"alright! i'm not going through this again." a soft voice cut both of them before they could start the same argument they had 2 minutes ago. "daiki, i'll pay for their order- just make his goddamn snacks, please."

when manjiro turned to look at the person who 'saved his life', he felt like he has just died and miraculously came back to life as he made eye contact with you.

you were... pretty.

his eyes were set on you, taking in every single detail he could as if he was scared to forget how you look the second he'll look away.

"thank you, but that's not necessary!" draken politely thanked you as you grabbed your fidelity card of the small shop.

"don't worry about it! after all, those fidelity points have to be used for something." you waved him off, looking back at daiki, "could you also add my regular oder with that, please daiki?"

"o-of course, (y/n)!" the young worker quickly tapped your oder in the computer, a red hue covering his cheeks when you smiled at him.

"mikey, what do you say?" draken looked at his friend, hinting him to thank you, but his words fell into deaf ears as mikey kept looking at you like you hung the moon and stars in the sky.

"mikey?" He nudged the said man's shoulder trying to snap him out of his thoughts, only to be ignored once more.

the tall blond dropped the smile as he turned to his friend hitting the side of his head, finally snapping him out of his thoughts, "mikey!"

"um? what?" mikey barely glanced at draken when he responded, his heartbeat increasing when you looked back at him with your receipt in hand.

"i said, what do you say to the girl who just bought you your snacks?" he replied, glancing between the two of you clearly wondering why his friend was acting weird all of the sudden.

"marry me."

ken ryuguji never whipped his head to look at his friend so fast in his life. What the hell did he just said?!

you felt your face warm up at his words, chuckling as you walk past him, placing your hand on his shoulder, "do you ask every girl who buys you snacks to marry you?"

manjiro felt like he was in heaven when you stood closer to him. how can someone be so pretty and be so nice and smell so good and be so pretty at the same time.

"what?" toman's leader came back down to earth when you handed him the box filled of taiyaki. "did i say that out loud?" manjiro mumbled, frowning to himself. before looking back at you, just to see you making your way outside. "hey- wait!"

he tossed the snacks at draken jogging to meet you outside of the shop. "w-wait!"

you turned to look at him, the soft summer breeze sweating through your hair, leaving your face completely out in the open, "yes?"

"you're (y/n), right?" he asked remembering how the cashier called you when you were ordering, "i'm mikey..." he wanted to say something else but the words got caught in his throat when you smiled at him.

"nice to meet you, mikey" you replied before your eyes drifted behind him to the small group of guys that were looking at the two of you intensely, the 'ken-chin' guy from earlier standing with them. "i think your friends are waiting for you"

manjiro glanced back to see his best friends looking at them with knowing looks on their faces, "never mind them- this is- you are more important."

you looked away from him, his intense eye contact making your face feel warm, "you really know how to talk to girls you know?"

"thank you for earlier... the snacks and all..."

"that was 2 months worth of fidelity points- you better eat every single one of those taiyaki" you playfully warned the gang leader.

"don't worry about that..!" mikey replied knowing damn well that he will inhale those snacks. "can i walk you home? it's going to get dark soon- wouldn't want my wife to get attacked or something!"

wife?!

you suppress a smile at his words, "of course, wouldn't want it to get dark at 2 pm, and then get attacked by who knows what next to a bakery."

"exactly! let's go, wifey!"

takashi mitsuya

"what did you say you're brother's name was?" you asked the crying girl in front of you.

"...t- taka-shi" the small girl sobbed in your shoulder as you gently patted her head.

"alright and what's your name?" you gently asked as you scanned the area trying to find someone who looked like they had just lost their child.

"i- i- i'm mana"

"you have a really pretty name, you know?" you smiled fondly at the girl as you whipped the tears of her face with your thumbs.

"really?"

"heck yeah! it's a badass name!" you felt relief wash over you when you saw a smile spread across the kid's face, "i'm (y/n) and i'm gonna help you find your brother alright?"

"thank you..." she mumbled quietly.

"you're going to hop on my shoulders and tell me when you see your brother okay?" the girl looked up at you with stars in her eyes, you pulled mana on your shoulder, her small hands on your head.

you walked for a good 15 minutes before mana tapped your head with on hand while the other pointed toward an unknown man in the crowd of person, "they're there! that's draken!"

draken? wasn't her brother's name takashi? you wondered as you put mana to the ground your hand grabbing hers just in case she got lost again.

"mana!" a little girl's voice called out as you arrived next to the very tall guy with a dragon tattoo on his head. the small girl that looked very similar to mana hugged tightly the younger girl.

"mitsuya! ' found her" the tall guy called out for someone else behind him. the 'mitsuya' guy appeared from behind the 'draken' guy not long after he called out from him. the purple haired teen practically attacked his sister with a hug, sighing in relief.

"don't ever do that again, mana." he gently scaled his younger sister, "you could've gotten lost and we would've been really sad, al-?"

"it's fine! (y/n) helped me find you!" she pointed her finger at her. mitsuya ruffled his sister's hair, before straightening up to thank the person that help his mini-him, "thank you so mu..."

he felt like the world had stopped moving. like it was only the two of them in the middle of the festival. takashi mitsuya was in a trance. he was simply mesmerized by the sight of you.

"it's no problem, really! " you softly smiled at him, "your sister is a real angel-"

anything else you said after wasn't even registered but the delinquent in front of you. he was usually so good at this- talking to people was what he did best so... why couldn't he utter a single word for you.

his cheeks were red, his palm were sweaty, why was he anxious?- he was hanging on everything you did. even if he felt like he had forgotten how to speak, your voice felt like melody to his ears.

he snapped out of his trance when someone nudge his shoulder. mitsuya glanced at draken beside him, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone and that you were talking to him.

you looked at him with a puzzled look, "are you alright?

your question made him overthink about everything that happened in the last 2 minutes of your meeting. Did he look like a creep?

"i- i- great."

the hell was that takashi? he cursed himself.

darken cleared his throat, holding back his laugh. he brought his fist to his mouth faking coughs as he muttered a small, "real smooth, mitsuya".

you chuckled at his friend's comment, making mitsuya straighten up, you pulled out your hand for him to shake.

"let's start over, alright? i'm (y/n)... you're takashi right?"

draken stepped up clearly expecting his friend to be to lost in space to answer you, "he prefers mitsuya-"

"takashi's fine!" the said man interjected, as he quickly grabbed your hand to shake it, sending one of his pretty smile in your direction.

"i-"

"are you going to marry my brother?" he couldn't catch a break could he? luna asked you with big eyes.

you chuckled softly at her words, "how about this... i will give my number to your brother. then we'll go out to eat something to talk about marriage alright?"

"yes!" the girl tightly hugged your leg as you said that.

"does that sound like a plan to you, takashi?" yes!

mitsuya hurriedly started to look in his pocket for a pen, when draken pulled one out of his pocket with a piece of paper and handed it to the purple haired boy, "there you go, casanova"

takashi handed you the paper and the pen, before you wrote your name with your phone number on it.

"see y'a soon, taka! bye, mana don't get lost again alright?"

as soon as you were out of sight takashi turned to draken with a stern look, "not a word about this, alright?"

"you're crazy!" draken crackled putting his hand in his pocket, "i'm going to tell everyone!"

"draken!"

"as your wingman i feel like it's my responsibility-"

"no it is not!"

chifuyu matsuno

"hurry up, chifuyu!" takemichi yelled at his friend. they couldn't be late. not for that.

"how come you are slow as hell during a fight, yet you sprint your life on a sunday at 8 am?" the blond joked as he calmly walked behind takemichi with not a care in the world.

"come on! we're gonna be late!" he repeated hurriedly before stopping abruptly while looking around him.

"late to what?" chifuyu yawned, before looking at his friend, who stood there looking around, up and down as if his brain had finally snapped, "you alright?"

"alright stand here and don't move." takemichi moved the delinquent around so that he would stand in the middle of a park- an empty park.

