. . .hello Avatar fandom sorry I'm late?

This is a minor canon AU, largely in that both boys got arrested while in Ba Sing Se.

"You're cold, aren't you?"

Sokka jumped at the voice - soft and almost gentle, if he hadn't been looking at the other boy he wouldn't have believed it was Zuko's.

"No!" Sokka protested immediately. "I'm from the Water Tribe. At the South Pole. Remember?" he said, and sneered a little. He suppressed a shiver, because okay, yeah, he was a little cold, this stupid stone cell was kind of freezing and had none of the comforts of back home. He didn't quite look at Zuko, sitting against the opposite wall - which wasn't very far away - with his legs bent up in front of him and his forearms crossed over his knees.

"Not likely to forget." Zuko said without matching Sokka's rancour, and unfolded his arms to extend one hand towards Sokka. "And I'm sure when you're home at the Pole you're fine, but here it looks like you're wearing Earth Kingdom linen, and not nearly enough of it besides."

"Why do you care?" Sokka asked, fighting down the impending feeling that his teeth would be chattering soon. Why should Zuko care if Sokka was uncomfortable or cold. La, he should be grinning over it or something. Smugly. In his angry little corner. Even if he was - probably - uncomfortable himself. And didn't look very angry right now.

Zuko sighed and slid his legs down from where they had been almost shielding his body.

"Look, just . . . come here." Zuko said, still soft, almost coaxing. Despite himself Sokka found he was moving closer. And- Even if it was Zuko, being close to someone else would help him keep warm - help both of them, and it wasn't like Zuko seemed like he was about to change tacks and try to kill him. "Touch me." Zuko said and Sokka froze.

"What?" Sokka yelped. Then he felt foolish; the closer they were the easier to share warmth, and if Zuko was going to be not insane about it. . . It was just the bluntness of the words, and coming from that mouth. Sokka hadn't expected it.

Not that there was anything wrong with that mouth, objectively, now that it wasn't howling in fury at him or sneering at him or. . .

"Touch me. I-" Zuko rubbed his hand through his bizarrely shaggy hair. Sokka couldn't help wondering how much of Zuko looking less angry was because his hair now softened his features. "I'm trying to help you, I swear." He held out his arm again, looking slightly plaintive. Then again, 'plaintive' wasn't something Sokka would have thought Zuko was even remotely capable of before.

After looking him over warily, Sokka tentatively extended a hand and-

"Oh Spirits you're warm!" Sokka said as his fingers made contact, without his tongue pausing to check in with his brain first. Zuko's forearm, bare where his sleeve had fallen back, was not just warm like anything alive would be warm - though Sokka himself had grown too chilled for that some time ago - he was hot. "How. . ."

"Come here." Zuko said, opening his arms a little more. The warmth he had now felt - far more than he'd expected - tempted Sokka far more than the words alone had done, and Zuko was being weirdly nice right now. And calm.

He leaned towards Zuko. Growing up at the South Pole had left Sokka anything but shy of contact, generally, it was only . . . cuddling up to Zuko that had given him pause. And now . . . well, spirits, Sokka was cold.

"Breath control." Zuko murmured, which after a moment he guessed was the answer to Sokka's question, a spiral of sparks spilling off his tongue along with the words. Sokka's eyes widened.

"That's, uh, a neat trick." Sokka said faintly. Zuko's lips curled, a faint almost-smile, and he pulled Sokka into his lap. He stiffened at the change in location, but didn't protest or resist, sinking in against Zuko's firm - and hot, oh, blessedly hot - chest, shivering. Zuko hummed and let out another soft breath through his mouth, glowing with a slim tongue of flame, and the temperature around Sokka - around them both - rose a little more.

Zuko's body folded around him, and not only was Sokka warming up with the offered comfort soaking into him everywhere they touched, but the aches he'd been picking up from the stone floor were fading a little. Zuko was-

Well, not that Sokka would ever have thought he'd be stringing those words together, but Zuko was comfortable. Zuko's body was cushioning his own from the stone of the cell as well as its chill. It occurred to Sokka-

"I'm not, uh, squashing you or anything?" Sokka asked, squirming a little and tilting his head to try and meet Zuko's eyes.

