Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter 2: Protect Me

The next month passed by in a blur to Sokka; Zuko had brought in a comfortable bed for Sokka to sleep in and, to be honest, he felt like he was being treated fairly reasonable, just as Zuko had told him. Of course, he still was recovering from shock, but Zuko made sure to keep his mind occupied with very small chores for him to do- like bringing him and his uncle tea, cleaning the room for him, keeping him company and doing other useless little things that nobody really cared about.

Sokka was beginning to think that Zuko was just humouring him.

And yet, the way he was being treated was not entirely bad. Zuko didn't really treat him with respect, but with a certain amount of kindness. Besides, the fact that he hadn't asked Sokka once about Aang, surprised him greatly as well. Even though Sokka couldn't even tell him anything- he didn't remember that day, when he was captured, and he had no idea where his sister and Aang were at that point. Zuko also fed him well and always made sure he didn't overwork himself with cleaning. Zuko talked to him, though sometimes with a hint of annoyance whenever he was angry- he didn't have a lot of tolerance, but Sokka found that he didn't really care about that. After all, Zuko never vented his anger on a person, but usually (as Sokka experienced), through training and sometimes, the wall was his victim.

The crew was friendly towards him as well, even though they were Firebenders- he had even found a man, maybe five years older than he was himself, to talk with, occasionally when Zuko would let him walk around freely.

Besides the crew, he also found that Zuko's uncle, Iroh, was a very friendly man and Sokka held a certain amount of respect for the older man. He was practically the only one who treated Sokka like he was a human (not that Zuko treated him badly, but he looked down on him, more or less) and often invited him to play a game of chess or drink some tea with him. Iroh always talked to him, telling stories about the days where he still fought in wars and even stories about a younger Zuko, much to his annoyance. Sokka enjoyed the latter the most, obviously.

All in all, it wasn't really bad being there. It could've been worse, like the guard on his first day had said. The food was reasonably good, he was being treated fairly well and he hardly had to work. And he didn't have to do anything… against his will.

Though, he missed his friend and sister. He kept wondering on how they were doing; Zuko wouldn't tell him anything, said that it was private and that he did not have a right to know. Sokka, in return, became mad at Zuko and snapped at him, telling him that he, in fact, did have a right to know about it, since he was the bloody Avatar's friend and since his sister was travelling with him. He got punished for that and he immediately never talked to Zuko freely, unless he asked him something.

This to the great annoyance of Zuko.

After a couple of days of spending with the boy, he finally opened up a bit more to him. Not that Zuko really cared about him, but he hated seeing him in pain like that; his eyes cold and dead from only those two days spending at that place and he liked the boy's consistent babbling about food, his village or stories about what he and the Avatar had been through, even though it sometimes was annoying. He finally started to talk again, bouncing through the whole ship and actually bringing some life to the place- everybody honestly liked him, even Iroh, who was very friendly towards him.

But, then he started to demand for information about the Avatar and his sister. Zuko didn't want to tell him, because he didn't think it was necessary for him to know- after all, he was a slave and he just needed to obey. It wasn't like he could return to them anyway, for now. So, he had to punish him for lashing out like that, even though he honestly didn't want to. After that, Sokka just became quiet and didn't talk to him anymore.

Zuko had been thinking about releasing him, several times even, but decided against it. Although he didn't want to admit it, not even to himself, he kind of liked the company. It was certainly better than having breakfast by himself and having no one to talk to him, as if they were both on an equal status. Not that Sokka was his equal, but he acted that way and Zuko didn't really mind that. The prince had never had a… friend, to play with, to talk to when he was little, so he might have considered Sokka becoming a friend, on some level. But then again, Sokka was only near him, because he was his slave- not his friend. If it was up to him, he would leave this instant never to look back again.

Zuko realised that very well.

And maybe that was also why he kept his distance from the boy; pushing him away as he kept squirming through the walls he had built around his heart, without knowing it. Zuko just had to keep him at a distance- he couldn't be friends with his enemy, nor with a slave. There was just no way that could possibly happen.

--

"Prince Zuko, we'll be stopping briefly at a harbour nearby, to refill supplies," Sokka heard Iroh say, as they were standing on the bridge. "We should be able to collect some information about the Avatar as well." Sokka looked up briefly, with a hint of hope in his eyes, but it was soon dimmed with one glare from Zuko, which reminded him of the lashes he had received after yelling at him. He didn't want to have that again; that pain. It was almost as painful as… as…

He shook his head to take his mind off of that. It wasn't as painful- it was ten times les painful, in fact.

"Good. I'd like to take a walk when we get there," Zuko replied. "Sokka will accompany me." Iroh nodded cheerfully and Sokka just scowled at his master, even though he didn't really mean it. He would never admit it, but he liked it whenever they would go on walks.

