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~~
“I hope you will forgive me for being… direct, but may I ask you a question?”
Sokka turns, mildly intrigued at the soft voice of the younger councilwoman to his side. “Yes?” He almost didn’t hear her over the cacophony of the current discussion, which can barely be called that.
Unless flying furniture can be counted as an argument.
Churai’s eyes are so wide it looks almost painful, not taking her stare off the current circumstance as a gout of fire blazes through the center of the room. “Is there a particular reason why he is here?”
Sokka hides a laugh behind a cough, following her gaze out to his mate, who is clearly very done arguing with this particular dockmaster as he throws a quill down next to his cowering form so forcefully it imbeds in the wood floor on impact. “Sign it and get out.”
“He is the Firelord, is he not?” Sokka rests his chin on his hand, fully aware of the lovesick puppy he is probably displaying and not caring in the least as he watches Zuko’s lip curl in a snarl.
“Well yes, but he’s- I mean you are-” She stops, clearing her throat and gesturing vaguely. “I just feel his time might be better suited elsewhere? Today?”
Her statement amusingly coincides with the next appointment, which happens to be a group of young soldiers about getting funding for new weapons, and each one of them looks like they want to crawl in a hole and die when they are forced into fighting distance with his mate.
Sokka’s furious and very much in heat, mate.
“Trust me when I say I know exactly what I would rather be doing right about now, but even I know better than to try and convince him to shirk his duties for the day.” Still, it is definitely not a waste to watch him like this, to see the constant blood flush of his skin and the glow he has been exuding since he woke that morning.
It may be a little bit of an alpha thing that has his own scent oozing pride and smugness, to have everyone else see exactly what they cannot have.
Especially the group of young alphas currently looking like they want the ground to open up and swallow them than to try to continue their plea.
“But you’re his alpha? I mean, isn’t that kind of your-” She cuts off, as if she suddenly knows the error she is about to make.
And Sokka cuts his gaze to her sharply as his amusement drops, eyeing her with enough warning that the young beta immediately finds something interesting to look at on her desk. “My job, Councillor Churai, is to love my mate, not to keep him. And I will do so in whatever capacity he requires of me. Today, that is this.”
Granted it was a small discussion that morning when Sokka had woken to the bitter scent of distress mixed with the unmistakable cloying sweetness of heat in the air. But when he had gently suggested taking the day off his only response had been, “Well I can either be miserable at home, or miserable at council and actually accomplish something.”
And Sokka had known well enough that it had little to do with productivity, and much more to do with keeping busy enough not to allow the downward spiral of Zuko’s worst thoughts to gain any traction.
It seems to be working well enough, and regardless of the rest of the council shooting Sokka overly concerned looks for the past few hours, no one had been maimed thus far.
“Apologies.” It is very quiet, even for her, and Sokka would feel a bit of remorse if not for the gap in her education that has suddenly become glaring.
“Accepted.” He turns back to see the newest attendant for a meeting, a very young girl seeking permission to run a small bouquet business in the market for her mother, and hides his smile behind his hand when he immediately notes the soft look Zuko favours her as she bravely gives her spiel. “But in the future I would recommend not assuming anything about the inner workings of someone else’s relationship, yes?”
Churai nods in his periphery, sufficiently reprimanded enough for him, and he has more important things to do than snap at council members.
Like watching Zuko try desperately not to cry as he is handed a terribly coloured picture of a marketstall design.
~~
The day, at least, goes quickly.
In a shock to no one, several appointments were suddenly postponed once word got out of what they would be dealing with once they got there, but many were still willing to try their luck.
More than one seemed curious in general if it was actually true, and the more the hours passed the more the scent of heat saturated the space until it was unmistakable.
It is every bit of relief to stand when they finally finish for the day and cross the room to him, nodding to a few others as they hastily make their way to the exit with worried looks shot his way.
But as long as the day has been, Zuko looks anything but tired, eyes bright and watchful as Sokka leans a hip on his desk. “I’m okay.” It is soft, enough to only carry between them even if it doesn’t sound entirely truthful.
Sokka would never needle him on it though, and just nods in response. “Ready to go?”
He doesn’t get a reply, only the stiffening of Zuko’s back as he reaches for his things, and the distress from that morning is almost instantly back in full swing. The sweetness of his scent takes on the bitter tang of apprehension and dread, and it is a long moment held between them before Zuko can meet his eyes.
