Chapter Text
They walked up steps carved of ice, Sokka and Zuko at the head of the column, holding hands. In the rush to get ready, Zuko had forgotten his gloves and he wished Sokka wasn’t wearing any either so their fingers could be locked together, skin to skin, but instead all he could feel was rough hide.
“Look, we have actual buildings now. I’ll say this for the Northern Water Tribe engineers, they’re amazing at handling how best to use the resources we have down here. We hardly had to import anything.”
“It’s very impressive,” Zuko said honestly, as he looked up at the large hall made of ice they seemed to be heading towards.
“We’re still mainly living in tents, they’re warmer and more comfortable, but wait till you see the inside of this.”
Druk flapped down next to them and smacked Sokka’s head affectionately. Zuko didn’t miss how some of the Water Tribe warriors tensed up, but when Sokka just stopped to rub Druk’s snout and hunt for jerky for him, most of them dropped their hands to their sides.
Whilst Sokka was distracted, Aang hopped up to his other side and said quietly, “Zuko, did you bring it?”
Zuko nodded quickly, side eyeing Sokka, who was still telling Druk what a good boy he was.
“Here.” He showed Aang the small bag in his pocket, Aang nodded and said, “I told Sokka we had to be next to each other at the feast to demonstrate to everyone we’re friends, so we can share it.”
“You’ve got so sneaky,” Zuko replied.
“I’ve already been here a week. A week, Zuko.”
Zuko nodded seriously and quickly looked away at Katara’s suspicious glance.
Katara and Aang would always be a welcome sight, but they couldn’t compete with Sokka lifting up a small Water Tribe child, so they could gently stroke Druk’s nose. He just about managed to keep the sappy look off his face, and then Hakoda was introducing him to the other senior members of the tribe and it was all business again, Sokka separated from him by the crowd.
As they approached the hall, the Water Tribe drummers got louder, loud booms that echoed around the square. People with smaller drums lined the steps, playing them frantically as they climbed towards the doors. It made his teeth rattle and although no one from the Water Tribe could have possibly known it, it was similar to the drumming before a formal Agni Kai. Zuko turned around to smile at the older members of his crew, some of whom were looking worried.
“Anything wrong?” Hakoda asked, catching the glance.
“It’s nothing,” Zuko said, probably not quite convincingly.
And then they reached the steps and it was impossible to hear yourself speak anyway. Going up, the noise and the cold felt like an almost solid barrier to push through and then Katara walked ahead to wave open the huge doors of solid ice and the drumming all stopped at once.
The doors opened completely smoothly, completely silently, and there was a hushed, impressed noise from the crowd.
Sokka elbowed someone Zuko had been introduced to, and already forgotten the name of, out of the way, and slipped his arm around his waist.
“I won’t tell you how much the drummers have been practicing to get that timing right, it would spoil the show. Did you bring the troop of fire acrobats with you?”
“Yes, but the journey has been hard for the last week. I don’t want to ask them to perform tonight.”
“Of course we wouldn’t,” Sokka said as they entered the hall, a huge room lit with torches made of smooth, twisted driftwood. “But it would be great to see them once they’ve recovered.”
He gestured Zuko towards the head table and pulled out a chair for him.
“Was it a bad voyage then?”
“A lot of storms. I haven’t really slept for days.”
Sokka sighed, “I should have thought of that. When we got the message from Captain Sana you were only a day away we thought this would be a great way to welcome you. But maybe we should have been more lowkey tonight.”
“It’s fine,” Zuko smiled. “I’m sure everyone is starving.”
Whether they would still be starving after seeing the food served up was another question. Zuko had tried, he really had, but there was something about the way the Water Tribe cooked things that he just couldn’t enjoy.
Still, somehow despite being made of ice, the room was fairly warm and they were all given thick blankets and furs to drape over themselves. Zuko leant against Sokka, as he talked proudly about the work he’d been doing for the last two months. Sokka wrote like he talked, but it was so much better hearing him speak than reading his words on a page.
