Zuko's shaking, and Sokka doesn't like it.
He closes the door to their bedroom softly, because most of the time Zuko can handle noises like that, but sometimes they make him jump. Today seems to be a 'sometime'. Zuko's sitting at the vanity, staring down at his hands, dressed down in a pair of loose trousers and a sleeveless red tunic. His hair is down, laying like a curtain over his back, and even from across the room, Sokka can see how his shoulders are trembling.
"Zuko?" he asks cautiously, stepping across the room in a way that he knows will allow Zuko to hear his footsteps. His boyfriend makes a quiet noise of acknowledgement, but doesn't look up. "Sweetheart, are you with me? Are you here?"
"'M here," Zuko mumbles.
"Did something happen?" Sokka asks, approaching on his right. Usually, he's on Zuko's left, in his blindspot, but sometimes it's better if Zuko can both hear and see him fully.
"No," Zuko croaks, twisting his hands together in his lap.
"Did someone say something?" Sokka asks, kneeling down beside Zuko and wincing when Zuko flinches at the sound of his knees popping.
This time, Zuko nods. Sokka's hand makes it's way to his knee and squeezes, encouraging. "We were talking about prison reform," Zuko says after a moment. "Just the usual council, the advisors though, not the ambassadors. I- I was giving my proposal, about community service and re-entry programs, y'know, what we talked about."
"Yeah, sweetheart, I know," Sokka says softly, moving his hand from Zuko's knee to soothe up and down his bare arm.
"So I- I finished the presentation and then opened the room up for discussion," Zuko goes on, "and part of the presentation was getting rid of the branding system."
"Of course, love," Sokka whispers, letting Zuko lean into him as he starts to shiver.
"But Advisor Chee, he just- he wouldn't let it go," Zuko breathes. "I don't even know why. I kept- I kept insisting that the branding system had to go, and all of the other Advisors agreed with me, but Chee just refused. We argued about it for so long that I just had to end the meeting without coming to a conclusion."
Sokka hums, pressing a kiss to Zuko's unscarred cheek. He knows how much Zuko hates leaving things unfinished, and he knows how Zuko hates talking about the branding system even more.
"Would you like me to put some salve on your scar?" Sokka asks gently, tucking Zuko's hair behind his ear.
"Yeah," Zuko whispers. "That'd be nice."
Sokka kisses his cheek once more, then gets up from his kneeling position to gather the salve and a leather tie from the bathroom. He comes back to the bedroom and settles behind Zuko's back, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
"I'm gonna braid your hair first, okay?" Sokka says. Zuko nods in return. Sokka loses himself in the methodic weaving of strands, curling the braid around the side of Zuko's head so that it falls neatly over his shoulder. He grabs the tin of salve and pops off the cap, gathers some up on his fingers and brushes a few baby hairs away before he starts spreading salve along the scar at the back of Zuko's neck.
Sokka knows that this will be the scar that haunts him for the rest of his life. Not the handprint-shaped one on Zuko's face, or the sunburst on his chest, but the characters that were burned into Zuko's skin when he was only seventeen, and that are there practically because of Sokka. As he rubs the cool salve into the rough skin, the phrase that's branded there repeats itself over and over in his head.
Royal Caldera Prison: Marked for Execution.
~~~
For the first time, Sokka awakes from a soulmate dream shaking with fear, not anger. The images from the dream are still flashing in his mind; the brand across Zuko's skin floats in front of his vision like it's tattooed across Sokka's eyelids, red scar tissue striking against pale skin. Sokka curses under his breath and gets up out of his bunk, opening and closing the door softly, so as not to wake Katara. He makes his way out onto the deck of the ship and starts pacing, twisting his hands together.
"What the hell are you doing up?"
Sokka whips around to see Bato leaning against the mast of the ship, his arms crossed over his chest. He finds himself mirroring Bato's position against the edge of the boat, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Couldn't sleep," Sokka says roughly.
"Nightmares?" Bato guesses. Sokka shakes his head. "Soulmate dreams?" Bato tries again. This time, Sokka winces and nods.
