Archive of Our Own

Hakoda didn’t know what to make of the young fire prince. When Sokka had first told him that Prince Zuko was at Boiling Rock, Hakoda had been concerned, then confused when informed that no, actually, the prince was on their side.

Previously, the only thing Hakoda had heard about the prince was how he ruthlessly chased his children and the avatar across the entire world, and had fought against them in Ba Sing Se. So he couldn’t fathom what had caused such a change of heart. But Sokka said the prince was trustworthy, and Hakoda trusted his son—even if he could never trust a firebender.

Hakoda attempted to keep an eye on Prince Zuko during their breakout, but that turned out to be much harder than anticipated, and also completely unnecessary. Though Hakoda still didn’t know why the prince had joined them, he was much less wary after Zuko fought his sister. Hakoda wasn’t one to speculate, but if Zuko's relationship with the rest of his family was anything like the one he had with his sister, well, Hakoda understood the boy's intentions a bit more.

When they finally reached the Western Air Temple, Hakoda was overjoyed at seeing both of his children safe and sound again.

“I can’t believe you’re back.” Katara said softly. Hakoda was fairly certain he was never going to let either of his children go ever again. “How’d you do it?” She pulled back from the hug to look at Sokka questioningly.

“It was a group effort.” Hakoda replied. He raised in his eyes to take in the group around them, and realized that while the others were giving the three of them space, Prince Zuko was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t alarmed to find the prince missing, if anything Hakoda was more surprised by how calm he felt despite the circumstances. He didn’t give himself much time to think about it, and instead busied himself with trying to find out what his children had been doing since he’d last seen them.

That night as they sat down and ate dinner, Sokka regaled the group with the tale of how exactly they’d managed to break out of a high security Fire Nation prison. Hakoda chimed in occasionally to add a detail or two, but for the most part he let Sokka talk.

Hakoda was surprised when the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, who by all accounts should be a pretentious jerk, went around and awkwardly served everyone tea. And judging by the non-reactions of the other kids in the group, this seemed to be a fairly common occurrence. That didn’t mean Hakoda wasn’t confused by it.

When it was finally time for everyone to go to sleep, Hakoda set up his bedroll in between his two kids, and was content for the first time in a long while.

Just because he was content didn’t mean he slept well. In fact he had a harder time sleeping in the air temple than he did in prison. He had spent years and years on a ship, with the constant sound of creaking sails and splashing waves and low voices murmuring all around him. Comparing that, and the time he spent in prison where it was always noisy, to the completely silent temple was… eerie. Eventually he fell into a restless sleep.

When Hakoda woke up in the morning, he was surprised to find most of the group already dispersed. Katara and Sokka were at the fire, arguing over what constituted a reasonable breakfast.

“Dad! Can you take Sokka somewhere that he won’t mess up breakfast?” Katara complained as soon as she saw Hakoda was up.

“I’m not the one who’s going to mess up breakfast!” Sokka argued.

“Yes you are! You’re trying to put in random plants and-”

“They’re not random plants! Zuko says-”

“Oh and we’re supposed to just trust everything Zuko says now?”

“You might remember that he helped break Dad out of prison!”

“One good deed doesn’t make up for a lifetime of misdeeds!”

“Kids!” Hakoda stepped forward and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Sokka, why don’t we leave Katara to make breakfast, and you can show me around the temple?”

“Ugh, fine.” Sokka rolled his eyes, and Hakoda pretended not to notice Katara stick her tongue out at her brother. “Oh!” Sokka perked up, “do you want to go watch Zuko teach Aang firebending? It’s really cool.” 

“Sure.” It would be interesting to see firebending in a situation that wasn’t life or death. Sokka led the way, and Hakoda briefly squeezed Katara's shoulder and smiled at her before following his son.

There was a staircase off to the side, and by the time they reached the bottom Hakoda could see the flashes of fire as it was thrown through the air. A familiar feeling of alarm welled up in Hakoda's chest, but he firmly pushed it down. There was nothing to be afraid of here. The two of them turned around the corner of a crumbling stone wall, and Hakoda got a good look at the two benders practicing.

They were in a wide open area, terrace of sorts that had three walls of crumbling rock while the fourth looked out into the canyon below. Aang and Zuko were in the middle, and Zuko was demonstrating a move that Aang attempted to copy. Off to the side, Hakoda spotted Toph, Suki, Haru, Teo, and The Duke all watching the practice with varying levels of interest. Toph was sitting on the ground, her hands and feet firmly planted while she tipped her head back and closed her eyes. There was a stone bench that looked out of place among the other rocks, and Suki and Haru were both sitting on it, while Teo sat next to Haru in his chair. Haru and Teo were discussing something, and Suki seemed to have most of her attention focused on the benders. The Duke sat on the ground in front of Haru and alternated between joining the older boys conversation and watching the firebending with an expression of awe on his face.

Sokka made his way over to the group and plopped down on the stone bench next to Suki, throwing an arm around her shoulder. Hakoda couldn’t help his smile, Suki seemed like a nice girl, and from what he had seen in the prison she was not one to be underestimated.