"did you finally snapped or...?" he asked when the time traveler started to back away from him, "are you going to kill me? is this really how it's gonna end-"

"watch out!"

a voice yelled, but it was too late.

a ball directly hit his face, knocking chifuyu to the dirty ground, his eyes closing due to the shock.

it took him a couple of seconds before finally opening his eyes again, only to realize that he was in heaven. the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life held his head in her hands, her index and middle finger pressed against the front of his neck just below his jaw- making sure that his heart was still beating.

"oh- thank god! you're not dead!"

"are you an angel?" chifuyu mumbled placing his hand on top of yours- making sure you were real, "am i in heaven?"

you let a breathy chuckle at his words, "you're cute- but no you're not dead... i kicked a ball in your face- unintentionally of course!"

his eyes finally focused on you, remembering what had happened. he blinked a couple of time, his eyes scanning your face- a pretty girl's face... so close to his face with her hands on his face and his hands on her hand-

what?!

chifuyu's face became as red a tomato straitening his posture to apologize for touching you without your authorization, "i'm so sorry-"

his head came in contact with your head, making you pull back immediately from the blond. "ow! i told you i didn't do it on purpose!" you groan holding your head with your hands.

chifuyu gasped in horror at his own clumsiness as he placed a hand on the back of your head. hopping that the coldness of it would help you a little, "i'm sorry! i swear i didn't mean it! please hit me again so that we're even!"

...what? now why would he say that?

"what? what's wrong with you?! do you get turn on by getting hit or something?!"

chifuyu panically looked around to search takemichi so that he could help him. when he finally spotted him, hiding behind the swings, the time traveler was smiling proudly with his two thumbs up in the air.

his action making him recall a conversation the two of them had a couple of weeks earlier.

"so... am i married in the future?" chifuyu asked takemichi as he bit down the sandwich he made himself for lunch.

takemichi raised his brows at the question, "yeah-"

"really?!" the blond gasped, with heart in his eyes, "do i know her?! no wait- that'll ruin the surprise- is she pretty?! no wait- of course she's pretty you idiot!"

the time traveler chuckled at his friend's words, rubbing the back of his neck, "do you want me to tell you how you met?"

"no! it has to be a surprise!" chifuyu refused, "wait am i going to meet her soon? is that why you said that?! takemichi?! answer!"

"nah- like you said it has to be a surprise~"

"takemichi!"

"if it makes you feel better- you embarrassed yourself in front of her"

"how would that make me feel better?!"

that sneaky bastard.

"i'm sorry! i don't know how to talk to pretty girls..." chifuyu mumbled looking to the ground, but his face snapped back at you when he realize what he had just say, your eyes round at his words, "i- i mean not that don't know how to talk you! wait- not that you're not pretty! you are pretty- beautiful even! but that is not the point! i don't need you to hit me! just please don't think i hurt you on purpose- i don't hit pretty girls! no wait- i don't hit girls at all! but you being beautifully-pretty is just a plus you know! an-"

you smacked your hand on his mouth, stopping his rambling, the butterflies in your stomach flying way to much due to his words. "please stop-! you're too cute..."

takemichi titled his head at the scene in front of him, clearly not remembering that part of the story your older self told him in the future about how chifuyu and her had met-

but... mission failed successfully... i guess?

You're sucking him in deeper than he expected you to, and it catches him absolutely off guard. Which you notice rather quickly, batting your fucked-out eyes up at him, "Aang? Are you okay?"

"Yeah-, yes.. You just keep—" He hunches over against you—body going taut and lean muscles constricting against one another. "You keep squeezing me like that."

Begining to like seeing him struggle, "Squeezing like what?" you asked in sync with your walls clenching around the deft base of his cock.

Air puffs right out of him as if he'd been choked and his body shudders with something powerful coursing through him. You only catch it for a split second the first time it happens—a brief flash over both his markings and his eyes as his next array of groaning stammers out of him.

Following this is the flash of something wild in his eyes as they broaden, pupils dialating a fraction. Aang's head tips to the side and the plump crown of his cock slavers itself alllll around your insides, the puffy lips of your cunt left to quiver around him.

"You're so pretty-," Your loving boyfriend chuffs out, unknowingly thrusting into you harder via a burst of controlled air slapping against his backside. "H-Have I told you that? Hm?" He's asking as if he wasn't literally air bending himself into fucking you harder.

Your head just barely manages a nod, tears coating your lash line, "Nngh-, yes, Aang."

"Say it back to me then," Aang encourages. In between his breathy words, a brush of air is felt slithering against your cunt. It was almost as if his ability to seamlessly multitask was showcasing the best of his abilities via stimulating you everywhere. "Tell me how pretty my girl is, yeah?"

The sensation brings a stutter to your speech, "A-Aang, I can’t," you cry out, nails lightly scraping at his back.

He smiles halfway before his thrusting grows erratic and his jaw slacks some, "Oh. You're gushing-, shit."

You feel the way his tip pulsates inside you, his hips struggling to pull himself back for a moment long enough to give his cock a second to breathe—not that he much cared to do so anyway.

"So wet. Wanna see you cum-, wanna feel it." Aang husks, "Can you do that? Cum for me?"

"Mhmm," You nod weakly at first but within the next few seconds, as something begins to rumble distantly, you start to second guess your agreement. Mouth falling agape, “Wait, s’too much-,” you try to warn him.

He’s lost though—lost in the feel of your greedy insides begging his dick to spill enough seed into you to repopulate a nation or two at least. Aang’s unconscious manipulation of air only gets worse too, he goes from using his bending to fuck himself deeper to using it to sprawl your puffy pussy lips ‘n legs apart even wider.

You’re a stretched out mess in mere seconds, gasping his name and crying out in pleasure as your back begins arch. Then he’s chuckling all of a sudden and you swear for a moment he’s not even the same man you knew him to be.

Aang’s head cocks back some and his eyes roll back, “You can take it,” he grunts like he knows his words to be true and no argument could convince him otherwise. “You always do. Mmgh-,” He bites his lip for a second before looking down at you once more. “Can’t you feel that? The air helpin’ me fill you up? It’s-, hah.. It’s a little something I’ve been practicing.”

You pout at first, “Aang, I don’t know if-, mmgnh! Y-Your markings!”

The room illuminates with colors of spiritual blue before he notices what you’re talking about.

“What about them?” Aang asks cluelessly, his voice having changed due to the height of pleasure and energy surging through him.

Sweat drips down his body but it doesn’t even manage to touch you or the bed because he’s bending those droplets just as he was the air—completely losing himself in the feel of you and bending all sorts of shit because of it.

“They’re glowing,” You gasp.

Then his cock buries itself all the way in, every stiff inch clamped by your sappy insides, and his body comes to a sharp stop.

You knew there were… concerns when it came to having sex with your boyfriend who just so happens to be the avatar. But, no one told you he’d enter the avatar state just from cumming too hard!!

It’s while creamy gushes of cum are flooding into your poor cunt that his body is shuddering and he’s literally entering a new state of pleasure. He could hardly manage a word out or even move, the state had taken him over entirely.

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little worried for him because of it, but honestly you were a tad bit distracted by how fucking hot it was.

You shouldn’t let this go to your head, really.

But who else can say their pussy sent their boyfriend into the avatar state?

That’s something to brag about!

(not proofread) banner from “Welcome to The Muscle Salon!” || tags:

@sukuchohq @chosbaby @missackerman64 @ros3xoxo @yulissacastillo11 @ashsummer @swtiijas @chxseatl @wonderfullymickey @tw0w0

@beebopbiscuit @fave-anime-fics @xxvendettaxx @iiakithegoat @hiromihigurumaswife @millenaosstuff @mel-1s-treading-carefully

“What about the hostilities with the Water Tribes’ trade?! It undermines our authority if we give in!”

“The people will begin to doubt the strength of the Nation! We can’t allow it!”

“It opens us up to attack, my Lord! Is this what we want to portray?”

“What do we want to portray?”

It’s all too much.

When his fingers tremble under the table, your hand gently slides into his with a comforting squeeze. Firm, reassuring, present. Still, as his thumb brushes over your knuckles, his jaw clenches and his eyes stare firmly ahead, struck by the one question he doesn’t have the answer for.

“Well…” A new voice breaks through his thoughts. “The Fire Nation is built on strength and, currently, that strength has to come from love.”