Just like the others, this one was in a peaceful and comfortable silence. Usually, Sokka would talk everybody's ear off, but since Zuko had specifically told him that, if he would talk whenever he wasn't allowed to talk, he'd sew his mouth shut. On which Sokka had replied 'I didn't know you could sow', which had earned him a smack, though not a hard one. That certainly had pleased Zuko, though, and it had made Sokka laugh, which was a sound he wanted to hear more often.

They walked together, Zuko alert for any possible enemies and Sokka just strolling casually over the dirt path- he wasn't really afraid of any thieves or kidnappers when he had Zuko with him. After all, he was the prince and even though he was reluctant to admit it, Zuko was a good warrior.

Suddenly, even though it was so quiet in the forest and you could hear anybody approach, some men jumped at them. They came from the thick tree branches of the forest, which gave them enough cover to hide them well and even Zuko was surprised as he saw maybe twenty men jumping at him and Sokka.

His response was immediate; before they reached the ground, Zuko had already taken out two of the men by using his fire. Sokka was fighting on his own, against one man, actually, and was winning the punching match. The young boy jumped right on top of the grown man and they both fell backwards, Sokka landing a few punches on the way. Right when they hit the ground, the man was already unconscious and Sokka stood triumphantly, ready for the next bastard who would cross his path. Unfortunately for him though, one men actually stood behind him and was about to strike with his sword, determined to kill the young boy. Zuko didn't hesitate and used his fire to knock the guy out, leaving Sokka blinking, before he looked back and said a hasty 'thank you' towards Zuko at the sight of a burned and unconscious man lying behind him, before another one headed his way.

The battle went on for quite some time, before Zuko was finally slashed by one of the man standing behind him as he had just knocked out another one. Sokka, who had just punched another guy unconscious, saw this and immediately jumped on top of the man who had cut his master and started to pull on his hair and biting his shoulder- the man cried out in agony and tried his best to take out the young boy on his back, but couldn't. Sokka quickly jumped off of him, grabbed a big rock and threw it on the other man's head, knocking the tall man unconscious. That was the last one of their attackers and Sokka immediately hurried over to where Zuko lay, a pool of blood surrounding him from the big wound.

For a moment, Sokka hesitated about what he had to do now- should he bring Zuko back and live without his freedom, or should he run and leave Zuko behind? Then he thought about what Zuko had done for him at the slavehouse. He had paid a lot of money for him, just so he wouldn't fall into the hands of some perverted old man. Besides, how could he leave a dying person? It would just go against his nature.

"Come on, let's get you back to the ship," Sokka said, as he carried the prince (bridal-style, might I add) back to where they had come from- leaving the men who had attacked them behind. Zuko moaned something, his eyes fluttering open and a confused look on his face, before he finally passed out from the loss of blood.

--

He woke up in his own bed, still dizzy and completely covered in bandages. He couldn't remember much from before he passed out- only that he was fighting, a guy hit him from behind and he vaguely remembered someone carrying him. Had that been Sokka? Even though he was his slave, he had every chance of escaping right there and then and yet, he hadn't done it. If it really had been Sokka, that is.

"Finally, you're up," a voice said. Zuko looked at where the voice came from and saw Sokka standing in the doorframe, grinning at him. Zuko still had that confused look on his face. "Pf, and you call yourself a warrior, you couldn't even handle a bunch of thieves on your own," the boy continued, walking towards the bed and pulling a chair in front of it, so he could talk to his master. Zuko couldn't help but grin back at him- he had finally gotten back his insolence.

"You're one to talk, I saved your ass three times there," he replied. Sokka just huffed at him. "Why didn't you run away?" Sokka looked as if he was contemplating that question for a moment.

"Yeah, I could've done that, huh? Well, I guess it was because I couldn't leave you there, since you helped me get out of that slavehouse," Sokka blushed slightly. "I mean, I could've ended much worse. You should've seen some of the creeps that go there- I mean, I was only there for two days, but… well, let's just say I'm glad you bought me," he gave another embarrassed grin at the prince, who nodded in understanding.

"What… kind of people came by?" Zuko's face grew darker as he asked the next question, "That man told us that they even allowed people to 'test' their… slaves. Did they do that with you?" Sokka looked away, embarrassed and hurt. Zuko immediately knew the answer when he saw the look on Sokka's face.

"I'd… rather not talk about that. Besides, breakfast's ready, so I'll get some for you. I don't think you can stand up with that wound," he suddenly said, in order to change the topic. He honestly did not want to talk about that- it was embarrassing and painful to remember and Zuko didn't need to know. He'd probably just laugh at him behind his back about it, considering the fact that he was his master, prince and still somewhat of a bastard.

"Sokka," Zuko suddenly said, stopping the boy as he was about to exit the room to get him something to eat. "Thanks. For not abandoning me." Sokka turned back and grinned at him again.

