Chapter Text
Sokka comes back to the waking world rather slowly, his body protesting the entire way. It had been a hard week with running from the Fire Nation and fighting a war . So it’s a bit of a surprise when Sokka finds himself blearily blinking up at the night sky in blank confusion.
The slight crackling of the dying fire and the warmth of his bedroll do a phenomenal job of leading Sokka back into dreamland . He snuggles deeper into his bedroll, flexing his toes deep into the fluffy and slimy warmth…..
Wait. Slimy?
“Ribbit!”
Sokka shoots up. It takes awhile for his eyes to catch up to his sleep-fogged brain, but when it does the first thing he notices is a pair of large glowing yellow eyes staring back at him from under the front of his bedroll.
His proceeding manly howl is loud enough to wake the dead.
(“It was a girly shriek.” Toph will argue later, when she is more awake and thus able to properly insult Sokka.
“It was a manly howl,Toph” A sulking Sokka would reply. “I thought being blind made your ears bett- Ahhhh.”
“Now that was girly shriek.” Sokka would keep his mouth shut after that because Tui and La , did Toph hit hard! )
As it stands, his manly howl is more than enough to wake the entire camp, who in less than five second are up, mobilized, armed and ready to confront the danger attacking their trusted comrade.
.
Sokka would take the time to be impressed( and a bit touched) if he wasn’t still hopping from foot to foot and patting frantically at his arms ,trying to rid his clothes of the slimy icky Froggy residue.
“Sokka.” Katara’s water whip gleams in the, her eyes sharp and dangerous and way too alert for someone who was just woken up in the middle of the night. “What’s wrong?!”
“There’s a frog in my bedroll!”
The immediate silence that follows his statement is judgmental and frankly, quite rude.
“A frog?” Katara says blankly. Beside her, a wild haired, rumpled Toph stares in his direction incredulously.
“ You woke us up and nearly blew out my eardrums... over a frog?”
“It's a big Frog!” Sokka snaps, indignation making his voice shrill. Could they not see how distraught he was?
Toph stares at him for a moment, then looks towards the boulder she’s levitating. She turns back to Sokka and there’s an oddly… contemplative expression on her face.
“Toph?”
“It would leave too much of a mess.” Is what Sokka thinks he hears( He’s obviously mistaken because Toph would never crush him with a rock...right?)
As it stands, Toph lets her boulder drop with an accusing thud, and stomps back to her bedroll.
Now that the adrenaline of their rather abrupt wake up call has worn off, the rest of the Gaang , confirming that there really wasn’t any real danger( Physically, Sokka’s emotional well-being was definitely in danger at the moment) were all dropping their weapons and shifting into relaxed stances.
“Well, if there’s nothing else.” Aang says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. His eyes shift over to Sokka and Sokka can tell that it’s only Aang’s innate kindness that is currently keeping the monk from laying into him. “Let's all go back to sleep.”
He’s greeted with a chorus of sleepy agreements as Suki, Zuko and Katara start to hobble back to their bedrolls.
Sokka desperately resists calling out to them. His pride battles with his need to avoid all things amphibian in nature, but he had already lost enough face, waking everyone for a frog in his bedroll, he wouldn’t stoop to actually asking them to get the frog out for him.
No matter how big and warty it was.
Just as Sokka was steeling himself up to confront the giant monster frog, a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He looks to see Zuko staring down at him.
“Stand back,” he says gruffly, “I’ll get the frog out of your bedroll.”
“What makes you think I need you to get the frog out of my bedroll.” Sokka sniffs, trying to portray an image of manly bravado. From the look on Zuko’s face,however, something tells him he’s not doing a very good job.
“I don't know. I just got the impression that you don't like frogs very much.”
‘I DON’T!’ is what Sokka desperately wants to say, but he notices that Aang and Katara are watching the exchange curiously. He takes special notice of the glint in Katara’s eyes. He knows that glint. That’s her ‘I'm-going-to-use-this-embarrassing-thing-against-you-when-you least-expect-it’ glint. Sokka would not give her the satisfaction.
