(no subject)
They set off that afternoon. Sokka bade farewell to the Kyoshi Warriors while the others waited on the back of Appa. When he returned, Lee noticed the boy looked much better now that they were leaving. Sokka never told him much about his connection to the island, only that he’d trained with the women there. He didn’t push for further explanation, and assumed that it was something personal.
The novelty of flying had begun to wear off on Lee around the time the sun began to set. Indeed, it was interesting to watch the world beneath you rush by, but when that was the only thing worth looking at, things tended to get boring. Sighing, he stood up and walked over to Sokka in the way that Katara had shown him was prudent whilst the bison was in motion. “How far is it until Gaoling?” Lee asked his friend as he sat down.
“It shouldn’t be too long,” Sokka told the other. “We should be past the swamp by nightfall. We’ll camp at the edge for the night, and by tomorrow morning or afternoon, we should be there. Why?” he asked.
“No reason,” he told the other. “I’m just ready to land for a while.” Sokka nodded. He was beginning to get bored, too. He’d already made all of the plans for the day, and his constant staring at the map was merely for show at the moment, to make the others think he was actually working. Eventually, the swamp dissipated into solid ground just as the sun was beginning to set as Sokka predicted. Aang brought the bison to the ground in a not-too-gentle way, the impact of the landing making Lee’s jaw click together painfully. The five of them threw their respective packs from the saddle of the bison and began to set up camp.
Lee laughed as he and Katara began unrolling everyone’s sleeping bags. Sokka and Aang had returned from a nearby stream, splashing one another with the water they’d brought back. The two were drenched in the stream water, though Sokka seemed to be losing. The young Avatar kept returning the water Sokka splashed at him to the Water Tribe boy’s face. When at last they calmed down, Lee grabbed Sokka. “Come on,” he told him. “Let’s go get some firewood.”
The two walked into a small patch of trees, picking up small branches as they walked, keeping up a casual banter, ranging from Sokka’s childhood to Lee’s feelings on how Sozin’s comet was increasing his abilities, to Katara and Aang’s steadily growing relationship with Katara.
“So, what are you going to do when the war’s over?” Sokka asked Lee as the boy knelt down to pick up another stick. Lee looked up, surprised. Sokka was smiling at the boy inquisitively.
“I don’t know,” Lee confessed. “I guess I haven’t thought about it much.” He slumped to the floor and sighed. “I don’t want to be Prince Zuko again, that’s for sure. I like Lee. Going back to being Zuko would take away everything that I’ve found since we left the capital, you know?”
Sokka nodded at the boy and sat down as well. “To tell the truth, I like you as Lee better. You were cold and distant when you were Prince Zuko, like there was a barrier between you and the rest of the world. I’m glad that you took it down.”
Lee blushed and smiled shyly. “Thanks, Sokka,” he said quietly.
“Don’t mention it,” Sokka said kindly as he stood up. “Come on. Let’s get to camp before the sun sets.”
----
The fire’s warm glow dispelled the oncoming cold of the night, setting a cozy atmosphere for those gathered around it. Everyone was in a relaxed mood that night. Iroh was regaling the group with one of his more amusing stories during his tenure as a Fire Nation general. Katara and Aang were dangerously close together and blushing furiously at the awareness of it, much to Sokka’s annoyance. He’d watched the two for more than a year now, and their subsequent relationship. The two were too nervous to make the next move, and it was driving him crazy. If they’d just admitted their feelings, at least then he wouldn’t have to watch them stare at each other like…like love-struck children, he thought wryly. He and Lee were close together also, but not in as close proximity as his sister and friend were. He couldn’t help but have a small smile on his face at that. He knew the boy didn’t give out his trust easily, so it was a welcome gesture to see that he allowed Sokka to be so close to him.
