Chapter Text
Katara sits for a long time in her hut, listening to the wind howling outside and thinking. In her hands, she limply holds a letter. A letter she’s read so many times in the last hour that she’s memorized it.
A letter from Zuko.
In and of itself, that isn’t strange - they manage to write to each other relatively often, given how busy he’s been in the seven years since his coronation.
No, it’s not the letter that’s sent her reeling, but the words it contains. She feels slightly numb as snippets roll through her head, unrelenting, like a cacophony of arctic hens.
You know I would never ask this of you if I felt there was an option that made more sense…
You’re under no obligation and I forbid you to feel guilty if you can’t bring yourself to…
You’d want for nothing, and you’d have the opportunity to make real changes…
The door opens and Sokka barges in amidst a swirl of heavy snow and cold wind, making Katara jump and accidentally drop the letter.
“Whew!” he exclaims, shaking his head and puffing, “This storm’s a doozy. I barely had time to secure the nets before they all blew away.”
She nods distractedly and bends to pick up the letter, looking at it once again as Sokka tugs his mittens and boots off and sits with a loud sigh in front of the fire with his hands held out.
“Not to mention, I almost froze to death.”
“Hmm,” she says, automatically drifting over to the hearth to make him some tea.
“And a huge polar leopard came and carried Dad away.”
“Wow,” she replies, her mind a million miles away, “That’s crazy.”
“Alright,” Sokka finally says, frowning as he stands up, “What’s that?”
“What?”
“What do you mean, what? The paper you’ve got in your hand. The one that’s apparently made your brain malfunction.”
She blinks at him a couple of times, and then looks down to find she is still clutching the letter.
“Oh, it’s - nothing. Um, a letter from Zuko.”
“Oh,” Sokka intones, pleased, “And how is our favorite jerkbender?”
“Uh, fine. Yeah, he’s - fine. Want tea?”
“No,” he says, raising a brow at her, “I want you to tell me what’s bothering you.”
“Nothing!” she retorts, but her pink cheeks are giving her away even as she insists, “I’m just tired, I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Katara, come on,” he coaxes, “You can tell me anything. You know that.”
At his sincere tone, Katara finally relents. Shoulders slumping, she holds out the letter for him to read for himself, unsure if she has it in her to paraphrase something like this. Curious, he takes it from her and begins to read - out loud, unfortunately, as if she needs to hear what it says again.
“Katara, I hope the winter hasn’t been too harsh so far - ha, if he could only be here for this storm, he’d realize how stupid he sounds - yeah, blah blah, the Council has been pushing me to find a wife before my next birthday - wait a minute, how old is he now?”
“He’s a year older than you, Sokka. You know this.”
“Huh. I guess he always seemed older, somehow. Must have been all the yelling and brooding,” Sokka shrugs, then goes back to the letter, “With Mai out of the picture, I’m finding it hard to - wait a minute, knife-girl’s out of the running? What happened there?”
Katara shrugs, “They just didn’t work out. They weren’t really good for each other, anyway.”
“Well, it didn’t take a genius to see that. I mean, gloomy plus gloomy makes gloomier,” he says sagely, making Katara roll her eyes before he goes back to the letter, “Anyway, umm - blah blah, Uncle convinced the Council that it might send a strong message if I searched for a bride outside of the Fire Nation - wow, can you imagine if Zuko ended up married to Toph?”
He starts laughing and she glares at him and finally snaps, “Would you stop with the commentary and just finish the letter already?”
He looks at her like she’s grown another head, but complies, “Alright, alright! Uhh, okay, so he says - you know I would never ask this of you if I felt there was an option that made more sense…wait a minute, what?”
He reads the rest in silence, thank Spirits, and when he’s done he raises his eyes and meets hers. He looks as stunned as she’d felt when she read it the first time. Nodding and giving him a look, she deadpans,
“Yeah. So, that happened.”
He just stands there staring at the fire for a long moment, the letter hanging from his fingers. Then, abruptly, he crumples it in his fist.
“Hey!” she objects, grabbing for it, “Sokka!”
“What in the name of everything holy is he thinking?” he demands, his face now a stormcloud of emotion, “Who does he think he is, sending you a letter like this?”
“Well, he probably thinks he’s the Fire Lord,” Katara quips weakly, “And he’d be right.”
“To hell with that,” Sokka spits, and the curse takes Katara aback, “He’s not the Fire Lord to us. To us, he’s the same angry little shit that made our lives miserable until he somehow became one of our best friends.”
“Sokka, quit with the cursing.”
“What are you, Gran-Gran now?” he shoots back, annoyed, “I think having your sister proposed to by the leader of the Fire Nation warrants a few swear words! Does Dad know about this?”
“No, I’ve only showed you - wait, where are you going?” she demands, grabbing at his parka as he goes for the door, “You don’t have boots on!”
