A/N - Please Take Note! This chapter continues the flashback-within-a-flashback from the previous chapter!

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko; I own nothing. Cover art ("Welcome Home") belongs to lady-voldything on deviantart.


Chapter 4: The Perfect Suitor


-Flashback (Yu Dao, 101 ASC)-

(A/N – this takes place between The Promise and The Search trilogies, specifically after the Battle for Yu Dao in The Promise – Part 3, but prior to the meeting shown in Yu Dao in The Search – Part 1.)

Aang paced back and forth in his room at Mayor Morishita's home. The Airbender felt the room too unnecessarily large for just himself, but he knew the mayor wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, so he had accepted. The mayor had also been very stern about every guest having their own rooms – especially unmarried couples. Aang's exasperated sighs had been accompanied by those of Katara, Sneers, and Kori. Despite this, Aang and Sneers had managed to sneak out across the balconies to visit their girlfriends. The Avatar obviously using Airbending and the former Freedom Fighter using the skills he honed living in the treetops near Gaipan to silently traverse the numerous terraces.

His thoughts troubled him – he was uncertain about how to approach the topic at the forefront of his mind. He glanced down at the object in his hands that he was fumbling with. To an outside observer, the object was undoubtedly beautiful, some might even say it was flawless; however, to Aang, who had crafted it, all the mistakes he had made and attempted to correct, the imperfections and chips in the stone, and the microscopic tears in the silk band were clear as day.

Stuffing the object in his pocket, he decided that he should follow Toph's advice and stop trying to attack the problem like an Airbender. There was no different angle to approach the dilemma he faced. He couldn't think of any clever solution or "trickety-trick" that would magically grant him want he wanted; and if he was honest with himself, he didn't want one, despite how nervous he was. He knew who he needed to talk to and as he opened the door to his room to walk down the hall, he gave a silent prayer to the spirits that the conversation he would have in the near future would go well.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hakoda sat on his bed, polishing his whale's tooth scimitar just as he had for many years. Despite the fact the Hundred Year War was over, being raised in a world divided by war with constant raids against his village – it was hard for him to let go of such a routine habit. The incident at Yu Dao also weighed heavily in his mind – he wasn't going to risk being unprepared if the peace talks went badly. He also wanted to be prepared to instill some slight anxiety in a certain Airbender if the boy came knocking at his door.

As if the spirits were listening to his thoughts, three short taps were made against his door only a short time later. "It's unlocked, you can come in."

The door creaked open slowly, followed by a shiny, shaved head adorned with a blue arrow tattoo. "Chief Hakoda, may I speak with you?"

The Water Tribesman smiled, "Aang! Of course! Please, have a seat," he gestured towards the small table across from the bed. The Airbender thanked him, closed the door, and walked over to the table, sitting in the chair farthest from Hakoda. The older man glanced towards the Avatar, "I'll be just a minute; I just want to finish polishing this first."

Walking towards the Airbender, he wiped down the scimitar once more. After giving the weapon a final glance, Hakoda decided it was satisfactory. Setting both the scimitar and the polishing rag on the table between himself and the Airbender, Hakoda sat himself in the chair opposite of Aang. With a pleasant smile, he asked, "Now, what can I do for you?"

The Avatar struggled to form a coherent sentence, his eyes locked on the shining blade in front of him, "Um, I . . . uh, wanted . . . I wanted to talk to you, about . . . uh, about Katara."

"What about my daughter?" Hakoda leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table with his hands clasped before him. "You're not thinking of breaking her heart, are you, Aang?"

"No! Of course, not! I – I love her!"

Hakoda laughed, "I'm just kidding with you, Aang! I know you love her. And I know she loves you." Aang laughed nervously in response, unsure of how to properly react. "But, seriously, what did you want to talk to me about regarding Katara?"

The Southern warrior noticed the Airbender visibly gulp before reaching into his robes. As Aang pulled out a silk band with a small, circular stone clasped to it, Hakoda knew his suspicions had been confirmed. When Aang spoke next, his calm words surprised both himself and Hakoda, "Sir, I do love you daughter. I love Katara more than anything in the world, Chief Hakoda. I know I'm only fourteen, but I know with all my heart who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know Katara recently turned sixteen, so she's now of marrying age. I might only be fourteen at heart, but I'm technically one hundred and fourteen years old, so I'm of age as well. What I'm trying to say sir, is that I want to marry your daughter. I'd like to ask you for Katara's hand in marriage."

