Chapter Ten: Heart Scarring Darker Still

The firebender was leaning against a pine tree, catching his breath, as Sokka rounded on him. It was going to be asinine and he knew it, but instead of holding back, he said, "You're such a bastard."

It wasn't a long sprint from the earthbender encampment, but he knew the earthebenders wouldn't pursue a mere water tribesman. Half of their patrol was already looking for the prince - who happened, somehow, to stumble back into the camp and cut the binding that held Sokka - the other half of the patrol was to inexperienced to track, let alone, trek through the forest. It was safe to rest for the time being. They were careless when they bound him - although this time tighter, tight enough to keep him from struggling against the knots for fear of the continuous pain increasing with movement. Then, after they'd finished that him, they left and he was alone. Sokka had watched, tied to the familiar pole, as a party of five earthbenders set out to follow Zuko's path. The captain, Yan Shi, and the greener recruits were left behind in the camp. Sokka had spent much of the time brooding in his isolated state.

He could still feel the firebender's hands on him, pushing him - throwing him - back toward the their collective enemy. Once a firebender, always a firebender and Sokka wondered when he had forgotten that truth, cursing himself.

There was, and always had been, that perverse hope in his chest, wishing and naively believing that maybe, just maybe, they could be friends or allies, at least. The hope had been trampled and crumpled through their journey, yet as they walked along the roots and discussed their lives it had recover and slowly began to grow. The day before, of course, Sokka felt it die. He couldn't imagine why the firebender would come back for him, and yet, he had.

Zuko's eyes were glowing with a deadly intensity Sokka unconsciously associated with a white-hot flame. "You ungrateful, brat."

"Me?" Sokka said and crossed his arms. "Let's remember who threw who."

Zuko regarded him with a cold composure, his eyes still deadly. There was, Sokka noticed, something in his gaze or, perhaps, in his stance that seemed to want to end the fruitless argument quickly. Zuko exhaled and said lowly, "It was for the better."

"What the hell does that mean?"

It was immature, and Sokka was sure it didn't help the situation much, but he was angry. Angry and confused. If Zuko hadn't used him to escape, they may as well still have been bound. But, as the prince had said before, there were other opportune moments. Sokka had wished for the past day that Zuko had chosen another moment. Furthermore, Zuko was wearing a different uniform. If Sokka was correct in guessing, he'd run into other firebenders over the past twenty-four hours. The thought unnerved Sokka; one firebender was enough. It also meant that Zuko had, most likely, escaped. They were near and they were restless.

The prince didn't respond, instead he motioned for Sokka to follow him. "I'm sure the ports are this way." And judging by the moss on the trees and the sun's apex, he was right.

"How'd you become Mr. Naturalist, all of a sudden?" Sokka asked, he still didn't quite understand what was going on. It wasn't as if the prince would come back for him without any other reason than morality. And how did he know where to go?

"Simple," Zuko said plainly. "They're in the opposite direction of Bei Bian. The earthbender camp was facing the city. I could tell, I followed their tracks from the meadow."

Should have guessed. Sokka scoffed and followed behind the prince. He didn't know why he was following. But he needed to reach the ports just as much as the prince did.

Zuko's escape from the earthbenders had sent a small rift through their bond and Sokka wondered, was it as if their relationship was devolving back into the post waterfall silence? Whether it was or it wasn't, he was going to stay out of arms reach from the prince. At all times. What trust had lay between them was now shattered and to walk on it was painfully tedious.

"Did you get anything else besides the clothes?" Sokka asked curiously and the prince haltered in his steps, recovering quickly.

"No."

"Really?" Sokka found himself slightly intrigued as the firebender quickened his pace. Sokka took a few jogging steps and found himself in line with the prince, but still over an arm's length away. "And I suppose they just let you walk out, unscathed."

"Unlike you, I can save my own ass." Zuko remarked darkly, catching Sokka's gaze for a second.

"Well, I've got some information," Sokka said with a haughty tone. "I was lucky enough to have a private speaking with captain Yan Shi. He mentioned something you might find relevant."

"I highly doubt it."

Sokka thought for a moment, then struck. "It's about Zhao."

"Then tell me, it concerns you, too, I suppose."

Sokka felt a dark smirk graze his lips. "Not until you tell me what exactly happened with the firebenders."

Zuko stopped and faced Sokka with a irritated expression. "It's not as if much happened. I turned back for you and they found me. They took me back to their camp and locked me up. I was stuck in a fucking tent for hours. It rained eventually and I escaped."

Sokka felt a bit taken back by the tone. With a resigned sigh, he said, "Zhao's been promoted to Admiral."

"What?"

"Yeah, the earthbenders have a pretty effective spy network, or so I've heard. What worried them is that he hasn't been doing much lately, his men are being transferred in and out from different divisions around the area, apparently, on his request."

