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Sokka was tipsy.
It was the night that marked five years since the end of the Hundred Year War, and he was pleasantly tipsy, enough to make him completely relaxed. So were the rest of his friends, all in various disheveled states after spending their night laughing and goofing off. They had this celebration every anniversary, though it never became less novel to any of them. This year, the celebration was held in Ba Sing Se at the Earth King's palace, drawing a truly enormous crowd from the city's population alone. Like they did every year, they ditched the crowd to find their own secluded spot after the party was well underway. That night they happened to pick the courtyard of the Jasmine Dragon, softly lit by flickering lanterns under a starry sky.
Sokka stared up at those stars, winking at him joyously. The moon was bright and full, like she was celebrating right along with them in the only way she could. He smiled sadly to himself at the thought, but the melancholy faded quickly. They'd all agreed that these nights were not for dwelling on the past, but commemorating the future that they had created for themselves.
Apparently, Aang's idea of commemoration was performing an elaborate dance that had everyone clutching their stomachs and wheezing with giggles. The cool night breeze carried the music to them all the way from the palace, the party loud enough to be heard across the Upper Ring. Aang pranced around, barefoot, to the beat.
"Somebody dance with me," he whined, pouting playfully at his friends sprawled across the dusty stone ground, all enjoying his little show with amusement.
"I don't know, Aang. I think you could dance enough for all of us," Suki said, voice dripping with mirth. Everyone hummed in agreement.
"No way. I refuse to dance by myself."
“I’m not doing it,” Toph said from her spot on the ground, picking at her toenails.
“I’m too tired,” Katara yawned, resting her head on Sokka’s shoulder.
Aang groaned and looked at Sokka pleadingly. “Please?”
“Nope. I don’t dance,” he said apologetically.
Aang sighed and yanked the person closest to him up off the ground, which happened to be a scowling Zuko.
"Aang, I don't want to─"
"Too bad. I'm the Avatar, you have to listen to me!"
"Well, I'm the Fire Lord," Zuko retorted weakly, then winced. They all broke into another fit of laughter at his expense.
"C'mon, let's do the Dancing Dragon!"
Aang tugged him far enough away from the group where their fire wouldn’t harm anybody. Someone nudged the bottle of sake that they’d been passing around into Sokka’s hands. Absently, he took a swig as the dance began.
It was beautiful. Sokka never quite understood how Aang and Zuko acquired rainbow fire, but seeing it never ceased to amaze him. The bursts of flame lit up the courtyard with reds, oranges, pinks, purples, greens, and blues. It felt like standing under the Southern Lights in the dead of winter, though the heat of their fire reminded him that this was much different.
Aang’s dancing was fluid, artistic in the way Zuko’s was not. He was all rigid, controlled movements, a hard set to his face as he went through every step. Sokka’s eyes lingered on the lithe lines of his body, the sweat gleaming on his brow, the way his hair swished around him with every turn. He gulped and threw back another mouthful of sake, lest he got caught staring.
Although Zuko performed the dance well, he seemed to stumble every once in a while and it was obvious he was growing frustrated with himself. When they finished, he huffed in annoyance and flicked his hair over his shoulder, chest rising and falling quickly from exertion.
“What, did you have too much to drink?” Sokka teased, a smirk growing on his face. Usually if his attraction to Zuko was starting to get too obvious, he resorted to making fun of him. He’d learned a lot of tricks like that over the years so he didn’t give his feelings away.
Zuko spun around to face him, glaring, and put his hands on his hips. “No! The stupid music from the palace was distracting me from the steps!”
“It didn’t bother me!” Aang piped up helpfully. Zuko turned his glare on him, and Aang raised his hands in a placating gesture, though there was a shit-eating grin on his face.
“That just sounds like an excuse, Zuko,” Sokka said.
Zuko narrowed his eyes, and Sokka couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy having that intense stare on him, because that would be a blatant lie.
“Yeah? Think you could do better, Mr. I Don’t Dance?” Zuko taunted.
The group let out a juvenile chorus of ooohs mixed with laughter that made both Zuko and Sokka grin.
“Is that a challenge?” Sokka asked.
Zuko shrugged. “Maybe.”
Sokka stood up, wobbled a little, and set the bottle of sake down in front of Katara. “Alright. Challenge accepted.”
“We’ll be the judges,” Suki said excitedly.
Zuko nodded at her. “There won’t be much to judge, because I’m clearly the better dancer.”
“Who said we were dancing separately?” Sokka asked, stepping forward and taking both of Zuko’s hands in his. Zuko’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed darker than they already had been.
“Wait, that’s not─”
Sokka leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “Just go with it.”
In the end, he really just wanted an excuse to dance with Zuko, and Zuko had given him the perfect opportunity by getting all worked up by a little banter. He was too easy.
