It's the yells coming from the beach that wake Sokka up, and he groans and rolls over, right into Zuko. In all his firebender-ness, Zuko's already awake, and he takes Sokka's relocation in stride, wrapping an arm around the other man's shoulders and letting Sokka rest his cheek on his chest.
"Good morning," Zuko says, pressing a kiss to Sokka's forehead. Sokka's always a tactile person, but when he's like this, syrupy warm and sleep slow, he sucks up the affection like a sponge, always looking for more. In this case, he tilts his chin up in a request to be kissed fully, to which Zuko obliges.
"Hi," Sokka says when they pull apart, laying his head back onto Zuko's chest. "Are Aang and Katara practicing already?"
"Yeah, they both woke up pretty early," Zuko tells him, looking out the open balcony doors to where their friends are on the beach, splashing each other and play fighting with the help of waterbending.
They've been on Ember Island for almost a week now, all six of them, just taking a moment away from the rest of the world. Iroh is handling the Fire Nation and Suki left Mai and Ty Lee in charge of the Warriors, so nothing was left in anything but the best of hands. Sokka's been going non-stop for a while, and he knows that the rest of them have been too, so this little beach vacation is absolutely deserved.
If it were another day, and Sokka was another person, maybe he'd get out of bed. But today, Sokka's on vacation, and his fiance who's usually up and out of bed at the asscrack of dawn is laying with him, so Sokka maneuvers himself up on top of Zuko and decides that the best course of action is to kiss him stupid.
Zuko grins into it and obliges, making a shocked little noise when Sokka starts to kiss down his neck. "Don't leave marks-" he starts to say, only to be cut off by a pair of lips on his own.
"Katara can heal anything I do leave," Sokka whispers, breath hot against Zuko's skin. "And anyways, it's not like anybody would see it."
"I hate it when you have a point," Zuko mutters, lifting his chin to give Sokka more room to work.
After that, there's not much talking, but Sokka doesn't mind one bit.
~~~
It's the yelling from the beach that wakes Sokka, and he groans and rolls over, smushing his face right into the mattress. For a moment, Sokka thinks about his future, a future where it's Zuko that his face lands on, instead of silky, red sheets. He can hear Katara and Aang training on the beach, Suki complimenting Toph on her sandbending, and Zuko-
Someone knocks on the door. "Sokka, are you up?" Zuko says, muffled through the wood. "I brought you some breakfast, it was getting cold."
"I'm awake," Sokka says roughly, pushing himself up against the headboard. Zuko pushes the door open and then smiles, setting his tray down on the nightstand.
"You look like you slept well," he says, climbing up onto the bed to sit next to Sokka. Zuko reaches over and grabs the tray, setting it on the mattress between them.
"You look like shit," Sokka replies. He's right; the dark circle underneath Zuko's good eye stands out almost as much as his scar, and he looks much wearier than a seventeen year old should be allowed to look.
"Mm," Zuko hums, pouring out two cups of tea. The kettle has gone cold, so he holds his hands up around each of the cups so that he can warm them back up again. "I didn't sleep well," Zuko goes on, leaning against Sokka's side.
"Any particular reason?" Sokka asks, gratefully taking the tea cup that Zuko hands him.
"Nightmares," Zuko sighs. "It's weird being back here, y'know? The vacations that we took here when I was a kid were the only times that it felt like our family was actuallyhappy.But now that we're back here all of those memories come to the forefront of my mind, but then all of thebadchildhood memories come back too, and it's just- I just-"
"It's okay," Sokka soothes, "I get it. I know what you're trying to say." He drains the last dregs of his tea and then sets the cup on the nightstand, waiting for Zuko to do the same before he hauls him into a hug. "Why don't you rest for a bit, okay?" Sokka murmurs, rubbing a hand up and down Zuko's back and urging him to lie across the mattress.
"Sokka, it's the middle of the morning," Zuko protests, although he's already snuggling down into the blankets, using Sokka's lap as a pillow.
"You've already trained Aang today," Sokka whispers, "there's nothing else you need to do. Just take a little rest, and we can spar when you wake up, okay?"
"Okay," Zuko says, finally giving in. Sokka weaves a hand into his hair and combs through the shaggy strands, pausing every now and then to scratch at Zuko's scalp. Eventually, Sokka reaches the hair at the nape of his neck, and frowns at the feeling of the healed brand on the skin there, raised patterns signifying a traitor.
Katara had healed the brand fully once she and Zuko finally started getting along, although it didn't seem like she knew exactly what she was looking at. Aang and Sokka are the only ones who can read the Fire Nation script, and the brand is almost always hidden by Zuko's hair, so Sokka's pretty sure he's the only one who knows what the brand really means.
(He's wrong. Suki spent almost three months in the Boiling Rock, she heard the screams of her fellow prisoners too many times to count. Although she has no concrete proof that Zuko has a brand, she's pretty damn sure that if he does have one, she'll know what it means.)
~~~
There's a little less than two weeks until the comet arrives, and Sokka's already worried out of his mind. If he's not strategizing or looking at maps, he's training with Zuko or Suki, or maybe the both of them at once. Suki teaches him how to use the fans in more complicated ways, and Zuko always has new moves to show Sokka, new ways for him to improve.
Despite all of this, Sokka tends to find himself wide awake most nights, not bone tired like everyone else is. There's always something poking at the back of his mind, and he's gotten so used to sleeping on bed rolls and the hard ground that sleeping on the fluffy, squishy mattress he's been given feels almost suffocating. He also happens to have a room that faces right out at the ocean, which would normally be a nice thing, but in this case it just means that Sokka has to look at Yue for hours on end as he's struggling to fall asleep.
One night, Sokka gets sick of rolling around in bed and he decides to gather up his maps and go down to the kitchen. He grabs a candle off of the nightstand too, and starts down the stairs, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible.
As Sokka rounds the corner into the kitchen, he nearly drops all of his maps. "Shit!" he exclaims, hugging the maps closer to his chest. "Tui and La, Zuko, you scared me."
Zuko shoots him a sheepish smile from his seat at the kitchen table, looking worn through and exhausted. "Sorry," he croaks. "You couldn't sleep either?"
"No," Sokka sighs, flopping down into a chair. "I just feel sorestless."
"I get it," Zuko says, reaching across the table to grab onto one of Sokka's hands. "Why don't we go for a walk in the gardens? They're always really beautiful at night."
