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"Should I be worried?"
Sokka pulled his vision away from where he was watching the waves beginning to form into large chunks of ice the closer they got to Wolf Cove to look into Zuko's golden eyes.
"About what?"
"About this trip. About how your people will react to my presence."
"My dad likes you, Zuko."
"It's not your dad I'm worried about," he sighed, leaning forward to rest his chin on his arms that were crossed over the railing, the coat he was wearing making it almost impossible to see his hands, "the first time I was here, I threatened your grandmother and the children in your village. I probably became a story told around campfires, and not in a good way. Not to mention the protests last time."
"Okay, that's fair," Sokka agreed, letting out a sigh of steaming breath before leaning closer and letting his left hand gently lay on Zuko's shoulder, "but it's been a year since then. And now you're proving that you're better than the last guy by coming here. That's gotta count for something."
"You're sure?" Zuko turned his head, his golden eyes alight with wonder that had Sokka pressing his forehead against the right side of Zuko's, his hand dropping.
"I'm positive," he insisted, looking up briefly to make sure they were in the clear before pressing a quick kiss to Zuko's cheek, "as long as Gran Gran forgives you."
That only resulted in another long sigh, forcing Sokka to pull away from Zuko's face in order to gently rub between his shoulder blades.
…
Hakoda was silent as he traced charcoal over the map covering his desk; he hadn't seen his children in months, and his oldest, while insistent that he had to be in the Fire Nation for longer than expected, had a duty to the Southern Water Tribe.
A duty to take over for Hakoda one day.
It wasn't that he didn't want Sokka building strong bonds with the other nations, the opposite was true due to making him their ambassador, but he also needed to be home.
The last think Hakoda wanted was for his son to forget his heritage and his loyalty; Aang was an optimist, after all, and while the Fire Nation throne had changed hands in the aftermath of the war, Hakoda couldn't help but be skeptical.
It was nothing against the child who had been put on the throne, but at the end of the day, Zuko was just that.
A child no older than his son, and while he loved Sokka dearly, he was not nearly old enough to rule a nation.
He looked up from the map, the map he was using to track the route his son was currently in on, to see the door opening as Bato walked in.
"The ship is docking now," He told him before he could react, "by the time you get out there, they should be disembarking."
"Thank you," Hakoda nodded before standing, pulling his eyes away from the map and to the face of his best friend, "are you and the others still betting on if I can get Sokka to stay put?"
"Would we be your crew if we weren't?"
"You all have a massive gambling problem," Hakoda sighed, shaking his head as he followed Bato out into the cold air toward the dock, facing the Fire Nation ship with confidence.
For the first time in his life, he didn't even feel a twinge of fear as he stared it down. That, all things considered, was a very welcome change.
And the smile that instantly came across his face when he saw his oldest, his son, disembark the ship with a shout of "dad!" before running down the ramp to wrap his arms around him, couldn't be beat.
"It's so good to see you, dad." Sokka insisted from where his face was pressed firmly against his shoulder.
"It's good to see you too, we have a lot to catch up on," Hakoda insisted before finally pulling away as the Fire Lord disembarked with two guards behind him, "Fire Lord Zuko."
"Head Chieftain Hakoda," Zuko greeted, offering him two fists clasped together while bowing his head, "it's good to see you again."
"You as well," Hakoda nodded before clapping his hands together and turning back to his son, "Your grandmother is working on dinner, I assume you two are hungry."
"Starving," Sokka piped up before looping an arm around Zuko's, the outline getting lost in the extra fabric of Zuko's maroon coat that looked far too thin for Wolf Cove, "lead the way, dad."
Hakoda started making his way to the house, and couldn't help but be reminded of the familiarity in the way Sokka and Zuko spoke; it was the way he and Bato treated each other as teenagers, playful teasing that never hurt and inside jokes that made the other snort with laughter.
Even if Sokka had been gone since everything that had gone down with Gilak, he was doing one thing right and that was keeping the other nations close.
There was no doubt in Hakoda's mind that with the right training and some more years of experience, his son would excel at being head chieftian.
But he couldn't help but draw the same conclusion he had come to earlier as he heard the Fire Lord sound more like a child than a leader with just as much power in politics as he did.
