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Chapter Text

By the fifth shrug accompanied head shake he’d gotten in response from the palace staff, it would be an understatement to say Sokka was merely frustrated. Not even his own personal bodyguards seemed to be keeping track of the Fire Lord right now. Yes, Sokka had plenty of respect for the Kyoshi Warriors but seriously? He knew there weren't any active threats at the moment but, again, seriously?

Sokka sighed as he turned into the corridor leading to the enclosed gardens. As he did, his gaze caught on a bundle of red in the grass by the turtleduck pond and he felt himself smile. Of course. He should have definitely checked here as soon as he couldn’t find Zuko in his office nor his quarters. He chuckled a bit to himself, a familiar fondness spreading in his chest as he approached.

Zuko was sitting ungraciously under the tree by the pond, his royal robes all wrinkled up around him. He seemed to be half asleep, Sokka noted when he got close enough to see his face, which, while absolutely adorable, was also somewhat concerning, considering he was dangerously close to just falling into the water from where he was sitting.

“Is this really appropriate for the Fire Lord?” Sokka asked when he was within reasonable earshot, startling Zuko to snap his head in his direction and out of his dazed state. “Falling asleep on the ground in the gardens, I mean,” he clarified as he sat down next to him.

Zuko grumbled something nonsensical as he shifted to lean against Sokka. Sokka in turn just chuckled and wrapped an arm around him before leaning back to rest against the tree, wondering a bit distantly why Zuko hadn’t just done that instead of balancing on his knees next to a body of water.

“You okay, fire lily?” he asked and Zuko sighed, nuzzling further into his side.

“Yes,” Zuko replied, “of course.” His voice was low and raspy, and he just slightly slurred on his words, which was very counterintuitive to the point he was trying to make.

“How have you been sleeping, my lord?” Sokka asked, pulling back a bit.

Zuko groaned. “Sokka. Please.”

“What?”

“We drop the formalities outside of council,” he replied, eyes still firmly shut. “You know that.”

“Well,” Sokka started, dragging out the word until Zuko cracked open his eyes just enough to glare at him. “Maybe if you were in your quarters, or at least had changed out of your fancy robes, I wouldn’t feel the need to be all formal.” He smiled down at his armload of Fire Lord, who huffed in response.

“Don’t have time.” Zuko’s eyes slipped shut again. “Have a meeting in a bit.” Spirits, Zuko could really be completely hopeless at times.

Sokka shook his head before placing a light kiss on the top of Zuko’s head, earning a content hum in response. “You need sleep,” he said.

“I could sleep right now.”

“Not here.”

“Why not?”

“What would the servants think if they came across their Fire Lord passed out in the gardens?”

Zuko shifted a bit, groaning in protest, but then finally sat up straight and opened his eyes. “Fine,” he said shortly, “I won’t sleep.”

“Now that’s not what I said,” Sokka protested and Zuko shot him a glare that would have probably been more effective if he didn’t have lines from Sokka’s tunic on his face and his crown wasn’t close to falling out of his hair. “Come on, let’s get you to bed,” he continued, standing up and offering Zuko a hand which he reluctantly took before allowing himself to be hauled up and then dragged away. This of course didn’t mean he didn’t voice his discontent with the whole situation however, he continued his mutterings about not having time as well as this being completely unnecessary their whole walk towards Sokka’s chambers.

“Sokka, seriously,” Zuko said, stopping abruptly, forcing Sokka to stop as well. “I have a meeting with the head of the Royal Guard, I can’t just–”

“Send Suki in your place,” Sokka demanded rather than suggested. “She could easily handle that and you know it.”

Zuko scowled at him in response and what followed was a stubborn staring contest between the two of them. Sokka knew there was no chance for Zuko to win this when he was this tired, but Zuko didn’t seem like he was anywhere near ready to accept that reality, despite literally swaying in place and his eyes having been half shut from the get go. They had probably stood there in complete silence for a good couple of minutes by the time they heard footsteps approaching. Zuko was the one who finally broke eye contact then, turning to look towards whoever was approaching.

“Ha!” Sokka exclaimed triumphantly, making Zuko’s gaze snap back to him immediately. “You are so going to bed now!”

“Like hell I am!”