"Okay," Sokka says. They walk hand in hand out of the kitchen and into the courtyard, then down towards the little path that runs through the gardens. Occasionally, Zuko tells Sokka about a particular plant, or maybe about a childhood memory, one of the good ones. Sokka in turn tells him about their adventures, the silly little anecdotes about singing nomads and swamp benders.
Eventually, they end up sitting on the ground, leaning up against the ledge of a garden bed. Even though the grounds have been attended to in years, the flowers that were planted still bloom, and little petals tickle Sokka's neck and he wraps an arm around Zuko's shoulders, hauling him in closer.
"I wish we could just stay here forever," Zuko says, nuzzling lightly into Sokka's neck. "Maybe the comet just wouldn't come if we never left, and then we wouldn't have to deal with it."
"I don't think it'd be a good thing to live like this forever," Sokka muses, toying a bit with the hairs at the nape of Zuko's neck.
"Why not?" Zuko asks. "We could just hide away from the rest of the world and never have to leave the gardens ever again."
"If we never leave the past," Sokka murmurs into Zuko hair, "then we'll never get our future."
Zuko looks up at that, staring at Sokka with one big, wide, golden eye, and another squinted milky white one. "Is itourfuture now?" he asks, hands twisting together in his lap.
"It's always been our future, Zuko," Sokka says, grabbing onto his chin with one gentle hand. "We just have to wait to live it."
And really, how can Sokka follow that up with anything but a kiss?
~~~
Zuko's lips are chapped and warm, and his cheek is solid under Sokka's hand. Sokka's other hand is woven into his hair, keeping their lips pressed together.
They stay like that for Agni knows how long, exchanging breaths and little pecks, until the human need for oxygen rears it's ugly head. Zuko pulls away first, resting his head on Sokka's shoulder.
"You good?" Sokka asks quietly, the hand that's still in Zuko's hair raking through it once more.
"Mhm," Zuko mumbles, "just- just having a lot of feelings."
"Oh, sweetheart," Sokka breathes, pressing a kiss to Zuko's forehead. "Okay," he says, "okay, okay, okay, just feel what you need to feel."
After a few more moments, Zuko emerges from his hiding place, his good eye slightly glassy. "Thank you," he whispers.
They sit like that for a while, Zuko burrowed into Sokka's side as they watch the comings and goings of the sea. They really shouldn't be awake this late, because there's training to do and strategies to plan and a battle to win, but instead of worrying about all that, Sokka and Zuko sit in the garden and pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist.
"You know I'm really in love with you, right?" Sokka whispers, still staring out at the water.
"I'm really in love with you too," Zuko replies, smiling crookedly.
Maybe there's still a lot to talk about, but for now, they leave at that.
~~~
He finds her on the beach.
"Zuko's my soulmate," Sokka says, no preamble, no nothing. Katara whips around, her water whip dropping straight back into the ocean.
"Yourwhat?"
"My soulmate," Sokka repeats.
Katara stares blankly at him for a moment, before nodding. "Does he make you happy?" she asks, narrowing her eyes.
"More than anything else in the world," Sokka tells her, and it's the truth.
"Okay," Katara says. She turns back to the ocean and picks up more water, so Sokka starts heading back up towards the house, his back turned towards her. Maybe, they might be expected to talk about it more, but they don'tneed to.Understanding passes between them like flower petals in the wind, and there's no reason to disrupt it.
~~~
(In the end, it's Zuko who tells Aang.
"Me and Sokka are soulmates," he says while they're taking a water break, sitting on the edge of the low wall that surrounds the courtyard. Aang chokes on his sip of water, sputters for a moment, and then airbends himself dry.
"Okay," Aang says tentatively. "Is it- are you-?"
"Yeah," Zuko says, leaning back on his hands. He thinks of the garden and the moon and way too many feelings, and he smiles like the sun. Aang makes a startled noise, as if he's never seen Zuko's mouth make the shape of anything but a scowl, and Zuko chuckles in return.)
~~~
Sokka doesn't need to tell Toph and Suki. They both see, even without sight, that Sokka and Zuko are truly a match made by the Spirits. Suki, in fact, knew about it by watching them escape the Boiling Rock. There are only so many people who's fingers align so perfectly, and for that to happen twice in one day?
That can only be because of destiny.
~~~
"Hey, look you guys!" Aang calls, beckoning everyone over to the steps of the courtyard. "Look at what I found!"
Everyone makes their way towards him, eager to read the paper that he's holding. "What is it?" Katara asks, peeking over Aang's shoulder.
"Somebody wrote a play about us!" he exclaims, turning the paper away from himself so that everyone can see it.
"The Boy in the Iceberg," Sokka reads off, "is the newest play written by the esteemed playwright, Pu-on Tim. This play tells the tale of Avatar Aang and his journeys across the nations, and will be put on this Sunday night by the Ember Island players."
From his seat on the fountain, Zuko groans. Everyone whips their head around to stare at him, and Sokka has to suppress a laugh at the ridiculous look on his face.
"Agni, I hate those guys," Zuko bemoans. "My mother used to take us to see them when we visited here- they butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year!"
"Oh, c'mon Zuko," Sokka chides, "it'll be fun. We can tease each other about shit, stuff like that. And plus, I think all of us need a night out."
"I agree with Snoozles," Toph says. "I'm sick of this goddamn house, and I wanna see how the Fire Nation portrays me. I bet I'm a really buff man."
"As if," Katara sniffs.
"We should go!" Aang says. "C'mon, Zuko, pretty please?"
His grey eyes are as wide as saucers, and, try as he might, Zuko just can't say no. "Fine," he huffs, "but when it sucks, don't say I didn't warn you."
~~~
It sucks. It really, really sucks.
Zuko's kinda snooty about the whole thing, and he wants to act high and mighty about being right, but watching all of his mistakes played out on a stage in front of him kinda stings. There are plenty of inaccuracies (flying rabbit monkey?), and Toph turns out to be right about her character being played by a big, buff guy, but the most horrible inaccuracy by far is when Katara and Zuko find out that they're soulmates.
The actors on stage are sitting in a poorly constructed set, facing away from each other with their arms crossed.
"My mother is dead," 'Katara' says.
"Mine is too," 'Zuko' agrees. Then they turn so that they're facing each other and link hands.
"Prince Zuko," 'Katara' sighs, "it isyou.You're my soulmate."
"I thought you were the Avatar's girl," 'Zuko' drawls.
"Oh, him?" Katara chuckles. "Why, he's like a little brother to me. You, Prince Zuko, are the one I love the most."
