Sokka mentally shook himself and looked towards the older man as he set an elegant teapot and a tray with three cups on the table between the two boys. Zuko immediately stood to take over for his uncle who smiled and nodded to him before taking a seat.
"Thank you, Nephew. This is a very pleasant surprise. I am truly happy to see you both." The old general sat back, complacently, as Zuko filled his cup with tea, folding his hands over his protruding belly. Sokka noted that the man had clearly been enjoying himself in the peaceful aftermath of the war.
"It's good to see you too, General Iroh." Sokka nodded his head slightly, unsure what the proper way to address a former Fire Nation general turned traitor turned Earth Kingdom tea shop owner, was. He was rewarded with hearty laughter and a gentle hand clap on his shoulder.
"I have not been a general for many years, young man. You may refer to me, simply, as Iroh." Sokka smiled and nodded again.
"Thank you, Sir. Er... Iroh." He edged away from the table to make room as Zuko came around beside him and leaned forward to fill his cup. He glanced at Zuko's profile, noticing for the first time that there were already small lines forming at the edge of his good eye and mouth. Had it been anyone else Sokka would have guessed they were laugh lines from smiling but not Zuko. He frowned slightly, not enough for either of the other men to notice, as the realization of how hard the young Fire Lord's life must be sunk deeper.
"You look well, Uncle." Zuko said softly as he retook his seat across from Sokka. An appreciative smile spread across the older man's face, reaching all the way into his eyes.
"I feel well. Retirement has been good to me. I am already planning to open another tea shop!" Sokka noticed how truly delighted he seemed about his new venture and could not keep a grin from opening up his own face. Even Zuko was noticeably relaxing in the presence of his uncle. It seemed that Iroh's eternal optimism was contagious. "And how has peace treated you?" He asked, placing his focus entirely on Sokka. "As much as I would like to believe that you traveled all this way just for my tea, I am sure there must be some other reason for your visit." Sokka cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable as the center of attention, something that was completely out of character for him.
"Well, uh, I came here from Kyoshi Island, not the South Pole. Though I was there first and then I went to Kyoshi Island and, well, that didn't turn out like I thought it was going to but I didn't really want to go home and I realized that Ba Sing Se was... ow!" A swift kick to his shin cut him off. He looked sharply at Zuko who was calmly sipping his tea, staring at him from over the brim of the cup. "Yea, I was rambling, huh."
"I believe I understood you. No doubt you were visiting that pretty warrior of yours while you were on Kyoshi Island?" Zuko groaned in sympathy but didn't say anything.
"Well, yea. I was but... we broke up." He cast his eyes downward sadly. "Something just kind of pulled me to Ba Sing Se after that."
"I am sorry to hear about your troubles but I think that coming to Ba Sing Se was the right thing to do. Sometimes the most fortuitous things can happen when we listen to our hearts."
"I guess so." Sokka perked up, "like running into Zuko!" Oh boy, that did not come out right. His heart had not brought him to Zuko. His heart had taken him to Kyoshi Island and his lonely befuddled brain had brought him to Zuko. Wait, no! Nothing had brought him to Zuko. Nothing. He looked at Zuko fearfully but the other boy was looking into his tea cup, no sign that he had even heard Sokka's blunder showing on his face.
"Perhaps that is why you were drawn here. Friendships are like precious jewels, they will only shine as long as you take the time to polish them." Sokka knit his eyebrows in confusion and Zuko coughed on a mouthful of tea that he had been attempting to swallow.
"We will, uh, keep that in mind. Thank you, Uncle." Iroh grinned as if just by giving them those words he had solved all of their problems.
The three men sat in the empty tea shop for hours, catching up on each other's lives, and enjoying each other's company. Sokka told them both about the South Pole, trying to make the last few years sound more fulfilling than they had felt. He could tell by their expressions and some of the questions that Iroh asked, that his charade wasn't working but they didn't press him and he didn't feel comfortable whining about being bored in front of Zuko. After a while the topic of conversation thankfully, changed to Aang and Katara and Sokka had wasted at least an hour and a half by retelling their stories. He tried to hide his jealousy as he talked. They'd asked him to come along when they'd first set off but he'd turned them down. At the time all he'd wanted was for his life to return to normal and now, well, they were a couple and they were old enough that he was able to accept that they needed some privacy.