There’s a snicker across the table though the voice continues regardless. “Think about it. Fire creates destruction, but it also connects to love and passion.” They’re articulate, so certain. “We’re not trying to tear everyone apart to succeed anymore. We’re trying to bring everyone together… and, as the most powerful kingdom on the planet, we have to be the ones who pioneer this. Correct, my Lord?”

Zuko can feel how wide his eyes are when he meets the general’s eyes and he has to suck in a deep breath to ground himself before he nods. “That’s correct. That’s what we’re striving for, not superiority nor the fear it causes.” His voice is surprisingly steady and he can’t help how his gaze lingers on the general even after he finishes speaking. He’s impressed.

Though, as his attention is called back to the table with an array of murmurs, he misses the glimmer of recognition that rings between you both.

-

Stepping out of the throne room feels like a breath of fresh air. Sunlight shines through the windows and drapes the hallway in a warm, calm glow while the regal pillars that decorate the walls glimmer in its light. It reflects a pretty ray over Zuko’s face, quickly relaxing the tense atmosphere lingering from the meeting.

“That was quite intense, huh?”

At the familiar sound of your voice, the heaviness in Zuko’s shoulders visibly drops with a weary sigh. “Yeah,” He mutters, his shoulder lightly brushing yours. “Tell me about it.”

A huff of amusement falls from your lips as your hand instinctively hooks into the crook of his elbow, holding him close. Though, despite the familiar warmth of his proximity, your eyes begin to wander.

Calmly standing across the space is the general from earlier, quietly chatting with another ambassador. From here, you can get a fuller look of him: the softer eyes, the petulant pout playing on his lips, even the unmistakable confidence in his posture.

“I haven’t seen that general around before.” You comment, tilting your head to the side as you curiously watch him.

“I believe he was recently voted in.” Zuko responds with an approving nod. “He seems like he fits right.”

When you remain silent, staring at the general, in hopes that it may reveal why he’s here, Zuko speaks up once more. “Why do you ask, my love? Do you not approve of him?”

“It’s not that…” You murmur. “I think I recognise him.”

Before Zuko gets a chance to ask any further questions, you gently pull him towards the general. He can see a spark of excitement brewing in your eyes and–true to his awkward nature–he already feels an opposing anxiety bubble up in his chest. After all, Zuko desperately wants to make a good impression on everyone you’re close with.

The general and the ambassador both straighten up when they spot you approaching, a professional smile crossing their faces although the former has an expectant glint in his eye.

“My Lord.” They both greet with a bow, then the general carefully reaches for your free hand and pulls it to kiss your knuckles as they turn to you. “My Lady.” Zuko feels a pang in his heart.

“Hello… um, excuse me, but…” You trail off for a moment, pointing at the general. “Aren’t you…?”

You ask his name and the general’s eyes immediately lighten up, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes!” He responds. “And you’re…”

A smile crosses your face at your own name and you nod in response, chuckling. “It is! It’s been so long! You’ve grown up so much.”

“Well, so have you.” He blurts out. “I mean, you’ve become royalty? How awesome!”

With a playful shrug, you brush it off before spotting the lost look on Zuko’s face. “Zuko, this is my first boyfriend. From when we were teenagers.” You turn back to the general. “And this is, obviously, my husband.”

“Nice to meet you.” The man greets and shakes Zuko’s hand politely. “So… how’s things going for you?”

As you continue chattering with him, Zuko feels his attention slip, his eyes shifting between you both. The awe that he initially felt towards the man slowly bleeds away at the enthusiasm and optimism, leaving an array of thoughts in its wake.

He’s calm, soft, yet still optimistic. Despite being a general, he inevitably comes from a humbler background than Zuko. Still, this man knows who he is and seemingly who he is meant to be. He’s confident, he knows you, perhaps more than Zuko does. Your first love. He doesn’t even have a scar. How can Zuko compare?

But on the outside, Zuko remains silent. He keeps his steady stance beside you, a neutral expression glued onto his face even as your laughter sends a mix of relaxation and anxiety bubbling up inside of his chest. The uncomfortable feeling simply festers internally.

-

Now, the sun has set and the moon drapes over the sky. The politicians left hours ago, leaving the servants working around the Palace as the only other people around besides you and Zuko.

He stands on the balcony of your shared room, his arms resting on the marble railings and his hair flowing in the wind behind him. From where you sit at your mirror, he looks almost picturesque. But your mind can’t focus on that.

The actual events of today were typical: a relaxing walk where you both consulted each other about various matters, separated for a couple of hours to fulfil your duties until dinner time where you sat side-by-side and enjoyed the delicacies of the Nation. Yet, the way Zuko had been acting had been off, almost… unattached.

To anything you asked, his answer would be logical and reasonable, perhaps something that would pass off as simply a Fire Lord’s persona to others, but rubbed you the wrong way. It lacked the usual passion that sparked in Zuko when he spoke to you, no indulgent compliments nor teasing comments. Something’s wrong, and you think you can guess what.

Brushing your hair back from your face, you stand and cross the room until you’re stood in the doorway.

“Hey,” You murmur gently.

No response.

You quietly step forward until you’re stood beside him, peering out at the gardens below. Under the moonlight, the topiary is painted in a mysterious, blue hue, occasionally bristled by a breeze passing through. It’s beautiful, of course, but nothing compares to the sight of Zuko beside you.

His scar looks like a painting in the dim light, a painting of a storm to be more specific. Alongside the darkened look in his eyes and slight downturn on the corners of his lips, it illustrates a troubled image, yet is neutral enough to not give anything away.

Words can’t come to mind to confront it, so you gently reach out instead. Your hand lands on his cheek, your thumb brushing over his skin in a soothing circle as your eyes remain on his face.

Almost instantly, he subtly leans into your touch, his eyes fluttering before glancing over at you. “Hi.” He finally speaks.

A small smile crosses your face now that he’s greeted you. “Hi.” Your voice is just as soft in response. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He quietly dismisses although almost immediately looks away and back to the garden. Unluckily for him, you know him too well for that to work.

“I can tell it’s not nothing, Zuko.” You say plainly, your hand dropping from his face to land on the muscle of his bicep, gently squeezing. “You won’t even look at me.”

“That’s not true!” He exclaims as his eyes immediately snap to yours defensively, before the act speedily drops. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

You can’t help the quiet chuckle that falls from your lips. “You apologise as if you haven’t done this since I met you. It’s okay, I know what you’re like, darling.”

“It’s still an old habit that I’m getting past.”

“Well, you’ve done well thus far.”

“Then, what was that?”

You both silently gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment before you finally give in and shrug, another laugh escaping you. The familiar banter coaxes a small smile to Zuko’s lips, his shoulder gently nudging yours with much less tension than was present initially.

“Please talk to me, Zuko.”

The words make Zuko’s smile falter and his eyes dance around your face before he shyly turns away, gazing at the other end of the balcony. “It’s stupid.”

“If you’re this bothered, it’s not stupid.” You insist, your hand stroking up and down the length of his forearm.

“It is. I’m a grown man– No, the Fire Lord. This– this isn’t.” He stammers out.

You feel your face soften at his conflict and you shuffle closer until your arms press together and you can lean into his eye-line against the railing. “Please… just tell me.”

There’s silence for a few moments, the ambient rustle of the gardens, until he speaks up. “I didn’t know how to act when you introduced me to that general earlier.”

“You mean the one that I knew as a teenager.”

Zuko visibly winces at the reminder, though you’re unsure if it’s at the reminder of your history with the man or his own embarrassment.

“You don’t have to worry about making a good impression. He knows you as the Fire Lord first and foremost, he already respects you so you didn’t–”

“It’s not that.” He gently interrupts you, a shaky sigh falling from his lips. “It made me feel weird.”

“As in you felt anxious?” You ask sympathetically and squeeze his bicep against.

“No…” He shakes his head, his eyes falling to his arms on the railing. “It made me feel… bad.”

“How so?” You gently prompt.

You can feel the uncertainty in the air, lingering between you both even with the breeze trying to blow it away. It’s persistent in Zuko’s mind.

