Hello! So I realize some of this might be OOC, but I came up with the idea a looong time go, found the notes recently and decided to write it. It turned out to be more of a sibling argument than I think I originally planned it to be but it reminded me of how my brother and I used to argue so I feel like it makes sense. Regardless I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it!
Also I wanted to thank everyone who read and reviewed my last story - I really appreciated your comments :)
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Nickelodeon & co.
"Katara! Usually I don't question your actions much, but that's because you have a good head on your shoulders. Or at least I thought you did! But this is..this – "
Katara closed her eyes and pressed her fingers into her temples as her brothers voice went from loud and shocked, to loud and high, to just plain loud. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out the noise. She had lost track of how long he had been railing at her, only that it had started about five minutes after he had found them – it had taken him that long to recover from his shock to actually be able to speak at all. She let a sigh escape, why oh why did Sokka have such horrible timing? He had walked in to the clearing just in time to see Zuko kiss her; it had been the thud of whatever he had in his hand hitting the ground and his surprised squeal that had made the couple jump apart, breaking the kiss. She had instinctively reached for Zuko's hand and he for hers. Still clasping hands they had turned around to face the intruder only to be met by the sight of Sokka, his jaw practically on the ground and eyes nearly popping out of his sockets. It slightly reassured them that it was only Sokka, but Katara had felt Zuko stiffen slightly next to her and a glance at his face revealed that he was looking at Sokka warily. They regarded each other this way for awhile, but when Sokka had starting showing motion again – his eye started twitching slowly and his mouth started to close – Zuko had leaned down close to Katara's ear and whispered, "Do you want me to stay?" She glanced at him and then back at her brother who had fully closed his mouth and had started to narrow his eyes, inhaling a large amount of air as if preparing to explode. "I think it might be better if you left," she whispered back. "Safer. For both of us." He had nodded and squeezed her hand briefly, giving her one last look before disappearing into the trees. Sokka of course hadn't really noticed as his gaze had narrowed and zeroed in on his sister. Katara had looked back at her brother and braced herself for the onslaught she knew was coming. Oh, and it came.
She opened her eyes and sighed again. Sokka's face was nearly purple from all the yelling he was doing. She opened her mouth to say something as he stopped to take a breath, but she wasn't quick enough.
"Outrageous! What were you thinking? What are you thinking? He – You—" here he faltered and Katara grabbed at her opportunity.
"Sokka! Calm down for just a minute!"
"Calm down? You want me to calm down?" he shouted, belligerent. Katara winced, bad choice of words. "Calm down, when I just saw my baby sister and the prince of the fire nation," his voice rose to a hysterical note. "kissing?"
Well, technically he's the Lord of the Fire Nation, but whatever that's still new, Katara thought to herself, before yelling, "Ok then, don't calm down. But SHUT UP!" This silenced him. He stared at her for a second then started to open his mouth, but she pulled up some water from the lake behind her and said, "Don't make me freeze you to a tree Sokka." He stopped whatever it was he was about to say and shut his mouth. "Thanks, now if you think you can stop yelling and be rational for just a few minutes maybe we can talk about this…reasonably."
Sokka spluttered for a moment, but as Katara watched he managed to pull himself together a little and instead of looking like he was going to explode, he looked like he was something that was smoldering.
"Reasonably?" he asked in a strangled voice, while trying to keep his voice low.
"Yes, reasonably." Katara replied.
Sokka took a deep breath to calm himself, as he exhaled his nostril's were flaring with anger. "Alright then, as long as we are talking about this reasonably," he choked the word out. "Katara you do realize there is nothing reasonable about this situation?"
She glared at him. "Really, Sokka? Not reasonable? You haven't even heard the reasons behind it yet!"
"You're right, I haven't! But that doesn't make it more reasonable! But since the subject came up, would you mind explaining to me those reasons?" He said taking a step closer to her.
