Hey! I'm alive! And I have a new chapter for you!

I wrote the first bit of this chapter a long time ago, pretty much as soon as I finished chapter two, but the majority of it was written within the last month. I found working on this very difficult for a long time and I hated what I had written, but I've made enough edits that I can live with the first chapter (it's only a little bit different I fixed some continuity errors and plain old bad writing, but reread it if you wish). I think that these chapters are getting better as I keep going and this one is my favorite so far.

This website is a bit confusing for me. I'm much more familiar with Archive of Our Own so if you would rather read this story there it's the same title and username.

Anyway, please enjoy the new chapter! If you know me in real life, please be nice.

Sokka's on an unfamiliar boat in the middle of the ocean. Waves bash the sides violently and the wind growls in his ears. The rain leaves dark, ashy streaks on his skin.

He's at the wheel of the ship, tugging frantically, trying to navigate the waves, to no avail. He yells out desperately for someone to come help him, realizing that he is not alone.

A figure stands idly near the edge on the starboard side of the deck. But no matter how loud Sokka shouts, they don't budge. They just stare into the inky water.

The boat rocks harshly without warning, sending the figure overboard and knocking Sokka to his knees.

The figure calls his name wildly over the roaring wind and thunder. And immediately, he knows exactly who it is.

Katara.

He runs to the side searching the foam for his sister, saltwater stinging his eyes and throat. The only light comes from the short bursts of lightning striking the water all around him.

Sokka hears the voice from the opposite side of the ship, but this time it belongs to Aang. Frenzied, he darts to the railing, once again seeing nothing but water.

He then hears another scream from the bow of the ship and this time it's Toph, and then Zuko, and Suki, and his dad, and even his mother in a distant and foggy voice. Not Yue, though. Even his subconscious knows how far out of his reach she is. The voices rapidly morph, taking on the sound of virtually everyone Sokka has ever loved, which is not a short list.

After several, agonizing minutes of hearing the disembodied voices of his loved ones, the voice seems to settle on one person: Zuko.

"Sokka! Help! Help me! Sokka please!" Zuko's voice begs him. Sokka can hear him fighting against the waves.

Sokka doesn't bother trying to shout over the storm; he's already screamed himself hoarse. He just sprints toward the place he thinks the voice is coming from and prays to the spirits he'll hear that voice again.

He scans the water wildly, struggling to make out anything. Just as his panic is beginning to ebb into hopelessness, he spots a pale hand reaching weakly toward him from beneath the waves.

Without pausing to come up with a better plan, Sokka launches himself over the edge of the ship. He's falling and he's falling, much farther than he should be. And he's about to hit the water-

Sokka sits bolt-upright in his bed, disoriented. He's no longer in the middle of the sea, but there's still saltwater in his eyes. He wipes them with the back of his hand, trying (and failing) to regain control of his breathing.

It was just a dream. Zuko's in the room right next to his, probably asleep, if he has any sense. It was just a dream.

Sokka has had more than his fair share of nightmares in his short life, but never anything like this. Usually, his dreams are full of airships and falling and yelling and fire, so much fire. But in this dream, there wasn't even a spark. And this one doesn't fade away into hazy images and a lingering feeling of terror. This one stays sharp in his mind, the shouts of his friends echoing in his ears, as real as the room around him. He considers finding someone- definitely not to talk about his dream- but just someone keep him from drowning in his own mind.

Not too long ago (although it feels like ages), when he would wake up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily, Suki would have been that person. Sometimes they would get out of bed and train together at ungodly hours, or she would grab his shaking hands and guide them to her hips where he could forget about his troubles if only for a little while, or they would just sit in silence. One thing was always the same though: neither of them ever spoke a word about their nightmares, because she got them too. He knew it when she would wake up swinging at the air, mumbling nonsense.

Sokka's pretty sure that Zuko is the only person he would even be able to find in this stupid palace, but he doesn't feel like trying. He looks around the dim room, which is not at all comforting. In Sokka's opinion, it is utterly devoid of personality, like no one has ever slept there before. He's got nothing better to do, so he decides to do his own redecorating. This consists mostly of tearing down the bland curtains and Fire Nation banners and throwing things around until he's satisfied. The room doesn't look better, really, but now it seems far less lonely and foreign.

Sokka spends most of the next few hours laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, not meditating exactly, but definitely trying to keep his mind as empty as possible. He could go out to the courtyard attached to his room that he discovered last night, but that would come with the significant risk of being caught by Zuko who would probably hypocritically lecture him about his sleeping habits.

