[FIC] Sense and Sensibility (8/16)
Title: Sense and Sensibility, Chapter Eight
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1878
Warnings: none
Summary: Four years after the end of the war, Fire Lord Zuko is told he has two weeks to choose a bride from a group of five girls. Luckily, Uncle Iroh stacked the deck.
Author's Notes: I'm archiving things, so this one (which is my longest finished story to date) was written before season three premiered. Thus it is technically an AU. Chapter titles are from the musical Camelot, because I am a giant dork.
---Chapter Eight: Before I Gaze At You Again---
Zuko had made his decision. He was tired of being indecisive and immature, and he was tired of dealing with Lady Junbi. He knew for a fact that several bets had been made concerning this particular decision, including when he would carry it out. According to his sources, his uncle had bet on the day before the ball, which was tomorrow. Zuko figured he may as well let Iroh win this bet.
He was going to propose to Katara.
How to do it was another thing. He didn’t want to go with the Fire Nation method of arranging everything through a matchmaker and not seeing Katara again until the wedding day; she wouldn’t like that any more than he would. The Water Tribe tradition of personally asking and giving the future bride an engagement necklace was far more appealing, but Zuko didn’t know how to make one of those, and he had no one to ask.
Well, he could ask Katara, but that would ruin what little surprise there was left in his potential proposal.
There was one thing, however, that Zuko was not counting on.
It could be viewed as the answer to all his prayers.
It could be seen as proof that the spirits liked to laugh at him.
Zuko had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.
He was going over his daily schedule two days before the ball when a servant entered his public office (the private one he tended to run to when he fought with Katara was connected to his chambers; this one was off one of the main halls). The servant bowed and waited to be acknowledged.
Zuko, rather than looking at the servant, frowned at his schedule. He was supposed to be spending the hour just before dinner with Lady Ming-Ming. “What is it?”
“Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Lady Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors have just arrived, your majesty,” the servant said hesitantly.
Zuko looked up. “What?”
The servant began to shake. “Prince Sokka and Lady Suki…”
Zuko shook his head impatiently. “I heard what you said. Where are they now?”
“They were shown to the parlor for visiting dignitaries, your majesty. Was that not appropriate?”
But the Fire Lord didn’t even hear the question, as he was already half-way down the hall the moment he’d been given a specific destination.
--------
Suki sat stiffly on the red silk cushioned couch, slightly uncomfortable in the lavish surroundings. She took a sip of the tea an anonymous servant had brought her shortly after she and Sokka were led to this large and luxuriously decorated room. Everything was red or gold, including the scrolls on the wall. Sokka was studying one of them now. Suki set down the teacup on a low, heavily carved table in front of her seat. The tea was sweet with a hint of cinnamon, and the Kyoshi warrior was not fond of sugary drinks. As she leaned forward, the light from the many lamps caught and glimmered on the blue pendant of her necklace.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Sokka? Katara might not be ready to leave.”
Sokka didn’t turn from the scroll he was examining, which depicted a rather explosive-looking sea battle. “She won’t mind. She’ll probably be glad to see us.”
Suki sat back, fanning herself. She was glad she hadn’t worn her traditional makeup today; the room was oppressively warm.
The door opened. Zuko waited a moment before entering the parlor, giving himself time to calm down and the servant standing ready time to announce him.
“His Royal Majesty Fire Lord Zuko,” the servant said rather pompously. It was his only duty, and he was quite proud of it. The speech had been cut down shortly after Zuko’s coronation, as the young Fire Lord couldn’t stand the long paragraph extolling the virtues of the crown usually given before a ruler entered any room but his own private one.
Suki stood automatically, and Sokka had the wisdom to turn away from the scroll at last. Zuko dismissed the announcer and waved his hand to indicate that Suki should sit. As she did so, he took notice of the necklace she wore, a blue pendant attached to a dark ribbon. He raised an eyebrow.
“Engaged, are you?” he asked before he could mentally tell himself to shut up. Since he was too late, he mentally whacked himself.