Zuko mentioned some of the times that he'd seen them, both in diplomatic and personal situations. Sokka found it very difficult to mask the dejected feeling in his chest as Zuko told a story involving himself, Aang, Katara, and Toph that had occurred within the last year and Iroh declared that the little blind girl, she would always be little in Sokka's mind, visited him frequently in Ba Sing Se. He hadn't seen Toph in over three years. At least being the Fire Lord forced Zuko to visit the South Pole every once in a while to show his good faith. Everyone in their little rag tag group had managed to keep in touch except for him.
It was not until the light outside the shop had disappeared and Iroh was attempting to stifle his tenth yawn in as many minutes that the conversation finally dwindled and the boys decided to take their leave. It hadn't gone exactly as he'd planned but Sokka decided it had been more than a good day.
"I hope you will come to see me before you return home. My door is always open to family." Iroh had spoken to both of them as he bowed but Sokka had a feeling that the comment had been directed mostly at him. A lump of guilt formed at the pit of his stomach but he smiled and promised that he would and that it wouldn't take him another four years to visit, telling himself that it was a promise he would keep.
The little bell tinkled again over their heads as the two boys stepped out of the shop and onto the darkened street. Sokka watched in confusion as Zuko stopped to place a large, conical hat on his head, adjusting it so that it would block most of his face to a passerby.
"You know, Zuko, I don't think you have to worry about getting a sunburn right now..." The pale young man sighed and glared at Sokka from under the hat's brim.
"Discretion, remember?" His fingertips just barely brushed the bottom of his scar before he lowered his hand but it was enough for Sokka to get the point. Without another word Zuko turned and began walking away, not bothering to make sure that the other boy was following him. "Where are you staying?"
Sokka had just fallen into step beside Zuko, thinking about how wearing a giant hat like that at night probably made the young man stand out more, when he realized that he didn't have a place to stay. He kept walking but looked down, sheepishly.
"I, uh, don't know yet. I guess I didn't really think this through." His gaze was still focused on the cobblestone street so he didn't notice Zuko stop and turn around until the other boy's hand was on his shoulder. He looked up quickly, already reaching back towards the hilt of his sword out of habit, remembering his time in this city four years ago, his time anywhere four years ago. He'd always needed to be on his guard. A small bud of embarrassment bloomed in his stomach as he caught Zuko's blank look and realized they were still the only people in the area.
"I think, perhaps, it might be better if we part ways here then." Zuko said evenly, ignoring the arm that the darker skinned young man was slowly bringing back down to rest at his side. Sokka felt his jaw drop. Zuko was ditching him? Because he hadn't found a place to stay? There was something completely wrong with this situation. The grip on his shoulder tightened and a smirk slowly etched itself onto Zuko's face. "If I recall correctly, the last time you and I were together and you failed to think something through I ended up in a prison cell." Mirth danced in his eyes and Sokka was momentarily caught off guard.
"Wha? Wait. Did... Did you just make a joke? Ha! You did! Ahaha! Hahaha!" He wrapped an arm around his stomach to support his cramping muscles and leaned back as his laughter began to die, reaching up to gingerly wipe a tear from his eye. "Oh man. That was good. But seriously, I can stay with you right? You're the Fire Lord. You've probably got a whole house to yourself."
"I've procured a room but there is a chaise inside that you are welcome to."
"Just one room?" Sokka began to whine but cut himself short when he saw the look of impatience in his friend's eyes. "I'm pretty sure you could have gotten more than one room and still managed to be discreet." He grumbled under his breath, setting off in the direction that Zuko had originally taken, completely unsure of where he was going.
"Well, when I arrived in Ba Sing Se I wasn't expecting squatters from the South Pole. May I ask what, exactly, you were expecting when you got here? If it weren't for me you wouldn't have a place to stay at all." Zuko said from behind him, making no effort to catch up.
"I guess I just figured I'd have some tea and listen to your uncle tell me some story about how confused you were about your life back when you were an angry ponytailed freak. Then he'd give me a ridiculously cryptic piece of advice that would take the entire trip back to the South Pole to figure out but that would eventually make sense and ultimately make me feel better. Sleeping arrangements never found their way into that scenario."
"Angry ponytailed freak?" Zuko's face was screwed up in a mix of confusion and disbelief and nearly caused Sokka to erupt into another fit of laughter when he shot a glance over his shoulder, but he managed to suppress it.
"Yea," he sighed, "back in the good ole days."
"And your..."
"Warrior's. Wolf. Tail." Pointing to the back of his head he indicated a tuft of brown hair that was separated from the rest and tied back. For most of his life he'd kept the sides of his head clean shaven but he'd decided to let it grow out a few months prior and the longest pieces were just beginning to reach the tips of his earlobes.