“Thanks, but I think I got it covered.”
“Okay.” Zuko moves to head back over to his own bedroll, but a deep, loud, threatening Ribbit has Sokka making a wild lunge for Zuko’s arm, firmly rooting him in place. There’s a long awkward silence, broken only by Katara’s barely muffled giggles.
“Um, It’s a really big frog.” Sokka says weakly. The look Zuko gives him is one of almost patronizing kindness.
“I’m sure it is, buddy.”
Sokka valiantly ignores his sister and stands off to the side as Zuko carefully approaches the occupied bedroll. He watches with a certain degree of vindication as Zuko’s eyes widen as he pulls open the top of Sokka’s bedroll.
“It’s gigantic isn’t it? The biggest frog you've ever seen?” He says smugly before turning to Aang and Katara, “See? Even Zuko’s shocked. Imagine that. A gigantic monster frog, in your bedroll. That’s what I woke up to so I would appreciate a little bit of sympathy for-“
“It’s you!” Zuko’s shocked exclamation abruptly cuts off the rest of Sokka’s bid for sympathy. As one he, Aang and Katara turn to where Zuko is staring at the inside of Sokka’s bedroll, his eyes shining in delight.
“Uh, Zuko?” Sokka calls. Zuko ignores him.
“What are you doing here, little guy?”
Zuko’s soft tone is out of place for someone currently looking at a giant, monster frog. In fact, it’s more akin to someone looking at their favorite pet.
Zuko shuffles back a bit from Sokka’s bedroll and holds his hands out, palms up.
“Come on.” He beacons softly, “Come on out.”
There’s a happy ribbit from within the confines of Sokka’s bedroll (really how does one discern emotion from a frog? This is what happens when Sokka doesn’t get enough sleep) and suddenly something slimy and gigantic and warty jumps out into Zuko’s open palms. Sokka shudders in utmost revulsion at the wet sound the action produces. That was in his bedroll!
Oogie!
“That is a pretty big badgerfrog.“ Sokka hears Aang whisper, and he doesn't even take the time to bask in his validation, too preoccupied by the strange sight unfolding before him.
“I can't believe it!” Neither can Sokka. Zuko is actually cooing at a Frog like it was some cute Polar Bear pup instead of a slimy disgusting, hideous monster frog. The Fire Nation was weird.
“You know this Frog?” Katara asks, as she comes over to stand next to Zuko, Aang in tow. Zuko nods absently, his eyes crinkling in soft fondness.
“He kept me company at my first campsite, the one I stayed at before I joined you guys.”
“You mean the one way back near the Western Air temple? “ Aang says, his eyes bulging. “That was miles away, not even factoring in flying on Appa! He followed you all the way from there!?”
“You sure it’s the same badgerfrog?” Katara asks.
“ Yeah,” Zuku says and runs a finger down the Frog’s warty back, “See, I recognize the markings on his back. I can't believe he followed me all the way here.” Zuko raises the Frog to his face, “How did you find me, Froggy?”
“Froggy?” Aang asks with utter delight.
“That’s his name.” Zuko says with an entirely straight face, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about an angry jerky angsty Banished Prince naming a frog Froggy.
Katara makes a strange sound at that, almost crossed between a hiccup and giggle. Sokka chooses not to comment on it . Mostly because of the situation at hand. There are so many things he could say about this situation. Such a wealth of material, an endless well of mockery, but Sokka is running off little sleep and post-frog-in-bedroll adrenaline so the best he can come up with is,
“Froggy is a stupid name for a Frog.” Zuko’s shoulders visibly slump.
“Sokka!” Katara says giving Sokka her best disappointed glare.
“Am I wrong?” Sokka waves his arms wildly in Zuko’s direction. “He’s just basically taking what it is and putting a ‘Y’’ at the end of it! It lacks creativity, individualism, intrigue!”