“Oh yes,” came a third voice, making both of them snap their heads back in the direction of the person who had approached. “You definitely are,” Suki said, “just look at yourself.” She gestured towards Zuko with a closed fan. He looked down at himself before shooting her a questioning glance. “In a mirror, dumbass,” she clarified with a slight shake of her head. Zuko glared at her in response.

“That’s no way to talk to your boss,” he grunted, to which she simply raised a dangerous eyebrow at him. “Sorry,” he hurried out immediately, looking down.

“I’m so glad we ran into you,” Sokka offered then and Suki turned her attention towards him in response, face softening. “As you can clearly see, Zuko is in no condition to attend his meeting this afternoon…”

“Yes,” Suki said, ignoring Zuko’s half-coherent disagreement-noises. “I was just about to grab him for said meeting but I ought to agree with you.”

“I’m fine!” Zuko snapped with a jerk of his head, and while neither Sokka nor Suki would have believed him either way, his case was not helped by his crown finally deciding to fall out of his hair and tumble onto the ground at the jerk of the movement. The three of them stood still for a moment, completely silent. It ended up being Zuko himself who broke it by leaning back into the wall and sliding down onto the floor, burying his face in his hands as he went. “Just let me die here,” he groaned.

Suki rolled her eyes, putting a hand on her hip. “You’re a lost cause,” she said to him, shaking her head, “can’t believe we’re letting you, of all people, lead a nation.” Then she turned to Sokka. “You take care of him, I take care of the meeting.”

“Deal,” he said with a nod and just like that she was off and he was left to deal with Zuko, who still refused to look at him but at least seemed to be keeping himself awake out of pure spite which would make the final bit of their journey to bed a lot easier.

“C’mon, Drama Lord,” he said as he kneeled down to grab one of Zuko’s hands – as well as his poor crown on the ground next to them – before hauling them both up. “Time to go to bed.”

Once inside Sokka’s room, Zuko practically just collapsed into Sokka’s grip, resulting in Sokka rather unceremoniously discarding his crown at the side table next to his door to get a better hold of him.

“Okay buddy,” he started, pushing Zuko up a bit, “you gotta work with me here. First we get you out of these uncomfortable clothes…” Sokka drifted off, already undoing the outermost layers of Zuko’s regal get up and letting the robes fall ungraciously into a pile on the floor. Zuko seemed to use most of his remaining energy for staying upright, which was honestly more than helpful. “Then we go to bed,” he finished with a kiss on Zuko's forehead.

Zuko nodded, going along with what Sokka said and did without protest, none of his earlier stubborn refusal remaining as he was led towards the bed.

“Will you stay?” he asked when Sokka turned away from where he had sat him down on the bed.

Sokka turned back immediately, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands. “Of course, turtleduck,” he said, rubbing the back of Zuko’s hands with his thumbs. “I’m just gonna get you some proper sleep clothes, okay?”

Zuko nodded and Sokka swiftly made his way over to his dresser, he changed out of his own day clothes into a sleeping tunic before grabbing one of Zuko’s preferred sleeping robes for him. When he turned back to the bed, Zuko had wiggled out of his last layer of clothing, and had rested his head against the headboard and his eyes had slipped shut.

Sokka walked back over, nudging Zuko with the robe in his hand, starting Zuko awake again. “I’m sorry,” he offered softly, “I promise this is the last step before comfortable sleep.”

“I swear,” Zuko muttered, grabbing the robe Sokka held out for him and haphazardly pulling it on. “I’m not actually that tired.”

Sokka raised an eyebrow at him, not feeling entirely convinced. He could humour him, offer some sarcastic agreement, maybe ask him to do some simple maths just for the chance to tease him about it later. But this wasn’t very amusing. So instead he sighed, taking a seat next to Zuko on the bed.

“Zuko,” he said, “what’s going on?” He raised his hand to gently cup his cheek. “I haven’t seen you this tired since… ever.”

Zuko melted into his touch with a sigh but didn’t respond immediately. “I dunno,” he replied after a bit and let himself fall forward into Sokka's chest.

