supports you two. We've got your backs."

The two of them had a pleasant morning catching up on everything important going on in their lives. Katara missed spending time together with her dad, which is why she'd planned on sending everybody out of the way that morning so she could have breakfast with him.

"He knows, dad. We'll call you if we need help."

Three knocks on the door interrupted their father-daughter bonding time. A snow-covered Aang walked in, one hand covering half of his face.

"Katara, I might need some medical assistance."

"Oh, sweetie! What happened?" she asked in a worried tone, rising from the couch to go have a closer look at what she figured might be wrong with his eye. She stepped in front of her husband and, lacing her fingers with his, gently coaxed him to lower his hand from his face.

"Bumi threw a snowball right into my eye."

She giggled for a mere second before shushing up when Aang shot her an irritated glare. She proceeded to brush the remnants of the snow off his eyebrow and temple.

"Aww! My poor airbender.."

The blush on his already rosy cheeks grew a little bit when she used baby talk on him like that, in front of his father-in-law, no less. Hakoda pretended to drink his tea as if he paid no attention to the way Katara cooed to him in a motherly manner, but he certainly felt amused by the sight.

"Dad, why don't you go outside and play with Bumi while I tend to this.. injury?"

The chief grabbed one last bite of the blueberry fruit pie before he got up, pulling on his gloves and parka to leave. He stopped next to his daughter and snaked an arm around her shoulders to give her a crumby kiss on the cheek, which made her giggle in delight.

"I'll see you later, sweetie. And you'll be just fine, son. You're in good hands," Hakoda assured the airbender, giving him a few pats on the shoulder.

"I know, dad.. I know."

That was all Aang could say as he smiled at Katara, staring at her as best as he could with one eye half-lidded. Hakoda shut the door behind him to give the young couple some privacy.

"Come here, sweetie. Take a seat so I can have a look."

Their hands remained entwined as Katara guided Aang to the couch and beckoned him to sit down so she could examine him. She dusted off the last of the snowflakes on his maroon winter cloak. Next, she leaned forward and cupped his chin to hold his head steady, palpating tenderly around his eye with her index finger.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, not really."

"Good. I'm gonna heal it with some water, just in case. Close your eyes."

Aang did as she instructed, sensing her finger run over his lashes to get rid of the icy glaze first. After that, he heard the sound of water swooshing near him. He peeked at what was happening with his good eye.

Katara summoned the liquid around her hands, waterbending the clean water over his right eye to heal it for a minute. Aang had to resist the urge to laugh at the way her tongue was sticking out of her mouth. She was that focused.

"There.. now open your eyes."

When he did, he gazed into her own diamond blue eyes with all the love and admiration he had for her. She was too busy checking her work to notice the dreamy look on his face. Katara gently pulled his lower eyelid down a bit to see whether she got all the snow out.

"Blink."

He blinked, but otherwise never broke eye contact with her, following her every move just as intently as she was staring at him. She tilted her head to have a closer look.

"And again.."

"Surely it's all out now," Aang said, blinking again like she'd asked. Her fingers caressed his cheek and scratched his beard, slightly pulling him closer to her. She gave him a sly smile.

"Probably, I just don't get to look into your eyes very often these days. Thought I'd better make the most of it."

Aang started laughing together with her, receiving a kiss on the cheek for being such an obedient patient. He wrapped his arms around Katara's waist, pulling her down into his lap so she'd be straddling him. Her hands landed on his shoulders to steady herself and she felt how his own came together on the small of her back. The smooth move made her blush as well.

"Thank you, doctor Katara!"

"You do know my title is 'healer' since I have healing abilities too, right?" she reminded him, booping his nose with her finger.

"I know. I just like calling you with that one, too. It sounds more.. medical."

"Mmm.. fair point."

Katara motioned her hand over his eyes so he'd close them again.

"Did you forget something?"

When he couldn't see anymore, she slowly moved closer and nuzzled her nose against his own.

"Something like that," she murmured. Aang didn't expect her to give him a soft peck on his eye, the one that got hit with the snowball.

"Was that a healing kiss?" he wondered out loud, sensing her lips leave a trail down his cheek until they met his own. A hand came up to the nape of his neck to pull him in deeper. Katara paused for a second to catch her breath, chuckling at his idea.

"It might've been."

Aang took the initiative and started pecking at her neck in return, making her laugh. She half wanted to break herself free from his embrace so his smooching wouldn't tickle her so much. The other half of her wanted him to go on, since the sensation was sending shivers down her spine.

Ultimately Katara surrendered to the pleasure, allowing her husband to pepper the navy tunic covering her chest with tiny kisses. The white fur running along her collar rubbed against his nose the lower he moved.

"Ah.. aahh-"

She got the impression like he was enjoying this even more than she thought. Until he stopped and turned his head away for a moment.

"Achoo!"

She nudged herself closer while he was busy scratching his nose, the sudden interruption making her laugh. The not-so enthusiastic moans were just him trying to hold back a sneeze.

"Bless you, sweetie! You're not coming down with a cold, are you?" she cooed, checking his forehead for a fever, after which she planted another kiss on his light blue arrow.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't say 'no' to hearing a doctor's opinion."

She giggled, lifting her legs up on the couch and locking them around him to continue the make out session. His strong arms wouldn't let her fall off his lap while she worked on checking every inch of his face for signs of sickness by planting a dozen 'healing kisses' everywhere.

"You're a lucky man, Avatar Aang. There just so happens to be a doctor right in this office. And she's considered to be the best doctor in the entire world."

"Oh? And what would she recommend for preventing a cold?"

Katara slid her hands back down on his shoulders, her fingertips grabbing the edges of his cloak and fiddling with the hood on the back.

"Oh.. just this!"

With a flick of her wrists, she pulled the hood over his face and, while he was distracted by the blindness, she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull his head against her chest.

Aang merely laughed the entire time. He held her tight with one hand and used the other to lift the hood off his eyes, leaving it to cover the top of his bald head.

She wouldn't let him budge too much as she gently stroked his temple, her other hand pressing the side of his face into the fuzzy fabric of her short-sleeved coat. He looked up at her and gave her that signature goofy grin, which made her chuckle when she tilted her head to gaze back at him.

"Do you feel warmed up now?"

"Yes, sweetie. Thanks! If you don't mind, I'd like to stay this way for just a few more minutes. You really are warm.. And squishy," he remarked, nuzzling the side of his face against her bosom. The sound of her giggling rumbled through his left ear, her happiness bringing joy into his world, too.

"Grandad said he left them in here-"

Katara brought one hand up under Aang's chin and began tickling him. The married couple were so busy laughing to themselves that they didn't hear someone approach the office nor the door being opened.

"-let's see whether mommy helped your daddy feel bett-errr.. KATARA!?"

"Oof!" she exclaimed when she slipped through Aang's legs and fell on the floor in an instant.

"Mommy!"

Toddler Bumi let go of uncle Sokka's hand and ran to his mother, who began rubbing her bottom after his father had accidentally dropped her.

"Oh my gosh, don't tell me you did it in dad's office!"

Aang remained sitting on the couch in utter silence, his face more flushed than hers, embarrassment slightly hidden under the shade provided by the hood.

"Are you okay, mommy?" Bumi asked while his daddy snapped out of it, grabbing his mommy's hands to help her stand up. She grunted and supported her weight on him, still massaging near the spot where her tailbone was located.

"Ow.. Yes, baby, don't worry! Mommy's okay. Uncle Sokka just startled me and daddy a little," she claimed while she composed herself.

"I'm so sorry, Katara! I didn't mean to-" Aang barely uttered before she stopped him by laying a finger on his lips.

"It's okay, sweetie. I forgive you. Muah!"

She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek instead, then turned around to face her annoying brother, her brows furrowed.

"First off, haven't you ever heard of knocking, Sokka!? And second, for your information, I did not. We were just.. cuddling."

"Canoodling's more like it. Oh, great! Now that image is forever burned into my brain. Thanks a lot, sis!"

Katara merely rolled her eyes, her attention turning back to her baby boy when he tugged at her navy tunic.

"Can I cuddle, too, mommy?" he asked, reaching his hands up.

"Aww, of course you can, baby! Come here!"

