A/N: A little ficlet whose plot bunny refused to be banished. Mostly canon concerning events occurring before the end of season three of the TV show; AU after that point.
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Sokka had been protecting Katara from members of the opposite sex for almost as long as he could remember. The first time was when he caught Katara holding hands with one of the boys from their tribe as they walked back from an ice fishing trip. The six-year-olds hadn't seen the snowball barrage coming.
Next came Jet, and, okay, he had suggested that Jet kiss Katara in order to help jog his memory after he was brainwashed by the Dai Li. But he hadn't planned to actually let her go through with it even if Aang hadn't voiced the group's general opposition to the plan. And, really, he hoped that his previous vehement protestations against the rebel fighter showed where he truly stood on that subject.
Then came Aang, and that interference was a bit trickier to navigate. They had all practically been living together on the back of a sky bison, for crying out loud. There's only so much babysitting an older brother can do before his little sister waterbends him into an ice cage. Not that he would know anything about that firsthand. But, theoretically…
About that same time came the debatable (but Toph-endorsed) "secret thing with Haru". Sokka chose to ignore the insinuation, since he knew his sister had better judgment than to have a "secret thing" of any kind with a man capable of wearing a mustache as terrible as the one Haru wore at the end of the war.
After the war ended, Aang and Katara started dating officially. Whenever Sokka was around them, he did his best to feign interest in whatever it was they were planning to do. Visit the Ba Sing Se zoo? He couldn't wait to see the exotic wildlife! Tour the sites of ancient battles? History had never been more fascinating! Suki told him he was overdoing it, but, in true Sokka style, he never let a little advice get in the way of advancing his cause.
However, since the Avatar had duties like helping to rebuild war-torn nations and restoring world peace, Aang traveled a lot. And sometimes Katara went with him. The first time they went off together, Sokka spent several heated hours beforehand trying to convince Hakoda that it was not in his best interests to allow his only daughter—a master waterbender, no less—to travel unsupervised via sky bison with her boyfriend, but his father only thanked him for his concern and persisted in his determination to allow Katara some freedom. Katara, for her part, seemed grateful for her father's support and insisted that she knew how to conduct herself honorably, in a matter befitting a daughter of the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka sulked until Suki dragged him into the hut where Gran-Gran had just finished cooking up a fresh batch of sea prunes. And sea prunes restore a man's spirit like nothing else.
In the end, the natural course of events worked in Sokka's favor. During one of their trips to the Earth Kingdom, Aang discovered that he had feelings for Toph, of all people, and he and Katara called it quits. Katara was especially moody when she returned to the Water Tribe after that journey, but Sokka—despite spouting repeated threats of ripping the airbender's head from his body for breaking his sister's heart, saving the world be damned—was grateful that boys were off Katara's mind for the time being, so far as he could tell, and he no longer had to be the one responsible for looking after his sister's honor while his father neglected such familial duties.
What he hadn't anticipated was Zuko. Sure, he'd sensed the tension between the banished prince and his sister while they'd all been traveling together. That tragedy of a production put on by the Ember Island Players was made all the more awkward because its blatantly obvious errors hinted at the truth. But Katara had had other things on her mind in those days—things like Aang and saving the world. And, after Zuko claimed his throne in the Fire Nation with Mai at his side and set about restoring faith with the other nations while Katara traveled the world with Aang, Sokka assumed that whatever attraction the pair had felt was gone for good.
He discovered that he had assumed incorrectly on the day that the Fire Lord showed up at the Southern Water Tribe settlement wanting to speak to Hakoda. Sokka wondered why Zuko hadn't sent a messenger or simply a message to conduct what was surely political business. He found out the truth when, a few hours later, a grinning Katara came running into the hut he shared with Suki and their two children, dragging Zuko by the hand and proudly showing off her new betrothal necklace. Zuko, he noticed with distaste, had their mother's betrothal necklace wrapped tightly around his wrist.
That was two years ago. Shortly following their engagement, Katara and Zuko had married—first, officially, in a Water Tribe ceremony with her family at the South Pole and second, ceremonially, in a Fire Nation observance with all the tradition and pomp befitting a Fire Lord and his wife. Katara had moved permanently to the Fire Nation capital to live with her new husband and Sokka hadn't seen his sister since. He and Suki, who had married shortly after the end of the war, were busy growing their family (baby number four was on the way now) and splitting their time between the South Pole and Kyoshi Island. Katara was busy helping Zuko restore the Fire Nation's standing with the other nations and, presumably, winning over the Fire Nation public in her position as the Fire Lord's wife. Sokka didn't imagine a nation so distrusted by the others as a result of their wartime aggression would take kindly to the Fire Lord marrying outside of their own nationality. For Katara's sake, Sokka hoped the Fire Nation was less nationalistic than, well…all other nations.
Her letters to him were always optimistic, though, so Sokka had to trust that she was doing well. Suki would never let him read the letters Katara sent to her, but he usually overheard his wife snickering as she read them, so the infinitesimally small portion of his brain that didn't deny the possibility of his little sister being involved in a romantic relationship of any sort, ever, accepted that she enjoyed being Zuko's wife.
Now the Fire Lord and his wife were paying a visit to the South Pole for the first time since their wedding. As excited as everyone—Sokka included—was to see Katara again, Sokka couldn't help but notice that there was something…off…about his sister. She carried herself differently than she had before. Not less gracefully, just…differently. He thought Suki noticed it, too, because she gave Katara an appraising glance while the younger woman was greeting other members of the tribe. What he didn't understand, though, was why his wife suddenly had a knowing smile on her face. Was there some sort of girl code passing between the two of them that he'd missed out on?
