Fic: The Apple Falls Far
Notes: Previously 'Hakoda's Secret Weapon'. I got to re-reading it yesterday and decided it needed some cleaning up and tense changes. Then I decided to graduate it into a oneshot. Whee!
Title: The Apple Falls Far
Rating: R
Warnings: Allusions to rape of a minor, torture
Summary: AU past S1 The Storm. A warrior is stoic. A prisoner deserves no mercy. Sokka never questioned these rules... until now.
*****
Sokka had visited more villages and talked to more people than he could even count ever since that one crazy day Aang unfroze into their lives. But through it all, he never felt quite this way before; surrounded by the people he grew up with, treated like a man - an equal - for the first time…
He had to travel thousands of miles from the South Pole, endure crazy firebenders, angry forest spirits and worse… Katara on her bad days. But now, for the first time, it all seemed worth it. Sokka felt as if he were home.
He walked with his father up the beach to a more sheltered area, just past some breakwater rocks. There, his dad knelt to show off a curious round ball - his newest invention.
“I call it,” Hakoda paused for effect. “The stink and sink!”
Sokka couldn’t help it. He laughed, and the last of the tension and worry released from him. What had he ever been worried about in the first place? “Ha! Good one, dad!”
Hakoda grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “There’s one other thing I want to show you. Something I think you’ll like.” Then he winked conspiratorially.
Sokka followed his father back through the encampment, stopping every twenty yards or so to exchange greetings with people he knew, men he hadn’t seen in years. His face ached from grinning. Eventually, though, Hakoda led him to the other side of the beach; a place where the cold waves from the bay crashed up against the sheer rocks of a cliff. Only a small strip of sand separated water from rock, and beyond that, a dark cave.
Bato stood watch at the mouth of the cave. He smiled at their approach and walked over to welcome Sokka with a hug. “You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!” It wasn’t the first time that had been said today, but it meant a little more, as Sokka had only seen Bato a few months back at the Abby.
Sokka’s chest swelled in pride - he unconsciously straightened, trying to put on even more height.
Hakoda grinned at the display, but drew his son’s attention back to the cave. “We captured this right after a strong storm nearly ripped our main mast off,” he said, leading him in.
It was… a boy.
At least that’s what Sokka assumed, at first. There was a half starved boy with his hands strung up over his head, standing slumped in the cave. The chains around his wrists kept him from sitting and - oh spirits, Sokka could count his ribs. Every single one.
The boy stirred, lifted his head, and glared at them. And despite the fact that he was bound, the stupid ponytail cut away and hair grown out, his thin chest covered with marks Sokka didn't even want to think about… those light gold eyes were nearly molten with hate.
It was the eyes that Sokka recognized.
“That… That’s Prince Zuko,” he said, feeling like the floor just opened up under him. The terrible firebender who chased Aang, his sister, and himself halfway around the world, before disappearing sometime after that horrible storm. That storm…
“Yes,” Hakoda answered, and there was a measure of satisfaction in his voice. The same one he had when he’s done a job well done. “We know.”
Zuko just stared at him and Sokka feels cold.
******
“You’ve met him before, son?” Hakoda asked, after a moment.
Zuko’s gaze was still locked with Sokka’s - his eyes seemed too big, too bright for his face. And Sokka couldn’t tell if he was trying to subtly shake his head, or if he was just shaking.
“Yeah, I know him,” Sokka wanted to say. “He’s the jerk who invaded our village, threatened Gran-Gran and burned Kyoshi Island.” It was on the tip of his tongue, and it’s the truth, after all. But he doesn’t.
Instead, he shrugged. “He’s the one of the guy’s who was always trying to capture Aang. I know about him.”
Zuko shifted slightly, making the chains binding his hands over his head rattle. “You,” he rasped. He almost seemed incredulous. “You’re related to… to this monster? The girl too?”
Sokka opened his mouth to shoot something - probably witty-back. But his dad was already moving. One closed fist hit Zuko in the side of the head, the other made a swift blow into his solar plexus.
Then Hakoda stepped back, rejoining his Sokka with a nod as if nothing unusual happened. It was so fast, so unexpected, that Sokka didn’t even have time to react. “He’s Fire Lord Ozai’s son.” Hakoda said, just as casual as you please. All the while Sokka tried not to watch Zuko curl up around himself - but can’t, making horrible wheezing gasps. “Word has already been sent out - the terms of his release are all cessation of force in our waters. We should be hearing back any day now.”
