After the war

The mark of the brave

Firebender plus cold equals a bad idea. Zuko was sure the reason for him going ice dodging was a good one, but right now he was so focused on the misery of the temperature, that the reason did not sound good enough to be worth the biting, freezing wind and the falling snow.

Therefore Zuko had decided he didn't like being cold. He blew a small puff of flame from his mouth in a pitiful attempt to warm himself, and, while freezing wind buffeted him and icy water cascaded over the gunwale of the ship for what felt like the hundredth time, he wondered why colonising the water tribes had ever been on any Firelord's agenda. The sun only showed itself for half of the year and it was bitterly cold. Not to mention the fact that in the winter firebending was seriously weakened in the poles.

Zuko looked over at Sokka, stood next to him on the bow of the Water Tribe Cutter that was currently ferrying them to the South Pole, and felt a swell of warmth pierce the chill in his chest at the sight of the betrothal necklace glinting in the morning sunlight. Zuko's eyes trailed down to Sokka's hands and saw the hand closest to him resting on the hilt of his beloved khopesh. Zuko's memory wandered back to the day he got the weapon for his fiance. The look of gratitude and pride on Sokka's face would be engraved into Zuko's memory until the day he died.

"Hotshot? Everything okay?" Sokka's voice cut through Zuko's thoughts like a knife.

"I'm nervous, what if something goes wrong?" Zuko turned to face Sokka. "And I don't even know who's going to be in the ice dodging group, oh for the love of Agni I am completely unprepared" Zuko was starting to pace around the deck of the ship.

"Zuko, stop pacing you'll wear through the deck" Sokka scolded. "You'll be in a kayak, taking Katara, Aang, Toph and myself down the ice dodging channel and we've been practicing for weeks, you will do absolutely fine" Sokka gripped Zuko by the arms to prevent further pacing.

"Wait, Toph is blind, why is she in the group? Why not Suki, or Hakoda or Bato?"

"Toph being blind adds an extra layer of challenge" Sokka explained.

"Like I needed another layer of challenge, taking a group of kayaks down moving water" Zuko griped under his breath.

"You'll do absolutely fine, Zuko, like I said we've been practicing for weeks, nothing is gonna go wrong my love" Sokka planted a soft kiss on his fiance's cheek.

"I'd love to believe you" Zuko leaned his head on Sokka's shoulder, feeling his nerves fraying as they got closer to the South Pole.

The boat docked with a harsh jolt, washing more water over the ship and directly into Zuko's face. He spluttered and coughed as he got a mouthful of seawater, and turned to his fiance for a bit of sympathy, but to his immense annoyance Sokka was giggling softly.

"It's not funny Sokka!" Zuko chastised, but before he could tell Sokka how cold and wet he was he was cut off with a gentle kiss that captured any words that could surface.

"Just relax, okay my love? This day is only going to go worse for you if you're all wound up like a coiled spring" Sokka smiled as he pulled away and placed a gloved hand on Zuko's cheek, offering some sort of outside warmth and wiping away a little of the water. 

The two boys disembarked, and the moment the two alighted they were immediately engulfed in a hug by Hakoda. Sokka had come to accept that he'd always miss getting a hug from his dad. Wrapped up in his arms, he missed the salty sea smell that always seemed to linger around his dad and feeling the strength of his arms around him.

"Hey dad" Sokka grinned up at his father, still pressed closely to the chief's chest.

"Hi Sokka" Hakoda smiled at his son, as he released Zuko and Sokka from his embrace. "I hope you've trained my new son in law properly for ice dodging"