Work Text:
Sokka stared with wide-eyed disbelief. Aang looked sheepish, almost abashed while Toph stood nearby, smirking in Sokka’s general vicinity. Katara, the absolute traitor, hadn’t even bothered acknowledging the sheer insanity in front of her and was instead focusing on dishing out breakfast for everyone with an air of extreme calm. The Duke was too young and too deeply asleep to have any reaction whatsoever but at the very least, both Teo and Haru were behaving appropriately and staring equally wide-eyed at the craziness.
What was the cause of all this insanity?
Just the former prince of the Fire Nation, the jerkiest jerk jerkbender to every participate in jerkbending, the boy who haunted Sokka’s little sister’s nightmares, the boy who chased him and his friends to the ends of the world and who assaulted his poor defenseless grandmother in her own village, the boy who nearly got the Avatar killed with his ridiculously crazy sister.
The boy who had apparently left his orientation behind when he left his crown.
The boy whose scent had always been so faint that Sokka couldn’t even tell what it reminded him of but who now smelled like a whole spiritsdamned meadow that was set on fire.
The boy who had definitely been a beta before succumbing to some mysterious and highly contagious disease for days and was apparently now an omega.
Could a disease even do that?
And why was such a concerning few of Sokka’s friends surprised by this?
“What is this?” Sokka finally asked, breaking the silence that had fallen the moment Zuko had appeared in the courtyard for the first time in four days, trailing slowly after Toph and looking as though he would rather be anywhere else, possibly including back in the Fire Nation capital at the whims of his crazy sister and evil father.
“That would be Sparky, oh great and wise one,” Toph said, her voice full of cheerful sarcasm. “And it’s rude to call him a what.”
“I know who it is.” Sokka replied, his voice far higher than he would like it to be. “What is this smell?” His nose must have gone bad. Maybe he had gotten the sickness Zuko had and this was the first sign?
Zuko looked mildly affronted but it was, surprisingly, Katara who rebuked her brother. The world had really and truly turned on its head “it’s Zuko, you idiot,” she hissed. “Don’t be rude!” Sokka would have responded – would have asked one of the about a million questions on his tongue starting and ending with why the hell did a beta suddenly smell like an omega? - but before he could get over the surprise of his little sister defending the firebender, he was treated to an even more shocking sight.
“Come sit,” Katara’s voice was brusque as she more or less manhandled the firebender into a seat near the cooking fire before shoving a bowl of food into his hands, but that was still the kindest Sokka had ever seen her act towards the other boy. Perhaps he was still sick but past the contagious stage? Yeah, that had to be it. Some illnesses could change a person’s scent, right? “Eat all of that.” Katara instructed, and that was definitely her sick person voice. Sokka almost felt relieved as his world view reorientated itself into a semblance of sense.
“You’re still too pale,” Katara added as she – spirits was she trying to shock him to death? – placed a hand right up close to the firebender’s forehead. She didn’t go as far as to actually touch the other boy – although if that was because she couldn’t bear to actually touch him or because he flinched slightly as her hand came close, Sokka had no idea – but it was closer than she had ever dared to get to him before, barring fights. “And you’re still warm.”
“I am always pale.” Zuko responded, his voice sounded even raspier than usual, but that didn’t mask the almost sullen defiance in it. “And firebenders run warm.”
“Plus, he threatened to set the temple of fire if I didn’t let him out of the room.” Toph added cheerfully, walking over and plopping down next to him as though she hadn’t just revealed that he was a dangerous pyromaniac.
“I did not.” Zuko said and wow, yeah, that was definitely sullenness in his voice.
“You pretty much did.” Toph replied with an unconcerned snicker before turning back to Katara and adding, rather as though Zuko wasn’t there at all, “he actually wanted to come out yesterday but he was still super feverish so that wasn’t going to happen.”
Katara nodded and stepped away from Zuko. Which made absolutely zero sense. Judging by his smell alone, it was obvious the firebender was still sick and should immediately return to his room until he was back to normal. The omega-level scent was really messing with Sokka’s mind. But Katara turned back to breakfast and began spooning some into the rest of the bowls. He couldn’t help but notice that each serving was rather smaller than Zuko’s.
“What are you doing?” He couldn’t help but ask his sister as, out of the corner of his eye he saw Aang tentatively sit down on the firebender’s other side with a sizeable space between them as though he too realized the other boy was still obviously sick. “He’s still sick! Shouldn’t he go back to his room before he gets us all sick?” He demanded, flailing his arms wide in the hopes that he would get through to his sister.
