A/N: Hi! This is my first Avatar fanfiction and an obscure pairing at that! I wrote this for a contest here: http://sozu-fanclub. deviantart .com/journal/19376550/ (remove spaces)
Please leave a REVIEW! I was thinking of writing a second chapter, what do you think?
Zuko sighed and closed his eyes, letting the frigid wind whip across his face. It had been five years since he had tasted the same fresh air and been out on the open sea with a crew that belonged only to him. He was headed to the Southern Water tribe, in the middle of winter nonetheless, to visit the friends he had made so long ago from his enemies. It had also been five years since he had seen either Katara or Sokka and when he finally worked up the opportunity for a break, he couldn't think of anywhere he would rather go.
As expected, Zuko had become a unrivaled Fire Lord, but with the added prestige came added stress. It had taken him a while to rebuild the Kingdom that his father and sister had neglected and win the trust and support of his people. Even now tension was high, but at least his advisers and attendants knew their places. For the first three years of his rule he was always watching his back, deflecting assassination attempts and mutiny from anyone close to him. He had no one but Mai in his palace that he completely trusted and often turned to her for help in a nation that he had been exiled from for much of his life.
"I see you are enjoying your vacation." Iroh silently approached Zuko, who was leaning over the iron bow of the Fire Nation ship. Zuko turned to him, smiling widely. He hadn't been this happy since he had parted with the group years before.
"I am indeed, uncle. I'm glad you could accompany me." As Iroh approached the edge of the ship himself, he smiled warmly, obviously proud at what Zuko had done with himself. He stopped next to his nephew and took a deep breath, admiring the clear water and clearer sky.
Iroh had continued his Tea Shop life in Ba Sing Se instead of living with Zuko in the Fire Nation. Although Zuko could have used the help, too much had already passed between his uncle and the rest of his family, not to mention the army that had once been his entire life. Zuko could also see the disappointment and pressure that Iroh already faced with his younger brother and couldn't bring himself to ask for his assistance. He knew if he did, his uncle wouldn't refuse. So far the Fire Lord had been fine without Iroh, though. It had been a struggle, but they kept in touch through Ferret-Doves and Iroh had visited annually since Zuko's promotion. Iroh's tea had been a big hit, but he never expanded past his small shop and still insisted on serving the tea himself.
Zuko readjusted the plain brown cape that hung around his shoulders. It was much colder than he remembered it, but it had been far too long since he had set his ship in Water Tribe seas. He had left all of his Fire Lord attire at home with the exception of his Flame knot-fastener (proof that he was indeed the Fire Lord) which was kept in a lacquer box with his other traveling things. Instead he had taken the plain clothing of a Fire Naval officer, a medley of crimson, scarlet, and maroon, and pulled his ever growing hair into a simple pony-tail. It was as long as the last time he had been in these waters, when he had first "caught" the Avatar, but he kept it full and flowing in the style of his forefathers instead of the shaved style of a high ranking officer. When he was fully dressed in his Fire Lord attire he pulled half of his hair up in a top knot, keeping the traditions of the Fire Nation.
"Sir, we've made contact with the Water Tribe," came a female voice from the small cabin behind them. The woman was Min, one of few people Zuko trusted now, and his personal body guard. She was a small woman, but competent in both hand-to-hand combat and Fire bending. He had hired her three years ago out of Ba Sing Se, where she had been born, and honed her bending skills himself.
"Good news," he replied, slowing turning from his oceanic view back towards the ship. "Get the crew ready to land." The crew was only made up of five other people, but each personally associated with Zuko. His advising staff insisted that he take almost an army, but Zuko had gotten away with hand picking some seasoned warriors. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, he was capable of his own protection, and he was here for leisure, not to start a war. Besides, how would he get any private time with a certain someone if he had an entourage following him around?
"Aye aye, captain!" Min saluted, serious as ever. He liked the woman, but the only time he had ever seen her loosen up was at his last birthday in which she had gotten drunk and smashed part of the paper screen in the meeting room.
Fire Lord Zuko turned back to Iroh, who was still looking out across the water. He looked older than the last time they had been together.
