7. The Haunted Tavern

Aang had been the Avatar long enough to know the ropes. Places that worshipped a certain spirit, usually safe enough, as long as the tributes were paid and the land wasn't being defiled. Places that were decimated and in general, destroyed, or not paying tribute, best to avoid. Angry spirits tended to congregate around place without worship or where people were being stupid and hurting the land. As Avatar, he, naturally, had no problem in taking care of these angry spirits, he'd just rather avoid them if he could. Aang tried not to seek out trouble, trouble found him well enough on its own thank you very much.

So, seriously, he had to wonder why this was happening. The land in this section of the Earth Kingdom was perfectly nice, there was nothing remotely damaged about it. The people worshipped the local spirits, and even a few wider spread ones. The town was well kept, the inn was nice, and for some inexplicable reason, it was also intent on doing everything in its power to piss off an easily jealous Avatar. I might add that it was succeeding.

The outside of the inn had looked innocent enough. Oak woodwork and red brick, curtains of soft autumn orange, windows clean, open sign newly painted and hung on the door. There was even a "welcome" mat out front. So maybe it was a little TOO homey...but come on! You couldn't blame Aang for taking the place at face value, seriously. It had been a long, long, long trip and he needed rest. A completely welcoming and nice looking inn was precisely what he had needed to relax him.

Only, he wasn't relaxing very much.

You see, this is why, generally, the Avatar slept out in the open with his bison beneath the stars. If spirits got to you out there, they were mostly nature spirits, spirits of the elements. Those, Aang was used to dealing with, those, he could talk to and understand and most often help. Human spirits on the other hand, specifically spiteful ones that liked to pick on hormonal seventeen year old Avatars, those, he wasn't as great with.

As luck would have it, this particular oh-so-innocent looking inn just so happened to be haunted by a spirit fitting PRECISELY that description. What good luck Aang had, huh?

Snarling to himself, Aang turned over in his bed, glaring at the wall in annoyance. He could literally hear the spirit laughing its head off at his rising temper and he wondered if you could smack a ghost (it was human, so, that made it a ghost right?). He decided, finally, that that would take too much damn energy that he just didn't have right now and to let it go. As long as he could get to sleep, it wouldn't be so bad. Aang could sleep through anything he told his body was worth ignoring.

A shoe (his shoe) flew over the bed and smacked into the wall with no visible cause. His cloak (it was nearing winter and the winds were getting chilly, even for him) followed suit soon after, then his bag, which thankfully held nothing breakable. Books shot off the bookshelf, thinking to the floor or whizzing off to his the walls. The drawers on the dresser opened and closed of their own accord and flower petals started to pluck themselves from their plants. Aang just rolled his eyes and turned over onto his back.

"You can't scare me you know." he grumbled to the room at large. "You can't really do anything to me seeing as I'm the AVATAR. Now let me SLEEP."

Aang would later find that he'd regret those words quite a bit. But at the given moment, he was just thankful that the ghost found it in their heart to stop messing with his stuff and actually let him get some rest. The moment everything in the room stopped moving, Aang sighed and turned over onto his side again, closing his eyes and letting his body relax. Slowly but surely, he fell into a light doze which grew deeper until he was fast asleep, undisturbed.

For the moment.

***

Aang sat on his bed in the Fire Nation palace, shirtless, one of his looser pair of pants on, staring out the window. This dream seemed kind of pointless, in his opinion. Most of his dreams started off with him, well, you know, DOING something or going somewhere or....something like that. He was just sitting here though, and that was boring to say the least. Especially when he'd already been sitting here for five minutes according to his inner time keeper.

Seriously, what kind of lame dream was this that he was just sitting here? He could at least have a book or something.

The door to his bedroom opened almost noiselessly, but years of listening for the sounds of his lover returning, or arriving, had trained him to hear it. he turned his head only to find the aforementioned lover glancing at him from behind the door, before slipping inside and shutting the door again.

Aang looked Zuko over appraisingly, suddenly liking what this dream was providing. Zuko wore only a loose silk robe nothing under (most likely), nothing over, and not even a pair of slippers on his feet. It wasn't even tied that tightly by the maroon sash at his hips, leaving the bottom to drift open and closed at the whim of the winds and the top to be almost completely open constantly. The Avatar came very close to licking his lips as he stared at the planes of creamy pale skin just waiting to fall under his fingertips. Spirits Zuko was beautiful.

"Did I keep you waiting...?"

Aang shivered. He loved when Zuko spoke like that. It was one of his five favorite tones his lover used throughout daily life. He should note that of the five, only he was allowed to hear three of the selections, anyone else who dared even try would be castrated.

