Ugh...stomach viruses stink. Yes, I'm home sick. Gah. Anyway, on with the chapter.
About two weeks later, Toshi called another meeting.
"We're nearing the Fire Nation," he reminded them. "How are we gonna make anyone who might stop us think this is still Azula's ship and she caught those three?" He motioned to Aang and the two Firebenders.
"I found some manacles down in what appears to be an impromptu prison hold," Katara said. "We can always use those if we need to. If we need to," she stressed, seeing Zuko and Aang's looks. "Geez."
Toshi thought about it. "If they want proof we have all three, then yeah. Otherwise, I think a 'tied-down' Appa should convince them of Aang, maybe Zuko and Iroh, if they heard that y'all had joined forces."
"What if they insist on escorting or speaking to Azula?" Ty Lee asked. She was playing with a map while the meeting progressed. "They probably will."
Toph snorted. "Tell them that she has threatened anyone who dares wake her from her sleep with death and if anyone escorts us she'll escort them to the dungeon when we get to the Capital. Worked back home when I was sneaking off to Earthbend."
Lakai chuckled. "Sounds like a good plan to me. All in favor say 'aye'."
"Aye!" came the thunderous reply. Toshi nodded.
"Dismissed. Sokka, still want my help?"
Sokka nodded eagerly. "Yes, please." Everyone else filed out, leaving Toshi telling Sokka that it was "good, but ya need to…"
Ty Lee sighed as soon as the door shut. "I'm worried."
"About what?"
"Sokka. I think I saw that Water Tribe wench, Mei Mei, looking at him and following him to the cabin. What if seeing someone else?"
Zuko spoke up. "I don't Sokka is capable of hurting you on purpose. He is either too stupid or has too much heart to do that. Given what I know, I'd say both."
"Sokka's not that dumb; he just has his moments of utter stupidity," Katara said. "I think he's just been busy."
"With what?" Katara couldn't tell her that. Ty Lee frowned and went outside. Lakai lay down on the bed, waiting for Toshi to be done with whatever was so important that he could ignore his wife. Aang went with Iroh to fine-tune his Firebending before he had to face the Fire Lord. (Regardless of the fact he wouldn't be able to use it, Aang insisted that he be at least almost fully realized "just in case".) Toph said she'd be in the cabin she shared with Aang, sleeping most likely. Zuko and Katara, who hadn't been without the other since their little altercation, went to practice sparring with each other.
Dinner on the ship was always a big deal. Tonight was especially big, because the Water Tribe kayaks of Hakoda's warriors had met up and the men of the tribe were on board.
"Dad!" Zuko watched Katara throw herself at a strongly built man the others had called "Chief Hakoda". Hakoda hugged his daughter.
"Katara, how you've grown! You're looking more like your mother everyday, only not near as skinny. Your mother was a stick." Katara laughed and squeezed Hakoda as hard as she could. "Okay, let me at your brother. Where's my warrior son?"
"Here, Dad." Sokka came forward, fidgeting with something in his pocket. Hakoda looked his son over, then pulled him into a platypus bear hug.
"You've gotten big as well. I'd say you're almost taller than I am. And what are you toying with?" Sokka looked around and pulled his father aside to talk. Katara smiled, tears in her eyes.
"I'm so happy Dad found us." Zuko smiled and kissed his lover softly.
"I'm glad you're happy; have you told him about us?" he asked quietly. Katara paled. "I'll take that as a 'not yet'. You'll have to tell him sooner or later."
Katara sighed. "I know, I know. Let me enjoy the fact my dad is back in my life!" They watched as Toshi came up to Hakoda and was embraced.
"Toshiyan! I never thanked you for helping us out when we having troubles with those Fire Merchant ships." Toshi shrugged and laughed.
"Hey, what kind of Water Tribe man would I be if I didn't help another in trouble? 'Sides, they were buggin' me." Lakai came up. "This is my wife, Lakai." Lakai bowed and started informing Hakoda about his children's antics since they had joined up.
Chen came out and banged a pot. "If you're hungry, come and get it. The Water Chief, Cap'n, and the Avatar's buddies first, the rest of y'all kin wait."
Dinner consisted of what Lakai said was Chen's best cooking yet. Primarily fish, but he had raided Azula's stocks and found plenty of beef-pork, chicken-pork, and mutton-pork, along with fruit. Iroh tasted the pepper steak rice and sighed.
"We must make him head chef when we return to the Fire Nation, Zuko," he said. Zuko agreed with his uncle on this matter.
"As long as he doesn't make breakfast," the teenager added. Iroh nodded. He had heard of the disastrous breakfast.