There is an apology in his gaze, where none is needed, and an old anger is instantly stoked in Sokka at the sight. But he says nothing on it, nodding to his mate and taking a step back to give the breath of some space.
“After you.”
~~
The way home is blissfully quiet.
Sokka stays a generous stride behind, easily within reach but not encroaching as he follows Zuko through the palace grounds.
He keeps his eyes on their surroundings, unable to bank the protective instinct as he sends more than one guard a sharp look when they pass. And he must be losing some of the fight on his own control when every one of them immediately averts their gaze and inches away to give them a better buffer.
Because Zuko is a hot mess in front of him, in every possible way, but more than anything the growing anxiety in his scent is making Sokka want to grab the next wayward pair of eyes by the throat and slam them through a stone pillar.
And maybe Zuko is picking up the answering vicious notes in his own scent, because he does pause briefly in the hall of their wing of the palace, face turning towards him just enough to catch the bright gold of his eye. “Thank you.”
For what is irrelevant, but Sokka nods to him with a soft look. “Of course.”
He can see the way Zuko’s jaw tenses, chin dimpling for half a second before he turns away once more and continues to walk. He is straight backed and broad shouldered, heat rising from every tiny inch of skin bared, and to anyone else he would be terrifying.
But Sokka is not just anyone, and regardless of how lethal his mate can be, this is not that.
This is hanging onto the last shreds of control in a clawed and bloody grip, a remnant of past necessity that his instincts have never allowed to falter.
It has always felt right, that Zuko is this way, and Sokka couldn’t imagine a world where he would be anything else. It is impossible not to feel the warmth of alpha pride in his chest at the thought, especially as his eyes linger pointedly on the flushed pinkness of a long healed scar peaking from beneath Zuko’s collar.
That he had been the only one deemed worthy of him.
The memory remains burned into his mind, the brashness and desperation of them both in their youth. The beautiful, deadly, prince snarling in his face as he shoved him back into a tree.
“You know it’s you.” Golden eyes flashing, muscles taut in the arm pinning Sokka’s shoulder. “You know, and you’ve done nothing.”
Accusatory and not, the warning creak of bone on bone but Sokka won’t rise to the bait. “And? You aren’t some prize I’ve won, Zuko. I am not about to force myself on someone unwilling.”
“But you are about to let me walk into a prison unclaimed?” Fangs on full display, lips curling in fury around his words. “What kind of Alpha are you?”
There is the sting of claws at his neck as the grip tightens, and Sokka does snap back then, pushing into the contact enough to bloom the tang of blood into the already scent soaked air between them as a growl thunders through his chest. “Apparently the only decent one you’ve met!”
It is a flash then, fragments of an expression immediately schooled, and if Sokka were any less quick he would have missed it. The pause, the breath, the spike of fury notable in the wildfire of his scent. Anger, but not at him.
And Sokka stops entirely, checking himself back as he watches Zuko. Because the answer is carefully hidden, but not well enough from him.
That someone had tried before, and failed.
And that Zuko is afraid. And he is allowing Sokka to see it.
So he gives to the force against him, ignoring the pain in favour of staring Zuko down. “Do you want me to?”
The snarl is ongoing, lips still curled but Zuko’s breaths are sharp and wounded things as he looks away. Deference, but not the kind that Sokka wants.
“Zuko-”
“-And if I say no?”
Sokka’s head tilts, catching the turbulence of Zuko’s scent as it spikes in every direction. “Then you walk into a prison unclaimed. And I rip apart anyone who tries to change that.”
Another pause, but different this time, and Zuko’s head ducks briefly before he turns back to face Sokka properly. There is a nod, almost imperceptible, but Zuko is smart enough to know that will not be enough. “Do it.”
And Sokka does not hesitate, knowing that every inch of this decision has already been agonized over to reach this point. That Zuko allowing him to lean in at all is assurance enough, even as his teeth ghost over the spot for the briefest of moments before sinking into the silk-soft skin with one firm snap of his jaw, and-
-”Soft.”
Sokka is pulled from his thoughts as his mate turns once more towards him when they near their rooms. “Hm?”
Zuko snorts, scent pulling together a bit less fractured now that safety is closer at hand. “I can smell you. Getting all soft about something.”
Sokka smiles, humming lightly as he stretches, and mentally tallying a little victory in his corner when Zuko’s gaze zeros in on the strip of skin exposed at his belly. “Just thinking about the first time.”
