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Burning Love	By : InvokingRainbows Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Sokka/Zuko Views: 8145 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: The Last Air Bender or any of their characters or creative world. All rights belong to Nickelodeon (I assume), or some other company that isn't me. Just trying to write stories here, enjoy!

Chapter List
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Chapter Two: Bouncey McFluffFluff
Zuko watched him go, feeling at a loss.
He didn't leave the helm and no one came to speak with him during the hour plus trip back to the abandoned Air Temple. Zuko tried to absorb himself in cloud watching, clearing his mind like Iroh had so often tried to teach him. He didn't want to start brooding, not when he knew it would lead him to places better left alone.
As best he could, he set the airship down a ways away from their main campsite, so it wouldn't too obviously give away their position.
The reunion between sister, brother and father was touching, he supposed. Though Zuko only really felt regret, perhaps even jealousy, at the things he'd never have.
His sister was batshit crazy and his father was a megalomaniac, his mother dead (or spirited away) and his uncle...
Zuko stood off to the side, watching the scene, tilting his head in acknowledgement when the earth bender came toward him. She was smirking, her sightless eyes staring at a point past him.
"Feeling extra grumpy, sparky? All this fluffy stuff is overrated, anyway."
Katara was crying and hugging their father, Sokka standing a bit off to the side while they had their moment. His eyes drifted around the campsite, his mind feeling a moment of peace. He had managed to rescue Suki and his father, and their group was growing quickly in number and morale. Aang had a fire bending teacher too. A very good looking, confused yet kind hearted teacher.
That thought alone caught Sokka a bit off guard, but he shrugged it off. His eyes moved from Katara and his father to Suki. She looked pretty, all things considered, standing by the fountain with her hair blowing a bit in the wind. He moved on with his gaze, finding their inventor friend and his family, finally gazing over at Toph and Zuko.
They appeared to be having a conversation, though Sokka had no idea what they were talking about. He saw what seemed like a typical exchange between just about any normal person and the fire prince. A short conversation with less than half of the talking being done by Zuko, ending with the dark haired man looking a bit flustered and walking away.
“Wonder what that was about.” He mumbled to himself. A moment later his dad was hugging him, and he had already forgotten about what he’d seen or thought.
“Sokka that was an incredibly dangerous mission, but I have to say I’m so proud of you for pulling it off!” his sister said, her eyes beaming at him. Sokka felt his face flush. “Well, ya know, I was the best warrior in our entire tribe after dad left. Besides, it wasn’t all me. Zuko helped a lot, and Suki too.” He said, grinning as his dad ruffled his hair affectionately.
Hakoda was proud of the man his son was shaping up to be. He wasn't necessarily the most graceful of fighters, but he was smart and crafty and had strong personal charisma. His son was steady and reliable, but didn't take himself too seriously.
He'd make someone very happy in the future.
He knew that Sokka attracted friends like honey and flies, but he just didn't feel that Sokka needed Zuko as one. From what he'd heard, the fire bender was trying to make up for his wrongdoings, but the boy was dangerous and an uncertain ally.
Fire was not an element that was controlled; it was forced and would eventually snap its leash and fight back. Hakoda knew it was wrong of him to so harshly judge the boy, but he'd suffered too much at the hands of the Fire Nation to be so easily forgiving.
He, of course, didn't share his thoughts with his children, but he'd make sure to keep an eye on the princeling, nevertheless.
Zuko, meanwhile, had gone off after taking some of Toph's normal ribbing. It was a little strange to be so accepted by her, but he supposed her different view of the world afforded her certain wisdom about people.
While that was all well and fine, it had been a trying few days and he just wanted to be alone so he could relax and decompress. Being around so many people and trying to fit in wastiring.
He found himself a nice quiet spot away from the group and decided that even though he was sore from the fighting only hours ago, going through some katas would help him unwind.Breathing deeply, he tried to center himself.
"Fire bending comes from the breath," he murmured to himself, recalling the words Iroh had told him so long ago.
Fluidly, he began going through the movements.
While the rest of the camp buzzed about the success of the rescue, Sokka found himself growing bored. As a group of them sat together, eating and talking jovially, he slipped away to wander around on his own and clear his head.
He had a lot to think about, what with things being what they were, but thinking had never really been his strong point. He had no idea what they should be doing next, other than Zuko teaching Aang how to fire bend, and beyond that, he didn’t know what to make of the strange thoughts and feelings that had been sneaking into his mind.