Sokka grinned. The past four years had given Zuko a sleeker look, while the Water Tribe warrior had become scruffier. The beginning of a beard was evident on his chin, and his wild hair was barely held in check.
“Yeah, it happens. Aren’t you supposed to be in a similar situation in a few days?”
If everything goes right, Zuko thought, but he didn’t say that out loud. Instead he changed the subject. “What brings you two to the Fire Nation? Katara tells me you usually spend the entire spring in Kyoshi.” It was pointless to even try to be formal with Sokka, because Sokka had long ago established that he would not be formal with Zuko.
“We’re planning on having the wedding at the end of the month, and we decided to pick up Katara on the way down.” Sokka’s expression was still friendly, but his eyes weren’t.
Suki shot her fiancé a dirty look. “We?”
“Katara can’t leave yet,” Zuko said.
Sokka stared at him. “Why not?”
Zuko’s cheeks turned pink. He couldn’t tell Sokka the truth; it wasn’t that he was afraid of what Katara’s over-protective older brother might do, but he did want to avoid any possibility of an international incident.
“The ball isn’t for a few more days,” Zuko replied lamely. It even sounded stupid in his head, but it was the best he could come up with without revealing the whole truth.
It was Sokka’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
It was Zuko’s luck that Katara entered the parlor at that moment. She spotted the Fire Lord first and blushed. “Hi, Zuko.”
Zuko’s own blush, far more visible on his pale cheeks, darkened. “Hello, Katara.”
Sokka’s eyebrow rose higher. “Since when do you two call each other by your first names?”
Suki fought the urge to laugh at the three of them.
Katara glared at her brother, saving herself and Zuko from further embarrassment… for the moment. “Sokka, what are you doing here?”
“I’m taking you home. You’re packed, right?”
The waterbender’s eyes took on a suspicious glint. “No, I’m not.”
Sokka crossed his arms. “Well, you might want to start. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
Katara’s jaw dropped. “I can’t leave yet! I… the ball is the day after tomorrow.”
Zuko put his hand to his forehead. Sokka stared at his sister as though she were crazy.
Suki laughed.
“That’s the same excuse he used,” Sokka told Katara, pointing at Zuko.
The waterbender and the Fire Lord exchanged a glance.
That was when Sokka figured it out.
Suki was giggling helplessly by this point; she’d gotten the picture the moment Katara came in and saw Zuko.
Sokka turned to the Fire Lord calmly. “You. Me. Talk. Now.”
Katara opened her mouth, but Zuko shook his head. “No, Katara. He and I do need to talk. Sokka, my office is just down the hall.”
The Water Tribe warrior bowed mockingly. “Lead the way, Fire Lord.”
They left the parlor, and Katara turned to Suki, who was more relaxed now. Katara noticed the engagement necklace the Kyoshi warrior wore, and she smiled. “You knew the entire time that you and Sokka weren’t leaving tomorrow, didn’t you?”
Suki laughed. “I knew you weren’t leaving.”
--------
Once they were inside Zuko’s public office, the Fire Lord dismissed the few servants that were present and locked the door. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
“If I don’t the servants will come in without warning,” Zuko explained.
“Ah. Let’s get straight to business, then.”
Zuko sat down at his desk and gestured for Sokka to take the seat opposite him.
“I assume you’re going to ask my permission to marry my sister?” Sokka asked as soon as he was settled.
“How do you make a Water Tribe engagement necklace?” Zuko asked at the exact same time.
“Wait, what?” they both said in unison.
“I don’t need your permission to ask Katara to marry me,” Zuko told Sokka.
The Water Tribe warrior sat back, a smug smile on his face. “Maybe not, but you do need me if you want to make her an engagement necklace. And I’m not going to help you until you ask my permission to marry her.”
“Fine. I don’t need your help anyway.”
“You’re lying.”
“So?”
Sokka cracked his knuckles. “You do realize that if you ever hurt Katara in any way, you will be dead. It doesn’t matter where you run to, because I am not the only one you would have to worry about.”
