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Sokka put a supportive hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine, Zu. You just have to talk to Dad and Bato. They seem scary, but they’re not, I swear. Pretend you’re just a normal guy meeting your boyfriend’s parents.”
“Yeah, and my boyfriend’s parents are two Water Tribe guys who have ample reason to want me dead and could snap me like a twig. Not scary at all,” Zuko replied, trying to keep calm. He was waiting outside Sokka’s father’s tent, waiting for Hakoda and Bato to finish their conversation so they could talk to him.
“They’re not going to hurt you. They just want to talk. I swear on my honor,” Sokka grinned.
“Oh, you think you’re funny, don’t you,” Zuko muttered.
“Yes, I do.” Sokka planted a loud kiss on Zuko’s cheek. “That’s why you love me. For my incredible sense of humor.”
“Yes, that’s definitely why.”
“And also my roguish good looks, rugged cheekbones, irresistibly sexy hairstyle—”
Zuko burst out laughing, doubling over and grabbing his stomach. “Your irresistibly sexy ponytail?” he wheezed.
“It’s a warrior’s wolf tail!” Sokka screeched. “And you don’t get to make fun of my hair when you had a bald ponytail for years!”
“I grew out of it. You, on the other hand—”
Zuko was interrupted by Hakoda brushing the entrance of his tent open and stepping out. “Firelord Zuko,” he greeted.
“Chief Hakoda,” Zuko replied.
“Hey, Dad!” Sokka exclaimed.
“Hello, Sokka.” Hakoda looked at Zuko. “Zuko, Bato and I would like to talk to you.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Zuko looked back nervously at Sokka, who flashed him a thumbs-up, as Hakoda held the tent flap open for him and followed him inside.
Bato stood inside, arms crossed. Hakoda walked over to join him, leaving Zuko feeling very small and very breakable.
“So, Zuko. Forgive us for doubting your intentions, but considering your family’s history, we felt it was best to have this conversation with you,” Hakoda said.
Zuko nodded. “I understand. I want you to know, though, I have nothing but good intentions with Sokka. I’m not like my father. I’ve made sure of that.”
“Can we trust you?” Bato asked.
“Yes,” Zuko answered earnestly. “I swear on my honor. I love Sokka.”
Hakoda nodded. “Alright. What are your plans for the future of the Fire Nation?”
“I’m going to do my best to fix the damage that the previous Firelords have caused. I want to lead the Fire Nation into a new era of peace. I don’t want the Fire Nation to have the reputation of violent conquerors anymore. I don’t want my people, and me, to be perceived that way.”
“Did you agree with your father’s tactics during his rule?” Hakoda asked.
“No. He’s…not a merciful man, to say the least. Neither my sister or I were brave enough to speak up against him. The one time I did, I was banished from the Fire Nation and stripped of my honor. I don’t want to be anything like that.”
“Have you truly changed?” Bato asked, still suspicious. Zuko couldn’t blame him. “From what Sokka and Katara told us, you spent several months chasing them and trying to capture the Avatar. How do we know you’re truly reformed?”
“You have my word, and if you ask Sokka, you have his word. My other friends would tell you that too. I’ve realized the error of my ways and worked hard to atone and better myself.”
Hakoda and Bato shared a look. “We have one more question for you,” Bato told him. He nodded. “How’d you get that scar? A bit reckless with your bending, maybe? We wouldn’t want you to have an accident and hurt our son.”
“My, uh.” Zuko swallowed. “My father burned my face for speaking out of turn at a war meeting. I deserved it, though. It wasn’t my place.”
Hakoda’s eyebrows shot up, and Bato looked as if he would very much like to introduce Ozai to the business end of his club. Hakoda looked as if he would very much like to help. They turned away for a minute and had a very intense, whispered conversation while Zuko stood there, fidgeting nervously. What were they talking about? Did they like him? Were they going to make Sokka break up with him?
“Well, Firelord Zuko,” Bato began. “After much deliberation, Hakoda and I have decided that your father is a massive piece of—”
“Bato,” Hakoda reprimanded, giving him a Look.
Bato cleared his throat. “My apologies. What I meant to say was, your father doesn’t deserve to have children and I would very much like to—”
“Bato. Tui and La,” Hakoda muttered. “We believe you, Zuko, and we trust that you have good intentions with our son. Could you go get Sokka, please? We’d like to talk to him now.”
“Yeah, sure. Do you want me to leave, or…?”
“If you would, we’d like to speak to him privately.”
“Okay. Yeah, I’ll go get him.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling much better now that he knew Hakoda and Bato liked him, Zuko pushed open the tent flap and stepped outside. Sokka was sitting there, leaning against the tent with his eyes closed. Zuko tapped him on the shoulder. “Sokka. Your dad wants to talk to you.”
“Oh. Okay!” Sokka jumped up and threw an arm around Zuko’s shoulders. “How’d it go?”
“Good, I think.”
“Good! I’ll see you in a minute!” Sokka kissed Zuko on the cheek and ducked inside the tent. Zuko, naturally, decided to eavesdrop. He pressed his ear to the fabric, and found that he could hear everything being said inside, only slightly muffled.
“He’s very mature,” Hakoda said. “He seems very sincere about wanting to fix the damage that his family has caused. That’s good.”
“Yeah, he really wants to fix the Fire Nation’s relations with the other nations. He wants everyone to know that he’s not like Ozai and plans to undo the damage he did,” Sokka replied. “He’s about as different from his father as he can get. That’s a good thing, believe me.”
“Yes, from what I’ve heard, Ozai is…a piece of shit, to say the least,” Bato muttered. Zuko winced. He had pretty much come to terms with his father being a bad person, but it was still jarring to hear other people talk about him like that.
“He is. I’ve had the misfortune of talking to him. I hate the way he treats Zuko, even in jail.” Sokka sounded so sad, Zuko wanted to bust into the tent and hug him and never let him go.
“Zuko told us Ozai burned his face for speaking out of turn?” Bato asked. Sokka must have nodded or something like that. Bato swore. “That scar looks years old. He’s sixteen. How old—”
“Thirteen,” Sokka interrupted. Zuko heard Hakoda and Bato both inhale sharply.
“Is he perhaps in the market for a new dad?” Hakoda asked. His tone was light, but he seemed serious, Zuko thought. Sokka laughed, and Bato snorted. Zuko was stunned.
“I’ll have to ask him,” Sokka said. Zuko could hear the smile in his voice. Sokka pushed the tent flap open, and Zuko had to jump back to avoid being knocked over as the three Water Tribesmen emerged from the tent.
“Did you mean what you said?” Zuko asked Hakoda, not even pretending like he hadn’t eavesdropped. “About me being ‘in the market for a new dad’?”
“You heard that?” Hakoda asked. Zuko nodded. “Yes, I meant it. All children deserve parents, but not all parents deserve children. You deserve a good father, kid.”
Zuko felt himself starting to tear up a little bit. “Thank you, Hakoda. I was worried you weren’t going to like me.”
“At this point, Sokka’s talked you up so much, we just wanted to see if you lived up to it,” Bato joked. “And to make sure you didn’t have some elaborate political plot or anything. You passed our interrogation, though. Consider yourself an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe.”
“You’re now Firelord Zuko Watertribe! Congratulations!” Sokka exclaimed, making Zuko laugh. Now that he knew Hakoda and Bato liked him, he felt much more comfortable and less out of place. It was strange, but he could get used to it.