Zuko checked his watch as he stepped out of the elevator, he was surprised to see he still had three hours until midnight. He usually had a bad habit of showing up late to everything he was invited to, something he shared with the host. In their friend group, they switched duties of party host during New Year's Eve. This year, Sokka was the unfortunate host. While the others thought of Katara's smoked salmon or Ty Lee's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies as great snacks for a party, Sokka's idea of a great snack was a half eaten bag of potato chips and warm beer. Katara and Aang were the first two to get out of going to Sokka's party; Aang decided to drive them to Republic City for the big New Year's celebration in the town square. Toph flat out laughed when asked by Sokka if she was going. Suki and Ty Lee were still saying that they would show up to Sokka's party, but Zuko assumed that they were just going to the bars instead. That just left Zuko, Sokka and his girlfriend Yue. Since Zuko would rather drink lighter fluid and make out with an open flame than spend one unnecessary second with Azula or his Father, he had no excuse. He figured the bottle of champagne would save enough of the party Sokka had in mind. With how prepared Zuko came to the party, he had high hopes for the New Year. Zuko knocked three times and waited, he heard the usual bickering between the two before Yue opened the door. His eyes widen for a second to see her in a low cut sky blue tank top, a pair of tight black jeans with her peril white hair pulled up into a bun. She smiled, "Glad to see you made it Zuko. I thought you would be here next year." He rolled his eyes at the pun, making her giggle. "Oh come on, it's the only time these jokes are funny."

"Maybe after a few drinks," Zuko commented as she moved out of the doorway. He walked into the small apartment, Yue obviously did her best to clean up the mess Sokka undoubtedly left. Zuko set down the bottle on the small dinner table and took of his sweatshirt, leaving him in a plain black shirt and matching jeans. He laid the jacket on the back of the couch.

Sokka walked in from the bedroom, "Hey Zuko, glad to see you're making yourself a home. Should I give you the tour of the place?"

He raised an eyebrow, "A tour? I can see the whole place from where I'm standing right now man."

Yue grabbed the bottle of champagne, bringing it to the fridge, "Are you sure Zuko? He's really done a lot with the guest bedroom, like changed the bed sheets."

Zuko smirked and leaned a little to the right, peering inside the adjacent room to the master bedroom, "Well my bad Sokka, I should have taken the tour."

"Enough poking fun at me, can I get you a beer or something?" Sokka asked.

"Beer," Zuko relented and took a seat on the couch, his eyes landing on the half filled bowl of potato chips. He held back a laugh as Sokka came back with two beers. Zuko sat on the far end of the couch with Sokka on the other end of the three seater. Yue came back with a glass of wine and sat between the two. He was a little surprised at the seating arrangement, especially with Sokka's severe jealousy, but just drank his beer instead.

An hour and at least ten beers later, Zuko set a very passed out Sokka on his stomach on his bed. Yue placed a trash can next to the bed for him. She sat on the side of the bed and softly rubbed his back, "If you need anything, just call for me," She whispered. He mumbled incoherently for a moment, Zuko only catching something about how everyone was doubting his party hosting skills. He figured he would give him crap about it when he woke up tomorrow. They both returned to the living room and sat back on the couch. "Sorry about Sokka, I think he took it a little too hard when no one wanted to come to his party."

"Understandable, but texting his sister that he hopes she's having a shitty time got to be a bit much," Zuko was tempted send his own sister the same thing. "I think we already have enough sibling hate in this group."

Yue smiled as she finished her glass of wine, "To be fair, you have a good reason for it. Sokka is just petty." A silence fell upon them, Zuko casually checked his watch again to see how much time they had left. "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to Zuko, I know a two person New Year's party isn't exactly the most exciting way to ring in the new year."

He shook his head, "I have nothing else to do, might as well keep you company."

Yue poured herself another glass, "Well don't I feel special, I'm just a bit above nothing." They both chuckled at her joke.

"Well to be completely honest, as much as I like Sokka, he can be a bit to handle alone. So I'm pretty happy that you were here also," Zuko confessed. "So you're a good amount above nothing."

She took a drink from her glass, "Well when did you become so sweet Zuko?"

"After a few drinks, I can stand to be nice for more than a second," He poked fun at himself, making her laugh again. "And if you tell Katara that I can be nice, I will deny it until my last breath."

"Well it'll be our little secret," Yue reached over to pinch his cheek, "Little sensitive Zuko." He rolled his eyes before finishing his beer. As the clock continued to march towards the end of the year, Zuko and Yue made small talk while ignoring whatever was on the TV. Once he finished another beer, she excused herself to change into something a little more comfortable. After a good amount of drinks, Zuko didn't pay too much attention to the red flag. In any other situation, if one of his friend's girlfriends would say that, he would already be in a cab asking him to get him as far away from this place as possible. He went back into the kitchen, unfortunately finding no more beer, but the bottle he brought was still untouched. Looking at his watch, they had at least half an hour before the new year. Figuring it was close enough, he popped the cork and looked for glasses. "There are glasses on the top shelf to the right." He turned to see her a small pair of shorts, a somehow looser tank top and her hair out of it's bun. "I hid them up there so that Sokka didn't break them." It took a moment for him to take his eyes off her before reaching up and grabbing the two nice glasses from the top shelf. Yue picked up the bottle and started to pour champagne in both of the glasses. Taking one glass from himself, "To a new year."

