FIC: fait accompli (AtLA, R)
fait accompli
By Keelywolfe
Sokka/Zuko, Zuko/Hakoda
Part Five in the Insomniacs series
This will make little to no sense if you haven't read the previous chapters. Find them here:
Fathers and Sons
Sins of Your Fathers
Hunted
Caught By a Thread
Warnings: I'm going to give this series a general 'dark' warning, so if you're used to my funny, fluffy stories...this isn't it. Thanks.
~*~
If you followed the long path at the northern end of the temple, the one that wound around three times and had forty-three steps, it took you to a large pavilion that was wide and open to the easterly light. Sokka knew that because he went there at least once a day, counting the steps automatically as he followed the winding steps that led him into the remains of the Western Air Temples gardens.
Most of it was horribly overgrown, weeds choking out the plants that the Air Nomads had so carefully tended for generations. Slender rice leaves still poked out here and there in the long, terraced paddies, mingling with the rough weeds and wildflowers, but it was the orchard Sokka was here for. A hundred years hadn't much affected the moon peach trees, except for the cracked rock surrounding them, the sturdy roots pushing their way through. There were still apple trees, heavy with barely ripe fruit and mangos dangled tantalizingly out of reach, although they fell easily to the assault of a boomerang.
It was an embarrassment of fruity riches and frankly, Sokka was sick of all of it. Fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was not really his idea of a meal made in the heavens. Not unless it was surrounding a large plate of tasty meat, and sadly, the Air Nomads hadn't thought to provide a meat tree for any Water Tribesmen passing through.
Not that he didn't understand Aang's position on eating meat; he actually did, he understood just fine but he didn't get it.
The Air Nomads had had the luxury of orchards bursting with fruit and gardens overflowing with rice and grains. In the South Pole, you either ate meat or you starved to death. They didn't just eat blubbered seal jerky because it was delicious, it was what they had. Polar ice cap and farming were just two things that didn't go hand and hand.
Which wasn't to say that Sokka couldn't appreciate fruit when he found it. He remembered the taste of his first moon peach, the burst of sweet flavor across his tongue and his senses had nearly cried, some part of himself that had never known it was deprived waking up to it and craving more.
So here in the Air Nomad temple he was willing to play the part, cater to karmatically correctness and eat fruit. Though secretly, in his darkest thoughts that he would never, never admit to, would never want to hurt Aang that way, he wondered just how much good their vegetarian karma had done the Air Nomads, what with every one of them being murdered and all.
Today, he wasn't considering much of anything, only gathered the daily allotment of food in silence. It was easier to focus on the blush of fuzzy skinned fruit than it was to think about anything, drowsily gathering fallen apples for Appa as he considered sinking into the softly shaded little corner for a nap. If Katara wasn't expecting him back soon, he might have done it, but it wasn't worth having her seek him out and finding him snoozing. Worse, she might even ask why he was so tired and that was not a question he wanted to answer.
How was he supposed to explain to his little sister that he'd barely slept in three nights, creeping around the temple in the twilight hours, seeing what he'd seen. And last night after...after he and Zuko, he still hadn't slept. He'd stayed awake to keep watch, following after they'd crept away and even when there hadn't been anything to see, Sokka had stayed, straining to hear what Zuko was telling his dad, how he was explaining.
Or really, how he wasn't explaining and Sokka had felt a sick pulse of satisfaction at that because he'd known, really, hadn't he, that Zuko wouldn't be able to explain it away. Even the truth wouldn't have helped him; even if he'd tipped his head up and shown Hakoda the tiny, healing cuts, it was still his word against Sokka's and who was he going to believe, his own son, the kiss seen by his own eyes, or the words of a Fire Nation traitor.
Yeah, how exactly could Zuko have convinced him of anything?
He'd stayed and watched even after he'd been satisfied that Zuko wasn't going to tell. Keeping an eye out in case Zuko tried something else, did whatever he'd done before to get his dad to touch him. But he hadn't even touched Hakoda, in fact, Hakoda had grabbed been the one to grab Zuko, shaken him a little roughly and for a moment, Sokka's heart had been in his throat, fearful that Zuko had told after all. He couldn't hear their low whispers, their faces close together as they spoke and for a moment, Sokka had thought they might kiss anyway, bitter bile rising in the back of his throat and what he would have done then, Sokka didn't know.
