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slythergirlimagines · 4 years

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I’ve Got you- hurt!Reader x Sokka

Thank you to @nataliahaslosthershit for the request! I hope I did it justice:) Masterlist

Summary: You and Sokka get into a fight that results in you getting kidnapped. Fluff and angst!!(Also the gif isn’t mine! I don’t know who made it but I definitely don’t own it!!)

I’ve Got You- Hurt!reader x Sokka

You never imagined that your life post-war would involve more war. Peace had not been quite as instant as everyone had hoped when Zuko became Firelord. Several rebel groups were organizing, and there had been at least one known assassination attempt against Zuko.

That’s when Zuko had put Sokka in charge of neutralizing Ozai’s loyalists, and because Sokka was your best friend, you couldn’t say no when he asked you to join him.

Now you and Sokka were staking out a village thought to be rife with rebels, and you’d never been more miserable in your life. The heat was stifling and the village was going through a drought, so food and water had been limited. You couldn’t help but feel like this was a waste of time.

“Sokka nothing is happening. Clearly we got our intel wrong, we’ve been here for three days and nothing!” You threw your hands up exasperatedly.

Currently you were camping on the outskirts of the town, hidden by the dense forests. You’d been here for three days, checking things out and asking around. Though there were whispers of a rebel stronghold, you had yet to find any solid proof. It had been three days of absolute hell.

“Relax, y/n. We’ll find out something soon.” Sokka assures you.

He is sprawled out across his sleeping bag, his long limbs taking up a majority of the cramped space in the tent. After the war, Sokka had experienced an incredible growth spurt. He was now taller than his father, and it didn’t hurt that the rest of him had filled out too. Your best friend had serious muscles from training, and it was becoming impossible not to notice in this tiny, miserable excuse for a tent.

“Can you at least keep to your side!” You snap at him. You don’t really mind, but his flippant attitude and the fact that you hadn’t slept or eaten properly in days was really getting to you.

Sokka sits up on his sleeping back and arches an eyebrow. He studies you for a moment, and then rolls his eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me!” You snap.

“You’re so touchy!” He says, crossing his arms. His sleeveless tunic gives you a very good look at his strong biceps.

“I’m not touchy, I’m right!” You say, voice increasing in volume. “You know I’m right Sokka. We’ve found absolutely no evidence of anyone conspiring against Zuko. We shouldn’t even be here right now. We should be at home, in real beds! We can reevaluate the situation from there.”

“Y/n I told you, my instincts are telling me....” he starts, but you cut him off with a frustrated groan.

“Your instincts?!” You all but shriek. “Sokka your instincts have been right a grand total of twice!”

You jump up off your sleeping bag, suddenly unable to sit still any longer. There’s barely enough room for you to stand without crouching. You have a very powerful urge to pace.

Sokka furiously jumps up as well, but the small height of the tent forces him to bend over.

“My instincts are right this time!” He says, jabbing a finger at your chest.

You scoff batting his finger away, and his face turns red from anger. It’s been a long time since you’ve had a fight as bad as this one, but you think maybe he’s also been ready to explode.

“If you’re so done with being here why don’t you just leave?” He shouts, getting in your face. You’re breathing the same air, and his blue eyes flash in defiance. “It’s not like I need you anyways!”

Even in your anger, the statement hurts. You decide to channel all that hurt into anger, you can be sad about it later.

“You know what? Fine. I’ll go, I should have never even come in the first place!” You seethe.

“Then why did you?” He throws his arms up.

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt!” You yell back. “Because we’re a team and I always have your back! And mostly because you asked me to!”

Sokka’s hair has fallen out of its wolf tail, and the long pieces fall just past his ears. It accentuates the square of his jaw, the slight stubble that’s grown during their stakeout. It’s ridiculously attractive for no reason at all.

Sokka’s face flits through a multitude of expressions before he settles on indifference.

“I don’t need you to protect me.” He says. “I don’t need you here, so if you want to go just go! I don’t want you here.”

He turns his back to you, and his heavy breaths shake his shoulders.

This time you can’t keep the hurt out of your voice, and when you speak it’s watery with angry tears.

“Fine. I won’t bother you again.” You storm out of the tent and into the forest.

In your anger, you don’t really pay attention to where you’re going. Tears blur your vision, and rage guides your limbs. You swipe furiously at your tears. You will not cry over Sokka of all people.

But his words hurt you more than you thought they would. You were a team, and you had been that way since the beginning. Ever since you had joined the Gaang and found out that you an Sokka fought incredibly well together you had been inseparable. You had been through everything together, and you had always had each other’s backs. You had always needed each other.

Maybe Sokka was telling the truth. Maybe he needed space and you were smothering him, but he was all you really had in the world. You had no home or family to go back to, and the truth was you loved him.

Somehow in the midst of all the chaos, Sokka had wiggled his way into your heart and made a home there. You couldn’t imagine your life without him, and after the war when you had both stuck together, you had started to think maybe he felt the same way.

But now it was very clear that he didn’t. Maybe he asked you because he felt sorry for you, because he knew you had no where else to go. Of course that was it. You were just his charity case. How pathetic.

Your spiraling thoughts are broken by the snapping of a tree branch. You hate that you instantly think of Sokka.

“Sokka?” You ask into the darkness. You were foolish not to walk blindly into the woods. Why hadn’t you followed the road?

