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Chapter 2: Those are my Kids!
Pakku caught up to Katara as she left dinner.
"Master Pakku," she said, turning to him, "How are you doing?"
"Oh, Katara, you don't have to call me Master Pakku anymore; I'm going to be married to Kana soon. You should call me what you would your own grandfather."
Katara made a face at this. "You want me to call you Gramp Gramp?"
Pakku returned the look; he didn't quite like what that implied. Then he smiled. "How about Pakku?"
Katara giggled a little at this. It was so simple. "Alright, Pakku, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Pakku smiled kindly. "You, Katara. You seem a bit…downhearted, as of late."
Katara's eyes darkened. "I guess I haven't been hiding it well, have I?"
"You aren't always the best at subtlety. But tell me, what's going on?"
"Well…I guess I just never thought of what I would do when the war ended. And now that it's over, I don't know what to do. My whole life revolved around Aang, taking care of him, training him, making sure he was safe and healthy so that he could save our world. Now, though, Aang doesn't need me anymore. No one does." She shut her eyes. "What am I supposed to do if no one needs me?"
Pakku watched her carefully. He sighed. "Katara, I know one person who needs you. You."
"What?"
"You need to find yourself," he said, grasping her by the shoulders. "You need to be who you have been and take care of yourself, and find who you are and what you are called to do in this broken world. Once you do that, you can do what you were meant to and take care of all the people who need you. Do you understand?"
Katara nodded slowly. "I think so."
Pakku smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they continued on to Katara's room.
"I think I have the perfect way of doing this, too. A little…ritual."
A ritual, Katara thought, packing up her things. I can't believe I'm as excited about this as I am. It's really just what I've been doing for the past two years, just on my own.
But that's the point.
Katara sighed. She really needed to stop arguing with herself. If people ever knew about it, they might think she was crazy.
"Okay, so let's see, do I have everything? Food, hairbrush, water, clothes (both Fire Nation and Water Tribe), what else?"
"How about a hug for your new Grandpa?"
Katara whirled. "Pakku!" she said, rushing into his arms. "I thought you had already left!"
She felt his laugh before she heard it. "We're just about to, but I wanted to see my favorite granddaughter first."
Katara giggled. "Pakku, I'm your only granddaughter!"
"Yes, well, if I said grandchild I'd be admitting I like you more than Sokka, and I don't think Kanna would let me live after that!" They both laughed.
"Hey, don't I get a hug?"
Katara turned to find Zuko in the doorway, his hair shaggy and disheveled. His wardrobe people hadn't gotten their paws on him, yet.
"Yes, of course," she said, opening her arms wide. "How could I deny my favorite Fire Lord?"
"What about your favorite father?"
"Dad!" Katara was out of Zuko's arms in a second and nestled deep in Hakoda's.
"Well, I guess Dad does beat friend, doesn't it?" Zuko said, laughing. Pakku joined him.
"What are you doing here, Dad?' Katara said, gazing up at Hakoda.
"Well, I couldn't let my baby girl go on a journey like this without seeing her off, could I?"
"That's right!" Katara said, hugging him again. "Is anyone else coming?" she said as she pulled away, looking around the room at all of them.
Zuko and Pakku exchanged glances before Zuko faced her. "Aang's already left, Toph too, Sokka and Suki wanted to come, but, well I'm not quite sure what happened to them…"
"They got…momentarily detained," said Pakku, blushing. "In a linen closet."
"That's my boy," said Hakoda, smiling, causing both Zuko and Katara to blush as well.
"Well, then if that's all the goodbyes I have to say…" said Katara, separating herself from her father's embrace.
"Before you go," said Pakku, exchanging a glance with Hakoda and Zuko. "A few gifts, yes?" He stepped forward reaching into his robe's pocket. When he opened his hand, there was a small flask. "Water, from the Spirit Oasis in the North. May you put it to good use like you did the last time."
Katara held out her hands, taking the flask delicately into her grip, her eyes tearing. "Pakku…"
"That's not all," said Hakoda. He stepped forward. Out of his pocket he took a comb and a pair of earrings. "Your mothers," he said. "May they bless you with more beauty than you already have, and her guiding spirit."
"Dad…" The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she hugged Hakoda again.