But Zuko had pulled away, walking back towards where Sokka was crouched and he'd had to scramble away, hurrying back to his own bedroll and he'd lain there in the darkness, eyes closed and breathing evenly although he couldn't possibly have been heard over Chit Sang's echoing snore. He watched Zuko crawl into his blankets through slitted eyes, the lines of his back quickly hidden under scratchy, rough cloth as he buried himself in his bedclothes.
He'd watched Zuko for a time after that, watched the stiff form relaxing into sleep as he waited for his father to return and he'd fallen asleep waiting, waking to the sun on his face and Katara calling him to breakfast. If his father had seemed a little somber at breakfast, if Zuko had seemed a little quieter than usual, no one else had noticed and that was fine, that was perfect. Things would get back to normal now and Zuko could keep to teaching Aang firebending, keep his hot little hands to himself.
Someday, his dad was going to find someone who would make him happy. Sokka accepted that, his mom had been gone for a long time now, and he'd never expected his dad to stay alone forever. And he would be damned before he was going to let some slutty Fire Nation guy screw that up for his dad.
A scuffing sound startled him, the deliberate scrape of a boot against the rocky ground. He jerked, a ripe apple tumbling to the ground, as he turned towards it and his heartbeat quickened a little to see the unhappy object of his thoughts standing there.
He couldn't even imagine why Zuko would be seeking him out. The guy really didn't know how to stay away from where he wasn't wanted.
"What do you want?" Sokka asked sullenly, just in case Katara had sent him.
Zuko had his arms folded over his chest, still as the windless air as he spoke, "You should know exactly what I want. We had a deal."
"Our deal," Sokka scoffed, a rasp of jeering laughter in his voice. He picked another apple, studied its perfect ruby skin in the midmorning sunlight before he set it in his basket with the others. "I saw what happened last night. My dad dumped you so go fuck yourself for a change."
The silence behind him stretched so long that Sokka turned a little towards the place Zuko had been standing, half-expecting that the other boy had gone. He was still there, unmoving, and when his eyes met Sokka's glance, he said, finally, "Actually, I might go have a long conversation with your sister. It's such a shame she's been left out of your little family drama. Won't she be so happy to know everything, about how I got to fuck both of you? We all know how fond she is of me."
Sokka stared at him in wordless disbelief, stunned at the matter-of-factness in those soft words. "She won't believe you," Sokka hissed, his hands tightening into fists.
"No?" Zuko took a step closer, tilted his head to the side. "You think your father would deny it? Do you think he'd lie to his sweet daughter? Maybe he will," Zuko said, almost thoughtfully, one finger tapping his lips as he considered, "Maybe he'll tell her what a rotten, lying would-be cocksucker I am, maybe she'll kill me like she threatened to do before. Or maybe she'll believe me. I suppose we'll find out." He tossed the last over his shoulder, already starting back towards the winding staircase and Sokka had him by the arm before he could even think about it, fingers buried into the flesh hard enough to bruise. Sokka's mouth was betrayingly dry and he had to work his tongue against the roof of his mouth to dampen it enough to speak.
"You bastard," Sokka managed to whispered, and already he could see her eyes, how betrayed she would look. How she would look at their father and it wasn't even like this was his dad's fault; it had to be that he was just lonely and Zuko had seduced him somehow, slyly offered himself to a man who was just desperate enough to take him up on it. Liar, all firebenders are liars...
"No, my father's a monster but he did marry my mother," Zuko said, eyes glittering hotly with something like hate. "I didn't start this, any of this. But if you want to play games, I play to win." He turned his head away, breath hissing softly between his teeth before he gritted out. "Everything was just fine until you ruined it, but that's all right. You wanted to whore yourself to me to keep me away from your dad, you can do the same to keep me away from your sister."
Something inside Sokka broke with a soggy little snap, made him want to whine at the unfairness of it like a child, and he realized even after what he'd seen, even after his dad, some part of him had still believed in Zuko. "I thought you wanted to be good!"
