An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
For Day Five of @zukki-week: Heist and Duel
Zuko understood the need for honor more than anyone. After all, he’d spent a large portion of his teen years hunting down a person who’d been missing for over one hundred years for his father, jumping like a rabid wolf at the chance to get a sliver of his honor back. When Sokka had admitted this was his reasoning for stealing Appa in the middle of the night to go to Boiling Rock; to find his father, Zuko had been more than willing to help. Even if Sokka was a bit hesitant to let him.
And this is how he ended up on a military air balloon, sailing towards the highest security prison in the Fire Nation, with a Water Tribe boy he hardly knew. Talking about past romantic experiences, for some reason.
“Well,” Zuko said, “I did have a girlfriend. Mai.” Sokka grinned, a teasing curl to his lip.
“That gloomy girl that sighs a lot?” he asked. Zuko nodded, a small smile appearing on his mouth. It was quickly replaced by a frown and a sigh.
“Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor. I couldn’t drag her into it,” he said, defeated. Sokka crossed his arms and leaned against the back of the ship, his back practically melting into the warm metal. He instantly retracted.
He sighed and closed his eyes. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon,” he admitted. Zuko stared at him, contemplating what to say.
“That’s rough, Buddy,” he decides, and Sokka seems to stifle a laugh. For some reason, Zuko is a bit proud of that. And then they see it, the looming prison on the horizon. The thickness of the air instantly changed, a heaviness settling across the blades of the boys’ shoulders. Zuko cleared his throat and Sokka shifted in his seat staring down at the barred building.
Sokka grimaced. “I can’t believe my dad’s just…in there,” he muttered. Zuko nodded, unsure of what the best response was. Sorry, it’s probably my fault or Sorry, my dad is an absolute piece of shit, or Yeah, damn man, that sucks were the only responses he’d come up with at the moment. He stayed silent.
“Land down there,” Zuko instructed quietly. Sokka nodded, and after a few minutes, they were standing in front of the prison doors. Or, not really standing, they were currently hiding behind a bush, scanning the entrance for threats.
Two guards were standing outside, engaging in what appeared to be dreadful small talk, and Sokka was…honestly a tiny bit annoyed. These were the guards of the Nation overtaking the entire world, and at the most fortified prison they had, no less? He huffed out a small, annoyed sigh, and Zuko looked at him sideways.
“Shh, I can hear them talking about something,” Sokka whispered.
“I wasn’t saying anything–” Zuko protested, being cut off with a harsh hand wave from Sokka. He huffed in annoyance and closed his mouth.
“...yeah that new girl. What was her name, ah…Zuki? Saki? I dunno,” one of the guards said.
“Suki,” the other guard corrected, clearly exasperated.
The first guard snapped in recognition. “That’s the one. Wasn’t she in cohorts with the Avatar?” The second guard shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter if she was, she’s here now.”
Sokka’s heart fell into his feet. Zuko looked at him with an odd expression, one that was almost calculating. Sokka looked at Zuko and made a vague gesture with his hands: punching his hand and then a gesture at his clothing. Zuko decided to interpret that as ‘punch the guards, take their clothes’ and shrugged in agreement.
Sokka raised a hand with three fingers up. Two…one. They leapt out of the bush and Zuko instantly ran up to one of the guards and punched him upside the head, across the face, and to the other side of his face. Before the second guard could react, Sokka lunged and hit him in the nose, and then again between the eyes. Both guards crumpled to the ground, and Sokka looked at Zuko with a goofy lopsided grin. Zuko’s heart fluttered at the sight and he stamped the feeling down.
Zuko dropped to the ground and began undoing the guard’s clothing. Once he had it in his hands he realized very quickly he’d have to strip in front of Sokka. He glanced over at Sokka who appeared to be having the same thought at the same time.
“I’ll just…” Sokka began.
“Turn around,” Zuko said, both as an order to Sokka and the end of the sentence. The two of them faced opposite directions, and Zuko tried as quickly as possible to rid himself of his clothing and put on the new clothes without sneaking a glance over his shoulder.
He quickly finished dressing himself and turned around to face Sokka. He was instead met with Sokka’s back, rippling with scars and muscle in the sunlight. His mouth went dry as he watched Sokka finish dressing himself, silently wishing he could keep looking at Sokka’s back.
