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“Remember Jet?” Aang asked, kicking his feet up on one of Appa’s horns, “He was nuts.”
“How could I forget?” Sokka laughed, “Katara wouldn’t stop mooning over him, and she completely ignored all my well-reasoned arguments about why he was so sketchy.”
“Your arguments were not well-reasoned! You just kept saying ‘I think there’s something up with him’ and didn’t have any proof!” Katara protested.
“To be fair, Sokka, that was the day you kept telling us to trust your instincts and then led us into a Fire Nation camp.” Aang said apologetically.
Zuko watched the exchange with a small smile. He still wasn’t used to this, getting to joke about what happened to them in the final months of the war. At first, when it was all over, everyone danced around the subject, and Zuko got the impression that whenever he walked into a room, they abruptly stopped telling stories that featured him as the villain. It had taken a couple of years before they were all comfortable enough to joke about it. Now, they even joked at Zuko’s expense, telling stories of all the times he attempted to capture them.
Sokka made a disgruntled noise and leaned back against Zuko’s chest. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like ‘I was right about Jet’, then took a sip of his wine. Only Sokka was able to make sipping wine look grumpy and mutinous. It was adorable. Zuko leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of Sokka’s head.
“I wish I had met Jet.” Toph said, cracking her knuckles ominously, “I would have done worse than freeze him to a tree.”
“We shouldn’t be too hard on him,” Katara said, “he did help us escape the Dai Li in the end.”
“That doesn’t make him any less nuts.” Sokka complained.
“I’m with snoozles. Jet needed to be taught a lesson.”
“Thanks, Toph.”
Katara shook her head and leaned over to pick up the bottle of wine they were all sharing.
“Empty.” She announced, “I’ll get another bottle.”
“Do you even know where to get another bottle?” Sokka asked.
Zuko patted Sokka lightly on the hip and said, “I’ll show her.”
Sokka leaned to the side, giving Zuko room to stand up. Zuko stood, and Katara followed him into the house.
Returning here was strange too. Last time he had been at the family home on Ember Island, he had come with Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula. Now, Ty Lee was traveling the world with the Kyoshi warriors, and Mai had become a diplomat. They wrote letters to each other, but they weren’t as close as they had been here. They probably never would be again. It was nice to make new memories with the friends he now called family, but it seemed like everywhere he went, ghosts of his past clung to him.
He led Katara through the darkened halls, pausing occasionally to light one of the torches to give them light to see by. He knew where all the alcohol was kept here. He had never cleaned out the house after inheriting it. It was sort of funny to be a grown man, and Lord of an entire nation, and still feel like a teenager sneaking from his father’s pantry.
“You met Jet once didn’t you?” Katara asked as Zuko pulled open the doors to the basement.
“I met him on the ferry to Ba Sing Se. He roped me in too.”
They took the stairs down into the basement, and Zuko conjured a flame in his palm to light their way. He held it aloft, letting the rays of light touch on the bottles lining the shelves. Some of them had been in the cellar for so long that the bottles were covered in thick dust that made the labels unreadable. Katara picked a couple of bottles at random, and tucked one in the sash of her dress. The other, she tucked under her arm, keeping both of her hands free.
If pressed, she would likely say that she wanted both hands to balance herself as she went upstairs, but Zuko knew better. The war had not left them untouched when it ended. All of them were left with their particular ticks and paranoias. For Katara, it was leaving her hands free for bending. Zuko had heard her tell Sokka once that she still worried someone was going to try to get back at them for ending the war, and didn’t want to be left helpless. It was the same reason Sokka never went anywhere without his sword, and why Aang meditated every morning and every evening.
“What did you mean by he roped you in too?” Katara asked as they reached the top of the stairs.
Zuko turned around and tugged the cellar door shut behind him, “I helped him steal food.”
“You never told us that.”
“There wasn’t much to tell. We met on the ferry, and realized that the passengers were going hungry while the captain had a store of food. We stole from the stores, and distributed the food among the passengers.”
“That was very brave of you.”
