Chapter Text
Sokka crept towards Appa as silently as possible, clutching his small bag of supplies tightly as he carefully tiptoed around everyone. He was certain he had waited until everyone was deep asleep on the temple floor but one could never be too cautious around his friends. It would be just his luck to have Toph sense his movements and wake up thinking they were under attack. The last thing he needed to do was fail his father before he’d even left the temple. Or have any of his friends decide to try and tag along with him on what was most likely going to be a suicide mission. They wouldn’t understand why he needed to do this alone, but he did. The invasion had been his idea and while it was impossible to save everyone who had given themselves up that day, the very least he could do was try and save his father. And ensure that, even if Sokka himself didn’t make it back out, they would at least have an experienced warrior to help them strategize for Sozin’s Comet.
This was Sokka’s duty and nothing was going to stop him from carrying it out, least of all the concerns of his family. He had been careful not to seem overly distracted as he went about preparing everything and he didn’t think he had tipped anyone off to what he was planning to do. The biggest risk had been asking Zuko what he knew about prisons in the Fire Nation and the other boy had seemed rather suspicious but Sokka thought he had done a well enough job convincing him that he was merely curious and he had made sure Zuko had disappeared into his room for the night before going on with any of his planning. At the very least, he didn’t think the other boy would suspect him of doing anything tonight.
Sokka held out one hand in a shushing gesture towards Appa as he carefully began climbing up to the saddle. Aang had been more aware of the beloved sky bison ever since they’d been reunited in Ba Sing Se and the absolute last thing he needed was a questioning grunt from Appa rousing the Avatar straight into protective mode. But Appa was used to teenagers and children scrambling up and down his entire body as they pleased and he hardly stirred as Sokka began his ascent.
Sokka knew he was close to his goal as he began pulling himself up onto the saddle – even if he woke any of his friends up, it would be almost impossible for them to stop him once he was fully on Appa. And only Aang would be able to reach him once they were in the air.
So close to his goal, Sokka allowed himself to relax. Which was the exact moment Zuko decided to strike.
“Not up to anything, huh?” the other boy said almost casually from his spot in the corner of Appa’s saddle. Sokka couldn’t help but let out an undignified scream as he fell back off of Appa in surprise. Stunned, he lay on the hard stone for a full moment before remembering himself and scrambling back up to begin shoving all the supplies that had fallen from his pack as Zuko jumped lightly from Appa’s saddle onto the ground next to him, a rather unimpressed frown on his face.
“Fine, you caught me,” Sokka said, trying very hard not to concentrate on how much Zuko’s expression reminded him of Gran Gran’s best I-know-what-you-are-up-to-Sokka,-and-I-will-ground-you-if-you-so-much-as-touch-that-spear-young-man glare as he finished stuffing all his supplies back into his bag. Perhaps it was an omega thing – or perhaps Sokka was more used to them coming from the omegas in his tribe – but Zuko had a very impressive scolding face. “I’m going to rescue my dad. You happy now?”
“I’m never happy.” Zuko deadpanned and oh, Sokka really hoped he was joking because otherwise that was just another strike to add against the stupid Fire Nation’s evil-except-Zuko-and-possibly-General-Iroh Royal family. He didn’t have time to question it further though – and he was pretty sure Zuko wouldn’t elaborate even if he did. The other boy had been strangely even more reticent and weird since the whole group had found out about his orientation even though, as far as Sokka could tell, everyone had been on their absolute best behavior around the former Fire Prince.
“Look,” Sokka said, trying very hard not to cross his arms into a defensive stance as he stood up fully in front of the other boy, close enough to touch but not so close that he was in the other’s space. He shouldn’t feel the need to be defensive at all – he wasn’t doing anything wrong – he was being noble, even, working to fix his own foolish mistake! It was just that Zuko had a very impressive stare down - Sokka pitied any children the omega might choose to have in the future because their mother wasn’t going to let them get away with anything. “I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea! It was my decision to stay when things were going wrong. It’s my mistake and it’s my job to fix it!” Sokka paused for a moment, considering. He didn’t know if his next words would help his cause or set Zuko off but they felt necessary to say, “I have to regain my honor, Zuko.”
The words came out a little softer than Sokka intended and he could see the exact moment they registered to Zuko. Stoic the other boy might try to be, he couldn’t hide the tiny flinch at the words. Sokka didn’t know exactly where Zuko’s obsession with honor had come from but he knew it had to have been a pretty life-altering event if it meant an omega leaving home to pursue a spirittale so obsessively, and it seemed that the other boy hadn’t quite moved on from it. “I have to go,” Sokka repeated, his voice still low, “you can’t stop me.” He added, determination giving his voice a steely edge. He made to move past the other boy, careful not to touch him and was surprised when Zuko made no move to stop him as he began climbing up Appa once more.
“Believe me, I get it.” Zuko’s voice, quiet but carrying in the dark courtyard, reached Sokka just as he reached the top of the saddle. Sokka braced himself for Zuko to tell him he shouldn’t go, all his reasons poised on the tip of his tongue. “I’m going with you.” Sokka nearly fell from Appa once more in surprise. Of all the things he had expected to have to argue with Zuko about, whether or not the former Fire Prince should accompany him on a prison break was not one of them.
He pulled himself up fully onto Appa before turning to look at the other boy. Zuko was staring up at him, his face determined and his arms crossed across his chest and Sokka knew he was about to have a massive fight on his hands. But there was no way he was about to willingly lead an omega into a dangerous, deadly situation. “No way.” He told him, forcing his voice to remain calm and quiet. Zuko’s face narrowed and man, Sokka had forgotten how scary the other boy could look when he wanted to.
“Why not?” Zuko’s voice was even raspier than usual, anger carving the words into a sharp accusation, although Sokka wasn’t clear what he was being accused of.
“It’s dangerous!” He answered back, resisting the urge to raise up his arms to emphasize his point. Zuko’s face darkened further.
“So it’s okay for you to go alone?”
“Yes!” Sokka answered back, his voice rising slightly. He knew the other boy was being sarcastic but it didn’t matter. It was okay for him to go alone because it had to be him; but Zuko had no place being in any prison, let alone one owned and operated by the very same country that labeled him a traitor and a fugitive.
