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Hardened	By : sheraven Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2711 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its affiliates, and make no profit.

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Hardened

Chapter Four - Chained

“No! Let go!” Sokka cried as they tumbled over the rough ground. It was the first time he’d spoken since he’d left camp, and his voice was husky from the injury. Zuko’s armored weight was on top of him, and Sokka found the firebender surprisingly agile in the heavy leathers. The Water tribesman rolled suddenly, flipping himself onto his back, digging in the folds of his blue armor. He found what he was looking for and then bucked his hips upward, throwing his enemy toward his head. Zuko tossed his hands out to keep from falling on his face, then found himself teetering to one side as Sokka knocked him over.

Once the Fire Prince was on the ground, Sokka sprang up and tried to sprint away. His enemy’s reflexes were too fast, however, and before he could take two steps, he was on his face again, his ankle trapped. Zuko climbed Sokka’s leg hand-over-hand, pulling the two of them closer together. He didn’t dare let the warrior out of his grasp, he had just learned the hard way that Sokka was much more skilled then he let on. The Water warrior tried to squirm out from underneath, gritting his teeth as his fresh burns were scraped, and shouted, “Get off me!”

As Zuko climbed past Sokka’s waist, the water warrior let fly with his right fist, cracking the Prince in the jaw, hard. Zuko’s head was ringing, but he had enough forethought to see the next punch coming, and ignited the palm with which he caught the blow. Fire enclosed Sokka’s left hand, burning the calloused knuckles and momentarily distracting him. He yelped and involuntarily tried to jerk his hand away from the fire, unwittingly letting Zuko get the upper hand. In a matter of seconds, Sokka was on his knees and Zuko was standing over him, both hands alight.

The Fire Prince watched his captive closely as several soldiers surrounded them. It was strange, as if the fight had suddenly left him. The dark-skinned warrior was kneeling limply, cradling his burned hand in his lap, with his head bowed. As pleased as he was that he had won, something was wrong. It was as if the Water tribe boy had ceased to care what happened to him. Zuko knew from growing up with warlords that any prisoner who did not want to live, usually didn’t. He had seen it scores of times before, a captive without will often died quietly in his cell.

Unwilling to lose his prize, Zuko turned on the guards, who stiffened in surprise at being directly addressed. “Leave us, I can handle him on my own.” He felt something drip from his cheek, and swiped at the sweat with the back of his hand. His guards were not moving. “Well?” he demanded angrily.

The leader looked nervously at the soldier next to him then asked, “But…what about your face, my lord?”

“What?” the Prince barked and looked down at the hand he had just used to wipe his cheek. Instead of the sweat he was expecting, he found a smear of blood. He touched his face again, inwardly flinching when his fingers brushed over the cut. He glared down at the kneeling warrior and noticed a small, carved bone piece that Sokka held in his palm, causing a sharp spur to protrude between his fingers. The firebender growled and snapped at the men, “I said I can handle him, leave, now.”

The men bowed and jogged off, not eager to arouse their master’s anger. Without another word, Zuko leaned forward and drove his flaming fist down hard across the darker boy’s face. Sokka dropped into unconsciousness immediately, a small trickle of blood starting from the burn mark across his cheek. Zuko gave a frustrated snort as he stood, once again heaving the water tribesman over his shoulder and walking toward the shore. This time, he would not underestimate his enemy.

When Sokka awoke, the first thing he noticed was the ringing in his head. The left side of his face hurt and he could feel his cheek throbbing with his heartbeat. He tried to sit up and started at the piercing sound of metal chains echoing in the metal chamber. Four plain walls, a door, and a porthole barely big enough for him to squeeze through were all that decorated the room. Another wave of anger washed through him as his eyes tried to adjust to the torchlight, he had been captured again. He was in a standing position, but most of his weight was resting not on his feet, but on the metal shackles holding his wrists above his head. He tried to move and sucked air in through his teeth sharply as the pain radiated down from his wrists and burned hand.

Before he had a chance to do anything else, the door across the room opened, admitting the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Zuko walked in proudly, wearing his gleaming commander’s armor, and clenching his hands into fists. He strolled past the guard, who immediately closed and locked the door behind him. As he got closer, he glared suspiciously at Sokka, who had become suddenly aware that he was only wearing his black leggings, and nothing else. The firebender stopped in front of the warrior and stared him in the eyes. Sokka did not look away.