That Sokka was not ready yet, and that he wasn't convinced that Zuko was either.
…
"I haven't been here in so long," Sokka mused, his fingertips gracing the indents in the wall where his mother, and later Gran-Gran, had carved his height against the door, "I've almost forgotten what it was like to sleep in here."
"It's so cold here," Zuko grumbled, the stress of the "meeting" that Sokka could easily attribute as being closer to a angry debate clear in his eyes, "how did you sleep?"
"Obviously, it's in my blood. That, and several furs," Sokka joked, sobering when he didn't get a trace of a smile in Zuko's features, "hey, what's going on?"
"I'm sorry," Zuko sighed softly, "I just…your people are very…distrustful, and I understand why, and I know that's only a fraction of what you face in the Fire Nation every day but…I thought they would at least take into consideration what I've been doing."
Sokka sighed, dropping his bag to the floor next to the bed as he sat down before looking up at his boyfriend.
"We don't have to compare it, you know," he finally settled on, "your people have been forced to be wary as a result of propaganda about the other nations. My people are terrified of an attack, even though the war is over. We know this."
"I just…" Zuko trailed off, his eyes flicking around the room, gold trying to find something inanimate to focus on in order to gain his thoughts.
It was a quirk that Sokka started noticing shortly after Zuko's coronation; never in public, but in private meetings where he got flustered or worried, like if he looked people in the eye as he voiced himself, it would hit him like a strike to the face.
Sokka had never been able to shake the feeling that it had probably started within his boyfriend's childhood.
"You told me that your people are more…accepting about our type of situation. I just don't want to put you in any more danger than I already have."
"Zuko, Zuko," Sokka spoke softly, standing up and bringing his hands going to his shoulders, feeling the shake of anxiety even through the coat he was wearing, "hey, hey, where is this coming from? Yeah, that meeting was rough, but my dad likes you."
"Does he?" Zuko raised an eyebrow that had Sokka letting go of his arms, "sure, dinner with your family? That went fine, better than expected but…Sokka, he didn't say anything during that meeting. One of those guys practically screamed at me for twenty minutes about how slow I have been getting the military out of every tiny pocket of the world and your dad didn't say a word."
Sokka stilled; his father was a lot of things, and was always communicating with him on leadership, but the biggest takeaway he had always gotten was to stand up for what you believed in and in others.
That was why his father left in the first place, that's why Sokka was forced to become the man of the village at thirteen while his best friends were allowed to go into a raging war.
A war that most of them didn't return from.
"I don't know what he was thinking, Zuko," Sokka finally spoke again, a gentle hand going to Zuko's right cheek, "I don't know why he couldn't look that asshole in the face and defend you, as his guest, but I know that it wasn't right. And I am sorry."
And with that, he pulled him in, savoring the scent of smoke as it filled his senses, Zuko's lips soft against his as his eyes fluttered shut for a few, brief moments.
He was ripped from the moment due to Zuko pulling away at the sound of a throat clearing behind him, pulling his vision away from Zuko.
And forcing him to meet the dark blue eyes of his father.
…
Hakoda hadn't meant to evesdrop on his son.
It had been an incredibly long day, a day that didn't stop after dinner with his mother and Malina by his side as they caught up with Sokka and Zuko.
At least, Hakoda tried to talk to Zuko but something about the teenager was off, like he refused to snap out of his royal exterior now that he had fully settled into hiding behind that mask.
Compared to the Zuko that he had met within a Fire Nation prison, this was a shell of that teenager that was clearly trying to be bigger than he was.
The mask made sense during the first meeting he and Zuko attended with the rest of the lawmakers for their tribe, which devolved into one of the men, Tarkik, practically screaming at Zuko by the end of it, pushing the blame of Ozai's rule onto the teenager.
And Hakoda felt a desperate pull to step in, to defend this child who was forced to bear the onslaught of accusations and blame of his forefathers.
But he didn't; that would just undermine Zuko's power, and he waited in silence instead; waited for the new Fire Lord's temper to flare like it had so many times before.
But Zuko didn't flinch, didn't waver, and just reiterated the facts of the situation in a calm, clear voice.
Hakoda was nothing short of impressed, despite the beliefs building up within himself but as soon as they dismissed for the night, he knew that he owed the boy he had invited into his borders an apology for how it went.
