Date Completed: 5 January 2009
Pairing: Finally getting to some slight Sokka/Zuko.
Disclaimer: Although I tried. Honest. That's why this took so long. -_____-
Summary: When Zuko asked to join the Gaang and teach the avatar firebending, he mentioned that there was "not very much time left," and they assumed he meant until Sozin's Comet. But what if there was another restriction on his time –one he hasn't told anyone about? (Much angst, drama llama, and romance-smut. Oh yeah, and a good dosage of omg NOOO! )
Warning: Zuko says the F-word at some point... just in case you're wondering why it suddenly went to M... but it'll get worse soon anyway, so I might as well raise it now to be safe.
AN: We have comparatively longer Sokka's POV's this chapter, it seems. And SUPRISE! Even a Toph POV thrown in for good measure. With purpose! There's actually a LOT of POV's in this one... And I think I had way too much fun writing Ninja!Zuko, although I was epic fail at the fighting scene. Honestly, I can't write action. Anyone got pointers? =]
Warm, sparkling rays of sun flooded the smooth stone floors of the Western Air Temple, ushering in the new day. Dust motes took flight in the new light, filling the air with sparkling bits of life. The gray marble shone gold, reflecting and refracting off every smooth surface until the whole temple was glowing and glimmering in the sun. Beside the trinkling fountain, six stuffed bedrolls were scattered about; two of the smallest ones, green, were huddled closest together for comfort and another one, orange, was spread out across the wide, flat tail of the Sky Bison, Appa. A particularly lumpy blue one started twitching slightly, before a long tan arm burst out of the top, followed by a head of messy brown hair and sky blue eyes, squinted in the morning light.
Ugh. It was way too early to be up, but nature calls... Huffing as he struggled out of the thick sleeping bag, Sokka rubbed his tired eyes with the heel of his hand. The bag was made only more complicated by the early hour, and Sokka felt like an idiot stuck in his own bedroll. Briefly he contemplated waking his sister to help him, but quickly discarded the thought, imagining a dragon-like Katara descending upon him with ten-foot sharp icicles of death. She did not like to be woken up early.
Wiggling like a eelworm, he pushed his other arm up through his head hole, bringing his arms as far apart as the small opening allowed. The hole stretched wider in response. He wiggled forward again, this time kicking his feet out behind him, pushing the thick material away from his tangled legs. Slowly, he was becoming freed from his cocoon bed. Eventually he was free and he jumped up, grinning widely at his 'accomplishment'. Unfortunately, his foot was still caught on the edge of the blanket, and his face was once again introduced to the stone floor.
Well, at least I'm out of the sleeping bag... He glanced around to make sure no one awoke from the rather loud thump. Still sleeping. Pausing momentarily to stretch out the sore muscles in his back, again he was off to go... do his business. The monks had installed a creative system of tubes and special chambers for this very purpose – intricate mazes of piping that all lead down to the chasm below that would've taken months to build, even with the assistance of airbending. Sokka was just happy he didn't have to use a bush or a tree.
Feeling much more refreshed, the watertribe warrior ambled back into the main temple room and plopped down on the nearest bench with a sigh. Everyone was still asleep, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. Katara was a notoriously early riser, and he could remember when they were kids, she had often woken even before the arctic sun had risen, waking him up with her. He'd bet his last piece of seal jerky that she'd be up and making breakfast within the hour. And like many other kids, The Duke woke crazy early, and with the ball of pattering feet up and running, no one else would be sleeping long after. Sokka was surprised Toph was still asleep. Usually she would have came storming out of her room and pelted him with rocks for waking her with his 'vibrations'.
Just as predicted, a loud groan came from the other blue bedroll.
"Morning, Sis," he greeted the wriggling lump. She, too, seemed to be having difficulties with her bedding. Perhaps they needed new ones? His sister in turn just grumbled something about mornings never being good, before a tinny zippp came from her bag and she rolled out of her now open sleeping bag.
Oh yeah, there's the zipper... right...
"I'm gonna get started on breakfast. Go wake Toph for me? I could use some help with the cooking..." Katara was up and already doing a million things at once – folding his and her bedrolls, tidying up their living area, and getting breakfast started – so Sokka was happy to do something to help his stressed-out sister. While she bitched about near everything, she did a lot for the group, and he didn't want to be coasting on the heels of the groups success.
But still, that meant having to move.