Sokka finally turned around and Zuko offered a half smile before turning around and walking into the prison, Sokka on his heels.
“Follow me,” he instructed.
Zuko led Sokka down the winding path to the cells of Boiling Rock, his feet moving with practiced quiet steps and his breathing shallow so it would not give him away either. They moved quickly and quietly through the prison, Sokka practically thrumming with nervous energy.
“Here,” Zuko breathed, opening a door lit by a single torch, hidden from the view of the other guards. Silently, Sokka appreciated Zuko’s past before cringing at himself for thinking so. He slipped through the door, Zuko on his heels. The small hallway opened out onto a narrow hallway lined with cells.
“We’re going to have to find Suki,” Sokka murmured under his breath, looking in each cell with care, inspecting each person with a tense gaze. Zuko nodded stiffly, following Sokka but not really remembering what Suki looked like and unsure what he was looking for.
“She’ll be able to help us find your father?” Zuko asked. Sokka nodded stiffly, mechanically. Spirits, he was stressed, Zuko realized.
“She’s an incredibly skilled fighter. Strategist. I have no doubt she’ll be able to. Plus,” Sokka said, “she’s…my girlfriend,” he admitted. Zuko nodded, suspicions confirmed.
There was a thick, hot tension in the air that was not necessarily only due to the Fire Nation’s humid climate; it was a fear of being found out. Sure, their disguises were passable, but Zuko was easily identifiable in the Fire Nation due to the story of his scar and his inability to hide it. Boiling Rock was not necessarily the easiest place to execute a rescue mission, either.
“Tui and La, how long is this place?” Sokka muttered under his breath, continuing to walk along the hall.
Zuko shrugged. “As it turns out, my father is not a big fan of a lot of people,” he murmured into Sokka’s ear. Sokka bit back a laugh and continued to look for Suki. Before either of them realized it, a set of footsteps began to approach, and Sokka thought it was Zuko; Zuko thought it was Sokka.
“What is going on here? You two are supposed to be out front.” Sokka stilled, turning around far too quickly to look not guilty. A Fire Nation guard glared back at him and Zuko, and Sokka realizes in an instant he has to lie and pray that Zuko can play along with an act.
“We were…simply looking for some privacy,” he said quickly, offering a sly half-smile. He looked to Zuko, who was now an incredible shade of red and he grabbed onto Zuko’s waist with a jerky arm, forcing the two of them closer together. The guard’s face twisted into one of skepticism and Sokka elbowed Zuko behind his back, hoping to convey the message of Sell It. Zuko seemed to get it well enough, wrapping himself around Sokka slightly and offering a non-committal shrug.
“Really,” the guard deadpanned.
Zuko nodded. “Really,” he agreed. Sokka reached up and grabbed Zuko’s jaw, pressing their faces together.
“Sorry,” he whispers briefly, quiet enough that only Zuko hears; so close to his ear his lips brush Zuko’s earlobe. Zuko hardly has time to process what Sokka has said before Sokka is kissing him, more passionately than anyone has ever kissed he thinks. And Spirits, he’s kissing Sokka back, with what he hopes is a believable act.
He tries not to think about Sokka’s lips too hard; how they are chapped but still soft and gentle despite the nature of their kiss. He tries not to think about how Sokka tastes too hard; honey and mint and human. And he tries not to think about Sokka’s hand on his back, or the way their chests are pressed together, or the way their legs are slotted together, or the way his arms are wrapped around Sokka’s back.
And he tries really, really hard not to be disappointed when Sokka pulls away with a goofy lopsided grin that he knows is only meant to sell their lie.
“So…” Sokka said, addressing the guard, “if you wouldn’t mind.” The guard still appears unconvinced, and Sokka can’t help the desperation that begins making his hands—still wrapped around Zuko—begin to sweat. There is another beat of silence before the guard’s eyes narrow at Sokka and he panics again.
“Are you wearing a Water Tribe necklace?” the guard spits, the malice seeping into their tone with incredible ease, as if they were born simply to hate Sokka, or anyone from the Water Tribe as soon as they saw…them…
Oh wait. They were. Right.
Shit.
