Chapter Text
“Hello?” Zuko says as he answers the phone.
“You certainly sound calm considering the situation.” Azula says and Zuko’s heart immediately starts to beat faster.
“What are you talking about, Azula?” Zuko asks as he tries not to panic. He reminds himself that Azula likes to play games and getting him flustered or angry is often the goal of those games.
“You don’t know?” Azula says and she sounds scandalized and thrilled in equal measures. “I’d think by now what our publicist has tried to drill into your thick skull might have finally penetrated and you would have alerts set on your phone for your name.”
Zuko’s heart starts racing in earnest as he says, “Azula, what are you talking about?”
“I knew you had bad taste Zuko, but a peasant, really?” Azula drawls and Zuko knows exactly the look of sneering pity on her face. And Zuko’s blood runs cold.
Someone calls out to Azula in the background and Azula says, “Duty calls, I’ll talk to you later. Let’s hope Father isn’t too mad about your latest scandal, Zuzu. Bye.”
Zuko is shaking when he hangs up the phone. Dread pools in his stomach. He types his name into the search bar and the first article that shows up makes him almost drop his phone.
"Prince Zuko's secret affair?" There's a picture of him and Sokka sitting underneath a cherry blossom tree too close to be brushed off as anything but romantic. Zuko has his head thrown back in laughter at something that Sokka has said. A small part of him notes that it's a good picture, but it's drowned out by the bigger part of him that is panicking.
"Zuko? Zuko, what's wrong? Sokka asks, concern lacing his words.
Zuko wordlessly hands Sokka his phone. "Oh shit," Sokka says, but it's clear from his voice that he doesn't understand the magnitude of this.
His hand comes up to lay across Zuko's shoulders and he smiles at him. "I know you didn't want this getting out, especially not like this. But we can deal with it." Zuko continues to stare at his lap where his hands are gripping his hoodie so hard that his fingers are bloodless.
"Zuko, it'll be fine. I know you didn't want me or my family to have to deal with the paparazzi and all the publicity but we can do it. It will be fine." Sokka's voice is warm and sure and Zuko doesn't know how he can be so calm about this.
"My father—" Zuko starts and Sokka smoothly cuts in "is just one man."
"You don't get it!" Zuko's notes that his voice is raised; he sounds angry, but he feels floaty and far away.
"What is he gonna do, Zuko? Ground you? I know you said he wouldn't be happy that you were dating a commoner, or a man, but really it can't be that bad."
Zuko realizes too late that he was raising his hand to cover his scar. His pointer finger touches it before he snatches it away. For the first time during this whole conversation he looks at Sokka praying he doesn't put the pieces together. But of course his Sokka, who is cleverer than any of his father's advisers, puts it together.
Sokka stands abruptly, his face paling dramatically before all the blood rushes back to his face as he says, "Your father did that? I thought it was a training accident." He hisses, anger clear in every line of his body as he paces back and forth. He laughs bitterly. "I guess that's the lie he told everyone. And everyone bought it. How did Iroh let this go, he loves you! He would never let your father get away with—" Sokka stills and looks at Zuko.
"He doesn't know, does he? There is no way he would have let that happen," Sokka says and turns towards the door. "I have to tell him." Sokka makes for the door and Zuko rushes towards Sokka and grasps the back of Sokka's shirt in his hands.
"You can't tell him," Zuko says frantically.
Sokka turns around and looks at Zuko "The hell I can't. Someone who burns half of their child's face off isn't fit to be in charge of a nation."
Zuko flinches backwards at the acknowledgment of what happens to him, but quickly grounds himself. "You can't," he says again, "if uncle knew he would challenge Father—"
"Yeah, which is exactly what I want to happen." Sokka says with a dark look on his face. "That bastard should get his ass kicked and he should have to leave the throne in shame."
“But if that happens he’ll—” Zuko starts before he closes his mouth so suddenly his teeth click.