Zuko huffed quietly, a curling tongue of flame growing along with the exhale. Sokka realised belatedly, with some surprise, that it was laughter. Something else he wouldn't have imagined the ponytailed jerk could do, really. "You're fine." Zuko assured him, shifting a little and draping one upper arm across Sokka's shoulders. "You're not that heavy." he added, moving a bit more and tipping his head back against the wall.

"I- I'm plenty. . ." Sokka stopped. What exactly was he arguing for there? And. . . If Sokka had ever had any doubts about it - not that he'd spent a lot of time contemplating what Zuko might look like under his stupid spiky armour - he now had confirmation that Zuko was solid muscle.

He couldn't see through the baggy earth browns Zuko was wearing, but he could certainly feel it. Zuko was comfortable, but he wasn't very . . . soft.

Sokka stayed quiet, watching the occasional glow of flame spill over Zuko's thin lips with some fascination. He didn't usually see firebending - of any kind, much less something like this - up close, nor without it being a 'panic and run for our lives' situation. It was interesting. And much less terrifying, like this.

Even knowing what Zuko was capable of - though, Sokka thought, for all the times they'd fought, he'd never been burned by Zuko's fires. None of them had, and only Aang had come close, Sokka thought vaguely, with his airbending fortunately deflecting it easily.

He let that thought drift away and stifled a yawn, leaning against Zuko's shoulder.

"Uh. . . Zuko?" Sokka said quietly.

Zuko shifted, taking an even deeper breath. "Sokka?" he replied, and Sokka startled to hear his own name from Zuko's lips. He shouldn't be surprised that Zuko knew it, though, Sokka supposed. He just- Hadn't expected to be called anything by the crazy Fire Prince. Except maybe 'Water Tribe peasant'.

"Thanks." Sokka said, and Zuko stiffened. He wondered how he could possibly have messed up on that, but then, Zuko was . . . more than a little weird, from what they'd seen while running for their lives, maybe it wasn't him exactly.

"You're . . . welcome." Zuko offered, tucking his arms a little closer around Sokka.

Sokka stifled his urge to talk a few times, noticing that Zuko looked very focused and figuring that . . . just maybe, breathing fire and keeping them both warm - especially with Sokka in his lap, and needing to not be set on fire - took some concentration.

He only realised that Zuko had fallen asleep some time after their shared warmth had ebbed a little. He looked up curiously and found Zuko's eyes closed, his head lolling back against the wall, his deep breaths still warm - Sokka could feel the air stirred by his breathing - but no longer showing the occasional flame, or even sparks, between his parted lips.

He was still incredibly warm, though, curled around Sokka.

Sokka bit his lip, then shifted tentatively and worked one arm behind Zuko's head, so he wasn't leaning it directly on the wall. The cold, rough, uncomfortable wall. Zuko mumbled in his sleep but didn't wake as Sokka moved them both just a little.

Sometime in the quiet, while Sokka was wondering about things like sharing warmth with the crazy Fire Prince and then . . . going out of his way to make Zuko comfortable - although really, he was only returning a favour by doing that, now, right? it was a matter of warrior's honour or something - though he hadn't meant to, Sokka evidently fell asleep as well. He didn't really notice as he drifted off.

It took him a few moments of uncertainty as to where he was and why his neck ached and whose warm, solid body he was leaning against before he remembered, and that was when realised that he must have been asleep. Zuko was still leaning on his arm, but golden eyes now glittered in the dim light of the stars filtering in the window.

No torches - none even outside in the hallway the guards trooped up and down. Perhaps they were afraid of keeping a firebender near open flames, but they were idiots if they thought this chill, uncomfortable as it was, would keep a firebender from summoning fire. Sokka had seen this very firebender fight, and fight hard, in the harsh cold of the South Pole, even after being sodden in the freezing water.

Sokka breathed out a little harshly through his nose.

"It- Are you all right?" Zuko asked. Sokka laughed, the sound perhaps a little high and crazed, and dropped his head to Zuko's shoulder. "Sorry." Zuko added.

"No, it's- This is just weird." Sokka said with a sigh. Zuko shivered, his arm curling tighter around Sokka's back, and Sokka realised he'd breathed out along Zuko's neck. "Also not the most fun." he added before he could say anything else.

"Prison generally isn't much fun." Zuko said wryly, fingers curling into the linen of Sokka's tunic.