Zuko looked positively furious but his next words were surprisingly quiet, albeit scathing, “And how do you plan on getting there? On Appa? They’re not going to have a Sky Bison daycare!” Sokka knew that. But it wasn’t like he had any other massive animal capable of flying just lying around anywhere. “We’ll take my war balloon.” He added, his tone matter-of-fact. Sokka did throw his arms out that time, nearly toppling himself out of the saddle that he was still perched on.
“Fine! I’ll take the war balloon but you still aren’t coming!” He told the other boy but Zuko just raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I am.” He told him simply, his tone daring Sokka to try and stop him. “Because, not only will you need a firebender to operate the war balloon, you also can’t tell me what I can or can’t do.” Zuko’s last words were laced with a fiery emphasis that told Sokka exactly how thin the ice he was treading on was. But Sokka was not a monster like ninety percent of all the people Zuko had interacted with before were and he wasn’t about to let anyone join him on a potential suicide mission, let alone an omega.
“No way! I’m not going to let you put yourself in danger like this!” Sokka said, jumping down from Appa himself so that he was level with Zuko. Which perhaps wasn’t his finest idea because the other boy looked angry enough to actually fry him.
“You don’t get to let me do anything!” Zuko hissed, and oh dear Yue and La, Sokka could feel the air around them spark with heat. “Let” had definitely been the wrong word. Before Sokka could even think of what to say that would pull the foot out of his mouth, Zuko was continuing. “And if you insist on going along alone, I will wake your sister and let you deal with her instead!”
Oof. The little sister card was never a fun one, especially when Katara was the little sister. Not only was there no way she would let him go alone, there was also a very good chance she’d yell loudly enough to wake up everyone else so that they could have their chance yelling – or in Aang’s case staring with wide-eyed disappointment – at Sokka too.
Sokka couldn’t let himself get stopped; he couldn’t fail his father and leave him to rot in a Fire Nation prison.
But he couldn’t just lead Zuko into danger, either. As much as Sokka hated knowing his father was in prison, he knew that his father’s status as the chief of the Southern Water Tribe would keep him alive, if not well treated. But Zuko? A crown prince turned traitor currently working with the Avatar? Sokka couldn’t imagine the types of horrors the Fire Nation would come up with for the other boy. Doubly so if they found out he was an omega. He was young, but he wasn’t naïve. He knew what sorts of horrors cruel people had forced onto omegas.
But he couldn’t not go.
He would take back everything he’d ever said about Zuko not being an evil member of the Royal family because he obviously was.
“Fine!” Sokka gritted out, feeling rather like he wanted to hit something. “But you stay back and you follow my lead and you don’t do anything stupid!” He enunciated each rule with a finger in the air. Zuko hardly looked satisfied at his victory – rather he looked like he was forcing himself to swallow back some pointed words although Sokka didn’t know what he had said that would anger the other boy more – but he gave a curt nod and turned away to begin briskly marching towards wherever he had hidden his war balloon.
Sokka glanced briefly back at the courtyard where he could just make out the covered forms of his sleeping friends. It was an odd feeling, embarking on this dangerous mission without any of them but he knew it had to be done. With a final look, Sokka turned his head away and began following the quickly fading form of the former Fire Prince.
No matter how determined he was, he couldn’t help but having a niggling feeling that bringing the other boy was going to be a terrible mistake.
He didn’t think he’d be able to fully recover if his actions got Zuko hurt.
He would just have to do his best at keeping the other boy safe.
Zuko would have felt satisfied at his victory if the Water Tribe boy weren’t so ridiculously infuriating. Zuko had spent his entire life being doubted or looked down upon by his tutors or his father or his father’s advisors; it was an old trick. But being told he wasn’t good enough had its benefits – it made him work harder, made him train until his body felt numb but with two new katas mastered, made him study all through the night until he could recite every major battle and each victorious general’s strategy in his sleep, made him practice his stealth until he could slip anywhere through the palace without alerting a guard to so much as a whisper of his robes. It made him a competent bender and a slightly more than decent swordsman. It wasn’t great and it didn’t come from love or care – Zuko knew that now although it had taken him far longer than it should have to even realized that much – but it was still helpful.
Sokka’s actions though? Zuko couldn’t understand them in the slightest. The bottom line of Sokka’s argument was that the Boiling Rock was dangerous – which Zuko had told him when the idiot first asked him about it – and he didn’t think Zuko was strong enough to handle it. That was simple. Zuko was familiar with that. But to enshroud his doubts with faux caring? To make it seem as though Sokka didn’t want him to go because he didn’t want him to get hurt when the reality was that he didn’t think Zuko could handle it? It was strange, unnecessary, and infuriating.
Even more so was Sokka acting as though he had any ability to control Zuko.
Zuko had rebelled against his family and his country. He had told his father he was leaving just to see the look on the man’s face when he realized Zuko was no longer going to stand aside as the dutiful, loyal son and watch his father burn the world to the ground. Zuko had redirected his father’s attempt to murder him back to the man’s feet and left him in the wreckage.
The very idea that a single Water Tribe boy, hardly older than Zuko was, could have any say in what he did was almost laughable at best and downright infuriating at worst.
Zuko held his tongue though. All while he forced the other boy to write a note with him, giving the others the excuse that they were going fishing because apparently Sokka had never snuck out and didn’t know that his friends would absolutely worry if he just disappeared and honestly some people were good children and it showed, he held his tongue. While he added the note to Aang telling him to keep up with his practice – which was definitely because the boy needed to master fire and not because Zuko needed some outlet before he exploded and the tiny monk was an easy target – he kept his tongue.
He held his tongue all through the short time it took him to lead the other boy to his war balloon and start the fire that would fill it up with hot air. What they were attempting to do was stupidly, recklessly dangerous. The type of dangerous that would have made Uncle shout that Zuko wasn’t thinking things through again; the type of dangerous that usually ended with Zuko receiving several broken bones and a fresh wanted poster. It wasn’t the time or place to yell at Sokka for treating Zuko like some helpless child. Distractions like that got people killed or, worse, captured.
So he held his tongue as Sokka clambered into the basket with him.
And he held his tongue as they started their slow ascent.
He held his tongue even a small, nasty part of him that sounded uncomfortably like Azula pointed out that they weren’t so high that pushing Sokka out of the war balloon likely wouldn’t result in any serious, lasting damage.
