#I read this fic where Sokka gives Zuko a kiss water tribe style

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

If u don’t greet ur s/o like this then what are u doing

[quillthrillswriting]

this one's for all the kataang shippers that got a little sad every time they saw absolute husband aang slander in a zutara fanfic.

OR: the common zutara trope of "zuko helps katara escape an unhealthy relationship with aang" is flipped entirely and completely on its head.

...

The liveliness of this mountaintop temple was nothing like the cold quiet that she had felt in Zuko’s castle these last few years. After she and her friends had saved the world, ending the Fire Lord’s reign, Katara had found herself at a crossroads. Although it made the most sense, she couldn’t bring herself to return back home, to the Southern Water Tribe. The memories were… too much.

Sokka had extended an offer for her to join him at the Northern Water Tribe, where he planned to find a teacher to aid him in mastering the traditional non-bending fighting styles of their people, but Katara just couldn’t bring herself to go back there, either. Toph and Aang were both headed to reconstruct important cultural monuments destroyed during the war, including the Air temples. She had considered coming with them, she really had, but ultimately… she made a different choice. 

...

So she had stayed with Zuko. 

Through his breakup with Mai, she had been the one he came to.

Through his first year as the Fire Lord, she was at his side. Attended every meeting, talked through his ideas, dragged him out to social events when he felt so in over his head that he would sit paralyzed in his room. That closeness had turned into something else the first night that he had kissed her.

...

And after what felt like years of quiet complacency and mild agreement, Katara felt her temper awaken, flicker. She calmed herself, reasoned that she didn’t know what he was doing with them. He could be checking for threats on her life, for poison sealed into an envelope. She held fast onto that tiny scrap of belief that he was still the man she had married, trusted, loved and been loved by.

Until that last thread of hope and trust was pulled taunt and then snapped entirely when Katara slipped into his office and found them. 

There were entire drawers of letters with her name on them.

...

Her attention drifted to the bottom of the bag. To Aang's scrolls. The ones she still hadn’t let herself read.

...

Katara,

How’s the fire palace? Started any underground dance clubs yet? I guess they’d be pretty tricky to start right under the nose of the new Fire Lord. Is Zuko adjusting well? I’m a bit worried about the burden of dismantling an entire empire falling squarely on his shoulders. Do you think I should head back, stick around for some peacekeeping? Give me any reason to come to be with you help, and I will.

Yours, Aang.

...

(Fire Lady) Katara,

I heard by word of mouth from a few Fire Nation travellers that passed through the Western Air Temple that you and Zuko had gotten married. Congratulations are in order, of course, but… Sokka, Toph, your dad and I never got our invitations. Was it a Fire-Nation-only event, or something? Your dad is pretty broken up about it. Sokka and I tried to console him, but he’s fairly upset, and honestly? I’m worried about you, Katara. This doesn't seem like you. You don’t sound like yourself.

Yours, always, Aang

...

She selected a third scroll, dated only a month before.

Katara,

I can’t deny that I’m concerned about how you’re doing. Especially considering that the Katara I know would never shut down every single opportunity to see her friends. We don’t mean to be overbearing, but we love you. So much. If all the new duties that come with being wife to the Fire Lord are too much, please, please, talk to any of us. Talk to me. I care about you, Katara, I always have, and I miss my best friend.

Forever yours, Aang.

Katara slid the scroll closed before her tears could drop onto it, and she quietly packed the papers away. She reached up, rubbing those tears away furiously the way she did as a child whenever Sokka called her a crybaby. The attempt to hold the tsunami of emotion back was fruitless. She doubled over, shoulders shaking with sobs.

She knew where she would go once the cargo ship reached the land. 

♥ the rest of the (completed) fic can be found here!! ->

[peachieflame]

Do you have any ither zukka fic recs? I’ve been trying to discover some new good ones:)

Yess I love giving recs! A little warning tho, all the fics Im gonna mention are more than 5k+ words long cause I don't like short one-shots and a lot of them are multi-chaptered with over 40k+ words. Also I'll update this as I read and discover more faves!