Hakoda stood behind the group, leaning against one of the still standing pillars as he watched the firebenders practice. When the fire wasn’t being directed at him, Hakoda found that he could appreciate the bending. It was much more aggressive than waterbending—which up until recently had been the only other type of bending Hakoda had seen. As he watched he couldn’t help but catalogue the way the benders moved, formulating ways to counter their attacks should he ever be in the position to require it.

At one point Aang noticed the amassed crowd, and cheerfully waved at everyone gathered. Zuko followed Aang's gaze, and froze when he noticed how many people were watching. Hakoda smiled when Zuko's eyes landed on him, but if anything that seemed to make the prince even more tense.

“You have to focus Aang, firebending is all about control.” Zuko instructed, turning back to the center of the terrace.

The two practiced for a little while longer, but Aang was easily distracted, and soon enough Zuko was calling it to a halt.

“That’s enough for now. You… did good.” Zuko said to Aang. The younger boy broke into a wide smile and he bowed to Zuko, which the prince returned.

“Thanks Sifu Hotman!” Aang said. Zuko groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I told you not to call me that.” Zuko grumbled. Aang ignored him and came skipping over to the rest of the group.

Without discussing it, the kids all got up and made their way back towards the main area. Hakoda was fiercely reminded of his time sailing with members of his tribe, how they fell into routines and could almost read each other's minds on what they wanted to do.

“Prince Zuko, could I talk to you for a moment?” Hakoda stepped forward as Zuko was about to follow the others.

Zuko's eyes flickered briefly towards the stairs, but he turned and faced Hakoda. “Of course, Chief Hakoda.” Zuko bowed.

“Please, just Hakoda is fine.”

“Then you can call me Zuko. I’m not exactly a prince anymore.” 

“Right.” They stood there awkwardly for a moment, Zuko with his hands clasped behind his back and his shoulders set in a straight line. Zuko looked at Hakoda, not quite meeting his gaze but also not avoiding it entirely. Hakoda was tempted to ask why he had been banished—Hakoda had heard various rumors when they stopped at port, and he was sure none of them were true—but decided against it. Zuko didn’t seem like the type of person that would be willing to talk about something like that.

“You’re a good firebender.” Hakoda said instead, trying to get Zuko to relax. Instead of calming him down, Hakoda's comment only seemed to make Zuko more uncomfortable.

“I- it’s not- I’m not that good.” Zuko stammered.

“You’re good enough to be teaching the avatar.” Hakoda countered.

“My uncle would’ve been a better teacher.” Zuko cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. “What did you want?” His words came out harsh, and Zuko winced slightly. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean-”

“It’s alright. I suppose I was just curious.”

“Curious? About what?” Zuko's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Hakoda didn’t miss the way Zuko's gaze flickered between Hakoda and the staircase, as if planning out the closest escape route.

“Well, by teaching Aang firebending you’re giving him the skills he needs to kill your father.” Zuko's shoulders tightened, and he fixed his eyes on the ground. “Doesn’t that bother you?” There was a moment's pause before Zuko blew out a long breath and his shoulders slumped.

“My father has tried to kill me before.” Zuko said simply. “A few times.”

Zuko said something else, but Hakoda didn’t hear it because his mind was still stuck on the fact that the firelord had tried to kill his own son . More than once.

Perhaps Zuko was exaggerating. That had to be it, right? Hakoda knew Zuko had been banished, maybe that’s what he had been referring to. But what were the other times? Tui and La, Hakoda knew the Fire Lord was an evil man, but his own son?

It took a moment for Hakoda to realize that Zuko had stopped speaking and was now just watching him, a guarded look in his eyes.

“Right.” Hakoda said, because what was he supposed to say to that? The two of them stood and stared at each other, neither quite knowing what to say.

“Dad! Zuko! Foods ready!” Sokkas voice broke the quiet of the temple. If Hakoda hadn’t been watching Zuko so closely, he would’ve missed the boys flinch at the sudden noise.

“Be right up!” Hakoda called back. He looked at Zuko, and after a moment's pause nodded to the boy and headed up the stairs.

It was over half an hour later when Zuko finally reappeared by the fire, studiously avoiding Hakoda's gaze the whole time.

That night, a few hours after Hakoda had finally managed to fall asleep despite the oppressive silence of the air temple, he jerked awake.

He wasn’t sure what woke him up at first. The temple was quiet, too quiet really. He lay on his bedroll, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure what had woken him when he heard the noise again.

It was soft, but Hakoda instantly recognized the sound of someone having a nightmare. It was a sound he knew all too well—the war left its mark on everyone. He tried to ignore it, figuring it would pass. But when a full minute went by and the sounds only grew louder, Hakoda knew he had to do something. He was a father, and though it was neither of his kids that were having the nightmare—they were still sleeping peacefully on either side of him—he couldn’t just lay there while a child was in distress.

Carefully, Hakoda extracted himself from his bedroll and sat up, using the dim light of the moon and the embers of the dying fire to pinpoint who was making the noises. His first assumption had been one of the younger kids—The Duke, or even Aang or Toph—but the three of them were sleeping peacefully. He sought out Suki next, she was a strong young woman but she had spent spirits knew how long in prison. But she was asleep as well.