She picked Bumi up into her arms and gave him a big platypus bear hug, beckoning Aang to join in as well.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long, buddy. Mommy took her time healing my eye. She wanted to be extra careful that everything's okay," he said, ruffling his son's short, frizzy hair with one hand.

"Yeah, she took her time for a lot of other things, too.." Sokka muttered, turning towards the open door when he heard someone else running in the hallway. Suki appeared and entered the chief's office, a worried look on her face.

"Is everything okay? We heard screaming."

"Yes, Suki, we're fine. It was Sokka who did all of the screaming," Katara said with a smirk, to which the Kyoshi warrior quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? What happened?"

Her husband held a hand up to her face.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. One word: oogies!"

Suki remained completely confused while she waited for Katara to grab her parka from the coat rack so the entire family could go back outside, where Hakoda awaited their return to play some more with his first grandson.

She also had to cut a slice of blueberry fruit pie for Bumi so he wouldn't throw a tantrum first, since she and Aang had already eaten some dessert that morning. Plus, it'd give him the energy to continue running around in the heavy snow.

With their son content and all five of them heading out of the office, Katara used the opportunity to tell Suki how she and Aang were caught by her brother when he wandered in without knocking. Sokka walked in front of them, side by side with Aang, who attempted to console him while the girls snickered and teased him together.

[sensiblegirl-fe]

CURIOSITY ABOUT Chapter 2 “We are (not) Alone”

Due to a bug it wasn't possible for me to add the curiosities regarding this second chapter at the end of the notes, so I'm forced to post them here and when I'll publish the third chapter I will put the link of this Tumblr post in the opening notes.

⚠ Read the curiosities only after reading the second chapter ⚠

CURIOSITY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER:

Anxiety: One of the techniques for managing the panic caused by anxiety is to list the things that are seen, or heard, at that moment in order to distract our brain from what we are not sure about. For this reason, it occurred to me to make Sokka list the things he is certain of. Not that he's having a panic attack on Appa, but I liked the idea to ​​trying to calm his nerves.

Moreover, if you notice, the certainties become shorter and shorter as he goes on to list them to symbolize that the short ones are the undeniable ones and that you don't need many words to explain, when you are sure of something. In fact, the last one is the shortest of all but the one he never had any doubts about. (“I love Suki”, three words).

The one about Katara who will always be his little sister is only humorous. Sokka knows perfectly well that time passes for everyone and that she has grown, unfortunately for him, even physically. It's just another brother and sister thing. As I also showed later, he is proud of the woman she has become.

Parallelism: To show where Suki and Sokka have come in life so far, I thought of using some parallels between the first and second chapter.

The rethinking of the past (the events present in the comics);

the fear about the future that is given by an indecision (Suki doesn't know whether to stay at the royal palace and continue her service as bodyguard or to move where there is more need and teach; Sokka doesn't know if he wants to stay at home and be Chiefman or travel and discover the new world);

their family condition (Suki with her sisters, the Kyoshi Warriors, and the hint of Oyaji; Sokka with his sister and his father with the hints of Malina);

the friends they are closest to at the time (Suki with Zuko and Ty Lee; Sokka with Aang);

to avoid repeating myself in this chapter I have avoided telling again how Sokka and Suki live their long distance relationship, even if some things have remained; like knowing for sure that he has always loved Suki and the mutual respect for their duties, but I also liked to show that they still remain human and it is normal to have some selfish thoughts every now and then, as long as you don't indulge them.

Since Suki is a woman of action, I used the image of an action in the first chapter to show it (the temptation to *run* wherever Sokka was, when Zuko asks her to take a break. But she never does it because she knows it wouldn't be fair).

Since Sokka is a man of strategy, I have used the image of an unattainable thought in this second chapter (the *idea* of being able to put her in his pocket and take her with him. Obviously it's a silly and impossible thought, in fact he laughs at himself, but I wanted that it contrast his logic and rationality to show that he wouldn't really ask her to come with him).

[avatarsymbolism]

Hey, guys!

I am SUPER excited about this parallel because I never thought we’d be able to bring Katara into the fold with our other two central characters in regard to this one parallel but, here we are! So, I’m super exited. 

I’ve mentioned it probably a million times by now but, to recap, one of the big themes in ATLA is loss, and moving on with that loss. We saw this theme play out with with Aang, Zuko, and a little bit with Katara. 

However, there’s also another theme, which until now only applied to Aang and Zuko, about returning home, and coming to terms with change and the world that they had lost. This second theme, for all three characters, is in every way connected to their loss. 

So, we have three characters who learn to come to terms with their loss and to move on. How does everything break down? 

Aang

What did they lose?

Monk Gyatso and the rest of the Air Nomads, their culture.

Why did they return home and what happened when they did?

Aang was in denial about the Air Nomad Genocide and wanted to see the ruins of the Air Temples for himself. When he finally did, he came face to face with the reality of what happened, and started his journey of acceptance. 

Did anyone warn them about things being different when they returned home?

Not quite, unless you count Katara telling him how things would be different from how he’d left them. 

What did moving on entail?

Accepting that the Air Nomad Genocide happened, and moving on from there. It also involved finding new connections through Katara and the rest of the Gaang. 

Katara

What did they lose?

Their mother, and as of “North and South” they thought they felt like they were losing their culture

Why did they return home and what happened when they did?

Katara finally returned home in “North and South,” and was shocked to see how different everything was from how they left it. 

Did anyone warn them about things being different when they returned home?

Only after Katara returned home, and this came in the form of Sokka’s nostalgia line which really helps to sum up Aang, Katara, and Zuko’s experience. 

What did moving on entail?

Because Katara’s arc is related to her protection arc, this takes the form of her protecting/saving Aang and Zuko, as well as confronting Yon Rha and forgiving Zuko As of “North and South” it also involved coming to terms with other changes, and rotecting Malina which really helps to bring that arc to a complete close. 

Zuko

What did they lose?

Their honor, their father’s love, their title, their mother, and briefly Iroh

Why did they return home and what happened when they did?

Zuko returned home supposedly triumphant after siding with his sister. Like Katara and Aang, he too asumed everything would remain the same as he left it but, things change. And, like Aang and Katara, the feeling of returning home was closely associated with his love toward a parental figure. 

Did anyone warn them about things being different when they returned home?

Iroh tells him multiple times how returning home probably wont be how he expects and, we also get his “Things will never go back to normal” line in “The Storm.” 

What did moving on entail?

Well, Zuko wasn’t fully able to move on from his mother’s disappearance, and we see him eventually finding his mother again, which allows things to kind of return to normal (something that can’t quite be said about Aang and Katara). Additionally, it involved breaking ties with his father, realizing Ozai never truly loved him, and coming to the ultimate realization that it doesn’t matter if Ozai loved him or not because his uncle was always there for him. 

[jaxsteamblog]

Momtara and Dadko

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

Content Warning: Suggestive Content

Zuko, as usual, woke up early in the morning. Katara recalled kissing him before he went on his run, but didn’t properly wake up until a few hours later. Normally, Zuko woke her up when he returned, so Katara was confused when her aide came knocking. 

After getting dressed, Katara walked into the dining room where Sokka, Suki, and the children were firmly entrenched in their breakfast. 

“Where’s Zuko?” She asked.

“He’s not with you?” Sokka asked, glancing up briefly before looking back down to continue feeding Lu Ten small pieces of bacon.

“Clearly.” Katara said dryly, taking her seat.

“Mommy, you are being mean to Uncle Sokka. You should say sorry.” Izumi said. 

“It’s okay.” Sokka said quickly.

“It’s not.” Katara said and sighed. “I have been mean. I’m stressed out and taking it out on you, which isn’t fair. I’m sorry Sokka.”

“I understand Kat. I forgive you.” Sokka replied.

“And I’m sorry Mimi. I shouldn’t have yelled at you yesterday.” Katara said, putting her hand on the top of Izumi’s head.

“I forgive you mommy.” Izumi said primly. “Now Kya.”

“I’m sorry Kya. I shouldn’t have yelled at you either.” Katara said, looking at her niece while stroking Izumi’s hair.

“Thank you Auntie.” Kya murmured, looking down at her plate.

“And Lu Ten!” Izumi chirped.

“What did I do to Lu Ten?” Katara asked, tilting her head down to look at Izumi.

“You left him out.” She stated.