Right as Sokka thinks he's about to drift off again, a loud knock startles him enough that he tumbles onto the floor. Suki barges in as he's picking himself up.

"Breakfast time," she says without preamble.

"I forgot how kind you are in the morning," he says dryly, tugging on a tunic that he may or may not have not worn yesterday.

"Don't sass me," Suki shoots back fondly. "Are you coming or not?"

"It's like you don't even know me! Of course, I'm coming."

The path to the dining room actually seems less confusing today, so either the palace layout has changed overnight (which he has not entirely ruled out), or Sokka's actually beginning to learn his way around.

Just like yesterday, Sokka sees the Kyoshi Warriors huddled around the table, but today Zuko is nowhere to be found. He's more disappointed than he expects.

"Hey, uh, where's Zuko?" he asks, attempting nonchalance. "Isn't it literally your job to guard him?"

"Breakfast meeting," Suki answers distractedly, filling her plate with fluffy pancakes and fruit. "He doesn't need us all the time, especially in the palace. He's got the regular guards for that. Plus he can create fire whenever he feels like it, so I think he's got himself pretty well covered."

Sokka nods.

"Speaking of Zuko," Ty Lee says, "Iroh's here and he wants to talk to you."

"Me? Why?"

She shrugs, not looking up from her plate. "I don't know, but you're not supposed to tell Zuko."

Sokka gulps. He's never been great under this kind of pressure.

"Where am I supposed to meet him? When? What's this about? Why didn't he tell Zuko he was coming?" He doesn't take a breath once in between questions.

For the remainder of breakfast, he pesters the Kyoshi Warriors for more information about Iroh's surprise visit. He only manages to find out the location: the royal game room.

Zuko pretends to listen as yet another old man drones on about Agni knows what. He's probably arguing against one of the most recent reparation bills that Zuko has proposed. He truly does care about his people and making up for all the terrible acts committed by the Fire Nation, but these meetings are never good for anything.

Zuko really tried to pay attention at the beginning, but now he's just staring at a man who has the longest mustache he's ever seen. Seriously, how is that even possible?

He remembers a time a few years ago where Sokka, at Haru's urging, tried to grow a beard and an (incredibly awful) mustache of his own. Of course, seeing that he was only seventeen, he just ended up looking like a patchy mess. Suki and Katara teased him so much for it that he shaved it off and pouted for the rest of the day. Zuko wonders if he could grow a beard now.

He tears his eyes away from the improbable mustache and his thoughts away from Sokka and lets his gaze wander around the room, deciding it no longer matters if his advisors think he's being rude.

Even after extensive remodeling and the addition of windows, the throne room/meeting chamber still holds the same ghastly energy it did when Zuko was just a boy. Some memories are too saturated to be covered by a new layer of paint.

He lets his mind wander further away from the meeting and the long table that he's somehow at the head of. He lets it wander out to the courtyard, to the fountain with the turtle-ducks that turns pink with cherry blossoms in the spring.

In his head, he sits on the edge breathing in the fresh air without any dark clouds looming in the distance. Back in the council chamber, Zuko's dark clouds almost completely blot out the sun.

"Firelord Zuko!" a minister bellows, snapping him back into the room.

"Yes, Minister Tamura?" Zuko does his best to conceal the irritation in his voice.

"We were just discussing arrangements for your upcoming birthday celebration. Perhaps you would like to weigh in? Seeing that it is your twenty-first and you will be of marrying age, we all see it fit that you begin your search for the next Fire Lady. In fact, many of us think you should have begun it long ago."

Zuko clenches his jaw. He has been dreading this conversation for most of his life. In his younger years, he had mostly resigned himself to the fact that his marriage would most likely be arranged.

For a long time, everyone, himself included, thought that Mai was going to fill that role. At least then, he could be married to someone who actually knew him, actually cared about him. Not long into their relationship, though, it became apparent that neither of them could be truly fulfilled if they stayed together. But, they stayed together anyway and tried to pretend they could ever be more than friends. It put a serious damper on their friendship.

When Zuko finally became Firelord, long before anyone expected, he allowed himself to hope that his marriage could be out of love. At the very least, he hoped his advisors wouldn't make him marry someone he could never have a chance of loving, unlike all of his options so far.

All of Zuko's ministers stare at him expectantly. "I'm sorry, Minister Tamura, but I struggle to understand your and the other council members' desire for an immediate marriage."