Blinking against the dark, you try to make out the owner of the sound. No one responds to your question, maybe you’re just being paranoid. Quickly, you start walking in the direction you think will lead you to the road. It’s incredibly dangerous to be out here alone.

Again, you hear a twig snap.

“Who’s there?” You demand, trying to sound braver than you are. Still there’s no reply. You turn to keep walking, and then you are ambushed.

Someone tackles you to the ground, and in the dark it’s impossible to make out more than just inky shapes.

You start fighting vigorously, but the person holding you down is much stronger than you are, and your efforts are futile.

“Let go of me.” You spit, not giving up. The man on top of you butts his head into yours, and you go limp. Colors dance in front of your eyes, and you’re too disoriented to fight.

“Alright, I got her. Let’s take her to the boss.” Someone hisses in the dark. It isn’t the man on top of you, so there has to be more of them. Even if you weren’t injured you couldn’t take all of them. With a sinking feeling in your gut, you realize Sokka’s instincts were right.

“Rebels.” You manage to wheeze out. Your adrenaline is starting to kick back in, and you think maybe if you distract them you’ll have a pretty good chance of running away.

A man chuckles in the dark.

“Bright isn’t she.” He says, sarcasm lacing his words. You’ll never get a chance to run with this man’s weight on you. You’ll have to let them start to move you. Make them think you are weak.

You let yourself go completely limp, and throw in a few whimpers for effect. The man on top of you leans in close enough for you to make out his sneer and smell his breath.

“I’ve got her.” The man says, and he moves his arms underneath you to lift you up. Fast as Zuko’s lightning, you knee him in the groin and roll out from under him.

You scramble away trying to will your aching muscles to move, but your head is pounding and your already limited vision grows blurry.

The man is back on you in no time, and this time when he tackles you, you pass out.

_________________________________

When you wake up, your head is pounding and your mouth is dry. Where are you? You move to get up and realize that you are tightly bound to a chair. You pull against the ropes and they saw into your skin, leaving behind welts.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A lilting voice says in the dark. “I am excellent at tying knots, you’ll never escape from them. It would be easier for us to just play nice.”

You blink against the dim light, and shakes start to come to life. In front of you stands a middle-aged man. He is tall and imposing in the enclosed space, and for the first time, you realize you are in a prison cell.

The man wears the deep red robes of Firenation, and of it wasn’t clear enough before, you know that you are now indeed dealing with Ozai loyalists.

“What do you want from me?” You ask, managing to sound calm despite the danger you are in.

The man smirks at you, and starts walking slowly around your chair. Your anxiety increases as he moves behind you and you lose sight of him. Your basic instincts scream not to let your enemy out of sight.

“You and your boyfriend have been asking a lot of questions.” His smile is razor sharp and dangerous. The hair on the back of you neck stands up as you start to calculate your chances of survival. And Sokka, he mentioned Sokka. Was he ok?

“Here’s what I want.” He says smoothly, watching your struggle. “All I want is for you to cooperate with me. There’s no need for me to harm you if you just comply.”

You feel something cold hit the side of your neck, and a chill runs down your spine when you realize it’s a knife.

“I don’t like to play games. I would really rather you be honest with me.” He warns.

You jut your chin out defiantly. You know he wants information about Zuko or Firenation. You won’t give him anything. You won’t let this idiot hurt your friends. You think about Sokka, alone in his tent and then freeze.

What if they found him, or hurt him? The man laughs at your facial expression.

“Not so brave now, are you?” He tuts. He moves around to face you, but continues to hold the knife to your neck. “Don’t worry we haven’t hurt your precious boyfriend. Yet. Do what I say and we won’t need to.”

You try to rationalize to yourself that he needs you alive for information. The weight of the blade digging into your neck seems to contradict that notion. Sokka’s face flashes in your mind, and you know you have to be brave for him. Hopefully he’ll get himself somewhere safe. He’s an excellent fighter, and it would be hard for them to take him. You know that’s why they chose you instead.

“Who are you?” The man asks, bringing you back to reality. “Who do you work for.”

“My name is Li, and I don’t work for anyone.” You say the practiced lie. You had stolen and adapted Zuko’s undercover personality as your own for these situations. Sokka preferred to be a different person every time, but it was easier for you to lie when you used the same one over and over.

The man studies your face for a long time, and then smacks you across the mouth, his baggy sleeves swing from the power of the blow.

“I told you to be honest with me!” He says. His black eyes are crazed. “If you’re not going to be honest, I’m going to have to hurt you.” He half sings.

“Tell me your name!” He says with more force.

Again you repeat the same lie.

The torture lasts for what seems like hours. The man finally leaves to take a break, leaving you sore and broken. You have a split lip, both your eyes are almost swollen shut, and you have bruises all over. You don’t think you were ever this banged up in the war.

“I’ll break her soon enough.” He tells someone outside, presumably a guard. You wait until you hear the cell door slide shut before you slump into your seat.

The pain is incredible, but you’re proud of yourself. You hadn’t given anything away, just maintained a forced silence. You hoped you would be able to keep this up. You briefly think about Sokka, but it’s too painful. He’ll be ok, you know he will. Eventually, you think he’ll come find you.

Just as you start to think about him, Sokka’s face swims before your eyes. He’s so real you could swear he’s really there.

“Y/n.” He whispers, reaching a hand out to stroke your face. He stops just before he touches you, and lets it drop. The horrified expression on hallucination Sokka’s face is so plain that you can see it through your blurred vision.

