Sooooooo…this fandom is pretty dead but I just rewatched ATLA and let’s just SAYYYYY
Zuko/Sokka tickle fic dropping in the next few days.
Did anybody ask? No. Do I care? Also no. Will any of you actually read it? Probably not. But if you see this and you’re excited, this one is for u :,) stay tuned
Kanene’s notes: For some reason I am going back to my old fandoms? dfghyygtfdf anyway I re-watched atla once again last month and finally got some time and energy to write a tickle fic for it! Yesh!!!!
Warnings: Zuko’s general grumpiness, but only that. Switch!Zuko and Switch!Aang. I have no idea when that happens but it’s before the Sozin’s Comet. Around 3500 words.
[~*~]
Aang was staring at him.
Not that being stared at was something new in his life. Zuko grew rather accustomed to it, being the first heir of the Firelord and having a gigantic scar that covers half of your face usually made you the most interesting person in a crowd.
Still, it didn't mean that Zuko had to like it. Actually, he didn’t even understand why Aang was paying such a close attention to him now. After months of being friends, he should already be used to Zuko's presence in their group. Was he having second thoughts about accepting him as his teacher? Why? Was it because of the mistake in their morning training?
It wasn’t even a gigantic thing. Aang just got a way too light hit in his side that made him lose his concentration of his firebending and flinch away from the strange, electric sensation on his side.
(If that told him something about Aang's improvement or about Zuko's own lack of skills it was unclear.)
In the end, the reason for the staring didn't matter. It wouldn't be the first time Zuko would lose everything for a single mistake. He just needed to prove to the Avatar that he was still a worthy ally and teacher.
He got up.
"Break's time is over. Come on, let's spar and then run through your katas again. From first to tenth."
As always, the authority in his voice made Aang immediately jump to his feet, although no more moves were made to follow the instructions, the boy was still watching him for something.
"What!" He bristled.
"Did you injure your side?"
"With your weak hit? You just got me off guard, that is all." Zuko readied himself in an offensive stance, beginning his attack. "Let's see if you can do it again, and no more holding back your punches. You won't have this mercy when it comes to the Firelord."
"I know, I know." But instead of the defeated look that always took over the younger's face every time he mentioned his father, Aang's expression quickly bounced back to a curious expression, dodging from his flames and attacks with fluid moves (it was both weird and interesting to see how much fo the other elements affected his actions even when he wasn't using his bending).
"Are you sure you're not injured, though? You did jump pretty high back there."
Zuko felt like there was something hidden in the other’s voice. A kind of light reflected in his eyes, a different way that he seemed not worried at all in trying to fight back, an extra bounce in his step.
And for some reason, now the Avatar keeps smiling at him. Which, when the subject was about how he possibly was or not injured, didn't make Zuko very confident about his safety.
"I am not hurt." Irritation began filling his words. "Take this seriously! Fight back!"
"I will! I will! I am just curious, why did you jump away?"
"For no reason! It doesn't matter."
"No one squeals and jumps away for no reason." Was he getting closer?
"I did not squeal!" Zuko widened his stance and with a circling gesture, moved his arms until his palms were facing the ground, ceasing the fire attacks before adjusting himself to a standing position. "And if you rather keep mocking me than really focusing on your training, then I suppose that you can continue mastering your firebending alone."
He turned away, feeling strangely out of place, before fast steps put Aang right in front of him, arms in a placating gesture and his expression full of alarm and a bit of regret.
"No, wait! I wasn't mocking you, I swear." Aang then took a respectful stance and bowed, with his thumb poking out from his closed fist resting on his open palm. "Please don’t give up from me yet, Sifu Ho-" at Zuko's glare, he bit back the 'hotman'. "Uhhhhh, Sifu Zuko."
The older one took a deep breath, wondering if his uncle also felt the same feeling of old all the times Zuko kept pushing his proper training off to complain about capturing the Avatar and restoring his honor.
Life really comes to a full cycle, doesn't it?
He bowed, as well, mirroring Aang's gesture and respect, letting his usual irritation wash away, a common pinch of guilt that always came when he let his angry outbursts control his decisions appearing once again.
His point still stands, though.
"Alright." His tune was tough, but not unkind, a soft kind of relaxation taking over his gestures. He should at least try to have the same patience as his uncle. "Let's try again. Firs-"
"I am just really curious!" Aang cut him, basically bouncing on the same place, his energetic big smile back to his face now that the misunderstanding had been cleared. "If you're not injured, does that mean you're ticklish?"