Then Hakoda put his hand on Sokka’s shoulder - the same one he used to just hit a boy his own age, and led him out the cave again.
The sun outside was warm on Sokka’s skin, the air cool with just a hint of salt.
He didn’t look back to the dark cave.
*****
The meal should have been the best Sokka had in months. After all it was made with more hands to help with the cooking than one harried sister. But all he could think about was Prince Zuko’s pale skin stretched thin over his ribs.
Sokka ate the perfectly salted meat, drank the stew, and laughed at the men’s outrageous stories. Then, when no one was looking, he wrapped a hunk of seal meat in a piece of seaweed and slipped it into his pocket.
Guilt gnawed at him like a polar-dog with a bone, but after bidding goodnight to everyone he didn’t retire to his sleeping bag. He slipped away to the cave instead.
I’m being stupid, he thought, looking right and left to make sure no one was following. He was alone. This is Prince Zuko… He’s an evil, hateful guy. Dad knows what he’s doing. You can’t hold a firebender prisoner on a wooden ship. This has to be the only way they have to keep him under control…
But Sokka didn’t stop, and to his mild surprise no one was guarding the mouth of the cave, either.
The moon was high overhead, casting just enough light to see by. To his alarm Zuko was awake and alert - and still bound standing. Didn’t they let him down to sleep, at least?
Zuko jerked in reaction as Sokka entered. His gold eyes flicked to Sokka, then to the open doorway and back again. “What are you doing here?” he growled. “Come to gloat?”
Spirits, this guy was such an asshole. “Maybe.”
The prince said nothing. Only took a deep, shuddering breath through his nose and out again through his mouth. Sokka could see his thin ribs expand with the movement… and he really hoped those were just smudges of dirt on him, and not an impressive collection of bruises. … Why wasn’t he given a shirt? It was cold and clammy in the cave. Had to be, even for a firebender.
Well, he’d better get this over with so he could get out of here. His hand drifted down to his pocket. “Are you hungry?”
Zuko’s eyes snapped to his again, and there was wariness there that Sokka wasn’t expecting. “What do you mean?”
“Um, you know, food?” Sokka asked and withdrew the seaweed-wrapped meat.
Somehow, he didn’t like the way Zuko’s shoulders slumped in relief. What exactly had he been expecting him to say?
The jerk didn’t say anything and with a mental shrug, Sokka unwrapped the food and stepped forward. Zuko’s hands were held so he couldn’t use them, forcing him to lean forward and take the meat with his teeth. No hesitation. No embarrassment. He seemed too ravenous for embarrassment. Sokka held the meat up to him anyway as he chewed the first bite and after a moment’s thought, balled up the seaweed and fed that to him as well.
He withdrew his hand once the food was gone and it looked like Zuko was ready to lick Sokka’s finger’s clean, though. There’s only so much a man can take.
Zuko’s eyes locked onto him again. “Why?” he asked, and his voice broke on the word. “What do you want from me?”
He was saved from answering by the sound of footsteps on the rocky sand outside. Tatum, one of the captain’s under Sokka’s father, swaggered in - all confidence and expectation as if he owned the place, but stopped mid-step at the sight of Sokka.
“Sokka,” he said, and Sokka didn’t miss the slight flicker of unease in his eyes: The look of someone who just got caught. “What are you doing here?”
Sokka shrugged. “Giving the prisoner some dinner.” Then, “What are you doing here?”
For a moment, Tatum didn’t answer. There was the sound of rattling chains - Zuko stepped back as far as his binds would let him. He didn’t say anything, but the rapid sound of his breathing echoed strangely loud in the cave.
And Tatum just smiled - a weird, leering thing. “I’m seeing to my needs, of course.”
Things clicked horribly into place: The lack of guard at the door, Zuko’s paranoia… For the second time that day, Sokka felt like the floor had dropped out from under him.
All he could do was stare at Tatum and think: You… you used to give me and Katara pony-back rides when we were little!
It was the sound of Zuko’s short, panicked, breaths that drew him back into reality. Something in that noise hardened Sokka’s soul. He stepped between Tatum and the bound prisoner. Firebender or not, this wasn’t right. “Not tonight,” he said, lowly.
