The Lilac Horizon Between a Blue Sky and a Red Earth

Sokka's Promise

Zuko's eyes follow Sokka from the palace and across the courtyard, where he finds Suki and begins to dance with her, rocking side to side, each safely within the embrace of the other. An idea graces the Fire Lord's mind and he races downstairs.
A path is cleared for him through the crowd. Zuko interrupts the moment.
"Hey, Sokka. How's it going?"
Sokka huffs. "I'm a little busy, Zuko."
"I know. Come with me."
Zuko drags Sokka across the yard and pushes him up onto a stone bench in front of the garden.
He stares at the Fire Lord in shock.
"Make it a moment to remember. Let everyone know this is a decision you'll never regret."
The two men hold eye contact. Sokka exhales, then smiles a bit.
"Thanks, Zuko."
The Fire Lord addresses the crowd for a final time that night. They turn in groups to hear the announcement, and the band quiets.
"I thank you all for your attendance at my celebration tonight, in honor of national Tea Day. The palace courtyard will remain open to you as late as you so wish. I bid you goodnight, but before I lose your attention, my dear friend Grand Swordsman Sokka has a very important announcement to make."
Zuko steps out of the way, leaving Sokka standing alone on the stone bench looking strangely tranquil.
He inhales.
"Tonight, standing amongst the crowd, is a woman whom I am hopelessly in love with."
Zuko locates Suki in the crowd, whose eyes are flashing between the Fire Lord and the water Tribe warrior. Her face turns a bright red.
"Not even I am entirely capable of understanding just how amazing she is, which is why I'm probably crazy for doing this publicly. But, when you're in love, it's hard to care about anything else. Suki, it's been years. I know you've been waiting for me to get up the guts to do this. So I hope this is what you've been expecting."
He reaches into his pocket and takes out what looks like a handmade necklace, very similar to the one Katara wears, but the pendant on this one appears to be made out of jade.
"Will you please marry me?"
The crowd is dead silent. Suki cuts through them and stands in front of Sokka, crossing her arms.
"Even though I'm a girl?"
"Especially because you're a girl."
She grins, then yanks him off the bench and into a long kiss. The crowd breaks the silence and erupts into deafening applause. Sokka, in the midst of their kiss, places the necklace around her neck and secures it.
Once the crowd returns to their drunken festivities, the newly engaged couple approach Zuko who, in the midst of all the romance, has begun to think about Katara again.
"Thank you, Zuko," Sokka says, pulling Suki closer by his firm grip on her hip. He nuzzles into her neck, beautifully accented by the jade pendant.
"It was my pleasure. Invite me to the wedding."
"Even if it's not in the Fire Nation?" Suki asks, snaking an arm around her fiancé.
"Even so."
Sokka begins to nip at her ear lobe.
"You're welcome to use one of the guest rooms if you'd like," Zuko offers. Suki blushes hard.
"Pleeeaseeee," Sokka begs her. She sighs.
"Follow me," he says. "I'll escort you."
The Fire Lord leads the couple through the drunk crowd and into the palace. He follows the hallways to the series of guest rooms lining the edge of the palace. He opens the door to a particularly well decorated room, often called the red room.
Deftly, he lights each of the lanterns lining the walls, illuminating the room just enough to make out the outlines of the furniture, leaving the rest of the room shrouded in shadows. He bows, then leaves the couple to themselves.
On his way back to the courtyard, he hears arguing. He ducks behind a column just in time for Aang and Katara to storm by.
"We are going home," Aang orders.
"No! Why is it that all of a sudden you have a strong will when I'm upset, but for some reason you'll just let me be screamed at by some crazy woman?"
"You have to pick your battles, and frankly, I'm tired of the way you act in situations like that. You don't always have to be so be so belligerent."
"Obviously if you're not going to stick up for us, I have to. When are you going to grow up and start acting like a man?"
The two fall quiet. The silence is so thick, it nearly suffocates Zuko.
A pair of footsteps echo though the palace, leading to the front courtyard. He's not quite sure which one stormed out until Katara sprints right past the column he's ducked behind, not noticing him, or maybe just not acknowledging him.
She runs around the corner and he hears a door slam. He thinks for a brief moment that maybe she ran to the study, but then he remembers that the study is locked whenever Zuko is not inside. He tip toes down the hallway to where he saw her disappear, then stops at the door to the gold room. Inside is what sounds like gentle sobbing.
He knocks. The sobbing halts.
The door swings open and Katara is standing there, hunched, tears running down her lovely face. Zuko feels a weight drop into his gut, and all he wants to do is hold her.
"Are you okay?" Zuko asks gently.
She sniffs, looking him up and down. He recedes a bit beneath her observation. To him it feels like scrutiny.
"Come inside," she demands softly.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
They stare at each other. Her expression doesn't change.
"Come inside," she demands, with a bit more force.
"Katara, it's a bedroom."
"I know it's a bedroom. Come inside."
He can't resist a third time. Giving in to his own temptation, he enters the bedroom. He knows what he'll try to do. He knows what he wants. He knows she's not going to give it. She's testing him. He just knows she's testing him. Maybe Aang set this up to see if Zuko would cheat. Maybe Mai paid them to put on that whole show. He lights the lanterns and clears his throat.
"So," Zuko begins, trying to keep things casual. "What happened?"
"Aang and I fought," she says, completely miserable. Her eyes well with tears again and soon she is crying into Zuko's chest.
He can smell her perfume. He can smell the jasmine tea on her breath. He can smell the lavender oils in her hair. He wills himself not to get hard.
"Sometimes I hate the way we treat each other," she whispers, her tears wetting his robes. "And I hate the way Mai treats you. Sometimes I can't help but think that I wouldn't treat you that way. That we wouldn't treat each other this way."
"Don't talk like that," Zuko mutters into her ear.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm already tempted."
"Then give in to your temptations. Don't shut them in and pretend they're not human," she balls her fist in his robes and pushes them against his chest.
"Like you said, we can't slip up again. This is already dishonorable."
"You want to know what's dishonorable? Tormenting yourself by forcing yourself into being faithful to someone who doesn't even love you."
"She's my fiancée. I have to be faithful."
He thinks back to the library, and how she'd used her weapons against him. He vowed never to firebend at her, not in a million years.
"I saw what she did to you," she whispers cryptically. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I know that she hit you. Right below your scar, too. I was going to ask you for help with something, but I ended up finding you in the library with her."
Zuko rests his forehead on her shoulder, exhaling steam over her body. She threads her fingers into his hair and holds him. Her thumb brushes his ear and he shudders violently at the first gentle touch he's felt in a while.
He can't stop himself anymore. He doesn't want to stop himself anymore, and neither does she. He turns his chin toward her and begins to leave gentle kisses over her neck. She sucks in a sharp breath, biting down on both her lips. Zuko knows very well what this means.