Smoke drifted from a fire pit in the centre of the room and Zuko realised he was starting to drift off, when Hakoda stood and clapped his hands together, and the room fell silent. His speech was simple and heartfelt and Zuko suddenly realised he didn’t have the notes he’d prepared for this, he must have left them on the boat. Sokka tapped his hand, and Zuko shook his head slightly.
He hated speaking without notes, or at least practice. It always came out wrong and made him sound stupid. He stared at his empty plate, trying to think. He’d done this a hundred times before. Sokka was squeezing his hand now. You thank them for their hospitality, you hope for a better future for your peoples, you raise a glass.
The room was suddenly filled with applause and cheers, and he realised Hakoda had finished speaking, but was still standing. His arm was outstretched, as though he was going to put it around Zuko’s shoulders, he was smiling and holding his cup up for a toast.
Zuko stood slowly, and Sokka let his hand drop, but not before gliding his fingers over Zuko’s wrist. It was probably supposed to be comforting, but it felt sexual and left him even more flustered as he turned to face the room.
“Thank you,” he started with, “for welcoming us. It’s been a long voyage.”
He didn’t mind them all looking at him, he was used to that, but they were all looking so expectantly.
“I…I hope the next weeks can be a new…can reinforce the new bonds between our people.”
No one was drinking, but they were all holding cups and surely they didn’t want a long speech. He raised his own glass.
“To bonds!” Spirits, that sounded insane. “To Chief Hakoda, and the Southern Water Tribe.”
“Chief Hakoda and the Southern Water Tribe!”
Zuko downed his drink and then immediately regretted it. Most Water Tribe alcoholic drinks were fierce spirits to warm you up, and this stuff was no different. He breathed frantically through his nose for a moment, trying not to gag and eventually managed to swallow it.
Hakoda was smiling at him, but he laughed as he said, “Sorry, should have warned you it was strong.”
“No, no problem.”
“To Fire Lord Zuko and the Fire Nation!”
The applause was notably less enthusiastic this time around, but Hakoda carried on, “Come on! Any man who can drink his first cup of Sea Brine without gagging deserves a better cheer than that!”
This time the hall whooped and Zuko saw a lot of his men resolutely downing their drinks to more cheers from the Water Tribe, and then laughter as two of them ran from the hall, hands over their mouths.
Hakoda and Sokka both clapped him on the back as he sat back, his head spinning slightly. Carts of food were being wheeled into the hall and Sokka excitedly explained everything being put on their plates. There was pickled seaweed, and steamed shellfish, flakes of fish that were almost translucent and something that had sounded like fermented gull, but Zuko must have misheard that in the din that filled the hall. The racket of laughter and shouting and cutlery on plates, bounced off the ice walls, filling the space.
“Maybe some sound proofing,” Sokka said thoughtfully and held out a prawn to Zuko. “Come on eat, you’ve been on a ship for weeks.”
Zuko obediently ate the prawn, which did taste nice, if solely of prawn rather than any other flavours. He took a mouthful of seaweed and was contemplating trying the fermented whatever it was, when Aang lent around Sokka’s back and hissed, “Zuko, Zuko!” He waggled his fingers. “Hand it over!”
He tried to subtly slide his hand into his pocket, when Katara gave them a suspicious look and said, “What have you asked him to bring?”
“Me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.”
Zuko pasted a smile on his face, but Sokka was turning to him too and even with Aang waving his hands around frantically, there was no way he could hold out against Katara’s disapproval combined with Sokka’s curiosity.
“Chilli sauce. And some ginger. And some dried chillies. And some ground spices.”
Katara began to berate Aang about not liking her cooking, sounding far more upset than spices deserved, and Sokka shrugged. “She’s been really moody lately, don’t mind her.”
“You aren’t offended?”