"Firelord Zuko," an equally old man, Minister Gao pipes up, "it is not about desire. It is about necessity. You have been permitted to rule without a wife solely because of the dire circumstances surrounding your coronation and your youth at the time."

"Have I not done an adequate job in these past five years?" Zuko demands, his voice tight. He would have a lot more to say if his brain wasn't so cloudy with anger. "I will not marry a woman I don't love just to appease some tradition. It would not be fair to her."

Minister Tamura huffs impatiently. "There are many young women who are eager to marry you."

Zuko thinks of the numerous women who have thrown themselves at him at various social gatherings. He's never understood the novelty of it or liked the attention. He knows those women don't want him; they want the Firelord. He knows that they would be disappointed as soon they get to know him.

"Regardless," Minister Tamura continues, "it is not about love. It is about having some to rule by your side. It is about producing heirs."

Zuko doesn't know if he wants to throw up or set something on fire. Probably a little bit of both. "We can all agree that there are more pressing matters than my relationship status. This discussion can be continued at a later time"

Zuko's voice sounds jarring and foreign to his own ears. None of his ministers dare disagree.

Sokka is thoroughly and completely lost. He's been wandering around for the last hour trying to find the elusive royal game room. Every one of these hallways looks exactly the same, with seemingly identical guards stationed every few yards.

Every minute of circling makes his anxiety worse. He doesn't want to keep Iroh waiting (even though he has absolutely no idea what time they're supposed to meet). After his third pass in the same hallway, a guard finally takes pity on him and gives him an extensive list of directions that Sokka will be very lucky to remember.

He takes maybe thirty different (correct?) turns. The room he ends up in looks like a royal game room if he's ever seen one (which he hasn't obviously.) Sure enough, he sees Iroh sitting at a low tea table humming to himself over a steaming cup of tea. A Pai Sho board is set up in front of him.

Iroh doesn't turn his head but stands up to greet him anyway. "Sokka! It has been far too long!" He pulls Sokka into a crushing hug.

"Yes sir," Sokka says after Iroh releases him, "though I am wondering why exactly you're in the Fire Nation. And why Zuko doesn't know."

"Yes." Iroh nods. "I apologize for all of the secrecy. Why don't you sit down and have some tea? I'll explain everything." He moves to pick up the teapot. "I made Jasmine! It's my nephew's favorite!"

Sokka awkwardly shuffles to the opposite side of the table and accepts the teacup Iroh hands to him. They sip their tea in silence for a few moments before Iroh speaks again.

"I must apologize again for all of the mystery. It was not my intention to cause you any unnecessary anxiety. The situation with my nephew at the moment is very delicate and he does not want my help."

Sokka tenses. "What's going on with Zuko? Is he okay?"

"He is not in any danger if that's what you mean. I'm sure that you have noticed that he's been acting distantly as of late. Much of this, I'm sure, could be attributed to the stressful duties of the Firelord. But I believe he is especially troubled because of his upcoming birthday."

"I didn't know his birthday was coming up." Sokka frowns.

"Do not feel bad: that is by Zuko's design. He has never liked his birthday, even in childhood."

Sokka's frown does not ease up. "Is that why he's upset?"

Iroh shakes his head. "Not quite. You see, Zuko is turning twenty-one." He pauses expectantly.

Sokka just looks confused. "Okay. Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"I'm sorry I have forgotten that you are not familiar with Fire Nation customs. Here, twenty-one is the traditional age of marriage. And those marriages are often arranged, especially for young nobles and royalty like himself."

Sokka's eyes widen. "He has to get married," he says more to himself than Iroh.

Iroh nods solemnly. "Unfortunately. The ministers have put a lot of pressure on Zuko during the last few months and I am sure they will bring it up again today."

"So… what do you want me to do about it?"

"You need to tell him that he doesn't have to go through with it. A marriage like this would not be good for my nephew."

Sokka wonders how Iroh could know all this, but he doesn't doubt him. "Okay."

Iroh smiles slightly. "Remember: I was never here."

Zuko rushes out of the throne room as quickly as possible. He chooses a hallway at random and just starts walking. Zuko expects to brood in a random corner until he can manage a fake smile long enough to find Sokka. He certainly does not expect to run straight into him.

"Woah! Zuko, slow down. Are you okay?" Sokka puts his hands on Zuko's arms, attempting to steady him.

"I'm fine," Zuko snaps, shrugging him off.

Sokka takes a step back and Zuko pushes past him, continuing on his journey toward no particular destination.