"Sure," he grumbled, standing up and ignoring the pops from his knees which made his sister cringe. As he meandered towards the far side of the temple to Toph's room, scratching idly at the back of his head with grimy fingernails, he remembered that the girl in question was probably still peeved from last night. He didn't get why it was so important to her that they open their home (or in their case, their hiding place) to the guy that had been trying to hunt them down for the past year. Maybe it was a girl thing, this 'feeling sorry for the enemy' feeling that had been sweeping the group. First Katara in the catacombs, now Toph. He personally didn't like the idea, but then again, he didn't like the guy either.
He ducked under the low ceiling edge and started up the stairs. The swollen wood steps creaked with each step, and he winced as a careless step echoed throughout the building. If he ever needed to sneak up here for any reason, he'd be caught immediately. On the other hand, it would prevent intruders from sneaking in this area at least.
The hallway that held Toph's room was long, narrow, and painted in green and gold – earth kingdom colors, and that's why she had chosen this specific area. Her room was at the far end of the hall, right before a large window-style opening in the wall. He contemplated just opening the door, seeing as she would've heard his footsteps and known he was coming anyway, but decided to knock in case he might accidentally walk into something he wouldn't want to see. Like her changing or something.
No answer.
Gently, he pushed open the door and peeked his head inside. The low bed was empty and a quick check confirmed that she was not indeed hiding behind the door to pop out and scare him.
Toph wasn't in her room, and she wasn't with the rest of the group. As far as he could tell, she wasn't even in the temple. Shuffling back towards the rest of the group, Sokka wondered where the girl was, and couldn't help but feel guilty when he realized that now he would have to help with the cooking.
Princey's covers were much comfier and warmer than the ones they had back at the temple. And undoubtedly twenty times as expensive, too. She would just have to steal half of his as part of his repayment for burning her.
Admittedly, the sting was gone, as well as the overwhelming heat she had felt for the first couple hours... but her toes and heels were still numb, and couldn't feel the surrounding vibrations as well as they usually could. If she complained a lot, she could probably milk this out for another week at least.
The tinkering of metal on metal brought her back to her surroundings, and with a palm flat on the ground beside her blankets, she felt the other boy packing up his supplies quietly on the other side of the tent. He had awoken as soon as the faint sun fell across their tent, and (thinking her still asleep) had been trying in vain to organize everything silently for the last twenty minutes or so. Granted, she had been still sleeping, but her sensitive hearing had picked up on his first footstep and woken her up. Since then, she'd been laying cocooned in the warmth of his bedding, pleased that for the first time in the past month or two, she wasn't being asked to do chores or help with the cooking.
Judging my the slow smell of cooking bacon, he was even going to make her breakfast. And if that wasn't the plan, she was going to steal his, and he could make some of his own later.
Feigning a loud yawn, she stretched out in all directions, sending the blankets flying. The sound of his stirring paused in recognition.
"Good morning. I hope you like cowpig bacon... if not I think I might still have some chickensnake eggs somewhere–"
"Bacon's great," she replied, grinning at the anxious quality in his voice. She intimidated him, eh? A new, crisper smell wafted over and she crinkled her nose. "You might wanna stir that a bit more though. It's starting to burn."
"R-Right!" Immediately the stirring returned and she grabbed his pile of blankets, piling them up behind her and creating a sort of chair for her to lounge in as he cooked. The prince started whistling absently, and she smirked. Already he was getting too comfortable around her. That wouldn't do. A small pebble suddenly acquainted itself with the back of the boy's head.
"Hey! What was that for?" Toph put on her best innocent face and looked around her, as though to spot the mysterious rock-thrower.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything..." He would've been a fool to believe her, and Toph was certain he didn't, but he didn't explode at her or even sound remotely annoyed beyond a small sigh. Instead, he merely finished up with the cooking silently, scooping out the seven fat slices of bacon out of the pan to cool on a plate off to the side. The sizzling smell of the cooked fat teased at Toph's nose, and suddenly her stomach felt much more empty and grumbling than it had been minutes before.
The dark-haired prince took up the now toasty warm plate in hand and kneeled before her, holding the food out like an offering to a vengeful god. Toph chuckled and shoved him hard enough in the shoulder to knock him onto his bottom by her side, making sure to have a good grip on the food first. Zuko let out a small startled noise like a mouse's squeak before settling in next to her, kipping a small piece of bacon off the tray.
Despite her many years of etiquette training in table manners alone, Toph felt completely comfortable eating how she wanted in front of anyone. It seemed that the Fire Nation boy next to her wasn't quite as confident, for his every bite was small and dainty, no crumbs littering his lips or face like she was sure coated hers. At least she was sure she enjoyed the food to it's fullest...