“Me?” Sokka picked up a sea urchin and began to chew it happily. “You know me, I love my people’s food.” He swallowed and shrugged slightly ruefully. “But I might have picked up a taste for the finer things from the Fire Nation too.”
He pressed their shoulders together and Zuko wanted to kiss him again. He didn’t want to stop kissing him. He never wanted to stop kissing him.
There was another round of Sea Brine, which Zuko sipped this time, even though it made Hakoda laugh at him. And then eight women marched in, carrying a tray on their shoulders, with an enormous eel coiled up in the middle. It was steaming in the cold air and smelt of the sea. The clamour from the Water Tribe tables was getting almost deafening and Hakoda stood again, gesturing for them to quiet down.
“An akkaras is a dangerous beast to hunt! Fierce!” The women turned to show the whole room the creature’s giant head, teeth still intact. “Strong! Crafty! And enormous!”
The hall erupted again and Hakoda hushed them with a laugh. “To catch and kill an akkaras is feat of bravery, skill and daring. All the men who caught this one, stand-up!”
Ten men stood, including Sokka. When Zuko looked up at him his face was shining with pride.
“An akkaras is only served at a moment of great celebration for the Southern Water Tribe. Our last one was when we returned from the war. And we serve this one today as our whole world takes a step to reduce the chance that people will ever have to leave their homes to fight in one again.”
This time the clapping was more muted, and Zuko didn’t miss the uncomfortable looks on the faces of his people.
Hakoda continued though, “As is tradition, the youngest of the group,” he pointed first to a boy in his mid-teams, “the oldest,” then to a man with a grey wolf’s tail that almost reached his waist, “and the one who made the killing blow, my son, Sokka!”
Cheers exploded and Sokka bowed, grinning.
“As is tradition, these three get the choicest pick of the akkaras. Sokka, you first.”
Sokka jumped across the table and swaggered over to the women who set the massive platter of eel down onto a table. He carefully picked up a slice from just behind the head and cut it into five, thick wedges saying loudly, “For my sister, for my father, for the Avatar, for me.” He paused then and looked right at Zuko as he said, “For the Fire Lord.” He carried Zuko’s piece over to their table and set it in front of him, grinning sappily. “For my boyfriend.”
Zuko blushed and couldn’t resist leaning over to kiss him quickly on the lips. People whooped and he blushed even more as Hakoda leaned over to cuff Sokka on the back of the head and laugh, “Save it for later.”
The eel was more like meat than fish, and Zuko felt slightly guilty as it was hard to taste it after all the Sea Brine. He could bask in Sokka’s happiness though, and the toasts the men were making to him. It was lucky the tribe as a whole seemed so proud of Sokka, he didn’t seem to notice that Katara apparently didn’t like akkaras, she was clearly forcing herself to eat it.
The night dragged on a bit longer, until Sokka noticed how tired he was getting. The Fire Nation were all shuffled out of the hall, to a row of tents. Druk was in a massive wooden stable to the side of another tent. And Zuko just pressed their faces together briefly, breathing in Druk’s warmth, before Sokka steered him into a tent.
“Is this yours?” Zuko asked, but he already knew the answer. Water Tribe boomerangs and Fire Nation swords hung from the walls, and the place was the chaotic mess of half finished projects and writings that filled any Sokka living space.
Sokka wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed his neck.
“I really want to welcome you into my bed properly, but I think you’re so tired you might fall asleep halfway through.”
He couldn’t protest, just sighed and turned in Sokka’s arms to kiss his nose and then his cheek.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Come on, let’s go to bed.”
As he lay down, the world rocked again like he’d never left the boat, and then he was asleep.
Morning was confusing. It was still dark outside, but he could feel the sun below the horizon, climbing towards the sky. He tried to burrow further into the nest of blankets and press close to Sokka, but eventually thirst and his bladder forced him out of the bed.
There was no wind but the cold was like a wall and it felt like it was freezing his lungs. He held the warmth inside him for a moment as he breathed out, focusing on the thin band of gold light that stretched out in the distance, across the field of black ice.