He does fully stop then, one hand halfway reaching for the door to their quarters as he turns with an incredulous look. “Oh yes, so romantic, when we fucked in the dirt like a pair of horny teens.”
Sokka rolls his eyes, more pleased at the dissipating stress in Zuko’s scent than any annoyance could deter. “In case you forgot, we were a pair of horny teens. You almost started a forest fire halfway through.”
“Decidedly not my finest moment.”
“I beg to differ.” And he really does, thinking back to the wildness of them both, snarling and snapping and clawing into the dirt, and Zuko burying a set of too-hot omega fangs into his shoulder that burned his own mark to permanence. “You were perfect.”
Zuko sighs, but the hint of a laugh dulls the edges of it as he takes a step towards Sokka.
A surprise in its own right, his normally hates being touched at the start of his heat, needing space from loudness of any variety until he can bring his panicking body back down enough to calm.
So Sokka stills entirely, brow raised in question but hands loose at his sides as Zuko closes the distance and reaches up to tug his chin. “Soft.” But he brushes his nose and cheek across the bolt of Sokka’s jaw in the lightest of scent marks, before swiftly releasing his hold and striding into their home.
Sokka barely gets the door shut behind himself before Zuko is shedding layers, rumbling punched out little growls as his frustration grows with each new set of buttons and laces. He can already hear the warning straining of cloth on the verge of ripping as he passes by him to their bathroom, leaning down to start the flow of water into the expansive tub.
He eyes the selection of fancy oils and salt along the side, but thinks better of adding anything complicated without Zuko’s say-so, and instead lets his own palm rest beneath the flow. Both to check the temperature and to simply add his own scent to it, albeit diluted.
Sokka doesn’t hear the footfalls behind him over the water, but he doesn’t have to. The smouldering honey essence of his mate in heat fills the space unhindered by clothing, and his mouth waters instantly at the taste of it in the air.
Zuko is resplendent, crossing to his side while he slings his hair up and out of the way with a long pin. He is blood-flushed and nearly glowing, thighs shiny with a mess of slick as it trails down between them, and he eyes Sokka with a knowing look before taking a step into the full tub.
They don’t say anything, outloud anyway, other than a relieved sigh on Zuko’s part as he lowers his aching body beneath the warmth. And Sokka is happy enough as they are, sitting to his side and pillowing his head on his elbow on the lip of the tub as he watches closely.
Because it is a point that took months to get to initially.
Where Zuko would allow him to see him like this.
Sore, tender-skinned all over with gritted teeth and an arm slung tight across his middle, as the other slips a hand between his legs to try and gain some small relief.
Alone, forever, and now not ever again.
Because Sokka gets to be here, eyes hungry as Zuko snags his own lip in his teeth, and the point of one fang pricks just enough to bead red. The muscles of his forearm flex, legs falling wider as his hips roll into the stroke of his own fingers, moving enough now for the water to displace and lap at the edges as he climbs higher still.
The pain is still there though, distress and discomfort quieter beneath the onslaught of pleasure but not enough to disappear entirely. And Sokka would love nothing more than to slip into the tub behind him and hold him close, to let him shatter apart in his arms instead of against porcelain, but that is not what Zuko needs from him.
So he breathes through the need to move, taking lungfuls of scent rich air that make his cock pulse against his thigh to leave a wet mess in the cloth of his pants. And he stays transfixed on Zuko’s face, to the tense knit between his brows and the growing volume of his whines as his hips stutter beneath the water.
Watching him come feels like watching divinity before him.
And in many ways, for Sokka, it is exactly that.
The privilege of watching his lover unravel, mouth parting to gasp as his free hand snaps out to slam down onto Sokka’s forearm, claws biting in to anchor in his skin as his scent coats the room in bliss.
Zuko does grab for him then, whining in short panicked breaths as his instincts fully take over, and Sokka is there in an instant for the fallout, reaching across the bath to pull him in tightly and nuzzle softly into his cheek.
He doesn’t try to ply him with affirmations, and instead just lets a purr rumble loudly where his chest presses to Zuko’s side, ignoring the dampness of tears he can feel against his throat as Zuko struggles to come back down. His body shakes through a few more waves, and he crumples further on each one, curling up tighter still despite the size of his frame.
Sokka waits, holding him there until the water begins to cool, until Zuko takes a shaky breath and nods against him. “Take me to bed.”
