Holy Matrimony

Most people would have been surprised at how little Zuko and Katara argued after their marriage. The expectation had been that he was fire, she was water, and therefore steam or some such; or, he was a royal, she was peasantry, and thus all domestic disputes would become bitter class warfare. The truth, though, was that they wanted to get along, and so they did- sometimes with loud, heated talking, but rarely coming to the point of an actual fight.

Thus, when an actual shouting match broke out- culminating in three days of very loud Not Talking at each other- both Zuko and Katara wound up feeling thoroughly sick over it, but they still couldn't come to peaceful terms.

"It would be ridiculous if the future Fire Lord wasn't a confirmed Soldier of the Agni Warrior," Zuko said at one point. "How could the Fire Nation look to their lord for leadership if he didn't believe (rightly!) that humans were created when the Agni Warrior breathed life into the drops of dragon blood that were shed from his Sword when he won the world back from the Wyrm King?"

Katara's hands had been clenched into fists for so long that they were radiating pain, which wasn't helping her mood as she retorted, "You're so concerned about what a bunch of racists hogmonkeys think, but any child of mine is going to be half Water Tribe, and you want to cut her off from half of her family by denying her the shared joy of knowing that humans are the living tears of the Spirit of Tranquility! I would have expected you to have more concern about our daughter being cut off from her own blood relatives!"

And so the back-and-forth continued for a week and day, until both Zuko and Katara were able to work up the strength to admit that they couldn't solve this problem on their own. And so they arranged to visit the best peacemaker they both knew.

In one of the Eastern Air Temple's meditation gardens, Aang listened to both sides of the argument and smiled at his friends. "No problem! All you have to do is teach your kids both myths. They aren't mutually exclusive, right?"

Zuko found himself frowning. "Not mutually- Of course they are! How can people be both dragon blood and spirit tears at the same time?"

Katara nodded. "If you're trying to make me agree with Zuko on something, it's working."

Aang shrugged. "If you stick to all the details, sure. But I think what you're both saying is that you consider people to have a special quality, something spiritual that's worthy of reverence. Just stick to that, and mix whatever details you can make work together."

Katara's hands were scrunched into fists again. "I don't think you're taking this seriously. This means a lot to Zuko and me."

"I know, and I respect that. And your marriage. If you hadn't broken my heart and left me for Zuko, I never would have realized the passionate love I had been harboring for Toph ever since we met, so I really want to do right by you two." He turned to where his wife was lounging next to him on the grass. "Right?"

"Whatevs," Toph said, as she continued picking her nose.

"See?" Aang gave a bow of his head towards Zuko and Katara. "And I'm sorry. Part of the problem might be how unfamiliar I am with your beliefs. I've heard bits and pieces of them during my travels, but I guess I'm not very well versed in what they all mean to you two. The Air Nomads believe that humans are just animals that learned how to be smart. There are theories about how maybe it had something to do with Spirits, but we don't get too hung up on the details."

Katara leaned forward. "And does Toph believe that, too?"

"Psh," Toph said, finger still up her nose. "Hardly. Humans are clay given life by the most powerful Earthbender of the Before Times, the Great Badgermole. (I think I could probably take him in a fight. I'm eventually going to try giving life to rock, too.) That's why we have to work to toughen ourselves up. We're just wimpy clay until we harden ourselves into something rocklike."

"And Aang," Zuko ventured, "respects those beliefs?"

"I think it's one of the dumbest things I ever heard," Aang said with a smile. "But Toph is free to believe whatever she wants, even if it's nonsense."

Zuko and Katara exchanged glances, but Toph didn't seem to have any reaction to her husband. Katara eventually massaged her forehead and said, "So how are you going to address that when you have kids?"

Aang shrugged. "The only thing that seems fair is to have an even number of kids, and half will be raised the right way, and half will be raised Toph's way."

Zuko looked to Toph. "And you're okay with that plan?"

Toph pulled her finger out of her nose, and flicked something into the grass. "I think it's one of the dumbest things I ever heard. But Aang is free to believe whatever he wants, even if it's nonsense."

As Zuko and Katara explained their problem again in a kitchen half a world away, Sokka brought a pot of tea over and poured for everyone. Suki handled the encouraging nods while their guests spoke, and offered a sympathetic smile at the end. "I can see why you're both so upset. This is a very sensitive and complex issue."

"Thank you," Katara said, as she took a sip of her tea. "I don't suppose you have any solutions?"

"We haven't planned that far ahead," Suki confirmed. "But as long as you treat each other with respect and love, I think you'll be able to find a compromise."

Zuko looked over at Sokka as his brother-in-law sat down at the table. "Do you believe in this Tears of Tranquility thing, too?"

Sokka looked at Katara, and then back to Zuko before speaking with an obviously artificial chuckle. "Well, you know, I was raised to believe that and all, but it sounds like magic to me, and leaving aside all the Avatar junk that Aang does, I'm generally... uh, skeptical? Yeah, skeptical of stuff that I can't verify myself." While Katara shook her head, Sokka leaned over and put an arm around Suki. "That's why I think Suki and I won't have much trouble."

Suki looked over at him with evident surprise. "You're fine with us raising our future daughters to know Kyoshi's Generosity?"

"...to know the what now?"

"Kyoshi's Generosity. Avatar Kyoshi sculpted the dual world, and populated it with humans and Spirits. We all owe our existence to her, and it is her voice that gives us our lifesong."

