Trust | Zukka

[ T W O ]

No matter how hard he tried, Sokka couldn't fall asleep.

He rolled over in his sleeping bag to face the fire pit. The fire had mostly gone out, only a few embers left simmering among the coals.

He thought about his father, and the Fire Nation. He thought about how he had abandoned his troops when they'd needed him most.

And, for some reason, he thought about Zuko. He thought about their conversation earlier, and what he had said about Sokka not trusting him. He also thought about Zuko's reaction when he'd broken down over his father. His words rang in Sokka's head.

It wasn't your fault.

Sokka sat up in bed. He threw off his sleeping bag and crept past Aang, who was snoring louder than Appa. He grabbed his bag, which he hadn't even bothered to unpack yet, and made his way over to the slumbering beast.

"Hey, buddy," he stroked Appa's snout, shushing him. "You up for a little ride?"

Sokka climbed up Appa's side with little effort. He was lifting himself up over the side of the saddle when he heard a voice from the darkness.

"You are so damn predictable, you know that?"

Sokka stumbled backwards, yelling as he fell to the ground.

"Fucking Kyoshi, Zuko," he swore. "You just gave me a heart attack!"

Zuko climbed down and stood over him. His dark hair hung down in front of his face, but even with that and his scar Sokka could see the dark circles under his eyes. His expression was a strange mixture of anger and concern.

"Good," he snapped, giving Sokka his hand and pulling him to his feet. "Maybe now you'll have to stay here instead of going on this suicide mission."

"It's not a suicide mission, it's a rescue mission," Sokka retorted.

He bent down to pick up a pack of food that had fallen from his bag, but Zuko grabbed it before he could and held it above his head. Zuko was only an inch or so taller than Sokka, but he was still able to hold the food just out of his reach.

"Give it back," Sokka demanded. "Are you crazy?"

"Am I crazy?" Zuko shouted. "You're the one who's trying to infiltrate the most dangerous Fire Nation prison on a flying bison!"

Appa grunted.

"I have to do this," Sokka said. "Just give me the stupid food!"

"You want it?" Zuko taunted. "Come and get it—ow!"

Sokka jumped up and grabbed Zuko's arm, causing him to stumble backwards. He fell flat onto his back, taking Sokka down with him.

Zuko froze as Sokka landed on top of him. For a second, Sokka thought he saw his face flush red. Sokka also froze for a moment, both boys breathing heavily from the struggle. Snapping out of it, he snatched the food from Zuko's hand and pushed himself up off of him. He ran to Appa's side and climbed up before Zuko could stop him.

"You can't do this alone," Zuko slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his wrist.

"Look, I may not be able to firebend, or waterbend, or whatever-bend, but I can still handle myself," Sokka ranted. "I don't need a bender babysitter."

"That's not what I meant," Zuko said. "I know you can fight, Sokka, I just don't think you understand how dangerous this place actually is."

"I do understand," Sokka said, his tone pleading. "But the invasion was my idea, so I have to fix this! I have to regain my honor."

"You want to regain your honor? Trust me, I get it," Zuko turned away, but not before Sokka saw a flash of sadness in his eyes.

Sokka sighed and closed his eyes, gripping the reins of Appa's harness. After a short hesitation, he dismounted and walked back over towards his friend.

"I know you do," Sokka stood in front of him, searching his face. "So you understand more than anyone why I have to do this alone."

"Sokka, I spent so much of my life trying to do things on my own because I thought asking for help made me weak," Zuko turned to face him, but wouldn't meet his eyes. "But it doesn't. It shows that you have the courage to admit when you can't do something."

"But..." Sokka stammered. "I don't want to put you in danger. I can't lose anyone else because of my stupid mistakes."

Zuko knew it would be useless to try and convince him that his father's capture wasn't his fault. He hesitated, trying to come up with another way to convince Sokka to let him come.

"Well, how are you going to get there?" Zuko asked. "Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares."

Sokka tried to stifle his laugh. He had to give it to Zuko, that was a good one. He glanced at Appa, who was snoring peacefully, then back at Zuko.

"Fine. So what's your plan, Fireboy?"

A faint smirk tugged at Zuko's lips.

"How do you feel about war balloons?"