Zuko sighed, but suddenly tried to hold back a smile as he caught sight of the snow covered land in front of them.
"You are very excited to see your friends," Iroh said in his cryptic "not asking" way. Zuko couldn't hold back and let his smile show, looking down at the deck, embarrassed. There were some things even his uncle didn't know.
"I am, uncle. It's been a long time," he turned his gaze back to the ocean, the icebergs that denoted the Water Tribe village now visible.
"I am, as well. I hope Sokka has time to play a round of Pai Sho with this old man." He smiled softly.
Zuko returned the smile and tilted his head. "I'm sure he will."
CCC
"Heeyah! Zuko!" Sokka was waiting for them at the docks where a water bender fixed their boat to an ice berg with ice. Zuko jumped from the bow of the small ship, dropping only a few feet onto the ice dock, once again holding back his smile.
"How are you, Sokka?" he asked calmly, half of his mouth lifted in a smirk.
Suddenly the Water Tribesman threw himself at Zuko, crushing him in a Lion-Bear hug. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you!! Look at this hair! It's out of control!" He fluffed the end of Zuko's pony tail over his shoulder.
Zuko immediately hugged him back, squishing Sokka through his many layers of clothing and animal skins.
They pulled back and Zuko looked at Sokka's wide smiling face and into his crystal blue eyes. He had also changed since their last meeting 5 years ago, but not by much.
Sokka still had a wolf tail, but it had grown long just like Zuko's hair. It was pulling into a loop right now, but Zuko could see it would easily go past his shoulders if taken out. Both sides of his head were still cleanly shaven, though, and he now had a large flat gem stuck in each of his ear, probably over an inch in diameter, which stretched his ear lobes out. He still wore his white shell necklace, which had now faded to gray, and had grown as tall as Zuko had.
Zuko dropped his hands from around Sokka and instead wrinkled his face in a lopsided smile. "What's this?" he touched Sokka's chin lightly, tugging at the sparse goatee that was growing there. It was barely noticeable against Sokka's dark skin.
The man looked proud that his friend had noticed. "Oh, just thought I'd try growing a little beard. A new look, you know?" he paused, raising an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
It was all Zuko could do not to bust out in laughter. "There's hardly anything there! How long did that take you to grow, a month?" he pulled back and covered his own mouth, his whole body shaking from holding back.
Immediately Sokka looked offended. "Hey, just because I'm not a hairy ape from the Fire Nation-"
"Who are you calling ape?" Zuko tried to look upset, but only ended up letting out a loud laugh.
"You, you black hairy fire nation ape!" Sokka lunged forward with a tight smile on his face, trying to put Zuko in a head lock. He managed to mess up his pony tailed hair, but the two wrestled for only a few seconds, laughing loudly and enjoying themselves. They paused for a second before Sokka gave him another light hug, messing up Zuko's hair even more.
"Heey..." Zuko tried to push his hair back into place, but the damage was done. Sokka snickered, obviously pleased with his revenge. They were silent for a moment while the rest of the crew collected the luggage and unloaded the small ship.
"Is this all the people your brought? Katara planned a feast to feed the whole village twice over!" Sokka laughed again, watching Zuko's guards.
"Did you except me to bring more?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, but Katara was hoping. Not many visitors this far South." Sokka turned back to the village that was nested against an ice cap a few thousand feet away, and Zuko moved forward to stand beside him. They lapsed into silence again, Sokka looking a little more sober.
"Have you heard from Aang?" he asked quietly, starting to slowly walk towards the village. Zuko turned to make sure his men were taken care of before following at a leisurely pace.
"No, not since we were last together in Ba Sing Se. Katara hasn't...?" Zuko let his sentence trail off, folding his arms against his chest. Sokka shook his head slowly.
"She's probably taken it the hardest. I mean, her boyfriend just disappears one day, doesn't tell her where he's going or when he'll be back. No one has heard from him in years." The warrior sighed. "But that's talk for another day," he said, looking back at Zuko and forcing a smile. "Let's not ruin your vacation with melodrama."