“You’re right. I’m sorry Lu Ten.” Katara said.

Sokka picked up Lu Ten, thrusting the toddler over the table. Katara chuckled as she leaned across the corner to kiss Lu Ten. He, with his hands covered in greasy egg, grabbed onto her face as he kissed her back.

“Ew!” Kya and Izumi shrieked together. 

Katara leaned back, wiping her face off as the others started chattering once again.

“What did I miss?” Zuko asked as he walked in. Katara turned and was surprised to see him still in his running clothes. 

Then Hakoda, Malina, and Bato stepped in after him.

“Lu Ten got mommy messy.” Izumi answered.

“He seems especially skilled at that.” Zuko agreed. He walked to Katara and kissed her cheek.

“Good morning beloved.” He murmured.

“Kisses!” Lu Ten yelled. Zuko smiled and made his way down the table and around, going so far as to kiss Suki and Sokka’s cheeks. As he got to Sokka, he took Lu Ten from his lap and walked back to take his seat next to Katara.

“That’s very cute.” Malina remarked.

“Thank you. It was very weird at first; physical affection wasn’t something I was used to as a kid.” Zuko said, speaking easily enough to keep things from growing awkward.

“I can understand that! South Pole custom seems to be very touchy.” Malina said, playfully nudging Hakoda with her shoulder. 

“The first time I hugged Zuko, he thanked me and then shook my hand.” Sokka said. Bato sputtered out a laugh and Hakoda broke a smile. 

“Was he always like that?” Zuko asked, looking side to side for verification from the other South Pole members.

“As children, they were handled a lot. It’s nearly impossible to get toddlers through the snow when left on their own two feet.” Hakoda said. 

“Katara wore one of those wrap things when the kids were babies. Genius. I think I carried both of them all day sometimes.” Zuko said.

Katara snorted and everyone looked at her.

“One time, Zuko had Lu Ten in a sling during a financial meet and, in his sleep, decided to use his diaper.” She explained.

“Nothing is worse than potty training a child during the dark season in the South Pole when your bathroom is outside.” Hakoda interjected as the others were laughing.

“Paw-Paw, what was mommy like when she was my age?” Izumi asked.

The table quieted and Katara stared at her father.

“Well, I wasn’t around when your mother was five. I was fighting in the Earth Kingdom.” Hakoda said.

“You didn’t see her at all?” Izumi questioned with clear shock.

“Not for many years.” Hakoda said with a shake of his head.

“Sometimes I don’t get to see mommy for a few weeks when I live with daddy in the Fire Nation.” Izumi said softly. “It makes me sad.” 

“I was very sad when I couldn’t see my mom or my dad.” Katara said, putting her arms around Izumi and kissing her hair. 

“When I’m queen, I’m going to live here and I’ll be able to see Izumi every day.” Kya announced.

“What about me and mama?” Sokka asked.

“You can live here too if you want.” She conceded and Sokka scoffed in amusement. 

“Oh, why thank you.” He said and smiled over Kya’s head at Suki.

“I had hoped after the war, I’d be able to live with my entire family in one place.” Hakoda grumbled and Malina patted his hand. 

“Tell me about it.” Katara sighed. 

“Excuse me, your majesty?” A woman called from the doorway. Katara turned and waved the aide in.

“The Matriarch is waiting for you. And we just got confirmation that the ambassador has entered the city.” She said, angling a tablet down so Katara could see the verification. 

“Delightful.” Katara muttered. Then, speaking up, she tried to sound more cheerful. “Time to get dressed!”

More voices than she expected groaned in disappointment. 

The first meeting would be a quick, but formal, welcome. In the throne room, Katara had Hakoda and Dong-Lee take their seats first. Then, holding up the thick fabric of her skirt, she stepped up to the platform where her own carved monstrosity awaited her. Kya knelt on a cushion at her side, still on the platform above Hakoda and Dong-Lee. Politics were in everything.

The Ambassador was escorted in and he bowed in greeting.

“Ambassador Yi, welcome to our little oasis in Republic City.” Katara said.

Yi was a stout man, but younger than she expected. He was middle aged with a receding hairline, yet his face was fairly youthful. From his file, Katara knew he was married with three children, all a few years older than Izumi.

“Thank you, Queen Katara.” He said.

“You are here at the pleasure of Chief Hakoda, leader of the Southern Water Tribes, and Matriarch Dong-Lee of the Swamp Tribe.” Katara went on, gesturing with both hands to the other leaders. 

Yi bowed again.

“Thank you, Chief Hakoda and Matriarch Dong-Lee.” He said.

“And I would like to introduce you to my heir, Princess Kya.” Katara finished.

A third bow and Kya shifted uneasily.

“It is a pleasure to meet the princess.” Yi said.

“I know you have meetings with us separately, but did you have anything you would like to bring before the triumvirate?” Katara questioned.

“No, your majesty.” Yi answered.

“Then I give you your leave. I will see you at our appointed time.” Katara said. She stood and Yi bowed again, keeping his gaze lowered. The others stood and left, exiting behind the platform before Yi made his way back the way he entered. 

Such rituals made Katara feel stiff and irritated; she’d be taking her lunch with the man in a few hours while wearing pants. All of the preceding pageantry struck her as unnecessary. 

“He seems agreeable.” Dong-Lee said.

“Well, be careful, he’s from the Upper Ring. There’s been a lot of chatter about pruning the swamp.” Katara said.

Dong-Lee scoffed. “As if the swamp would let anyone do such a thing.” 

“Are all the meetings going to be like that Auntie?” Kya asked, tugging hard at the neckline of her dress.

“Not all of them, no. But enough of them to make you grumpy.” Katara said and Kya groaned loudly. 

“How does Izumi do it?” Kya whined.

“She’s a lot like her father I suppose. They were born into it.” Katara remarked lightly. Kya groaned again and Katara laughed. 

“I wish Thuy was here.” She muttered.

Katara only nodded.

Ambassador Yi met with Hakoda and Dong-Lee prior to lunch, talking about his goals for his appointment and the technical aspects of the placement. The lunch was far more casual, and Yi brought his family. Dong-Lee was attended by her brother and two children, while Malina came along with Hakoda. The rest of Katara’s royal family bustled in and the large table on the veranda was bursting with activity. 

Yi and his family were patient through the introductions, though Katara promptly forgot the names of everyone with him. Zuko had a better mind for names and she would have to ask him about it later. 

“Ambassador, I’d like to introduce my consort, Fire Lord Zuko.” Katara said, gesturing to Zuko. Yi and his family all gave a hasty Fire Nation salute while Zuko only smiled, holding Lu Ten at his hip. 

“Forgive me,” Yi’s wife said, sounding nervous. “But how should we refer to your Highness?” 

“Zuko is fine.” He replied and the blood drained from her face. 

Katara made a tsk sound and swatted his arm lightly. 

“Titles are very loosely held and wielded around here. We both prefer to be on a first name basis, but since we don’t have a family name, I understand it can be awkward.” She explained.

“I do think consort is rather fun.” Zuko said, smiling at Katara, who glowered back at him. 

“I was told the Earth Empire custom was a bit formal compared to the rest of the world.” Yi admitted.

“It was the same in the Fire Nation until very recently.” Zuko said. 

“I’d like us to be friends.” Katara said. “So I’d love it if you’d use our given names.” 

“That would make it easier to know when I’m in trouble.” Yi joked and Katara laughed. His wife looked mortified. 

Lu Ten started to fuss and Zuko started bouncing him.

“I think it’s nap time.” He said.

“Thank you.” Katara replied, offering her cheek as Zuko leaned in to kiss her. 

“Can we go eat mom?” Yi’s eldest son asked, tugging lightly on his mother’s sleeve.

“Please! This was meant to welcome you after all!” Katara said, shooing them away. Yi’s wife and children walked off, heading over to the serving tables.

“You have a lovely family.” Katara said.

“Thank you. Your’s is charming as well.” Yi said and rubbed his chin. “I hadn’t expected the Fire Lord to be so approachable.” 

“He’s a lot like his uncle.” Katara replied.

“Your son looks just like him.” 

“Oh yes.” Katara said with a laugh. “He’s a Firebender too.”

“But how lucky your daughter is just like you!” Yi said.