“Sokka...so real...” you manage to grunt out. There’s so much you want to tell him, apologies and confessions fly to your lips but you don’t have the energy to say anything except a mumbled “sorry.”

“Y/n, I’m here. I’m here and I’m getting you out.” He whispers. You smile the best you can despite your injuries, and stare into his intense blue eyes. If Sokka were here, this is the exact face he would be making. You’d seen it so many times that you’d recreated it perfectly. You were really impressed with hallucination Sokka and your ability to conjure him up.

At least you got to see him again, because right now it feels like you’re going to die in this cell. Hallucination Sokka starts on your bonds, and you can almost feel the rope grinding against your skin. No, no wait, the ropes are most definitely falling away from your wrists. That must mean...

“Sokka??” You ask, tears in your eyes.

He pops back up in front of you, and you swear you’ve never seen a more perfect sight. His dark skin and blue eyes, his strong build. Sokka has always made you feel safe, and it holds true even here.

Sokka reaches a large hand up to cradle your face, and when he touches your skin, you can feel it’s warmth. He’s here, he’s really here. You chant it like a mantra over and over again in your head.

“I told you I’ve got you.” He says. “I’m going to get you out of here, but it’s probably going to hurt. I’m going to have to carry you.”

His voice is strained like it always is when he’s trying not to show his emotions. You nod, trying your best to be brave. You trust Sokka, and he’s here. He’s got you.

Sokka leans down and shifts his arms underneath your body. He lifts you up in a smooth motion, and cradles your against his hard chest. The jostling causes searing pain to tear through your limbs, and you cry out before you can help it.

“I’m sorry!” Sokka cries, wincing at your pain. “I promise it’ll be over soon.” He mumbles into your hair. He presses a lingering kiss to your forehead, and then he’s running.

Sokka meets little resistance when he leaves, and you’d like to ask but the pain is too much. You can feel the change when you get outside. There’s a breeze blowing, and it wraps around you in a soothing way. You never thought wind could be such a relief.

Sokka continues to run for an incalculable amount of time. The rough terrain of the forest does you no favors, and by the time Sokka slows down, you’re in so much pain you can barely see straight. There’s some sort of commotion, and you can hear people shouting in the distance.

“I need a healer!” You hear Sokka yell.

Everything is too much for you, and your head lolls back.

“Y/n!” Sokka yells, panicked. “Stay with me, y/n! Don’t-”

Everything goes dark before you can hear the rest.

———————————————-

It’s too bright when you wake up. Everything hurts, but you can move this time at least. Anxiety shoots through you when you remember what happened.

“Sokka!” Your voice cracks, and you groan. “Sokka?” You squeeze your eyes shut against the light. Man your head hurts.

“I’m here!” His voice is gruff, but flooded with relief. You feel a squeeze around your hand, and realize that he’s been holding it the entire time.

You pry your eyes open, and blink against the light. Your eyes find his blue one, and they’re filled with worry and emotions you can’t really name but they make your stomach flip all the same.

“You look like shit.” You tell him. And he does. You’d be shocked if Sokka has slept at all since you came here.

“I look like shit?” He says, and laughs humorlessly. “Y/n, you’ve been tortured within an inch of your life and it’s all my fault.” He says, and you can hear the anger in his low voice, but you know it isn’t at you.

“Sokka...”

“No, just don’t y/n.” He says, voice shaky. He drops his head into his hands.

“Sokka, seriously-”

“I didn’t mean it.” He says suddenly, urgently. His head snaps up and his blue eyes bore into yours with an intensity that takes your breath away. “None of it. I’m so sorry that I’m such an idiot, y/n.”

“Sokka.”

“I do need you. I need you more than anyone in my life, and when you aren’t there it’s horrible. I never want to be away from you again. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and seeing you there in that cell all bloody, Ive never been more angry in my life. I should have killed him. No,” he says shaking his head, jaw locked, “I would have killed him. If I hadn’t had to get you out....”

Unsure of what to do to make him feel better, you grab one of his hands, bringing it to your face.

“Sokka, you got me out. You saved me. I’m here because of you.” Emotion floods your voice, and it seems to do the trick, because all of his anger deflates.

“I never should have said those things.” He says.

“I said some pretty mean stuff too. Especially about your instincts, which were both right and saved my life.” You say, giving the hand on your face a squeeze.

Sokka laughs lowly. It’s a small sound, but it’s something. It makes your body tingle.

“I mean it, you know. What I said. You’re the most important person in my life, y/n. You know how I am with stuff like this, how I always mess it up, but when I saw you in that cell....” he trails off, and then shakes his head.

“I love you.” You say, and it shocks you how easily it comes out of your mouth. “I love you, Sokka. I need you too.”

Sokka’s whole face lights up, and you watch as his eyes soften. He breaks into a crooked grin, and laughs a little breathlessly.

“You love me?” He asks, in awe.

“Yes you idiot.” You laugh, and then wince when the effort strains your muscles.

“I love you too.” He says, face resolute. Then he bends down, and places the gentlest of kisses on your lips. It’s feather light, almost teasing.

“Sokka!” You groan when he pulls back. “Give me a real kiss.” You demand, pouting.

Sokka laughs and shakes his head.

“Not until that lip is healed. Then you’ll find out how a real man kisses.” He wiggles his eyebrows at you.

“I don’t want to kiss a real man, I want to kiss you!” You exclaim.

Sokka puts his free hand on his chest.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I am a very real man.” He says, puffing out his chest.

