Steamy

Sokka and Zuko have an awkward heart to heart talk about relationships, girls and proper sauna etiquette.

Sokka of the Southern Watertribe, Heir to Chief Hakoda, Son of Kya, Grandson of Kanna and Chief Kurtuk, is not dumb.

This does not mean he has never done anything stupid.

Going on a year-long mission to train the twelve-year-old avatar he and his sister found in the iceberg with no formal plan? Stupid.

Taunting his now fiance saying that girls couldn't fight? Stupid.

Enraging an ancient spirit of knowledge by stealing from his library? Stupid.

Breaking out his father and said fiance from the most secure Fire Nation prison ever devised with only a war balloon and the disgraced son of the Fire Lord? Stupid.

Drinking cactus juice? Kinda fun, actually, but also Stupid.

Point is he's done a lot of stupid things. He accepts this; when it's not being pointed out by his sister or Toph. He is, at times, plenty stupid. But he is NOT and this part is important, dumb.

It's a subtle difference, but an important one.

He's very intelligent, people have told him so, even if Suki says it gives him a big head. He's good at strategy and planning and the art of swordbending; no matter how hard Zuko rolls his eyes when he calls it that. And he's observant.

Not all the time, of course. Everyone has their blind spots, things that they have trouble acknowledging are going on around them, and Sokka is no exception. Girls are a big one, he's honestly not sure why Suki puts up with him sometimes. His sister is another, because Girls and Katara are two very separate categories that have almost no overlap and never should because Katara is Katara and Girls are Girls. Even putting the two words that close together makes him vaguely ill.

Problem is, over the years Sokka has become very aware that for most of the male population of the world, the words Girl and Katara are so closely interwoven they may as well be synonymous. Whenever she walks down a street pretty much all the men, and a few women, in the vicinity might as well have the word GIRL stamped across their foreheads like Aang's arrow.

It's not a problem of her taking care of herself, Sokka KNOWS she can take care of herself. He's been told several times, both by her and his fiance and their friends, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what Master Waterbender means. He's seen her fight and then went off the quietly thank his lucky stars Katara is his sister and not his enemy. As stated before, Sokka is not dumb.

No, the problem is that Katara can't see, or possibly willfully ignores, the huge stamped GIRL on the foreheads of people she meets. And that's very bad, because even though she's almost full grown, and her own woman and all that other important stuff, she will always and forever be his baby sister, and there are only so many skulls he can crack in a single setting before people start getting suspicious.

Aang's a prime example. The twelve-year-old monk was head-over-staff for her pretty much since she broke open the iceberg, but Katara could not have been more obvious to the airbenders massive crush if she were both blind and deaf. Actually, considering Toph, that might have made her ten times more observant.

Sokka hadn't been too worried about that. After all, as previously stated, the kid was twelve, and besides giving the way Katara mothered him the bald Avatar would soon discover he was barking up the wrong tree and go back to doing… whatever it was twelve-year-olds did when there wasn't a war on.

It didn't exactly pan out that way but that's an entirely different topic.

The second one was Jet, and, to give Katara credit she DID see his GIRL stamp, but only because they guy practically threw it in her face. Sokka hadn't been pleased by that though, mostly because Jet was a smarmy bastard who used his sister's affection for him to almost murder an entire village, which HE, Sokka, the only one with his head on straight, had to bust his butt to save. To be fair though, she did freeze him to a tree when all was said and done but still. Bad couple of days all round.

The third one had been Haru, which, once again, Sokka hadn't been too worried about. Granted Haru had been sixteen, the oldest and, in theory, most experienced of the three, but the earthbenders shyness and complete lack of experience with girls combined with the strict societal rules of his culture, especially around dating and well, sex had rendered him an almost non-issue. Not that Sokka hadn't threatened him with bodily harm if the earthbender stepped out of line with his sister, but honestly, it had more been out of habit than anything else, considering the earthbender blushed bright red at the idea of holding hands.

There had been others after that, but they were relatively minor. Teo's age had relegated him into the same basic category as Aang and the street vendors and random villagers along their way had been pretty much dismissed as soon as they left town.

And then there was Zuko. To be completely honest, Sokka still couldn't get an accurate read on Zuko. Back when they first met, the idea of Zuko being anywhere near his sister had been terrifying. His stomach had churned as he thought back to the handful pale-skinned children scattered among the sea of dark-brown faces, the ones they all watched for a trace of smoke or a flicker of flame.

Oddly enough, it had been the incident with the pirates that assuaged some of his fears. Sure, Zuko had still been a hot-tempered, no-good jerkbender, but he also had a strong sense of honor and a firmly entrenched set of beliefs in right and wrong which had removed him from the ranks of the so-called honorable soldiers of the Fire Nation that had haunted much of his early childhood. But still. The tree thing was way uncool.