“Hmm?” Katara turned and faced Yi more purposefully. 

“I was glad you introduced her first, because my packet was incorrect. I thought her name was Izumi.” He said.

“Izumi is my daughter.” Katara said.

“My apologies. Is that her Fire Nation name?” Yi questioned.

“Yes.” Katara said slowly. “You misunderstand, Kya is my niece.” 

Yi’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Then Izumi is not the Waterbender?” He asked.

“No, Izumi is a…” Katara frowned. “She’s not a Waterbender. Kya is my brother’s daughter. She recently came into her bending and now she’s my heir.” 

“So Izumi is…” Yi sounded panicked and confused.

“Fire Nation. Completely.” Katara said tersely. “She is her father’s heir.”

“I’m sorry. I am completely embarrassed.” Yi said in a hurry, bowing in apology. 

“I can understand the confusion. The inheritance law changed when I was crowned.” Katara said. 

“Thank you for your understanding, your Majesty.” Yi said.

“Of course. You should join your family, they seem to be waiting for you.” Katara said. Yi bowed again and walked to the table. Katara watched him for a moment before turning back toward the palace.

She saw Izumi’s face peeking from behind a wooden beam that supported the pergola. As their eyes met, Izumi darted back inside the palace. Katara sighed, a weight settling on her shoulders. 

Katara’s meeting with the new ambassador was awkward, but she merely questioned him about his goals. The Earth Empire was still gunning for drilling rights in the arctic, which simply wasn’t going to happen. They also wanted to expand their fishing and research waters, which also wasn’t going to happen. Those two points came up time and again, becoming chronic sores in Katara’s life. In the Poles at least, her people had learned how to live in harmony with the seas. They were also intimately aware of what happened when they tried to tip the balance in their favor. Seas could rise, ice could crack, and hungry things could see better than they in the night. 

After the business was concluded, Katara cancelled the debrief with Hakoda and Dong-Lee, pushing it back a day. 

She needed to talk to Zuko.

In their bedroom, Katara sat on the bed as Zuko undid his dress shirt. He never dressed down around politicians, despite his insistence on the given name thing. 

“Am I ashamed of our children?” Katara blurted as Zuko hung the shirt on the valet rack. He paused, his hands still on the hanger and slowly turned his head around to look at her.

“Excuse me?” He asked.

“Yi thought Kya was our daughter and I couldn’t just come out and correct him. It was so awkward!” Katara said.

“I don’t think that means you’re ashamed of her.” Zuko stated firmly. 

“Izumi heard me and she ran off.” Katara said.

“Did you talk to her?” 

“No.”

“We probably shouldn’t let that marinate.”

Katara groaned and bent over, holding her head in her hands.

“I am the worst parent.” She said.

“I think we can both agree that Ozai was the worst parent.” Zuko retorted.

Katara lifted her head, keeping her fingers splayed over her mouth.

“I’m serious.” She moaned and Zuko raised an eyebrow.

He brought both hands sharply up to his face, framing his scar.

“So am I.” He said. 

“I don’t even consider him a parent.” Katara said, falling backward onto the bed. “He’s a monster.”

“Fair point, yet he still is legally my father.” Zuko said.

“I think biologically too.” Katara added.

“Did you know Toph takes Lin and Suyin to her matches?” Zuko asked.

“What?” Katara asked, shooting her confused look up to the ceiling. 

“Lin caught a tooth before she even lost one of her own. It’s nuts.” Zuko said, sitting on the bed beside her.

“And?”

“And she adopted Jae-hwan, seemingly on a whim. No one knows who fathered Lin or Suyin, but Toph doesn’t care because they’d be Beifongs regardless.”

“I repeat, and?”

“And Toph is an amazing mother. Lots of people give her so much crap for simply being blind and having kids, let alone all this other stuff. None of us are perfect, but we’re doing our best. Our kids are great.” 

“I know that Zuko. But I don’t act like it.” Katara muttered, covering her face with her arms. 

“You’ve been really protective of Izumi about this bending stuff, but have you talked to her about it?” Zuko asked.

“No.” Katara said, her voice muffled. 

“I’m telling you, Izumi and Kya love each other. And Izumi is going to be Fire Lord, so it’s not like she’s getting shoved to the side.” Zuko said.

“So what about Lu Ten?” Katara asked.

“Who knows? The Fire Nation hasn’t had a good run with siblings, but Izumi and Lu Ten seem to be fine.” 

“Has there ever been a woman Fire Lord? Or a non-Bender?” 

“Well. No.” Zuko admitted. “But there’s never been a Prime Minister before either.”

“Obviously I don’t need to protect her, so why am I hiding her?”

“When Kya was born, you were so relieved. I thought it was because you were worried about Suki, but you were so anxious before Sokka texted. Then suddenly everything was easier and Izumi popped out two minutes later. I think Izumi was exactly what you wanted her to be.” Zuko explained.

“What do you mean?” Katara lowered her arms and looked up at him.

“She’s not named Kya, so you didn’t have to go through that. She looks like you when you haven’t been in the sun for awhile, and her hair is just like mine. I remember you talking about how much more manageable her hair was when it started to really grow in.

“And she’s not a Waterbender, so you didn’t have to put her through what you’re going through.” Zuko added softly. 

“But Kya’s going to be fine.” Katara said.

“Kya is going to have to live away from her parents more than you think. Sokka has a job in the Fire Nation now, remember? And Suki is still holding onto the flower shop for him.”

“I.” Katara cut off, not knowing what to say. 

“Sokka’s really anxious about this. He’s terrified of being away from Kya, because he hated being away from your parents.” Zuko said.

Tears welled in Katara’s eyes and she threw her arms over her face again.

“So not only am I a terrible mother, but I’m the worst sister and daughter too!” She wailed. 

“Katara, you know it’s not like that.” Zuko said, rubbing one of her arms.

“I hate that this happened. I hate how everyone makes these stupid choices without me and then I end up doing something terrible!”

“So it’s not your fault?”

“How is this my fault?”

“How is it anyone’s?”

Frustrated, Zuko stood up and walked back to their closet. 

“We talked about kids for years because we knew this was going to be hard. And Sokka and Suki could never have expected that their kid was going to be a Bender. And your dad didn’t go off thinking he’d never see his wife again, or that his children would grow up without him.” He said. 

Katara sat up, glaring at his back as Zuko picked out a new outfit. 

“So it’s me then? I’m the one making everything difficult?” She shot back.

“I didn’t say that.” Zuko replied.

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying this sucks!” Zuko turned around sharply, holding tight onto a t-shirt. “I hate being in Caldera without you for so long. And it’s pure misery when you have the children.”

He yanked on the shirt and rubbed his nose furiously.

“Honestly, sometimes I can’t wait for the children to be grown. Because then I can toss Izumi onto the throne and Kya can move in here and then you and I can finally be together, properly.” He laughed darkly and ran a hand through his hair. “But then I feel terrible because these are my children and I’m already missing out on so much.” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten married.” Katara muttered.

Zuko advanced on her quickly and grabbed her arms, squeezing her hard enough to scare her.

“Don’t you ever say that.” He said, his voice low. “I would rather have died in the Agni Kai than even think you mean that for a second.” 

“Zuko…” Katara protested and he shook her once, softly but with urgency.

“Tell me to step down. Ask me. Order me and I would crawl from the port to your throne to become your proper consort.” Zuko said. “But don’t you ever think things would be better had I not made you mine.” 

“Stop.” Katara said brusquely, using her forearms to break his hold. Zuko grabbed her wrists, holding them up.

“You gave me your bed, you gave me children. And they are forever a part of me. But you are mine. Just as I am yours.” Zuko kissed her, loosening his grip on her wrists. Katara grabbed his shirt, pulling him onto the bed. 

~

“Do you suppose that was a healthy and loving way to handle our fight?” Katara asked, shaking her hands off in the sink. It was easy enough to heal the minor marks and Zuko examined his chest in the mirror.

“I would definitely say it was loving.” He said and then nodded at his reflection. “But we should probably leave out some details if we bring this up at therapy.” 

“What are you so angry about anyway?” Katara asked.

“I am angry, dear wife, that you are in the throes of your righteous fury while I’m also struggling but I feel like I have to hold everything together.” Zuko said. 

