Chapter Text
Although he doesn’t see Sokka for several days, Zuko does receive texts from him. Often he asks for restaurant recommendations near the landmarks in Katara’s itinerary, but sometimes he just sends a picture of something interesting accompanied by a terrible pun. Zuko’s favorite is a video of the ducks at the pond with the accompanying check out my new duck-umentary.
Zuko occupies himself in Sokka’s absence. His editor is also in the process of going through his manuscript, and Zuko has the usual daily chores around the house to take care of. He calls uncle Iroh twice, just for the pleasure of it, and he stays on top of his usual fitness regime. It’s a nice reminder that he can get through the days fine without Sokka around, even if it is a little less fun.
It’s a rare gloomy morning when Sokka finally announces his return.
Sokka: Figures I finally have a whole day free and the weather is shitty. You wanna hang out? (10:17AM)
Zuko has no shame. He answers immediately.
Zuko: Yeah, sure. My place? (10:17AM)
Sokka: Already on my way (10:18AM)
Zuko: Please tell me you’re not texting and driving (10:18AM)
Sokka: Chill, dude. Speech to text. Get the hell out of my lane jackass what are you doing (10:19AM)
Sokka: Ignore that last part. My bad. (10:20AM)
Zuko spends the next few minutes making his way through his list of emails. He is just finishing the last one when he hears Sokka enter the front door.
“Zuko? You here?”
“Upstairs!”
Sokka comes bounding up the stairs. Zuko hears him enter the bedroom as he types out his last few sentences.
“Sorry about that,” Zuko says, shutting his laptop and turning around to see Sokka.
“No worries,” Sokka says, staring out at the horizon. “Man, what a view.”
Zuko frowns.
“You’ve been in here before.”
“Only at night,” Sokka corrects. “When I had to drag your ass to bed.”
“If I remember correctly, you volunteered to carry me every time.”
“That I did,” Sokka says with a cheeky grin.
They watch the moody skies rumbling over the ocean. It may be chilly and rainy, but it does not detract from the beauty of the landscape. After a minute, Sokka starts.
“Dude, we need to talk about this.”
Sokka holds up the binder in his hand. Zuko’s stomach twists into knots.
“You hated it, didn’t you?”
“Hated it!” Sokka shouts, incredulous. “Zuko, this was one of the best books I’ve ever read in life.”
Zuko can’t resist.
“And how many books would that be total?”
“Such a jerk,” Sokka says with a smirk, tossing the binder onto Zuko’s desk. “But I’m serious! It was so good. I didn’t realize it was going to be fantasy, but it felt so real. The plot was fantastic — the war, the Avatar cycle, all the different nations and cultures — but the characters, wow. I felt like I knew them!”
Zuko flushes, his heart bursting with pride.
“You really liked it?”
“I did,” Sokka says seriously. “It was so good. Please tell me you’re making a sequel.”
“I’m getting it signed on as a trilogy, actually.”
“Yes!” Sokka pumps a fist in the air. “Will you tell me what happens in the end? Does the Avatar kill the Firelord? Wait! Don’t spoil it… No, tell me! I have to know!”
Zuko can’t help laughing. Sokka grins at him before leafing through the binder again.
“I couldn’t put it down,” Sokka admits. “Stayed up way later than I should’ve when my dad was in town. Katara was kind of annoyed, but she’ll totally get it when she reads this. Worth the lost sleep.”
Zuko says nothing, his throat too tight to speak.
“And you did a really great job with all the character development,” Sokka continues. “When the Fire Nation Prince was struggling with his sexuality… man, I felt that hard.”
Zuko blinks, his smile evaporating.
“What?”
“It was really realistic,” Sokka adds, flipping to one of the scenes in the middle of the story. “I felt like you were inside my teenage brain.”
“But you’re straight.”
Sokka turns to stare at Zuko, brow furrowed in confusion.
“I’m definitely not.”
“But…” Zuko protests. “But you only ever mentioned ex-girlfriends!”
Sokka goes slightly pink and rubs the back of his head nervously.
“Well, I’ve only ever had ex-girlfriends. It… took me a long time to come out. Lots of internalized bi-phobia and all that. I don’t really have as much experience with guys. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like them.”
“Oh.”
Silence falls between them, and Sokka gives Zuko a wary look.
“Does that… bother you?” he asks.
“No,” Zuko says quickly. “Of course not. I…”
Zuko sees something click in Sokka’s expression.
“You’re not straight either, are you?”
“No,” Zuko repeats.
“Oh. I thought you were.”
“I thought you were.”
Sokka’s laugh rings throughout the room.
