Upon the groups' arrival at the western air temple, a strange thrill ran through them all. They could have their own room, have some privacy. They all chose rooms far from each other, convincing themselves that they would enjoy the quiet. The first night, they all slept heavily, worn out mentally and physically from the attempted invasion. The second and third nights they lay awake, tossing and turning in the oppressive, isolating silence. The fourth night, they stayed up around the cooking fire in the main courtyard, gradually falling asleep where they sat. Though none of them would admit it, they did not want to be alone. They had been through so much together, spent so many nights under the stars together that they took comfort in each other's presence. After that night – by unspoken agreement – they all moved their sleeping bags and other things to the open courtyard that they spent so much of their time in anyway.
When Zuko joined, a problem arose. Katara vehemently opposed him joining in the first place, and insisted that he be put in a room as far away from the courtyard as possible. Nobody trusted him, and they all fully expected him to try something as soon as their guards were down. It was for their own safety and peace of mind, Katara had argued.
Almost a week passed without any fire-related incidents, and the group had gotten used to having the short tempered firebender around – and had even warmed to his presence somewhat. Katara was naturally still as distrustful and icy as she had been when he first showed up at the temple, and had tried to urge the others to maintain the same distance
It was late. Everyone would probably be asleep, Zuko reasoned to himself as he tried to justify a midnight wander around the temple. That he didn't count on however, was that the main courtyard would be a minefield of sleeping teens and preteens. He understood, of course, that they didn't trust him. After the accident with Toph's feet, /he/ didn't trust himself. He still felt a little upset though, despite his rationalisations.
"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"
Zuko snorted, remembering the huge yawns Sokka had been stifling all day, "What's your excuse?" There was a heavy silence, laden with meaning, and Zuko realised that he had just crossed a line.
"I can't sleep during the full moon. She talks to me." Zuko wished he could hit himself for his tactlessness.
"Sokka, I'm sorry, I didn't-"He cut short his apology at the sound of a sigh and someone shifting in their sleep. There was an insistent tugging on his sleeve.
"C'mon, we should probably go somewhere else. If Katara wakes up and finds you here, she might freak and stab you with shards of ice or something." The younger boy had leant in close so Zuko could hear his hushed tones, and his warm breath tickled the side of Zuko's face – as well as bringing a slight flush of embarrassment to his cheeks.
"So why do you all sleep out there when there are plenty of perfectly decent rooms all over the temple?" Sokka sighed, not entirely sure why they did it, let alone explain it.
"I guess it's kind of a comfort thing? We're always on the move, rarely staying more than a couple of nights in one place. Familiarity? Not wanting to be alone? I don't know entirely." Sokka grew quiet, failing to express himself and becoming mildly embarrassed by the loss of words. Usually he had no problems voicing his opinion.
"I think I understand. I haven't had a good night's sleep since...since I left Ba Sing Se. It's too quiet. Never thought I'd miss uncles snoring!" There was a breathy sound, like a cross between a snort and a laugh, making Sokka smile. That was the closest they had gotten to a happy firebender all week.
A thought struck Sokka. It was a Scary thought, given that the older boy could take it the wrong way and burn him to a crisp. He decides - rather uncharacteristically - to be a bit more subtle about his plan. "We'll if it's snoring you want, I'm your man!" He declared, full of bravado. Deflating slightly he added, "Or at least that's what Katara seems to think."
Zuko shot him a contemplative look, which the other boy either didn't notice or chose to ignore. "I'll bear that in mind." He replied, a slight teasing to his dry voice. Not understanding that he had already succeeded in his hinting, Sokka awkwardly plundered on.
"And I'm available. Y'know, to sleep. If it helps and makes you less of a grouch. Because everyone needs sleep. And I do mean sleep. Not to say that I would think you assume other things would happen. Which they wouldn't. Not to say that you aren't attractive-"
"Sokka!" Zuko was pinching the bridge of his nose in a mixture of irritation and embarrassment. "I would like to share my room with you, just please shush with the babbling!" Sokka was silent at the outburst, not wanting to infuriate the firebender further. Zuko yawned loudly, jarring Sokka to action. He urged the stubborn boy to bed, doing his best impression of his sister as he herded the boy through the temple.