He had an easy way of talking that made Katara relax. Had it been anyone else, she would have launched right into a fight.

“I’m sorry I’m not being more supportive.” Katara said and moved behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle and pressing her cheek into his shoulder blade. 

“Like I said last night, I do understand that this is difficult for you. But I think you need to have a little faith and try letting go. Not everything has to be a battle that you win or lose.” Zuko held onto her arms and tilted his head back to bump hers. 

“Fine. So, as a wife first, what can I do?” Katara asked.

“Not much. Summer will be in a few weeks and you get to be Fire Lady again. I’ll be able to breathe once you and the children are in Caldera.” Zuko answered.

“Mom time then?” Katara said meekly.

“Mom and dad time. We’re a team.” Zuko replied.

They dressed and went to Izumi’s bedroom. Apparently, she had run there during lunch and refused to come out.

Zuko knocked on the door and called gently. “Mimi?” 

“Come in.” Izumi said, sounding despondent. 

Opening the door, Zuko and Katara hesitated before entering. Izumi was on the floor, moving her dolls around limply.

“Izumi, it is time. For.” Zuko paused with performative austerity. “The feelings wheel.” 

Izumi heaved a long sigh as she got up and shuffled to her small desk. Pulling open the center drawer, she pulled out a laminated piece of paper and went back to her spot on the floor. Zuko and Katara joined her, shutting the door behind them.

“Okay Mimi, you know the drill. How are you feeling?” Zuko asked as he and Katara sat down.

On the paper was a large circle cut into tiered segments. The wider wedges at the center of the circle were labelled with general emotions like “happy” and “scared.” Things got more specific in the thinner wedges radiating outward. 

Izumi pointed with a heavy finger to “sad.”

Zuko worked with Izumi through the process, getting her to be more specific about how she was feeling. Katara stayed quiet, watching her daughter’s face. She was surprised that Izumi identified “guilty” before ending on “ashamed.”

It wasn’t what Katara expected at all.

But she knew exactly how Izumi was feeling.

“Why do you feel ashamed sweetie?” Katara asked.

“Because I’m not Water Tribe.” Izumi said quietly. 

“Why do you think you’re not?” Zuko asked.

“Because mommy always says that I’m only Fire Nation. That I’m your heir and that’s it.” Izumi explained.

“Okay, that’s a valid reason.” Zuko said and Katara sighed.

“I say that because I know you’re part Tribal. I want everyone to know that you deserve to be your father’s heir regardless.” She said.

“Why would being Tribal be bad?” Izumi asked.

“Well…” Katara drifted, sharing a look with Zuko.

“During the war, the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe were enemies.” Zuko said honestly. “And a lot of people in the Fire Nation still feel angry about that.” 

“So they hate me?” Izumi asked, her voice quivering.

“Oh no sweetie! No one hates you!” Katara said in a rush. “It’s just, they may think being from the Water Tribe will make you a bad Fire Lord.” 

“Do you think I’ll be a bad Fire Lord?” Izumi asked Zuko.

“I think you’ll be the first good one.” He said. Izumi crawled onto Zuko, hugging him.

“You’re good, daddy.” She said.

Zuko hugged her back and kissed her hair. “I’m glad you think so, Mimi.” 

“Your father is a great Fire Lord, and you’ll be even better.” Katara added, patting Izumi’s back.

Izumi still clung to Zuko but looked over at Katara.

“So it’s okay that I don’t look like you or Paw-Paw?” She asked.

“Of course sweetie! And not all Water Tribals look like me. Some of them.” Katara stopped and took in a breath. “Some of them look like your Gran-Gran remember?” 

“And it’s okay that I’m not a Waterbender?” Izumi continued.

“Absolutely. Is it okay that Kya is?” Katara asked.

Izumi thought about it seriously for a moment and then nodded.

“Kya is going to rule the tribes and I’m going to be Fire Lord and then we’re going to take over the world.” She said and Katara sputtered.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Well Lu Ten has to have something and there are Waterbenders and Firebenders in the Earth Empire, so Kya and I are going to take it.” Izumi stated.

“You very much are not, young lady.” Zuko said, holding Izumi up to look at her. 

“But daddy, you said I could do anything.” Izumi replied simply. “And grandfather Ozai took over Omashu, my teacher told me so.” 

“Okay, we’re firing your teacher for one thing.” Zuko said and Katara gently pried their daughter from his hold. 

“Izumi, we’ll have to have a chat about why world domination is not a good thing, but do you feel better now?” She asked.

“Yes mommy. Can I have lunch?” Izumi asked. 

“Let’s go see what’s in the kitchen.” Katara stood up and held Izumi’s hand, pausing while Zuko stared off.

“Coming?” She prompted. Zuko shook himself and stood, looking curiously down at Izumi.

“Maybe we should hold off on introducing her to Azula.” He said.

Izumi lifted her head, her hazel eyes shifting in the overhead light. 

“I already know all about her. Auntie Ty Lee told me about her when we were on Avatar Island.” She said and then looked toward the door. Zuko, bewildered, caught Katara’s eye.

Auntie Ty Lee? He mouthed over Izumi’s head. Katara only shrugged.

She had her own family problems to deal with. 

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[jaxsteamblog]

Cherry Blossoms

Click here to read the entire fic on AO3

For dinner, the family stayed in the large estate near to the village. The festival had attracted the Air Nomads for years, and this time they brought along the workers from the oilrig for a well-earned reprieve. All that meant Katara and Zuko couldn’t always be out in public or else they’d be swarmed.

And Katara wasn’t keen on getting attacked or kidnapped again, especially when she was in such a good mood.

“So what do you think of the festivities, Zuko?” Malina asked as she and Hakoda brought out large platters of food. Sokka followed after them with a covered tureen that still couldn’t contain the smell of seaprune stew.

“It’s been amazing. I have a weakness for festivals like this though.” Zuko replied.

“The kind that won’t piss off the spirits if you do them wrong, you mean?” Sokka asked, setting the tureen down on the table.

Katara leaned over and plucked off the lid, breathing in the steam. It smelled right for once.

“Who made this?” She asked, looking around. Hakoda opened his mouth but, looking past her, quickly shut it.

“It’s Gran-Gran’s recipe, Kat. Don’t worry.” Sokka interjected, picking up a ladle and slopping a generous scoop into a bowl. She narrowed her eyes at him but took it.

“Do you have a favorite festival?” Suki asked.

“Does it have to be Fire Nation?” Zuko asked in return.

“No?” Suki looked confused and Zuko leaned over to look in Katara’s bowl.

“I only ask because my favorite is an Earth Kingdom one. But I do have one I like a lot in Caldera.” He said and started pulling the bowl. Katara shoved it over and returned to the tureen.

“Let’s hear the favorite.” Suki said.

“I can’t remember what it’s called because I only got to see it when I was a kid.” Zuko started, picking up a spoon. “I must’ve been really young because my cousin was…”

Zuko smiled sadly and focused on the seaprune stew.

“Anyway, my mother had taken Azula and I to visit my uncle and a festival was going on when we got there. My cousin took my sister and I out to attend, and it was a lot of fun. The cherry blossoms were in peak bloom and there were picnics and tea; I knew it was probably my uncle’s favorite festival too.

“But at night, the town had set up these lights under the trees and you could walk around this garden looking at them. When the sun had fully set, other lights went on and they made sculptures with them. It blew my tiny little mind.” Zuko explained.

“So, a colony.” Hakoda said.

Katara sat up, but Zuko nodded.

“Yes.” He answered and looked back at Hakoda.

“I think,” Malina said slowly, resting her hand on Hakoda’s arm. “We can all appreciate what Zuko went through to end up here with us.”

Hakoda looked at Katara’s face and grumbled.

“My favorite is Avatar Day.” Suki stated, loudly clattering food onto a plate. Katara relaxed, rolling her eyes.

“We’re lucky Thuy’s not here.” Zuko said.

“That’d only be a problem if Katara said it was her favorite.” Sokka corrected.

“Oh for sure.” Suki said, drawing out her accent for effect. “Zuko can never leave Katara or else Thuy will smack him down.”

“Like she did his dad.” Sokka quipped and Zuko burst with a laugh.

“What’s your favorite festival, Sokka?” Malina asked.

