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keelywolfeRandom Curiosity
By Keelywolfe
PG
Sokka/Zuko, Zuko/?
Summary: Training has never been so dangerous
Eighth in a series:
No Turning Back
Division of Time
Conflicted
Manly Pursuits
Interlude: Aang
Say Anything
Interlude, Suki
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If he were forced, Zuko would have to admit, grudgingly, that Aang was really a good firebender. In the short time Zuko had been training him, Aang had already surpassed Zuko's own level of skill at that age. Of course, he was the Avatar and when you had something that going for you, little things like hard work and diligence fell to the wayside.
No, that wasn't fair. Aang was working very hard and it showed. But if Zuko had been even a quarter as annoying during his training-
(oh, and he had, he knew he had, and if...if he ever saw his uncle again he would beg forgiveness, he would)
-if he had, then it was a wonder his uncle hadn't thrown him overboard.
"No!" Zuko snapped as Aang shifted into the wrong position for the third time. "You can't shift to either side like that without checking the position of your opponent!" To prove his point, he thrust out a fist and sent a fan of flames towards Aang so that the younger boy had to scramble out of the way, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"I'm sorry!" Aang said, again. Again and again and again... Zuko sighed and scrubbed an arm over his face.
"I think we need a break," he decided, not even watching the Avatar as he nodded fervently, following Zuko with puppyish eagerness to the soft, shaded grass under a nearby tree. Zuko had long since chased the others away with his snarling temper this morning but Katara had thoughtfully left them both a cool drink and a snack. Melon juice and thin wafers of bread spread with some sort of nut and berry relish. He was starting to see why Sokka didn't like sharing meals with Aang.
Sokka.
He shied away from the thought, avoiding Sokka in his mind as much as he'd avoided him in person. Not his cleverest choice and probably one of the few truly cowardly ones but he didn't...he couldn't...
He didn't like telling Sokka no. Even when he should have. It was easier to just avoid it all and he'd done a fair job of it until they'd cornered him in the baths and then...he hadn't said no. It was as simple as that.
Zuko scowled down at his food, appetite lost. It was completely ridiculous how he'd gotten swept into this in the first place. He was here to train Aang, to defeat his father and end this gods-forsaken war, not to be bedding the resident swordsman / plan guy/ idiot. Really, Sokka had a lot of titles.
It probably would be best to end things now, before they became any more complex. He still had time, perhaps, to limit things to friendship. Sokka would allow him that, he thought. Sokka who had a bright smile and a clownish attitude, who could be fierce and gentle and whose mouth--
No.
Unwillingly, Suki's words from that morning came back to him.
"No, but you love Sokka. Don't you."
It hadn't been a question, so softly spoken. He'd only been able to stare at her, his throat was burning with salt air and terror, and Zuko could only swallow one of them away.
Don't take him away from me, he hadn't said, those first words froze in his throat, unspoken, the wild, desperate plea refusing to spill into the air. Once he had begged, pleaded, once, and he would carry the mark from it for the rest of his life. Never again. He would never beg for anything again. Not even for Sokka.
She had asked him not to ask Sokka to choose and Zuko had only been able to stare at her, uncomprehending. Why would he want Sokka to choose? It would only leave him alone.
"Can I ask you something?" Aang said, bursting his thoughts like a fragile soap bubble. He was nearly grateful.
"Of course," Zuko said absently, chewing his tough slice of bread with grim determination.
"What's it like to have sex?"
All right, he wasn't that grateful and the bread/fruit combo was bad enough without half inhaling it. Zuko managed to choke down the bite he'd swallowed in surprise and took a long drink before he rasped out, "What kind of question is that?"
"I don't know," Aang dug a toe into the dirt. "But I know you and Sokka, you...do it. I just wondered what it was like."
Zuko stared, his mouth falling open. "How did...what..."