The universe officially hated him. The room they had given Zuko /had/ to have been the coldest in the entire temple. They were in the tropics for crying out loud! There was no way it should be as frigid as it was. His teeth were even beginning to chatter. Being the idiot that he was, he didn't think of fetching his bed roll on the way through the main courtyard. He was, however, far too lazy to go and get it now.
Though...he could tell Zuko was getting irritated with his chattering teeth. It wouldn't be much longer now until - poof! No more Sokka. Just a small pile of ash. A frustrated sigh echoed across the room, and Sokka cringed - expecting that a roasting would soon come his way. He could vaguely make out the outline of the other boy in the darkness and could see him massaging the bridge of his nose. He did that when he was frustrated. But Sokka wasn't sure how he knew that.
There was a rustle of fabric, "Get in." It sounded like an order, something the Prince had stopped doing when they let him stay. Sokka was confused. He didn't understand what the older boy meant. Why on earth was he holding his sleeping bag open? Another exasperated sigh.
"I'm not going to burn you, how stupid do you think I am?" Oh. OH. Zuko wanted him to share? He hoped the firebender would be as hot as he thought he would be. Temperature wise. He blushed at the slip up in his head. He didn't need to defend himself, he knew what he meant! Thankful that it was too dark for the older boy to be able to see the blush staining his cheeks, Sokka shuffled over and into the proffered sleeping bag.
Gods, Zuko was hot! Not sweltering hot, but definitely somewhere between toasty and unbearable. To be honest, Sokka found that having his back to the other boy was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, /things/ couldn't be felt. On the other hand, impossibly warm breath ghosted over his sensitive neck as the firebender exhaled.
Despite stoically maintaining a respectful distance as they fell asleep, Sokka woke to find himself almost completely smothered in firebender. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed the Prince had had a regression and was trying to kill him again. An arm wrapped tightly around his torso, a head on his chest, hair tickling his chin, legs draped over and tangled with his own.
The other boy, he assumed, was still asleep. The incoherent mumblings when he tied to pull away confirmed this. Sokka lay there, in the warm orange sunlight filtering in through the window, hoping his sister wouldn't have the genius idea to come looking for him.
He was hoping that he would be up in time to creep back to the courtyard before anyone had noticed he was gone. The very fact that he wasn't curled up trying to stay asleep at this hour would arouse his sister's suspicions. And he didn't want any of his extremities frozen off, thank you very much. Or any of Zuko's for that matter.
Sokka stiffened. Was that...? Zuko had shifted closer and now /something/ was poking his leg.
"Um...Zuko?" The older boy appeared unfazed, though Sokka thought had he been fully awake he would have been mortified.
"It's a firebender thing. I rise with the sun," he murmured. The revelation, quite simply, went straight to Sokka's crotch. It made sense, since firebenders drew their power from the sun, but Sokka couldn't concentrate on the logic as his brain had decided to short-circuit. Zuko pressed closer still, and pouted childishly.
"Can't believe you're sleeping with boomerang. How many times do I have to say I'm good now?" Sokka burnt with shame, but not for the reason mentioned by Zuko. He really wanted to hold in what he wanted to say, but his brain to mouth filter failed him yet again.
"Uh...boomerang is back in the courtyard..." Zuko's visible eye snapped open. He slowly moved his head to look Sokka in the eye, searching for something. In the blink of an eye, his expression had turned devious.
"Oh really. Need a hand?"
"Did you find him?" Katara asked Toph, who had just returned from searching for the absent boy.
"Oh I found him alright! My feet cannot unsee that! I'm never doing that again, seeing snoozles and sparky getting frisky once is more than enough for me!"