Zuko returned the smile, a little sadly. It was true he didn't want to talk about Aang, especially with Katara. It had been hard on all of them after he went missing. Zuko regretted he couldn't aggregated more resources to search for him, but the last thing he had heard from the Airbended was something about "he was the Avatar and he needed to start acting like it". Besides, Zuko had had his hands full with trying to run the Fire Nation.
"Anyway..." Sokka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and relaxed his smiled tentatively. "What do you want to do while your here?"
Zuko shrugged, turning to check on his crew again. They were slowly following, three large boxes distributed between the six of them. Iroh followed with them slowly, carrying a small box of his own.
"Well, you promised me Penguin sledding and uncle requested a game of Pai Sho." Zuko sighed and grinned, releasing the tension that had built up, glad they were back on safe grounds. Sokka smiled genuinely in response and turned back to Iroh, raising his voice so the old man could hear.
"What? The last game we had was three hours long!" He pretended to be exasperated, but Zuko knew Sokka enjoyed their games as much as Iroh did.
"'A good thing is worth putting the time in to,'" he replied, smiling. "Besides, I have not yet extracted my revenge!" Iroh pointed at Sokka teasingly to emphasis his point.
Sokka rolled his eyes in return, turning back to look at Zuko. "I won one game. You've won at least a hundred!" Sokka's eyes shifted back to Iroh. The old man simply shook his head. "'A single victory may be more important than all that came before it.'"
"Alright, alright," Sokka replied after a moment, still smiling at Zuko. "I give in. We'll play a game tomorrow." Zuko smiled a thanks and continued their small talk until they had reached the village.
CCC
"Are you sure you're warm enough in that?" Zuko lifted his chin so that Sokka could hear him through his oversized parka. He had borrowed one from Sokka's neighbor, but it was several sizes too big. Not too much of a problem, though, since that meant Zuko could fit a few extra layers underneath.
Sokka was wearing a single jacket and Zuko had seen what he was wearing underneath: a sleeveless leather top and breeches that were tucked into his knee high boots. Zuko had put on three layers before his oversized coat.
"Of course!" Sokka smiled. "Don't worry, after we get running you'll want to take some of that off!"
Zuko's eyes widened a fraction in disbelief. "I doubt it."
Sokka simply smiled back.
The two of them were trekking across the winter wasteland and had been for 30 minutes. Zuko had been with the Water Tribe for seven days and was planning on returning to the Fire Nation within two. Although Sokka had promised to take him penguin sledding (and he had been excited about it initially) Zuko found out that the winters in the South were far too cold for his liking. But then again, this was the first time the two had been alone since he arrived.
Well, technically alone. Min was following behind them a few hundred feet and trying to be sneaky about it, but Sokka hadn't said anything yet so Zuko didn't bring it up. If she was going to brave the cold to make sure her employer was safe in the middle of a snowy wasteland, he wouldn't say anything.
"Okay, slow down..." Sokka pressed his hand against Zuko's chest to stop him, but Zuko could barely feel him through his layer of clothes.
"Wh-what?" A puff of white air exited Zuko's mouth as he began to speak again.
"Their nest is right past this mound," Sokka replied, a smile spreading across his face. He shifted his parka to untie a length of rope from his waist. "Be careful not to go for a pup, they'll really kill you then."
Zuko lightly touched his own forehead and closed his eyes for a second, obviously nervous. "Thanks for the tip." Sokka smiled at Zuko's reaction and elbowed him in the side, standing a little too close.
"Don't worry, I know what's going on. Let's take a look." Sokka slowly worked his way up the mound of snow, eventually getting down on his knees to avoid scaring the penguins. Zuko followed closely, very unsure of himself and not only because of the penguins.
Both of their heads popped over the top of the snow bank to take in the nested group of penguins. They were usually calm and friendly creatures that were not hunted by the tribe, but every once in a while some hot headed kids (like Sokka and Zuko) would tease and play with them until they got angry. The animal's initial reaction was to flee the area by slipping down the mountain instead of fighting, which is what lead to the creation of "Penguin Sledding".
