Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, its characters, designs etc. Those are © Mike and Bryan, and Nickelodeon. Ahn Li, Cho Li, Dao, Yun and other original characters are © me, Lady Asvin.
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Is it possible to make such a huge mistake at my age? The girl's blue eyes wandered over the ice walls of her hut. Much different from the fine green linens and light woods of Ba Sing Se, and the regal scarlet silks and metals of the Fire Nation, the Southern Water Tribe hut nonetheless held its own charm. Animal skins decorated the walls, and fur coverlets thrown in a raised corner served as a bed. A single shelf of ice held a leather waterskin and a hat and veil. The only thing out of place in the room was a tiny hair comb made of onyx. It was a souvenir from the Fire Nation. The hut's inhabitant, though, was far too caught up in her own thoughts to notice the scenery; she was expecting company, and her memories for some reason had decided to attack fiercely – too fiercely. She shook her head and tried to clear the dull ache that had grown since she had left the Fire Nation. It was moments later that she heard the sound of boots crunching in the snow and rose, tugging a fur-lined parka around her torso. The door opened and she was greeted by flying arms and legs and smiles. Giggling, she attempted to smooth her hair back into its rightful place.
"KATARA! It's been so loooooong," said her brother, as usual overdramatic to the nth degree. I wonder if he's been hitting the cactus juice. His fiancée Suki nodded.
"Really Katara – if you'd only see how the Fire Nation's changed," she said, and gave the girl a warm hug. Katara's blue eyes widened in surprise as the Kyoshi warrior pulled away.
"Suki? Is that-" A loud voice interrupted her as the door crashed open yet again.
"I hate snow. Can't see a thing in the stuff… hey, Sugar Queen!" Toph had arrived. Katara hugged her too, comment to Suki completely abandoned. Suki herself sighed in relief; she had a long night of stories for Katara, but they were not for prying ears. The waterbender looked around, confusion etched on her face. Sokka followed her eyes to the door and answered her unasked question.
"Aang's talking to dad. Don't worry," he added. "We would never leave your lover boy behind, and he's dying to see you. He just wanted to talk to dad first…" Katara waited for the blush that would usually rise at the mention of Aang's name – even at the teasing 'lover boy'- but it never came. Instead, her mind presented her with a vision: a tense, muscled body, flying through the air, blocking those fatal ribbons of energy…
"Katara. Katara?" She snapped out of it and grinned faintly.
"Sorry guys, I guess I got lost in thought. What were you saying?" Sokka slapped his forehead.
"I said, let's go see Aang! We left him at the headman's hut with dad and Gran-Gran…" Katara nodded and rose. Sokka lifted Toph onto his back ("For old times' sake") and followed Suki out the door of the hut, with Katara bringing up the rear. It was a short hike to the headman's hut in the center of the village, over some small hills. The village had grown into a bustling town of one-hundred and fifty people, all spread out in a valley between two frigid glaciers. They reached the hut and let themselves in, brushing off snow as they entered. Katara smiled, a genuine smile for the first time that morning.
"Aang!" The airbender looked startled and turned to the door where Katara stood, straightening her parka. The light from the doorway caught her necklace, blue pendant gleaming in the bright rays. Aang smiled wide and bounded toward her.
"Katara!" He stopped a few inches short of her and bounced on the balls of his feet. "It's amazing Katara. The Fire Nation has completely turned around… Bumi and General Iroh and all the old masters are advisors to the court and negotiations with the Earth Kingdom are progressing-" a door at the other end of the hut opened, blinding the group within. Two silhouettes appeared in the larger doorway, deep into a discussion on Water Tribe alliances and political etiquette.
"Thank you, Master Pakku," said the younger voice. "I will be sure to keep that in mind." The door swung closed as the two bowed to each other; Aang, Katara and the rest waited for their vision to readjust. Master Pakku came forward and Katara bowed deeply.
"Greetings, Master Pakku… grandpa," she smiled and gave him a bear hug. After receiving the same treatment from Sokka and bows from the rest, Pakku stepped aside to introduce his conversation partner. A red hood fell back to reveal a gleaming golden flame set into a black topknot. Katara's breath came short… Hey. Zuko here.
Pakku gestured toward him. "May I introduce- or re-introduce- Fire Lord Zuko?" The firebender bowed and smiled sheepishly. Pakku left them to their conversation and began discussing trade with Hakoda, leading him away.
"Hey guys," said Zuko, scratching his head. The air was silent for a moment, and then:
"HEY, SPARKY!" The group laughed, and just like that, the ice was broken. Katara couldn't believe what she saw. The awkward, struggling boy with the broken spirit had turned into a man, flushed with confidence and vigor. She didn't doubt his girlfriend had something to do with it – she knew better than most the power of a woman on a man's ego – but his posture and ease came from accomplishment. From the feeling of having righted a terrible wrong. Thank you, Katara. A slight smile. No, I should be the one thanking you. She was again sinking into that wide-eyed stupor, memories rushing in to fill her already-overloaded brain-
"Hey… are you coming?" Her thoughts came to a screeching halt, that husky half-voice squeezing them abruptly out of her head for the present. A blush rose on her face, branding her cheeks.