". . .I suppose that's fair." Sokka agreed, thinking of other times he'd been locked up or tied up or captured and really, it's not that he regretted helping Aang, following or leading or whatever he did, but since he took off with the Avatar his life had gone so. . .

And actually, this prison experience wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. The worst bits so far had been the cold and the bruisingly hard, rough stone, and Zuko was now cushioning him from both. Sokka felt briefly guilty that Zuko was probably hurting the worse for it, although he supposed not actually cold any more than Sokka was, even if he had no shelter from the wall and floor himself. Zuko had pulled Sokka into his lap on his own, though, and surely he'd push Sokka away if he was too uncomfortable?

It wasn't like the Fire Prince was shy. Sokka resolved not to worry about it. This whole thing was too weird to think about for long anyway.

"Well, my sister and the Avatar are probably looking for me, so at least we won't be here for too long?" Sokka said, optimistically - well, actually, the first half was fairly certain, it was just not guaranteed they'd find him. And not to mention Toph, of course. Zuko tensed at his words, and Sokka frowned.

"Heh." Zuko shook his head, and Sokka looked at him.

"Not- Not that you'll be able to just- take him or anything, and I won't tell you where we've been here these past days. . ." Sokka said quickly, swallowing.

"I don't care." Zuko said, thumping his head back against the wall and looking pained. "I don't want- I wasn't even supposed to be here, I've done nothing since we got here that I shouldn't have. . ." He looked momentarily guilty, and Sokka wondered what that was about. "Nothing to hurt anyone, anyway." he revised, the guilt disappearing, and Sokka really wondered. "And I don't figure it would matter."

"Why what would matter? Like, I think the Dai Li don't really need much of a reason if they feel like locking anyone up." Sokka pointed out, shuddering. They were creepy, damn it.

"Me. I-" Zuko paused, and drew in a deep breath, then let it out with a bigger spill of flame from his lips; the cell was warmly if dimly lit for a few moments. "Your friends will come after you and no doubt you'll all escape by some harebrained twist of fate. I don't figure it will matter where the Avatar is after that. Not to me, anyway."

Sokka frowned, confused. "Uh?"

Zuko slipped one hand off Sokka's shoulder and rapped his knuckles on the stone floor beside them in a way that made Sokka wince in sympathetic pain, though Zuko didn't flinch. "I'll still be stuck here. Even if I wanted to," he said almost harshly, his expression twisting, "which . . . I don't, any more, I couldn't do any chasing from here."

With that he closed his eyes, resettling his arm across Sokka's legs. Like he was done, closing off.

Sokka poked him and he didn't react - there was definitely something up with Zuko, Sokka thought, eyes narrowing. He poked Zuko again, and one golden eye cracked open.

"Have you been brainwashed already?" Sokka demanded, and Zuko opened both eyes and stared at him. Sokka realised belatedly that wasn't what he had meant to say, but it was an important question and so he let it stand.

". . .no." Zuko said, and shook his head slightly, his expression taking on a familiar cast of 'talking to a crazy person' that Sokka saw a lot, then closed his eyes again.

"How can you be sure?" Sokka needled, poking Zuko again. He kept poking this time, determined to get a reaction.

"If you're so dubious," Zuko said, sighing and looking at Sokka again, shrugging away Sokka's hand but not swatting him off, "why would you trust my word on it?"

"You-" Sokka hesitated. "You've always been honest, even if you are crazy. I don't think you'd lie to me." he admitted, honestly. Zuko had been terrifying, yes, and seemed at least mildly deranged, but he'd not been dishonest and he'd kept his word when given.

Zuko's eyes widened, then . . . softened slightly, almost honey-gold instead of the harsher yellow-gold shade. "No, I wouldn't. Then or now." Zuko admitted, but rolled one shoulder. "If I was brainwashed, I might not be the most reliable source, though."

"Oh." Sokka nodded, allowing that.

"I doubt they'd have thrown me back in here if I was brainwashed already, though, do you?" Zuko asked dryly, lips tilting in a narrow smirk. "Not very useful."

"That's true." Sokka agreed, though he still wondered what was behind Zuko's very un-Zuko-like behaviour. "Not that I want you to do any Avatar-chasing, but why would you still be locked up here? I told you, my friends will be coming to find me, absolutely."