It was then that Hakoda noticed Prince Zuko. He had set up his bedroll farther away from the rest of the group, all the way up against one of the walls, but even from this distance Hakoda could see him tossing restlessly in his sleep. Zuko stilled for a moment, and Hakoda almost thought the nightmare had passed, but then it started up again, his cries even louder than before.

Hakoda quietly made his way over to where Zuko was sleeping, and tried to gently shake him awake. The moment Hakoda touched Zuko's shoulder, he flinched, curling in on himself without waking up.

Now that Hakoda was closer, he realized that Zuko was mumbling something under his breath. Hakoda paused to listen, but could only make out the words ‘please’, ‘no’, and ‘father’.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Hakoda reached out to shake Zuko awake more insistently. “Zuko.” 

Golden eyes snapped open, and with a sudden intake of breath and a high pitched whimper Zuko scrambled away from Hakoda until his back was pressed against the wall. Hakoda sat back on his heels and waited patiently as Zuko's gaze jumped around his surroundings, his breath coming in shallow gasps.

“Zuko.” Hakoda repeated gently. Zuko's eyes finally landed on Hakoda, but they were wide and unfocused. He stared at Hakoda until, with a sudden jerk, he seemed to come back into himself. Zuko's eyes widened even more and he curled in on himself, ducking his head slightly. Even in the low light Hakoda could see the blush that spread across Zuko's face.

“I- I’m sorry.” Spirits, Hakoda had thought Zuko's voice had been rough before, but that was nothing compared to now. He sounded like he had been screaming. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t” Hakoda assured the boy—Tui and La he really was just a boy, wasn’t he? It was easy to forget in the light of day when he was instructing Aang, or showing off a complicated firebending move that made Hakoda glad he was on their side. But here, in the middle of the night, with his shoulders hunched and his knees brought up to his chest, Zuko looked exactly like what he was: a seventeen year old boy in over his head.

“Are you alright?” Hakoda asked.

Zuko nodded his head quickly. “It was- it was just a stupid nightmare.” His voice shook slightly as he spoke, and Hakoda wasn’t sure who exactly he was trying to convince.

“Are you sure?” Hakoda didn’t want to pry, but Zuko still looked slightly panicked. “Because if-”

“I said I’m fine!” Zuko snapped. As soon as the words left his mouth his eyes widened in horror, and he met Hakoda's gaze for all of one second before he was ducking his head again, curling into a ball and rocking ever so slightly. “I’m sorry- I didn’t- I’m sorry.” Zuko rasped. He looked like he was bracing himself, though for what Hakoda had no idea. 

“It’s alright.” Hakoda said softly. “I don’t know a single warrior who doesn’t get nightmares.” Zuko froze, and slowly lifted his face to look at Hakoda in confusion.

“You… what?”

Hakoda took a deep breath and sat down into a more comfortable position. “Everyone gets nightmares. Spirits know I’ve had my fair share.” Of Kya. Of Katara and Sokka. Of having to watch his village burn as he was powerless to do anything about it.

“You do?”

Hakoda nodded. “Does that surprise you?”

Zuko considered the question for a moment before he shrugged and looked away. “My father always said nightmares were a sign of weakness.”

“Does he now.” Hakoda could only imagine the kind of polar dog shit the Fire Lord had drilled into Zuko's brain. It made a pit of rage bubble up inside Hakoda's chest, especially considering that based on what he had heard earlier, the Fire Lord himself seemed to be the source of at least one of Zuko's nightmares.

“I’ve always thought of them as a sign of strength.” Hakoda said nonchalantly, looking out towards the small sliver of sky he could see. “That you’ve survived something terrible.” Zuko scoffed, but didn’t say anything. “If you ever want to talk about it, I am always willing to listen.” Hakoda offered. Zuko nodded once, but didn’t seem inclined to respond, and Hakoda took that as his cue to leave. He paused for a moment, unsure if he should say anything else, and eventually settled on a simple “goodnight, Zuko” and headed back to his bedroll.

Hakoda could feel Zuko's eyes on him as he settled down between his kids again, and he tried to keep his mind off of the worrying picture that was being painted with every conversation he had with Zuko.

Zuko was avoiding him. Of that much Hakoda was certain. It was the why that he couldn’t quite figure out.

At first, Hakoda assumed it was because of their conversation after the nightmare. He thought that the boy might have been embarrassed, he had certainly seemed embarrassed at the time. But the more Hakoda thought about it, the more he realized that Zuko had been acting this way even before the nightmare, and Hakoda simply hadn’t realized.

Perhaps it was because Hakoda was a stranger. He was still new to Zuko, and the boy didn’t know what to make of him yet. Except Zuko didn’t act the same way around Chit Sang. Yes, he was quiet, but that seemed to be his default unless one of the other kids started a conversation with him. From what Hakoda observed, Zuko never initiated a conversation with Chit Sang, but he didn’t jump when Chit Sang spoke to him, and he responded with more than one word answers.

It was no secret that Katara didn’t like Zuko, didn’t trust him, didn’t want him around. So maybe that was it. Maybe Zuko expected the same treatment from Hakoda as he got from Katara. Though that wasn’t quite right either. Zuko seemed determined to prove himself to Katara. He didn’t spend much—if any—time alone with her, but anytime she asked for help with something Zuko was always the first to volunteer. When Hakoda was around, however, Zuko seemed to… shrink. Pulled into himself, tried to appear as small and unobtrusive as possible. He could constantly cast furtive glances at Hakoda when he thought he wouldn’t be noticed.

