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Maybe Zuko should have listened to Sokka.
Not that he’ll ever tell him. But Sokka had been nagging him about getting more sleep all week, and maybe if he had, he would have been able to fight off the assassins that had attacked him just minutes ago while he was working on a trade document. Zuko would normally have been able to deal with them all easily, would even have noticed them coming, but his sleep-deprived brain couldn’t. Stopping them had taken the assistance of four palace guards, who are now taking the assassins to the prison underneath the castle.
He’ll deal with that tomorrow. As Zuko stumbles back toward his bedroom from the library, all he can think about is crawling into bed and sleeping off what had shaped up to be a terrible night.
So of course, he runs right into the one person who would prevent that from happening.
“Zuko!” Sokka whispers from down the hall by his bedroom door, loud enough that he could be shouting. “I was just coming to make sure you weren’t still awake, and—”
He stops short. Zuko is close enough now that Sokka can see the way he’s walking –– more like limping, actually –– and his torn robes. Zuko winces as Sokka’s blue eyes widen in horror and surprise. “Fucking spirits , what happened?” Sokka doesn’t even bother whispering that time. He’s running halfway down the hall to Zuko before he even finishes his sentence. The guards outside Zuko’s bedroom are right behind him.
“I’m fine,” Zuko says before Sokka can speak again, and this was not the right thing to say, because his friend makes his signature did-you-really-just-say-that-to-me face.
“Bullshit,” he nearly shouts while he watches Zuko take a few more slow steps toward his bedroom. Each one sends pain radiating throughout his body.
The guards take a much different approach. “Firelord Zuko,” one says, voice quiet and full of concern, “Do you need to see a healer? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Zuko repeats as he continues toward his door. Only a few more steps and he’ll be there.
“He does need to see a healer,” Sokka says from behind him, the words sharp. The guards reach for him, but Zuko shakes them off.
“I do not need to see a healer. Just let me go to sleep, please.” The guards step away from him, but Zuko sees them look apologetically at Sokka. Zuko ranks higher, so there’s nothing they can do. He reaches for his door knob, then stops. They all need to know for their safety, especially Sokka as the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador.
“I was attacked by assassins,” Zuko says quietly. “I think they’re all gone, but please keep an eye out for them. Especially you, Sokka.” He turns to face Sokka, whose arms are still crossed, but whose eyes are full of concern for him. Sokka gives him a single nod.
“There hasn’t been anyone in this hall, right? No suspicious activity?” Sokka asks the guards.
“None in this area, Ambassador Sokka.”
Zuko sighs, relieved but still wary. “Can you watch for anything that seems off?”
The guards nod. “Of course.”
“Thank you,” Zuko says, and reaches for his door knob again, already tense and waiting to be ambushed the minute he opens the door.
Sokka steps between him and the door. His sword is already out. “I’ll go in first,” he says, and Zuko almost doesn’t let him, but he’s in no state to fight off any more assassins tonight. Or worse yet, fight with Sokka. He nods, and Sokka pushes the door open, storming into the room as if daring someone to try and fight him.
No one does. After a few seconds, he motions to Zuko to come in and slams the door behind him.
Zuko can feel Sokka’s glare as the ambassador watches him limp across the room. The lamps on the walls spark to life, and at long last, Zuko sits down on his bed.
“You can hardly move. Why aren’t you with a healer?” Sokka demands after a few seconds of watching him, the words all rushing out as if he’d been holding them in. Zuko is sure he knows the answer.
“Because I can take care of it myself.” Pain burns throughout every inch of Zuko’s torso as he starts pulling off his several layers of fire lord robes. Sokka is opening his mouth for another lecture, so Zuko speaks first. Sokka can never resist information and clues. It’s both endearing and useful in situations like this one. “The assassins ambushed me in the hallway, on the way back from the study. I fought them off until the guards got there.”
Sokka didn’t look surprised about the assassins when Zuko told him the first time, and he just seems disapproving now. This is the fourth time that Zuko has encountered them in the palace at night in the three or so years that Sokka has been living here. Since becoming the fire lord five years ago, Zuko has never asked how many have tried that didn’t make it into the palace. Either way, none of the past times have ever resulted in him being injured.
He’s halfway through pulling off the second robe when Sokka finally snaps and stomps over to him.
“You’re being ridiculous, let me help you .” He climbs onto the bed behind Zuko, and is not very gentle when he grabs Zuko’s robes and starts pulling them down his arms, but once Zuko nearly shouts in pain, he apologizes and goes much slower.
Once the robes are off, Sokka slides onto his knees on the floor to get a good look at his friend, and when he sees the front of his body, his eyes widen.
Zuko knew it must be pretty bad, but hadn’t actually seen the extent of his injuries before now. Bruises are already forming and there are scrapes and burns across his skin. Zuko has a scratch across his chest too, and it’s not too deep, but Sokka doesn’t seem to know that because his eyes keep catching on it. Suddenly, Zuko is very aware that Sokka’s eyes are wandering over his very naked upper half.