He held his tongue as they finally reached the proper height amongst the clouds and began moving forwards towards the volcanic prison. The air around them should have been cold – that high in the air, everything was cold – but Zuko’s temper, even as he carefully tried to funnel it into the tiny, precise bursts of fire he threw into the engine of the balloon, rolled off of his body and heated the air all around the basket of the balloon. Still, even as his anger swirled in the hot air around them, Zuko held his tongue.
He rather thought even Uncle would have been proud of the restraint.
Even with his restraint, Sokka seemed to be able to sense the tension rolling off the other boy because he quickly absconded into a raised corner of the balloon and sat there, leaning casually against the basket, and watched the clouds as they passed by. Zuko appreciated the silence, it held him keep a hold on his temper and it prevented the Water Tribe boy from saying anything more stupid. It also gave him plenty of time to think over Sokka’s words and stew on their meaning, which was less pleasant, but Zuko was no stranger to invasive, incensing thoughts. He could handle them.
Unfortunately, the trip to Boiling Rock was long and Sokka impatient.
It only took an hour for the boy to break the almost peaceful silence.
“Pretty clouds,” Sokka said as Zuko aimed another small burst into the engine. Zuko spared a moment to send the other boy an unamused look and didn’t deign to answer him. Sokka seemed to flush slightly at Zuko’s sharp look and quickly turned his head back to the sky.
The other boy was just trying to make conversation and they were about to do something stupidly dangerous together. Maybe Zuko should set aside his anger and engage a bit with Sokka. Tension could easily break down any cooperation they would need to stage a prison break.
And the clouds were pretty fluffy.
Which was the exact kind of thing Sokka undoubtedly expected an omega to notice.
Zuko chose not to say anything and sent another blast into the furnace.
The silence around them continued for a half hour before the Water Tribe broke it again. By whistling. The same notes his uncle would whistle when he was thinking about something but trying to act inconspicuous.
Zuko gave the other boy five seconds before finally turning and barking out, “what?”
The other boy had the audacity to look momentarily confused as he turned to face Zuko, his arms thrown onto either side of the basket, evidently unconcerned that they were hundreds of feet in the air.
Traversing around the world on a Sky Bison probably did away with most fears of height.
“What? I didn’t say anything,” Sokka said, voice almost too carefully casual. Zuko took a deep steadying breath – good people didn’t fry someone just because they were whistling. Even if they acted strangely and doubted one’s abilities just because they could. He turned back to the furnace without another word. He would just ignore Sokka’s whistling – he had plenty of practice learning to deal with the noise from his uncle.
Unfortunately for Zuko, the other boy no longer seemed interested in silence. “You know,” Sokka began and Zuko felt his body tense. This was the moment when Sokka said something ferociously stupid again and Zuko finally lost it. “My friend actually designed these war balloons.” Oh. Zuko hadn’t been expecting that. For a brief second, he debated ignoring it just as he had done the whistling but it was obvious that the other boy was at least trying to move on from their admittedly brief fight back at the air temple and Uncle had always tried to teach Zuko that it was better to let go of anger than to hold onto it. He couldn’t very well ask his uncle for forgiveness when he finally found him again if he didn’t start actively trying to take his advice.
With a steadying breath, Zuko made the conscious effort to unclench his body. The heat around him momentarily spiked before Zuko forced it down. The resulting chill was almost shocking as it bit against his exposed skin – he hadn’t quite realized how hot he was making everything. Wondering vaguely if he was going to regret this decision, Zuko half turned to the other boy. “No kidding?” He asked quietly, careful to keep any residual anger from his voice. Sokka seemed to brighten up slightly at the unexpected response.
“Yup!” He said, sitting up somewhat so he wasn’t completely leaning against the wall of the war balloon. He seemed oddly – proud? Zuko didn’t quite understand what was to be proud about simply knowing someone who had made something, especially when that something was currently helping the entire world’s enemy win a brutal war, but perhaps friends were often just proud of each other. “A balloon but for –“ Sokka’s proud little grin fell slightly and was replaced by the far more common weird little frown he often wore around Zuko now. Zuko scowled and turned back to the engine.
He raised a hand and executed another perfect fire blast as he, scathingly, finished Sokka’s sentence with a hissed “war.” The air was becoming hot again but Zuko didn’t bother to correct it. He didn’t understand what exactly Sokka’s problem was with talking about potentially violent subjects with Zuko but he was getting sick of it. He may have been a prince – pampered, undoubtedly, by any Southern Water Tribe’s standard – but he was just as experienced in the war as the others were. He had grown up in it just as much, had scars from it just like any of the others.
It had probably not been his best idea to continue talking, but the sudden wave of bitterness – at both his family and homeland for perpetuating a brutal war that left children parentless and families homeless and hungry and at Sokka for constantly acting weird – loosened his tongue. “If there’s anything my father is good at, it’s war.” Venom dripped from his words as he shot another fire blast into the furnace.
It seemed Zuko’s tongue had not been the only one loosened for, without a pause, the other boy replied, quietly as though Zuko wouldn’t hear him even though they were barely feet apart, “Yeah, seems to run in the family.”
Zuko didn’t even bother trying to keep his temper. Sokka wouldn’t even talk war or hunting with him anymore but he had the audacity to talk about his family like that, as if he really knew Uncle or had ever met Zuko’s mother? “Not all my family is like that!” Zuko was practically shouting and Sokka had the gall to look surprised, as though he hadn’t just insulted Zuko’s entire family by comparing them all to the monster that was his father.
Sokka was quick to put up his hands in a consoling gesture, “I know that you’re not actually like that, you were forced –“
Forced? Zuko had no idea what the other boy was even talking about. But he didn’t think he wanted to, either. It was probably something just as stupid as all the rest of the weird things Sokka had been doing and Zuko probably would end up doing something rash if he let the other boy continue. Still louder than he had any need to be, Zuko cut Sokka off. “I was talking about my uncle.”
Spirits, it hurt to even say his name and just like that, Zuko’s anger seemed to flee him. He had already acted so shamefully towards his uncle; it was just another slap to the man’s face to continue to hold on to this anger. “He always tried to help me,” Zuko added, his voice distant as he looked down at the floor of the basket, “always acted more like a father to me. And I really let him down.” It was strange, how easily the words came to him. He had just been shouting at the Water Tribe boy and now he was practically baring his soul to him. Zuko didn’t even understand it, but it felt almost nice to say the words aloud.