Late that evening after most of the other villagers had gone to bed, the two couples sat by the fire in Sokka and Suki's hut, talking of the past two years while the children slept quietly in the next room. Sokka had just finished recounting his tale of defeating the vicious Orca-Bear that had attacked during the past winter when Suki, after refilling everyone's cups of jasmine tea (a gift from Iroh), looked at her sister-in-law and demanded gently, "Katara, when were you planning to tell us that you're expecting?"
Zuko looked a little shocked by Suki's forwardness and Katara blushed, but the words that came out of her mouth were not the ones Sokka wanted to hear. What Sokka wanted to hear was something along the lines of vehement denial because his sister had never been touched in any way that could possibly make her pregnant, not even by her husband. But instead of protesting, Katara simply pressed a hand to her abdomen and asked, "Is it that obvious already?"
Suki smiled and said, "I don't think most people know. Gran-Gran, maybe—you know she senses everything. But mercy knows I've spent enough of the past several years in this condition—" she patted her own expanded belly "—to recognize the signs. When are you due?"
Before Katara could answer, Sokka broke in, sputtering, "Y-you—you're pregnant?! You can't be pregnant!"
Katara raised an eyebrow and her expression was half amused, half annoyed as she said, "And just why can't I be pregnant, Sokka?"
"Because—because—" Unable to come up with a suitable answer beyond, I've spent too long protecting you to accept the fact that you're a grown woman now, Sokka turned his attention to Zuko, who looked distinctly uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. "You got my sister pregnant!" he accused, instinctively reaching for the boomerang he kept hanging on his back.
Katara started a waterbending form and drew the tea from the teapot while Zuko glanced between the fire and Sokka with an expression that said, Really? You're going to challenge me when we're near a healthy fire? but Suki intervened before either party took definitive action.
"Sokka!"
Sokka paused, hand frozen around the handle of his boomerang, and turned to look at his wife, who glowered at him. "What do you think you're doing?"
Now that the shock of the moment had passed, Sokka was beginning to have an inkling that his reaction had been a bit…extreme. But he wasn't quite ready to admit that, so he said instead, "Um…defending my sister's honor?"
Suki spoke slowly, accentuating her words with gestures as though explaining a complicated concept to a young child. "Sokka, Zuko is Katara's husband now. If there were a need to defend her honor, he would be the one to do it. And, on top of that, there isn't a need. They are properly married—by two countries' customs, no less—and are the heads of a nation; even if they might want a child for no other reason, they need to produce heirs to the throne. It is an honor that Katara is with child, not an affront to anyone's dignity. Now, please," Suki sighed and glanced apologetically at Zuko and Katara, "stop insulting our guests."
Sokka laughed, cringing when it sounded awkward even to him. He replaced his boomerang in its sheath and rubbed the back of his neck as he mumbled, "Uh…sorry, guys. It's great that you're…happy, Katara. And Zuko…" Sokka sighed. "I'm sorry I…overreacted."
Zuko nodded, settling back into his seat as he accepted Sokka's apology diplomatically. "No harm done," he said.
Katara, however, was not content to let her brother's actions pass so easily. Instead of returning the tea to the teapot, she slung it in a water whip around the fire and let it lose its form over her brother's head, effectively dousing him in the rest of their tea. While he spluttered and fussed, she smirked and crossed her arms, cuddling against Zuko's side. "There," she said. "Now I'll accept your apology."
Sokka scowled at his sister but made no response. The rest of the evening eventually slipped into companionable conversation once more and the incident appeared to be forgotten. It was only when Zuko and Katara were leaving to go to their guest room in Hakoda's hut that Katara brought it up again. With Suki inside and Zuko a few feet away on the road, she hugged her brother tightly and murmured, "I've missed you, Sokka. You're an overprotective boor sometimes, but I love you."
She drew back from the hug and met his gaze. In her sparkling blue eyes, Sokka saw a maturity and self-possession that belied the fact that she'd dumped hot tea on his head not too long ago. He'd never noticed that look before. It was reassuring.
"He treats you well?" he asked quietly.
Katara smiled softly and nodded. "Very well," she assured her brother. "I love him so much, Sokka. You don't have to worry about us."
"I'm your big brother. I'll always worry," Sokka retorted.
"I know," Katara said, hugging him again. "But it might be best if you don't go around impugning Zuko's honor any more. You know how sensitive that subject is for him."
Sokka chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "I don't want him to shave his head and start chasing us around the world again." He paused as though considering something before adding, "That ponytail was not really his best look."
Katara giggled and looked to where her husband waited for her in the cold night. "I think I agree with you on that one," she told Sokka. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, sis," Sokka said. As an afterthought, he added, "After you guys go back to the Fire Nation, I'll start working on a boomerang for my nephew."
Katara quirked an eyebrow at him. "Who says we're having a boy?" she asked.
Sokka just shook his head and smirked. "Oh, Katara," he said wisely, "men just know these things."
Katara laughed and went to join her husband. The rest of their visit with the Southern Water Tribe passed enjoyably and, true to his word, Sokka crafted a child-sized boomerang in his spare time during the next few months. He sent it to his sister when her son was born five months later along with a note that read, Have him bring it when he's old enough and comes to visit. I'll teach him how to use it so he can protect any sisters you and that husband of yours might give him.
And there you have it, folks.
(Just fyi, I don't mean to degrade Suki's warrior spirit at all by the fact that she and Sokka got married super young and started having babies pretty much right away. In my head, she's still a super warrior. But I feel like Sokka would want to have a ton of kids and build a mini Sokka-nation. And Suki goes along with this, rolling her eyes and adoring him all the way. :D )
Over and out.