"Just- have you ever felt like something you saw in a dream was your fault?" In theory, it should be weird to talk to his father's soulmate about this, but Sokka is well past the point of caring about that. "Like, something that you did in the present will come to affect your soulmate in the future?"
"Of course," Bato says, chuckling slightly. "You know, I'm actually the one that introduced your parents. Kya was in line to be Chief of the village, and your Gran Gran on her side was a good friend of my father's, so we were pretty close growing up. The night after I introduced them, I had a dream of myself and your father at their wedding."
"Oh," Sokka whispers. "I'm sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry for?" Bato asks. "It's not your fault. The Spirits had a plan for me, it was just a little bit complicated. They have a plan for you too, Sokka."
Sokka nods. He takes a deep breath, then exhales. "Okay," he says, "here's the thing. Do you remember that crazy Fire Prince who attacked us at the abbey with a shirshu and then sacrificed himself for us in Ba Sing Se?"
"Of course I do," Bato says, "how could I forget him?"
"Yeah," Sokka sighs. "So, it's him. My soulmate. Prince Zuko."
Bato whistles under his breath. "Shit."
"That about sums it up."
"So you had a dream about something that happens to him?" Bato prompts after a moment. "And you feel like it's your fault?"
"In the future," Sokka says, "he has a scar. I mean, a different scar than the one he already has. It- it's a prison brand. He gets marked for execution. And we- we've already looked it up, in the Fire Nation the only crime thatlegallygets you marked for execution is high treason against the Dragon Throne, which Zuko committed in Ba Sing Se. Because of me."
Bato swears under his breath. "I… I don't know what to tell you, kid," he says, sounding sheepish. "But, take it from me, everythingwillturn out alright. You're soulmates- it has to."
~~~
Sokka hasn't slept straight through the night since Ba Sing Se.
Sometimes, he's up late planning, going over the schedule to make sure that everything's in place. Other nights he has soulmate dreams and can't fall back asleep afterwards because his head is spinning with thoughts of the future. Most nights, though, his sleep is plagued with nightmares.
He's had nightmares before, of course. About Yue, and Aang, and Katara, and the day his mother died. Now, though, the main subject of his nightmares is Zuko.
That look on his face in Ba Sing Se, the sheepish, scared smile; it'll stick with Sokka till the day he dies. There's more, though, things that his subconscious makes up about what's happening to Zuko in prison, the reasons that he will come to whimperFather, father, please,in his nightmares, andI am your loyal son.Most mornings, Sokka wakes before the sun rises, and most nights he stays up until the moon is high up in the sky.
It's on one such morning that Sokka comes to wakefulness just before dawn, when the moon is still in the sky but the horizon is lightening at the edges. He sits up with a yawn and stretches, thinking about what he'll do with his morning today, when quiet whimpering catches his attention from the other side of the camp.
Sokka whips his head towards the noise and frowns. It's not Aang or Katara- both of them are still sleeping soundly, curled up on their bedrolls- which means it has to be Toph, but nightmares just aren't like her. Sokka gets out of his bedroll and goes over to her rock tent, peeking into the entrance to see just what he expected: Toph, tucked up in her pile of blankets and pillows, twisting and grimacing as she sleeps.
"Toph," Sokka whispers, carefully reaching into the tent and wrapping his hand around Toph's ankle. "Toph, wake up."
After a few more moments of coaxing, Toph shoots upright and promptly smacks her head on the top of her tent, swearing profusely. Sokka winces in sympathy. "Fucking- shit, Sokka, is that you?" Toph asks, still shaking from the nightmare and looking every bit of twelve years old.
"Yeah, it's me," Sokka says, squeezing where he's still holding onto her ankle. "It's nearly morning; why don't you come sit with me outside?"
"I- okay," Toph agrees, bending down the walls of her tent. They walk together to an empty part of the field they're camping in, and Toph bends a bench out of the ground, made of packed dirt and pebbles. She flops down onto it tiredly, and Sokka does the same.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Sokka asks after a while, watching the sun break over the horizon.
"It was just a soulmate dream," Toph sighs, leaning her head onto his shoulder.
"A bad one?"
