Zuko through himself onto the rough bed within his western air temple room. Looking at the photograph of his uncle that he had pulled out of his pocket, he allowed a tear to roll down his cheek. A lot of tears had rolled down his cheek lately. It used to be that he wouldn't allow himself to cry. After all that had happened he was afraid to show any more signs of weakness, even to himself. All that stress his father had put him through, all of the pain. There was the odd occasion where he couldn't control it, like when he was standing above the world on that mountain, begging to be struck down. Now that he had found his destination, he allowed himself to cry and cry he did. It's as if everything that had been building up in him just exited through his eyes. Well… not exactly, he could still feel the pain, the pain that struck him in his fragile heart like a lightning bolt from his bitch of a sister.
Even though he was fine with crying to himself, he still didn't want anybody else to see him act weak, considering he was new to the group. There was something that had been triggered when he saw Sokka's connection with his father on his way back from the Boiling Rock, something that made him miss his uncle more than ever. The guilt was the worst thing, he still replays that moment in his head over and over again, wishing that he could just go back and choose differently. He tried to come up with excuses like, "Azula would have killed me on the spot, I had no choice", but that didn't stop the tears. Nothing could.
"Zuko?", he heard a familiar voice behind him but didn't turn his head. He didn't want to admit to his weakness. After about five seconds of attempting to hold the tears back, he turned his head to see Suki. "Are you okay?", she asked in a concerned tone. Zuko delayed for a while before answering to try and make sure he didn't choke up. He got as far as, "I'm sorry I-", before he broke down in tears. There was no point in hiding it now. He started again with tears flowing down his face, "I'm sorry I burned down your village", he managed to choke out. Suki smiled, "It's okay", she told him enthusiastically, "Zuko shook his head, "It's not. It never will be", he sobbed. Suki was about to open her mouth when Sokka interrupted from around the corner, "It's okay Suki, I got this", Sokka stepped into Zuko's room and slowly shut the door behind him, leaving Suki alone on the other side of the door.
"I fucked up, Sokka", Zuko admitted. Sokka sat down on the bed and placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "There is not one person here who I haven't hurt". "I forgive you", Sokka whispered. Zuko looked him in the eyes, "That means nothing. Forgiveness won't remove all of the pain. Everywhere I look, I'm reminded of my mistakes". Sokka didn't know what to say, he just looked back into Zuko's tear filled eyes. For a moment, there was a long silence where they just stared, almost getting lost within one another.
Eventually, Zuko opened his mouth and spoke, "Just seeing how angry Katara is around me and how cautious Aang still is makes me feel worse". Sokka noticed that all along, he still had his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "And you and Suki", he continued. "What about me and Suki?", Sokka asked. "Nothing", Zuko spoke quickly, instantly regretting what he had just said, "It's just that I miss Mai. I miss having another person to talk too and… share with". It was now clear to Sokka what Zuko needed, he needed to share another humans love again, to feel like he mattered, or at least that's what Sokka thought it was what he needed, maybe it was just wishful thinking. Back in the Boiling Rock Sokka had noticed that he had an attraction for Zuko and a strong one at that.
'This is my chance' Sokka thought to himself. He knew that there was a very large chance he was making this all up in his head, but he had an idea and he had never let any idea go to waste. Zuko began to speak again, "I am so sorry, Sokka, for everything I have put you and your-", he was surprisingly interrupted as Sokka grabbed onto the back of his head with his other hand and pressed his lips up against Zuko's. To Sokka's surprise, Zuko didn't pull away, he instead began to kiss back, letting his tongue escape into the others mouth creating a large amount of passion. Zuko never wanted to let go of this kiss but unfortunately kisses don't last forever. Sokka slowly removed his face from Zuko and re-opened his eyes. Zuko now looked a lot more calm, "Sokka", Zuko smiled, "I… I have actually been wanting to do that for a while. Thank you". "That's a relief", Sokka replied, "So have I".
They began to gaze into each others eyes again before Zuko pulled in for another kiss. Sokka placed his hand on to the back of Zuko's head again and gently pushed him down onto the bed. Sokka lay on the top of Zuko as their tongues danced together in the moment. Eventually, there lips disconnected but there faces did not move. Sokka stared down into Zuko's eye's, there faces centimeters away from each other. "Zuko", Sokka began, "I think I love you". Zuko smiled, "I love you too", he whispered before removing his raggy shirt and assisting Sokka in removing his. Zuko lifted his head for another kiss and wrapped his arms around Sokka lower back, pulling him closer until their bodies touched completely. This time the kiss lasted longer than usual and was a lot more passionate and Sokka tilted his head slightly. Zuko placed his hand on Sokka's cheek and looked at him with relaxed eyes. "I want to show you that I love you", he grinned. Sokka grinned back, "As do I".
