Chapter Text
Sokka was a genius. An amazing, certified genius. Why, you ask?
Oh, just a little thing called mastering the art of seduction. He was so good. So good, in fact, that he’d gone from exchanging notes with Zuko earlier that year to lying over Zuko in bed, come fall, kissing him senseless. Getting there was a blur in his mind, but he did it! He was kissing Zuko!
“So this is why you forgave me so quickly,” Zuko muttered as Sokka pulled back slightly, just to kiss down the length of his throat.
“I’m weak to a pretty face,” Sokka said with a smirk in his voice.
“Ah…” Zuko uttered. “I’m not… don’t…”
Sokka saw the vulnerability and pounced on it. “You are. You’re really pretty.”
“Shut up,” Zuko shot back. “‘M not.”
Sokka frowned and sat back on his heels, looking down at Zuko. “If I say you’re pretty, you are. Accept it.”
Zuko glared up at him. His lips were pinker than usual, and little red marks were blooming on his neck. His gold eyes were bright and sharp, too, and was that a hint of liner? Did Zuko wear makeup? That was hot. Maybe he was trying to feel pretty. Sokka could help with that.
Instead of arguing, Zuko reached up and grabbed the collar of Sokka’s shirt, trying to pull him back down into a kiss. Sokka fell onto his forearms, catching himself on the bed, hovering just a bit before meeting him most of the way, kissing Zuko like he was someone he liked, rather than the enemy he’d begun to make up with months prior.
Because he was someone he liked.
Somehow, along the way, Sokka had fallen in love.
Goddamn.
***
It’d been a long time since Sokka had seen Zuko. The last time they’d clashed, it’d been in middle school, before Zuko was shipped off to a local Fire Nation boarding school along with his sister by his father. He’d been skinny and angry, like some kind of mongoose. Sokka, obviously, was calm and chill, like… like a penguin, or something cooler. Yeah.
Now, though, they were in their second year of college, and Zuko happened to be in the same English class as him. It was weird.
They stayed away from each other. Sokka had lost the strong urge to exact vengeance upon the guy, and Zuko seemed to have mellowed out a little bit, too. A lot, actually. He kept to himself, pulling his hoodie up over his head and listening to the lecture and following instructions quietly. It seemed they both wanted to get through their time in university unscathed.
But there were a few other changes, too.
For one, Zuko… filled out. He looked okay, Sokka supposed.
Fine, Sokka had to admit he looked really good—drool-worthy good. So good, Sokka might not hate him anymore solely because that hate got in the way of his thristing sessions. So, he glanced at him occasionally, marking down in his mind the outline of his broad shoulders, chiseled face, and large hands. That was fodder for later, in private, where Sokka imagined doing things to him.
It just took Sokka off guard when, one day, they were paired together for a project. And really? A project in English class? Great.
They looked at each other over their assigned book. They were supposed to read it, get together, write notes, create a presentation, and then show the class why the book had literary value or some other bullshit like that. Sokka was just here for the mandatory enrichment. Katara would do much better with an assignment like this, and he’d ask for her help, but she still lived in their hometown, taking a gap year and working instead.
Sokka knew the real reason, though. She wanted to stay close to Aang while he finished his last year of high school—gross lovebirds.
So, they continued looking at each other over the assigned book, their shared history floating between them, neither of them speaking. Sokka had a feeling Zuko would crack first. With that temper of his, of course, he would.
And he did, right as Sokka got up to leave. Zuko reached out rapidly as Sokka stood up.
“Whoa, buddy,” Sokka said as Zuko grabbed his upper arm. “Don’t get so handsy.”
Zuko’s hand opened immediately, like he’d been burned. “Sorry. I just wanted the chance to… uh, you know, apologize. And all that.”
Sokka blinked. He leaned in closer over the table, getting a good look at Zuko’s eyes as the older of the two sat. “Really? After all this time?”
Zuko’s eyes went wide from the close proximity. A dusting of pink covered his cheeks.
Okay, so he’s cute, too. Fuck.
“Yeah,” Zuko admitted, gaze hardening. He grabbed Sokka by the shoulder, notably gentle, and pushed him back a few measures to give himself breathing room. Sokka stepped back gladly, happy to have space between him and that pretty face.
Zuko continued as soon as he’d taken a breath. “Is that so wrong? I know… I know you probably won’t accept the apology, but still. I have to try. I’ve changed.”