Aang was nearly crimson, his eyes determinedly on the grass as though it had something to add to the conversation. "Well, I saw you that one time, on the path, I-"
"What do you mean you saw us?!" Zuko said loudly, indignation coloring his voice. He had rolled to his feet before he'd even realized what he was doing, torn between storming away or beating the curiosity out of one Airbender.
"I was going to the fountain!"
"So you just stayed there and watched? It wasn't a free show!"
"You were on the path! Was I supposed to close my eyes and walk over you?"
Zuko knew when to abandon a strategy. "Never mind that, I...you just..." He rubbed his temples, feeling the throb of a headache starting just behind his eyes. Gods, how had his Uncle not murdered him in his sleep? "Aang, I don't think that this falls under the category of firebending training."
"Oh." Aang drew his knees up. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering. The monks at the Air Temple never talked about it and since I may never get to..." he trailed away and Zuko groaned inwardly. Oh, please, not the 'I'm going to die a virgin' gambit. What was worse was that it was working because Zuko knew exactly what Aang was going to be up against. If he survived facing his father, if any of them survived, if, if, if.
With a mental sigh, he sank down to sit next to Aang, their shoulders barely touching. "It's...nice," he hedged, awkwardly. "It feels good."
Okay, that was probably the lamest description of sex in the history of the world but Aang was nodding eagerly as if he'd produced not a pearl of wisdom, but spat out an entire necklace.
"Look, you're still pretty young. There's--" Still time, he almost said, bit his tongue hard on it.
Aang smiled ruefully. "I know. I don't really want to...you know. I was just curious."
The silence between them was not quite uncomfortable and Zuko wasn't entirely sure how to break it. Maybe it would be better to get back to training; at least then Aang would be too out of breath to ask him anything.
"Zuko? Can I ask you something else?"
Too late. "Why not?" he sighed, flopping back into the grass.
"Would you kiss me?"
The sky was just lovely today, Zuko decided, clear blue beauty with a scattering of fluffy clouds, nothing that spoke of rain, just warmth and sunshine and if he stared at it long enough, he could pretend he hadn't heard that.
"I mean, I kissed Katara once, but she doesn't seem to want to do it again. I thought maybe, since you kissed Sokka..."
Yep, fluffy, happy clouds. That one sort of looked like a platypus bear. Or maybe an armadillo bear, yes, he could see the outline of its tail.
"It's just, I wanted to try it once before...before I..."
He only needed one excuse in this sea of bad ideas but the mingled hope and sadness in Aang's voice outdid him and he didn't want to hear about how Aang might die.
"All right!" he growled, sitting up abruptly and he better not have just seen a calculating gleam in Aang's eyes. But as he studied the avatar suspiciously, all he saw was eager innocence in those gray eyes.
"Just a kiss," he added quickly, grudgingly.
"A kiss," Aang agreed solemnly, already tipping his head up expectantly.
"And nothing weird!" Zuko snapped. Aang blinked and nodded, pursing his lips comically. Oh, for pity's sake. "Just relax and let me do it, all right?"
All that firebending training had been good for something because Aang obeyed immediately, relaxing his mouth and closing his eyes.
Zuko had to lean down to kiss him, not something he was used to. Soft, small mouth, lips hesitant against his own, moving not unpleasantly as Zuko pressed their mouths together lightly.
This close, all he could inhale was Aang's scent and for all that he was a boy, a young boy, and boys weren't prone to washing as often as they should, he only smelled fresh and green, like mown hay or falling leaves. He wondered if this was an Airbender trait, the same way he knew another firebender by the faint smokiness that seemed to linger around them. He realized with a jolt that he would never know; the Airbenders were long dead and gone, murdered by his own people, except for Aang.
Who he was kissing.
Carefully, he let the tip of his tongue rub against the seam of Aang's lips and felt him startle but he'd already decided if he was going to do this, he would do it properly; that way Aang could never ask him again.