Sokka looked over at his guests, but Zuko and Katara were leaning back in their seats and paying a lot of attention to their tea. He turned back at Suki and said, "But the world existed before Kyoshi was in it. She's only two Avatars back, and there was a whole line of, like, thousands before her."

Suki shook her head.

Sokka took his arm off of her. "Seriously, this is a fact. Remember, last year during the incident with the Dread Lord, Aang actually turned into Avatar Yangchen? You know, the Avatar before Kyoshi? We all saw it! You were there! How can you believe this stuff?"

Suki smiled, and took one of Sokka's hands into her own. "Dear, I respect your right to be an infidel dog tricked by demons into believing the Lies of the Void, but you can't sway me from the true path by speaking your thought pollution. Just know that I love you, and I don't ever want to hear you say anything like that again because then I will have to kill you and purify any children we have by anointing them with your infidel blood."

Sokka was still sputtering when Zuko and Katara snuck away.

The Cirque de Taiyang was one of the most popular troupes of performing artists in the world, and had created circus routines out of the various creation myths from across all the surviving cultures. (The acrobatic performance of 'The Kult of Kyoshi' was the least popular.) People of all kinds and beliefs worked in the Cirque, and managed to band together to create beautiful exhibitions that impressed audiences wherever they were shown.

And so Zuko and Katara actually had a bit of hope when they sat down with their old friends, the married owners and directors of the Cirque de Taiyang. Mai lounged on a divan across from her guests, while Ty Lee stood up behind her and cycled through various stretching exercises.

After he had explained his problems with Katara, Zuko said, "So, just to confirm, you both have worked out your own belief issues, right?"

Ty Lee giggled. "There's not much to work out. Obviously, Mai and I were both taught about the whole Agni Warrior thing, but neither of us has stuck with that. I don't have any specific beliefs, aside from being certain that people have a spiritual beauty that calls us to honor our potential."

Mai yawned. "And I don't have any specific beliefs. Period."

Katara pushed a smile onto her face that almost covered how nervous she was. "And it's probably not an issue- I mean, since you two- well, you're both girls- so you can't- you know-"

Ty Lee stopped stretching for a moment, and looked directly at Katara. "We can't have kids, no, but there's always the possibility of taking in a needy child at some point."

Mai snorted. "Pass."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Kids are noisy and messy. I'll pass."

Ty Lee stared at Mai for a moment, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out with a smile. When she opened her eyes, she looked back at Mai. "Okay. I understand your feelings on the matter." She returned to her stretching, seemingly content with the universe.

Zuko stood up. "That's it? You didn't come to a solution! How can you-"

"Oh, Zuko, relax a little." Mai rolled her eyes with a flair that recalled Azula. "Obviously, you and your wife have been in separate sleeping chambers for a while."

Katara made a sound like a dying lemur, but Zuko was the first to respond. "That's beside the point! How are you and Ty Lee able to just move on from something like that?"

Mai shrugged. "Who says we moved on? She'll just keep annoying me about it, for years if she has to, trying to get me to give in. And I'm going to be as blunt as possible about how stupid it is until I hurt her enough so that she'll stay quiet."

Katara stood up, too. "And that's a marriage?!"

Ty Lee brought one of her legs up so that her toes touched her forehead, and giggled. "It is for us. All the mistweed I smoke probably helps, too."

"That was no help," Zuko pronounced when they were back in the Fire Palace.

"At all," Katara confirmed.

They sat together in the parlor of their suite, sprawled across opposite couches. It was Katara who spoke first. "It's not that I don't respect what you believe. I do! I think you're honest with it, and the reasons you believe it are good reasons. They show that you're a good person. But, if my child isn't raised to believe that she's a Tear of the Tranquility Spirit, then she won't be able to take the Rite of Adulthood, because that isn't just about passing some test." Katara straightened her back, and sat so that she was leaning forward towards her husband. "Part of being an adult, being a part of the Tribe, is understanding ourselves and our place in the world. As part of the world. I could respect my child if she had other beliefs, the same way I respect you, but I couldn't let that happen without not believing it myself. How can I let my child not be a part of my Tribe unless I saw no value in my Tribe? I would be betraying what I truly believe, and I don't know how you could respect that. Or me, if I did that."

Zuko sighed, and leaned forward to look his wife in his eyes. "It's the same for me. The Agni Warrior's slaughter of the dragons was a tragedy, and as their living blood, I believe that all people have a responsibility to honor that tragedy by living the best, most honest lives they can. That's why I value Honor so much. I could try to teach my child about Honor, but I feel- it would be hollow if I couldn't really explain why it's so important. How could I do justice to the Code, if I taught it like it's just arbitrary? I couldn't just be vague about it like Ty Lee, because Honor is different for each nation and person, and to accept the Code, my child would have to understand what went into each part. That it isn't just symbolic based on some myth, but that it's a mandate called for by blood bonds and meaningful death. And yes, that same belief, my Honor, makes me respect your beliefs, and how much you value your Tribe and want your child to be a part of it. To make you compromise your beliefs like that would be dishonorable, and a terrible thing."

They sat there, looking at each, and eventually the exchange that needed to happen...

...happened.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"So what do we do?"

"I guess... we learn more about each other's beliefs and..."

"...and then see what happens."

END