Sokka didn’t really want to listen. As much as he found him attractive, his personality had proven to be awful. He, alongside his truly evil sister, had chased down and tormented Katara, Aang, and Sokka through their middle school years. Aang had been too small to fight back at the time, and his saving grace was being younger than the rest of them. Zuko and Azula had moved on to high school back in the Fire Nation, sparing the gaang their harassment.
Sokka can deal with being harassed himself, but picking on someone younger and smaller? Picking on his friend? That wasn’t something he could forgive, at least not on his own.
“I’m not the only one you need to apologise to,” Sokka said. “Aang and Katara went through so much because of you.”
Zuko winced. “I want to. I really want to, and that’s why I’m saying something now that I have an excuse to talk to you. So I can contact Katara and him. I heard they were dating, now? Which is good for them. And, I mean, there’s—”
Zuko cut himself off, covering his mouth with his fist. He looked like he was going to have an anxiety attack.
Sokka's chest tightened. The rambling was regretfully endearing. Zuko seemed earnest and sincere, which is why Sokka was going to help him.
“I’ll tell ya what,” Sokka began, putting a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “You figure out what you want to say, and I’ll convince them to hear you out. Sounds good? Just make sure to compose yourself.”
Zuko glared over his fist. His cheeks were still red and embarrassed.
Moving his fist away, Zuko nodded. “I’ll give you my number?”
Oh, that’s dangerous.
Sokka, when growing up, had been quite the ladies' man, if he said so himself. It’s just that as he got older, he realized he was into men, too, and Zuko was some sort of pretty-handsome hybrid that really struck his chords. So, by having his number, being able to contact him any time, being able to flirt if he wanted to… The only thing that spelled was “disaster.”
Still, Sokka let it happen. They exchanged numbers, and as soon as he was back in his dorm room, Sokka called his sister.
“You’re not gonna believe what just happened.”
***
“So he wants to apologise,” Aang said the next time they saw each other, “in person?”
“Yep,” Sokka said. “Seemed pretty sincere about it.”
Aang narrowed his eyes. “Why do you seem eager?”
“I’d like to not beef with someone I share classes with,” Sokka fibbed. Well, half-fibbed, since it wasn’t a total lie. It would be nice. He was also just interested in Zuko, you know, sexually. It’d be really nice to go for that guilt-free.
Aang’s face morphed into a suspicious expression. “Sure.”
“You don’t believe me?” Sokka asked. “Wow. After all this time, you still don’t acknowledge my integrity…”
Laughing, Aang sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Turn up the theatrics. That’ll help. Now, what’s the real reason?”
Sokka pouted. “He’s really hot.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And he seemed to be really remorseful and tolerated my heckling, which is like, a major improvement.”
“Great,” Aang said. “My biggest tormentor finally feels bad. Good for him.”
“I think it’s deeper than that,” Sokka said. “He sent me a draft of what he wants to say, and it seems like he committed to some genuine reflection.”
Aang perked up. “Can I read it?”
“No,” Sokka said. “You need to hear him out in person. Bring Katara, too. I think this is something that needs to happen regardless of whether you accept the apology or not.”
Aang’s expression slowly relaxed. “Yeah. Alright. I’ll consider it, but it depends on Katara, too.”
“I’ve been workin’ on her already,” Sokka revealed. “I think she’ll go.”
“Alright,” Aang said. “Tell me when and where. I’ll be there.”
***
The apology came and went surprisingly smoothly. Zuko told them how he felt at the time, explained his home life, but took full responsibility for his younger self’s actions. Aang, much to Sokka’s surprise, accepted this fairly quickly. However, he made it clear he still didn’t trust Zuko, even if he’d forgiven him for his actions as a teen. Katara was quiet most of the time, and at the end, told Zuko that she needed time to consider forgiving him.
Zuko accepted it all gracefully with minimal protest. After Aang and Katara left the cafe, Sokka swooped in to comfort Zuko, obviously to earn points.
“Could’ve gone worse,” Sokka said, sitting down next to the brooding man. “At least they’re considering not hating you.”
Zuko’s head was in his arms. He lifted it just enough to glare over them.
Sokka put his hands up. “Just saying. It’ll take some work for them to forgive you.”
Zuko frowned. “And how come you forgave me so quickly?”