Two days after Hakoda had woken Zuko from his nightmare, Hakoda came across Sokka and Zuko as they sparred. He watched them fight for a while from the side, feeling pride well up in his chest when he saw how good Sokka was with a blade.

Eventually, Zuko knocked Sokka to the ground, one of his swords pointed at Sokka's throat—causing a flash of panic to burst within Hakoda's chest before he forcefully reminded himself that the prince was on their side now. Both boys were smiling, and Zuko helped Sokka to his feet.

“That was impressive.” Hakoda said, stepping out into the terrace where they had been practicing. The two boys whirled around when they heard him, swords raised to defend themselves.

“Dad!” Sokka dropped his sword off to the side and raced forward to give Hakoda a hug. Zuko stood and watched for a moment, then belatedly realized he was still in a fighting stance and lowered his swords, though he still looked wary.

“Do you boys mind if I watch?” Hakoda asked.

“Not at all! I’ve gotten a lot better than the last time we fought together.” Sokka said proudly. “You don’t mind if my dad watches, do you Zuko?” Sokka turned to look at the other boy, who seemed frozen.

“Not at all.” Zuko's voice was flat, and he gave Hakoda a quick bow as Sokka returned to the center. The two of them dropped back into fighting stances, and there was a moment's pause before they sprung into action.

It was obvious that Zuko had more practice wielding a blade than Sokka had—which wasn’t that surprising, given that Sokka had only started learning a few months ago. They were both very good, but Zuko fought as if his blades were an extension of himself, moving around effortlessly. Sokka was good too, and Hakoda was impressed at how far he’d come in a few short months, but he simply lacked the practice that Zuko had.

There were a few times that Zuko seemed to have the upper hand, and looked a second away from disarming Sokka. Everytime that happened, Zuko's gaze flickered to Hakoda for a moment, a distraction that let Sokka counter whatever move Zuko had been attempting.

The fight finally ended when Zuko hesitated yet again, and Sokka deftly swept Zuko's legs out from under him. Zuko landed hard on the ground, and both boys froze in shock as Sokka pointed his sword at Zuko's chest.

“Ha! Take that!” Sokka exclaimed.

“Yeah, you’re improving a lot.” Zuko said as he took Sokka's outstretched hand to help himself to his feet.

“That was very impressive.” Hakoda said, stepping forward to clasp Sokka on the shoulder. Zuko sucked in a sharp breath, and Hakoda glanced over to see Zuko's eyes fixated on where Hakoda's hand rested. “Both of you are incredibly talented warriors.” Sokka beamed with pride, while Zuko simply bowed his head. “I’d admit that you surprised me, Zuko. Most benders don’t bother learning other ways of fighting.” Zuko stared at Hakoda for a moment, brow slightly furrowed as if he wasn’t sure whether he was being complimented or not. “It’s very impressive.” Hakoda repeated again.

Hakoda looked back at Sokka and smiled. “Now I believe your sister just about has lunch ready, if you two would care to join me?”

“Food!” Sokka yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. He sheathed his sword and took a few steps towards the stairs before pausing to look back at Zuko. “You coming?”

“You two go ahead. I’ll join you later.” Zuko said.

For the rest of the day, Hakoda wandered around the air temple. He took a moment after lunch to talk with Chit Sang, watched Katara and Aang practice waterbending, and even sat for a minute with Teo to recall the last time he had seen the boy's father.

The only person Hakoda didn’t see was Zuko. The boy finally showed up at dinner, being dragged along by Toph who had apparently found him bending in one of the distant areas of the temple. 

Hakoda was sitting and talking with Sokka, but he couldn’t help but notice how Toph all but shoved a bowl of food into Zuko's hands, even when he tried to protest. Zuko didn’t say anything the entire meal, and after a while got up to take care of his still half filled bowl, then slipped away when Toph wasn’t paying attention.

Hakoda waited a few minutes before he set down his bowl and followed.

Zuko wasn’t hard to find, he was sitting at the edge of one of the nearby terraces, a small flame cupped in his hands as he looked out into the canyon below them.

“Zuko-” the moment Hakoda spoke, Zuko jumped, and the flame in his hands went out as he scrambled to his feet and bowed to Hakoda.

“Chief Hakoda.”

“I’ve told you, Hakoda is fine.” Zuko looked like he wanted to say something, but bit his tongue and stared at the ground. Hakoda took a seat near the edge of the terrace, one leg dangling into the canyon as he leaned back against a pillar. Zuko hesitated, but after a moment followed suit, sitting on Hakoda's left and leaving several feet between them.

“Was there something you wanted?” Zuko asked after a minute or so of silence had passed. Hakoda tore his gaze away from the black abyss in front of them and looked at Zuko.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Hakoda meant it as a question, but when he saw alarm flare in Zuko's eyes he realized how much it sounded like an accusation. He rushed to continue before the boy could draw the wrong conclusion. “I’m just wondering why.”

