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Zuko had been thinking about where he wants his relationship with Katara to go for a while now. He knew he loved her more than he could have imagined so he decided to finally propose. But now he was running into the issue of: Fire Nation or Water tribe proposal?
Zuko spent a week mulling it over by himself; tossing and turning every night, not getting more than four hours of sleep a night. He finally decided if he wanted any sort of peace of mind he had to talk to someone else about it. Uncle couldn’t keep a secret like that to save his life so Zuko decided the only other Fire Nation person he could talk to was his sister.
Zuko hadn’t seen his younger sister for a few months and was nervous to see her reaction. She was getting better but still had to be kept in her cell with her hands bound(though that still didn’t bring much sense of safety).
“Zuzu! What a pleasant surprise.” Azula couldn’t help but roll her eyes regardless of her tone. “If this is a social visit I’m not interested. I actually lost interest two months ago.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for not visiting sooner.”
“I’m sure you’re just too busy being Fire Lord to care about your prisoners.”
“You’re not a prisoner Azula. You know that. I’ll try to visit more but right now I have a question.” Zuko darted his eyes and started fidgeting with his hands. Seeing her brother so nervous sparked interest in Azula so she sat up and smirked as she waited. “I want to ask Katara to marry me.” He said in one breath. It was the first time he ever said it out loud and now that he heard himself say it he couldn’t help but grin.
“Is there a question here somewhere?” Azula asked with a yawn.
“Oh...right. I-I’m Fire Nation, and she’s from the Water Tribe-“
“I know both of these things, brother, get to the point.”
“Well what my question is, should I propose with our traditions or make her a brothel necklace?”
He looked stressed and Azula could tell he genuinely wanted to do whatever would mean the most to Katara. “A-A what?” It took everything in her not to burst out laughing in her brothers face but she wanted to make sure she heard him right.
“A brothel necklace. That’s what they use in the Water Tribes to propose. Katara wears her mothers and I wanted to make one for herself.” He looked so excited and innocent and Azula wanted to have some fun with that.
“Oh...that would be the sweetest wouldn’t it, Brother?” Keeping her composure was the only thing on her mind right now. She hadn’t seen her brother for months and now he hands her the perfect material to mess with him. As much as she could mess with him from her cell. “I think it would just be darling if you made her a necklace. Just don’t tell anyone what you’re planning.”
He got his answer from Azula but he wanted a second opinion just in case his sister was trying to make a fool of him so Zuko decided to asked Sokka. He surely would know what would mean more to Katara than Azula would.
“Sokka, I need to ask you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially your sister.” Zuko was relieved Sokka and Suki had decided to visit this week, they had spent the last six month down in the Southern Water Tribe helping Hakoda.
“A secret? It better be good.” Sokka said with a grin as he scanned over the table full of Fire Nation treats Zuko had set up for them.
“I want to propose to your sister. But I don’t know how. Would she appreciate my nation's way or would she want me to make her a brothel necklace?”
In that moment both Sokka and Suki stopped in their tracks, they gave each other a quick glance and Suki knew her husband was going to embarrass their friend. She would rather have told him but figured it wouldn’t actually harm anyone to let Sokka have some fun with this. Slowly they both turned on their heels to face him, food in both of their hands, and in Sokka's face.
“A brothel necklace? Do you know how to carve?” Sokka asked with a mouth full of desserts, trying his best to pretend there wasn’t anything wrong with what they were saying.
Zuko frowned and sighed. “Not really, could you teach me? I want this to be perfect for Katara. She deserves nothing but the best.”
Sokka swallowed his food and placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. “Sure thing, Buddy. I think she’ll love a brothel necklace from you.”
The next couple of nights were Suki keeping Katara distracted and Sokka helping Zuko get materials and teaching him how to carve the necklace. Zuko told Sokka he had planned on proposing in a few nights and wanted it to be just Katara and him but Sokka wanted to see if he would say it to Katara so he decided to hide and watch.
The night was a perfect temperature, the wind was mild and the sky was clear. Zuko and Katara were out for a late night walk, Katara thought it was simply because Zuko didn’t want to waste such a perfect night, which was partly true. It was the perfect night. For a proposal. They stopped at a small pond and Katara knelt down to play with the water for a brief moment. Zuko decided this was the moment, the moon was reflecting off the pond and made Katara glow. He took in her beauty for a second before digging into his pocket and pulling out the necklace. He knew she loved him and Suki and Sokka confirmed she would say yes yet he was still a nervous wreck.
Katara stood up and turned around as soon as Zuko pulled the necklace out. She noticed the carvings were far from the quality that her tribe did so she knew he must’ve done it himself. “Zuko?” Katara said quietly with a grin. “What is that?”
Zuko just stared at her and could feel his face getting red and his hands getting sweaty. “I-...I can’t wait any longer. Katara I love you more than I thought was possible and want to be with you until the end. I-I had sokka help me with the carvings.” He said with a semi lopsided grin as he looked at his work again and started to feel a tad self conscious at the quality. “I wanted this to be special so I made you a brothel necklace.”
Katara instantly busted out laughing but when she noticed his expression falter she covered her mouth with her hands.
“What? What’s so funny? Sokka said you were going to love this!” He started to feel embarrassed and looked down at his feet.
“Oh Zuko no! I do love it! I do!” Katara exclaimed, quickly trying to ease his mind and assure him she wasn’t laughing at the proposal. “But what kind of necklace is this?” She asked, trying to hold back a laugh.
Zuko looked up to meet her eyes and scrunched his face up in confusion. “A brothel necklace. Like your mothers. Sokka said this was the design for the brothel necklace. Did I mess it up? Is this the wrong necklace?” He asked, getting more flustered the longer she let him talk.
As much as she didn’t want to, Katara started laughing again as she grabbed his hands. “Zuko...you did amazing. I do love it and it is the right necklace.”
“Then why are you laughing!” Zuko exclaimed, trying to take a step back but Katara wouldn’t let him.
“It’s...it’s a betrothal necklace…not a brothel necklace…” she said as she tried to contain her laugh once she saw how upset he was getting. “Do you know what a brothel is?” She asked looking up at him, rubbing her thumb over his hand to calm him down. Katara could tell by his expression that the answer was no and quietly whispered it to him.
Zuko instantly got red and looked away from Katara, trying to put as much space between them as he could. At this point he never wanted to look at her again. “I asked both Azula AND Sokka and neither of them corrected me! God I’m such an idiot!” Zuko exclaimed, freezing when they both heard laughing come from a bush nearby.
“Sokka!” Katara huffed, finally dropping Zukos hands as she watched her brother walk out into the open. “You’re such a jerk sometimes!”
Sokka was too busy laughing and didn’t even notice the orb of water that lingered over him until his sister finally dropped it on him. “Katara!” He screeched, losing his grin almost instantly.
“That was mean, Sokka.” She huffed, trying to hide her smile from Zuko. “I love this Zuko. I love this brothel necklace.”