“Already gave you the time and the place, so, don’t be shy. Just come be the man I need. Tell me you got something to give I want it. I kind of like it when you call me wonderful.” —Olivia Dean
𖨠──··· ONESHOT ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ 🦋 ་༘࿐
╰┈➤Pairing: Sokka x reader
a/n: this was supposed to be so much shorter, but Sokka inspires me. // I MANAGE TO PUBLISH THIS TODAY, I genuinely lost faith that I would manage, but better late than never.
Summary: Hypothetically, you two are dating.
Contains: fluff, friends to lovers, hypothetical dating to something, the moon mentioned, soft Sokka, a lot of praise, yearning(I think), hurt/comfort
⤷ ゛ ᯓ★ ˎˊ˗ 𓏲ּ𝄢 . . . START NOW .ᐟ.ᐟ
Dating was always difficult. Meeting someone with intentions was always difficult. For some reason, there was a formula, not just a natural flow, which made it incredibly hard.
The problem was that if you pretended you weren't looking for it, the man of your dreams didn't seem to fall from the sky either.
At this point, you were determined to give up on love and become one of those kind ladies who tends to plants and gives wise advice to the younger generation.
It was an incredibly depressing thought when you were only twenty-five.
You slumped down on the chair in Sokka's workshop. By now, the seat was more yours than his; after all, Sokka was the type of person who concentrated better when standing. You were just there for decoration, keeping him company, so you used the chair he kept there just in case.
The dark-skinned man turned to look at you, raising an eyebrow.
"Was it that bad?" he asked.
"Worse." You muttered, covering your face wearily. "I give up."
You couldn't see it, but Sokka rolled his eyes and smiled mockingly. It wasn't the first time you'd said it, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
"What is it about this poor man that you didn't like?" Your friend asked, putting down his gadgets before turning to look at you.
Sokka crossed his arms and leaned back against the table, waiting for your response.
"He was late," you said, taking your hands away from your face to begin listing the things you didn't like about the man you'd just met. "He's... dry. He has absolutely no charm. The conversation didn’t seem to go anywhere, everything felt so... precise. It was awful! I had no idea if he actually wanted me there or if he'd rather be alone talking to himself. Because he seems to have quite a lot of conversation with himself!"
Sokka laughed at your exasperation, and you glared at him.
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," the boy said, making you groan in irritation.
The dark-haired man raised his hands in a gesture of apology and looked away, closing his eyes.
"Admit it, it’s kind of funny."
Of course he was funny; the story was always going to be more entertaining than the experience. Especially if it was being told with particular desperation, just like you were doing now.
"No. it’s not." You replied and let out a childish whine, causing him to burst out laughing this time. You were obviously making a fool of yourself, but you continued with your complaint anyway. "It's completely unfair. Are there no men here or what?"
"I'll take that personally." Your friend replied, and you made a face at him.
With exaggerated acting, Sokka put a hand to his chest, feigning pain as if you had just caused him enormous physical and emotional pain.
"Ouch, woman. Watch what you say to me."
You rolled your eyes, but you couldn't help it. You smiled. Sokka always managed to make you smile, even… when he was being a total idiot and complete idiot.
"You're such a clown." You muttered before getting up from your chair and stretching.
You were still wearing clothes you wore for the date. Because you were comfortable, tired, and besides, it was still early. You'd imagined you'd be out late, but no.
The worst part was that it was still early, you'd gotten ready to meet up with a guy who didn't even seem to enjoy your company, and you came back with another disappointment on your list.
"I'm going to make dinner," you announced casually.
It was the norm between you two. Eating together. You were usually the one who cooked, since you enjoyed it. Besides, between you and Sokka, you were the most reliable person there.
You were leaving the workshop when you heard him call your name.
"Weren't you supposed to be eating?" the young man asked when you turned around.
A grimace crossed your face as you remembered the man with whom you had wasted your time, makeup, and an amazing outfit. It had truly been a complete fiasco.