Expand to see the list cause its long....

Lighthouse Beam: Sokka’s breathtakingly beautiful and he’s smart and makes other people laugh. Zuko has a half-burnt face and a deaf ear. It’s not rocket science. Or, Zuko falls in love with the boy in his Philosophy class.

🍑: I really like college/highschool AUs and even more zukka fics where Sokka is actually described to be smart. Sokka is one of the smartest characters in the whole show Idk why he's been branded as a dumb, dense character by the fandom. Anyways, loved that this fic had Zuko being the one to fall first as-well.

In the Soft Light: As the newly appointed cultural liaison to Northern Water Tribe, Zuko is the first Fire Nation Citizen to step foot inside the city's walls in nearly a century. He's determined to prove himself—to the Fire Lord and to his father—even if the Water Tribe's spirit-touched prince seems to want nothing to do with him. Or Moon Spirit Sokka AU.

🍑: Enjoy this authors' writing style, really engages me in the story. Also ahhhh fanfic based on my moon spirit Sokka... im very grateful 😭. I didn't include this one in an ask about moon spirit sokka au cause I hadnt known about it at the time but now I reread it whenever I can.

7 Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have): How Zuko and Sokka collided through ill advised means—or approximately seven (7) acts—is beyond them. In just a year, they will trudge through the unorthodox conquests of youth (see #2: The Late Acquisition of 2 gallons of Arizona Peach Iced Tea) or capitalist schemes (#5: Bought A $4,550 Jacuzzi). But how they manage to Allow Aang to Become Vegan (#1), Host The Mr. Teen Universe Contest (#7) and, um, Set The Classroom on Fire—Again (#6) to eventually fall for each other, is still a mystery to them.

🍑: Although this one hasn't been updated in almost a year, the 2 chapters that are posted is some of the most fun I've had reading a fanfic! I admire the coding put into it so that it has a creative, unique structured. Also cute little things like the scrap paper or the scrollable email box (which blew my mind when I first saw it, I didn't even know it was possible to code something like that) just engaged me more in the writing.

Kiss Me To Just Shut Me Up: Zuko proffers the card, and Sokka takes it, their fingers brushing. Sokka tries to cover up the way he shivers at the contact by turning the card over and squinting at the text written on the front. Zuko Sozin. Tattoo Artist. The Jasmine Dragon. A single dragon curls around the characters in red ink. — There's a new tattoo and piercing shop on Ember Island Beach.

🍑: Oh beau... you're so multitalented. This was the fanfic I was recommending to everyone that bought a zukka print from me at cons like I had no shame I just wanted everyone to read Beau's amazing work. And you all should read it if you havent yet.

Five Times Zuko Wanted to Die (and One Time He Didn't): “Sorry about that,” the voice says, and suddenly the curtain has been pushed aside, and Zuko is speechless. “What can I help you with?” He stares. “Um— ” The boy has to be around his age, he’s sure of it. He’s got the most perfect tan face Zuko has ever seen, with blue eyes so brilliant it’s hard to form words. Or the college-age AU in which Sokka fixes watches, Zuko struggles through engineering, and everyone's nervous about the cute boy from the jewelry shop.

🍑: Modern settings fics that aren't like cafe/barista AUs are kind of hard to find (or at least ones that I like cause im picky) so I was surprised to see this one! Again it's an enjoyable fic where Zuko is smitten first and Sokka is not written as dumb. I also remember wanting to draw fan art (one of the scenes) so maybe I'll go dig that sketch up and finish it.

At the Top of the World: Zuko is sent in disgrace to Alaska's Northern coast to ensure nothing stands in the way of Sozin Oil Company’s new offshore drilling project. He is willing to do whatever it takes to make his father see he’s worthy, even if it means fighting against the one person he's met who actually seems to give a damn about him.

