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For the first time that day, Sokka felt like he could finally catch his breath. They had safely made it to the airship with everyone together and intact.
It felt too good to be true.
He cast his eyes over everyone, seeing Zuko at the engine to keep the airship moving and on course, with Chit Sang a little bit off to the side, ready to help but still regathering himself after their escape. Suki was leaning next to a wall, resting her eyes after the long day they had.
“So, the prince of the Fire Nation,” Hakoda said from next to him. They had been catching up since they had left, finally having a chance to freely talk to each other again without running the risk of Sokka being discovered.
“I know, right? It surprised me too,” Sokka agreed good-naturedly. Sure, he hadn’t really trusted him at first, what with the whole thing of how he used to be their enemy. For so long, when Sokka pictured the Fire Nation he had pictured Zuko’s face. He substituted his face in whenever he thought of the soldiers that were destroying homes and whenever he imagined what the Fire Lord looked like.
He had imagined defeating the Fire Nation as defeating Zuko once and for all.
Now all that made him feel was queasy. Despite everything Zuko had done, he had solidified himself as a part of the group as soon as he and Aang came back from that island that somehow involved dragons of all things. Weren’t they all meant to be dead, or something?
Either way, Zuko had inserted himself into the group despite the cold shoulder they all gave him at first. They certainly hadn’t made it easy for him, especially Katara, but he stuck out anyway.
To Sokka, that proved himself more than any fancy words could ever say. Not that Zuko had any fancy words; he was completely hopeless with his awkwardness.
“And you completely trust him?” Hakoda was looking into his eyes. Sokka knew that whatever he gave his dad, he would completely believe with no further questions asked.
“I do,” he said, conviction crystal clear in his voice.
“Then so will I,” Hakoda smiled back at him.
The two lapsed into silence after that, content to relax after the day they had. It was when his dad was looking back over at Zuko firebending to produce more flames for the engine that he spoke up again.
“You know it was pretty brave what he did back there. I don’t know many people that would risk their escape just to ensure that they made it safely.”
Sokka followed Hakoda’s gaze to where he was looking at the ex-prince of the Fire Nation. It sounded surprising when he put it like that, but to be honest, when Sokka saw Zuko doing it, he hadn’t given it much thought. While Zuko was still chasing them, he had pulled crazy stunts like that all the time just to get his hands on Aang for his ‘honour’ or whatever.
He really needed to ask what that was about that sometime.
Sokka couldn’t help but admire how fully committed he was in everything he did, dedicated to every little thing he was doing. It was a bit silly sometimes, like how he had managed to brush Appa for hours and fur was still coming out, but that was a part of Zuko’s Zukoness.
Looking over at Zuko, he was reminded of this fact. It looked like he was trying to keep the fuel going with lots of little bursts of fire at a time instead of doing it spaced and big.
Huh. That was weird.
“I’ll be back,” Sokka mumbles as he gets up. Walking closer to the firebender, it becomes even more apparent that something was up. His movements that were usually sure of himself were shaky, and as his fingers ghosted over the controls of the air balloon, they kept missing their target before eventually finding it.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asks tentatively, ignoring the butterflies stirring in his stomach.
Zuko startles, like he hadn’t heard Sokka coming.
What?
Zuko always hears people coming. It was another weird tidbit of random information about him that Sokka had become familiar with the more they were together—it was annoyingly impossible to sneak up on him.
Except for now that is, for some reason.
“Yeah, just… tired,” Zuko mutters, going back to throwing fire into the engine.
Sokka frowns. “Are you sure it’s just that? You’re looking a little worse for wear, buddy.”
And he was. Zuko had always been pale, but he had never looked ashen.
Zuko nodded, looking him in the eye. “I’m fine. It’s been a long couple of days; I’ll feel better once I’ve rested.”
And that was that. Another thing Sokka had come to realise about Zuko was that he was excruciatingly honest. He couldn’t lie for shit.
“Okay,” he relented. Zuko went to make a flame in his hand again, but it was too shaky and the only thing that came from it was sparks. Sokka cupped his hand over it, freezing for a second before slowly guiding it to the floor.
Zuko felt way colder than usual. Normally, he felt like a portable heater, constantly emitting heat. Actually, thinking back on it, he had also felt pretty cold when Sokka caught his hand.
“Chit Sang?” Sokka turned to address the firebender that was lying around while Zuko did all the work.
“Huh?” the man startled from his position on the floor.
Sokka’s eyes narrowed.
“...Make sure you and Zuko switch shifts soon.”
Zuko needed to rest just as much as any of them, begrudgingly impressive firebender with his royal firebending or not. Even if his firebending wasn’t looking too hot at that moment.
He’d be fine—Sokka just needed to give him some time.
When they got back to the air temple, Sokka felt like everything was clicking together again as his family was finally all in one place, all together. There was his blood family, his dad and sister hugging, and there was also the family that he’d gathered throughout the months he had left the South Pole. Somehow, the literal Avatar, a blind earthbending girl, a warrior that fought with fans, and the son of the Fire Lord had wormed their way into his little family.
For the first time, it felt complete.
It felt like everything was starting to go right for once.
His attention was drawn to the edge of the group, where Zuko shifted from foot to foot for a few moments.
And then he turned around and left. Followed by nearly tripping over his own feet.
…There goes Sokka’s complete family.
Whatever.
He was about to join Katara and Hakoda when he felt a hand gripping his forearm.