The sounds of your laughter coalesces, and you both stare at each other with warm eyes. Here with Sokka, everything feels right again.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed reading! Check out my other writing under my tag slythergirlimagines. I take requests for multiple fandoms and I also do Hogwarts House Sortings. Swing by my blog to check everything out, and don’t be afraid to request:) My asks/messages are always open. Also I am working on “Just Us and Some Hugging” Part 2, and my other requests so keep an eye out this week!

#slythergirlimagines #sokka x reader #sokka x y/n #atla fanfic #atla #sokka #avatar the last airbender #sokka fanfic #aang #katara #zuko #toph #fanfic request

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secret-kkh-fics · 4 years

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Spark Before the Flame | Chapter 2

Due to this not being posted anywhere else yet, please like but DON’T REBLOG my fics.

Chapter Summary:

Old Zuko is sent back into his younger body, and Young Zuko is surprised not just by it happening, but by how much he seems to have changed in 70 years. He’s not the only one who notices the difference, and Old Zuko sits the Gaang down to explain.

Like Falling Dominoes

"So, what if they had a lot of accurate knowledge," Toph scoffed, rice flying from her mouth as she spoke. "Half of that play was bogus anyway, it was all word of mouth. And it's not like they can suddenly tell the future, so stop complaining. We're going to kick that asshole's butt."

Around the table, the gang looked a little more relieved at her words. The future was still uncertain, but Toph's brash attitude helped pick them all up a little after watching that stupid play. There were even a few small smiles as they returned to eating.

"Yeah, it was bogus," Katara agreed. "Like the part where we flew right over the Great Divide without stopping. We had a whole adventure helping two feuding tribes through there on foot!"

"And how I use sound and vibrations in the air to see. Do I look like an airbender to you?!"

Aang chuckled. "Y-yeah. And the scene with Katara and Zuko in the catacombs?! What was with that?"

"Oh yeah. That was totally fake," Toph scoffed sarcastically, earning some confused looks.

"Well, we were trapped in the catacombs, but that wasn't what we talked about."

"So, no talking at all. Gotcha!"

"Toph!" Katara exclaimed in annoyance.

"W-we actually talked about our mothers," Zuko said awkwardly.

Toph just huffed and muttered under her breath. "Damn. Just make out already, the tension is killing me!" Katara was the only one to hear her and she looked at the girl stunned, her mouth hanging open.

However, no one got the chance to ask her why she was looking at Toph like that, because the next moment, they noticed a bright light racing through the sky towards them. Right towards them. It was so fast that they didn't even have time to move out of the way or even attempt to defend themselves. The light crashed down, landing right on Zuko. As everyone other than Toph shied away, they panicked, worried for their friend, making Toph cock her head in confusion. But when the light cleared, he was sitting there exactly as he had been, unharmed.

They watched as he blinked and then looked around at them all in surprise. He looked down at himself, and then, oddly, at his hands, flexing them. Maybe something had happened to his vision? There didn't... seem to be anything wrong with him. Still, he began stretching, lifting his arms up over his head and groaning as the muscles stretched pleasantly. He had an oddly happy surprised expression on his face and let out a quiet chuckle. The entire group froze. They had never heard him laugh like that before.

Okay, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, but he was acting... strange.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?!" Toph finally asked.

"Ah, Zuko, are you okay?" Katara was the first to ask.

He looked up at her, as if he was surprised to hear her speak, then looked around at everyone else's concerned faces. As he did, a warm smile lit up his face and his eyes watered.

"Better than you could ever imagine," he told her breathlessly.

"What was that weird ball of light?" Sokka said, a hint of panic still in his voice. "Are you sure you're okay? It didn't hurt you? Did make you extra strong or give you super powers?!"

"Superpowers?" he questioned, raising an amused brow. "You mean firebending doesn't already count?"

"No, that's bending. Of course, it doesn't count."

"Wait, so some ball of light hit Sparky, here?" Toph questioned.

"Yeah, it was really weird," Katara said. "I don't think I've seen something like that since..." Her eyes widened.

"Since what?" Aang asked when she didn't continue.

She blinked, startled by the question, then narrowed her eyes at Zuko slightly before shaking her head. "No, never mind. That was something else."

"Then what was it?" Suki asked. Zuko just shrugged indifferently before seeing his food and happily digging in again.

"You know, palace food in amazing," he told them, "but nothing beats Katara's cooking." He was met by looks of surprise, and Katara's mouth fell open slightly and she blushed.

"Um, thank you. But it's just simple rice..."

"I know... Hey, we should go to the market place tomorrow. We can get some more food, some spices. I could show you some tradition Fire Nation dishes. You'll love the komodo-chiken."

"That... sounds nice, actually," she said. "But, um, won't... we be too noticeable."

The way she hesitated and tried to nicely phrase what she meant made him snort in amusement. "Don't worry, Katara. I've had this scar since I was thirteen. I know how to hide it."

"Th-that's not what I-"

"Yes, it was. But it's fine. I understand. I'm the Fire Prince and we're in the fire Nation. If it makes you feel better, not everyone knows what we look like... Wanted posters and play aside. The other month I came to Ember Island with Azula, Mai and Ty Lee. There were some boys who had no idea who we were and invited us all to a party. It was interesting seeing how they treated us not knowing who we were. Of course, I was in a really bad place at the time and they didn't really like me much. We wrecked their house."

