He was staring again. Haru could feel the eyes on the back of his head, drilling a molten-hot hole into his head. He fidgeted under the other boy's scrutiny, unsure of why so much attention was being paid to him. Tired and frustrated, he got up form the campsite they'd made and walked into the Western Air Temple by himself. Hopefully here he'd get some solitude.

His footsteps echoed throughout the chambers of the empty temple, his gait slow and sure. Already he felt easier. He was still uncomfortable in the company of others, and the way Sokka was looking at him had made him even more uncomfortable. It wasn't distrust or hate in the boy's eyes. It was something else, an emotion he'd never seen on another person's face. Looking back on it, Haru didn't think it was all that unpleasant. It was still odd, though. Few people looked at him that long.

Click, click, click. Haru turned around to see Sokka coming up behind him, the look still on the boy's face. "Hey, Haru," Sokka said awkwardly. Haru sighed and sat down on the cold stone floor.

"Hello, Sokka," he replied in slight annoyance.

"What are you doing in here?" the young Water Tribe teen asked. Trying to get away from you, he thought, but didn't voice.

"I just wanted some time to myself," Haru opted for instead. "I've never been around so many people with so many different personalities. And the Duke is always attached to me for some reason. I'm just frustrated." Sokka nodded his understanding and sat next to the Earth bender, a little too close for Haru's comfort. Still, he didn't say anything, enjoying the silence. It stretched on for a few minutes, and little by little, Haru's discomfort passed. No sooner had it gone away, he felt a heavy weight press against his side. Turning his head sharply, he saw Sokka leaning against him, his eyes closed in content. "Sokka what are you-."

"Quiet," Sokka hushed lazily. "You're comfortable. Haru glared at the boy in confusion.

"Sokka, just what are-." Haru's question was cut off mid-sentence as he felt the Water Tribe boy's lips make contact with his own. WHAT THE HELL? He screamed mentally, but for some reason unknown to him, he allowed Sokka to continue, and eventually started kissing him back. An unrelenting wave of arousal flooded over Haru as they sat there, locked in an exquisite kiss. His body began to ache, an all-consuming reminder of his loneliness. When at last their lips parted, both boys looked at each other, and Haru recognized the emotion on Sokka's face, the one he'd had every time he looked at him. It was lust. Sokka had tried hiding it then, but now he could see clearly what the boy felt.

"Wow," was all Sokka said as they stared at each other. Haru pushed him back so that he was lying down on the floor on his back. Haru surveyed the boy and thought with surprised pleasure how exotic the Water Tribe uniform made him look. He moved over Sokka and pressed his body lightly against the other, careful not to crush him under his weight. Slowly, he brought their lips back together in a much more passionate kiss. Quickly and ravenously, Haru dipped his tongue into Sokka's mouth, feeling along the teeth, and eventually his tongue began a primal and seductive dance with the other's. Haru couldn't believe how much he'd become obsessed with the boy, with just one kiss. It defied logic, it wasn't possible, it…

He lost his train of thought as he felt Sokka's hands begin to glide along his back. He let out a loud moan into the other's mouth and lifted his head up, much to the obvious annoyance of Sokka. He licked his lips and relished the faint taste of Sokka there. He grabbed the boy by the waist and flipped him so their positions were reversed, Haru on the ground and Sokka straddling him. Sokka leaned forward and grasped the buckle of Haru's belt, quickly undoing the fastener and ripping the strap from his waist. Next came the boy's tunic. Haru sat up on his elbows as Sokka fumbled to remove the Earth Bender military uniform, chuckling a bit. "Do you want help, Sokka?" he asked huskily.

"No, I'm just fine," Sokka mumbled, but Haru stopped him. He moved so he was able to sit without support, and tantalizingly pulled the shirt off of his body, revealing an expanse of muscles that only Earth benders seemed to possess. He smiled at the dumbstruck look on Sokka's face and laughed.

"What did you expect, Sokka? The same weak little boy you met in that village?" Sokka nodded and Haru laughed. "No. My father trained me even more after we escaped from that prison. I grew. In more ways than one." Sokka looked at him in a surprised matter, trying to suppress a laugh at the dirty comment that innocent Haru had just uttered. Haru smiled then and removed the long fur-lined Water Tribe uniform from Sokka and its undershirt.

A smaller mass of muscles greeted him, the build of someone who practiced more acrobatic dealings than an Earth bender. He smiled then as he brought his lips to Sokka's dark nipple and teasingly started to bite it. Sokka moaned out his pleasure, goading the young Earth bender to continue, nipping the skin on Sokka's body, giving out his own moans as Sokka started bucking into him, rubbing the erection trapped in his leggings against Haru's own.

He couldn't stand it anymore. Throwing the boy back against the stone floor, he began to rip the remainder of their clothes off in feverish desire. He saw the blind lust in Sokka's eyes and smiled. "You're mine now," was all he uttered as at last, he entered the boy, unprepared.

----

When at last they had finished, Sokka and Haru lied together on the stone floor, naked and content, still in the warm glow of orgasm. Haru stroked the small of Sokka's back lovingly, his face against Sokka's now-mussed hair. "That was amazing," Haru said quietly. Sokka murmured his agreement and moved to get himself closer to the boy. "Sokka?" he asked after a long while.

"Hm?" Sokka murmured.

"How come you kissed me now? Why not when you freed me from that prison, or when we met in my village?" he asked. Sokka sighed and rubbed the boy's neck.

"Stupid reason, really," Sokka muttered. Haru poked him in the ribs until the boy got annoyed. "Fine! It was because I didn't find you attractive back when we first met."

"What?" Haru demanded, shocked.

"See, that's why I didn't want to tell you. You looked too fragile, like you'd break if I touched you too hard. Now, you've grown up since last we met. You look more masculine. And your mustache is really cute."

"Sokka, you ass!"