"Anytime."

--

The next few days went very well between the prince and Sokka; they were luckily back at sea and Sokka supposed that they had found information on the whereabouts of the Avatar, which was a good thing, because he at least knew that they were alive and safe. Or, at least alive.

He was surprised that they hadn't looked for him though- or maybe they did, but did not succeed. In any case, Sokka had been missing for over a month and he would understand it if they had forsaken their search for him and would just continue with their mission; help Aang. Which was what Sokka still intended to do- just because he was Zuko's slave, did not mean that he could abandon his friend and sister. He'd help them, even if he could only do small things, like perhaps warn them or put Zuko on the wrong track. As long as Zuko wouldn't reach them, everything would be alright.

On the other hand, Sokka felt that he was becoming more and more adjusted to his new life. Zuko and he talked a lot, even though Sokka was usually the one to tell all sorts of stories to Zuko and, surprisingly enough, the prince listened to them, sometimes commenting and sometimes just keeping his mouth shut. Zuko told tales to Sokka as well- about the Fire Nation mostly, but Sokka was still interested in it, even though he hated the Fire.

Both of them actually enjoyed each other's company, especially after saving each other's asses during the time they had been attacked. They trusted and even though they would absolutely never admit it, they liked each other. Sokka had never thought he could ever like a Firebender, much less a direct enemy of Aang, but he did after the month they spent together. They didn't have a lot in common, that was for sure, and yet they could spend hours in each other's company, just talking or sometimes even training together. Sokka often learned some basic fighting steps from Zuko and they mostly just held practice matches, though he never played really fair. Whenever Sokka was about to win, he'd just start to use his fire since Zuko is a very bad loser and doesn't like to lose from his slaves in front of his crew. Sokka then yells that he's a cheater and points at him accusingly, on which Zuko then replies that everything is fair in love and war.

Then Sokka says that there is neither love nor war between them, which somehow disappoints Zuko. At that time, he simply figured that it was because he liked fighting and thought it was because of the latter that he was disappointed- too bad Zuko had never understood love.

One week after the attack, Zuko and Sokka were standing outside, looking at the ocean, waiting for land to come in sight. They needed to refill some things again, which they weren't able to find at the last harbour, so they needed to stop again. Sokka didn't really mind- he liked land more than he liked being at sea. The same went for Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, might I have a word with you?" Iroh suddenly came up to the pair of them and pulled Zuko away from Sokka. Said boy just stared at the two retreating persons, who finally stopped and started to talk. After a moment or two, he saw steam coming out of Zuko's ears and, before yelling a loud 'what!' he stomped off towards his room, leaving a worried Iroh. For a moment, Sokka was hesitating as to whether or not he should follow him, but a nod from Iroh did the trick, so he hurried after him.

When Sokka entered the room, he saw Zuko sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees and his head leaning on his hands. The prince briefly looked up to see who had entered his room and then looked down again. The tribesman wondered what he should do next, but before he could say anything or ask something, Zuko started speaking.

"Father says that I need to find the Avatar in one month," the prince stated. Sokka blinked. "I guess you don't know yet? I was banished and, in order to be able to get back to my country, I need to capture the Avatar. Father is getting impatient and wants me to get him within a month's time." Sokka looked at him with a certain amount of pity in his eyes. "If I haven't found him by then, I can never return to my country. I'll lose my crew, my ship, everything. I suppose you don't know where he's either?" Sokka shakes his head.

"No, I don't even remember where we were the day I was captured," he replies. "But," he adds. "I don't know if I would tell you, even if I knew." Zuko looked up briefly, an emotion flicking through his eyes which Sokka couldn't identify.

"I guess the Avatar has loyal friends, then." Sokka nods.

"Why don't you join Aan- I mean, the Avatar then? If he ends the war, I'm sure you'll be able to go back to your country." Zuko smiled sadly.

"But I wouldn't have regained my country. And my people would thing that I abandoned them- they wouldn't understand. I'd never get respect if I do that."

"And you think capturing the world's only hope will get you respect?" Sokka asked, angry. Zuko looks at him again.

"Know your place, slave," he snaps, his yellow eyes narrowing at the boy he would almost call his friend. Sokka looked even more angry at that.

"Oh, so now I'm back to slave? Damn Zuko, I'm just trying to help you!"

"Well, maybe I don't need a slave's help," he hissed right back at him. Zuko saw that he had hurt the boy's feelings, but he didn't really care at that point- he wouldn't understand anyway.

"You know, I should've just left you there," Sokka said sadly. "To think that I actually thought we could be friends. Maybe it was just a stupid though." With that, Sokka left the room, leaving a confused prince. Confused, because he was now more worried about Sokka than he was worried about capturing the Avatar.