Zuko rolled his eyes. “You said something similar when I joined the Avatar’s group toward the end of the war.”
Sokka grinned. “No, then I told you that if you touched Katara you’d be dead.”
“You seem to have changed your mind about that.”
Sokka turned his head and looked at the Fire Lord sideways. “How do you know I’m not just waiting for the right opportunity?”
Zuko sighed heavily. “Because no matter how moronic you act, I know you aren’t that stupid.”
Sokka frowned at the slight insult, but stretched casually, pleased with the knowledge that he still had the upper hand. “Ask and you shall receive, Zuko. It’s that simple.”
“It is not simple, and I don’t have to ask you for anything.”
“But you were going to.”
“There wasn’t anyone else to ask.”
“You could always ask Katara…”
“Not if I’m trying to surprise her. It seems that you and I have nothing more to discuss, so if you don’t mind I’m going to find a servant to show you and Suki to your guest rooms.” Zuko stood to leave.
Just as he was passing Sokka, the warrior groaned. “No, wait. Here.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a large, flat blue stone. Zuko took it with a raised eyebrow. “It took some practice before I got Suki’s exactly right,” Sokka explained. “Afterward, I had a few extra shells. That’s what the pendants are made of; a really thick shell from a clam that’s only found in the North and South Poles.”
Zuko looked at Sokka, realizing what kind of gesture this was. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.
Sokka smiled. “Just take care of her.”
Zuko nodded, and for one rare moment the two young men understood each other perfectly.
--------
Sokka was slightly less understanding about an hour after dinner, when Zuko asked him for another shell. Sokka asked to see the first one, and Zuko refused to show it to him. Sokka refused to give the Fire Lord another (even though he had several) until he’d seen the first attempt. Zuko finally conceded. Once he was done laughing, Sokka gave him another shell so he could try again. The second attempt, at least, came out right. The Fire Lord hid it in a desk drawer in his private office.
Zuko was ready to propose to Katara.
---End Chapter Eight---
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Eventual Zutara, mentions of Sokka/Suki
Wordcount: 1878
Warnings: none
Summary: Four years after the end of the war, Fire Lord Zuko is told he has two weeks to choose a bride from a group of five girls. Luckily, Uncle Iroh stacked the deck.
Author's Notes: I'm archiving things, so this one (which is my longest finished story to date) was written before season three premiered. Thus it is technically an AU. Chapter titles are from the musical Camelot, because I am a giant dork.
---Chapter Eight: Before I Gaze At You Again---
Zuko had made his decision. He was tired of being indecisive and immature, and he was tired of dealing with Lady Junbi. He knew for a fact that several bets had been made concerning this particular decision, including when he would carry it out. According to his sources, his uncle had bet on the day before the ball, which was tomorrow. Zuko figured he may as well let Iroh win this bet.
He was going to propose to Katara.
How to do it was another thing. He didn’t want to go with the Fire Nation method of arranging everything through a matchmaker and not seeing Katara again until the wedding day; she wouldn’t like that any more than he would. The Water Tribe tradition of personally asking and giving the future bride an engagement necklace was far more appealing, but Zuko didn’t know how to make one of those, and he had no one to ask.
Well, he could ask Katara, but that would ruin what little surprise there was left in his potential proposal.
There was one thing, however, that Zuko was not counting on.
It could be viewed as the answer to all his prayers.
It could be seen as proof that the spirits liked to laugh at him.
Zuko had a sneaking suspicion it was the latter.
He was going over his daily schedule two days before the ball when a servant entered his public office (the private one he tended to run to when he fought with Katara was connected to his chambers; this one was off one of the main halls). The servant bowed and waited to be acknowledged.
Zuko, rather than looking at the servant, frowned at his schedule. He was supposed to be spending the hour just before dinner with Lady Ming-Ming. “What is it?”
“Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Lady Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors have just arrived, your majesty,” the servant said hesitantly.
Zuko looked up. “What?”