The stare Katara levels at him reeks of ‘I'm-going-to-use-an-embarrassing-thing-against-you.’
Sokka shrivels before the might of it.
“What?”
“Hawky.” Is all she says. It effectively takes all the wind out of Sokka’s sails. Leave it to Katara to expose Sokka’s blatant hypocrisy in the art of animal naming rather than blindly taking his side and backing him up like a good sister should!
“I think Froggy is a perfectly wonderful name for a Frog.” Aang says with a smile. Sokka doesn’t recall Aang giving that reassurance. “And he must really like you if he followed you all the way from the Western Air Temple.”
Zuko’s face lights up and he draws Froggy the BadgerFrog closer to his chest.
“Could you stop cuddling that thing!” Sokka cries because he just can’t take it anymore. Zuko has had the frog pressed against his chest for a solid minute and Sokka skin crawls at the slight slimy residue he can see shining on Zuko’s clothes..
“I'm not cuddling him!” Zuko snaps. He brings the Frog closer to his chest, ironically cuddling it even harder. “Come on Froggy.”
Sokka does like the way Zuko says that. “ What do you mean ‘Come on, Froggy’?’ I hope you mean ‘ Come on Froggy,’ as in ‘Come on Froggy, let me toss you out into the wilderness where you belong. ‘
“No, why would that be what I meant?”
“Because you’re obviously going to take him far away from the camp and set him loose so he doesn’t rudely interrupt my precious sleep again.”
Zuko looks scandalized at the very thought.
“I’m not setting Froggy loose.” he says, his brows drawn into a frown. “Especially after all the trouble he went through to find me. He’s staying with us.”
Sokka knew he was gonna say. He knew it, he had seen it coming when he’d started fawning over the frog. And that's why Sokka has a response ready to go.
“No Zuko. You absolutely are not going to keep a slimy ugly frog that doesn’t respect personal boundaries at this campsite! Nu-uh, not happening!”
Zuko’s face shifts into an expression of deep offense. “Froggy isn’t ugly! Don’t say that! You’ll hurt his feelings!”
Sokka couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. If his feet weren’t still covered in Froggy slime he’d think he was still dreaming.
“Zuko, it’s a frog. It has no feelings.”
“Everything has feelings, Sokka.” Aang says sagely, implanting himself into the conversation to impart his airbendery wisdom. “You shouldn’t be so closed minded.”
Sokka is completely unmoved. “I will be when it comes to frogs.”
Zuko cuddles Froggy the Frog closer to his chest, his eyes glittering with fiery defiance.
“He followed us all this way. I’m not going to abandon him!”
Sokka is forcibly reminded of being in a similar position. Except instead of Zuko, it’s Katara. And instead of a badgerfrog it’s a polar dog bear pup, or a zebra seal, or a penguin, or a tigershark, or an airbender -
Okay, losing focus. Zuko was being too damn stubborn about this frog. He needed outside support.
“Katara back me up! We don't need a slimy frog hopping around,do we? Think of the warts!”
“So that’s what this is about” Katara murmurs with a slight shake of her head. She turns to Zuko and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don't mind Sokka, Zuko.“
“Yeah,” Aang pipes in. He’s looking at Zuko and the Frog with those sappy eyes he wears when he’s looking at something cute. Which was ridiculous because cute, frog and Zuko did not belong in the same sentence. “Sokka just has a thing about Frogs...and warts.”
Now, that sounded strangely accusational. Sokka wouldn’t stand for it. “A WART ON MY THROATAL FLAP AANG!” Aang sighs and Katara rolls her eyes.
“For Tui’s sake- there was nothing there Sokka!”
“I KNOW MY THROATAL FLAP KATARA!”
Zuko looks between Sokka and Katara in abject confusion, before eventually turning to Aang when no explanation is offered.
