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Unusual Circumstances	By : voyager Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Aang/Zuko Views: 5136 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is the property of Nickelodeon, Mike DiMartino and Bryan Koneitzko. I earn no profit from this, other than pure enjoyment

Chapter List
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Chapter 4

The Prince and the Peasant

(Set During "The Boiling Rock Pt. 1")

The next morning, neither Aang nor Zuko made any mention of their conversation, or anything else, to the rest of their friends. But it was impossible for Katara not to notice the glances they shared back and forth across their breakfast table, nor was possible for Toph to ignore their heartbeats quickening each time they shared one of the aforementioned glances; or one of them heard the other's voice.

While the rest of the group ate, Zuko passed cups of tea around to everyone, when he got to Sokka, the young Water-tribesman looked at him with an expression that told Zuko he'd just come to a big decision. He asked Zuko, "Hey can I talk to you for a second?" Without waiting, Sokka got up and walked away, Zuko didn't say anything; he just followed Sokka outside. "So what's up?" Zuko asked, "If someone were captured by the Fire-nation," Sokka began hesitantly, gradually growing bolder as he spoke, "Where would they've been taken?"

"What are you talking about," Zuko asked, "who was taken?" Sokka did not want to go into too much detail, he still wasn't quite sure he could trust the prince, but plunged forward anyway. "When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken; I just want to know where they might be." Zuko knew where they were most likely to be, and he knew that it was bad. He couldn't tell Sokka, it would just make him miserable. "I can't tell you, Sokka."

Sokka took a step back, his face darkening. "What, why not, don't tell me that now you're having second thoughts about helping us?" "No, nothing like that," Zuko said quickly, trying to calm the younger teen. "It's just that knowing would only make you feel worse."

Zuko turned to walk away, but Sokka held him back with a hand on his arm. "Zuko, it's my dad, he was captured along with the others. I need to know what I put him through." Zuko was puzzled by this; "What you put him through?" Sokka told Zuko the story of his 'failure', "The invasion plan was my idea, and it was my decision to stay when things looked like they were taking a turn for the worse."

Zuko was impressed, from what he learned of combat tactics from his military tutors, growing up in the royal court; the invasion was a brilliantly conceived plan, he would have thought it the work of a master strategist. Maybe Sokka really was a lot smarter than he seemed. Zuko believed the only reason it did not succeed was because Azula, his harpy of a sister, somehow had obtained knowledge of the invasion ahead of time; and had an ambush ready to go when it began. Zuko thought back to his conversation with Aang the night before and how the idea of troops walking into ambush, to be slaughtered or captured was repellant.

"My guess," he told the other, "is that they were taken to the boiling rock." "What's that?" Sokka asked worriedly, knowing from the sound of the place that it probably was not pleasant. "It's the highest security prison in the Fire-Nation." "Where is this place," Sokka asked him. Zuko could see where this conversation was going, "Why, what are you planning?" "Nothing, boy you are soo paranoid!" Sokka said in his usual flippant manner, but Zuko knew there was more to it than that.

That night, when Sokka snuck past his sleeping compatriots, and climbed up the side of Appa, he was only slightly surprised to see Zuko waiting for him in the giant flying bison's saddle.

Sokka should've guessed Zuko was on to him, in spite of often letting his temper get in the way, the prince was actually pretty clever, when he wanted to be.

In his usual blunt manner, Zuko asked, "Not planning anything, huh?" "Alright, you caught me, but you can't stop me, Zuko! I have to do this, to reclaim my honor." Zuko understood Sokka's motives very well. He also knew from experience, that pursuing such things without a friend to help along the way could be dangerous. "Reclaim your honor, believe me I get it. I'm not going to stop you, I'm coming with you."

"NO," Sokka said with a little more force than he had intended. He furtively looked at Zuko, expecting the hotheaded prince to be shooting bursts of flame from his fingertips at having been rebuked so abruptly.

Zuko just looked back with equanimity, maintaining his cool for once. "How are you going to get there, on Appa? The last time I checked prisons don't have bison day-cares; we'll take my war balloon."

After an hour or so of flying in relative silence, with each of them starting to make conversation, and then stopping themselves awkwardly, Sokka finally broke the ice. "What made you decide, after all we've been through, all that time pursuing us, to come and help us?"

Zuko considered the question for a moment, and said, "I realized the truth of the war. In my country, the war is referred to as 'The Great March of Civilization'."

"It was begun by my Great-Grandfather, Sozin, in an attempt to spread order and peace over the whole world. While I was traveling the world with my uncle, trying to find Aang, I saw, first hand, that it was all a lie," Zuko continued, "This conflict wasn't spreading civilization, or culture, or anything even remotely beneficial. It was just barbaric violence and destruction, perpetuated by a series of one military tyrant after another for three generations!"

"Yeah, it seems to run in the family," Sokka quipped thoughtlessly, before he realized he'd just insulted someone who had offered to help him find his father. "Hey, hold on, not everyone in my family is like that!" Zuko retorted. "I know, you've changed," Sokka said easily, holding up his hands in mock surrender, always one to try to dispel arguments before they got out of hand.

"I was talking about my uncle; he was more of a father, and a conscience, to me than my real father, and I really let him down."

Sokka tried to reassure Zuko, "I've met your uncle, and so have Toph and Aang; none of us really trusted him at first, but eventually we did learn to trust him, and his wisdom." "He was absolutely certain that there was a spark (no pun intended) of good in you." Sokka looked over to see the sour expression on Zuko's face softening. "You left your home to come and help us, and that's hard; your Uncle Iroh would be proud."