He made his way inside, the tell-tale sign of the lamps telling him that Malina had already made her way to bed, before making his way to Sokka's room.
Maybe he could catch Zuko before he fell asleep.
Muffled voices hit his ears as he drew closer toward Sokka's bedroom, forcing him to slow his steps to decipher what his son was saying.
"I don't know why he couldn't look that asshole in the face and defend you, as his guest, but I know that it wasn't right. And I am sorry."
He caught his breath; he knew that he and his son varied on their opinions, but hearing words be spoken that he was wrestling with internally still stung.
But when he turned the corner to look inside, his heart paused in his chest as he realized exactly what was happening.
His son was kissing the Fire Lord, and given the nature of it, it was nowhere near the first time this had happened.
Hakoda did all that he could think of; cleared his throat and waited for the teenagers to turn around.
Zuko realized first, embarrassment and fear bright in his golden eyes as he quickly turned away, cowering away like the child he was.
His son had to turn, and fear quickly turned into a fake lightness as he said.
"Dad, it's not what you think, Zuko and I were just fixing each other's hair and-"
Hakoda held up a hand to cut off his son's rambling, and he could have sworn he saw the Fire Lord flinch as a result, but it was also dark in the room and he had been up for nearly twenty hours at this point.
"Sokka, we need to talk."
And with that, he made his way back down to the kitchen, lighting the lantern that hung above their dining table before sitting down in one of the chairs.
Sokka had been thirteen when he left to help the Earth Kingdom stand against Ozai's forces, the oldest child in the village who didn't follow him into war.
He hadn't had time to give him any sort of talk, about any sort of relationship his son could possibly have; last he had heard, Sokka was head over heels for the head of the Kyoshi Warriors.
Two years in the Fire Nation, and now he was kissing the ruler of the broken, crumbling nation, a nation he wasn't even supposed to be sticking around in with his job title.
It only made the conclusion he came to in his head harder for him to swallow, but it would be best for everyone involved.
It had to be.
"Hey, dad." Sokka said, standing at the stairs and forcing Hakoda to look up with a gentle smile.
"Hey, Sokka," he greeted, gesturing to the chair across from him, "have a seat."
Sokka did as he was told, lacing his fingers together in anticipation as soon as he was sitting down but still managed to look directly into his father's eyes.
"I'm not going to yell, and I am not mad at you," Hakoda started, his hand falling to the table, "but Sokka, I need you to be honest with me so I can be honest with you. What is going on with you and Zuko?"
Sokka let out a sigh, his eyes dropping to the table for a few moments before looking back up, "we've been together since the war ended."
"What happened with Suki?"
"Our priorities changed. She had to bring back her warriors and her island from ruin, and I…" he trailed off, chewing on his lip briefly before adding, "I was madly in love with the incoming Fire Lord."
"Sokka, it is incredibly dangerous to be…dating the same sex in the Fire Nation, for you and for Zuko. If someone finds out-"
"We're super careful about it, dad," Sokka cut him off with wide eyes, "the only person who knows besides Team Avatar is Zuko's head guard, Tao, and he's totally chill about it."
"The Fire Nation has their prejudices against people like us, you know that," Hakoda sighed, reaching forward to gently take one of his son's hands, "I can't lose you to them, okay? Not for any reason, but especially not because of who you are."
"Dad, what are you saying?"
"I was hoping I would be able to tell you this under…better circumstances, but I'm considering making Malina the new global ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe."
"You're giving my job away?"
And Sokka pulling his hand away, the crack in his voice to accompany it, Hakoda could feel the clench of empathy in his chest, but he pressed on.
"Sokka, you're almost eighteen, and while you have done a good job as ambassador, you have neglected the Earth Kingdom in your duties. I think it would be best if you stepped into a role that I've been wanting for you since you were a child. The role of chief."
"…really?"
"I'd still be above you, as the head chieftain, but your duty is here, with your people who love and accept you, Sokka."
"I can't just…abandon Zuko." Sokka's gaze was back on his hands, twisting his fingers together, "not like that."
"Well, you think about it, okay?" Hakoda offered, "we can talk about it more in the morning."
"Can I go to bed now?"