“Love Day.” Suki and Katara shouted together and started laughing. Sokka groaned with loud exaggeration and Malina laughed lightly.

“I don’t like most festivals if they have fireworks. Those bug me.” He did say, tearing his flatbread into shreds.

“I like the solstice stuff. I get a kick out of how serious everyone gets when in reality they’re talking about Yue and my bratty sister.” He said finally and Katara launched a seaprune at him.

“What about you, Malina? Hakoda?” Zuko asked.

“Anything with good food is the best in my opinion.” Hakoda answered gruffly.

“Mine is similar to Zuko’s, actually. But I lived in the northern part of the Earth Empire and I think what you were talking about is in the south.” Malina said.

“Cherry blossoms bloom all the way up there?” Zuko questioned.

“Not natively, but for a long time the trees were a common gift the kings would send to each other. You can find them dotted all over capitals but only in the south are they everywhere.” Malina explained.

“They’re really something.” Zuko said.

“Oh yes. They reminded me of the North Pole, or at least, how my parents talked about the North Pole.” Malina said in a rush.

“Flowers?” Zuko asked.

“What about them?” Sokka snapped.

“How are they at all like the North Pole?” Zuko asked, bewildered.

Sokka looked over and met Malina’s eye, making Katara frown.

“I mean, have you actually looked at snow?” Sokka asked, turning to Zuko.

“You are clearly Piandao’s favorite.” Zuko murmured and Sokka scoffed.

“My parents would always talk about the North Pole when it snowed. Maliq and I would go crazy seeing how little it snowed inside Ba Sing Se, and how quickly the snowplows would come through.” Malina laughed and tapped Hakoda’s arm. “We were not prepared for coming back home.”

“Did you know that some places pickle cherry blossoms and make tea out of it?” Sokka asked and Zuko choked on his soup.

“Oh spirits what.” Sokka croaked.

Katara patted Zuko’s back and shrugged.

“Apparently it’s a wedding sort of tea and Iroh gave it to Zuko and me a while back.” She said.

“I was trying so hard not throw myself at you at that point too.” Zuko said, wiping his eyes.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda interrupted sharply and Malina snorted.

“Well, turns out you’re married by swamp standards so we should probably go pick up some more.” Sokka said.

“Excuse me?” Hakoda repeated.

“We have to get married before them, really.” Suki said, looking at Sokka.

“We should probably elope then, because at this rate they’ll be married twice over.” He said.

“Now hold on…” Hakoda leaned over the table and Zuko put his arm around Katara.

“We’re going backwards through the Avatar cycle. We just have to figure out which temple Aang was born at so we can get hitched there.” He said.

“No.” Hakoda said firmly, and everyone turned to him. “Both of my children are getting married in the South Pole.”

“Dad, we were just kidding.” Sokka said.

Hakoda sighed and leaned back.

“I know.” He said.

“And Suki and I are getting married in Kyoshi.” Sokka added.

Hakoda sputtered and even Katara turned to stare at Sokka. Her brother took Suki’s hand and stared down at their rings.

“I hate being in the Poles.” He said softly.

“What?” Hakoda and Katara shouted.

“O-kay.” Zuko stood up, jostling the table. “I’m taking Sokka to show me the penguins.”

“I can fight my own battles!” Sokka protested, but Suki also stood and the two of them grabbed either of his shoulders.

“I love you man, but I am trying to keep my future wife and father-in-law from hating my guts.” Zuko muttered as he and Suki started dragging him out of the room.

“That’s not my problem! Hey wait the stairs guys wai-” Sokka’s voice was cut off by the sound of chaotic thudding.

“So, Katara, what do you want to do for your birthday?” Malina asked.

Katara lowered her face into her hands and groaned.

~

“Cherry blossoms, huh?” Katara asked, laying on her back and looking up at Zuko.

Zuko’s long hair acted like a curtain as he propped himself over her. He was doing what he normally did when they were able to sleep together; trying to see which parts of her were ticklish as he lightly kissed her.

“They’re pretty.” He said with his lips against her shoulder.

“And very dainty.” Katara added.

“I’m not in love with cherry blossoms, Katara.” Zuko murmured, moving down to her collarbone.

“I’m just saying.”

“And I’m just saying. Though it would be nice to see you in a bath with some cherry blossoms. Seeing them stick to your skin.” Zuko laid himself on her and went back to her neck. “Mmmmm.”

“You just constantly run hot don’t you?” Katara said with a laugh threading through her words.

“You should have seen me as a young man.” Zuko said, pushing himself up to look directly at her. “And when I was plagued with thoughts of a very mysterious spirit.”

“You’re still a young man.” Katara retorted, putting her hands on his chest.

“Did you ever think of me?” Zuko asked.

“The Blue Spirit?”

“Yeah.”

Katara paused then, trying to recollect. Her memory was shoddy at best, and some events were warped by time and trauma.

She remembered her first kiss with Haru before staging a prison break to rescue his father. She remembered seeing Yue in the moonlight and knew love and heartbreak in the same moment as she saw Sokka’s face. She remembered digging her nails into Jet as if she could mold him into something else.

And she remembered the vigilante that she could never figure out.

“I used to dream about running into you over and over again in the war. We’d fight the same villains, we’d tease each other because we are always suspicious, and you would unmask yourself while proclaiming your eternal love for me.” Katara said.

“Funny, I always imagined the same thing.” Zuko said.

“I would never have unmasked.” Katara scoffed.

“There’d be no need.” Zuko said with a smile and then lowered himself again. “I told you that you sweat your stripes off.”

“Zuko!”

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[jaxsteamblog]

Counterpart

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

After dinner, Katara retreated to her rooms and put on her pajamas. While brushing her teeth, she examined her skin in the clear mirror above the ice sink. When she had first arrived in the North Pole, it was before she had been invited down into the crystal catacombs in Ba Sing Se, and she had marveled over the crystalline structure of the ice. But now, having traveled the world over, all she saw were pieces stolen and cobbled together in every nation’s architecture. There was nothing wrong with a little inspiration, but it had wounded Katara’s pride to see something she had claimed for her own have its origin in a faraway place.

Between jetlag and the darkness hindering her own internal clock, Katara was restless after preparing for bed. She walked out onto her balcony and watched the green ribbons shimmer over the oasis. This was going to be her home and she tried to feel something for it.

It had everything she wanted. Strong walls to protect her people, an opulence that she used to dream of, and a connection to her family. During dinner, she had watched as her father talked with a woman and saw a familiar look in his eye. Gran-Gran lived here, now, with Pakku, coming back full circle in her life. Sokka might only visit, but her family was settling down here in the North Pole.

But it felt more like getting stuck in permafrost than putting down roots to her.

“Yo.” Sokka said from just behind her. Katara jumped and glared at him as he walked up.

“You scared me!” She snapped.

“I knocked, but I guess you can’t hear me out here.”

“I guess not.”

Sokka stepped up to the railing, standing next to her, and they both looked out at the spirit lights. They stood together quietly and, after a moment, Katara leaned into him and put her head on his shoulder.

The North Pole had been brutal. Everyone was excited at their arrival; no one in the North Pole knew that the South Pole was still surviving. When they were told that their parents weren’t there, Pakku himself had promised to help teach Katara before sending them out into the world. Anything for Kanna, he said.

While they stayed there, Sokka and Katara lived in the palace. They both got to know Princess Yue fairly well, but Sokka fell in love.

It had devastated him when she sacrificed herself for Tui.

“How are you doing?” Katara asked, rolling her head back a bit to look up at him.

“I’m alright. It’s been a long time.” He said. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Do you think dad is moving on?”

“Are you talking about Malina?”

“Is that her name?”

Sokka shrugged, bouncing Katara’s head until she stood up.

“How does it feel being the only one without a tragic love story?” Sokka questioned.

“I think I might be getting one.” She muttered and draped herself over the balcony rail.

“Are you in love with Zuko?” He asked.

For some reason, Katara suddenly felt like crying and her throat tightened. “I really like him, Sokka.”

“He’s a good guy.” Sokka replied and put his arm on Katara’s head.

“I don’t think we’re good for each other.” She admitted. Sokka’s hand hung in her face and she saw thin scars on his palm.

“How’s that?” He asked.

“We’re total opposites.”

“Katara, you’re whole life is filled with opposites. Your bending is based on opposites.” Sokka scoffed.

