ZW 2011 Day 6: Legendary
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Zian
15 years ago, Katara disappeared. Today, there's a boy with straight, black hair and bright blue eyes in Republic City. Sokka can't help but take a liking to the kid. He's just like his long lost sister.
The statue of the Avatar looms over the bay. Sokka stands at the station, watching as the knots of passengers untangle on their way out of the train, wondering if his magnetic levitation idea would work. Whether the council would approve the funds to try it is an entirely separate problem he tries not to think about (things were easier when the Mechanist was alive. He knew where to get raw materials on the cheap). He leans against the ticket counter, absently fiddling with his boomerang as the clerk chatters about all the cute boys shuffling down the platforms and how she can't get her hair to shine no matter how hard she tries (he should understand; he's more Water Tribe than she is).
He's not sure why he's here, really. Katara left on this train, but there's no reason to think she'll come back on it (no reason to think she's coming back at all, really, not after 15 years). The clerk abruptly stops talking as a few people gather around clamoring about being late and needing this ticket or that boy to give him back his passport. Sokka counts himself lucky he didn't move to Ba Sing Se. Zuko reports the bureaucracy is worse than ever on that side of the Earth Kingdom; Republic City isn't half bad.
The train is nearly empty by now, but as the last of the passengers trickle out, one catches Sokka's eye. He looks about 13, with dark brown hair that looks black in the shadows of the platform and blue eyes that scream Water Tribe. Hitching his bag up higher on his back, the boy walks toward the ticket counter, eyes darting across the room. After he reaches the counter, he's stuck behind about six people in line, glancing around nervously as the minutes tick by. Once the crowd has cleared, he steps up to the counter and raises his chin in a way that Sokka thinks would be almost regal if he weren't so nervous.
"Can you tell me where the Water Tribe Quarter is?"
The clerk lifts one thin eyebrow. "The Quarters were dispersed a decade ago, kid. Who are you looking for?"
The boy's eyes widen. "My mother's family."
"Who's your mother?" Sokka interjects, and looks back at the clerk. "I'll take care of it."
The clerk nods briefly and slouches back in her chair, fiddling with the radio dial.
The boy looks up at him, and Sokka studies the face. His skin is lighter than Sokka's, the nose aquiline, brow high, eyes narrower and slightly slanted. Probably part Fire Nation, Sokka decides, not sure whether 30 years is far enough removed from the war that a Fire Nation-Water Tribe child doesn't invoke either pity or loathing. "What's your mother's name?"
"Kya," he says, and Sokka feels like he's been sucker punched.
"That was my mother's name too," he says, putting one hand on the boy's shoulder. "Where is she?"
The kid looks down and toes at the ground. "In Makapu. She was sick, and now she won't wake up, but the old lady there says she's not dead. I thought maybe since her family was Water Tribe maybe there would be healers-"
"Say no more!" Sokka tugs the boy forward. "I know where most of the Water Tribe people live around here. You're sure she was from Republic City?"
"This is where she lived before I was born. I don't know where she grew up though."
"Huh." Sokka directs the boy down a footpath shortcut through the park. There's a burning ember starting to flare in his chest, a little flicker of hope that maybe this boy is Katara's. But at the same time there's the terror that this is his sister, alone in Makapu with some creepy old healer lady. Or worse, Meng. "Do you know the names of any of her family?"
The boy looks up at him. "She doesn't like talking about it. Just that if anything ever happened to her I should go to Republic City and stay in the Water Tribe Quarter. She said somebody would take me in."
Yeah, this can't be his sister. Katara would worry her kid half to death with details. Stupid hope.
"Well, like that lady said, we haven't had a designated Quarter in years, but we'll see if anybody recognizes you."
This seems to work for the boy, who mutters a quiet "thank you" and hitches his bag up again as they come back to a main road.
"No prob, kid. What's your name, anyway?"
"Zian."
Well, that settles it. Mom might be Water tribe, but Dad is definitely Fire Nation.
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"So we wandered all over town, and found all kinds of people willing to let the kid stay with them and a lot of healers willing to go to Makapu, which is great, but nobody knows who he is. And nobody knows anybody named Kya who's over 30." Sokka takes a long swig of his drink. "So I guess I'll just send him and half a dozen healers back where he came from, but it's bugging me."
Zuko peers at him from under his hood, doing his best to pretend they're not in a loud bar in the middle of Republic City. "Fake name, probably."