“I…took it from a village I destroyed,” Sokka lies, feeling the way Zuko shifts uncomfortably underneath his hands. The guard is even less convinced now, taking a step towards the pair of them.
“Really?” they asked, and Sokka can feel the act slipping. He nods. “If you’re such a great firebender then,” the guard begins, “that you can destroy whole villages. I want to see a demonstration.”
Sokka’s heart hits his feet. Tui and La, this is fucking bad.
Zuko realized this too, his body going stiff under Sokka’s hands, though his face was still a masked scowl. As the guard got closer, Sokka squeezed Zuko’s shoulder gently so as not to draw attention to the action.
He had a plan. A dumb plan, yes, but it was better than no plan. In all but three of his seven predicted outcomes, he is either gravely injured or killed, and in two the same happens to Zuko. But he thinks he can get away with it. He just needs Zuko to be quiet and—
“I’m sorry, sir,” a relievingly familiar voice said, “but I believe my boys are waiting for me.” Sokka almost cried in relief at the sight of Suki, also in a Fire Nation disguise, beginning to walk towards them. She effortlessly brushed past the guard and inserted herself in between Sokka and Zuko, wrapping one arm around Zuko’s shoulders; one around Sokka’s waist.
He would find time to ask how she escaped later, for now he was about to double over in sheer relief just at the sight of her. The familiar feeling of her skin. Her eyes sparkling with mischief. La, he’d missed her.
“Thank you for finding somewhere so…secluded, Darling,” she murmured into Zuko’s ear, making his cheeks light up in a bright shade of crimson. She turned to Sokka and placed a kiss on the point where his jaw met his neck, a similar flush appearing on his face. Sokka kisses Suki—Zuko only knows this is her because of this very action— desperately, their reunion silent and hidden through a disguise, but happy. They were practically devouring each other in front of Zuko and he stared at the floor.
Zuko realized quickly that was not convincing whatsoever, whatever this act was clearly slipping away from him. His fingers twitched as he pulled on Suki’s shoulder gently, pulling her away from Sokka. He gave her what he hoped was an apologetic look, at least one that was only discernible to her, and leaned down, kissing her softly and less desperately than Sokka.
Kissing Suki was much different than kissing Sokka; softer and more delicate, but not by any means lacking the strength behind the connection. Her lips were slightly silky, and she was almost earthy; a poor comparison he supposed, considering she was from the Earth Kingdom. He pulled away slowly and blinked at her even slower.
Suki’s face is almost hazy, alongside Sokka’s, which is a great relief; Zuko assumed they would both be angry at him for kissing their partner, even if this was only an act to avoid getting killed.
And then Sokka’s hands are running along the edges and contours of both Zuko’s shoulders and Suki’s back, and Suki is peppering kisses along Zuko’s neck whilst pulling gently at Sokka’s hair, and Zuko is holding Suki’s waist and kissing Sokka and Spirits, what is happening?
A few moments, minutes, hours?, when they all pull apart, when did the front of Zuko’s shirt come undone?, the guard is long gone, and yet none of them pull away completely. Until Zuko does, and Suki and Sokka’s arms drop off of him.
“Um…” Zuko said. “Suki, I presume?” he asked. Suki extended her hand with a smile.
“Zuko,” she greeted without question. He took her hand, deciding not to comment on how silly the motion felt after just kissing her.
“…Sorry for kissing your boyfriend,” Zuko murmured, his voice slightly too high. Suki giggled and Sokka cracked a grin.
“It’s alright,” Suki replied, running a finger over Zuko’s bicep, “if you kissed him as well as you kissed me…I don’t blame him,” she finished with a shrug. Zuko’s face felt like it was on fire and Sokka offered him a dumb grin.
Zuko swallowed awkwardly. “And uh…sorry for burning down your village,” he said. Sokka hissed in a breath; an odd combination of amusement and judgement. Suki shifts in her stance slightly.
“Way to kill the mood, Zuko,” Sokka teased, earning a small elbow to the side from Suki. She turned on Zuko, her eyes lit with malice.
“Right. You did do that, didn’t you?” she said, her voice cracking with anger. Zuko cringed.
“I did. And I apologize. I understand that means very little in the grand scheme of…the actions taken, but I am trying to be more mindful,” he rambled, murmuring. Suki looked at Sokka and he shrugged as if to say He hasn’t done anything too awful yet. Suki seemed to accept it.