Shaking off his arm, Katara stood up again.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I mean that opposites aren’t always contradictions. Yue is the moon, she pulls. You are the ocean and you push. That’s what keeps the tides going and we won’t even get into what a big deal that is for our planet. Plus, look at you and me.”

“What about us?”

“We came from the same womb. I’m male, you’re female. I’m a non-Bender, you’re a Waterbender. But we’re still the children of Kya. We are opposites but we are siblings. We are one thing.”

“Fire and water are a little more extreme than that Sokka.”

“What about a soldier and a healer?”

Katara paused and looked away.

“I’m having enough trouble with that as it is.” She mumbled.

“Katara, sometimes it’s not about being a counter to something, but a counterpart. It’s about the pieces of you that make up who you are. And for as fiery as Zuko is, you two have more in common than not.”

“You mean the fact that we both have dead moms and are royalty?” Katara snorted. “Then you have just as much in common.”

“Katara, if you’re going to be a brat about this then I can’t help.” Sokka retorted.

“I’m not being a brat.”

“You are. I’ve had to deal with you for your entire life.” Sokka put his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the face. “I mean that you both are more than willing to break yourself apart for the people you love. And if you love each other, maybe you’ll finally have someone to keep you in one piece.”

Katara’s eyes watered and she wiped them quickly.

“Harmony comes from opposites working together, not from sameness.” Sokka added softly.

Katara nodded and Sokka pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

“You know what I really hate about the North Pole?” He whispered into her ear.

Katara sniffed. “What?”

“No penguins. Can’t go sledding.” Sokka replied.

Katara laughed and closed her eyes, holding onto the back of Sokka’s shirt. Together they just breathed.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

[kristallioness]

Holding a grudge

Summary: Aang comforts Katara after everything that's happened at the Southern Water Tribe.

Word count: 1,743

Author's note: The first 11 pages of "North and South: Part Three" gave me so many happy feels. I really loved that moment where Aang and Katara waterbended together and how the two of them spent time with Hakoda. So I started thinking and wondering what happened during the night (after Malina goes to see Hakoda) and before morning (when Aang and Katara go to teach the girls with Pakku). This would be how I imagined the events unfolding. I just felt like writing again after a long while and my writing juices were flowing in all the right directions.. I didn't even need to edit a lot, the text came together from beginning to end exactly how I put it down in this order - I'm proud of that. Also, I shed a few tears while writing the beginning of this story.

----------x----------

Katara watched how Malina entered her Gran Gran's hut to talk to her dad before she turned around with a very audible huff and began heading towards her and Sokka's temporary igloo.

"Sweetie, wait up!" Aang hurried right behind her. He slowed his pace to hers once they were walking side by side. Katara glanced at him from the corner of her eye, his brows furrowed with worry about her state, but his lips formed into a caring smile. He was ready to talk and support her if she wanted to.

"Aang, I wanna be alone right now," she puffed out a bit too angrily. The airbender stopped in his tracks. This wasn't the Katara he knew, which was why he wasn't going to give up so easily. They'd been separated for awhile, he knew how much she missed him. The feeling was mutual, or so he thought since the waterbender suddenly stood still as well. Katara didn't turn around to look at Aang, who remained standing a couple of steps behind her. She was pondering over what she'd just said to him exactly like he was thinking how to answer.

"Are you sure?" he questioned, the sound of his voice barely above a whisper, like he was asking that from himself. She lowered her head a little and crossed her arms, slowly beginning to rub them to keep herself warm.

"Because, I can find another place to stay for the night if you.. you know. Wanna be alone," Aang reasoned, understanding that her mind must be going through hell tonight and she really needs some time to sort things out by herself. The soft crunching of the snow as he took a few steps closer was proof of how he was trying to reach out to her. Katara remained silent, but jumped a little when Aang laid his hands on her shoulders. She raised her head a bit and met a familiar pair of shimmering grey eyes staring right back at her. Another moment later, the sniffing of the waterbender filled the quiet street.

"Katara? Did I upset you? I'm sorry!.." Aang wondered in surprise when tears fell down her cheeks. She allowed him to wipe them off though. He gently ran his thumb across her face, but the work he was trying to accomplish didn't seem to help since the dried spots were soon replaced with fresh streaks. She'd already cried enough for one night, she promised herself this would be the last time.

"No.. Ah-aand no.. I don't wanna be alone," Katara said before she wrapped her arms around his neck and continued sniffling into his robes. Aang pulled her into a tight embrace and attempted to comfort her by tenderly stroking her back and gently swaying her from left to right. She didn't care that Sokka and Toph were watching them tens of feet away, or that maybe some of the inhabitants in the houses nearby observed their display of affection.

"Sshh! It's okay.." Aang whispered into her ear and placed a gentle kiss on her head. That gesture reminded Katara just how much she'd missed him. Also, it made her wonder what she possibly could've done to deserve this. This kind of love, to be exact.

"S-sorry.. now you-ur robe is wet," was the first thing she managed to mumble into his clothing. Aang stared at the slightly damp spot on the red cape, but quickly averted his eyes onto hers once she slightly tilted her head to see his face. Her diamond blue eyes were decorated with tiny drops of water, too.

"Heh.. that's okay, sweetie," he chuckled, offering her a loving smile while caressing her left cheek with the back of his hand to dry it off. Katara supported her head against his shoulder again, burying into the crook of his neck.

"Should we head to your and Sokka's place now? Get some rest?" the airbender asked after her crying had ceased for a minute or two already, even though she hadn't released her hold. The waterbender nodded against his neck and took a step back to give him some space. She lowered her hands by slowly running them over his shoulders, across his chest, until they landed into the palms of his own. The young lovers' hands remained entwined as they headed home to spend the first night at the Southern Water Tribe together. That is if you could call an angular building, which mimicked the culture of your sister tribe in a cheap way and was just one in a row of another dozen similar buildings, home.

"This seems.. different. But familiar at the same time," Aang commented as Katara pushed the door leading to her room open.

"Finally! Someone else who can sense that this isn't right," she exclaimed, plopping down on her bed.

"Everything looks a little bit off, like.. like..?" Aang scratched the back of his head, taking a minute to observe the furniture in there. He couldn't find the right words to describe the feeling.

"Like we're in the Northern Water Tribe?" the waterbender immediately finished for him, her tone sounding rather resentful.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"You see.. that's the problem, sweetie. This just doesn't feel like home anymore. It's almost like we're still in the Northern Water Tribe learning waterbending together during the war. Except that the war is over, we're masters and the Southern Water Tribe.. is no more," Katara sat up on the edge of her bed, laying her hands in her lap. She fiddled with her fingers in silence while Aang made his way to her side and took a seat. She simply.. looked so sad. That's the only way to put it. The airbender couldn't think of anything else but cheering her up. He sighed.

"I can understand what you're going through, Katara," he placed a hand on top of both her own, gently rubbing her knuckles. He noticed how she took a deep breath.

"Remember how much pain I felt when I found out what'd happened to my home, to my people?"

Katara raised her head. By then, she was gazing deep into his eyes while listening to him. She knew very well what a painful topic this was for both of them. She didn't reject his opinion now, unlike the last time when she wanted to go on her own little field trip with Zuko.

"I agree that the damage has been done, but this time it's not permanent. The southerners are still alive, your people are still here, and you still have a tribe. It's just a little bit different now. But the two of us, we can help change it, make everything better again. We can help rebuild this city so it'd have a more southern look to it. We can educate the northerners, teach them to respect your culture. Just like I began teaching the acolytes about the Air Nation," Aang offered. Katara lifted a hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"You'd really help me do all of that?" her eyes sparkled in a very unique way when she asked that. Aang noticed something familiar in there, something he hadn't seen since the incident back at the festival. He recognized what it was - hope.

"I mean, of course it'd take some time before we start seeing any progress, but.. This here is your home, Katara. And I won't let anyone destroy your culture or hurt your people. Promise," he cupped her cheek with his free hand. Katara closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth radiating against her face from the palm of his hand, after which she enveloped him in another hug.

"Thank you, Aang.. I love you so much."