"Okay, down at the bottom there are two big ones, probably alpha males," Sokka started, pointing with his mittened hands. "You go for the one on the left and I'll take the one on the right." He handed Zuko a piece of rope, a tool not required, but useful in the winter sport.
"Uh, okay?" Zuko replied, expressing his obvious doubt. Sokka grinned.
"Just follow me." He stood slowly and began walking through the families of Penguins resting against the glacier. Zuko got up and followed directly behind him, resisting the urge to grab onto Sokka's parka for comfort. They both looked around them as the penguins perked up and began watching them in return. No other movement was visible except for the occasional turn of the penguin's heads, even the pups didn't move at the presence of the two foreign bodies. "See? We're fine!"
But even Sokka jumped a little when one of their target penguins stood up, revealing his full height and ruffling it's wings. It was almost as tall as Sokka and at least a hundred pounds more.
"Ready?" Sokka whispered. Zuko could see his friend's vein pulsing out against his neck, revealing his excitement, and caught his breath. Now or never, he supposed. If he didn't go, Sokka would never let him live it down.
"Yeah, let's go," he whispered back. Sokka suddenly jumped, his rope wide, and wrapped it around the penguin, who had begun to struggle immediately, pulling away and flapping it's stubby wings. Sokka yelped and Zuko saw the second target stand up, ready to assist the first. Zuko jumped, imitating Sokka as well as he could, and ropped the second one who was luckily not as big as Sokka's.
Before either of them knew it, Sokka's penguin had twisted onto it's belly and began down the mountain, Sokka barely pulling himself onto his back with the help of the rope.
"Woooo!" He tried to look back at Zuko, who was pulling himself on to his own penguin's back as it took off directly behind him. Several of the mothers and children had taken off with them in the commotion and others were scattering to either side.
Somehow in all the confusion both of the men had managed to successfully rope the penguins and attached themselves into the proper sledding position. Zuko's penguin was throwing it's head around in protest but managed to pull abreast to Sokka. They were going too fast for Zuko to really do anything else but hold, which wouldn't have been a problem except his face was freezing now, and he was afraid he had lost a glove in his struggle to mount.
It was worth it, though. They were going faster than Zuko initially thought possible and were soring past all sorts of ice caps, some of them surprising beautiful. Definitely the way to travel in the Southern country.
Zuko almost lost his balance when they turned to avoid one particular glacier and noticed that Sokka was struggling just as much. The peguins were fatty and slick, not ideal for riding by a long shot, and there was nothing to help him but a rope that was quickly slipping down to the penguins stomach.
"Sokka...!" Zuko screamed over the rush of wind that was making his eyes water. They were going too fast, he was going to fall off!
Sokka half turned to look at his friend, smiling encouragingly and trying to fix his own rope. "We're almost there!" Zuko barely heard back.
"Sokka, look!" Zuko tried to point with his covered head to where they were going. They had reached the bottom of the hill, which was followed by a series of cliffs overlooking the ocean. If they didn't bail soon they would end up in the water. In response Sokka simply gave Zuko another mischevious smile.
Immediatley the lead penguin arched it's back up, getting ready for the first jump. Sokka struggled to mainain his balance, laughing loudly. Zuko's golden eyes shot wide open. He wasn't really going to...?!
Zuko's own penguin imitated the movement as they approached the edge of the cliff, but not to the same extreme the other one had. He, at least, was staying on easier, but the Lord closed his eyes at the last minute anyway as they reached the drop off. He would not lose to Sokka!
Althought he drop was only about ten feet, Sokka's penguin had jumped much higher than it needed to, probably an attempt to throw Sokka off-and it worked. The roped slipped down the penguins body, sending the Water Tribesman into a drift of snow a few feet deep and leaving a Sokka shaped hole on top. Zuko let his own penguin land before gracefully slipping off himself, glad it was over. He took a deep breath, then began to laugh at the comical mess Sokka had made and how much fun it had really turned out to be.