“Maybe.” Zuko said, shrugging, “But I don’t know if I did it out of the kindness of my heart.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“I thought Jet was cute.”
Katara froze, pressing her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. How she and Sokka survived the war, Zuko didn’t know. They were both terrible at lying and hiding their emotions.
“Go on, laugh.” Zuko said exasperatedly, “I know you want to.”
Katara laughed with her whole body; shoulders shaking and face creased into a mask of hilarity. She laughed hard enough that tears welled in her eyes and she had to force herself to remember to take a breath.
Zuko listened to the laughter with grim acceptance. He had made it three days into their trip without being laughed at, it was his turn in the rotation.
“Sorry.” Katara gasped, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, “It’s just so funny that you thought he was cute. Jet hated firebenders.”
“Trust me, I know. He came to the Jasmine Dragon while Uncle and I were working, and he tried to bait me into firebending to get me arrested.”
“That sounds like him.”
“Joke is on him, though.” Zuko said as he and Katara started walking back towards the courtyard where their friends were still relaxing.
“What makes you say that?”
“He’s the one who kissed a firebender.”
Katara stopped dead in her tracks.
Confused, Zuko turned around. Katara’s eyes were wide with shock, and she was staring at Zuko like she had seen a ghost.
“Katara?” Zuko asked, “Are you okay?”
“You kissed Jet?” she asked faintly.
“Uh… yeah.” Zuko said uncertainly, “He was the first person my age besides Mai who thought I was handsome, and I helped him steal food. We kissed right after that, in all the excitement.”
“Oh no.” Katara said, voice still faint, “Zuko, please tell me he wasn’t your first kiss.”
“Ummmm….”
“No!” Katara groaned, drawing out the vowel in clear despair, “Zuko, we have the same first kiss.”
“What?”
“Jet was both of our first kisses.”
Zuko grimaced. He liked Katara, but it was weird to have that in common with her. That Zuko was now happily with Sokka, made that commonality even weirder. He didn’t want to think about kissing the same guy as his future sister-in-law.
“Sokka can never know about this.” Katara declared.
“Why not?” Zuko asked.
“He will never, ever let us live it down.”
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
“I still tell the story of the time he got two fish hooks stuck in his thumb!”
“Okay?”
“That was when he was ten.” Katara said, “And he still tells the story about the time I froze my own hair.”
“I remember that story.” Zuko said, laughing, “You were learning to waterbend for the first time, and one of your forms went wild. You froze your hood to your braid, right?”
“That’s what I mean! That was almost fifteen years ago now, and he still tells that story. We have to take this Jet thing to our graves.”
“I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of lying to my boyfriend.”
Suddenly, Katara surged forward. She caught Zuko by the shoulders in a surprisingly strong grip given her size. Her fingertips dug into the meat of his shoulder, and she shook him slightly, like one might shake a ragdoll, while staring into his face. Her eyes were wild with desperation and panic.
“We are taking this to our graves, Zuko.”
“But—”
“Our graves, Zuko. Or you’ll be meeting yours early.”
“Alright! Alright!” Zuko said, tugging Katara’s hands off his shoulders, “I won’t tell Sokka.”
“Won’t tell Sokka what?”
Zuko and Katara startled and jumped apart like they had been pushed apart by an airbending blast. Sokka was watching them from the entryway into the kitchen, one shoulder braced against the doorframe.
“What are you doing in here?” Katara demanded, “Zuko and I can find wine on our own.”
“I was hungry and we were out of snacks.” Sokka explained, “But what aren’t you telling me?”
“About the surprise party we’re going to throw you for your birthday.” Zuko lied.
Sokka looked at Zuko, then back at Katara, then back at Zuko. His eyes held that narrow eyed, steely focus he normally dedicated only to the most complicated of engineering problems. Zuko had not been on the receiving end of one of those looks since he was still chasing everyone around the world, trying to capture Aang. He didn’t like that it had returned.
“Zuko!” Katara exclaimed, voice overly exaggerated, “Now you’ve ruined the surprise!”