But it was obvious he didn’t mind, if the way he let Sokka lead him around the courtyard was any indication. Sokka smiled to himself as they stumbled through a basic waltz. Zuko was actually an excellent dance partner. He got a lot of practice, what with the numerous dinners and parties he had to attend as Fire Lord. Sokka would never admit it, but Zuko probably was better than him at dancing. It seemed almost familiar, how they were moving, until Sokka realized that it felt just like sparring.
The music from the palace got faster, louder, and suddenly Zuko was taking the lead, picking up the pace to something much quicker. Sokka struggled to keep up because if he was being honest with himself, he’d had a little too much sake to be dancing that fast. Zuko looked happy, though, more so than he had all night. He tended to brood on the day of each anniversary, and it was hard to drag him out of it. Sokka did his best to keep up with the pace, if only so Zuko wouldn’t stop beaming at him.
For being so hesitant at first, Zuko was becoming quite enthusiastic with his dancing. His body was looser and he was practically skipping around the courtyard with Sokka in tow. Sokka yelped when Zuko let go of one of his hands and used the other one to twirl him. When Sokka spun back around to face him, he laughed breathlessly, bringing a delighted look to Zuko’s face. He took Sokka’s hand back in his, never letting up in their quick footwork, and brought him closer, until they were almost chest to chest. Sokka could feel the heat radiating off of Zuko’s body, and his lips were right there, red, and he wanted to kiss them so bad ─
The noise Sokka made when Zuko had twirled him a moment before was nothing compared to the shriek (the manly shriek, thank you very much) he let out when Zuko wrapped one arm around his back and suddenly threw him into a dip that left him nearly upside down. For a moment, he was stunned, staring up at Zuko who, spirits─who was holding him up with one arm, his other hand entangled with Sokka’s. Zuko was smiling from ear to ear, but that smile morphed into a panicked look as he swayed precariously with Sokka’s weight. The hand that he had on Zuko’s shoulder scrambled for purchase on his back as they went tumbling to the ground. Sokka landed on the hard stone first, Zuko falling on top of him a second later.
“Ow,” Sokka groaned, but he was also laughing at the ridiculous situation they’d found themselves in.
Sokka heard their friends erupt into uproarious laughter behind them, and the music from the palace winding down. But all of that was in the background as Zuko glanced down at him while trying to untangle their limbs, and time seemed to stop. He looked sheepish, most likely embarrassed that they had fallen, and it was so endearing that Sokka’s chest ached. Unconsciously, the hand that was still gripping Zuko’s shirt travelled up over his shoulders to thread in the hair at the back of his neck. Zuko’s eyes fluttered at the touch.
“Are you sure you didn’t have too much to drink?” Sokka asked, amused.
“Okay, maybe that was part of it,” Zuko admitted, laughing. “But you’re also really heavy.”
“Hey!” Sokka pouted at him, and Zuko’s eyes glanced down at his puckered lips. He looked back up quickly, like he didn’t want Sokka to catch him in the act, but it was too late. Sokka had caught him in the act, and he intended to do something about it.
“Do you want to kiss me?” he asked bluntly.
Zuko’s face turned scarlet. “I─Sokka! What kind of question is that?” He tried to move away, but Sokka wrapped his legs around him to lock him in place.
“I’m only asking, because I’d really like to kiss you.”
Zuko froze, and looked at him in what seemed to be disbelief. “Are you joking?”
“No! Why would I joke about that?”
Zuko relaxed a little, and leaned closer. “So, I can…”
“Yes,” Sokka laughed. “Come here.”
Their lips met softly, hesitantly. Zuko’s were warm, and maybe that was a product of being a firebender, but Sokka liked it. He couldn’t hear the party or their friends anymore; all he knew was Zuko, Zuko, Zuko. Just like with dancing, Zuko became more confident the longer they kissed. He sighed contentedly into Sokka’s mouth, pressing harder. He tasted like sake, and if Sokka was tipsy before, he felt drunk now, completely overcome with fondness as they moved together.
A loud wolf-whistle pierced through the peaceful atmosphere, startling him. He jerked his head back and it thunked against the stone for the second time that night. The pain made him groan and he glared over at their friends, who were laughing again. Katara, two fingers in her mouth, let out another loud whistle. Sokka made a mental note to never let her drink again.
“See, this is why dancing is always a good idea. You all should listen to me more!” Aang said gleefully.
Toph snorted, which offended Aang who began to rant, which devolved into the four of them yelling good-naturedly at each other. Sokka tuned it out and looked back at Zuko. He already had his pretty, gold eyes on Sokka, and they were filled with so much warmth that Sokka couldn’t help it when he pulled him back down into another kiss.
It may have been the anniversary of the end of the Hundred Year War, but perhaps it could be something else, too. Something that was just for them, for Sokka and Zuko, for their friendship, for their love. He couldn’t think of a better way to remember everything they’d been through.