"And I'm sure they'll find you." Zuko repeated without much inflection. "They're not looking for me."

Sokka blinked, eying Zuko. "I'm not just going to leave you here." he said, startled.

Zuko stared back. ". . .why not?" he asked, looking blankly confused. "I- What else would you do with me? You could kill me, I suppose."

"Whoa!" Sokka shook his head. "Well it's not like I was planning to invite you to come with us, but we're not going to leave you for the Dai Li to mess with, either." He scowled, then had another thought. He hesitated before voicing it, carefully. "Isn't- Isn't anyone going to be looking for you?"

"An exiled prince in disgrace?" Zuko said quietly. "I don't even have a crew any more, and I- we- I've been living like a refugee. Only my Uncle would care, and. . ."

"And?" Sokka pressed gently, hearing something in Zuko's voice that was very like the tender spot he felt when his father was brought up. "Did you get separated?"

Zuko shook his head, curling his fingers in towards his palm, the tips brushing over Sokka's thigh. "We found each other again." he said. "I just. . . I don't know what happened to him, when I was dragged down here."

Sokka winced. "I hope he's all right." Zuko said under his breath, and Sokka impulsively clasped his hand, squeezing comfortingly before he could think better of it. Zuko stared at him, but didn't disengage their hands.

"He's a tough old guy, it seems like, I'm sure he's okay." Sokka offered, and got a slanted, uncertain smile from Zuko in response. He didn't push, and Zuko offered nothing more. It seemed as though both of them drifted into their own thoughts for a time.

"Are you cold again?" Zuko asked quietly, drawing Sokka's attention to the shiver sliding down his own spine. He could feel the chill a little more, to his surprise - though only on his back and in places on his legs, where Zuko's body wasn't covering his own - but he'd been shivering thinking about the Dai Li and. . . They were terrifying, and being captive in their hands was not lessening that effect.

Before Sokka could reply in the negative, Zuko had breathed out another bright spill of flame, and he hummed quietly, shivering again, appreciatively this time, as the warmth soaked into him. "Thanks, Zuko." he said softly.

Sokka jumped as the stone wall crumbled and nearly blasted inwards. Zuko's fingers tensed in his, getting hotter - Sokka was very grateful when they didn't spark fire - and his arms tightened.

"Hey Snoozles!" Toph crowed, slamming her heel into the floor - the pieces of the newly-demolished wall slammed to the sides of the cell. "Ready to blow this- Uh. Snoozles?"

"Toph! Katara!" Sokka stumbled a little as he tried to subtly hurry out of Zuko's lap, though it was probably a bit late for that. Zuko braced a hand at the small of his back and gave him a helpful shove up to his feet. "Aang!" he added as Aang followed the girls in.

"Whoa, Prince Zuko!" Aang paused just outside the cell. "Sokka, are you okay?"

"Sokka!" Katara called from behind him, relief thick in her voice.

"Uncle!" Zuko sounded surprised. He climbed to his feet, smoother than Sokka had - well, he wasn't climbing around someone else's limbs - but a little clumsy, as Sokka had never seen him. At least not if he hadn't been thrown off of anything or knocked head over heels. Sokka wondered if Zuko's legs were numb from holding him for so long and choked.

"Nephew!" General Iroh had been beside Aang, but he stepped forwards to pull Zuko into his arms. He accepted the hug stiffly but he still returned it for the brief moment it lasted. Sokka found himself actually grateful the man was all right, for Zuko's sake.

Then General Iroh drew back, passing over a pair of heavy swords with green banners dangling from their hilts. Zuko's hands curled around them with the same kind of hurried, almost reverent clinginess that Sokka felt when he got his hands on his club or knife after being unarmed for a while, surprising him. He would have thought as a bender, Zuko wouldn't really . . . understand that feeling, since he was never truly disarmed.

Sokka was also mildly surprised to realise he felt no more threatened to know Zuko was now armed with steel as well as his firebending.

"Sokka, are you all right?" Katara asked, edging past the pair to reach him. "What was he doing to you?" she demanded, eyes narrowing and fingers straying to the cork of the pouch at her side.

"It's okay!" Sokka said hurriedly. "I'm okay and he didn't do anything to me, let's just get out of here!" Katara glared at Zuko and his uncle both, but didn't do anything other than pull Sokka towards Toph's newly-made 'door' and drag him into a hug.