“Oh, my sweet fire lily,” Sokka murmured, wrapping his arms around Zuko before laying down, pulling him down with him. Zuko seemed to have barely noticed the motion, as his only real reaction to it was to move his legs up onto the bed and nuzzle into Sokka’s chest. In turn, Sokka simply pressed a kiss on the top of his head.

There were plenty of questions to be asked, plenty of worries and concerns that needed to be addressed. But for the time being, Sokka kept those to himself. Because right now, Zuko needed to rest, and Sokka could nag him about his sleep schedule later. For the moment, the only thing that mattered was the fact that Zuko was now peacefully asleep in his arms, his breathing slow and steady as his body relaxed.

So instead of asking all his questions, Sokka put them aside, for now, locking them in the back of his mind until further notice. He pressed another kiss at the top of Zuko’s head before nuzzling into his hair, taking in the familiar smell of Zuko’s fancy shampoo. And then he let himself drift off to join Zuko in peaceful slumber.

Chapter Text

The room around him was dark when Zuko woke up, darker than it should be considering that he was just gonna take a quick nap. Fuck, his whole body hurt. How long had he been sleeping? He shifted in the bed just to discover that he was alone which struck him as odd. He didn’t really remember falling asleep but he was sure Sokka had been there. He forced himself into a sitting position and was surprised by the dizziness that hit him as he did. He was taking a moment to collect himself when he heard a voice from beyond the closed bedroom door.

“Yes, but he’s sleeping,” said the voice that definitely belonged to Sokka. Well, at least that cleared up where he had gone.

“We should still–” said another voice (and Zuko was not entirely sure whose voice that was. Possibly Suki? Or maybe Nashi?) before being cut off by something Zuko couldn’t quite make out.

Zuko slowly pushed himself off the bed and into a standing position, wincing slightly at the way his body seemed to burn as he did. For a moment, he just stood there, one hand gripping nearest bedpost to hold himself upright, eyes squeezed firmly shut to distract him from the way the room seemed to spin around him. Once he was finally sure (well, pretty sure) he wouldn’t fall as soon as he let go of the bedpost he began the short walk to the door, trying his best not to sway too much. This whole process, that would normally have taken roughly five seconds, had probably taken him at least five minutes by the time he finally pushed open the bedroom door.

The light that hit him as he did made his head hurt and he had to blink a few times to adjust to it before he could actually take in what was going on. Sokka and Nashi stood by the front door of Sokka’s chambers, Nashi in full uniform, facepaint and all, while Sokka looked like he had just woken up in his wrinkly sleep shirt.

“Seriously,” Nashi whisper-shouted, hands on her hips. “I get what you’re saying, but we should at least get one of the physicians to–”

Nashi stopped mid sentence when her eyes landed on Zuko and he didn’t really have time to react to that before Sokka swirled around to follow her gaze, forehead wrinkled in confusion. His face softened once he too spotted Zuko.

“Hey,” he said softly, “slept well?” He walked over to him and cupped his face. Zuko leaned into it and just like that a frown made its way onto Sokka’s face, which Zuko didn’t even have the energy to question. “You should really be in bed,” Sokka said then and Zuko groaned.

“I’m fine,” he growled before his voice got cut off by a cough. Seriously, how long had he slept for his voice to be that rough?

Sokka’s frown deepened at that and Nashi now stood with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, looking as disapproving as ever.

”I’m getting a physician,” she said flatly, and there was a certain finality to it.

Sokka nodded with a sigh, turning his head to look at her. ”Yes,” he replied tiredly, “that is probably a good idea.”

And just that, Nashi was out of the room, leaving the two of them alone once the doors shut in her wake. Sokka looked back at him and he tried for a glare but the dizziness came back full force when he did so instead he looked down, blinking hard as he felt himself sway and Sokka grabbed him by his arms.

”Let’s get you back to bed,” he said and pushed the door open wide enough for them both to get through it before leading Zuko back to the bed.

Zuko didn’t really have it in him to fight it but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He had stuff that needed to be done, he was pretty sure. He at least didn’t have time to rest like this, that much he definitely knew.

“I’m seriously fine,” Zuko grunted when he was once again sat down on Sokka’s bed.

Sokka shook his head from where he was kneeling in front of him, rubbing circles into the back of Zuko’s hands with his thumbs. “You’re really not,” he said, and this was when Zuko finally caught the worry on his face and in his voice.