Tatum’s eyes narrowed. “Does the Chief know about this? ‘Course he does,” he growled, before Sokka could answer. Then, unexpectedly, the leer was back. Wider now. Tatum laughed. “Watch yourself, Sokka. The little shit bites.” And he turned and walked out.
Sokka felts like he was going to throw up right then, right there, but he held himself together until the sound of Tatum’s footsteps dimmed into nothing. Then he staggered over and braced himself against the wall. Now he was the one who was breathing hard.
“I’ll kill you.”
Sokka looked over and… glaring was too mild of a word. Zuko’s eyes were nearly incandescent with hate - and naked fear. “If you lay one finger on me, I swear to Agni I’ll kill you,” he repeated. It sounded like a chant. Like he’d said it too many times before, almost enough so it didn’t have meaning any longer.
Oh Spirits…
The decision was made and Sokka acted on it before he had time to really think it through. Not usually like him, but then again… Sokka figured he’s had a weird night.
He lurched up and crossed over to Zuko. The prince aimed a vicious kick at him, but he was slow and weak despite his bravado. Sokka blocked it easily - wondered briefly why there’s no firebending. Could Zuko even firebend the way he is? Then he jammed the sharp edge of his boomerang into the lock of Zuko’s shackles.
The iron manacles released and Zuko fell, hard, to the ground.
“Get out of here,” Sokka snapped. “Get out and run away as fast as you can. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Zuko didn’t need to be told twice. He rolled and rose to his feet - but it was like his limbs were acting oddly, the unburned side of his face twisted in pain. Maybe he’d been shackled upright for too long, maybe it was the months with little to eat, the torture… all of it. He staggered, fell, and got up again. This time he took three painful steps - his legs were shaking too hard from fatigue. He collapsed once more, a body-length from the mouth of the cave, and couldn’t rise.
“Nononono…” he moaned, reaching out towards sea… towards freedom. It was all he could do. Reach.
Sokka stood there, unsure, then hesitantly walked over to help haul him into a sitting position. Zuko’s pride was still alive and well - he had enough strength to shove Sokka away, and prop himself up against the cave wall under his own power.
Then he curled up, his knees against his chest, and bowed his head. Sokka didn’t know if he was crying or not, but suspected he was.
“I’ll talk to my dad,” Sokka said, squatting down, carefully out of arms reach. He didn’t want to touch Zuko - didn’t know what to do for him at all. “They can’t treat you this way. I’ll tell him that the Fire Lo-your father- he wouldn’t want this.” He broke off, feeling inadequate.
Zuko’s reply was a long time coming. “There’s been enough time for my father to receive the letter and send back word three times already,” he said, and long days of weariness were in every word. “I wrote the letter myself. I begged. I may not have honor, but I’m still his son. I-he doesn’t want me. Think’s I’m weak…” he trailed off, lifted his head to stare at his hands and wrists which were skinned to blood. The words ‘He’s right’ floated in the air afterwards, unsaid.
Then Zuko looked at Sokka. His voice was flat. “Your father is worse.”
Sokka stiffened. “Shut up.”
“He killed my uncle. Killed him even when he had us surrender! Executed my crew-”
He cringed when Sokka grabbed his arm, although only for a moment, catching himself as soon as he did it. But it was the cringe that stopped Sokka short from hitting him. Besides… it sorta looked like Zuko had been knocked around enough as it was.
“Chief Hakoda knows what’s going on,” Zuko continued, after a tense moment. “He allows it. Probably orders it.”
Sokka swallows hard. “The Fire Nation killed my mother.” He wasn’t trying to make excuses. He wasn’t. He wasn’t.
“I’m sorry.” And to his surprise, Zuko looked away. “I know what it’s like when your family turns out different than what you think.”
“Shut up,” Sokka repeated, and to his surprise, Zuko did.
******
Zuko fell asleep soon afterwards, slumped there on the floor as if sleep took him by surprise and there just wasn’t enough left in him to fight it off.
Sokka wasn’t sure if he could ever count on sleeping again. At least, not without nightmares. He did, somehow, dropping off soon after midnight. He woke just at the first light of false dawn - there was a sharp rock digging itself in his side.
Zuko was still there. It looked like sometime during the night he made another bid at freedom, but only made it to the mouth of the cave. He was awake - eyes half-lidded and staring at the slowly lighting sky.
“Let me see the sun,” he said. “Just one more time. Please.”
