Disclaimer: Don't own it.

AN: Thank you for the reviews :3 Not much action in this chapter. Just some improvement on their feelings, especially Zuko's. I somehow really like writing him, though I'm not sure if I do a good job at it. I have only seen the 'Water' part of Avatar, so I have no idea if anything has changed about him.

It's a shame the only twenty chapters aired here- well, so far that is. They just started over again, so I am hoping on the next season of Avatar xD

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and leave a review :3

Heal Me

The next couple of days passed by slowly for both Zuko and Sokka. Sokka tried his best to avoid the Prince and Zuko tried his best to shoot venomous insults to the tribesman in order to cut slightly into his pride. And maybe also to make Sokka respond to him, since the boy had decided to only say 'yes, master', emphasizing the last word as much as possible. He never reacted to the insults and just walked away from the prince, leaving him each time confused. Zuko felt bad about that day, that he had lashed out at Sokka in that manner, but he didn't know what to do.

Apologise?

That was simply absurd. Zuko did not apologise to anyone and certainly not a peasant from a Watertribe, who probably couldn't even read properly. Though a small part of him did acknowledge what he had said- that he should join the Avatar, instead of constantly searching for him, endlessly trying to get information from habitants of villages and having no home to return to after a hard day of work. If he would join the Avatar…

He shook his head as he was lying in his bed, musing over the last couple of days and occasionally looking at Sokka, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed on the other side of his room. No. That was not an option. He wouldn't regain his honour if he did that, nor would he get the respect he deserved.

"Oh, and you think capturing the world's only hope will get you respect?"

Somewhere, he did have a point. Though it wasn't allowed, he knew a lot of inhabitants of the Fire Nation did want peace and did want the Avatar to stop the meaningless war- was it possible that Sokka knew what he was talking about? Zuko found it hard to imagine that; after all, he had found him naked in a cell, raped and abandoned and he was only a mere peasant. He didn't have a high status, he lived in an igloo for God's sake. How could Zuko even consider his words?

But then again… there were certain aspects of Sokka which made the young prince jealous. Even though he actually wasn't a bender, he could hold his own in a fight, which he had proved rather well when those thieves had attacked them. Though not as much as the present, he knew the young boy could smile so carefree, smile so gentle and peaceful as if he never had experienced any form of pain- Zuko knew, of course, that he had experienced painful things. Somewhere, the prince wanted to protect that gentleness from anything, though he knew it was stupid- Sokka wasn't some damsel in distress, wishing to be saved by the Prince Charming on a white horse. Sokka wasn't a damsel and Zuko certainly was no Prince Charming.

And when did he have such thoughts about protecting the boy?

Shrugging that thought away, he continued to muse about those positive points the tribesman had. Even though it wasn't really evident through most of his actions, Sokka was intelligent. Zuko remembered with a smug grin on his face how the tribesman had talked himself, his sister and the Avatar out of the hands of those pirates when they had captured them. If it hadn't been for that trick, Zuko certainly would've captured the Avatar a long time ago. Then again, those pirates weren't the brightest people around, of course, but it was rather amusing thinking back about it.

Which brought him to another point- what was he to do now? He only had a month- even less- left. He would never capture the little brat and he couldn't count on Sokka either. Perhaps it was easier to join the Avatar- it certainly was better than to be banished forever and he had a bigger chance on gaining his country back. Frankly, Zuko wasn't even interested in the war- he thought that having one country was plenty and had no intention of ever subduing other Nations, who didn't even want to be ruled by him. All he wanted was a home.

He glanced back at the boy, his face illuminated by the small torch hanging near the door- his face held a frown and he seemed anything but peaceful. He must have had a nightmare, Zuko figured, since he usually slept very calmly. The prince just shrugged and turned around.

If he had a nightmare, it wasn't of any concern to him. After all, he was only a slave- not a friend.

--

Things continued to stay like that for another good week, before Zuko finally got sick of the way they both were behaving. To be honest, he missed the idiot. Even though they argued a lot, even though they were each other's complete opposites and even though they differed in status, strength and probably everything else- Zuko still missed him. He never would admit it to the other boy, of course, but he missed his unstoppable chattering and the way he spoke up to Zuko, unlike everyone else who simply just agreed with him, even though he was wrong about something.

