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Sokka laid back on the plush bed, revelling in the satin red lining. He pulled up the quilt that sat at the end of the mattress to his chin and brought his knees close to his chest, trying to get rid of the insistent cold that plagued him through the night.
He had been staying in the fire nation for quite a few years by now, and in that time he had found that he missed a lot of aspects from his home in the southern water tribe. The buildings here were made to withstand the blazing red heat from the day. The buildings had a plethora of windows to air out the stink of heat, and roofs tall enough to let the hot air rise so that it doesn't disturb the cold air that settled under.
The problem with making the rooms cold during the day was that it meant they would be exceedingly colder in the night. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue for somebody in the Fire Nation. Firebenders had their breath of fire and naturally ran a warmer temperature than other nations, even the non-benders had figured out ways to get by with the cold. But the fire lords chambers had been made with fire benders only in mind, and thus sleeping in the cold with barely any blankets warm enough was torture. Sokka was sure he was going to lose a few toes during his stay.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. A man from the southern water tribe, a place of nothing but ice, snow, freezing waters and frigid blizzards, was struggling to sleep in the Fire Nation because of the cold.
But the thing was, even in the southern water tribe, he was still so much warmer at night. They had fur-lined parkas and blankets to keep body warmth in, the buildings were especially made to force the bitter air to run along the outer walls and not through the doorways. They had heaters inside the homes to bring up the room temperature to a bearable degree so they could live through the night.
And talking about heaters, Sokka was starting to regret not bringing his. It was a little pile that just radiated warmth and comfort through the harsh moments, as the sun set, and the moon rose to take its place. He could relax at a comfortable distance, not too close to get burnt, but still close enough that he could feel the aura of the burning.
That heater was stuck in the south, with no way of getting to him. It would've been too much effort to get it transported to him, and it would've taken too long. He could just buy a heater from the shops that weren't too far from the palace. There were plenty of stores in Caldera, and surely he could find something similar for himself, right?
Sokka thought to himself how nice a portable heater would be, but realised that he already had one.
He felt a pair of arms slink around his waist and pull him close, so that now his back was against someone's chest. Sokka felt a familiar scar tissue rub gently against the back of his neck.
He turned his head around to spot a mess of black hair.
“I didn't hear you come in,” he said softly, shifting his body in the circle of arms so that now his back was against the mattress, and he could see Zuko's face more clearly.
“I didn't want to wake you up,” the latter mumbled into skin, his eyes only half open. The glint of his amber eyes caught Sokka's chill blues, and the two smiled. Sokka brought his arms over the fire lord's neck and pulled him close for a kiss. The two eased into the exchange of lips and softly giggled like the teenagers they used to be.
“Mhm, this is nice,” Sokka mumbled in between the pauses of their kiss. “Where have you been all night? I missed you.” Zuko groaned at the question, burrowing his head into the indigo tunic his partner wore to bed.
“Agni, I don't even want to think about it. Some official— a douche still stuck in Ozais ' idea, was trying to explain to me why bringing back the old educational curriculum was a good idea. Obviously, pushing 100-year-old propaganda onto children isn't a good idea,” he sneered, annoyed at the mere thought of the old man. Zuko pushed himself up so that he was now sitting on the bed beside Sokka. “I just wanted to get back to you,” he said as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind the other's ear.
“Well, aren't you sweet?” Sokka quipped, now on his chest and hugging a pillow to his face. “You should get ready for bed,” he talked into the pillow, words only half decipherable to Zuko.
“Yeah, yeah,” the man teased. Sokka eyed the edge of the robe he had on today as the older one slowly took it into his hands and dragged it to the side and off his toned shoulders. His skin was littered with scars, both from burns and hand weapons. But that didn't matter to Sokka because he was still the most beautiful hunk of meat he had ever laid his eyes on.
As the red fell from pale skin, Sokka couldn't help but stare. Maybe it was selfish, maybe he was greedy, but how could you not gaze and adore the delicious body of your partner? The world should be grateful it even experienced his beauty.
Sokka stared in adoration at his partner. The other came forward, now shirtless, and brought his arms back to where they were rightfully supposed to be. around Sokka's waist and bringing him in close. Zuko huffed out a wave of warm air between his neck and shoulder, his sharp chin resting comfortably on dark skin. He felt the man under him try to restrict his movement as if he were trying to stifle a laugh.
“What's so funny?” he spoke calmly, eyebrows raised in amusement.
“Nothing much. Just this.” Sokka brought both his arms around Zuko's waist, much like the older one had his, and suddenly shifted so that now he was on top of the shirtless man. He let out a sharp laugh at Zuko's surprised face. God, it reminded him of a turtle-otter. He felt the warmth radiating from under him. Instead of a heavyweight overheating him from above, Zuko now acted like a warm stone that was bathed in the sun for hours, and that now Sokka could lie his body against.
He moved his body once more, so that they were in a similar position to before. Sokka's back pleasantly sprawled out on Zuko's bare chest. Sokka mumbled under his breath as he turned his head to the side to snuggle between two pecs.
“Y’know, this is my favourite part of the day.”
“Really?” Zuko chuckled. “Its mine too.” He brought his arms around Sokka's shoulders and hugged him gently as his hands spread under his tunic. “Its a bit unfair that I'm the only one who's shirtless.”
“Well why don't we fix that.”
“Got any ideas?”
“Just one.”