Chapter Text
Hakoda always looked out for his children, he tried to make up for the time he left them, it hurt his heart to leave Sokka and Katara to go with the crew. He also looked out for the other children, he liked being a father for all the kids who needed one, and took care of the other children on the tribe when they got hurt. Had fun with them. It really warmed his heart to be a father figure to those little ones.
And now he stood crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of his prison cell, he prayed to the spirits above he could make it out without getting harmed.
"Thank goodness you're okay!" A guard shouted as he busted into his cell. Hakoda quickly took a fighting stance and was ready to punch him, until the mask fell off, and knew that he was blessed, thank Tui and La.
His son, his beautiful Sokka, stood there. The son he missed so much.
"Careful Sokka, I could have punched you in the gut," Hakoda said instead, attempting to get a laugh out of the boy, mission accomplished. Sokka chuckled.
They sat down together and Sokka started telling him the plan to escape. Until one name set him off guard.
"You know Prince Zuko? He's also here" Sokka said.
"Prince Zuko as in son of the firelord?" Sokka nodded. "I don't know him, only of him, looks like he's gonna be a major problem. Wasn't that boy only 16? Hakoda's father instincts screamed at him.
"Oh no, he's on our side now" Hakoda raised an eyebrow staring confusedly at his son, he only chucked though, "Yeah, that was my reaction at first, but he's really proving himself right now" Hakoda's face softened, listing to his son talk about the plan, it reminded Hakoda of him when he was young, the apple clearly doesn't fall far from the tree.
~;~
When they escaped out onto the yard, Hakoda chuckled, he would never admit it, but how that Chit Sang guy easily started the riot was impressive no doubt. He looked at everyone, trying to catch the prince's eye, but he wasn't there.
As if on command, Zuko glided to them, and Hakoda smiled softly as he bickered with Sokka. Not the grumpy mean prince he thought he was.
But Hakoda's eye wouldn't stop staring at Zuko's scar, it was really a hard thing not to look at it, it formed on half of his face, from his left eye to his ear. It must have hurt pretty bad.
He's only a child!
~;~
When Zuko took one for the team, they all were concerned, surprised, and confused. Zuko stayed behind, kicking the metal handle only a few times before it broke, and quite literally leaped from the edge of the island onto the gondola, taking hold of Sokka's outstretched arm, as Sokka put his hands on Zuko's shoulders and lifted him onto the gondola.
It was clear Sokka cared for the boy, as he questioned him, concern filled in his voice.
"What were you thinking!?!" Sokka shook Zuko's shoulders.
"Making it so they don't catch us" Replied Zuko, and Hakoda saw them as good friends. Any friend of his Sokka is like a second son to him.
But Hakoda's got to say, Prince Zuko's actions were pretty reckless but worth it. As it bought more time until they were able to escape without getting burned in the boiling lake, and onto the warship Azula left behind.
~;~
When they got back to the Western Air Temples, Sokka re-explained the story to the others while they were eating dinner around the campfire, but in a much more dramatic way. Much to Katara's surprise.
Hakoda couldn't stop looking at Zuko's scar all throughout dinner, how could someone not? It wasn't exactly something that could go by missed.
"Then as we all got on the gondola, Zuko stayed behind, he pushed the lever and started kicking the handle, the METAL handle, which only broke in a couple of kicks, pretty impressive Zuko!" Sokka praised.
One other thing Hakoda learned tonight, this boy could not take a compliment.
"It wasn't really anything, pretty easy to break" Zuko flushed and his face turned rosy red.
"It was metal Zuko! Must have been hard!" Aang said in awe of what he accomplished.
"Thanks, I guess" Zuko blushed again. Too red that Hakoda would have mistaken him for a tomato.
"-Then Azula got on top, and we started fighting her, while Suki fought the other circus girl beside us, Boom!, kapow! , we took her down his seconds!" Katara rolled her eyes, while the Duke was amazed. Aang wasn't too far, mind blown.
~;~
They finally called it a night and set up the blankets on the floor, Zuko disappeared to who knows where but the gaang didn't seem to be bothered, clearly, it was a regular thing.
And while Hakoda couldn't sleep, he thought about looking for the boy, then got up and did so. He found Zuko on the edge of a clip, legs dangling in the air while he sat.
"Prince Zuko," Hakoda said in greeting and sat down beside him, Zuko jumped a bit at first but eased a bit, only a bit. Shoulders still tense.
"Chief Hakoda" Zuko replied, looking at the sky.
"Please, just Hakoda"
"If you are just Hakoda then I am just Zuko" he finally turned to Hakoda's direction and looked at his face.
"How are you doing?" Hakoda asked.
"Fine" Zuko could not lie he was a bit afraid of this man, fathers weren't really his strong suit. All fathers in general freaked him out.
"I couldn't help but let curiosity get the better of me, how did you get your scar?" Hakoda didn't really think this through in his mind before answering, which he regretted so much as Zuko tensed, clearly uncomfortable.
"It is a long story, I'm sure you heard of it before, rumors spread very quickly," Zuko said instead.
"I have heard of theories of course, but only mere theories, "Training accident" one said, "A fight with the water tribe," another said. Not really the truth" Zuko kind of thought Hakoda was a bit like Uncle, he liked to speak slightly professionally, as if in riddles.
"Hypothetically, What would you do if Sokka disrespected a general in a war meeting? Called his plan stupid, to be exact" Hakoda was surprised about this sudden change of subject, but soon he picked up why it was asked.
"I would ask Sokka to apologize, maybe tell him to be more respectful and compromise on a plan that all would agree on, a hypothetical of course" Hakoda did not like where this was going.
"And what if the general attacked him?" Zuko told him.
"Then I think I'd throw the general out and save everyone the trouble" The joke did not put a smile on Zuko's face though, much to Hakoda's disappointment.
Hakoda knew he wasn't gonna like the answer that he was gonna get, but asked anyway.
"What would have happened to you, If you were in this hypothetical" Hakoda was surely gonna regret this, already knowing the answer thats about to come out of Zuko's mouth.
"Hypothetically?" All emotion and expressions left Zuko's face. "My father would have burned half of my face off"
Hakoda stared at him in shock and horror, how could a father do that to his own son? He wanted to go kill the Firelord himself if Aang didn't manage to finish the job.
Zuko's head bent down in hurt, eyes filled with tears.
You are not weak Zuko, stop crying! Only the weak cry!
Hakoda's heart broke at the sight of the boy, only a child. He wrapped his arms around Zuko and engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. This boy did not deserve that.
~;~
And they spent the rest of the night there, as Zuko eventually let the darkness consume him.