“I just… I don’t know… I don’t compare to that.”

His voice comes out so quietly, you can’t help but murmur: “What?”

“I don’t compare. He’s known you longer than I have, he’s– he’s softer than I am, even physically, he even did my job for me in that meeting today.” He finally blurts out. “I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. I don’t understand it. But you loved him… when he’s nothing like me.”

For a moment, the words hang in the air, a vulnerability for only you both. By now, Zuko’s gaze is unwaveringly fixed on the railing, his jaw clenched with the typical discomfort he feels admitting things like this. But you can read him easily.

“You don’t think you compare?”

“No.”

You pause for a few seconds. “It worries you because you might not be who I love most?”

“I’m not doubting your love.” Zuko quietly clarifies. “But I might not be what’s best for you, what’s meant for you.”

He doesn’t elaborate, he doesn’t admit all of the deepest thoughts plaguing his mind, yet you know what he means. Zuko thinks he’s difficult, he believes he’s broken, he’s painfully aware that he truly doesn’t understand himself and, by extension, the Nation around him. He refuses to acknowledge that no one truly understands themselves either.

“I think you’re meant for me.”

His eyes finally land on yours, a furrow formed in his brow.

“Maybe you don’t have everything figured out, maybe you’re not entirely satisfied with that fact.” You continue. “But you’re true to yourself. When you believe in something, you truly fight for it, and you’ve done so much good.” You sigh fondly. “You’re determined, you’re kind, you’re so loving to me… you make me feel treasured, Zuko.”

Your hand leaves his skin as you properly turn to face him, your hands cupping his cheek as your gazes stick on each other’s. “I regret nothing so long as it means I’m with you.” You murmur. “To be with such an honourable, adoring man is truly a privilege.”

As you trail off, you see the anxiety in Zuko’s eyes soften. “He’s still known you longer.” A last ditch attempt to undermine himself that you instantly shake your head at.

“You listen to enough of my stories to make up for it, darling.” You murmur lightheartedly, drawing a quiet chuckle from his lips. “But, seriously, don’t compare yourself, Zuko. You may not entirely know what is to come but I’m here to navigate it with you.”

Under the moon’s rays, a watery glimmer is present in his eyes that instantly melts your heart, but he quickly pulls you close before you can comment on it. “I love you.” He mumbles into your shoulder as his arms wrap around your waist, his large frame seemingly shrinking to hold onto yours.

Your arms naturally snake around his neck, your nose brushing against his hair to soak up his familiar scent. “I love you too.” You murmur. “My beautiful husband.”

“My sweet wife.” He practically coos in response, his arms tightening around you with a relaxed sigh. “I will always be grateful that you chose me.”

“It goes both ways, my dear.” You murmur. “It will always be you.”

The confessions dance in the air for a few, long seconds as you continue to hold each other until you speak up once more. “Will you come to bed with me now?”

“That shouldn’t even be a question, my love.”

Very platonic. As platonic as it could possibly get. So platonic, in fact, that you had never even thought of dating him or anything silly like that.

(Well. Maybe that last part was kind of a lie. But it had only been once or twice, back when you were stupid teens trying to figure out how to save the world.)

You, personally, thought that it was obvious.

Apparently, it wasn’t.

“I’m pooped.” Sokka sighs loudly, leaning heavily on your back as he peers over to glance down at Toph, who stood before you, crossing her arms.

“What distinguished vocabulary you possess.” You reply, smiling lightly as you reach up and pat blindly at his arm.

“Thanks. I try.”

“Oh, I can tell.”

“Can you?” “Of course.”

He hums happily. “I appreciate it.”

Toph clears her throat loudly. You turn your attention back to her quickly, an apologetic tone in your voice.

“Sorry, Toph. What were we talking about?”

“Nothing important.” Her eyes narrow slightly as she stares right at you, although not quite at your eyes. “Sokka.”

“Toph. Wonderful to see you, as always.”

“Can’t say the same.” She replies, deadpan. For a moment, Sokka jostles against your back, an offended noise leaving his lips before you lightly jab an elbow into his side. He gets it after a moment.

“Ah!” He perks up, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you quickly. “Ha! I get it! Good one, Toph! Real knee-slapper!”

Toph lets the faintest smirk appear on her face.

“I’m sure we all got it.” She says, leaning back on her heels. “What do you want?”

“Can’t I say hi to my friends?” Sokka tilts his head, his cheek brushing against your ear. “Is that a crime, Toph? Am I going to get arrested?”

“It’s a crime when it’s the two of you.”

“Huh?” You raise an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.” She waves a hand dismissively. “Everything.”

You turn back to exchange a look with Sokka, who shrugs back at you, just as, if not more, confused.

“Okay.” Both of you say in unison as you look back at her.

“Ugh. Don’t do that. That’s weird.”

“Well, I wasn’t lying when I said I was just stopping by to say hi.” Sokka stretches, taking a step back from you. You miss the warmth that came with him. “Got things to do, people to see, yada yada.”

“I’m sure you do.” Toph responds, raising an eyebrow. “But with all of your impending duties, you just had to come say hello?”

“How could I not? I heard very familiar voices and I couldn’t resist.” Sokka’s hand finds its way to your cheek, pinching it lightly and tugging before letting it go. He knows better than to try that with Toph. He learned the hard way.

“Oh, we know what you can’t resist.” Toph cackles. You don’t get it. You turn to Sokka, a questioning look on your face, but once again, he looks just as clueless.

“Uh…sure.” He smiles, patting your cheek where he’d just pulled.

You laugh softly, swatting away his hand. “Aww, well, we appreciate it.”

“I don’t.” Toph interrupts.

“You definitely do. I can feel it in your bones.” Sokka declares confidently.

“My bones?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ve developed bone bending. I can detect what you truly feel. Of course, I’ve always had this ability. Say goodbye to being used as a lie detector, Toph. I’m the new big deal, and heart rate won’t matter this time. This is all in the bones. You can’t fake bones.”

“Bone bending, huh? Enlighten me.” You grin, shifting your weight onto one leg as you turn to focus your attention on him.

“I’d love to.” Sokka beams back. “Now, this all started way back when—”

“Well, I’m sure you’d love to, but weren’t you just plagued with ‘things to do and people to see’?” Toph cuts in.

Sokka looks thoughtful suddenly, like it had slipped his mind completely. “You’re totally right. Bone bending just gets me so distracted. I’m very passionate about it, you see. It’s kind of my whole thing.”

You snort, shaking your head. Sokka looks utterly delighted as he takes a few more steps backward.

“Alright, see you guys later. Don’t miss me too much.”

“We’ll try not to.” You reply happily. He puts a hand to his lips and loudly blows a kiss to the two of you, spinning on his heel and happily whistling something off-tune.

“I can’t stand you two.” Toph complains as Sokka leaves. You know that her volume is always loud enough for everyone around to hear. Sokka turns his head back, just barely, to stick out his tongue.

“Jealous!” He calls, and then he’s gone. You laugh and wave at his back as he goes.

“What?” You ask as you look back towards Toph, whose expression can be described as nothing but disgusted. “What?”

She scrunches her nose, fanning under it like she’s trying to get rid of a painful odor. “I would say ‘you know what’, but you don’t, which is what makes this worse.”

You blink. Okay. Vague. Thank you, Toph.

“I hate lovebirds.” She continues, walking forward. As she passes you, she hits your arm. In turn, you wrap your other arm around her shoulders and press a kiss to her head.

“Get well soon?” You try as she playfully shoves you off.

“I should be saying that.”

As she goes, she mumbles something about idiot boys and idiot girls that she surpassed in intellectual ability. You didn’t dare to doubt her.

Recently, she’s been doing things like that. Unclear words that could rival proverbs of ancient past and riddles that would make anyone’s head spin. Sickened looks and scoffs and odd comments. And it was only when you and Sokka would interact.

Weird.

You didn’t think there was anything to warrant the behavior, but Toph was a little difficult to understand sometimes, so you didn’t really think much of it.

And then Zuko would flash weird looks when Sokka would wrap an arm around your shoulder and Katara would stare when you leaned against him.

Which was also weird.

