Chapter Text
For a moment Wing didn’t react at all he was so surprised. Hasook had called him a creep only earlier that evening. There’d been nothing intimate about what they’d just done, either; just two guys trying to get off and blow off some steam after a strange, stressful day. Wing probably could have been anybody. Or so he’d thought.
That line of thinking lasted approximately .5 seconds.
Wing leaned into the kiss. It wasn’t quite like what they’d shared earlier that week, but then again considering Hasook had thought he was his brother maybe that was okay. This was new. New was good. Or at least, Hasook hadn’t called him Wang yet.
Hasook broke the kiss first. “Is that okay?” he asked.
“Would I have kissed back if it wasn’t?”
“I actually have no idea. From the sound of it you fucked half of Zaofu this week. So maybe? I don’t really know you.”
“Do… do you want to know me?” Wing couldn’t quite bring himself to meet the other man’s eyes. Hasook wasn’t wrong. He’d had a lot of sex lately. Probably too much. So it was awkward to admit that in spite of all that the waterbender was the only person he’d actually kissed and, until a minute ago, that had been by mistake.
Hasook smiled a little. “I’m still figuring that out I guess. It’s been a strange couple of days.”
“I’ll take it.” Wing returned the smile. “Pull your pants up and sleep on it. You know where I live.”
Hasook laughed at that. He had a nice laugh, rough and throaty. “Works for me. See you around?”
“Yeah.” Wing stood and pulled up his pants. Hasook did likewise. Then he furrowed his brows, looking slightly puzzled.
“Oh, right,” he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small black box and a gleaming loop of metal. “I almost forgot. What do I do with this shock collar thing?”
The next morning Wing walked down to the guest room President Raiko had shared with his wife. According to his mother she’d left in a huff after the broken window incident had gone mostly unpunished. So much the better. He knocked.
President Raiko opened the door in a deep purple dressing gown. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Wing,” said Wing with a smile. “I was kidnapped along with Hasook and Prince Wu last night.”
“Ah,” said Raiko. “Well, that’s none of my business. Now, I’ve got a summit to attend.” He started to close the door.
Wing stopped it with one hand. “Not yet. I heard you’re not prosecuting Varrick and Zhu Li? Even though they clearly hired those goons to kidnap and blackmail Prince Wu? Zhu Li even tied us up.”
“It’s out of my hands,” Raiko said briskly. “International incident. If they’ve skipped town there’s nothing I can do.”
“They’re UR citizens."
“I don’t have to explain myself to you, boy,” he snapped. “Extradition is incredibly unpopular. Rally ‘round the flag and all that, and I’ve got an election coming up. And Varrick Industries is a major contributor to the economy. Not to mention that fucking harebrained train thing General Iroh keeps going on about. Blah blah economic opportunity, it’ll cost a fortune, but at least that means a fortune in corporate taxes, too. It certainly outweighs any petty joke Varrick may or may not have played on someone as young and gullible as Prince Wu.”
Wing’s smile widened. “That’s about what I thought.” He reached into his pocket and drew out the metal collar. “Do you know what this is?”
“I’m not buying your art project, if that’s what you mean,” said Raiko. “Some strange green-haired boy already tried to sell me a sculpture. Said it was called ‘victory’ but it looked to me like he’d shat out scrap.”
“Nope,” said Wing. “It’s a gift.” With that he tossed the collar into the air. He stepped back, reached for the flying metal with his chi and as it fell. He shoved it inside President Raiko’s robe, wrapping it tightly three times around the base of his balls.
“Agh!” Raiko’s hands shot between his legs, but it was too late. Maybe he was no pro-bender, but Wing had always been fast. “Boy!” he shouted as he tugged at his nuts. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Wing reached in his pocket and pushed the smallest button on the black box. Raiko yelped and scrabbled at his balls. The metal was too tight though. Wing had made sure of that.
“It’s from Varrick,” he said. “Now shut up unless you want more of that. Here’s the deal. From now until the end of this peace summit, I own your sack. I only want three things. Are you ready to listen?”
Raiko nodded, face pale.
“One. Do everything in your power to track down Varrick and Zhu Li and hold them accountable for what they did to me, my friend Hasook, and Prince Wu. Letting them go is not cool.”