Zuko looked contemplative. "Did you find out anything about the Avatar?"

"No," Sokka said with much disappointment and Zuko turned away. Whatever the prince was thinking about, he didn't share it with Sokka, and the water tribesman was left to his own devices.

"From what I can tell, the Fire Nation's growing closer and closer to Bai Sing Sei… people on either side are growing short, and not only because of death. The more land the Fire nation takes, the more troops are needed to secure and defend it. The more land the enemy takes, the more of our men are needed to defend it. Sometimes I think both sides will just run out and die… it might be better, for the most part…" Yan Shi's superciliously toned voice was ringing in his ears. The captain had been standing in front of him, arms crossed behind his back. There was a piercing element to his gaze, which Sokka held.

When Sokka asked the captain about any news of water tribesmen from the south, the older man wasn't sure. Sokka was beginning to think Zuko was right.

He remembered Zuko telling him his father was dead. He remembered telling Zuko his father did not love him. They'd fought and nearly killed each other, and for what? Both were most likely true. Under the waterfall, Zuko had referred to them as "casualties". Sokka was sure the entire world was a casualty by now.

Sokka stopped instinctively when Zuko's footfalls ceased. The prince was staring blatantly at him with a particular expression; it seemed to be a mix of hesitance and confusion. Sokka stared back, sure his own expression was questioning.

Zuko turned his head away and said, "We'll stop by that stream for a while. I need to speak with you."

"Uh… sure." Sokka scratched his own head and followed the firebender through the trees and underbrush they'd been crawling through for the past hours. He was sure neither he nor the prince needed the rest, but there was definitely something weighing heavily on the prince's mind.

The stream was small, to small for trout, so Sokka sat on a boulder, pulling his legs up to his chest and watched Zuko pace. It was defiantly uncharacteristic for the prince to show indecision.

"Spit it out," Sokka said with less tact than ever.

The prince stopped and stared at him. The mismatched golden orbs scrutinized the tribesman for a few more agonizing seconds and Sokka felt much smaller and younger, under the gaze. The dim light from above was trickling onto them in freckled patterns. Occasionally, a ray would catch the prince's unscarred eyes and illuminate the hue. It reminded Sokka faintly of the dreams he'd had during the journey. He had no idea what they meant; interpretation was usually left in the air.

"Here." Zuko produced a vile from the back of his right boot and held it up to Sokka's face. Sokka accepted it out of custom and studied the liquid inside. It was a clear light green, not like pond water, but what a thin, thin, leaf looked like when held to block the sun.

Zuko was staring at him intently. "Drink it."

"What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself," the prince said with a tone of vexation. He continued to watch the other boy watch him back.

"Why?" Sokka said suddenly suspicious. "What the hell is it?"

"If you're assuming its poison, you're wrong, "Zuko said and crossed his arms. "I wouldn't bother killing you after we've gone this far. If I wanted you dead, you would be." Zuko was waiting impatiently as Sokka stared at him.

"Why should I?"

The question was fair, the question was earnest. Zuko ignored it. "If you don't want it then I'll take it back."

"What is it?"

Zuko seemed to loose his edge and stalked forward, toward Sokka. The tribesman dropped his knees and began to slide off the boulder when Zuko caught his shoulder with his right hand. The grip wasn't painful, but even so, Sokka winced back and tried the back away. He failed to succeed, and remained pressed against the boulder. Sokka was suddenly aware of how close they were. An uncomfortable feeling spread out in his stomach.

"Z-Zuko?" Sokka cursed his voice for cracking. He knew his eyes were wide and fearful, for a second he wished he could knock the prince back and stand over him, telling him what an ass he was. Telling him things, stereotypes, that he knew didn't apply to the prince but could be applied.

"You insolent peasant." Zuko's voice was lower and more quiet than usual. Nevertheless, his gaze held a commanding air. "You don't understand how much I've risked for you already, do you? I came back for you because I…" Zuko stopped, looking a bit dismayed at the sentence structure. Sokka was frozen, partially out of fear, but mostly out of shock. What exactly was the prince trying to say?

"Sokka." He took a deep breath and exhaled. Zuko's face immediately turned away, so that Sokka could only see the unscathed eye. His gaze had dropped down to the ground, eyes lowered along with the tilt of his neck. "I care about you."

It was silent. Dead still, as if the creatures were waiting for something to happened. Sokka found himself frozen along with time. His mind reeled. He'd expected the prince to force the drink upon him. Instead the prince was encouraging that perverse hope, nearly healing it with four words. I care about you. It was hard to understand exactly what the prince meant.

Sokka waited, he wasn't sure how long, but he waited. What he waited for he wasn't sure of either. The area around him was waiting, so he did, too. It wasn't until he felt the prince's fingers on his shoulder tighten slightly that he realized it was him everything waited for.