"Our future together will be beautiful," 'Zuko' says, horrifyingly monotone. "We will take down the Fire Nation so that I can rule, and you will be Fire Lady at my side."
"Oh, Prince Zuko," 'Katara' murmurs, "I really do find you attractive."
They pull each other into an awkward embrace that's obviously meant to seem sexual, but before it can progress further, Sokka, Toph, and Aang show up on set, Iroh alongside them.
The fight begins, and when it's over, Zuko and Iroh are both hauled off by the Dai Lee. Zuko stiffens in his seat, so Sokka reaches out and grabs his hand, squeezing it tightly. The curtains are drawn as the second act finishes, and it seems like everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.
"I can't believe there's still another act," Suki says, and that sigh turns into a groan.
~~~
"Daddy, Papa!" Izumi screeches, running full speed down the hallway. "Look at what I found!"
Zuko bends down just in time to catch her in his arms before she runs straight past them, straightening up and letting Sokka step closer so that he can wrap an arm around the both of them.
"What'd you find, princess?" Sokka asks, plucking the scroll out of Izumi's hands as she offers it to him. He reads the writing quickly, eyes going wide, and then starts full out belly laughing. Sokka shows it to Zuko, who takes one look at the art and then closes his eyes.
"I thought we got rid of all these?" he asks weakly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Auntie Ty Lee gave it to me!" Izumi exclaims. "She said her sister was the Avatar."
"Hah!" Sokka laughs, "Of course Ty Lee would be the one person who kept this."
"I swear to Agni," Zuko grumbles, "if she has more than one of these I will take it upon myself to burn each and every one of them to a crisp."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sokka says, "I think we should frame it."
"Me too!" Izumi chirps, "Daddy, Daddy can we please? We could put it in your office so that you can look at your friends every single day! And look, Auntie 'Zula is one there too, and so is Grandpa Iroh!"
Zuko is one hundred percent sure that Aang taught Izumi how to do puppy eyes. And, just like Aang, when Izumi's eyes go wide and round, she is absolutely impossible to say no to.
~~~
"You guys, look!" Katara calls out. "I found Zuko's baby pictures!"
"This I gotta see," Sokka chuckles, smiling at the noise that Zuko makes when Sokka makes him lift his head off of his lap so that he can stand. Now that their relationship has progressed into something more real, and now that they know all of their friends are okay with it, they've stopped rolling back the PDA, and in Sokka's humble opinion, any moment that he has to spend without touching Zuko is a moment wasted.
They all traverse over to where Katara is, holding a small portrait in her hand.
"Aww," Suki coos, "Zuko, you were so cute as a kid!"
"That's not me," Zuko says, his brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?" Aang asks, "Those look just like you!"
Zuko shakes his head. "No, that's- those are my father's."
The joy of the situation practically gets sucked up into the hot, tropical air. Sokka steps closer to Zuko, looking at the portraits from the same angle that he is. And now, he sees it; this is most definitelynotZuko.
"What-" Aang sputters, "but- I don't- how isthatthe Firelord. He looks so… cute."
"Yeah," Suki says, "he's just a baby."
"Everyone was a baby once, Su," Sokka says. "He was a baby in the picture, but now he's the Firelord."
"But he's still just a person!" Aang exclaims. "All people deserve to live, and he's a person too!"
"Do you think that really excuses all of the harm that he's done to the world?" Zuko asks coolly. For a moment, Sokka is reminded of the Zuko from months ago, on a hunt to regain his honor. He's changed so much since then, but he's still the same person.
"Of course not," Aang says, "but-"
"Aang," Zuko interrupts him, "we're all just people. Being human doesn't mean that we can't be evil. My father, and his father, and his father before that- they have turned the world into a living hellscape, and you were frozen in time for most of it. We don't have thetimeto spend hours looking through baby pictures or questioning mortality, because there's a comet coming in four days and you need to be ready to fight my father during it."
Aang looks stunned by Zuko's impromptu speech, but then the wide-eyed expression on his face turns sheepish. "That's the thing…" he says. "I actually decidednotto fight the Firelord during the comet."
Sokka watches as all of the color drains out of Zuko's face, making his scar look starker than usual. "You guys didn'ttell him?"Sokka asks incredulously, whipping around to glare at the others.
"We thought you would!" Katara says. "You guys are soulmates, don't you tell each other everything?"
"I thought this was ateamdecision!" Sokka says. "Zuko's part of theteam,so I assumed that you'd run it by him as well! And just because we're soulmates doesn't mean we share every single fucking detail of our lives with each other!"
Zuko still hasn't said anything. He's staring off into the distance, like a poorly staged portrait, and Sokka reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder and snap him back to reality. "Zu," he says, "what's going on?"
Zuko shakes the haziness out of his eyes and goes to sit on the edge of the fountain, head in his hands. Sokka moves to kneel in front of him, reaching out to rest his palms on Zuko's knees.
"You all know," Zuko croaks out, "about what happened the last time that Sozin's Comet came."
"Sozin used it to wipe out the Air Nomads," Aang says quietly, "in the hopes of killing the Avatar."
"Yes," Zuko says, "that's right. During the time that I spent in prison, I overheard a lot of shit. The guards would talk like the prisoners weren't there, or like we couldn't understand them. Most of it was mundane, boring shit, but some of it…"
Here, he trails off. Sokka squeezes his knees as he tries to regain his composure, rubbing circles into the undersides of them with his thumb. Through the gaps in his fingers, where Zuko is still covering his face with his hands, Sokka can see one wide, golden eye, shining with tears.
"My father," Zuko says finally, "is planning to use the comet to burn down the Earth Kingdom. He wants to rule the world, and to do that, well, there'd have to be no world left. That's why youhaveto defeat him during the comet, Aang, because if you don't the world won't be there for you to save, either."
For a moment, everything is silent. Then,
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Aang explodes. "I haven't mastered Earth or Water yet, and I'm hardly evencloseto mastering Fire- I- I'm not ready! Tui and La, Zuko, you should've told us! We're a team!"
"Well apparently, I'm not a part of that team!" Zuko shouts, shooting upright from his seat on the fountain. "I didn't tell you because I thought you were still planning to take him down on the day of the comet! If somebody had askedmeabout waiting until after the comet to attack, then I would've told them about the Firelord's crazy plan and we all would've been more prepared for this shitshow. Instead, it's becomingveryapparent to me that youstill don't trust me."
Then, he stalks off toward the beach house, just like every melodramatic character in every play that Sokka's ever seen, but instead of it feeling overdone and staged, Sokka can practicallyseethe hurt radiating off of Zuko in waves.