“Well done going along with the act, Baby,” Sokka said quietly, wrapping an arm around Suki’s waist and placing a small kiss on her temple.
Suki grinned and leaned into the touch. “You needed it. That guard would’ve absolutely killed you had I not stepped in.” Sokka rolled his eyes.
“I had it under control,” Sokka shrugged, a grin painted on his face.
“No you didn’t,” Zuko and Suki said at the same time. They looked at one another and dissolved into laughter, Sokka shortly following suit. He quickly sobered up, though, and cleared his throat.
“We still have to find my father,” he said. Zuko and Suki also stopped laughing; Zuko nodded solemnly and Suki frowned. Sokka turned to Zuko. “Lead the way, jerkbender.” Zuko grumbled something under his breath and began to run down the hallway.
Sokka and Suki followed just a few paces behind him, all three of their footsteps hitting the floor in tandem.
“He’s probably in the prison yard,” Zuko called behind him. The two of them followed behind Zuko without question and out into the bright light of the yard.
They slowed instantly, scanning the crowd for…an older Sokka? Neither Zuko nor Suki were really sure what to look for. But Sokka did. And he found him almost immediately. He began walking towards him, his footsteps carefully calculated to look professional. Zuko and Suki followed behind him, and they moved in a triangle-like formation towards him.
Hakoda glanced up from his small group of other prisoners, looking slightly disgruntled at the sight of three guards approaching him.
“Can I help you?” he asked slowly. Sokka resisted the urge to throw himself into Hakoda’s arms.
He cleared his throat. “Yes, I believe you can,” he whispered. Hakoda’s eyes instantly lit up and he grinned wildly, his eyes sparkling. “Create a distraction; we’re getting you out of here,” he whispered again. Hakoda instantly leapt up and yelled as loud as he could:
“Is that Prince Zuko?” he followed with a point in some random prisoner’s direction.
And instantly, a guard followed with the command:
“Get him!”
“Son of a–” Sokka began before Zuko’s hands were already moving, fire erupting from his palms; Suki was in motion, running towards the warden behind Zuko.
“Sokka,” Hakoda whispered when Sokka reached him, tears already threatening to spill out of both of their eyes. Sokka smiled gently and then glanced backwards, looking back at Suki and Zuko. Suki was scaling the wall of the main watchtower, and Zuko was just underneath her, covering her back by shooting fire at anyone who tried to retaliate.
“Is that…really Zuko?” Hakoda questioned, his eyebrows practically shooting off of his face. “Tui and La, I was just kidding but…I guess that doesn’t hurt.”
Sokka nodded with a laugh. “He’s on our side, Dad,” he assured, “and it’s alright if you don’t trust him yet. I didn’t at first. But…I wouldn’t have been able to find you without him.” Hakoda seemed to give this a great deal of thought, gaze flickering between the two boys and then up to Suki.
“And the girl is…?” he asked.
“Suki. She’s my girlfriend,” Sokka replied. Hakoda nodded and raised off the floor. Sokka glanced over at Zuko, fighting off a horde of guards as Suki climbed. For a brief moment, he looked up to check on her, and was almost burnt by an oncoming blast. He grit his teeth and looked back at his assailants and Sokka grimaced.
“Well, I think your girlfriend’s handling it,” Hakoda began, already beginning to break into a run, “let’s go help your boyfriend.” Sokka was already following his dad in a sprint and his steps stuttered slightly at his words.
“…What?” Sokka exclaimed. Hakoda glanced back, shaking out his arms.
“Is he not your boyfr—”
“No!” Sokka interrupted, his face flushing a dark red. Hakoda raised his eyebrows and shrugged as they neared Zuko. Hakoda hit a guard in the back of the head and took his sword from his belt.
“Whatever you say, son. Now, help me out?” Hakoda smiled. Sokka grinned and nodded, his hands already moving to the dagger wrapped under his waist.
The two of them made their way to Zuko easily; Zuko thinning out the inner circle, Sokka and Hakoda moving in from the outside. In a few short minutes that involved Sokka suffering a burn to his shoulder and Hakoda nearly twisting his ankle, they reached Zuko in the center of a fallen semi-circle of guards.