Zuko continued to stare at Hakoda, his face a mixture of distrust and confusion. When another moment passed and Zuko didn’t make a move to say anything, Hakoda continued.

“I hope I haven’t done anything to make you think you can’t trust me.” 

Zuko’s eyes widened and he shook his head fiercely. “No, that’s not- you’re not- you haven’t done anything.” Zuko ducked his head. “I’m sorry I just…” he trailed off before he could finish his thought.

“Alright, well I wanted to make sure you knew that I don’t hold your past actions against you. I know it must’ve been difficult to turn your back on your family, and I know you’ve done some things in the past you’re not proud of because you wanted to get back to them. But you’re here now and you’re helping teach the avatar. That’s all that matters to me.” Zuko didn’t meet Hakoda's eyes, and he wondered just how much of his speech was actually getting to the boy. “I know Katara-” Zuko tensed at the mention of his daughter, “can hold a grudge. But you don’t have to fear me. You know that, right?”

“Yes sir.” Zuko nodded. His voice was flat and the words sounded automatic, and Hakoda got the feeling that Zuko didn’t fully believe him.

They sat in silence for a while longer before Hakoda made to stand up. As soon as he moved, Zuko ducked his head, curling in on himself once more.

“I’m going to head back to the group.” Hakoda said, Zuko didn’t respond. “I’m sure the others would love it if you joined.”

Hakoda turned and walked away, thinking back and trying to figure out what he could do to make Zuko less wary of him. He was so occupied in his thoughts he almost walked directly into Toph.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t…” Hakoda trailed off when he saw the frown on Toph's face. “Is something wrong?”

Toph huffed out a harsh breath and crossed her arms, planting herself more firmly in Hakoda's way. “Look, I don’t know what it is that you said, or did, but Sparky doesn’t trust you.” Hakoda raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to protest that he hadn’t done anything, but Toph continued talking. “But he’s good now, and he’s on our side. So just- just leave him alone, okay?” She narrowed her eyes, and Hakoda had to force himself not to take a step back. “And if I find out that you’ve cornered him again, or made him feel uncomfortable, I will throw you off this temple myself, got it?”

“Understood.” Hakoda didn’t doubt that she was telling the truth, and she gave a little satisfied smile at his words.

“Good.” With that, Toph stalked off in the direction of where Zuko was. Hakoda stood frozen for a moment before he shook himself and continued. Toph may be twelve years old, but she was one of the most powerful benders that Hakoda had ever met, and she could bring down the entire air temple around them if she wanted to.

They fell into a routine of sorts.

Any night Zuko had a nightmare—and it wasn’t every night, but it certainly was in the majority—Hakoda would get up and do his best to wake Zuko without startling the boy. Not that it ever worked.

Zuko would wake slightly panicked, and Hakoda would wait until he had calmed down enough to take in his surroundings and would ask if he was alright. Zuko would dodge the question, instead apologizing for waking Hakoda, to which Hakoda would always claim he had already been awake—which was a lie, and surely Zuko knew that by now but he never pressed the issue. Hakoda would ask if Zuko was alright again, and Zuko would claim that he was fine—another lie, but Hakoda never called him on it. Hakoda would ask if Zuko wanted to talk about it, to which Zuko would reply no, and then Hakoda would say goodnight and go back to his bedroll to sleep.

Hakoda knew that at least half the time Zuko didn’t fall back asleep after being woken from a nightmare. Some days Zuko would stumble around throughout the day, the bags under his eyes more pronounced than usual, and would wave off anyone's concern even as he looked about two seconds from passing out. Zuko didn’t get a lot of sleep in the first place either. He was always the last one to go to bed, and according to Aang he got up every morning for a sunrise meditation.

There was a picture forming in Hakoda's mind. The broad strokes outlined by Zuko's behavior, the tidbits of information he’d let slip about his family, and the few things Hakoda had overheard while trying to wake the boy from nightmares. They were all coming together to form a very ugly picture. A picture that Hakoda refused to complete, and desperately hoped wasn’t true.

One night, a little under two weeks after Hakoda arrived at the Western Air Temple, Hakoda was woken up by the sounds of yet another nightmare. He rolled to his feet automatically, but paused when his gaze landed on Zuko and he saw that, for once, the boy seemed sound asleep.

Casting his gaze around the rest of the group, Hakoda's eyes landed on Sokka, who was curled up on his side a few feet away, thrashing around in his bedroll.

“Sokka?” Hakoda kneeled by his son's side and put a hand on his shoulder. Sokka curled tighter into a ball, murmuring ‘no’ under his breath repeatedly. “Sokka.” Hakoda said again, more forcefully. He shook Sokka's shoulder gently, then pulled back when Sokka burst upright, limbs flailing everywhere.

“NO!” Sokkas voice echoed around the stone temple, and Hakoda heard several others jerk awake at the noise.

“Sokka, it’s alright.” Hakoda said gently. Sokka blinked a few times, coming back to himself, and his eyes finally focused on Hakoda.

“Dad?” Sokkas voice was soft and unsure, and hearing him sound so scared broke Hakodas heart. He could see tears welling up in his son's eyes, even as Sokka tried furiously to wipe them away, and Hakoda knew Sokka well enough to know that he wouldn’t want to cry in front of the others—especially his sister.