Sokka looks at him with shrewd eyes and says, “He’ll what?” And no no no no, now that Zuko’s said something Sokka won’t stop digging at this until he has an answer. And Zuko can’t tell, not this, never this. If Sokka found out he would leave, and if he did that and left him with a broken heart, his tenuous claim to the throne and his father, always his father, Zuko thinks he would collapse and never put himself back together again.
So he has to think of an answer Sokka will accept and he has to think of one quickly. Zuko spouts the first thing that comes to his mind. “He’ll hurt Uncle. Ozai is a prodigy and Uncle hasn’t been in fighting shape in years.”
Sokka’s face turns sour for a moment before it smoothes out. “Iroh can practice, I’m sure he can get back into shape, and more importantly, Zuko, he’d want to know.” Sokka’s hand comes up and cups Zuko’s cheek and he looks at him with such love Zuko almost looks away. “Zuko, if Ozai was willing to do”—he gestures to Zuko’s scar—“that, I’m sure he’s still not someone you should be around.”
Zuko turns his hands into fists and looks away from Sokka. “It’s not—He hasn’t, not since that day—” Zuko says, stumbling over his words.
“Has he hurt you since then?” Sokka asks and there is steel in his gaze, and Zuko drowns in despair as he realizes that Sokka won’t let this go unless he answers carefully.
So he puts on a smile that he hopes is more steady than it feels and says. “No, Sokka, he hasn’t hurt me since that day.” He pushes the times they spar and Ozai is more brutal than he needs to be out of his mind. The nights he comes to visit Zuko in his rooms are already locked away, pushed away so deep that they can’t come to the surface and make him shake apart from disgust. Pushed away with the self-loathing over the fact that he can’t make it stop.
Sokka is silent for a long moment as he studies Zuko. And Zuko must be convincing because Sokka comes in and kisses him chastely on the mouth and says, “Okay.” He hugs Zuko and takes a step back. “This discussion isn’t over, but I can see it’s stressing you out, so we can table it for now.”
Zuko releases a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding as Sokka says. “How’s Druk doing? He any bigger than he was the last time I saw him?”
Zuko relaxes and smiles, all the while his brain whirls furiously thinking of how he can stop his carefully-constructed life from falling apart.
____________
It all starts on what amounts to a regular Tuesday. Last year his father had decided Zuko was ‘fit’ to take on more of the public-facing roles of the royal family, which started a long list of public appearances where Zuko would show his face and smile and not really say anything at all. The reporters know that is what he is doing and some of them even print that, but his father and his publicists demand that is what he do, so he does. He has a reminder on his face of what happens if he disobeys.
He is at a charity gala at a swanky hotel in the Earth Kingdom and he has already made an appearance at the gala. It is too early to leave, but he is tired of award small talk and stiff smiles so he is hiding out on a small balcony off of the room next to the ballroom. It is winter and the wind is rushing towards the balcony so most people are avoiding it. Zuko is used to warmer weather, but with Uncle’s breath of fire he is comfortably toasty.
Zuko is looking at the stars and trying to find celectus when someone joins him on the balcony. He turns to see a young man with dark skin dressed in Water Tribe blues. His hair is long on top and shaved down on the sides. He looks to be around the same age as Zuko.
He turns a blinding smile towards Zuko and says, “Trying to avoid all the hubbub in there too? When my company said they were gonna put me up here I didnt know that there was gonna be something this big going on.”
Zuko starts as he realizes that he must be deep enough in the shadow of the night that the man doesn’t recognize him. It’s refreshing, talking to someone as if he was no one special. He moves back deeper into the shadows to keep it that way as long as he can. “It’s a little much. I came out here for some air,” Zuko says. Not a lie, but not telling the man that he is here specifically for the gala.
“I’m surprised you’re not freezing. It’s pretty cold out here,” the man says as he leans against the balcony, his gaze set out on the buildings of the Omashu skyline.
“Speak for yourself, you're only wearing a light hoodie,” Zuko says.
The man laughs “It’s much colder at home. I’m from the Northern Water Tribe. I’m acclimated to the cold.” He turns to look at Zuko and squints at him, taking in his red clothes.