Credit where credit was due, for Katara it was a convincing lie. Unfortunately, Katara couldn’t lie well if her life depended on it, and Sokka was too insightful for his own good. His eyes narrowed further, and he turned on Zuko.
“Are you going to tell me the truth?”
“I am telling you the truth.”
“Should I get Toph in here to tell me whether you’re lying?”
“Oh let it go, Sokka!” Katara said, “Zuko is doing me a favor, butt out!”
While Katara and Sokka distracted themselves by arguing, Zuko slipped by them and made a run for the safety of the courtyard. Never had he been more grateful to see tufts of white Appa fur drifting in the breeze. When he made it outside, Aang had climbed off of Appa, and he and Toph were keeping themselves entertained by arm wrestling.
The stone floor of the courtyard was broken where Toph had bent the earth to form a table they could rest their elbows on. Aang’s face screwed up with concentration, and his tongue poked from the corner of his lips. Across from him, Toph was grinning manically and barely sweating as she pushed Aang’s hand closer and closer to the table.
“We had tables.” Zuko said, settling cross-legged next to Aang, “You didn’t need to earthbend a new one.”
“We used the tables out here already.” Toph said, “They weren’t sturdy enough.”
Looking around, Zuko noticed the scattered remains of the low tables they had set the snacks on. It looked like someone had taken a massive hammer to them, and shattered them down the middle. It was a good thing that he didn’t care about the tables. They had been his father’s pick, and Zuko had never gotten around to replacing them.
Toph slammed Aang’s hand into the table and leapt to her feet, hollering her victory.
Aang rubbed his hand, either trying to chase off the pain or return feeling to his fingers after being in Toph’s vice-grip.
“Is it broken?” Aang asked pathetically, holding his abused hand out to Zuko.
“Just bruised.” Zuko said, “You would know if it was broken. Why did you think it was a good idea to arm wrestle Toph?”
Aang shrugged, “I don’t know, it seemed fun. I thought I could beat her.”
“You might have beaten the Blind Bandit at Earth Rumble Six, but you’ll never defeat the melon lord!” Toph cried, flexing her muscles for dramatic effect.
Aang giggled, clearly having already forgiven Toph for hurting his hand, and said, “I haven’t thought about the Blind Bandit in years.”
“I haven’t gotten to do much wrestling since the war ended.” Toph said, “I’m too busy helping Zuko with Earth Kingdom relations.”
“You show up to the palace and ask for snacks.” Zuko said.
“And then give you quality advice on how to deal with nobles.”
Zuko supposed that was true. Toph had an insight on how the Earth Kingdom nobles thought, and gave him tricks to get them to agree with what he wanted. After spending most of his teenage years on a ship, his diplomatic skills were lacking. It was still difficult to remember that he was no longer on a ship, and that those rules no longer applied.
“What’s taking Katara and Sokka so long?” Aang asked.
“They got into an argument.” Zuko answered.
“About what?”
“Katara asked me to keep a secret of hers.”
“And Sokka doesn’t like that you’re keeping a secret from him?” Toph guessed.
“That’s part of it, but I think he also wants an excuse to mess with Katara.”
“It’s times like this that I’m glad I’m an only child.” Toph said, settling her back against the earth table she had made and crossing her arms behind her head, “I don’t have people constantly trying to get in my business.”
At that moment, Sokka and Katara finally emerged from inside the house. Katara walked with her chin held high, arms folded over her chest. She didn’t even glance behind her at Sokka. Meanwhile Sokka stalked behind her, fists balled up at his sides like he was ready to tackle her to the ground like they were five years old again.
Katara stopped when she saw the earth table, and said, “Zuko has proper tables.”
“Toph and I already broke two.” Aang explained, “We thought this way would be better.”
Zuko stood to make room for Katara to sit with Aang, and moved to stand next to Sokka. He reached out and slowly uncurled one of Sokka’s fists, rubbing circulation back into his fingers. Sokka looked away from Katara, and looked down at Zuko with the full force of his smile.