Sokka was quiet for a moment. Then, in a heartfelt voice that Zuko knew he didn’t actually deserve, he said, “I think your uncle would be proud of you.” Before Zuko could even react to the unexpectedly kind words, the other boy was continuing, “leaving your home to come help us? That had to be hard.”
There was something in Sokka’s tone again that Zuko probably should have taken offense to, but instead, thinking of the harshness of his father and at how cold the palace was without his Uncle and with the specter of his mother following his every step, he just quietly added, “it wasn’t that hard.”
Another incomprehensible expression darkened the other boy’s face – almost sad, but angry too? Before Zuko had a chance to fully decipher it, Sokka was speaking again. “Really? You didn’t leave behind anyone you cared about?” His question seemed more pleading than curious, as if the idea that Zuko might have had no one to leave behind was somehow sad to him. Zuko rather thought that Sokka would be happy to know that – it meant Zuko’s loyalties were not split between his family and the Avatar. Then again, it wasn’t like the Water Tribe boy fully trusted Zuko anyway.
Still, his question reverberated through Zuko’s mind and he took a moment to consider it.
When he had been banished, Zuko had missed his father terribly. It was nonsensical. The Fire Lord had held fire to his face until the skin had melted, until the sight was almost completely gone from his eye, until all the nerve endings were dead and his hearing irreparably damaged. And then he had thrown him out, with only a spirittale to chase, a crew who knew nothing and resented taking orders from a thirteen-year-old, and an uncle Zuko had never fully appreciated. And still, Zuko had missed him.
But when he had returned, he had finally been able to see his father for who the man really was. A monster with the face of a human, who would gladly watch the world burn just to claim rule over the ashes. It was safe to say that Zuko had gladly left the man behind.
His sister was the only other family member to remain in the palace and Zuko’s feelings about her were more complicated. They had almost been friends, or as near to it as they had been since their father had taken interest in his youngest child, when Zuko had returned from Ba Sing Se with her. But even that was shrouded by the lies Azula had told, the careful manipulations she maintained even as she smiled and gladly welcomed him back. And Zuko knew, when he saw her again, they would not hesitate to fight, as neither had been taught to bow down to enemies. Even if that enemy was blood.
Especially if that enemy was blood. For that meant the enemy was a traitor.
No, Zuko couldn’t say he regretted leaving her behind, either.
With no other family, that left only acquaintances. Ty Lee was friendly, but Zuko didn’t know her well enough to say he cared about her. They had bonded – or rather Ty Lee had demanded that they had bonded – over being the only two omegas at the forefront of the entire Fire Nation army. Ty Lee had dragged him, on several notable occasions, off to have what she called “omega bonding” which had really just been Zuko sitting awkwardly while Ty Lee cheerfully pattered on about things she couldn’t or wouldn’t talk about with Azula and Mai because “silly, Zuko, what do alphas know about heats?” It should be noted, Ty Lee never seemed to care that Zuko didn’t really want to know about Ty Lee’s heats either. Or her favorite nesting materials, or how her father was considering his options in who would still be willing to marry her, now that she was returned from the circus and the war seemed poised to end, or how she had met just the “cutest alpha!” But even with those strange forced bonding moments, Zuko did not really consider Ty Lee a friend.
And even if he did, they were enemies the next time they saw each other. Ty Lee might loudly apologize while she danced around him, trying to land blows that would block his chi, but she still wouldn’t hesitate to strike. And neither would Zuko.
So no, not her either.
Which left Mai. The only person besides his father he had bothered to tell he was leaving.
Mai, who was sort of a friend, sort of something more.
Zuko didn’t know if there was a term for a relationship like his and Mai’s had been. There had been talks, he knew, between his father and hers of an official courtship but that, even if Zuko had stayed, would have been years away. Fire Nation custom dictated that a formal courtship – especially between the crown heir and their potential spouse – could not take place until both were at the age of majority. Mai would have been a more than suitable choice for Fire Lady, Zuko knew. First and foremost, she was an alpha, which meant that she would be able to temper what others were sure to consider Zuko’s “emotional” omega nature. On top of that, she was intelligent, calculating, and powerful enough that even as a non-bender she was still considered a viable candidate. Even more importantly, for his father’s standpoint, her family was completely loyal to Ozai and Mai was a close confidant of Azula, who Zuko knew would have been a lot more than a simple advisor to his reign.
So Mai would have undoubtedly ended up his betrothed, had Zuko stayed. Zuko, therefore, should have felt some regret for leaving her behind. But everything Zuko felt about her was far too complicated to put into words.
She had been his childhood crush, when he had been younger and more foolish and thought such flighty things as love mattered. And there was no denying now that she was beautiful or that Zuko didn’t enjoy spending time with her. She was quiet and didn’t force conversation the way others did; she could be quite funny, in a dry sarcastic way that always surprised at least a half-smile out of Zuko. And while Zuko had never been able to get a read on whether or not she liked him at all, she at least seemed to moderately enjoy his presence and she had never expressed any disdain for him being an omega. They probably could have had a peaceful union, had Zuko stayed.
But Zuko had hardly a chance to know if how he felt about her was friendly, like how he felt for Ty Lee, or something more, like what he had felt as a child. He thought her pretty but so was Ty Lee and so were dozens of other people. Attractiveness didn’t always mean actual attraction. Zuko rather thought two people had to spend time alone together to truly know if there was attraction, and that was something he and Mai had never been allowed. It would have been improper, even if they hadn’t been a potential match, for an omega and an alpha of a similar age with no blood between them to be alone together. Zuko’s reputation would have been soured if there had been even a whisper that he had been alone with the alpha girl and it had been Azula’s job to ensure that never happened. Zuko and Mai had not shared much more than a single word without Azula’s presence and there was very little more effective at stemming potential attraction than Zuko’s little sister watching them like a vindictively amused hawk.
