Chapter Text
Zuko woke up from a fitful sleep, still tired. Polar-bear-dog-tired.
Three years ago on this day, his father raised a hand to Zuko’s face in a gesture mimicking a parent consoling their child. How embarrassingly wrong he was. Instead of being comforted, Zuko now bore a vicious scar, alerting everyone he met how he was a disappointment in every way, to his family, his country, and to himself.
Zuko’s thoughts wandered back to the Avatar. He knew that if he captured the Avatar and brought them to the Fire Lord, he would finally achieve the honor and forgiveness he craved so deeply from his father.
Zuko got up and started his morning meditations, ignoring everything except his breathing.
===
“Watch and learn, Katara. Here’s how to catch a fish.”
“I know damn well how to catch a fish Sokka. You’re just jealous because I can fish with waterbending better than you can.”
“Yeah, yeah, but you forget about the fact that your most awesome brother in the world is the Avatar! Which beats the fact that you can fish with waterbending. And anyway, I can keep up when I fight you with my own bending. That’s all that matters anyway,” Sokka trailed off with an air of bitterness.
“Sokka, you know your waterbending can be used for other things besides fighting. Not everything has to be about violence,” Katara retorted. “You have a sword and boomerang anyway, your bending …”
“I don’t care Katara! All the Fire Nation has brought is violence and destruction. Fishing isn’t going to help us beat them, only fighting back can –“
During their argument, neither of the siblings noticed the massive iceberg their canoe was about to crash into. Out from the iceberg came a tumbling airbender, with no knowledge of the past 100 years.
After Aang freaked out about losing a century, his people, and his culture to the Fire Nation, he slumped down to the snowy ground in defeat. Katara sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you want, you can stay with us. I know it won’t be the same as living in the Air temple, but we can give you food and shelter. Stay with us for a night and if you don’t like it, we’ll figure something out.”
And that’s how Sokka found an airbending master.
===
Sokka and Katara’s excitement from discovering a new friend and bending teacher lasted for less than a day. Apparently, a massive gust of air escaped from the iceberg after being crashed into, and alerted a Fire Nation military vessel sailing close to the Southern Water Tribe’s borders. A Fire Nation military vessel in which our favorite banished Fire Nation Prince Zuko currently resided.
As Zuko stepped off the ship, Sokka took note of his pointed and vaguely uncomfortable the prince looked in his armor and helmet. Then Zuko took off his helmet and Sokka was able to see his entire face.
Besides the enflamed scar, Zuko looked strangely… handsome. His lighter skin glowed almost etherealy in the Artic sun, and his golden eyes were pools of honey that Sokka found himself drowning in. Sokka envisioned the banished Fire Nation prince to be a tall, old soldier with greying hair and a mildly xenophobic attitude. Zuko looked nothing like that. If only he wasn’t Fire Nation...
Zuko was having a similar epiphany. Who was this boy standing in front of him with elaborate war paint and the sharpest jawline he had ever seen on a person his age? Who did this sun-kissed-skin, ocean-eyed, spiky-wolftailed vision of a man think he was? A fleeting thought passed through Zuko’s mind, If only he wasn’t the Avatar . Nevertheless, ogling pretty boys would never bring his honor back.
“We have reason to believe that the Avatar is being harbored in the Southern Tribe. Turn them over to us and we will cause no harm to your village.”
Of course, no one spoke up. All the women and children in the village loved Sokka, the son of their chief, their best (read: only) warrior, and the Avatar, with all their beings. They could never live with themselves if they betrayed him like they are being asked to do by this Fire Nation scum, no matter how many soldiers were brandishing their weapons behind him. All the women moved in a line and placed themselves between the prince and Sokka with equally terrifying scowls and glares.
Zuko merely glared back. “Fine. If you won’t choose to cooperate, then I will make you.”
He grabbed the person in the center of the line of women - Sokka and Katara’s grandmother. Katara screamed, but it was cut short by Sokka bellowing, “Get your grubby hands off of her! Where do you think harming an old woman is okay? Have you no shame?! Or honor ?!”
Zuko let go of the woman’s arm in indignation, and Sokka took that moment to throw his boomerang. Which missed.
“Ha ha! At least I’m not the one who can’t throw-”
And he was knocked unconscious. Because the thing about boomerangs is that they, you know, come back .
===
Zuko’s forces pursued the Water Tribe siblings and Aang, who were able to escape on Aang’s flying bison, Appa. Aang impeded their efforts by sending a blast of air towards a tall glacier, which allowed chunks of ice to break off and tumble into Zuko’s ship.
As the trio flew into the sunset, they began to figure out where to go next.
“Sokka only knows water-bending, so he will need a teacher for earthbending, firebending, and airbending,” Katara mused.
“Well, we have an airbending teacher right here, Aang, so he can start me off with that! And then we can stop by somewhere in the Earth Kingdom to find a master for earthbending. The hardest part would be finding a firebending teacher. We would be taken on the spot if we stepped foot in the Fire Nation,” Sokka replied.
“It’s not that easy,” interrupted Aang. “The Avatar must be taught bending in a specific order depending on the first element they mastered bending. Since you already know waterbending, the next element in your cycle is earth, and your last is air, leaving fire in the middle. I won’t be able to actually teach you any airbending until you master the other two elements.”
“Well that blows! We have an airbending teacher who can’t even teach me anything! Now what do we do?”
“For La’s sake, Sokka, relax . We just find masters for earth and air and then Aang can teach you airbending. I can see an island up ahead, I think it’s part of the Earth Kingdom. Let’s start there.”