Zuko smirked, lips curving but eyes untouched by humor. "Are you going to try to tell me it doesn't feel good?" he mocked softly. "You didn't seem to think that last night." His voice dropped, words falling like chips of ice from a mouth that should have been too hot to speak them so. "Don't you dare back out on this now, Sokka, or I swear I'll make you sorry."
This was wrong, this was so wrong, Sokka felt swamped by it, suffocating on his own breath. "You accused me of threatening the world for revenge," Sokka managed, desperate for an escape, his thoughts clawing frantically for any handhold. "How is it more honorable if you do it?"
"I'm not the one trying to back out on his word. Do we have a deal?"
Heat glowed behind his own eyes, that faint sheen of redness sweeping over his vision but he spoke, barely aware of doing it. "Deal."
He flinched when Zuko leaned in suddenly, pressed his mouth against Sokka's and the urge to bite was overwhelming, to sink his teeth into those soft lips until crimson spilled between their mouths. He fought it away, only stood passively while Zuko explored his mouth, slick tongue sweeping lightly over his own before Zuko pulled away, absurdly kissing him on the tip of the nose before he stepped back.
"My dad was only fucking you because he felt sorry for you," Sokka said distantly. It felt like he was standing next to himself, horrible words spilling free but he felt no regret, none at all. "He thought your daddy was crawling between the sheets with you. What's the matter, didn't your father want anything from you?"
Zuko breathed out slowly, a curl of smoke slipping from between his parted lips. "My father is a monster," Zuko said slowly, clearly. "But even he didn't stoop to sleeping with a boy not even half his age. A shame your father can't say the same. I'll see you tonight, Sokka."
He didn't watch Zuko walk away, stood there in the orchard surrounded by the sickly sweet smell of flowers mingled with that of rotting fruit. The basket at his feet was half-full, plump round fruit cuddled together in the roughly woven container. He realized he was still holding an apple, sticky juice dripping from between his fingers and rich, mealy pulp clenched in his fist. Slowly, Sokka managed to open his hand and let the crushed fruit fall to his feet, raised his hand and licked the salty-sweet dampness from his skin.
Then he turned back to the trees and started gathering again, one fruit at a time as he carefully didn't think of anything. Anything at all.
-finis-
Next Chapter
By Keelywolfe
Sokka/Zuko, Zuko/Hakoda
Part Five in the Insomniacs series
This will make little to no sense if you haven't read the previous chapters. Find them here:
Fathers and Sons
Sins of Your Fathers
Hunted
Caught By a Thread
Warnings: I'm going to give this series a general 'dark' warning, so if you're used to my funny, fluffy stories...this isn't it. Thanks.
~*~
If you followed the long path at the northern end of the temple, the one that wound around three times and had forty-three steps, it took you to a large pavilion that was wide and open to the easterly light. Sokka knew that because he went there at least once a day, counting the steps automatically as he followed the winding steps that led him into the remains of the Western Air Temples gardens.
Most of it was horribly overgrown, weeds choking out the plants that the Air Nomads had so carefully tended for generations. Slender rice leaves still poked out here and there in the long, terraced paddies, mingling with the rough weeds and wildflowers, but it was the orchard Sokka was here for. A hundred years hadn't much affected the moon peach trees, except for the cracked rock surrounding them, the sturdy roots pushing their way through. There were still apple trees, heavy with barely ripe fruit and mangos dangled tantalizingly out of reach, although they fell easily to the assault of a boomerang.
It was an embarrassment of fruity riches and frankly, Sokka was sick of all of it. Fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was not really his idea of a meal made in the heavens. Not unless it was surrounding a large plate of tasty meat, and sadly, the Air Nomads hadn't thought to provide a meat tree for any Water Tribesmen passing through.
Not that he didn't understand Aang's position on eating meat; he actually did, he understood just fine but he didn't get it.
The Air Nomads had had the luxury of orchards bursting with fruit and gardens overflowing with rice and grains. In the South Pole, you either ate meat or you starved to death. They didn't just eat blubbered seal jerky because it was delicious, it was what they had. Polar ice cap and farming were just two things that didn't go hand and hand.
Which wasn't to say that Sokka couldn't appreciate fruit when he found it. He remembered the taste of his first moon peach, the burst of sweet flavor across his tongue and his senses had nearly cried, some part of himself that had never known it was deprived waking up to it and craving more.
