One of my deviantart friends asked for a KanaxPakku fic, and here is the result. The POV switches between the two, Pakkus first. The first three parts are them as kids when they first get engaged and the last three are them as the loveable old people we all know. Hopefully I did their characters justice!
Disclaimer: My name is not Mike. My name is not Bryan. I cannot combine my name with someone else's to make the name Bryke. Therefore, these characters are not mine.
He could swear she almost smiled when he gave her the necklace. He caught a sparkle of her eyes – though that could have been the tears forming there – and a subtle curve of her lips before she turned and ran high tail back to where her friends were waiting.
Pakku smiled for the both of them as he turned his back on the girls and made his way to where he knew his parents were waiting to hear how it had gone.
Pakku almost laughed as he thought of his parents wanting to hear about what had just passed between himself and Kana. They knew that she would say yes – a girl never could refuse an arranged marriage – and they had never had any particular interest in their son unless he was successful.
It had been good for Pakku, then, that he was somewhat of a waterbending prodigy. He would rather waterbend than eat, as it were, and carving Kana's necklace could have sustained him for years if he had bothered to test it. He had taken so much care in crafting that necklace, and not just because his future wife would have to wear it for the rest of her life.
Pakku felt his cheeks burn and convinced himself that it was just the nip of the cold breeze. He was still dwelling on the way Kana's eyes had sparkled.
Kana's eyes were hardened now, determination burning behind them. They passed over the sleeping forms of her parents, moving over the small bag in which she had packed her belongings, and then finally to the necklace in her hands.
She had not worn it save when she had gone out where the others could see her. She kept a smile plastered on her face, its light not quite meeting her eyes. She had allowed her friends to ooohh and ahhhh over this little trinket, all the while wishing to pass it off to someone else.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and began making her way through the deserted city. It was almost eerily quiet, but Kana paid this no mind. The necklace was burning in her hand, reminding her of what she had to do.
"So you're really leaving?"
Kana spun around, her heart pounding a mantra against her ribcage. She almost melted with relief when she saw her friend, Yugoda.
"I have to, Yugoda, please understand that," Kana implored her friend, feeling a twinge of guilt for leaving her friend here where Yugoda would no doubt suffer an arranged marriage like was being forced upon her. "You know I don't accept these traditions."
Yugoda remained silent, no tears forming in her eyes. She embraced Kana for a second before releasing her and turning so her back faced her.
"I never saw you leave," she whispered.
"I can't marry him, Yugoda," Kana explained, hating the way her friend's voice sounded. "I don't love him."
"No, you don't," Yugoda turned, a lopsided and very watery smile on her face. "You're crazy about him."
Pakku awoke with a smile on his face. He had been having the most wonderful dream, though when he tried to remember, he could feel it slipping between his fingertips. He almost chuckled at the thought of how appropriate a metaphor for cupping water in your hands would be, had he not been a waterbender.
With care that he had never displayed before, he combed his black hair and straightened his clothes before exiting his house. He had half a mind to seek out Kana before his (rather unnecessary) waterbending lessons. Again, he convinced himself that his burning cheeks had been caused by the cold air.
Nonchalantly, Pakku took a more scenic route to his lesson. This path would take him past Kana's house. He tried to ignore the trembling sensation in his stomach and immediately convinced himself that he should have eaten less that morning. His heartbeat was picking up its pace, which Pakku blamed on walking for too long.
He was in denial until he came to her house and was informed that Kana was missing.
It was then that he realized just what his stomach was trying to tell him. His mouth felt very dry – most uncommon for a waterbender – and his stomach tied itself in a knot.
When he found out later from her good friend Yugoda that she had left and was not missing, Pakku felt as if someone had bent ice all around his heart, encasing it to preserve it. He knew, without having to listen to his stomach, that it was being preserved for when he met Kana again.