"Right."
They walked on in silence for several minutes, Zuko still trailing Sokka by a few steps. He saw a side street that they needed to take coming up and debated allowing the other boy to walk past it, just to see how long he would continue walking before he admitted that he didn't know the way, but exhaustion got the better of him and he cleared his throat.
"Sokka. You're going to want to make a right up here." The brunette turned and opened his mouth, trying to think of a witty retort, but simply closed it again and hung his head, waiting for Zuko to take the lead. As they walked Sokka noticed the buildings beginning to space out and become larger and he began to suspect that Zuko had downplayed his temporary living arrangements. Zuko finally stopped in front of a not exactly modest bungalow style building that Sokka guessed had at least two rooms, a private courtyard behind it, and an indoor bath just off of what seemed to be the main room.
"Oh yea, Zuko, very discreet." He scoffed as they made their way inside.
"I only said there was one room, I didn't say it was a small room." It was dark but looking around Sokka could see there was an extra door that obviously connected to something.
"I don't mean to question your eyesight or your ability to count, all mighty Fire Lord, but there are definitely two rooms." Zuko stopped and pressed his palms together in a wai in front of his chest, bowing his head so that his forehead met his fingertips and taking a deep breath before quickly crouching and reaching out in rapid succession, sending small sparks of fire in multiple directions across the room. Sokka gasped in awe as every candle in the room was suddenly lit, casting the walls and the furniture in a soft glow. "Wow."
Zuko ignored him, and started walking towards the large bed that dominated the space."I will be using the other room as my office for the duration of my stay. I'd prefer it if you didn't go in there."
"What? Why not? I'm a great leader! I could totally help you out!" He exclaimed, knocking a side table with his hip as he rushed after Zuko. "Ouch!"
"Your leadership skills aren't what I'm worried about." Zuko turned to face him with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his brow as his gaze wandered downwards. Sokka felt his stomach flutter as he watched Zuko appraise him, until he felt an uncomfortable degree of heat at his side and looked down.
"Oh shit! I'm on fucking fire! Fuck!" He stumbled away from the table, and the candle he'd knocked over, wildly slapping at his quickly burning tunic. Zuko chuckled to himself at Sokka's impeccable timing before calmly striding across the room and picking up a basin of water that had been left near the door. He turned to Sokka, still smirking, and doused him with it.
"That doesn't seem like it was entirely necessary." He sputtered, pulling at the charred cloth that was now plastered to his skin. Zuko only shrugged and turned back towards the bed. Sighing, Sokka walked to the chaise, peeling the wet cloth from his body. It was situated against the wall facing the foot of the bed and looked to be quite comfortable. Slipping what was left of his tunic off his shoulders, he held it up and inspected the scorch marks, then dropped it in a heap on the floor at his feet, deciding that it wasn't salvageable.
"Hey, so, I know you didn't really get to talk to your uncle about, well, you know, whatever you were there to talk to him about, today. Sorry about that." He said, flopping onto his back with a distinct lack of grace. He folded his arms behind his head and turned his face so he could see Zuko. He swallowed hard as he watched the raven haired man slip his own tunic off and place it neatly on a stool next to the bed. Sokka found himself mesmerized by the way the candlelight played over Zuko's muscles as he moved, the soft light casting an almost ethereal glow over his pale skin. Stupid firebender would look sexy surrounded by his element. Sexy?! Sokka sat up quickly, his eyes wide. What was wrong with him today?
"I don't mind. It turned out to be a really good day." Zuko turned around as he spoke. "Sokka? Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine. Totally fine. I think a more pertinent question would be are you okay. You're looking kind of pale." Sokka stammered, taking a sudden intense interest in the lacing of his boots. Zuko looked at himself, inspecting his forearms closely.
"I don't think I look pale. Well... that pale." He murmured. Sokka focused on slowing his heartbeat as he pulled off his boots, dropping each one unceremoniously on the floor before he laid back down, keeping his eyes on the ceiling.
"Yea you're right. It was probably just the lighting. You look just as pale as always."
"Um, alright." There were a few unbearable seconds of silence before Sokka heard the rustle of fabric that told him Zuko was getting into the bed but he didn't dare look his way. He was a mess because of breaking up with Suki, he told himself. It had been a long, emotional week and he was just tired. There was nothing else to it.
"Goodnight Sokka."
"Night Zuko." He closed his eyes and sighed as sleep overtook him, completely unaware of the pleasant smile that crept across his face.
