Chapter Text
Was there a time we weren't at war
When we knew what our hearts and hands were for?
I don't believe there ever was.
- Lost Continent - Thrice
Ever since he was a small child, Sokka has never been one to care for all of the spirit, soulmate, bending, magic water mumbo-jumbo that his sister has always been so passionate about. Even before they lost their mother, before their father left to fight in the war, before Sokka was forced to grow up at an extremely young age, it never really spoke to him. Others in the tribe (especially Katara) would probably just attribute it to the fact that he was born a non-bender, and sure, that’s part of it, but Sokka likes to think that he’s always just been a practical person. Why wait for the spirits to decide your fate when you can take matters into your own hands? Why rely on a bender to do something for you when you can train and fight and become strong enough to do it yourself?
So even though his family and friends in the Southern Water Tribe take things like bending and fate and soulmates seriously, Sokka couldn’t care less. Frankly, he hates the idea of some spirit determining his destiny or deciding who he should end up with, when he is perfectly capable of taking matters into his own hands. At the young age of thirteen, Sokka finds himself thinking that it would be perfectly okay if he never heard another person’s thoughts. He likes the idea of being able to choose for himself.
Katara has always thought it was romantic. Go figure. Girls.
Sokka, on the other hand, had more important things to worry about from a young age, like protecting his village, training the next generation of fearless Water Tribe warriors and being the man of the house, after his dad left. He couldn’t be bothered with magic water and romance and spirits and fate .
But then, Aang came along.
Aang happens, and the second that Katara sees that weird little bald kid in the iceberg, Sokka knows that his sister just found her soulmate. Or, maybe her first crush. Either way, she and the kid become inseparable, and Sokka’s life is never the same.
Sokka never gets the chance to ask Katara if the kid is her soulmate - if she can hear his thoughts - because it isn’t long before they’re under attack. Aang and Katara accidentally signal the Fire Nation, and before long, ash is falling from the sky and there’s a Fire Navy ship on their doorstep and Sokka is preparing to fight for his life -
At just fifteen years old.
It’s messed up, really, but he doesn’t have the time to think about that. They’re under attack, and it’s everything that Sokka has been training for his entire life. He won't let his father down.
But fate , as it turns out, has a funny way of rearing its ugly head at the worst possible moment.
The second that the Fire Navy ship comes to a complete stop, Sokka attacks with everything he has. He takes a deep breath, steels himself, and remembers his training before charging full-force at who he assumes is their leader, but the Fire Nation soldier is much stronger than him, much more disciplined and well trained. He quickly disarms and tosses Sokka to the side, but Sokka isn’t one to give up without a fight.
So he does what he has been training for - he fights - and thankfully, the boy ( boy, because as Sokka realizes, he doesn’t appear to be much older than himself) doesn’t see the boomerang coming. It catches him off guard, knocking him in the back of the head with a loud CLANG - bone on metal - and then, Sokka is on the offense. He charges the young soldier with a spear and -
And then, he’s on the ground again.
So much for his training. He feels pitiful. Ashamed. Terrified.
The Fire Nation soldier glares down at him, flames licking at the backs of his hands, and that’s when Sokka hears it, as if someone is saying the words directly into his ear -
“Water Tribe peasant - I’ll put you in your place - !”
But before Sokka can begin to react to the fact that he’s pretty damn sure that he just heard the other boy’s voice in his head, Aang is swooping in on a penguin, knocking him off of his feet.
And just like that, the moment is broken. Sokka is back in battle mode.
After they save Aang and escape with their lives, it doesn’t take long before the adrenaline starts to wear off. It’s exhausting, actually, coming down from the high of battle, of life or death. It was something that Sokka thought he was ready for - he spent years training for it, after all - but he never could have prepared himself for this. Play-fighting with sticks and boomerangs out on the tundra with kids younger than him was nothing compared to fighting off real firebenders, even one that was his own age.
And that’s another thing.
As they fly away from the Southern Water Tribe and the only home that Sokka has ever known, he can’t help but think back to that moment that he swore he heard the Fire Nation soldier’s voice in his head. It felt… invasive. Intimate. Unsettling.
When they confronted the ship for the second time to rescue Aang, Sokka found himself going toe-to-toe with the soldier - he’d later find out that his name was Zuko - once more, but he didn’t hear his voice again. And as he sits on Appa’s back, flying away from the South Pole, he convinces himself that maybe, he was just hearing things. He has never actually been in battle before, so maybe it was just the adrenaline of it all. Maybe, he was just going crazy. Maybe it was that weird seal jerky that he ate that morning…
For the time being, he writes it off as nothing, because that’s a whole hell of a lot easier than considering the possibility that maybe , he just met his soulmate. His soulmate, who happens to be a firebender hellbent on killing his new friend and destroying everything he knows and loves.