"Because you got angry?" Aang asked, somewhat shocked.

"No, because they were jerks and it was fun," he chuckled, earning more surprised looks. "I got angry and left the party. Broke in here and burnt some of our stuff in a bonfire. Then we all yelled at each other and got some issues off our chests. Then we got bored and went back and wrecked their stuff. Probably not the best move, but very therapeutic at the time."

Toph chucked. "Don't piss off the Fire Nation royals."

"Always a good decision. Get on my father's bad side and he's likely to burn half your face off!" He said it jokingly, but at his words, the entire group fell silent and looked at him in shock. "What? You can't really be shocked he'd do something like that."

"No, I'm not," Katara said darkly. "But did he... Did he..." Her eyes glanced to his scar before settling uncomfortably on the table. He seemed surprised by her unspoken question and a look of resignation came over his face.

"I'm suddenly not feeling so well," he told them, not looking at anyone. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a while." He quickly stood and left the room, his head down.

"Wait, Zuko! I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Katara faded out behind him.

The last thing he heard was Toph's blunt but sad, "I guess that means yes."

And Sokka's, "...His dad is a dick."

It wasn't until Zuko was in the room he'd used as a child and closed the door that he let out a deep breath and spoke again.

"Alright, alright! Would you stop yelling?" He said aloud.

'No!' said the voice in his head. 'Who are you? What the hell is going on? What have you done to my body? And how do you know about my life?!'

"I will answer all your questions, Zuko," he told the voice. "But please take it down a notch, you're giving me a headache. I forgot how short-tempered and petulant you were." The last part was muttered, but the voice reacted none the less.

'Excuse me?!' he cried.

Zuko chucked and sat on the bed. "Let's sit down, shall we? It's a long story..."

Zuko rose with the sun, as he always did. He stretched and groaned, for a moment surprised about how good he felt. Then he remembered why. He was in the body of his younger self. It seemed that his younger self had forgotten too, because he sensed alarm from the boy.

'What the...? Oh, right...'

Zuko chuckled. "Good morning, young Zuko," he said.

The younger man sighed mentally. 'Yeah, you too, old man.'

The talk the night before had been interesting. He had originally planned to just tell everyone who he was that night, but the boy had been shouting in his head so much it was making it hard to concentrate. When he had hinted to the others about the origin of his scar, the boy went into hysterics. He had come to terms with what had happened long ago, and it was no longer a struggle for him to speak freely of it. The young Zuko, however, had not. And he had desperately begged and threatened him not to tell the others. Instead, he had excused himself, deciding it was wiser to let him know first, since apparently, they couldn't actually hear each other's thoughts.

He had told the boy everything, or at least... all the important bits. It had taken recalling not only certain events in his life, but also his thoughts and feelings at the time to convince him that he really was an older version of himself. And the boy had grudgingly resigned himself to his situation, allowing him to fulfil his task. Older Zuko had expected nothing less. Most of his life he had been nothing if not dutiful.

Of course, that didn't stop the young Zuko from sarcastically commenting on everything. It wasn't until he gave him a very brief and understated view of what the world was like in his time, and some of the sad things that were yet to come that he had sobered up and stayed quiet.

Sighing, he pulled on some clothing, only bothering to properly tie up the pants, since he planned to discard his shirts the moment he reached the courtyard anyway. He grabbed a towel on the way and headed out to the courtyard where there was a perfect view of the sun starting to rise over the sea towards the east. He sat down, crossed his legs, and began to meditate. As he cleared his mind, relaxed and focused on his breathing, he could feel Young Zuko doing the same thing, bringing a small smile to his lips.

It wasn't until the sun had risen over the horizon and into the sky that he stood once more. Going by the silence in the house, he knew that the others weren't up yet, but for a moment he was sure he saw a flash of blue at one of the widows. Remembering Katara's confession from long ago that she had secretly watched him train early in the morning, he grinned, shucking off his shirts and folding them off to the side before beginning on some basic forms. Slowly, he added more and more complicated moves to his routine. He didn't stop until Young Zuko's voice practically shouted in his head.

'Holy crap, how did you do that?!'

Old Zuko smirked. "Years of study and practice. I suppose if you want to start learning early you should pay attention." His smirk turned into a full-on grin. "I haven't had this much energy or ease of movement in years. This is going to be fun!”

And with that, he continued, showing his younger self just how powerful he had become over the span of 70 years, leaving the boy speechless. It made him both proud to realise just how far he had come, but sad to remember that back then, he never thought that such a thing was possible. Growing up with a physically and emotionally abusive father as well as having an inferiority complex because of his little sister had rather fucked him over. It was only his friends and his uncle who had allowed him to realise just how wronged he had been, and just how much better he could be. For too long, he had blamed himself for everything. But he guessed that perspective came with age, as well as wisdom.

He didn't know how long he trained for, but when he finally stopped, pushing his hands downward to release the energy and calm himself he was met by the sounds of whooping and cheering. He looked over in shock to see the entire gang sitting on the steps watching him in awe.

"Damn, Zuko!" Sokka said with a grin. "You've been holding out on us."

"That was incredible!" Aang cried. "Can you teach me those moves?!"

"Some of those were waterbending moves," Katara said in wonder, sounding a little confused by this. "And were there some earthbeding moves in there?"

"Oh yeah, looked real impressive to me," Toph said casually. When he looked at her with a flat expression, she chuckled. "Okay, okay. So, I can't see the fire. But it felt hot, and your forms have improved so much it's insane."