Everyone had their own lives, now that you’d all grown up. You weren’t a bunch of (pre-)teens worrying about the fate of the world anymore. You had more normal but tiresome responsibilities, which meant not seeing each other as often.

But the times you were all together, all you would get were funny looks.

And you weren’t stupid. You knew that it was for a reason, but you truly couldn’t understand why.

So, of course, you decided to consult your beloved friend who would never keep you from the truth.

The Avatar himself.

“Aang! Hey, Aang!” You call, waving wildly at the retreating flash of yellow and orange you know and love.

Aang stops in his tracks, turning around with a thousand-watt smile already lighting up his face.

“Gee, you’re excited!” He notes, grabbing your forearms as you slow to a stop in front of him. “What could I have done to deserve that?”

Sometimes, you catch a glimpse of the little boy you’d met all those years ago. It’s the same with Toph. It melts your heart and makes you sad, knowing how quickly time slipped by, how tall and strong and wonderful the kids you knew got.

“I need advice. Help. A talk. Whatever.” You shake your head.

“What’s going on?” Aang’s eyebrows furrow slightly as he glances down at you. “Nothing bad’s happened, right?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that.” You correct, rubbing at your cheek lightly.

The two of you sit down on a nearby bench, your foot tapping against the ground quickly. You slam a hand down on your knee to make it stop. Aang raises an eyebrow.

“Okay. Uh…why is everyone acting funny?”

Aang thinks about it for a moment. “They are? Who’s everyone?”

“Toph. Zuko. Toph. Katara. Toph. Have I mentioned Toph?”

“No, I don’t think you have.”

After a beat, the two of you erupt into giggles. It feels oddly childish for how old you are now, but it feels good to relax.

“Seriously, though.” You clear your throat. “They just keep saying weird things and casting judgmental looks. Have I secretly been declared the enemy of all?”

“Not that I know of?” Aang shrugs, leaning back against the back of the bench. “Do they just…always do it?”

“Always? No, no. It’s…it’s only when Sokka’s around.”

Aang freezes. His eyes widen slightly and his lips pull back into a faint grimace, but you’re too busy letting your words take over to notice.

“And I don’t even get it at all! What could possibly be the reason for all the funny behavior, huh? It’s not like Sokka and I have been acting differently. If anything, I think we’ve been acting the exact same this whole time. As normal as we possibly could be. I haven’t said or done anything out of the ordinary, not that I know of, so whatever warrants this has to be—”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Aang raises his hands, cutting you off. “I think I see the frustration.”

“Do you?” You ask, exasperated. You slump back against the bench.

“Definitely.”

The look on his face looks strained, like he’s trying to hold back an awfully pained expression. It only makes your worries worse.

“What?” You ask desperately. “Don’t beat around the bush like Toph does. I’ll cry.”

“You won’t cry.” Aang says simply. “Uh…where to start…”

That’s a terrible beginning to an explanation. That means there’s a lot to go over and you were in some deep trouble.

You wait not-so-patiently for him to continue.

“Sokka…and…you…” He begins slowly, clasping his hands, “are very…close.”

“...yes.” You nod back just as slowly. “Aren’t we all?”

“Well…yeah. But there are different levels of being close.”

“Sure.” You agree. “Like you and Katara.”

“Right! Like me and Katara.”

“Right. So the problem is…?”

Aang bites the inside of his cheek. “The problem is…that you and Sokka are very close.”

“You said that already!” You complain. “What’s so wrong with that!”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just that we…are…wondering…about…the extent…of your relationship!”

The pauses he includes almost make you want to strangle the words out of him. Instead, you take a deep breath and try to collect your thoughts. The extent of your relationship? There’s only one thing you can come up with to explain that.

“We’re not fucking.”

“I didn’t say you were!” Aang cries, a faint hue of red dusting his cheeks like he wasn’t the one to insinuate that.

“Then what were you saying?”

“I was saying that maybe you and Sokka are a little closer than everyone else is!”

“I…guess?” Your eyebrows knit together. “Not really, though, right?”

“Ehh…” Aang trails off, glancing away.

“What?” You pry, leaning forward. “Say it. I won’t say anything.”

“Ehh…” He repeats, turning his head completely around.

“Aang!” You grab his face and snap it back around. “Stop avoiding the topic!” “I’m just trying to think about how to word this!”

“Just say it straight up! I won’t say anything!” He mumbles something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like ‘you will’ but you ignore it for his actual input instead.

“Let’s see…okay. You’re very…comfortable around Sokka, right?” “I’m comfortable around everyone.” You respond.

“That’s different.”

“No it’s not. I’m the same with everyone. Aren’t I?” You try to think back on it.

“I’d say you’re a bit more affectionate with Sokka.”

“Affectionate how?”

“Well…you know…the basics.”

“Such as…?”

Aang clears his throat. “Uh…you guys hug a lot?”

“I hug everyone. That’s not weird. You hug everyone. Is it weird to hug people, Aang?”

“No!” Aang shakes his head. “Hugging isn’t abnormal. But you kiss him, too.”

“On the cheek. There’s nothing wrong with kissing people on the cheek, or anywhere else.” You cross your arms. “I kiss everyone, too. I kiss you on the cheek. I kiss Katara on the cheek. And Zuko and Toph.”

Aang runs a hand down the side of his face. “Right. You do.”

“I do. So, what’s the problem?”

“It’s just that…you…kiss Sokka on the cheek like I kiss Katara on the cheek.” He snaps his fingers, leaning forward once he’s made the connection.

“Uh…” You close your eyes, picturing the four of you side by side. “But you and Katara are together.”

“Yes…” Aang nods supportively.

“Sokka and I aren’t together.”

“Right…”

“So how would I kiss him that way if we’re not together?”

“Exactly!” Aang claps. “You’re close to him in a way that Katara and I are close, except you aren’t together.”

It takes a moment for you to realize what he’s getting at. Once you do, your entire body seems to heat up.

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” You shake your head so hard you might rattle your brain. “So—you’re saying that everyone is acting weird because Sokka and I act like we’re a thing?”

“Basically?”

“But we’re not!”

“You could be?” Aang tries. “I mean, do you want to be with Sokka?”

Loaded question. Your mind shortcircuits, your heart skipping a beat as the idea firmly plants itself in your head. You and Sokka? You and Sokka?

It’s not like it was a completely foreign idea. You see where Aang’s coming from, but also, that’s Sokka. Sokka, who’s been the same with you since the day you met. Sokka, who’s been by your side for years and never said a word about it. Sokka, who you’ve watched get and lose partners over the span of your journey together.

He wasn’t ugly. Quite the opposite, really. You could admire that without having a silly crush on him.

But…but you did like him. Kind of a lot. That didn’t mean it had to be in that way.

Still…you did get a lot happier when he was around. And you were more comfortable with his presence and letting him place a hand on you or an arm around you. You’d let anyone do that, but you suppose that maybe you wouldn’t be as ecstatic and content with it if it had been Katara or Toph instead.

Those were feelings, though. Normal feelings. You think. You’re not quite sure, actually. So what were all the weird looks for then? Did the others find your relationship odd, or did they…

“Honestly…everyone thought you guys were dating.” Aang cuts off your train of thoughts as if reading your mind. “I mean, that’s just what it looks like.”

“For how long?”

“Huh…I don’t know. It’s looked like you’ve been dating for years.”

“Years?” You repeat increduously. It can’t have been that long that the two of you had been…ugh. This was hurting your head. You still hadn’t answered Aang’s question.

I mean, do you want to be with Sokka?

What would that entail, anyway? With what Aang’s saying, nothing would change. Except the presence of actual kisses, and maybe waking up with him, and living together and—

Okay. That got too real too fast. Your face flushes and you turn away slightly. Aang—alert, lovely, and too observant for his (your) own good, Aang—catches on instantly.

“You do!” He cries, overjoyed. “You do want to be with him!”

You shake your head quickly, but he enthusiastically points at your leg. “Look at that speed! You only do that when you’re really nervous!”

True to his word, your leg was bouncing at the speed of light. You slam both of your hands down on your knee to make it stop, your eyes wide. “Not so loud!” You hush him, despite the fact that you were probably being just as loud.