So here in the Air Nomad temple he was willing to play the part, cater to karmatically correctness and eat fruit. Though secretly, in his darkest thoughts that he would never, never admit to, would never want to hurt Aang that way, he wondered just how much good their vegetarian karma had done the Air Nomads, what with every one of them being murdered and all.
Today, he wasn't considering much of anything, only gathered the daily allotment of food in silence. It was easier to focus on the blush of fuzzy skinned fruit than it was to think about anything, drowsily gathering fallen apples for Appa as he considered sinking into the softly shaded little corner for a nap. If Katara wasn't expecting him back soon, he might have done it, but it wasn't worth having her seek him out and finding him snoozing. Worse, she might even ask why he was so tired and that was not a question he wanted to answer.
How was he supposed to explain to his little sister that he'd barely slept in three nights, creeping around the temple in the twilight hours, seeing what he'd seen. And last night after...after he and Zuko, he still hadn't slept. He'd stayed awake to keep watch, following after they'd crept away and even when there hadn't been anything to see, Sokka had stayed, straining to hear what Zuko was telling his dad, how he was explaining.
Or really, how he wasn't explaining and Sokka had felt a sick pulse of satisfaction at that because he'd known, really, hadn't he, that Zuko wouldn't be able to explain it away. Even the truth wouldn't have helped him; even if he'd tipped his head up and shown Hakoda the tiny, healing cuts, it was still his word against Sokka's and who was he going to believe, his own son, the kiss seen by his own eyes, or the words of a Fire Nation traitor.
Yeah, how exactly could Zuko have convinced him of anything?
He'd stayed and watched even after he'd been satisfied that Zuko wasn't going to tell. Keeping an eye out in case Zuko tried something else, did whatever he'd done before to get his dad to touch him. But he hadn't even touched Hakoda, in fact, Hakoda had grabbed been the one to grab Zuko, shaken him a little roughly and for a moment, Sokka's heart had been in his throat, fearful that Zuko had told after all. He couldn't hear their low whispers, their faces close together as they spoke and for a moment, Sokka had thought they might kiss anyway, bitter bile rising in the back of his throat and what he would have done then, Sokka didn't know.
But Zuko had pulled away, walking back towards where Sokka was crouched and he'd had to scramble away, hurrying back to his own bedroll and he'd lain there in the darkness, eyes closed and breathing evenly although he couldn't possibly have been heard over Chit Sang's echoing snore. He watched Zuko crawl into his blankets through slitted eyes, the lines of his back quickly hidden under scratchy, rough cloth as he buried himself in his bedclothes.
He'd watched Zuko for a time after that, watched the stiff form relaxing into sleep as he waited for his father to return and he'd fallen asleep waiting, waking to the sun on his face and Katara calling him to breakfast. If his father had seemed a little somber at breakfast, if Zuko had seemed a little quieter than usual, no one else had noticed and that was fine, that was perfect. Things would get back to normal now and Zuko could keep to teaching Aang firebending, keep his hot little hands to himself.
Someday, his dad was going to find someone who would make him happy. Sokka accepted that, his mom had been gone for a long time now, and he'd never expected his dad to stay alone forever. And he would be damned before he was going to let some slutty Fire Nation guy screw that up for his dad.
A scuffing sound startled him, the deliberate scrape of a boot against the rocky ground. He jerked, a ripe apple tumbling to the ground, as he turned towards it and his heartbeat quickened a little to see the unhappy object of his thoughts standing there.
He couldn't even imagine why Zuko would be seeking him out. The guy really didn't know how to stay away from where he wasn't wanted.
"What do you want?" Sokka asked sullenly, just in case Katara had sent him.
Zuko had his arms folded over his chest, still as the windless air as he spoke, "You should know exactly what I want. We had a deal."
"Our deal," Sokka scoffed, a rasp of jeering laughter in his voice. He picked another apple, studied its perfect ruby skin in the midmorning sunlight before he set it in his basket with the others. "I saw what happened last night. My dad dumped you so go fuck yourself for a change."