Sokka wrapped his arms around his sister in return, more than happy to see her again. Especially rescuing him.

Another stomp put the wall back into place, and Toph led the way through the tunnel and back to the surface, General Iroh just behind her with a handful of flames held up for those following. It was helpful - though Sokka knew Toph would happily lead them through the pitch black, since it didn't make much of a difference to her - but the shadows they all cast, all moving, from the single point of light, made picking his way tricky.

Sokka caught himself, nearly tripping into his sister's back, and just as he steadied himself again, found a strong hand clasping his arm just below the elbow. Sokka looked around and Zuko, who had been trailing a little, moved to his side, letting go of his arm.

A short, choppy gesture had a small flame blooming and orbiting around Zuko's fingers, and he cupped his hand, cradling it there. The flickering light threw even more confused shadows on the floor and walls, but Sokka could see the ground in front of his feet now, and he smiled gratefully at the other boy.

Zuko nodded shallowly, keeping pace with Sokka and careful to keep the flame away from Aang's clothes and Katara's hair, just in front of them.

They came up somewhere in the Upper Ring. Sokka wasn't entirely sure where, though it wasn't too near either the palace or their guest house, or he would have recognised the area. They hadn't spent much time in the Upper Ring except in those two places, though.

Aang summoned Appa rather than leading them off anywhere else, and Sokka supposed it didn't matter - there was, at least, a big open space here, and they didn't need much else if they were taking off. And they'd have to go, now, or the Dai Li would be after them - after Sokka.

"I'm afraid we must leave the city now." General Iroh said, as though echoing Sokka's thoughts, clasping Zuko's arm. He frowned, nodding his understanding to his uncle. He looked genuinely disappointed, Sokka thought.

"I'm sorry about your teashop, Uncle." he offered, resting a hand on General Iroh's arm in return.

He smiled at Zuko warmly. "Thank you, Zuko. I will . . . miss the Jasmine Dragon. However, the most important thing is that you are safe."

Zuko ducked his head rather than answer, looking away. Sokka remembered the soft, pained 'I didn't do anything wrong' and 'we've been living like refugees', and the guilt on Zuko's face.

Aang tried to offer help to the firebenders in getting out of the city, and normally Sokka would have put his foot down on that but tonight he just. . .

Katara spoke up in his place, not necessarily harsh but firm, folding her arms with a stubborn set of her jaw as she refused. Zuko and General Iroh had both politely declined Aang's not-quite-hesitant offer immediately anyway.

Sokka paused, watching as Aang patted Appa, then moved to Zuko's side.

Zuko's golden eyes widened with surprise as Sokka clasped his arm. "Thanks for, uh, being decent." Sokka said quietly. "And. . ." he paused, "I believe you." he added. "That you aren't like you were before."

"Uh, thanks." Zuko said, eyes still wide. "I didn't expect you to." he admitted, his head dipping a little lower, and Sokka didn't really have anything to say to that. He wouldn't have either.

"So you're the ponytailed jerk, huh?" Toph asked as she walked up beside them, hands on her hips. "And the nephew I heard so much about?"

"Aha, indeed he is my nephew, young lady." General Iroh said, and Sokka eyed them both curiously.

"He doesn't have a ponytail any more." Sokka pointed out, and snorted. "He's gone all shaggy instead. And . . . he's not such a jerk any more either, apparently. The fabric of the world as I know it is unravelling because of you." he told Zuko playfully - it had been playful, though Zuko looked like he wasn't sure what to think about the comment.

Aang leapt up to his place on Appa's head, and Sokka realised they needed to get going. He pushed Toph back towards the sky bison.

"Nice to meet you then, shaggy non-jerk." Toph laughed and waved vaguely at him before going in the direction Sokka nudged her. "See ya next time, Iroh!" she added.

"Good evening and farewell." General Iroh replied, bowing his head and turning to follow Zuko, who had already turned and was stalking away. Toph let out a huff and hauled herself semi-reluctantly up into Appa's saddle, draping herself against the back of it.

Sokka followed her up and then . . . watched the pair of firebenders go, his elbows braced on the edge of Appa's saddle as the bison rose into the sky, still curious about the obvious changes in Zuko.

I'll probably be back soon with more ATLA stories and more for these boys specifically.