You Make Life So Hard

Mutterings: Suki Edition

Hakoda hears more in the Western Air Temple than he ever signed up to, but he resolves to make the best out of it.

this one's not really zutara either but that's coming soon, promise. a HUGE thank you to Beckit on ao3 who always leaves super sweet reviews and inspired a huge part of this piece!
disclaimer: slight sukka. I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.
trigger warning! - torture: cuts and burns

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Being a warrior trains you to sharpen your reflexes, listen to your instincts, and hone your senses. As such, a renowned and feared warrior like Chief Hakoda had fantastic instincts and excellent hearing. This, paired with the excellent acoustics of the stone temple, meant that Hakoda heard everything that people muttered to themselves, whether he wanted to or not.

When Sokka wasn't talking battle plans, he was talking about food or Suki. From Chit Sang, he heard all about how much he missed his girlfriend and best friend, as well as how much he wanted to get into a fight. From Haru, he heard the whispers of how cool it would be to metalbend and how she didn't pay attention to him anymore. (Hakoda had an awful feeling he knew who she was.) The Duke and Teo were often coming up with some game to pass the time or talking about their adventures in the Northern Air Temple and treehouses. Zuko muttered to himself about pretty much everything, ranging from the intricacies of tea to how unfair she was being. (Again, Hakoda was not happy when he figured out who Zuko's she was.) Aang mumbled about his forever girl (oh, if Hakoda had been a firebender...), the Avatar State, and what a hard teacher Zuko was. But while the Chief was very concerned about the mental stability of some of these people, their mutterings were not what truly worried him. No, when he heard Katara, Suki, or Toph ranting to themselves in badly concealed whispers, that was when he truly felt fear. Nevertheless, his paternal instincts would not let him sit back and do nothing.

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Suki:

Hakoda warily approached the young warrior who was facing away from him, holding a stick in each hand and running through some complex fighting forms, all while muttering curses at a figure who was not there. He had heard from Sokka that Suki had never known her father, and her mother had left her on the doorstep of the Kyoshi Warrior dojo at the age of two. He had decided to talk to her today and be a parental influence...if she even needed one. Suki was apparently tuned in to her surroundings as much as he was, since she turned around to face him when he was still a few feet away. She threw down her sticks and crossed her arms.

"Hm. Here to tell me I should be helping your daughter cook?"

Hakoda blinked. He couldn't remember ever saying something to offend Suki, so where was the vitriol coming from?

"I mean, not that I don't think she's powerful. And a great cook. Katara's really amazing in every way. But if you're planning on telling me that I should not worry about fighting, and instead do laundry or something, save it. I already had to train that out of Sokka and I'd rather not have to do it for a grown adult." His eyebrows raised and he nearly stepped back, just because of the force of her tone. He had come here because he had often heard her whispering to herself about how she was going to "absolutely end Azula" and he wanted to know if she wanted to talk to someone about it. Prison and torture were not something any fifteen-year-old should have to experience, no matter how early they had started training to be a warrior (although Hakoda's jaw had dropped when he learned it was the age of eight). Instead, he was being scolded on sexist sentiments he didn't even have! But he quickly put two and two together. He shook his head as he leaned against a pillar.