"What the hell, you guys?" Sokka spits, turning around to face the others. He opens his mouth, trying to think of something else to say, but he finds that there's nothing there. So instead of talking, he turns on his heel and stalks back towards the house, not sparing a second look back.
~~~
He finds him in the garden.
Zuko doesn't cry much, Sokka has discovered. Whether it's a side-effect of his shitty childhood or a way that he chooses not to express his emotions, he doesn't know, but the few times that Sokkahasseen the other boy cry it's been silent and small, a single tear dripping out of his good eye. This, though- this is different.
Zuko has wedged himself into an alcove, his arms wrapped around his knees. His entire frame is shaking with the force of his sobs, and even though the sounds are muffled into his thighs, Sokka knows that they're enough to break his heart. Every time a gust of wind blows through the gardens Zuko shivers, trying in vain to curl up tighter.
Sokka tries to make his approach as obvious as possible, lest he upset Zuko even more. He settles down next to the other, crossing his legs, and reaches an arm out to pull Zuko into his side, resting his chin atop Zuko's head.
"Hey," he says quietly, and that's all it takes.
Zuko unburries his head from his knees and practically throws himself at Sokka's chest, sobbing and sobbing and sobbing. His hands grapple at the back of Sokka's tunic, looking for something solid to hold onto, and his entire body ends up almost entirely in Sokka's lap, shaking like a leaf in the wind.
"Shh, shh," Sokka murmurs, "there you go, just let it out. I'm right here, love, I'm not going anywhere. You're okay."
Zuko shakes his head into Sokka's chest, but he can't bring himself to say anything. He cries for so long that Sokka wonders if he's ever even cried before, and then he starts to get worried about dehydration.
"Hey, hey, keep it together," Sokka whispers, brushing a bit of hair away from Zuko's flushed face. "You're gonna pass out if you don't drink some water."
Zuko sniffles quietly, then nods. "Sorry," he says after a moment, his voice even raspier than usual. "You didn't have to stay."
"Of course I did," Sokka whispers. "Of course I did. Now, c'mon, let's get you a glass of water and then we can talk about what's got you so upset, okay?"
Sokka stands up and then reaches down to help Zuko to his feet, securing an arm around his waist when he sways slightly. Zuko screws his eyes shut against what Sokka assumes can only be a wave of dizziness- the combination of dehydration and sitting for so long is bound to give Zuko a headache.
They walk together into the house, then towards the kitchen. Sokka can hear Suki and Toph sparring in the courtyard while Aang and Katara go for a swim, so he knows that they should be able to get a glass of water from the kitchen without too much hassle. When they do reach the kitchen, Zuko sits gingerly atop the counter while Sokka fills a cup, and then they go upstairs and into Zuko's bedroom.
Once Zuko's settled against the headboard, surrounded by a mountain of pillows, and Sokka's made sure he drank at least half of the water, Sokka slips under the covers next to Zuko and sighs, drinking in the other's warmth. Zuko sets his glass down on the nightstand and leans into the contact, laying his head on Sokka's shoulder.
"You ready to talk about it?" Sokka asks after a while, rubbing circles into Zuko's collarbones.
"Sure," Zuko sighs. He takes a deep breath, holds it, and then exhales.
"I used to look a lot like my father."
~~~
"I had his cheekbones, I think, and his jawline. My eyes have always been my mother's, though, and she got them from her grandfather. For young boys in the Fire Nation, we keep a phoenix tale, instead of a topknot. Topknots are for when kids come of age. But, anyways, the nobles and servants and shit always told me that I looked just like my father had when he was a boy, and I- I just- that's all I really wanted, I guess."
Zuko stops talking for a moment, so Sokka nuzzles his temple, encouraging him to go on. "Take your time," he whispers. "I'm listening."
"He used to tell me that Azula was born lucky," Zuko rasps. "That she was born lucky, and I- I was lucky to be born."
Sokka makes a wounded noise in the back of his throat and holds Zuko even tighter, pressing kisses all over his head. Zuko curls up tighter, practically in Sokka's lap.
"I hate that Aang has a point," Zuko sniffs. "He's the Firelord, but he's also a human, and he's the Firelord, but that doesn't stop him from being my dad. He wasn't- he was never really a father to me, not in the traditional sense, but he wasn't alwayssobad. I remember, we were here once, and we were on the beach. Lu Ten was teaching me and Azula how to swim in the ocean, and I saw this blowfish-crab about to get picked up by a bird. I dove in to save it, but I really wasn't all that good at swimming yet, so I got pulled under. Everyone but my father was distracted, so he jumped in and saved me."
Zuko sighs. "He's always beenhim,y'know, but that doesn't stop him from being my father. And the idea that he has to die for the world to be righted again- it's just kinda complicated to take in."
"I get it," Sokka says. "Well, I mean, not really, but I can try to understand. Your relationship with your family has always been complicated, and this is gonna fuck it up even more. You're allowed to be scared, and confused, or whatever. You can feel whatever you need to feel."
"Why are you so perfect?" Zuko mumbles. "I don't deserve you."
"Oh, sweetheart," Sokka whispers. "We deserve each other. Isn't that the whole point?"
And maybe Zuko would respond, if he wasn't asleep against Sokka's chest. Sokka just smothers a laugh and wraps his arms tighter around the other, settling down for a nap.
~~~
Mmmmmmmmm... Mmmmmmmmmmmm... Mmmmmmmmm...
The smile slides right off of Sokka's face as he turns the corner, practically running into Aang. Aang is scowling, which immediately sets off at least thirty different alarms in Sokka's head.
"Woah, woah, woah," he says, "what the hell happened to you?"
"Zuko and I got in a fight," Aang grumbles. "He's just so- urg. I can't talk to you about this, you'll just take his side."
"Wait, Aang-" Sokka protests, but Aang has already rounded the corner. Sokka curses under his breath and turns around as well, heading for Zuko's study. If a fight has Aang as riled up as he is now, then Zuko's bound to be at least three times more upset.
Sokka forgoes knocking as he opens the study doors, nodding courteously at the guards as he goes. Like he suspected, Zuko is sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands, silent tears running down his cheeks.
Sokka hurries to the other side of the desk, crouching down beside Zuko's chair and gently prying his hands away from his face. He wipes the tears from Zuko's unscarred cheek and then kisses his hands, which are salty from tears.