🍑: I'll never shut up about this fic, its beautifully written, well paced and realistic characterizations. As an Indigenous person this fanfic tackled Indigenous struggles better than any other fanfics I've read so far and it shows the author did their research. ATLA fandom tends to sweep aside Katara and Sokka's indigenous identity a lot. It's even more frustrating when most fics acknowledge colonialism and racism and yet brush aside Indigenous discussions or theory because they're either scared of touching the topic or don't care. Even fics that do mention their Indigenity is brushed aside with surface level discussions you can tell the author is just parroting from whatever twitter thread they skimmed. Im definitely not saying that fanfic should be an educator for social political issues or that it should be written in a way that it could replace theory for whoever stumbles upon it. Im just baffled that so many authors will mention colonialism only to explore it's effects on Zuko and not the actual Indigenous characters.......... that's all.

[jaxsteamblog]

Betrayal

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

They worked together every night of the week. Zuko always brought food and the three of them chatted together as they worked. At a certain point, they had to stop and seriously discuss transportation. This resulted in Zuko and Sokka taking measurements inside of the van but arguing about what the dimensions meant.

Katara laughed and sat back, watching them.

When it was all done and staged, the backroom looked like a construction zone. Foam blocks and partially built wooden structures covered almost every available surface. The refrigerators were stuffed with flowers. Leaves were stuck to everything.

“Tomorrow we’ll be closed, by the way.” Sokka said as he came out of the workroom with three bottles of iced tea. They sat in the alley, still damp from their cold and waterlogged activity. Zuko had pilfered the milk crates from a restaurant a few doors down and Katara didn’t even care about the hard plastic digging into her backside.

“Do we get to stay for the party?” Katara asked.

“I usually hang around and snag something from the catering.” Sokka said and drank his tea.

“As long as you guys have a nice outfit to change into, I think you could even manage to be with the other guests.” Zuko said.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Sokka said.

“Why not?” Katara asked.

“Don’t worry, he’s not coming anymore. Something came up.” Zuko replied.

“Who’s not going to be there?” Katara questioned.

“My father.” Zuko said and chugged most of his tea. After letting out a small gasp, he smiled at her. “He usually does that. He’ll say he’ll be somewhere to stress people out and then cancel last minute.”

“Full offense, your dad sounds like a jerk.” Katara said. Zuko gave a short laugh and Sokka snorted.

“They’re all jerks. Jerkbenders, every single one of ‘em.” He said.

“So how nice of an outfit are we talking here?” Katara asked.

The next day Zuko didn’t show up to help. While she understood, Katara still felt a little disappointed; she had wanted his opinion on her dress before they left. Still, Sokka’s girlfriend Suki showed up to assist and gave her seal of approval. Because Katara was driving separately, she took everyone’s garment bags, laying them out on her back seat as gently as Sokka did his flowers.

When they got to the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko was still nowhere to be found.The party planner - a very severe woman in a well-tailored tux - showed them where to put the flowers. And while she herself didn’t help, she certainly allocated enough hired hands to do so. Again, Katara was tasked with filling the vases and making sure water didn’t spill. It created a little cognitive dissonance in her, knowing that in a few short weeks she’d be learning how to use her bending to save people’s lives. But for now, she was cleaning up spills.

Once everything was set up, they all stood for a moment in quiet awe. The tablecloths were a deep blue and with the predominance of white in the flower arrangements, the snowfall effect played out over individual seas. Crystal glasses glinted under the light and the pristine dishes  were smooth tundras. Katara shivered in spite of herself.

“Awesome. Now let’s get changed.” Sokka said.

Katara gathered the bags from her car and went with Suki to the restroom. She had expected tight quarters, even with the teahouse’s obviously elite interior. But the restroom was nothing like the front of the business. There were only a few stalls, yes, but it was portioned off into two rooms; the first had a couch on one side and a vanity on the other.

