Chapter 4
The morning birds chirped a scattered song, slowly waking Zuko. He grimaced at the bright light and rolled over. Sokka was curled up next to him, arm across his waist and face pressed to his back. The sun streaming through the window, was accentuating the dark freckles across his face and the medium brown highlights in his dark hair. He reached a hand out to push the hair out his face and smiled.
Sokka stirred slightly and snuggled closer to him, peeking his eyes open. The two men smiled at each other for a moment before Zuko leaned down to kiss him. It seemed to wake the younger man up a bit and he pulled him closer.
“Mornin’ handsome.” He said with a grin, running a fingertip across his chest. Zuko grabbed his hand and kissed it.
“Good morning, Sokka." He frowned and brushed a lock of long hair out of the bender's face.
"You're so formal. Why don't you call me "hot stuff" or "sexy"?"
"Good morning...sexy." Both men grimaced and Sokka shook his head.
"Forget I said anything." He sat up on his elbow and splayed a hand across Zuko's stomach. "Well that was fun." His face warmed and he nodded.
"I agree." He leaned in for another kiss which Sokka gave him with a smile.
"Do you have plans for the day? Because I'm free." He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment. "At least I think I am."
"I have a meeting with Arjun and some of my other advisors today but you don't need to come."
Zuko climbed out of the bed and walked over to his wardrobe. As he rifled through his underclothes, Sokka snuck up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. He pressed a kiss to the back of his neck which sent a shiver down his spine.
"What if you delay it?" He kissed his neck again. "Just for a few hours."
"I'm tempted, extremely tempted." Zuko turned to face him. "This is an important meeting though. At least that's what Arjun said." Sokka scoffed and moved backwards to sit on the edge of the bed.
"He says every meeting is important but they're all dumb. Most of the time he's just pressuring you to remarry."
"It's for the sake of the Fire Nation, my Lord." They both said in unison, mocking the man's haughty voice. Sokka snorted with laughter and Zuko looked back at him with a smile.
"I love your laugh." Sokka's laughter faded and his face darkened a bit.
"I love yours too. On the rare occasion I'm graced with its presence." The older man shrugged.
"It takes a lot to make me laugh. You should know this by now."
"Guess I gotta start practicing my jokes then!" He said with a mischievous smile.
"Oh no…"
A short while later, Zuko was sitting at the head of the table in the throne room. He tapped his fingers on the table and looked over the papers that had been put in front of him. They were announcing the birth of King Kuei’s third child.
“We’ll have to send a congratulatory letter and a traditional Fire Nation gift.” Bayani, one of his advisors, took the letters and nodded.
“Sire, do you not see the issue with this?” Arjun asked, from the other end of the table. Zuko sighed.
“No, I don’t. What could possibly be wrong with Kuei having a child?” Arjun stood, the other people at the table giving him annoyed looks.
“He’s strengthening his kingdom more and more every time he has a child. We need to be thinking about the Fire Nation’s future.”
“What in the world are you talking about? We are stronger than we’ve ever been!” Bayani said, glaring at his fellow advisor.
“I mean no disrespect, my lord, but I think it’s time you begin seriously considering marrying again. Creating as many heirs as possible is vital to the survival of the Fire Nation and your bloodline." Zuko glared at Arjun and stood, the look sending a chill down the Earthbender's spine.
"Are you trying to say something will happen to myself or my daughter?"
"No, sir! I'm just saying it's best to be careful about these matters. There's an assassination attempt on your life almost weekly. Creating more heirs would-"
"Creating replacements, you mean? That's what you're saying, right?" Arjun looked down, sheepish, and shook his head.
"My apologies, sir. That's not what I was implying."
Zuko growled and the torches around the room flared so brightly that everyone in the room jumped, save for Sokka who just raised an eyebrow and smirked. The Firelord looked at his advisors and sat back down, gesturing towards them.
“What do you all think? Do you believe I should marry?” They all stuttered and stammered nervously, not knowing what to say.
“Do whatever makes you happy.” Sokka piped up. The water tribesman had his hands behind his head and a relaxed look on his face. “If you wanna marry, go for it. If you don’t, then stay single. Spirits forbid something happen to you or Izumi but if it does, there will always be someone else to take your place and life will continue.” Zuko gave him a subtle smile which earned him a wink in return.
“Great idea. Now if you all will excuse me, I haven’t had my breakfast yet.” He stood and moved towards the back entrance. “Sokka?” The warrior shot up from his seat and followed after him, waving at Arjun as he left.
When the door had closed behind them and they were alone in the hall, Zuko grabbed Sokka, pressing him against the wall and kissing him. He moaned and wrapped his arms around him, kissing him back passionately. The Firelord inhaled sharply and brought his mouth to his throat, sucking and kissing his way to his collarbone.
“What’s got you so excited?” Sokka asked, breathless.
“You.” He replied, pressing another open-mouthed kiss to his throat. He smiled and pulled his mouth back up to his, pulling at the ties that held his robe shut.
They fell open and Sokka smiled, running his hand across his toned stomach. He brought his mouth down to his collarbone, leaving a trail of light red marks in his wake.
"You should really move this to a bedroom." They both jumped and turned to look at Chiyoko who was suddenly standing a few feet away, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. Zuko's face turned a deep red and he looked away, embarrassed.
"We were just about to do that, actually." Sokka smiled at her and ran a hand across the top of his head, clearly uncomfortable. “Well I think I’m going to go somewhere that isn’t here.” He backed up and opened the door back into the throne room. He slipped out and Chiyoko turned to look at Zuko.
“You two are cute together.” He smiled and she took a menacing step towards him.
“I know you’re the Firelord but if you hurt him,” Her gaze darkened and his heartbeat quickened. “Let’s just say I will make sure that it looks like an accident.”
“Are you threatening me?” She smirked and backed away.
“Yes, I am. Sokka is family and he is protected by the Kyoshi warriors just like you. Except we like him more.” Zuko laughed and patted her on the back. She laughed with him and he knew she was joking. Well, he hoped she was.