Work Text:
Teo woke to a soft knock on his door.
He grumbled something along the lines of ‘come in’, and heard the door creak open slightly. After another few moments of silence, he rubbed at his eyes and blearily opened them to find Aang hovering in the doorway.
“Sorry for waking you…” Aang started, his eyes darting around the room. He looked nervous, which was an expression Teo hadn’t seen on the boy’s face for a long time. Glancing towards his window, Teo frowned when he realised that it was still dark outside, the moon high in the sky.
“Are you okay?” Teo leaned up on his elbow, still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
Aang bit his lip, his gaze falling to the floor as he shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. I just thought that maybe you’d be up… Sorry, I’ll go.”
He turned to go back into the candle-lit hallway, and it was only then that Teo caught sight of the bags under Aang’s eyes and the tension in his frame. It was strange to see the normally relaxed and graceful air bender so wound up, even stranger for him to avoid talking about what was bothering him.
“No, wait.” Teo pulled himself into a sitting position, concern driving the tiredness out of his head. “I’m awake now. Stay for a while, please.”
Aang hesitated, nodded stiffly and stepped back into the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Teo couldn’t help but smile fondly as Aang stood awkwardly by the door, seemingly unsure of what to do, his arms hanging at his sides. Even though they had been together for several months and Teo had said on numerous occasions that Aang didn’t always have to ask, he was always careful to not step into Teo’s space unless he was sure he was wanted there. This was amusing to Teo, purely because he couldn’t imagine not wanting Aang around him.
“You can lie down if you want,” Teo said, patting the mattress beside him. He heard more than saw Aang shuffle around to the other side of the bed and crawl under the covers next to him. He was close enough that Teo could hear his breathing, shallow and ragged. He felt across the space between them in the dark and clutched at the other boy’s hand. “Do you want to talk?”
Aang was silent for a few moments, his breathing the only sound in the room. Teo listened silently as it started to even out again. He could only see the outline of Aang’s face in the dark, turned towards the ceiling, and felt a sudden urge to reach out and stroke the tension away from the other’s features.
“I… I had a nightmare,” Aang stated, biting his lip. “About you.”
Teo frowned and shifted a bit closer. “About me?”
“Yeah…” Aang finally looked directly at him for the first time since he had entered the room. “You got hurt because of me.”
They were so close that Aang’s breath fanned across Teo’s lips as he spoke. Teo could see his eyes now, puffy and red from crying. Aang was still looking at him, eyes roving over his features as if he was trying to memorise them, as if he would be snatched away from him at any second.
“I’m here, Aang,” Teo whispered, squeezing the other’s hand. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”
Aang let out a breath shakily, leaning up on his elbow so that he was looking down at Teo. “Can I kiss you?”
Teo smiled and nodded, settling a hand of Aang’s waist to pull him closer so that they were chest to chest. He just caught the beginnings of a blush rising in Aang’s cheeks before the other closed the gap between them, and Teo’s eyes fluttered shut. He sighed contentedly as one of Aang’s hands crept up to his neck, his fingers twisted into the loose strands of his hair.
“You’ve got your hair out,” Aang mumbled against his lips, seemingly reluctant to break the kiss. Teo wasn’t complaining. “It’s nice.”
“What does ‘nice’ mean?” Teo chuckled, kissing the corner of Aang’s mouth, his cheek and his nose in quick succession.
Aang huffed out a breath. “You know what it means.”
“Is it so bad for a guy to want a compliment from the pretty boy he’s been crushing on for years?” Teo teased, grinning as Aang’s blush deepened and he shoved his face into Teo’s shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the spot where Aang’s jaw met his neck. “You’re adorable.”
“Shush,” Aang whispered, shifting his weight off his elbow so that his top half was practically lying on top of Teo’s. “You look really good, is that what you want to hear?”
“Amongst other things.”
“Shhh!”
Teo snorted and tightened his grip on Aang’s waist, his fingers tracing the sliver of skin where his nightshirt had ridden up. Aang mumbled something against Teo’s collarbone, the last bit of tension easing out from his body. They stayed like that for a while, pressed against each other in the dark, until Aang’s yawn broke the silence.
“I should probably go back to my own bed,” Aang said, making no effort to move. Teo sighed, kissing his temple.
“Or… You could stay here?”
Aang smiled against Teo’s shoulder. “And have your dad find me in your bed? No thanks, not a conversation I want to have.”
“Come on. My dad always wakes up late. You can easily do your walk of shame back to your room before then.”
“Do not call it a ‘walk of shame’.”
“Then what is it, darling?”
Aang lifted his head to argue, the tips of his ears red. He opened his mouth, shut it again, then dropped his head back onto Teo’s shoulder. “Fine, you win. You’re taking the blame if you’re wrong though.”
“Ah, yes, because it’s completely my fault that you ended up in my bed. What did I do, carry you in here? Love, I have some bad news for y-” Teo was cut off by Aang kissing him firmly, breaking away after a few seconds.
“Sleep now, flirting later.”
Teo laughed quietly, kissing Aang’s temple again as the other boy settled back against him. “Fine, fine, but I’m holding you to that promise of ‘later’.”
“You’re insatiable.”
“I know. You love it, though.”
“I do,” Aang whispered against Teo’s neck, sending shivers down Teo’s spine. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, airhead.”