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The soft warmth of the jasmine tea Zuko had brewed for them worked to keep him awake. They were cuddling on the couch after their dinner date had melted into netflix and chill, during which they had literally chilled while The Office played in the background; they had even turned on the fairy lights Zuko was fond of for the occasion. The clock was still steadily ticking towards two in the morning, but the day didn’t feel complete, and neither one of them wanted to go to bed yet.
Sokka took another sip of his tea, savoring the flavor before setting it down and getting up to search for his phone that he had tossed somewhere when they had first gotten home. He had a vague memory of kicking it under the couch a few hours before, so he dropped to his knees and started crawling around trying to find it.
“Sokka,” Zuko sat up, now more awake, “What are you doing?”
He didn’t look up from his place on the floor as he stuck his arm underneath the couch to get his phone, “We should dance!”
“What? You want to dance now?”
“I’ve been wanting to slow dance with you for the longest time.” Finally pulling his phone out of the depths of the couch, he sat back on his haunches to see Zuko staring at him incredulously.
Sokka let out a joking huff, “Okay, I see that you are unsure of my absolutely amazing plan, but babe, just give it a try?”
There was a second where Zuko looked off into the distance, contemplating his options before he sighed, “We stop the second I feel too uncomfortable?”
“Of course,” Sokka smiled, and started to scroll through his phone to find the playlist he had made a while back with just this in mind. He pressed play on “slow dance with my love” and stood up, holding out a hand to Zuko.
“Here, babe, just take my hand.”
The first notes of the song had started playing when Zuko grasped Sokka’s hand, palm a little clammy with uncertainty, and got up from the couch. Sokka smiled at him and put Zuko’s other hand on his shoulder and his own around Zuko’s waist.
“I look stupid, Sokka.” Zuko immediately muttered.
“Who’s here to see you?” Sokka whispered, “It's just you and me, and you always look beautiful to me.”
Zuko stared into his eyes, head tilted in surprise, and then let out a little raspy laugh and leaned his head on Sokka’s shoulder.
“You’ve always been a sweet talker,” Zuko grumbled, his voice a bit muffled by his sweatshirt.
Sokka started to sway them side to side, a smile on his lips, “Only for you.”
As the song continued to play, its slow melody wrapping around them, Sokka started gently moving them around the living room, taking care to not bump them into their furniture and decorations. When they had first moved in, there had been many disagreements about how to best decorate the place and because of their stubbornness, the apartment had remained bare for weeks afterward. But they had eventually cooperated and made the place their own, and now, dancing around their apartment, Sokka was in awe at how far they had come.
When they had rounded the coffee table and were closer to their bookshelf, he spotted the pictures of their family and friends they had framed. His eyes landed on the one where it was just him and Zuko staring lovingly at each other during a group picnic. Immediately after Katara had taken it, Toph had drenched them both with the leftover icy slush that had been in the drink cooler. Sokka let out a snort at the memory, causing Zuko to lift his head in confusion. Instead of giving an answer, Sokka just turned them around so Zuko could see the picture.
“Oh my god, I had water in my ears for days afterward,” Zuko laughed, “But that was still a really good day.”
All Sokka could do was laugh along as he continued to move them around the home they had made for themselves. All of a sudden, no matter where he looked, all he could see were memories they had made together as if stuck in a continuous flashback of the past few years of his life.
There was the boomerang Zuko had bought for him after Sokka had miscalculated how far he had thrown his original one in an attempt to show off to Zuko on their first date, and it had fallen right in the middle of the park’s pond. Zuko had hung it right in front of the door so that they would always remember that day.
The book of short plays Sokka had bought for Zuko to cheer him up during a particularly hard week was sitting on the dining room table, the pages worn and Zuko's favorite stories bookmarked. Suddenly, Sokka could vividly see the smile Zuko had given him and how good the 'thank you' hug had felt.
He didn’t realize there was a tear running down his face till he felt Zuko softly caress his face and wipe it away.
“Why are you crying?”
Sokka shook his head, “I don’t know, I just got overwhelmed.”
“Well, I remember you saying we could stop if we got uncomfortable,” Zuko replied softly, moving his arms so they were both wrapped around Sokka’s neck, “We could go to bed.”
“Oh, I’m not uncomfortable,” he answered, kissing Zuko’s forehead, “I just love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Zuko smiled and kissed back softly on both of his cheeks, and then he reached back, taking out the leather band tying his hair in its wolf tail. His hair fell down to his chin, now matching Zuko’s much longer hair that had fallen out of his bun hours ago. “I’ve been waiting to do that the whole day. You said we’re just relaxing, so relax.”
“I thought I was trying to help make you more comfortable,” Sokka commented, tucking a lock of Zuko’s hair behind his ear.
“Well, you were right, the dancing is nice,” Zuko said and placed his head on Sokka’s chest, right under his chin, “And as I just said, I love you.”
The song came to an end and there was a second where they both just stayed still until the next one started. It was late at night and the rest of the world was asleep, but Sokka was warm and holding his love tightly in his arms as they danced around their home under the soft shine of fairy lights. There was nowhere else he’d rather be and he felt complete.