"What happened?" Sokka whispers. Zuko looks up at him, cheeks blotchy with emotion, and sighs.
"It's stupid," he sniffs. "Really, it's-"
"Hey, hey, none of that," Sokka interjects, "if it's upsetting you like this, it's important."
"It's just-" Zuko mumbles, then takes a deep breath and clears his throat. "Aang keeps pressuring me to finish the new school curriculum, and he's right, it does need to be finished, but it's taking so damn long, and it's not my fault. But Aang won't bother the Minister of Education, or the Chancellor of Finances, or Ambassador Chua, who was supposed to get me the goddamn research on the Earth Kingdom Tribes months ago. He just keeps bothering me."
Sokka huffs out a breath and presses a kiss to Zuko's forehead, considering. Zuko is Sokka's soulmate; they have a connection that's unlike anything else in the world, as do every other pair of soulmates out there. But Zuko and Aang- they're best friends, a different kind of soulmates in their own right. They're all close, of course, but Zuko and Aang are closer with each other than they are with anyone else, which means that when they fight, it digs down deeper.
But, they're Zuko and Aang. It'll all work out in the end.
"You'll be okay," Sokka murmurs. "You just need to tell Aang what you just told me. He'll understand, Zu, I promise."
"Are you sure?" Zuko asks, looking up at Sokka with those heartbreaking, wide eyes.
"Of course, sweetheart," Sokka whispers. "Of course I am."
~~~
It's three days to the comet, and Aang is gone.
Sokka and Appa land on the beach, and he scowls at the sight of everyone else's disappointed faces. "I take it that none of you found Aang either?"
"Nope," Toph says. "Twinkle Toes is gone."
"We don't know that!" Katara protests. "He has to be somewhere."
"I didn't mean he was dead, Sugar Queen," Toph says. "Quit jumping to conclusions."
"I feel like now really isn't the time for arguing," Zuko interjects weakly. "If Aang isn't on Ember Island, then he must be somewhere else. So, we have to find him, preferably before my father burns down the Earth Kingdom."
"Zuko's right, you guys," Sokka sighs.
"So?" Toph asks, turning toward Zuko with her hands on her hips. "What's the plan, Sparky?"
"What?" Zuko exclaims. "Why're you asking me?"
"Hate to break it to you babe, but you're kinda the resident Avatar hunter of the group," Sokka says, playfully elbowing Zuko in the side.
"What?" Zuko says again. Then, "Wait, did you just call me babe?"
"C'mon, lovebirds, we don't have time for this," Toph groans. "Sparky, Snoozles is right. You have the most experience in hunting Aang out of all of us. So. What's the plan?"
Zuko looks like he considers it for a moment, and then a crooked grin cracks across his face. "We need to get to the Earth Kingdom. I know a guy."
~~~
June is maybe even scarier now that she's on their side.
As they walk into the bar, she throws a man over her shoulder, elbows another in the spleen, and catches her teacup without spilling a drop.
"Remind me again why we're in a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern?" Katara asks, as if it's not already clear.
"June," Zuko says.
Toph's face lights up with glee. "I don't know who this June lady is, but I like her."
June herself takes a sip of tea and sighs, apparently noticing their group as they start to walk towards her. "Oh look," she says, "it's Prince Pouty. Where's your smelly grandpa?"
"I'm not a prince anymore, actually," Zuko says, plopping down into a seat. "And he's my uncle, not my grandpa."
"Sure, kid," June sighs. "What do you want?"
"We need your help finding our friend," Katara tells her. "He's missing, and Zuko said you'd be able to help us find him."
June hums, taking a sip of her tea. "Okay," she says, "let me get this straight. From what I heard, you turned traitor, went to prison, busted out, and joined the Avatar. Now, you've lost the Avatar and you need me to find him again?"
"Yes," Zuko huffs.
"And you've worked stuff out with your girlfriend, I take it?" June adds, gesturing to Katara.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Zuko protests, overlapping with the sounds of Katara's own upset.
"He's my boyfriend, actually," Sokka smirks, wrapping his arms around Zuko's shoulders. Zuko pretends that he's annoyed, but Sokka feels the way he relaxes into the contact. June's eyes soften imperceptibly, and then she looks away.
"Okay then, lovebirds," she says. "I'll help you find the Avatar."
They all head out to the stables, where Nyla, June's shirshu, is napping. June lures her out with a piece of meat and then Katara gives June Aang's glider, which she holds under the shirshu's nose. Nyla sniffs it and paces around for a while, before whining and laying her hands over her snout.
"What does that mean?" Zuko asks, his hands curling into fists by his side. Sokka wants badly to rub his hands up and down Zuko's arm until he relaxes, and then twine their fingers together tight, but he knows that now is not the time.
"It means your friend's gone, buddy," June says, clasping her hands together.
"What do you mean, he's gone?" Sokka asks. "Like, he's dead?"
"No," June sighs, "we'd be able to find him if he was dead. He just doesn't exist anymore. A real head-scratcher. Sorry, better luck next time!" She turns to go back into the tavern, but Zuko calls out.
"Wait!" he says. June turns, hands on her hips. "Wait, I know someone else who could help us."
June takes in a breath of air, looking up towards the sky. She exhales, looking back toward them. "Alright, Princy-poo. Show me what you've got."
~~~
They land near the breach in the wall of Ba Sing Se, and decide to set up camp for the night. Katara and Suki settle on top of Appa, Toph makes herself a rock tent, and Zuko and Sokka curl up on Appa's tale, bundled underneath a few thin blankets. Zuko's made himself into a ball of limbs and nervousness, hugging his knees to his chest, so Sokka wraps around him from the outside, as if his body is a shield.
"You okay?" Sokka whispers, nuzzling into the soft hair behind Zuko's ear.
"No," Zuko whispers back. "Sokka, I'm really scared."
"What for?" Sokka asks. "We're going to see your uncle, Zuko, no one's gonna hurt us here. We're safe."
"He won't want to see me," Zuko insists, flipping over so that his forehead is resting on Sokka's collarbones. "The last thing I did to him was send him to prison, and then I wasn't even quick enough to bust him out. I- I'm just- he'll be disappointed."
"Zuko, what?" Sokka asks, incredulous. "He went to prison and you did too. You both went to prison for a good deed, and the last time he saw you, you made a choice that changed your life for the better. He has no reason to be disappointed in you."
Zuko makes like he's about to respond, but then the ground starts rumbling beneath them. Sokka curses under his breath as he shoots up and draws his sword- is it really so much to ask for a good night's sleep?