“Dad needs to know what’s going on,” he insists, not even slowing down. Katara grits her teeth and tugs, nearly sending him sprawling onto the floor.
“Sokka, stop! Seriously!”
He rounds on her and holds the letter up, “This is insane. He has no right to ask you to do this.”
“He knows that,” she placates, “He said that himself, in the letter.”
“Yeah, but he’s still doing it!”
“With the full understanding that I’m free to refuse!”
“But he’s still putting you in the position to have to do that!” Sokka yells, “It’s selfish and wrong, and the next time I see him he’s gonna be feeling the wrong end of my boomerang!”
Before Katara can respond, the door bursts open again and their father tumbles inside. He’s covered in snow, and begins to brush himself off as he chides,
“I could hear you two yelling over the storm.”
Sokka looks at her, his face resolute, and Katara doesn’t have time to stop him before he blows the lid off of everything.
“Katara got a letter from Zuko asking her to marry him.”
Her father stills, narrowing his eyes at Sokka before turning his blue gaze onto his daughter. Katara doesn’t think she’s ever felt more like going and burying herself in a snowdrift until the spring thaw than she does right now, with both of them staring.
“He did,” Hakoda says, and Katara’s surprised to notice that it sounds more like a statement than a question. Narrowing her eyes back at him, she asks slowly,
“Did - did you know about this?”
Hakoda glances warily at Sokka before clearing his throat and suggesting, “Let’s sit down. I could use a hot drink.”
“Wait, did you?” Sokka demands, and Hakoda sighs as he lowers himself in front of the fire.
“He wrote to me a couple of weeks ago…”
“You did know?” Katara exclaims, coming around to stand in front of him with her hands on her hips, “How could you not tell me? Did he ask your permission, or…?”
“No, he wasn’t asking me for permission,” he says tiredly, rubbing his forehead, “He was simply giving me the courtesy of letting me know what he was going to do before he wrote to you.”
Katara frowns, confounded, and asks, “But how did he know you wouldn’t just tell me what he was planning before I got his letter? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I should have - maybe that is what he was hoping I’d do, but…”
“Who cares what he did or didn’t want,” Sokka interrupts, still heated, “The point is, there’s no way she’s doing this.”
At this, Katara glares at him. She’s just about done with everyone putting their ore in without asking her what her thoughts are on the matter.
“Oh, so now you’re the one who gets to make that decision?”
“I mean, I’m - hold on,” he breaks off, giving her a suspicious look, “You’re not actually considering this, are you?”
She lifts her chin and crosses her arms, “Maybe I am. So?”
Sokka stares, and then points at her as he rants, “You can’t! Are you kidding me, Katara? This whole thing is just…”
“Didn’t you read the letter?” she bursts out, stepping up to him, “He didn’t want to have to ask…”
“He didn’t have to ask, but he did it anyway! He…”
“He’s trying to do what’s best for everyone! That’s what he’s been trying to do from the beginning!”
“Oh, so trying to shove a Water Tribe girl - a waterbender , on top of it - into Fire Nation politics is a wise decision?”
“He’s going for unity, here! The Fire Council and Iroh all seem to see the benefits of doing it this way, but no, the almighty Sokka has a problem with it, so…”
“You’re darn right I have a problem with the idea of you as Fire Lady!”
“Are you saying I couldn’t be…?”
“Enough!”
At their father’s command, they both fall silent but continue to glare at each other, fuming. Hakoda rises to his feet and strides over to the teapot to pour his own cup, his jaw working. Finally, after taking a sip that Katara’s pretty sure probably scalded his throat, he turns to them with a grimace and says calmly,
“Katara, I didn’t tell you because I thought this was something you should hear from Zuko first. I wanted to give him the chance to ask you in his own way, without my interference.”
“But, Dad…” Sokka begins, and their father holds up a hand to silence him before going on,
“I can’t say that I’m thrilled with the idea of my only daughter entering into an arranged marriage outside of our tribe, and - even with all the progress we’ve made in terms of fellowship - the idea of sending her off to the Fire Nation, of all places, has definitely kept me awake on more than one night since I received his letter.”
He stops to blow on his tea, then takes another sip. Tentatively, Katara asks,
“But?”
He looks up at her, his blue eyes kind, and says, “But, I can’t deny that as a leader, I see the wisdom in the choice he’s made. Not only because I agree that it would send a solid message of unity and tolerance to a world that still doesn’t fully trust the notion of a Fire Nation that desires global equality, but also because I think that he chose you for your qualities and not just your heritage.”
Sokka, still frustrated, grumbles, “What does that mean?”
“It means that I think the Fire Lord respects Katara, and has always respected her. I think he knows her worth, and I think that he knows that she would make an excellent partner to him as he continues to do the hard work of repairing the damage the war has done to the world. And…I think he’d treat her well.”
A silence falls over the three of them as Sokka and Katara mull over his words, and Hakoda sighs.