"Katara," said Zuko, stepping into the center of the room. "I know my gift won't have the same significance as these ones, but may you accept it all the same." He knelt, placing his hand over his heart. "Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, with these men as my witness, I, Fire Lord Zuko, pledge my protection to you as you travel through these lands. I give you my sacred seal," he held out a small wooden tablet, marked with the seal of the Fire Lord. He stood and reached into his pocket. "And, as a friend, I give you this." He held out his dagger. "A precious gift that has served me well, may it serve you the same."
Katara took the dagger and unsheathed it. "'Never give up without a fight'," she read. She looked up at him, touched. She knew what this dagger meant to him. "Thank you, Zuko." He smiled.
Pakku stepped forward, along with Hakoda. "May these precious gifts serve you well on your journey, and may you return safe to all of us," they said. All four shared an embrace.
It was halfway to noon by the time Katara left, waving behind her the entire way. Pakku and Hakoda had to rush to the docks to make their boat in a carriage lent to them by Zuko, which, thanks to its imperial seals, made it to the docks with plenty of time.
Zuko returned to his office, and his headache. His attendants were buzzing around like unswappable flies.
"Ping," he said, rubbing his forehead. "Could you get me some plums, or lychee berries, or something?"
"Something purple, sir?" Ping said, bowing.
"You're mocking me, aren't you?"
"No, of course not, sir."
"Ping."
"Yes, sir?"
"I can hear you smiling."
"Right." Ping coughed and blushed. "So, purple foods and drinks, sir. Right away."
"That's alright, Ping. I've got him covered." Zuko turned to find Mai in the doorway, holding a tray of plums, with several attendants behind her bearing more trays and foods.
"Mai!" said Zuko, standing and holding his arms open for her. She set her tray down on his desk and stepped into him. "It's good to see you."
"How about we take a little lunch break?"
"N-no, the Fire Lord has many tasks to take care of—" said one of the attendants.
"But, the Fire Lord must keep up his health in order to rule effectively," said Ping. The attendant glared at Ping.
"But perhaps a bit of light work, yes?"
Zuko turned to Mai. "Is that alright with you?"
Mai smiled. "Of course."
They set up in his office, bringing up the light on the lamps and opening the curtains. They moved the desk so he and Mai could sit in front of the window, looking out at the park and courtyard. The other attendants retreated at Ping's insistence, and he remained at the edge of the room, bringing short documents for Zuko to review and sign now and then. Mai relaxed against him and smiled softly.
"This is nice," she said.
"Yeah." He took a bite of a plum. "We haven't done this in a long time."
Mai sat up and faced him. "Zuko, I wanted to talk to you."
He smiled. "You are talking to me."
She smiled, then her face got serious again. "No, Zuko I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other day. With Katara."
His smile faded. "Oh. That."
"Zuko, I'm sorry about how I acted, but you have to understand how I felt in that situation."
Zuko stayed quiet.
"Zuko, do you understand that I love you? I want to be with you, always, but when you were saying those things to Katara it was like, I don't know, like you didn't feel the same for me. And that scared me."
"Mai...how could you think that?"
Mai just looked at him. "Zuko, you've never said anything like that to me. And I just—"
"Mai, how could you say that? I came back for you, didn't I?"
"After you left! With that stupid note—"
"Are you ever going to forgive me for that?"
Mai stood, cold. "Zuko, just tell me you didn't mean it. Tell me you need me more than you need her."
Zuko stopped. "I—"
Mai turned away. "That's what I was afraid of." She headed for the door.
Zuko put his hand to his forehead. Mai was gone, but his headache had returned. "Ping, what just happened?"
"I think, sir, you were just dumped."
He nodded slowly. "That's what I thought."
He slumped into his chair and once again rubbed his forehead. "What did I do wrong?" he whispered. Ping approached him.
"May I ask, sir, did you mean what you said to Master Katara?"
Zuko's eyes shot open. He had realized the truth. "Yes. With all my being."
Author's Note: I have no idea whether Master Pakku would ever blush, but I think Sokka and Suki's shenanigans would be the time when he would. Zuko would definitely blush, and I think Katara's embarrassed for Zuko.
Unfortunately, this is not the final end of Zuko and Mai's relationship just yet. Just wait a little longer.
I know that this is kind of short, but that's ok. I have time now because I'm on vacation, but I'm just about to go back, so I'm going to try to start updating once a week.