"Zuko, wait! What's the matter with you?"

Zuko turns around long enough to deliver Sokka an unimpressed glare.

"Okay, you're right!" Sokka hurries after him. "I'm sorry. I could have worded that better."

Zuko doesn't seem to hear him. He just keeps moving. He manages to glide gracefully while Sokka is nearly sprinting to keep up.

"Can you just slow down so we can talk?"

"What is there to talk about?" Zuko grumbles but stops in his tracks.

"Clearly something happened in that meeting!"

Zuko squeezes his eyes shut. Before he can think of a good lie, Sokka speaks again.

"You don't have to get married."

Zuko doesn't say anything for a moment. He meets Sokka's eyes and returns his look of concern with an icy one of his own. "What do you know?" he hisses.

"I know that your stupid council wants you to get married. And I know that you don't want to. I know that you don't have to go through with it. You can marry someone you love- or you don't have to get married at all! The point is you can make your own choices."

"You don't understand Sokka! I can't escape this. They don't think I can do this by myself! And they'll never let me marry who I want. They want me to produce heirs!" Zuko spits the word out like it tastes bad on his tongue.

Sokka's face contorts in the way it always does when he's trying to figure something out. This time, though, he lacks the usual moment of clarity when it finally clicks. "They're right," he says, finally. "You can't do this alone."

Zuko's face turns red with rage. "What?" is all he can manage.

"You can't do this alone," Sokka repeats, "but you think you have to. You don't. I don't mean that you have to get married; I mean that you need to ask for help from the people whose literal jobs are to help you. And if they won't you need to find people who will. When was the last time any of your ministers actually helped you with anything, instead of just slowing you down?"

Zuko begins to protest, but Sokka cuts him off. "You were barely able to get the Harmony Restoration Movement off the ground! You haven't been able to finish changing the school curriculum to completely get rid of all the propaganda-y stuff. You can't even tell them that you won't marry some stranger!

"Maybe if you fired all the old bigots who haven't quite gotten used to having the word "war" missing from their titles, you would actually get somewhere. There are people who want to help you, but you just won't let them!"

"Sokka! Would you stop telling me how to do my job?" Zuko roars. "You're acting like you know everything and you don't!" Two of the guards stationed near them look very uncomfortable but remain still. "I can't just fire anybody who opposes me. That would make me just as bad as my father or Azula!" Zuko takes a shuddering breath. His voice gets much lower.

"And you're wrong, by the way, I can't get out of this marriage. I don't know who it will be or when, but it's going to happen."

Zuko's honestly not sure if Sokka responds, because he's already walking away.

Sokka feels like an idiot. He's made a lot of stupid decisions and his life and said even more stupid things, so it's not a new feeling. Usually, he can forget about it and move on quickly, but today is different. Usually, Zuko's not the one looking at him like that. With his eyebrows (well, brow, really) knitted tightly together. Liked he'd rather be anywhere than with Sokka.

Sokka doesn't go back to his room. That would mean a much higher probability of running into Zuko than he would like. Instead, he sulks around the palace, earning himself many strange looks from the staff. Somehow, he ends up in a linen closet, laying in a pile of fresh sheets. Normally, he would be more considerate of the maids, but he's too busy wallowing.

Eventually, and very much against his will, he begins to nod off. Sokka's not blest with sweet dreams, of course. He has a nightmare identical to his last, if not for one small detail: the voice doesn't change. It begins as Zuko and ends as Zuko.

Sokka jerks awake with Zuko's cries still fresh in his ears. He rolls over and groans into a very nice silk pillowcase. He stays like that, face down in a heap until someone practically kicks the door open. Suki bursts through the door and hauls him to his feet by his ear.

"Ow! What is wrong with you?" he squawks.

She crosses her arms. "Nothing is wrong with me, Sokka. I'm not the one moping in a closet. And Zuko's running around looking like he's about three seconds away from setting the curtains on fire! What in Kyoshi's name happened?"

She frowns at him in a way that bears an eerie resemblance to Katara. He wants to bury his face in the sheets again. After a few moments with no answer from him, Suki grabs his wrist and drags him out the door.

She barrels past guards and maids alike with Sokka tripping behind her.

"Suki! You're breaking my arm!" he howls.

She doesn't loosen her grip. "I don't care."

With Suki's super-human speed, they make it to Zuko's door in no time. She barges in without knocking, shoving Sokka in ahead of her. Zuko is nowhere to be found.