After munching through five hearty slices of bacon, she went to move the tray off her lap only to realize that there was still one piece left. Had Princey really left all this to her?
Poking him in the calf with her toe, she held the tray out to him. "You can have the last piece. This stuff's filling!" Idly she rubbed at her contented tummy, feeling like she could comfortably lay there all day. If only she didn't have to return to the group just yet.
"No thanks," he grumbled weakly. Toph 'glanced' over to his vibrations and 'saw' that the boy in question was sitting, arms curled protectively around his grumbling stomach, head resting on his knees as though fighting off some sort of vertigo.
She set the tray off to the side where it couldn't spill on her before she spoke, concerned, "You alright, Sparky?"
He just waved a hand at her limply. "Fine, fine. Just a bit of a stomachache." As if to prove it really was just a bit of stomach sickness, he uncurled from his tense position, stood up, then began clearing the dishes and cookware. Toph wasn't fooled.
"But you didn't eat anything!" she argued. Between the sparse meat supplies and Sokka's greedy mug, letting perfectly good bacon go to waste was near sacrilege in the gaang.
The sound of the rough sea sponge on the dirty plates and pan grew fiercer. "I'm just not that hungry, alright?!"
Toph huffed, annoyed at him snubbing her, but plopped the last piece of bacon into her mouth; if he really was as not hungry as he said he was, he shouldn't mind her eating the last piece. And it seemed like he didn't.
"When're you going back to the temple?"
She thought about it briefly. By now, Katara would've already assigned chores to everyone, and with the most hated jobs – brushing Appa, cooking breakfast, and finding firewood for the next night – usually being done early in the morning to get them out of the way, now was as good a time as any to return. "Any time you're ready."
Zuko started, dousing the front of his shirt with soapy water. "You really want me to come back with you?" he asked, sounding genuinely astonished that she would want his company.
"Of course!" she chirped back, before her blank eyes took on a demonic glint. "With you there, Sugar Queen'll have someone else to bitch at instead of us." Another cool point for Zuko; he didn't tell her to watch her language.
He snorted, but rubbed at his shirt one last time with a towel before giving up on the sopping mess. "Uh.. can you turn around?" What did he...? "I know you can't really see me, but it's still awkward to change with someone staring straight at you..."
She didn't really get the big deal, but she still turned around anyway, flopping onto the blankets and burying her head into the pile for good measure. And to think, Princey was a prude too...
Around the corner, Toph was getting bitched at for going after him and he burning her feet. From his vantage point behind a wide stone pillar, he could hear the waterbender – Katara – telling her that the burns were only superficial, and looked mostly healed already. Thanks to him, he thought savagely; even though he knew their anger was justified, he couldn't help but be offended at some of the words being used to describe him just out of sight. There was only so much he could take before he started to regret his decision to join them...
Still, he knew that if he were to have any chance at being accepted into their group, there'd be a lot of apologizing and ass-kissing involved. For as long as he hoped to stay with them, he would jump at the opportunity to do any of their chores, knowing that he was just a hare's breath away from being dumped back on the Fire Nation's doorstep. Just like this morning, he remembered. He had made Toph breakfast without having to be asked, and although the edges were darker than the still-squishy middle, his piece hadn't tasted too bad. No where near what his uncle could dish out, but he was learning. He was surprised to find that the prospect of learning how to cook and clean for others didn't absolutely horrify him as it would've a couple months before. Perhaps he was learning to be humble?
"We already told you, Toph," a clipped voice snapped, speaking as though talking to a very slow child, "Zuko's a bad guy. He does bad stuff. We can't have him near us."
"Katara's right," a deeper voice agreed. "Besides, what reason would he have for leaving the Fire Nation? He was a prince, in case you forgot! He could eat anything he wanted instead of scavenging like us! Why would he leave that?"
Toph's clear voice cut through their bickering, and Zuko felt as though she really understood him. "In case you forgot, I came from a rich family too, but I still joined you. Money isn't everything, and being with you guys feels more like home than that place ever did, and I'm actually doing something now. Maybe he's just lonely and wants some kind of purpose in his life too."
"Riiight..." Katara drawled sarcastically, and Zuko could imagine her staring Toph down with a raised eyebrow, hands on her hips. "Zuko's just lonely... That guy doesn't have a soul, he can't be lonely!"
"Well, he did seem pretty sincere when he asked to join us," Aang piped up, bolstered by Toph's unrelenting support of their once enemy.
Katara turned on the shorter girl like a snapping tigerturtle. "Why are you defending him?!"