Aang parted his lips hesitantly as if it had never occurred to him that this was what kissing was and his tongue was soft and lax, still against Zuko's as he gently explored that wet little mouth. He started to pull back with a mental sigh of relief when Aang suddenly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in hard, thrusting his tongue clumsily into Zuko's mouth.
Well, in for a penny...
Sliding his arms around the other boy, Zuko held him tightly, kissing him until they were both breathless and had to break away, mouths swollen red as they panted for breath.
Aang looked dazed, eyes glassy and hot. A new awareness lit those soft gray eyes from within and Zuko shifted backwards a little, uncomfortably.
"One kiss," Zuko reminded him warningly, before Aang got curious about anything else. He still had to teach this brat firebending, damn it. Aang blinked a little, his expression clearing into a familiar, cheeky grin.
"Sure, that's all I wanted," Aang said breezily, scrambling to his feet and stretching. "I just--oh."
The smile slid from Aang's face abruptly and Zuko turned to follow his line of vision and saw--oh.
Oh, shit.
Sokka was standing in the pathway, watching them, the tip of his beloved sword trailing in the dirt. He didn't say a word, his mouth tight and unnaturally quiet, only turned abruptly on his heel and stormed away.
Oh, this was not good.
"I think he's upset," Aang said unhappily, his eyes gleaming with his distress.
Aang had a perfect knack for understatement.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Zuko said tiredly, sliding a hand viciously through his hair and wincing as his fingers caught at the tangles. Somehow, he suspected this wasn't what Suki had had in mind when she'd spoken to him this morning.
"Aren't you going to go after him?" Aang asked, uncertainly. "I mean, I could, if you want, it was my idea and I know Sokka really well, I bet I could explain."
"Aang," Zuko interrupted tersely. "I know Sokka well enough that I can tell you if the Water tribes practice circumcision."
It was worth it just to see the flood of crimson sweep over Aang's face. "They don't. You can see that much in the bath," Aang mumbled, halfheartedly, making Zuko raise a mental eyebrow.
That he'd have to deal with later. Right now he had a pissed off Water Tribe warrior to deal with and if he didn't hurry, he could add a Kyoshi warrior to the list. Not that he owed Sokka anything, they weren't...whatever they were, it wasn't faithful. A slow burn began to ache in the pit of his stomach.
"I think we're done practicing for the day." Zuko jumped to his feet, torn between running after Sokka to apologize and...he didn't know.
"Yeah, I figured." Aang shuffled his feet a little. "Sorry about that and...thanks."
Zuko barely had time to blink before Aang leaned in with a rush of air, brushing a too-quick kiss over his mouth, like the flutter of a breeze, and then he was gone.
"Oh, for..." Zuko muttered, rubbing a hand over his lips to rid himself of the faint tickle. "Why didn't I just stay home and help my father destroy the world?"
The trees, ground, and the clouds, even the fluffy ones, didn't offer an answer and with a sigh, Zuko jogged down the path after one seriously pissed off warrior and wondered how he was going to get himself out of this mess.
If Sokka was really angry, well, at least he had his swords. With his luck, he would need them.
-finis-
By Keelywolfe
PG
Sokka/Zuko, Zuko/?
Summary: Training has never been so dangerous
Eighth in a series:
No Turning Back
Division of Time
Conflicted
Manly Pursuits
Interlude: Aang
Say Anything
Interlude, Suki
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If he were forced, Zuko would have to admit, grudgingly, that Aang was really a good firebender. In the short time Zuko had been training him, Aang had already surpassed Zuko's own level of skill at that age. Of course, he was the Avatar and when you had something that going for you, little things like hard work and diligence fell to the wayside.
No, that wasn't fair. Aang was working very hard and it showed. But if Zuko had been even a quarter as annoying during his training-
(oh, and he had, he knew he had, and if...if he ever saw his uncle again he would beg forgiveness, he would)
-if he had, then it was a wonder his uncle hadn't thrown him overboard.