It was Katara that he chose to answer as he grabbed the towel and wiped sweat from his face and neck. "Yeah. Uncle taught me that the divide between elements and nations were just an illusion, and he was right. He created a way to direct lighting by studying waterbending, and since then I wondered how else other bending styles can influence each other. I watched what you lot were doing and tried to see what would happen if I do those moves while channelling my fire. I can't believe you didn't notice before. I was using waterbending moves back in Ba Sing Se. You should try it; multiple style bending has yielded some pretty amazing results."

"I'll say!" Katara said. "Now I want to try some firebending moves."

"Damn, Sparky, that's pretty cool."

"Very resourceful," Sokka agreed. "It's like having a boomerang as well as a sword and a club." He grinned as he compared his own weapons to Zuko's bending styles.

"Zuko can use swords too," Aang piped up. “He’s crazy talented with the dao swords.”

“Yeah, I know. He even studied with Master Piendao!" He looked a little disheartened at this, but it quickly fell away to be replaced by one of excitement and determination. "Hey, Zuko. How about a little swordbending rematch?!"

The made-up word brought a huge smile to Zuko's face as he remembered back to the time Sokka had made it while challenging him to a 'swordbending kai'. It was so stupid, and so silly, and it brought tears to his eyes. He knew he missed Sokka. It had broken his heart when news came that his best friend had died. He and Katara had been devastated, and they did not hear from Toph again after that until they received news of her own death. He had missed him so much... but he didn't realise just how much until now.

Without even thinking, he strode up to the boy and threw his arms around him, pulling him in tight.

"Aah!" Sokka cried, his arms splaying out at odd angles. "He's attacking me! He's attacking me!"

"He's hugging you, Sokka," Katara deadpanned.

"Ughhh! Dude, get off me! You're all sweaty!" He protested instead.

"I missed you, buddy," was all Zuko said, his voice rough.

"Ahh... Yeah. I missed you too?" Sokka gave him an awkward pat on the back, but drew back with an 'ugh!' and wiped the sweat onto his tunic with a disgusted look, then pushed him off.

He noticed that the others were looking at him oddly, and he remembered how back at this point, he hardly ever initiated contact, and the only one he ever willingly hugged without hesitation was Katara. Instead of making him feel awkward, it just made him realise how much he had missed them all, and before he knew it, he was drawing each of them into a hug and telling them so. Suki seemed perplexed, and Aang excided, Toph, of course, protested very loudly, and ended the hug by punching him hard on the arm... He'd forgotten how much that hurt. Of course, Young Zuko was protesting the entire time. Asking what he was doing, utterly baffled.

"Don't I get a hug?" Katara teased when he didn't immediately scoop her up in a hug like he had the others.

With a gentle smile, he pulled her into him, holding her tightly. "I always miss you when you're not around," he whispered in her ear.

Pressed this close to her, he could feel her breath get caught in her throat, and she squeezed him tighter. He couldn't help a wide grin when he felt her fingers spread out, feeling the muscles on his bare back. Katara drew back quickly when she realised what she was doing, a blush on her face. Her eyes flicked to the ground, then back at him, widening as they roved over his torso. Then her cheeks flamed brighter and she looked firmly at the ground again. He glanced down and remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

'Agni, is she blushing?!' Young Zuko exclaimed in his head. 'You made her blush! Why is she blushing?!'

The young man was far from clueless, but he was rather oblivious to his own charm and how he affected women. This came double when it came to Katara, and he seemed baffled that he could make Katara blush. But to Old Zuko, who had become comfortable in his own skin knew exactly why. He had bulked up as he got older, gaining more muscle and broadening out. But even now, as a seventeen-year-old, he was still decently muscled, despite his leanness.

Trying to hide a grin, he picked up his robe and wrapped it around himself, tying the sash. When he looked back up, everyone was looking at him a little oddly.

"What?" he asked, confused about their expressions.

"Um... are you okay?" Sokka asked him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're acting really weird!"

'No shit!' Young Zuko grumbled.

"What he means," Suki interjected, "is that we haven't really seen you act like this before. We were wondering what was with the change in attitude..."

"Ah." He sighed. It was probably time he told them. "Why don't we all sit down?"

He took the lead and sat down where he was. Cautiously, the others joined him, sitting down in a circle. Katara sat to his right and Sokka to his left, with Suki beside him, and Aang sitting opposite him. Toph was sitting between Katara and Aang, her hands resting on the ground and supporting her weight. It made her look like she was lazing back and didn't overly care about what was going on, but he knew that it was so she could secretly listen to everyone's heartbeats easier.

"Well, this is looking to be a light-hearted conversation," Sokka said, his tone light, but clearly sarcastic.

Zuko just sighed. "Far from, Sokka. I was thinking best how to tell you all, but I suppose this is as good as any... I'm not Zuko." He was met by wide eyes, full of shock and confusion. He felt them all tense and saw Aang start to rise, so he held his hand up to still them all. "Sorry, that's probably a bad way to put it. I am Zuko. Just... not your Zuko. I am him from seventy-five years in the future."

"Riiiight... Looking pretty good for a 90-year-old there, Buddy," Sokka laughed nervously.

'Great. Now they think I'm crazy.'

He just rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not going crazy. And yes, I am 90, well, 91. I don't look it because the spirits only sent my soul back into my past body."

They all looked at Toph for confirmation of his story and she gave them a slight nod with wide, shocked eyes.