Katara looked momentarily surprised as she turned to stare at her brother – as did the rest of the group, even Haru and Teo who had yet to move any closer to the fire, as though Sokka was missing something obvious. Then, with several glances towards Aang and Toph and even Zuko although the later had taken to staring at his bowl of rice and vegetables as though he had learned to spontaneously combust things with his mind and was trying to get out of Katara’s cooking, Katara looked at him and said, rather rudely, “don’t be stupid, Sokka. Zuko isn’t sick.”
It was Sokka’s turn to stare at Katara as though she was missing something obvious. “Yes, he is! He’s all pale – more than usual – and he’s warm and he smells weird!” Sokka’s outburst was met by two surprising actions – another almost imperceptible flinch from the former prince and a full-on snort from Toph.
“Oh come on, Sokka. Are you telling me you never smelled an omega fresh out of their heat before?” Toph said before grabbing the spoon in her bowl and shoveling a huge bite into her mouth, apparently completely unconcerned at the way her words impacted the rest of the group. Aang looked wide-eyed at her, not as though her words were surprising, but as though he was shocked she had said it outright. Katara looked as though she was about to lecture Toph. Teo and Haru, who had still not come close to the circle, both blushed fiercely as though Toph had something obscene.
Sokka barely noticed any of this – the moment Toph’s words had registered he had immediately begun staring at the former prince. He had expected Zuko to immediately deny Toph’s words – they were ridiculous and obviously she was just running her mouth with a story she thought would embarrass the prince – but Zuko’s reaction was nearly the exact opposite. Instead of the loud outburst Sokka expected, the firebender’s body went completely tense as he stared down at his bowl with the same single-minded intensity that he had held while chasing them across the world. It was all but a verbal confirmation but Sokka’s mind refused to accept it.
It was completely ridiculous, a joke put together by Toph to take advantage of Zuko’s current illness-altered smell. There was no way Zuko was an omega.
Sokka knew omegas. Sure, he hadn’t hardly ever met boy omegas before – they, much like girl alphas, were more uncommon then the reverse and his tribe had been very small and none of the small children had been anywhere near presenting when he and Katara had left. All the adult omegas in the tribe had been women except the old spiritual advisor Kome, but they had died when Sokka was quite little and so hardly counted anyway, but an omega was still an omega, whatever their gender.
Omegas were gentle and soft – both in their hearts and their bodies which were always less muscular than betas and alphas because they were meant to cuddle and comfort children rather than fight in battles and hunt amongst the unforgiving icy tundra. They were wise, supposedly because of some spiritual nonsense although Sokka thought it had more to do with whatever they were taught during their secret rites in the special igloo on the edge of the village that was kept just for them the same way Sokka knew how to fight because of his training from his father than from any higher spiritual nonsense. They were calm and thoughtful, although they could be quite something when it came to punishing misbehaving children.
They were the opposite of alphas, soft where alphas were hard, calm where alphas were passionate, the caretakers of children where alphas were the protectors. Equals in different spheres, like the sun and the moon, as Gran Gran had always taught him. With betas like the sky in between, a perfect mix that held the universe together. The Water Tribes knew this well, which was why alpha-omega and beta-beta were considered the most balanced unions, although it was hardly as stringent in the South as it was in the North where arranged marriages, as Yue had explained, were commonly used to enforce the balance.
Sokka knew this too, from first-hand experience. His mother had been an omega, his father an alpha and they had been perfectly balanced. His father had been firm but kind in his own way, and he had taught Sokka all the ways to be a proper alpha and a good man of the Water Tribe. His mother had been soft, but strong in her own way, and some of Sokka’s favorite memories of her was cuddled against her and Katara in her nest of furs and pillows, whittling out the odd hours when it was too late for little children to be out but before the men had fully returned from their work.
And Sokka knew heats, as well as any non-omega, from his mother too. He didn’t know much about what happened during them, as that was knowledge whose secret was enforced by the eldest omega in the tribe – Kome when Sokka had been really little, his Gran Gran now, but he knew the gist of them. His mother used to get one every few months – she’d tire more easily, it would be just a bit easier to try her patience, her smell – like sweet summer berries and fresh snow – would grow even more noticeable and then she’d disappear for a few days into the igloo. Sokka had hated that place when he was young, had made more than a few attempts to follow his mother into it only to be steered gently away by whatever member of the tribe was the first to see him. He would pout for hours, squatting in the snow as close as they would let him be, and only return home when his father or Bato came and picked him up to haul him back to where he was supposed to be. But then his mother would return, still tired and sweet smelling but with a soft smile just for Sokka and they would cuddle in her nest again, with Katara right beside them.