That realisation had something twist in his chest. “I–” he started, not really knowing where he was going with it. He looked down. “I’m sorry,” he settled on.

“Hey, no need for that,” Sokka said firmly, getting up on the bed next to him without letting go of his hands. “You just need to take better care of yourself.”

Zuko bit his lip, considering. Then he sighed. “I’ve been busy,” he finally said with a hushed voice. It was a weak defense but it was true. The time leading up to either solstice was always hectic and he had been passed between meetings like a ping pong ball the last few weeks, and that’s without even considering the usual council meetings.

“I know,” Sokka replied softly, raising one hand to caress Zuko’s cheek.

Zuko sighed into it, finally looking back up at him. Sokka was smiling at him, but the wrinkle of worry was still present on his forehead and Zuko couldn’t quite gather up the energy to reach up to smooth it out.

“What time is it?” he asked instead, glancing towards the sliver of light that made its way between the thick curtains in Sokka’s windows. “I have meetings–”

“Suki is taking care of that,” Sokka replied, pulling Zuko into his chest. “You need to rest.”

“Sokka,” he protested weakly, “I appreciate it but seriously–”

“Ah ah ah.” Sokka’s arms tightened just slightly around him. “You’re sick, no meetings for you.” He pressed a soft kiss in Zuko’s hair and as much as a part of Zuko wanted to squirm out of it and get going with his day, he couldn’t.

“I’m not sick,” he huffed, “I’m just a bit tired.” That might have been a slight understatement but Sokka didn't have to know he felt a bit like an ostrich-horse had run him over.

Sokka leaned back a bit to look at him with narrow eyes and just based on the look on his face as he examined him, Zuko might as well have said that thought out loud because Sokka could definitely see right through him. But then he just shook his head, pulled Zuko back to his chest and laid them both down on the bed.

“Nashi is getting one of the physicians to check you over,” Sokka said, massaging Zuko’s scalp in a way that made him shiver. “I don’t know how you haven’t noticed it yourself but you’re practically on fire. More than is usual, I mean.” Ah, there was some of that classic Sokka sass. At least that brought some sense of normalcy to the situation.

Zuko let that sink in for a moment as Sokka continued to run one hand through his hair while the other absently ran circles over his back. And yeah, he supposed it made sense. He was definitely exhausted and everything kinda hurt and his throat was burning and his head was still spinning a bit and his thoughts felt like mush and fucking damn it, he did not have time to be sick when the winter solstice was right around the corner.

“I doubt getting a physician is necessary,” he muttered, voice muffled into Sokka’s shirt.

Sokka sighed. “I think it’s for the best.” He shifted out from under Zuko before sitting up. Zuko, in turn, rolled over to lay on his back so he could look at him. “We can’t have the Fire Lord drop dead mid meeting now, can we?” He was joking but there was no missing the genuine concern behind it.

Zuko took a breath, getting ready for a reply, but the dry air did not help with his burning throat and now he was violently coughing again. Sokka was quick to pull him up into a sitting position and pat his back. When it finally stopped, Zuko leaned back to rest against the headboard and Sokka was frowning at him.

”Fine,” he said, voice low and raw as he admitted defeat. “But I’m gonna need–”

“Detailed reports and updates,” Sokka finished for him, nodding. “That’s why Suki volunteered.” Sokka moved to the edge of the bed. Zuko followed his movement with his eyes which, along with whatever face Zuko must have been making, Sokka apparently took as something along the lines of ‘oh spirits, where are you going? Are you leaving me when I’m practically on my deathbed?’ because he gave a soft smile before leaning down to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be right back, just getting some tea for that poor throat of yours.”

Zuko nodded, tea definitely didn’t sound like a bad idea. So Sokka got up and left through the open bedroom door, leaving Zuko alone in the dimly lit room once more. It had been quite some time, he realised, since he had been in Sokka’s room, or vice versa for that matter. They had both been busy lately, with all preparations that the celebrations of the winter solstice required. Agni, when was the last time they had spent more than half an hour together outside of meetings? Probably at least a month ago at this point.