"Oh looks like he's not here. Time to go now." Sokka says quickly, darting toward the door.

Suki grabs him by the collar. "Nope." She herds him further into the room. "You're going to sit down and wait for him to get back, then you're going to figure out whatever it is that's got you both acting like even bigger idiots than usual."

Sokka knows better than to argue, so he plops himself down on Zuko's bed.

Suki heaves an exasperated sigh. "Okay. I have to go now. There won't be any problems with you trying to escape, right?'"

"No, ma'am."

Some of the tension lifts from her shoulders. "That's what I thought."

She strides out of the room without another word.

There may or may not be smoke coming out of Zuko's ears. He's fairly sure that it's impossible, but at this point, he wouldn't be surprised. He doesn't really know where he's going. His vision is blurry.

After a very pathetic minute of being lost in his own home, Zuko bumps into the very last person he expects to see: his Uncle Iroh.

Iroh doesn't look surprised to see him and he barely does a double-take at Zuko's ragged appearance.

Zuko, however, is pretty sure he's losing his mind. Before he gets his gears turning again, Iroh pulls him into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, nephew. How are you, my son?"

Zuko exhales tiredly.

Iroh nods, always able to decipher Zuko's angst.

"As I expected." Iroh begins to walk away. "Come with me."

His uncle leads him to the seldom-used game room and gestures for him to sit down at the other side of the Pai Sho board. "I never got to start my game with Sokka. Shall we play?"

Zuko jumps out of the seat. "What? You talked with Sokka? When?" Zuko demands as Iroh settles into his chair seemingly unbothered.

"It didn't go well, I take it," Iroh says like that explains anything.

"Uncle, what are you talking about?"

"I asked Sokka to talk to you about the marriage I know your ministers are pushing for. I knew you would not want to listen to me when I tell you it has to be your decision. You know what is good for you and it is not this."

"Since when does it matter what's good for me?"

A frown tugs at the corners of Iroh's mouth. "It has always mattered to me, Zuko. I know I have fallen short in many ways, but I have always cared for your well-being."

Zuko scoffs. "You're probably the only one."

Iroh shakes his head. "No, Zuko. You may be blind to it, but the people in your life love you more than you know. When I asked your friend Sokka to speak with you, he agreed gladly. He did not even know the precise reasoning as well as I do, but he understood just the same: you cannot have an arranged marriage."

"How can you say that?" Zuko snaps. He's exceptionally tired of people telling him what to do. "I can't put myself above the good of my country."

"What is it that makes you think your well-being is separate from that of your country? You are the head of the Fire Nation, both politically and symbolically. Your happiness matters to your people and therefore this nation. Besides, in your case, an arranged marriage would have few benefits outside of tradition." Iroh smirks slightly. "And you have managed to escape the destiny of your ancestors more than most."

Zuko throws his head back with a groan, a concession. "Now what do I do, Uncle?"

"Well, first, I think you should go talk to your friend. I don't imagine you were very kind to him."

Zuko cringes. "No, you're right. Agni, I was a jerk to him!"

"Go," Iroh says, making a shooing motion with his hands.

Zuko leaves his uncle with hasty thanks and runs out the door, the Pai Sho board still sitting untouched.

He has no idea where to begin, but Sokka's room is probably a safe place to start. He finally makes it to the right hallway, his feet guiding him while his mind roams elsewhere.

He skids to a halt in front of his own bedroom door to avoid running right into Mina (two head-on collisions are enough for today.) Before he fully stops, she grabs him by the hand and shoves him into his room, slamming the door in his face. He jiggles the handle, but it's no use, she's locked the door behind him.

He should yell at her. He should bust down the door. But he doesn't do any of that. He just sags against the door frame.

He intends to flop on his bed in a very dramatic way, but when he turns around Sokka is sitting on the bed, swinging his legs nervously. He shoots Zuko a tentative smile.

Oh spirits, he's here to apologize. He thinks this is his fault.

"Wanna go spar?" Zuko asks before he can start, saying the words so fast he wonders if Sokka even hears him.

Sokka looks very caught off guard but gets up to follow him anyway.

Sokka lets Zuko lead him out of the glass door on one side of his room, out to the courtyard. They walk to the far end that Sokka hadn't noticed before. There, he sees a rectangle of hard-packed dirt cut out of the stone, surrounded on either side by a rack of dull practice swords and a charred and slashed training dummy.

"Swords or hand to hand?" Zuko asks, his tone stilted.

Sokka considers for a moment. "Swords," he decides.