For some reason, Aang seemed about to launch himself straight to the sky with how much he was beaming. In a blink, Zuko remembered old memories of his and his mother's laughter, of Lu Ten's surprise attacks and Mai's playful touches before he threw everything away to fulfill his own destiny.
And, in another bewildered blink, abruptly, Aang's smile and actions made complete sense. Zuko looked at him with wide eyes.
"I-"
Before the prince could answer, however, the avatar jumped at him, not wasting a single second as he locked on his sides with a horrible scribbling that made he feel like there was thousands of feathers teasing his sensitive torso, following his body even when the surprise attack made him fall on his back, holding his reactions with all his will power.
"I knew it. You are!" The scribbling quickly evolved to a series of light pinches and squeezes that almost made him jump away as they traveled too much close to his stomach, giggles beginning to bubble in his throat. "I can't believe you never told us about it before!"
"W-why-" He bit back a squeal, refusing to fall for such childish play. "Why would I snkr e-ever tell you tha-ah!"
Aang beamed even more at the muffled yelp that came when he experimentally scratched at his belly, deciding that it was a perfect place to dance and wiggle his fingers freely.
"Because it is fun! And it would be nice to see your smile. I don't think we ever heard you truly laugh since you joined the group!"
"I don't need to laugh." He gritted through his firmly pressed lips, turning his face away, feeling his features getting hot at the hopeful and bright expression from Aang at the giddiness slipping through the tears in his barriers. "We need to t-t-train. Don't!"
Zuko maybe, if he wasn’t totally concentrated in not dying because anywhere - absolutely any other place - would be better than that spot, would definitely feel mortified by the honest to Agni high pitched plea that fled from his mouth when the other poked his bellybutton curiously.
Aang smiled even wider, somehow.
"You also have a ticklish bellybutton?" He poked the tickle spot again and again, giggling in delight when Zuko wiggled from one side to another with even the slightest hint of a touch. "Just like Sokka! He would go totally crazy when we tickled his belly. Katara even had this secret technique she did when..." Suddenly, he stopped.
Zuko could see the exact moment the Avatar got an evil idea.
"No.” Aang didn’t move. “Don’t you even think about it!"
He tried to roll away, legs too weak to help him in a chase. Nevertheless, the other's playful hands followed him, pulling him back and straddling his waist so he could rest his index fingers and thumbs at each side of his bellybutton, making Zuko take a wobbly gulp of oxygen.
"Aang-" He tried to push the hands away but the Avatar was as immovable as a rock, grinning at him a tad manically. "Aang, I am g-going to make you do so many katas you will keep doing them in your sleep! Don't you dare!"
The Avatar, the bridge between the spiritual world, the one responsible to bring peace and balance to the four nations, the only one in the world able to master all the elements, the agent of evil snickered and did, in fact, dare.
For Zuko's complete mortification and immediate defeat, he began squeezing.
It was horrible. It was unbearable. Each squeeze made his entire body spasm with the sheer force of keeping his laughter inside, face growing more and more red as the tickling just did not stop.
That was when Aang's voice cut through air.
"Hey, actually, this gives me an idea! Wanna see a cool trick?" Zuko shook his head and Aang laughed. "Okay, I will show you anyway! It goes like this: 'Hello, I'm Mister Bellybutton and I am supeeeeeer ticklish!"
He was squeezing said tickle spot as if it was a mouth, pretending it was speaking and even making a goofy voice for it as if they were both tiny kids and not the future firelord and the one destined to end a one hundred year war, full of responsibilities and posture to uphold and Zuko…
Whether it was for the sheer absurdity of it all, the awful and playful impersonation of a silly voice or the tickly shocks that filled all his nerves and senses he couldn't say. Actually, other than becoming a mess of laughter and sounds that were supposed to be words but were too lost in crackles to be understood, he wasn’t able to say much.
"Oh my god!!! Zuko, this is your laughter?! It's so nice! I can't believe we never tried to tickle you before!"
Zuko realized that he couldn’t do anything to stop the unfair tickle attack on his stomach, especially when Aang focused on using his other fingers to prod the sensitive skin and buzz on it, pulling a series of startled snorts that made the prince immediately hide his flaming face on his hands.
"Noooo, come on, not fair! You can't hide your smile, that is against the rules!"
"THEHEHEHERE'S NO RUHULES!"
"Of course there it is! Every tickle fight has rules. Like: no hiding your smile, no covering your face, and especially…"
The younger relented his attack giggling together with the other's remnant and uncontrollable titters as Zuko tried to recompose himself, feeling yet still a bit dazed with the sudden joy and adrenaline that were still running in his veins.
