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Zuko woke to a soft breeze tickling his neck and something wrapped tightly around his middle. As his eyes adjusted to the sunlight streaming into the room, he tried to become more aware of his surroundings.
Wait, his room wasn’t this color. And the pattern of the comforter was definitely unfamiliar as well. The poster hanging on the wall across from him wasn’t his, either. Slowly, Zuko tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together as everything else began shifting into focus. He knew for a fact that this wasn’t his room, but how did he…
A sleepy sigh next to him tore him out of his stupor, causing him to almost jump. Looking down, he recognized the tanned arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to their body.
Oh, shit.
He closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly how he had gotten in Jet’s bed the night before. There had been a significant amount of drinking, that much is sure. Zuko was pretty sure he remembered staring at Jet as he flexed his arm, watching as Jet smirked when he caught Zuko staring. There had been flirting, absolutely, though there had always been flirting between the two. Zuko just wasn’t sure where the line was drawn and when it was finally crossed.
The night came back in a blur, a mix of shared, tentative kisses that slowly grew more hungry by the minute and hands exploring each other’s bodies as they crashed into Jet’s bedroom, dropping a trail of clothes in their wake as they did.
Did Zuko beg Jet to touch him or did it just happen? He knew for a fact that he wanted Jet, had wanted Jet for a while, and he remembered thinking to himself that there would be no going back.
Did Zuko regret sleeping with his roommate? Well… he didn’t want to regret it, that’s for sure.
“Why are you so tense?” Jet mumbled, nuzzling his face into Zuko’s neck. “Everything, okay?”
“Oh, yeah, yeah,” Zuko replied, pulling away from Jet so he could roll onto his back to look at him. “I just - I forgot where I was for a moment.”
Jet’s arms remained around Zuko as he studied him, his eyes betraying no thoughts. “Mmm, yeah, guess that makes sense. But it’s early, why don’t you go back to sleep?”
“I don’t think I can,” Zuko admitted, feeling himself turn red as Jet just chuckled softly.
“I get that, baby, I do.” Jet kissed Zuko’s shoulder. “But I’m still tired, so I’m going back to sleep.”
“Sure,” Zuko told him, watching as Jet closed his eyes again. “I might get up soon, make us some breakfast?”
“Hmm,” Jet hummed quietly. “Sounds nice.”
Soon, Jet’s even breathing filled the room, his grip around Zuko loosening as he fell back into a deep sleep. Zuko couldn’t help but watch Jet, wondering what was going through his roommate’s mind when he woke up to Zuko in his bed.
Did Jet regret last night?
Not wanting to overthink anything, Zuko carefully pulled himself out of Jet’s arms, careful not to wake him as he did. He was thankful they at least had the right mind to clean up after themselves before going to sleep.
With one last look at Jet asleep in bed, Zuko made his way out of the room, closing the door carefully behind him. Sighing, he headed to his own room to get dressed, putting on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, before going to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Still, he couldn’t help thinking about what happened, last night playing over and over again in his mind. Roommates don’t usually sleep together, do they? And if they do, what’s the protocol for that? What does that mean? What’s the next step? Is there a next step?
Shaking his head, Zuko made his way to the kitchen trying to figure out what to do. He did say he would make breakfast, but he didn’t know what to make.
“He likes waffles,” Zuko muttered to himself, opening the cupboard to see if there was any leftover waffle mix. When he didn’t see any, he groaned and went to the freezer, hoping there would at least be some frozen waffles he could use instead. Luckily, there was a whole box of frozen waffles that Zuko bought on his latest grocery trip.
After popping two waffles in the toaster, Zuko turned on the coffee maker and pulled out mugs and plates from the cupboard. He opened the drawer and grabbed forks and knives, placing them on the plates as he waited for the waffles to finish toasting. Soon, the smell of coffee filled the room as Zuko grabbed some creamer from the fridge.
He tried not to overthink the fact that he knew exactly how Jet took his coffee in the morning.
Was he going overboard? Was Jet going to be mad?