Again, his thoughts had drifted to Zuko. He could see him in his mind’s eye, as always, fire bending. For some reason, whenever he thought about Zuko, he saw him fire bending. This time, though, he was wearing nothing but tight underwear. Pausing when he realized this detail, Sokka shook his head. “That was weird.” He thought out loud, stumbling suddenly over a small pile of rubble from the ruins and falling flat onto his face only a few feet away from Zuko, who seemed to be practicing some moves.
“Stupid rocks.” He murmured, sitting up and rubbing his forehead, glancing up at the other from where he’d landed. “Just pretend you didn’t see that.”
The sudden sound of moving rocks and a following thump broke Zuko out of his meditative mood. His foot came down a little too hard, and the force of the fire was a little too strong; he winced as the flames curled back around his fist, hissing at him, before being dismissed.
Of course, the culprit had to be Sokka.
Brow furrowing, he wondered what the other teen had been doing skulking about. Though, from the looks of it, Zuko could make a good guess - his head had been in the clouds, probably thinking about their lack of meat.
"What are you doing?" he asked a little roughly, not moving from his spot, breathing a little hard, and bare upper body glossy with a thin layer of perspiration.
Sokka blushed a little at first. There was no way he could really admit to what he’d been thinking about. “Oh, you know, just trying to figure out where we’re going to get dinner from tonight.” He said with a small shrug. “Those were some pretty cool moves by the way.” He said, pushing himself to his feet.
Sometimes, Sokka felt a little jealous of people like Zuko. People like Katara, Aang, and other benders. Their powers were so amazing and powerful, and all he had was his boomerang. At least, that’s the way it felt sometimes.
A thought popped into his head, and as usual, it spouted out of his mouth before he could stop it. “It seems like you’re still pretty tense though. I have an idea on how you can relax. Before you say no, you have to start trying to be a part of the group and that means doing fun things.” He said, taking the other firmly by his forearm before practically dragging him into the temple.
They were making their way down the stone stairs, Sokka still draggint he other along. “There’s a hot spring down in the basement that the monks used to bathe in, it’s pretty great honestly.” He said, finally telling the other where he was being dragged.
"I…what?"
He didn't even get a proper chance to refuse him; before Zuko even knew what was going on - and why did that keep happening with these people? - Sokka had once again forced himself into his space bubble and now he was being dragged deeper into the ruins.
He hadn't even finished his routine yet.
"Hot springs are fun?" he asked incredulously, wondering how many times this guy had been dropped on his head as a baby.
The stone around them began to glisten with humidity, and Sokka finally stopped pulling him along when they reached the spring. Zuko would admit that they looked inviting and his sore muscles would definitely appreciate a soak, but...
"Are you saying I stink, then?" he asked and resisted the urge to smell himself. He probably did smell a little funky after everything they'd been through.
"... 'cause otherwise you're saying you want to take a bath with me... and that's a little weird."
Sokka stopped when they reached them, finally letting go of the other’s arm. “You know, I wasn’t going to say anything, but a bath really wouldn’t hurt. Besides, when you’re traveling and on the run from crazy fire bending princes, you tend to do things in groups to save time.” He said, unable to help the small smile that came over his face. “Just keep your underwear on!”
Sokka was starting to strip down already, his bag tossed to the side along with his coat. He was hopping on one foot now trying to get his boots off, managing the first with little trouble but managing to fall over while getting the second off.
“Stupid boots.” He grumbled, pushing himself back up again and wriggling out of his pants before jumping into the hot spring in his underwear. His hair, free from its usual pony tail, hung down in wet waves around his face giving him, if possible, a more carefree look.
“It feels amazing Zuko, come on!” he prodded, laying on his back so he could float peacefully in the water that was soothing his muscles and joints which were plenty sore from all of the traveling and battling they’d been doing.
Did he really have to bring that up? He was trying to make it better, no need to constantly remind him that he'd been a little too juiced up on the crazy punch.
"Keep my..? Wait, what are you doing?!" Baffled and horrified, Zuko watched Sokka do his strange mating-dance striptease, wiggling out of his clothes and hoping into the water in nothing but his unders.
Officially, Zuko now had no idea what the fuck was going on anymore.
The princeling frowned, scandalized, "... yeah, no. That's not going to happen."
It's not like he'd never seen other men naked before, but fighting and wrestling naked, or changing in front of comrades was WAY different than bathing with them.
Sokka groaned. “Why do you always have to be so difficult?” he asked. “It’s not a big deal, and it’ll help you loosen up a bit.” Sokka stood up in the water, putting a hand on his hip. “Oh…wait.” He said, something dawning on him.
“I get it. You were a prince right? So, you’re used to all that fancy living. You know, your own room every night with a real bed and even your own bathroom I bet. As much food as you want whenever you want? Well, I hate to break it to you but being part of Team Avatar means letting some of those things go.”