Wait. Why was it so quiet? Aang was saying something, wasn't he?
"Never leave a tickle spot unprotected unless you want it to be tickled!"
Suddenly fingers began kneading his ribs and Zuko's arms shot down in a too late attempt to protect them, a loud yelp announcing the comeback of an unstoppable mix of fast, airy giggles and eventual squeaks that didn’t wait to mingle in such a rare and beautiful melody.
"Here is it!" Zuko wasn't sure how, but he could swear that Aang somehow got more than two hands, because in a blink the wiggling fingers that were prodding and drawing circles on his ribcage were not only assaulting his neck and ears with a skillful spidering scratches and nimbly scribbling but also, even before he could lift his arms and try to pry them from there before another high pitched chortle came out of his mouth, were worming and digging awfully on his armpits, obliging him to clue his arms to his sides once more and starting the whole cycle started again and again.
No spot was left without a proper, tickly and tingly attention. Every squeeze on his knees, scratch on his soles, kneading on his sides and light tapping on his palms (how did he even discover about his palms-) pulled all sorts of loud crackles, bubbly giggles, bouncy titters, wobbly squirms, tired kicks and a boisterous belly laughter that left him without energy, a "stop" ready in the tip of his tongue when the younger decided that it was enough and relented the energetic tickle attack.
The prince of the Fire Nation turned around, still giggling, still blushing and still feeling the ghost feeling of dancing fingers buzzing right under his skin, leaving a permanent giant smile on his face.
He wiped the few tears that accumulated on the corner of his eyes, taking deep breaths and trying to not get embarrassed by the couple of giggles that continued to fill the air.
"See, I told you it was fun!" Aang snickered. "I didn't expect you to be so ticklish, though. You're almost as bad as meEEK!"
With a swift roll and quick reflexes Zuko jumped and pushed - not necessarily gently but also not with all his strength - the Avatar down, pinning his arms upwards with a hand.
Wide grey eyes stared at him, a drop of alarm on them.
"Uhhhh, Zuko, you're not really angry are you? It’s just that you never said to stop and-"
Zuko lifted his hand and with a gasp, the other cut his babbling.
He began wiggling his fingers.
"Almost as bad as you, you say?"
"Waitwaitwait!" Aang kicked and laughed joyfully, suddenly free of any drop of fear in his gaze as he wiggled like a madman on his hold, trying with all his might to put as much distance as he could from the offending silly fingers.
Seeing the older one loosening up was rare, but to see him loosen up, smile and be playful on the same day? Aang felt like he was the luckiest person in the world. He couldn’t wait to tell everyone else about how nice Zuko's laughter is.
I mean, if he survived the payback. Aang tried to lightly pull his arms back, but the grip was firm. He watched with trepidation the hand that was getting closer and closer to his sides, sucking his belly as much as he could.
Golden and gray eyes found each other for a moment.
Zuko stopped, his tiny smirk being overthrown by a frown and Aang felt his arms being freed.
The butterflies in his belly stopped batting their wings and the smile on his face fell. He tried to not feel too disappointed.
They would eventually get Zuko to participate in more of their shenanigans. One day. When he was ready. Even if today wasn't the day, he still got him to laugh.
An unbearable light feeling on his palm made the shorter yelp and jump away, one of his wrists being held back before he could pull it to his chest.
Golden and gray found each other again. Zuko smiled triumphantly.
"I knew it." He said, and Aang watched with a giddy feeling as blunt nails began scribbling on his palm, following the lines of his hands, drawing on the tip of fingers, contouring and spiraling across the entire sensitive skin to his wrists. Soon enough, his airy, fast and giggly snickers were filling the space, amidst his wiggles and half-heartedly attempts to pull his arm away. "I was wondering how did you discovered about my hands. It's because yours are sensitive as well."
"Yehehehes!" An 'eee' sound stretched the word and he snorted, kicking and squirming more, his other hand flapping non stop in an attempt to free himself of all the energy running in his veins. "Ihihihi realized that when I stahaharted to bend firehehe. It makes them so ticklihihish!"
"Must be rough for you."
"Hehey! But yours are ahahahalso tick- no!"
Not minding the other's protest, Zuko lifted the captured arm and attacked the unprotected armpit, being careful to tase and drum his fingers in every available inch of skin, feeling extremely smug at the shriek he got from the Avatar with the drastic change from such a soft to more playful tickle attack, his squirming getting so strong that he pushed himself back to a sitting position.