Zuko looked at his prisoner, trying to find out what was out of place. They had learned their lesson last time, all of the water peasant’s armor had been removed, and what he had on thoroughly searched. Although the dark-skinned boy stood tall and defiant, something was wasn’t right with his eyes. They were empty and dead, as if he was just biding his time and didn’t care what happened next. The Prince knew that would never do; he had seen enough interrogations to know that if the prisoner was not afraid, no amount of questioning would gain anything.

Speaking in a clear and firm voice, Zuko demanded, “Where is the Avatar hiding?”

Instead of the smart-mouth comment he was expecting, the southerner simply looked at him and said without emotion, “You know that’s a waste of time.”

In anger, Zuko hit Sokka in the face again, in the exact same place as before. Sokka hissed as the new injury joined the old one, but stood straight. “Where?” the firebender asked.

A look of wistfulness, as if he were looking at the sun for the last time, passed over the warrior’s face. One corner of his lips moved upward, a smile as if he were saying goodbye to something he loved dearly, and he watched Zuko’s golden eyes as he spoke quietly, “I will not fail again.”

Something was definitely wrong with the water tribesman. Zuko tried a different track, “What is your name?”

Seeing no harm in telling him, the warrior answered almost conversationally, “Sokka.”

“You know I’m going to capture the Avatar. If you tell me where he is, I promise to let the water tribe girl he’s with go unharmed.” Zuko expected a reaction, some kind of spark in those blue eyes, anything, at the mention of the female, but Sokka simply kept looking at him. It was beginning to get on his nerves. “Well?” The other boy still did nothing. Zuko’s temper was beginning to rise and he allowed his hand to ignite. In anger, he placed the burning palm on the dark, bare chest before him.

Sokka cried out in pain and turned his head, gritting his teeth until Zuko lifted his hand. When he looked back at the prince, his blue eyes held only emptiness and pain. Much more pain than the firebender had inflicted, and enough to push out everything else. “Tell me!” Zuko shouted, and sent a rope of fire over his prisoner’s shoulder.

Sokka inhaled as the flames bit his skin, but only closed his eyes, half grateful to be feeling anything other than the hurt from Yue’s death. Maybe if he could anger Zuko enough, the Prince would end his time on earth, letting him finally rest in his love’s arms. Sokka laughed out loud, and said, “Heh, no wonder you wanted us locked in. I’d be embarrassed in front of my guards too.”

“What?!” Zuko cried, anger contorting his features. He drove his flaming fist into Sokka’s ribs, feeling something crack. He was shocked when the water peasant began to laugh again, so hit him even harder, sending fire around his back to burn the dark skin. As Sokka broke into a sweat, he reveled in the pain, even though it took his breath away. He would soon be free, free to let Aang and Katara put the world back in balance, and free to wander the skies with Yue. He laughed again, but it was cut short when Zuko hit him in the face.

Sokka looked up, panting, and momentarily considered begging. As soon as the warrior’s blue eyes met his own gold, Zuko was filled with a strange combination of pity and anger. Sokka was silently pleading for him to end it, to take his victory and let him go. Zuko frowned, the Avatar would never come for a dead friend, and certainly would not try to rescue someone who didn’t want to be saved. He had to reignite Sokka’s spark of life for him to be of any use as bait.

Isolation had not worked, questioning was useless, and pain was having the opposite effect. What could he do? He turned his back for a moment to think, and when he looked back, Sokka had dropped his head. Zuko was surprised to see a single tear fall. The firebender reached out suddenly and lifted the darker face to his own, stepping so close they were almost touching. He stared into those empty blue eyes, trying to will his own life force into the other boy as he had during the healing.

Wishing he could be consumed by the burning gaze, Sokka was filled with a strange feeling. It was as if something inside him had cracked, and white hot fury was leaking out. Surprising even himself, Sokka unexpectedly leaned forward and smashed his lips onto Zuko’s in a harsh kiss. The fire prince was so shocked he didn’t do anything at first. The warrior was so full of despair and hunger and desperation and need that Zuko found himself responding. He pushed back in the kiss until the embrace became almost angry. Zuko reached up and jerked on the wolf tail, exposing the smooth, dark throat.

Sokka gasped when he felt Zuko’s searing lips trace a reckless line from his jaw to his collarbone. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he questioned himself on what he was doing and who he was doing it with. He was ashamed, but he realized he needed to feel something, anything, other than pain. To know he was alive, and that it was worth it to remain that way. He silently begged for forgiveness from the moon spirit as he moaned when Zuko’s tongue passed over the newly burned flesh on his chest.
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Hardened