And there had also been, of course, the way Mai watched Ty Lee when she thought no one was looking. Zuko doubted she ever knew he noticed – she was too used to being the quiet observant one in a trio of loud personalities to realize someone else could be the same. He saw the way her gaze trailed after her closest friend, equal parts protective and fond, and recognized that she never seemed to watch him the same way. Zuko was almost certain that if she had her choice it wouldn’t be him. And that too, made things complicated. Even if Zuko knew for sure how he felt about the girl, he didn’t think he could manage not being her choice. It had taken him years to come to grips with being the second-best child, he didn’t think he could handle being Mai’s second-best spouse.
And that didn’t even cover the fact that the next time he saw Mai, he wouldn’t be greeted by the tiny, almost fond, smile she sometimes gave him but with her cold blades.
No, Zuko couldn’t say she was someone he had cared about her enough to regret leaving behind either.
“No.” He said aloud, looking up as he finally answered the Water Tribe boy’s question after several moments’ long silence. Sokka’s expression darkened again as yet another emotion Zuko didn’t understand crossed over it. If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn that Sokka looked distraught at the news that Zuko had left no one behind that he cared about, but that was ridiculous. It was a good thing the only person Zuko truly cared about was as far away from the palace as he could possibly be.
“No one? Not even a… girlfriend or a boyfriend?” Sokka’s voice sounded hesitant, as though he couldn’t believe he was asking the question. Zuko’s face scrunched in confusion. Was the other boy messing with him?
But Sokka’s face was earnest, curious and almost hopeful and although Zuko didn’t quite understand why the possibility of Zuko having a romantic partner – something almost laughably outrageous unless there was marriage in the cards – would interest the other at all, he found himself answering. “Well, sort of. There was Mai.”
Sokka’s face bloomed into a grin and Zuko was officially completely lost. He had no idea what the other boy was thinking or where the conversation was going. “The gloomy girl who sighs a lot?” Sokka asked, leaning forward just slightly, still far enough that he didn’t come close to touching Zuko.
Zuko didn’t know that was how the Avatar’s group saw Mai, but he couldn’t deny that the description was apt. “Yeah. She was sort of, almost my betrothed?” Zuko’s voice trailed off into a question. He didn’t know how the Water Tribes viewed marriage or mating, if they had courtships or betrothals. His tutors had told him that the Water Tribes were little more than savages who coupled however they pleased with little permanence in their relationships and raised their children communally because no one knew which child actually belonged to which alpha or beta male, but something about that rang hollow. He knew Katara and Sokka and he had seen the Northern Water Tribe’s massive city. Nothing about them or the land struck Zuko as “savage” and if how they were suddenly treating Zuko taught him anything, he highly doubted they let omegas just go around mating with whoever. But that left his actual knowledge of their customs woefully inadequate. It wasn’t like either Katara or Sokka were planning to teach him about anything resembling marriage.
Zuko decided his best bet was to continue speaking; even if the Water Tribes didn’t have official courtships, they could be explained. “Our fathers were in talks but nothing would happen for a few more years. Besides, everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor.” He couldn’t hide the bitterness creeping into his voice as he thought about the hatred his homeland must feel for him. “Her father wouldn’t want her dragged into that.” Zuko had known, of course, that he had thrown any future betrothal agreement between him and Mai into the flames when he left – his letter breaking it off would have seen to that, if nothing else – but an oddly unpleasant feeling sat in his stomach when he actually said it aloud. However confusing his feelings for her, he knew he hadn’t wanted to hurt her and at the very least, he had humiliated her by running off.
Zuko turned back to the engine. He knew without looking that the fire was still burning steadily but looking into the flickering flames was far more comforting than at the Water Tribe boy.
There was silence for a moment and Zuko couldn’t help wondering what was running through Sokka’s mind. Did he think Zuko immodest for joining the group when he was nearly betrothed? Did he think his presence around unmated alphas and betas indecent when he had so nearly been bound to someone else?
These were all things people back home would have felt. Zuko braced himself for harsh words.
But when Sokka finally spoke, there was no consternation in his voice. “My first girlfriend was betrothed.” The other boy said softly. Zuko turned to him and saw that his gaze was faraway, looking back at memories Zuko wasn’t privy to. “to someone else.” Sokka added, unprompted and Zuko’s eyes widened in surprise.
Sokka had gotten between someone else’s engagement?
In the Fire Nation, an outside alpha breaking an official courtship between an alpha and an omega was punishable by law. Fines could be given, to be paid to the alpha’s family, or even imprisonment if it could be proved that the omega had been unwilling, although it was rare for such cases to ever be successfully fought. In the most common kind of cases, the alpha was expected to enter a courtship with the omega, but Zuko had heard the horror stories of omegas who had been convinced to break their courtships by alphas who never intended to do anything but shame them. It had never been something he had to worry about – any courtship he entered was far too politically important for anyone to dare mess with – but it was still something he’d been warned of when his omega tutor felt it prudent to hammer in, yet again, how important Zuko’s modesty was.
An omega in the aftermath of a broken courtship was considered a tarnished thing and it was very rare they received any other courtship offers. Not that every omega needed a courtship or a marriage or a mating in the Fire Nation where they could hold their own jobs and make their own living, but Zuko had seen in the Earth Kingdom how devastating such an action could be on an omega and their family and he could only imagine, going off on Katara and Sokka’s reactions to him it couldn’t be much better in the Water Tribes.
Zuko didn’t think Sokka was that type of alpha, to shame someone in such a way and then not try and make amends. But the other boy had said “first girlfriend” like it was no big deal.
Perhaps the Water Tribes did look at betrothals differently from the Fire Nation.
Or perhaps Sokka, apart from being weird about omegas, was not a particularly good alpha.
“Oh.” Was all Zuko thought to say. Sokka didn’t seem to even notice he had responded at all; he still had a faraway look in his eyes, caught in old memories.
“She turned into the moon.” The other boy added and for a moment Zuko thought he was speaking nonsense. She turned into the moon? What did that even mean?
But then Zuko remembered, vividly, the way the moon had turned red at the North Pole. The way color had briefly leeched from the world, as though some great evil had taken place. Remembered how the ocean had stilled, briefly, terrifyingly, before it had burst forth like some great monster and tore into every Fire Nation ship as though they were nothing but paper. Remembered fighting Zhao one instant and throwing out a desperate hand as the spirit grabbed him the next. Remembered the odd feeling of grief and relief when the other man didn’t accept it and allowed himself to be dragged into the depths.
