Summary: It's Aang's birthday week, and the gifts (one planned, one unplanned) he gives the Avatar cannot be wrapped up and tied with a neat bow.

Author's Note: This is my first ATLA/LOK "smut." It just sorta fell out of my ass. There is a story to this as well, though; it's not just "pure" smut, but it's there. The smut is definitely there, so if you aren't fond of Zukaang in that form, please read no further.

It was carefully and intricately planned over the course of three years after the war. He only hired the most honorable men and women who would carry the work through to its finish, and never speak a word of it to anyone outside of their circle. Zuko couldn't afford for any of the truth to leak out, not for something this special to him.

The wood was from one of the most spiritual places in the Fire Nation, and he had worked alongside the citizens he had hired. In the beginning, they had been reserved, quiet when around their Fire Lord. Yet Zuko worked to make himself personable to them, open and warm. For the ones that could firebend, during breaks he would instruct them in their stances and movements; at the end, each man and woman had learned the Dragon's Dance, whether they were a firebender or not.

"It's an ancient bending style native to our nation," he had told them all, "And I plan on putting it into our children's academic curriculum, as part of Fire Nation cultural studies. It has been forgotten for too long."

One of the men, Kohaku, spoke up, raising a hand in the air to draw Zuko's attention, "May we teach it to our own children, or would you rather wait until they learn it in school?"

Zuko walked over to Kohaku, smiling, and placed a hand on the older man's shoulder. "You can teach it to your entire village if you wish to, Kohaku. But I must insist on copying a scroll of the movements — it helped you to see them, did it not?"

"It did, Fire Lord Zuko." Kohaku smiled and bowed slightly to Zuko, who returned the gesture. "Thank you."

The Fire Lord chuckled and his next words were to everyone; every single person who had helped in the completion of this gazebo, complete with meditation circle, painted in the middle with the Air Nomad symbol, with colors of every nation draped on four corresponding railings.

"Thank you, every one of you, for working on this project, and for not speaking a word of it to anyone outside of those you see around you now. Your honor and loyality are unquestionable."

Kohaku spoke for the group again, "May I ask when you plan to show this to Avatar Aang?" Many eyes looked towards the Fire Lord, and a large smile, easy and slow, crossed his features as Aang's rapturous laughter danced around his memory.

"His birthday week."

.

The Avatar was turning eighteen, somewhere between child and adult. Zuko doubted — hoped at that — that Aang would never lose that childish nature inside of him; the playful, easily excited and pleased, joyous Aang that he had first met.

At diplomatic meetings, Aang the friend easily slipped into Aang the Avatar — Zuko still caught traces of his best friend, though; especially when they sat next to each other, across from the Water Tribe Chief and the Earth King (or whichever representative either sent, though the King was more likely to do so). During those meetings that made up all four nations, Aang would do his best to sit next to Zuko every so often, and hold the Fire Lord's hand under the table, subtle yet reassuring. Aang never took sides, though, and Zuko knew better than to ask his friend for any special favors concerning his nation.

"It is mine to rebuild, and I expect no more help from you than what you will give to the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom."

"I have friends from all nations, Zuko; don't worry, in national and diplomatic matters and all of that, you won't get any special 'best friend' treatment." The Avatar had smiled devilishly then, though, and pulled Zuko close to him in one of the secluded nooks in the royal palace, kissing him from jawline to lips. When he took his lips away, he breathed out slowly, eyes glancing upwards into Zuko's, "But we're not discussing diplomatic matters right now, are we?"

He couldn't really remember too much after that, but what he did remember… Zuko shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He needed to focus on making sure that everything was prepared in time for Aang's arrival. He opened any remaining windows, as to let more air drift through the warmth of the royal palace; he looked out into the rear gardens, smiling contentedly as his eyes found their way to the meditation gazebo; and by the time he reached the front of the palace again, Appa's form was taking shape in the evening sky.

Zuko shielded his eyes from the setting sun until the air bison landed, blocking the rays out for him. Aang jumped off his bison and bended the air beneath him for a smooth landing. With his staff at his side, the Avatar looked at his best friend for the first time in, well, it had only been three days since he had visited the one fully constructed building on the newly christened Air Temple Island… but that had been far too long enough time apart for him.

At times he wished that he and Zuko never had to spend any time apart, but at the same time he realized that the time apart only made his love for the firebender all the more apparent when he saw Zuko again.

