Avatar - Zukka - Borderlines P8
Title: Borderlines - Part Eight
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Sokka/Zuko
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,567
The following days were a great relief for both residents and guests of the palace. With all fighting subsided and the Fire Lord and his ambassador in unusually high spirits, there was much needed rest and comradery for the Avatar's current and former coterie. The final plans were worked out with enthusiasm from all and when the maps and books were set aside, the four friends stayed up late into the night, laughing and sharing stories and ideas and reminiscing on harder times. They took the flight out to the mountains that Aang had so wanted to do and Sokka took Katara shopping in the city for an afternoon. He bought her a beautiful set of Fire Nation ceremonial robes, telling her that he was sure they would come in handy at some point along the way and that he thought they would be lovely if accented with blue jewelry from their homeland.
Finally the day came that Appa received his final grooming in the palace stables and his saddle had been meticulously cleaned and oiled until the leather shone. Katara and Aang were seeing to him as their belongings were loaded and Sokka was taking care of the delivery of their supplies.
When their belongings and supplies were nearly finished being loaded, the Fire Lord and his Uncle appeared outside the stables, dressed in robes of similar quality to those Zuko had first greeted them in upon their arrival. While Iroh led the Avatar away for one last lesson or lecture or perhaps a cup of tea, Zuko's attention turned toward Katara just as she finished tying down a sleeping roll and jumped back to the ground.
The young lord bowed only a little nervously and fingered the silk ribbon on a small package, held as casually as he was able. "Do you... have a minute?" he inquired politely, hopefully.
The blue eyes that were a mirror of her brother's blinked with mild surprise but she lowered her head respectfully, briefly. "Of course, Lord Zuko," she said and followed him. The stables were just beyond the gardens and Appa was rumbling happily under the attention of the stable hands who had grown quite fond of him during his stay.
He didn't take her far, pausing on the first of the garden's small bridges, turning to lean over the railing, ribboned pouch still in hand. "We've... both said some things I think we regretted over the last two weeks," he began, voice low, neutral. "But I'd like to think from here we'll put those things behind us." He turned his head, caught her eye. "Maybe even be friends."
Katara smiled at him softly, genuinely. There was no trace of the malice that she had regarded him with a week earlier and in fact not even any apprehension or suspicion. She had been allowed the opportunity to observe them both -- her brother and the Fire Lord without the tension hanging over all of them. Seeing Sokka's laughter, the grinning and even complaining sarcasm that she knew so well, she was able to accept the fact that her brother was happy and realize that Zuko had a hand in that. After a moment, she nodded. "I'd like that."
Zuko returned her nod, that much taken care of, then cleared his throat only a little awkwardly, and offered her the item he'd been handling since he'd appeared in the stables. "It's... for you. Just a small token from my mother's collection. I thought... you might like it."
The young woman's eyes widened as she took the small box from him, a faint blush appearing across her cheeks. She recalled in that moment, certain events from when they were younger -- a brief tension that had angrily snapped when they met again. Surely he didn't... Gingerly, she removed the ribbon from the box and took off the top. Inside was a beautiful comb carved from a deep red stone and inlaid with gold and orange jewels.
"Zuko..." she murmured, carefully picking up the comb. It glittered impressively in the clear midday light. "This is beautiful..." From his mother's...? "Are you sure this is all right?" she asked with concern. She never would have given up anything that had belonged to her mother -- but then again, she hadn't inherited an entire palace from her.
"It's all right," Zuko assured her. "My mother... she never really had a daughter who she could... give beautiful things to. Or at least no one who would have appreciated it." It was as near to speaking of Azula as the young Fire Lord would go. "I think she would have liked you to have it. Besides," he added, with the hint of a grin, "it'll look better in your hair than in mine."
Katara couldn't help the laugh that came to her lips and she held the comb lightly to her chest. "Thank you very much, Zuko," she said with a warm, genuine smile. "I'll take very good care of it." She paused then and glanced aside as though she was suddenly interested in some flowers to their left. "You um..." She coughed lightly and glanced back at him. "You do... you know that Aang and I... you know..."
There was an awkwardly long moment where the young lord could only blink dumbly at her, not at all grasping the reason behind her suddenly stumbling speech. When her meaning finally dawned, Zuko flushed darkly, lifting his hands in supplication, shook his head almost comically. "Oh! Oh-- no! I mean, yeah, no-- I-- I actually, ah, knew that already. That is-- this isn't--" he waved his hands helplessly, embarrassed. "I'm not... I mean, you're very... but-- um. Me too. I mean, there's already somebody..."