"Kinda," Toph says, "I dunno. Not really. I think we were fighting over something. Me and my soulmate. Our kids. We disagreed on something, and then she said that maybe I'd be a better mom if I could see my kids, and she apologized for it later, but I just- Sokka, I think she's right."
"What?" Sokka yelps, "Toph, no-"
"But I'll never be anormalparent," Toph insists. "I'll never know what my kids look like, or their kids, or even what my soulmate looks like. It's notfair,Sokka."
Sokka can't disagree with that. "I know you've probably heard this a million times," he starts, "but nothing's everreallyfair."
Toph just hums by his side, and they sit there until the sun is high in the sky and Aang begins to stir. Then, Toph bends the bench back into the ground without warning Sokka first, and he curses profusely at her while rubbing his tailbone.
~~~
Despite every bitter doubt floating around in Sokka's mind, Master Piandao accepts him for training.
The first day is brutal; Sokka spars with Fat again and again, until his entire body aches. He grips the wooden sword so tightly that it splinters in his hands, and it seems like every thirty seconds there's something for Piandao to correct. Sokka is constantly on edge- what if they figure out who he is? What's happening to his friends now that he's gone?- but he keeps going, dodges Fat's sword until the sun is setting, takes every one of Piandao's criticisms in stride.
"We will continue tomorrow with our training," Piandao says, finally, when Sokka feels like he's about to melt into a puddle on the ground. Sokka nods eagerly, glancing back at the Master as he goes to put his wooden sword away. "For now, though, we will eat dinner."
The three of them walk in silence through the estate, and Fat holds the door open as Piandao leads Sokka into a kitchen. It's large and clean, the workspace a gleaming silver, shiny pots and pans hanging over a four-burner stove.
"We like to have our students help make all their own meals," Piandao says, gesturing for Sokka to wash his hands. "Do you have much experience with cooking, Sokka?"
"Oh, yeah, I've got tons," Sokka says, drying his hands on a towel. Fat passes him an apron and he ties it easily around his neck and waist.
"Really?" Piandao asks, sounding surprised. "Most of my students are almost entirely inexperienced."
"My sister and I live on our own," Sokka explains, taking the vegetables that he's passed and starting to chop them. "Our mother died when we were young, and our father is fighting in the war, so the two of us have learned to be very self sufficient. Usually, I hunt and she cooks, but I cook plenty as well."
"You're from the colonies, you said?"
"Erm, yes," Sokka mumbles, "definitely."
They finish cooking the meal quickly, and as they sit down to eat Piandao says, "You mentioned your sister. Tell me about her."
Sokka swallows the too-big bite of food he'd just taken and nods. "She's two years younger than me, so, fourteen. She's a bender, and she's really good. There's- there's not much else that's interesting about her."
"Hmm," Piandao hums. "Does she bend earth or fire? I know you said you're from the colonies, so I figure it could be either."
"...Earth," Sokka says after a moment of hesitation. He's sure that Katara wouldn't appreciate being referred to as a firebender.
"Interesting," Piandao murmurs. Sokka has the acute feeling that he's missing something.
~~~
They're in Sokka's favorite part of the palace gardens, sitting beneath the gnarled willow tree and watching the comings and goings of the turtleduck pond. Zuko's splayed out on the ground beside him, head pillowed in Sokka's lap, staring up at the swaying branches above them. The air is sticky with heat from the Fire Nation summer, and Sokka revels in the goosebumps that rise as he strokes his hand down Zuko's bare arm.
"I got a letter from Piandao yesterday," Zuko says suddenly. When Sokka glances down at him, he's staring right back up, golden eyes glinting in the sunlight.
"Oh yeah?" Sokka asks. "What did he say?"
"Nothing much," Zuko tells him. "Just the usual. He and Jeong Jeong are good, the school is thriving, and- oh! Do you remember Kira, that third year student who was really good?"
"Yeah," Sokka says.
"Piandao's taken her on as an apprentice!" Zuko says. "She'll be the one to take over the estate and the school when he and Jeong Jeong are ready to retire. He's teaching how to forge and shit- really cool stuff."
"Oh, that's awesome," Sokka smiles, brushing a stray bit of hair out of Zuko's face. "I met her soulmate once, I think his name was Lian. He's a nice kid too, an earthbender."
