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"This was not part of the plan." Zuko said, looking around the tunnel that had currently collapsed around them. A flame in his hand as he searched for any kind of way out.
“Yeah, no shit babe” Sokka replied dryly, as he watched Zuko. The flame cast beautiful shadows over Zuko’s face as they made eye contact. Sokka didn’t want to be here in the first place. Didn’t want to take a detour from what was supposed to be a romantic weekend getaway with his boyfriend. But Zuko had insisted on exploring the network of caves beneath Ember Island. A pleading look and the promise of making it up to Sokka later. And Sokka had caved, much like the exit to the tunnel.
“Look,” Zuko responded, an edge in his voice as the flame grew brighter, “This isn’t my fault, okay.” he sighed, turning away from Sokka. Sokka’s heart clenched in his chest at the way Zuko folded into himself.
“Sorry.” Sokka spoke up, approaching Zuko and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.” he apologized and Zuko turned to him with a smile.
“I’m sorry. It was stupid to come down here. I just.” Zuko paused, his free hand pressing into his face. “I wanted to show you the crystal pools. I thought you would like it and…” He drifted off, not sure how to proceed in the true reason he wanted to bring Sokka down here.
The crystal pools were the tales of legend. Where, if one proposed, would signify an everlasting marriage and happiness. And Zuko wanted all of that with Sokka. He wanted forever with the man beside him.
“You just?” Sokka asked, pressing him gently. Enough to show his interest in Zuko’s thought process but also not too much that it made the older man shut down.
“I wanted to give you this.” Zuko spoke, deciding that if there was any other time to propose to Sokka would be when they were most likely going to be trapped in the caves forever. He reached into his satchel, pulling out a deep blue cloth that was used to wrap the betrothal necklace he had carved. A cloth, that Hakoda had told him, was a special wrapping meant specifically for betrothal necklaces.
Sokka’s breath caught in his throat as he looked upon the familiar worn leather, the fur edged tattered and dark from generations of use but still had the appearance of freshly fallen snow in the South Pole. He looked up at Zuko, his face almost as red as the flame in his hand. “I know it’s not exactly traditional and you don’t have to wear it or even accept it but I uh.” Zuko stammered, letting the fire slip into a free floating ball of light in front of him so he could unfold the cloth. “In the Fire Nation we make gold rings, usually from our own fire. Which I did. And I kinda combined the two and uh.” He paused, swallowing down the lump that threatened to choke him.
Resting inside was a beautiful ornate gold pendant with strips of blue and white cloth fastened on either side to hold it together. Sokka was in awe of the craftsmanship, the knowledge that this had been what kept Zuko distracted. The reason why he rushed at the chance to join Zuko in the caves in the first place. Why he longed to spend just a little alone time with the other man that had seemed like such a hard thing to achieve in the last few weeks alone.
Zuko’s words broke him out of his now spiraling thoughts, “You don’t have to accept or anything or, uh, you know, acknowledge this if you don’t want to-” and suddenly Zuko was being rudely interrupted by a pair of lips against his own. And oh, oh. Sokka was kissing him. And he stopped thinking for a moment as Sokka’s fingers rested against his cheeks, pushing back loose strands of inky hair as he brought him closer.
They would eventually be found by Aang, but in that moment, all that mattered to them was the emptiness around them and tranquility.