“Ultimately, though, it’s your decision, Katara. It would be an immense sacrifice for you, personally.”
Katara nods, the weight of everything suddenly crashing down on her until all she wants to do is go to sleep. She would go for a walk on the snowbanks, as she tends to do when she wants quiet time to think, but with the storm raging outside that’s not possible. Drawing a breath, she says quietly,
“I’ll have to think. I - I don’t know what to do, yet.”
Hakoda looks at her and says in a gravelly voice, “Take your time. Zuko will wait for your answer, as long as he has to.”
“Since when is Zuko the paragon of patience?” Sokka says testily, and Hakoda shoots him a look.
“We all have to grow up sometime.”
At this, Katara allows herself a smirk and says pointedly, “Well, most of us.”
Sokka frowns at her and protests, “Hey, I’m grown! I’m practically engaged to Suki.”
Their father, who is in the middle of pulling his own boots off, looks at him sternly and says, “There’s no such thing as ‘practically engaged’, Sokka. Either carve the necklace, or there’s no engagement.”
“Whoa!” Sokka says, holding his hands up, “Where’s the attitude coming from?”
“From a lesson I learned in my youth from your Gran-Gran when I implied that I was ‘practically engaged’ to your mother.”
Interested in anything to do with her mother, Katara brightens and asks, “What lesson?”
Hakoda grimaces and says, “I said I had plenty of time to make it official, and your Gran-Gran turned around and set Kya up on an outing with another young warrior from the village.”
Stunned, Sokka asks, “She tried to break you two up?”
“No,” their father smiles, “She was lighting a fire under me. Kya was beautiful and amazing, and many of the men in the village wanted her attention. I was too confident, as the Chief’s son.”
He pauses, and Katara asks, “And? Did it work?”
Hakoda grins and replies, “After she went sledding with the other man, I spent every bit of free time I had for a week carving that necklace. I practically broke down her parents’ door when it was finished.”
Sokka and Katara both snort.
“Good thing she said yes, huh?” Sokka mutters, and at this, their father gets a fond, faraway look in his eyes and replies,
“She did. Eventually.”
At that moment, Pakku and Gran-Gran come bursting through the door, with Pakku bending as much of the storm as he can away from his wife. They look around the room, and Gran-Gran frowns and pins Katara with a disapproving look.
“You haven’t started dinner?”
Hakoda stands and explains, “We’ve been talking, Ma. It’s my fault - well, and Sokka’s.”
“What?” Sokka interjects, affronted, and Gran-Gran softens as she laughs lightly.
“Well, let’s get to it, girl. The stew won’t cook itself.”
With that, the conversation is over and they lapse into chatting about regular things - the weather, the fishing haul, how many skins came out of the last hunt, Pakku’s idea for a flume to transport goods from the highlands to the village.
Katara barely pays attention, her thoughts scattered. She can’t get the letter off of her mind, and she begins to obsessively mull over the decision she’s going to have to make - and soon. Once dinner is finished, Gran-Gran goes to tend the fire as their father and Pakku offer to wash up, leaving Sokka and Katara alone around the table.
“Katara?”
She startles a little and looks up at her brother, who is regarding her appraisingly.
“Hmm?”
He hesitates for a second, then takes a breath and says, “I just want to say that whatever you decide, you have my support. I’ll always support you.”
She smiles, feeling weirdly like she might tear up, and replies, “Thanks, Sokka.”
“I’m still probably gonna punch him when I see him, no matter what your answer is, but - honestly, Zuko isn’t a bad guy. You could do worse - if, you know, you decide to go through with it.”
She nods and gives his shoulder a shove, “Yeah. I know.”
Later that night, when everyone else has bedded down and the only light in the hut is from a lone candle, she stares into the small flame and thinks of Zuko and the beauty of the flames he produces. She thinks of how hard he’s working to fix everything his ancestors broke, and how lonely he must be at the top with only Aang sporadically helping. She thinks of how many times he risked his life to grab power, how he’s done nothing but use it for the good of all nations and how many horrible things he’s had to deal with since.
Assassination attempts. Betrayals by his cabinet members. Whispers about his father and sister, and whether their supporters would organize a coup.
She remembers that moment that’s been burned into her memory forever, as sure as it’s burned into his skin. The moment he threw himself in front of Azula’s lightning to save her.
Drawing a calming breath, she drags a clean piece of parchment from the pile in the corner of her little table and grabs some ink. Hands shaking, she begins to write her response to him - and she’s finished about ten seconds later, realizing that the brief couple of sentences she’s written are more than enough of an answer.
Zuko,
I think it’s a good idea, and I’m in. Let me know what's supposed to happen next.
Katara
The next day the storm is over, so she attaches the note to his messenger hawk and sends it off.
Two weeks later, the response comes - in the form of a Fire Nation vessel docking at the South Pole, with the Fire Lord himself on board.
~~