So this was my entry for Zutara Month day 8 prejudice on deviantart :) I was meaning to upload this a long time ago but I forgot ^^;;
A short Zutara clip, enjoy guys!
Humming softly to her-self and staring intently at the vast array of flowers sprawled across her majestically large bed Katara almost didn't hear the sound of a light knocking coming from behind her. Slightly annoyed at the idea of being disturbed at the moment the master water bender turned around quickly, fully intending to give which ever servant who dared to disrupt her at this time a horrible rest of their night when blue clothing and a familiar warrior's stance leaning against her doorway had caught her eye.
"Sokka!" she exclaimed as joy had filled her blue eyes and with that the water bender picked up the front end of her long red gown and ran across the length of her bedroom and sitting area straight into her brothers awaiting arms.
As his arms wrapped around his baby sister she had almost burst into tears. It had been almost 6 years since the end of the war and since then her brother had taken on many tribal responsibilities both in the north and south poles and found it hard to come to the fire nation to visit her on a regular basis. Holding her at arm's length Sokka took in her image, she had definitely grown within the 2 years that he was unable to see her. She was a woman now.
Smiling down at his sister Sokka smiled "It's good to see you again…. Lady Katara".
Quirking her eyebrow and punching her brother in the arm Katara giggled "Come on Sokka what's with the formality? For Agni's sake were siblings! Jeesh you would think that YOU were the one to be living in this palace for the past 4 years not me" she chuckled.
Her brother just rolled his eyes and tried his best to ignore that last statement of hers.
Taking his arm Katara lead her tense brother across the elaborate sitting area and into the comfort of her bedroom trying to make small talk about the weather or anything that came to mind to attempt to ease her brother's nerves. While his sister rambled on about the heated weather of her current home Sokka took in the room around him, it was grand with many shades of red and gold colors splashed on every attire of the room. The furniture was dark and beautifully carved; the windows overlooking the courtyard stood twice his size with long deep red heavy curtains to match. This was definitely a room belonging to royalty.
The warrior was so engrossed in his observation of the room that he hadn't noticed his sister had come to a stop, his foot hit the low stair beneath the bed stand and with a loud girlish yelp he soon found himself face first into the crimson sheets of the grand bed.
He didn't even have time to lift his head before he heard his sister's familiar outburst of laughter.
Sitting up on the bed with his arms crossed in a huff, looking more like the clumsy Sokka that Katara had remembered he watched his sister holding her stomach and doubling over laughing at his clear genetic clumsiness and waited for her to be done.
Wiping a tear from her eyes Katara sat in front of her older brother and smiled "Oh Sokka, you have no idea how much I have missed you!"
Quirking an eyebrow at her he sarcastically asked "you done?"
Reaching over and plucking a leaf from his brown hair Katara started giggling once more "maybe"
Curiously staring at the leaf his sister pulled from his hair Sokka's eyebrows knitted together in confusion "Where did that…?" he started, looking around he found that behind where he was sitting there was indeed a vast amount of flowers sprawled out across his sisters bed.
"Katara….what...why is there flowers all over your bed?" he asked her in honest confusion as he pulled yet another flower from underneath himself.
Katara looked at her brother almost shocked, turning her gaze to the flowers she blushed slightly "I was trying to arrange some of them"
Tossing the whittled flower towards the others and rubbing the spot on his bottom where a thorn had been sat upon he asked "arrange them for what?" Katara chewed on her bottom lip as her left arm crossed her chest to take hold of her upper right arm and she hesitated before answering her brother.
"Arrange them for…my…their for…..I was arranging them for my wedding bouquet" she finally blurted.
Suddenly her brother had taken a deep breath as his whole stature and tone had changed from curious and slightly embarrassed to completely serious. Looking up at his sister with hard warriors eyes he sighed "Katara…"
Knowing what was coming next Katara stood quickly to her feet and crossed her arms angrily "Sokka DON'T!"
With that Sokka had stood to his feet too "Don't what Katara?! Don't care about you?! Don't care that you are making the worst decision of your life?!"
Throwing her fists down to her sides angrily Katara rose her voice "Sokka it's MY life! And I don't see how to you this is the worst decision of MMYYYY life!"
Taking a firm grip on his sisters arms Sokka glared into her eyes hard. "He is the enemy Katara" At those words Katara's eyes narrowed as she wrenched her arms away from her brothers grasp "He WAS the enemy, when we were FOURTEEN Sokka! In case you haven't noticed the war has been over for years, Grow up!"
Throwing his arms up the warrior could feel his temperature rising "I have grown up Katara! YOU are the one who needs to grow up and wake up out of this girlish infatuation stage of yours!" Taking a step toward his sister he continued "Stop being so prejudice and come back to the south pole and find a real man, a warrior of your own kind to call your husband!"
Suddenly Katara's blue eyes snapped open and in an instant she was across the room as a loud slap had vibrated against the walls. As Sokka stood in shock rubbing the right side of his face Katara huffed and made her way to a large chest at the foot of her bed. He watched as she angrily started rummaging through the chest until finally she rose to her feet flipping through several pages of a large blue book.