Hakoda kept his face impassive as he stared back at the Avatar. Nodding towards the necklace in the young man's hands, he asked, "May I?" Without a word, Aang handed the token over to his girlfriend's father, passing it as if it were the most delicate object in the world. Running his fingers over the silk band, Hakoda noted the dark blue color was practically identical to that of Katara's current necklace; the small golden clasp also appeared to be matching. What stood out to Hakoda, however, was the stone. Its design and color were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Most stones found in betrothal necklaces were a solid color or had small specks of another color throughout the entire stone. This stone, however, was of two different colors. The lower right half of the stone had three wavy diagonal lines taken from the symbol for Waterbending; this part of the stone was blue, varying in color from a light blue that was very close to the color of the stone on Katara's necklace, to a slightly darker shade that matched her eyes. The upper left half of the stone, however, was gray in color, varying in shades of almost white to a dark, stormy gray. This section of the stone had not the three spiral crests seen on Katara's necklace, but instead, the top two inverted spirals found in the symbol of Airbending. Perhaps the most amazing part was the fact that the colors transitioned flawlessly – there was no definitive line between the two – the gray and blue just blended into each other.

The detail, the sheer intricacy of the stone itself was absolutely stunning to the Water Tribe Chieftain. A genuine smile graced his face as he continued to admire it, "Aang, this is. . ."

The Air Nomad answered before Hakoda could continue, "Horrible, I know. I made so many mistakes when I was carving it." His head was facing downwards, ashamed, "It's atrocious, I shouldn't have brought it to you."

"Aang, look at me." The Airbender glanced up, "I was going to say this is an amazing piece of art; absolutely beautiful. I can't see the mistakes, but knowing they're there – that just makes it more meaningful. You worked hard on this. You put your heart and soul into this and it shows; any mistakes just add character." Aang twiddled his thumbs, clearing flattered, mumbling a small 'thank you.' "What I want to know though is, where'd you get the stone? I've never seen one like it before!"

Aang rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, uh, that's because there isn't one that I know of." Hakoda cocked an eyebrow, so Aang continued, "I knew I wanted the design to be meaningful – partially Water Tribe, partially Air Nomad. But then I thought it would be nice for the colors to have meaning as well. I love Katara's blue eyes – they're enchanting and I can get lost in them for hours. And while I don't think they're special, Katara says the same thing about my gray eyes. So, I searched for a stone that was both gray and blue. I couldn't find any. So I made one."

Hakoda held up the necklace, questioningly, "You made the stone?"

"Well, formed it really. I found the blue stone in the mountains surrounding the Southern Air Temple and then I found the gray stone in some exposed tundra when we last visited the Southern Water Tribe. And then, I . . . kind of . . . Earthbended them together, so that's what you see before you. I know that might sound kind of cheap, using my bending in such a way, but I thought it was symbolic. Katara and I are two different people who found each other – it's like we're two different halves of the same whole. The stones were different, but they fit together now that they've found each other. So now the stones, like us, are a part of each other."

The older man stared at him, completely passive.

Aang faltered, "I know that's really cheesy. . ."

"No, Aang, that was far from cheesy. Most men, when carving a betrothal necklace, only think about what they want to carve into the stone, not caring about its color. You thought about what stone you wanted to carve and continued to seek it out – going as far as to bend two separate stones together – until you had exactly the one you wanted. You cared about the symbolism on a level I've only heard of a few times." Passing the necklace back to the Airbender, he added, "You should be very proud of your work, I would be." Aang held his breath as he returned the necklace to his robe pocket. "I suppose you're wondering what my answer to your question is." At the young boy's nodding, Hakoda continued, "First, I want to know what you can offer my daughter."

Aang locked his eyes with the Southern Chief, confident, "I can offer her. . ." He then paused and looked down, sighing. "Chief Hakoda, I . . . there are many things I can't offer your daughter. I can't offer her certainty that she'd have a permanent home for the foreseeable future. I can't promise that we'd even be able to stay in one place for a decent amount of time. My duties as the Avatar would make a marriage between Katara and I stressful, but I promise I'd never forget about my duty to her as her husband." The Airbender blushed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'd love to have kids with her someday and I think she wants children too, but I'd leave the decision up to her." Aang finally looked back up, once again staring into Hakoda's eyes. "There are so many things I can't offer or promise your daughter, but there is one thing I know. I can promise you that Katara will always have my love, my support, and my adoration. All I want is to make her happy."