That’s how heats were – an omega began showing the symptoms, then they disappeared to do some strange spirit-magic stuff, and would return a few days later acting like nothing had changed except a strong scent that would linger on for a few more days.
The fact that that was exactly what Zuko had done did nothing to sway Sokka’s mind.
Zuko was not soft, not in temperament nor in body – not that Sokka spent a lot of time staring at the other boy but really, there was only so much someone could miss when constantly fighting and then allying with a person who was built like Zuko. Nor was he gentle. He had a temple that ran from singe-your-eyebrows hot to you-will-spontaneously-if-you-don’t-stop-now. And he was physically powerful. Not that omegas couldn’t be powerful - Sokka was sure they could in the same way that he had learned to stop underestimating girls just because they were girls. But there was powerful because of natural strength and then there was Zuko, who was powerful enough to be scary.
No, there was no way Zuko was an omega. Whatever he smelled like. This had to be some kind of prank inspired by whatever sickness Zuko had that changed his scent.
Sokka was about to say so – was about to call out Zuko and Toph and Aang and Katara – how they had even managed to pull his sister into this he had no idea because she barely liked Zuko enough to feed him, let alone willingly play a prank with him – when the Duke, who Sokka was fairly certain had been sleeping just a moment ago, pulled himself off of Teo’s lap and walked over towards Zuko, a strangely concentrated look on his little face.
The Duke’s actions shocked the accusations right out of Sokka’s mouth. He had never seen the Duke willingly approach Zuko – he had been taught too well by the Freedom Fighters to ever trust a firebender, even a friendly one – but here he was now, walking a little cautiously but steadily past Aang and right up next to Zuko. Everyone was silent then, drawn into watching the little boy.
The Duke, too young to be bothered with any form of societal niceties, stopped a mere few inches from Zuko and took a deep, long sniff. Then, because of course this day couldn’t get any weirder, announced almost happily that, “You smell nice today!” before pushing Zuko’s bowl of breakfast – which Zuko was holding with a hand that also fell victim to the tiny assault – and scampering into Zuko’s lap.
Sokka didn’t know who looked more shocked by this insane turn of events, Zuko or the rest of the group. Excluding Toph of course, who simply looked even more amused as she listened to the Duke’s small noises of contentment as he curled himself close to Zuko’s body. Sokka half-expected Zuko to roughly push the little boy off of him – the other boy didn’t like to be touched, as far as Sokka could tell and it wasn’t like he had shown any affection to the little kid before this – and even Katara had made a half step forward as though she was going to pull the Duke away before Zuko could react at all.
Zuko didn’t try to push the little boy away though. He didn’t yell at him not to touch him either. Or make the face of disgust that Sokka expected him to make as a tiny Earth Kingdom peasant climbed into his ever-important Former Fire Prince lap. Instead, very slowly and with a lot of trepidation, Zuko placed a tentative hand on the little boy’s back, his face caught between shock and astonishment but with no trace of disgust or anger.
And well.
Sokka remembered all too well how he had enjoyed being with his mother immediately after her heat, when her scent was strong and encompassing, like a warm soothing blanket around his shoulders on a bitter winter’s morning. Remembered how he had enjoyed the other omegas' scents too, although not nearly as much as his mother’s, remembered how he used to whine a little until he could cajole them into cuddling with him. Remembered how Katara had done the same when she was small. Remembered seeing all the little kids do it too, long after he and Katara had presented themselves and outgrown the childish actions.
Omega scents were always generally pleasant and comforting to children, but even more so when heats made them stronger. Sokka didn’t know why, didn’t know if there was some mysterious science behind it the same way there was when an alpha’s scent spiked as a warning sign when they sensed danger or if it was just because children associated omegas with comfort, but he was fairly certain that it wasn’t something a simple sickness could imitate.
The Duke had sought Zuko out because whatever was in his peppery, smoky floral scent had told him “this one is safe, this one is a comfort” and he had acted on it. A very natural action between a small unpresented child and an omega.
Which meant, somehow, in some inexplicable and incomprehensible way the former Fire Prince, a powerful, vicious, and determined beta was actually a powerful, vicious, and determined omega.
Sokka didn’t know which one, but somewhere, somehow, a spirit was laughing at him. Perhaps alongside some of its stupid spirit friends.
“You’re an omega.” He announced because it seemed worth announcing. He knew the others were looking at him but he only had eyes for Zuko and the puddle of content child in his lap. Part of him, the part screaming at the wrongness of this whole situation, the part that shrieked that an ancient, decrepit temple that stood as monument to a century-old genocide was the absolute last place a small child and an omega should be, wanted the firebender to smirk and gloat on how he’d gotten Sokka so good. Zuko didn’t have a sense of humor that Sokka could speak of but he would give his boomerang for this to all be a joke.
