Chapter Text
They move on, heading towards the Earth Kingdom to find Aang an Earthbending teacher. Sokka makes sure everyone gets to bed at a reasonable hour, cracks jokes until the little furrow between Katara’s brows smooths over (usually with an eyeroll, but he’ll take it), and strategizes their next move.
Then every night after everyone has gone to bed, he gazes at the moon and wonders.
***
He keeps his Inscription covered at all times, not even removing the wrappings when he bathes. Katara comments on it once. She takes one look at his face and doesn’t bring it up again.
***
Aang’s earthbending teacher ends up being small, blind, and obscenely powerful. She also doesn’t wrap her Inscription despite not knowing who her soulmate is. The words, “Wow, you’re amazing!” were exposed for all the world to see.
“Why should I cover them up? I mean, I am amazing,” Toph had said like it was obvious when Sokka had remarked on it.
Yeah, Toph isn’t one for modesty.
***
They don’t see Zuko again until after his crazy sister and her equally crazy friends had chased them up and down the countryside in her giant metal monster. He even stands with them against her for a brief moment.
And then Azula blasts her own uncle in the chest as a diversion to make a run for it. He knows he should’ve kept his eyes on her but Sokka can’t look away from proud, unwavering Zuko with his knees in the dirt, utterly falling apart. The sight of Zuko crumpled in on himself, trembling fingers fisted in his hair (Zuko has hair) has Sokka taking a step forward before he makes the conscious decision to move.
“Get away from us,” Zuko rasps, and the cracks in his voice make Sokka take another step.
Katara steps forward too, lifting her hands placatingly. “Zuko, I can help—”
“Leave!” Zuko roars, sweeping fire through the air with a reckless slash of his hand.
They make a run for it, but not before Sokka takes a final look back. He sees Zuko crouched over his uncle as the world literally burns down around him.
***
Toph is right, Ba Sing Se blows.
Not only is it run by shady people like Long Feng, but it’s also really boring. Sure, they get everything they want delivered to them on a silver platter which—Sokka will admit—is something he can get used to, but there’s only so much coddling a guy can take before he starts going stir-crazy.
They start putting up posters for Appa regardless of what Long Feng or Joo Dee say, papering the whole city with them. Sokka’s busy putting some up onto a fancy building in the Upper Ring when he overhears rumors about an amazing tea shop that’s touted as being the best in the city. Intrigued and more than a little thirsty, Sokka decides to check it out.
The shop is bustling when he gets there but he manages to snag a corner table. The decor is opulent without being overly gaudy, with a bright and open layout and gold dragons wrapping around marble pillars. Lively chatter from the other patrons along with a delicious, herby smell fills the air.
He nearly jumps out of his skin when a very familiar voice monotonously says, “Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon, may I take your order?”
He looks up sharply and sees the exact moment that Zuko recognizes him, golden eyes widening in shock.
“You!” Zuko says, having the audacity to sound aghast.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” Sokka hisses, not keen on making a scene in the middle of a crowded tea shop now that it’s clear that Zuko isn’t going to outright attack him. “I can’t believe you managed to chase us here of all places!”
“I didn’t chase anyone,” Zuko snaps, so fiercely that people from neighboring tables look their way.
“Then you’re saying that you just happen to be in the same city as us and that this isn’t some crazy plot to capture Aang? Wait, do you have Appa?”
“What? No! I— who’s Appa?”
“You know, giant fluffy monster, arrow on his head. I’m sure you’re familiar, you did chase it all over the world.”
“Why would I have—” Zuko starts incredulously, but is interrupted by another patron calling him over. He lets out an explosive sigh and runs a hand frustratedly down his face. “I don’t have time for this.”
He turns to go and Sokka reacts on instinct, grabbing at Zuko’s wrapped left wrist to stop him from leaving. A zing like static zaps his hand at the contact and he lets go like he’d been burned at the same moment Zuko jerks away, causing Zuko to careen backwards and crash into a—thankfully empty—table.
He hightails it out of there at the sight of Zuko’s shellshocked face, lamenting his lack of tea and pretending he didn’t still feel the phantom tingle of warmth in his palm.
***
He doesn’t know why he doesn’t tell the others.
They deserve to know that the jerk that’s been chasing after them is in the same city as them, possibly plotting their capture at this very moment. He should tell them.
But he doesn’t.
Then they run into Jet and things get way more complicated.
***
Sokka’s an idiot. He’s a big, dumb idiot that got himself thrown into an underground pit.