Whatever had happened to cause all that was spirit business; Zuko knew that much. He had been unconscious and tied up on Appa for a good part of it and he had never been able to drag the specifics from his uncle – one of the few times the man deemed it prudent to keep his mouth shut – but he knew enough to tell when spirits were afoot.
He supposed it was entirely possible for the moon spirit to have laid claim to Sokka’s girlfriend after whatever had happened to make it bleed.
That was a tragedy straight out of one of his mother’s favorite play scrolls and Zuko had absolutely no idea how to react.
He didn’t even understand why he felt oddly relieved at knowing Sokka hadn’t left some poor omega girl behind, let alone how to express that with the proper amount of pity in actual words.
But he couldn’t just say nothing. Sokka had opened up to him, offered him a story Zuko didn’t need to be privy to. It would be almost cruel to not acknowledge the peace offering.
“That’s rough, buddy.” He regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth. What kind of nonsense was that? This was why he wasn’t supposed to speak at important functions; he was absolute trash at it.
Sokka didn’t even acknowledge his words, which was a bit of a blessing - maybe he hadn’t even heard them, so lost in his memories – and silence descended on the war balloon. Zuko turned back to the engine and continued the process of methodically maintaining the fire with short bursts of flame.
Neither spoke again until full darkness was wrapped around them and the Boiling Rock was finally in sight. At some point, Sokka had fallen asleep against the war balloon and began snoring with abandon. Zuko had briefly thought about waking him – it certainly couldn’t have been terribly comfortable sleeping slumped against a hard wall – but he rather enjoyed the silence and the escape from awkward conversation it provided. If he had to sacrifice Sokka’s neck for a reprieve from the awkward tension that had surrounded them ever since his heat, he was perfectly fine with that.
The dark clouds around their war balloon were growing thicker as Zuko shot another small blast into the furnace. He knew they must have been coming up close to the volcanic island and so he wasn’t surprised when he saw a thick billow of steam issuing out from the center of a dark island when he walked to the front of the balloon. “There it is!” He called out just loudly enough to wake the snoring boy behind him. He heard Sokka wake with a start and scramble up to his feet but didn’t turn around, choosing instead to focus on the layout of the island. The steam issuing from the mouth of the volcano was thick and billowing, more than enough to cover the entrance of their war balloon as long as they were careful.
He shared that information with Sokka as the boy rushed towards the front, careful as ever not to touch Zuko even as he leaned over the wall of the balloon to catch his first sight of the prison. Zuko was quick to tamper down the irrational burst of anger at Sokka’s caution – it wasn’t like Zuko wanted the other boy to touch him but the constant treatment of Zuko as some sort of contagious disease was getting old incredibly fast.
But they were far too close to the Fire Nation prison for Zuko to confront Sokka about it and so he said nothing as he quickly made his way back to the furnace and began issuing quick bursts of fire to navigate the balloon directly into the steam.
He would worry about confronting Sokka for his bizarre behavior once they were safely back out of the Boiling Rock and far away from the Fire Nation.
If they made it back out of the Boiling Rock and away from the Fire Nation.
Sokka stared into the massive billow of steam, nerves thrumming through him and setting every inch of him on fire. His father was down there somewhere, the closest that he’d been since they’d been forced to leave the adults in the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. Sokka was closer than ever to making up for his epic mistake; in perhaps just a few hours, he would have his father back. He’d be able to hug him and ask for forgiveness; he’d have his honor back.
Sokka clenched hard against the wooden pole framing the war balloon. The air around them was growing hot, hotter even than it had been the first few hours of their trip when Zuko had been so angry – and why he had been upset in the first place Sokka didn’t know, it was like the other boy had never been protected before in his life - he was basically steaming them alive. Before Sokka even had a moment to worry over the heat – was the ground they were aiming for even suitable for humans or would it burn through the bottom of their basket the moment they landed – a far more serious problem presented itself. The furnace spluttered loudly behind him and the basket dipped dangerously underneath his feet. Sokka forced back a cry of alarm as he turned to look back at Zuko.
Zuko looked just as surprised as Sokka, quickly firing ineffective bursts of fire into the furnace in a vain effort to keep the balloon afloat. “The balloon’s not working anymore!” Zuko whispered fiercely, the concern in his voice almost frantic as he continued blasting the furnace. Sokka rushed to the other side as the heat grew even thicker around them.
It took only a moment for Sokka to realize their grave mistake. “The air outside is just as hot as the air inside, so we can’t fly!” He yelled, trying hard to keep the panic from his voice. Before he could say anything more, the war balloon tipped dangerously and Zuko, who had no place to safely put his hands, fell hard with it, his body skidding across the war balloon towards the wall of the basket. Without even thinking, Sokka moved. Where Zuko should have hit the wall, he fell against Sokka’s body instead. Sokka let out a little grunt as the impact sent his back into the hard metal instead.
The war balloon continued falling but for a single moment, Sokka’s attention was not on the immediate threat. How could it have been when there was a far more pressing concern on his mind.
Zuko had somehow – and somewhere some spirit with a terrible sense of humor was laughing at Sokka – landed on the top of Sokka’s legs with his back pressed against Sokka’s chest. Effectively, Sokka had a lapful of Zuko, which was not a situation he had ever expected to find himself in. The other boy was lighter than Sokka had expected – and he had expected him to be light, the boy was far too thin for his own good – and warmer too, an almost unbearable heat in the already stupidly hot air around them. And his scent – his stupidly strong, really nice scent that Sokka was definitely not trying to pay attention to because that was rude and it was so not the time – was quickly overpowering all of Sokka’s senses as it swirled around him in all its heady, almost spicy floral glory.
Zuko came to his senses far more quickly than Sokka did and quickly scrambled away from him, before half turning on his knees to face Sokka, a frantic look in his eyes that reminded Sokka that oh yeah, they were currently free falling on a metal death trap. “What are we supposed to do?” Zuko asked him and Sokka’s stomach clenched painfully at how Zuko’s tone verged on panic. He never should have allowed the omega to come with him, never should have agreed to take a war balloon into the middle of a volcano. Sokka knew how much the stupid thing relied on hot air. Zuko was in danger because Sokka couldn’t remember the most basic, crucial fact on an invention he’d help make.
