More Than Friends // zukka

The Lost Town of Hiroga

When they packed up the next morning, Sokka went to look for the ostrich horse that they had left behind before they had been attacked by the Giant Serpent. But the animal was nowhere to be found. Sokka wasn't sure what he had expected; surely animals didn't wait around for anyone to take them.

"Are you ready?" he asked Zuko.

"Yeah. I'll follow you!" Zuko replied.

"We're not too far away from Hiroga according to this map," Sokka pointed out.

Every interaction with Zuko felt weird and full of tension. Sokka's only shimmer of hope was that they could find Zuko's mother in Hiroga and the mission would be over soon. But he felt bad for even thinking that. It wasn't like he didn't want to spend time with Zuko. But these... feelings just kept getting in the way. The Water Tribe warrior remembered the time after the war when he had been at the South Pole, rebuilding his hometown; and Zuko had been far away from him. They had only seen each other on big occasions, and even then their interactions had been very short-lived. However, remembering this now, Sokka noticed that Zuko had always been a bit awkward around him. But why? Sokka had been with Suki until recently and there hadn't been any strange tension between them, right? Right?

Suddenly, Sokka wasn't so sure anymore.

"Sokka?" he heard Zuko's voice.

"Huh?" was all he could manage.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" the Firebender asked.

"What? Yes, look here!" Sokka said, showing him the map and the path they were following.

Sokka's arm was brushing against his own, and Zuko felt goosebumps creeping up his spine. This was pure agony.

Stupid Sokka with his stupid glowing skin and his stupid ocean eyes!

Zuko gulped and nodded towards Sokka, trusting in his ability to read maps. He was glad that he could just follow the warrior and get lost in his thoughts, because they were too loud to ignore. The truth was that he had always felt drawn to Sokka and the only thing keeping him from investigating this further had been the physical distance between them.

Zuko remembered when he and Sokka had flown to the Boiling Rock on his War Balloon. The tension between them made him shiver even now. How was it that Sokka hadn't noticed this yet? Zuko glanced over at the other teen who was looking at the map, head tilted and frowning intently. Taking a deep breath, he decided that he would just enjoy the time he would be spending with Sokka, and not worry about what might happen. His uncle had always told him that he was too serious about life, and that he needed to enjoy the moments more. So that's what he was going to do: enjoy the moments.

And in that moment, he felt something tighten around his foot and the next second he was hanging at least 10 feet above the ground, upside down and feeling the blood rush to his face.

"Um, Sokka?" he called after the other teen, who had been concentrating on the map.

"Yeah? Oh, shit! What happened?" he asked, looking around.

"What does it look like?" Zuko said, annoyed.

"A trap?" Sokka guessed, "Wait, let me get you down!"

"No, wait!" Zuko yelled, but it was too late.

Sokka had thrown his boomerang to cut through the thick rope and Zuko felt the air brush against his skin as he fell towards the ground, face first. He closed his eyes and put his arms up, ready to hit the ground hard. But the impact never came. Instead, he was caught by two strong arms that held him tight. When Zuko opened his eyes he was met with Sokka's deep blue eyes staring at him. He had an unreadable expression on his face and Zuko saw a tiny grin appear on the Water Tribesman's face.

"You thought I'd let you faceplant from up there?" Sokka said suggestively.

"No..." Zuko lied.

"Watch your step next time," Sokka ordered, a lazy smile plastered onto his face.

"You're stronger than you look..." Zuko murmured.

"You don't give me enough credit, Fire Lord!" Sokka pouted.

    Oh, he looked so gorgeous when his face was all screwed up in a playful pout. At least, that's all Zuko could see when he looked at Sokka who was already turning around and using his machete to clear the path in front of them. Enjoying the moment would be hard as long as he couldn't express these feelings freely, Zuko realised. But he would have to deal. They had more important things to figure out: where was this town that was supposedly sitting in a valley underneath the hills they had just crossed?

"I don't understand, it should be right here!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing ahead.

"There's nothing there. Are you sure?" Zuko asked.

"Yes, if you look at the map," Sokka said, "we're here. And that's where the town is supposed to be. But there's just an empty valley!"

"We should have a look around, maybe we can find something?" Zuko suggested.

    They made their way past the last trees and came to have a clear view on the valley beneath. The sun was brutally hot considering it was early autumn, and while Zuko didn't mind the heat, he figured that Sokka would need some more hydration. He offered Sokka his water skin and looked around the valley. Slowly, he felt his muscles tighten as he got more and more nervous about what they would find.
Yellow grass was swaying calmly in the wind and he could see a few fire ferrets peaking their heads up between a few rocks that were scattered around the valley. But there was no town. In fact, it looked like there had never been a town.

"Okay, this is just straight up weird," Sokka uttered, "am I hallucinating?"

"No, I don't think so. There's nothing there. Let's get closer!" Zuko said, determined.

"I don't understand this," Sokka shook his head, "Why would someone draw a town on a map when there's clearly not a town?"

"I wouldn't know. Ugh, I wish Toph was here," Zuko exclaimed desperately, "She could see if there was anything underground!"

    After an hour of searching the place, Zuko had to admit that this was probably a dead end. Just when he was about to give up, he heard Sokka yell from behind some big rocks. The warrior sounded sad and worried which made Zuko clench his teeth in anticipation. There was the gut feeling his uncle had talked about; Zuko felt like he already knew what he was about to find. He walked over to Sokka who was kneeling in front of what looked like a skeleton covered in green moss and pink flowers. But Zuko noticed something else; Sokka was holding a letter. And yet, he was not prepared when Sokka began reading:

"To whomever finds me: my name is Ursa and I came here to seek refuge from my husband, Fire Lord Ozai. This town gave me a chance and took me in like one of their own. I am very thankful to have found a new family in Hiroga. Unfortunately, a curse has begun spreading across this land. It is eating away at the people in this town. To save their lives I have contacted the Spirits for help. They agreed to take this town to the Spirit world in exchange for my sacrifice..."

"To Zuko: I want you to know that I have never forgotten you. Everyday I thought about you and your sister. I love you both so much! I hope you understand why I did this, and that you can find peace once you know what happened to me. My dear Zuko, I will never leave you. I will always be by your side, watching over you. And I am so proud of the man you have become! Goodbye for now, mom," Zuko finished reading the letter he had taken from Sokka.

A/N: i'm so sorry ): i know zuko deserves better but this is relevant for the story... anyways, we love ursa <3