This is a short chapter. It is easier to write, and I figured you might rather have a short one than a longer wait for the next chapter. I'm worried about getting the ending right, and it's giving me writer's block/nerves.
Ursa, her husband, and Zuko's half-sister had left the room with Aya and Haru. Katara's heart bled for Zuko, knowing he wondered if his mother could love him after the death of Azula. She knew for him when only her protection mattered; he didn't hesitate. And still, he wouldn't. At the time, though, he never imagined telling his beloved mother he killed her daughter. That polarity of loyalty didn't offend her; it just made her love him even more.
Now they were facing a group of people they knew, well, but one. Katara knew Zuko was deferring to her to ask who the woman was. "Sokka," she started, "care to introduce us?"
Sokka gave her a crooked smile and said, "this is Suki. She's amazing! She's also a Kyoshi warrior."
Zuko wanted to kiss Katara when she immediately took a step in front of him. He loved how protective she was of him, a feeling and an action that was mutual. He knew she worried that Suki could be a threat to him.
Suki looked affronted when she said, "I'm here to help."
Zuko attempted to step from behind Katara, and she shifted so he couldn't. Katara said, "I trust my brother completely, and he brought you here. I just need to hear from you as to why he did."
Sokka started to talk, but Suki held up her hand to stop him. She felt she understood Katara. She was a woman in love who would do anything to protect her love and future.
Suki said, "I'm here because your brother promised Zuko wants to stop the hundred-year war. Since that is a goal I share, I came to help."
"And you like sharing Sokka's bed," Yamato teased. Katara noticed the softening of her brother's features as he looked at Suki. Katara could tell that her brother was in love with the beautiful warrior standing there.
Blushing, Suki said, "I-I also thought, if Sokka is right and Zuko wants to end the war, he might want a Koyshi Warrior as one of your bodyguards."
Zuko blinked in shock. "You would risk your life for me?"
She shrugged, "I see it as risking my life for a cause we both seem to believe in —peace."
Sokka draped his arm around Suki's shoulders. "And she's amazing! She's the most deadly of the whole group!" Suki blushed again.
"Two Water Tribe members and two Earth Kingdom members. I'm thinking that should help with showing I want peace," Zuko said.
"Two?" Sokka asked in confusion.
It was Katara who said, "wait until you meet Toph. She's Metalbender and fierce. She was even part of an underground fighting ring. She's known as The Blind Bandit."
Suki gasped in shock. "I've heard of her! She's here?"
"She's here and already used her metalbending to protect Katara," Zuko said.
"Where was Kyo!?" Yamato asked angrily. He didn't like the idea that Katara wasn't properly guarded when he was gone.
"Laughing his butt off around the corner," Zuko replied laughing. "They knew no one would try anything with him around. Everyone here thought she was just a blind girl from the Fire Nation. We were trying to weed out potential risks."
Katara said, "don't worry, Kyo did a very good job while you were gone." She paused and then smiled. "And you," Katara said, walking over and hugging Kai. "I missed you."
Kai blushed at Katara's attention and blatant honesty. She felt humbled that the future Fire Lady felt that way about her, especially since she respected Katara so much. "It's nice to be back."
As Katara pulled back, Zuko bowed to Sokka. "I never expected my mother to be your 'epic side quest,' thank you so much. You brought her back to me and that means the world. I don't know how to thank you, for so long I thought she was dead."
"You don't need to," Sokka said. "This was my appreciation for you protecting my sister. She was captured by the Fire Nation and brought here to be…. You protected her." He couldn't bring himself to mention rape. Not when it was his sister. "On top of that I understand how important this is. I would do anything to get my mother back."
Zuko nodded solemnly and said, "Katara saved me. I wasn't really living until I met her. Suddenly I had a reason to fight and really live."
Suki blinked back tears. She couldn't believe how sweet the conversation was—two men loved the same woman differently and respected each other for it.
She knew Sokka respected Katara's strength; he had told her about it often. And with that thought, something in her head clicked. Part of being in love with the right man could be like being a warrior. She relied on her co-warriors to protect her and guard her back, and they felt the same way about her. Zuko and Katara were like that, and she had a strong feeling she and Sokka would be too. She then glanced at Kai and Yamato and realized they had it too. It seemed to her likely that a lot of the people around Katara and Zuko were the same. Suddenly she had a deep longing to have precisely that -love and respect.
Tohru and Kyo suddenly walked in, and Kyo stopped short. "Yamato! You're back!"
Kia flushed red; she was so glad to see the man she loved reunited with his best friend.