“Gaoling was an interesting place for me,” Iroh told the group. “About five days into the siege, a roving band of Earth bender performers came to enter the city, only to find us. Rather than run to Omashu to tell of the attack to the Earth King, they stayed with us and provided entertainment for my men. They had a wonderful acrobat’s act, and the leader of the troupe became enamored with me.”
“I don’t want to hear about you and your relationships, uncle,” Lee said, shuddering. Sokka laughed a bit, as did Iroh.
“No, I imagine you don’t,” he agreed with the boy. “Nonetheless, it happened. She made the most peculiar White Jade tea. It made me feel as if there was a roaring fire in my belly.” He looked up at the sky and smiled. “I do believe we should go to sleep now if we want to make it to Gaoling in a timely fashion.” Sokka nodded, sitting up from his resting position against the log they’d laid out near the fire. He began to take a step, but to his surprise, something caught his boot.
With an undignified yell, he fell forward onto Lee, almost landing on the boy, but caught himself before something embarrassing like that happened. He looked down at Lee. The boy’s eyes were closed in anticipation of the sudden and heavy weight crashing down on him. Eventually his eyes opened with a timid look on them as they caught with Sokka’s. Sokka regarded the newly-minted Water Tribe boy in earnest, a warm feeling rushing through his body. Something about the short-haired teen was different tonight. Maybe it was the fire, but for some reason, Sokka thought that the boy looked oddly…beautiful.
“Sokka?” Lee’s soft voice said inquisitively.
“Hm?” Sokka asked.
“Are you ok?”
It was then Sokka realized their position. Blushing furiously and apologizing all the while, Sokka stood up and turned around, only to see the curious expressions on Katara, Aang, and Iroh. “What?” he asked nervously. “Is there something wrong?”
“No…,” Aang said uneasily. “We should get to bed.”
“Right,” Katara agreed. With a motion of her hands, a stream of water flew from a nearby bucket, colliding with the fire, putting it out in a noisy, hissing death. Sokka rushed to his sleeping bag as soon as the fire was extinguished, too embarrassed to really do much else.
----
Lee didn’t sleep that night. Instead, he sat in his bedroll, occasionally looking up at the waning moon and then at Sokka. It was odd for the boy to unnerve him and over something as small as a look in his eye. But that one look was a look that he knew well. Mai had gotten that look on her face whenever the two were alone. Could Sokka…?
No, the more sensible part of his mind insisted. He was in love with that Water Tribe Princess. He likes girls.
Then what about that look? Another part asked. What was that about?
You were probably reading too much into things. Let it go. His internal argument stopped there, but still, he could not find rest, and he couldn’t help but wonder about Sokka.
The sun rose in a beautiful burst of gold and orange light filtering out of the valley from which they were at the beginning of. Hawky had woken up an hour ago, and was now returning from a morning hunt. The creature now landed on the saddle of Appa, peering at its companions curiously. Lee smiled at the hawk before systematically waking up everyone, from Iroh, to Katara, to Aang, and finally, Sokka. Sokka‘s eyes opened slowly. A dreamy look graced his features, Lee noticed. Almost as quickly it was there, the look vanished as Sokka realized he was awake. A blush formed as he stumbled out of bed. Lee chuckled a bit as the boy ran to do his morning routine. He walked to where his own roll was, packing it up slowly before helping Katara to put them on Appa’s saddle.
About an hour later, they were in the air again, with Sokka at the reigns, instead of pouring over the many maps he carried with him, much to the surprise of just about everyone there. Aang was usually the ones at the reigns. Lee turned to look at Katara, who shrugged at him. It seemed that it was the only response that the Water bender could come up with for any of the boy’s actions. Shrugging, Lee sat back and meditated as they flew on.
Sometime that afternoon, a cry was heard from the front of Appa. Opening his eyes, Lee saw Sokka wriggling uncomfortably on Appa. “What’s wrong?” Lee called out.
“It’s Gaoling!” Sokka called back. “Straight ahead. And the Fire Nation has it surrounded!” Lee’s stomach churned at this news. This was not good.