It starts innocuously. Of course it does.
Iroh challenges Sokka to a game of Pai-Sho. “Indulge an old man,” he says. Sokka’s many things but he’s not, like, a complete fucking asshole, so he accepts. Besides, Pai-Sho sounds interesting.
Iroh proceeds to wipe the floor with him over and over. “It is a matter of experience,” he says, even as he moves a tile and neatly wins another game. “I have simply done this longer. But you are an excellent player yourself.”
“You beat me in two moves last time,” Sokka mutters. “Two moves.”
“Ah, but the game before that had me on the ropes. You have a keen mind and a good eye.” Iroh looks around. “Much better than my nephew,” he whispers with a wink. Sokka looks at him, an idea popping into his head.
“Zuko!” Sokka calls, and Zuko whips around, startled. “What? Is something wrong?”
“Yes!” Sokka screeches. “It’s an emergency!” Zuko nods. “Lead the way.” Sokka grabs him by the hand and drags him to his room, and flings the door open. “There,” he points, and Zuko follows his finger to the Pai-Sho board set up on his desk. “Sokka,” he says, slowly. “What is this?”
“You have to play Pai-Sho with me. Now!” Zuko looks at him, expression a complicated mixture of shock and confusion and anger. “This is the emergency?”
“Sokka,” Zuko says, teeth gritted. “I have things to do. I don’t have time for Pai-Sho. You can ask my uncle, he loves Pai-Sho.”
“You don’t understand, Zuko, I have to play with you! I’ve already played with your uncle, and… well…” Zuko’s expression shifts to one of sympathy, but only for a second. “I still can’t help you, Sokka. I’m really busy. Why not ask Aang?”
“Aang’s busy too.” Too busy mooning over his sister, Sokka doesn’t say. He loves them both, but they’re just so… oogie!
“She told me to fuck off.”
“She’s with her Kyoshi warriors. I don’t want to disturb her.”
Sokka sighs. It’s time to bring out the big guns.
“Pleeeeease?” Sokka opens his eyes wide, jutting his lip out. Zuko stares at him. “Sokka, I-“
To his credit, Zuko lasts one second longer than the last time before he folds like a piece of paper.
The game starts, and Zuko keeps it up for all of twenty seconds before he loses spectacularly. So quickly and thoroughly that Sokka suspects it’s intentional. “Oh well,” Zuko says. “I lost. I’m going now.”
“What? No! You- you did that on purpose!”
Zuko smirks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sokka sighs, crossing his arms sullenly. “I mean, I guess Iroh did say you were bad at it, but not by this much.” That makes Zuko pause in the act of standing up to leave. “Uncle said that?” Sokka blinks at him, a light going off in his head. “Yeeeaaah,” he drawls. “He did say that. I guess he was right, huh?”
Zuko looks at him, and Sokka can see a battle in his eyes. His pretty, golden eyes-
‘What the fuck was that?’ Sokka wonders, but his thoughts are interrupted by the scrape of the chair as Zuko sits back down. “I can play one more game,” Zuko says, and Sokka cracks his knuckles. “Prepare to be destroyed again!”
Zuko wins, and it is not close.
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