Sokka smiled. “Come on, why all the suspicion?”
“I always thought you hated me the most. You know, for tormenting your sister and friend,” Zuko explained. “So how come you just agreed to help me like this?”
“For the record, Katara probably hates you the most,” Sokka elaborated unhelpfully. “Me, however? I’m the voice of reason. My reasonable voice is telling me that you, based on your words and body language, are sincere. And Katara and Aang deserve closure, too, so who am I to impede that?”
Zuko’s expression turned into one of exhaustion and gratitude. “Well. Thanks. Though I know they still hate me, I feel a little better having said something.”
Sokka nodded. “Cowards avoid apologies. You didn’t.”
“So what do I do now?” Zuko asked, confused. He looked at Sokka.
Sokka shrugged. “Want to work on our project? Maybe they’ll like you more if you help me out in class.”
Zuko raised an eyebrow. “I haven’t even started the book yet.”
“Well,” Sokka grinned, “let’s find some time to read together, then.”
***
Reading together every Monday and Thursday became their thing really quickly, even after the English project came and went. Sokka continued reading history books for his major, and Zuko studied similar texts. Turns out, they were in the same major—political science—which they would’ve realized in about a semester or two when their classes synced up, and their electives were squared away.
“You want to be a politician?” Sokka asked, a little shocked. However, it made sense the longer it stewed in his brain.
“No,” Zuko said.
Sokka blinked. “What?”
“I don’t want to be a politician,” Zuko said. “I want to undo all the bad my father put into the world. If I have to get into politics to do that, then so be it.”
“Oh,” Sokka muttered. “I want to be an advisor. You know, one of the behind-the-scenes kinda guys.”
“Will you be mine?” Zuko joked, looking up from his book. “Keep my head on straight?”
Sokka’s head was still spinning from his first question. “Um.”
“Forget it,” Zuko said, a weak smile on his lips. “Just an idea.”
“No!” Sokka almost shouted, startling both of them. “I mean. Yeah. Sounds fun.”
Zuko gave him a long, quiet look. “You don’t have to entertain my ideas.”
“No, really. Sounds fun. I’d counterbalance all your poor decision-making.”
Zuko rolled his eyes.
Sokka laughed and added, “Though, you seem to be much better at making decisions, now.”
Zuko’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He brushed his long hair out of his face with a push of his hand.
“Whatever,” he muttered, and that was that.
Sokka moved across the room, sitting next to Zuko, shoulder to shoulder, leaning into his space to see what he was reading.
“Anything interesting?”
Zuko was stiff, like he was fighting the urge to lean away or to lean closer. Sokka was eager to find out which one, so he reached up and put an arm around Zuko’s shoulders. Surely, he’d be pushed away…
… except he wasn’t.
Zuko took a deep breath and relaxed. “There was a cool diagram a few pages back on trade relations.”
“Do show,” Sokka said, his voice quieter than usual.
Zuko swallowed. “Um. Do you have to be so close?”
“Am I bothering you?”
“... No,” Zuko admitted, and that was a win in Sokka’s books.
“Then show me the diagram,” Sokka said, and Zuko listened after a moment, flipping to the correct page.
Sokka looked at the diagram as he let his fingers dance over Zuko’s arm, feeling the fuzz of short hair, the heat of his skin. He listened eagerly, but he also reveled in the feeling of Zuko relaxing into his side. He was like a cat. One minute, he resisted; the next, he leaned into Sokka’s touch.
Suddenly, Sokka didn’t feel like pushing him further. Right now, this feeling was enough.
Maybe his heart was beating a little faster than normal, too. And maybe it was time to take a chill pill, or else there’d be no coming back from the slippery slope Sokka was inching towards.
***
Sokka did not take the chill pill. Instead, he took a shot, a shot of horniness, driven by Zuko’s sweat as they went on a morning jog together.
“I hate this,” Sokka panted, “I can’t breathe. How can you breathe?”
“I thought you did track and field in high school?” Zuko asked.
“How would you know that?”
“... I kept tabs.”
Sokka laughed. It made him want to yack. “Ah, fuck… my stomach hurts.”
Zuko shrugged. “No pain, no gain, right?”
“Right now, it is all pain,” Sokka groaned. “I’m good with lifting. I eat well. I’m fit. I climb the stairmaster. Why am I dying?”
Zuko shrugged unhelpfully, but helpfully, he extended a water bottle.