"W- where are we going?" The Fire Lord smiled, a tiny smile, and almost looked as he had when he was traveling with them. The boy Katara once knew had finally made his grand entrance.
"Aang told us on the way here that you're the best guide in the Southern Water tribe. I thought I'd ask for a tour, since I've never been…" Aang, to whom the idea had seemed peachy on the ship, hadn't missed Katara's telltale blush. Grabbing her hand firmly, he nodded and smiled a forced smile. Didn't I just tell you I was confused? Fighting a sudden surge of painful memories, he turned to the group.
"Let's go!" He said, falsely bright. "I want to go penguin-sledding…" Katara followed him out of the hut, and the rest of the long, South Pole day was spent introducing the mighty Fire Lord to the treasures and secrets of the Southern Water tribe.
"Good night, Sokka," said Suki, later that night. The Kyoshi warrior pulled him into one last, long kiss before disappearing back into Katara's room. They were sharing for the time being, until a new hut could be built. Suki had decided to stay close to Sokka, and if they were to marry they would need their own hut.
Katara had been interrupted earlier in the day by the arrival of Toph and others, but her question to Suki was by no means forgotten. She waited until the other girl had settled down in a pile of furs before fixing her with a no-nonsense stare. The Kyoshi warrior felt it, but couldn't bring herself to meet the waterbender's fierce gaze.
"You're pregnant." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation. Suki nodded. Katara sat up quickly on her furs and exhaled loudly.
"I'll kill Sokka! You're not married! You're not even seventeen! What was he thinking-"
"It's not Sokka's." The warrior girl had her head down and was fiddling with the still-attached paws of one of her blankets. Katara blinked owlishly.
"Wait- what? Did you- but you wouldn't-" Suki began to cry. Katara crawled off her bed and went to put an arm around Suki's shoulders. Meeting her at eye-level, Katara asked softly, "What happened?" Suki lifted her tunic top to reveal her growing stomach; a hard little bulge had already formed, jutting out of the warrior's normally trim figure. She blinked back tears and put a hand on the firm roundedness that her stomach had become.
Turning to Katara, she whispered, "How far along do you think I am?" Katara looked at the warrior, examining the bulge thoughtfully. She had delivered a few babies since returning home, and helped with backaches in the young, pregnant women of the water tribe. Suki wasn't in the late stages, but it wasn't a recent happening either… The numbers here aren't adding up! The war only ended two months ago! But that would mean…
"Oh, Suki," she whispered, squeezing her friend tightly. "Oh, no. What happened? Does Sokka know? It was in that prison, wasn't it…" The warrior couldn't stop the flood of tears now; ever since she had discovered she was pregnant, she had wondered who to tell, how they would judge her, who would understand. She had decided to tell only Katara… not even her Kyoshi girls knew. She rocked back and forth in her friend's embrace, letting go of months of fear and frustration. Katara just patted the girl's head and murmured soothing nonsense, knowing that nothing she could say would ease the other girl's pain. When she had cried her eyes dry, Suki gratefully accepted the handkerchief offered by Katara. She worried the blue embroidery restlessly with her fingers, getting ready to talk. Katara merely waited. Finally, Suki sighed and looked up.
"I don't even really know how far along I am. I want to say I'm about three or four months pregnant…" she sighed. "It must have happened around the time I first got to the Boiling Rock prison. I was kept with another woman prisoner, of course, but when we were let into the yards everyone was together." Katara settled back into the blanket, staring at Suki intently. The warrior continued.
"I was taken in from the yards regularly, for questioning. About Aang, and the group… Sokka especially. So they could track you, I'd imagine. But in one of those training sessions…" she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and shuddered. "There was a guard named Li Feng. He was old and tough as stone… but he had a reputation for misbehaving with the women prisoners. They brought me to him. A 'special session', they told me…" She had begun to cry again, and Katara hugged her tightly. She continued, sniffing.
"It was terrible. I tried to close my eyes… I wanted to die, to break into a million pieces and disappear. I wanted to just run and hide… I kept calling for Sokka to save me, even though he wasn't there."
"So that's what Azula meant," murmured Katara. "That's disgusting." Suki cried into Katara's tunic, shoulders shaking with pent-up frustration and fear.
"I don't know what to do," she said in a small voice. Katara propped her up on a pile of furs.
"Well, the first thing I'm going to do is get Gran-Gran." She made a move to get up, but Suki grabbed her arm.
"No! I don't want this getting out… I don't want Sokka to know, I can't do this to him, I-" Katara wriggled out of her friend's grip and put a heavy parka over her nightclothes.
"Don't be ridiculous. The last thing we need is you passing out or something because you don't know how to take care of a baby. Ah- ah-" Suki was trying to say something, but Katara cut her off. "At least let Gran-Gran take a look. She can tell you if the baby is healthy. She'll keep it a secret," added Katara. "Although by the looks of it, it may not be a secret for long." Suki sank back into her furs and glared balefully at her friend, but relief overcame irritation and she yawned.
"Fine," she said. "But please… don't tell Sokka." Katara held her eyes and nodded, as sure a promise as any. She opened the door, letting a blast of cold air into the hut, and disappeared into the night. Suki's last thought before going to sleep was: finally.