"No!" Zuko snapped as Aang shifted into the wrong position for the third time. "You can't shift to either side like that without checking the position of your opponent!" To prove his point, he thrust out a fist and sent a fan of flames towards Aang so that the younger boy had to scramble out of the way, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"I'm sorry!" Aang said, again. Again and again and again... Zuko sighed and scrubbed an arm over his face.
"I think we need a break," he decided, not even watching the Avatar as he nodded fervently, following Zuko with puppyish eagerness to the soft, shaded grass under a nearby tree. Zuko had long since chased the others away with his snarling temper this morning but Katara had thoughtfully left them both a cool drink and a snack. Melon juice and thin wafers of bread spread with some sort of nut and berry relish. He was starting to see why Sokka didn't like sharing meals with Aang.
Sokka.
He shied away from the thought, avoiding Sokka in his mind as much as he'd avoided him in person. Not his cleverest choice and probably one of the few truly cowardly ones but he didn't...he couldn't...
He didn't like telling Sokka no. Even when he should have. It was easier to just avoid it all and he'd done a fair job of it until they'd cornered him in the baths and then...he hadn't said no. It was as simple as that.
Zuko scowled down at his food, appetite lost. It was completely ridiculous how he'd gotten swept into this in the first place. He was here to train Aang, to defeat his father and end this gods-forsaken war, not to be bedding the resident swordsman / plan guy/ idiot. Really, Sokka had a lot of titles.
It probably would be best to end things now, before they became any more complex. He still had time, perhaps, to limit things to friendship. Sokka would allow him that, he thought. Sokka who had a bright smile and a clownish attitude, who could be fierce and gentle and whose mouth--
No.
Unwillingly, Suki's words from that morning came back to him.
"No, but you love Sokka. Don't you."
It hadn't been a question, so softly spoken. He'd only been able to stare at her, his throat was burning with salt air and terror, and Zuko could only swallow one of them away.
Don't take him away from me, he hadn't said, those first words froze in his throat, unspoken, the wild, desperate plea refusing to spill into the air. Once he had begged, pleaded, once, and he would carry the mark from it for the rest of his life. Never again. He would never beg for anything again. Not even for Sokka.
She had asked him not to ask Sokka to choose and Zuko had only been able to stare at her, uncomprehending. Why would he want Sokka to choose? It would only leave him alone.
"Can I ask you something?" Aang said, bursting his thoughts like a fragile soap bubble. He was nearly grateful.
"Of course," Zuko said absently, chewing his tough slice of bread with grim determination.
"What's it like to have sex?"
All right, he wasn't that grateful and the bread/fruit combo was bad enough without half inhaling it. Zuko managed to choke down the bite he'd swallowed in surprise and took a long drink before he rasped out, "What kind of question is that?"
"I don't know," Aang dug a toe into the dirt. "But I know you and Sokka, you...do it. I just wondered what it was like."
Zuko stared, his mouth falling open. "How did...what..."
Aang was nearly crimson, his eyes determinedly on the grass as though it had something to add to the conversation. "Well, I saw you that one time, on the path, I-"
"What do you mean you saw us?!" Zuko said loudly, indignation coloring his voice. He had rolled to his feet before he'd even realized what he was doing, torn between storming away or beating the curiosity out of one Airbender.
"I was going to the fountain!"
"So you just stayed there and watched? It wasn't a free show!"
"You were on the path! Was I supposed to close my eyes and walk over you?"
Zuko knew when to abandon a strategy. "Never mind that, I...you just..." He rubbed his temples, feeling the throb of a headache starting just behind his eyes. Gods, how had his Uncle not murdered him in his sleep? "Aang, I don't think that this falls under the category of firebending training."
"Oh." Aang drew his knees up. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering. The monks at the Air Temple never talked about it and since I may never get to..." he trailed away and Zuko groaned inwardly. Oh, please, not the 'I'm going to die a virgin' gambit. What was worse was that it was working because Zuko knew exactly what Aang was going to be up against. If he survived facing his father, if any of them survived, if, if, if.