"BWAHAHAHA! NOHOHOT THERE!"
Zuko remembered something Lu Ten used to do with him all the time. It was childish and silly and not at all fitting for the future Firelord, but it used to drive Zuko over the palace’s walls all the time, and if Aang had at least half of his reaction…
He was just really glad that they went to train in a far area alone.
"What? Not here?" He made sure to focus on the weakest spot of the pit, poking and digging there for a good measure. "Not right here? Are you sure?"
"YESYESYES! IHIHIT'S TOHOHOHO BAHAHAD!"
"OK then." The tickling came to a stop.
Aang continued to laugh softly at the attack, his smile big and wobbly and eyes shining with excitement. "Wohohow, you're ruthless."
Zuko merely hummed in reply, watching him for the exact moment where he would relax and lower his guard…
Now.
"Hm, I changed my mind." He went right back at the merciless attack.
"SIFU HOHOHOHOTMAN, NOHOHO!"
"And stop calling me that! Do you like being tickled, by chance? Becoming a mess of laughter and squeals?"
"Yehehehehes!"
Zuko blinked, the tickling faltering for a bit and fishing a mess of tittering and soft squealing before resuming his quicker pace. "Really?….Why?"
"Ihihihit's fun!" Aang squealed and arched his back when Zuko got bored and decided to worm his fingers to his back ribs, spidering and stretching on the space in between each bone. For a piece of moment nothing but laughter filled his mind, thoughts and senses and all Aang could do was squeal until his mind got a bit clearer.
"You like it too!"
The shout that came out from the prince's lips was a mix of embarrassment and surprise. "I do not!"
"Do too!"
"Shut it!" The playful glint on the other's eyes only got stronger at the color flooding once again Zuko's cheeks. He grumbled in a grump protest. "If you can still tease me then I am not doing a good job. You must have a death spot somewhere, don't you?" He held the boy by his shoulder, starting to wiggle and prod his back in a search.
It was a good thing that his hand was still keeping the boy still because as soon as the sentence came out from his mouth the other began wiggling like his life was on the line.
"Wait, wait, Zuko! Not there! You can tickle my hands again or even my sides, they're pretty bad, but, wait!"
"Is your back really that ticklish or-" Zuko's teasing was cut when he pressed the highest space in between his shoulderblades (being very careful to not accidentally touch the scar) and, after a loud shout, an extremely low belly laughter filled the air.
"NOHOHOHO!"
He stopped. Aang stopped, hands flying to hide his mouth.
"That was you?"
"No, of course not!" With a muffled voice the Avatar tried to wiggle away from the touch, only the tip of his smile appearing behind his palm. "What was what? I didn't hear a thing. Ah! It’s getting so late, I think that Katara is calling meeEEEHEHEHE!"
Zuko pressed once again at the middle of his shoulder blades, thumb incessantly tasering on the same spot as he watched with drops of surprise and amusement as the youngest usual higher voice became much lower and stronger, his guffaws making his entire torso beam with the force of the laughter.
"Your voice gets rougher when someone tickles your back?" Poke, poke, poke, prod, tase, tase. "How does that even work?"
"NOHOHOHO! LEHEHEHEHEHEAVE THAT SPOT ALOHOHONE, PLEHEHEHEASE!"
Seeing that the boy seemed unable to stop bouncing in the same place with the sheer amount of ticklishness and energy running across his entire torso, Zuko decided to listen to him, stopping his tickles and eyeing his lower back with curiosity.
If just that tiny spot on his shoulder blades were so bad he wondered if his spine…
With an only one index finger, the older one ran the tip of the finger across Aang's spine.
He got exactly to the middle of it before the airbender shot straight to the sky with a high pitched, ear splitting squeal.
Zuko quickly jumped to a standing position, wide eyes searching the sky until his gaze finally found the hope of the world, the bridge between the material and the spiritual world, clutching his belly and historically giggling while kicking the air just like a kid in a tantrum, floating from a side to another, way too lost in ghost tickles and tittering snorts to control his airbending and stop spinning in the air with each laugh.
The future firelord sighed, ignoring how fond he felt for being the one responsible in making the smaller look as happy as this.
He forced his face to go back to his usual scowl, even if a playful, silly kind of feeling softened most of it and even when the entire gang already knew how to see right through it.
"Your training is not over yet, stop fooling around and come back! You still have to do katas until sunset."
Aang's remanent joyful laugh rang like a bell across the air. Somehow, Zuko felt like they wouldn’t do a lot of training today.