“What did she end up telling you?” Zuko asked curiously.
“Nothing.” Sokka said, uncurling his other fist, “All she would say was that it was embarrassing and she didn’t want me to know. She wanted me to drop it.”
“You’re not going to drop it, are you?”
Zuko knew Sokka too well. Once presented with a mystery or a problem, Sokka would never leave it unresolved. He was chronically incapable of letting things go, and it was even worse when it came to a problem or mystery surrounding Katara. Sokka hated not knowing everything about his sister. Maybe it was something that happened when you actually liked your sibling.
“Of course I’m not.” Sokka said, “I’m going to snoop.”
“Katara is going to kill you for snooping.”
“You could save me.”
“I’m not saving you. I’ve seen Katara Blood Bend. I’m not giving her a reason to use it on me.”
With a pleading expression, Sokka said, “But if she kills me, who is going to comb your hair for you at night? Or wake you up with kisses in the morning?”
“Are you trying to bribe me with sex to reveal Katara’s secret?”
“Depends. Is it working?”
“I am afraid of Katara.”
“But are you more afraid of her than of never getting another blowjob again?”
Zuko blushed and slapped a hand over Sokka’s mouth, hissing, “Not while your sister is right there.”
Sokka said something that was muffled by Zuko’s hand. Zuko lifted his palm and fingers off Sokka’s mouth, but left the heel of his hand resting on Sokka’s cheek, just in case.
“I said, I’ll stop being embarrassing if you just tell me.”
Zuko shook his head and removed his hand from Sokka’s face, “There is nothing you can do to convince me to tell you her secret.”
“Really?” Sokka asked incredulously, “Not even threatening to withhold sex?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you. You’ll crack in a few days. You like kissing and sex too much.”
Sokka opened his mouth as if to argue, but closed it. They both knew that Zuko was right. Sokka loved physical affection, and loved using it to express his love for others. He and Zuko spent more nights kissing each other to sleep than not. Zuko would miss it, but Sokka would slowly lose his mind over the course of their time apart.
“I hate you.” Sokka grumbled.
“I know.” Zuko laughed, “But you love me too.”
“This isn’t the last of this!” Sokka declared, “I will find a way to make you tell me!”
“In the meantime, can you let it go so we can go back to hanging out with our friends?”
“Fine, I will let it go for now because I need to strategize, but let this be your warning, I will get to the bottom of this.”
“Where are the snacks?” Zuko asked.
Sokka looked down at his hands, as if surprised not to see a bowl of fire flakes. He looked back up, saw Zuko trying not to laugh at him, and said, “I was focused on other things. Like lies and betrayal!”
“Do you want me to go back and get them?”
“No.” Sokka sighed heavily, “I’ll go get the snacks.”
Zuko snorted and pressed a kiss to the corner of Sokka’s lips. Sokka sighed into the kiss and rested his hand on the back of Zuko’s neck, drawing him in for a deeper kiss.
Something small and hard struck Zuko in the back. He let out a startled shout and whipped around to see what had hit him.
“You four promised no making out!” Toph complained, “There is no Suki here to save me from being the fifth wheel!”
“Did you hit me with a rock?”
“What else would I hit you with?”
*
Zuko rubbed his eyes, trying to chase off the exhaustion that clouded his vision. He sighed heavily and lifted his head from his hands, blinking into the lantern light in his chambers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that the sun had set, and that night had crept into the sky. How long had he been at work?
A pair of warm, familiar hands, touched his shoulders, and he looked up at Sokka. Sokka smiled down at him, and Zuko smiled back, leaning his head against Sokka’s stomach. Silently, Sokka removed the crown from Zuko’s top knot, and undid the pins and ribbons keeping the knot in place. Zuko sighed, eyes falling shut as the pressure was released from his scalp. Sokka scratched his fingers through the loosed hair and massaged Zuko’s shoulders, chasing away the tension that built after long hours bent over documents.
“You should take a break.” Sokka said, “You’re going to get stuck like that if you don’t stretch.”
“It’s just a few more reports. I’ll be fine.”