Yeah, pretending that it’s nothing is a lot easier.
But that only gets Sokka so far.
The next time that Sokka hears his thoughts, he can’t write it off. The next time, he’s ready. Prepared. He’s more level-headed and clear of mind.
The next time, there’s no denying it.
It happens on Kyoshi Island, while Sokka is fighting side by side with Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors. They have Zuko surrounded, and that’s when he hears it, clear as day -
“I won’t let these little girls stop me from capturing the Avatar.”
And that knocks the breath from Sokka’s lungs long before he actually hits the ground.
Like the first time he heard it, Sokka doesn’t have the chance to process the fact that he just heard someone else’s voice inside his head until they’re in the air on Appa’s back, flying away to safety once more. It’s becoming a pattern, really, and one that Sokka doesn’t enjoy.
There’s no lying to himself now. Sokka heard Zuko’s thoughts.
But that… that would mean -
No.
No, no, no.
Nope.
He won’t consider it. No thank you.
He can’t have a firebender as a soulmate. The spirits can’t possibly hate him that much, can they?
No, maybe he’s just psychic. That’s it. Maybe he has psychic powers, just like how Katara has her waterbending!
Maybe, it’s an Avatar thing. Maybe, the spirits are just playing a cruel prank on him, or maybe, they’re trying to give him the upper hand. Yeah, maybe they want him to hear Zuko’s thoughts so they can stay one step ahead of him! After all, hearing your opponent’s thoughts would be really beneficial…
“What’s wrong with you?” Katara’s voice shakes Sokka out of his thoughts, and he realizes that he has probably just been staring into nothing for quite a while.
He shakes his head. “Nothing. Just… Nothing.”
It isn’t nothing.
Zuko is always right on their tail, and Kyoshi Island is far from the last time that they encounter one another. And each time, just when Sokka thinks that maybe, he was imagining things before, he hears him -
Zuko.
He starts to resent that stupid, angsty, raspy, annyoing voice more than he resents the fact that a firebender is always right behind them, trying to capture them or kill them. He resents it, because as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to deny that he has found his soulmate.
Zuko. Zuko is his soulmate.
It’s so fucked up. Leave it to Sokka to end up in this predicament.
He doesn’t tell Katara or Aang. How could he? He feels like a traitor just thinking it, so saying the words out loud… it would be devastating.
In fact, he doesn’t even admit it out loud to himself until they reach Makapu Village - until he meets the fortune-teller, Aunt Wu.
Truthfully, Sokka really does think that the idea of a fortune-teller is bogus, especially when her fortunes always seem to conveniently come true. But below the surface, though, he has other reasons to feel utter disgust when he thinks about the fortune-teller. He hates the idea that people would want to know their future, and deep down, he knows it’s because he resents the thought that the spirits have already mapped out his own future without his consent. He hates it, and he’ll fight it every step of the way. He won’t end up with a firebender. He refuses to. He’s determined to create his own destiny. His own future.
So that’s why he’s ashamed to admit that he makes one last pit stop by Aunt Wu’s before they leave the village. He gives Katara some lame excuse - “I forgot something - it’ll only take a second!” - before he quickly darts inside, hoping nobody saw him enter.
Sokka closes the front door quietly behind him and nearly jumps out of his skin when he turns around to find Meng waiting for him.
“Aunt Wu has been expecting you,” she says with a toothy grin, then gestures for Sokka to follow her down the hallway.
The greeting is slightly unsettling, but he doesn’t let it get to him. He has a question for Aunt Wu, and he won’t leave until it is answered.
“Sokka, please, come in, have a seat” Aunt Wu says in the form of a greeting, her voice warm and inviting despite the fact that Sokka has been criticizing and mocking her ever since they arrived in her village. “What can I do for you?”
Sokka takes a deep breath and steels himself. He steps forward and takes a seat across from Aunt Wu on the floor. “I want you to tell me how you can be so certain of everyone’s future,” he all but demands, his tone stern. “Each and every person in this village has the free will to choose their own future and their own destiny. How could the lines in their palms or the clouds in the sky or the future that you claim to see possibly determine their fate?”
Aunt Wu smiles, and it’s this kind, understanding thing. Sokka resents that , too. She doesn’t understand him. She could never begin to understand him. “You’re a bright young man, Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe -”
Sokka’s eyes go wide. He’s fairly certain that he never told her where he was from, but he remains calm, telling himself that maybe, Katara divulged that information.
