Ashes and Wine
If he hadn't seen Sokka's face when he walked into the study Zuko doubted he would have realized something was wrong. Not then, at least. But tan skin had been blanched and he was reasonably sure Sokka hadn't been breathing until he had reached to move him to a chair. A steadying drink with easy conversation seemed the best plan. So he had sat and they had discussed inane things and Sokka had smiled and laughed and relaxed.
It was so close to how they had been, so obvious that this man still considered him a friend, that Zuko felt a rush of relief regardless of his worries. But he could not let go of that strained look on Sokka's face, or the visible relief in his smile. Something had been very wrong before he got to the palace. There was nothing else he could think of.
And the crew's reports weren't helping.
Sitting at his desk well after dark reading the officer's report of a polite but distant young man who was visibly agitated and spent a great deal of time on his own staring at the sea. Sokka had apparently gone to his room shortly after the evening meal and stayed there until breakfast. He had declined all invitations from the crew to mingle, always politely distracted. Until one of the crewmen decided to start Music Night early and Sokka had stayed to listen. After that the report detailed an emergence of the boisterous young man Zuko remembered from the reserved adult Sokka had boarded as.
The report ended with the Captain's concern that his passenger's private farewells had not been good ones and noted that the anxiousness had returned once the Caldera had been sighted.
So something is wrong, just nothing that happened here.
He would not press for now. He had learned patience, as much as it grated. Tomorrow morning would be spent negotiating with his advisors, but the afternoon was clear. It had taken nearly four years but he had finally managed to have Council sessions down to three mornings a week and Open Court on only one day. Unfortunately he had been unable to do away with the dinners.
But those were old frustrations, for now he needed his bed and sleep. After Council he would focus on finding out how much of a sorely missed friendship still remained and what was bothering Sokka.
A/N: A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. At the center of the Caldera, which is in the heart of the capital city, lies the Fire Nation Royal Palace.