"Because he's not such a bad guy!" Toph screamed back, getting seriously annoyed by then. "And I'm a human lie detector, and I know he was telling the truth when he said he was on our side now. Besides," she insisted, and Zuko peeked his head around the pillar just in time to see her poke the taller girl accurately in the solar plexus, "who do you think healed my burns before you did?"
Katara's mouth fell open, and any argument got trapped inside as she tried to process that statement. Finally she sputtered, "But only waterbenders can heal people!"
"Not with bending, with some kinda lotion stuff that smelled really good."
Even with Toph advocating him through every argument, it was still obvious that the others weren't comfortable with the idea of a potentially deadly snake in their midst. Sokka's hand was gripping his boomerang reflexively at just the thought of the other boy, Aang was nervously bouncing his weight from one foot to the other, and Katara's eyebrows were knitted in the center, right foot tapping slightly in agitation. Finally, she stepped forward slightly, placing a comforting hand on Toph's shoulder. A glint caught the edge of Zuko's good eye, and he tore his vision away from his unraveling future to find it's source.
"We know that you've changed your mind about him and we respect that, but he didn't do as much to you as he did to us, to me. I'm sorry, but I know that I will never be able to forgive him." Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zuko knew that he should be feeling devastated by their rejection, but the majority of his consciousness was distracted by the shadowy figure of a large man stalking around the temple floor adjacent to theirs.
Ducking down to minimize his target area, Zuko glanced around to find the stealthiest path to where the man was. To his right were several narrow hallways and a wooden staircase that weren't easily visible to either the gaang or the intruder. Using the skills he had obtained from his time as the Blue Spirit, Zuko slipped down the hall to the staircase, leaping up to grab onto the edge of the floor over his head before flipping his body into an upright sitting position on the floor above. Wooden steps tended to swell and shrink with the rain, and it was easier just to assume that every stair would creak and give away his position.
"You can't think of a single person to teach Aang firebending, and when one shows up on a silver platter, you throw him away?!" Mentally Zuko reminded himself to have a little talk with Toph about how much her voice could carry. If this stranger could find them so easily, they shouldn't be advertising their location any more than they already were.
Standing and brushing off his lightweight crimson pants, Zuko spotted a window at the end of the green and gold painted hallway. From there he would have a perfect jump to the temple beside it. He cracked his knuckles and opened the window, stepping up into the ledge and sat on his haunches like a cat as he plotted the best possible place to land. There was a gap in the tile where a piece had probably broken years ago and never gotten replaced, and he knew the dirt patch would allow for a much quieter landing than it's stone neighbors, and he launched his body into the air, trying his best not to look down into the blackness below. His jump was executed as planned, and he came to a soundless rolling stop directly above the intruder. Leaning slightly over the edge of the roof, Zuko recognized the assassin he had set against the Avatar and his group.
The burly man was staring towards the main temple room and from his perch on the roof, Zuko could see the Avatar and his friends clearly. Below him the man began to tense, eyes narrowing and Zuko could feel the electric energy in the air as a small ball of white light began to form in front of the third eye tattoo on the man's forehead. Lined up directly with the Avatar. He had no time. Fuck.
Launching himself at the charged man with a yell that he hoped sounded more intimidating than he thought it did, Zuko landed on the man piggy-back style, a stray arm just managing to redirect the blast away from the unsuspecting group. Though he was struggling to hold on to the twisting man, he saw them running to take cover around the edge of the temple wall. A huge steel hand grabbed Zuko harshly around the arm and flung him off to the side with enough force to send him skidding across the stone and right off the side of the temple floor.
Hundreds of feet of black emptiness rushed up at him, and he reached out, desperate for anything to stop his fall. Suddenly a hanging vine snagged around his falling wrist and jerked him to a halt. Stifling a cry at the loud crack and sharp pain, he clung to the vine like a lifeline. Slowly he started to pull himself back up the vine, wincing every time he had to move his right hand.
Off to the side, a battle was taking place.
Toph was busy proving her title as the world's best earthbending master – hurling boulders nearly the size of herself at the assassin with astonishing speed and accuracy – while Katara sent tsunami waves crashing into the temple walls around him. He couldn't see the assassin, dangling from a vine under the temple, but he could see the white-hot blasts of superheated air he sent at the kids, crashing into the pillars and stone floor and sending bits of rubble flying everywhere.
