An Innocent Spark [Zukka]

Chapter 14: Azula's Threat

Zuko tossed and turned in his sleep. Azula's unsettling laugh echoed in his head and the image of his mother crying while being dragged away by Fire Nation soldiers flashed before his eyes.

He kept screaming for his mother, but she said nothing. He tried to make his body move but it was frozen in place. All he could do was listen to his sister taunt him, saying he was too weak to protect the ones he loved, just like he was too weak to stand up to their father. She said he would fail to protect Sokka from her just like he failed to protect their mother.

"No! You stay away from Sokka!" Zuko shouted and shot upright in bed. His breathing was labored, and tears began to fall down his face.

He thought the nightmares had gone away, but it had only been a temporary escape from the torment. The door to his room flew open and he saw Sokka standing in the doorway looking terrified.

"What happened?" Sokka asked and rushed into the room looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

"Nothing, it was just a dream," Zuko said trying to wipe away the tears as discretely as possible, but Sokka noticed and came and sat on the bed.

"Was it about your mother again?" Sokka asked in the caring voice that Zuko was still not accustomed to hearing from him.

"Yes," Zuko admitted and looked down in shame, "and this time Azula threatened you too."

Zuko couldn't bear to let anything happen to Sokka, especially if was because he couldn't keep Azula in prison.

"I'm right here and I'm alright," Sokka said in an effort to bring his friend back to reality. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"I thought the nightmares were over," Zuko sighed and looked out the window at the night sky, "but I'm starting to think they might never go away."

"You've already assigned more guards to your sister's cell and the palace is the most heavily guarded place in the whole Fire Nation. Your mind can rest easy knowing nothing is going to happen to me here," Sokka wanted to ease his friends suffering, but in truth he felt powerless against the dreams Zuko was having.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Zuko sat up fully so his back was flat against the headboard, "maybe it was wrong of me to have you move back into the room next to mine."

"Hey, don't talk like that. I'm your friend and I want to be there for you at times like this," Sokka said. Instead of making him feel better it made Zuko feel even worse. Sokka didn't deserve to have to be his crutch because he was weak and let a few bad dreams get to him.

"You should go and get some rest," Zuko said, his voice trailing off towards the end.

"And leave you here to go back to sleep and have more nightmares? No way!" Sokka replied defiantly. "Scoot over."

Zuko thought about protesting but decided it wasn't worth the effort and moved over. Sokka climbed in and set a pillow behind his head.

"I don't want to upset you more," Sokka said, his voice uneasy, "but what ever happened between you and Mai? I haven't heard you say a thing about her, but last time we were all together you two were inseparable."

Zuko fell silent for a little while before opening up, "Her and I weren't right for each other. She wanted me to be the angry spiteful guy I used to be, and I wanted her to be happier. We fought a lot before realizing it would never work out between us. Now that I think back on it, I'm not sure if I ever truly loved her."

Zuko was surprised that Sokka didn't respond immediately. He didn't open up to very many people, but he trusted Sokka enough to tell him the truth.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sokka said after a few minutes. Now it was Zuko's turn to ask a question. "What about you and Suki? You haven't talked about her either."

"It didn't work out with us either," Sokka replied obviously still not over the heartbreak, "She said I wasn't fully committed to the relationship, like I was distracted by something or someone else. We broke it off and she went back to Kyoshi island to resume being the leader of the Kyoshi warriors."

"I guess we've both been through a lot over the past few months," Zuko said solemnly. Life could be so difficult it sometimes made him wonder how people in worse situations than him managed to stay hopeful.

Zuko laid his head down on his pillow, facing away from his friend and Sokka did the same. Across the room from Zuko was a dresser with a mirror attached to it. In it he saw the reflection of a lost young man trying to fill shoes still too large for him. How long would it be before he could fill them?

"Sokka?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah?" Sokka replied.

"Thanks for staying," Zuko said, trying not to let Azula's words resurface again.

"I'm glad I did," Sokka said and it made Zuko feel a strange sensation in his stomach. "Goodnight Sokka."

"Goodnight Zuko," Sokka said. The two drifted off to sleep. By some miracle, Zuko's nightmares were kept at bay for the night.