You thought I forgot about this series, didn't you? Well, you'd be right. Much smuttier version of this story at my LJ.
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Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate. Ember Island reveals the true you.
"But the effects were decent."
Sokka wasn't too surprised at the gang's lack of response. That giant shit pile of a play was the last thing he had expected when he'd found that poster. Zuko had warned them about the theater company's skills (or lack thereof) and they hadn't listened.
Or /I/ hadn't listened.
The evening hadn't exactly begun on a good note with Zuko flat out refusing to sit next to him during the show. Sokka was labeled a 'talker' and that was that.
This baseless and most cruel accusation had not gone over well. Me? Talk all through a performance? /No way!/
Suki shivered against him in the cool night air so he pulled her closer. "You still cold?"
"You'd think I wouldn't have been freezing my tits off in a Fire Nation theater." Suki rubbed at her arms, desperate for some added warmth in her decidedly minimalist Fire Nation attire. "I hope Zuko didn't get upset at me borrowing you for a blanket."
He gave her an affectionate squeeze. "I don't think so." Sokka looked to the pensive figure at the front of the pack, pulling further and further ahead in his push to get as far from that theater as possible. "At least, I think he's got other things on his mind."
Out of all of them, the prince had taken the most hits. Dishonorable, treacherous and disloyal son that failed miserably in the end. It must have been terrible to see yourself so reviled. Even Aang was made out to be just some harmless, goofy looking kid.
With a rack. Sokka shuddered and it wasn't from the chill.
Aang. Aang with boobs. A disturbingly large pair of boobs that were big enough to see even from the cheap seats. You'd think they would have strapped those bad boys down. Maybe we would have missed this shitty evening all together if they had printed a warning about flying mammaries on my poster…
Oh no! Sokka stopped dead in his tracks. The others paused, tensing for a fight at his sudden alarm. "We have to go back! Like right now!"
Toph looked highly skeptical as she dug into her ear with a wiggle of her finger. "I'm pretty sure we don't."
"Yeah we do! My poster! I left it at the theater." They all looked at him with little comprehension. "I wanted to keep it!"
A highly varied collection of groans and swear words filtered their way back to him.
"Are you out of your mind?" Katara gave him a glare of death that they handed out to all sisters for use on their idiot brothers. "You actually want something to remind you of that piece of crap?"
"Of course!" His lower lip jutted out in Full Pout. "It has my– I mean OUR! Our pictures on it!"
"They might have tossed it by now," offered Zuko. "You could pick up another one in town tomorrow."
Aang glared at the ground at his feet. "Not if I get to them first."
Well, fuck.
He turned to Suki, who was already settling into a guard stance. Ooo, the Pout is no match for this clearly Sokka experienced warrior. Change of tactics. The Pout transitioned seamlessly to intense Sucking Up. "You got me backstage once! Getting me inside when it's empty should be no problem, right?"
"No. No. No!" She turned her back on him, negating any possibility of him using his big counterattack- the Big Blue Eyes of Adorableness. "There is absolutely no way I'm going anywhere near that crap fest again. You can go by yourself when they reopen tomorrow."
He let out a little sniffle. "What if they throw it out?"
"Not! Going!"
Sokka looked around for his one last hope. Where is my sneaky piece of firebender ass-ah HA!
Zuko didn't bother restraining his flinch as Sokka excitedly wrapped himself around the firebender in full Whine.
"Please. !" Bounce, bounce, bounce.
"I , uh, I don't want" -bounce- "to go back to" -bounce- "the theater if that's" –bounce- "Will you knock that off?"
The bouncing stopped. Must try bargaining with this one. "How 'bout I make it worth your while?" With a little nuzzle to the nape of the neck, Sokka made his offer with a smooth whisper. "I'll be your slave for the day."
"Really?" The crack in Zuko's voice was rather impressive.
Almost have him. Need to sweeten the pot. Smile big enough to get dimples popping. Add a little flick of tongue for good measure. "Yup."
Sokka squawked, tumbling headlong at the sudden pull on his arm as Zuko dragged them both back towards town at a dead run.
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The theater looked nowhere near as inviting shrouded in shadows. Sokka scanned the lifeless building with no small amount of trepidation. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
Long divested of his cloak, Zuko was already half way up to the closest window. "C'mon. Not like this is Boiling Rock. We should be done and back home in no time."
"Of course you'd say that! You just wanna get laid!"
Zuko dangled by an arm to shoot him a look of derision. "And you don't?"