“Zuko, I’ve been trying to flirt with you all summer.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really! Why do you think I kept bringing you tacos?”
“Because you like eating tacos and I enabled your terrible eating habits?”
“Okay, that’s a fair point,” Sokka agrees. “But I kept telling you I thought you looked nice, and I was so obvious about hugging you and —“
“You kept calling me ‘dude,’” Zuko says in a pained voice. “You said we were going to ‘bro down.’”
“Two bros can totally be into each other and make out!”
“Can they though?”
“Why not?” Sokka argues. “You don’t like the way I talk?”
“I do!” Zuko protests. “That’s not the problem. I just thought… well, you call everyone dude. Even your sister. I just thought, y’know… you weren’t into me.”
“Zuko,” Sokka says seriously. “You are literally the hottest guy I have ever met. No, really—“ he adds as Zuko scoffs. “Trust me on this one. You are crazy hot. And you’re super generous, and you’ll listen to me geek out about comic books, and you’ll talk to me about feelings and shit. I have had a super massive crush on your all summer and it literally did not occur to me for one second that you might have been interested in me, too.”
Zuko feels slightly taken aback. He’s never been complimented in such rapid succession before.
“All summer?” Zuko asks faintly.
“Yup,” Sokka confirms with a shrug. “Katara kept telling me just to get over myself and tell you how I felt, but…”
He shrugs again, looking down at the floor. Several second pass before he looks up again.
“Um, I can just go…”
“Wait,” Zuko says quickly. “I’m not good with words.”
“I beg to differ,” Sokka says with a frown. “I just read a whole freaking masterpiece that you wrote. This book made me cry, Zuko. When the Water Tribe Princess turned into the moon? Devastating.”
“I’m not good at speaking words,” Zuko amends. “I mean, talking. Whatever. I’m trying to say I…”
He trails off, rubbing his face. He wishes he had a minute to write down his thoughts; there are so many swirling in his head it makes it hard to focus. He takes a deep breath.
“Sokka. I have liked you all summer, too. I assumed you just wanted to be friends, so I was trying really hard not to overstep and do anything… I don’t know, creepy?”
“Dude, for real?”
Zuko huffs a laugh. It always seems so hard to believe that Sokka isn’t a good surfer given that he talks exactly like them.
“Yes, for real. And I kept feeling like such a creep — asking you to come over all the time, offering for you to sleep here — because I thought you just wanted to be my friend while I was secretly hoping that you would just walk up and kiss me.”
“I can do that. But you have to stand up — I’m not kissing you while you’re sitting in a chair. Seems logistically challenging.”
Zuko jumps up so quickly that Sokka takes a startled step backwards and bursts into laughter.
“Man, this whole time,” Sokka chuckles. “We could’ve been making out this whole time.”
“My uncle says that life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to kiss you now.”
“Cool.”
For a moment, Zuko wants to provoke Sokka into saying something else — he can’t have their first kiss be prefaced by the word ‘cool’ — but this reaction is just so Sokka-esque that Zuko can’t help but be charmed by it.
The kiss is gentle and sweet, nothing like the white-hot passion of Zuko’s fantasies. Those daydreams had always ended so quickly, but this kiss holds the promise of something more. Something warm and precious.
Zuko pulls away slightly to make sure Sokka hasn’t changed his mind about the kiss, but Sokka only pulls him in more closely. Zuko smiles against his lips. The kiss heats as Sokka traces his tongue along Zuko’s bottom lip, and he lets out a hum of anticipation. The kiss might not be white-hot yet, but Zuko can tell the potential is there.
A clap of thunder echoes outside, and Zuko and Sokka pull apart, slightly surprised. Sokka’s eyes are as dark as the sea roiling outside, and he pulls Zuko back in for another deep kiss.
“Never made out with someone the same height as me,” Sokka admits. “Way easier on your neck.”
“It does have its perks,” Zuko agrees as he presses open-mouthed kisses to Sokka’s throat. Sokka squirms and Zuko can feel him pressing against his hips.
“I know you said you didn’t have much experience with men,” Zuko says carefully. “I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”
“I don’t,” Sokka pants. “I really, really want to fool around with you, but I, uh... can’t promise I’ll be very good at it. I mean, I’m pretty good at getting myself off,” he adds with a wink.
“Fuck, Sokka” Zuko whispers hoarsely. “Do you know how many times I have imagined you doing that?”
Sokka gives Zuko a cocky grin that drives all his blood south.
“I have spent a lot of time getting myself off thinking about you,” Sokka admits. “Definitely jerked off in your shower more than once. Sorry if that’s not cool, but I couldn’t help it. It was after our workout sessions on leg day. Man, you’ve got a great ass.”