For a very long time, Zuko had been the only guy in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE, that could look at Katara and not immediately have a huge GIRL stamp show up on his forehead. Zuko clearly noticed that she wasn't a boy, of course, but the comprehension of Sokka's little sister as a GIRL was trumped quite soundly by the fact that she was the Avatars Waterbender aka, Boomerang Guys Little Sister, aka Bane Of Zuko's Existence Not Including Bald Flying Children.

It had been comforting, in a way. True, they were still narrowly escaping with their lives whenever they had the misfortune to run into him, obviously, but at least Sokka wasn't also worrying about the possibility of the Fire Prince wanting to spread his Oogie's to Katara.

And then came Ba Sing Se. And the Catacombs. And after that Sokka lost control of the situation. To be fair, it wasn't just him. Ba Sing Se had just fallen, Azula had shot lightning through Aang's heart, Katara had to use the spirit water to bring him back from death's door and then they were hiding on a stolen Fire Nation Ironclad with the remnants of the once great Resistance and a lot of other really bad stuff. He tried to talk to his sister about what went down in the tunnels once. The resulting explosion and subsequent week of icy silence had convinced him that it was a topic best left buried. Preferably in a locked metal box somewhere in the middle of the polar ocean where Toph wouldn't be able to get to it.

Anyway, a lot had been going on, what with Katara pretending to be The Painted Lady, Sokka getting Space Sword, Aang trying to get them all killed by throwing a secret dance party in the cave they were hiding in, all while periodically avoiding getting killed by Combustion Man. And then there was the invasion and Hama and having to leave Dad behind (Again!) so suffice to say Zuko and the possibility of GIRL stamps had been the last thing on Sokka's mind

And then Zuko showed up, unarmed and apologetic, at the temple and Sokka not only lost control of the situation but on what the hell was actually going on.

For one thing, Katara was PISSED.

All. The. Time.

And considering even he found himself replacing his mother's face with that of his sisters on more than one occasion, it meant that everybody in the temple was walking on eggshells and completely without focus which of course just made Katara angrier.

For another, even though his sister seemed to despise breathing the same AIR as he did, the former jerkbender seemed physically allergic to not helping Katara around the campsite. Zuko, it turned out could hunt, (Though he couldn't fish to save his life.) prepare a decent meal and was most certainly the only person who actively VOLUNTEERED to help Katara with laundry and dish duty. (After their life-changing field trip, the other man had often giving Sokka grief about this point. "Seriously, Sokka your socks are toxic. The iguana-parrot who tried to steal Theo's hat fainted dead away when it flew over them!" Sokka, mature adult that he was, had thrown one of his boots at him and told him to mind his own buzz-bird wax.)

But, little by little, it got better, Zuko's path to acceptance easing exceptionally with every dirty plate he washed and every life-changing field trip he went on. Even Katara stopped glaring like he'd murdered her pet snowshoe-fox when he and Sokka brought Dad back. (And Suki and Chit Sang, but for Katara, Dad had been the really important bit.)

And then Azula happened, and Katara got angry all over again, which had prompted Zuko to show up in his tent and ask about the day their mom died, which had lead to the Southern Raiders and Zuko taking off with his sister in the middle of the night.

And then… Well, Sokka wasn't quite sure. They came back, Yon Rah wasn't dead, (Sokka had been simultaneously relieved and disappointed about that) and Katara had forgiven Zuko. And Zuko… Zuko was odd. Not necessarily in a bad way, just… different.

But they had a war to fight and a crazy Azula to unseat and a wayward Airbender to find and once again it had all got pushed into the background. And after THAT there had been treaties and respirations, reconstruction projects, old territory to reclaim, sell or fight over and about ten thousand different meetings that involved a lot of people yelling at each other until Katara or Toph BENT them all into silence.

(Katara usually dumped water over people's heads. Toph favored slapping everybody with metal muzzles till they calmed down. Being the World's Only Metalbender had its perks.)

Zuko and the GIRL stamp question simply hadn't been important, or even visible. But something fishy was going on, and Sokka, as previously acknowledged, is not dumb.

And he was going to get some answers.

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"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Sokka resists the urge to roll his eyes; "It's a sweat lodge scaredy-marmot. We are going to sweat and engage in manly bonding activities to strengthen our connections as brothers."

He DOESN'T add 'And interrogate you about what the icy-hell is going on with you and my sister.'

The victim, or Zuko, snorts, though it sounds a bit forced.