With staff still in one hand, Aang laughed in joy and ran towards Zuko, enveloping the Fire Lord in a firm embrace. He felt Zuko's arms reaching around and holding onto him as well, and the whispered words of, "It's so good to see you again, Aang."

Aang pulled back just slightly as to whisper in the Fire Lord's ear, "I've missed you. So, so much, Zuko." He put as much emotion as he could into his voice, into that 'so,' hoping that Zuko might understand. The tighter grip upon his back told him that the firebender did.

"We've only been apart for a few days," Zuko said in jest, "You'd think we couldn't live without each other." He laughed just a bit, then pulled away from Aang, but they continued to hold hands into the royal palace. By now, the guards knew better than to follow their Fire Lord around when holding personal company with the Avatar; Zuko was thankful for it.

It was only when they entered the palace, though, that Aang looked over and told him that he did fine without the firebender always there, but, "I always feel like a part of me is… missing. It's odd, but after some time I realized that our lives are so interwoven, that it's natural to feel like… that. Sorry."

Zuko raised a brow, "What?"

"…Looked like you got bored," Aang said, cheeks coloring as he tilted his head to the side and looked away from the firebender for a moment.

"No!" Zuko blurted out, then covered his mouth in silent apology for the outburst. Taking his hand away, he continued, "I… I was just thinking about your gift. I still felt badly for not bringing one to you a few days ago, on your actual birthday, but I couldn't wrap up… well, do you want to see?"

He relished Aang's reaction; the way he clapped his hands together in excitement as he exclaimed "Yes, yes!", the suspense clear in his bright eyes and wide grin. It was like he was thirteen again, fresh from bringing the Hundred Year War to a close. He saw this side of Aang many times, thankfully, but something about his demeanor tonight caused a swarm of butterflies to sprout within his gut. He cleared his throat and grabbed ahold of one of Aang's hands again.

"Let's go, then."

.

"It must be something big, then," Aang remarked as Zuko painstakingly wrapped a bandana around Aang's head, covering his eyes. He tugged on the back knot until he deemed it tight enough, but not too tight. "And," the airbender continued as Zuko pulled him along until he got into an easy step, "You have to take me to it. Where are we going? The throne room? The personal living area? …Your bedroom?" His voice quietened on the last two words; though Zuko knew they were alone, Aang wasn't sure of it.

"We're going outside," he said, "Though I don't mind that bedroom idea either. We're going to turn left here." He pulled lightly on Aang's arm, then slid open one of the rear garden patio doors.

After positioning Aang just right, Zuko undid the knot in the bandana, then placed it inside of his robes. Aang was still blinking, reorienting himself to the new surroundings. He rubbed his eyes for a couple of moments, then scanned the area.

"See anything new?" Zuko asked, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could.

Aang raised a slightly quivering hand, pointing in the direction of the gazebo. He turned to Zuko, and Zuko looked over at him — his eyes were bright, and he knew those were tears in his eyes.

"Zuko? Is that? What I…?"

The Fire Lord smiled, "It's for you, Aang. You can meditate there whenever you want when —"

He was interrupted, the breath knocked out him, when Aang launched himself at him, nearly bringing them down to the wood floor. Zuko patted his best friend's back, then rubbed it in soothing circles, as Aang cried, saying something that he presumed was a "thank you" along with other words he couldn't quite make out.

"…When you visit. Happy birthday again, Aang," he finished, resting his head in the crook of Aang's shoulder. Soon enough, the Avatar would be taller than him. Hopefully only slightly taller, though.

Aang didn't really stop crying for a little while longer; he just shed less tears as it really sunk in that this was his, that Zuko had really done this for him. He wiped away the last tear as he sat down in the middle of the meditation circle, right in the midst of the painted Air Nomad symbol. He looked around a bit more, noting the red, orange, blue, and green cloths hanging each from separate railings: the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, and the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko joined him, sitting beside him in the meditation circle. Their knees touched, and though that wasn't done when meditating… well, Aang could meditate later. He could meditate whenever he came here in the future.

For now, he only wanted to meditate on Zuko.

It was a sacred place; it was sacred, and they only shared a kiss there before they left it for the privacy of Zuko's bedroom.

Aang took the lead this time, merely waiting one moment as Zuko shut and locked the door before moving… moving and moving Zuko with him, up against the wall next to the door's frame. He smiled, catching the Fire Lord's eye, running a hand through the firebender's shoulder length hair. Then he brought his lips to Zuko's thanking him in ways that words never could. Once Zuko parted his lips, Aang breathed out, airbending slightly inside of his mouth. He felt Zuko's shiver beneath him, and he knew he'd hit his best friend in just the right way.