~~~
Sokka walks with Zuko to Iroh's tent, gripping his hand as he hesitates before the tent flap.
"You have nothing to worry about," Sokka whispers, drawing Zuko close. He wraps his arms around the other and presses a kiss to Zuko's forehead, and when he pulls away Zuko drops his face into the crook of Sokka's neck.
"Sokka, I'm scared," Zuko whimpers, his voice cracking on the last word. He sounds every bit seventeen and nothing more, and it makes Sokka's heart break, just a little bit.
"There's nothing to be scared of, sweetheart," Sokka murmurs. "I'll wait out here the whole time, okay? I'll be right here."
"Okay," Zuko whispers. "Okay," he says again, sniffling a bit. He pulls away from Sokka's shoulder and tilts his chin up, so Sokka closes the small distance between them and presses their lips together. It's short, sweet, but it's become a familiar comfort in the past few days, so Sokka lets it linger a moment longer. When they pull apart completely, Zuko squeezes his hand, so Sokka squeezes back. Then, Zuko's slipping through the tent flap, out of sight, and Sokka settles down on the ground to wait.
~~~
He must doze off at some point, because Sokka blinks awake to the sight of Master Piandao looming above him.
"Master," Sokka says, scrambling to his feet. He scrapes together a messy bow, wincing at his own improper etiquette.
"Sokka," Piandao rumbles. "Please, there's no need for such ceremony. I'm here so that we can talk as equals."
Sokka clears his throat, making an effort to stand up straighter. "Of course, Master."
"I'd like to thank you," Piandao says, drawing Sokka up short.
"For what, Master?" Sokka asks. "If anything, I should be thanking you."
"No, no," Piandao says, "I owe you a great debt. Sokka, if you hadn't come and trained under me, I may have never reconnected with my soulmate. It'd been too many years, too many decades, since the two of us had last spoken, and the time that you spent with me helped me to realise that we drifted apart for no good reason in the first place. Recently, we've gotten back in touch, and I have you to thank for it."
Sokka opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. He imagines that he must be putting on a good impression of a floundering fish. "You're welcome, Master," he says after a moment. "I had no idea that I had that impact on you."
Piandao nods, and they stand in silence for a moment, long enough that it's starting to become awkward. Then, Piandao says, "Prince Zuko spent many months at my estate. I know him well." Sokka nods, because he doesn't know what else to do. "His soul is fragile, Sokka, but I trust that you can treat him well."
With that, Piandao bows, so Sokka bows back. Then, the old master is walking off into the darkness, and slipping into a tent that Sokka is quite sure he saw Jeong Jeong ducking into just a few hours before.
~~~
The sun is nearing the sky when Zuko finally ducks out of Iroh's tent, tears etching a path down his cheeks but a smile on his face nonetheless. Sokka shoots up from where he was half-asleep on the ground, a tentative grin making it's way onto his own face.
"It went well?" he asks, reaching out for Zuko's hand out of pure instinct.
"So well," Zuko responds, and they fall in step together, making their way through the campground. Sokka leads them to the tent that he claimed as his own earlier in the evening, and they settle down on the same bedroll, curled together.
"Nothing I need to know about?" Sokka murmurs eventually, half asleep again and nuzzling into Zuko's throat.
"No," Zuko sighs. "It went perfectly."
"Good, sweetheart," Sokka sighs. "That's so good."
~~~
"Uncle, you're the only person other than Aang who can defeat the Fatherlord," Zuko says during breakfast, when everyone's sitting around the campfire. "It has to be you."
"No, Zuko," Iroh insists. "If I take down Lord Ozai, then history will see it as a move made in vain, a brother killing a brother in a grab for power. It is my destiny to work with the Order of the White Lotus and reclaim Ba Sing Se for the Earth Kingdom."
"And then you'll take your rightful place as Firelord?" Zuko asks. He sounds painfully hopeful.
"No, Zuko," Iroh says again. Zuko visibly crumbles. "It is you who must become Firelord. It is your destiny."
Sokka takes a seat next to Zuko on the ground, raising an arm for the other to curl under. Zuko does so with a disappointed sigh, tucking his chin into Sokka's shoulder. "C'mon, Zuko," Sokka murmurs, "we both knew this was gonna happen."
"In the future," Zuko huffs. "The far future."
"The future is upon us," Iroh says. "As is our destiny. Zuko, you must go to Caldera City and defeat Azula. Master Katara will go with you."
"What about us?" Sokka asks, looking up at Iroh over Zuko's head. "What's our destiny today?"
"Sokka, you, Toph, and Suki must go to the airship base that the fleet will be taking off from," Iroh tells him. "It is located on the shores of the Earth Kingdom, about a day's journey from here. You three must take down the fleet while Aang fights Firelord Ozai and Zuko and Katara take down Azula. Then, the White Lotus will liberate Ba Sing Se, and the war will end with the comet."
Sokka nods. They all finish eating breakfast and then prepare to split up, and as Sokka finishes packing up his tent he sees Katara by the campfire, filling up her waterskin. He walks toward her, sitting down on a log by the fire without saying a word.
"Be careful, okay?" he whispers after a moment, staring into the dwindling flames.
"I will," Katara says simply, "and you'd better be careful as well. I want everyone home in one piece."
"Okay," Sokka croaks. Katara drops her waterskin, heedless of the water that spills onto the ground, and pulls him into a fierce hug, her nails digging into the back of his tunic.
"I love you," Katara chokes out. Sokka feels the wetness of tears hitting his shoulder, and tries to keep back emotions of his own. "Please, try not to die. And try to keep Aang from dying while you're at it, yeah?"
"Yeah," Sokka huffs brokenly, clearing his throat in vain. "Yeah," he says again, "Katara, I love you too. So much. And please, please, just- don't let Zuko be the hero, will you?"
"I will," Katara says. They hug each other for a moment more, reluctant to let go, but eventually they do. Sokka wipes his eyes and holds his arm out, and Katara sniffles but takes it. They clasp hands, forearm to forearm, and then they part.
~~~
Sokka's pacing through the campsite, fiddling with his boomerang, when a warm hand clasps around his shoulder. He turns, only to be pulled into a hug, nearly breaking his nose with how hard it smashes into Zuko's head.
"Hey," Sokka croaks out, wrapping his arms tight around the other.
"Hi," Zuko whispers in response.
"Do you really have to go?" Sokka asks. He knows it's childish, but he wants and he wants and he wants, recklessly, for Zuko to stay.