"W-What do you mean?" The surroundings seemed to burst back into life and time flowed at its normal pace.

Zuko's good eye glanced at Sokka and the prince said, "I came back for you out of honor." Fingers from the injured arm brushed against the vile and Sokka's own. "I'm giving you this because I don't want to see you dead."

There was another strenuous breath and Zuko turned fully toward Sokka, gold caught cobalt. "You're poisoned. You probably have a week left, less than even. I'm giving you the antidote."

Sokka was still. The prince had known all along… in fact, he had probably planned for Sokka's death. It was now, just now, that the tribesman had been handed a second chance. Still… "How?"

"Zhao did it," Zuko said and Sokka caught the familiar venom in the name. "We - you should have a few more weeks or days before the effects hit you. It's slow acting, but I'm pretty surprised it hasn't begun to effect you yet."

Sokka stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the topaz irises that stared so intently back into his. He was searching, or at least he felt as though he was, for something in those eyes. Zuko leaned in, closer. "Trust me, Sokka." Then, in almost a pleading whisper. "Please."

Sokka held the gaze and raised the hand holding the vile, so that the small glass container was held evenly between them. Zuko stepped back and turned away, Sokka could tell from the way he held himself that the confession was something he'd never done before. Still, the perverse hope was spreading its fledgling wings, stretching. Just before he uncapped the vile and brought it to his lips, Sokka whispered, loud enough for Zuko to hear, "Thank you."

---

Zuko heard the tribesman approach him from behind. He was standing at the stream's edge, he had been for the past five or six minutes, contemplating.

It wasn't a smart choice and he knew it. His logical mind was cursing him for forgetting to look out for number one. He should have taken the antidote instead of the other teen. Unfortunately he held a great weakness when his logic and morals battled each other. Moral, more than once, had won and it won again this time. Sokka was no longer the prisoner, Idiot, peasant, loudmouth he'd dubbed him as. Sokka was close, much closer than anyone had ever gotten to him. It was logical to sever the tie with Sokka's death. Logic said Zhao was the one who would have killed Sokka. Moral countered, pointing out Zuko had the chance to save Sokka and didn't - it was just as much of the prince's fault as it was the newly promoted Admiral…

Admiral. Zuko scoffed. How did Zhao become and Admiral when he'd lost two important prisoners and the Avatar in the same week? The only explanation seemed to lead to inside influence. Someone had defiantly aided Zhao, someone who could benefit from the change or from Zhao's favor.

His fingers tapped the jade dagger at his belt. Sokka. It had been easy to rescue the other teen. The encampment hadn't moved and their prisoner was left unguarded. Most of the patrol, he suspected, had left to find him. He'd slipped into the camp at full noon and cut the bonds around Sokka's wrists. Then, covertly, they'd left. It was all too easy.

The harder part came when they were out of hearing range. The Idiot continued to berate him for leaving him with the earthbenders. The fool couldn't see they had both benefited from the separation. It was that kind of behavior that tempted Zuko to pummel the tribesman.

"Hey." The universal greeting reached Zuko's ears with hints of hesitation and uncertainty.

Zuko turned toward the tribesman; Sokka was averting his eyes to the ground. "Uh…" Sokka was looking uncomfortable as he shifted his weight to the other foot.

"We should start moving again," Zuko said and brushed past. It was blatantly obvious the other teen was abashed by his previous behavior. His mind was most likely pondering over what Zuko had told him - that he cared. Why should a prince care about some one like him? Zuko hadn't fully rationalized through that thought yet either, but he knew he did.

The twisted form of a relationship was as close as Zuko had ever come to friendship. Iroh was family; there was a natural bond that existed between them through blood. But a bond like that did not exist between the tribesman and himself. The bond that held them together was much like the shackles - given to them during the war, through the Fire Nation, through pain. Although the shackles had been taken off, Zuko could still feel them on his wrist. He didn't want to lose that feeling.

"Hey!" Sokka was jogging up to him. Zuko didn't need to turn around or slow down; Sokka caught up quickly and kept pace. "So we're sticking to the original plan."

"We are," Zuko said and watched Sokka through the corner of his good eye. "Unless you can think of something else."

Sokka was silent for a while and his stillness sparked the prince's interest. "I'm still a little bit confused on whats going to happen when we get there," Sokka said after the pause.

"We'll go our separate ways."

"Oh." There was a definite hint of disappointment in Sokka's voice but it was quickly covered. "Okay."

The decision wasn't final, but Zuko was sure he didn't need the tribesman for anything else. It was true he was a friend of the Avatars, but what else could he provide information wise. It wasn't as if Zuko cared whether the monk liked lantern berries or not. Sokka would prove to complicate his mission, but his honor wouldn't let him leave the forest owing the tribesman anything other than a good punch to the stomach.