Sokka gulps the last of his drink down and slams the mug back on the table with more flourish than is probably due the occasion. "See, I thought of that, but why would she have her kid ask for help with that name?"
"Maybe he thinks it's her real one."
Sokka taps his chin. "Oooooh, the ol' parents lying to their children thing. You know, I was kind of hoping that would disappear in this new-" he waggles his eyebrows "-enlightened world."
Zuko snorts in a way that is highly un-Firelordly. "A utopia Republic City is not."
"You didn't happen to have any secret love children, did you?" Sokka whispers conspiratorially.
"No!" Zuko snaps, then considers. "No."
Sokka raises one eyebrow. "Not sure how I feel about you having to think about it, buddy."
Zuko narrows his eyes. "Try not to read to much into it."
Sokka puts both hands on the table (loudly) and leans forward, glaring into Zuko's eyes. Zuko retreats further into his hood. "Not exactly honorable, Fire Lord Pants on Fire."
"Creative."
"Hey, it's not like you come up with better nicknames."
"I could come up with something better than 'Fire Lord Pants on Fire'."
Sokka shrugs. "I'm a little drunk."
"And I have the privilege of babysitting you the rest of the night?"
"You betcha. And now you get to tell me all about how dishonorable you've been while I decide whether or not to tell Mai."
"Mai and I have an understanding," Zuko huffs.
Sokka guffaws, briefly drawing the attention of some nearby men hunched over their drinks. "Right."
In sum, Sokka learns, Mai wouldn't want to hear what Sokka has to say, but if he really feels he has to tell her, she won't be surprised. Sokka can't quite wrap his head around how Zuko justifies this to himself (maybe he never did regain his honor and he's given up?) but decides not to think about it too hard. The rumors around the Fire Lord having only one child and his wife's coldness have been festering for years; he shouldn't be surprised. Just the same, it's making his head spin. Or maybe that's the alcohol. He'll give Zuko a better listen in the morning. Not that Zuko will be in the mood for another chat.
When he's crawled out of his own head, Zuko is staring at him. "Are you done?"
"What?"
"You were mumbling."
Sokka lurches out of his chair. "Come on, Zuko. Let's go back to whatever miserable motel you're staying in and chat about all the ladies you've never bothered to tell me about."
"There haven't been that many!"
"Jerkbender."
Zuko huffs. "I'm not proud of it, okay?"
Sokka slings an arm around his friend's shoulders as Zuko stands up (far more gracefully than Sokka had managed, he notes with a mixture of jealousy and awe). They walk (careen, what with Sokka's stumbling) out of the bar and slip into the shadows of the dark streets, making their way back to the hotel Zuko has been so gracious as to patronize. That's what the manager keeps telling them as he walks them up to Zuko's suite, so Sokka figures it's as good as true, though graciousness has never been something he associates with Zuko.
Mai is waiting up for them. "Hello, Sokka."
"Mai! Zuko didn't tell me you were here."
"Sorry," Zuko mutters. Whether he's muttering to Mai or Sokka is hard to tell. "Sokka probably can't see straight, much less find his house."
Mai glides out of her chair and opens a door off to the side of the room. "The extra bedroom."
Sokka nods enthusiastically. "Great! Have any earplugs?"
Mai raises one eyebrow. "Why would you ask me for those?"
Raising his hand to his mouth and whispering theatrically, as if to pretend Zuko can't hear them, he replies, "Don't want to hear you and Zuko going at it."
"He's drunk," Zuko interjects, and pushes Sokka into the second room, slamming the door behind him. Sokka immediately presses his ear to the door.
"What is he talking about?" Mai's tones are measured, but Sokka likes to think he can hear a little spark of annoyance.
"Let it be, Mai."
Sokka strains to hear. "You'll take the couch."
Zuko probably bows his head and assents, but all Sokka can hear is the rustling of sheets being pulled from a heavy cabinet. "He found a boy just off the train. His mother is sick in Makapu and had led him to believe he'd find family here."
"And?"
Sokka hears nothing for a moment, then a deep sigh. "The boy's name is Zian."
Mai's tone is uncharacteristically sharp. "We had an agreement."
"It could be a coincidence."
"If Izumi had been a boy-"
"I know, Mai, all right? I know."
"Is it possible?"
Zuko groans. "No, it can't be."
"You promised you'd never dishonor me this way."
Sokka thinks that slap might be the sound of Zuko's bare feet abruptly hitting the floor. "All I ever wanted was you. You've barely looked at me in twenty years!"
