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Dusk until Dawn [zukka]

Zuko's eyes never strayed far from the ground, he preferred to remain unnoticed, to not call attention upon himself. Alas, it never worked, not like it used to. A rasp of knuckles on the door of his throne room reverberated off the walls, straight to his ears.

As though it had become something of a second nature to him, he sat upright. Gone was the slouch from his shoulders, replaced with a formal, more regal posture. His father may have been defeated, but some things never changed. Certainly not the mark he had left on him, both physically and mentally all those years ago.

"You may enter." He spoke, with his chin raised, just as he was advised. Unlike his father, he did not rule with an iron first, and unlike his sister he accepted help and advice when it was needed.

The dark oak doors slowly creaked open, the hinges growing old and weary from generations of use. A soft light spilled into the throne room, and dark, amber eyes settled on fawn arms. Muscular arms, taut muscles that dipped into broad shoulders and a sharp jawline. A jawline that settled on a pair of soft blue eyes, eyes that were familiar to him.

"Sokka?" He breathed into the room, a hint of surprise wrapped around his words as he stared, almost dumbfounded at the water tribe chief standing before him. Time had passed since they'd all been together, but he hadn't imagined this much time had really gone by. Had it?

The Sokka before him surely wasn't the same one he knew, the same one he fought the war with. What once was a lithe frame with sinewy muscles was now replaced with taut muscles, and raw strength. "Hey Zuko." He responded, in that same warm, friendly tone he had become familiar with over time.

Zuko blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Sokka started down the pathway, his feet padding against the soft red carpets of the throne room as he continued to speak. "Do I need a reason to come see you?" Zuko thought there was a teasing lilt to his words, but then again, he was never good at reading people.

"I suppose not." He cleared his throat, felt the urge to dip his fingers underneath the collar of his robe and pull at it, if only to get some air in to cool his suddenly slick skin. "I'm sure you wouldn't come out of the blue like this for nothing though, all the way from the South Pole?"

Sokka grinned and held his hands up in defence. "Okay, okay, you got me. You know I can't lie to you."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Felt the sting of something within him, he was unsure of why he felt so disappointed that visiting him wasn't his only reason to stop by. Perhaps it was because he had power now, control. "What can I do for you Sokka?"

The fawn-skinned male scratched at the back of his neck for a moment before he parted his lips to speak.
"I have an idea, and it's a good idea."

I've heard that before. Zuko mused, inwardly, but urged him to continue with a nod of his head anyways.

"I want to start an Accord." He declared, and Zuko found that he was dumbfounded. He wasn't sure where the idea had come from, but he hadn't been lying — it was a good idea. "There will be rules, treaties, agreements on trading, hunting, borders — perhaps even peacekeepers throughout the nations to keep the peace. Not soldiers, enforcers, maybe?"

He shook his head and waved his hands in front of him as he stepped closer to Zuko's chair. The familiarity was refreshing to him without even realizing it, most of his people kept their distance, unsure of whether or not he could lead them, unsure of whether or not he could.

He shared those doubts, their concerns, they were a constant swirl at the forefront of his mind. Sokka's voice quickly quieted his intrusive thoughts. "Maybe that's a plan for the future but — we can start with this, or you know, maybe a more professional version of it? This is just a draft..." The fawn skinned male trailed off, as his fingers curled around the warm and battered parchment that had been shoved away into his bag during travel.

"Come on." Sokka urged the Firelord to follow him into the back, where they'd had many meetings prior to this day. Some meetings that consisted of nothing but them lounging about, Sokka leaned back against the sofa and Katara mindlessly weaving his hair back into a braid. Aang discussing Earthbending techniques with Toph, despite having mastered the element and Zuko watching, observing, peacefully.

Sokka had been cute in his young adulthood, now he was rugged — grown. Handsome.

They poured over the draft for quite some time, Zuko was unsure of how much time had passed, only that Mai had come to urge him to attend his meetings. He'd waved her off, and declared that he would be absent for the remainder of the day, Sokka's grin only encouraged him further.

"Then we just need a representative from each nation to sign it." Zuko mumbled to himself, and Sokka laughed, almost gleefully at his words. In a fluid stretch, he leaned back against the soft material behind him, elbows flushed from leaning against the concrete tabletop for hours on end.

Sokka scratched above his eyebrow for a moment, and shook his head from side-to-side, the goofy
grin remained present across his features. "I never thought you'd take me seriously with this."

Zuko scoffed. "Why wouldn't I? It should've been done a long time ago, that way we wouldn't have so much disorder and displacement in the world today." He was almost ashamed, ashamed that he had been so caught up in other stuff that seemed irrelevant now.

"Well... I've had the idea for a while, actually." Sokka rubbed at the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. An embarrassed expression crossed his features, and Zuko found himself sitting a little straighter. "I was just too busy or... I don't know, I didn't think anyone would care."

"I care." Zuko blurted, and Sokka stared at him.

He blinked. Once, twice, before the corner of his lips twitched upwards into a small smile. "I care about you too."