Katara mirrored him and stepped forward as well. "Well yes I would mind, but since clearly won't stop having a fit about it until I do –"
At this Sokka lost all semblance of calm or reasonableness he had managed to accumulate. "Fit? Maybe I am a little upset, but I think it's perfectly justified! How would you react if you walked in on your baby sister kissing a former enemy, never mind the fact that he's now a friend? Or kissing anyone for that matter?" Katara opened her mouth to answer, but Sokka held up his finger. "No, Katara let me finish." To his surprise she closed her mouth and stood silently with her arms crossed. "I know, Zuko is a good guy, literally as he fought on our side and is going to be a great Fire Lord and all that, and that he became part of the group but that's as far as it goes. He's fire nation, you're water tribe. I mean doesn't he have Mai? And what's wrong with Aang? He's the Avatar for crying out loud and he's crazy in love with you, everyone knows that! How could you even think about having a relationship with Zuko? I don't understand, I mean I know you forgave him, but really? A relationship? You used to hate him with more passion than anything."
Katara eyed her brother, who was now pacing back and forth rapidly in front of her though, thankfully, not screaming anymore. "Are you finished?" She asked in a somewhat frustrated voice.
Sokka looked up at her and opened his mouth as if to say something more, paused thinking better of it, and more composed than he had been yet replied, "For now I suppose."
Rolling her eyes, she muttered in a slightly sarcastic tone, "Well thank you very much your highness." But before Sokka could comment she held up her hand, "No wait Sokka, it's my turn now." Mimicking her actions from before, Sokka closed his mouth and stopped moving, his eyes attentively glued to his sister as she launched into her side of it. "I know I used to hate him, but all that was motivated by anger and fear of what had happened in the past. I never thought I would move on from it, but I was able to once I saw that we did understand each other and could relate on some levels. When we both let those barriers down our friendship was able to grow and progress into something a little more. And as for Aang, we – we talked about it a couple of weeks ago...I care for him, but he's family! He's like my brother. Mai…I guess she and Zuko just didn't work out, I don't really know the details. Didn't you know that's why they haven't been around lately?" She paused as she saw comprehension dawn on Sokka's face: Mai's disappearance to the Earth Kingdom and Aang's frequent visits to various friends recently suddenly explained. As Sokka opened his mouth once again, she hurried on. "We didn't mean for it to happen, it just did, can't you understand that Sokka? It's not like this was a spur of the moment event, we've been together for a few weeks. So much has happened recently it's hard to keep track, but we've both changed, grown up a little and I…," she faltered for a moment, unsure of what to say. "I trust him." She finished firmly looking her brother in the eye, daring him to contradict her.
The two siblings looked intently at each other for a moment and then Sokka sighed. Throwing up his arms exasperated, he said, "Whatever! Just…just…" Katara raised her eyebrow at him quizzically. "…Just don't do anything you might regret later," he finished, finally having found the words. He shook his head and began to turn around talking to himself, "The Universe just loves pulling tricks on me, former enemies, betrayal, forgiveness, dating – kissing! ..sure why not…I'm going to go find Suki.."
Katara watched him walking away and breathed a sigh of relief. If he was going to find Suki he would get all distracted and romantic and leave her in peace. Already he was getting a dazed lovesick look on his face. Smiling she said to herself, "Yeah well love does funny things to a person."
Suddenly Sokka stopped. Katara's heart started to race; had he heard her? She thought she had said it quietly. She released the breath she had been holding when, still clearly thinking about Suki, he turned around to face his sister. "Yeah, it sure doe- wait LOVE?" he screeched as he finally registered what Katara had said and what she meant by it.
Katara winced as his face started to get red again. They had made so much progress in the last few minutes…
But Sokka continued to splutter, "Wha – love? No! Absolutely, just no! Uh-uh. No, no way. No, no, no, no, no…" He was getting agitated again and the pitch of his voice was rising, as was the volume. Katara didn't make a move to stop him though as she was thoroughly agitated as well, and her temper was beginning to flare.