"You promised there would be no evidence."
"A child named Zian is not evidence!"
Mai sighs. "Of course not, Zuko. I'm sure an ancient Fire Nation name that you were going to name our child, and probably mentioned to one of your other women, just happens to turn up one day looking for his family. I'm sure he can't possibly be related to you."
Sokka definitely hears some annoyance in her voice now.
When Zuko speaks, his voice sounds thick with unshed tears, cracking a little, and Sokka can picture his hands clenching and unclenching around a blanket or a sheet. "You want the truth, Mai? Fine. Here's the truth. I spent years trying to figure out what was wrong with me, why my wife wanted nothing to do with me. I offered to divorce you, let you go find somebody you actually wanted, who would make you actually happy, but you refused. You said I made you happy, but that just wasn't part of our lives anymore. So I tried to do that with other people so we could both be happy. It didn't work, Mai. I wanted you, the whole time. And you know what? After a while, I wanted you less. I wanted one of them. I told her everything; the way the rejections felt, how I felt stuck in a marriage that neither of us really wanted anymore. Eventually, I fell in love with her. So yes, I told her what I'd name my next child, if I had one. Yes, it's possible this boy is mine. Sorry it had to turn out this way.
Sokka's jaw hits the floor. And he briefly thanks destiny for giving him Suki.
All three of them stay awake for a long time.
Sokka wishes Zuko would get a handle on his emotional monologues.
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The hangover the next morning is nearly unbearable. Zuko had returned him to his home in absolute, painful silence, which Sokka had been equal parts grateful for and uncomfortable with. Curling up next to Suki and putting a pillow over his head, Sokka relishes the cool darkness of his own bedroom in the early hours of the morning. His wife stirs, turning over to face him.
"Sokka?"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh"
"You smell like cheap fire whiskey."
"Cheap arctic vodka."
He can feel her rolling her eyes. "Weren't you supposed to find out if Zuko has any ideas about what to do about Zian?"
"Suki, my love, please whisper. My headā¦" Sokka groans theatrically (but also very accurately, if you ask him). "And I did, but please, don't shout."
Suki sits up and leans against the pillows. "Uh oh."
"Zian may or may not be Zuko's son. It was kind of unclear."
Suki gasps. "What?!"
"Suuuukiiii don't shout," he moans, clutching the pillow on his head.
"What?!" Suki hisses.
"Apparently," Sokka begins, poking his head out from under the comforting darkness of his pillow, "Zuko and Mai are a littleā¦distant. Zuko gets his rocks off elsewhere."
"Oh," Suki breathes.
"Yeah, news to me too. Anyway apparently Zian is this super unusual Fire Nation name or something; you'd think there would be other people in this world with the name but Mai is pretty hung up on the fact that Zuko wanted to use it and I'm talking too fast and my head hurts. Oh man."
Suki removes the pillow from his head and runs her fingers over his scalp, through his hair. "Try again, slowly."
"Mai thinks it's Zuko's kid. Zuko isn't so sure but he can't deny it."
"Oh."
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."
"What is Zuko going to do?"
Sokka groans. "Not sure. We didn't exactly chat much this morning."
"Is Mai angry?"
"Yeah, but she doesn't care that he had an affair. She's just mad he's going to get caught."
"Hmmm."
They spend the rest of the morning alternating between speculating about Mai and Zuko and napping. There comes a point near the middle of the day when Sokka's pounding head gives way to slight nausea and he feels not-miserable enough to get out of bed, and he finds that his children and Zian have been awake and busy enough to make a mess of his kitchen. They will pay, he promises himself as he wipes rice flour off the ceiling. They will pay.
Running a catalog of Zuko's type cross referenced against Zian's apparent ancestry, like the mind-blowingly brilliant genius that he is, Sokka tries to figure out who this mother could be. The possibility of Katara crosses his mind, but he dismisses it. Katara wouldn't tolerate being the side chick, and even if she did, she wouldn't be Zuko's. Would she?
Well, if she was, Zian's descendants are going to have some pretty darn legendary stories to tell about their great great great grandparents. Zian himself doesn't seem to be all that worried about who his parents are, just that one is really, really sick. So, Sokka packs up a few traveling comforts (mostly seal jerky) and the most eager waterbending volunteers, and they set off for Makapu that night. The train is peaceful, even if Sokka is convinced the ride would be smoother with magnetic levitation (can he call it mag lev for short? Who cares. He's inventing it. He can do what he wants). A bundle of nerves, Zian fidgets in his seat despite numerous attempts to get some sleep.