“For all the fixtures, this is actually an old school style.” Suki said as she saw Katara take it all in. “This is why they were called restrooms afterall.”

The stalls were spacious and each one equipped for a number of mobility needs. But it was still a toilet stall, so Katara stood on her shoes as she changed out of her clothes.

The dress was from her Gran-Gran’s wedding; it had been a stroke of luck that Zuko’s party was basically Water Tribe themed. The skirt of her dress was almost the same shade of blue as the tablecloths and the bodice was white lace. It had been impossible to zip up at the wedding and Katara flailed about just as uselessly this time.

“Need a hand?” Suki asked from the next stall.

“Yeah, let me just get my shoes on.” Katara said.

The restroom door opened and Katara heard two women enter, talking.

“So what?” One woman, sounding bored, asked.

“So,” The other said, sounding irritated. “I just don’t know why he always does that.”

“They’re friends.” The first woman said.

“And we’re always so happy to see you.” Suki called out. Katara gathered up her things and opened the stall door.

“Oh great, he invited more commoners.” The first woman remarked.

Suki came out of her stall and went to the sinks, placing her clothes down.

“Nice to see you too Azula. Mai.” Suki said and went back to Katara. “Hey, hold your hair up.”

Katara held her clothes in one arm and lifted up her hair. She briefly examined the two new women, put off by the hostility. One of them looked a little like Zuko, mostly in the eyes, and she assumed this was his sister Azula. The other was a tall woman with long straight hair. Maybe Mai.

“I’m Katara.” Katara interjected as Suki zipped up her dress.

“I don’t think I care.” Probably Azula said.

“That’s prissy princess Azula and the other one is Mai.” Suki said. “Now do me.”

Katara turned around and zipped up Suki’s gown. It was an evergreen color, simply cut but it looked very stylish.

“That’s a great dress.” Katara said.

“Thanks. Zuko and Sokka go out a lot when he’s in town, so I had to get some adequate attire.” Suki said with faux-bitterness. She turned and flashed Katara a quick smile.

“Great, can you get out now? Your bargain bin dresses are giving me a headache.” Azula said and pushed between the two of them. Suki rolled her eyes but started walking out.

“I can’t believe they’re related.” Katara said as they exited. Guests had started to show up and now a few people eyed them awkwardly.

“Come on.” Suki whispered and headed to the side exit where Katara’s car was parked. They walked out and found Sokka standing next to the open passenger door, talking to Zuko. Both of them were in tuxes and looked pretty comfortable in them.

Katara tried to remember when Sokka had gotten used to wearing a suit. Clearly it had only happened after he met Zuko.

“Well don’t you boys clean up nice.” Suki said, her Kyoshi accent slipping out purposefully. Sokka kissed her cheek and took her clothes, tossing them unceremoniously into the backseat.

“I’d compliment you but you always look radiant.” Sokka told her. Zuko smiled and looked at Katara.

“That dress is beautiful.” He said. Katara glanced down and put her hands on the bottom half of her bodice.

“Thanks. I got it for my grandmother’s wedding.” She replied.

“Hey, so people have shown up and your sister is here.” Suki said, linking her arm through Sokka’s and leaning on him.

“Well we certainly don’t need her holding court right now.” Zuko grumbled. “Alright, I guess it’s time for me to go in.”

Sokka shut the door of the car and they all walked back in.

It only took a few moments for people to notice but once they did, they swarmed around Zuko. Clearly he was well known, and it obviously wasn’t for his uncle’s teashop. But whatever was going on back in the Fire Nation, he didn’t talk about it and Katara always felt weird when she was about to search him up online. Anything she found she knew wouldn’t be congruent with the man she had spent every night this week working on flower displays. It was bad enough to see him like this, dressed so formally and chatting up equally lavish looking people when just last night he had been covered in tiny statice flowers.

“So what’s supposed to happen?” Katara asked.

