There are sins no fire ever burns away. The sins of fire are bright and hot, and the damage they cause is ugly and terrible.
Fire is the element of power, and Hakoda thinks even Ozai does not realize how little power he actually lost. If the Fire Nation were not so preoccupied with 'bending, the Phoenix King would sit on his throne still.
Perhaps Hakoda would be safer if he did.
Katara is home without Aang for the first time in a long time. Her eyes sparkle and some of the strain is gone from her voice. She is so happy to be with her father and Bato, to see Master Pakku and train with him, to help Mama with the cooking and the gutting.
She is not happy to see Ozai with his polar beardog, and her bright eyes turn icy when he happens by with the half-grown pup trotting at his side.
But Iqniq adores Ozai, and Ozai has let Bato teach him how to train the pup to hunt and track and carry and do all the useful things polar beardogs do. So even Mama, who has more reason than anyone to loathe the Fire Nation, cannot complain about the fallen Firelord's beardog.
Katara's eyes go icier still when Ozai brushes past him, and Hakoda asks Yue to keep Katara's focus on the fallen Firelord. Anything to keep her from seeing the flush in his cheeks, and the way even that little hardly-touch burns.
At night, Ozai stays with Bato, and it's too damn cold in Hakoda's tent without Iqniq flopped across them both.
(without Ozai's obscene firebender warmth soaking through his skin)
But Katara shares with him, because she certainly can't share with Mama now that Pakku does. It's nice to spend time with his little girl, to tell her ancestral stories and listen to her own stories. It's nice to feel normal, soft and content and sleepy.
Water is the element of change, and in the morning, Ozai's touch on his shoulder when he bends down to drawl in his ear that Bato is taking him out to fish is so welcome and familiar, Hakoda has to stop himself from leaning into it.
Ozai pauses to pull on his gloves, dragging the sleeves up enough to flash a deep, fresh bite-mark atop a fading one on the inside of his arm.
Hakoda stares down at the snow to keep from glaring at Bato. They are best friends, have been best friends since they were boys, and this should not be happening. But he can't stop the ugly heat in his chest.
Katara is looking at him with worry when he raises his head, and Ozai is long gone.
Fire is the element of power, and water is the element of change. It shouldn't hurt or surprise him so much that Ozai hurts them.
Hakoda/Ozai
Fire is the element of power, and Hakoda thinks even Ozai does not realize how little power he actually lost. If the Fire Nation were not so preoccupied with 'bending, the Phoenix King would sit on his throne still.
Perhaps Hakoda would be safer if he did.
Katara is home without Aang for the first time in a long time. Her eyes sparkle and some of the strain is gone from her voice. She is so happy to be with her father and Bato, to see Master Pakku and train with him, to help Mama with the cooking and the gutting.
She is not happy to see Ozai with his polar beardog, and her bright eyes turn icy when he happens by with the half-grown pup trotting at his side.
But Iqniq adores Ozai, and Ozai has let Bato teach him how to train the pup to hunt and track and carry and do all the useful things polar beardogs do. So even Mama, who has more reason than anyone to loathe the Fire Nation, cannot complain about the fallen Firelord's beardog.
Katara's eyes go icier still when Ozai brushes past him, and Hakoda asks Yue to keep Katara's focus on the fallen Firelord. Anything to keep her from seeing the flush in his cheeks, and the way even that little hardly-touch burns.
At night, Ozai stays with Bato, and it's too damn cold in Hakoda's tent without Iqniq flopped across them both.
(without Ozai's obscene firebender warmth soaking through his skin)
But Katara shares with him, because she certainly can't share with Mama now that Pakku does. It's nice to spend time with his little girl, to tell her ancestral stories and listen to her own stories. It's nice to feel normal, soft and content and sleepy.
Water is the element of change, and in the morning, Ozai's touch on his shoulder when he bends down to drawl in his ear that Bato is taking him out to fish is so welcome and familiar, Hakoda has to stop himself from leaning into it.
Ozai pauses to pull on his gloves, dragging the sleeves up enough to flash a deep, fresh bite-mark atop a fading one on the inside of his arm.
Hakoda stares down at the snow to keep from glaring at Bato. They are best friends, have been best friends since they were boys, and this should not be happening. But he can't stop the ugly heat in his chest.
Katara is looking at him with worry when he raises his head, and Ozai is long gone.
Fire is the element of power, and water is the element of change. It shouldn't hurt or surprise him so much that Ozai hurts them.
They're the ones letting him, after all.