“Sorry, sorry!” He whispers, leaning in to grin at you. “But you do like him!”

“I…maybe?” The roar of emotions in your heart implied a more honest sentiment.

“You do. So…talk to him.”

“I can’t just talk to him.”

“Sure you can! He’d get it.”

“How would you know? He thinks this is all normal.”

“No way he does. Sokka’s not that stupid.”

“Does that mean I was stupid for thinking so?”

“I didn’t say that! I just meant that he’s probably having an epiphany right now, too.”

“Is he?” You raise an eyebrow. “And you would know that how?”

“Katara wanted to talk to him earlier.” He shrugs.

Crap. Okay. So the two of you were being cornered and told exactly what’s going on between you both. Definitely comforting.

“What do I do? Aang, guide me through this, now.” You lean in closer, eyes darting around like Sokka might pop out of any corner.

“Just talk to him. It’s not like he’s a stranger anymore. You’re never afraid to speak your feelings. So…just go for it.”

“That’s not clear enough!” “It doesn’t have to be. Do you want this turning point of your life to be pre-planned and rehearsed?”

“I…guess not.”

“Exactly! It’ll be more authentic and successful if you just lead with your heart and go for it.”

“I can’t just do it now!”

“Then don’t. Sleep on it. Let yourself grasp the lines of your emotions, then ask to see him, and go!”

“What if he hates me for it? What if he really thinks that this was all friendly?”

“He won’t. Trust me.”

“How would you know?”

“You know who knows Sokka the best?”

It doesn’t take a second to reply. “Katara.”

“Exactly. Their sibling bond is really strong. And Katara is completely convinced that he really lo—likes you.” The stutter goes unnoticed.

“Are you sure about this?” You chew on your bottom lip. “What if everything gets messed up?”

“It won’t. I promise. Even if the impossible happens, you and Sokka have been friends too long to let this damage you in any way. It won’t change things.”

“I don’t know. This is pretty big.”

“Bigger than defeating the Fire Lord?”

You crack a smile. “Maybe not.”

“Definitely not.”

A long, deep breath mostly calms down your nerves. You nod slowly, leaning back and looking around.

“Okay. I’m going to…think about this. Sleep on it.”

“Good.” Aang nods back. After a moment, he looks back at you. “I think you guys would be really good together.”

“Really?”

“Really. You’re like two halves of the same person. You’re both better and more complete together.”

“Aww, Aang. You’re so sweet.” You smile, pinching his cheek. He laughs softly and pushes your hand away.

“I’m serious. You’re one of my best friends. You deserve to be happy, and I think Sokka would help with that.”

You might actually cry now. You don’t hesitate to wrap your arms around his shoulders and hug him tightly. It takes less than a second for Aang to reciprocate, squeezing you so tightly you might lose your breath.

Neither of you say a word. You don’t need to.

After a few seconds of silence, Aang breaks it.

“Also, we’d pretty much basically be siblings if you two got marr—”

“Aang!”

—

You weren’t lying to him when you said that you’d actually think about it.

You did think about it. You slept on it that night and dreamt about it. You ate breakfast the next morning thinking about it. You worked and thought about it. You took a walk and thought about it. You talked to Zuko and thought about it.

In fact, it hadn’t left your mind once.

Because the moment the realization was planted in your brain, you weren’t able to let go at all.

You were lucky to not encounter Sokka for the majority of the day. You might have died if you did.

Now, the problem was that idea carried over into the next day. And the next day. And the next. Until it had been nearly a week since your eye-opening talk with Aang, and you had barely interacted properly with Sokka since.

It was stupid to think that no one would notice. It was kind of obvious.

Really obvious.

Toph and Sokka are sitting together and talking? Great! You’ll sit down next to Toph and let her lay her head on your lap while you let them mostly speak.

Katara and Sokka are walking together? Lovely! You’ll let Katara stand in the middle and act as a barrier while you try to grasp the overwhelming feelings he brings.

Everyone is hanging out after dinner? Fantastic! Zuko can take your weight as you lean against him and try not to fall asleep.

Aang, too smart for his own good, did not allow you to use him as a wall.

He caught you on day six, pulling you aside.

“So…what did we talk about?” Aang asked, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

“To talk to him, yeah, yeah. I’m thinking right now, okay? Can’t a person just think?”

“Not like this! You’re not even trying to act normal anymore.”

“Just give me a couple of more days. I’ll get there. Promise.”

You were now closing up on day seven, and you still had no idea what to do.

You wanted to talk to him about it. Of course you did. But the idea of actually having to face him and talk about something so personal felt so…weird. You just didn’t want to have to do it. Not now, at least.

Except you did want to talk to him. You didn’t know how, but you really did want to. You were good at talking, just going with the flow, so why did this mess you up so bad? Ugh.

Night was falling, and you weren’t feeling any more tired than you had a couple of hours ago. You’re smart enough to know when you’re not going to get any sleep. So, obviously, you have to take a nighttime stroll instead to clear your head.

That would help. Walking always helped, even if you drowned in your own thoughts first before letting yourself be pulled out.

You all were staying in a relatively small village in a relatively large house together. Did that make it harder to avoid him? Yes. Did it make it more suspicious? Yes. Which is exactly why you should have gone out on a walk ages ago.

Well, you can’t change the past now.

It’s not too lively outside. Things are dying down, and most people are retreating to their homes after a long day of work. A couple of them greet you with tired smiles as you pass by, which you return with double the energy. Waves and calls of good night’s take up most of your initial excursion, leaving you no room to think until you get to the very edge of the village.

It’s quieter out there. The moon shines down on you, peeking through dark clouds that might bring about rain later. You’re not too sure about the forecast.

As you make your way along the perimeter, you try to gather your thoughts, you really do. They’re just as much of a jumbled mess as they were way back when you first figured out what the two of you truly were. Or, tried to figure out, at least.

What you do know is that you like Sokka. Like like, bordering onto actual love, which is a terrifying thought. How could you have been in love with him for all this time and not know? Scary. You’d like to stick to like like instead, just for now, just so that you don’t implode.

You don’t know if he likes you back. Aang swears on his life that he does. You want to believe him, but doubt always makes its presence known, no matter how much you try to push it down. You can’t force yourself to believe it, but you can try. For now, you’re just going to think about this logically.

He might like you back.

So…how to bring it up? Something tells you that ‘Hey Sokka, I talked with Aang and I realized that I’ve liked you for a while now, you should let me be your girlfriend’ won’t really work.

You could be really sappy about it and have a nice long speech prepared. Or you could go out on a whim and say something simple.

Neither sounds very appealing to you. You want something meaningful, but like Aang said, not forced. You want it to matter.

You don’t even notice the figure standing in front of you until you crash right into him, too focused on staring into nothingness. Apologies are already spilling from your lips.

“No, no, it’s okay.” The man reassures, grabbing your shoulders to stop you from tripping over yourself. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I am. Sorry again. I’m totally fine. I really don’t know why I—sorry.” You respond, trying to shove down the embarrassment that comes with nearly knocking over a stranger you definitely should have seen coming.

“No harm done, promise.” He reassures. His hands have not yet left your shoulders, and when he notices that, he quickly drops them like he’s been burned. “You must have been deep in thought, huh?”

You offer a shrug, rubbing your arm. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Love troubles?” He asks. You startle, taking a step back. He laughs and tilts his head. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I’m not that obvious. I’m not…am I?” You ask desperately, nearly hissing as you lean forward, your voice hushed in fear of someone else nearby overhearing.

The man offers you a comforting grin. “To me, maybe. I’m not too sure about anyone else.”

“So you know about love troubles.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Let’s not go accusing a guy without even asking his name!” The man raises his hands in surrender.

“Ah…you’re right. Sorry. May I have the name of the gentleman who I nearly knocked over?”

“Why, of course. I’m Lee.”

You do not believe that for a second, but Lee was a pretty popular name. You let him off the hook.

“Well, Lee. I suppose we’re both having our own love struggles.”

“Maybe we are.” He offers a one-armed shrug. “I think we’ll get past it.”

“I sure hope we do.”

