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Zuko is so nervous about going to the South Pole with Katara that he starts to overheat.
"Do we have to?“
"Yes.“
„Do we absolutely have to ?“
" Yes! For the love of Tui and La, Zuko, we’re engaged! We can’t just not tell my Father and Gran Gran.“
"We could send a messenger hawk?“ the Fire Lord suggests weakly. Katara just gives him a look.
They take off two days later.
Between packing, leaving orders for the time of his absence and putting his uncle in charge temporarily, Zuko makes more than a few attempts at convincing Katara to change her mind, but she remains as unyielding as ever.
“Katara, the last time I came to your village I threatened to burn it down if they didn't hand over a twelve-year old kid.”
“That is a fair point, I’ll give you that. But I’m the Chieftain’s daughter and Dad will vouch for you. Don’t worry.”
But Zuko worries. By Agni, he worries. Hakoda’s approval is welcome but a poor consolation nonetheless.
Once they board the ship and take off, Katara starts feeling excited. She hasn’t been home in several months and the thought of finally seeing all her loved ones again made her happy. Her smile is contagious and soon Zuko feels something vaguely resembling happiness too. He’s still not too eager to go, but seeing Katara like this is worth it.
The first thing he does upon arrival – after exchanging greetings with Chief Hakoda and introducing himself to Gran Gran – is catch a cold. He curses himself for not proposing to Katara in the warm summer months. He suspects that though the cold wouldn’t subside, the Poles might be a little more bearable then. He doesn’t understand how anybody can live here in winter.
As expected, people are not too happy about Zuko’s return. They still vividly remember what happened the last time he paid them a visit. Hakoda does vouch for him and it seems to work on most people, but some remain unconvinced, especially those of the Northern Water Tribe, who consider him indirectly responsible for the murder of Tui and the subsequent death of Princess Yue.
Zuko, uncomfortably aware of how much weaker his inner flame is in winter - especially now when he’s sick - and is even less comfortable with the knowledge that the waterbenders are in their element and at their most powerful. He’s half convinced they will team up and try to murder him in his sleep, but when he voices his concerns to Katara she just laughs.
“Zuko, please don’t worry so much. You’re with me and dad. No harm will come to you.”
“Fifty Fire Nation gold pieces says you’re the only waterbender in this village who is on my side.”
“You’re on!”
“Can I have some more soup now, please?” he sniffles and blows his nose.
Gran Gran is happy to provide.
Zuko is still sick the next day so he stays in the igloo wrapped in furs all day and Katara watches over him, occasionally switching shifts with Gran Gran.
To Zuko’s great surprise, Kanna seems to have taken a liking to him immediately and treats him as one of her own rather than a former oppressor and certainly not as a monarch, albeit in a good way. At one point, when he’s sure Katara is out of earshot, he can’t help but ask her about it.
“Can I ask you something?” he begins, sitting up.
“What is it, son?” she smiles at him fondly.
“Well… Just that, actually. How come you’re so nice to me? The last time I came here I didn’t make the best impression.”
Kanna laughs at this. “No, no you most certainly didn’t. But I see you have changed. Hakoda vouches for you and he wouldn’t do that without good reason. And well, most importantly, I see the way Katara looks at you and the way you look back at her.” She registers a hint of confusion on the young man’s face and elaborates.
“Katara obviously trusts you and she clearly loves you very much. I just want my granddaughter to be happy and since you seem to make her happy I don’t have a reason not to like you. There is no point in holding grudges.”
Zuko is unsure what to say and doesn’t meet her eyes, smiling sheepishly. After a pause, the woman continues.
“As for you, you seem just as head over heels for her as she is for you.”
Zuko’s face turns red immediately and he feels the ice beneath him melt a little. Kanna seems to have noticed too, because she lets out another laugh.
“There’s no shame in that, son! Young love is often strong like this. If anything, I am glad that my granddaughter found someone who loves her as much as she loves them. Like I said, her happiness is the only thing that matters to me. I believe you truly, genuinely love her and don’t intend to hurt her.”
“I do love her. I love her more than anything,” Zuko whispers, looking at his hands folded in his lap. He doesn’t notice Katara standing at the entrance.
They break the news to Hakoda and Gran Gran that evening. Katara presents the beautiful betrothal necklace that Zuko proposed with. He carved it himself. He chose the Fire Tongue symbol for Moon and Water Tongue symbol for Sun. Katara wore the one from her grandmother since their arrival to not spoil the surprise.
Both Hakoda and Gran Gran are happy for them and give them their blessings. Hakoda insists on the news being announced to the rest of the village the next day and Zuko begins to overheat again.
The villagers react in different ways. Those who are closest to Hakoda and his family are on board, some are surprised but not overtly against it and the Northern Water Tribe members are outright horrified. Hakoda anticipated this outcome. He talks to the Northern Water Tribe and convinces them of the political benefits of this union. They begrudgingly admit he has a point. In the meantime, Kanna manages to get the elders on her side and they each manage to talk some sense into their families. Katara and Zuko watch the scene from the entrance of the Chief’s igloo, visibly uncomfortable but unsure what to do about it. Zuko personally expects to be attacked any second, but keeps that to himself.
Eventually, everyone seems to be at least begrudgingly ambivalent about their engagement, if not exactly happy about it.
Zuko and Katara stay for a few more days, because Zuko has finally gotten over his cold - though he still hates the cold of the winter at the South Pole – and Katara wants to show him around.
She takes him to see the rhino-seals and they borrow Hakoda’s canoe to go look at the ice bergs. There are names for all of them in Water Tongue and Katara tries her best to translate them into Common Tongue with varying levels of success.
Zuko is absolutely blown away by the sheer magnitude of the huge mountains of ice. They make him feel small and insignificant and he finds that it’s an oddly comforting feeling. Out here, he is not a monarch, he is not the Fire Lord. He is just Zuko, a young man in love. He understands why people would want to live here now.
On the day of their departure there are a lot of teary goodbyes and hugs, Katara promises to send a messenger hawk as soon as they arrive home to let them know the made it safely as well as another one with invitations to the wedding once everything is planned.
Zuko bows deeply to Hakoda and Kanna, sending a murmur through the onlooking villagers. Once he straightens up again, Hakoda pulls him into a tight embrace, which seems to shock the villagers even more.
“You’re my future son-in-law. There is no reason for you to bow to me,” he says with a smile when they pull apart. Kanna strokes his unscarred cheek gently.
“I’m looking forward to the wedding, son.”
Zuko is on the verge of tears.
Finally they set off and wave from the deck for a long time until they can no longer see the village.
“See, it wasn’t so bad was it?” Katara grins.
“Only because you were there,” her fiancé replies, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. Then he sneezes.
“Katara?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s… only go to the South Pole during the warmer months from now on, okay?”