That day, it was just another peaceful day on the ship. Zuko stood outside, looking ahead at the horizon, which never seemed to end. His hands were on his back as he looked on, not being disturbed by anyone. Nobody dared to either- they knew how they prince was. He was thinking everything through and, if anyone dared to disturb him at that time, they would pay dearly for it.

Even Sokka knew this little fact and so he played chess with Iroh, who seemed to be worried about his nephew. Over the past few days, he had become quieter and so was Sokka, who refused to make even so much as eye contact with his young nephew. Iroh knew he was mad at his father for giving him a time limit, mad, but not like this. He hadn't even vented his anger on one of the crewmembers, which he usually did whenever he was mad. No, what his nephew was experiencing now was perhaps a feeling of confusion- maybe loneliness?

Iroh usually was quite good at observing people and he could read his nephew like an open book- clearly something was bothering him more than just the Avatar and Iroh had a feeling Sokka had something to do with it. Not that he blamed him, of course, since he knew how the prince could act like a spoiled child whenever something didn't go his way.

"I believe it's checkmate," Iroh said, placing his horse so Sokka's king couldn't move anymore. The tribesman scowled- again he was beaten by the old man.

"Sokka. I wish to speak to you for a moment." The two of them looked up from the ground to see Zuko standing near the railing of the ship. Apparently, he was done thinking. Iroh eyed him with curiosity as Sokka stood up.

"Yes, master," he replied, strolling slowly to his 'master'. He still refused to say anything else to him, even though Zuko had called him by his name, instead of referring him to 'slave', like he had done the last couple of days. This hadn't gone unnoticed by Iroh, of course, and he smiled slightly to himself.

"I have thought a lot about what you said," Zuko started, uncomfortably. He wasn't used to admitting his faults- in fact, he had almost never done that, with the exception of a few rare occasions. Sokka looked at him, curiosity getting the better of him, though he was still made at the prince.

"I thought you didn't want the help of a slave," he said, though with not so much venom in his tone as he had intended.

"Well- you see- I mean. Fuck, I'm not used to this!" Zuko suddenly exclaimed, scratching his head as he did so. Sokka just blinked. "Look, I- I'm sorry I said those things. And I have thought about what you said and I have decided that I will cease my search for the Avatar and will join him. Though there are… still complications left, I will try," he said finally, looking at Sokka determined. For a moment, Zuko felt fear running through his body- that maybe he was too late and that Sokka had decided to just forget about everything, but then the tribesman just grinned at him- the same carefree grin.

"Thank God!" Zuko blinked once, confused. "I mean, I like your uncle, I really do, but I was getting so tired of drinking tea all day long." Zuko laughed at that, looking at his uncle who was confused by the way his nephew was laughing at him. "So, the great Zuko can laugh?" Sokka said, grinning at him. The prince immediately ceased with laughing and replaced it with a scowl. "You should do it more often, you look better when you do," the tribesman continued, nudging the other's ribs, smiling gently up at him. His eyes glistened in the bright daylight, becoming as blue as the ocean they were sailing on, and Zuko didn't see one hint of malice, sarcasm of venom in them. He wasn't used to such eyes.

It was one of the few times in his life, Zuko was speechless.

--

He was lying on his bed again, something he always did when he was confused about something, or needed to think in private, about personal things. Not that he was now by himself- Sokka was sleeping in his bed, but Zuko didn't really mind that. It didn't happen often, of course, because Zuko almost never thought about anything else besides the Avatar, he didn't need to think about private things, such as his probably new found friend. Actually, his only friend.

He still didn't know exactly if they were friends. His uncle Iroh had once said that friendship consists of trust and caring for each other. Did he trust Sokka? Yes, for the most part he did. Though he could never forget the fact that he was a friend of the Avatar (which, he reminded himself, didn't play a big part anymore, since they were teaming up), he trusted him. He couldn't say he trusted him with his life or something sappy like that, but more or less that Sokka wouldn't betray him, because betrayal wasn't like him. He also trusted him with walking freely around deck and sometimes even in the harbours, provided he would stay in the neighbourhood- he never had tried to escape once. He trusted him with some of his thoughts, even some of his weaknesses- even with his past.