“My lazy son still asleep?”
He jumped slightly as Hakoda came up behind him.
“Yes.”
“Come for breakfast.”
Hakoda’s tent was bigger than Sokka’s, the walls draped with thick cloth in colourful geometric patterns. The furniture was covered in thick furs Zuko sunk into and there was a small metal stove in the middle of the room, with a chimney leading out of the top of the tent.
Bato was there too and smiled at Zuko as he poured large cups of a steaming, milky coloured liquid. He sniffed it and it did smell of tea, but also sweet and fruity.
“Your uncle would be horrified if he saw what we do with the tea he sends us,” Hakoda smiled, sipping his drink appreciatively.
“What is it?”
“Tea, but brewed in milk with dried berries.”
“I’ve never had it before.”
“Hard to stop milk going sour in the Fire Nation I imagine, and Sokka doesn’t like it, it's too sweet. Go, on. Try some.”
Zuko took a tentative sip, and then a larger mouthful.
“It’s really good.”
“When it’s really cold we put lard in it too, puts hair on your chest and meat on your bones.”
“And booze,” Bato added. “Nothing keeps out the cold like a glug of this spiked with moonshine.”
Zuko huffed a laugh and watched as Bato unwrapped slices of meat and threw them into a pan on the stove. The fat sputtered and sizzled in the quiet.
Hakoda stretched his legs out and put them on a footstool.
“You’ll trip me up,” Bato warned, swiping at Hakoda’s legs. Zuko looked at them, at their easy intimacy and the bed that was bigger than one person could need, and wondered.
“Well I have to make the most of all the excess furniture, we didn’t have it when I was young.”
“You didn’t have furniture?” He blurted out.
“Well us backwards Water Tribe types…”
“Stop teasing him,” Bato said, hitting Hakoda again with the spatula. “You aren’t as funny as you think you are. We did have furniture. Not nearly as much though, we used to follow the herds, and you don’t want too much heavy stuff. Makes it harder to travel around.”
Zuko nodded thoughtfully and Bato slapped the steak down in front of him.
“Here, eat up.”
“Why did you stop moving around as much?”
There was a loaded pause and he wished he hadn’t asked before Hakoda said. “Fewer men. Harder for women and children to move on their own that much. Fewer people so we could make the most of what we had near the coast. The chief at the time thought we should build more defences.” He gave Zuko a wry look, “They didn’t work.”
Zuko just nodded. He’d apologised to the Water Tribe in many ways and many times. Doing it again wouldn’t help.
“Well,” Bato said, finishing off his own steak. “Change isn’t always bad, right Hakoda?”
“Right,” Hakoda replied, but his tone was dry and Zuko suddenly had the sense he’d blundered into an argument.
“I should go and check on Druk,” he said quickly. “Thank you very much for breakfast. The tea was really delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Hakoda said and his smile was genuine, if slightly sad. “We’ll see you later.”
When he got back to the tent Aang was in there, his hands on his hips and scowling at Sokka, who was still in bed, the blankets pulled up to his neck.
“Aang, I don’t know what’s wrong with Katara. She was being weird before you even got here, I tried to talk to her, but she said she’s fine. If she won’t talk to you either, I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey,” Zuko said, awkwardly.
“Zuko!” Sokka beamed at him, the stupid grin that made all of Zuko’s insides do backflips.
“Hi,” he replied. Still awkward, but not caring as Sokka’s smile got dirter.
Sokka didn’t look away from him, but hunched up more under the blankets and said, “Aang, get out.”
Aang turned around, pouted at Zuko and said, “But we haven’t had a chance to catch up at all.”
“Later,” Zuko replied. Suddenly very awake, and very keen to not talk. “Much later.”
Aang punched his shoulder as he went, but Zuko barely felt it as he walked slowly over to the bed, dropping off the thick layers of his clothes as he went.