.. I know you’re not currently taking prompts at this time but maybe something to considerrrr when you arrree :3 hehe
zuko my beloved my skrunkly my sweet <3 headcanons for you as a treat <3
when Zuko snorts, a lil puff of smoke comes out his nose. I know it to be true. Iroh told me.
He has a rly sweet breathy laugh that sometimes goes silent prematurely. very giggle prone and he pretends to hate it, but if he actually did he would barbecue everybody so. checkmate.
This one might be a hot take but I feel like he might actually be great at pretending something doesn't tickle if it's one sensation in one place. I'm choosing this hill because I think it makes things so much funnier if the gaang is trying to catch him off-guard and can't. and he knows. and he's smug.
but, flipside to this coin, he's like a jumpy cat. if you do catch him off guard he will launch directly into the stratosphere and squeak. there's nothing he can do to recover.
if zuko knows you're going to tickle him he will giggle uncontrollably before you touch him, get mad that he's doing it, and then (rare phenomenon) angry giggle. very cute.
Zuko can't firebend if he's laughing because firebending needs air. When he throws his little tantrums or goes to do something reckless (and stupid), whoever is closest to him is quick to poke his sides and the air leaves him in this big woosh. If he tries to firebend (which he probably doesn't, he doesn't wanna hurt anyone), lil sparks come off his hands.
tickling Zuko is objectively funny because he curls up like a lil pillbug, but when you hit a bad spot he uncurls and every limb seeks violence. category six flailing event. Sokka comes back to camp with a black eye and Suki and Katara are ready for bloodshed, but he has to stumble through an explanation of why on earth he thought tickling Zuko was a good idea (worth it, no regrets. not pictured: toph smirking bc she could feel zuko's laughter reverberating through the ground)
mai does not know this about him until Ty Lee finds out. Mai takes full advantage and Zuko pretends to hate it with all his might.
i think if we're exiting the lil utopia bubble here for a sec zuko canonically probably hates being tickled. azula strikes me as the kind to torment him with it. but i'm choosing to remain within the bubble. i like the bubble.
zuko mirrors behaviors that he sees other gaang members doing to try and fit in. and i just. Zuko getting bold enough to poke someone and everyone is delighted because he's graduated to physical contact. and then he's like "why are you all looking at me like that"
i can one hundred percent see the gaang having like a 'days since zuko's last temper tantrum' counter or whatever. like as he mellows out it becomes harder to provoke him. Except one day Sokka goes too far and Zuko jumps him and everyone has a split-second fear that he's like genuinely snapped...until Sokka is shrieking and everything's fine actually. (the counter gets reset).
zuko and toph being touchy besties is everything to me actually and i like to think they are constantly irritating each other with lil pokes and stuff. toph likes to drape herself over Zuko at her own peril.
Aang sometimes won't take his training seriously because he's just not intimidated by Zuko anymore. Zuko's like. well. I can fix that. and aang Flees.
Zuko has so much respect for Suki and refuses to lay a hand on her and hurt her when they spar, but Suki's like. C'mon fireboy. Zuko remembers something about her that Sokka said in passing and he's like well! this will work! (i just have this visual of aang being like 'wow the kyoshi warriors are so cool zuko's so special getting to train with Suki'. meanwhile Zuko and Suki are in a tickle fight so intense that they've smashed and burnt furniture).
AN: Here’s my fic for the @ticklesofcolor fic exchange! I wrote for @calmturquoise & I had a blast writing this fic for you! So sorry for the delay, I just finished up with my associates & I had to write 2 final papers. I hope you’re okay that I was liberal with your prompt, since I went with Zuko & Sokka it would kind of be hard for him to use his bending to tickle someone, but I still tried to incorporate it! I also completely threw in the towel with this title. I hope you enjoy it! Sokka & Zuko just play off of each other so well.
Zuko was hot. Like strictly temperature wise Sokka told himself. But firebending proved to be quite useful to him. When they were camping, he was the warmest to sit next to. Not to mention, he made great fires for roasting weenies and marshmallows. But Sokka's favorite thing about it was that it meant he was pretty easy to tick off, which made for good fun.
He would never actually get too angry, so he assumed he didn't actually mind it all that much. And the truth was, he didn't. Zuko never really had friends of his own, and the playful teasing, if annoying, was actually fun. The others picked up on the habits too. It ended up with Toph claiming Zuko as her body pillow to hug against while she slept.
"Hey, can you hold this?" Without waiting for an answer, Sokka shoved a wet clay bowl in Zuko's warm hands.