Did he care for Sokka? He had no idea. What was caring for someone else? He certainly didn't care for his sister, nor did he care much for his father anymore. Yes, perhaps he had cared for him before he had been banished, but not now- all he had wanted was to go back home, which didn't necessarily had to include him. A father who banishes his own child? On some levels, he thought this was absurd, as he knew that a lot of fathers would not care if they had shamed him. He understood it as well, for a small part. He had spoken out of line that day and had deserved to be punished for that- he acknowledged that fact. Banishment was different though, for such a small thing…

Zuko shook his head and placed his hands under his head.

"You should smile more often…"

Even thinking about what he had said made Zuko smile. And those eyes… unlike what he was used to. Every little pain he had endured during his life seemed to fade away as he thought about those kind eyes of Sokka's.

Maybe that was caring for someone? To be kind to them, support them, give them advice, correcting them when they are wrong… but those are simply actions, not feelings. Then how do you know if you feel affection for someone? Jealousy, possessiveness(1)? He didn't understand.

"…you look much better when you do."

Warmth, curiosity, attraction(2)? He didn't know. Would he ever know? As far as he knew, he had never been interested in a woman- he didn't have the time. He had never felt love towards anyone, though perhaps his uncle was very close to it. Maybe he did love his uncle? After all, he had always felt like the old man was more of a father to him… He had always been the one to stick with him through all of his tantrums, praising him for something, making him feel like he's worth something, on the contrary of how his father had acted towards him, only having eyes for his sister and banishing him without blinking his eyes.

No, his real father was nothing to him anymore. Maybe that's why he could so easily betray him and join with the Avatar.

He snorted to himself- his father had wanted to test his loyalty and gave him a mission and now Zuko was doing the exact opposite of what he had intended. He supposed that was what people called ironic.

He cast a sideward glance to Sokka, who was breathing softly, occasionally letting out a loud snore- again with the frown on his face. Zuko wondered vaguely what the boy was dreaming about, before said boy started trashing, mumbling something soft Zuko could not hear. The mumbling got a bit louder, before it turned into yelling. The prince sat up straight to look at him.

"Stop!" he could hear. "Don't touch me, stop it!" Zuko froze. What was he supposed to do? Wake him up? Let him sleep until he wakes up himself? The yelling got even worse and, though the room was hardly lit, he could vaguely see tears glistening in the light. Zuko figured he needed to do something- if only for his sake. After all, how could he sleep when Sokka was thrashing like a madman?

At least, that's what he kept telling himself as he walked towards the boy.

"Sokka, wake up," he, almost gently, shook him by the shoulder, but it was no good- the boy was only panicking more. Okay, so that method didn't work. What else could he do?

He started to think back on his childhood, remembering the days when he had nightmares as well. He hardly at them now, but they were still there, though not as bad as at that time. He had always found himself waking up in the arms of one of the female servants, who was gently rubbing his back and head as comfort, whispering soft words to him. Though it seemed a bit… weird to do that to another boy, was that the only option? Probably. Waking him up certainly didn't have any effect- he only felt more threatened by that. If he had a feeling of… safety… perhaps that would work?

Deciding it to be the best method, Zuko stood up and sat down besides the trashing boy and struggled a bit with lifting him up and gently holding him, his head pressed against the prince's chest and Zuko's hands rubbing his back gently.

"It's alright Sokka," Zuko said, a bit awkwardly. He wasn't used to… well, this, whatever it was that he was doing. Maybe it was just his instinct or something, but it certainly did seem to help. After a while, Sokka stopped trashing and yelling and became still, his body curled up against Zuko's, apparently trying to get away from the world and all of its hardships. His hands were holding the cloth of Zuko's shirt tightly, almost clutching him and because of this, the prince could not go away… even if he wanted to.

Touching Sokka was strangely… enjoyable, he found out.

And he also found out that he didn't care if Sokka was a man or not. Figuring it to be impossible to break free from the tight hold the boy had on him, he gently lifted Sokka a bit so he could get under him and lied down in his bed, the tribesman on top of him. Zuko fell asleep almost immediately.

--

-gasp- Zuko and Sokka fluff :3. Though Sokka doesn't realise it, of course… and Zuko still thinks it's a friendship thing. Hehe. xD

(1)In case I don't make myself clear with this; Zuko has no idea what caring for each other loving someone means, so he tries to figure out the different emotions that come with love and caring and… yer o.o

(2) Same as 1, again, he tries to sort out some emotions xD