Zutara Week 2010: Family

Well, it's day one of Zutara Week 2010! I'm not sure I'll be as punctual as last year…work is a lot busier this year, and the timing is not so good…I only have 4/7 days completed, and those are only rough drafts! But I will try! :D

This is one of my least favorites, and I have written like 5 versions…decided to skip the introspection and go with funny, short, and sweet. Better than nothing! I am excited for all the Zutara baby art, though!

Oh, and i do not own!

"Family"

Zuko had, for lack of a better word, a very unique family situation. In fact, Sokka often referred to it as "more twisted than Ty Lee's freaky acrobat skills". Even Toph, whose own family wasn't exactly picture-perfect, often commented that Zuko's family made less sense than Bumi…on a bad day. Katara couldn't help but agree. Everyone knew that the current royal family wasn't exactly the normal, everyday family. Even before the whole "burn your son and send your daughter to kill him" thing.

But, really, it wasn't fair; even royalty deserved some sense of normal family values. Look at Yue! (Okay, she did end up turning into the moon to escape an arranged marriage, but at least her dad loved her!) Why should the poor guy live his whole life without knowing how family was really supposed to work? After all, it might come in handy some day. Not that it mattered to her. But some other girl might recognize how handsome and sweet and talented…anyways, eventually he'd need to know how the whole family thing was supposed to work.

Iroh didn't count, by the way. He was too busy tea-bending in Ba Sing Se, and besides, Katara had begun to question whether or not he wasn't just as crazy as King Bumi. No normal person could love tea that much and still be normal. And those "words of wisdom" didn't make any sense, most of the time. Ramblings of a madman, was more like it…

So, Katara made a decision. If Zuko didn't understand what family was supposed to be like, she'd just have to show him!

Katara decided that she'd start things off simply, using people he'd be most familiar with in order to let it feel more natural—and keep him from catching on too quickly to her secret plan. And, since he was sure to be more at ease with her than anyone else (after the break-up, things with Mai got very awkward, very quickly), Katara decided to start off with her own family. Her father had been bugging her for an opportunity to properly thank Zuko ever since he'd arrived in the capital, anyways, and it would serve the added purpose of allowing Sokka to finally introduce their dad to Suki.

Unfortunately, the dinner idea quickly turned south when Sokka began making not-so-subtle hints that both Zuko and Katara were newly single (and "wouldn't it be nice for the Water Tribe to have a 'strong presence' in the Fire Nation"). Annoyed, Katara decided to let it slip that Sokka and Suki had shared a tent on more than one occasion after the events of the Boiling Rock (at which Zuko began coughing uncontrollably, face bright red). Sokka had retaliated with a detailed description of Katara's Fire Nation disguise (at which Zuko had turned an even deeper shade of crimson; Katara had started to worry that he might really be ill). The night ended in a long argument about the appropriateness of female-male interactions in the Water Tribe, which was not exactly pleasant for anyone involved. To make matters worse, Zuko managed to sneak out just before dessert.

Katara wouldn't accept defeat that easily, however, and she turned to the only other Fire Nation family that she knew of that Zuko would be familiar with. (And that didn't have a small urge to kill him. Or at least maim him indefinitely.) Determined to succeed, she set up a lovely state dinner with Ty Lee's family.

Unfortunately, it turned out Ty Lee's family was even stranger than Ty Lee herself, and the night turned out to be an absolute disaster. Ty Lee's sisters had ended up fighting over which had a better chance with Zuko, assuming they were there for a "courtship", while Ty Lee was obviously torn between being mortified and bursting out in laughter. To top it off, her parents kept suggesting to Zuko that he find a wife, bringing up his previous relationship with Mai and then explaining why Ty Lee would be a better match.

This time, dessert didn't happen at all. Maybe Mai's family would have been a better choice, after all…

…or maybe not.

After the Ty Lee fiasco, Katara decided to switch her approach, and convinced an increasingly suspicious Zuko to begin entertaining randomly selected (and hand-screened by herself) middle- to lower-class families to "increase domestic relations." She even threw in some Earth Kingdom families, just to change it up a bit.

But, alas, this, too, fell awry. The dinners went almost too well! While Zuko's determination and passion for peace was what drew her to him (perhaps not-so-platonically), it was also frustrating, at times. Especially when he took her proposal so seriously that he created an elaborate presentation of Fire Nation culture at each event, complete with musical acts and poetry readings, as well as a personal viewing of the Fire Lord's personal art galleries. He even opened up the dinners to larger groups, so that more could experience the "true glory" of the Fire Nation under his tutelage.

Needless to say, it didn't leave much room for discussions on the merits of family life. So, while Zuko's popularity began to soar, her plans were rapidly unraveling.

Just as Katara was weighing the merits of a family reunion with Azula and Ozai (maybe a bad example to drive the point home?), Zuko approached her with a wide smile. He thanked her profusely for her help in solidifying his position and helping secure world peace, and then offered to buy her dinner—just the two of them, this time. She threw up her arms in frustration before storming off, muttering under her breath about idiotic mal-adjusted Firebenders, being sure to add a slightly angry (but heartfelt) "yes" on her way out of the room.

It wasn't until seven years later, when the not-as-young Fire Lord held his first child and commented that they truly made a perfect family, that Katara remembered her mission. Once again, she threw up her arms in frustration, muttering about idiotic, mal-adjusted Firebenders. Only this time, she didn't storm off, instead reaching out and drawing both father and son in for a kiss.

Zuko learned his lesson, after all. Just…not the way she'd planned it.

Next up: "Change!" Hopefully. ;)