It’s weird, the concept of mildly opening up to a guy you’ve never seen before and likely never will, but that’s also comforting. He’ll forget all about you at some point, and you him, so you won’t have to worry about gossip spreading. No one will care.

Before you can do something stupid like dump your entire life’s story on this guy, he speaks first.

“I think that you might have a name as well.” Lee asks, shifting his weight as he leans on his leg, a little closer.

“I might.” You joke.

“And that name is…?”

You open your mouth to reply, but when your name is said, it’s not your voice that responds.

It comes with a heavy arm around your shoulders, firmly planted behind your head, completely wrapping around your body. It comes with a warmth you’re very familiar with and a scent that can only be matched to one man you know.

“I’ve seriously been looking for you everywhere. I mean, I nearly had to start checking under everyone’s beds, and I don’t really want to know what I’d find under Zuko’s.”

Sokka.

Okay. Awkward. Lovely. You’re kind of afraid.

Lee looks a bit taken aback, his eyes widening. His gaze meets yours and he mouths ‘love?’ to you, to which you breathe out and nod.

Sokka catches this instantly.

“What was that?” He asks, squinting. “A secret code? That was weird.”

Lee coughs. “Uh…we were just talking.”

“Right.” Sokka nods, stretching out the vowel as he raises an eyebrow and looks between Lee and you under his arm. “Cool. Well, we’ll be going now, alright? Bye.”

He turns you right back around, his arm guiding your body and forcing you to follow after him. You turn your head back to look at Lee, who smiles at you. You look back front, then back at him again, to which he forms a heart with his hands and a thumbs up.

Your cheeks flush pink. Sokka’s free hand plants itself on the top of your head, swiveling it back to face your front.

“Why—are you blushing?” Sokka cuts himself off, sounding absolutely scandalized. He lifts up your face and appears to analyze it, his fingers grasping your jaw.

“No.” You deny pathetically.

“Holy bison, you are.” He shakes his head. “Hold on. What was going on back there? Who even was that? Why were you out so late? Was that your…your secret lover?”

His voice spikes in pitch, just like it would back when you were teens and his voice would crack. This was really embarrassing now.

“That was…not…my ‘secret lover’. I don’t have a ‘secret lover’.” You correct, reluctantly pulling his hand down. “I just went for a walk.”

“Uh-huh. And you just happened to stumble upon a handsome guy down there and spark conversation.”

“That is exactly—a what guy?” You nearly shriek.

“Don’t act innocent. I can see right through your ruse.” Sokka’s arm does not loosen around your shoulders as you continue to walk.

“What ruse?”

“The one where you’re trying to convince me that you weren’t sneaking out to see a guy.”

“I wasn’t doing that.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“Walking.”

“Walking. Right. That didn’t look like walking.”

“Well, it was. Until I accidentally bumped into him.”

“Bumped into him!” His grip on your shoulder tightens. “I guess you stumbled right into his arms, too!”

“That did not happen.” You frown. “Why are you making stuff up?”

“I’m coming to plausible conclusions.”

“You aren’t.”

“I am.”

“You weren’t even there!”

“Exactly! Who knows what else went on before I got there? Did you exchange poetry? Recite haikus to the stars?”

“None of that happened!”

“Of course not. So I’m just supposed to believe that you haven’t been avoiding me and seeing some villager for the past week.”

Before you can try to refute his claims, he shushes you, his finger pressing against your lips.

“And don’t even try to deny the avoiding part. I’m not stupid. You can attempt to cover up seeing him, but you can’t pretend you haven’t been running away from me.”

His finger leaves your lips, and you fall silent. He was right. You were avoiding him, just not for the reason he thinks.

“I…was not…seeing Lee in the village.”

“But you were avoiding me.”

You chew on your bottom lip slowly. “It wasn’t avoiding.”

“It most certainly was.”

“I just wouldn’t call it that.” “I would.” “I wouldn’t.”

“Well, then what would you call it?”

“...taking some time to myself?”

Sokka frowns. “Really? Of course, that doesn’t apply to Katara, or Toph, or Aang, or Zuko. Just me.”

Right. If anything, you had doubled your levels of affection with the rest of your friends. You swallow thickly, trying to find the words.

“Maybe I needed a bit of time from you.”

Why did you say that? Why would you say that? You can’t even try to take it back.

Sokka falls unusually silent. The only sound is the fall of your syncretized footsteps against the soft earth.

“Why?”

You barely hear it. You probably wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been listening for something, anything to leave his lips.

“Nothing important.” You were making some really bad decisions.

“It was important enough to give me up.”

“I didn’t give you up.”

“It sure feels like you did.”

You don’t have a response for that. Sokka sighs.

“Listen.” He starts, his fingers flexing against your shoulder. “I don’t care if you’re seeing…‘Lee’...in the village. That doesn’t matter to me. What—I’m talking right now, wait, you can defend yourself later—what matters to me is that you stopped finding me to find him.”

“That’s not what this is. You keep bringing Lee up, but he’s not the reason—”

“Then what?” Sokka interrupts, albeit not harshly. It’s soft when it shouldn’t be, which is why it stops your words despite the lack of violence in them. It just sounds…defeated.

What do you say now? That you have feelings for him and instead of dealing with them like an adult, you’re acting like a teenager with a crush that will never be reciprocated? That you’re practicing what it’ll feel like if he rejects you?

It’s stupid. You know he won’t do something drastic like lash out or insult you if you say something. You know he’s not like that. You know that you’re both better than that. But your mind just keeps jumping to all of these horrible ideas, and you have no idea what to believe and what not to.

You think that you should start with your heart.

“I talked to Aang a while ago.”

Sokka doesn’t say anything. He nods slowly, like its encouragement to keep going. You do.

“A week ago.” You continue. You know that he knows that’s when this whole thing started. “I wanted to know why Toph was acting so strange that day.”

“Yeah. That was weird.” He replies simply, his mind clearly elsewhere. You don’t know if that’s good or not.

“And…we talked.” You conclude, nodding along like you’d just revealed the secrets of the world.

Sokka waits for you to keep going. When you don’t he looks down at you, his eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s it?” He scoffs. “That doesn’t explain anything! What did you talk about.”

“That’s private information.”

“So why would you tell me that?”

“I don’t know! That’s kind of what led to this whole thing, okay?”

Sokka takes a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, let’s start over.”

“Starting over. Got it.”

“You’re avoiding me.” “If that’s the word we have to use.” “It is. Something happened, and you’re avoiding me. Aang and you spoke about something, and you’re avoiding me.”

“...yeah.” “Okay. So what was that ‘something’?”

There was no use trying to beat around it now. You need to man up and spit it out. That’s right. You’re a grown adult. You can face your feelings.

“We…are close, aren’t we?”

Sokka stiffens for a moment, but he nods. “Yeah. I’d say we’re pretty close.”

“More so than normal?”

“Uh…let’s define normal?”

“I don’t know. Like the way I am with…Toph?”

“Toph can’t be used as an example for normal.”

You roll your eyes. “Okay, Sokka. Whatever. What I’m trying to say is…is that…Aang let me know that we’re…like him and Katara.”

“We are nothing like those losers.” Sokka puffs up his chest.

“Sokka.” “Sorry. Continue.”

At least you know that he’s not really pissed at you. He wouldn’t joke around if he was. That’s a good sign.

“It means that everyone thinks we’re a thing.”

He stops in his tracks for the first time since your conversation began.

“A thing? Like a couple kind of thing?” He repeats, the disbelief coating his voice clearly.

“Yeah. Like a couple.”

“Huh.” His nose scrunches up. “So…you found that out…and you decided that you couldn’t be seen around me anymore lest Lee find out?”

“No!” You cry, swatting at him. “Stop bringing him up! I don’t even know him!”

“What am I supposed to think?” Sokka bites back.

“You’re supposed to believe me!”

“I’m trying!” “It sure doesn’t seem like it!”

His arm finally drops from your shoulders as he covers his face and groans. “Okay. Fine! You don’t know who Lee is. I believe you. But you avoided me for some reason.”

“I told you the reason.”