Hakoda glanced around to see that almost everyone was awake and sitting up in their bedrolls, looking at Sokka in a mixture of confusion and concern.

Hakoda turned back to Sokka and gently helped him to his feet. “It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He murmured gently. Hakoda started to lead Sokka to a slightly more private area of the temple, one arm wrapped protectively around his shoulder, when Katara’s voice stopped him.

“Dad?” Hakoda looked over his shoulder to see her standing, ready to follow them. He shook his head once and she frowned, but stayed where she was. As Hakoda turned back around his eyes caught on Zuko, who was sitting bolt upright and staring at them with an intensity that made Hakoda pause. There was an expression on Zuko's face that he couldn’t quite identify, but Hakoda put any questions he had for the other boy out of his mind—his son was his first priority.

Hakoda led the way out of the room everyone was sleeping, across the terrace, up half a set of stairs until they reached a more secluded room, his arm wrapped around Sokka's shoulder as they walked. Hakoda sat them down on a fallen pillar and pulled away from Sokka so he could look his son in his face.

“Are you alright?” Before he could even finish the question, Sokka had thrown himself into Hakoda's arms, hugging Hakoda tight around his chest as he started openly sobbing.

“It’s okay son, I’ve got you, you’re safe, it’s okay.” Hakoda cradled Sokka in his arms, murmuring soft comforts and gently rocking back and forth like he did when Sokka was a child. He held Sokka tight to his chest, chin resting on his forehead as he ignored the growing wet spot on his shirt.

Eventually Sokka cried himself out, the full body sobs diminishing to watery gasps, then finally down to the occasional sniffle. Sokka pulled away and Hakoda let go, though he kept a hand resting on Sokka's shoulder.

“Sorry.” Sokka clumsily tried to wipe the tears off his face.

“Don’t apologize. You don’t ever have to apologize for this, okay?” Hakoda said intently. Sokka nodded, but didn’t raise his eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?” Sokka hunched his shoulders and shook his head, but he was chewing on his lip the way he always did when he was holding back.

Hakoda sighed and pulled Sokka into another tight hug, resting his chin on Sokka's head. They sat in silence for a while, Hakoda could feel Sokka's hands pressed into fists at his back, and the only sound came from Sokka's occasional sniff.

“You don’t have to be ashamed of getting nightmares, son.” Hakoda said after several minutes had passed. “Everyone gets them. Even I do, from time to time.” 

“About what?” Sokkas voice was quiet, and Hakoda took a steadying breath before answering.

“Sometimes, about your mother.” He felt Sokka stiffen in his arms. “But usually about you and your sister. Getting into trouble that I can’t save you from.” He answered honestly. “And when that happens I have to remind myself that you and your sister are both very strong, and you keep each other safe.” It had been easier to reassure himself that his children were safe when Hakoda lived on a ship, oblivious to the knowledge that they were traveling with the avatar. Once Bato informed him of that, it became much harder to chase the nightmares away. Now Hakoda could only remind himself that his children were strong, and powerful, and they were traveling with the avatar, he knew Aang would do anything to protect them.

“It was about the eclipse.” Sokka said finally. He sat up and wiped his face on his shirt again. “My plan fell apart, and we weren’t prepared, and people were- were getting hurt, and you and Katara- and it was my fault and-” as Sokka spoke his voice rose in pitch, panic and fear and guilt clawing its way back into his brain.

“Sokka, it wasn’t your fault.” Hakoda cut him off. “You know that, right?” Sokka nodded miserably, but didn’t meet Hakoda's eyes. “Sokka,” Hakoda cupped Sokka's face in his hands, and lifted his chin so they could see eye to eye, “what happened on the day of the eclipse was not your fault. You had a solid plan. But even the most carefully laid plain doesn’t always work. Sometimes things just fall apart, but you did everything you could. What happened that day was not your fault.” Hakoda repeated. Tears were beginning to well again in Sokka's eyes again. “Don’t blame yourself for things out of your control.” Sokka nodded, and Hakoda smiled before pulling him in for another hug.

They sat like that for a while longer, until Sokka's shaky breaths evened out to something more stable.

“Are you ready to go back to sleep?” Hakoda asked, feeling Sokka stifle a yawn.

“Yeah.”

Together they got up and made their way back to the main room, Hakoda keeping his arm around Sokka's shoulder as they walked. They had been gone long enough that everyone else looked like they had gone back to sleep, though Hakoda noticed that Katara's bedroll was much closer to Sokkas than it had been previously. Hakoda followed her lead, and moved his bedroll to be right next to Sokka's other side.

“Thanks Dad.” Sokka said after they laid down.

“Anytime kiddo.”

With that, they both drifted off to sleep, and no one else had a nightmare that night.

When Hakoda woke in the morning, he wasn’t surprised to find the kids already awake and crowded around Sokka. They were trying not to be obvious about it, but Hakoda could tell they were worried, and trying to check on him in their own ways.