Then a loud knock to the front door brought him out of his thoughts. Zuko just barely shifted, his instincts telling him he should get it, before it swung open, the knocking seemingly having been a way to announce the presence of a visitor rather than an actual call to be let in. Sokka called out some kind of greeting that Zuko didn’t quite catch and before Zuko really could connect two and two together, both Nashi and Lo were walking through the bedroom door.

Nashi made her way immediately to the curtains to pull them open, bashing the room with light that Zuko wasn’t ready for. He winced, blinking at the brightness he suddenly found himself in as Lo made her way over to the bedside.

“Sweet Kyoshi, you look terrible,” Nashi muttered when she turned to look at him. He made the decision to spare himself the pain that glaring at her would shoot through his head.

“Thank you,” he muttered instead, sarcasm lacing his words, before turning his attention to the physician next to him. “Hello,” he said to her, trying to keep his voice as smooth as possible.

“My lord,” she greeted shortly, bowing her head. “How are you feeling?”

“Just peachy,” he grunted, turning his head away, choosing to stare out through the open door instead of looking at either of the women in the room.

“Zuko,” Nashi said, dragging out the last syllable of his name, not even trying to hide her annoyance.

With a sigh, he turned his head back towards Lo. “Terrible,” he corrected.

Lo nodded as she placed her tray on the bedside table. “It’ll be a quick check up,” she said as she turned back to look at him, her voice as grounding and neutral as it always was. “Based on what I’ve been told, it sounds like you’ve worked yourself into a rather nasty fever, but it’s best to be on the safe side. So.” She sat down next to him on the bed. “Can you explain your symptoms to me?”

Zuko obliged, mostly because he definitely did not have the energy to deal with a pissed off Nashi and he knew she was already dangerously close to snapping at him. Lo nodded along as he shortly described his sore throat, headaches, and whatnot. Then she asked about his hectic schedule and how he’d been sleeping, as well as doing some physical examinations while he ran through it. Sokka joined them in the midst of it, offering Zuko a cup of tea – which Zuko gratefully accepted and immediately took a sip of – before sitting down at the end of the bed.

“Well,” Lo said once she seemed satisfied with the check up, “I don’t think it’s anything more serious than a fever–”

“Obviously,” Zuko muttered. Like they couldn’t figure that out without this whole ordeal.

“–so you should stay in bed and take it easy for a couple of days.” She leveled him with a firm look and from the corner of his eye he could see Sokka and Nashi exchange a knowing glance.

Zuko himself just sighed. He knew better than to go against Lo’s word in particular, it would be almost as stupid as pissing Katara off near a body of water. But he didn’t really know how he was meant to stay in bed for a couple of days a week before the solstice.

“I know you have a lot right now,” Lo added and, to her credit, offered a sympathetic look, “but you need to listen to your body.” With that, she stood up and collected her mostly forgotten tray from the bedside table. “I wish you a speedy recovery, my lord,” she finished with a bow.

Zuko nodded at her and with that, she was off. Nashi joined her, muttering something under her breath as she did. Soon, the front doors shut behind them and he and Sokka were once again left alone.

Sokka smiled at him, a weird mixture of concern and smugness behind it. “So…” he said, the smugness definitely coming through with it. Zuko stared at him for a long moment before rolling over on his side.

“I’ll fucking rest,” he grunted.

“Yes you will,” Sokka agreed, a satisfied smile clear on his voice as he laid back down on the bed behind Zuko. “And I’ll make sure of it.” He wrapped his arms around him, squeezing tight in a way that should have been suffocating but somehow wasn’t.

“Don’t you have a job?” Zuko muttered but he couldn’t quite hide the fondness that slipped through.

“Yes,” Sokka answered, smile evident on his voice, “it’s called ‘make sure the Fire Lord doesn’t work himself to death.’” He pressed a soft kiss to the back of Zuko’s neck.

“Huh.” Zuko shook his head even as he felt himself smile. “I don’t remember that being in your job description.”

“It is!” Sokka exclaimed, although softly. “As your boyfriend, that is definitely in my job description.”

Zuko allowed himself a slight laugh at that and he didn’t even feel too bothered when it turned into a very slight cough. It could definitely be worse than having to cuddle in bed all day with Sokka. So, at last, he let himself relax into the embrace and hug Sokka’s arms, and allowed himself to be taken care of.