But Sokka knew he couldn’t. “Someone’s bound to be at the cave at dawn, for the change of guard.” He got up and reached over to take Zuko by a thin arm.
Zuko fought him, harder than Sokka would have thought possible. He made Sokka win every inch back into the cave, and there were horrible half-choked mews coming out the back of his throat as he was chained once more.
Sokka walked away.
It was the worst thing he’d ever done in his life.
*****
Sokka crawled back to his sleeping bag unnoticed, and pretended to rise with the rest of his men. His father greeted him at breakfast, clapped him on the shoulder, and told him they’re going fishing today. Just like old times.
Sokka smiled and pretended to be enthusiastic, but inside he didn’t know what to think. He loved his dad, loved his people. They wouldn’t do something like that to a prisoner without good reason. He knew it.
So he played nice and went fishing with his dad. Talked of old memories. Laughed. And a dozen, a hundred times, he opened his mouth to ask about the prisoner in the cave. He shut it each time, the words getting trapped somewhere in his throat. Maybe he just didn’t want to know the answer.
Or he already knew what the answer was.
As the evening drew to a close, had had said nothing and Sokka found himself once again stuffing food into his pocket. He caught Tatum looking across the fire at him once or twice - the big captain gave him a knowing wink. As if they shared a mutual secret.
Sokka nearly cried aloud when Appa appeared over the horizon. Aang was five days early…. It had to be bad news, and at that moment he didn’t care.
******
Zuko looked up as Sokka entered the cave, then looked away. He was still proud… Pride was probably all he had left.
Sokka didn’t pause for niceties. He crossed the cave and put his arms on either side of the chained boy. It’s almost an embrace, but done for practical purposes. He needed to be quiet, whispering in the prince’s ear.
“We have a rule in my Tribe,” he said. “If you save a man’s life, then that man owes you a debt.”
Zuko was silent for a full minute before he answered. Then, “In the Fire Nation, if you save a man’s life, he is honor-bound to pay it back.”
Well, that was good enough for him. Sokka’s boomerang flashed - he caught Zuko’s thin frame this time when his legs gave out. “You’re coming with me,” he said. “And you’re now bound by your honor. If you hurt Aang, if you even look at him funny, I’m tipping you off the side of the bison saddle. That’s the rule. Can you live with that?”
Zuko shuddered in his arms. And nodded.
*****
Title: The Apple Falls Far
Rating: R
Warnings: Allusions to rape of a minor, torture
Summary: AU past S1 The Storm. A warrior is stoic. A prisoner deserves no mercy. Sokka never questioned these rules... until now.
*****
Sokka had visited more villages and talked to more people than he could even count ever since that one crazy day Aang unfroze into their lives. But through it all, he never felt quite this way before; surrounded by the people he grew up with, treated like a man - an equal - for the first time…
He had to travel thousands of miles from the South Pole, endure crazy firebenders, angry forest spirits and worse… Katara on her bad days. But now, for the first time, it all seemed worth it. Sokka felt as if he were home.
He walked with his father up the beach to a more sheltered area, just past some breakwater rocks. There, his dad knelt to show off a curious round ball - his newest invention.
“I call it,” Hakoda paused for effect. “The stink and sink!”
Sokka couldn’t help it. He laughed, and the last of the tension and worry released from him. What had he ever been worried about in the first place? “Ha! Good one, dad!”
Hakoda grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “There’s one other thing I want to show you. Something I think you’ll like.” Then he winked conspiratorially.
Sokka followed his father back through the encampment, stopping every twenty yards or so to exchange greetings with people he knew, men he hadn’t seen in years. His face ached from grinning. Eventually, though, Hakoda led him to the other side of the beach; a place where the cold waves from the bay crashed up against the sheer rocks of a cliff. Only a small strip of sand separated water from rock, and beyond that, a dark cave.
Bato stood watch at the mouth of the cave. He smiled at their approach and walked over to welcome Sokka with a hug. “You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!” It wasn’t the first time that had been said today, but it meant a little more, as Sokka had only seen Bato a few months back at the Abby.
Sokka’s chest swelled in pride - he unconsciously straightened, trying to put on even more height.
Hakoda grinned at the display, but drew his son’s attention back to the cave. “We captured this right after a strong storm nearly ripped our main mast off,” he said, leading him in.
It was… a boy.