“Bless,” Sokka uttered before chugging half of the water. He passed it back to Zuko, who sipped slowly. Even while dying, Sokka couldn’t help but think about how they were sharing spit—how middle school of him, honestly.
“Cardio is rough,” Zuko commented.
“Then how come you aren’t dying?” Sokka asked.
Zuko sipped again with a light smirk. “I don’t skip running days. Hitting the pavement is different than using a machine.”
Sokka supposed that made sense. He hated it. “Ugh.”
He stood up, took his hands off his knees, and walked over to Zuko. “Carry me. I think I’ll really die if you don’t.”
“I’m not doing that.”
Sokka pouted. “You hate me, I knew it!”
Zuko pushed him away. “Shut up, man.”
Zuko backed up, but he was laughing. He was also shirtless and glistening, his black shorts highlighting the strong lines of his thighs. Sokka wanted to kneel between them, pull the waistband down, and choke on his sweaty cock. Zuko’s thighs would tense under his palms, and then one hand would grab Sokka’s wolf tail, holding him in place as Zuko slid deeper down his throat.
“Nah,” Sokka uttered, trying his best to remember what they were talking about. He couldn’t, so he moved on. “Summer break is coming up. You got plans?”
Zuko’s face froze before he awkwardly said, “No. No plans.”
“Join us in our hometown,” Sokka suggested. “The water is cool. It’s good for swimming.”
“Don’t people usually want to swim in warm water?”
“Not where I come from,” Sokka replied. “Where I come from, we actually want to cool off.”
Zuko thought about that for a second. “I never went swimming when I lived there. We always traveled to our island.”
“... Your family owns an island?”
Zuko flattened his lips. “Yeah. It’s… excessive.”
“It’s excessive, sure, but also cool as hell.”
“Well,” Zuko said slowly, almost coy, “you could come with me.”
“To the island? Just us two?”
“You can bring Aang and Katara,” Zuko said. “The flights might cost a fair amount, but I can pay for the boat ride over from the main island.”
“What happened to daddy’s money?” Sokka joked.
Zuko glared. For the first time since they’d met again, his gaze was cold and unyielding. Sokka had crossed a line.
Before Sokka could open his mouth to apologize, though, Zuko clarified some things.
“My father never paid for anything of mine,” Zuko said. “Nothing except clothing, because he didn’t want me to look rumpy and bring shame upon the family. So I’ve always had little jobs around town, and as soon as I could apply to proper jobs, I did. Been working ever since.”
Sokka nodded. “I see. Where do you work now?”
“For the campus registrar. It’s remote, so I do it from my dorm room. I just take a lot of calls.”
“Wow,” Sokka said in awe. “I never knew.”
“I don’t like to make it known.” Zuko kicked a rock and looked down at his feet before raising his eyes to watch Sokka’s reaction. “Poor kid, you know? Hated by his father and abandoned by his mother. His sister is a psychopath. Born into money, given none of it. I don’t want people to look at me that way. I want to shape my own image; to shape my own life.”
Sokka took that in with a nod. Then, he grinned. “You’ll show them all. I know it.”
A blush washed over Zuko’s cheeks. “Gross. Don’t be so positive, it’s scary.”
“You’re not used to praise. It’s okay.” Sokka smiled broadly. “I’ll give you plenty of it.”
“Sokka, no.”
“Sokka, yes.”
***
“You can’t seriously like the guy,” Katara said on their flight in, before they met up with Zuko.
“I can,” Sokka said, “and I do. He’s really changed, Katara. Let him show you that!”
Aang spoke up from the other side of Katara. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You will,” Sokka said, “I swear.”
***
“So,” Zuko said awkwardly as they arrived on foot at the docks, “how was the flight?”
“It was a flight,” Katara said, re-braiding her long hair over her shoulder. “Boring. Long.”
“Ah,” Zuko uttered. “Cool.”
Katara rolled her eyes but said nothing. Sokka elbowed her in the ribs, and she swatted his back.
“Stop hitting each other,” Aang said.
He’d shot up in height again since Sokka had last seen him. Tall bastard. He was also well-muscled now, from all his working out in his free time. He probably felt good about facing Zuko now that they were of equal strength, rather than Aang being the scrawny kid.
Aang looked to Zuko. “How’ve you been?”