Fair enough. A few more seconds and Zuko was gone, disappearing into the darkness.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
The interior of the building was no less creepy. With a few waves of his hand, Zuko had the wall sconces blazing to chase away the shadows. After a few wrong turns in nearly identical hallways, they reached the stairs to the upper level. Handy little seating chart confirmed they were where they needed to be. He already bounding up the first few steps before Sokka realized he was alone. What the fuck?
Zuko was still stuck at the bottom of the stairs, transfixed by the simple line diagram
What's he doing? "Hey, uh, I'm pretty sure we have to go up. Balconies are kinda like that." No response. Sokka hopped back down the steps, not quite sure what to expect.
"All of these seats were filled with people who hated me." Pale hand swept over the chart. "Cheered when I died."
"That wasn't you up there, just some hammy actor. " Sokka inserted himself between Zuko and the object that had him bewitched, pressuring the boy to meet his gaze. "They don't know the real you. "
Zuko sagged against him in surrender. Oh. Oh, I'm an idiot.
Sokka squeezed as tightly as he could. His brain couldn't restrain his tongue. "I am so sorry for dragging you here for some stupid poster I mean I didn't even think about how you would feel coming back here after that ridiculous death scene and that bunch of audience morons who don't know any better and did I say I was really, really sorry? "
"Who left all these lights on?" Masculine voice of outrage sounded ancient as it echoed through empty halls. "Is somebody here?"
Oh crap.
"Of course not." There was a put upon sigh. "Nobody else has to be here so late." Whoever it was sounded much closer than either boy would have liked. "I wouldn't still be here if that stupid cow-hippo would just kick my little boats over instead of stomping them flat every show!" Squeal of rusty wheels. "Actors!" Clang of metal. "Little Miss Avatar can repaint her own damn props for all I care!"
The boys tentatively peeked around the corner. Thankfully the grizzled old man had his back to them. What was left of the hair on his head was scavenged into a high little topknot. A huge extravagance of a beard made up for the lack of hair elsewhere. With a surprising show of strength, he pushed his fully laden cart farther along the hallway with ease, both man and cart creaking under the weight of all his tools and buckets.
They retreated. Zuko chewed his lip in alarm. "Old guy's between us and the way we came in."
"Gimme a second." Sokka began drawing an invisible map on his palm with his finger. "There's got to be another exit we can use."
Whack! Cry of pain from Zuko and a hard shove had them both staggering back.
"Hoodlums! Miscreants!" the old man roared, another swing of his mop missing them by inches. "You 'fanatics' have some nerve thinking you can keep breaking in here to walk off with all my hard work!"
Sokka held his hands out in supplication as the man advanced on them. "Easy, grandpa! We're not here to steal anything!"
"Can't fool me, boy! It's not the first time I've caught one of you after hours, all dressed up and looking for trinkets!" The little bugger was fast, jabbing Sokka in the gut. "At least the Zuko from last week was much more convincing!"
Zuko danced away from another blow, catching the mop easily. He pulled it free from their attacker's hands with a twist, sending the nutter fleeing behind his cart.
"You got us, old timer." Zuko did little to hide his anger. "But we haven't taken anything. How about you let us go in peace?"
"So you can come back tomorrow night and try again? I don't think so!" The old man slipped the lid off of a bucket and flung the contents at them with a wild cackle.
There was little they could do. It hit them in a thick, slimy wave, blue paint drenching both boys to the skin. With a triumphant little jig, the old bastard unlatched another bucket and prepared to fire a second volley.
Slipping and sliding through a pool of goo, the two boys fled as fast as their sopping wet shoes would let them.
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Cracking the dressing room door just a hair, Sokka managed a quick scan inside. There was a wonderful lack of crazy people, which was pretty fucking fantastic right about now. "All clear!"
Zuko was barely through the door before he was stripping down to nothing. He began flipping roughly through a clothing rack with far too many lacey things on it.
Ooh. I like where this is going! Sokka sat back on his heels to catch an eyeful. "While I don't approve of that guy's methods, it's hard to argue with his results."
With an explosive kick, Zuko knocked over the rack with a loud clatter. "Yeah, well you won't think it's so great if we lead the Ember Island guard straight back to Aang."
"Don't spoil some perfectly good naked time!" Sokka warned as he set the rack upright. "We change clothes and poof! No more paint trail. It'll be fine."
Zuko softened at the admonition. "I'm sorry. I really don't like this place."
Grabbing something fuzzy and orange, Sokka dabbed at still wet streaks of blue on Zuko's skin. "Well, just think that when we get back, you'll still have me at your beck and call for a day."