“You could always ask the smartest and most handsome water tribe ambassador for help.”
“What would the water tribe ambassador know about the tea trade in the Earth Kingdom?” Zuko laughed.
“What does the Firelord know about tea trade in the Earth Kingdom?” Sokka countered.
Sensing defeat, Zuko leaned forward, picked up the scroll he had receive from one of the Earth Kingdom Ambassadors, and handed it over to Sokka. Sokka accepted it, and unrolled it above Zuko’s head. His eyes narrowed as he squinted down at the neat lines of numbers and figures, and his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. Zuko loved it when he did that.
After a moment, Sokka set the report back down on Zuko’s desk, and said, “It looks like he’s telling the truth. The numbers all make sense, but if you’re worried, I can reach out to Suki.”
“What would Suki do?”
“Station some Kyoshi Warriors along the shipping channel and have them take stock of the ships going by.”
“Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors have better things to do than count ships.” Zuko decided, “If I think I’m getting an unfair deal, I’ll send spies undercover.”
“How weird is it that you have spies now?” Sokka asked, “Seems like yesterday you were just a weirdo with a ponytail.”
“I am glad to have grown it out again.”
“Me too. I like your hair. It’s very soft and very pretty.”
“Thank you?”
Sokka carded his fingers through the strands of Zuko’s hair, and a chill raced down Zuko’s spine. He relaxed back into Sokka’s touch, tilting his head back, seeking the firm pressure of Sokka’s fingers against his scalp. Wearing his hair up all the time was a sign of maturity and respect, but it had taken so long to grow out that he had stopped being used to the pull on his scalp. Now, it sometimes gave him a headache, and only Sokka was adept enough to chase away the phantom pain. Zuko had tried massaging his own scalp, but it hadn’t felt nearly as good.
Still working out the tension from Zuko’s scalp and shoulders, Sokka leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crook of Zuko’s neck. Zuko tilted his head invitingly, and Sokka sucked a light bruise into the tender skin there.
Zuko was so caught in the sensations that he was completely caught off guard when Sokka pulled back and murmured against his neck, “What were you and Katara talking about?”
“Seriously?” Zuko asked, pulling away, “You’re trying to trick me into giving up Katara’s secret?”
“I had to try! It’s driving me crazy not knowing!”
“Sokka!”
“Please Zuko.” Sokka asked, coming to his knees in front of Zuko’s chair, “I leave for the South Pole again in a few days, don’t make me go without knowing the secret.”
“I promised Katara that I wouldn’t say.”
Sokka pushed out his lower lip in a very impressive pout.
Zuko stood up and crossed to his wardrobe, trying to play it off as being cool and relaxed. Really, though, he knew that if he looked at Sokka pouting on his knees for too long then he would break. It was too enticing a sight to resist for long.
“Are you really not going to tell me?” Sokka asked.
“No.”
“But what if I die on my trip to the South Pole, and Yue takes me to the spirit realm without me ever knowing the truth?”
“Yue might tell you. She probably knows already.”
“How would Yue know?” Sokka asked, voice going high with indignation.
“She’s the moon. She looks down on us all.”
“I can’t believe Yue knows and I don’t. That’s really not fair.”
Zuko shed his heavy outer robe and hung it in his wardrobe, beneath he wore a sleevless tunic that he knew Sokka was fond of. He liked the way it framed Zuko’s arms and back.
“Do you want to keep asking me about Katara’s secret,” Zuko asked, glancing back over his shoulder at Sokka, “or do you want to spend one last night together before you return to the south pole for months.”
Sokka sat back on his knees, head cocked to one side as he contemplated it, then surged to his feet. He crowded into Zuko’s space, pinning him up against the door of the wardrobe. Zuko hooked one leg over Sokka’s hip, and dragged Sokka in by the back of his neck. Their lips crashed together, clumsy and uncoordinated with passion. Sokka’s hand flexed against the back of Zuko’s thigh, and Zuko groaned softly into his mouth.