The kind statement seemed to shock Zuko. He perked up, looked at Sokka, then back to Aang.
“I’ve been doing pretty well, lately.”
***
Ember Island was so awesome that Sokka had trouble containing his excitement. There was white sand, endless beaches, palm trees, coconuts, all sorts of interesting bugs and snakes—some venomous, as Zuko shouted when Sokka tried to catch one. And Aang and Katara were there too, which was awesome, though they all had to scrape up funds with extra shifts to make the flights work. And they brought their own food from the main island, surviving off of sandwiches, rice, and coconut water as a treat.
The best thing, by far, though, was the water. It was warm, as Zuko said, and while Sokka still preferred the cold water at home, it was really nice to be able to soak as long as he wanted without worrying about hypothermia.
Sokka and Zuko were deep in the ocean, looking at Katara and Aang, who were resting in the sun on the beach, making a sandcastle.
“Do they, you know, like me at all?” Zuko asked after a long period of silence.
Sokka didn’t hesitate to answer. “I think they’re still deciding. Aang seems to have let go of a lot of anger, though. Katara needs some time, still.”
“I think I know what I need to say,” Zuko said. “I said something, just before we left for boarding school. I need to apologise for that specifically.”
Sokka looked at him curiously. “What was it?”
“She never told you?”
Sokka shook his head.
“I… said something about your mother. Something insensitive, while I was talking about mine. It was wrong, and I don’t want to repeat it, but I remember it word for word.”
“Oh,” Sokka said softly. “Yeah. That’s a sensitive topic for both of us.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down. Just…” He sighed, running his hand through his long, wet hair. “Fuck…”
Sokka shook his head. “Nah. Get it out, you know? I’m glad you told me at least part of it.”
“Yeah,” Zuko muttered. “I guess.”
For some reason, Sokka wanted to kiss Zuko right then. Maybe it’d comfort him.
Nah, it wouldn’t. It’d freak the guy out. But speaking of kisses…
“Whatever happened to Mai?” Sokka asked. “That girl you liked?”
“... You knew about her?”
“Azula talked about her once. Mentioned that you two were disgusting together,” Sokka revealed.
Zuko splashed Sokka abruptly with a wave of water.
“Hey! Don’t shoot the messenger!” Sokka splashed him back.
Zuko laughed, but then it turned into a groan. “We dated. I loved her, but we were bad for each other. When we got depressed, it compounded. Made us worse. We broke up before college. It was mutual.”
Sokka hummed. “Must’ve sucked.”
“It was worth it.” Zuko sounded sincere as he said, “I learned a lot.”
“Anything in particular?” Sokka asked.
“I learned I should be with someone more positive,” Zuko said. “Someone bright.”
Sokka, inexplicably, felt the desire to blurt out, “I could be that person.”
It was then, off the coast of a tropical island, that Sokka learned that he liked Zuko.
He really, really liked Zuko.
***
“Don’t kill me,” Sokka said to Katara after the trip was over and they were flying back.
“Don’t give me a reason to,” Katara shot back.
“Don’t kill each other,” Aang added.
“Shut up.” Sokka groaned. “I like Zuko. There! I said it.”
“... And?” Katara said slowly. “Is this news?”
Aang said, “Yeah, that much was obvious, Sokka.”
“You guys suck,” Sokka complained. “I’m pouring my heart out here!”
“Pour it somewhere else,” Katara grumbled. She sighed. “Whatever. He’s… alright. You have my blessing.”
Sokka relaxed visibly. “Did he talk to you?”
“The night of the bonfire, we talked after you and Aang fell asleep.”
“You did?” Aang asked.
“Yeah,” Katara said softly. “I forgive him. Doesn’t mean I have to like him all that much, though.”
Aang laughed. “I don’t know. I think he’s pretty funny.”
“His jokes are awful,” Sokka said.
“Yeah, that’s what makes them good,” Aang laughed. “The terrible delivery.”
Sokka smiled fondly.
“Ewwww,” Aang said with a laugh. “You really do like him!”
“No shit,” Sokka scoffed. “With that face? Of course I do.”
“You like him for more than that,” Katara said.
Sokka bit the inside of his cheek and sat back in his seat. He wanted to say, “No shit,” again, but that felt too vulnerable. Instead, he just went silent, put in his earbuds, and enjoyed some music. And, you know…
… Thought about Zuko.