"So," Sokka said slowly and pushed through a thicket. "That's it then. We'll just pretend none of this ever happened. You'll keep hunting Aang and I'll keep protecting him."

"It seems that way," Zuko answered and regretted it. "You don't expect me to drop the most important thing in my life because we've been stuck in some godforsaken forest for a few weeks."

"We've been through more than that," Sokka muttered lowly and Zuko almost didn't catch it.

It was true - very true. But it wasn't as if he could pause everything and change it to fit both their situations. They were on opposite sides of the war, even if they weren't necessarily enemies. He sighed and said, "I know."

"Then why can't we…" Sokka trailed off. His face still tilted to the ground as if the forest floor held the answer.

"Life is never fair," Zuko said. "And we all have our purposes. I'm to capture the Avatar, you've devoted yourself to aiding him."

"Fuck life then," Sokka scoffed and kicked at a loose rock. The pebble was sent skidding into the underbrush ahead. "I still don't understand why you have to capture Aang anyway."

"I believe we've already had this conversation," Zuko stated and looked toward the sun. It had begun to curve toward the west, sending a deep orange glow across the sky. Another night.

They were quiet for the rest of the journey. Sokka seemed to be contemplating everything that had happened, Zuko had decided not to think of it and concentrate on sending heat throughout his body. It was all he could do to keep the poison at bay until he reached the ports.

When the sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the gray veil fell. They stopped among a grove of large oak trees. Sokka complained about how hungry he was as Zuko started a small fire, using the flames to vent his own irritation. Sokka eventually quieted and spread himself out on the opposite side of the fire, placing his cheek against his fist. He stared intently at Zuko.

"So how long have we been out here anyway?" Sokka had lifted his hand, counting on his fingers.

"It's been a week," Zuko answered and sat down, cross-legged.

"Only a week," Sokka mused. "It seems longer doesn't it?"

"It does."

Sokka rolled on his back. "When will we reach the ports."

"If we make good time we should reach then in two days."

"Two days, huh?" Sokka's voice was tired and sleepy. Zuko could see his eyes close and chest continue to rise and fall. "I always thought it would take me years to ever trust a firebender…"

Zuko had never though he'd ever care about anyone besides himself, his uncle, or his crew. They'd both proved each other wrong. A cynical smirk found it's way onto Zuko's lips as he thought of his uncle - what the great general would say when he told him. Iroh would be proud - skeptical, but proud.

"This has been the weirdest week of my life, and my life is pretty weird so that's saying something" Sokka said through sleep's grasp. He chuckled to himself. "I mean I've gone from firebenders to earthbenders to kissing a prince… pretty damn weird."

Kissing? Zuko's gaze suddenly shot toward the boy, they had not kissed. Zuko shook his head. It didn't matter what they had done, in a matter of days their lives would continue as normally as they could. As long as they escaped the forest, they could leave the past buried within the sea of trees and shade.

Sokka rolled on his side and curled toward the fire, mumbling to himself. "Have you ever kissed anyone?" he asked with some incoherency.

"What kind of question is that?" Zuko snapped. He wasn't really intending to classify their necessity as a kiss.

Sokka cracked one eye open and stared at Zuko through the flames. "A personal one."

Zuko felt himself frown and then sigh. "I'm a prince, interpret it however you want."

Sokka seemed to be interested and opened both eyes. "So, you have a harem or something?"

"No," Zuko said quickly. He'd meant he had little time for frolicking about with women.

"So you haven't kissed anyone before?"

"Have you?"

"Yes!" Sokka said proudly.

"Good for you."

"But you haven't?"

There was a pause. "What does it matter anyway?"

"It doesn't," Sokka said. "I just want to know."

There was a small stab of pain from his stomach and Zuko dismissed it as hunger. It had been over twelve hours since they both ate. Zuko lie on his back and calmed the fire until it was merely embers. In the morning he'd find something to eat.

"You're not going to answer me, are you?" Sokka asked from his side.

"That's right."

Sokka chuckled again and Zuko could feel him simper. "I really like you, Zuko."

For a second Zuko interpreted it differently than it was meant - or he thought it was meant. Zuko decided he hated falling asleep more than sleep itself - Sokka was nearly incoherent. In the morning he'd remember little of what he said.

"I suppose I'll lower myself and admit you're tolerable." Zuko hoped he was still awake as he added, "for a whining, idiot, of a peasant."

Sokka obviously heard it and snorted out a laugh. "I love you, too, Zuko."

To Be Continued In…

Chapter Eleven: If You Die Before I Wake

The poison takes it's toll on Zuko and Sokka is forced to do the unthinkable - surrender.

[edited 03.15.2009]