"They'll be great replacements for Piandao and Jeong Jeong," Zuko mumbles. Their conversation melts away as Zuko yawns and turns his face into Sokka's stomach, all of a sudden weighed down by exhaustion.
"You falling asleep on me, baby?" Sokka teases, weaving his fingers into Zuko's hair.
"Mm," Zuko hums, "'s so warm outside. Can you fuck with my hair some more? Feels nice."
"Of course, baby," Sokka says. "Of course."
~~~
After their identities have been revealed, when Sokka's packing his stuff up from the room that he was staying in, someone knocks on the door. He yells for them to come in, assuming it's Toph or Aang, but when he looks up it's Piandao, smiling slightly and leaning against the doorframe.
"Master," Sokka says, bowing slightly.
"Sokka," Piandao says back. "I just wanted to congratulate you on your sword; it came out wonderfully. Most students of mine struggle with the forge much more than you did."
"Thank you," Sokka says, shoving the last of his clothing into his bag. Piandao gestures for them to start walking towards the front doors, and Sokka obligingly follows him out. "Master?" he asks after a few minutes, when the silence starts to feel heavy. Piandao nods in acknowledgment. "I was- I was wondering if you knew anything about Jeong Jeong the Deserter?"
Piandao freezes for a second, stops walking, before shaking his head slightly and continuing on. "When I was in the army," he says, "Jeong Jeong and I were in the same corps. I chose not to continue with my army career after I had served the proper amount of years, but he went on. Why do you ask?"
"We met him, awhile back," Sokka explains. "He tried to teach Aang firebending, but it didn't go very well. I just-" he pauses, because it's really not proper to sayin a soulmate dream it sounded like you two were a Thing,"- I figured you might have known each other, that's all."
"We do," Piandao tells him. "We did."
~~~
"I miss sleep," Aang groans. Appa groans alongside him, and Toph yells some sort of profanity from where she and Katara are sparring.
They've been at the rendezvous point for two days now, and Sokka's pretty sure the four of them have gotten a collective ten hours of sleep. Four of those hours are Toph's, three are Katara's, two are Aang's, and one single goddamn hour is Sokka's.
For once, it's not nightmares or soulmate dreams keeping him up, but nerves. He thinks about their failure in Ba Sing Se, and the brand on Zuko's neck, and the look that Aang gets on his face when the airbenders come up. The warriors of the South make up almosthalfof their remaining tribe, and what if something goes wrong, what if people die, what ifSokkadies, or Katara, or Aang, or Toph, or-
Sokka yawns. "I miss sleep too," he says, patting Aang's shoulder in sympathy. "Although, I haven't gotten good sleep in weeks. Soulmate dreams and nightmares are bitches."
That catches Aang's attention. "Sokka," he says, looking up at him with big, grey eyes. "Isn't- I thought soulmate dreams were supposed to be good. I don't think I'd ever go to sleep if I thought I'd only have nightmares."
"They're not bad," Sokka corrects, "they're just confusing."
"They're… oh," Aang whispers. "Is your soulmate Fire Nation?"
JustFire Nationis an understatement, but Sokka doesn't say that. "Yeah," he tells Aang. They leave it at that.
~~~
It's late. Too late for Sokka to be up, but he is anyway, sitting on the balcony and staring up at Yue. He still talks to her, sometimes, especially when he's having a hard time, but tonight he's just restless, unable to fall asleep.
The sound of footsteps on tile comes from behind him, and Sokka can't help but smile. Those footsteps can only be coming from one person, and the warm arms that wrap around Sokka's shoulders only solidify that.
"Come back to bed," Zuko murmurs into his hair, voice rough with sleep. "'M cold without you."
"You're cold?" Sokka teases, "I didn't think that was possible."
"Sokka, it's winter," Zuko whines. "How am I supposed to be warm if you're not there to cuddle with me?"
"Fine," Sokka sighs after a moment. He fights to get up with Zuko's arms still wrapped around his shoulders, but he manages it eventually, and ends up just scooping Zuko into his arms and carrying him bridal-style to their bed. Zuko complains the whole way, but Sokka knows he loves it, and Sokka grins down at him as he lands on the bed with an exaggerated 'oof!'
