Chapter Text
Sokka is really, really bad at this. This being... anything to do with politics. He was too boisterous, too ragged, too messy for the stuffy nobles. He didn't mind it at all. He was a war hero, damn the nobles who thought they were the boss of him. However, someone else wasn't a fan.
"Sokk-aaa..." The way Zuko said his name made Sokka feel all warm and tingly. Not really, he just liked seeing Zuko look as if he wanted to drown in the turtleduck pond. He examined the new-ish Firelord for a moment, before Zuko spoke again. "I know for a fact you're aware Ambassador Hoshi hates you." Yeah. Yeah he does, Sokka thought proudly. "So why do you always act as if you can say whatever you want?"
Sokka pouted briefly at his friend. "But I can. He's just too stubborn to admit it. If he wants the Earth Kingdom to be given that much money in reparations-"
"-they deserve it after what the Fire Nation has done."
He ignored Zuko, not wanting to argue about the past sins of the Fire Nation. At this moment. "-then maybe he should start advocating for his people and not his pockets."
Zuko gently gripped the bridge of his nose for a moment, sighing. "Regardless, I'd rather give him as much as he needs to help rebuild, just in case. I don't want to strain our relationship even more." He thought for a moment about all the irreparable damage he had seen on his journey's. Lee's town, the lower ring of Ba Sing Se... Along with countless others, he knew he needed to start somewhere. Perhaps he could send some carpenters as well...
Sokka rolled his eyes, placing his hand on Zuko's shoulder and pulling him down the hallway. The servants knew by now that this was a normal occurance, and paid no mind to the two friends. "Whatever. I want Fire Flakes."
"You always want Fire Flakes, Sokka."
"Then you shouldn't be surprised."
-
After Sokka had eaten his fair share of Fire Flakes (and then some of Zuko's) the topic of politics seemed to be behind them. The two rarely talked about work outside of meetings and the not-so-rare nights Sokka found himself in Zuko's study helping with the ever growing pile of parchment.
Currently they sat at the turtleduck pond, both staring into it silently. For a bit, at least. "I don't know how long I can stay this time." Sokka murmured, his voice a bit less confident than it usually was. It reminded Zuko of how he sounded o the way to the Boiling Rock all those years ago. Wait... wasn't that just two summers ago? It felt much longer.
"I know. Your tribe... how is the rebuilding?"
"Katara and some of the northern water benders are rebuilding it, but... it takes a lot, you know? And it is going well..." Sokka paused.
"But you want to be with your family again." Zuko said quietly, making Sokka flinch a little. He didn't like bringing up family with Zuko. Crazy father, crazier sister, missing mother... There really was only one good egg on Zuko's side and even Iroh wasn't at the palace much anymore.
"Yeah." He agreed, looking at Zuko. The Firelord seemed emotionless at that moment, staring down at the turtleducks as they ate the bread Zuko was handing them. But Sokka knew better. Sokka saw how hard it was for Zuko to admit it, but he knew he was lonely. The palace was full of people, but none of them were his friends. They were his servants, staff, but none of them actually trusted him. Not yet. That would take... a while, at least. "Maybe... you could come with me."
Zuko's good eye widened for a fraction of a second, before he turned to face Sokka fully. "What?"
"Come with me!" Sokka said starting to smile. "It would be great! You'd get to see Katara and Aang again, and get to take a break from being the Firelord!"
"There is no breaks from being the Firelord, Sokka. You know this."
Sokka waved him off, beginning to pace. "You could bring some paperwork so you can say that it's a work trip! It'll be great, Zuko. You need to leave this place every now and then. Come on, what do you say?" Sokka held out his hand, his gigantic grin making Zuko soften slightly.
Zuko reached up and hesitantly grabbed Sokka's hand, to which Sokka replied with yanking him up off the ground and making them both stumble into the turtleduck pond. Zuko steamed a little, before looking at Sokka. "This is going to happen more at the South Pole, isn't it."
Sokka laughed a little under his breath, before pulling Zuko out of the pond and running with him back into the palace. Both of them were soaked and tracking water through the palace, but Sokka's laugh was infectious. The servants smiled as they mopped up the water, giggling as Zuko was hauled into the royal suite.
"So you're going to need parkas, casual robes, some work to make this not be a vacation, your dao, your-" Zuko sat on his bed, watching Sokka flit through the room. He knew better than to get in Sokka's way when he was like this. He crossed his arms, trying to quell the uneasy feeling in his stomach. It's not that he didn't want to go... He just didn't want to end up doing anything he would end up regretting.