He should’ve just faced Suki and the others when they first arrived, but he didn’t. After Yue, he was too afraid to face Suki, to get attached. Suki didn’t put much stock in Inscriptions, but she’d made it clear that defending her island came first.
But no, he had to burst in with news that Zuko was in the city after the guilt of not telling anyone got to be too much and got himself ambushed by Azula and Friends.
Some warrior he made. It was probably a good thing that he decided to stay behind in Ba Sing Se to talk strategy with the Earth King’s generals while Katara went off to meet with dad and the others. He probably wouldn’t’ve been much help if he’d gone.
His pity party gets put on pause when he hears the rough sound of stone moving above him followed by the sounds of a scuffle. Then someone’s tumbling down the same chute he’d been thrown down, the sounds of their pained grunts bouncing off of the cave walls. They come to a halt on the cave floor just as Sokka hears the opening above them be sealed shut again.
It’s Zuko. Because of course it is.
Zuko takes one look at him and gives a weary sigh. “Why is it always you?”
“Hey, I’m not exactly thrilled about this either, pal.” Sokka says irritably. He watches warily as Zuko gets to his feet, ready in case he tries something. Zuko doesn’t seem to be in the mood though, he just makes his way to the cave wall opposite Sokka and sits down with his back to the room. “Why are you even down here, anyway? Is this some kind of elaborate trap that I’m not seeing? Because if it is, I’m so not falling for it!”
Zuko’s silent for so long that Sokka thinks he’s not gonna answer. Then he gives another sigh and says, “Azula had her puppets throw me down here.”
That throws Sokka for a loop. “Your sister threw you down here?”
“I thought I could take her,” Zuko goes on, hands clenched on his knees. “But in the end I wasn’t even worth her time. She refused my challenge to an Agni Kai like it was nothing.”
“An Agni-what now?”
“Agni Kai. It’s an honor duel between firebenders. You can’t turn down an Agni Kai, it’s a challenge to your honor.” His tone goes distinctly bitter. “But the rules never seem to apply to Azula.”
Now there’s some baggage that Sokka’s not going near. Family drama or not, this guy’s still the enemy so Sokka folds his arms in front of his chest and does his best to remain resolute. “That explains what you’re doing down here, but it still doesn’t explain what you’re even doing in Ba Sing Se. You followed us here, didn’t you?”
He turns to shoot Sokka an annoyed glare. “I already told you, I didn’t follow anyone!”
Sokka lets out a snort. “So what you’re saying is that I just imagined the last few months where you chased us all around the world? And now you expect me to believe that you ending up in the same city as us again is just some random coincidence?”
Zuko shoots to his feet and rounds on Sokka. “Yes!”
“Well I don’t buy that. What could you possibly be doing here that doesn't involve once again trying to capture Aang?”
“Uncle is trying to start fresh and I feel like I owe him that much since he can’t go home because of me!”
“What do you mean start fresh?”
“I mean he’s trying to get away from the fighting and chasing and running!”
“He’s trying to get away from it, but not you?” Sokka asks warily.
“Yes! I mean no. I mean—” Zuko lets out a frustrated cry and turns away, running a hand through his hair.
Sokka knows poking an angry firebender is the best way to end up flame-broiled but he really can’t wrap his head around what Zuko’s saying. “So what, you’re both just out? After all that, you’re just calling it quits? Whose side are you even on?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side! I’m done! I’m done with the lies and the anger and being told what should and shouldn’t make me happy! I’m done with all of it!”
Sokka feels his temper flare and he can’t help but get in Zuko’s face, firebending be damned. “What about all of the damage your family’s done, huh? What about the damage that they’re doing? You’re just going to ignore all of that?”
“The last time I tried to stand up to my father he decided to teach me a permanent lesson on my face!” Zuko snaps, pointing at his scar angrily.
Sokka recoils like he’d been slapped. “What?”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know,” Zuko scoffs.
Sokka puts his hands up, mind still reeling. “I really, really don’t.”
Zuko eyes him suspiciously for a long moment before finally looking away, his anger seemingly leaving him. “I spoke out against the cruelty of one of my father’s generals and disrespected him. Then he banished me and said I couldn’t return until I’d captured the Avatar. I was thirteen.”
A deafening silence fills the cave, its weight almost oppressive.
Sokka thinks he’s gonna be sick. He thinks of his own dad. Sure, he’s made Hakoda mad plenty of times, like when he was seven and he’d sealed Katara inside of the igloo they’d been building. Then there was that one time when he was eleven when he’d tried to go on a hunt by himself only to miss supper because he got chased up a tree by an angry tiger seal.