At least that’s what Sokka assumed, at first. There was a half starved boy with his hands strung up over his head, standing slumped in the cave. The chains around his wrists kept him from sitting and - oh spirits, Sokka could count his ribs. Every single one.
The boy stirred, lifted his head, and glared at them. And despite the fact that he was bound, the stupid ponytail cut away and hair grown out, his thin chest covered with marks Sokka didn't even want to think about… those light gold eyes were nearly molten with hate.
It was the eyes that Sokka recognized.
“That… That’s Prince Zuko,” he said, feeling like the floor just opened up under him. The terrible firebender who chased Aang, his sister, and himself halfway around the world, before disappearing sometime after that horrible storm. That storm…
“Yes,” Hakoda answered, and there was a measure of satisfaction in his voice. The same one he had when he’s done a job well done. “We know.”
Zuko just stared at him and Sokka feels cold.
******
“You’ve met him before, son?” Hakoda asked, after a moment.
Zuko’s gaze was still locked with Sokka’s - his eyes seemed too big, too bright for his face. And Sokka couldn’t tell if he was trying to subtly shake his head, or if he was just shaking.
“Yeah, I know him,” Sokka wanted to say. “He’s the jerk who invaded our village, threatened Gran-Gran and burned Kyoshi Island.” It was on the tip of his tongue, and it’s the truth, after all. But he doesn’t.
Instead, he shrugged. “He’s the one of the guy’s who was always trying to capture Aang. I know about him.”
Zuko shifted slightly, making the chains binding his hands over his head rattle. “You,” he rasped. He almost seemed incredulous. “You’re related to… to this monster? The girl too?”
Sokka opened his mouth to shoot something - probably witty-back. But his dad was already moving. One closed fist hit Zuko in the side of the head, the other made a swift blow into his solar plexus.
Then Hakoda stepped back, rejoining his Sokka with a nod as if nothing unusual happened. It was so fast, so unexpected, that Sokka didn’t even have time to react. “He’s Fire Lord Ozai’s son.” Hakoda said, just as casual as you please. All the while Sokka tried not to watch Zuko curl up around himself - but can’t, making horrible wheezing gasps. “Word has already been sent out - the terms of his release are all cessation of force in our waters. We should be hearing back any day now.”
Then Hakoda put his hand on Sokka’s shoulder - the same one he used to just hit a boy his own age, and led him out the cave again.
The sun outside was warm on Sokka’s skin, the air cool with just a hint of salt.
He didn’t look back to the dark cave.
*****
The meal should have been the best Sokka had in months. After all it was made with more hands to help with the cooking than one harried sister. But all he could think about was Prince Zuko’s pale skin stretched thin over his ribs.
Sokka ate the perfectly salted meat, drank the stew, and laughed at the men’s outrageous stories. Then, when no one was looking, he wrapped a hunk of seal meat in a piece of seaweed and slipped it into his pocket.
Guilt gnawed at him like a polar-dog with a bone, but after bidding goodnight to everyone he didn’t retire to his sleeping bag. He slipped away to the cave instead.
I’m being stupid, he thought, looking right and left to make sure no one was following. He was alone. This is Prince Zuko… He’s an evil, hateful guy. Dad knows what he’s doing. You can’t hold a firebender prisoner on a wooden ship. This has to be the only way they have to keep him under control…
But Sokka didn’t stop, and to his mild surprise no one was guarding the mouth of the cave, either.
The moon was high overhead, casting just enough light to see by. To his alarm Zuko was awake and alert - and still bound standing. Didn’t they let him down to sleep, at least?
Zuko jerked in reaction as Sokka entered. His gold eyes flicked to Sokka, then to the open doorway and back again. “What are you doing here?” he growled. “Come to gloat?”
Spirits, this guy was such an asshole. “Maybe.”
The prince said nothing. Only took a deep, shuddering breath through his nose and out again through his mouth. Sokka could see his thin ribs expand with the movement… and he really hoped those were just smudges of dirt on him, and not an impressive collection of bruises. … Why wasn’t he given a shirt? It was cold and clammy in the cave. Had to be, even for a firebender.
Well, he’d better get this over with so he could get out of here. His hand drifted down to his pocket. “Are you hungry?”
Zuko’s eyes snapped to his again, and there was wariness there that Sokka wasn’t expecting. “What do you mean?”
“Um, you know, food?” Sokka asked and withdrew the seaweed-wrapped meat.