"Wha- uh- sure," he said, perplexed but not setting it down. Sokka's cheeks were puffed out like a frog from trying to contain his laughter. Zuko realized what he was trying to do and huffed to keep himself from chuckling along. "Hell no, go find a kiln," he said, shoving it back in Sokka's hands.
As annoying as it was, it made Zuko feel... accepted. Like he was actually a part of the group instead of the outcast he was so used to being. He thought that they would all hate him: fearing his flame and mistrusting of everything he did. But that wasn't the case. And it felt good. He felt like, maybe, he could return the playful teasing. Toph was surprisingly easy to embarrass when he mentioned how "hot" she must thing he is from cuddling him all the time. Coincidentally, an embarrassed Toph and an angry Toph we're pretty much one in the same, and a sharp rock had launched him several feet in the air.
Katara could see right through his attempts at teasing, at being friendly, but she was still not amused by him. Aang was too happy all the time to get a rise out of him, though it was still fun to mess with the young avatar. Sokka was the most fun however. He had a sense of humor, and even though Zuko's wasn't what you'd consider "good" the other boy could still recognize what was meant to be a joke or a tease and deliver one right back. He was dramatic, and therefore, very easy to evoke a reaction.
He couldn't help but notice how the rest of them were very physical. Like, they'd constantly be touching each other. At first he found it a little unsettling, but they had done a pretty good job of making him get used to it. And eventually, he began reaching out to them.
So when Sokka grabbed his wrist and squeezed a pressure point to make a flame shoot out to toast a mallow. He snatched his hand back and shakes a finger in his face to scold him. "Alright I've had just about enough of you using me as your personal lighter!" he admonished, the smirk on his face revealing his amusement. Sokka's smirk was even wider. More smug and full of pride.
"Why? It's not like you'll do anything," he taunted, crossing his arms over his chest. Zuko glared at him. He was right, he'd probably just let it slide. Except he'd watched how they all play with each other and wanted them to know he could be fun like that too. He always hesitated to reach out, but he wanted to change. So they were both a little shocked when he shoved Sokka to the ground and sat on his legs, just above the knee. He blinked a few times then chuckled. "Nice try flambo, but it'll take more than just sitting on me to teach me a lesson," he sassed.
"I know," he said, looking down at him. He'd seen the others tickle Sokka to tears when he won't knock it off with the lame jokes, so he knew this method would be affective. Except, he didn't really know where to start. He'd never been in many tickle fights with his sister, and when he did he usually didn't win. But it had been years since he'd engaged with someone like this. But he'd watched enough, he was sure he could figure it out!
He gave a tentative poke to his belly, eliciting a quick squeak. Sokka's eyes widen and a nervous grin breaks out as he shook his head. Zuko placed a few more pokes to his stomach and sides before wiggling his fingers over the skin. Sokka was squirming and giggling lightly which... wasn't right. He'd seen the others get him, he should be howling with laughter. So why wasn't he?
"W-wohow you're really bahad at this," Sokka spoke fairly easily. Zuko huffed and shoved him against the ground and clambered away to stand. Sokka sighed and reached up, snatching his wrist. "Hey don't go, I was just teasing."
Zuko glared at the ground, lower lip jutting out slightly in a mix between a scowl and a pout. "Why not? It's true." When he didn't move to sit back down, Sokka yanked him to the ground, none too gently he might add.
"Ow! You didn't have to do that you know!" he complained, leaning to the side so he could rub his sore butt. Thankfully the grass cushioned his fall, but unexpectedly crashing down on your tailbone was never fun.
He shrugged. "I know, but it was the easiest way to make sure you wouldn't leave." He offered a softer, more genuine smile. "Besides, it's not your fault you don't know how. I doubt you had much time for goofing off like that," he said, his voice sympathetic. Zuko nodded shyly.
"Yeah, once mom was gone, things really picked up. And they were never easy before, but everything just got a lot more intense after that," he admitted. After keeping things bottled up all his life, it felt good to get it off his chest. Not all at once, but slowly; small things, like now.
Sokka seemed to mull something over in his head before deciding, "I can teach you if you want." Zuko blinked in surprise.
"Really?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I mean, I can't leave you all defenseless like that," he teased with a poke to his side. His lip twitched in a smile and he jerked away.
"Hey I can defend myself just fine! But um, who's our first target?" he asked slightly confused, staring out at the others spread around their small camp. "'Cause I think Aang'll be our best bet-" he rambled on, unaware of how Sokka was creeping up from behind.
"You are!" Zuko barely had time to process what he said before a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him back against Sokka's chest. He gasped as realization dawned on him and he tried to pry himself free.