Zuko stood up, the loose rope still grasped in his hand, and realized Sokka had been right: he was far too warm now. He stood and trudged over to the hole Sokka had made and saw his friend laughing so hard he could barely move. He had sunk into the snow at least a foot, leaving an indent that outlined his body perfectly, the snow gently falling on top of him as he laughed.
Sokka looked up, slowing his laughter, as Zuko approached and stood at Sokka's feet. The man made no move to get up, but simply met the Fire Lord's eyes with his own.
Zuko took a deep breath, realizing this was exactly what he was waiting for. Sokka was gently smiling up at him, bringing to memory the time they had spent together before he had become the Fire Lord.
Stepping foward a few feet so that he was standing over Sokka, Zuko slowly crouched down to sit on top of his friend, straddling his hips. Sokka immediately looked shocked and embarrassed.
"Wh-what are you doing?" his voice wavered with nervousness and Sokka made a slight attempt to push the fire bender off of him, sitting up as much as he could.
"Sokka." Zuko said firmly, leaning over him and pushing the tribesman back down with his hands on his shoulders. He hovered above his friend for about a second before firmly pressing their lips together. Oh yeah, that brought back memories.
Sokka let him have his way for a minute or so, gently tasting the warm lips, but eventually began to push back, forcing Zuko to release his mouth.
"Zuko, I thought we talked about this," he said in an annoyed voice. Zuko was still sitting on top of him, half buried in the snow and holding him down.
The Fire Lord blinked slowly and tried to swallow his nervousness. He had been worried for months over this conversation.
"Sokka, I..." he started gently, unsure of how to begin what he wanted to discuss. Instead of talking he leaned down again, trying to steal another kiss. Sokka stopped him more firmly this time by pressing his hand against Zuko's face, looking at him with eyes that held sadness in their depths.
"Zuko, you're the Fire Lord now."
The said Fire Lord took a deep breath, puffing out more white air. "I know."
Zuko closed his eyes for a moment, resting his forehead against Sokka's, who had loosened his grip on Zuko.
"Sokka, I'm in love with you." Zuko didn't open his eyes; he couldn't bear to see the look on Sokka's face next. When they had talked about his last time it had been bad enough to keep the topic away for five years.
Sokka sighed and let Zuko have a moment of silence before he responded.
"You're only making this harder on yourself."
"... I know." Zuko's voice was timid, but he managed to open his eyes and sit up enough to look at Sokka's face. The look plastered there was the same emotion that was wrestling his heart at that very moment.
Sokka sighed again and began talking with a "your so stupid I'll have to explain it to you again" tone of voice.
"You need to have a kid, remember?" Sokka pressed his hand against Zuko's face, forcing their eyes to meet. "You need a heir to keep your blood line going. It's as simple as that."
"Azula might have a child-" Zuko started to argue, but Sokka cut him off.
"Azula is locked up in crazy people jail, remember? The only way she's going to have a kid is if she escapes and if she did, do you think she would hand it over to you?"
"Well, I'll..." Zuko almost started saying something else, but stopped and paused, thinking about what he was going to suggest next. "I'll ask Mai to be my supplimental wife-" he began again after a moment.
"Zuko, we already went over this," Sokka said again, sounding more than annoyed this time. He stopped and waited for Zuko to reiterate the long conversation they had had 5 years ago before they had parted ways.
The Lord waiting a few seconds, looking at Sokka like a sad puppy. He sat up, placing his entire weight back on Sokka's hips.
"Water Tribe customs denote that a member should only take one mate and commit to them for life," he said in a monotone voice on the verge of whining.
"I won't sleep with you if you're just going to turn around and sleep with Mai," Sokka replied plainly.
"It would only be for the sake of having a child-" Zuko began, but was interrupted as Sokka shook his head, causing a few flakes of snow to fall on his face.
"Zuko, give it up. It won't work out between us." Sokka's voice began to take on the same melencholy tone as before. "You should just marry Mai-"
"No! Didn't you hear me?! I'm in love with you." Zuko could feel his anger flair. He felt as though he had been hitting his head against a wall for the last ten minutes.
