𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

AT FIRST, SOKKA THOUGHT THAT ZUKO OFFERING TO JOIN THE GROUP WAS SOME SORT OF TWISTED JOKE. The team had just settled in at the Western Air Temple, only a day or two after the disaster that was the invasion, and here comes the prince of the Fire Nation. The guy who betrayed Kida in Ba Sing Se, and whose sister just taunted Sokka with the possibility that his childhood friend and crush is alive before capturing Kida and separating her from the team possibly forever. Or, until the war ends, which might not be anytime soon. Unless Azula already killed her, which Sokka fears is the most likely scenario. The venom in Azula's voice, the relentless fire in her eyes, and the cruel words that spilled from her mouth were enough to make Sokka believe that was the last time he would ever see Kida, that Azula kept her just to torture and end the life of her own cousin.

Needless to say, Sokka wasn't a big fan of Zuko at first, but Aang needed a new Firebending teacher and it wasn't like they were so easy to come by.

Sokka is determined to do something to redeem himself for the fuck up that was the invasion plan. It was his idea, his decision to stay when things were going wrong. It was his mistake, so it's his job to fix it, to redeem his honor. And, if that requires teaming up with Zuko, so be it. Sokka could have done without the awkward war balloon ride, though.

As Zuko blasts fire into the tank to keep the war balloon moving, Sokka tries to think of something to say to help break the uncomfortable silence.

"Pretty clouds," Sokka offers, staring at the sky.

"Yeah," Zuko replies, though he sounds vaguely uninterested. "Fluffy."

Sokka clears his throat. "You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."

This seems to somewhat pique Zuko's interest. "No kidding."

Unfortunately, Sokka doesn't really have anything else to add. "Yep, a balloon.....but for war."

"If there's one thing my dad is good at, it's war." Zuko aggressively blasts more fire into the tank.

"Yeah, it seems to run in the family," Sokka grumbles, thinking back to Azula and her cold, yet calculating demeanor.

"Hey," Zuko snaps. "Not everyone in my family is like that."

"I guess Kida wasn't like that," Sokka states, though even as he says it, Sokka doubts his own words. Kida was - is - a warrior, a skilled fighter, good at war even if she might hate it.

"I meant my uncle," Zuko admits. He shifts uncomfortably. "But, Kida....I think she and I are similar in a lot of ways."

Sokka deliberately chooses to ignore part of what Zuko just said. "I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving home to come help us? That's hard."

"It wasn't that hard."

"Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?"

"I guess I did have to leave my best friend. Mai."

"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" Sokka wonders, amusement tainting his voice.

Zuko sighs, a smile on his face. "Yeah."

"So, did you and Mai ever —"

"It wasn't like that," Zuko interrupts. The sky around them is getting darker as day transitions into night, but Sokka still notices the slight blush on Zuko's cheeks. "We've been friends since we were kids. We understand each other; we don't have to hide anything or be something we're not. But now....I'm worried I ruined what we had."

Sokka pauses for a second, and looks down. "Yeah," he finally replies. "I get that."

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