Kana knew who he was before he was introduced to her. Maybe it was his eerily familiar blue eyes, maybe it was the haughty stride she recognized all these years later, or maybe it was just the way her heart started beating faster for no good reason. She was an old woman, for goodness sake, and here she was having her heart flutter like a little girl.
She almost refused to believe it when he pulled the simple trinket out of his pocket and pressed it into her mittened hand like he was doing nothing more than saying hello.
But that was how things worked with Pakku.
Kana couldn't help but smile as she caught a glimpse of those hope-filled eyes. She couldn't help but open her arms and invite his wiry form into her embrace. She couldn't help but say yes.
Kana convinced herself that it was her duty to accept, seeing how he had waited all these years. She invited him to meet the village, to inspect their buildings and to have a meal with her inside her own home. It was her duty as a hostess to give her guest his every desire, and it seemed that marriage was his desire. So she was doing her duty, wasn't she?
She would have to stop convincing herself of these foolish ideas if she was to be honest with herself.
Pakku's face was extremely cross with his emotions. He had been smiling almost the entire day, and the muscles in his cheeks were screaming for release. Pakku paid this no mind, for what kind of man doesn't smile on his wedding? He was entirely too happy to so much as consider giving his face a rest.
Kana was smiling too, he was pleased to see. Her cheeks were flushed, and he could swear she still had the same sparkle in her eyes he had seen all those years ago.
As Pakku began to recite his vows, a strange bubbling sensation began swirling around in his stomach. It traveled upwards to his throat, constricting his breathing and making him stop mid-sentence. He choked and saw a flash of concern in Kana's eyes before out of his mouth tumbled a completely out-of-character giggle.
Pakku was completely taken aback, so much that his hands hung numb at his sides rather than clamping firmly over his mouth. Kana looked towards him again, this time a cross expressing fleeting across her face before she too let out a small giggle. This seemed to jerk him out of his reverie, and he reached sideways for her hand and gave it a squeeze. She squeezed back, which stopped both his and her laughter.
I'm so nervous that I've gone completely bonkers, Pakku shook his head slightly, straightening his posture and clearing his throat. He found it and his mouth to be terribly dry. Perhaps this was an after-effect of laughter? Having never laughed much in his youth, Pakku was not sure.
Pakku finished his vows without another outburst, as did Kana. He took her hands and drew her in for a quick kiss that was, in the opinion of everyone present (the exception being Pakku, of course), much too short.
Kana watched the boat leave, her face unreadable. Pakku had already gone below, not staying on deck to wave as the strange Earth King – Bumi? – and the peaceful firebender, Iroh, were. She had hoped that he would shove tradition and appearance aside and hang on the railing, watching her grow smaller and smaller, as the boat departed.
But then he wouldn't be the same Pakku if he had, would he? And Kana would be lying if she said that she wanted him any different than he was now.
They were going off to stop a massive attack the Firelord was planning, she had been told. She did not like the sound of that one bit, but Kana understood that the Order of the White Lotus must do their duty.
Kana was very proud of Pakku. She had never seen him as the type to join any organization that dealt with the other nations, and it had surprised her quite a bit when she was introduced to his companions, two of whom were from the Fire Nation. The village had been very frightened of these two at first, but nobody could possibly dislike them, Iroh in particular. The little ones had taken to him very quickly.
Iroh had been the first to tell Kana news of her grandchildren. He was always one to count on for a good story, and half of the village had listened to his tale, spellbound, as he recounted his ordeal in the city of Ba Sing Se. When only Kana and Pakku remained, the two elaborated on this story, telling her of the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. Both assured Kana that her grandchildren had not been harmed and were, to their current knowledge, safe.
Kana was hoping Pakku and the others would come across Katara and Sokka as they made their attempt to stop the Firelord. If their previous tales were any indication, they would be there without question, aiding the Avatar. She hoped the two would take the news of her marriage well, for Pakku would without a doubt tell them.
She bit back a laugh.
Maybe I should have warned him about Sokka…