Any thoughts about Katara or Secrets that Zuko was keeping on her befhalf, fell away with their clothes.
*
“It reminds me of this one time.” Sokka laughed, voice a little too loud from wine, “I walked in and Zuko and Katara were in the hall talking about… Actually, I can’t remember what they were talking about. Zuko, can you remind me?”
“We were talking about embarrassing moments from our teenage years.” Zuko said to Mai, Ty Lee, and Suki.
The girls laughed and began regaling Sokka and Zuko with their own embarrassing teenage exploits. Zuko had no idea that Mai had once asked Ty Lee to teach her to balance an egg on her head to impress him. Suki shared the time that she accidentally poked herself in the eye with a paint brush while trying to impress another Kyoshi Warrior in training.
While they laughed and shared, Zuko leaned down and whispered in Sokka’s ear, “Nice try.”
“I will find out one day.” Sokka whispered back, “You can’t keep hiding it forever.”
*
Zuko arched against the hands pinning him to the bed, a ragged groan of pleasure bursting from his throat. Above him, Sokka grinned wickedly and pressed down firmer on Zuko’s hands. The pressure against their threaded fingers made Zuko’s fingers curl against the backs of Sokka’s hands. He could feel the calluses of Sokka’s palms against his own. New ones had formed in the years they had known each other, from gripping brushes and pens while writing reports and designing new inventions, but the sword calluses were still there.
Sokka leaned down and pressed a kiss to Zuko’s collarbone, scraping his teeth lightly against the skin. Zuko’s eyes fell shut, his breath hitched in his chest, and he arched up again, desperate to get Sokka’s teeth where he wanted them. Sokka’s thighs were heavy and slick with sweat, pinning Zuko’s hips in place. He kissed his way up Zuko’s neck, pausing to suck a bruise at the hinge of Zuko’s jaw. Zuko shifted, trying to find friction, but was denied by the pin Sokka had him in. Sokka kissed hter im of Zuko’s ear and bit down lightly on the lobe, drawing a startled moan from Zuko.
He released the lobe and whispered, “What were you and Katara talking about, baby?”
Zuko’s eyes flew open.
“Right now?” Zuko demanded, “You really want to ask me that right now?”
“I thought if you were distracted or desperate enough, you might let something slip.” Sokka admitted sheepishly.
“Off.” Zuko said sharply, “Off.”
Sokka released Zuko’s hands and swung off Zuko.
Zuko rolled off the bed and popped up, already reaching for his discarded robe.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m sleeping next door.”
“Wait, Zuko.” Sokka said, sounding desperate. He too clambered out of bed and crossed the room to Zuko, “Please don’t go next door. I’m sorry. I promise, I won’t use sex to try to get answers about this again. I thought I was being funny.”
“Are you going to let this go?” Zuko asked.
“No.” Sokka said, rubbing the back of his neck, “But I promise to only be regular amounts of annoying.”
“If you break your word, I will find a new Southern Water Tribe Ambassador.”
“I know. I swear, no more sexy tricks.”
Zuko supposed he could live with that. He knew what he was getting into when he decided to be with Sokka. If he had wanted someone calm and composed, he would still be with Mai.
“I think some sexy tricks are still okay.” He relented.
Sokka lit up, grin stretching from ear to ear and crinkling his eyes, “Have I shown you that I can stick my foot behind my head?”
“Yeah, and it’s not sexy. It remind me of Ty Lee.”
“She’s the one who taught me to do it!”
“Come on, Sokka.”
Sokka threw up his hands in fake surrender and said, “Fine. Fine. No feats of acrobatics. What about feats of strength?”
“Are you asking if you can carry me over your shoulder to bed again?”
Sokka opened his mouth like he was going to deny it, froze, then wilted slightly, “I thought you thought that was hot.”
Zuko couldn’t help but laugh at the wounded expression on Sokka’s face, and drew him in for a kiss.
*
Dear Jerkbender.
I miss you. There, I said it. I always miss the South Pole when I’m with you in the Fire Nation, but when I’m in the South Pole, I always end up missing you.