"After making me wait half an hour longer than agreed upon... he just kept talking and talking. When we finally started walking, I realized we weren't getting anywhere, and when I asked him where we were going, he said he was following me." You said without pausing. The mere memory was infuriating. Because it wasn't just about the time he'd wasted, or the makeup, or the outfit.
The thing was, you hadn't even wanted to go out with him in the first place, but he'd insisted so much that you finally agreed. After all, it couldn't hurt anyone, right? Well, it turned out it could, and that was what bothered you the most.
"Wait for me here," you heard Sokka say, and when you looked back, he was leaving the workshop.
"Where are you going?" you asked, curious.
"Just wait!" he called out.
You crossed your arms and frowned. What was it with men these days, and the need to make you wait?
The truth was, you were very tempted to leave, but if you were able to wait for a complete stranger, waiting for Sokka wasn't going to be a big deal.
So instead, you sighed and decided to take a look around.
You knew the workshop almost like the back of your hand. You'd been there hundreds of times. You'd seen almost all of Sokka's creations. Those that were genuinely good ideas, those that were a sure thing, and those that never came to fruition.
You picked up one of the sketches on the wall and couldn't help but smile.
Although Sokka had improved his drawing skills considerably. At least now you could understand... more or less, what was happening in the image and the idea he wanted to convey.
Even so, they were still very ugly.
You continued looking at the sketches, finding some new ones and others that were simply there out of habit and which, by now, were practically part of the room's decor.
Then your eyes fell on a rather... peculiar drawing. Your brow furrowed; it didn't seem new. Judging by the state of the paper, you could tell it wasn't. The strange thing was that you hadn't noticed it before.
You stood on your tiptoes, since it was a little higher up, and picked up the drawing.
It was just as ugly as the others. It had obviously been drawn by him, but you couldn't help but smile. It was him and you. Smiling broadly (far from being humanly possible to smile like that), his hand seemed to be hovering over your shoulder, and your hair looked like it was on fire.
"He's ridiculous," you muttered with feeling.
Below, something was written on it. ‘My girl and I.’
"We can go." You heard his voice behind you and turned around with a mischievous smile, holding up the drawing. Sokka seemed surprised that you even had it in your hand. "What?"
"I'm your girl?" you asked teasingly, and he rolled his eyes as he approached.
"Don't be annoying," he replied, taking the drawing from your hands and placing it back where it belonged without much thought, as if he instinctively knew where it belonged.
"How long has that been there?" you asked curiously. "I've never seen it before."
He shrugged dismissively.
"A long time," he answered simply. "Let's go."
Sokka sighed wearily before turning to look at you. You raised your hands in a gesture of apology.
"Okay. I'll ask fewer questions," you muttered.
"Thanks," he replied sarcastically.
A while later, you were eating at a restaurant serving traditional Southern Tribe food. It was a good place to eat, if you were honest, even though it was food you usually enjoyed and were perfectly capable of making.
You were eating quietly and without making any comments, just enjoying each other's company, when Sokka cleared his throat and leaned forward.
"We need to talk," he said.
You stopped paying attention to your food (partially) to look at him briefly.
He shrugged as if it were obvious before taking another spoonful of his food.
"The men you choose to date," he replied simply. "They're all terrible. Because you keep making the same mistakes."
You raised an eyebrow, and a small smile appeared on your face. Although you weren't exactly thrilled about where the conversation was going.
"Now it's my fault?" you questioned.
"So, they're bad, but it's my fault. I get it." You responded sarcastically and shook your head, deciding the conversation was over.
"Listen to me," he tried, but you didn't respond. So, true to form and undeterred, Sokka continued. "Today? You went out with a guy you didn't even want to go out with."
"You've done that before, too."
"Of course not," you complained.
The dark-skinned man looked at you incredulously, and for a moment, that was all you did. Stare into each other's eyes, until you gave up.
You grunted in annoyance and put your spoon down on your half-eaten plate. It was official, you weren't hungry anymore.
And childishly, you crossed your arms and looked away.
If Sokka had qualities you hated, this was one of them. Because sometimes it was terribly inconvenient how well he knew you, and on top of that, he was incredibly obnoxious about it. He boasted about knowing you well, only to use it against you.