The gentle cleansing was soothing for both of them. "But we didn't get your poster," Zuko murmured, swaying slightly under the touch.
"Doesn't matter. You shouldn't have come. You came anyway." Sokka gave him a cheeky smile. "You deserve it."
"Then this is the last place I want to spend the day." The firebender plucked free the makeshift towel and hastily scoured off what was left of the paint. "Why aren't you undressed yet?"
"Now that's what I like to hear!"
Undoing the knot to his trousers was unusually challenging. The fabric squished out paint as he fought to untie it. Damn you knot! Need pants off now! His dick wholeheartedly concurred. Aha! Finally free of the knot, he let gravity take his trousers to the floor. "Hey if you're done with that towel I think I got something over here that needs some polishing…"
It was sort of a mistake to look up. His brain had always been so good to him so it was kind of cruel to subject it to the image that would paralyze it forever. Thankfully his dick was more than happy to take control of any thinking that was required.
Zuko. Struggling to pour himself into a pair of trousers. Made of leather. Tight leather. Clinging to every bulge and curve like a second skin.
Want it. Low moan from Sokka as his knees gave out. Want to touch it. "Interesting choice," was the only comment he could manage.
"What? Is this bad?" Zuko glanced down at himself in concern. "They're kind of snug but everything else is either way too big to fight in or frillier than I can handle."
"No!" Knees protested the crawl on hard floors. "They're perfect!" Uncaring of the mess on his hands Sokka grabbed two great handfuls of one great ass. He inched closer, mouthing the butter-soft leather to trace the shape of a not-so-soft cock.
I can now die a happy man.
"Suh…Sokka?"
"Hmm?" Undoing the thin leather lacings with his teeth forced an involuntary thrust of the hips under Sokka's hands. He never realized how good a combination a hint of smoke and leather- real leather, good leather- would be until he could breathe it in, almost tasting it on his tongue.
Zuko twitched as lips brushed against his shaft. "We- ahh! –really should be going."
Rocking back, Sokka let out a whine that sounded like he was having his favorite binky taken away. Which in a way, it was. "Can't we stay like this for a little while?"
"Well, all right. Wait -no!" Letting out a groan of anguish, Zuko tried to tuck himself away. "Let's just get out of here."
Gentle kiss to leather encased thigh. "Yes, Master."
There was an order of "Going! Now!" as Zuko retreated to a safe distance with a distinctly uncomfortable hitch in his gait.
And two very obvious handprints on his rear.
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To Sokka's disappointment, they had made it home far too exhausted for anything even remotely interesting to happen. He awoke to found Zuko and those lovely, lovely pants gone, with a note that clearly detailed his first task as servant for a day.
Son of a bitch! This is sadism. And not even the /good/ kind.
It was not often that Sokka found himself up to his armpits in soapy water. Removing dried paint from silk was a lot harder than he thought it would be. There was one tenacious spatter mark that refused to come off. Give in to me, foul villain!
In the distance he could hear the tell tale sounds of Aang training with Zuko in attendance. Those pants being involved would not have made Sokka a good audience member. Zuko would probably have not appreciated it if he spent the entire time trying to furiously rub one out.
Probably.
Most of the morning was gone by the time he completed his task. Sokka listened for the sound of flames -or swearing since either were equally likely- and heard the crash of boulders instead. Odd. I thought he and Aang would still be going at it.
The courtyard revealed a distinct lack of prince and a rather pleased looking Toph. "What's up, Snoozles?"
Warning bells went off at her sweet demeanor, looking far too comfortable perched atop her pyramid of rubble. Loose soil shifted slightly under her seat. "Where are your manners?" she asked the pile, suddenly cross. She punched straight down, sending a ripple that got the entire house shaking through its foundation. "Say hi to Sokka!"
Aang's weary voice was still surprisingly audible through several inches of rock. "Hi Sokka."
"Hey, Aang." Had it really been almost a year since this would have seemed anything but normal? "Did Zuko give up on you already?"
"Nah!" Toph shrugged. "He called practice early so I took over."
"He was fine yesterday!" Sokka pointed an accusatory finger at the tiny girl on her throne. "What did you do to my firebender?"
"Nothing! I swear! He said he wasn't feeling that great." Her sudden smile was pure evil. "His pants were probably cutting off the circulation to his head."
Sokka retreated into the house swiftly, not quite wanting to think about to which head Toph was referring. The usual spots were Zuko-free. The only thing left was a section of the house that had gone mostly ignored. Disturbed cobwebs signaled some recent activity. Where'd he go?
