The Avatar's Advisor (HIATUS)

The Siege of the North: Part 1

TW: internalized transphobia

A week of Sokka checking in on Polu leaves the boy more than a little flustered. Every time the former questions Polu's well-being, the prince comes more to terms with the fact that nobody had ever bothered to notice the pattern.

Well, other than his brothers on occasion.

The more Sokka checks in, the more Polu's adoration for his friend increases. In turn, so does his guilt and sadness.

While Polu spends much of his time with Pakku or his cousins, Sokka spends an increasing amount of time with Yue.

Thus, the thought that he might be special to Sokka fades to the knowledge that the nonbender simply checks on Polu as a friend, and never anything more.

Over the week, Katara and Aang noticed something was happening between the two - though not how they'd hoped.

Polu had begun to drift away from his friend in an attempt to stop loving Sokka.

Sokka seemingly didn't realize this through his infatuation with the Princess.

Aang, surprisingly, is the first to notice.

Polu had frequently been raising his hand to the necklace Aang and Bumi had made all those years ago.

Despite only being 12 years old, Aang has come to understand that Polu only makes a habit of grabbing at the fabric if he is in distress.

Katara keys in when Polu asks her if they could swap sleeping places. This way, Katara would be closer to Sokka than Polu.

It is with these realizations that Katara and Aang decide that they have to force Sokka and Polu to reach the level of closeness they'd once held.

One afternoon, almost two weeks after the team had arrived at the North Pole, Aang grabs Polu by the arm and bends them to the roof of their house.

Katara had strategically decided to take a walk with Sokka so that the brothers were alone.

"What's wrong?"

Polu pulls a straight face to hide any inner turmoil, but guilt and fear linger in his heterochromatic eyes. "Nothing."

"Po, come on. I know I'm not even a teen, but I'm not oblivious to the world around me," Aang protests.

Polu doesn't fully believe that, but he allows Aang to continue.

"Something's going on between you and Sokka. Or, maybe just you."

The words aren't accusatory, but they cut deep into Polu's heart.

"Either way, I know you're struggling. If we're going to stop the Fire Lord before the end of the summer, we need to work together and trust each other. You can tell me what's going on; I won't judge you," Aang pleads.

Polu sighs. "You're just a kid, though. You don't need to be burdened by my troubles."

Aang raises an eyebrow. "You're a kid too, Po. Don't forget that."

The prince laughs sourly. "When did you get so grown up?"

"We've got a whole world to save," Aang comments.

"Yeah, you're right." Polu takes a deep breath. "I'm not sure what to do about Sokka. I feel like I'm falling more and more for him every single day, and he makes it impossible to stop."

Aang frowns as Polu continues.

"He checks on me any time he notices me so much as reach for my necklace, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little special for it, but then he turns around and dotes on Yue and spends every waking hour he's not training with her." The prince sighs and buries his head in his hands. "I feel stupid. I know he's not into guys, but I go from feeling special to feeling inferior because he's always with Yue."