Toph was sitting to Sokka's left, much closer than she sat to anyone else except occasionally Zuko, while Suki sat on Sokka's right and leaned against his shoulder. Aang was sitting across the fire, telling some story that involved… frozen frogs? He was doing his best to elicit laughter from everyone gathered. Katara was poking fun at something Sokka had said a long time ago, and Sokka was making fun of her right back. Both of them were smiling, and Hakoda could tell it was friendly teasing, and nothing either of them took too seriously. Zuko sat on Toph's other side, not saying much and watching Sokka intently. Everytime Zokka moved, Zuko's eyes tracked him, searching for… something.

“Morning everyone.” Hakoda walked up to the group, ruffling Sokka's hair as he passed. Sokka reached up to bat Hakoda's hand away, but he was smiling and looked a lot better than he had last night, if a little tired.

Hakoda sat down and grabbed a bowl of food.

“So Zuko, are we gonna do anything fun in firebending today?” Aang piped up.

“Uh, why don’t we take a break for today.” Zuko's words seemed to surprise everyone in the circle.

“Really?” Aang asked.

“Yeah. You’re improving a lot in your firebending, and it’s good to take a day off every now and then. Maybe you could take today to practice more earthbending?” Zuko glanced at Toph. “If… if that’s alright with you Toph?”

Toph was facing Zuko, her head tilted slightly to the side. There was a moment's pause before she broke into a grin.

“Sure. Ready to get your butt kicked Twinkletoes!” Toph punched one of her hands into the other while giving a wide grin that showed far too many teeth.

“Okay!” Aang chirped, sounding far more excited than any reasonable person would be at the prospect of fighting Toph. Once the two of them had gotten out of earshot, Zuko turned to Sokka.

“I was thinking we could spar a bit today?” Zuko's eyes flickered to Suki. “If you two would be interested?”

“Ah man, I would love to but I told Haru and Teo I’d hang out with The Duke today. The two of them wanted some alone time if you know what I mean.” Suki winked and grinned cheekily, and Hakoda had to stifle a laugh at seeing Zuko turn bright red.

“Oh, um, right, I-”

“We can still spar!” Sokka elbowed Zuko in the side. “One on one. Get ready to get your butt kicked!” Zuko looked at Sokka for a moment before he smiled.

“In your dreams.” The two of them got up to move to a different area while Suki went off to find The Duke. Hakoda briefly considered following Sokka and Zuko, but ultimately decided against it. Sokka would be fine. And Hakoda suspected he would be glad to hang out with his friends.

“Chief Hakoda?” Hakoda looked up from his dinner to see Zuko standing above him, hands clasped behind his back and a very serious expression on his face. Hakoda opened his mouth to tell Zuko to drop the ‘Chief’, but Zuko didn’t give him time. “Could I talk to you for a moment?” 

That wasn’t what Hakoda was expecting.

“Of course.” Hakoda set down his bowl and got to his feet. They stood there for a moment, and Hakoda realized that Zuko wasn’t going to say what was on his mind when they were still around the group. “Why don’t we go somewhere a little more quiet. If that’s alright with you?” Zuko nodded, and Hakoda led the way to where he’d taken Sokka the night before, and then went a little bit past that.

They reached an open terrace, and though there were several places they could sit, Zuko made no move to do so, so Hakoda followed his lead.

“You wanted to talk to me?” Hakoda prompted.

“I wanted to apologize.” Zuko stood up tall and stared at a spot just over Hakoda's shoulder. “Ever since you’ve arrived I’ve- I didn’t trust you. I’ve been keeping an eye on you and I’m sorry.” The words sounded stiff and formal, and Hakoda had no doubt that Zuko had practiced what he was going to say at least a half dozen times. “That wasn’t fair to you and I realized that you’re not like- that I had no reason to distrust you or treat you that way, so I apologize.” Zuko finally met Hakoda's gaze and held it. Golden eyes stared at Hakoda, searching for a reaction.

“I accept your apology.” Hakoda said evenly, noting the way Zuko's shoulders slumped ever so slightly at his words. “May I ask why you didn’t trust me?” 

‘And why you agreed to break me out of prison if you didn’t.’

Zuko looked at the ground again and shifted on his feet. “Hypothetically, what would you do if Sokka disrespected you in front of some very important people in your army?”

Hakoda raised an eyebrow, wondering where Zuko was going with this sudden change in topic. “Disrespected in what way?”

“I- what?”

“Did he act inappropriately? Did he yell at me or someone else? Undermine my authority? Did he attack someone?” Hakoda asked, to him there was a large difference between calling someone a name and outright attacking someone. Zuko looked confused as to why he had to make a distinction.

“He- he yelled at a general and called a plan that had been proposed stupid.” 

Hakoda nodded and considered the question carefully. “Well, in this hypothetical situation, I would first make Sokka apologize. No matter how idiotic someone might be, there’s no reason to be uncivil.” Hakoda was suddenly very glad that Bato was not around, because he would laugh himself silly at the hypocrisy in Hakoda's words. Bato had always been much better at dealing with the various Earth Kingdom generals that considered the Water Tribe ‘savages’.

“Then I would negotiate a discussion between the two of them and find out what part of the plan Sokka thought was stupid. Try to find a compromise that everyone could agree on.” Hakoda explained. “Why?”

“What if it’s not the type of plan that you can compromise on?” Zuko avoided Hakoda's question as easily as he avoided his gaze.