Zuko smiled to himself. He missed Sokka whenever he was gone too. He had wanted to go to the South Pole with Sokka this last time, but he couldn’t settle matters on the council in time to go. At least they still had their letters to each other.
I think the only solution to this problem is for you to move to the South Pole and run the Fire Nation from here. Aang lives here most of the time now, so if you needed to get back to the Caldera for an urgent meeting, you could take Appa. I know you’ll have some logical reason why that wouldn’t work, but for my sake, don’t think of that reason. Bury it deep inside yourself and never let it see sunlight.
Katara is home this time. She and Aang try to stop by to visit every couple of months. I would love to be able to do that, but they can use Appa. I have to take one of your ships. Speaking of, your ships need improvement. Most of them are left over from the war, and are held together by rust. I plan on introducing a motion at the next meeting to improve the quality of the ships, or at least make some much needed repairs.
Seeing Katara reminded me that you still haven’t told me what secret you’re keeping for her. If you could include that information in the next letter you send, I would be most appreciative.
I love you.
Your Favorite Ambassador
-- Sokka
Zuko smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand.
He loved Sokka, but Sokka was going to be the death of him.
*
“Katara.” Zuko hissed, “Katara.”
Katara stopped talking with Suki and Toph, and glanced over her shoulder. She frowned when she saw that Zuko was hiding in the shadows of the formal dining room, trying to get her attention.
Zuko pressed one finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, then gestured for Katara to follow him.
Turning back, Katara said something to Suki. Suki smiled and nodded at her, and Katara slipped away. She walked towards the exit of the dining room, and Zuko followed her silently, clinging to the shadows.
They made into the hall outside and Zuko dismissed the guards standing at attention, keeping an eye on the party’s attendants.
“Why are we sneaking around?” Katara asked.
“We need to tell Sokka.” Zuko said desperately.
“Tell him what?”
“About Jet.”
“No way.”
“Katara, please I—”
“My brother has too many embarrassing stories about me as it is.” Katara insisted, “I am not giving him another one.”
“Katara, he won’t stop asking.”
“It can’t be that bad.”
“He brought it up during sex.”
“Ew! Zuko!” Katara cried clapping her hands over her ears, “I don’t care that it’s a natural part of life! I don’t want to hear about your sec life with my brother!”
“He requested old records from Lake Laogai!”
“So?”
“I think he’s hoping to hypnotize the answer out of me.”
“Sokka wouldn’t do that.”
“Wouldn’t he?” Zuko asked.
Katara paused, thought about it, and grimaced, “I don’t think he would actually do it. But he might threaten it, or worse, learn something useful from it.”
“Please, just let me tell him. I’ll make him promise not to bring it up.”
“Aha!” Sokka exclaimed, coming around the corner, “Suki told me she saw you two come out here!”
Zuko wanted to admire how good Sokka looked in his party clothes. He had worked with tailor to combine the cut of fire nation clothes, with the colors of the water tribe, and his bare arms gleamed in the lantern light. Unfortunately, Zuko was about two seconds from ripping his hair out.
“Sokka! Stop creeping up on people!” Katara said, clasping a hand to her chest.
“I’ll stop creeping up on people when you two stop creeping around sharing secrets!”
“And stop harassing Zuko!” Katara added, “I don’t want my future brother in law to be bald from stress before the age of thirty!”
“I’m not stressing him out!” Sokka denied, and turned to Zuko, “I’m not stressing you out, am I?”
Zuko opened his mouth, fully intending to reassure Sokka that he was not a source of stress. Instead, what came out was, “Katara and I both kissed Jet!”
“Zuko!” Katara complained.
Sokka’s face lit up with what could only be described as evil glee. “Does that mean both of you had a first kiss with the same guy?”
“How could you know that?” Katara asked.
“Because I’m a genius.” Sokka said, “Tui and La, this is great. I am never letting you live this down.”
Katara rounded on Zuko and said, “See what you’ve done!”
Well, Zuko thought, at least I won’t be bald by thirty.