It was the ornately carved handle on an otherwise ordinary door that caught his attention. No evidence of footprints in the dust past it either. Must be the place. The door swung open easily under Sokka's hand, delivering a face full of hot steam.
The room was drenched in ostentatious opulence visible even through the haze. Rushing water echoing off walls of metal and stone. Some sort of bath? Further along there was a trail of clothing including those pants. Jackpot! He almost fell right into it- a huge sunken tub ringed in reds and golds. A massive stylized dragon shot water from its mouth, backlit with candles to create a bizarre illusion of fire. Zuko was mostly submerged underneath this, arms stretched out across the edge of the tub as if presenting himself to the dragon as an offering.
"Nice place you've got here." The heat was already forcing a trail of sweat to trickle along the small of Sokka's back.
A single golden eye opened blearily as Zuko battled against his torpor. "H'lo."
"You know, when I offered to be your slave for a day, I was hoping it would be a lot more sexing and a lot less laundry."
Surprise forced Zuko's other eye to open, head keeping upright with difficulty. "You actually washed my stuff? It was supposed to be a joke." His head lolled back with a -clunk- against the tile. "Guess it's only fair since you left me with those handprints."
Sokka sprawled along the water's edge to brush away a snarl of black hair stuck to a sweaty pale forehead. "You ended training early today. Anything I can help you with?"
The firebender let out a long slow puff of air. "Can you make me forget the entire Fire Nation hates my guts? That would be nice."
"I don't know if I can do that. How 'bout some mind blowing sex instead?"
It was good to see Zuko laugh. "That's your answer to everything!"
Sokka hovered closer, letting their smiles almost touch. "I don't see the problem here. Do you?"
"No. No problem."
The angle was awkward but that didn't keep them from their kiss. The oppressive heat forced them to come up for air sooner than either of them would have liked.
"So what can I do for you? " Sokka asked with a tilt of his head. "Or more importantly – to you?"
Zuko was still quite close, analyzing him with daunting scrutiny. "You don't have to do this you know."
"I want to."
If he wasn't watching those lips, following their movement, Sokka would have thought he was hearing things. "Strip for me."
This was not a question.
A warm spike of arousal went through him, surprising in its intensity. Sokka rose to his feet. There was no show made of it, no playful game. Just a simple revealing of skin and open, undisguised need. "What next, my prince?"
Zuko shook his head, awestruck. "Incredible."
Sokka gave his length a few full strokes and stepped into the bath with an easy swagger. "I'll admit it's pretty impressive, but it's not like this is the first time you've seen the goods."
"No, you ass." A laugh cut the sting out of Zuko's words. "I meant your courage." He settled a hand on Sokka's hip to guide the boy in straddling over him. "So confident even when you're… exposed. I could never do that."
A moment's silence for Sokka to piece together his thoughts. "I've been lucky." There was a small basket of toiletries that suddenly seemed to occupy all of his attention. Some oils, some creams. "I've always had friends, my family, my tribe" He chose a simple bar of soap, square and green. The scent of it was clean, like freshly cut grass. "With them behind me it's been pretty easy."
Briskly creating a rich lather, Sokka raised his hands to the other boy's temples. "There's only been one time that I've had to go it alone, really. Just once."
It was very much like a purr, this delightful, deep throated noise the prince made as fingers other than his own cleansed his scalp.
This prompted an indulgent little smile. Hedonist. "It involved Jet. I guess you've met him."
Zuko's eyes shot open at this, his nod almost imperceptible.
"Another thing that ridiculous play got half assed." Sokka shook his head in disgust. "The nutjob was trying to impress Katara. He wanted to get to a handful of Fire Nation soldiers and didn't care if he needed to sacrifice an entire town to do it. I found out and no one believed me. They thought I was just jealous."
The firebender was watching carefully through hooded eyes.
Sokka continued to work through the boy's tangle of black hair as if his words were no big deal. "Maybe I was but being jealous didn't mean it wasn't true. I hated it. Hated the feeling more than anything. The struggle to keep fighting for something that's right when nobody believes in you. So hard to fight your own doubts when everyone tells you you're wrong"
Cupping the water, Sokka brought up great handfuls over Zuko's head, releasing it slowly to gently rinse the suds away. "That's why when I think about what you've done it blows my mind. On the run from your entire nation. You knew we wouldn't welcome you- might even kill you- but you came anyway because that's what you had to do." He let more water cascade over Zuko. "That's courage."
Gathered up by an unnaturally warm body, Sokka let the air be squeezed from his lungs. Lips murmured an "I love you" that tickled his ear.
They cradled each other in silence as they let the words settle over them both.
