Learning Experiences Zukka

Chapter 11: "Wither thou goest..."

The only thing nicer than waking up with Zuko snuggling on his chest was that this time he was waking up in a warm, comfy bed with Zuko snuggling on his chest, rather than the floor of a prison cell. And Zuko wasn't chained up, so his hand was gently running over Sokka's side, tracing the line of a long scar.

"Hey, that tickles a little," he mumbled into the prince's hair.

"Sorry. How did you get it?"

"Polar leopard. It was stalking too close to the village last spring, and it wasn't safe to let the kids go out unless I got rid of it." He grinned in pride at the memory. "I got it with a solid hit from my spear, but it still charged me before it noticed it was dead. Katara got so mad at me that I dragged it back to the village with a wound instead of just getting home faster to be stitched up."

He felt the chuckle in his chest. "Like you would have left the proof behind and had her doubting you for the whole summer."

"Pretty much. And I got a great pelt out of it." He craned his head up to check the wounds on Zuko's back, feeling them for swelling or heat. "I think we've actually managed to avoid any of these getting infected. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine..." The prince sounded grumpy, but when he sat up to regard Sokka, his expression was almost concerned. "Though I'm not sure you'll see that as a good thing."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? I lo- I like you a lot, of course I want you to feel better!" He glared at the other teen with some annoyance.

"Sorry, I know you do, I just... nevermind." He reached for a pair of slippers to protect his still tender feet before climbing out of bed.

"Hrm, no, I think we've had the nevermind conversation before. What's wrong?"

Zuko stayed facing away. "It's just that, well, you're a protector. It's the way you think, the way you fight and it's the way you care about people. You want to stay with me now when I need taken care of, but, I guess... I'm just worried you'll feel differently once I'm all the way back on my feet and can kick your ass again."

First Sokka gaped. Then he grinned. Then he found himself laughing. When Zuko turned towards him with a scowl, he pulled the prince back down onto the bed and gave him a firm kiss. "First of all, I'm pretty sure if you really wanted to, you could kick my ass right now and just deal with the damage you'd do to yourself later. You're like some crazy unstoppable vengeance spirit from a campfire story." He ignored the disgruntled snort this provoked. "And I like that about you. You're an incredible warrior and the chance to train with you and fight beside you is definitely a bonus to the idea of traveling with you."

"Well, you could use the training..." He smirked at the insult in the water tribesman's face and rubbed a hand down his back. "You've got great instincts, and good reflexes, but it's obvious that you're almost completely self taught. You just need some formal instruction to focus the raw talent."

"There you go, having a kickass Zuko back will be my first step to becoming more kickass myself. Anyway, second of all, if you think I'm gonna stop taking care of you and trying to protect you from yourself once you feel better, think again. No way your uncle will agree to keep an eye on Zhao for us unless someone's ready to take over making sure you eat and sleep once in a while." He overrode the annoyed response with, "so unless you're planning on going Macho Dork on me and not letting me cuddle you once you're back to top form, you've got nothing to worry about there, okay?"