“Surely, you know that no person’s fate is truly set in stone,” she continues, “All people do have free will and the ability to shape their own destiny, but some things are just meant to be.”
Before Sokka can stop himself, he breathes out, like a punch to the gut - “Like soulmates.”
Aunt Wu nods. “You’ve met yours, but you already know that, don’t you?”
Sokka clenches his jaw, averting his eyes. It’s the first time that he has been forced to face the subject head-on. Every time he has heard Zuko’s thoughts, he has found a way to brush it aside, to bury it deep and try to forget it ever happened. But Aunt Wu is straightforward. She doesn’t skirt around the topic. It’s both relieving and terrifying.
“I don’t want them to be my soulmate,” Sokka all but bites.
She simply hums in response, and seemingly changing the subject, says, “Your future is full of pain and conflict, young warrior.”
“Well obviously! ” Sokka shoots back, throwing his arms up in frustration. “I don’t know if you missed the part where we just fought a volcano and saved your entire town!”
“You know as well as I do that I’m not talking about the volcano,” the fortune-teller counters with a knowing smile, “But despite all of your struggles, your future is full of love and light, too.”
Okay, great. So now, she’s speaking in riddles.
Sokka rolls his eyes. “I don’t even know why I came here,” he mutters, moving to stand. As he does, Aunt Wu reaches out, catching his hand and stopping him in his tracks.
“It would be quite hypocritical of me to argue with destiny, given my… trade,” Aunt Wu admits, offering Sokka an understanding, soft smile, “But as you and your friends have proven today, you’re capable of shaping your own destiny.”
Sokka narrows his eyes at her. Now, she’s contradicting herself. Nothing makes sense.
“Are you saying that I don’t have to end up with my soulmate?” he asks. The hope in his voice betrays him. He sounds so young. So small and pathetic. Nothing like the warrior that he’s supposed to be.
“The spirits are never wrong,” Aunt Wu simply says in response, “But sometimes, they have a funny way of showing you the truth. You have a great capacity for love, Sokka. That love can take many forms, with many different people.”
Sokka opens his mouth to speak, to ask what she means, but she silences him with a finger.
“Your road to love is not as linear as your sister’s,” she continues with a softer, more gentle tone, “It will bring you great joy, but also great sorrow. It will challenge your convictions and make you question who you are and what you truly want, but just remember that if you follow your heart, it will never lead you astray.”
Sokka narrows his eyes, pulling his hand back from the fortune-teller. “You’re speaking in riddles.”
She smiles, “Maybe I am, but one day, you will understand.”
Weeks later, in the Northern Water Tribe, as Sokka stares into Yue’s stunning, icy blue eyes, he thinks that maybe, he is finally beginning to understand.
It will bring you great joy, but also great sorrow.
Sokka remembers those words when Yue tells him that she’s already engaged, when he realizes that he can’t even hear her thoughts, despite his strong feelings for her, despite the way that the universe practically draws him to her. He remembers what Aunt Wu told him, and he hates that she’s right.
“Is he your soulmate?” Sokka hears himself asking, but his voice sounds cold and far away.
“What?” Yue seems surprised by the question. “Oh, no - I… I don’t think I have one.”
She averts her gaze, looking down at the snowy ground. “It isn’t like it would matter anyway…”
Sokka quickly understands what she means. “It’s an arranged marriage…” he infers.
Yue nods. She doesn’t speak, at least, not for a long time, and the silence between them stretches for miles before she asks, “What about you? Do you -”
Yue’s eyes are searching, begging Sokka to tell the truth, but he wants nothing more than to lie. He wants to lie and tell her that she has to be his soulmate, even if he can’t hear her thoughts. He feels so drawn to her, like she’s too important not to be his soulmate…
But, he knows that he can’t lie about that.
He still avoids the truth, just not in the same way.
“I don’t think I have one either.”
Because, despite his conversation with Aunt Wu, he hasn’t said it out loud yet, and he doesn’t want to. If he acknowledges it, then it makes it real.
But Yue just smiles sadly at Sokka, and the sight shatters his heart.
“ Sokka , having a soulmate is a beautiful thing,” she insists, voice soft. She reaches out to take his hands, and he lets her. “You don’t have to lie to me. You won’t hurt my feelings. It doesn’t mean that you can’t care deeply for other people…”
You have a great capacity for love, Sokka. That love can take many forms, with many different people.
Maybe, Aunt Wu was right.
Sokka doesn’t pull away, but he sets his lips in a fine line, averting his gaze. “Yeah, well, I don’t really like my soulmate, so it’s not all that beautiful.”
Although he’s not looking at her, he can hear the frown in Yue’s voice when she says, “But the spirits don’t make mistakes…”
And he doesn’t quite understand what she means by that, but he will, eventually. All in good time.