"Oh!" Katara chirped, ignoring the way that her own cheeks were also flushed. "How -- that's very good! Congratulations!" Together, they seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that let the sudden tension ease. "A-anyway..." she smiled at him then and tucked the box in her belt so that she could use both hands to place the comb into her hair, carefully adjusting it. "Mm?" she asked with a smile.
His own cheeks cooling now, Zuko managed to meet Katara's eyes, then shifted his gaze to the comb, stepping forward to straighten it gently, fingers hesitating just long enough for to seek her permission before tucking it in just such a way that it wouldn't shift or fall. "There," he murmured, satisfied, leaning back to inspect his work. "Perfect."
Katara pinkened again with the words, though this time embarrassed but rather pleased and flattered. "Thank you," she said again as they started back for the stables. She had a peaceful smile -- it really was a beautiful comb and in Fire Nation colors, she could wear it as a sign of peace as they entered new villages in their travels. Red and blue looked very nice together, anyway.
As they approached the stables again, a familiar howling met their ears. "APPA, SERIOUSLY! THESE ARE MY BEST ROBES!" Sokka's outraged cries were peppered by Aang's hysterical laughter. When they arrived, they found the bison had pinned Sokka to the dusty ground with one great foot and had licked him sopping. "Aaaaaannngg-- Call him off already!" he begged, hair a disaster and completely helpless.
But Aang could barely gather enough self control to quell his laughing, let alone draw breath to speak. Even as Zuko and Katara approached, the boy rolled from Appa's tail, gathering stable dust on his own robes before using Appa's hind leg as a handhold to pull himself back to his feet.
His mirth was contagious and even Zuko found himself stifling a chuckle behind his hand. The Fire Lord was beginning to wonder if it was even possible for Sokka to appear on time and in anything resembling a proper state for any sort of important event. Not that he minded; the young Tribesman's propensity for ending up in such predicaments was part of his charm, really.
Katara was failing to hide a face-splitting grin as she took her time shooing Appa away and reaching out a hand to help her brother to his feet. "Oh, Sokka," she chided, smiling.
With his one clean hand, Sokka took her offer, lurched to his feet miserably. His face and front were wet with Appa's friendliness. "Ugh..." A stable hand fetched him a towel and he thanked the man gratefully as he attempted to clean himself up. His hair was beyond help though, sticking up messily and held in place with drying saliva.
"Appa just wanted to give you a proper good-bye, didn't you boy?" Aang grinned and the bison rumbled deeply.
When Zuko stepped forward to pat Appa's nose approvingly, he got a face full of tongue himself, but managed to dance back before he was give the full body treatment. "I guess I'm still part of the group," he mused cheerfully, swiping his dripping cheek with a sleeve, heedless of the fine fabric he was likely ruining with the action.
"Of course you are!" Aang declared, spinning past Sokka's damp form to encircle the Fire Lord in a tight squeeze. "Don't forget the Dragon Dance!" he warned. "I'm gonna test you on it when you meet up with us at the hot springs!"
"All right, all right," Zuko grinned and hugged the boy briefly before stepping back with a chuckle. He supposed he'd eventually get used to Aang's exuberance.
Katara smiled softly on while Sokka stepped up beside her, managing to mostly smooth his hair down. He noticed the crimson and gold comb that now adorned his sister's own hair but he didn't mention it. "Travel safely," he said to Katara. "We'll stay in touch via hawk. If anything comes up, contact the palace. You know Zuko will arrange for anything you need."
Katara nodded, taking her brother's hand with a squeeze. "Thank you, Sokka." There was only the briefest hesitation now before the girl caught up her brother around the shoulders, heedless of his damp and disheveled state, and held tight, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Take care of yourself," she murmured. "And that Fire Lord of yours too."
Sokka felt his cheeks heat and Katara laughed at him -- probably thinking he was embarrassed over her display of affection. But before she could tease him about it, Aang was plowing into their hug, wrapping his arms around both of them.
"I'll bring you back a catsnake, Sokka!" he promised.
Katara's eyes widened. "No, you will -not-! Where would you -keep- it?"