They were dipping closer and closer to the boiling water now. Even if Sokka could have thought of something, anything, that would keep the war balloon afloat, there simply wasn’t enough time. “We’ll have to crash land!” Zuko’s face said exactly how he felt about that plan – or lack thereof, to be more specific – but there wasn’t even time for him to fully voice his displeasure. The basket of the war balloon hit the steaming water with a loud splash and then it was skidding across the water at a dangerous pace, heading straight towards the rocky shore of the central island.
It was going to be a painful landing, Sokka knew even before the war balloon hit the shore and sent both boys flying into the ground. Without thinking fully – again, because apparently Sokka was becoming really good at that – he reached towards Zuko and pulled him against him before they hit the ground. For the second time in a very short while – if they made it back to the air temple, Katara was going to kill him for being so reckless - Sokka’s back hit hard against a rough surface as Zuko landed sprawled across him, his face pushed protectively into Sokka’s chest.
The other boy was even quicker getting off him than he had been the first time, scrambling onto his knees and off Sokka as though the touch had stung. Sokka would have felt bad – he had seen just how much being touched by anyone except the Duke made Zuko uncomfortable and had spent a considerable amount of time trying and failing to convince Toph to stop punching the poor guy, after all – but the need to protect Zuko from a rough landing was more important than comfort. Judging from the scowl on the other boy’s face as Sokka quickly sat up, Zuko seemed to disagree.
For a moment, Sokka braced himself for angry words, silently hopeful that at the very least Zuko wouldn’t yell loud enough to draw premature attention to them, but then Zuko seemed to force his anger away and turned his gaze towards the collapsed mess that had once been a fully-functioning aircraft. “How are we going to get off the island if the balloon won’t work?” He asked, voice surprisingly steady. Sokka turned to look at the balloon. The material of the balloon was still slowly deflating in on itself and he knew just by glancing at it that there was no way Zuko would be able to produce enough heat to counteract an actual boiling lake and reflate it.
“We’ll figure it out.” He said, hopeful that his voice was more confident than he actually felt. The look Zuko shot him at that was a dark one and Sokka immediately swallowed his next few words. He didn’t think it would help the situation any to admit that, before he had reluctantly agreed to bring Zuko along, he had suspected the trip would be one way. Instead he stood up and walked over to the still collapsing balloon and began throwing the thick fabric into the bottom of basket.
“What are you doing?” Zuko asked, his tone nearly as dark as the look he had given him, as he stomped over to Sokka. Sokka didn’t say anything as he put his hands out to push the basket - and just as quickly removed them because of course the war balloon was stupid Fire Nation metal and metal heated up ridiculously quickly in stupidly hot Fire Nation boiling lakes. Inwardly cursing, Sokka shook his hands around in the stifling air, hoping for small reprieve for his poor fingers, and reached a foot out to give the war balloon a solid push.
The balloon creaked slightly and then slid smoothly into the water. The metal was heavy and it didn’t take long for the whole thing to succumb to the bubbling water and disappear quickly in the small waves. “It doesn’t work and we don’t want anyone to find it,” Sokka finally said, turning towards Zuko once he was sure the last piece of wooden frame had gone under. He half expected Zuko to be furious – that was, after all, Zuko’s war balloon and it wasn’t like the other boy had been in a good mood to begin with – but Zuko’s face was more surprised than angry and it didn’t take long for even that emotion to disappear off his face.
“I hope you know what you are doing.” Zuko told him, his voice heavy.
As if on some invisible cue, they both turned away from the water and towards the island. Looming above them was a massive building, dark except for fire-lit windows. “There’s no turning back now.” Zuko added, unknowingly echoing Sokka’s thoughts.
Sokka tried hard not to think too much about that. His first priority was keeping Zuko safe and getting to his father was a close second. He didn’t have time to overthink or second guess something he’d already put in motion. He turned away from the imposing building and began scanning the rocky shore, looking for any dark cave they could use.
“What are you looking for?” Zuko asked. His voice was still heavy, raspier even than it usually was, but he seemed ready to let Sokka take the lead. How long that would last, especially with what Sokka had planned for him, he didn’t know but he would take advantage of it while he could.
“A cave, or even just a rock overhang that can be used as shelter.” He replied, beginning to slowly trek over to the cliff side. Zuko followed immediately and Sokka tried not to reflect on how they would be immediately noticeable if any guard was doing rounds on the shore.
“Why? It’ll be easier to slip into the prison if we go now,” Zuko said. “It’s a lot riskier to wait until the morning.” He added when Sokka failed to respond to him. Sokka tried not to let anything show on his face as he began closely examining the rock for any hidden crevice. It didn’t have to be particularly large for just one person, but he would still prefer some wriggle room in case of guards. “Sokka.” Zuko said and there was definitely a warning in his voice. Knowing there was no way to hide it now, Sokka reluctantly turned towards the other boy.
Zuko was staring Sokka down, suspicion clear in his eyes. Sokka gulped slightly but steeled himself for what he had to say. It was for Zuko’s protection, whether or not the other boy agreed. “It will be easier to slip into the prison now,” he began. “Which is why I’ll be going as soon as we find a spot you can hide in.” His voice was steady and serious. He had known the moment the war balloon had begun falling that taking Zuko on this dangerous mission was stupidly reckless and finding the omega a safe place to hide while Sokka infiltrated the prison was the only recourse he had left. There was no way he was about to lead him into even worse danger.
For a brief moment, there was silence. For a brief moment, Sokka allowed himself to hope that Zuko would agree to this, that Zuko would understand where Sokka was coming from, and that he would allow himself to be protected, potentially for the first time in a long while.
For a brief moment, Sokka fantasized that this would be easy.
And then Zuko exploded.
“Are you kidding me?” It was impressive how Zuko could manage to squeeze so much volume and venom in what was in reality little more than a whisper. “I came all this way to help you get back your father from one of the most dangerous places in the Fire Nation after explicitly telling you going to it was a bad idea, and you think you’re just going to leave me out here to wait for you to maybe not get yourself killed and come back?” He was seething as he threw his hands into the air in an incredulous motion. Sokka was surprised that no fire flew from the tips of Zuko’s fingers and had to force himself not to back up from the irate boy.