It is a simple enough thing to hook his arm beneath Zuko’s knees and pull him free from the bath, and it sets his own instincts at ease to have his mate securely in his hold. His scent is growing deeper by the second, but Zuko will fight it to the last moment, always.
And Sokka understands.
So he takes care to set Zuko down on the expanse of their bed, and allow him to slowly release his iron tight grasp on Sokka’s shoulders. And Sokka can’t help the shudder that runs through him, bracing himself on a forearm when Zuko takes the opportunity to nip beneath his scent gland. He licks across it immediately afterwards to soothe it, leaning back against the bed with a heavy breath as Sokka’s heartrate spikes. “Sorry.”
But Sokka just smiles, shaking his head to try and clear the instant fuzziness Zuko caused. “I’m okay.”
He manages to peel himself back with only one quick bite to the inside of his cheek, before walking across their bedroom to throw his own clothing off. It is impossible not to feel the burn of a pointed gaze at his back as he bares himself completely, but it is less about showing off than it is about making things less complicated later on.
His cock is still at the ready, will be until this is over, blood pumped and weeping and oversensitive to even accidentally brush against, but it is not time for that quite yet.
So he stretches languidly, before pulling the covers back and sliding beneath, turning to face his mate and offering his palm between them. “Time for some sleep?”
Zuko blinks, considering. “Some.” He does slide his own hand across, lacing his fingers into Sokka’s and rubbing his thumb rhythmically across his wrist to catch more scent. “I think.”
Sokka smiles and leans forward to brush a kiss across his knuckles. “Wake me up when you need me.”
~~
There are teeth at his neck.
Not quite biting but dragging at the vulnerable skin there, and Sokka’s eyes snap open in an instant as a shiver ripples across his shoulders. “Zuko?”
The breaths against him are ragged, and the inferno of Zuko’s body is pressed tight all along his back as a pained noise is buried against his skin. Zuko’s arms reach to circle his ribs, palms spanning across Sokka’s belly as he hooks one leg over Sokka’s thigh.
Sokka smiles, reaching with a hand to grip Zuko’s hip and pull him in tighter when he feels the slick heat of his cunt grind along the muscle of his leg. “Just like this?”
Zuko nods against him, moaning softly as he gains a small bit of rhythm. “Can I? Sokka can-” The question had been asked already, this time with intention as his teeth grab a little bit harder just at the edge of the mark. His hips work harder, making an absolute mess between them and it is impossible for Sokka not to squirm at the feeling of slickness trailing down to his cock.
Sokka thinks he could come just from that alone, currently, and leans his head back for better access as he nods. “Yes, do it.”
There is no second to think or brace, the moment the words pass his lips there is just the sharp pressure of fangs sinking in. He hisses loudly as it throbs, his heartbeat pounding against his ribs as Zuko’s thighs pinch his own tighter, riding it in messy slides as he purrs happily around his mouthful.
And then there is a hand reaching for him, stroking fingers across the pool of precome and slick currently mixing in the hollow of his hip. Sokka’s mouth drops open on a whine as his cock is circled in Zuko’s palm, hips trying to move but entirely unable, and it doesn’t matter. Zuko does not tease him or even attempt to draw it out, too busy chasing his own pleasure and muffling needy noises against him as he strokes Sokka firmly.
It borders on painful, almost, his cock is so sensitive and swollen that it feels nearly bruised, but Sokka can do nothing but remain as he is. Pinned between teeth and thighs and a hand intent on catching every half stutter his hips manage to make.
He loves it, the unstoppable force of his mate taking what he needs, the scent of them both spreading into one another that will be strong enough to last weeks.
Sokka can feel the quick shift of pressure of his knot forming with a growing ache, and Zuko makes a pleased sound as he feels it against his fingers. He comes almost instantly when Zuko’s hand slides further down to encompass it, all slick and tight around him, and his cock makes a mess of them both as he digs his own teeth into a pillow with a growl through each heavy pulse.
Zuko is only a half second behind, hips working feverishly until he stills with a shudder and Sokka fully starts to lose feeling in his leg from how tight it is being grasped between Zuko’s thighs. He pants wet breaths into the skin still held firmly in his jaws, and it is several minutes of intermittent growling before he finally releases the hold.
Sokka hisses a bit at the release, blood flow rushing back to the fresh wound to ooze sluggishly down his collarbone, but he can’t help the smile when Zuko immediately soothes over it with his tongue and nuzzles under his ear. “Feeling better?” His voice is thick to his own ears, coming more from his chest than normal under the influence of barely reined in instincts.