Suddenly Katara's head snapped up at the sound of a light tapping at the door way where an elder servant stood "Lady Katara, the Fire Lord awaits you in the courtyard" she announced. Nodding to the servant Katara smiled lightly "Thank you Jing sue, I will be down in a moment" with that the servant gave a deep bow and was off.
Turing back to her brother the water benders eyes once again hardened as she strode toward him. Sokka was about to protest her but before he had the change to open his mouth his sister thrust the large book into his hands and glared at him. "Top of the right page Sokka, now if you will excuse me my fiancé is expecting me" And with that she turned on her heel flipping her long brown hair around and made her way to the door. When she reached the door frame she paused and looked back at her brother, her blue eyes were no longer hard, but rather hurt.
Taking a deep breath she held her head high and regained herself and quietly slipped out the door into the hallway, leaving her brother alone in her bedroom with nothing but the large book in his hands as company.
When she had gone Sokka could feel his anger rising once more, how could she do this to him?! He thought, she was betraying her very people for a teenaged crush! He was so angry that he felt like tossing the book in his hands across the room or trying to rip it in half down the middle when suddenly he remembered what Katara had said before she left.
Looking to the top of the right hand page he noticed she had handed him a dictionary, he read out loud to himself what she had pointed out "Prejudice: Preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience"
Rolling his blue eyes Sokka scoffed and tossed the book angrily at the wall.
When the books cover collided noisily with the wall Sokka instantly regretting throwing the innocent book and went to retrieve it. He sighed as he bent over to pick it up and couldn't help but notice that Katara had left the chest open.
He brushed the cover of the book off and walked toward it figuring that he should at least put it back where his sister had gotten it from and strode over to the open chest.
Glancing down into the large elaborate box a familiar shade of blue had caught his attention, kneeling down in front of the chest he picked out some blue fabric of a heavy water tribe coat. Looking beneath it he had noticed other possessions of his sisters that had come from her home land. Sturdy moccasin shoes, tribal hair beads and feathers, a whale bone comb and even a little wooden boomerang Katara had made when she was 7 so that Sokka could teach her how to use it, although she never did master it.
Sokka smiled to himself as his fingers slid along all Katara's home possessions "I can't believe she kept all of this" he chuckled to himself as he laid each item back into the chest just the way he had found it.
He was about to place the book back in the chest when he heard the sound of a door closing in the distance.
Quickly getting to his feet he strode to the window book in hand and peered outside and into the courtyard, he hadn't noticed that the sun had already begun to set. Looking down he saw that his sister had just entered the courtyard and was striding happily toward the person at the end of it, the Fire Lord, Zuko.
Sokka watched as Zuko's tall figure stood when he had spotted the girl.
Zuko was dressed in formal Fire Lord attire and Sokka noted how he had grown, Zuko seemed to hold himself stronger, his hair had grown a length past his shoulders with half of it up in a top-knot bearing the crown of the fire nation, for a moment he had resembled his father Ozai , minus the facial hair.
However that image had changed as quickly as it had appeared in the warriors mind when the former prince had caught sight of the women walking toward him. Zuko looked at her and smiled, his mouth moved as he opened his arms to her but Sokka couldn't hear what he had said.
Katara smiled back at him lovingly as she stepped into his embrace and he placed a kiss on the top of her head making her laugh.
Sokka was shocked to see his baby sister acting this way, he had not seen his sister laugh or smile at anyone in such a way since their mom was killed, not even when she was with him.
Looking back toward the couple below him Sokka watched as Zuko placed a Fire-Lilly in Katara's hair, he wanted to look away when she wrapped her arms around the Fire Lords neck and stood on her tip-toes to gracefully place a kiss upon his lips, to which he had returned.
Unable to look anymore Sokka's gaze fell to the book still residing in his hands and felt a wave of guilt overcome him as he glanced from the book to the chest full of Katara's past things and ruefully strode toward it.
Kneeling in front of it once more he gently placed the book on the top of the sweater and as he looked up something caught his eye, his mother's necklace.
The inside of the top of the chest had been reconstructed into a beautiful display case where the necklace now resided adorned by many gold carvings and beautiful gems to highlight Katara's once most prized possession. Running his fingers across the display he noticed an engraving "To keep the past safe, for a beautiful future. Happy Birthday K. –Z"
Looking from the inscription down to the book Sokka sighed as he finally understood what his sister meant…he was the prejudice one. Staring intently at the little Z in the golden engraving Sokka grumbled and shut the chest "Congratulations Jerk-bender for once the tables are turned. You win, and I am the ass."
-A/N: So ik Sokka seems a little straight forward in this piece but I am imagining that the years of trying to put the world back together and not being able to see his friends and family as much would take a little bit of a tole on him.
Also Zuko and Sokka are friends after the war ik but as the protective older brother I honestly dont think Sokka would like the idea of Zutara lol esp if she was agreeing to stay with him in the fire nation, and have a tradtional fire nation style wedding. He might think that she is leaving her culture and people behind...or is she?! lol Over all I imagine that Sokka would not only over react to her getting married but to an "outsider" and former enemy at that.
Hope you guys enjoyed :) i had a lot of fun writing this one! :)