"What? Why me? I-I can't learn like this!" he yelped. His friend only laughed.
"You will. You gotta know what different techniques feel like so you can get the best reactions. You gotta try different things 'cause certain things work better on some people," he explained. The way he was so casual about it just embarrassed Zuko even more.
"I appreciate the sentiment but I'm really more of a hands on kind of learner," he said as he squirmed. Sokka practically lit up.
"Then this is perfect! See? Hands-" he held them up for him to see before immediately diving for his stomach. "On!" Zuko practically screamed.
"Nohoho! Thihihis ihisn't fair!" he squealed through his laughter.
"What do you mean, of course it is! I'm giving you a lesson in tickling 101!" he chirped happily, kneading at his sides. Zuko cackled and doubled over, hands weakly prying at his wrists.
"Nohohot ohon mehehe!" he protested.
"Like I said, in order to tickle someone, you gotta know what different techniques feel like. There's light skittering," he said, demonstrating by spidering his fingers over his ribs. His laughter turned breathy and giggly, the squirming dying down as it became slightly more bearable. "Also quick squeezes," he said as he rapidly squeezed down his sides, making him squeal and twist back and forth. "Oh, and poking! But you seem to have that one down," he said, delivering quick pokes all over his torso.
"Ohohokahay I gehehet ihit! Stohop!" he cried out. Sokka shook his head.
"Not yet, the lesson's not over!" Suddenly, his hands shot down to squeeze his thighs. Zuko shrieked and kicked out, feet scrambling in the grass. "There's squeezing, oh! And kneading!" he said, switching tactics and demonstrating the new technique on his stomach. His laughter deepened as he desperately tried to squirm away, sucking in his belly and leaning away from the touch. This only succeeded in him pressing against Sokka even more, trapping him further in his hold.
"I can't believe I almost forgot one of the most important steps," Sokka said, managing to bring one arm up to smack himself on the forehead for being such an idiot.
Zuko didn't want to know what he meant by that, but then again, he kind of did. Curiosity killed the cat. "W-whahahat's thahat?" he asked. Now that the other boy had brought it up, he simply had to know.
"Teasing of course!" he exclaimed. Oh no, he really shouldn't have asked. "Sokka nohoho dohon't!"
"Why?" he asked, cocking his head. "Are you too ticklish to handle it?" he asked, raising the pitch of his voice in a mocking tone. For some reason, that made the sensations even stronger and all the more maddening.
"Shuhuhut up mahahan!" he squealed, doubling over and pushing at his tickling hands. "You're really not in a position to be making demands," he said smugly. Zuko managed to growl through his laughter. Sokka chuckled at the noise.
"I can't believe it: even when you're giggling up a storm you still try to appear all broody and grouchy!" he taunted. His cheeks turned pink upon hearing this and he tried to hide his face in his hands.
"Sohohokka ohohokay! I gehet it nohohow!" he pleaded.
"Alright, last lesson. You know what raspberries are, right?" he asked. Zuko could remember how his mother would play with him when he was younger, sometimes blowing raspberries on his pudgy tummy or neck. His eyes widen and he shook his head.
"Don't you dahahare!" he tried to scold.
"Oh, I dare," Sokka said with a sly smirk, placing his lips on the nape of his neck and blew hard. A loud, wet fart noise filled the air along with Zuko's wild cackles. He arched his back as much as he could, squirming and thrashing in his hold. He managed to twist away and shoved Sokka's face back with a little more force than necessary.
Sokka's shit eating grin remained plastered on his face. "You're the worst," he spat out between panting breaths. He closed his eyes and shrugged, clearly pleased with himself.
"You're welcome." Zuko's blush burned brighter and he playfully punched his shoulder. "I didn't say thank you!"
"Yeah but you were thinking it," he teased further. "If you still suck at tickling then there's just no hope for you," he said, patting his back consolingly. A rare glint of mischief shined in Zuko's eyes.
"I think it's coming back to me... Only one way to find out." Before Sokka could react, he slammed into him with his shoulder, knocking him on his back. He wasted no time pinning him.