Hakoda looked into the younger man's eyes, seeing nothing but honesty inside them, so he moved on to his next thought. "Aang, I know you would never do my daughter harm, nor ever intentionally let harm come to her. But," Hakoda leaned across the table towards the Airbender, "if for whatever reason you do hurt her or break her heart, I will hunt you down. I will do unto you whatever it is you do unto her. And by the spirits, I promise you, the Avatar State will be nothing compared to my wrath as a protective father." Aang gulped, nervousness and mild fright evident throughout his facial features – but to his credit, he never broke eye contact with Hakoda, nor did he back away.

"And I promise you Chief Hakoda that I would sooner die than let anything happen to your daughter, especially if it were me about to hurt her." Again, the Southern Chief saw that the Avatar's gray eyes held nothing but truth.

Leaning back, Hakoda cleared his throat, "Well then, I think I've come to my decision. Avatar Aang," Hakoda stood, "Master Airbender of the Southern Air Temple," he approached the young Avatar – who had now also stood – and extended his right arm, "I give you my blessing." Hakoda smiled widely, "You may ask my daughter for her hand in marriage."

Aang's grin stretched from ear to ear as he clasped Hakoda's forearm with his own in a traditional Water Tribe symbol of respect. Before the Airbender could react, however, Hakoda had pulled him into a crushing hug. Ironically, for being able to manipulate the element, Aang suddenly found himself without enough air. Thankfully Hakoda pulled away shortly after.

Before Aang could express his extreme gratitude, Hakoda held up his hand, a sad smile on his face. Aang of course feared the worst, believing the Chief had gone back on his decision. "Aang, while I do give you permission, I cannot allow you to ask Katara . . . for another two years." Aang looked puzzled, so Hakoda continued, "While you might be technically over sixteen years old, you're still not yet a man by Water Tribe standards. Once you turn sixteen – and thus a man in the Water Tribe – you can ask my daughter for her hand in marriage."

Aang looked crestfallen, "But what if – what if someone else asks? What if Katara gets married off to someone she doesn't love? What if –"

"Aang." The Airbender looked up at the sound of his name. Hakoda was chuckling, "You're getting yourself too worked up. The South isn't like the North. You see, in the South, unless a suitor holds strong sway with a girl's family – which you do – men cannot ask for her hand until she turns eighteen." Hakoda grinned, "And besides, you're in a relationship with Katara – she's not going to accept a proposal from some random guy and I'm not going to approve of any others who ask. Nor would I ever force Katara into a marriage against her will." Aang looked visibly calmer now, "Don't worry, I made a much bigger fool of myself when I asked Kya's father for her hand in marriage."

One thought lingered in Aang's head, "But what if you change your mind?"

Hakoda smiled down at the boy, "As long as you continue to make Katara happy, my answer will never change."

Aang returned the Chief's smile, "I'll do my best, sir."

"I know I was a little hard on you for a bit there, Aang, but it was just my nature as Katara's father. I don't want you to doubt my sincerity when I say I think you're the perfect man to marry my baby girl."

"I never would, Chief Hakoda."

"Alright then, although we will undoubtedly cross paths before then – as in, tomorrow, I look forward to seeing you in two years."

"I couldn't agree more."

Stretching, Hakoda walked Aang towards his door before turning to face the Air Nomad one last time for the night. "We have a long week of meetings ahead of us, Aang." The Southern Chief bowed, "But I think you got your most stressful one taken care of tonight."

The Avatar returned Hakoda's bow, as well as his cheeky grin, "I know I did, Chief Hakoda." Aang then opened the door and walked out into the hallway, "Goodnight, Chief Hakoda."

Hakoda smiled, "Goodnight, son."


A/N - So, there's Chapter 4! I'm sorry I didn't get this up as soon as I had hoped, everyone. I think there will be one more chapter, but I don't know when I'll get around to posting it (I need to write it yet). I need to catch up on some school work and I have a couple of midterms coming up this week, so perhaps in two weeks I'll have the next chapter up.

And just to make it clear, the flashback-within-a-flashback is now over, so the next chapter will resume the flashback at Hakoda's home the night before the town meeting (a.k.a., the flashback that Chapter 2 ended on).

A big thanks to the following users: koryandrs, MissMileyRaion, GibbytheSecond, and GJMEGA for reviewing!

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As a relatively new fanfiction writer, you guys made me feel much more confident about my work, especially this story. So I'm really, really sorry I kept you guys waiting for over two weeks for another chapter - I hope this chapter meets your guys' expectations. Again, it will sadly probably be another couple weeks before the final chapter is posted. However, if I have time and get it posted before then, I will!

So, until then, Stay Flamin' everybody! Thanks for reading; review if you'd like!