Don't Play With Fire | Zuko x Sokka

12 | Liar

Liar. Fucking stupid liar. Zuko's footsteps were light, but every sound he made seemed to echo. He'd been walking for maybe twenty minutes now, away from the campsite. Coward. He held a flame in his hand like a torch. Not that it did much, all the forest looked the same. He had no idea where he was going, he just wanted to escape. Escape the feelings that Sokka brought out. He'd find a village, a place to stay, somewhere he could live his sad little life and cut up his arms. Spirits, he hated himself. What a sad person he was. A waste.

A branch snapped under his foot. Zuko sucked in a breath. What was he doing? He'd told Sokka he'd stay, he'd stay for his sake. I can't be alone again. Zuko winced. He couldn't stop hearing Sokka's voice. What was gonna happen now?

Zuko stopped walking. He sighed as he pulled the dagger out of his bag. Fucking weak. He walked more slowly as he made marks in his side. He could feel blood drip down onto the fabric of his waistband. Sneaking away in the night. Running.

Zuko flinched as he heard a noise, the blade digging deeper than he'd meant it to.

"Fuck," he said quietly, pressing his hand against the wound. Another noise. Sounded like leaves crunching. An animal? No, footsteps. Zuko jumped up, fire shooting from his hands. He spun around. Six figures were approaching him from all sides. Shit. He drew his fist back and threw his dagger at one of them, who slumped to the ground. Suddenly he was knocked off his feet, falling on his ass. One of the taller ones sent a stream of fire at his face, Zuko barely dodging. Fire benders. He could now see all of them were wearing red, and those fucking stupid pointy shoes. Everything was blurry. He couldn't move fast enough. His side was still bleeding. Zuko blinked. Something hit his head and the world went dark.

~~~

"Katara?" Sokka said groggily. He groaned as he sat up.

"Sokka, firebenders, wake up!" she said, grabbing his face and shaking it.

"Jeez, I'm up I'm up! Wait, what? Firebenders?"

"Yes. Now get up and fight you alcoholic," Katara said, standing up. Sokka rolled his eyes. He stood up but had to lean against a beam for a second. His head spun. Spirits, that was the first time Katara had mentioned it. He heard a yell from outside. Shit, what was he doing? He had to get out there.

Fire Nation soldiers. One was down already. They were fighting in the flat clearing, just outside of the forest. Elements were flying everywhere, and now a boomerang was added to the mix. Where was Zuko? Sokka didn't see him. Everything was still fuzzy. Why did he drink so much? Last night he'd emptied the last of the fire vodka. He could still feel the burn in his throat. He was standing like a little kid, just watching what was happening. Damnit, why couldn't he move?

"Sokka! A little help here?" Katara yelled. The water-tribe boy looked over and saw that she was being pushed back. The guy she was fighting had a stupid-looking spiky beard. Sokka wondered how long he spent trying to get it that spiky in the mornings. "Sokka!"

"Coming!" Sokka yelled, his body finally seemed to wake up. He aimed his boomerang and let it fly at spiky-beard's head. He stumbled and looked over, giving Katara the opportunity to capture him in water, making a fish-tank-like bubble around his head. Sokka looked around again. Aang and Toph seemed to be doing fine. He saw someone else. Another guy was coming out of the forest, dragging something. Sokka squinted his eyes. Zuko. He ran towards them, throwing his boomerang at the fire-bender's face with all his might. He fell over and Sokka sprinted, knocking him out with his fist before he could recover.

"Ow," Sokka winced, shaking out his fist. How the fuck did people fist fight? It hurt.

Sokka kneeled beside Zuko, brushing the hair out of his face. He had a backpack on. Sokka pulled it out from beneath him, finding his clothes and maps and books. What? Had he tried to leave? But he said... What the fuck. Maybe there was another reason? But what other reason would that be? Whatever, he didn't care. He didn't.