Somehow, he didn’t like the way Zuko’s shoulders slumped in relief. What exactly had he been expecting him to say?
The jerk didn’t say anything and with a mental shrug, Sokka unwrapped the food and stepped forward. Zuko’s hands were held so he couldn’t use them, forcing him to lean forward and take the meat with his teeth. No hesitation. No embarrassment. He seemed too ravenous for embarrassment. Sokka held the meat up to him anyway as he chewed the first bite and after a moment’s thought, balled up the seaweed and fed that to him as well.
He withdrew his hand once the food was gone and it looked like Zuko was ready to lick Sokka’s finger’s clean, though. There’s only so much a man can take.
Zuko’s eyes locked onto him again. “Why?” he asked, and his voice broke on the word. “What do you want from me?”
He was saved from answering by the sound of footsteps on the rocky sand outside. Tatum, one of the captain’s under Sokka’s father, swaggered in - all confidence and expectation as if he owned the place, but stopped mid-step at the sight of Sokka.
“Sokka,” he said, and Sokka didn’t miss the slight flicker of unease in his eyes: The look of someone who just got caught. “What are you doing here?”
Sokka shrugged. “Giving the prisoner some dinner.” Then, “What are you doing here?”
For a moment, Tatum didn’t answer. There was the sound of rattling chains - Zuko stepped back as far as his binds would let him. He didn’t say anything, but the rapid sound of his breathing echoed strangely loud in the cave.
And Tatum just smiled - a weird, leering thing. “I’m seeing to my needs, of course.”
Things clicked horribly into place: The lack of guard at the door, Zuko’s paranoia… For the second time that day, Sokka felt like the floor had dropped out from under him.
All he could do was stare at Tatum and think: You… you used to give me and Katara pony-back rides when we were little!
It was the sound of Zuko’s short, panicked, breaths that drew him back into reality. Something in that noise hardened Sokka’s soul. He stepped between Tatum and the bound prisoner. Firebender or not, this wasn’t right. “Not tonight,” he said, lowly.
Tatum’s eyes narrowed. “Does the Chief know about this? ‘Course he does,” he growled, before Sokka could answer. Then, unexpectedly, the leer was back. Wider now. Tatum laughed. “Watch yourself, Sokka. The little shit bites.” And he turned and walked out.
Sokka felts like he was going to throw up right then, right there, but he held himself together until the sound of Tatum’s footsteps dimmed into nothing. Then he staggered over and braced himself against the wall. Now he was the one who was breathing hard.
“I’ll kill you.”
Sokka looked over and… glaring was too mild of a word. Zuko’s eyes were nearly incandescent with hate - and naked fear. “If you lay one finger on me, I swear to Agni I’ll kill you,” he repeated. It sounded like a chant. Like he’d said it too many times before, almost enough so it didn’t have meaning any longer.
Oh Spirits…
The decision was made and Sokka acted on it before he had time to really think it through. Not usually like him, but then again… Sokka figured he’s had a weird night.
He lurched up and crossed over to Zuko. The prince aimed a vicious kick at him, but he was slow and weak despite his bravado. Sokka blocked it easily - wondered briefly why there’s no firebending. Could Zuko even firebend the way he is? Then he jammed the sharp edge of his boomerang into the lock of Zuko’s shackles.
The iron manacles released and Zuko fell, hard, to the ground.
“Get out of here,” Sokka snapped. “Get out and run away as fast as you can. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Zuko didn’t need to be told twice. He rolled and rose to his feet - but it was like his limbs were acting oddly, the unburned side of his face twisted in pain. Maybe he’d been shackled upright for too long, maybe it was the months with little to eat, the torture… all of it. He staggered, fell, and got up again. This time he took three painful steps - his legs were shaking too hard from fatigue. He collapsed once more, a body-length from the mouth of the cave, and couldn’t rise.
“Nononono…” he moaned, reaching out towards sea… towards freedom. It was all he could do. Reach.
Sokka stood there, unsure, then hesitantly walked over to help haul him into a sitting position. Zuko’s pride was still alive and well - he had enough strength to shove Sokka away, and prop himself up against the cave wall under his own power.
Then he curled up, his knees against his chest, and bowed his head. Sokka didn’t know if he was crying or not, but suspected he was.
