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“You’re sure you’re going to be fine?”
Sokka adjusted his glove and smiled at one of the new members of the Kyoshi Warriors.
After a long time, Sokka finally found some time to go back to visit Kyoshi Island. It had already been three years after the war had finally ended, and he had really missed the little island and its people, as well as the reason he was standing inside their headquarters.
The last time he had met their leader Suki was while the Kyoshi Warriors had still been acting as Zuko’s bodyguards. That day, Sokka actually asked about his position as one of them as a joke, but Suki had told him that he was considered as an honorary member and that he could return whenever he wanted. That included putting on the outfit and makeup.
“It’s just going to be a quick patrol, so don’t worry”, he said while grabbing a pair of fans and attaching them to his belt. “I’m Sokka from the Southern Water Tribe, and honorary member of the Kyoshi Warriors after all.”
“Okay, but what about the Firelord in your room? Is he going to be alright?”
That made Sokka’s smug smirk turn soft.
Kyoshi Island was one of the very first places Zuko had helped rebuild after being crowned Firelord, but he too didn’t have the time to ever actually visit. And after he had told Sokka that he wanted to take a small vacation with him, Sokka had begged him to go there.
But after they had arrived, a lot of people had been focused on them, and they ended up being followed by both whispers and questions. So when they finally got to their room, Zuko immediately fell into bed, telling Sokka that he was going to stay here until the next morning.
“He’s going to be fine”, Sokka grinned as he imagined Zuko, snoring softly while still wearing his entire Firelord outfit, including his crown. “There’s a reason for his crown.”
With that, he finally went outside to start his very first official patrol as a Kyoshi Warrior.
He didn’t really have a route planned, so he walked around the village for a while, before walking into the forest, the perfect place for danger to be lurking.
At first, the only sound Sokka was hearing were the treeleaves rustling in the wind and his own two feet hitting the ground. Therefore, he decided to do a little detour and went to the lake where they had seen the unagi for the very first time.
Sokka let his eyes wander over the dark water and smiled at the reflection of the moon, saying a silent greeting to its spirit. He had started doing that a year after her passing, and it had helped him immensely with his grieving. Now he only did it on her death anniversary or when the moon was in its full form. Today was the latter.
He thought about maybe taking a break for a second, to sit down at the shore and watch as the water gets pushed and pulled, when he suddenly heard the bushes rustling.
He quickly turned around, both fans ready to be used, yelling “Who’s there?!”, before a black shadow came running towards him. Its steps were light but fast, only giving Sokka a second to dodge the two fingers aiming for his shoulder.
“What the-?!”, he exclaimed as he finally got a glimpse of his attacker's face. But instead of an actual face, he was met with a mask nobody had seen since the war.
“The Blue Spirit?!”
The Blue Spirit didn’t show a reaction to someone recognizing them. Instead, they once again shot towards Sokka, now trying to hit his other shoulder. This time though, Sokka was prepared. He used one of the closed fans as an extension of his arm and hit their hand to the side with it, careful to not have them touch him in any other way. But the Blue Spirit was known to be quick, their other hand grabbing the fan in Sokka’s other hand and throwing it into the forest before trying to spin the way his attacking hand went. Yet this time, Sokka was faster. His now free hand grabbed the arm he had pushed out of his way and spun them around to get a grip on the other arm. He then lightly kicked the spot behind the Blue Spirit’s knees and forced them to bow down by placing one of his own knees onto their back.
Thinking the fight was over, Sokka tried to breathe and think of his next words. However, he underestimated his opponent, who twisted his arms free and took the leg on his back, pulling it to his side which made Sokka fall forwards. As he rolled over their shoulder, Sokka threw his arms around whatever he could, forcing the Blue Spirit to follow him down.
Even though they were on top of him, they didn’t get away and struggled in Sokka’s clutch, who had squeezed his eyes shut and actually got a moment to regain control of his breathing. Huh, he suddenly realized, I know that scent from somewhere. But he quickly pushed that thought away and tried to figure out his next move.
He had to somehow gain complete control of his opponent, meaning he probably had to switch their positions.