The president opened his mouth to object. Wing twitched the hand in his pocket and he promptly shut it again, then nodded.
“Two, do whatever General Iroh says. I owe him, and he’s probably right anyway. He’s certainly smarter than you, and with Asami Sato helping that makes them like eight times as smart. It’s for everyone’s good, okay?”
“But the polls—”
Wing pushed the button. Raiko actually squealed this time as his balls were shocked again. His fluffy little mustache was starting to stand on end, too. It looked like an electrocuted hamster.
“Wrong answer,” said Wing. “I’m looking for yes. Also don’t give them shit for dating.”
“Yes!” squeaked Raiko.
“Three,” said Wing, “be extra nice to my mom. I haven’t been a great son this week and I want to make it up to her. Tell her you like the food and that the window is no problem. Oh, and go tell my brother you’ll buy his art, too. Huan acts all tough but he needs the kudos.”
“What’s stopping me from screaming for my security team and having you hanged instead?” Raiko spat.
Wing shrugged. “I’ll tell them you made me do it as some weird sex kink. Then I’ll tell every tabloid in the United Republic. You don’t seem to have a problem with blackmail, right? I’ll also push the second button. You’re probably done having kids, but I bet it’ll hurt like a bitch.”
“Okay! You win!” Raiko’s hand never left the inside of his robe. “How do I get this fucking thing off?”
“I take it off when the peace summit ends. Better get started.” And with that Wing trotted down the hall to breakfast. He helped himself to two full plates—he was still making up for lost time—then made his way out into the gardens. He hadn’t seen Hasook anywhere. Not that he was looking. But it wouldn’t hurt to check.
General Iroh sat on one of the long benches in the garden. A newspaper lay open on one crossed leg. Asami Sato was tucked into his side, her back curled against his chest. Her long hair lay in inky streaks across his red jacket. She was reading her own stack of papers, which she’d propped up against her bent knees. Iron’s arm rested comfortably across her stomach. Two cups of steaming tea and a single plate of pastries rested on the small table in front of them.
As Wing watched Asami dropped her head back to look at the general upside down. He smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and went back to reading his paper with a silly grin. Good for them.
“Hi!” he waved, more cheery than he felt. “Good luck at the peace thingy today!”
Iroh looked up and tipped him a salute with a smile. Asami grinned and waved as well. Something in Wing’s stomach twisted. He wasn’t jealous, exactly, but it must be nice to have someone like you for who you were and not just how you were in bed. Here the two of them were, happier reading and sharing a pastry together than when they’d been fucking like rabaroos. Wing had thought that relationships ruined everything. Now here he was, full of experience and yet exactly where he’d started. Alone.
He wandered down one of the garden paths, suddenly in the rare mood to be by himself. Better get used to it, right? Hasook was clearly avoiding him. Whatever moment they’d shared the night before was long past. Wing thought about writing to Otaku, seeing if maybe the airbender would be interested in a friends with benefits thing, then remembered that he was probably fucking his brother instead. That wasn’t somewhere he wanted to go. Wing didn’t really hate Wei, he couldn’t, it would be like hating a part of himself. But that didn’t mean he wanted to share a fuck buddy, either.
He was so lost in thought that he almost bumped into a man hurrying in the opposite direction.
“Hey,” grumbled Wing, “watch where you’re going.” Then he looked up.
Two pale blue eyes met his. “Hey. I um, was looking for you.”
“Yeah?” Wing tried to ignore the tingling in his lips as he remembered last night’s kiss, or the slight twitch in his pants as he thought of Hasook’s warm hands on his dick. Making him hard. Making him feel good. Telling him that he made him feel good, too.
“Yeah.” Hasook looked around the empty part of the garden. They were alone. “So, what are you doing today? I don’t really know Zaofu. I didn’t come here with much of a plan, and I thought maybe if you were free you could show me around some? If you do, I’ll buy lunch.”
Wing swallowed. “Like a date?”
“Maybe. Do you want it to be?”
“Yeah,” said Wing. “I think I do.”
Hasook smiled at that. “Good. It’s a date then.”