I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or its sequel Legend of Korra, nor any characters involved in either show.
Mother Knows Best
They hadn't seen each other in months, and perhaps that had been for the best, if his wife ever knew of what he had done…he didn't even want to think about that. His wife, his children, his sister and her family, they all saw him as the responsible councilman who would never do anything of questionable integrity. If only they knew.
"It's been a while, hasn't it Sokka?" She half whispers as they sit in the living room of her apartment. She hasn't aged badly at all, much better than him at least. She still had that devious smile painted on her crimson lips, lips that had once taunted and teased him and hurled death threats that had come much too close to coming true.
"It has, Azula."
She looks away, her amber eyes refusing to look at his icy-blue ones. Instead, she turns her attention to the small bundle in her arms, holding it loosely as if she isn't worried she might drop it. The bundle squirms around, and finally a face appears from the pink blanket.
"She's beautiful." He states, and it's true. The girl-child held all the traditional traits that were considered beautiful in the Water Tribes; soft, tan skin and shimmering, blue eyes. It's the eyes that are the most captivating, they aren't exactly ocean-blue they're more of an aqua. Fitting really, they must be the result of her mother's amber irises mixing with those of her father.
"Of course she is." The woman retorts proudly, almost arrogantly. She's tried to keep up her proud demeanor ever since she was released from the mental institution, but it seems that her old nature is slowly starting to crack. She is not the woman she once was; maybe that's why they had made that choice about nine-months earlier. She had come to him, in need of a human touch, a caring touch, something to reassure her that she could still feel as other humans do.
"You haven't changed that much, Azula." He says with a half-hearted smile.
"Enough banter, Sokka." She replies, a somewhat dead tone in her voice. "You do know why I asked you to meet with me, don't you?"
"I thought it was just to show me…her."
"You're almost right." She looks at the child, refusing to let herself be weak about this, she was a mother now and mothers always know best. "I want you to take her."
"What?" His eyes go wide with shock.
"She's just as much your daughter as she is mine. I know you and Suki are going back to the South Pole, and I want you to take our daughter…your daughter with you."
"Azula…w-why are you asking me to do this?"
The woman smiles sadly, still not looking the man in the eyes.
"My mother was never there for me, family tradition as Zuko might call it, I don't want my daughter to grow up like that. I don't want her to know about me. I would be a terrible mother if I allowed myself to keep her."
"Azula, you're being too hard on yourself."
"Am I? Every time I look at this child, our child, I see all that is good and innocent. But, do you know what I see when I look in the mirror?" She paused, and neither spoke for what felt like an eternity. "I see emptiness. I don't want her to grow up in this kind of life, denied her father, denied a mother who can always be there for her, and I know I can't always be there for her. It's just the way it is." She handed the child to the man, who took her gently into his arms. "She deserves a real family, not something broken and bleeding like this. Take the child with you. Tell your wife whatever you want. Tell her you found the child abandoned on the street. It wouldn't be the first time that something like that has happened in this city."
He looks at her, his eyes muddled with confusion. He then looks down to see his daughter more clearly. She does look a bit like him; the jaw, the nose, the wise look in the eyes.
"Azula, are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything." She leaned back into the sofa, her old look of self-importance donned once again. "I'm just glad that she's inherited her natural beauty and intelligence from me." In truth, the child is very intelligent, and sneaky, she's already been able to climb out of her crib and hide from her mother for hours; and she does have a slight resemblance to her mother, such as her raven-black hair, but such things can be mistaken for ordinary Water Tribe characteristics.
The man grins deviously in response to the jibe.
"Let's just hope she didn't get your talent for flirting-no, wait! Maybe that would be better; it would mean that boys won't come near her." He chuckles as the woman forms her half-pout half-scowl.
"Ha-ha." She replies sarcastically.
He finally stops his laughing and looks at her with only mild amusement in his eyes now.
"What's her name?"
"I don't know, I never chose one."
He looks at her in surprise.
"You didn't choose a name for her?"
"I learned a long time ago to never form an emotional attachment to anything or anyone. If I were to do something so personal as to name her, it would make this all the more difficult." There's another awkward pause. "What are you going to name her?"
He brightens a little and his gaze returns to the tiny figure in his arms.
"Well, Suki and I had talked over a few names if we ever had another child, and I think we've come up with a-"
"Just spill it already."
He smiles at her impatience.
"What do you think of 'Senna'?"
"Senna." She mulled it over for a moment. "It's nice. Very…Water Tribe-ish."
"So, you like it?"
"What are you asking me for? She's your daughter. Now get out of my house." She teases, but he knows that it's time to leave anyway; he and his family are leaving tomorrow.
"Goodbye, Azula." He utters, barely loud enough for her to hear, but nothing escapes her notice. She nods in response, keeping up her air of nonchalance, refusing to cry. It's just the way she is; and if people don't like it, they can just deal with it.
He walks outside into the glow of the evening. The sun is setting and it illuminates the distant Air Temple Island, the home of his sister and brother-in-law and their three children, as well as a group of devoted Air Acolytes. The man descends the metal stairway that was built onto the side of the apartment building. How Azula ended up in such a humble residence is beyond him. As he walks towards the house he will be leaving come morning light, he talks gently to the little girl in his arms.
"You're really going to like your new home, Senna. And you'll always have your daddy and mommy to look after you. And you'll have a bunch of big brothers and sisters who'll tease you and play with you, and you'll be the happiest child in the whole South Pole. I promise."
Little Senna giggles as her father speaks, she knows that her mommy wouldn't have given her to just anyone, she knew that her mommy knows best.
Hey, just a random head-canon that just popped into my mind today. Did you all get what I'm implying with this? If you didn't, I'm implying that Korra's mom, Senna, is basically the 'love-child' of Sokka and Azula from a secret fling they had.