"Yeah," Hakoda nodded, getting up from the table and coming around to wrap his arms around Sokka's shoulders, "I love you."
"Love you too, dad."
And with that, Hakoda snuffed out the lantern and made his way toward his bedroom with sleep lingering in his eyes and a small hope that Sokka would listen to reason.
…
Sokka tried his hardest to push back the surge of betrayal coursing through his veins before he returned to his room, but it felt like an impossible task.
And he was friends with the Avatar and had helped him end a century-long war, so that was saying something.
He knew deep down that his dad was just trying to do what was best, to keep him safe, but the only thing filling him was anger.
After all, it felt like his father's promotional offer wasn't one just out of the good of his heart, but one to keep Sokka away from the Fire Nation.
If he had made this offer right after the war, Sokka may have taken it, but it had been two years since then and the best part of himself was the ruler of the very country that his father wanted to pull him from.
"Zuko?" He whispered into the darkness, his feet creaking quietly on the floor, "are you still awake?"
No response, it wasn't entirely shocking; Zuko tended to go to sleep earlier on trips than he did at home, and it was late.
He climbed into bed, pressing his chest against Zuko's back before his arm draped over him, a dance they had done often.
"Goodnight." He whispered, pressing a light kiss to the top of his head before settling in, frowning when his hand touched Zuko's pillow.
It was damp with tears.
…
"I just…I don't know, Malina," Hakoda sighed as they walked hand in hand to his office, "I think I came down a little harsh on Sokka last night."
Hakoda hadn't been able to sleep well, replaying his and his son's conversation over and over again in his head even after laying down.
"Did he seem mad?"
Hakoda hadn't thought he was mad. Scared about his reaction on walking in, and upset about the less than tactful way that the promotion had been sprung on him, but not mad.
"I just think I chose the wrong time to bring it up. I think he's convinced that I only brought it up because I want him out of the Fire Nation."
"Well, you do want him out of the Fire Nation."
"Yes, but because he has a duty to his tribe, not because of…" Hakoda trailed off, not wanting to say the name too loudly, not wanting to draw any more attention to the situation than necessary.
"So, you should tell him that."
"I already did," Hakoda said while opening the door to let Malina in before following, "but I don't think he believed me."
But Malina, quick as a whip with a grin of knowledge that had Hakoda's heartbeat fluttering in an instant, just offered an elaboration on what she had already said.
"Then you have to show him."
With that simple sentence, an idea sprang into Hakoda's head; maybe not the most professional, but this was no longer a matter of Head Chieftan and Fire Lord.
It was a matter of father, son and his son's boyfriend.
"I wonder if Zuko's ever been on a fishing trip."
Malina just smiled again, a smile that needed no words, and that was the go ahead to start forming the plan in his head.
A plan that required getting the heavily guarded Fire Lord away from his cavalry.
…
Sokka hummed to himself as he ate with one hand and wrote with the other, planning out his diplomatic trip to Ba Sing Se and Omashu in order to stick it to his father.
He wasn't mad anymore, determination had set in his veins and when that happened, a plan always followed.
There was no way his dad would keep him in the Southern Water Tribe if he executed the perfect trip to the Earth Kingdom followed by the Northern Water Tribe, to prove that he wasn't just in the Fire Nation to avoid doing his job.
That being said, the last thing he expected was Zuko, who had been at breakfast with the rest of the lawmakers along with his father, to meet his blue eyes with wide, golden ones and proclaim one of the stupidest sentences to ever leave his mouth.
"I think your father is plotting to have me assassinated."
Sokka dropped his quill and raised a singular eyebrow, almost immediately denying Zuko's claim entirely before a painful thought about his boyfriend's past experiences with fathers entered his head.
"What makes you think that?" He finally settled on, standing up to approach and letting a hand fall to his left arm, squeezing gently.
"He wants me to go with him on a fishing boat, alone, without my guards. How can that not be an attempt on my life?"
And Sokka could understand where Zuko was coming from, but it was pretty obvious what his dad was hoping for.
And it wasn't to rid the world of the best Fire Lord since before Sozin's time.
"Zuko, have you considered that, maybe, my dad is trying to get to know you?"
"He already knows me."
"Yes, as the Fire Prince turned Fire Lord," Sokka reasoned before adding, "but not as my boyfriend."