"Look Sokka!" she interrupted his nonsensical ranting, cutting through his words in a sharp tone. "Yes, I care for him. Yes, I think it may be love. What's so wrong with that? People change, people fall in love, regardless of where they come from in life. It's just something that happens, surely you can understand that! All I'm asking is that you give Zuko a chance in this way, as my boyfriend, without judging where he is from, or what he has done. But as a person, as who he has become." Sokka had quieted as she spoke, though still making sputtering noises as if he were choking on something, face still red. As soon as she finished however, he jumped right back into the thick of things.
"I have given him a chance! I accepted him into our group and called him friend didn't I? I'm completely fine with him! Just not him dating my little sister and being in love and being from two totally opposite nations and being the reason we were on the run for the last year and -"
Katara interrupted her brother once again, slightly disgusted. "Honestly Sokka, what's the difference? I've managed to forgive those differences, and while accept that they happened, I can see past it into the person he is today. That's who matters!"
"Yeah, but like you've said he's done so many terrible things and proven himself to not be a reliably good person in the past!" Sokka exclaimed grasping at any straws to throw Zuko in a negative light.
Katara rolled her eyes. "We've been through this already. Yes, he has. But, he has also proven himself to be a very good person when it really counts. Joining us, helping us, fighting with us against his own family no less! He helped save us, saved me Sokka! – do you remember what mom said about giving people another chance? If someone let's you down but then realizes it and wants another chance, works hard for another chance – then give it to them – even if it might be hard. I managed to do that. Why can't you? Remember how she used to tell us that you must always look for the best in people –"
" – and remember that even though it is always harder than finding their faults, it is so much more rewarding." Hakoda finished for his daughter as he walked into the clearing. He smiled fondly. "I remember your mother saying that all of the time. How much I miss hearing her voice…"
Silence reigned as the three recalled the long lost woman in their lives, glancing around each other as a calm feeling descended upon them. Sokka was the first to break the quiet. "Uh, dad, not to sound rude, but what are you doing over here?"
Hakoda came out of his reverie, and frowned slightly. "Oh yes, I thought I heard shouting. I decided to come over and investigate what might be wrong. What were you two arguing about?"
Katara opened her mouth to answer, but Sokka jumped in first, mutter darkly. "Zuko." Katara glared at him, clearly not wanting to have this conversation all over again and with her father.
Hakoda raised his eyebrow at Sokka's tone of voice and Katara's reaction. "What about Zuko? I thought you were all friends now."
"We are," answered Katara. Sokka snorted and Katara lifted her head up defiantly as a hint of red crept into her cheeks.
"Sokka?" Hakoda queried.
"Oh yeah, great friends," he said sarcastically. "So great in fact that Katara here has actually started dating him! I can't believe you like him like that," he said to his sister.
"And I've explained to you why I do. I can't believe you can't get it through your thick head – oh wait yes I can," she replied scathingly.
Sokka's mouth opened and closed a few times as his sister glared at him, their father forgotten, before he was able to reply, "Yeah, well you must not be very smart either if you fell in love with Zuko!"
Hakoda had been silently watching his children argue with a thoughtful look on his face. An expression that quickly turned to alarm with Sokka's last few words. "Love?" he interrupted quickly. A satisfied "hah!" escaped Sokka's lips at this and he smirked at his sister. Hakoda ignored his son and looked his daughter in the eyes, eyes that were clear and determined returning his gaze. "What's this Katara? This seems rather sudden I must admit. Surely it is simply a crush and Sokka is exaggerating as usual?" Her gaze did not waver as she shook her head slightly. Hakoda's eyes widened a little bit. "Oh! Well, now…"
This was a bit too much for Katara. "Why is it so hard to believe that I have genuine feelings for him? Why can't you believe me? Don't you trust me to know my own heart and make my own decisions? I'm not a little girl anymore!"
Hakoda held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "I am sorry Katara, this is a lot to adjust to. I am not trying to question your judgment, it just always seemed that you hated and mistrusted him with such passion before, to have such a turnabout in emotion…I would worry for you," he finished looking at her carefully. "I am simply trying to understand…you will always be my little girl and I want to make sure you will be happy."
