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The firelord was coming to visit.
And Kanna was NOT happy.
Oh sure, she could recognize that he was much better than his predecessors, and she was grateful he had ended the war.
But she didn’t like him.
How could she be expected to? He had invaded her village, grabbed her, insulted her, and then fought her grandson.
He had made her grandchildren leave her.
She would tolerate him, she decided, but she would not forgive him.
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The firelord arrived on a water tribe ship. Kanna was grateful to whoever had suggested that idea, because it hadn’t exactly been easy fixing the gigantic v-shaped rift the last fire nation ship had left, especially without waterbenders. Just another reason to dislike the former prince.
She expected him to be the first to unboard, after all, he had been last time, but she was pleasantly surprised when her son ran off the ship and directly into her arms. He looked good, tan and healthy. He had been visiting Sokka in the fire nation for the past few weeks, and if nothing else they seemed to be hospitable hosts.
And murderers, her mind supplied.
“Mom,” Hakoda murmured. “I missed you”.
She patted his back. “I missed you too, but you were only gone for three weeks. Let me go so I can say hello to my grandson who I haven’t seen in months!”
Hakoda chuckled but obliged, moving to the side just as a blue blur all but tackled her. “Gran Gran!” Sokka shrieked.
“Hello Sokka.” She pulled away to look at him, grasping onto the sides of his face. “You’ve grown so much! I feel like the last time I saw you you were a boy, but now, you are most certainly a man.”
Sokka blushed, ducking his head to the side. “Gran Graaaan…” he whined, embarrassed.
At that moment, the fire lord himself made his appearance. He was flanked by two female guards, and was wearing what looked like one of Sokka’s coats, but he still seemed distinctly uncomfortable with the temperature. His jaw was clenched to keep it from trembling and his arms were wrapped tightly around his frame. Not to mention the semi-permanent glare on his scarred face.
Kanna felt a dark shiver of satisfaction at his discomfort.
She pushed that feeling away. As much as she didn’t like him, she wasn’t a cruel person, and she was sure the cold couldn’t be pleasant for a firebender.
Sokka stepped away from her and towards the firelord - Zuko, her mind supplied - and placed an arm on his shoulder. At the contact, some of the tension left the firebender, and he allowed himself a small smile.
Kanna raised an eyebrow.
“Gran Gran, this is Zuko,” Sokka said. “Zuko, this is Gran Gran.”
Kanna glared. “Yes, we’ve met.” Her voice was venomous, no matter how hard she tried to keep it neutral.
Zuko flushed and looked down in shame. Good. He stepped away from her grandson and towards her. She briefly wondered if he was about to attack her, but didn’t move back. She was done showing weakness to the fire nation.
She needn’t have worried though, because Zuko instead knelt down in front of her, head bowed, hands on his knees. Kanna was understandably shocked. Zuko was perhaps the most powerful person in the world, other than Aang, and she was a water tribe commoner. Why would he be bowing?
“Lady Kanna, I extend my humblest apologies, both on behalf of the fire nation, and -” A pause. “And more importantly on my own behalf. I caused you and your nation harm, and I will live with that for the rest of my life. I can assure you I will be trying to make up for all the atrocities that have befallen you for as long as I reign. I was a selfish boy the last time I was here, and I acted without thinking about how my actions would hurt others. I ask only that you consider my apology.”
Well that was unexpected.
Kanna stood in front of the kneeling firelord (and wasn’t that an insane circumstance), mouth open and hands trembling. Sokka and Hakoda were looking at her expectantly, Sokka with hopeful (or maybe pleading) eyes, but Zuko’s own eyes were still angled away from her, towards the icy floor.
She sighed. “I thank you for your apology, Firelord Zuko. I can only promise I will consider it.”
Zuko stood up, adding a slight bow to his actions. “Thank you.”
She nodded at him, and then promptly walked away, heading for her igloo.
She needed to process everything that had just happened.
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The next time she saw the firelord was at dinner. Bato and Hakoda were hosting it in celebration of the firelord’s visit, as chief and chieftain of the tribe, but it ended up being more of a family dinner than anything.
Well it would’ve been if it wasn’t for him.
Zuko sat at the opposite end of the table to Hakoda, with Sokka to his left and Pakku to his right. She herself was sitting between Pakku and Hakoda, and Bato was sat on Hakoda’s other side. There was a wide array of water tribe delicacies laid in front of them; everything from seal jerky to stewed sea prunes.
Kanna was expecting Zuko to sneer at the food, perhaps demand they prepare him something more in the style of the fire nation, and so couldn’t hide her surprise when he merely served himself a bit of everything with a pleasant look on his face.
And then he did the weirdest thing yet.
He served Sokka’s food for him, in exactly the portions she knew Sokka would’ve wanted. Sokka didn’t even thank him, just giving him a soft smile that the firelord didn’t hesitate to return.