Sokka let the blanket drop and pulled off his shirt. He made grabby hand gestures at Zuko, who crawled over the blankets and kissed him. This kiss was filthy, all tongue and heat and Sokka’s hand tight in his hair.
“Zuko,” Sokka groaned, shoving at the blankets between them until they were just pressed close together. Zuko kissed messily at his neck, his chest, his head spinning with all the things he wanted and too excited to choose.
“What do you want?” He moaned and Sokka flipped them in response. He straddled Zuko’s waist and began to stroke Zuko’s cock.
“I want to taste you and then I want to take you.”
“Yes,” Zuko said. He didn’t really need to, but as Sokka dropped his head and began to suck his cock it felt like all he could say. “Yes, please, both. Anything.”
Sokka groaned around him and the hot, wetness of his mouth was so wonderful after months of his own hand and memories.
“Sokka,” he managed as Sokka sank down further, taking him all the way in and pressing a finger against his arsehole. It was dry, he wasn’t really trying to go in, but it was a horrible tease and Zuko tugged at his hair a little.
“Oil, where’s the oil?”
“Top drawer, table by the bed.”
As Zuko fumbled around, distracted by the way Sokka was mouthing around the head of his cock and stroking over his hole. It was making him feel shivery and achy and he flung the pot he found at Sokka.
“Hurry up, I want you inside.”
“Fuck I missed you,” Sokka groaned. He shoved his fingers in the pot and then slowly, pressed one inside.
“You don’t need to go so slow.”
“It’s been months.” Sokka bit his hip and it made Zuko whine. “Or were you using the toy I left you?”
“I did,” he stuttered as Sokka pressed in a second finger and hit that incredible place inside him. “I did at home, but I didn’t bring it with me.”
“That’s a shame,” Sokka dragged his tongue up Zuko’s cock, “I’ve thought about using it on you. A lot.”
“Didn’t want the crew to find it. And your cock is better anyway, you should get it inside me.”
Sokka huffed a laugh, but it sounded tense and close to desperate. “Sweet talker. If you insist.”
They hesitated for a moment as Sokka knelt between his legs. Being on his back wasn’t his favourite position, but he wanted to see Sokka’s gorgeous face at least to start, and it had been so long he wasn’t sure it was going to matter much anyway.
“Like this,” he hooked his leg over Sokka’s shoulder. “Do it hard.”
That got him a grin that was almost feral as Sokka pushed into him. It was fantastic, a stretch that made him feel so full and hot, he never got over it. He’d never get over Sokka’s blissful expression either, or the heat in his eyes.
He started to move properly and Zuko knew he was probably making too much noise, but he couldn’t help it. It had been too long and he ached with how hard he was.
“Zuko, Zuko, fuck you’re so hot. I’ve missed you, I love you. You’re so fucking gorgeous. Oh fuck…”
His thrusts were getting harder and Zuko had to grasp the headboard with one hand. He reached down to jerk himself off with the other, torn between not wanting it to end and needing to come now.
“Sokka,” he managed once, and Sokka replied. “Do it sweetheart, come all over yourself. Come for me.”
His back arched, his eyes shut at the last minute and he was coming, shuddering through it as Sokka fucked him harder and then froze with a long, low groan.
Zuko felt dazed as he managed to blink his eyes open and slowly unstick his hand from the bed frame to clumsily pat Sokka’s face.
“Kiss me?”
Sokka bent down and pulled out, slumping forward and mashing their faces together, rather than properly kissing him.
Zuko giggled, feeling stretched and happy and right in a way he hadn’t for too long. “Kiss me properly you idiot.”
They managed it just, and then Sokka snuggled closer, burying his face in Zuko’s neck.
“That was amazing. Just give me ten minutes and I’ll be ready to go again.”
Zuko just snorted at that, kissing the top of Sokka’s head. They’d have to get up in ten minutes, the day weighted with importance and a dream solidifying in their hands. But for now, there was just the two of them, wrapped around each other in the warm bed.