Sokka stated up at him in shock, already giggling with nerves. "C-can't we talk about this?"
summary: zuko doesn't want to get up, but mai has other plans.
a/n: FIRST FIC POG!?!??!?!?!? THANK U WIFE FOR REQUESTING
w/c: 769
zuko struggled with accepting affection. not that he didn’t enjoy the affection, he just never knew how to be able to take a hug or how to not dodge a headpat; it was just always his first instinct.
he associated touch with pain and fighting, leading him to want to block or avoid any sort of touch. when he got tickled for the first time in years, he squirmed and shook like a madman.
it’s not that he didn’t like it, he enjoyed it; but zuko just never knew how to accept it. he was known as the squirmiest of the gaang, always needing someone else to help hold him down. well, that was until he met mai. she was always so patient with him, and didn’t care that he squirmed and let him, as it was quite adorable.
he felt bad for always being so squirmy but mai kept persisting that it was fine, cute even. though, the fire lord was only squirmy and trying to unintentionally push away when he was awake. only when he had energy would his instinct be to escape and to resist. this is why mai came up with her master plan.
it was a warm monday morning and zuko slept soundly in his large bed. mai previously got up to take a morning walk, but she couldn’t help but smile to herself when she saw her boyfriend still sleeping like a baby in bed.
“zuko,” she whispered, gently pressing her fingers in his hair as she gently tried to brush through the knots that could’ve formed in his sleep. still asleep, his instinct was to immediately push his face further into his pillow, mumbling something. mai smiled to herself, her fingers continuing; unknowingly making zuko more likely to stay asleep.
“c’mon zu, it’s late. time to wake up.” she couldn’t help a smile that formed on her features as her sleepy boyfriend whined and curled up around the blankets. doing this exposed his back, so she dragged her fingers around meaning to be relaxing, but zuko arched his back as another sleepy whine escaped his lips.
“you gettin’ up?” she asked, leaning down closer to his ear, and zuko just shook his head and dug back into his pillows. with a sigh, mai patted his back and spoke a bit sternly. “it’s time to get up.” she sat up turning zuko over. he covered his face from the sun sneaking through the blinds, pouting.
“no.” he mumbled, turning over. “you’re such a baby.” mai jousted, tracing her nails on his back tracing dangerously close to his side. zuko let out a small gasp, curling up. since the fire palace was warm for obvious reasons, he only slept in shorts and a loose tank top. mai easily snuck her nails up the top and scratched them at his waist and lower back.
“mhmhm.. maaaaai!” he whined again, letting out small and bubbly giggles. it was rare to see zuko this soft, but mai wasn’t complaining. “yes, honey?” she chuckled, sneaking her hands around to trace around his stomach.
“it tihihickles,” zuko mumbled, laying on his back and squirming gently. she just shook her head at her boyfriend and snuck her other hand under his shirt and used it to gently circle his hip bone. zuko bucked his hips and raspy giggles escaped his mouth. despite the tickle attack on him, he never pushed away; and mai was quick to notice with how attentive she was.
“awww, you aren’t even pushing me away!” she spoke enthusiastically, both of her hands circling each side of his waist. zuko only whined in response, not pushing her away, not covering his face, just taking it. it was so cute when he was tired as he didn’t even try to hide how much he loved tickles from his girlfriend.
“now, this will surely wake you up!” she spoke gently with a hint of smug in her voice, as she leaned down and blew a raspberry over the pudgy part of his stomach.
“OKAHAHAY! i’ll geHET UP!” he squealed, pushing her head away. mai took that as a sign that she did well waking him up, and chuckled as he rubbed his stomach to get rid of the tickly feeling raspberries leave. “great. you’re now joining me on my morning walk.” mai held his hand and he slipped on some sandals and walked around the palace’s garden with her.
“you’re evil, y’know that.” zuko mumbled, squeezing her hand. “you didn’t seem to mind, hon.” mai smiled, kissing his cheek. he swears that she makes him softer every single day.
OKAY so, I have two fic options, one is more ready to go than the other. Would people prefer the Zukka fic first, or the RadioApple one I’ve been working on?
The RadioApple one is closer to completion, and also comes with a part 2. Be warned, VERY intense tickles and soul crushing levels of teasing involved.
The Zukka fic is a bit softer, a bit fluffier, and I’ll need a bit more time to finish it.
Firebending makes your palms EXTREMELY ticklish because *insert here a scientific sounding maybe who knows pausible excuse* and Zuko knows that but of course the secret would go to the grave with him but what he forgot is that Aang now ALOS firebends and so he realizes that his hands are way more ticklish than they ever were so know because he is a GREMLIN he will send perfectly directed gusts of air on Zuko's palms when he is distracted and it TICKLES enough for him to always try to squirm away and after the tenth time he already realized what Aang he doing so he keeps staring down the Avatar with his usual grumpy face while Aang is smiling and having the time of his life because he got the prince grumpypants to smile :D