"Then where's our Zuko?!" Katara demanded. She looked angry and afraid, so he smiled reassuringly at her.

"He's still up here," he told her, tapping his head. "For a lack of better explanation, I am the one in control of the body, and he is stuck in his own mind making sarcastic comments. Not the most ideal situation, and I can't imagine it would be very pleasant.-"

'It's not.'

"-But he has accepted it, so I am able to do what I came back to do."

"And what's that?" Aang asked warily.

"Change the future," he said simply, earning many raised eyebrows. He chuckled. "I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than such an easy answer, but that's the gist of it. I come from a future that is... well, falling apart. Many things have gone wrong and it has led to the worlds almost destroying themselves. And it is all a cause and effect from this time. Like falling dominoes."

"Dominoes?" Katara questioned.

"I love dominoes!" Aang exclaimed. "It's this game with these tiles and you have to match up the symbols on them, but it's more fun to stack them on their ends side by side, then knock them over! You tip over the first one and it hits the next and the next and the entire line falls over! It's really fun, but you have to be careful not to knock any down when you're setting it up or you have to start again. Some of the monks used to make art with it!"

"Exactly," Zuko said. "It was just like that. One thing in this time went wrong, and because of it something else went wrong, and another, and another... Things are not good. The devastation from the war never healed. And even worse, it's impacting the spirit world. The spirit world is dying, so the spirits came to me, asking for my help. And, here I am."

"What makes you so special?" Toph asked him. "Is it something to do with your family? With us? Why couldn't one of us do it? Not that I'm complaining, but this sounds nuts!"

"In a way it's about both. I suppose others in Team Avatar could have done it..."

"Ha! Told you Team Avatar works!" Sokka crowed.

"But I was the only one left."

"Hang on, what?!" Everyone's expressions had turned to looks of horror.

"You forget that I am an old man. Almost everyone had died years before. The only one other than me was Katara, and she died when I accepted the task." Katara grew pale. "So, I suppose we died at the same time."

"Wait, died... you died too?" Katara was clearly confused and a little upset.

"To send me back, they had to send back my soul. The only way to do that was to rip my soul from my body, which is not something you survive. I was aware of this from the start. The spirits made sure I was fully aware of the repercussions for me, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make."

“But why?!” Aang asked. “What is so bad that you got sent back?!”

Zuko huffed. “Didn’t you hear me? The Spirit World is dying. Our world is dying. Everything is dying. Things were supposed to get better after the war, but instead the world fell into chaos. The nations still stood divided, reconstruction programmes fell through, the wealthy fell into poverty while the already impoverished died. What was happening in our world was so bad, it started to affect the Spirit World. And as the spirits died, so did the nature and forces that they protect. The dragons are gone, almost all the spirits are gone from our world, there are fewer benders born every year, … Everything is gone or dying. There is no way to bring it back. The only solution was to go back to a time there was still a way to fix it all.”

“And… and only one thing happened, that caused all of that?” Katara said aghast.

“It’s more complicated than that, but in a sense, yes.”

“What was it?” Suki asked quietly.

“Katara, the Spirits and I discussed everything over many times, trying to pin point the exact moment that things started going wrong. We tried to figure out what was the original domino that toppled the rest, so to speak. It took us months of thinking back through everything that had happened in the last 70 years, but finally we figured out the one single mistake. Everything bad started happening when Aang killed the Fire Lord.”

Author Note:

The idea for this was ‘what if Old Zuko was from the darkest timeline?’ Basically, everyone in the Gaang and the world in general had some of the worst luck. This is, of course, purely for plot. I don’t think any of these things would have happened for sure because of certain decisions, but Aang killing Ozai seemed like a decent catalyst.

Chapter Index | First Chapter | << Previous Chapter | Next Chapter >>

#avatar #spark before the flame

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ethod-reo · 6 years

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Zutara week day 2 (and 1..)

Well, while i totally forgot to post for the first day, i did write for the two prompts. So here is a link to the ff.net version of this. And here, second prompt. Which consists of letters exclusively because i liked it x) (if you want the first one, it’s on ff.net sorry about that)

@zutaraweek

Zutara week 2018 day two- Letters

“Dear Zuko,

This is the first letter I attempted to write since Aang and I left after the coronation. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for not writing sooner. We just kept travelling and travelling, you won’t imagine the lengths I had to go to in order to keep Aang still for more than two days. I have not much to say, I am roaming the earth, but as fantastic as it has been, I must confess that I miss the comfort of one place. I think it will ease with time. How are thing back in the Fire nation? I hope you are not frightening too much your poor servants.

With love,

Katara”

“Dear Katara,

Your letter surprised me, but I did miss having a friend to talk to, even through letters. As you must know, Sokka and Suki retuned to the Southern Water Tribe a few days after your own departure. He lacks a certain talent in redaction, but he did make the effort to announce me his engagement to Suki. Although their wedding should not be officiated until at least next spring. But I am guessing that you are already planning a visit soon.

You should not worry too much about your seeming aversion to the nomad lifestyle, I am positively certain that it will grow on you. And my servants are perfectly happy thank you very much.

With love,

Zuko”

“Dear Zuko,

You mean Sokka wrote you before I did? What a terrible friend I must be if even my brother is more on point than I am… I heard about the engagement, but it slipped my mind to ask Aang for a detour, I shall do so soon. I hope I would get to see you before the wedding, it’s already been almost a year and I think I am actually missing you.