Zuko didn’t do that, however. He didn’t even get angry or defensive, the only two emotions acceptable at this moment. Instead, he ducked his head, choosing to look at the small boy curled in his lap like a particularly cuddly polar dog rather than at Sokka and said in the quietest voice he had ever heard from the firebender, “I know my scent can be… pungent. I didn’t think there was any point hiding it anymore but if it really bothers you that much…” His words trailed off but Sokka didn’t think he would have been able to follow anymore of them anyway.
Zuko thought his scent was bad? Had someone told Zuko his scent was bad?
They must have. Scents were a part of someone. Zuko wouldn’t just hate a part of himself for no reason.
The part that had been screaming at Zuko at the wrongness of this situation doubled down. Not only was Zuko an omega that defied every single thing Sokka had ever known about omegas – apart from the children thing because he was pretty sure the Duke had fallen back asleep in the older boy’s lap – he was also an omega with some apparently major self-esteem issues. Sokka may have his priorities slightly mixed up but that was somehow even worse.
“No, don’t worry about it! It’s totally fine!” Sokka knew he looked like an idiot, flailing his arms up as though he could push Zuko’s words and bad feelings back away. He knew that Toph’s quiet guffaw was absolutely directed at him because he sounded like an idiot, just as much as he knew everyone was staring at him as though he was a complete buffoon.
But it was better that he look like an idiot than Zuko feel like he needed to hide his orientation. Sokka hadn’t even known hiding an orientation was possible. Trust the Fire Nation to learn how to do something so needlessly cruel and then immediately force it upon their own people.
Nothing about this situation was actually fine. Why had Zuko even been out on the warfront? Sure, he had been chasing what was more or less a spirit’s tale but how hadn’t he been returned back home the moment the danger became real? Sokka knew Zuko could fight – he wouldn’t deny his abilities – but why did he even have to? He had always wondered that – always wondered why the Fire Lord would risk losing his own children when he had an entire land’s worth to sacrifice to his needless cause – but now that curiosity had doubled. Zuko was an omega prince, he should have lived a life of pampering in the palace protected from the treacherous nature of the war, like the Earth King had been. Sokka wouldn’t wish the forced ignorance of King Kuei on anybody but at least the omega ruler had been well protected – up until the Dai Li betrayed him and sold his throne to good old Crazy Blue.
Maybe the Earth King wasn’t the best example Sokka could come up with.
And speaking of the world’s worst little sister, at least Azula was an alpha. She was just a teen like the rest of them, but at least she was meant to be a fighter.
Zuko…wasn’t.
That was the fact that Sokka kept getting stuck on, now that his mind had finally accepted what had seemed impossible. Zuko had been made something he wasn’t supposed to be. Sokka would never say Zuko wasn’t an accomplished fighter; he very much liked being alive and, omega or not, Zuko probably knew many more ways to successfully kill Sokka than pretty much anyone else in the group - barring Toph who was just incredibly creative. But Zuko shouldn’t have had to be a fighter in the first place.
Neither should have Katara, or Toph, or really any of them, even Aang and himself. They were just children at the end of the day.
The Fire Nation had taken away their childhood, though. Had burned it into ash without remorse. Had scorched the earth around it and then demanded that the survivors be grateful they had done it. Sokka had always known they were evil but there was something inexplicably worse at seeing firsthand how even their own children weren’t spared.
Sokka’s father had always taught him that it was the job of a good alpha to provide for and protect omegas, beta women, and children. But no one had provided for or protected Zuko.
Instead, they had taught him there was something pungent about him. They had taught him to hide what should never be hidden and then threw him into a violent world of their own creation when they should have been shielding him.
None of that was fine.
“Really, totally, completely fine.” Sokka lied with a forced air of nonchalance, forcing himself to finally sit around the fire. Zuko was staring at him, his expression a mix of confused and suspicious. Sokka tried to reach for his own suspicions and dislike of the other boy but failed to find it.
Zuko was still a threat. But suddenly, with the scent of fiery flowers in the air and a child asleep in his lap, that mattered much less than it should have to Sokka.
Zuko should have been protected and he wasn’t. Every adult in his life had failed at a very simple task.
And hell if Sokka wasn’t going to let that continue. Hell if he wasn’t going to prove himself a better alpha than the pathetic, evil excuses ruling the Fire Nation.