He feels the nod as Zuko relaxes against him with a sigh. “Almost.” He presses a lingering kiss beneath the blooming bruise as his fingers stroke softly over Sokka’s sternum. “That helped the most. Sorry.”
Sokka snorts. “Ah yes, what an awful time I just had. The things I do for love.” He gestures to the mess of come in front of him, alongside his still hard cock laying across the crease of his hip.
But Zuko is barely listening it seems, already tucking his nose back right beside the mark he just remade to take long inhales of Sokka’s scent, nipping at a new spot just to the side of it. The heat of his body has only grown, as if a patch of blazing summer sunlight has seen fit to wrap around Sokka’s frame, scent wild and dangerous with need.
Sokka turns in his arms, dislodging Zuko slightly but his mate only blinks at him with eyes a little too black as he settles back. The ache of oversensitivity is finally gone, or at least is able to be fully ignored judging by the immediate shimmy on Zuko’s part to get closer into his hold. “Now?”
He already knows the answer, couldn’t miss it with a not very subtle rock against his hips as Zuko tries to get a bit of friction.
But he will always ask.
And Zuko nods, fingers reaching to thread through Sokka’s hair and tilt him closer, not to kiss but just to nip at his jaw for a moment. “Your mouth, first.” Then there are lips on his, heated and sweet as a tongue slips through to stroke along his own, and Sokka makes a pleased hum against him as his cock kicks at the thought.
Zuko doesn’t always enjoy it during his heats, sometimes simply just too afraid of doing actual harm to Sokka to allow himself to relax into it, no matter how assuring Sokka tries to be.
So he knows better than to try his luck and attempt to get Zuko to sit on his face, as much as he might adore that position best, normally. But even so, he has no complaints in getting to slide down Zuko’s body and press his lips to his throat, his sternum, ducking to the side to lick across the swell of his chest and suck a nipple into his mouth until the fingers in his hair tighten with warning.
Zuko’s breaths come in staggered little pants as Sokka nips along his belly, legs falling wider to make space until Sokka reaches to pull them over his shoulders.
The first taste of him is the most addictive thing he thinks he’s ever known, tongue sliding through the near scorching slickness like sweet warmed honey and he can do nothing but moan against him and delve deeper. It is all pure Zuko, all his mate, scent and taste mingling together until it is indistinguishable and he can feel every inch of tightening pleasure in his lover as it takes over all of his own senses.
He has always loved this, the high thready whines he can barely hear through the vice hold of thighs on his face, the claws tangling in his hair to pull him in harder, and the fine tremble in Zuko’s hips with every arching writhe to meet him.
Sokka keeps his eyes on him, unable to look away from the high flush to his face and sheen of sweat as Zuko’s head tips back with his teeth buried in his lip. He follows the movement, stroking one hand up the shuddering muscles of his belly to palm his chest, teasing at his nipple with gentle flicks of his thumb.
He can feel the rumble of a growl- even if he can’t hear anything but the thud of Zuko’s pulse through his thigh- as blown out eyes meet his. But Zuko doesn’t make any move to stop him, instead reaching to grab his other hand and place it on the unoccupied side.
Sokka doesn’t hesitate to oblige and doubles down his efforts, cock throbbing needily where it is pressed into the bedding but he doubts anything in existence could pry him away from the task at hand right now. And he is quickly losing himself in it, rumbling happily into every pass of his tongue, licking deeper and deeper until his nose rubs against Zuko’s clit, tongue fucking into him with short quick strokes the way he knows Zuko loves.
And Zuko is quickly falling apart around him, thighs pressed so tight it makes Sokka’s jaw ache, muscles tensing as he squirms within his hold.
Sokka can feel the precipice climbing with each heated pulse of slick that tracks down his chin and neck, greedily licking and sucking him clean to get as much of the taste as he can, but it is barely a few more seconds before there are claws in his forearms as Zuko starts to come.
He is so beautiful like this, messy and halfway to feral as he fully grinds against Sokka’s face with a snarl. The points of his claws dig into Sokka’s skin as he tosses his head back, voice tapering to a whine as Sokka doesn’t let up, licking and sucking through every shudder until Zuko’s legs fall free of him.
Sokka still doesn’t move from his preferred place, nuzzling happily into the softness of Zuko’s inner thigh and gently biting little red marks into it as he waits for him to come back down. The satisfaction hanging heavily in Zuko’s scent has his own instincts preening as a hand slides back into his hair to pet through the strands.