Zuko moans appreciatively.
“Odds are I was jerking off thinking about you at the same time,” Zuko rasps against Sokka’s skin.
“Fuck, please tell me you want to do more than just make out right now.”
Zuko responds by clawing at Sokka’s shirt, which quickly devolves into a mess of hands trying to yank off the other’s clothing. Sokka pulls away after a moment.
“Okay, taking off another guy’s pants is weirdly hard. Everything is backwards,” he frowns. “Can we just take our own clothes off?”
“Sure. And if you’re not comfortable —“
“Very comfortable. Would like to be very naked with you immediately, please, now.”
Zuko snorts and sets about removing his clothes. The hungry look on Sokka’s face mirrors his own. Zuko sets in to kiss Sokka again, and Sokka melts into his arms.
“Katara would kill me if I didn’t do my requisite health inquiries,” Sokka mumbles as Zuko reaches up to loosen his hair.
“I’m all clear,” Zuko says, admiring the way Sokka’s hair slides through his fingers. “And it’s not like I’m seeing anyone else.”
“Okay, same,” Sokka says happily. “I’m going to tackle you onto the bed now.”
Zuko offers no protest and lets Sokka push him down onto the mattress. The feel of Sokka pressed against him is exquisite, the perfect blend of soft skin and hard muscle. There is a sense of danger, of being held down by someone as strong as Zuko himself, but there is comfort, too. Zuko knows that if he wants Sokka to stop, he would without question, but right now he can think of nothing better than this.
Sokka’s groans turn into needy whines as he ruts against Zuko. Zuko finds this hopelessly endearing, and he moves to flip Sokka over onto his back. Sokka stares up at him, wide-eyed.
“Can I suck your cock?” Zuko asks.
Sokka nods fervently but quickly adds: “I, uh, can go down on you, too, but…”
Zukp presses a kiss to Sokka’s temple and smiles.
“Don’t worry about me. I want to make you feel good right now.”
Sokka seems too overcome to say much else, so Zuko works his way down to take Sokka in his mouth. He hums as Sokka groans. Zuko moves up and down, his hand following the trail of his mouth as Sokka’s hands twist in the sheets. He gets lost in the rhythm and sensation of Sokka’s pleasure.
“Can I touch your hair?” Sokka chokes out.
Zuko reaches up with one hand and undoes his own hairband, his inky hair spilling down onto his shoulders. Zuko almost always wore his hair up — it was easier and he actually quite enjoyed his routine of styling it into a top knot in the mornings — but he thinks he might change his style given Sokka’s moan of desire. Sokka’s hands thread through the strands, tugging gently as Zuko nods to give permission to pull a little tighter. Sokka doesn’t ever yank, just teases as Zuko resumes his ministrations. He is achingly hard now, and his hand twitches to touch himself, but he wants to please Sokka first. It will only make it better when he finally knows what Sokka looks like as he falls apart.
“Zuko,” Sokka gasps. “I’m gonna… Oh, fuck, Zuko, gonna make me come so hard…”
Sokka gives a final groan as he spills into Zuko’s mouth, his thighs shaking with his release. Zuko continues to bob his head gently as Sokka spasms. Zuko doesn’t normally enjoy swallowing, but he is loath to leave the bed just yet, so he carefully wipes the back of his mouth and crawls up to kiss Sokka.
“Holy shit,” Sokka breathes. “Zuko, that was… damn.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should,” Sokka says fervently. “That was fucking awesome.”
Zuko flops back onto the bed next to Sokka, hiding his blush by kissing Sokka’s neck.
“So, uh,” Sokka says weakly. “I’d like to return the favor.”
“You don’t have to,” Zuko says quickly. “Seriously, Sokka. I —"
“I want to,” Sokka says, his dreamy expression hardening into resolve. “I just want to give you a head’s up. It’s not going to be as mind-blowing as what you did to me.”
“I don’t know about that,” Zuko says seriously. “I think you might be underestimating just how ridiculously attractive I find you.”
“Oh, yeah?” Sokka says with a cocky grin. “You think I’m hot?”
“I told you that on like, the second day we hung out.”
“Oh, I remember. I’ve thought about that a lot.”
“Then why did you think I wasn’t into you?”
“If I recall,” Sokka says with a haughty expression. “I responded by calling you hot and you didn’t have a response either, so let’s agree we were both equally stupid and just focus on all the sex we’re going to have now.”
“…Okay.”
Sokka’s hands roam down Zuko’s body as he kisses him with increasing intensity. Zuko is gasping slightly as Sokka tugs on him experimentally; Sokka might not be very experienced, but Zuko doesn’t really care very much. He’s usually happy just to get any affection at all, especially if it comes with the promise of more in the future.