He sighed, but didn't take his eyes off you.
"Hypothetically. Let's pretend you and I are dating." The dark-skinned man began.
"This is off to a bad start," you muttered. "We're supposed to be solving my problem of dating guys I don't like."
"Shut up," he replied, and you smiled. "I'm asking you out, you finally said yes."
Your eyebrow lifted with curiosity.
"So you had to beg me in this scenario?" you asked teasingly, but he just smiled playfully.
"You never say yes the first time someone asks," he said, snapping his fingers intermittently. "You like a bit of excitement. A little drama."
"But in this scenario, you're not supposed to know me. How do you know I said no because I wanted you to chase me a little longer?" you asked, leaning forward with interest.
"You have telltale gestures," he replied simply.
You shook your head and tapped a finger on the table.
"But you don't know me here, Sokka. You have to act according to the context of the situation. If you don't know me, how do you know I'm interested and want you to ask me again?"
"And like I said, you have telltale gestures." You grunted in frustration, but you were pleased. "But! Listen, there's one in particular. It's very obvious, and it turns out I'm a very intelligent man."
"Don't push it," he said, pointing at you with his spoon, making you laugh and nod.
"Very well. I accept the date, what's next?"
"I'm taking you out to eat," he replied and makes a gesture like if he were showing the place. "You love to eat, I love to eat. We can talk, it's perfect."
"How do you know I like to eat?"
"Because before you accepted my date, I was paying attention."
You made a face, mocking what he'd just said. You crossed your arms again and leaned back in your chair.
"You were paying attention to what exactly?" you asked. "As far as I know, I enjoy food like a completely normal person."
"Actually, you don’t." He muttered, resting his chin on his hand. "Stop making things complicated."
"Where's the fun in that?"
As you asked, you tilted your head slightly to the side. You looked at him with a half-smile, and Sokka looked up, trying to suppress his own.
For a brief moment, you were alone with the silence. The other people in the restaurant and the food in front of you didn't matter. For a moment, it was just the two of you.
You felt a sensation against your chest. Which you decided to call a heart attack. Because you weren't going to accept, never in a million years, that your heart had just started racing, just because Sokka was looking at you.
You'd been friends for so many years. He'd looked at you hundreds of times, and you'd never, ever, felt anything like this.
Maybe because you'd never been in a situation where it mattered that he looked at you that way.
Maybe because you never allowed yourself to feel more and understand that... maybe, just maybe, there was something going on between you two.
However, in this case, it was a cramp. In your chest. You must have been dying or something.
Because the boy in front of you was Sokka. That ridiculous clown. There was nothing more to understand. Nothing to analyze. Because with him, everything had always been easy. There was no reason for it to be complicated now.
Almost simultaneously, they both looked in different directions and took a deep breath.
The dark-haired boy cleared his throat.
"So... continuing with my hypothetical scenario," he said, his voice a little hoarse and absentmindedly took a sip of his water.
"I think we've both had enough of hypothetical scenarios."
Sokka shook his head and made a disapproving sound as he sipped his water.
"Uh-uh," he finally said, placing the glass on the table. "We're dating. The case isn't over until the date is."
"Oh, this is a date now?" You raised an eyebrow, but your smile faltered. Your nerves were on edge. “An actual, matter of fact type of date?”
The topic was starting to get a little too sensitive for your liking, if you were honest, but you had no idea why.
It was Sokka, for the spirits sake.
If this bit was actually happening, then the last thing it was supposed to be was... weird. Right?
"So what are we going to do after lunch?" you asked, your arms still crossed, unconsciously pulling them a little closer to you.
The dark-haired boy raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't you plan anything? This date is mediocre, Sokka," you said playfully.
"Are you done?" he asked.
You'd said it so he'd drop the act and this would be over faster. Not to make him seem more determined to continue.
You glanced at the half-eaten soup, but the truth was you'd lost your appetite a while ago, and seeing it again didn't exactly whet your appetite.