She was sure the shock was plain to see on her face, but no one except Pakku seemed to notice. He gave her a funny look from beside her, but she just shook her head, bewildered but unwilling to cause a scene.
The conversation around the table quickly turned to politics, an area in which Kanna had little experience - and little desire to gain any. She focused on eating her own food and studying the intruder in their midst instead.
Zuko seemed… attentive to what was being said to him, going so far as to ask clarifying questions and adding ideas to proposed policies. He was receptive to the water tribe perspective, perhaps even more than he was pushing his own point of view.
Perhaps he was being genuine when he said he would try to make up for the damage he caused.
But, she thought, perhaps he wasn’t. Sokka and Hakoda seemed to have been completely sucked in to the ‘good guy’ narrative Zuko had crafted for himself, but she remained skeptical. Surely a person couldn’t change that much in a matter of months.
“Sokka you need to eat,” said the potential liar in question.
Sokka groaned. “Yes, moooommm.”
Zuko frowned, and Kanna tensed, ready to defend her grandson if Zuko considered that a disrespect.
“Oh don’t give me that. You know that if you don’t eat now you’ll complain all night about how your food got cold.” He pushed the bowl of sea prunes closer to Sokka. “And I’m the one that has to listen to it.”
Sokka grumbled, but complied, and Zuko gave him a satisfied smirk, and then promptly resumed his previous conversation with Bato.
Kanna felt like she was dreaming. Did the firelord really just casually… take care of Sokka?
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Kanna didn’t see Zuko for a few days following the dinner, and she was grateful for it. All the interactions she had had with him so far had been disorienting at best and downright bewildering at worst.
Although she could begrudgingly admit that Zuko hadn’t done anything wrong exactly. It was more that he was nothing like she expected him to be. The last time she had seen him he had been an angry and violent fire nation soldier. He was everything she had grown to hate.
But this Zuko, though still temperamental, seemed more prone to teenage angst than genuine anger. In fact he was more awkward than anything, and sometimes even painfully earnest.
Especially around Sokka.
And that was its own level of concerning. She supposed it made sense that the two would form a strong bond after saving the world together, and the months of Sokka living in the palace, working as the ambassador for the southern water tribe wouldn’t have hurt either, but she was worried about what exactly the fire lord’s intentions were with her grandson.
He seemed to pay more attention to Sokka than anyone else, and there hadn’t been a moment yet where she had seen them apart. But she was loath to consider… that.
No, they were probably just good friends. That had to be it.
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Shortly after coming to her completely accurate conclusion, she spotted the pair on her way to hang the laundry in the square.
If asked, she would’ve denied that she was hiding. No, she just happened to be behind a very large sheet, and well, if they were having a conversation in the town square then they must’ve been ok with it being overheard.
“Sokka, please.” That was Zuko, with his distinctly raspy voice, as if he had recently inhaled a great deal of smoke. Kanna supposed that was actually a distinct possibility.
Sokka grunted. “I’m fine.” He sounded … angry maybe? Upset at the least. She knew that firebender was no good for him.
“You’re in pain.”
“It doesn’t hurt that bad, it’s just…” A deep sigh. “The cold makes it worse.”
“I know.” This was said quietly, so that she had to strain to hear it. “Why don’t we turn in for the night, and I’ll help you massage in the salve Katara made. Does that sound ok?”
“I suppose,” Sokka acquiesced. “I just hate feeling like this, especially at home. The cold isn’t supposed to affect me.”
Zuko hummed. “I know love, but it’s your first time back since the injury. It’s bound to take some getting used to. Just let me take care of you tonight.”
Sokka must’ve capitulated, because the next thing she saw was her grandson limping and leaning heavily on the firelord and heading towards the igloo they were sharing.
Kanna supposed Zuko was a better friend than she had given him credit for.
But they were just friends. There was no way Sokka was dating the leader of the fire nation.
Right?
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Her denial didn’t last long. The very next night she was back in her son’s igloo, having dinner with the firelord.
It all happened rather quickly. One minute, everything was fine, Sokka and Zuko were having an animated debate about the benefits of a particular tariff on fish oil being implemented. Zuko was gesticulating widely, clearly passionate about the topic, when he knocked over his bowl of stewed sea prunes.
Everyone jumped towards the falling bowl, but too late. It spilled all over the firelord and the floor.
It wasn’t really a big deal, but she had worked hard on the food, and while it wasn’t as scarce as it had been during the war she still felt a twinge of annoyance that it was wasted.
It must’ve shown on her face because Zuko looked up at her and then stumbled back as if he’d been hit.
“Zuko?” Sokka whispered.
Zuko ran out the door, knocking into the corner of the table on the way but not stopping. Sokka gave them all an apologetic look before he followed.