He clinked his glass against hers, "To a new year." They both took a drink, instantly reminding Zuko why he never drank champagne, it tasted horrible. Instead of spitting it out, Zuko just quickly swallowed it, while he waited for Yue's reaction. Her face scrunched for a moment before putting her glass down.

"Wow...that's a little...wow," She repeated with a giggle, going back to the fridge. Yue opened the door and pulled out some orange juice, "How about mimosas instead?" Not really waiting for his answer, she poured orange juice in the rest of his glass as well as hers. He took another drink, while he could still taste a bit of the champagne, the orange juice battled a good amount of it. She grabbed the bottle and the orange juice while he followed behind with the glasses. Yue sat down beside Zuko, placing the bottle and the juice on the table before taking her glass from him. They sat with heavy silence between them with only the TV and the occasional snore for Sokka in the other room. Yue watched Zuko out of the corner of her eye drink his mimosa, not seeing a reaction either way. "Do you like it?" He nodded. "We should make a routine out of his, you can be like one of the girls. We can do our nails, get our hair done and talk about boys."

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Wow, no wonder you and Sokka are still together after five years. You two share the exact same type of humor."

She sipped her drink again, "To be honest, it's probably because of my body we're still together." At the mention of it, Zuko's eyes quickly scanned her body, but stopped himself from lingering. Her body was of obvious envy of their friends, wide hips, trim midsection and large...Zuko didn't let his mind go too much further with that. With as much as he has had to drink, his judgment was already impaired. Zuko realized her gaze was on him, obviously waiting for some sort of response.

"With Sokka's train of thought, I would say that would be a good part of it," He attempted to bring the mood back from the shortcomings of her boyfriend, but failing miserably.

She was silent for a moment, looking down between them before meeting his eyes, "You think there is more to me than my looks right?"

"Of course, you're a great person, you obviously put up with Sokka for us and we all owe you one for that." This emotional stuff was a bit much for him and could tell this conversation was doomed to go to stay in questioning her life choices. With his experience with his sister and Ty Lee, there was only one way to get past this without having to break out the ice cream and tissues: more alcohol. If he got her a little more drunk, she would be back to the fun drunk. He finished his mimosa, "You better catch up, I'm going to finish the bottle before you."

She looked down at her glass, "Oh." Yue threw her head back with the glass and quickly finished the glass. He filled both of their glasses and he started to polish it off. She felt a little challenged and began to drink along with him. Both of them winced at the burn from the alcohol as they finished the bottle. "I haven't drank like this since my 21st."

He took a sigh of relief, smiling a bit at the memory, "I had to carry you and Ty Lee out of the bar."

Yue's smile returned, "And I had to get your car detailed after I puked in the back seat...sorry again about that."

"It's what friends do," Zuko remembered that he also had to hold her hair back as she puked on the side of the road while he held Ty Lee up from rolling over in the aforementioned puke.

"You're a great friend Zuko, I feel like none of us ever tell you that, but thank you," She moved closer to him, her head rested on his chest as she hugged him from the side. He put his arm around her shoulders to reciprocate to the hug, but was a little surprised when she didn't move after hugging him. Yue just continued watching TV, he decided to keep quiet since this awkward situation was a lot better than the relationship talk. As the new year approached, Yue sat up a bit, but was still against him.

"This is Joo Dee from the center of Republic City," The reporter nearly shouted over hundreds of people around her. "We're only a few minutes away before we ring in the new year! It's getting time to grab that special someone because no one wants to be alone at the start of the year.

Yue perked up at the reporter's words as the countdown was getting ready to begin, "I totally forgot, this was supposed to be the first year Sokka and I had a midnight kiss."

A wave of confusion hit Zuko, "In the five years you two have been together, you seriously haven't kissed on New Year's once?"

"Sokka usually ends up passed out or I would be with my family," Yue half attempted to rationalize Sokka's drunken nature, but didn't even convince herself. She was silent for a moment, "Zuko?"

His heartbeat picked up, "I don't think so Yue."

"Come on, I've never had a kiss at midnight and you're my friend, it'll just be a friend kiss," Yue tried to convince him. "Plus, he doesn't have to know." The countdown started to begin on the TV as Zuko's mind was racing. His best friend's girlfriend wanted him to kiss her, it would be breaking the the ultimate rule between friends. But in his alcohol fueled mind, he argued that it was only a friend kiss, it wasn't like he was trying to hook up with her. With the countdown under 30 seconds, her eyes were still on him waiting for a response. His last rational thought disappeared when he mistakenly looked at her lips and then back to her ocean blue eyes.