From out of nowhere, a glint of metal flew up and struck the assassin directly in the third eye. He stumbled backwards and appeared disoriented. This time, when he tried to fire at them, nothing happened. Zuko smelt ozone. He ducked his head and gripped tighter to the vine, as an explosion rocked the earth around him. Black smoke billowed out from the source of the explosion – what was once a man – and all that was left was the steel gauntlet that fell to the chasm down below.
Finally, he reached the top of the vine. A small pale arm was extended in his direction, and he took it, hefting most of his weight up on his own despite the help. Zuko found himself coughing and panting weakly at Toph's feet, who was grinning down at him with a look that told him exactly what she thought of his amazing rescue. Three other pairs of feet came into his field of vision and he cringed, head hanging and waiting to be told to "get lost" again.
Instead, another hand was held out to him. "I never thought I'd say this but... thanks Zuko."
Zuko met the monk's warm gray eyes dumbly, mind slow in processing the soft-spoken words. His eyes flicked from the outstretched hand and back, unsure if the Avatar really wanted him to take it, if it was just a trap, if they'd change their minds once they got to know him, because deep down he knew that all he ever did was cause problems for everyone. Toph gave him an encouraging nod that said "take the damn thing, this is what I was fighting for, remember?" Slowly he reached up and grasped the smaller hand in his own.
The monk had more strength than he had thought, and before he could figure out what just happened, he was being marched up a flight of stairs and down that same hallway again. Toph was laughing with the boomerang man – Sokka – and the Avatar was staring like a lovesick calf at the watertribe girl, who Zuko just realized was in the middle of lecturing him.
"- and just because you're staying with us doesn't mean we accept you. You're just here to teach Aang firebending. And – hey! Are you even listening to me?!" He nodded so fast he could swear he heard something rattle around in his head. They came to a stop at the second-to-last door and the other three hung back, obviously unsure about how this was going to play out. Katara pushed open the door and stared at him expectantly. When he just stared at her wide-eyed she sighed, glaring at him and thrusting a finger into his bruised chest. "Yeah, it's not the Fire Palace, but this'll be your room for however long you're staying with us. Don't leave this room unless you ask one of us first; we can't trust you not to attack us."
Hurt, he stepped through the door and turned to face the hate-filled girl. "I'm not that person anymore, and I'm not going to betray you." The 'again' went unsaid.
She just shook her head angrily, still unable to forgive that time in the caves. "Save it. Your words mean nothing to me." She turned to leave before spinning back around, hand gripping the knob with white knuckles and spat at him, voice all hisses and barely restrained fury, "We eat dinner in a couple of hours; maybe I'll send someone up with a bowl for you later if you're good." Then the door was slammed shut, locking him in the small room with nothing but his chaotic mind to distract him.
The subtle threat of starvation had most likely went over everyone else's heads, but to Zuko – it's intended victim – it rang clear as a bell. If he did one thing that seemed even remotely like treason, he wouldn't eat. And food was a good motivator.
There was nothing to do besides slide the low trundle bed across the floor, and even that got boring within minutes once Zuko had determined the sunniest patch of stone and moved the bed to that very spot. He sank bonelessly onto the worm mattress, and sneezed several times in a row when billows of mold scented dust rose up around him, dusting his black hair in white. He honestly hadn't expected the group to let him join them – even with Toph arguing on his side – and hadn't bothered to bring anything with him when they left the camp. So now he was stuck, bored in a dusty gold jail cell with little more than a decrepit mattress and the dust on the floor to occupy his time until dinner.
And he had never been a patient person.
Falling into the lowest pits of absolute boredom was a slow journey, and every activity he thought of only brought him one step closer to the depths of boredom hell. Every second ticked away at half speed.
Katara had forbidden him from leaving the room without permission – so he just needed to get someone's attention. But not hers, because she was scary.
Toph was a safe bet judging by how well they had got on when it was just the two of them, but how to get her to come up here? She sensed vibrations, so... he just needed to make some pretty big ones then. Groaning and supporting his still throbbing side, he stepped off the bed and gripped the low metal frame in his left hand, right tucked close to his chest, still in the makeshift cast he had fashioned out of a spare bit of sheet once he had been left alone. A good shove sent it careening into the wall with an audible thump.
She lives with the Avatar; I need to make more noise to get her to check up on me. He pulled the bed away from the wall, then pushed it forward again, ignoring the metal clang of the frame against stone. Three more bashes and his door flew open; Toph standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.
"Did you really have to do all that? I was right downstairs, and a simple yell probably would've gotten my attention just as well..."
He blushed as he realized what a fool he looked like and ran a hand through messy black hair. "I was wondering if you could do me a fav–"
"What happened to your arm?" she stalked up to him, arm out, demanding to feel the injured limb. Of course he could never hide anything from here, what with her vibration-sensing talent.