With love,

Katara”

“Dear Katara,

Sokka being the man that he is, he did not write me more than two letters, I think you don’t have to worry about him looking more devoted than you. I am sure Aang wouldn’t mind, you two are now free as the wind, right?

Last but not least, you are missing me? I never lived to think such a thing possible. Does this mean that I have earned your liking? It wasn’t that hard, a little lighting here and there did the trick.

With love,

Zuko”

“Dear Zuko,

I am not in the best mood to answer you, but I didn’t want to risk a greater delay due to my travels. Aang did mind, he planned some travels during this autumn and because of the celebrations that took place during this time, he wouldn’t hear anything. I don’t think that he realizes how childish he’s acting, you must know that past a certain date, the poles are unreachable, as the weather allies with the absent sun, to make any travel impossible. I feel exhausted after all the flying he did. Can you believe that I haven’t bended any water in days? I’m sorry for letting my emotions take control, I could use a vacation. How is the Fire nation at this time of the year?

Of course you earned my liking you Firefool, but when did I earn yours?

With love,

Katara”

“Dear Katara,

If you were suggesting a vacation in my humble country, I will be most happy to provide you living quarters, for as long as you wish. This applies to Aang as well. I can’t really comment on your couple issues, as you might have noticed, I am not the greatest expert in that field. But I do think that you should bend daily, it is not a luxury it is a necessity. Aang might not understand this, being surrounded by his element at all times, but water to a waterbender is as vital as sun to the firebender.

And if I can be blunt, I must confess that you earned my liking long ago, in a crystal-lighted cave, this was followed by one of the greatest mistakes that I ever made, as you know.

With love,

Zuko”

“Dear Zuko,

I was delighted during every second of my stay at the palace, I just regret having to leave so soon. I might ask Aang to leave me there alone for a little while, so he’ll be able to travel to his liking. Your palace seems well-managed. I don’t know what to say, I feel as if I only left you yesterday. I deeply missed the food, and the coast is so beautiful at sunset! You live in a haven that I envy. You know what? I will stay longer. Aang is facing dreadful meetings with the Earth ministers and I always hated this forsaken city that is Ba Sing Se. This letter should arrive a few days before me.

Perhaps I should also tell you that you don’t have to carry that cross no more, I have forgiven you a long time ago and you repaid me in more ways that I thought possible.

With love,

Katara”

“Katara.

I think there are some things we have to discuss. You know how happy I was to see you again a fortnight ago. And as much as I appreciate your presence, I believe you would agree that our last meeting did not end in the most fashionable way. What happened the night before was greatly influenced by the Fire whiskey as I am sure that you acknowledge. I am simply hurt by you sudden departure, in a boat of all things! I will have to face Aang and explain him why his girlfriend ran away. I do not like to lie to my friend, but I think I have no other choice for now. In order to protect your relationship and my crown.

I don’t know how to appropriately greet you anymore,

Zuko”

“Dear Zuko,

Do you think that your façade fools me? I see through your walls, you know as well as I do that the events previously discussed were displayed by two sober persons. And as much as I regret the pain that this will cause Aang, I can’t hide it either. I know you, I see what you try to hide behind your stiff words and outraged sentences. I am sorry, sorry that I didn’t realize sooner what I felt. I still don’t know. But I know that Aang did not so much as cross my mind during the two weeks that I spend with you. And I know what I felt when Mai appeared in front of you. I did not have my full senses that night, but if they were blurred by something, it was not Fire whiskey.

Katara”

“Katara,

You are so talented at piercing through my shields and even now I can’t be certain of what hides behind yours. In regard of this, you can see the following words as the desperate prayer of a long-lost man.

I can’t express my feelings very well. Karata, dearest Katara for dearest you’ll always be, I can’t feign my indifference any longer. Since a day that I can’t quite identify, you have held a particular spot in my heart. I never wished to act upon it, I did not wish for anything other than your happiness. And I was convinced that Aang was the best of the persons that could suit you. As I wrote to you, I started to feel guilty, wasn’t I betraying my friend? Not that I had any misplaced intentions, still, I couldn’t help but doubt my heart, too weak and too smitten maybe, to be reliable. I was confident in my own restrain though, during your stay here, I was convinced that nothing could go wrong. But you did not make things easier for me and I must now confess what I have dreaded for so long, how I am simply and desperately in love with you.

Zuko”

“Zuko,

I am sorry, so sorry, for putting you through all of this. I did not clearly see myself until the days that you know. I won’t lose myself in long declarations as you did. I could express my feeling with better accuracy, were they not so powerful. I shall see you soon, and then, I hope we will not have to part anymore.

With love,

Katara”

“Dear Katara,

As I am writing this letter, I know that you are sleeping in your room. You will probably receive this in the morning, I will be in my study. I should have chosen a more special way to do it, I know, but letters helped us get where we are now, which is why I ask you know, without further ado, will you, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, do me the honour of becoming my wife?

With love,

Zuko”

“You might think that such a trick you keep you from facing my father, if so, you are mistaken.

Expect some shouts from Sokka, but I think the rest will go just fine.

Surely you must know what my answer is, as you know that I could not stop loving you, should the world go up in flames.”

Yes this is full of fluff, i have no shame. i hope you enjoyed it though! The formal language was a bit special i know but it was really fun to write

#zutara week #zutara #zutara week 2018 #letters #prompt #zw2018

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