"Good." He murmured, pulling out his wallet after calling the waiter.
"You look beautiful, y/n." He said, looking into your eyes.
That made you stop immediately, your breath escaping your lips. You were sure your hands were trembling, even though they were trapped under your arms.
Sokka cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.
"And it's a shame you're not enjoying a good night. So, I'll do you a favor and I’ll give the night you deserved." He said, now in a more playful and less serious tone.
You kicked him under the table, making him groan.
"If you keep this up, I'm not going to do anything," he complained under his breath.
"Why are you doing this, Sokka?"
The already very late waiter finally deigned to arrive. At, probably, the worst possible moment.
So you simply accepted it.
Tonight was going to be an... unconventional night with your best friend.
Because there was no way that today, of all days, what you thought was happening was actually happening.
As you left the restaurant, you glanced at him out of the corner of your eye with slight suspicion. The truth was, you were curious about where this was going.
At the same time, you were completely terrified of whatever this could mean. And also of what it couldn't mean.
It was as if a door had just opened and refused to close again. It was so... annoying.
"Where are you taking me?"
Part of you felt relieved.
On the other hand, you were very disappointed.
"You dragged me out of the restaurant to take me home? I can't even win in your hypothetical scenarios, Sokka," you said playfully.
"I'll walk you right to your doorstep, because I'm a gentleman," he replied with exaggerated acting, a hand on his chest.
You snorted in disbelief.
"We live together, Sokka. Obviously, you're going to take me home," you answered.
"Just go along with it. The point is for you to have a good time tonight," he said gently, and you laughed.
Before you could even dream of arriving home, you passed countless shops. Which meant that while you were talking, Sokka had distracted you enough that you didn't notice which direction he was taking you.
Which, truthfully, was another one of his very annoying qualities. That innate ability to distract you and turn the worst days into the most memorable.
Sometimes you hated him so much.
You hated him to the point that loving him hurt.
You hated him so much because lying was always going to be easier than telling the truth. A truth that had been hidden for years beneath lies, and tonight, it decided to emerge from the shadows and attack every nerve in your being.
When all of this will probably be forgotten... tomorrow.
Well, him. Because you were sure that after tonight you'd be left with a bigger problem than a simple date gone wrong.
But for now, you enjoyed it.
"Do you want them?" the dark-skinned man asked.
You'd been staring at the earrings for a while. You had to admit they were beautiful, although you probably wouldn't wear them much. Maybe twice before you got bored.
You weren't much of a fan of material things. Everything bored you to a certain extent.
"They're very pretty," you said, glancing at him.
Simply, he signaled to the woman to hand you the accessories while he took out his wallet again.
"You really don't have to do it. You know how I am, it'll be a waste of money. It's completely unnecessary."
"Do you want them?" He looked at you, holding the money.
The truth is, you did want them, but you could perfectly well live without them!
Sokka took that silence as a yes and paid for them.
"Do you want to wear them?" he asked, smiling. "They'll look good with what you're wearing."
"I already have earrings on," you murmured.
And yet, you handed the new pair of earrings to the dark-haired man. When he took them, you started taking off the ones you were already wearing.
You glanced at the woman, who was smiling sweetly.
"You two are a beautiful couple," she said. "You remind me of my husband and me when we were young."
That made you stop completely. Judging by his lack of reaction, Sokka was just as surprised as you were, and understandably so.
Not only you two weren’t together, but tonight was complicated enough without ladies adding fuel to the fire with their sweet comments about adorable couples.
Because above all else, it softened your heart and made you feel more than was appropriate. Imagine more than what was wise.
And the door was getting harder and harder to close. With feelings you’ve kept hidden for so long.
You glanced at Sokka when you heard him laugh.
The moonlight looked beautiful reflected on him. As if she loved him too, or rather... as if she still did.
"Sokka." You called him softly, and he turned to look at you. "I want to go home."
The man looked into your eyes for a moment, and then he nodded.
You didn't even get to try on the earrings, but truth be told, that was the least of your worries tonight.
The walk home was silent.
