Cover My Weakness With Your Strengths

Disclaimer: If you recognize it then I don't own it.

A/N: For Whumptober 2022 #18 Let's break the ice-Take my coat

The red airship landed with a soft plop into the snow.

Suki stalked off the ballon with a huff of exasperation. She smiled despite the rough trip and the moody passenger when she heard a frantic, excited call of her name. She fell into Sokka's arms with a content sigh. They shared a passionate kiss, getting lost in one another's hold.

"The Jerk Lord giving you a hard time?" Sokka asked softly, once they came up for air.

She rolled her eyes, "Nothing I can't handle."

"You didn't exactly explain why you were coming in your letter," Sokka tried to be subtle, "With Zuko." He failed.

"The poor guy has been working himself to death. He needed a vacation. He refused so we had to get creative."

"Who's we?"

"Me and Mai."

"His head of security and his girlfriend ganged up on him, that's rough," Sokka pulled away with a dramatic gasp.

She crossed her arms with a little pout, "The whole country practically kicked him out for some rest."

Sokka was startled. If a whole country was worried about him, it had to be bad, "Is he okay?"

She hesitated, thinking, "He will be, we'll make sure of it."

"Well, where is the overworked jerkbender?" Sokka looked around the snow, expecting Zuko to pop up out of a snow drift at any second with flames and a yell. The Fire Nation royalty was nowhere to be seen.

"I told him to hurry up," She threw up her hands with an exasperated groan, "Oh, and if he asks we are here so you two can discuss shipping lanes." Without another word, she stalked back into the airship. Sokka couldn't help grinning as he could just make out raised voices yelling at one another. It was good to have them here.

It was a moody and seething Fire Lord that was pulled out by an arm into the frigid air. He was draped in layers of scarlet silk. He didn't look happy about being there. He didn't look well. His face was thinner, paler if that was possible, and large dark bags rested like a permanent fixture under his dull golden eyes. He looked like the weight of the world was resting on his young shoulders. No wonder his country was worried about him. He was going to burn himself out by the time he was twenty-five if he keep at this rate.

"Hey, your Royal Jerkness," Sokka jumped at him with a laugh. The older boy tensed, falling into a defensive firebending move but he was too slow. Or he allowed his friend to wrap him up in a nearly suffocating hug without deadly consequences.

"Get off me, Sokka," Zuko looked up trying to hide the fondness in his voice by making it even more monotone than usual.

"Admit you missed me," Sokka batted his eyes at the quickly flustering firebender.

"Yeah, well… here," Zuko patted his back awkwardly with one hand before he shifted in the hold and then held out something.

Sokka quickly released him his eyes full of glee, "You brought me a present?"

"Sort of, I guess," Zuko rubbed at his neck avoiding the other boy's eye.

Sokka eyed it warily, "It's not going to explode, is it?"

"Of course not," Zuko said hotly, "I'm not trying to kill you… Not anymore, at least."

That was all the encouragement Sokka needed to yank the long-wrapped package out of his hands and attack the wrapping in an excited frenzy. A cry of joy and Sokka was latched back onto Zuko. Both of his gold eyes widened as far as they could go at the antics. He was slowly getting used to hugs thanks to his new friends and their lack of personal space but this seemed excessive even for Sokka who thrived on physical touch.

"How, where?" Sokka spluttered into the red silk, "Thanks, Zuko. I thought it was gone forever. I spent so much time on it. I love my new boomerang but I missed my space sword."

"I.." Zuko didn't know what to say. His people had been working with the Earth Kingdom to clean up and plant new vegetation in the wartorn and burned area of the ravaged country. The sword had been recovered and brought to him. He had recognized it immediately and put it safely away after he'd cleaned it until he could return it to its rightful owner. He knew Sokka had liked the sword but he was a little overwhelmed by his reaction and gratitude.

"So, about the shipping lanes," Zuko tried to clunkily change the subject. Sokka allowed the change. He finally released his friend as he reverently attached the sheathed weapon to his person, right next to his new boomerang. He felt complete and ready for anything. Including caring for a royal idiot who clearly needed rest.

"I thought we could," Sokka paused trying to come up with a plausible plan on the fly, "Take a ride in one of the canoes to give you a better idea of the southern waterways."

He was mentally patting himself on the back about thinking of an excuse so well. Zuko could relax and maybe even sleep on a leisurely boat ride around the icebergs.

"Well, you boys have fun," Suki waved them off, turning to enter the communal lodge in the largest and warmest tent.

"Wait, you're not coming?" Sokka and Zuko asked at the same time. They weren't very good at talking about serious stuff and would fall into awkward silences when alone. Suki was calming and leveling influence on the boys. Not to mention she could usually stop them from giving in to stupid impulses and when she couldn't she'd save them from their own stupidity.

"You'll be fine," Without another word she disappeared beneath the tent flap.

The two glanced at each other, unsure. They hadn't been alone together since the prison escape from the Boiling Rock. They were friends but neither had grown up with boys around their own age. They didn't know how to act.

"Well," Sokka clapped his hands together, "Let's go."

Zuko followed behind him like a turtle-duckling. Sokka tried to invite his dad, but Zuko stiffened at the thought of being stuck on a little boat with him. He liked the man, but something inside him shrunk away from having a man, a father, close to him. The only one that didn't send a little flame of fear through him was his uncle. he released a little sigh of relief when the man waved them off without him. They paddled away from the shore just the two of them in a canoe.