Sokka looks nervous as he bows his head, and Zuko almost wants to remind him again that he doesn’t have to do anything, but Sokka’s nerves seem to lessen as he takes Zuko into his mouth. He seems to be testing the waters, slowly trying out various movements and cataloguing Zuko’s responses. Zuko runs his hands through Sokka’s hair. He particularly enjoyed the soft fuzz of Sokka’s undercut and he sighs as Sokka begins to speed up.
It takes Zuko a minute to realize Sokka’s strategy, at which point Zuko’s brain is positively alight with electricity. Sokka’s experiments had been to collect data on what Zuko liked best, and now Sokka was hitting each movement in a rhythmic circuit. Zuko had certainly been with more experienced men, men who knew how to deep throat or perform other handy tricks, but he had never been with anyone who had paid so much attention to him before. No one had ever tried to please Zuko to his exact specifications. It is this thought, combined with the overwhelming physical pleasure of Sokka’s mouth, that takes him to the edge.
He manages to warn Sokka, but the force of his orgasm sneaks up on him. Zuko feels his eyes roll into his head before he can focus on Sokka again.
Sokka stares at him with a strange expression on his face.
“What?” Zuko asks, an edge of panic in his voice. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Sokka says, shaking his head. “Just doesn’t taste like what I imagined.”
“Ah, sorry about that. I wanted to give you more of a head’s up.”
“It’s okay. I wanted to do it,” Sokka says casually. “Wanted to know what it was like.”
“Well, that was, to borrow your expression, fucking awesome.”
“Yeah?” Sokka asks with a grin.
“Yeah,” Zuko confirms. “You have a gift.”
“I was trying to figure out what you liked first,” Sokka admits. “I figured that would be the way to go.”
“You were right,” Zuko says with a smile. “Being a ‘plan guy’ is very romantic.”
“How’s this for romance? I already know where I’m taking you on our first date. If that’s something you want to do, that is,” Sokka adds quickly.
Zuko feels his heart squeeze happily.
“I would really like to go on a date with you.”
“Great! Then I’m taking you to Mama J’s for lunch. No ordering in — you’ve got to meet Mama J herself.”
“I’m deeply honored. Perhaps I should put on something more suitable than my current outfit?”
“Honestly, she would probably be into this. I did tell her you were super hot.”
“…You told the taco lady about me?”
“She wanted to know why I was buying so many tacos!” Sokka protests. “She was threatening to cut me off. So I told her they were for a cute guy and, well, she did promise me if I worked up the nerve to actually ask you out, she would give us a round of tacos on the house.”
“Ah, I see,” Zuko says with a grin. “You’re using me for free food.”
“Yes, that was clearly my plan all along,” Sokka agrees, rolling his eyes. “To seduce you so I don’t have to spend ten dollars on tacos.”
“Is that what I’m worth to you? Ten dollars?”
“Zuko,” Sokka says seriously. “You are worth every last one of Mama J’s tacos.”
“You know what?” Zuko replies. “That might be the nicest thing anyone has said to me.”
“Yeah, I know, I have a way with words,” Sokka grins. “Now come on. Let’s find out if post-sex tacos are better than just regular tacos.”
They drive through the misty, empty streets of Ember Island, an upbeat pop song playing on Sokka’s radio. They don’t say much, but every time their eyes meet, they start laughing. It’s cheesy and ridiculous and exactly as wonderful as Zuko could have ever hoped for.
When they arrive, Sokka points at a large brewery at the end of the block.
“Mama J makes the tacos in there. Usually the lunch rush is kind of crazy, but I bet it’s better today because the weather is bad. Whoa,” Sokka adds, noticing the look on Zuko’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Sokka, did you ever notice what the brewery was called?”
“No,” Sokka says, frowning. “I always just call it Mama J’s but…”
He trails off, noticing the large sign hanging over the sidewalk.
The Stingray
“Oh, Spirits” Sokka says faintly. “It was right there in front of me this whole time. A literal sign. Katara is never going to let me live this down.”
Zuko wraps an arm around Sokka’s shoulders, sighing happily when Sokka turns towards him to return the embrace.
“Would it make you feel better to eat an obnoxious amount of tacos?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, buddy. Let’s get some tacos.”
“How is you calling me ‘buddy’ any less confusing than me calling you ‘man’ or ‘dude?’”
“Because I’ve already had your cock in my mouth, buddy.”
Sokka snorts.
“Whatever, man.”
They confirm Sokka’s hypothesis: post-sex tacos are delicious.