So he threw his body left and right, trying to gain enough momentum to turn them around, all without letting the Blue Spirit go. And despite all the wild moves above him, he somehow managed to spin, letting him sit on their hip and pinned them down. “Gotcha”, Sokka whispered, “Are you going to answer my questions now?”
But instead, their body just relaxed and they sighed. Another thing that he knew from somewhere…
“No, it can’t be…”
The scent, the sigh… and the fighting style reminded him of someone as well, now that Sokka was thinking about it. And honestly, there was nobody around in case he was wrong anyway. So he brought his face closer to the mask and quietly asked “Zuko?”
It was once again silent, with only the trees and the water making any noise, before the man under him sighed one more time, replying “...Hey Sokka.”
Sokka let go of Zuko’s hands out of shock and watched him sit up and pull off the mask. Underneath, it indeed was his partner’s face, an awkward smile on his lips. And Sokka just stared.
Out of everyone he knew, Zuko being the Blue Spirit never really crossed his mind until today. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense, and it made him feel a little stupid. He had practiced sword fighting with Zuko multiple times, damn it!
Him being the Blue Spirit would also explain the random jokes or references Aang had made about him, which always either ended with Zuko trying to hide his face or with the Avatar being chased by the angry Firelord.
Zuko poked Sokka’s cheek to try to get his partner’s attention back, before flinching away when Sokka grabbed his shoulders and yelled “YOU are the Blue Spirit?!”
“Uh… yea? I… guess I forgot to mention it to you, huh?”, Zuko awkwardly laughed while placing his hands on top of Sokka’s.
Sokka nodded aggressively, making them both shake, and said “Now my crush on you makes even more sense!”
“... What?”
Incredibly confused, Zuko furrowed his eyebrows and brought their faces close together to get a clear answer, but only got a quick peck on his lips and a smile that could outshine the literal sun. He knew that after that, his question would not only not be answered, but outright ignored, so he didn’t even try to ask anymore.
Instead, he carefully got up from Sokka’s lap, helping him up as well, and asked “What were you doing here by the way?”
Sokka dusted off his attire, explaining “I chose to do the night patrol for today, what about you?”
“I…” Zuko looked away from his partner to hide his face, which obviously had started to turn pink. That made Sokka smirk, but he didn’t get to tease him as he quickly continued “I wanted to find a nice spot to take you to tomorrow. And because I don’t really know the island, and we already didn’t really have a quiet minute, I thought sneaking around during the night would be the best option to look around.”
Now it was Sokka’s turn to blush, but thankfully it was hidden by his makeup. He chuckled and grabbed Zuko’s hands.
“How about this”, he said, smiling softly, “Let’s finish my patrol together, and then we can look for a nice spot together. Even I don't know everything about this island.”
Zuko looked at him, and gave him a smile back.
“Let’s.”
They headed back into the forest, staying silent for the most part and only focussing on sounds that shouldn’t be there. At some point, Sokka suddenly murmured “You know, this is kinda weird.”
Zuko, who had put his mask back, stopped in his tracks. He scratched his head and counteracted with “Sorry. But honestly, it’s a little weird to see you as a Kyoshi Warrior too.”
“Well, I am an honorary member…” Sokka laughed. “That kinda makes me one of your past bodyguards!”
The Firelord cringed at that before shaking his head. “I… don’t like that”, he said, surprising Sokka. But before he could ask, Zuko explained “If you were, you would be even more exposed to danger than you already are as my lifepartner.”
Sokka’s heart sped up at that. He really liked it when someone called him Zuko’s partner, especially when it came out of the mouth of the man himself.
“That’s fair…”
They continued walking but almost immediately stopped when Sokka exclaimed “Wait I just realized something!”
He squeezed Zuko’s hand before pulling him close, pressing a big smoosh on the mask.
Startled, Zuko just coughed out a cut off “What?” while Sokka said “A Kyoshi Warrior and the Blue Spirit! Dating! Now that would make some headlines.”
He grinned at him, knowing the exact face Zuko was making underneath the mask.
“... Sokka.”
“Alright alright, I’ll stop.”
Laughing, the Kyoshi Warrior turned around and resumed walking, while pulling his Blue Spirit behind him.
“Let’s finish the patrol and then we can look for a spot we can call our own, my dear firefly.”