AU where the war ends for (reasons), Fire Lord Azulon is still on the throne, and the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation are struggling to broker a truce. So the Fire Nation decides that the best way to foster peace is with an arranged marriage.
Hakoda would never force any of his people to go through with this, so as the chief, he steps up and agrees to marry, no matter how much his heart still aches for Kya. Katara and Sokka are furious on their dad’s behalf, and agree to make things difficult for their future “”””step-parent”””
But Fire Lord Azulon has Ozai whispering in his ear, so the person he sends to the Southern Water Tribe is 16yo Prince Zuko. The least useful royal.
The Fire Nation ship arrives. No one had high hopes for this political marriage, but everyone is horrified when a terrified teenager steps onto the ice and introduces himself as Hakoda’s future spouse.
Zuko is quietly freaking out, but trying to hide it. Azula and other people at the palace have been whispering about how dangerous and violent and savage the Water Tribe Chief is. Hakoda seems polite, but he’s so much bigger than Zuko and the same age as his father, and Zuko has no choice but to marry him for the sake of his nation.
Except Hakoda isn’t having any of that. There’s no way he’s marrying a scared kid the same age as his son. The deal is off. How can he keep negotiating with the Fire Lord, who sent his terrified grandson to the other side of the world to marry a man twice his age?? No fucking way.
Cue Zuko being adopted into the Water Tribe family. And who knows, maybe Katara and Sokka will take Zuko out in a canoe to work off some steam, and they’ll accidentally discover a certain frozen monk that helps them bring about real peace.
@lrainia2 tags: #cue Prince Iroh - dragon of the west - decorated war hero of the fire nation#stepping off the boat behind zuko like#‘hi yes i am here and no i will NOT leave’#‘and also f you dare touch my precious nephew please remember i literally breath fire’#for once iroh skips all the polite dottering old man act#or wait even better#no one else at the palae knew until zuko was gone#and also lu ten lives au#so poor scared zuko shows up at the SWT#and then a week later Lu Ten shows up#‘wait there has been a mistake *I* will marry you instead’#and then a week after THAT Iroh shows up#‘no *I* will marry the water tribe cheif’#and the entire SWT is very suddenly thinking#‘okay how do we get *these* guys on the throne instead’
Hakoda doesn’t want to marry anyone, but suddenly there’s three Fire Nation royals demanding that THEY’RE going to be the one to marry him.
Bato thinks it’s both horrifying and hilarious.