"No, I get that. I heard it the last twelve times you told me. What I don't get is why there appear to be discarded LOINCLOTHS in this changing room."

Sokka shucks his shirt, reaching down to pull off his boots.

"It's a SWEAT LODGE. You can't sweat properly if you got your loincloth on. Makes everything smell like the inside of a tuna-whale." he says, peeling off his thick arctic camel socks and stuffing them into his discarded boots.

(At Suki's insistence, he's taken to washing them at least once a week, even if he did accidentally leave everything outside to freeze solid the first time he did the laundry.)

"What."

Yep, there is definitely fear in that voice. Sokka restrains the urge to laugh at the victim/Zuko's expense as he kicks his thermals off.

"It means we're getting naked Jerkbender, try to keep up."

The affronted choking sound Zuko makes causes him the tiniest flare of guilt. It's true that in some ways the Fire Nation is far ahead of the Water Tribes, what with women serving in the military and the prevalence of steam power, but in other ways, they are very, very much in the dark. How they feel about bodies is one.

In the Water Tribes, at least in the South, nakedness and well, sexuality is not really a big deal. Part of it stems from necessity, during the Dark Months the whole tribe crowds together in the longhouse for warmth and the easy sharing of resources, and well, people don't stop being PEOPLE just because they're in close quarters. (Subsequently, most Water Tribe kids learn what sex is very, very young.) And besides, if someone falls through the ice they need to get warm NOW, no point in quibbling about your buddy seeing your delicate bits. After that, well, Tui and La aren't ashamed of being naked and La certainly didn't give birth to the world all by her lonesome, so why should anyone else feel weird about it?

It's very different in the Fire Nation of course. But Dad always says a naked man has no secrets, and considering the nature of the questions Sokka intends to ask, that is VERY important. Besides, a good steam does wonders for the muscles. He's doing Zuko a favor, really.

"There is no way I'm doing that."

This time Sokka does roll his eyes.

"Look, the Sweat Lodge is important alright? We go every time we have something hard to do and it's directly connected to Tui so there are certain rule- What are you doing?"

Zuko has somehow managed to wedge himself in the corner, facing the wall with a sort of concentration Sokka usually associates with his Dad cutting out an ice-eels liver to avoid the poison from leaking out and killing them all. Sokka sighs. This may require some subtlety.

"Look it's nothing anybody in there hasn't seen before. And before you say anything dumb about your scars I will remind you that all these guys have had some serious clashes with firebenders, same as you. Burn scars aren't something to write home about and anyway, scars are badges of honor out here. It means you survived and you gave as good as you got. The only reason somebody might stare is because most people who take a blast of fire strait to the face DIE, meaning you've got some serious staying power, which is almost better than straight strength out here."

Sokka took a deep breath.

"Besides, it's tradition, your already in here, Katara made me promise to take you for a steam and I've hidden your boots, so unless you fancy walking around in the snow barefoot you might as well strip down and go take a good steam before I call Unalaq and Toklo to carry you in and embarrass you with stories about all the girls they dated when they were young and trust me when I say they do not leave out ANY details."

The glare Zuko gives him could kill a lesser man but hey, progress.

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"So. About you and my sister." Sokka says, reaching over to add another hot stone to the pile in the center of the lodge.

Zuko, who despite himself seems to have been relaxing over the past half-hour or so, jerks upright like someone just stuffed snow down the back of his shirt. (Though how that would work when their both butt naked in a sweat lodge Sokka isn't entirely sure.)

"Kat!? Uh, Why? I mean, what about her?"

Interesting. Sokka hadn't missed the use of the nickname either. Even so, he keeps his tone of voice nonchalant.

"I was just wondering if you've noticed anything odd with her. I'd ask her, obviously, but you know Katara. She thinks she's got to take care of everyone else, me and Dad included, so she keeps things all bottled up cause she doesn't want anyone to worry. She's pretty good at faking it too, for short periods at least, and letters aren't exactly being there, ya know? I was just wondering if she seemed down or anything, what with the anniversary coming up and the Pudong trade delegation coming to stay with you guys."

Did the room get subtly hotter? Did the briefest flicker of flame appear in Zuko's hands when he mentioned Pudong? Time to probe a bit deeper.

"Dong Zhou isn't going to make an appearance is he?"

Yep, that was definitely some steam clearly NOT coming from the rocks in the center of the room.

"Absolutely not. I made it EXPLICITLY clear that if Pudong wants any chance at an agreement that weapons-smuggling buzzard-wasp better not come within 100 meters of the shoreline."