“Well, I won’t lie, this is a nice sight to walk into,” came Jet’s voice from the entrance to the kitchen.
Zuko turned from the counter to see Jet leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a sly grin on his face. Though he now wore a pair of sweatpants, he was shirtless, causing Zuko to scan his abs.
“Hey, eyes up here,” Jet teased, not moving from his spot.
“Sorry,” Zuko replied automatically, his eyes snapping up to meet Jet’s. “I - I didn’t mean to stare.”
At that, Jet’s eyes softened and he pushed himself off the door frame, taking a step towards Zuko. “Everything okay? You seem jumpier than usual.”
“I - I don’t know what to do right now,” Zuko admitted, feeling his face flush as Jet took another step forward. “I’m not really sure where to go from here.”
“You mean after last night?” Jet asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, yeah. I’m not really sure what this -” he gestured between himself and Jet “- is, to be honest.”
“Do you want to talk about what this is?”
“Should we?”
“Only if you want to,” Jet replied with a small shrug. “But I’ll tell you this, Zuko. What happened last night, I don’t regret it. At all.”
“You don’t?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“So, it seems like we’re on the same page,” Jet stated, moving to stand directly in front of Zuko. “But if you want to talk about this more, we can.” When Zuko nodded, Jet placed his hands on Zuko’s hips, pulling him closer to him, another grin creeping on his face. “But it looks like you’re a little busy right now, huh?”
“Just wanted to do something nice,” Zuko teased, feeling himself grin, the heat rising in his cheeks as Jet chuckled.
“You know, you’re really cute when you’re flustered, you know that, right?”
“So I’ve been told,” Zuko mumbled, just before Jet’s lips met his.
Caught slightly off guard, Zuko let out a soft moan before melting into the kiss, his hands immediately going to Jet’s waist. Unlike last night, there was no hesitation in the beginning, only a sure and heavy need that settled deep in Zuko’s bones as Jet deepened the kiss. When Jet pulled back, Zuko couldn’t help the small whine that escaped his lips as he tried to pull Jet back.
“We can continue this later,” Jet soothed, placing a kiss against Zuko’s jaw. “I was promised breakfast.”
Zuko couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Jet, though he did feel relieved that there was no awkward tension. “Well, it’s certainly food,” Zuko told him, dropping his hands from Jet’s waist and stepping away so he could pour the coffee. “You might laugh because I put in the least amount of effort.”
“That’s because you didn’t go grocery shopping the other day,” Jet retorted, taking the mug Zuko offered him.
“Oh, no,” Zuko stated, turning to face Jet. “I went grocery shopping, you didn’t send me the list of what we needed.”
“Who needs a list?” Jet stated, shaking his head, but his tone was light, teasing. “Are you that forgetful, babe?”
Zuko’s heart skipped a beat at the pet name. “No, I just like a list.”
“Well, maybe next time we can go together,” Jet offered, raising his eyebrow at Zuko. “What do you think?”
“Yeah,” Zuko replied. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“Good.” Jet motioned to the waffles still sitting in the toaster. “So, are you going to finish making my gourmet meal?”
“Shut up,” Zuko laughed, giving Jet a small shove.
“Make me,” Jet smirked.
Zuko just laughed harder, placing a waffle on each plate. “Keep talking shit and you’ll just get one waffle as opposed to three. Placing them in the toaster is hard enough work as it is.”
“I mean, if you’re tired, I can just drag you back to bed,” Jet offered, raising an eyebrow at Zuko.
“As much as I would enjoy that, I am starving, so don’t tempt me.”
Jet sat at the kitchen table, leaning back in his chair as his eyes followed Zuko around the kitchen. “Hey. We can talk about this more later if you want, though, okay? I mean it.”
“Yeah, I would like that,” Zuko replied, giving Jet a small smile.
Jet nodded, picking up his coffee and taking a sip.
Though Zuko had been anxious about what the day would bring, he figured that he and Jet would be okay.
There was no going back, but it seemed like he and Jet would be moving forward.