That seemed to click in his head, his muscles loosening just enough that Sokka could feel it from where his hand was still resting against his arm.
"And if you're wrong?"
"Then I'll admit that I put my foot in my mouth and personally see to it that the Fire Nation is in good hands," Sokka deadpanned, getting an eye roll in response that forced him to reach down and grasp Zuko's hand, "now let's find you a coat that's warm enough. You're going fishing."
As he all but drug his boyfriend to the closet of furs, Sokka couldn't help but hope that maybe this was his father's way of reconsidering what he had told him last night.
…
Hakoda couldn't help but notice how pale Zuko had been since he stepped onto the small fishing boat.
Granted, Zuko was much paler than the majority of the residents of Wolf Cove, but this wasn't the signature pale skin of the Fire Nation; rather, the paleness of anxiety that forced the purplish-red scar that branded his face to stand out.
"Seasick, Zuko?" Hakoda joked lightly, hoping to lighten the mood and break through the young Fire Lord's shell.
"I was on a boat for nearly three years," he mumbled, shoving his hands deeper into the sleeves of one of Sokka's coats while looking at the blue current beneath them, "I don't get seasick."
"Right." Hakoda nodded, looking down at the oars as he propelled himself and the teenager deeper in the waves.
He respected the teenager, even with his personal opinion of his age being an issue in his current political position and climate, but it was like every ounce of Zuko that had spoken to him after he helped break him out of the Boiling Rock had frozen over as soon as his feet touched the icy ground of Wolf Cove.
And he hadn't been like this last time, when he had personally invited him, along with King Kuei, to come help with stopping Gilak and bringing the Southern Water Tribe into the future with their rebuilding efforts.
But now that he thought about it, that was something that Zuko was forced to become well-versed in, and the whole reason he was put on the the throne in the first place instead of the former Dragon of the West.
Maybe it was easier to bring nations back from the brink of destruction than to look your boyfriend's dad in the eyes.
"So," Hakoda broke the silence, now that they were far away from the shore and any prying ears looking for a weakness for either of them, "we should probably talk about you and Sokka."
He was convinced that Zuko somehow managed to turn two shades paler than he already was.
"Look, I'm not mad," Hakoda assured, "a little taken off guard, yes, but that's because I assumed that Sokka and Suki were still together and that's more so because Sokka isn't the best at communicating with me outside of politics."
Zuko still didn't speak, his golden gaze transfixed on a chunk of ice near the boat.
"My concern isn't so much that you and my son are together, Zuko," Hakoda reiterated, hoping that his main point would stick in the seventeen year old's head, "but your nation, where you and Sokka have primarily taken residence, is incredibly dangerous for him. Not just for where he's from, but the relationship you two are in would mean death for my son if you two are found out. It would mean death for both of you."
And that statement, that chilling, bone deep explanation, was what finally got the teenager to speak in a firm yet quiet voice.
"I'm trying to fix it."
Hakoda raised an eyebrow, not of judgment, but of curiosity; news traveled slowly to the outermost parts of the world, but he hadn't heard a word about this.
"I'm trying to fix everything that my family has done, including that…Agni-forsaken law, but the Fire Sages and my advisors, they're convinced it's such a low priority and in some ways, they are correct. The Earth Kingdom would much rather have their reparations that are owed over the knowledge that we are allowing same-sex individuals to not only avoid persecution, but their unions can be legally recognized again."
"And you can't tell them why it's important." Hakoda breathed out, slowly, hoping that his words wouldn't make the young Fire Lord clam up again.
"I want my people to have the rights they deserve as humans, that's my number one priority," Zuko reiterated, twisting his hands together as he spoke and finally made eye contact, "but I would be lying if I said that I didn't have my own selfish reasoning."
Hakoda nodded, his prior judgement of a teenager ruling the Fire Nation slowly seeping away from him; Zuko clearly was capable of prioritization, organization and trying his hardest to fight for his own cause despite the heavy pushback that was evident in his body language as he spoke.
He hadn't been that put together until he was years old than Zuko, and yet, he was taking the position shoved upon him with knowledge that was beyond his years.
"I trust Sokka's judgement of character," he finally settled on, "and I trust him to make the right decisions when it comes to who he loves."