Zuko laughed as he followed Aang, grinning at the exchange. "Just don't eat any because--"
"Yeah, yeah!" Aang interrupted. "I know, they're poisonous. I wouldn't eat it anyway, Zuko!" He could never understand how even his friends seemed to forget his dietary preferences.
Momo meanwhile came jumping from Appa's back, chattering as it landed on Zuko's shoulders, pawing at his head before leaping to Sokka and almost knocking him off balance. "Okay, okay!" Sokka laughed, prying the lemur from his shoulder. "We'll miss you too, Momo."
"Thank you for everything," Katara was saying to Zuko. She took one of his hands between both of hers while behind her Aang pried the clinging Momo from Sokka's person. There was a devilish sort of curve to her mouth as she dropped her voice low enough that the other boys couldn't hear. "Now, take care of my brother or you'll know a world of watery pain."
Zuko blinked and blanched a little, sudden flashbacks of biting waves and death threats sending a chill down his spine. "A-ah," he nodded, though, sensing the hint of teasing that accompanied her words this time. "Of course I will," he continued, resolve hardening visibly. "With my life," he swore, squeezing her hand.
Mild surprise appeared on Katara's face as she saw the sincerity in Zuko's gaze but then she smiled and closed her eyes briefly with a nod. She supposed there were worse things that her brother could be doing with himself.
"Let's go, Aang," she called.
"Bye, guys!" Aang waved, skipping backward with the strange grace that could only belong to an air-bender. Once Katara was settled, a back-flip landed the boy on Appa's head and he grabbed for the reins, leading the great beast out to the courtyard, Zuko and Sokka following on foot. Iroh was there already, and added a box of tea to their supplies with a wink for Katara.
With a great slap of his tail, the air bison lifted and the seers-off shielded their eyes from the dust. Shouts of good-byes and well wishes were exchanged as they waved and Appa rumbled deeply in his own way to their friends. It wasn't long before the bison's hulking form disappeared over the mountains.
"Ah," Iroh intoned thoughtfully, almost wistful. "The palace will be a much quieter place without those two."
Zuko raised a brow. "What are you talking about, Uncle?" Stepping forward, he put a hand on Sokka's shoulder. "We got to keep the loudest one."
Iroh gave a deep belly laugh as Sokka protested indignantly. "What?! Aang is way louder than me! Katara too, when she's angry!"
When Sokka paused for comment, Zuko shook his head. "No, no, keep going. You're half-way to proving my point for me."
"Oh, my nephew, how it heartens me to find that you've finally embraced your sense of humor."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, he's a man of many talents," Sokka agreed, voice heavy with sarcasm as they made their way back to the palace entrance. "It's not every dynasty you get a Fire Lord AND stand up comedian."
"Maybe not," Zuko agreed, "But I'm pretty sure at least -one- member of each Fire Lord's advisory has gone missing under suspicious and violent circumstances." The dark sideways glare was cast toward both Sokka and Iroh in turn.
Sokka whistled innocently as they climbed the steps while Zuko's Uncle attempted to keep a straight face but barely holding back chuckles.
"Aaaanyway," Sokka said with a stretch, "even though it'll be quiet and I'll miss them, at least we'll be able to get some work done around here again."
"Mm," Iroh agreed, nodding sagely. "Just remember to hang a glove on the door when you're in one of your strategy meetings so that I am sure not to interrupt." The glance he shared with Zuko set the young Lord blushing to his toes. "What good is retirement if people are always talking you into more work?" Iroh continued as though he hadn't caught Zuko's reaction at all. "Personally, my dear boys, -I- am already planning my next vacation!"
Where Zuko had blushed, Sokka positively froze in his tracks, staring after the two natives as they kept walking. He coughed loudly and sort of trotted to half catch up. "You definitely deserve it, Uncle!" he agreed and then skirted away. "Well -- I'm covered in bison spit so I'm going to wash up! See you at dinner!" The thin veil of casualness that he tried to cast over his obvious retreat failed miserably as he high-tailed it down a hall.
Iroh caught Zuko watching Sokka's departure and chuckled. "A bit high-strung, but still... a very nice boy."
Zuko snorted.
Iroh elbowed him in the side with a sense of conspiracy, cupping a hand around his mouth to whisper, "I'll expect further details at a later date, my Nephew."
"UNCLE!"