“You Fire Nation? I’m surprised you’re out here at all. Most Fire natives I meet can’t handle the cold at all.”
Zuko smiles and says, “I’m a bender. My uncle taught me a trick for dealing with the cold. I can hardly feel it.”
“No shit!” he exclaims. “Now that is a neat trick, is that something all firebenders know?”
Zuko shakes his head. “No, I'm not sure anyone out of my family knows it.”
“Maybe you should share it around, I'm sure people would appreciate the knowledge. I’m Sokka by the way.” The man says, turning to fully face Zuko.
“I’m Zuko.” he replies. “What are you doing here if you’re not here for the gala?”
“I’m an engineer. I work on air ships, so I travel a lot. I’m here to look at stuff at my company’s Omashu division. What are you doing here?”
Sokka is so expressive when he talks, he moves his arms in big grand gestures like he has so much energy that he has to expend somehow. Zuko used to be similar, but hours with trainers had crushed it down. He’s smaller now than he used to be, limited to smiles and small gestures.
“I’m actually here for the gala.” Zuko says. There’s no point in lying, he’ll figure out who Zuko is sooner or later.
“Oh, so you’re some sort of bigshot?” Sokka says jokingly, and the way his manner does’nt change at all is refreshing. Zuko can only hope it stays the same when he finds out who Zuko truly is.
“You could say that. Although going to events like this feels more like busywork. I’m not doing anything to effect any real change,” Zuko says, voicing the frustration he’s been feeling for years.
“I mean, charities help people?” Sokka says, voicing raising up on the last word like he’s unsure if it’s actually true.
“I make sure to do my research to make sure the ones we donate to actually do,” Zuko says firmly, his lips thinning as he thinks of the ones that say they do and just pay their founders obscene amounts of money.
“Well, that’s good then. And you may not be doing what you want to help now, but I bet in a year or two you will be. You seem like the stubborn type. Like a dog-lion with a bone.”
Zuko smiles at that, that was his goal, and he desperately hopes Sokka is right.
Sokka suddenly rubs his hands down his arms briskly and says, “Hey wanna go back inside? Even though I can totally tolerate this weather, it’s still nicer in there.”
Zuko takes a deep breath and says, “Sure.” Sokka will find out sooner or later and it might as well be now. Zuko takes a step forward and Sokka’s eyes widen.
“Wow, I know you said your name was Zuko, but I one hundred percent did not think you would be that Zuko. The one with the princely title and the inheritance to the Fire throne,” Sokka rambles and Zuko feels his face heating in a blush.
“But that’s cool, I meet royalty every day, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.” Sokka bluffs so badly that Zuko lets out a laugh. This awkwardness is so much better than the shutting down and the perfectly stiff politeness and fear he usually gets.
Sokka rubs his hand on the back of his neck. “Okay, yeah, you didn’t buy that so I’lll give it to you straight. I don’t meet royalty all the time. And the few times I did,I was just as smooth as this.”
Zuko’s interest perks up and he’s just about to ask about the other royalty he’s met and whether Zuko knows them when Sokka’s stomach growls loudly and the other man blushes.
“So, you’ve tolerated my presence for the last twenty minutes and you’re pretty cool yourself and like stunningly handsome.” Zuko feels himself blush at the compliment, eyes widening at the description applied to himself. He was told he was good looking before the ‘accident’ but he’s not heard someone say it to him after. “And so I figured I would shoot my shot. Do you wanna go get dinner with me?” Sokka asks and he’s fidgety and there is sweat on his brow despite the cold outside and he is so clearly nervous and Zuko is so charmed by this even though this is a terrible idea.
But going through with terrible ideas is Zuko’s specialty, so he simply says “Sure. But you’re paying.”
Sokka laughs and says “Okay, sure, mister moneybags. Despite you having a whole nation bankrolling you, I’m actually quite well off.” He nudges Zuko and nods his head towards the exit of the ballroom. “C’mon, I know a great place just down the street. I’m not sure it’s up to your usual standards but it is delicious.” Then he smiles at him and walks confidently towards the exit and Zuko follows, heart pounding in his chest.