"I mean, if he doesn't have to know…" He trailed off, the tension between them began to climb as the clock continued to ten seconds. They both leaned towards each other, inches away as midnight hit. Zuko was the one to finally close the distance between them, making Yue's breath hitch and instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. At the feeling of her tongue against his, Zuko broke the kiss before it went any further. Yue's face was completely flushed as her eyes slowly reopened.

"You didn't tell me you were such a good kisser Zuko," She murmured, her mind still fuzzy. Their eyes met again and they fell silent again, both attempting to fight their instincts. Instead of waiting for him to make another move, Yue pulled him back in against her and kissed him as they fell back on the couch. Her legs wrapped around his waist as Zuko's lust for her took over. She bit down on his bottom lip when he grinded his hips against her. He left her lips and kissed down her chin to her neck, her sex throbbing every time his lips found her spot behind her ear lobe. "Fuck Zuko," She moaned. Her hips bucked against his, attempting to alleviate the pent up lust that was beginning to overflow. Zuko's fingers hooked into her shorts and pulled them off when her hips raised up for him. His gaze was caught on the hairless mound as he tossed her shorts to the side, her lips were wet with anticipation. Yue yelped when he hooked his arms under her knees, pulling her vagina up to his face and attacking her clit. "Zuko!" Yue groaned his name again, her hands holding his head against her. With her vice grip on his hair, he thought she was going to tear a chunk out when he slipped a finger inside her. Her walls immediately clenched around his finger when he hooked it upwards. He slowed his tongue as he circled her clit, his smoldering golden gaze on her finally took her over the edge. Her body shook with her orgasm, her eyes rolling back a bit before she finally slumped down on the couch. Zuko let her legs down as he got up, stripping himself down as Yue slowly came down. Seeing his rock hard erection pointing at her renewed her lust and she quickly pulled off her shirt.

His mouth went dry seeing her nude form on the couch, even with her essence still on his tongue. Never in his life would he have thought he would see the ebony goddess naked waiting for him. He met her with a kiss, positioning himself in between her legs. Her nails nearly pierced his skin when he pressed himself against her, her body demanding to have him inside of her. Zuko placed himself at her entrance, her legs wrapping around his waist was enough approval and slid into her. "Fuck," He breathed against her neck as her velvet walls greedily welcomed him.

Yue held onto him as he started a quick pace, neither of them seeming to care about their noises with her passed out boyfriend in the other room. "Harder," Yue moaned, to which he happily obliged. She bit her lip to stop the loud moan to escape as she came again. Zuko continued to pound her into her, not giving Yue a chance to recover from her orgasm. All she could focus on was the immense pleasure flowing through her body. She was caught off guard as he pulled out of her and flipped her over. Yue almost fell as she attempted to steady herself on her shaky limbs. When Zuko entered her from behind, she let her arms give out with her backside on display for him. She moved her hips back against him with each thrust, bringing Zuko closer to his long awaited orgasm. Her bottom lip was clenched between her teeth as he fucked her into the couch. He thrusted deep inside her, bringing them both to a large climax, Yue's moans were barely muffled by the couch cushions. Zuko slowly caught his breath, he pulled himself out of her and fell back again the arm rest. To his surprise, Yue turned back and put him in her mouth. Her tongue swirled over his tip attempting to clean off their combined fluids. He nearly came again when her eyes met his for a moment before removing him from her mouth with a pop. "Well, that's one way to ring in the new year."

Sokka stumbled groggily through the bedroom door, seeing Yue already cooking breakfast, only dressed in one of her Dad's old sweatshirts she had taken from him. He smiled at the scent of bacon wafting into the air. "Aw babe, you didn't have to make breakfast."

"I did it all last year, I didn't expect it to change this year," She teased him. Sokka stood behind her, his arms going around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Good job at keeping your promise about a New Year's kiss yet again."

He sighed, "I'm sorry babe, I really tried to stay up."

Yue rolled her eyes, "Uh huh."

"I'll make it up to you, you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day. If you want to go shopping with Katara and Toph, I won't say anything about how much you spend." He offered her. Yue just shook her head with a small laugh, it wasn't like she would be spending any of his money.

"It doesn't matter, there's always next year," Yue brushed it off, not too worried about a kiss from him.

"Really?" She nodded. A smile broke on his face and kissed her cheek again, "You're the best girlfriend." He grabbed a piece of burnt bacon resting on a paper plate and sat down over on the couch. "Oh...and thank you for giving another chance. I know I keep bringing it up, but that thing with Azula was a mistake. I swear it'll never happen again."

Yue looked over at her boyfriend, the thoughts of last night going through her mind. She smiled, "Of course baby, you said you're sorry for sleeping with her and I believed you. Now we can just move on."

"I love you," Sokka smiled.

Yue weakly smiled back, "You too."

-SDB