With a mental sigh, he sank down to sit next to Aang, their shoulders barely touching. "It's...nice," he hedged, awkwardly. "It feels good."
Okay, that was probably the lamest description of sex in the history of the world but Aang was nodding eagerly as if he'd produced not a pearl of wisdom, but spat out an entire necklace.
"Look, you're still pretty young. There's--" Still time, he almost said, bit his tongue hard on it.
Aang smiled ruefully. "I know. I don't really want to...you know. I was just curious."
The silence between them was not quite uncomfortable and Zuko wasn't entirely sure how to break it. Maybe it would be better to get back to training; at least then Aang would be too out of breath to ask him anything.
"Zuko? Can I ask you something else?"
Too late. "Why not?" he sighed, flopping back into the grass.
"Would you kiss me?"
The sky was just lovely today, Zuko decided, clear blue beauty with a scattering of fluffy clouds, nothing that spoke of rain, just warmth and sunshine and if he stared at it long enough, he could pretend he hadn't heard that.
"I mean, I kissed Katara once, but she doesn't seem to want to do it again. I thought maybe, since you kissed Sokka..."
Yep, fluffy, happy clouds. That one sort of looked like a platypus bear. Or maybe an armadillo bear, yes, he could see the outline of its tail.
"It's just, I wanted to try it once before...before I..."
He only needed one excuse in this sea of bad ideas but the mingled hope and sadness in Aang's voice outdid him and he didn't want to hear about how Aang might die.
"All right!" he growled, sitting up abruptly and he better not have just seen a calculating gleam in Aang's eyes. But as he studied the avatar suspiciously, all he saw was eager innocence in those gray eyes.
"Just a kiss," he added quickly, grudgingly.
"A kiss," Aang agreed solemnly, already tipping his head up expectantly.
"And nothing weird!" Zuko snapped. Aang blinked and nodded, pursing his lips comically. Oh, for pity's sake. "Just relax and let me do it, all right?"
All that firebending training had been good for something because Aang obeyed immediately, relaxing his mouth and closing his eyes.
Zuko had to lean down to kiss him, not something he was used to. Soft, small mouth, lips hesitant against his own, moving not unpleasantly as Zuko pressed their mouths together lightly.
This close, all he could inhale was Aang's scent and for all that he was a boy, a young boy, and boys weren't prone to washing as often as they should, he only smelled fresh and green, like mown hay or falling leaves. He wondered if this was an Airbender trait, the same way he knew another firebender by the faint smokiness that seemed to linger around them. He realized with a jolt that he would never know; the Airbenders were long dead and gone, murdered by his own people, except for Aang.
Who he was kissing.
Carefully, he let the tip of his tongue rub against the seam of Aang's lips and felt him startle but he'd already decided if he was going to do this, he would do it properly; that way Aang could never ask him again.
Aang parted his lips hesitantly as if it had never occurred to him that this was what kissing was and his tongue was soft and lax, still against Zuko's as he gently explored that wet little mouth. He started to pull back with a mental sigh of relief when Aang suddenly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in hard, thrusting his tongue clumsily into Zuko's mouth.
Well, in for a penny...
Sliding his arms around the other boy, Zuko held him tightly, kissing him until they were both breathless and had to break away, mouths swollen red as they panted for breath.
Aang looked dazed, eyes glassy and hot. A new awareness lit those soft gray eyes from within and Zuko shifted backwards a little, uncomfortably.
"One kiss," Zuko reminded him warningly, before Aang got curious about anything else. He still had to teach this brat firebending, damn it. Aang blinked a little, his expression clearing into a familiar, cheeky grin.
"Sure, that's all I wanted," Aang said breezily, scrambling to his feet and stretching. "I just--oh."
The smile slid from Aang's face abruptly and Zuko turned to follow his line of vision and saw--oh.
Oh, shit.
Sokka was standing in the pathway, watching them, the tip of his beloved sword trailing in the dirt. He didn't say a word, his mouth tight and unnaturally quiet, only turned abruptly on his heel and stormed away.
