Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. That privilege goes to Bryke and Nickelodeon
How I Met Your Mother
"Daddy, can you tell me a story?"
Zuko freezes in the process of extinguishing the fires which light up his six year old daughter's bedroom and slowly turns his head towards where she is sitting up in bed, hugging a turtleduck plushie to her chest as she stares up at him with wide gold eyes.
"Kaida…" he reaches up and rubs the back of his neck; a habit he had picked up when he was a teenager, and the Hundred Year War still raged around them, which he had never managed to break. "You know I'm not the best at making stories or, well, anything up. I'm sure if you asked your mother-"
"Oh I know that, Daddy; Uncle Iroh told me 'bout when you had to make up names for you two." Kaida replies, causing her father to scowl slightly and make a mental note to ambush and hide some of Iroh's tea supplies when the next delivery arrived at the palace. "Also, Mummy's busy with Aunty Suki tonight, 'member?"
Zuko sighs. "Oh yeah, she is, isn't she? And I've got…" the words die in his throat as his eldest daughter turns her huge golden eyes towards him, accompanied with a slight pout and trembling of the lips. "…Paperwork which I suppose can wait for a while," he concedes.
"Yay!" Kaida beams and claps her hands excitedly as Zuko moves from his original position in the doorway and comes over to sit next to her on the bed.
Sweet Agni, she's got me wrapped around her little finger, he thinks wryly. Just like her mother does. Actually, thinking about it, it was probably Katara who taught her that trick with the puppy-seal eyes, knowing damned well I can't resist it.
"So what kind of story do you want?" he asks aloud as Kaida abandons her turtleduck by her pillow in favour of snuggling up to her father's chest.
"Well…" she purses her lips as she deliberates. "Not the normal stories, cos those get boring, and not a story you were told cos Uncle Sokka says you can never remember the whole thing, just the…uh…punchline I think he said."
"Oh he did, did he?" Zuko grumbles, making another mental note to take Sokka's not-so-secret stash of seal jerky and hide it with Iroh's ambushed tea.
Kaida nods vigorously in her six year old innocence. "Yup!"
"So you don't want your normal stories, or a made up story, or a story I've been told…" Zuko shifts and pulls his daughter closer to his side. "What could you possibly want?"
"A story of one of your experiences!" Kaida giggles and buries her head underneath his collarbone. "That way it won't be boring, you won't forget most of it and you don't have to make anything up!"
In the face of his daughter's enthusiasm, Zuko can't help but smile too. "Yes, that does seem to make sense," he agrees, heating his fingers slightly and lightly running them over Kaida's back, causing her to giggle again. "So, what do you want to hear about?"
Kaida cocks her head to the side in thought, her nose scrunching up slightly. Zuko waits patiently (before he had joined Team Avatar way back at the Western Air Temple, he never would have thought he'd be able to do anything patiently. His time with the Gaang during the last few months of the war had changed that. It had changed a lot of things) until her face brightens as an idea pops into her mind.
"Daddy, how did you and Mummy meet?"
Zuko stiffens slightly as images of a river glistening under the light of the moon, a backdrop of pine trees, and a sandy river bank suddenly flood his mind and he feels his cheeks heat up.
"Uh…well…it's a funny story actually…" he trails off awkwardly.
"I like funny stories!" Kaida chirps, looking up at him expectantly.
"Um…" For neither the first, nor the last time, Zuko curses his inability to find words when he most needs them and subsequently make a bumbling fool of himself.
"Was it love at first sight?" Kaida asks, her voice taking on a slightly dreamy quality.
"…Not exactly." Zuko gives a dry chuckle. Definitely not.
"Then what happened, Daddy?" Kaida demands, in a manner all too similar to Katara. "Tell me! Please?"