This happened to be tone number three (they went in order of when he had heard them, mind you), when Zuko would purposely make himself sound innocent and blameless, pull out that secret charm that no one else knew was there. Truth of the matter was, he could charm whoever he wanted to, whenever he wanted to, but he never did, mostly because he had Aang.

Moving on though.

"Not at all." Aang purred back, extending a hand.

Zuko took the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled down till he was sitting on Aang's lap, straddling his thighs. Ah-ha. Aang had been right. He WASN'T wearing anything under that robe. Perfect.

Leaning up (Zuko was taller than him because he was sitting on his lap), Aang connected their lips, smiling into the kiss. He was pleased as per usual as his lover kissed back, slender arms slipping around his shoulders, as his own made their way around Zuko's waist. Flicking his tongue out, Aang took full advantage of the Fire Lord's pliable lips, sliding his tongue into his mouth and dominating it without resistance. It wasn't that Zuko had a submissive personality (he DIDN'T, let Aang tell you...), but Aang had long ago established that he topped and that was final. Because seriously, who tops the Avatar?

Zuko moaned softly as his lover's lips trailed down to his neck, nipping and sucking at the creamy pale skin, tongue running along old hickies that were still refusing to fade. The Avatar was really starting to like this dream more and more as it went on.

Over the next few dream-minutes, things got quickly more heated between the two lovers and clothes were shed on Aang's part. Seeing as how loose the robe was on Zuko anyway, he simply pushed aside what he didn't want there and left it on. Besides, silk looked good on the lord, specifically red silk, like he was wearing now. It was a beautifully sharp contrast to his milky skin that really brought out his eyes.

Zuko was panting and moaning, cheeks flushed and eyes hazy with lust as he pressed close to the Avatar, rolling his hips.

"C'mon Aang," he mewled. "Please?"

Aang groaned, rolling his hips smoothly upwards to meet Zuko's, making them both cry out.

"Hell yes..." he purred, attaching himself to his lover's collar and giving it a harsh bite, which earned him another pretty cry.

Oh spirits Aang was close. Just a few more meetings of their hips and they would both be-

***

-Aang woke up.

....

No seriously. Aang woke up.

That's right. In the middle of his wonderful, sexy, HOT AS HELL dream, Aang woke up. He wasn't even entirely sure how or why he woke up either. It wasn't one of those "slowly open your eyes and drift in and out of wakefulness" awakenings, his eyes just snapped open like someone had just pinched him. Which they hadn't by the way.

"...."

Aang glanced up at his ceiling again as he heard soft giggling.

"Oh you think you're funny." he muttered. "I dare you to try that again."

And, closing his eyes, Aang tried his best to drift off again, which he succeeded in doing and was soon, back in his dream world.

***

Aang was back in his bedroom in the Fire Nation, which should be mentioned, was also the Fire Lord's bedroom. Just for the record and all.

This time however, he was standing by the bed, looking down at the delicious sight of Zuko lounging under a very thin, very see through white silk sheet. Aang decided that maybe he had a small silk fetish (it wasn't his fault the Fire Lord looked good enough to eat in the stuff!), but only a small one. Honest.

"Won't you join me?"

Now that was an appealing thought alright, and considering this was Aang's second very pleasant dream of the evening, he figured, might as well take full advantage. Slipping beneath the covers to join his lover, he practically purred at the feel of skin pressed to skin, wasting no time in picking up where he had left off in the last dream, grinding their hips together sensually.

Zuko moaned, arching up against him, pressing ever closer, arms going around his neck. Gentle but demanding hands pulled Aang down so he could kiss the plush pair of lips that belonged to him, savoring the unique taste of his lover. Another moan was released into Aang's mouth as he thrust his tongue past Zuko's lips. They moved together, movements becoming jerky and sporadic, pants and moans filling the air.

Aang pressed their mouths together hard, quickening his pace again, waiting for himself to just let go-

***

-And he woke up again.

Aang blinked twice, frowned, turned onto his other side, and decided to take this as a declaration of war. Waking up twice in a row before coming wasn't in the least an accident. That ghost was seriously pressing its luck here.

"Okay." Aang muttered to himself. "I get it, you can annoy the crap out of me. Now stop, please."

Closing his eyes for the third time that night, Aang slowly (and warily) allowed himself to fall back to sleep.

***

Okay, so, maybe waking up the last two times had been sort of worth it. Things had gone from Zuko wearing a loose, practically open robe on his lap, to Zuko wearing nothing on their bed covered in a sheet, to Zuko, bound to the headboard of their bed, wearing nothing, with no pesky sheet covering him.