Determined, Sokka clambered out of the hot spring and made a beeline for Zuko. “You know, I didn’t want to let you come originally and here I am trying to bond with you and give you a chance to be a part of the group and you’re being all difficult and princely.” He grumbled, grabbing the bottom of the other’s shirt and lifting it up and over his head before he could do anything about it.
"It's not like I've never shared quarters before," he defended himself, feeling a little putout at the past tense in front of 'prince.'
"I've spent the last three years stuck on a boat with a crew of men," and while he did have his own room, everything else had been shared. As for getting to eat three square meals a day, that was only if one considered cram to be a meal. It wasn't as if he'd been eating venison and potatoes; he'd been banished, which meant no money.
Zuko very nearly stepped back when Sokka approached him, making a very disgruntled noise when he was forcibly relieved of his shirt.
"I'm not difficult! This is weird!" he protested again, but the look he got in response irked him, ruffling the feathers of his ego.
It was that, more than anything, that made him relent to Sokka's insanity.
"Fine! Just... seriously, stop touching me," he eyeballed him, making sure the other teen wouldn't try for his belt, before slipping out of his shoes and reluctantly shimmying free of his trousers.
Sokka laughed as he turned and dove back into the water. “Sorry, I forgot you get flustered.” He apologized, smirking a little at the other. Okay, so some of that was a little over the top, but he had gotten to see yet another fun reaction from Zuko, and he was finding himself more and more amused by him. Or, would intrigued be a better word for it? Whatever, words were never his strong point.
“Oh, and sorry for implying you were spoiled.” He said after a moment, and after Zuko had made his own way into the spring. “I don’t know much about you, but I know the basics and that was kind of a mean thing to say, now that I think about it.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “But hey, cheer up! I mean, we were pretty awesome in that rescue mission and you’re on your way to helping the Avatar defeat your father. That’s what you wanted, right?”
With as much dignity as possible, Zuko slid into the hot-spring with Sokka and made sure there was plenty of space between them. He felt somehow cheated, like he'd gotten the short stick in this arrangement.
The mention of defeating his father brought a whole mess of feelings with it. He'd spent his entire life trying to make the man proud of him, to be the best son possible, even when his father had been clear that he thought Zuko a failure.
Even when his father horribly burned him and banished him, Zuko had spent three years tirelessly searching the globe for his father's biggest threat - the Avatar. All to regain his honor and to hopefully be welcomed back into his father's bosom.
He supposed at this point it wasn't love that he was after. Just a desperate need for approval. And then he realized that his father would never give that to him.
So, he wasn't really sure what he wanted, really... but he was committed to doing this.
"Yeah, that's what I wanted."
He rolled his shoulders and leant back against the warm rock lining of the spring, eyeing Sokka warily. They didn't have much in common, nothing really, and the situation was becoming awkward already.
Did people actually enjoy bathing together?
Sokka smiled a little. Well, at least Zuko could be sort of happy about something. Or at least try to be. It seemed like the other had spent so much time focusing on redeeming himself driven by anger and sometimes revenge that he almost didn’t know how to be a normal person.
“What was it like growing up in the Fire Nation?” Sokka asked, finding himself a spot along the edge and leaning back against the rocks there, enjoying their smooth warmth. “I mean, in the water tribe we didn’t have very much. The village was small and my mother was taken when we were little, so Katara and I ended up doing mostly everything for the kids and of course Gran Gran.” He mused out loud.
“You know, we grew up fearing not only the Fire Nation, but fire benders in general. But here we are working together. I never would have thought that you of all people would end up in our group.”
"Sometimes I think a simple life would have been better," he mused, then fell silent.
Thinking about how his life used to be living as Fire Nation royalty wasn't his favorite pastime. Certainly, it was a privileged lifestyle, but he didn't think it was as glamorous as Sokka - and more commoners - thought it to be.
He decided to make an effort, though, since this whole ordeal was about... bonding, or whatever. He'd never earn trust if he wasn't forthcoming, right? Too bad Zuko wasn't the sharing type.
He licked his lips anxiously, staring at the edge of the water instead of at Sokka.
"I guess... I was the opposite of you. I did have wealth and wanted for nothing, but..." he shrugged, "most of the time I was with my tutors, and I had plenty of them."
One for every subject, in fact.
"When I wasn't studying, I spent most of my time by myself, or following my mother around."
He had adored his mother, the only parent that had wanted him. Unlike his father who'd wanted him thrown to the rocks as an infant when they'd thought Zuko wouldn't be a bender. Sometimes he wondered why he even tried so hard to get the man's attention.