Zuko looked up gratefully, and his expression changed to something almost fearful when he saw Hakoda. Sokka looked to his father, assuming his face would be one of anger or maybe intimidation but instead, he was smiling at Zuko, almost like a proud father.
“Hakoda,” he introduced, extending a hand calmly. Zuko stared down at it and wiped off his hands before shaking it.
“Zuko,” Zuko replied, “but you probably already knew that.” Hakoda chuckled, and a yell shook the air.
“As cute as this is,” Sokka interrupted, “we are in the middle of orchestrating a prison break. Let’s keep going?” he insisted.
Hakoda dropped Zuko’s hand and nodded, and Zuko glanced around. He located a staircase towards the edge of the ship and beckoned Hakoda and Sokka to follow him as he began running as fast as he could. Sokka and Hakoda followed quickly, their footsteps hitting the metal deck drowned out by the chaos surrounding them.
They ran up the stairs, taking three at a time, and rounded a corner to find Suki with the warden in her hands, headpiece tied in his mouth to gag him.
“Sorry Warden, but you’re my prisoner now,” she taunted, tying his hands together and forcing him to the ground with a strong kick. She turned around and smiled widely at Sokka, and then at Zuko.
“I’ve got the warden,” she said eagerly, “now let’s get out of here.” The three men in front of her were panting from their run, and Suki smiled slyly at them.
Hakoda grinned once he recovered. “That’s some girl,” he directed at Sokka.
“Tell me about it,” Sokka breathed, pride seeping into his voice. Zuko nodded beside him, offering Suki a similar look of pride. She smiled, a small pink flush coming over her cheeks before the loud footsteps of guards approaching began to make their way in their direction.
“Let’s go!” she exclaimed, grabbing Zuko’s wrist, who then grabbed Sokka’s bicep, who then grabbed his father’s arm. This was, in practice, not a very good way to travel as the way they were each connected was a bit awkward to move around, but none of them were willing to let go and lose anyone.
Zuko’s legs were screaming from extended use and his forearms burned from keeping his arms up for so long but everyone was alive, and that was all that he cared about. He vaguely registered that Sokka’s arm felt a bit hot and chalked it up to the warm climate. In front of him, Suki let her hand lower slightly so that she was holding Zuko’s hand instead of his wrist, and he felt his hands begin to sweat. Definitely only because of fighting.
“Zuko where am I going?” Suki screamed over the roar of fire.
“Left!” he yelled back, and Suki’s feet instantly obeyed as she dragged the three of them down a corridor, past where they’d had their run-in with a guard earlier. Zuko’s face heated at the memory.
“Hey you!” a guard screamed. “Stop this instant!”
“Mother of Tui,” Sokka cursed. Suki grit her teeth and ran ever so slightly faster. Zuko turned around, letting go of Sokka’s arm briefly to shoot fire at the guard.
They ducked and Zuko couldn’t tell if they had gotten hit and fallen to the ground or if he’d missed. The scream that followed down the hallway instructing them to stop or be killed certainly made him think it was the latter.
He grabbed back onto Sokka, this time taking his hand, and Sokka squeezed back.
“Right!” he instructed Suki, who instantly listened, whipping them around a corner and back onto the other side of the prison yard where they’d landed their ship. It loomed in the distance, perfectly untouched from the violence on the opposite side.
“Now we just need to get everyone onto the ship!” Zuko shouted. Suki ran faster in an instant—how in the name of the Spirits was she running faster—and they were at the airship in a matter of seconds. Zuko let go of Suki’s hand as she climbed aboard the ship. He ushered Sokka on, and then Hakoda. Suki looked back at him, concern painted on her features.
He smiled—what he hoped was—reassuringly. “I’ll be okay.” He turned around, the guard now running full speed at him. Suki flipped off of the ship, standing next to Zuko with her fists raised. He looked at her, about to tell her to go back.
“I’m not letting you do this alone,” she interrupted before he even spoke. He nodded and turned back to the guard.
“Close the gate!” He yelled to Sokka, who hesitantly followed his order. Zuko raised his hands towards the guard in front of him, already beginning to shoot fire at Suki. He crossed his arms, crouching, and blocked it easily.