“Yeah, well, I think they did this time,” Sokka shots back, voice full of anger and frustration. Why couldn’t the spirits give him someone like Yue? She’s so kind and caring and beautiful...
Yue lets go of one of Sokka’s hands, reaching up to hook her fingers under his chin, urging him to look up at her. He does, and her eyes search deep into his soul, as if they’re looking for an answer. “Maybe - maybe you’re not ready for them yet,” she offers, voice so hopeful and innocent, “Or they’re just not ready for you! -”
“They’re from the Fire Nation ,” Sokka blurts, cutting her off and finally, Yue’s face falls. Sokka wants to be happy that she finally understands, but it doesn’t bring him any joy. He just feels guilty, putting this on someone else.
A silence falls between them, and Sokka wants to pull away. He doesn’t want Yue’s pity. He doesn’t want her to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want to talk about this any more than he already has.
But he doesn’t move, and eventually, Yue speaks, and when she does, it’s not what he expected at all.
It’s soft and gentle and actually feels a bit… joyous when Yue says, “Oh Sokka - the spirits must have something truly special in store for you…”
And he feels terrible for doing so, but he can’t help but laugh bitterly at her comment. “Yeah, well it certainly doesn’t feel like it.”
Things change again, after the siege of the North Pole and the death of the moon spirit and Yue. Sokka can’t quite place his finger on it, but something… shifts inside of him. He isn’t the same person, after the North Pole.
After he loses Yue, Sokka’s trust in the spirits has never been more broken. Because sure, the spirits saved Yue’s life once, when she was just a baby, and sure , they saved the people of the Northern Water Tribe, but they also took Yue away from him. The spirits took Yue away from him twice: once when they didn’t make her his soulmate, and again when she gave her life to protect her people.
And he fucking resents them for it.
So after he loses Yue, Sokka refuses to acknowledge anything that the spirits have done for him. He refuses to acknowledge that they’re capable of choosing his fate or the path that he must take in life, or the person that he will end up with, because how can the spirits be good, when they bring so much pain and evil into the world, too?
And most of all, Sokka refuses to believe that Zuko, a firebender, is his soulmate. Firebenders took his mother away from him. Firebenders called his father to war. Firebenders killed all of Aang’s people, and ultimately, they killed Yue, too.
Firebenders have already taken so much from him. How could he ever be expected to give his heart over to one of them, too? It’s one of the few things that Sokka can protect, and he won’t give it up that easily.
So Sokka ignores the spirits’ fate for him, and for a while, it works.
The next time they inevitably encounter Zuko, he doesn’t hear the other boy’s thoughts.
Ha! In your face Aunt Wu, looks like I can shape my own destiny!
And for a while, Sokka lets himself believe that that’s the end of it. Maybe he’ll get a clean slate. Maybe he’ll find a new soulmate. Or maybe, he won’t have one at all. How great would that be - having the freedom to choose whoever he wants…
Eventually, they reunite with Suki, and although Sokka can’t hear her thoughts, that doesn’t stop him from developing feelings for her. That doesn’t stop him from wanting to be with her.
And for a while, he’s happy. Sure, they’re still running from the Fire Nation and they still have a war to stop and a Fire Lord to defeat, but for the first time in a long time, Sokka doesn’t feel weighed down by his destiny and the spirits and fate and soulmates.
But of course, fate has something else in store for him.
Someone once told Sokka that the only constant in life is change and man, ain’t that the truth? Because after Ba Sing Se and the eclipse and their failed mission in the Fire Nation, everything changes yet again.
For Sokka, it’s a blow to his ego. When the time came, he proved to be great at leading the charge, but terrible at following through. When the time came, he was forced to leave the people that he loved and cared for the most behind.
His father. Suki. Many of their friends and allies.
He had to sacrifice their safety to ensure the safety of friends, his sister and the Avatar. It wasn’t a good trade-off.
For Aang, it meant that he would need to learn firebending if he wanted to defeat the Fire Lord.
Little does Sokka know that during the eclipse, everything changes for Zuko, as well. And when the other boy eventually shows up at their camp, asking to be part of the group, insisting that he has changed for the better and he wants to teach Aang firebending, that he wants to help him defeat his father -
Sokka can’t believe he’s thinking about it, but he wants to believe him. Deep down, he wants to believe that Zuko has changed.
For the first time since he heard the firebender’s thoughts in his own head back in the South Pole, Sokka actually finds himself longing to hear Zuko’s thoughts, eager to hear the truth, to hear what he really thinks. But he hears -
Nothing.
And he doesn’t know why.