They talked first about the rest of the gang, catching up on how everyone was. They touched briefly on the post-war rebuilding efforts. Finally, they came to what Zuko thought was the point of the trip, shipping lanes. Sokka unprepared for the cover story was surprised by how much research the Fire Lord brought to the discussion. It must have taken him a week to learn all that, no wonder he wasn't sleeping. The Water Tribe boy just sat back and listened while his friend passionately talked until his voice went hoarse.

"Well," Zuko croaked out, "What do you think?"

"I've got to come clean," Sokka held out his hands in surrender, "I don't know anything about our shipping lanes. My dad and Bato take care of that."

"What?" Zuko sat there stunned for a moment as his tired mind tried to figure out what that really meant. His sluggish mind was slow but he finally figured out the implications. He had been tricked by the people he thought he could most trust.

"It's not what you think," Sokka tried to explain hastily when he saw the anger spark in his friend's eyes.

"It's exactly what I think," Zuko shouted angrily, jumping to his feet. The canoe rocked dangerously at his movement, "They don't trust me."

Sokka hastily brought the canoe closer to a large iceberg to stabilize them in case Zuko's agitated movements tried to overturn them accidentally in his anger. He answered, trying to calm the older boy, "It's not that they don't trust you, it's just that you haven't been taking care of yourself a lot, lately"

Sokka winced when hurt eyes speared him in place. "They're banishing me because they've lost confidence in my ability to do my duty. They think I can't even take care of myself let alone a whole nation," Zuko spoke softly, more to himself than his companion. Abruptly he left the canoe and slid out onto the iceberg next to them.

"Zuko, get back in the canoe," Sokka begged. He had messed up. He had wanted Zuko to know that people cared about him, and wanted him healthy and happy not working himself to death. Instead, Zuko was thinking his country was kicking him out because he wasn't doing enough for them.

Tired, emotionally unbalanced, and feeling betrayed the firebender's heat seeped unchecked into the frozen mass of water he stood on. With an ominous crack, he fell into the icy depth of the ocean. It wasn't the first time he had almost drowned, every time before he had always had a mission, his honor and duty pushing him to fight. Now he just felt tired and empty. It was like right before he and Uncle had gone into hiding in the Earth Kingdom. At least then he had his uncle by his side. He had felt alone and drowning even before he had hit the water.

When the Fire Lord had fallen through the ice, Sokka a man of the Southern land had had the presence of mind to throw off his warm, fur-lined coat and his precious weapons before he dived in after to save his friend. The figure in red was limp and still by the time he found him. He grabbed his friend and pulled him back into the light of the sun.

Sokka hauled the deadweight of the Fire Lord into the little canoe, hoping his friend wasn't dead. Shoving his head against the red-covered chest he heard a faint beating of his heart but no breath in his lungs. Yanking him onto his side he began to beat the water out of him. If Katara was here, could she pull it out of him? He wondered vaguely as water began to trickle out of the slack mouth.

"Come on, you stupid Jerk," Sokka kept trying to save him as tears blurred his vision, "All the times I thought you died, all the times I wanted you dead and you always came back. You can't die on me now. Not now that you're good. Not now that you are making the Fire Nation better. Not now that you're my friend."

Zuko coughed weakly as water rushed out of him. He was still gasping and hacking when Sokka's trembling hands pulled him up and close against him in a desperate bone-crushing hug that threatened to steal his air once more. He didn't fight the hold, he lay his heavy head tiredly against his friend's shoulder just breathing.

"Zuko, take my coat," Sokka held out the dry article of clothing.

"No," Zuko scowled trying to hide his shivering by crossing his wet arms over his chest.

"Stop being a stubborn jerk."

"I'm fine, I carried the Avatar through a blizzard. A little cold water is nothing."

"We had to save you when he escaped because you succumbed to the cold."

Zuko paused awkwardly for a moment, "Well, my inner fire is better now. Remember at the prison, I was fine in the cold then. So I'm fine," He rambled through his chattering teeth.

"Take it, your shivering," Sokka pushed the coat into his face.

"So are you," The two boys glared at one another neither wanting to give in and take the coat from the other.

"Fine," Sokka threw down the coat and grabbed a paddle.

"Fine," Zuko agreed, picking up the other paddle in his numb shaking fingers.

Together they worked to get back to the safety and warmth of the village. Once they were warm and rested they could address all the things eating away at the older boy and set him right one thing at a time, even if Sokka had to shake some sense into his head, or maybe he'd have Toph do it.

Hakoda looked over when he heard footsteps in the snow. He saw that Sokka and Zuko had returned. He went back to sharpening his spear when his brain caught up to what he had really seen. He whipped his head back around and had to take another hard look at his son and his visiting friend. He squinted at them, they were both there but their figures we so closely together that it almost appeared they were one person. As they continued to grow closer he couldn't help but stare. Both boys were wearing the same blue coat. They walked by without looking at him. Zuko mumbled a stiff greeting, decorum ingrained in him as a foreign dignitary. His son however gave a nonchalant greeting, like this was an everyday occurrence before he continued frogmarching the Fire Lord toward the family tent. Both boys were wet and shivering painting the picture of what had happened better than Sokka ever could with paint or even words. They were almost to a fire and dry clothes, they would be fine. And hopefully, they'd get some rest too, based on the worn look permanently etched into the young ruler's face. If anyone could get Zuko to do something it would be that infuriating, badgering, stubborn son of his. The firebender didn't stand a chance. He listened to them squabbling like a pair of brothers. The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe started laughing so hard he struggled to breathe, let alone explain what had happened to a curious Bato when he arrived. The world was a better place if the son of a water chief and the current fire lord could share a coat.