She'd had no intention, when she were a young girl, to have grown up a politician. Sure, her father was the leader of their tribe and the most powerful man in the South Pole, but that didn't necessarily mean that she were prepared the day that she found herself propelled into the precarious world of politics for the first time. It wasn't a surprise, of course. Being the Avatar's wife meant that her life was as little her own as his was, but it was a surprise, however, to find that she eased into the role as if she had grown up in the Royal Fire Nation Palace itself.
She supposed that being one of the lead figures in the war with the Fire Nation had passively offered her some of the skills she needed. She supposed also that having the Firelord as one of her closest friends had a little to do with it as well. But, like the Avatar himself, their patient natures lended themselves well to a life of constant questioning, constant debating, and constantly trying to keep the peace.
In spite of her surprising talents at negotiating the politic mindfields of their world, there were no denying that she didn't exactly enjoy it. But, being the wife of the Avatar, Avatar Aang certainly, meant that there were other things expected of her. Avatar Aang was known world over for his benevolent disposition, for being both generous and charitable, yet one feature of the Avatar seemed to hold almost legendary status. A feature that would cause children to beam, frightful locals to ease, and women to swoon. His smile.
Being the Avatar's wife came, not only with the pressure to be equally as kind and caring as he, but it also came with an inate understanding of him, and understanding that few others had. She had learned over time that Aang's smile, a weapon that she was certain he used to his full advantage, was every bit as political as the lives they led. She became familiar with his most honest of smiles, the twinkle in his eyes as he spoke to children and locals, performing tricks to amuse and amaze, and often to take their minds off the difficult positions many still found themselves in. Yet, she also noted the smiles that came in times of stress, when the full effects of the war bore down on him, when he would force the smile onto his face when trying to comfort children who had lost parents, mothers who had lost children, where the presence of the Avatar was enough to give them even the smallest hope. There were the smiles he used exclusively when speaking to press, the light never quite reaching his eyes. And the smiles he used when confronted with some of the many ill-flavoured individuals working within the council's of the Earth Kingdom and North Pole, those who sought to outsmart him or manipulate him in their race towards power. But there was one smile that she loved most of all, one particularly smile that found she returned in kind each time. And that was the smile he reserved for her.
It was the smile that lit his features when they finally saw each other again after a brief time apart during the peace treaty, the smile that crept onto his tired face as they lay beside one another, the smile that brought creases to the corner of his eyes when she said something particularly funny, or when he and Sokka got the chance to play yet another of their practical jokes on herself and Suki. It was the smile she had seen most honest and pure the day their baby had been born, and that seemed to never fade from that point on. It was her smile, as much as it was his, and she hoped that it would never fade.