"Alright, alright," the Fire Lord sighs, adjusting his position on the bed, knowing he is powerless against his daughter. "It happened about six years before you were born, in a forest by a river in the Earth Kingdom…"
"Uncle Iroh had lost his Lotus Tile, so we stopped off at a port town to try and find a replacement. We were unable to, but while we were looking round a pirate ship, it emerged that the pirates were looking for a Water Tribe girl accompanied by a bald-headed monk and a Water Tribe boy who had stolen their waterbending scroll. We made a deal that if they helped us look for the Avatar, we would help them get their scroll back."
Working with such shady characters as the pirates hardly appealed to the Fire Prince but he wasn't one to pass up such an opportunity to capture the Avatar. Iroh was still muttering to himself about his Lotus Tile and Ginseng tea but the pirates and Zuko alike ignored him as the pirate ship, closely followed by a cutter from the Prince's own ship, travelled leisurely (too slowly in Zuko's opinion) down the river in the direction which the crew had seen the Avatar and Water Tribe peasants fly off in. Night had truly fallen upon them and only the moon and a couple of fires from Zuko's soldiers provided any light.
The Prince himself scowled as his eyes travelled along the lines of trees on either side of the river for any sign which might help him locate the Avatar. It had taken him three years of fruitless searching and now that the boy was finally within his grasp, he wasn't going to give up now. He would reclaim his honour, his throne, and his father's love.
"We eventually heard several angry shouts directed towards the water and concluded that it had to be the waterbender. We beached the ships on the bank behind a row of bushes in front of where your mother was practicing her then limited waterbending."
The pirates instantly disembarked and scuttled off to surround the peasant girl. Zuko frowned as he and his soldiers stepped onto the sandy river bank after the 'high-risk traders'; he didn't trust the crew's intentions towards the young female who had stolen one of their prized pieces of merchandise.
"You," he barked at one of his men. "Bring me some rope; the good kind. I want to be prepared for anything."
"Yes Prince Zuko," the man in question bowed and hurried back towards the cutter.
Zuko turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Spread out and search the immediate area for the Avatar," he ordered sharply, turning on his heel once the soldier returned and handed him the neatly coiled rope, and marching towards where the pirates had disappeared off to. Iroh opened his mouth, probably to offer some advice in the guise of proverbs, but closed it again at the steely look in his nephew's eyes as Zuko secured the rope to his belt and slipped round the bushes.
"She managed to fight off the pirates and tried to run off but instead, she ran straight into me. I, uh, may have grabbed her and promised her that I'd…uh…rescue her from them…it wasn't exactly my finest moment."
"Let go of me!" the waterbender's half furious, half terrified shout reached Zuko's ears as he emerged from behind the foliage in time to see the girl stream a mass of water from the river into the face of the pirate who was restraining her by her shoulders. He spluttered and released her and the waterbender took the opportunity to run away from her would-be captors.
Unfortunately, as she was glancing over her shoulder to ensure that they weren't following her, she was unable to stop herself from running straight into Zuko's armoured chest. She let out a horrified gasp as she frantically tried to back away, but the Fire Prince grabbed her wrists and yanked her back towards him.
His lips curved up into a smirk. "I'll save you from the pirates."
"Hang on Daddy," Kaida interrupts, her eyebrows knotting together in a frown. "Is this what Mummy was referring to the other day when you were arguing and she said 'two words: pirates and tree'?"
Zuko blushes. "Oh Agni, you heard that?" he mutters, before replying in a louder voice, "Uh…yes, this is what she was referring to, no matter how many times I've apologised for tying her to that damned tree…"
"Wait," Kaida sits up and stares at him. "You tied Mummy to a tree?"
Zuko's blush darkens. "I, um, uh…maybe?"
Kaida shakes her head disapprovingly. "Daddy, that's not how you're meant to save someone."
"I know," Zuko mutters. "But things were…different between your mother and me back then."
"Still not how you're s'pposed to save somebody," Kaida mumbles before laying her head back down and allowing him to continue.
"Well I told the pirates to bring back my soldiers and find wherever Uncle Iroh had disappeared off to, while I, uh…tied Katara to a tree…I then began to ask her questions but, well, you know how stubborn your mother can get and she refused to answer every one."