"You're so mean," Zuko pouts into the pillows, scooting over to make room for Sokka nonetheless. He slides under the covers and holds them up so that Sokka can wiggle underneath as well, and they end up with Sokka on his back and Zuko on his side, using Sokka's chest as a pillow.
Sleep doesn't always come easily to them, but tonight it does. Zuko falls back to sleep almost immediately, his head rising and falling minutely as Sokka's lungs contract. After a while, the storm of Sokka's thoughts calms, and he lulls himself to sleep by listening to the sound of Zuko's deep, zen breathing.
~~~
"Why don't I tell you about my favorite prisoner?" Azula drawls, grinning wickedly at Sokka. He scowls back at her, telling himself not to take the bait. Next, Azula rounds on Toph. "Or, maybe I should tell you about my favoriteprisoners."
Toph growls slightly at Azula, but makes no move towards her, rock hard and impenetrable as always. Sokka, on the other hand, sees a flash of the brand on the back of Zuko's neck in his mind's eye, and uses his sword to pin Azula up against the wall.
"Where," he growls, "is Zuko?"
Azula just laughs. "Oh, I'm sure you know by this point, don't you? Your littledisplayin the catacombs wasn't as subtle as you think. Haven't you seen it in a dream by now? You know, father and I did the branding ourselves. He heated up the metal, and I pressed it in, for much longer than usual I might add. Zuzu just refused to start screaming."
Sokka grits his teeth against the wave of memories that brings up, moments from dreams and from real life. "Shut up," he says, and it sounds weak to his own ears.
"And you," Azula adds, turning her cool gaze onto Toph, "you must be wondering about that Kyoshi Warrior. She's a favorite of mine. Always acts like she's too tough to give into mind games, but I'd hear her at night, calling out for you. As if a little blind girl could save her. You're too weak; surely you must know that by now."
"Stop it!" Sokka yells. He doesn't care when people go digging at him, he does it himself often enough, but Zuko and Toph are two untouchable topics.
"She's playing with you, Sokka," Toph insists. For once, she's trembling too. "It's a tactic; she's trying to distract you.Ignore her."
Sokka wrenches his sword away from Azula's neck. He's about to turn away from her and keep going forward, but then the gong sounds.
Firebending is back.
~~~
The days after the invasion are weighed down with loss.
Nobody wants to talk. Toph and Katara don't force Aang to train, and the only food they have at the ready is rice and jerky, but no one feels like hunting or foraging, so they eat what they have. Haru and Teo go exploring because the Duke wants to, but they come back after only half an hour, shaking their heads.
Toph hasn't let go of Sokka since they made it out of the bunker. They haven't talked about it, not yet, but Sokka knows that they'll have to at some point.
It's a beautiful day outside, but Sokka wishes it was cloudy. The blue sky just doesn't fit the mood. They're all sitting in a circle around the makeshift fire pit, picking at their bowls of rice and saying nothing, and then Toph tenses up.
"There's somebody there," she says, standing up as she points toward the bushes. Sokka follows her lead and stands as well, drawing his boomerang from it's holster. (He doesn't go for his sword, not yet. The memory of the blade against Azula's neck is still too fresh in his mind.)
Katara draws a water whip, and Aang pulls out his staff. Sokka gestures for Haru to take Teo and the Duke somewhere far, far away. "Who is it?" Sokka asks, sparing a single glance at Toph.
"I don't know," she says. Her feet shift on the ground, searching for familiarity. They reach a certain place, pointing straight at the center of a bush. "The heartbeat is familiar, but not enough that I can recognize who it is."
"Who's there?" Katara demands, swirling the water in the air around her.
"We won't hurt you if you don't hurt us," Aang calls. Sokka resists the urge to shake his head.
Finally, someone steps out of the bushes. They're slightly stooped over, looking at the ground, and the first thing that Sokka noticies is their head of shaggy black hair. Then, his eyes trail down and he sees the red clothes that they're wearing, short pants and a loose tunic.
The figure looks up, and blue eyes meet gold.
"Hello, Zuko here."
Sokka drops his boomerang.
~~~