Not like the silence you shared in the restaurant. In that silence, you seemed to understand each other. To know something about one another. A secret you refused to speak aloud.
When you two finally arrived, you paused at the door and you thought that at that moment you would be able to talk, but that didn't happen.
Sokka, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he had gone too far. Maybe you weren't ready for any of this, and he just... assumed that maybe you were.
But the truth was, he could no longer live with those feelings buried deep in his chest.
He hated every time you went out with someone, and a part of him(the most selfish part of him when it came to you), couldn't help but feel glad when you came back and said it hadn't worked out.
Even so, it still hurt to see you arrive disappointed. Because Sokka wasn't capable of feeling happy when you were upset. Not even when it meant you two still had time to...
He didn't even know if you were in love with him.
Finally, you two entered the house, and the silence became increasingly more difficult to ignore. Heavier. More present. Louder.
You turned to look at him, hesitant.
He returned the earrings to you.
But when your hands touched, it was as if your bodies already understood something you weren't daring to say.
"Thank you for the night," you murmured as you took the gift.
He wasn't able to think. The action was faster than his reasoning. He was aware of it after he had said it.
"I think I'm in love with you," he murmured.
Your eyes widened, and the air escaped your lips. You had beautiful lips. Ones he wished to kiss, sometimes. When the feelings were heavier. Harder. Louder.
"...y-you think?" you murmured.
"I think I have been for a long time," he replied, still using the same low tone.
"Sokka..." you started, and shook your head. You even stepped back, and he could feel it. The rejection came right before you reached him, but he wasn't able to tell you to stop.
Even when you were about to break his heart.
"Don't you think it's just because of how the night feels? Like… the context we’re in right now." you asked instead, and then you bit your lower lip.
"I'm in love with you, y/n." He corrected himself. "And I've been for so long that... I don't even know what it was like when I wasn’t.”
"I-I..." your voice trembled.
Sokka shook his head and carefully approached you before placing both hands on your shoulders.
"It's okay if you don't feel the same way."
"Don't speak for me, Sokka," you said.
"I don't want to make it harder for you. Besides, we're both tired. Let's just go to sleep and talk tomorrow, okay?"
Then, without waiting another second, your voice rose with a hint of annoyance.
"I'm in love with you too," you said.
That made him back away in confusion. His brow furrowed, and he shook his head.
"You don't have to do this, y/n," he replied.
You approached him carefully. Your face was full of vulnerability, as if it were the first time you'd truly dared to see him with your face bare and nothing to hide.
"I've been in love with you for a long time, Sokka. But all this time I've been telling myself I wasn't and refusing to open the box where I kept the feelings I have for you," you said sincerely, and he felt his heart race. "And if it's not too late, I'd like to do it now," you murmured.
Sokka was speechless, to be honest.
The truth was, this was far from the night he had planned after you returned from your date.
The plan was simply to take you out to eat and tell you how beautiful you looked. You deserved to be told that you looked like if the moon had kissed you and decided to share her beauty with you.
It was so much, and at the same time, everything he had waited for for so long.
"Hypothetically, how would you have ended this date?" you murmured.
His eyebrows rose in surprise, and he considered it briefly. Though he also thought it was completely inappropriate to say that.
"With a goodnight kiss," he replied in the same tone as before.
And you smiled with your eyes closed, your head tilted to one side.
Despite the darkness, a few slivers of moonlight reached your face and they embraced it as if they loved you, almost as if they appreciated you, or rather... as if she wanted to be you.
Sokka couldn't bring himself to kiss your lips, even though it was what he most desired at that moment.
However, he kissed your forehead tenderly, and when he looked at you again, he knew he had made the right decision. Because you didn't seem confused, and you didn't look upset either.
When he looked you. You didn’t only look beautiful. You looked... happy and that made him happy too.
⤷ ゛ ᯓ★ ˎˊ˗ 𓏲ּ𝄢 . . . THE END.ᐟ.ᐟ
© N E S K I • 2026 — any reposts or translations of my works are strictly prohibited unless granted permission. Do not feed my work into any AI programs.