Zuko brought his wrist closer to his chest protectively, "it's nothing, just a sprain I got when I fell off the temple floor."
Blind eyes saw through him and she leaned against the wall, again annoyed at him.
"If you're just gonna lie to me, I won't tell Katara to heal it," she threatened, although that just helped to make up his mind. Katara was almost worse than his sister, and if getting healed meant having her doing it, he'd rather stay injured. "Come on, it's not that bad. She can be a bitch, but she knows what she's doing when she heals people. It's what she does."
"It's really nothing, or at least, I've had much worse." Why does every girl have to be so goddamn nosy? "The reason I was making all that noise though, was to ask you for a favor..."
And now their enemy was living in their house, eating their food, and teaching their Avatar firebending. Well, he will be, once Katara's sure he's not gonna try to burn us all up in our sleep. Sokka imagined the reformed prince sneaking up to his bedroll in the dead of night and using his creepy fire-magic to light his hair on fire, and he clutched at his wolf tail protectively. Oh no, there would be no hair-burning under his watch.
A muffled thumping noise came from above him and he looked up, bits of dust falling onto his face. Beside him, Toph looked annoyed and stood up, mumbling something about needing to check on her slave, before stomping up the stairs. He was pretty sure he didn't want to know what that was about. Another couple thumps sounded from above and the group ignored them, figuring that whatever it was, Toph would take care of it. Sokka just shrugged and turned back to the fountain, where Aang and Katara were practicing their waterbending. Katara was all flowing arms and water, while Aang stared after her like a sealpuppy, and it was at times like this when Sokka remembered that Aang – despite being the all powerful Avatar – was just a normal kid, and was prone to normal kid crushes.
Not that Sokka was too happy that his crush was on his sister.
But still, if his Katara was going to date anyone (which he didn't want her to do until she was married), he was glad that it was Aang. The kid was sweet and nice and could protect his sister, not that he would ever have to. That girl was fiercer than a mooselion.
"Great, Aang!" she congratulated the beaming boy, patting him on the shoulder. The swirling water settled back in the fountain around them. "Your stream was even more complex than Pakku's was, and we know how anal that guy was..." She still held onto her grudge against the man for refusing to teach her waterbending because she was a girl, and it was clear in her tense muscles and narrowed eyes. Sokka personally got that logic; someone as sweet and innocent as his sister shouldn't be fighting in this war. But still, to deny teaching girls a skill that could one day save her life was just as bad as sending her off to war without a weapon. Aang at least understood the compliment aimed towards him and mock-bowed, blushing pink at Katara's laugh. They both stepped out of the fountain and bended the water out of their clothes.
"It's nothing really," Aang confessed, rubbing embarrassedly at the back of his neck. "Waterbending's a lot like airbending, so it's pretty easy for me."
"But you're still really good at it. Don't sell yourself short, Aang."
"Thanks, Katara."
"The complement's nothing, Aang."
Someone please knock me out with a frying pan or something?!
Just because Sokka thought they were good for each other didn't mean wanted to watch them bat eyelashes and turn varying shades of pink and red. So instead, he decided to go check on their new 'housemate'. It'd been a few hours since they'd seen him last, and who knows what kind of trouble the Fire Nation Prince could've gotten into since then...
The stairs creaked as he walked up them, and again he cursed the worn out state of the temple. It would be much easier to sneak up on the other teen if the stairs didn't announce his presence to the world. Still, he made it to the boy's door without too making too much sound. Stealthy like a mongoosesnake, he gripped the doorknob, getting ready to throw open the door and scare the spoiled boy.
Unfortunately, the stars weren't aligned in his favor, and the door flew open, smacking him in the nose hard.
"Gotta watch out for them doors, they can be deadly."
Sokka groaned, holding his throbbing nose, and stepped back to let Toph through the doorway. She laughed all the way down the hall and down the stairs.
Zuko's room was smaller than the others' and was right next to Toph's so she could 'keep an eye on him'. Bare walls were painted a dusty gold, and the only piece of furniture was a dilapitated cot shoved against the far wall. It was practically a prison cell. All that was missing were the barred windows. The room's occupant was standing before the bed, startled, and unsure amber eyes flickered to him and away from beneath thick eyelashes. Suddenly Sokka realized that they'd never actually spoken to one another, and gestured for the other to take a seat on the bed. Zuko obeyed mindlessly, cringing as the swift movement jarred his ribs – a wince of his eyes that Sokka, a trained watertribe warrior, was quick to pick up on, despite not knowing the reasons behind it. Sokka situated himself on the floor in front of the bed so that he was staring up to the cross legged boy who was looking at him like some kind of foreign insect.
