A/N: In which Zuko tries to understand Sokka.
Disclaimer: Okay, I don't own Avatar or its characters. Owell. I'll get over it. So will you. In the meantime…
Chapter 7
Sokka forced himself to listen, to the point of near exposure.
Zuko played his part well, and Sokka thanked a foreign court that taught its participants to act out roles without regard to personal feelings. Even when the participants were mere children.
And it appeared they knew their craft. Ling-Ling practically gushed with her tales of brave men brought low by the Fire Nation, and how she had done her best to help them. Zuko kept his own admiration of her efforts muted, as if he were jealous of her interest in others before him.
He must have known Sokka listened, but having an audience did not seem to perturb him. Perhaps it heightened his performance.
Sokka had swallowed his trepidation at Zuko's apparent diplomatic talents, pegging this skill in his mind's tally of Zuko in the ambiguous column, along with his good points and bad.
It was astonishing how crowded that column had become, relative to the other two.
Of course, over each of the two boys, the passage of time weighed heavily.
"So. They really aren't coming for you." Zuko still found it hard to believe.
"They sure as hell better not be." Sokka's voice was as grim as Zuko had ever heard it.
"Why not? Wouldn't it show that they loved you?" The word felt odd on his tongue, but he could not think of a better one for what he wanted to know.
"No. It would not. 'Hey Sokka, we're here now, let's run away.' It would completely devalue everything I've been through here." Sokka sighed. "I expect more from them, and I believe they know it."
He really hadn't meant to be totally honest with Zuko. But then, he hadn't expected… Zuko. Period. At this point, why be less than honest? He needed the other boy to trust him. He was wise enough in the ways of trust to give it before expecting any in return. He had gone far down that road already with Zuko, and both of them knew it.
"So, you and your sister would go to any lengths to rescue the Avatar, but you won't allow him to rescue you. But he's done just that, lots of times. How about that time you three emptied the prison holding of all those earth-benders? Even if I hadn't found evidence that you were there myself, I saw the reports, and the rumors couldn't be stopped."
"That was a stupid affair, for which you can thank my idiot sister. You'd probably understand perfectly. She felt honor-bound to rescue some boy she'd convinced to do earth-bending against your government's rules. Of course we look out for each other. And somebody's gotta watch Aang's back for him. He may be the Avatar but he's still just a kid. So…, that's what we do." Sokka sighed. There were limits to how much he was willing to talk about.
"But I told you. We figured out that in helping him we could also be hurting him, could become a weakness for him. What he needs to do is too important for him to risk himself for us. We talked about it and all agreed. He understands. Katara will make sure he understands."
Silence again. But this silence was familiar to both boys, and there was no question that they each used it to advantage.
"And you love them. It's not just duty, is it? You… love them, both… of them." Zuko knew he was pushing it here, but why not? He sensed that there was nothing left between them but truth. Why not pursue it? He never had before. And he knew this subject was important. This was something he needed to know.
"They're family."
"Nonsense. Okay, your sister maybe, but the Avatar?" And what did family mean as an answer, anyway? His family? Okay, he loved his uncle, of course he did. How could he not? His sister? He shuddered. His father? That was a question he wasn't quite ready to face.
Sokka smiled. "Oh, Aang's family. Katara decided that long ago, and he has been officially adopted into the Water Tribe. He's a good kid. Goofy as hell, but the best. I couldn't ask for a better brother."
Sokka's smile turned wry, "Of course, I wouldn't have minded if someone else had found him instead of us."
Zuko tried to wrap his mind around the concept of the Avatar as a brother. It simply didn't set well.
"My sister's a demon from hell, so maybe I'm no judge. But from everything you've said, and from what I've seen myself, your sister seems like an annoying, pushy bitch. Powerful, yes, but a bitch nonetheless," This was tossed out casually, just to keep the conversation going and because he was, once again visited by an image of the water-bender, this time as she thrust the ice and snow of the tundra into the air to crush him and then let him fall.
"Zuko," Sokka spoke very softly. "I've already promised to gut you. This is my sister we are talking about. She would walk into this prison without hesitation and pluck even you from that cell, leaving me behind, if she thought it was the right thing to do. She would cry buckets of tears as she did so, but she wouldn't hesitate. Of course, she's also more likely to set everyone free, including murderers and rapists, in her zeal. Little idiot. She is the finest person I know, because she has the best sense of what is the right thing to do of anyone I've ever met. I will forgive you what you just said, because you are an ass and don't know any better. Say it again and I will give your balls to a platypus bear, and make you watch it eat them."
Zuko's single mobile brow lifted in surprise. Well. Without really trying, he had found the Water Tribe boy's weakness. Not that it should have been any great surprise.
The water tribes were notoriously clan-oriented, and he had seen for himself Sokka's foolhardiness in facing down a Fire Navy ship, alone, to protect his pathetic village. But Zuko himself was hard-pressed to reconcile the ill-trained savage of that day with the canny warrior on the other side of the barred wall. He was still missing something.
Had he been too quick to judge, or could a mere half year change someone so much? Had he changed like that?