"Love and marriage are not necessarily related. You of all people should know that."
Sokka was right, but Zuko was using all his power as Fire Lord to change some of the feudal customs in the Fire Nation, including marriage for money. It was the one of the few things he was still struggling with after all this time.
"They are to me, okay?" Zuko replied weakly, his mouth slipping into a depressed frown. He had finally lost his will power and pushed himeslf off of Sokka, walking a few feet away from him and the snow bank he was caught in. The Fire Lord clenched his fists and turned his back on his friend, looking out at the beautiful blue ocean that suddenly seemed so lonely. This was going about how he anticipated it would. He raised his hands to hold his forehead, rubbing it gently and trying to calm himself down, awaiting what Sokka would say next.
"Zuko, I'm sorry." Sokka had sat up, releasing his torso from the snow bank and looking down at his lap. The snow against his body was melting and the back of his parka was already soaked.
The Fire Lord rubbed the bridge of his nose with his ungloved hand, unsure of what he was about to say.
"I'm willing..." Zuko paused and swallowed, turning back to Sokka and looking at him straight in the eye. Sokka noticed the change in his posture and looked up at him, trying to hide his expression. "I'm willing to give up having children." Sokka began shaking his head before the last word was out.
"I won't let you."
"Sokka, this isn't your choice-"
"Of course it is!"
"I'm willing to give up a bloodline to be with you, doesn't that mean anything?!" Zuko's voice was raised now, so much that he was almost yelling. But he wasn't the only one.
"It means that you're giving up your life for me! I won't let you do that after you worked so hard to fix all of your dad's mistakes!"
"Screw my dad! Screw the Fire Nation! I don't care, Sokka!!" Zuko suddenly felt the energy that had been building up in his chest drain away. "I don't care," he repeated in a lower voice.
Sokka, too, let the tension drain from him, taking a deep breath. He stood and approached Zuko, who turned away from him, once again facing the expansive ocean. Despite that, Sokka placed a hand lightly on his shoulder and gazed knowingly at his profile.
"Yes, you do." His voice was just as soft as touch.
"Sokka, I need you. Do you know how hard it's been the last five-" Zuko turned back to his friend, met his eyes, and was unable to finish.
Of course he did.
There was silence until a few moments later Sokka slowly leaned forward and pressed their mouths together. They stuck where the dry outter lips met the sliver of exposed mouth until Sokka gently stuck out his tongue and touched the wet crease of Zuko's lips, exposing them further. Zuko pulled him close from around the waist and opened his jaw wider, emitting a puff of breath from his hot mouth as he did so. Sokka's breath caught and he wrapped one arm around Zuko's neck to keep him from falling to the ground, fitting the two of them closer together. His tongue slid over the top of the firebender's, the wintery air cold everywhere except where he was touching Zuko. The situation was all too familiar and all too alluring, and, realizing this, Sokka began pulling back, but Zuko kept their lips stuck together until the last possible moment.
Before the Water Tribesman could say anything, Zuko began ranting, half out of breath. "I'll go to the Tribe Leader tomorrow and take a wedding vow, exchange agreement, whatever I have to do- If I need a dowery, I'll return right now, if I have to go kill a Polar Bear, just show me the direction-" Zuko stopped, noting the amused, broken-hearted expression on Sokka's face. He had tears in the corner of his eyes that he was trying to scrub away through his gloves.
"I love you, too. That's why I can't let this work." Sokka replied sadly, pushing himself out of Zuko's arms. He turned and began walking haphazardly through the snow in the general direction of the way they had come, wiping his face on the sleeve of his parka.
"Sokka, please wait!" Zuko took after him, but stumbled and fell on his face, burying his whole body in snow. Sokka had began running as soon as Zuko had replied, slipping around in the deep snow himself, but he had made it to the crest of the hill before Zuko even looked up.
"Please!!" Sokka disappeared over the top of the ridge. Zuko made a half hearted effort to stand, but the exchange and hurt he had encountered kept him from recovering enought to get up.
Zuko let his head fall into the snow in front of him, more falling from the darkening sky lightly onto his back.