“Toph?” Sokka asked.
“Something’s up with Sparky,” she stated, staring off into the space Zuko had fled to.
“When isn’t,” he mutters.
A sharp tug.
“Ow! What was that for!?”
“I’m being serious.” Toph’s hand gripped tighter. “His heartbeat’s weird,” she finally acquiesed.
“Haven’t you said that his heartbeat’s always weird? I thought that was the whole point of the ‘Sparky’ thing.”
“Exactly,” Toph insisted. “I call him Sparky because his heartbeat could give a heart attack competition.”
“And..?”
“So tell me right now why it’s slow.”
A frown starts to form on his face, backed up by a growing pit in his stomach. “Explain.”
“Ever since he’s been back, it’s been freakishly slow. His heartbeat’s usually too fast, right? Well now it’s too slow,” Toph finishes with a shiver.
Sokka goes cold.
All of the little things were starting to piece together.
The shaking.
The stumbling.
The unnatural paleness.
The frigidness of his hands.
“He told me he was tired,” he breathes, imitating Toph and staring into the empty space where Zuko once was.
“Yeah, I’ve felt tired people, and they don’t feel like that.”
“He told me he was tired.”
Toph tilts her head, as if she was about to ask a question.
Sokka’s gone before she can open her mouth.
Zuko was in the cooler for hours.
Zuko was in an ice cooler for hours. Wearing nothing but rags.
Sokka was an idiot.
Of course Zuko wouldn’t notice; he grew up in the Fire Nation, where it was hot all the time. Sokka should have noticed the signs.
It didn’t matter that Zuko could use firebending tricks, not when he was expending all of his energy to keep that up for way too long. If Sokka was back in the South Pole sitting naked by a fire, he would probably still freeze into a human popsicle.
The few moments where he had been pulled into the cooler was enough to make him wish he had his parka, an igloo, and a campfire.
It didn’t take long to reach where Zuko was still hopelessly stumbling.
How did I not notice sooner?
“Zuko!” he called, quickly approaching.
Zuko’s head whipped around.
And then he was crumpling to the floor, like a puppet with its strings cut.
For a moment, Sokka froze, unsure what to do. He quickly gathered himself, facing setting in determination.
“Toph! Katara!” Sokka yelled out.
Thanks to Toph already having been paying attention, they got Zuko back to the main campsite quickly. They used her earthbending to transport him, and she quickly set him down when he said to.
“What’s wrong?” Aang said anxiously, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.
“Hypothermia,” Sokka gritted out, ignoring their hovering. “Aang I need you to get as many blankets as you can find.”
“It’s fine, I can use fireben-” Aang starts, cupping his hands in preparation.
“No!” Sokka slaps his hands away reflexively. He needed to block the constant wind draft. “Toph, I need you to make a big tent over us like at the Serpent’s Pass.”
Sokka spots Aang’s wide eyes as rock comes up around all of them. He winced, but he really didn’t have time to worry about that.
Testingly, he feels Zuko’s clothes. Sokka frowns at the cold temperature. He distantly hears his father speak, “We don’t want to heat him up too quickly or it could be deadly; it is nothing against you. Let's look for blankets together.”
“Can you get a change of clothes as well?” Sokka meets his father’s eyes. They were both all too familiar with the protocol back home. Hypothermia was way too common when you lived surrounded by ice, snow, and freezing water.
“On it.”
“I could try healing him,” Katara steps forward with a grimace, already preparing the water from her waterskin.
Sokka shakes his head, “Stop, I doubt it will do anything. Hypothermia’s just a lack of heat. Not an injury that needs to be healed.”
“Well it’s not like it would hurt to try,” she scowls at him.
“Uh, yes, it would! It’s great you have your healing water magic, but have you forgotten every lesson we had growing up?”
“Don’t get someone hypothermic wet,” Katara grumbles. Snapping back up, she yelled, “And it’s not magic!”
Sokka rolled his eyes fondly. That argument would never get old.
“How can we help?” Suki asks, stepping forwards with Chit Sang behind her.
He pauses consideringly.
“You and Katara can get started on making soup. Katara will show you how to make it.” They used to have it whenever they had gotten a bit too cold; their parents would start worrying and they made sure that they were warmed back up.
Plus there was that one time Katara had fallen through ice and gotten hypothermia herself. Fun times.
Aang and his dad came back in with the supplies. It didn’t take long for Sokka to shove everyone out of the room.
He forced himself to breathe in and out. He needed to strip Zuko down until he was just in his underwear.
Vehemently ignoring the red colour that was starting to climb into his cheeks, he started what he had set out to do.
It was just like anyone else. Sokka didn’t know what made this so different from all of the other times he had had to help the little kids after they’d gotten themselves wet and cold.
This was no different than that. Except Zuko had golden eyes that reflected the sun and made fighting look like a dance and was so annoyingly oblivious that Sokka couldn’t help but find it endearing and Sokka needed to pull himself together.
He didn’t have time for this.
Once he finished redressing and bundling him up, everyone started trailing in again.
He hadn’t told them he was finished. Sokka’s eyes met Toph’s goblin-like grin and he got his answer. Grimacing as she walked over to him, he expected her to have some irritating comment.
Instead, he got a punch in the arm. “Sparky will be okay, right?”
Sokka looked over at her, taking in her weary features.
He smiled at her. “Yeah, he’ll be okay.”