"You do?"
Hakoda nodded, slid a fishing pole into Zuko's gloved hand, and cast his own line; that was all that he had to say concerning his son's relationship.
It was a minor relief to see the tension leave Zuko's shoulders as he stayed in his small corner of the boat.
Time passed between them, a serene silence as Hakoda pulled in fish after fish and Zuko…well, Zuko did his best, but it was clear that the Fire Lord's talents were not in fishing.
The sixth failed cast had Zuko propping the pole beside him before speaking, "I need to ask you a question, sir."
"Ask away."
"I was thinking that it might be best if your people had a new global ambassador, due to Sokka's potential bias to staying in one spot."
Hakoda couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling from his chest, a gentle chuckle that had Zuko raising his singular eyebrow again.
"Funnily enough," Hakoda breathed after a moment, casting his line again, "I had the same thought."
"You did?"
"Yes," Hakoda nodded as the chuckle fully died, "although, I have a feeling that our solution is not the same."
"I'm going to promote him to my Head of Trade Operations and make him a member my council."
That stunned Hakoda into silence; it was clear by how they interacted that Zuko cherished his relationship to his son with a fervent reverence, but he had been expecting to hear him offer a position that would pale in comparison to being chief.
Being the head of a department within the Fire Nation council, as someone not of Fire Nation descent, was very high praise for anyone, especially given the disadvantage that Sokka faced just for his heritage.
And Hakoda couldn't take away that opportunity from his son, even if it meant putting his own vision for his son to the side, possibly forever.
"If he agrees, I think that would be a wonderful job for him."
"What was your solution, Chief Hakoda?"
Hakoda just smiled and shook his head, redirecting his attention to his line that had been pulled taut.
"Yours is a much more ideal one, Fire Lord."
Even though the seventeen year old didn't manage to catch a single fish, Hakoda considered it a very successful fishing trip.
…
Before his son and Zuko made their way back to the Fire Nation, Hakoda had set aside some time to get some last minute work done in order to effectively see them off.
Naturally, that was interrupted by the door to his office slamming open by his son, who looked out of breath and ready to say something as soon as he caught his breath from what seemed to be running through half of Wolf Cove.
"Good morning to you too, Sokka," Hakoda chuckled as he turned his head down back to his quill, "nice run?"
But Sokka's tone didn't have any humor laced in it, instead a seriousness that laced into his mild confusion.
"Did you know that Zuko was planning on making me a member of his council?"
Hakoda looked up then, letting the quill fall to see the look on his son's face that he could only describe as "mixed".
"Are you taking the job?"
"What about being chief? I thought you wanted me to do that."
Hakoda sighed, pushed his chair back and approached his son.
"And if you changed your mind, then that's fine, but I could be a great chief and I just-"
Hakoda cut him off by putting a hand on his shoulder; Sokka had sprung up in height in the last year, and they were practically nose to nose in terms of height.
"Son," Hakoda spoke, "are you taking the job?"
Sokka sighed, his head dipping downward, "probably, but I… I don't want you to be disappointed in me if I do."
"Sokka, I will always be proud of you," Hakoda insisted, regaining eye contact from his son as a result, "of course I want you to be chief, I've dreamed of it since the day you were born. But that was my vision for your future, and I am not the ultimate decider in that."
"You mean that?"
"Of course I do," Hakoda assured him, pulling him into a tight hug that had his son's face pressed into his shoulder, "congratulations on the job. Councilman Sokka, Head of Trade Operations."
Sokka didn't budge from his father's shoulder, his fingers twisting tighter in the fabric of his coat as he muttered, "thanks, dad."
"You're welcome," Hakoda insisted, tacking on a final squeeze before pulling away, "you better finish packing if you and Zuko are planning on raising the anchor before this afternoon."
"Right," Sokka nodded, scratching the back of his head briefly before adding, "I guess I'll be sending you a lot more letters."
"Yeah?"
"Gotta establish a fur trading operation in the Fire Nation, now that I'm in charge."
But Hakoda knew what his son was hinting at; it wasn't just a growth opportunity for their economy, but a connection and a promise to write more.
And that filled him with an unmeasurable amount of pride in his son as he nodded.
"Expect a first draft on your desk by the end of next week.”