You Make Life So Hard

Mutterings: Zuko 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.

negligible zutara :(
I know I said Katara's part was next, but it became too angsty for my liking. so have this short (not at all proofread) piece to tide you over
I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything else you recognize.

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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.

But this chapter is about an important talk with Zuko.

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Hakoda liked to think of himself as pretty laid back, but in reality, he was a very protective father. And why wouldn't he be? In the short period of time that he had been reunited with his children, other teenagers had been just throwing themselves at Sokka and Katara. Slowly but surely, Hakoda was making his way through anyone that posed a threat to his daughter - not because he thought she couldn't protect herself, but just because he thought it was his duty. Talking to Haru had been quick and easy, the young boy had scurried off after just a few stern words. Aang's conversation had been a bit more painful, but only because Hakoda had said the words, "maybe you should ask her if she wants to be your forever girl," more times than he thought any human should have to. Now, he was gearing up for Zuko - he could sense that this talk would be a little more strange. The sixteen-year-old was sitting in his usual spot, far away from the rest of the group, with his legs crossed and a glum look on his face. Chief Hakoda strode over to him and frowned when Zuko's good eye widened.

"Relax, Zuko. I'm not going to do anything to you. Are you alright?" Huh. He had already messed up. You were never supposed to start off on a kind tone when talking to boys your daughter's age!

"Uh, yes, Chief Hakoda sir. I'm fine. Can I help you?" Hakoda decided not to tell him 'Hakoda was fine.' Before he could say anything else that would completely ruin the protective dad vibe he was trying to build up, he blurted out the question he had initially meant to ask.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

"My-my what? I don't- I just need her to forgive me!" Hakoda refrained from saying that he had done less to gain his wife's forgiveness all those years ago when he had dumbly said she was better off mending his pants than she was hunting.

"Alright, forgive you for what, exactly? What did you do to Katara?" He felt a little bad about being so stern when he saw the terror on the teenager's face - he had figured that the kid probably didn't have a very good relationship with his own megalomaniac father - but his children came first. If this punk had done anything to hurt Katara...

"No- I- it's not like that! It was in Ba Sing Se, and we were in these catacombs together. Wait, no, we were thrown in, we didn't meet by choice! And then I started talking to Katara, and we bonded a little. And she offered to heal my scar with her special water. I was just shocked..." Zuko trailed off with his hand on his scar, and with his mind clearly back in those catacombs. His story didn't surprise Hakoda, he knew his daughter had always wanted to fix everything she could, whether that was a collapsed igloo or a dying penguin baby.

"But what happened?"

"Well, I- I turned on her. My crazy sister came along and threatened my uncle and I just wanted to go home and regain my honor and have my father look at me, really see me but...I ended up throwing Katara's kindness right back in her face. And I regretted it so, so much. She was the only one, besides my uncle, who could see me the way I wanted my father and country to, but I betrayed both of them in the end. So Katara, she has every right to hate me. I hate myself for doing that. But I need to show her I've changed. I need her to see me again." Hakoda knew the boy wasn't talking (rambling, honestly) to him anymore; he was caught up in his own emotions and on the brink of tears. So he dropped the protective dad role for a moment and slid his arm around Zuko as he sat down. He was taken aback when Zuko buried his face in Hakoda's side and started sobbing but moved his hand in circles the way he had every time Katara came to him crying when she was still a little kid. His heart broke a little for this teenager, this child, really, who was scarred in more ways than one. He wasn't sure how long they sat there in slightly uncomfortable positions, but when Zuko sat up straight and wiped his eyes, he figured it was okay to say what he had originally intended to.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck in getting back on her good side, because you'll need it. But if you ever hurt my daughter, I will personally make sure that yo-"

"That's not necessary! I would never, ever do that! Not that I see her that way...not that you were talking about me seeing her that way, of course, of course, you were just saying in general...I'm just gonna go now." Hakoda had no choice but to grin a little as the boy scampered away from him. But when Zuko turned around, walked back towards him, and grasped his forearm in the traditional Water Tribe handshake as he said, "Thank you," Hakoda absolutely beamed.

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I am so so soft for the zuko and dadkoda relationship, and I definitely didn't do it justice.
Katara's part is next and then that'll be it for this short miniseries (? I guess that's what it's become). I think I was struggling with writing hers because I'm also working on chapter 3 of You Knew It Was Me and it's harder than you might think to write a 14 and 20 year old Katara at the same time. but I'll stop rambling now.

as always, I'm more than happy to hear your thoughts. endless thanks to somebodyssoulmate who left reviews that made my day a lot better!