“Up,” he said quietly. Suki nodded and stepped onto Zuko’s back, launching herself forward towards the guard. Zuko swung one of his legs across the ground, creating an arc of fire on the ground and forcing the guard to jump. Suki was graceful and light in the air, her body moving easily.
Suki met him in mid air with a kick to the face and a sickening crack. Zuko winced as the guard went down and grabbed Suki’s wrist, running back towards the ship. His feet ached as he ran back, slapping against the pavement underneath him, a stark contrast against Suki’s warm palm.
They reached the ship and Zuko offered Suki his hand, a tight smile on his face.
“I’ll help you up,” he offered. Suki shook her head and her hand before she swung herself over the side with ease.
“I’ll help you up,” she replied with a smile, extending a hand downwards. He took it and yelped in surprise as she swung him up in a very similar fashion that she’d done. As soon as his feet hit the ground he made his way over to the burner and lit the coals.
As the balloon lifted off the ground, Hakoda let out a small noise of surprise. Zuko leaned backwards as soon as they were far enough off the ground and Sokka let out a sigh of relief. He turned to his dad and enveloped him in a tight hug, the emotion of finding his father finally overtaking him.
“I missed you, Dad,” he murmured into his father’s hair.
“I missed you too, Sokka,” Hakoda whispered, wrapping his arms around Sokka’s back. Zuko and Suki shared a look and smiled at each other, and then Sokka. And then Zuko realized Sokka’s arm was not warm because of the climate.
“Sokka, did you get burned?” he asked, concern leaking into his tone. Sokka glanced down at his shoulder and shrugged.
“Yeah, but it’ll be okay—” he began.
“Come here,” Suki instructed. Sokka instantly obeyed, and Zuko mentally catalogued that it was both funny and strangely…satisfying that he listened to her so easily. She maneuvered him so his face was leaning on one of her thighs and his back was facing upwards.
Suki looked up at Zuko. “Can we do anything about this?” she asked. Zuko nodded, standing.
“The air balloons always come with burn kits. Fire Nation armies are meant to be as efficient as possible at treating burns,” he replied. He paused. “Given that we work with fire so often,” he added, as if he needed to explain.
Hakoda chuckled and Suki giggled. “I figured that was why, Buddy,” Sokka mumbled against Suki’s leg. Zuko flushed a slight shade of red as he pulled the small bag out of the lower compartment, already taking a burn salve out of the package.
“This might sting a little bit,” he warned.
“I can handle it,” Sokka said, the end of his sentence dissolving into a small squeak as the salve was applied.
Hakoda and Suki laughed again as Zuko continued to apply the paste, after which he applied a gauzy wrapping.
“Why don’t you try to rest, Sokka?” Hakoda insisted. Sokka mumbled something about not needing to sleep just before he faded off into sleep. Suki looked down at him fondly, running a finger through his hair. Zuko stood up, leaning over the side of the ship to look out across the ocean.
When he turned back around, Suki was also asleep, her hand still intertwined through Sokka’s hair. Zuko looked at them fondly, his face turning into a soft smile.
“So, Zuko,” Hakoda began. Zuko startled, looking towards Hakoda. “How do you feel about my son?”
Zuko cleared his throat. “He’s a wonderful fighter. Smart, even if he doesn’t always appear like it. And he’s fun to be around. He was one of the first to accept me into the team,” Zuko rambled.
Hakoda nodded thoughtfully.
“And Suki?” he added. Zuko flinched ever so slightly, hardly noticeable before he began.
“She’s…inspiringly excellent at non-bending combat. And incredibly flexible. I admire her spirit and her courage,” he murmured. Hakoda glanced at Suki and Sokka before turning to Zuko and smiling.
Zuko shifted under the weight of his gaze. “Just so you know,” Hakoda said, “I wouldn’t mind Sokka bringing two people home.” Hakoda winked at Zuko and closed his eyes, following the others in their sleep.
Zuko swallowed the dryness in his throat, glancing over at Suki and Sokka. He forced the flush on his face to go away before settling down next to the two of them and leaning his head on Suki’s shoulder.
The flush instantly returned; there was really no point in making it go away in the first place. And he stared at the sky so that he wouldn’t fall asleep too.
He wouldn’t mind that either.
Happy Zukki week everyone! :)