Oh, this was not good.
"I think he's upset," Aang said unhappily, his eyes gleaming with his distress.
Aang had a perfect knack for understatement.
"Yeah, I think you're right," Zuko said tiredly, sliding a hand viciously through his hair and wincing as his fingers caught at the tangles. Somehow, he suspected this wasn't what Suki had had in mind when she'd spoken to him this morning.
"Aren't you going to go after him?" Aang asked, uncertainly. "I mean, I could, if you want, it was my idea and I know Sokka really well, I bet I could explain."
"Aang," Zuko interrupted tersely. "I know Sokka well enough that I can tell you if the Water tribes practice circumcision."
It was worth it just to see the flood of crimson sweep over Aang's face. "They don't. You can see that much in the bath," Aang mumbled, halfheartedly, making Zuko raise a mental eyebrow.
That he'd have to deal with later. Right now he had a pissed off Water Tribe warrior to deal with and if he didn't hurry, he could add a Kyoshi warrior to the list. Not that he owed Sokka anything, they weren't...whatever they were, it wasn't faithful. A slow burn began to ache in the pit of his stomach.
"I think we're done practicing for the day." Zuko jumped to his feet, torn between running after Sokka to apologize and...he didn't know.
"Yeah, I figured." Aang shuffled his feet a little. "Sorry about that and...thanks."
Zuko barely had time to blink before Aang leaned in with a rush of air, brushing a too-quick kiss over his mouth, like the flutter of a breeze, and then he was gone.
"Oh, for..." Zuko muttered, rubbing a hand over his lips to rid himself of the faint tickle. "Why didn't I just stay home and help my father destroy the world?"
The trees, ground, and the clouds, even the fluffy ones, didn't offer an answer and with a sigh, Zuko jogged down the path after one seriously pissed off warrior and wondered how he was going to get himself out of this mess.
If Sokka was really angry, well, at least he had his swords. With his luck, he would need them.
-finis-
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-01-07 07:21 am (UTC)This series is amazing, keep it up!
*appropriate icon, is appropriate*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-07 10:56 am (UTC)There is too little Zuko/Sokka in my opinion, and I'd like you to know that I quite love yours. Getting into the mood of The Avatar (that being terribly goofy and awkward with an underlying seriousness) in fanfic is hard without coming off a bit over-the-top. But Thou hast hit it! These have the same feel of the show while having (sexy, mature) content that it does not have. One of my favorite kind of fic, and the most suitable for this fandom. Thank you!
PS--have you ever written GW fanfic? Whilst I read this series of yours, I did wonder if this is the same Keelywolfe, whose fanfic I used to read.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 10:01 pm (UTC)Sure is. Far as I know, I'm the only Keelywolfe out there writing fanfic. :)
I'm delighted that you're enjoying the story! I have a new chapter done and I'll be posting it soon. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 02:08 am (UTC)Hmm... Airbenders - body as a temple and all that. Definitely no circumcision. Waterbenders- no circumcision as every inch of skin would mean vital warmth ;) Earthbenders could go either way (what do you think?) Firebenders would circumcise their boys publicly with a heated sharp rock, and they would be expected to show no sign of pain, as a test of manhood.
Actually I thought this chapter was fun. Can't wait to read the next!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 10:03 pm (UTC)And I could so see the firebenders doing it like that, some kind of rite of manhood. Yikes, poor Zuko....
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 07:24 am (UTC)<3
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-07 04:36 pm (UTC)Yay! for Sokka angst! Have I mentioned how much I love the boys angsting over each other. Because I really, really do!
P.s. - I was reading the comments and someone was asking about you writing GW fanfic. >.< I cannot wait to find and read it!! I'm so excited, I almost want to rush off right now and find them just so I can open them in new tabs for future reading material. Discovering you just made my year! I can't wait to see what other fandoms you've written in!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-24 08:01 am (UTC)SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!