Zuko nods once and begins selecting his weapon. Sokka hates to admit it, but he's a little grateful for the distance that this will allow between them.

Zuko chooses a leather-handled longsword and steps away, pulling his hair into a hasty topknot. Sokka searches the rack and eventually opts for a sword nearly identical to Zuko's. He spins it in his grip and assumes his stance across from Zuko in the sparring ground.

Neither of them indicates that they're ready to begin, but both move at the same time. The rhythm of battle begins. They began regularly sparring like this when they were teenagers, so Zuko's patterns are familiar to Sokka. He notices the way Zuko always turns so that Sokka is on his right. He knows that Zuko's eyesight and hearing on his left side are worse than he lets on. If Sokka had to guess, he'd bet Zuko spent a long time retraining his balance as well.

Their swords clash together in short bursts. A slightly maniacal grin appears on Zuko's face and Sokka's sure he's wearing a matching one.

Eventually, both of their tunics end up in a pile on the ground and Zuko's hair is falling out of his topknot. They're both panting heavily, but it's the best Sokka's felt all day.

"I gotta get back to work," Zuko says. His face looks slightly more relaxed, but he still seems tense.

"Ok."

Zuko leaves without another word.

Sokka is left in the courtyard scratching his head. Does this mean they're good?

Sokka obviously has no plans for the rest of the morning (the rest of the day, really), so he just wanders around the palace, snooping around and bothering the staff.

After a very long day of being up to his neck in work, Zuko sits on the bed in his dimly lit room, going over Minister Tamura's official proposal for a royal marriage. It's making his head hurt.

He hears the door creak as Sokka saunters in and plops down on the bed next to him.

"Whatcha reading?" he asks, peering over Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko's instinct is to lie, to clutch the paper closer to his chest, but he fights it.

"Uh… it's the council's official proposal for my marriage."

Sokka looks a little startled and brings his hand to his head. "Oh, spirits! I'm so sorry I told you that you shouldn't get married. It wasn't my place!"

"Sokka." Zuko puts up a hand.

"I'm such an idiot. If you wanna get married, of course, I'll support you."

"Sokka," Zuko insists.

"What?" Sokka shouts, but it's mostly accidental.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You were right."

Sokka blanks for a moment, then a smirk spreads across his face. "Mark the day, folks. Zuko finally admitted that I'm right about something."

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Who are you even talking to?

Sokka, apparently, does not hear him. "I never thought I'd hear those words out of your mouth!"

"Yes, yes, you were right; I was wrong. I'm sorry, I acted like an idiot. Can we please move on now?"

"Alright, fine. What's the plan now? Do I have to beat up some old guys?" Sokka puts up his hands like he's boxing.

"No, but I appreciate the offer. I have no idea what we're going to do, but I know I'm not marrying some random woman."

A bemused expression crosses Sokka's face for what seems like the hundredth time today.

Zuko begrudgingly goes back to reading the scroll in front of him while Sokka pulls a piece of paper of his own out of his pocket and begins scribbling on it. After Zuko can't read the dense document anymore (which does not take very long), he looks up and meets Sokka's eyes. His expression is painfully soft and he scoots closer to Zuko.

"We tried relaxing your way, now it's my turn," he murmurs, his voice low. Sokka pries the scroll out of his hands and sets it aside. Then he reaches up to Zuko's head and gently, almost reverently, smoothes out the crease in his brow. Zuko just stares at him.

Sokka pulls out the pin holding up Zuko's topknot, letting his dark hair cascade down his back.

"Can I braid your hair?" he whispers.

Zuko nods slowly. Sokka runs his fingers through Zuko's hair, carefully splitting it into sections. As he works, Zuko wonders if he learned to do this for Katara and if he did it often. A burst of fondness shoots through him at the thought. He doesn't dare break the silence now, though.

By the time Sokka is finished, Zuko can feel his eyelids drooping. He doesn't think about the proposal now sitting neglected on his bedside table. He doesn't think about the hands on his shoulders, guiding him back into the pillows. He doesn't think about the blanket being pulled up to his chest. He doesn't even think about the strong arms wrapped snugly around him, holding him tight.

Zuko this entire chapter: I will pepper in the fact that I am gay
Sokka, an oblivious idiot: :0

I can't make any promises about when the next chapter will be up, but I've gotten used to writing this every day (during class, on my school device) so hopefully, it won't be unbearably long.

As always reviews and favorites are much appreciated.

Also as always, it's highly likely I will edit this after it's posted.