The servant began to shake. “Prince Sokka and Lady Suki…”
Zuko shook his head impatiently. “I heard what you said. Where are they now?”
“They were shown to the parlor for visiting dignitaries, your majesty. Was that not appropriate?”
But the Fire Lord didn’t even hear the question, as he was already half-way down the hall the moment he’d been given a specific destination.
--------
Suki sat stiffly on the red silk cushioned couch, slightly uncomfortable in the lavish surroundings. She took a sip of the tea an anonymous servant had brought her shortly after she and Sokka were led to this large and luxuriously decorated room. Everything was red or gold, including the scrolls on the wall. Sokka was studying one of them now. Suki set down the teacup on a low, heavily carved table in front of her seat. The tea was sweet with a hint of cinnamon, and the Kyoshi warrior was not fond of sugary drinks. As she leaned forward, the light from the many lamps caught and glimmered on the blue pendant of her necklace.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Sokka? Katara might not be ready to leave.”
Sokka didn’t turn from the scroll he was examining, which depicted a rather explosive-looking sea battle. “She won’t mind. She’ll probably be glad to see us.”
Suki sat back, fanning herself. She was glad she hadn’t worn her traditional makeup today; the room was oppressively warm.
The door opened. Zuko waited a moment before entering the parlor, giving himself time to calm down and the servant standing ready time to announce him.
“His Royal Majesty Fire Lord Zuko,” the servant said rather pompously. It was his only duty, and he was quite proud of it. The speech had been cut down shortly after Zuko’s coronation, as the young Fire Lord couldn’t stand the long paragraph extolling the virtues of the crown usually given before a ruler entered any room but his own private one.
Suki stood automatically, and Sokka had the wisdom to turn away from the scroll at last. Zuko dismissed the announcer and waved his hand to indicate that Suki should sit. As she did so, he took notice of the necklace she wore, a blue pendant attached to a dark ribbon. He raised an eyebrow.
“Engaged, are you?” he asked before he could mentally tell himself to shut up. Since he was too late, he mentally whacked himself.
Sokka grinned. The past four years had given Zuko a sleeker look, while the Water Tribe warrior had become scruffier. The beginning of a beard was evident on his chin, and his wild hair was barely held in check.
“Yeah, it happens. Aren’t you supposed to be in a similar situation in a few days?”
If everything goes right, Zuko thought, but he didn’t say that out loud. Instead he changed the subject. “What brings you two to the Fire Nation? Katara tells me you usually spend the entire spring in Kyoshi.” It was pointless to even try to be formal with Sokka, because Sokka had long ago established that he would not be formal with Zuko.
“We’re planning on having the wedding at the end of the month, and we decided to pick up Katara on the way down.” Sokka’s expression was still friendly, but his eyes weren’t.
Suki shot her fiancé a dirty look. “We?”
“Katara can’t leave yet,” Zuko said.
Sokka stared at him. “Why not?”
Zuko’s cheeks turned pink. He couldn’t tell Sokka the truth; it wasn’t that he was afraid of what Katara’s over-protective older brother might do, but he did want to avoid any possibility of an international incident.
“The ball isn’t for a few more days,” Zuko replied lamely. It even sounded stupid in his head, but it was the best he could come up with without revealing the whole truth.
It was Sokka’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
It was Zuko’s luck that Katara entered the parlor at that moment. She spotted the Fire Lord first and blushed. “Hi, Zuko.”
Zuko’s own blush, far more visible on his pale cheeks, darkened. “Hello, Katara.”
Sokka’s eyebrow rose higher. “Since when do you two call each other by your first names?”
Suki fought the urge to laugh at the three of them.
Katara glared at her brother, saving herself and Zuko from further embarrassment… for the moment. “Sokka, what are you doing here?”
“I’m taking you home. You’re packed, right?”
The waterbender’s eyes took on a suspicious glint. “No, I’m not.”
Sokka crossed his arms. “Well, you might want to start. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
Katara’s jaw dropped. “I can’t leave yet! I… the ball is the day after tomorrow.”