The silence behind him stretched so long that Sokka turned a little towards the place Zuko had been standing, half-expecting that the other boy had gone. He was still there, unmoving, and when his eyes met Sokka's glance, he said, finally, "Actually, I might go have a long conversation with your sister. It's such a shame she's been left out of your little family drama. Won't she be so happy to know everything, about how I got to fuck both of you? We all know how fond she is of me."
Sokka stared at him in wordless disbelief, stunned at the matter-of-factness in those soft words. "She won't believe you," Sokka hissed, his hands tightening into fists.
"No?" Zuko took a step closer, tilted his head to the side. "You think your father would deny it? Do you think he'd lie to his sweet daughter? Maybe he will," Zuko said, almost thoughtfully, one finger tapping his lips as he considered, "Maybe he'll tell her what a rotten, lying would-be cocksucker I am, maybe she'll kill me like she threatened to do before. Or maybe she'll believe me. I suppose we'll find out." He tossed the last over his shoulder, already starting back towards the winding staircase and Sokka had him by the arm before he could even think about it, fingers buried into the flesh hard enough to bruise. Sokka's mouth was betrayingly dry and he had to work his tongue against the roof of his mouth to dampen it enough to speak.
"You bastard," Sokka managed to whispered, and already he could see her eyes, how betrayed she would look. How she would look at their father and it wasn't even like this was his dad's fault; it had to be that he was just lonely and Zuko had seduced him somehow, slyly offered himself to a man who was just desperate enough to take him up on it. Liar, all firebenders are liars...
"No, my father's a monster but he did marry my mother," Zuko said, eyes glittering hotly with something like hate. "I didn't start this, any of this. But if you want to play games, I play to win." He turned his head away, breath hissing softly between his teeth before he gritted out. "Everything was just fine until you ruined it, but that's all right. You wanted to whore yourself to me to keep me away from your dad, you can do the same to keep me away from your sister."
Something inside Sokka broke with a soggy little snap, made him want to whine at the unfairness of it like a child, and he realized even after what he'd seen, even after his dad, some part of him had still believed in Zuko. "I thought you wanted to be good!"
Zuko smirked, lips curving but eyes untouched by humor. "Are you going to try to tell me it doesn't feel good?" he mocked softly. "You didn't seem to think that last night." His voice dropped, words falling like chips of ice from a mouth that should have been too hot to speak them so. "Don't you dare back out on this now, Sokka, or I swear I'll make you sorry."
This was wrong, this was so wrong, Sokka felt swamped by it, suffocating on his own breath. "You accused me of threatening the world for revenge," Sokka managed, desperate for an escape, his thoughts clawing frantically for any handhold. "How is it more honorable if you do it?"
"I'm not the one trying to back out on his word. Do we have a deal?"
Heat glowed behind his own eyes, that faint sheen of redness sweeping over his vision but he spoke, barely aware of doing it. "Deal."
He flinched when Zuko leaned in suddenly, pressed his mouth against Sokka's and the urge to bite was overwhelming, to sink his teeth into those soft lips until crimson spilled between their mouths. He fought it away, only stood passively while Zuko explored his mouth, slick tongue sweeping lightly over his own before Zuko pulled away, absurdly kissing him on the tip of the nose before he stepped back.
"My dad was only fucking you because he felt sorry for you," Sokka said distantly. It felt like he was standing next to himself, horrible words spilling free but he felt no regret, none at all. "He thought your daddy was crawling between the sheets with you. What's the matter, didn't your father want anything from you?"
Zuko breathed out slowly, a curl of smoke slipping from between his parted lips. "My father is a monster," Zuko said slowly, clearly. "But even he didn't stoop to sleeping with a boy not even half his age. A shame your father can't say the same. I'll see you tonight, Sokka."
He didn't watch Zuko walk away, stood there in the orchard surrounded by the sickly sweet smell of flowers mingled with that of rotting fruit. The basket at his feet was half-full, plump round fruit cuddled together in the roughly woven container. He realized he was still holding an apple, sticky juice dripping from between his fingers and rich, mealy pulp clenched in his fist. Slowly, Sokka managed to open his hand and let the crushed fruit fall to his feet, raised his hand and licked the salty-sweet dampness from his skin.
Then he turned back to the trees and started gathering again, one fruit at a time as he carefully didn't think of anything. Anything at all.
-finis-
Next Chapter