He needed to stand firm and hold his ground or Zuko would never listen to him.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to let you come! This is my mission which means making sure no one gets hurt is my responsibility! Do you really think it’ll go well for the Traitor prince to show up in the prison unannounced?” Sokka regretted the words the moment they came from his mouth. Reminding Zuko that he was, by all intents and purposes, a traitor to his homeland was never a good idea. Especially not in the middle of a fight.
But Zuko seemed unfazed by it – or at least, he was more outraged by the rest of the statement. “And you think some Water Tribe boy is going to have better luck getting in?” He demanded, his voice almost scathing. “You would have been shot from the sky before you even came close if it weren’t for me!”
“I know that!” It was Sokka’s turn to send his arms flying in irritation. “But that doesn’t mean I can just let you waltz into that prison! It’s too dangerous!” The reason why it was too dangerous for Zuko, a young omega with an incredibly strong, ridiculously pleasant - not that Sokka would ever be caught dead admitting that aloud – scent and not for Sokka, a young alpha, went unsaid.
Somehow Zuko still seemed to pick up on it. And it brought him to some wild conclusions.
“Oh! So it’s fine for you to risk your life but not for the poor, defenseless omega?” Zuko was almost shouting now and Sokka would have been worried if his scathing words hadn’t shocked almost all the thoughts from his mind. He had never said he thought Zuko was defenseless. No one could have fought against the former prince and come out thinking he was defenseless. “Why don’t you just admit you don’t think I’m good enough to join you and get it over with!” Zuko was still shouting, more and more biting words that made no sense.
“I don’t think you aren’t good enough!” Sokka responded, equal parts indignant and confused. “I know you’re strong! But –“
“There are no “buts”!” Zuko interrupted loudly. “You don’t want me up there with you because you don’t think an omega can handle it! You don’t think I can handle any of it!” Sokka wasn’t quite sure what “it” was but he had a sinking feeling it involved more than just this excursion.
“You can handle anything!” He argued back. “It has nothing to do with your abilities! It’s-“ It’s that Zuko shouldn’t have to handle any of it – shouldn’t have to handle the violence or the fighting, shouldn’t have to plan prison breaks for prisoners of war or prepare an Avatar to defeat his own father. It’s that Zuko should be protected and how could Sokka possibly protect him if he led him straight into danger? It’s not that Zuko was an inadequate omega, it was that it was an alpha’s job to protect and Sokka had already proved himself to be an inadequate alpha at the North Pole and on the day of the eclipse and he couldn’t do that a third time; he couldn’t willingly lead the former prince into a place that would try to hurt him a thousand times over if given even half a chance –
All these things were on the tip of his tongue, battling for their way out but before he could say anything more, Zuko was interrupting again, “then stop being all weird and let me help you!” There was something starkly close to desperation marring the anger in Zuko’s tone and Sokka felt his resolve waver.
Sokka could run and leave Zuko here on the beach and pray to any spirit listening that the boy stayed, but he knew he wouldn’t. Zuko would find his own way up into that prison, probably quicker than Sokka himself could, and then he would be all alone fighting his way through with no idea what the person he was searching for looked like. But if he were with Sokka, at least he would be able to keep on eye on him. He could protect him.
Still, he couldn’t let the fight die so easily. “Your scent is too obvious! It’ll get us caught!” Sokka tried to ignore the fact that his own scent, like the icy, salty ocean shores mixed with the sharp tang of metal from the Southern Water Tribe, was just as distinguishable as he spoke. The Fire Nation was a system of islands, surely there were more than a few whose scents were like the ocean and no one would be sniffing close enough to catch the icy distinctiveness if he did everything right.
Zuko scoffed loudly in response. Then, as though a gust of wind had come to blow it all away, his scent disappeared. Sokka blinked and tried to unobtrusively sniff the air – a very faint scent of something warm caught in his nose but nothing else. Not even a hint of fire lilies remained in the air. Sokka had become so used to Zuko’s normal scent that he had completely forgotten he had once thought the boy a beta. He had completely forgotten that someone had taught Zuko to hide what he was and that Zuko could do it without even blinking.
It was not a pleasant thing to remember. Especially because it meant Sokka had no further arguments about why Zuko should stay on the shore. At least none that he could bring himself to say aloud. “Fine!” Sokka finally said. “But you have to stick close and follow whatever plan I come up with!” Sokka pointed one warning finger at Zuko, knowing full well that he couldn’t actually force the former prince to do anything.
Zuko looked as though he wanted to continue arguing, his expression darkly murderous. “You don’t even have a plan!” He hissed, his voice still seething with anger.
“You know what I mean!” Sokka flung out, impatient and irritated. He wanted to go find his father but he wouldn’t budge from this spot until he had Zuko’s word that he wouldn’t go off on his own the moment they made it inside the prison. He needed Zuko’s promise that he wouldn’t go off without Sokka.
Zuko still looked murderous but he seemed to sense, just as much as Sokka had, that it was better to give in a little than continue fighting. “Fine, I’ll make sure that I stay close to you like a good, obedient little omega.” Zuko’s voice was positively dripping with venom and Sokka had to force himself not to flinch as they both turned away from each other and up towards the prison once more.
Sokka hated that he’d made Zuko feel that way. Hated that he made Zuko feel as though somehow, Sokka thought him lesser as an omega. He didn’t – he knew Zuko was capable and strong, a terrifying master firebender and an expert tracker. He knew they were lucky to have him on their side and not against them anymore. He wanted Zuko to understand that Sokka’s actions were not from thinking himself superior – he’d already that learned that particular lesson from both his own little sister and Suki. He wanted Zuko to understand that his desire to protect him had nothing to do with thinking him lesser and everything to do with that Zuko should have been protected and not forced to learn how to be such an expert fighter to protect himself.
He wanted Zuko to understand that it was Sokka’s job to protect him because it was so obvious no one else had.
But Sokka couldn’t say any of this now. Zuko was in no mood to hear it, for one, and Sokka knew better than to try and poke the sleeping polar bear dog. For another, they were currently trying to find a way to climb their way into a virtually impenetrable prison and that was an endeavor that required all of his attention. Once this was all over, if they made it out alright, Sokka would talk it out with the former prince and put it all to rights.
First though, he needed to get them into and out of the Boiling Rock safely, with his father alongside them.
First, he would keep the other boy safe.
He just needed to figure out how.