"You're most welcome. I love you too, Katara," he snuggled into her coat, taking a moment to breathe in her sweet smell. He'd forgotten how it reminded him of winter - a mix of cold fresh air, the snowflakes that'd covered them earlier as well as something that was just so Katara. Once they let go of each other, Aang's gaze remained on the empty bed opposite to them. The one that was meant to be reserved for him.

"How come Sokka doesn't sleep here?"

"A girl does need some privacy, after all. Besides, I can't think straight through his loud snoring," Katara smirked, her last comment made Aang laugh.

"Ah-ha-ha! Speaking of which, where is he? Didn't he and Toph follow us back here?"

"He's probably apologizing to Malina," Katara huffed annoyingly as she pulled her coat over her head and put it down on her bed.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so harsh towards her."

The waterbender slightly cold-shouldered him after that by staring at the wall to her right.

"I'm not one to judge, especially since I don't know Malina so well as a person. But judging by what I heard from her speech at the festival this evening, I believe that she isn't the bad guy over here," Aang attempted to persuade Katara as he gently grabbed her shoulder. This kind of attitude of hers didn't seem strange to the airbender, because he remembered quite well when she'd been just as vicious towards a good friend of theirs as she was now towards her father's new love.

"I need to think about it," she sighed, ensuing a longer pause.

"Hey.. maybe we should go do something together tomorrow? You know, so you could get your mind off of it while your dad recovers?" the airbender offered, receiving a shrug for a reply from the waterbender.

"Why don't we go teach Siku and Sura in the morning? Together with Master Pakku. He asked me to be his guest of honour," Aang suggested.

"Hmm.. he told me the same thing. He's been having trouble with those two little ones. It's almost like they're afraid to show their waterbending to us."

"Soooo.. I take it that's a 'yes'?" Aang asked one more time, flashing his grey eyes, which merely made Katara giggle.

"It's a 'yes'. I think it's a good idea," she agreed and kissed him on the cheek, then lay down to tuck herself in and unintentionally turned her back towards him. Once she'd settled down, Aang climbed closer to her on the bed, leaned down near her face and kissed her on the cheek, too.

"Good night, sweetie!" he whispered into her ear before going to his own bed. Katara smiled.

[kristallioness]

I managed to see some other pages from "North and South: Part Three". I cried. Don't read any more if you don't want spoilers!

On pages 24-26, Gilak attacks them during their conference. Something happens in between and they end up on a broken rope bridge, hanging from a cliffside. On page 62: damn, Zuko is a powerful firebender! Flying off like Ironman while holding onto Kuei's hand (like grandfather, like grandson 70 years later)! On page 63: awww yesss! Sweeties saving people together (Katara calling Aang 'sweetie')! A few random pages forward I'm guessing the rope breaks, but Aang catches the rest of the three (by Hakoda's hand) while flying on his glider and attempts to carry them to safety. Of course, Gilak, being the bottom one, won't go down without a fight and decides to take Malina with him (probably). Another random page later, Katara saves Malina from falling down the cliffside, but does Gilak survive or fall to his death?

On page 70: I started crying. I haven't sobbed like this since seeing that scene where Hakoda was stabbed. I stand firm that this trilogy has touched me the most / been the most emotional one for me. At first I thought Katara and Sokka went to the place where they found Aang, but the iceberg had melted and the ground had resurfaced. But when I read what Katara said and saw the flowers, I understood that instead.. it was Kya's grave. This scene is so beautiful and heartbreaking (and I really wanna know what Katara continues to say on page 71!).

On page 72: Katara explaining the loss of her mom to Siku and Sura, I bet she explained this the same way to her daughter Kya years later (I even wrote my own version years ago). The following page, the two little girls demonstrating their waterbending to Katara's deceased mother - just like the Air Nation will be reborn in 70 years, the Southern Water Tribe is very much alive.

And the final page I saw, 74: Hakoda calling his mother Gran Gran - I believe it's quite natural, it's pretty similar to how we interact in my family; Kuei said it perfectly ; Team Avatar cooking together, all 4 nations together, world leaders together (counting Avatar Aang, Head Chieftain Hakoda, Earth King Kuei and Fire Lord Zuko).. I teared up again. This is all I've ever wanted to see, especially if they plan on not making any more trilogies (or take a break for awhile).

[kristallioness]

Hey, everybody! To those who I follow, y'all probably know that I visit this place daily to like/reblog all the new content I fancy. To my followers, I hope you know by now that I check my notifications every time and notice all of you, too. Thank you for following me! I've had some of the scariest two weeks in my life, updated an important part of my laptop's software and I saw the preview of "North and South: Part Three" (Stop reading at the 4th paragraph if you don't want spoilers!).

A tip about staying healthy: don't leave a window open when you go to sleep with a tank top (these are the only types of shirts I like wearing at home). There might be a draft and you'll end up having a stiff neck along with a sore chest and overthink that something might be horribly wrong (with your lungs/heart) because the radiating pain won't go away. Luckily after applying some Voltaren gel for a week, it's practically gone and I suddenly feel as good as new. Also, searching for solutions on the Internet can cause unnecessary panic as well as provide a better overview of why some symptoms are like that. Do this moderately (without worrying too much) and if you're concerned, definitely go to a doctor.

A tip about keeping your computer safe: anyone else out there still using Windows Vista and Microsoft Security Essentials as its anti-virus software (like me)? This software isn't supported for Vista users anymore. I installed AVG again (a whole new free version) since I've used it in the past (but stopped because they weren't updating it for awhile back then). It's trustworthy and pretty great, so I suggest doing the same to anyone who has a similar problem and might not know what to choose from.

I've been quietly stalking the "Pentapox After Dark" community on Facebook and I saw the preview pages of "North and South: Part Three" (Thanks, @thecaroliner!). Here is a summary of my feelings:

Toph saying it like it is - Katara ain't interested in helping with the construction of something that can potentially damage the environment of her home; politics are dumb. Sokka still comforting Malina cause she does need some support!

Oh my gosh! I just 'AWWW!'-ed out loud (so very loud) - THE MOMENT WHERE AANG AND KATARA WATERBEND TOGETHER!!! THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS THINGS I'VE SEEN IN THIS TRILOGY! I am openly crying about this, my need for Kataang in this comic is fulfilled. Finally something happy and positive after everything that's happened. AND I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THOSE TWO WATERBENDER KIDS AND AANG, KATARA AND PAKKU TRYING TO TEACH THEM TOGETHER! I TOTALLY SAW THAT COMING! Katara squatting down to the little girls' level like she's talking to them as equals (did Korra take after her in that???).. so mature, so motherly.. *wipes away tear* The girls saying things about Pakku like he is *lol* that was accurate! Aang and Katara understanding that there's bound to be some adjustment issues. Pakku's direct sarcasm towards Aang, I am laughing.. "Not to name any names".. Pffft!

Aang looking out for Momo being well-fed, such a cutie! Hakoda being proud of Katara for being an amazing healer and wondering whether he'd still be amongst them if it weren't for her.. just... Can I cry for a few minutes because that moment in the second part messed me up in more ways than one? Hakoda learning more about how Team Avatar works and thanking them like.. I am so proud of these kids who stopped the Hundred Year War! Hakoda said it all - everybody needs to work together.

Wow! I am actually glad that since Hakoda's on his feet again, Katara's hatred for Malina has somewhat cooled down - she considers Maliq as the betrayer, not Malina! She doesn't mention her! But yeah, I'm pretty sure the tension between them in this part will be similar to the tension between her and Zuko when he joined Team Avatar.

Also, Aang standing up (as the Avatar) and protecting Katara and supporting her point of view - good job! Hakoda understanding their worries again and inviting the two of them to an important meeting with the world leaders (Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei) - A M A Z I N G! Their life (and experience) in politics keeps on going and their voices will be heard!

And these were only the first 11 pages.. I managed to analyze every sentence and little detail into pieces, so I'm here like: MIND = BLOWN. This book will be awesome! Only 2 more weeks (if I'm not mistaken)!!!

Aaahhhh! I can't take this! I am a very happy ball of emotions rn. I'm gonna finish that Princess Allura piece I've been working on these past few days, then start coding my CV into something awesome so I could apply for a summer university (and hopefully earn an internship after that) at a potential workplace. Oh, and I need to send two greetings to my old class teacher from basic school for her birthday today (an SMS and write on her Facebook profile)!