Hakoda had an odd expression on his face. A mix of sadness and anger. Surely he wasn’t angry at Zuko for spilling the food? It was an accident after all.
But no that wasn’t it, because he just gazed out the door with that odd look again and then started to clean up the mess. Bato wouldn’t look any of them in the eyes, rubbing his hand along his burn scars over and over again mechanically.
At least Pakku looked as confused as she felt.
Kanna didn’t like uncertainty, and so she slipped out behind the duo without alerting the preoccupied men.
She wasn’t prepared for what greeted her.
The firelord was hyperventilating, head between his knees and hands clenched tightly around the top of his boots. Sokka was murmuring words she couldn’t catch into his unscarred ear, rubbing his back soothingly.
He was having a panic attack.
Kanna quickly hid behind the edge of the doorway. It was a private moment, she knew, but she couldn’t look away.
It felt like hours before Zuko started to calm down. His breathing eased steadily, and he unfurled from his tight position into something only mildly more relaxed. Sokka moved to sit at his side, taking Zuko’s hand into his own and interlocking their fingers.
“You wanna talk about it?” he asked.
Zuko shook his head. “It’s not anything you don’t already know.”
Sokka pursed his lips. “Doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it if you need to.”
It was silent for a minute before Zuko started to speak. “Any mistake was punished,” he sighed. “Something like that, I wouldn’t have been able to move for days afterwards.”
Kanna gasped. He couldn’t seriously be saying…
Sokka seemed to reign in his anger only by virtue of the hand in his own. “Your dad was an asshole, and you deserved better.”
Kanna felt her own fury grow at that. How could a parent do that to their kid? She had never before questioned the origins of the disfiguring scar on the firelord’s face, but suddenly it was all she could think about. The possibilities of it made her sick.
“I know,” Zuko murmured, placing his head on Sokka’s shoulder. “But thank you for saying it.”
Sokka placed a gentle kiss on the top of Zuko’s head, and then leaned more into the firebender so they were slotted together.
Kanna left.
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They were returning to the fire nation today, and Kanna had to talk to Zuko.
She had been thinking about everything that had happened during his stay. His heartfelt apology, the evidence for his promises, the way he looked after Sokka, cared for him.
The way he had been hurt.
She walked as fast as she could towards the docked boat, and was happy to find they were still loading it up and no one had boarded yet.
“Zuko, may I speak with you?” she asked.
Zuko looked a bit shocked at the request, and briefly glanced behind him as if there would be another man, also named Zuko, standing there. Kanna almost laughed fondly at him.
Fondly. Who would’ve thought?
“Of course, Lady Kanna.” He seemed to have recovered from his shock and stepped away from the crew towards her, and then a little farther away for some privacy. “Er, what did you wish to speak of?”
He really was just an awkward teenager, whatever else he had been.
“I’ve considered your apology.”
His unscarred eye widened. “Oh?”
“I accept it, and I -” she did smile fondly at him now. “I forgive you.”
Zuko’s mouth opened in surprise, and he took a step back. “Um… thank you. May I ask what prompted you to… do so?”
Kanna huffed a laugh. “I’m old Zuko, but I’m not blind. The way you are with Sokka, well, I can’t exactly hold a grudge against my future grandson-in-law.”
Zuko sputtered in indignation, face as red as his usual attire. “I- I don’t know what you-”
She cut him off. “Save it Firelord, you’re a really terrible liar.”
Zuko puffed his chest out as if ready to argue, and then rapidly deflated. “So I’ve been told.”
He considered. “You’re the only one who figured it out, I think. What gave us away?”
She scoffed. “What didn’t?”
Zuko blushed even deeper if that was even possible. “And you’re not… you’re not upset?”
She looked away from him and sighed. “I was, I’ll admit. I wondered what you wanted with him, what your intentions were, and I worried you wouldn’t be a good influence in his life.”
Zuko’s gaze dropped.
“But I was wrong,” she continued. “You two balance each other out. Like Tui and La. You’re good for him, and he’s good for you.”
They looked at each other, and then Zuko bowed to her, deeper than was appropriate for their respective stations.
“Thank you,” he said.
She bowed back. “No, thank you Zuko, for bringing peace, and breaking away from your own and your nation’s past.”
He gave her a small smile, and then she, unexpectedly even to herself, embraced him tightly. He hesitated for a second and then hugged back, burrowing his head in her shoulder. She couldn’t believe she was thinking this, but it was almost cute.
Tui and La what had happened to her in one week?
Before they let go, she leaned in and whispered in his unscarred ear, “If you hurt him, I’ll send Katara after you.”
The look of fear he shot her was enough to startle a laugh out of her, and before long they were both hunched over, cackling.
Perhaps she did like the firelord after all.