"I won't tell you anything about Aang," the waterbender hissed as Zuko dragged her back towards where the two ships were resting on the edge of the river bank.
"I'd urge you to reconsider," he replied nonchalantly, making a beeline for a tree which stood further towards the river than the others. "That way you won't have to be used as bait for him."
"He won't come," she snapped back as he backed her up against the trunk and pulled her arms round behind it. "Aang's not stupid. He'll see through this little trap of yours and you'll fail, yet again."
"Maybe," Zuko crossed her wrists together and unhooked the rope from his belt. "And then where will that leave you? You'll still be a hostage regardless." He smirked as he saw the water peasant's confidence falter slightly and began winding the rope around her wrists. "Mercifully for you, that's not going to happen. If we don't find him first, he'll come to rescue you. Either way, I'll get him."
The waterbender's jaw clenched and she stared resolutely ahead while Zuko continued tying her wrists behind her, flinching slightly every time his fingers or a knuckle would brush the skin of her hands uncovered by her wrist guards. Once the Fire Prince had tied the final knot, ensuring that she would not be able to get out of her binds without someone untying them for her, he stepped back in front of her again. Gold met cerulean as the two benders glowered at each other before their attention was diverted by Zuko's soldiers and the pirates returning, followed by Iroh, who was holding a steaming cup of tea.
"Well? Anything?" Zuko demanded as the two groups formed a semi-circle around the tree the Water Tribe girl was tied to.
The lead soldier shook his head. "No, Your Highness. The Avatar was not in the immediate vicinity."
Zuko's eyes narrowed and he whirled back towards the waterbender, who met his glare with a sullen look of her own. "Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother!"
"Go jump in the river!" the peasant girl spat.
"Direct questioning wasn't working at all so I…uh…maybe, sorta tried to…entice her with…her mother's necklace…which I had found a while back…"
The Prince's expression darkened further. The waterbender was no help whatsoever! She just didn't understand his need to capture the Avatar for his honour. If only he had something he could bargain with. The waterbending scroll (which he had fastened to his belt after one of his soldiers had handed it to him, having found it abandoned on a rock back where they had found the girl) was obviously out of the question as it would upset the pirates, whom he still needed (for now).
Then he remembered the necklace he had found at the wreckage of the prison ship.
He schooled his face into one as friendly as he could manage, what with his mark of shame plastered over half of it, and gentled his voice.
"Try to understand," he stepped closer to her and slowly moved around the tree as he talked, ignoring the girl turning her face away as he drew closer. "I need to capture him to restore something I've lost: my honour."
It still wasn't working; she was now completely ignoring him. Time to bring out the trump card then.
"Perhaps in exchange," he leaned forward to murmur in her ear and brought out the necklace from the pocket he always kept it in. "I can restore something you've lost."
The waterbender's eyes flickered downwards and she gasped at the choker he was holding up to her neck. "My mother's necklace!"
Finally, a reaction! Smirking, Zuko withdrew the necklace and sauntered back to his crew, dangling it teasingly in front of her.
"How did you get that?" she demanded, glaring at him with eyes as hard and as blue as ice.
"I didn't steal it, if that's what you were wondering," he replied, smirking even more as a blush dusted her cheekbones at his reference to her actions with the scroll. His smirk died and his voice hardened again as he got back to business. "Tell me where he is."
"No!" Dammit, she was still being stubborn! It seemed that her loyalty to the Avatar overrode her affection towards the obvious heirloom. He wouldn't be getting anything out of the waterbender tonight.
"It failed and the pirates demanded different actions. After, um, threatening to burn the waterbending scroll, it was arranged to search the whole woods for your Uncle Sokka and Uncle Aang. Most of the pirates and soldiers went off while I remained with your mother and Uncle Iroh…who just curled up by a tree and went to sleep."
"Why not just leave me with a guard?" The waterbender's voice broke him out of his silent musings of why he probably should have left his uncle on the main ship.