"Thanks Sokka, I appreciate it. But, believe it or not, it wasn't that hard to leave the Fire Nation, not this time."

Sokka had been told by his sister what she had seen the other night, and wasn't sure if he should bring it up, but now he saw a window of opportunity, and took it. "Really, there was no one special you left behind?" "Well I kinda had a girlfriend, Mai."

It took a lot of effort for Sokka to keep his pai-sho face intact. "That gloomy girl with the knives, who sighs a lot," he asked. "Yeah," responded his companion with a slightly wistful expression.

` "Why do you look so shocked," Zuko caught Sokka's expression, and called him on it, "You think she's more than I could handle?" "No, it's nothing like that; it's just…"

"Just what?" asked Zuko. Sokka was reluctant to continue the conversation, but he started this. Now, he had to finish it. "I just kinda thought you were the sort who…" "Who what, Sokka?" barked Zuko, clearly becoming agitated. "Who likes guys!" Sokka finished his sentence.

Zuko's already pale skin blanched even whiter, Sokka thought he was about to puke, or pass out. "You saw us, the other night, Aang and me; didn't you?"

In order to spare the prince further embarrassment, Sokka decided not to tell him that it was actually Toph and Katara who witnessed it. Instead, he simply said, "Yeah, I did" "I didn't mean to spy or anything," Sokka added hastily, "I just woke up and went to the bathroom, and then, on the way back, well you know."

"You don't approve." Zuko said, deadpan; it was not a question. "I didn't say that, Sokka replied, "but I'm just not sure how it's possible, with our history. You know, you attacking us, us evading you. It isn't exactly like there was a lot of time for socializing, or romantic dinners." Zuko had to smile, in spite of his best efforts not to; Sokka definitely tried too hard to get a laugh sometimes, but occasionally, he could be genuinely funny.

"Well, it really started awhile back, if I remember right, you and Katara were sick, at the time." Sokka's face took on a slightly green shade as he recalled, "Yeah, Aang left and went to go get us these frozen frogs to suck on to bring down the fever, or something like that."

Zuko had to suppress another grin at that one. "Well, anyway, my sources told me he was captured by Admiral Zhao while he was away from you guys." "This news made me pretty desperate; if Zhao was the one who took him back to the Fire-nation then my only chance of ever going home would be gone."

"Knowing this," Zuko continued, "I came up with a plan to sneak into the prison where Aang was being held, and broke him out." As we were escaping, an arrow struck me; if I hadn't been wearing a mask, it would have pierced my forehead, and killed me."

"As it was, I was knocked out cold; Aang could've left me there, and Zhao would have taken me prisoner and left you guys alone. On top of that, it would have virtually guaranteed that I'd no longer be able to chase you." Sokka gulped at the implications and finality of the last sentence.

Zuko continued, "Aang somehow managed to lift me, and he carried me into the forest nearby; when I came to, I expected to be waking up in a prison cell. Instead I found myself in a woodland glade. It was morning, and he was still sitting there, watching over me while I was unconscious."

Zuko looked over to seen a stunned expression on Sokka's face, "Aang never told us any of this, Zuko; but I knew something had to have happened while he was away, his clothes were torn, and he was exhausted."

Zuko digested this information, and then continued, "The fact that he stayed there, by my side, really impressed me; He risked his neck for someone he barely knew, and who's only goal, up to that point, had been to make a war trophy out of him."

Sokka actually found himself growing to like Zuko as he spoke; he wondered if Aang never mentioned it because he thought he and Katara would have reacted badly.

"Aang was talking about the friends he used to have, you know, before the war, and how much he missed them. He wondered if he and I could have been friends, had we known each other back then. I should have answered him then, and saved us all a lot of pain. But instead, in my usual stupid, hotheaded style; I sent a fire blast at him, to chase him away."

Zuko saw Sokka's face darken a little in anger at this admission. "It was a low-power blast, not really aimed; I knew he'd be able to evade it easily. He got to me, and was actually the first person, besides my mother and my uncle who'd ever shown me any compassion, or even the least bit of sympathy. I started to feel a little bit of sympathy for him as well."

"I guess that's why I let him go. It was that one event, more than anything else that got each of us thinking about how our tortured pasts shaped our present. And I guess it's how we started to think, on some subconscious level, that maybe there was some future for the two of us somewhere, somehow. That's what I think led to what happened the other night."

Sokka was quiet for a full two minutes after this; the longest Zuko had ever known him not to speak. Not that Zuko really knew Sokka all that well, mind you. Finally, Sokka spoke "I know this is gonna sound odd, but I'm happy for you guys." 'That was unexpected,' Zuko thought; "What do you mean?" he asked Sokka. "Aang really needs some stability in his life," Sokka explained, "He needs a family, and so do you; you can be that for each other."

"It's funny you should say that," Zuko began; "That first night I joined you guys, I realized that you weren't Aang's friends;" Seeing a confused look on Sokka's face, Zuko continued, "You were his family. You replaced the Air Nomads, and everyone else he left behind a hundred years in the past. But I would have thought you would've wanted Aang to be with your sister, I know how close the two of them are."

"Aang and Katara are very close," Sokka admitted, "but it isn't romantic between them. As you said, Zuko; they're family, practically brother and sister in their own right." Zuko considered Sokka's words for a moment, and then said, "I hope Aang realizes how lucky he is to have a friend like you." Without missing a beat, Sokka quipped, "I suppose you know that makes you pretty lucky now, too."
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Unusual Circumstances