"I do," Zuko says. "I don't want to, but I do."
"Please, be careful," Sokka whispers. He inhales the familiar smell that wafts from Zuko's hair; jasmine tea and ash and heat, and a little bit of something that's just Zuko. "You're not allowed to die, okay? We need our future."
"I won't die," Zuko promises, "I'll be careful. You have to be careful too, m'kay? I just- I love you, Sokka, you know that, right?"
Sokka huffs out a breath, ruffling Zuko's hair. "Yeah," he breathes, "yeah, sweetheart, I know that. I love you too."
They hug like that for a while, as if the world isn't spinning around them, and then Sokka grabs onto Zuko's chin and tilts his face up so they can kiss. It's tame, mostly just a meeting of lips, but Sokka tries to pour as much of himself as he can into it, lest it be their last.
When they part, Sokka kisses lightly around the rest of Zuko's face, ending with a kiss to the ridges of his scar. Zuko sighs and sags in Sokka's arms, pressing one last kiss to his lips before they pull away.
"Be safe," Sokka says, "I love you."
"I love you too," Zuko tells him.
It's enough. It has to be.
~~~
In it's own, twisted way, the comet is beautiful.
It flares across the sky in a burst of color, and if Sokka wasn't so distracted with planning an airship slice then maybe he'd take more time to appreciate it. As it is, Sokka's heart is in his throat and as he, Toph, and Suki look on, Aang comes into view.
"He came back," Suki breathes, clutching tightly to Toph's arm. Toph's fingers are curled into the fabric of her tunic, and the easy affection, the clinginess between soulmates, it makes Sokka ache for Zuko, just for a moment.
"Of course he did," Sokka grins. Despite everything, seeing Aang makes him smile.
~~~
There's a moment, when Sokka thinks that Suki has died. He watches half of the airship fall away and he cries out in anguish, because that's his best friend, his best friend, and now she's-
"Sokka, you have to keep going!" Toph calls out. "She's not gone, she'll come back! I know it! C'mon, we need to keep going!"
Sokka shakes his head (how could he have forgotten?), and then they continue. Not for long, though, because they're just two kids against twenty Fire Nation soldiers, and Toph can't see outside of the airship, and Sokka's got nothing but a sword and a boomerang, so they end up falling before Sokka catches them on another airship.
He chucks his sword at one soldier, then his boomerang at another, and then all that's left is him, hanging there and holding onto Toph for dear life.
"I don't think boomerang's coming back, Toph!" Sokka calls. Is he imagining it, or are Toph's fingers slipping through his?
For a single, horrifying moment, Sokka thinks he's going to die.
Boomerang doesn't come back, but Suki does.
~~~
(Katara's acting frantic, like she thinks Zuko's going to die. Zuko, on the other hand, is perfectly calm.
"Katara," he croaks, looking up at her teary face, "Katara, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere."
"Zuko- Zuko I can't- you don't know that!" she stutters. "I promised Sokka that I'd keep you safe."
"And I promised Sokka that I'd keep you safe," Zuko tells her. "I'm not going to die, Katara."
"How can you be so sure?" Katara demands. Her face is illuminated by the blue light of her healing water, not the golden glow of the sky. The comet is gone now, ashes left in it's wake.
"There's still the future," Zuko says. "There's always gonna be the future.")
~~~
Sokka sees Katara and throws himself at her, broken leg be damned. She catches him with a sob, holding on tight.
"Are you okay?" he gasps, not letting go of her even to look for injuries.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm not even scratched," Katara gasps out, grappling with the back of his tunic. "Sokka, what the hell happened to you?"
"We went airship hopping, it's just a broken leg," Sokka says, "it's no big deal. I'm still alive, we're all still alive."
He pulls away from her, and Aang takes his place in a flash. Sokka turns away out of respect, letting them have a moment between each other. Suki appears by his side, letting him lean into her, and Toph is there as well, still gripping onto Suki's bicep like she's been doing since the blue light overtook the orange.
When Katara and Aang part, Katara leads everyone to a bedroom, where she says Zuko's resting. "He… listen, guys, he got hit pretty hard," she tells them, hesitating outside the doors. "I don't know if he'll be awake."
"Katara, what happened?" Sokka asks, his brow knit.
Katara swallows. "Azula used her lightning," she says. "She was aiming for me," she says. "Zuko caught it," she says.
She says and she says and she says, but Sokka doesn't hear. He doesn't hear past lightning, and then he's running as best as he can, ripping away from Suki's hold and tearing the door open to see Zuko, his Zuko, laying pale and small in a palatial bed.
"Oh, Yue and La," Sokka mutters, freezing in place. He barely notices the way that Suki slips her arm back around his shoulders and guides him to the bed, but at some point he finds himself sitting against the pillows, Zuko's clammy hand resting in his own. Aang and Katara go to put Ozai in the palace dungeons, and Suki and Toph say something about finding extra beds, but then it's just Sokka, and Zuko, and silence.
Tears drip silently down Sokka's face. One of them slips off the tip of his nose and catches in his cupid's bow, and it tickles but Sokka doesn't itch it. He feels like he's paralyzed. This isn't the end, he knows that, but everything is making it look like it is, and if it weren't for the occasional wheezing breath then he wouldn't know that Zuko is even alive.
But he is. He has to be. Because there's still the future.
~~~
Sokka watches with mournful eyes as a guard strikes a training dummy in the courtyard, his fingers aching at his side. All he wants to do is train, go out there and hit something with his sword, grind the hilt of it against his calluses until they burn and burn and burn, but he can't because his stupid leg is acting up again.
The council meeting was a mess today, and Sokka's got enough pent-up anger to kill a man, but it's hard enough for him to walk right now, what with the way pain is shooting up and down his thigh. He refuses to use the cane that Katara gave him- he won't, he's twenty seven, not seventy two- and he's trying his hardest not to limp as he walks back to his quarters. It's working quite well, actually; no one who doesn't know him well will notice that something is wrong, and he'll make it to his quarters no problem, easy peasy, as long as nobody stops him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, walking around without your cane?"
Aaaaaaaand, busted.
Sokka stops walking with a sigh, refusing to look behind him. A warm arm comes and wraps around his waist, taking some weight off of his leg and squeezing at his hip bone. "Hello to you too, darling," Sokka sighs, begrudgingly leaning into Zuko's warm side.
"You idiot," Zuko spits, not unkindly, "I could see you limping from a mile away. Are you trying to hurt yourself?"