Hakod narrowed his eyes. “What type of hypothetical plan is this?”

“Um,” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck and seemed to debate something for a moment. “A plan to, hypothetically, uh, use a division of new recruits as a distraction so another force could get by unnoticed?”

Hakoda's eyes widened in shock. “Well in that case I might just throw the general out myself.” Hakoda joked, but Zuko didn’t smile. “I would make him apologize for yelling, but I wouldn’t force him to compromise on- on something like that. Why?” Hakoda had a sinking feeling he knew what had caused Zuko to ask this specific question, and he just hoped he was wrong.

“What if he had attacked someone?” Zuko still didn’t meet Hakoda's gaze.

“I’d make him apologize, then probably ban him from council meets for a while and assign him some extra chores. Why?” 

Zuko ignored Hakoda's question, and instead stared off into the distance, one hand drifting up to rub at the left side of his face—to rub at his scar.

Hakoda knew he had to ask, but he knew he wouldn’t like the answer.

“Hypothetically, what would’ve happened if you had done that?” Hakoda pressed.

“Which one?” Zuko joked, but his voice shook ever so slightly, and Hakoda couldn’t bring himself to smile. “If I had attacked someone, my father would have been proud.” And if that wasn’t a good insight into how the Fire Lord ran things.

“And if you spoke out against that type of plan?” Hakoda asked gently.

“Hypothetically?” All of the humor was gone from Zuko's voice. “My father would’ve burned off half my face.”

Hakoda sucked in a sharp breath and stared at Zuko in shock and horror.

Well that certainly explained a lot.

The worst part was that Hakoda wasn’t surprised. He’d seen the signs, and had slowly been putting together the picture. He just hadn’t wanted it to be true.

And if the Fire Lord had done that, then that meant…

“You weren’t exaggerating.” His words were barely more than a whisper, but in the quiet of the temple Zuko heard them.

“Exaggerating? About what?”

“When you said your father had tried to kill you.”

‘Multiple times’ Hakoda didn’t add.

Zuko smiled ruefully at that and shook his head dismissively. “That doesn’t count.”

“That doesn’t count ?” Hakoda asked incredulously. “How does that not count?”

“That was just a lesson.”

“A lesson.” Fire burned in Hakoda's veins and he tried not to imagine what else the Fire Lord had done that turned burning off half of his sons face into ‘just a lesson’.

“How old were you?” Hakoda asked, because he had to know.

He didn’t want to know.

He had to.

“Thirteen.”

Thirteen . Hakoda bit back a swear as he looked at the boy in front of him.

He tried to imagine Sokka at thirteen.

Tried to imagine doing that to Sokka at thirteen.

Hakoda wanted to be sick.

He wanted to punch something.

He wanted to kill somebody.

Hakoda suddenly hoped that Aang would find a way to apprehend Ozai without killing him, because Hakoda wanted to do it himself .

There was a horrible moment of clarity when he remembered how they had started this conversation.

“So when you said you didn’t trust me, you thought that I would…” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

Zuko looked up, suddenly panicked.

“No! No, not really I just- I didn’t know what you would be like and- and I had to make sure.” Zuko bowed his head. “I’m sorry.”

Hakoda stood there for a moment and forced himself to take a few deep breaths. 

“Thank you.” He said eventually. Zuko looked at him in confusion. “For telling me, and for watching out for my kids.” Zuko nodded jerkily. “Have you… told them?”

“I… no. Not- not in so many words.” Zuko mumbled. 

“I’m not going to force you, but I think you should tell them.”

“Why?” Zuko looked away. “Why would they-” he cut himself off.

“Because,” Hakoda said carefully, “you’re their friend. And I think they would care.” Zuko frowned, like he couldn’t imagine that anyone would care about him, and Hakoda had to keep himself from storming the capital of the Fire Nation right then and there just so he could deck Ozai.

Instead, Hakoda took a deep breath and headed back towards the group, pausing as he passed Zuko to put a hand on the boy's shoulder—telegraphing his movements clearly. “Thank you, for confiding in me.” Hakoda repeated. Zuko nodded jerkily once, but didn’t quite meet Hakoda's eyes. 

Hakoda made his way back to the group, and sat down across from Sokka, who was regaling every present with yet another story. He watched his son and tried to imagine the type of monster you had to be to deliberately burn your thirteen year old sons face.

Zuko showed up five or so minutes later, and took his customary seat next to Toph, though he glanced at Hakoda and gave a small smile.

As they all went to bed that night, Hakoda resolved to spend more time with Zuko and make sure that Katara's cold shoulder didn’t keep him from interacting with everyone else. Maybe he would talk to his daughter, try and convince her to give Zuko a second chance.

Morning came, and brought with it several dozen Fire Nation air ships.

Once again they had to split up, and Hakoda watched as his children flew away with no assurances that they would be okay.

Hakoda sent up a silent prayer to the spirits to keep them all safe and sound, and hoped that he would see them again unscathed.

A year ago, if someone had told Hakoda that he would one day be worried about the health and safety of the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, Hakoda would’ve called them crazy, and would have probably decked them for even suggesting such a thing.

And yet…

The spirits did always love making people second guess themselves.