“People think we’re a couple. You’re…embarrased, and you decide to stay away from me so that they don’t think that anymore.”

“That’s not it.” “Well, that’s what I’m hearing right now.”

It’s your turn to cover your face and groan. “It’s not that part of it.”

“Then which part?” “I’ll tell you if you stop asking questions.” You uncover your face just in time to catch him zipping his lips.

Is this it? Do you just say it straight up, now?

“I just…needed some time to think about the…extend of our relationship.” You breathe out. “That’s all.”

“So…you wanted to reflect on what we truly were.”

“Yeah.”

“And you came up with…?”

“I…don’t know.” You confess. “I don’t know.”

Sokka exhales slowly. Is that a bad sign? Maybe.

“We’re…friends.” He says.

“We are.” You repeat hollowly.

“Right. So…that’s cleared up, then.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” You say before you can even think about it.

Sokka’s breath hitches. He stays silent for a moment. “Yeah. I didn’t think so, either.”

So you were both on the same page there. You agreed that there was more to it than friendship. That’s…good. Hopefully.

“Was it only because you needed to think about what we were?” Sokka asks.

“What?” “You avoiding me. Was it just because of that?”

“I…yeah?”

“So it wasn’t that you…you hated the idea of being with me and had to distance yourself to stop the assumptions?”

“What? No! No, that wasn’t it at all. I just needed to think about it.”

Your outburst takes him by surprise. Once the words register, his raised eyebrows lower into an expression that looks more relieved than anything.

“Okay. Good to know.” He wets his lips. “And…and you’re being honest about that guy—” “How many times do I have to say it?” You groan. “I don’t know him! I bumped into him and we spoke for a little bit. He has his own love troubles to navigate.”

You try to ignore the fact that you called what’s going on between you ‘love troubles’ so blatantly. You know he caught onto it. You know he knows that you know. Neither of you say anything about it.

It was kind of annoying, the way he just kept going back to Lee like he was—

Holy shit.

“Oh.” You say simply, turning to face him completely. “You’re…jealous. You’re jealous.”

“Wha—what?” Sokka splutters, taking a step back, his hands raised as he shakes his head vigorously. “Me? Jealous? Of that guy? No way!”

“You are!” You protest, taking a step forward to make up for the distance that he’s putting between you two. “That’s why you’re so pissy!” “I’m not pissy!” “You so are! I get it! I get it now! You’re so upset because I was with him!” “I’m upset that you’re pretending to not know me anymore!” “It’s doubled because of him!” “So what?” Sokka turns it around suddenly, taking a step forward with a sudden surge of confidence. “Huh? So what if I was upset? I have a right to be! You start avoiding me, and then I go out for a walk to clear my head, and I find you all buddy-buddy with some random guy all alone at night, and what am I supposed to think of that, huh?”

You gape at him, but it’s obvious that he’s not done.

“The only thing I can think is that you’ve found a new guy to replace me or something, either as a friend or—or something more, and I haven’t even been able to have an actual conversation with just you in a week and here you are just all over this guy like he’s the best thing you’ve ever seen and—ugh!”

A hand flies up to dig his fingers into his scalp. “Whatever. Whatever. Forget it. It’s stupid.”

His incoherent mumbles and pacing that leads him away from you snap you out of your stupor. “Wait. Wait! Sokka, hold on!”

Sokka stops, slowly turning around to face you.

“It’s…it’s not stupid. It’s not. I’m sorry. I’m the stupid one. I don’t know why I avoided you like that for so long. I should have just been straight up with you and done things like an adult. I’m sorry for making you feel like I was casting you aside or seeing someone else or anything along those lines. Really.”

The two of you are standing face to face, yours angled slightly upwards to meet his eyes. Sokka’s fists clench and unclench. Silence suffocates you until he closes his eyes and breathes out.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize or anything. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and accusing you without just asking first.”

“I guess I still have some growing up to do.” You scratch the back of your neck sheepishly.

“I think we all do.” Sokka replies. “But that’s the fun of it.”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes.”

When you fall silent, it’s much less awkward this time. Still, you know that it’s not the end of your conversation.

“So…you were jealous.” You bring up again.

“Are you going to let that go anytime soon?”

“I’ll think about it.” You smile, but that’s not the reason you brought it up. “Why?”

“Why? Maybe because you were talking to a guy I didn’t know. Alone.”

“You called him handsome.”

“He kind of is. Alright, how was I supposed to feel seeing you talking to a handsome guy I don’t know all alone?”

“The others wouldn’t have reacted the same way.”

Sokka huffs. “No. They wouldn’t.”

“It’s different, then.”

“Yeah, it’s different with you. It’s always different with you.”

You stare at him with wide eyes. Sokka meets them for a moment, then grows flustered and turns away.

“I…I do like you, okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?” He mumbles.

“Like me? Or…like like.”

A quick hesitance. “The second one.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah, huh.”

So…Aang was right. It takes a moment for your brain to catch up, but once it does, it becomes a complete mess. Your body performs about a hundred actions at once, including overheating, fidgeting fingers, rapid blinks, and nervous twitches.

“Are you going to say anything, or are you going to leave me hanging?” Sokka asks, his own nervousness concealed under a confident demeanor that you’ve long since been able to see through.

You nod, your lips parting. Here it is. This is your chance to say something, to tell him how you feel, how you want more and how you—

“I love you.”

…

You did not mean to say that. It was true, it always had been, and your heart had known that, which is why it took over instead of your brain. But you were supposed to start off slow and sweet, not jump straight into it.

Before you can even apologize for the way it made both of you freeze, Sokka’s lips parting in shock and yours quivering as if unable to take the recoil of the confession, he moves.

In an instant, his hands fly up to cup both sides of your face, his thumbs resting on your cheeks as he pulls you up to meet him halfway.

His lips are slightly chapped, contributing to a vague rough feeling that’s drowned out by the overall gentleness that comes with the kiss. It’s a simple press of lips to lips, his perfectly slotting in against yours. His hands stay firmly planted on your face, and your hands come up to rest on his chest in turn. You tilt your head slightly, but the moment you make a move, he snaps back.

His eyes are blown wide, a regretful expression on his face that scares you into believing that he’d realized that he didn’t actually like you or something. He backs up, his hands slowly falling from your face. “Crap. Sorry. Was that too soon? That was too soon. Sorry, I should have asked, I—”

You grab him by the collar of his shirt and tug him back down again. His hands shoot up, and then quickly find a place on your waist. In turn, you loop your arms around his neck. It’s not any more rushed than the last one. He’s savoring you with a gentleness you didn’t think you’d ever experience. He doesn’t push hard, just enough to make a imprint that you can’t easily get rid of.

This time, you pull back, making sure to keep your arms around him. His eyes flutter open and he looks at you. Differently. It’s fond, and while he’s looked at you like that before, there’s something so loving in the way his gaze softens that it practically turns you to mush.

“We could have done that a week ago.” He whispers to you.

“Guess we’ll have to make up for missed time.” You respond, reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek, lingering there for a moment longer than necessary.

“I like the sound of that.” Sokka smiles, dipping down to steal another kiss.

BONUS

“So…were you lying when you said you didn’t care I was out with Lee?” You ask as you walk back to the house, Sokka’s arm wrapped tightly around your side.

“Oh, yeah. I was lying straight through my teeth. I was going to cry and everything.” He grins back, swooping down and pressing a quick kiss to your head as you cross the threshold.

As you turn, you hear something shatter. You jump slightly, your head swiveling to find the source as Sokka pulls you back and his shoulders tense.

“You…you did it!” Aang cries, a shattered glass at his feet. He sounds suspiciously on the verge of tears. “I can’t believe it!”

“You didn’t believe in me?” You tease, relaxing as you rest your head on Sokka’s shoulder.

“Not at all.” Aang jokes back. “But hey, I’m happy for you. Even if nothing’s really changed”

He was right. The only thing different about you guys was that you could kiss him on the lips. Still, it’s not like you’d want it any other way.

“I’m happy, too.” You reply with a soft smile. Sokka beams, grabbing your chin and kissing you again.

You don’t think he’d get bored of that anytime soon.

You wouldn’t, either.