“I’ll talk to my dad,” Sokka said, squatting down, carefully out of arms reach. He didn’t want to touch Zuko - didn’t know what to do for him at all. “They can’t treat you this way. I’ll tell him that the Fire Lo-your father- he wouldn’t want this.” He broke off, feeling inadequate.
Zuko’s reply was a long time coming. “There’s been enough time for my father to receive the letter and send back word three times already,” he said, and long days of weariness were in every word. “I wrote the letter myself. I begged. I may not have honor, but I’m still his son. I-he doesn’t want me. Think’s I’m weak…” he trailed off, lifted his head to stare at his hands and wrists which were skinned to blood. The words ‘He’s right’ floated in the air afterwards, unsaid.
Then Zuko looked at Sokka. His voice was flat. “Your father is worse.”
Sokka stiffened. “Shut up.”
“He killed my uncle. Killed him even when he had us surrender! Executed my crew-”
He cringed when Sokka grabbed his arm, although only for a moment, catching himself as soon as he did it. But it was the cringe that stopped Sokka short from hitting him. Besides… it sorta looked like Zuko had been knocked around enough as it was.
“Chief Hakoda knows what’s going on,” Zuko continued, after a tense moment. “He allows it. Probably orders it.”
Sokka swallows hard. “The Fire Nation killed my mother.” He wasn’t trying to make excuses. He wasn’t. He wasn’t.
“I’m sorry.” And to his surprise, Zuko looked away. “I know what it’s like when your family turns out different than what you think.”
“Shut up,” Sokka repeated, and to his surprise, Zuko did.
******
Zuko fell asleep soon afterwards, slumped there on the floor as if sleep took him by surprise and there just wasn’t enough left in him to fight it off.
Sokka wasn’t sure if he could ever count on sleeping again. At least, not without nightmares. He did, somehow, dropping off soon after midnight. He woke just at the first light of false dawn - there was a sharp rock digging itself in his side.
Zuko was still there. It looked like sometime during the night he made another bid at freedom, but only made it to the mouth of the cave. He was awake - eyes half-lidded and staring at the slowly lighting sky.
“Let me see the sun,” he said. “Just one more time. Please.”
But Sokka knew he couldn’t. “Someone’s bound to be at the cave at dawn, for the change of guard.” He got up and reached over to take Zuko by a thin arm.
Zuko fought him, harder than Sokka would have thought possible. He made Sokka win every inch back into the cave, and there were horrible half-choked mews coming out the back of his throat as he was chained once more.
Sokka walked away.
It was the worst thing he’d ever done in his life.
*****
Sokka crawled back to his sleeping bag unnoticed, and pretended to rise with the rest of his men. His father greeted him at breakfast, clapped him on the shoulder, and told him they’re going fishing today. Just like old times.
Sokka smiled and pretended to be enthusiastic, but inside he didn’t know what to think. He loved his dad, loved his people. They wouldn’t do something like that to a prisoner without good reason. He knew it.
So he played nice and went fishing with his dad. Talked of old memories. Laughed. And a dozen, a hundred times, he opened his mouth to ask about the prisoner in the cave. He shut it each time, the words getting trapped somewhere in his throat. Maybe he just didn’t want to know the answer.
Or he already knew what the answer was.
As the evening drew to a close, had had said nothing and Sokka found himself once again stuffing food into his pocket. He caught Tatum looking across the fire at him once or twice - the big captain gave him a knowing wink. As if they shared a mutual secret.
Sokka nearly cried aloud when Appa appeared over the horizon. Aang was five days early…. It had to be bad news, and at that moment he didn’t care.
******
Zuko looked up as Sokka entered the cave, then looked away. He was still proud… Pride was probably all he had left.
Sokka didn’t pause for niceties. He crossed the cave and put his arms on either side of the chained boy. It’s almost an embrace, but done for practical purposes. He needed to be quiet, whispering in the prince’s ear.
“We have a rule in my Tribe,” he said. “If you save a man’s life, then that man owes you a debt.”
Zuko was silent for a full minute before he answered. Then, “In the Fire Nation, if you save a man’s life, he is honor-bound to pay it back.”
Well, that was good enough for him. Sokka’s boomerang flashed - he caught Zuko’s thin frame this time when his legs gave out. “You’re coming with me,” he said. “And you’re now bound by your honor. If you hurt Aang, if you even look at him funny, I’m tipping you off the side of the bison saddle. That’s the rule. Can you live with that?”
Zuko shuddered in his arms. And nodded.
*****