Sokka looked dumbstruck at his father's words; he had been ready to jump up and down with glee at the beginning of his dad's speech because it so clearly aligned with his thinking. Katara's expression softened slightly as she took in what her father had said. She glanced over at Sokka, and smirked to herself before returning her gaze to her father once more. "I did used to hate and mistrust him," she replied. "But like I explained to my brilliant brother earlier the more I thought about my emotions and feelings about him, the more I was able to sort things out. When we came to understand and be able to relate to each other in some ways I was able to put the past behind me, and our friendship grew." Her eyes dropped to the ground and her voice softened as she continued, "When we found his mother…it reminded me of mom and what she used to say. Seeing him with his mother, it was like a whole other person there, another piece of who Zuko really was – it…it made me think and…I let myself open up to new things at that moment. To give things another chance. And well, from there we've just grown even closer..." her voice trailed off and she looked back up at her father, who was watching her intently. Sokka had started muttering incoherently to himself again about how wrong this all was, but neither Hakoda nor Katara paid him any attention as a silent understanding passed between them.
Having seen the truth in his daughter's eyes and heard it in her words Hakoda nodded, expression thoughtful once more. "Well, if he is what makes you happy, and you make him happy, then I will be happy. And I can make this same effort to put things behind me and to see Zuko for who he truly is."
Katara smiled and walked over to give her father a hug. "Thank you for understanding dad," she whispered.
"Anytime," he whispered back.
Sokka had finally stopped muttering and seeing the warm embrace sensed that things had not gone as he planned. "Hey wait a second!" he broke in loudly. "What is going on here? I thought we had decided that this was not a good idea? You know because of past hate and all?" he said waving his hands in the air for emphasis.
Hakoda put his arm around Katara's shoulders and looked at his son. "Sokka," he began seriously, "what your mother said still holds true for all of us. If Katara believes in him and cares for him, then we should be happy for her and give this a chance." He looked at both of his children and dropped his arm from Katara's shoulders. "I think I'll leave now and let you finish your conversation," he said and walked out of the clearing leaving the two siblings looking at each other. One with a wary expression, the other one confused and almost sad.
"Sokka?" Katara questioned, crossing her arms over her chest once more.
He looked down at the ground, replying in a quiet sad sort of voice. "It's just hard to hear…and well, you're my baby sister and love can hurt. I know you know this because of what happened to mom and all but it's still not entirely the same…When I lost Yue I – I thought I could never be happy again. Finally I started to feel happy and Suki came back, but then I lost her too. Not knowing if she was alive or dead and not being able to do anything about it for the longest time…it was the hardest thing to deal with. Getting her back was the happiest moment of my life." He sighed. "It's hard to feel that way and deal with heartbreak in that way and well – Zuko doesn't exactly have the best track record, we know what he's capable of, what he has done…and I'm, what I want to say, what I mean is," his voice lowered until he was almost whispering. "I just don't want you to get hurt like that."
Katara crossed the distance between them and gave her brother a hug, which he returned. "Sokka…" she started when the hug ended.
"Oh I know you are capable and can take care of yourself, but I'm supposed to protect you from bad things, you're my sister."
"Thanks for caring so much," Katara whispered, her eyes prickling.
Sokka gave her a one-armed squeeze around the shoulders. "Hey that's what big brothers are for. So I suppose I'll give him a chance if he means that much to you, but if he makes so much as one funny move I'm coming after him," he said trying to sound menacing.
Katara chuckled at the image of Sokka trying to take down Zuko. "Okay, good luck with that one big bro."
"What you don't think I could take him?" Sokka said indignantly.
"Well, his muscles are much more impressive than yours," Katara said trying to hold in another laugh at the expression on Sokka's face.
"His muscles?" exclaimed Sokka, "Katara have you seen my biceps lately because…" Laughing as her brother kept going on Katara turned around and the two siblings began to walk out of the clearing still bantering, each content with the situation and willing to keep looking for the best in people.
Thank you for reading!