He figured he should start out with the pleasantries, seeing as there was little they had in common. "So... how do you like staying with the Avatar so far?" Mentally he smacked himself. Of course he's not liking it! He doesn't have anything to do but sit and sleep, and he's been locked up in here for the last few hours.
But the other boy just sighed, leaning back against the wall and looked out the window to his right. Up close the scar looked smooth, and Sokka wondered what it might feel like to touch it. "It's... different... than what I'm used to, but you're all being surprisingly accommodating, so it could be worse." Sokka snorted at what he perceived was a joke, but the other teen ignored it and continued anyway. "Toph's very friendly, despite how tough she tries to act, and I've been given my own room, which is nice because everyone likes to have their own private space, and you've come to talk to me, or something..." Zuko was rambling slightly, and even though his eyes were still trained on the temples out the window, from his blush and fidgeting fingers Sokka imagined that the flustered boy was usually a very calm and methodical person. He was just very out of his element, and didn't know how to act around them yet. But Zuko was smiling a small contented smile that was surprisingly charming and contagious. Suddenly Sokka felt more confident in talking to their new ally.
He leaned back onto his palms, feeling the slightly gritty stone underneath. Zuko followed his every movement with his eyes, leaning forward over his crossed legs unconsciously to get a better view of the tanned boy. Sokka smiled. "You've been up here for a couple hours at least. I figured you could use the company."
Zuko's blush deepened and Sokka was beginning to think that was his natural reaction to any act of kindness. "If you don't mind. I know you guys don't like me or anything."
"Well, I don't think stalking us around the world is the best way to make friends with us." Zuko suddenly seemed to find his scraped and bruised knuckles interesting, and Sokka felt like he had to say something else, anything else – to get him out of that gloomy mood... "But I'm sure once we see that you really have changed, you'll be part of the group – our gaang if you will. We'll let you in our secret midnight meetings and give you the secret password to open the secret rooms that you can only go into once you're our friend." By now, Zuko was smiling again, amber eyes shining with mirth, and Sokka considered it a personal success. "Just wait," he confirmed with a satisfied sigh. "You'll see."
"But I thought you guys found this temple?" the other boy asked, rolling over to lay on his front on the bed, head resting on his crossed arms. "How would you know the passwords if this place has been abandoned for 100 years?"
Sokka paused for a second, pretending to think about the question. "You caught me. There is no password, we just use Aang's nifty air magic to open the doors. But I like to think that they won't open unless I say the magic words – open-o el door-o!"
"I think you mean 'abra la puerta'," Zuko mumbled into his arm. "I'm not sure if 'open-o's even a word...in any language..."
"You and your Fire Nation languages, but what about watertribe-ese? It could be a word where I'm from, you know," He scoffed at the pale boy. Watertribe-ese? Oh yeah, I'm good...
However, Zuko was just as skeptical as his inner-voice, and snorted into his arm – a kind of laugh/cough combo that surprised even him. The snort caused a startled chuckle, then giggle, until he broke out into small noises that shook his thin shoulders and sent his mop of raven hair down further into the safety of his arms to hide his laughter. The sight of the thinner boy actually laughing at something he said was so unexpected, yet strangely nice, that Sokka couldn't help but smile slightly to himself.
That guy looks like a regular teen, not a cold-hearted war monger, he thought to himself, and found he agreed with the obscure thought. Being invited to join the group had taken a huge load of stress off the prince's back, and Sokka had seen the other teen smile more in the last hour than he had in the whole time he had known the guy. Granted, they had been enemies, but still. Everyone had to smile sometime.
Maybe it was the way the wide collar slipped off white-pale and bony shoulders, or how his fluffy black hair stuck up in every direction, but Sokka couldn't help thinking that Zuko looked remarkably like a shy child; one who just needed some encouragement to smile and laugh like all the other kids his age. He tried to imagine what Zuko would've been like as a kid, but couldn't picture him without his infamous scar.
How had he gotten that thing, anyway?
Breaking off into small chuckles, Zuko pushed his bangs back out of his face with his right hand, but Sokka was distracted by the white cloth he could see wrapped tightly around the thin wrist.
What the...?
He reached out to get a better look – because he was a truly curious person at heart – but the limb was pulled away and out of sight before he could even touch it. Suddenly Zuko was closed off again, and when Zuko met his eyes, they were a dull gold that made Sokka long for the laughter again.
