Chapter Text
Firelord Zuko stood before the council and cleared his throat, demanding the attention of all the members. After several minutes and a glare from the firelord, the bickering died down so Zuko could speak.
"Hotme- gentlemen. Gentlemen." Zuko blushed a bit, but tried to remedy his mistake quickly. Aang used the word 'hotman' around him so much he had started using it automatically.
"Gentlemen," he said again. "It... has come to my attention," he began sourly, "that there is an objection to any marriage I may partake in with the other party not being a fire nation citizen. I have heard your complaints, and I've found a suitable fiance, who, I can assure you, is a proud Fire Nation citizen. I'd like to introduce you to Wang Fire."
The council sat, dumbfounded, as a young man walked it. It was clearly Sokka, the person they'd objected to Zuko marrying for so long. But he was different this time. He wore red clothing that looked suspiciously like they had been stolen, and he had a mustache and beard that had to be fake.
"Pleased to meet you all," Sokka said, putting on an accent that convinced no one. "I am Wang Fire, and that's my fiance, Firelord Zuko." He gestured wildly at the Firelord, who smiled, if a bit awkwardly.
"I'm sure you'll find that everything is in order, and that Mr. Fire is, in fact, a legal Fire Nation citizen. Feel free to ask him or me any questions you have about the legality of this." Zuko waited a couple seconds, looking around at the shocked stares of the councilmen, and then turned and left the room. Sokka lingered, meeting the eyes of each member with an arrogant stare before turning on his heel, straightening his posture, and pompously following Zuko out of the room.
"Do you think they bought it?" Zuko asked as Sokka tore off the fake mustache.
"Nope," Sokka said. "But it shouldn't matter. Wang Fire is a legal citizen who's lived in the fire nation all his life."
Zuko nodded. "I suppose. But it isn't good if they're suspicious already. We need stronger proof that you aren't you."
Sokka stopped walking. "I know what we'll do," he said, giving Zuko a reassuring smile that did not make Zuko feel reassured.
Zuko sat at his desk, glowering at a pile of paperwork that wasn't getting done any faster. There was a sharp knock at the heavy door to his study. "Come in," he called, hoping it would be Sokka. If it was Sokka, maybe he wouldn't have to do his work just yet. He looked up as the door opened, to reveal a someone who most certainly was not Sokka. Instead, he was greeted by the lined, angry face of a council member, councilman Zaizen.
"My lord," the councilman began.
"Yes?" Zuko sighed.
"I have a... query. Concerning your... fiance."
"Continue."
"I have reason to believe he's just Sokka."
"What reason is that?"
"Well... He is... Sokka."
"That isn't a reason."
"I don't believe Wang Fire exists. And if he does, I've heard that he's married anyway."
"Oh, I'm glad you asked about that." Zuko gave a dry smile. "About a year ago, Mr. Fire got a divorce with his wife Sapphire. His wife got full custody of their child, Kuzon. I can find the documentation of it if you'd like. But I assure you, up until our engagement, Mr. Fire was single.
"I'd also like to bring to your attention that Sokka of the water Tribe is an honest man, and it's insulting that you think low enough of him that he'd cheat on his own fiance."
The councilman hesitated. "What?"
"You're dismissed."
"But...sir--"
"You are dismissed."
"Hey, Aang?"
"Yeah, Sokka?"
"Have you seen Zuko? I've been looking for him and can't seem to find him."
"No. Why? Are you looking to go... Spend some time with him?" Aang smiled. It was obvious to everyone, including him, even before they tried to get engaged, that Sokka and Zuko were more than friends.
"What? No! No, it's just political business. I'm not going to date Zuko or something. I've got a fiance already, I wouldn't cheat on him."
"Isn't that... Zuko?"
"What? No. It's Lee. From the Earth Kingdom. He works at a tea shop."
"Oh...kay."
"See?" Sokka produced a small painting of Lee, that obviously had been done by someone other than Sokka himself.
"That's just Zuko. With short hair."
"No, it's not."
"Have they ever been in the same room together?"
"No. Lee's back home, in the Earth Kingdom. He's helping his Uncle run a tea shop or something. Zuko is here. Completely different places, completely different people."
"That's Zuko."
"No, it's not."
"It is."
"I need to go find Zuko. Bye, Aang, see you later." Sokka waved and walked away.
That evening, Toph was hurling rocks at Aang, as was customary on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Toph said it was for them to practice earthbending, but Aang suspected Toph just enjoyed throwing boulders at him.
"Toph?" He shouted over the grumble of a hunk of earth being torn out of the ground.
"Yes?" She responded, holding the rock in the air above her head for just long enough to respond, then hurling it at Aang.
Aang dodged the flying earth before answering. "Do you know who Lee is?"
"Nope." Toph brought two boulders into the air and chucked them at Aang. He dodged, and waited til their thunderous landing subsided to speak.
"Sokka says he's engaged to Lee."
"That's good for him." Toph threw another rock and nearly hit Aang in the head, which would have been disastrous given the size of the thing. "Pay attention, Twinkle Toes. You're going to get yourself killed." And that was the end of that conversation.
"Have you told anyone about Lee?" Zuko asked, walking slowly alongside Sokka.
"Yeah. I told Aang. He doesn't believe me. He thinks you're Lee." Sokka put his hands in his pockets as he strolled alongside the firelord.
"That's preposterous. I couldn't be Lee."
"Exactly. Don't know what's wrong with that kid." Sokka sighed. A ways away, the faint crash of a rock hitting the ground could be heard. "Sounds like Toph's training with Aang."
"Maybe that's why. She hit him in the head and now he thinks I'm Lee. Next thing we know, he'll be saying you're Wang Fire."
Sokka nodded. "Poor Katara. Her boyfriend's going mad. Oh, yeah, I told Aang I had something actual to talk to you about and I wasn't lying. I do need to ask you about those trade problems with the Water Tribe..."
And on they walked, focused on important matters instead of frivolous things and romances and identities.
"...and, to talk about the trade situation with both Water Tribes, I've brought in Ambassador Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe. He'll be telling us about the rate of export and the strength of the economy in the Northern Water Tribe."
Sokka stood, taking his cue from Zuko. Meetings like this were boring, but they were necessary to connect the fire nation with the rest of the world on good terms, and sometimes these meetings touched on helping the Southern Water Tribe, which Sokka desperately wanted.
"The Northern Water Tribe has various exports, including various types of fish, polar bear meat and blubber, and fine handcrafted jewelry. Their rates of export have grown recently."
"Mr. Fire," a councilman said pointedly, "How is their economy doing? You seem to have skipped over that part."
Sokka paused. He looked around the room. "If Mr. Fire is here, could he answer the question?"
The councilman sighed. "Ambassador Sokka?" He amended sharply.
"Oh, you're asking me. Their economy is... Not doing well. Many of their profits go toward helping their sister tribe in the south."
"Perhaps," another council member began, "we should not be trading with the Northern Water Tribe if their economy is falling due to them putting all their profits into a completely different project."
"No!" Sokka said suddenly. "Those profits are going toward helping the Southern Water tribe. We should not forgo trade with the Water Tribes, it does nothing to help us."
The councilman was about to reply when Zuko stood. "That is not the subject of this meeting, and we can find another time to discuss it. For now, unless there's more to say specifically on the topic of a status report of our trade, this meeting will be over."
Sokka quickly got up and walked out of the room, soon followed by the others. Zuko sighed. Perhaps he could just get rid of the entire council. That would eliminate many of his problems.