"Sokka?"
"Present."
The kid doesn't laugh (Sokka's jokes must be getting worse). "Do you think my mom is going to be okay?"
"Sure. We have some of the best healers in Republic City on this train."
A few of the waterbenders blush.
The train takes them to a ferry that takes them to another train (curse the curvatures of the Earth Kingdom coastline), which drops them off ten miles out of downtown Makapu-Sokka can't help but feel old when he learns the dinky little village of Makapu has suburbs- just after the sun rises and the pink disappears from the clouds. An earthbender-run shuttle earth-surfs them to the city (village. It's always going to be a village in Sokka's head). "Take us to your mom," he says, and Zian takes off in a familiar direction.
Sokka groans. The boy is heading directly toward Aunt Wu's house.
Sokka groans twice. A woman with braids that stick directly out of the sides of her head answers the door. "Meng!" Zian exclaims, wrapping the woman in a hug. "I brought healers for Mom."
Meng smiles tightly and ushers them in. She looks at Sokka as if not sure whether she recognizes him, and Sokka whistles innocently and wonders if Aunt Wu's bean curd puff recipe is still around. The healers crowd around a bed in what Sokka is pretty sure used to be Aunt Wu's reading room. Clearly, Meng has not kept up the superstition.
A healer asks Sokka to hand her a water pouch, and as Sokka approaches to give it to her, he catches a glimpse of the woman on the bed. Dark curls cut short are frizzing near her face, and her breaths are so shallow it hardly looks like she's breathing at all, but Sokka recognizes her immediately. It's Katara.
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One of the healers, Yuki, interrupts his pacing a few hours later. "Councilman Sokka?"
"Is she okay? Can I see her? What was wrong?" He grabs her shoulders and stares into her eyes before remembering himself and jumping back.
Yuki giggles. "She had a head injury. But we repaired most of the damage. She's awake and asking for you."
Sokka has never been particularly mannerly. He pushes past her and darts into the room. "Katara?"
"Sokka!" She stretches her arms out toward him. "It's so good to see you."
"Where have you been?" He demands into her shoulder. "We looked everywhere for you."
"It's a long story, Sokka."
"Okay, so you were pregnant, and so you just disappear?" He pulls away from her and crosses her arms.
"Sokka-"
"What were you thinking?" He gesticulates wildly and his voice reaches a squeaky pitch.
"Zian, can you give us a minute?"
The boy bounces out of the room, his smile lopsided in a way that Sokka suddenly notices looks a bit like Zuko's. Or maybe that's just his imagination. "Who's the father?"
"Sokka."
"What? I'm your brother; I have a right to know."
"I'm not going to tell you."
"I can't believe this. He can't just get you pregnant ignore you or his kid."
"He didn't know."
"Is it Zuko?"
"No!" But Sokka sees the flicker of her eyes to one side and the slight blush in her cheeks and has his answer.
"Don't lie to me!" He squawks.
"Listen Sokka, I couldn't tell anyone. Zuko didn't need an illegitimate child. Mai had strict terms."
"He loved you, you know."
Tears spring to Katara's eyes."
"Don't say that."
He crosses his arms and looks down at her. "He did. Maybe still does, I don't know."
"You can't tell anyone."
"I won't, I won't. Promise." Sokka grins. "Can't make any promises about Zuko though."
Katara raises her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Weeeell thanks to your complete lack of creativity in naming your son and stealing Zuko's idea, he and Mai figured it out pretty much the second I told them I knew this kid named Zian. 'Self peace' hasn't exactly been a popular name in the Fire Nation. War, and all."
Katara pouts at him. "It's a beautiful name."
"Yeah, yeah."
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It's not simple after that. Katara refuses to come back to Republic City with him, and everything is pretty much the same in Sokka's life except that he's the only one in the world who knows where his sister is and he has a secret nephew. Little things like that. Zuko's marriage is unraveling faster than usual (or so Toph reports from her letters every time she visits the Fire Nation. Zuko has refused to visit the city since that night out). And, perhaps most horrifically, Suki knows something is up and she won't stop badgering him about it.
This is all going to come out someday, and Sokka hopes he's around to see it. The fallout is going to be legendary.
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A/N: This was a longer one, and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it, but I think it's something different. Thank you to all who have read and reacted, especially jacpin2002 and for reviewing. Hope you guys liked this! :)