“Well, there will probably be a tea demonstration. I wouldn’t be surprised if Azula did it. And then lunch, where a ton of people will drink too much and make speeches. Then someone will push the tables out of the way and dancing will start, regardless of what time it is.” Sokka answered.

“That seems like a lot.” Katara replied.

“Is it really any different than what the rest of us do?” Suki asked.

“But everything is so nice.” Katara countered.

“That doesn’t mean anything to these people. Just wait till you see how much they rack up in damages.” Sokka said.

After about thirty minutes of greeting, an older man stepped onto a raised stage. He tapped the microphone to get everyone’s attention and Zuko took the opportunity to weave through the crowd back to them.

“Hey.” He whispered and squeezed Katara’s shoulder as he stepped behind her. Blushing, she became acutely aware of his presence behind her right shoulder as he stood next to Sokka.

“Thank you everyone for coming out to celebrate my nephew’s birthday. It is an honor to be surrounded by so many friends, and by such delicious tea!” The man said and the audience laughed politely. “Because the two greatest joys in my old age are tea and my niece and nephew, I am delighted to invite out my niece Azula to perform a traditional tea ceremony.”

The audience applauded and Zuko scoffed. Everyone started to shuffle around, taking a seat as Azula and a few others brought cases and equipment to the stage. Azula had changed into a traditional kimono and she looked serene. It was a shocking change from their interaction in the restroom.

The ceremony was artfully done and Zuko went forward to receive the cup his sister had prepared. More tea was made and people started to socialize. Other performers came to the stage to play instruments and servers brought out small dishes, all which became background noise.

Zuko kept having to get up and circulate amongst the guests, but ultimately returned to their table to eat a few appetizers and drink some tea. By the time lunch was served, Katara was already full. But this time, the alcohol was poured and the room started to grow warmer and louder.

Stopping back at their table, Katara handed him a cold glass of water, which he took gratefully.

“All the old guys are eyeing the microphone.” Suki said, leaning across the table toward Zuko.

“Probably trying to figure out how to suck up to my father while telling me off.” He replied, glancing over at the stage.

“Well that just means someone has to get up there first to set the tone.” Sokka said and stood.

“Sokka, do not tell them-” Zuko started but Sokka cut him off.

“I will confess my love to you as many times as it takes Zuko.” He said. Zuko put his face in his hands and groaned while Katara patted his back.

The microphone whined as Sokka twisted it and most of the audience watched him.

“Good afternoon everyone. My name is Sokka and some of you know me as That Native Boy Who Sells Flowers. Anyway, I just wanted to be the first to say, Zuko, you are the most handsome Fire Nation guy I’ve ever met and I hope you never change. Happy birthday you magnificent sunbeam you.” Sokka said and raised his beer glass. A few voices, most likely belonging to the younger members of the crowd, cheered as Sokka took a drink.

As Sokka made it to the table, Zuko was rubbing his chin and shaking his head. Sokka just slapped his back and sat down.

“Do you like getting me in trouble?” Zuko asked, gesturing with his hand in the empty air.

“What’s the worst that can happen? You get another scar?” Sokka said and then made a dismissive sound. “You’ll be fine champ.”

There was a tapping on the microphone and they looked over again. Mai stood there, holding her champagne glass and leaning over the microphone gracefully.

“Thank you Sokka, I’m always glad to know my boyfriend is in such safe hands when he’s away from home.” Mai began. Katara felt her stomach sink and she sat up in her chair. Boyfriend?

“Zuko, you know I’m not one for grand speeches. But I’m here, which is saying something. Happy birthday.” Mai continued and raised her glass. “To the Fire Lord.”

The entire audience and Zuko raised their glasses and replied, in near perfect unison, “To the Fire Lord.”

Zuko looked uneasy and didn’t turn as he took a drink. Good thing, as Katara’s hands had turned to lead and she hadn’t been able to move them.

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