Zuko huffs a laugh, eyeing him with a brow raised. “If you had a tail it would be thumping the bed right now.” It is barely a hoarse rasp, his voice already half gone from strain, but his mouth curves into a soft smile when Sokka nips him properly in response.
“Shocking, truly, that I love making my husband come.” He rolls his eyes, but grins right back as he leans up to rest his chin just below Zuko’s navel. “You are okay?”
Zuko tilts his head with an almost unbearably grateful look as he nods. “Yes. Faster now though, I’m already…” He pauses to blow his breath out slowly, shaking his head like he is trying to clear it.
And Sokka can feel it, the miniscule movement of the hips beneath him, the scent of need that hasn’t really backed off at all, starting to overtake everything else. He lets his palm rest on Zuko’s belly, stroking gently over the fatigued muscles as he nods. “Any preference?”
But Zuko is already moving, nudging Sokka free to push him onto his back and following him over to straddle his hips. And Sokka barely has a second to brace himself before his cock is suddenly sinking into the slick inferno of his mate’s body, sheathing completely and grasping for Zuko’s hips just to have something to hang onto.
Zuko purrs loudly as he seats himself, shifting slightly to accommodate the spread of his already swollen cunt and smiling as he settles fully. But there is only a moment of peace before his eyes blink unfocused, a bit of panic once again creeping into his scent as he reaches for Sokka’s hands. “Sokka, Sokka I need-”
And Sokka is already adjusting, sitting up to pull Zuko flush to his lap and wrapping his arms around his waist to anchor him tight and close. “I’m right here, I’ve got you.” He rocks a bit with the movement, breathing against the relentless pleasure of fucking slightly further in. He can already feel his knot trying to reform, all the tender pressure building lightning quick in response to finally being inside.
Zuko nods, burying his nose directly into Sokka’s neck where his scent is strongest and sliding an arm over his shoulder to secure himself. “Fuck, fuck, move baby.”
It isn’t quick, they are too molded to one another for anything other than a slow rock back and forth but the feeling of being so entwined is another level of perfection.
Sokka can feel every hitch to Zuko’s breath as they climb together, tugging him forward with an arm across his hips to angle him just right. And there is nothing but desperate gasps against his neck as his knot begins to find purchase, an endless chorus of please, please, please, until he catches properly.
Zuko’s breath rushes out of him the second he’s tied, hips working to pull him even deeper as the knot continues to swell, and Sokka doesn’t let up even as his balls draw up and he starts to come, too intent on seeing his mate fall right along with him.
It doesn’t take much, his hand barely skims over the stretch of skin at Zuko’s belly before his cock is suddenly being squeezed as the cunt around it spasms. Wave after wave until a gush of slick slips from around him to soak them both as Zuko heaves breaths into the open air that feel just a bit too hot.
But fire hazard aside, Sokka feels nothing but peace and rightness in the moment, tied tight and entirely tangled with the man he loves more than anything.
And the feeling passes between them with ease, Zuko catching enough air to press his lips to Sokka’s brow and whisper. “Bite me next time.”
~~
The time between gets shorter and shorter with every round, until there is no space for his knot to even come down before Zuko is snarling and grabbing for him again.
He did bite him the next time, with Zuko on his hands and knees and Sokka’s fangs buried in his neck and that alone was enough to make him come before they even started, gushing around Sokka’s fingers as his body went loose and pliant within his grasp.
Sokka had managed to pull away long enough afterwards to get some food, but it took a decent amount of coaxing to get Zuko to accept anything amid the feverish rush to get back to business. In the end it came down to keeping the plate on the bed and managing to get a few bites of fruit into him for the few seconds of somewhat lucidity immediately post-orgasm.
Zuko’s heat finally breaks as dawn starts to crack through the seam of darkness outside, and both of them are so exhausted at the end of the final round they only manage a slow roll with both of them on their sides.
But it is still lovely, to knot him like this, and hold him close to his chest as sleep finally begins to take them.
Because he gets to smell the contentment, the happiness, the comfort, he has given his mate, the way only he can.
And there is something so perfect about Zuko mumbling and turning his head to look at him with knowing eyes. “Soft.”
Sokka smiles, closing the miniscule distance to kiss his cheek and rest his head on Zuko’s temple. “For you? Always.”
~~