Well. That was good. And also probably a pain in the ass for Zuko, politically speaking. But considering that the last time they met Zuko had to be physically restrained from punching the Silk Merchant's face in by both Aang and Toph, it was probably for the best. It was also probably for the best that Sokka hadn't been there to see that particular interaction go down. Considering what that bastard did, Sokka would have HELPED.

He settles on nodding.

"Good. That's good. Thanks for that, buddy."

Zuko visibly relaxes and smiles a little lopsidedly.

"Yeah. No problem."

Sokka nods again and sprinkles a little more water on to the stones, which pop and sizzle like fat in a pan before leaning back to bask in the freshly renewed steam. Zuko does the same.

A couple minutes pass in relative silence. Sokka cracks open one blue eye. Zuko also has his eyes closed, apparently happy to let the conversation drop from there.

Damn.

Sokka rolls his shoulders and sighs, quietly.

Time to go for broke.

He gives and exaggerated and completely disinterested yawn. Seriously, they should cast him in the Ember Island Players for theatrics like this. He keeps his gaze affixed to the cedar boards over their heads.

"I'm glad she's doing well. Between you and me I think the Fire Nation is the best place for her right now."

He hears a shifting of weight. He's got Zuko's attention now.

"How so?"

Sokka shrugs his shoulders. (Seriously he might have missed his calling!)

"When the war ended, do you know what the first thing I wanted to do was?"

"Make out with Suki? Eat an entire hippo-cow singlehanded?"

"No! Well, yes, now that you mention it but the first thing I really wanted to do was come right back here. To the South Pole, I mean. We were in that tea shop all talking about what we wanted to do with our lives and you all had these big sweeping plans. You were going to bring honor back to the Fire Nation, Toph was going to start her own earthbending school, Aang wanted to bring back the culture of the Air Nomads… and I just remember sitting there and thinking, I just want to go back home. Get married to Suki, have a few kids, train to take over the Tribe from Dad one day. Rebuild our way of life the way it was before all this war mess happened. Follow the herds and track the seals and fish out to the outer islands. Build up the Tribal center. Start the shipyards up again, not just repair the stuff we already had. Stuff like that. But Katara…"

Sokka paused, thinking back.

"I remember she stood up and said she was going to change the world. She didn't know how yet, but she was going to make the world shake until she got it just the way she wanted it."

He swallows hard, a mixture of pride and sorrow forming a hard lump that makes it hard to breathe. He will deny to his dying day the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

"That's… That's when I knew she wasn't coming back with us. Not forever. Not to stay."

Still staring at the ceiling, he waves away any rebuttal his Lodge buddy might have.

"Don't get me wrong, it was great. We had Dad back and she was training the new waterbenders and helping me construct the new Tribal center. She had all these awesome ideas about what we could do and how we should work, but we're too small for her. We're all striving for normal. For BORING. Everyday stuff, you know? And Katara...She can't DO every day, not anymore. She sees an entire world out there and she wants it. She wants it to be BETTER than it was the day before. Good enough doesn't cut it for her."

This time he does look at Zuko. The Fire Lord's eyes are wide as they will go. He probably wasn't expecting an existential reflection on What Katara Needs To Be Happy from the meat and sarcasm guy today, even if Sokka is her brother.

Sokka charges forward regardless.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is you're good for her. She's ALIVE over there. You, that palace, all those problems you guys have to deal with; she NEEDS that. It's HER, even if she does occasionally want to freeze some people to the ceiling. She can't get that anywhere else. Not with Aang, not with me and Dad, not in the Earth Kingdom, not in the Council of Four. She needs you Zuko. And I'd bet my Space Sword you need her just as much as she does. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Zuko's blushing like a sunrise in autumn.

"I… I mean… I'm not quite sure what you mean by… Yes."

Well, that's not what Sokka was going for but it will have to do. Besides, the basic sentiment is still there. Zuko and Katara can figure it out from here.

Sokka stands and rolls his neck.

"Right. Super. Awesome. Glad we understand each other. Just so we're clear if you knock her up before you guys are married Dad and I will make sure they never find your body."

"Wha-?"

"Who wants to go jump in a frozen lake!"

I MADE IT! *proceeds to collapse on the ground groaning about chapter length and page count*

Hi guys!

You may have noticed this chapter is shorter than the others. That is because I spent the better part of two months working on the first two and about a week working on this one. Forgive me.

Originally I thought I was going to do another awkward nudity scene, this time between Zuko and KATARA. After discovering I had no idea how to write that I threw in the towel and decided on a rather less awkward but still slightly uncomfortable bro-talk between Sokka and Zuko concerning Katara and giving Sokka's perspective on the whole blossoming romance.

Mostly because I love Sokka. Never change sweet boomerang boy.

Hope you like it.

Zoo out, Peace!