"I was just going to take a look," he told the skittish boy, annoyed at the other's distrust. "I wasn't going to hurt you or anything, jeesh."
The fear and confusion swirling in his amber depths told Sokka that he thought he would do just that, and so Sokka was gentle and moved slowly as he reached out again for the injured wrist. This time Zuko let him take his hand. The wrappings were tight enough to be professional, and Sokka wondered how many times the other boy had had to bandage himself up after one of their numerous fights. This could have been weeks old... did I do this? Underneath the skin was the purple-black of a new bruise, and Sokka let out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. It's only about a day old. So where did it come from then?
He turned it over to see the other side and Zuko let out a small hiss at the pressure. It's definitely broken. I'm amazed he can act like normal through the pain. "I'll see if I can get Katara to heal this for you," he said, standing up and turning toward the door. "Just stay here and I'll be right back–" A hand grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" Sokka looked back towards the other boy, who was sitting up on his knees, head bent low but still grasping Sokka's arm in his uninjured hand. "I... I don't want to inconvenience you, and I'm sure your sister would rather stab me than heal me... Can we just – just sit here and talk for a bit or something?" Big gold eyes met blue and Sokka almost said yes – he'd just stay here if it meant Zuko would stop giving him those oh-so convincing puppy-kitten eyes – before he remembered the pained look the other boy had made when he had sat down earlier.
Is his wrist really the only thing that's hurt?
Gently he pulled away, looking anywhere than at that crestfallen face. "It needs to be looked at, or you'll never be able to teach Aang firebending. I'll be right back."
Then he left to go find his sister, feeling as though he was betraying his new friend.
Somehow, when she imagined Zuko as her servant, this is not what she had in mind.
For starters, it was usually the servant that ran the master's errands, not the other way around.
It wasn't as though she was opposed to doing good deeds – they built character and in her experience, good fortune. But she was teaching the Avatar earthbending, and she figured that that filled her quota for the year. Times maybe a thousand or so.
So when Sparky had asked, or more demanded, that she do him a favor, she was surprised to find herself saying 'yes' before she even thought of negotiating a price. It's just something in the prince's voice, she decided, that kinda makes him seem like someone you'd wanna help. He's such a weakling.
Now here she was, 'feeling' her way around the old campsite, looking for anything that Zuko might possibly want. He had only requested she bring back two things – his bag of clothes and a picture in a wooden frame – but she had things she wanted as well. The super thick and comfy blankets, for example. And Katara would like the pots and pans, as cooking food on heated stone was both stressful and took much longer than the metal. Aang would get a kick out of... well, nothing really. Princey was a gloomy guy who didn't have any toys or loud objects that Twinkle Toes would like. Sokka could probably find some use for the thick red tarp, though...
She'd already liberated the blankets, half his stash of food, and a pair of fingerless leather gloves when she heard a faint cracking, like that of a twig, come from the bushes. It's steps were close together and light, and from the shape the vibrations followed, she discovered a badgerfrog lurking on the outside of camp. The little guy hopped right past her like she was nothing more than a stick in the mud, and leaped up onto Zuko's bag. He seemed content to ignore her in favor of the warmth the canvas material brought, which was fine with her until she was ready to leave. Despite his small size, the badgerfrog was a good twenty pounds, and sitting atop an already overstuffed bag – she could hardly lift it.
Thankfully, most of the feeling had returned to her feet, and it was nothing to bend a pillar to slide along beside her. On second thought, she widened the pillar and sat atop it too. Three taps to the top created a perfect seat, and she was ready to go, badgerfrog and all. Hey, if he really wants to come along, why stop him? At this point we're pretty much a refugee camp. Maybe if we're lucky the Fire Lord'll get jealous and wanna join...
AN: Yeah I know, I'm evil. Taking so long, just to not even get to the healing part... oh well. I figured that I've dallied enough. On the bright side, my new course load is MUCH lighter and easier, and I'll have much more time to dedicate to this. So the next chapter will NOT take 10 days to right.
This one is 8,435 words long, which is less than the last chapter, but has considerably much more happening in it. Dialogue sucks, but hopefully it will get better. Maybe if I had a beta (hint hint) I could have someone to bounce ideas off of...
My ideal date to post my next chapter will be by Friday, but don't hold out on that. Reviews are amazing things though, and the more I get, the more motivated I get.
Next chapter will contain healing, some games, more sickness, and Zuko starts to notice something wrong with his firebending... see you then!