Zuko put his hand to his forehead. Sokka stared at his sister as though she were crazy.
Suki laughed.
“That’s the same excuse he used,” Sokka told Katara, pointing at Zuko.
The waterbender and the Fire Lord exchanged a glance.
That was when Sokka figured it out.
Suki was giggling helplessly by this point; she’d gotten the picture the moment Katara came in and saw Zuko.
Sokka turned to the Fire Lord calmly. “You. Me. Talk. Now.”
Katara opened her mouth, but Zuko shook his head. “No, Katara. He and I do need to talk. Sokka, my office is just down the hall.”
The Water Tribe warrior bowed mockingly. “Lead the way, Fire Lord.”
They left the parlor, and Katara turned to Suki, who was more relaxed now. Katara noticed the engagement necklace the Kyoshi warrior wore, and she smiled. “You knew the entire time that you and Sokka weren’t leaving tomorrow, didn’t you?”
Suki laughed. “I knew you weren’t leaving.”
--------
Once they were inside Zuko’s public office, the Fire Lord dismissed the few servants that were present and locked the door. Sokka raised an eyebrow.
“If I don’t the servants will come in without warning,” Zuko explained.
“Ah. Let’s get straight to business, then.”
Zuko sat down at his desk and gestured for Sokka to take the seat opposite him.
“I assume you’re going to ask my permission to marry my sister?” Sokka asked as soon as he was settled.
“How do you make a Water Tribe engagement necklace?” Zuko asked at the exact same time.
“Wait, what?” they both said in unison.
“I don’t need your permission to ask Katara to marry me,” Zuko told Sokka.
The Water Tribe warrior sat back, a smug smile on his face. “Maybe not, but you do need me if you want to make her an engagement necklace. And I’m not going to help you until you ask my permission to marry her.”
“Fine. I don’t need your help anyway.”
“You’re lying.”
“So?”
Sokka cracked his knuckles. “You do realize that if you ever hurt Katara in any way, you will be dead. It doesn’t matter where you run to, because I am not the only one you would have to worry about.”
Zuko rolled his eyes. “You said something similar when I joined the Avatar’s group toward the end of the war.”
Sokka grinned. “No, then I told you that if you touched Katara you’d be dead.”
“You seem to have changed your mind about that.”
Sokka turned his head and looked at the Fire Lord sideways. “How do you know I’m not just waiting for the right opportunity?”
Zuko sighed heavily. “Because no matter how moronic you act, I know you aren’t that stupid.”
Sokka frowned at the slight insult, but stretched casually, pleased with the knowledge that he still had the upper hand. “Ask and you shall receive, Zuko. It’s that simple.”
“It is not simple, and I don’t have to ask you for anything.”
“But you were going to.”
“There wasn’t anyone else to ask.”
“You could always ask Katara…”
“Not if I’m trying to surprise her. It seems that you and I have nothing more to discuss, so if you don’t mind I’m going to find a servant to show you and Suki to your guest rooms.” Zuko stood to leave.
Just as he was passing Sokka, the warrior groaned. “No, wait. Here.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a large, flat blue stone. Zuko took it with a raised eyebrow. “It took some practice before I got Suki’s exactly right,” Sokka explained. “Afterward, I had a few extra shells. That’s what the pendants are made of; a really thick shell from a clam that’s only found in the North and South Poles.”
Zuko looked at Sokka, realizing what kind of gesture this was. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.
Sokka smiled. “Just take care of her.”
Zuko nodded, and for one rare moment the two young men understood each other perfectly.
--------
Sokka was slightly less understanding about an hour after dinner, when Zuko asked him for another shell. Sokka asked to see the first one, and Zuko refused to show it to him. Sokka refused to give the Fire Lord another (even though he had several) until he’d seen the first attempt. Zuko finally conceded. Once he was done laughing, Sokka gave him another shell so he could try again. The second attempt, at least, came out right. The Fire Lord hid it in a desk drawer in his private office.
Zuko was ready to propose to Katara.
---End Chapter Eight---