Aang licked his lips. Now that was a sight to behold. There wasn't very often Zuko was feeling submissive enough to actually agree to being tied up (not that he ever ended up complaining when he was...after they were done anyway), and Aang most certainly treasured those moments when he did. There was something delectable about the sight of the Fire Lord laying, full lengthy body stretched out on top of the covers, arms unable to move above him, watching Aang. That, and it was always nice to know that Zuko actually trusted him enough to tie him up in the first place.

Zuko shifted on the bed, whining piteously.

"Aang..."

Oh that was rich. Zuko was rarely the kind to beg (Aang seemed to get him to anyway though), and he usually only came as close as using a pleading tone. Which was precisely how he was saying the Avatar's name right now, and spirits it sounded good.

Slipping onto the bed and taking his time to straddle his lover, Aang leaned down, ghosting his lips over the pale column of Zuko's throat.

"Yeah? Something you wanted Zuko?"

The Fire Lord whined, arching his hips up to show exactly what he wanted. And yes, he really DID want it. Aang licked his lips, sucking at Zuko's neck, drawing a low moan from his lover. He kissed down his chest, pausing to tease his sensitive nipples, making his lover arch and cry out in a sweet sounding keen. Zuko had such a pretty voice, it was a shame he didn't let people hear it more often. ....Not like this of course. But by like, singing or something. Only Aang got to hear him like this.

Drawing his lips down across sculpted hips and cream colored thighs, he stopped to weigh his options. He had a tied up Fire Lord underneath him, this close to begging to be fucked into the mattress, but he was such a playful person by nature he seriously couldn't just outright do that. Besides, the more he riled Zuko up with his teasing, the sweeter it was to get to what they both really wanted.

The sound Zuko made when he slipped his length into his mouth, a cross between a keen and a loud moan was very satisfying for the young Avatar. He wasted no time in bobbing his head, using the techniques he had mastered through many a night with his lover to draw him closer and closer to the edge. The long string of moans and the sound of the lord crying his name were making Aang very needy indeed, but he continued pleasuring his lover, intent on pulling him to the peak of ecstasy.

Zuko cried out loudly, back arching, arms straining at the restraints, as he climaxed into Aang's mouth. Aang pulled back, swallowing what his love had to offer, purring to himself and licking his lips. Spirits in heaven, Zuko tasted so good. Even in his dream.

Aang allowed his lover a moment to regain his wits and normal breathing pattern, watching the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he tried to even out his breathing. Lust hazed, golden eyes met equally lusty silver, burning into each other like molten metal. Unable to resist, Aang leaned forward and crushed their mouths together, taking full advantage of Zuko's gasp and dominating his mouth. They shared a moan as their tongues battled, Zuko refusing to give up, even though he was the one tied down.

They pull apart, gasping for breath and Zuko managed to pant out a plea;

"Aang please, now..."

He hooked a leg around Aang's waist, pulling him down closer, pressing against his reawakened need. Aang licked his lips again.

"Now? Right now? No prep?"

Zuko shook his head.

"Now, need to feel you now..."

Aang was more than happy to oblige his lover-

***

-And for the THIRD FUCKING TIME woke up.

This time, Aang didn't even attempt to keep his cool, shooting up in bed and staring venomously up at the ceiling where he could still hear the ghost laughing. He snarled dangerously to the room at large, narrowing his eyes.

"I SWEAR IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY DEAD I WOULD KILL YOU."

And with that, he flopped back onto the bed, only to be awoken by the sun's rays through the curtains as the sun began to rise. Cursing under his breath about ghosts and their stupid tricks, he got out of bed and shuffled off to the bathroom to get rid of his problem. It was going to be a really long trip home.

***

"And- Oh, Aang's home."

Zuko looked around, over his shoulder, at where Mai was looking. They were standing outside his bedroom with one of the guard's, a woman, talking about various things that didn't revolve around him being Fire Lord. Mai and Zuko had a tendency to do that, strike up a conversation and just not move from where they were, regardless of where exactly that was.

He smiled at the sight of his lover.

"Aang, welcome ho-"

Aang grabbed his wrist, spun him round and tugged him into their bedroom without a word to him and a casual;

"We'll be busy, please take over for the day Mai."

Before he slammed the door in their faces.

Mai exchanged a curious look with the female guard, both intrigued and worried. They stood still, listening to what was going on inside the room.

"What the- Aang what are- What's gotten into yyy--HYAA-"

Silence.

Kind of. Moaning counted as silence right? Sure it did.

Mai chuckled to herself, exchanging an amused glance with the guard's woman. The guard shrugged her shoulders and together they made their way to the end of the hall, where Mai would depart to take over the Fire Lord's duties for the day, and the guard would take up her secondary post. She usually stood at the end of the hall when the Fire Lord and the Avatar decided to indulge in their "activities" earlier in the day. Sometimes if they got too loud at night too.

And she had a sneaking suspicion she would be standing here for a long time.