“Lay down,” Sokka finally orders, his voice low, before he crosses the room and starts rummaging through Zuko’s first aid supplies. Katara got him the kit as a birthday present once, but Zuko never imagined it would come in handy. He’d kept it on his dresser more for sentimental value than practicality. “If you’re not going to see a healer, I’m bringing the healing to you.”
Sokka is one of the only people in Zuko’s life that would even try to command him to do something, but Zuko knows better than to protest when he sounds like this. Another argument is the last thing he needs tonight.
He takes so long to lay down that Sokka ultimately picks up his legs and swings them onto the bed. Zuko yelps, but it did save him what would have been at least two painful minutes of doing it himself, so he leans back against the pillows without complaint.
Sokka crawls onto the bed after him. This is not the first time that Sokka has been in Zuko’s bed, but it is the first time that Sokka has been in Zuko’s bed while he’s shirtless. Which Zuko had pictured no less than a million times. Although he never would have come up with this scenario.
Sokka doesn’t seem to think anything of it, and kneels next to his hips. He covers a cloth in what smells like alcohol. And then, without warning , he presses it on the cut across Zuko’s chest.
“Ow! Sokka!” Zuko shouts. He tries to push him away, but Sokka doesn’t move. “I don’t need a healer, I just need some sleep.”
“Stop being such a baby,” Sokka says, but he tries a scrape on Zuko’s abdomen instead. “How about here?” he asks quietly, and Zuko barely hears him because he yelps.
“Yes, that hurts .”
“Well spirits, Zuko, where doesn’t it hurt?” Sokka is loud enough that Zuko wonders if the guards can hear.
Zuko would have thrown his arms up in frustration if it didn’t hurt so bad. He looks right into Sokka’s equally frustrated face, points to his elbow, and says, “Here.”
He expected a few things from Sokka. Mostly scolding. Maybe if he was lucky, Sokka would just be more gentle.
What he did not expect was for Sokka to lean down and forcefully kiss his elbow with a very loud smack .
Zuko thinks his heart might have stopped. Sokka is staring at him again, but this time it’s less of a glare. He’s certainly still frustrated, but now the look in his eyes is also… curious? Nervous?
Hopeful?
Whatever the case, Zuko wants it to happen again, and he’s not awake enough to overthink it. He points to his temple. “Here,” he says, and now he sounds like a petulant child, but Sokka smiles and leans down and presses his lips to his forehead anyway, much more gently this time. When he pulls away again, his eyes have softened.
“This isn’t too bad either,” Zuko mumbles, pointing to his good eye, and he closes his eyes as Sokka leans down. His lips barely brush against Zuko’s eyelid, and Zuko tries not to shiver.
Sokka has the same look in his eye when he pulls away. Hopeful is definitely the word. And happy.
So Zuko points to his lips.
Sokka is smiling again as he leans down to kiss Zuko. Really kiss him. Zuko’s heart is pounding now. Sokka is good at this, just like everything else. He’s not gentle, but Zuko doesn’t want him to be. His fingers trace Zuko’s jaw, and he kisses Zuko forcefully enough that his head is falling back into the pillows. Zuko regrettably does not have enough energy to kiss him back the way he would like to –– the way he’s been thinking about for years –– but tries his best anyway, at least for a while.
But now, with Sokka kissing him, Zuko feels safe. And the pain is mostly gone because there are other things to focus on. And Zuko’s eyes are closed, and he’s laying in his nice soft bed, and he’s just so tired…
Sokka’s lips are still on his when he falls asleep.
~
Sokka pulls away slowly from Zuko, his eyes still closed because wow he just kissed the guy he’s had a massive crush on for years , and the guy kissed him back . His heart is beating so hard he thinks it might fly out of his chest.
And then he hears snoring.
Sokka opens his eyes. Zuko has fallen asleep while kissing him. He tries not to feel offended by this.
“Zuko. Zuko .”
Zuko is still asleep. But Sokka supposes that makes sense, he got attacked for spirits’ sake, and he hasn’t been sleeping much anyway, so he’ll let it slide. Sokka kisses his forehead, gently enough that he won’t wake him up. The fire lord deserves some rest.
Sokka packs up the first aid kit and pulls the blankets over Zuko. And he’s about to pull the door open to leave when he remembers why he came in here in the first place. There could still be assassins about, and Zuko is defenseless in here, so really it would be irresponsible of him not to stay and sleep next to Zuko in his absolutely massive bed. There’s plenty of room.
Just for protection , Sokka says to himself as he climbs under the blankets. It’s not entirely true, and Sokka knows that. If it was just for protection, Sokka could have used the whole other side of the bed, but here he is right next to Zuko, basking in the warmth perpetually radiating off of him.
This is probably a bad idea. The guards will wonder why he never came out of Zuko’s room. Everyone in the palace will know by the next night.
But Zuko is so warm. Sokka smiles and shifts closer to him.
He’ll deal with that tomorrow.