Aang merely shrugs and waves his hand in the universal gesture of ‘you-don’t-want-to-know’. Thankfully Zuko takes his dismissal in stride and drops it. Instead, he takes a step closer to Sokka, holding up the Frog a little higher. Sokka is treated to a brief look at large yellow eyes before Zuko is suddenly a good few feet away from him and there’s a tree separating them.
“Wow,” Aang says, clear amazement coloring his tone. “ I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move that fast, Sokka.”
“Keep that thing away from me!!” Sokka yells from behind the safety of his tree.
“Froggy wont hurt you Sokka.” Zuko says in a tone that was meant to be comforting. It was not. “He’s a good frog. He’s nice and cuddly and he’s a really good listener.”
One of those things did not sound quite right.
“Frogs can't be cuddly, Zuko.” Sokka says, ”And how do you know he's a good listener?” He adds as an afterthought because honestly all things considered, a cuddly frog is a lot stranger than a frog that's a good listener.
“He was my sounding board back at the campsite.” Zuko says, as if that was a natural thing to do. “He actually helped me practice my introductory Speech. Y’know, the one I used when I asked to join you guys.”
That gets everyone’s attention. Katara turns to Zuko slowly, her eyes practically sparkling.
“You practiced that speech...on a frog?”
Her voice cracks at the end. Sokka, shockingly enough, completely understands. Because as much as he wants to deny it, the image of Zuko actually practicing an introductory speech to use on the Gaang, on a frog no less, is so unbelievably dorky it somehow transcends hilarity and settles firmly into adorable territory.
Sokka feels the intense need to insult Zuko, just to realign the universe.
“Well, if he’s your speech advisor you should think about firing him cause your introductory speech sucked.” Sokka says with a haughty sniff. Zuko sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.
“Froggy actually thought it was bad too. He hopped away after I tested it on him.”
Huh? Well, Froggy may be ugly and disgusting but at least he wasn’t dumb, Zuko’s speech skill were truly terrible.
“Okay, so the frog at least has good taste, but I still object to him staying.”
“You can't make that decision by yourself!”
“Yeah, but Aang can. Aang, tell Zuko he can't keep that monster frog.”
“Froggy went through so much to find me Aang. Tell Sokka he deserves to stay.”
They both turn to a wide eyed Aang, who looks surprised at his sudden promotion to mediator. He looks at Sokka, then back at the frog, then at Zuko then back at Sokka then finally back to the frog. Sokka knows he’s already lost even before Aang’s eyes soften in the way they normally do before he’s about to cave.
Betrayal! Aang has been turned by the enemy! Sokka should have known this would happen when they let Zuko into the group. To actually use Aang's love of animals to get his way.Katara was right this whole time. Zuko was an evil mastermind sent to infiltrate the Gaang and tear them apart!
“Aaaaangggg,” Sokka says in his best big brother voice. But it is nothing in the wake of Zuko’s rather impressive set of puppy dog eyes. It wasn’t far. Zuko was a big brother too. Big brothers were not to have puppy dog eyes.
“It’s just a little froggy Sokka.” Aang says and just like that the matter is officially closed. Aang has ruled in Zuko’s favor. The frog is staying.
Sokka tries to be angry. Truly he does, but Zuko’s doing something unfamiliar with his face that’s currently making it impossible for Sokka to focus on being mad. Something that pulls at his cheeks and makes his eyes light up and ....
Oh, he’s smiling.
Huh.
That’s an unfair thing to do when Sokka is trying to be mad.
“Welcome aboard Froggy.” Zuko says. He brings Froggy the BadgerFrog up to his face and presses it against his cheek .
Okay, now that was just overkill. Sokka couldn’t separate that, no matter how Oogie it was.
Well and truly defeated, Sokka ignores the beaming Aang and cooing Katara and slinks away to his bedroll to lick at his wounds. “Just keep that abomination away from me!” he calls over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Sokka. I won't let Froggy anywhere near your throatal flap.”
Zuko says this with such genuine earnesty, Sokka can’t even be mad when Aang and Katara burst into snickers.