Zuko glanced out of the corner of his eye at the girl as she shifted uncomfortably from her position of being tied to the tree. Her eyes briefly met his before flickering away again, warily watching the three pirates and two firebenders size each other up from either side of the two boats.
"Because I don't trust anyone else," the Fire Prince answered shortly. "Those two probably won't be able to keep watch as effectively and pirates can't be relied on in any situation where they don't benefit in some way, especially not with a young woman."
"Oh." Was all the waterbender had to say in response before she stifled a yawn in the material of her tunic covering her shoulders. Zuko turned his head fully to regard her as she battled with fatigue, noting the bags under her eyes.
Peasant or not, she needs sleep. He gritted his teeth slightly. His honour may have been taken from him, but he still had morals, dammit, and those included treating women with the respect they deserved, even if they were irritating water peasants who actively thwarted him in his goals to capture the Avatar.
Sighing, he strode over to the tree and briskly loosened the ropes around her wrists. She glanced up at him in surprise.
"Waterbenders may thrive during the night," he muttered, stepping back out from behind her. "But you still need sleep, and to have that, you have to be able to get comfortable. You still won't be able to escape, but you can at least sit down. Can't have the bait in too poor a condition, now can we?"
She glowered at him, but nonetheless sank to the floor gratefully, rested her head against the tree trunk and closed her eyes. Zuko watched her for a few more moments before turning back to looking out over the river.
Of course, it all went pear-shaped once the pirates turned on him, losing their boat and stealing his in the process, the Avatar and Water Tribe peasants escaped and that damned lemur was able to untie the waterbender from the tree.
"The next morning, your mother and uncles were able to escape, with the waterbending scroll I might add, while we were fighting the pirates, and it turned out that Uncle Iroh's Lotus Tile was in his sleeve the whole time," Zuko finishes and Kaida stifles a yawn in the sleeve of his robes.
"That was a good story, Daddy," she mumbles sleepily. "S'not what you norm'ly hear in love stories."
"No, it's not," Zuko agrees, sliding her underneath her duvet and placing her turtleduck back in her arms.
"You weren't very good at being a prince," Kaida informs him, snuggling into her pillow.
"Oh?"
"Uh huh. Princes are s'pposed to be polite, statedly and save the damsel in distress. You 'specially messed up the last one when you tied her to a tree."
"Oh Agni, yet another one who's never going to let me live that down," Zuko mumbles as he stands up from her bed.
"Does yours and Mummy's story get happier?" Kaida asks drowsily.
Zuko smiles as he dims the lights in the room with a wave of his hand and thinks of sunset walks on the beach of Ember Island after the Southern Raiders, unknown to all except Toph. "Yes it does. I learned to love her, and she learned to love me back."
"Urgh, Daddy," Kaida grumbles as Zuko fully extinguishes the lights and steps through the doorway. "I said happier, not grosser."
The next morning, to Sokka and Zuko's mortification and Suki, Katara and Toph's glee, Kaida proceeds to inform her younger brother and her cousins about how the Fire Lord and Lady met when they were teenagers, which in turn leads to a debate on whose parents' first encounters were better; getting 'saved from the pirates' or being forced to dress up as a Kyoshi Warrior.
A.N. Well, this is my first writing venture into the A:tLA fandom and I really hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it ^_^
Basically, the premise of this is Zutara, Sukka and maybe some Aang/Acolyte kids asking their parents/relatives awkward questions and said Gaang member having to answer them. They may not even be about the war; they might just be normal children's questions (e.g. 'where do babies come from?')
Just to clarify, the parts in italics are Zuko remembering the events of the whole pirate-waterbender-tree debacle while telling Kaida the watered-down version (HA! See what I did there? No? Okay...shutting up now)
On the topic, Kaida is Zutara's first born child and Crown Princess. She is a firebender, has her father's eyes and hair colour, but her mother's type of hair. She's also inherited both their stubbornness and slight tempers and her name means 'Little Dragon'. More steam babies to be revealed in time! ;)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story and I hope to see you soon :)