It didn't take long for Zuko to come back at him, though, one of his legs wrapped around part of Aang's, the other just in between the two, resting on his crotch. He pressed himself slight into Aang's lower half, and the airbender groaned at the contact.

"Zuko…" he started in a low whisper, heat lathering his voice, "Bed."

He wasn't hard yet, but he felt himself needing. Zuko listened, and with a breath of fire that just skirted over the Avatar's skin, he obeyed. He got onto the bed first, followed by Aang who tumbled on top of him, stretching apart the fabric of his tunic until Zuko grabbed his fingers and put them somewhere else where they were needed. As he took off his outer layer of clothing and finished with the tunic, Aang had pulled his trousers down to just below his pelvis, teasing the slight amount of bone that he could seek out and feel with his own fingers, his own skin.

Zuko trembled at the Avatar's touch; at this point, Aang knew exactly where his arousal areas were, and he tended to them well. But right now, right now, he wanted to feel Aang more, he wanted… he wanted…

His hands brought Aang back level with him, and he worked on taking the airbender's robes off, the orange, yellow, and red falling from his shoulders and waistline, until only his light brown trousers were left, his shoes (as well as Zuko's) taken off as well.

Breath coming unevenly, Zuko pressed his lips to Aang's again, but harder this time, needier, warmer. His fingers digging into the Avatar's back, the Fire Lord moaned into the kiss as Aang's hands worked on him; one underneath the fabric of his trousers, rubbing him, while the other massaged one of his hip bones.

"Aang…" he said, "Spirits, oh…"

The airbender rested his forehead again'st Zuko and smiled; as an Air Nomad, he did not say much, if anything at all, during their times together like this, but for everything he didn't say verbally, he said it through his actions. He moved down Zuko, pressing his lips along the Fire Lord's skin, sucking on his neck, all while still working his hands along Zuko's hip bone and shaft.

Eventually, he pulled Zuko's trousers down past his knees (Zuko kicked them off the rest of the way), allowing the firebender's penis room to breathe, and room for Aang to work some more of his airbending prowess. It wasn't like being with a woman; he wrapped his mouth around Zuko and bended, slowly, rhythmically, building Zuko up only to tease him. He saw the firebender's fists grab at the sheets, felt him tense further and further, releasing just to tense again, and then… then… he groaned as he came, murmuring Aang's name as he came back down from the orgasm.

When he took his mouth off Zuko, swallowing, Aang smiled and fell on top of the Fire Lord, the ache in his groin pleasurable. He rubbed himself, his own trousers still on his hips, against Zuko until the firebender chuckled and said, "I know… I know…"

It was ecstasy, Zuko's grip upon his shaft, his teasing warm fingertips dancing upon his aroused skin. He turned on his side, Zuko following, still holding to him, skirting skin over skin. The firebender moved his mouth down, nibbling at his jawline, then down over the tattoo running along one of his arms, kissing nearly every inch of it.

Aang touched his face as he came back up, caressing the scarred portion of its left side. He said nothing; he only ran his fingers over the scar, and then kissed it. Zuko halted his movements for an instant, but at Aang's persistent hip bucking and soft groans, he returned to the airbender, rubbing at him deftly, taking just the right amount of time to the head as well as the shaft and upwards. He paused once more, though, as he resituated himself so that he could envelop Aang in his mouth after he pulled his trousers off him, discarding them onto the floor. Once he did, he bended the most miniscule amount of fire he could — it was more warmth than fire — and watched in satisfaction the effect it had on the airbender. Aang was accidentally bending the air he breathed in and out, and it was beautiful. It was more than beautiful, but Zuko knew there were no words to describe it justly.

He continued on, Aang's hands in his hair, tugging and groaning until he too tensed, and Zuko tasted him in his mouth. After swallowing, and after Aang had ridden his own orgasm out, Zuko collapsed halfway on top of the Avatar, sighing in contentment.

Aang played with his hair, messy as it was now, and kissed him on the mouth again. This time it was slow and entirely full of romantic gesture; Zuko smiled into the kiss and cupped a hand around Aang's cheek, whispering, "I love you, I love you, I love you," each time they broke apart for air. Aang nuzzled his face against Zuko and said the same.

Sleep came easy and stayed a while, and when morning came, bright and early, they meditated together in the newly built gazebo.