Katara was talking to her father over some fried rice and tea. Hakoda glanced at Zuko from time to time, but just nodded at what Katara was saying.
"Ahem." Sokka's pitiful cough was barely heard over the chatter of dinner. "Ahem, Ty Lee."
Ty Lee turned to Sokka. Everyone around also looked at the nervous warrior. "Um, I…I want to talk to you after dinner," he said in a hurry. Ty Lee frowned and nodded.
"Okay, Sokka. Whatever you want." Hakoda and Toshi looked at each other and shook their heads. Everyone else continued with dinner.
"I don't think I've ever eaten so much," Toph moaned after everything was over. "That mango pudding was too good to stop eating." Aang laughed and offered to help his teacher-cum-sweetheart to the cabin. "No. I'll get indigestion or something. You wanna walk around with me?"
"Sure, Toph." Ty Lee and Katara sighed to see young love.
"So cute."
"They were made for each other." Sokka tapped Ty Lee on the shoulder and made a motion for her to follow him. The pink acrobat did.
Zuko gulped and walked over to Hakoda. "Chief Hakoda of the Water Tribe, maybe Katara has told you-"
"She has," he said, looking at Zuko sternly. He broke into a smile when he saw Zuko become paler, if that was possible. "And I am perfectly fine with it. I heard from Toshiyan and Lakai as well as my daughter that you have been good to her, even willing to wear manacles to help the Avatar. A man who will do that is the man I want for my daughter. But," Hakoda added, "if you want to propose, you have to make a necklace or something along those lines, and wait until she's sixteen. That's the marrying age for the Water Tribe."
Zuko nodded. "Of course, sir. I just have one question."
"What?"
"Is it that obvious?"
Hakoda laughed. "Only to someone who's been married before."
"EEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYAAAAAA!" The high-pitched squeal of a woman rent the night.
"What in Jala's name…" Lakai muttered as everyone ran to Sokka and Ty Lee's cabin, the sound's origin.
"Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" Ty Lee was suffocating Sokka. Hakoda laughed when he saw.
"Calm down. Do you want to be a widow before the wedding?" Everyone but Toshi turned to Hakoda.
"You mean, Pokey's gonna be Sugar Queen's sister-in-law?" Toph asked. Hakoda nodded, then remembered.
"Yes, that's true." Katara turned to Toshi.
"Did you know about this?"
"Yup. You think your brother could carve an engagement necklace alone? He had to get my permission to use the stone anyway."
They finally took in the necklace. It was a pale pink stone on a white ribbon. The emblem on the stone was a heart with the character for acrobat. Katara went over and embraced Ty Lee.
"Welcome to the family, Ty Lee. Would your aunt mind you marrying my brother?" Ty Lee giggled and shook her head.
"No. As long as I don't marry some shiftless circus boy, Aunt Chai is perfectly happy," she replied.
Zuko laughed. He remembered Ty Lee's aunt saying the same thing when she mentioned going for the circus if she had to continue classes at the Academy.
Sokka took Ty Lee's hand. "If you'll excuse us…" He waved everyone out of the cabin.
Once away, Lakai sighed. "Reminds me of our engagement." Toshi laughed.
"Only we were older and it was much more, um, intimate," Toshi pointed out with a blush. Everyone laughed.
Zuko found Katara standing alone on deck a few hours later, after everyone else had gone to bed. "Katara?"
The young Waterbender turned at Zuko's voice. "Oh, it's you." Zuko frowned and took Katara in his arms.
"What's wrong, Kata?" he murmured, remembering the nickname her brother had called her. Hearing the name started the tears Katara had been holding back.
"I keep thinking about Sokka and Ty Lee. What if they die at the Fire Palace? Then Sokka would have gone through all that hard work for nothing! And what about everyone else? What if Aang and Toph die? What if Dad dies? What if you die?" She started sobbing.
Zuko held her tighter. "If anyone of us dies, my father dies first. If none of us dies, my father still dies. We will win this war, Katara. And I'll show you everything in the Fire Palace, including the gardens and the ponds. We'll get some of the rooms designed to fit your likes, as well as Aang and Toph's. There will be all the snow lotuses and moon peaches you could think of," he whispered. "We don't have to worry about Sokka, since all that will need to be done is remodel Ty Lee's suite."
Katara slowly stopped crying. She allowed Zuko to take her to the cabin. She kissed him softly on the lips before lying down. As Zuko got in bed next to her, he heard her mutter, "Thanks, Zuko."
The character on Ty Lee's necklace, for those of you who know, is either supposed to acrobat or jump or something along those lines.
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