His dad had been angry and lectured him each time for what he’d done, but he’d— He’d never— Spirits.
“Dude, you have to understand how seriously messed up that was,” Sokka says, a slight tremor in his voice.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Zuko says quietly, still not meeting Sokka’s eyes.
“And you still wanted to go back to him after that?” Sokka asks cautiously.
“I did, for a long time.”
“What about now?”
Zuko stays silent, and for a long moment all that Sokka can hear is the sounds of their breathing.
“Listen, I’m sorry for yelling at you before,” Sokka says quietly.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s just that for the longest time you were nothing but this angry jerk that kept appearing out of nowhere to attack us. No offense,” Sokka adds hurriedly.
“None taken,” Zuko says with an eyeroll, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly. It’s the first time Sokka has seen an expression that isn’t gloom and doom-y on his face. It’s a good look on him.
Sokka offers Zuko an easy grin. “So you and your uncle have given up your nefarious ways, I get that. But why a tea shop? I didn’t peg you for the customer service type.”
Zuko shrugs uncomfortably and looks away, a flush coloring his cheeks. “Uncle really likes tea.”
Huh, so Prince Prickly gets awkward when he isn’t all growly.
Cute, Sokka’s brain supplies and he shoves the thought away hastily.
They lapse into a surprisingly comfortable silence, only broken by the distant sounds of running water.
“I get it by the way,” Sokka says after a moment, “what you said about being done with being told what should make you happy.”
He looks down at his own wrapped wrist. “Everyone is so sure that soulmates are a sure thing. Everyone but me.”
“Do you… not believe in soulmates?” Zuko sounds surprised and almost… disappointed? Which didn’t make any sense.
“I don’t know. Maybe not?” Sokka smiles wryly. “It’s kinda hard to believe that the perfect complement to my soul is someone who goes around insulting people they’ve just met.”
Zuko’s focus suddenly snaps to Sokka’s wrist then up to his face, looking stricken. “You mean— Your Inscription is an insult?”
“Hey man, it’s not a big deal,” Sokka says, eyes wide.
“Of course it is,” Zuko says fiercely, running an agitated hand through his hair. “I mean, how could I—”
“Really, it’s cool,” Sokka interrupts while raising his hands placatingly, taken aback by Zuko’s reaction. Who knew the guy felt so strongly about soulmates? “I don’t even care. I mean, it’s not like I ever plan on finding them.”
Zuko’s whole body stills. “What?”
Sokka scratches the back of his head. “My soulmate’s apparently a big jerk, I’ve come to terms with that a long time ago. I’ve decided that I’m not gonna go looking for someone like that, so no harm no foul, right?”
Zuko seems to search Sokka’s face for something before his eyes go wide. “You mean you don’t know?”
“Know what?” Sokka says a little breathlessly, heart suddenly beating like a war drum in his chest. When did they get so close?
At this distance, Sokka could count every one of Zuko’s surprisingly long lashes if he wanted to. The glow from the crystals all around them also make Zuko’s golden eyes appear almost molten, their intense gaze locked onto Sokka.
Zuko’s hand slowly starts reaching for Sokka’s wrapped wrist and—
A loud rumble makes them spring apart as crystals start shattering on the wall behind them. The cave wall then opens to reveal Aang and Zuko’s uncle.
“Aang, buddy, am I glad to see you!” Sokka goes over to give Aang a hug, valiantly ignoring how high-pitched he sounds and how hot his face feels. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Zuko awkwardly accept a hug from his uncle. Zuko and Aang lock eyes and tension immediately fills the air.
“Uncle, I don’t understand, what are you doing with the Avatar?”
“Saving you, that’s what,” Aang retorts so snidely that Zuko has to be held back by his uncle. In any other situation Sokka would be proud of how brazenly rude the so-called pacifist monk was being. (Aw, who’s he kidding, he’s so proud.)
They split up after that, but Sokka can’t resist and take one last look back at Zuko. His uncle is speaking to him in a low voice and Zuko is looking down, brows furrowed. Then the cave they’re in turns sharply and Sokka can’t see them anymore.
***
Later, Sokka will ride on Appa’s back and silently observe as his weeping sister heals the horrifying wound on a still and unmoving Aang. As Ba Sing Se burns far below them he’ll wonder, not for the first time, at how people can think that the Spirits are anything like forgiving.