Sokka was looking over at him while he spoke now, a softened expression on his face. “I don’t know if that makes us opposites.” He said. “But, I’m sorry for what you’ve lost. I didn’t have too many friends either, other than my sister, since everyone in my village was either decades older than me or very young.” He said. “Money and things are nice, but when you’re lonely or scared I can see how they wouldn’t be much of a comfort.”
While they were talking, something moved not far from where Sokka was sitting. At first, neither of the boys noticed it. Whatever it was cast a rather large and strange looking shadow on the wall directly behind the water tribe boy.
“This feels great though, doesn’t it? See, I told you it was a good idea.” Sokka said, letting his head fall back against the rocks again with his eyes closed.
Zuko finally looked up, not sure if Sokka was pitying him or truly sympathizing with him. He wasn't even sure if he wanted either of those two things. It was hard enough showing this type of weakness in front of someone who didn't really like him to begin with.
Often, he had to remind himself that these were his allies now.
"It feels -- Don't move," he hissed, catching sight of the shadow behind Sokka. He eyed it intently, watching the creature sway and bob with fast movements.
He was already prepared to stand up and blast whatever it was. Standing, water sluicing down and hands lit up with flames. He broke out into a run as best he could with the water resistance. It all went sloshing all over the place.
It was the damn lemur's fault that he lost all his balance. The thing had startled when he sent a fireball careening its way, squeaking horribly as it jumped toward him instead of away.
Startled himself, Zuko ducked when it bounced off his head, losing his balance and futilely wind milling a moment, before falling ungracefully onto his companion.
Zuko had managed to catch his weight just in time to keep their foreheads from slamming together, leaving their faces less than an inch apart.
Sokka was frozen, a look of shock, terror, and a little bit of amusement stuck on his face. “What the heck was that?” he breathed after what felt like at least half a minute, his blue eyes staring into charcoal.
His heart was racing, and he felt suddenly too hot all over. He could feel the warmth emanating off of Zuko’s body again, but this time it was just on his arm or hand. Their bodies were nearly touching, skin to skin.
Zuko managed to catch himself, somewhat, on the way down. Scraping his palms on the rocks and banging his knees on the stone floor, but otherwise none the worse.
"That was..." he began, but then opened his eyes and realized just how close they were to each other.
He swallowed, though his throat was suddenly dry and his heart was fluttering oddly in his chest, jitters making his stomach roll.
"Lemurs," he supplied weakly, wondering why he wasn't moving away. This was super awkward and he should really definitely movenow, but he was frozen in place.
Move, dammit!
"Right... sorry," he murmured, starting to pull back.
Sokka could feel the other’s breath against his face when he spoke. It was weird, hearing his voice so close to him like that. He felt strange. The whole thing felt strange, and the longer it went on, the more intense the feelings became.
When the other started to pull back, Sokka reacted without thinking. He reached up, a hand on the other’s arm to stop him from moving. That’s when, for the first time, Sokka was able to stop himself. He had been about to kiss the other. But, as reality came slamming back down in his mind, he knew that would be a very dangerous thing to do for a multitude of reasons.
“I…” He said, staring at his hand on the other’s arm. He could feel the muscles under his fingers, a shiver going down his spine. “Thanks for trying to protect me from the lemur?” he said, it coming out as more of a question as he tried to cover up the strangeness of that moment. He released the other with a forced grin, his face a dark shade of red.
Zuko froze, eyes wide and very dark. Sokka's fingers were like firebrands against his skin, and the look on his face was...
He felt his heart thud hard against his ribs, feeling suddenly woozy and trapped. He'd about to lean in. The other teen was going to kiss him and Zuko would have leaned in.
It was so horrifyingly shocking a thought that he jerked away, breath heaving as if he'd run a marathon and adrenaline kicking him in the teeth, leaving the back of his iron tasting like cold metal.
This time when he ran, he didn't slip. He climbed out of the spring, hastily gathered his clothes, and beat a quick retreat.
What just happened? He felt dazed and electrified and vaguely sick.
Sokka couldn’t help but melt just a little at the way the other reacted. He might not be a bender, but Sokka could at least feel vibes pretty well, and he had gotten the distinct vibe that a small part of the fire prince had been disappointed when he hadn’t been kissed.
Zuko was so awkward and obviously scared of showing any kind of vulnerability or emotion. “This is going to get complicated, isn’t it Bouncey McFluffFluff?” he asked, patting the lemur that had created the whole debacle on the head. He’d named it secretly while the whole thing had been going on.
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Burning Love