"Zuko, I'm just trying to walk back to our rooms, it's really not that far," Sokka protests, holding back a groan as they start walking again. "What was I supposed to do, have someone bring the cane to me?"
"I would've gotten it for you, Sokka, you know that," Zuko sighs. "I don't like it when you're in pain."
Stupid Zuko and his stupid emotions, making Sokka feel stupidly guilty. "I know, sweetheart," he says. "I'm sorry."
"I know you are," Zuko says. "You don't have to be. C'mon, I'll walk you back to our rooms and make you some hot towels, that should help with the pain."
Sokka grins. "Has anyone ever told you that you're the best?"
"You, once or twice."
~~~
Sokka must've drifted off at some point, because when he wakes the room is dark, and there's a head resting on his shoulder. He can see the outline of two beds placed haphazardly in the free space of the room, Toph and Suki silhouetted in one, Aang and Katara in the other. Zuko's warm breath is gusting onto his collarbone, a thousand comforts all at once.
The sound of lip smacking draws Sokka out of his head, and he looks around to see, well, nothing really. It's still dark, but the noises sounded like they were coming from close by, so Sokka tilts his head down as much as he can and catches a glimpse of light.
"Sokka?" Zuko croaks out, his face blurry in the darkness.
"Zuko," Sokka breathes, "oh, thank the Spirits. You're okay."
"Yeah, idiot," Zuko chuckles quietly, "of course I'm okay, your sister healed me. I woke up for a bit a while ago- your leg?"
"It's broken," Sokka tells him, "but it's really not too big of a deal. It'll heal easily. You, on the other hand, got hit by lightning. Care to explain? Because I could've sworn that I told you to be careful."
"You also told me to keep Katara safe," Zuko mumbles, already half asleep. "I had to listen to one of them, and keeping her safe was much more realistic than being careful."
"Whatever you say, babe," Sokka sighs. "Get some sleep, alright? I love you."
"Love you too," Zuko whispers, and then he's out like a light.
~~~
Sokka sees them from down the hall, standing out just as starkly as he does in their Water Tribe blues. Bato towers over his Dad just like he always has, but Sokka himself is approaching Hakoda's height, and the distance between himself and his step-dad doesn't feel as far as it once did.
"Sokka," Hakoda says. The sound of his voice is like coming home.
"Hi Dad," Sokka says as he reaches them. It's slow going with his crutch, and as much as he'd like to throw himself into their arms he can't. Instead, he practically falls into Bato's chest and lets Hakoda wrap his arms around the pair of them, and they stand like that for a moment, catching their breath.
Sokka doesn't know when exactly he started crying, but it seems to have happened and he can't make it stop. Bato and Hakoda don't protest, in fact they only hold him closer, and Sokka blubbers and sobs about Tui knows what.
(It must be something about this hug, being protected instead of being the protector. Even if Sokka can let his walls down when he's around Zuko, he feels the necessity to be the parent of the group, to make sure that Aang eats and Toph sleeps and Katara takes a break. It's different with Zuko and Suki, but also the same in a way.)
"-this is ridiculous, and I don't know why I'm even crying, and I shouldn't be bothering you with this and I'm sorry," Sokka says, muffled and mangled and probably inaudible.
"Sokka, it's okay," Hakoda chuckles, squeezing him tighter.
"Zuko's my soulmate," Sokka says, because apparently he has no fucking filter when he's crying.
"We know, son," Hakoda tells him. "It's okay. It's okay."
Sokka stands there and he cries and he's okay, because for once he's being hugged instead of doing the hugging, and he's in his fathers' arms, and he's okay.
~~~
On a balmy summer's day, in the middle of a volcano, Sokka stands and watches his soulmate get crowned as the Firelord. That, for one, is something that Sokka from a year ago never thought he'd experience.
Zuko gives some speech about growth and peace and a new era, but Sokka isn't really listening, he's just watching. Zuko looks old and young at the same time; the Firelord's crown belongs, in Sokka's mind, to the Zuko of the future, but the youthful smile and messy hair belongs to the Zuko of now. In reality, though, Sokka knows that they're just the same person.
The coronation ends and the party after it drags out for hours, until the sun has sunk down low in the sky. Sokka barely gets a moment alone with himself, let alone with Zuko- apparently, everyone and their ostrich horse wants to talk to the teenage war heroes. Eventually, though, his arm starts aching from the weight of his crutch, so Sokka slips away from the party and into the palace, towards the bedroom and he and Zuko have been sharing these past couple weeks. When he gets there, the door is already open, so Sokka hopes against hope that maybe Zuko has beat him to it.
There's no one in the bedroom though, so Sokka sighs and hobbles his way into the bathroom, washing up for the night and changing into a lighter tunic. When he emerges, the balcony doors have been opened and there's a light breeze flowing through the room and a figure leaning against the railing, swathed in red and gold. Sokka props his crutch up next to the bed and hobbles to stand next to Zuko, leaning his head onto the other boy's shoulder.
"Hi there," Zuko says. He's taken off his pointy Firelord armour and is dressed down in just a tunic and pants, so his shoulder is soft and warm and just perfect for Sokka to be laying his head on.
"Hello, sweetheart," Sokka murmurs. "Did you like your party?"
"Not in the slightest," Zuko sighs. "I'd much rather have spent my evening with you. I'm sure this Firelord business is gonna be all parties and meetings and generally unpleasant things."
"We'll make it pleasant for each other, baby," Sokka says. "We can gossip after meetings and dance together at parties, all that good shit. It'll be fun."
Zuko turns toward him, his tunic ruffling in the breeze. "You don't have to stay," he says. "Please don't feel like you have to stay just because I want you to."
Sokka smiles softly at him, reaching out to pluck the crown from his hair. Zuko lets him, and Sokka sets it aside so that he can run his fingers through the soft locks, tucking some strands behind Zuko's ears.
"Zuko," he says, "I'm staying for me. Not for you, or for anyone else. I'd go home if I wanted to, I promise, but what I want right now is just to be with you."
Zuko huffs out a breath like he's about to protest, but in the end he says nothing, just
smiles. They stand on the balcony for a while longer, swathed in dusk and gold and warmth, untl Yue starts rising in the sky. That's when Zuko slips under Sokka's arm and supports him as they hobble towards the bed, and then they slip under the covers and situate themselves until they're comfortable.
"I love you," Zuko says, his breath tickling the skin of Sokka's neck. "I love you," he says again, "so, so much, Sokka."
"I love you too," Sokka says, once, in every dream, in a thousand lifetimes.