Chapter Text
"A party?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"They said it's an engagement party." Zuko sat across his desk from Sokka, discussing the newest movement by the council. Yesterday, they had gotten Councilman Shozu taken off the council entirely, and today they had gone to Zuko to tell him they wished to organize a party. Once again, it was obviously a thinly veiled attempt to expose Wang Fire as Sokka, but, once again, the reasoning they gave was sensible, and Zuko had to agree. Besides, they couldn't do that much, could they?
"Sounds fun enough I guess." Sokka shrugged.
"If it's an engagement party, they'll want to invite our family and friends. So far as we know, Wang Fire's only living relatives are his child, and through his child, his ex-wife."
"We'll get Katara and Aang to be Kuzon and Sapphire then,"
"You could maybe get Katara. But Aang has to be there as himself. He's a good friend of mine and his absence would be noticed. And he's the avatar. He can't miss important events he's invited to."
Sokka frowned. "Are you sure they'll want us to have a whole bunch of people come? Either way. We'll think of a way around this."
"They want to throw an engagement party. For the Firelord, and a guy who doesn't exist."
"Yep." Sokka nodded.
Katara frowned. "Aren't they going to want to invite 'Wang Fire's' family? Who also don't exist?"
"Wang Fire's family is all dead," Sokka said proudly, as though he had been the one to kill them. "His only living relative is Kuzon, and the only person he could be friends with that Zuko doesn't know is his ex-wife, Sapphire."
"They're going to try and invite Kuzon and Sapphire, Sokka. This isn't going to work. I, and especially Aang, can't be both people. And you. They're going to expect us and Aang to be there, because we're friends with Zuko. You can't be yourself and Wang Fire."
Sokka shrugged. "We'll work something out. Don't worry, Katara."
Despite her brother telling her not to, Katara did worry. Sokka always got himself into awful situations with no good way out, and this seemed like just another one. At least it was a party. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
But what if there was alcohol?
Oh, spirits, what if there was alcohol?
That would not go well.
"Zuko."
"Yes?"
"How much do you know about this party?"
"Not much. Why?" Zuko didn't know why Katara had come to him to ask these questions. There were a lot of things he didn't know. Like why this party was taking over everything. He had been asked thrice this morning what he would wear. He didn't know. He didn't care. Agni, he'd let Toph decide if it got these people off his back.
"Do you know if they're going to have alcohol there?"
"Probably."
"Oh no."
"What?"
"I told you about what happened when we were stuck in the desert without Appa, right?"
"Oh."
Katara did not want a repeat of the cactus juice incident. Alcohol wasn't random water from a plant in the middle of the desert, yes, but it carried potential. Potential she did not want to see. She had avoided it before. Last time Sokka was at a party, she had kept him away from the alcohol, to his dismay, for everyone else in attendance. She had spent the whole night making sure he didn't get a hold of anything, because she did not want to see what would happen if he did. Everyone else could probably handle themselves and be smart. So she put all her focus into keeping Sokka from getting something. Which was harder than it ought to be.
So many times she pulled a glass out of his hands. And then, he was across the room. She couldn't get to him. Without any other solution, she used her waterbending to take it from Sokka, over and over. This got old, fast, and she kept looking for ways out of it.
Then, there was a way. Someone spilled some bowl of punch, or who knows what it was, on the ground. Near Sokka. She saw a chance, and she took it. Sokka was standing in the puddle, having not even realized it was there, and she brought the liquid up around his feet and froze it.
Sokka looked around for her instantly. "Katara! Hey-- Katara! You can't leave me like this!"
But she could. She could finally turn away from Sokka. Maybe she'd go find Aang.
Finding Aang didn't prove too hard.
And oh spirits, she shouldn't have just focused on Sokka.
When she stopped paying attention to Sokka, she found Aang. On his glider. Hanging on just with his feet. Doing his stupid marble trick.
Aang had gotten into the stuff Katara had been keeping Sokka away from that night.
It took so long to get Aang to settle down, and to get him out of the room.
For the party that was going to happen soon, she could probably just tell Aang to stay away from that stuff. But keeping Sokka away would be harder.
Still. She'd figure something out.
"What are we going to do? There aren't two of any of you." Zuko sat at a table with Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Toph. The councilmen had announced that they planned to invite the close acquaintances of both Wang Fire and Zuko, including Sokka, Katara, Aang, Sapphire, and Kuzon.
"Maybe you could get someone else to be Kuzon?" Aang suggested, shrugging. Who else they could get to be Kuzon, he did not say.
"But what about me?" Katara asked, looking around at each of them.
"Relax, Katara. You aren't as important as Aang. We'll say that both of us had something important to do, family matters, and we can be Wang and Sapphire." Sokka shrugged. "Aang can't be Kuzon, because he's the Avatar. He's got to show up. But you and I don't have to be there."
"But who will be Kuzon?" Katara countered.
"You guys are all overthinking this," Toph gave a small smirk and put her feet on the table. "It's easy. All you've got to do is this." She crossed her arms and began to detail out a plan.