#jealousy

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.

It's a quiet jealousy, one that doesn't slam doors or yell or make scenes. It’s the kind that sits politely in your stomach during movie nights, acid-sour, when Nancy sits just a little too close to Steve.

It’s the kind that makes your throat close when she calls, and Steve’s voice slips into that easy, soft murmur that speaks of years of shared history that you're not a part of.

The secret has roots.

They dig deep, fed by hundreds of small moments. It's the way Nancy can ask him for help with a single, quiet look—research, a ride, a favor for one of the kids—and Steve will just go. No questions, no hesitations.

It's the shared glance across a crowded room that says remember that time? and you’re left blinking, outside the joke.

It’s the way she says his name, just “Steve,” and it carries a weight, a familiarity that makes your own “Steve” feel like you’re borrowing it.

Your breaking point is deceptively small.

It’s Steve’s laugh.

Not the one he gives you—that's a private, husky thing, breathed into the skin of your neck. Not the one he gives Robin or Dustin—that's a bark of a laugh, full of exasperated affection.

It's his Nancy-laugh.

It's a lazy Sunday at the WSQK. The kids are... somewhere. Around, you guess, it's the kind of day where nothing's really happening.

You're sitting on the floor in a patch of sun, fiddling with a loose thread on the rug. Steve's sprawled on the couch behind you, one hand dangling off the side, his fingers brushing your hair every so often.

He’s talking to you. His voice is a low, warm rumble against your head, telling you about his parents’ new, ridiculously small dog and how it tried to fight the vacuum cleaner.

“...And it’s like, this high,” he says, lifting a hand from your shoulder to gesture, his knuckles brushing your cheek. “A puff of angry lint with teeth. You should’ve seen it.”

You laugh. It’s a real laugh, easy and light.

You tilt your head back to look up at him, and he’s already looking down, a soft, smug smile on his face because he made you laugh. For a second, it’s perfect. The sun through the high windows, the quiet, him.

You're a warm, happy puddle.

The bell over the door jingles. Neither of you pull apart. You’re too comfortable.

"Hey," Nancy says. Not to you, really, to Steve. But you offer her a tentative smile anyways, just in case.

"Hey, Nance," Steve says, and his voice doesn’t change, not exactly. But the arm around your shoulders becomes just an arm. The focus that was solely on you diffuses, part of it shifting to her. The sun dims, just a degree.

You start playing with the loose thread of the rug so you don't have to watch them talk.

She leans against the counter, craning her head to look into the the backroom where Mike and the others are playing D&D. "I'm here for the gremlin. Are they done or what?"

Steve shakes his head. "They're in the final showdown. Dustin says the fate of the realm hangs in the balance. Or, you know, until someone's mom calls."

Nancy sighs, a sound of deep, practiced patience. "The realm's been hanging in the balance every Sunday for three years." She glances at Steve. "You owe me five dollars, by the way."

Steve's brow furrows. "For what?"

"The bet. Summer of '85," she says, her voice almost wistful. "You said they'd grow out of it by the time Will started high school. I said they'd still be at it when Mike could drive." She raises an eyebrow. "He got his license last month."

He grins. "Alright, fine. You win. I guess I should've known."

"Should've," she agrees, mirroring his smile. "I remember your exact logic. You said, and I quote, 'Once Will gets a girlfriend, this whole thing falls apart.'"

Steve barks out a laugh. “Oh my god, I did say that.”

“You did,” Nancy confirms, her own smile widening into something conspiratorial. “So. Not only did you lose the bet, your entire theory was fundamentally flawed.” She pauses, her head tilting just a fraction. Her voice is dry, amused “Because, I mean, Steve. Will? Getting a girlfriend?”

And then it happens.

Steve’s laugh.

His Nancy-laugh. The one that makes his whole face light up. You watch it happen in slow motion, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes, the way his head tilts back just so, the easy, open-mouthed smile that’s completely unguarded.

The sound fills the quiet room, and for those few seconds, you don’t exist. You are a ghost in the sunbeam, watching the living.

The thread snaps in your hands.

The sound is tiny, but it's enough. Steve's laugh dies, and his attention swings back to you. "Everything okay, sweetheart?"

His voice is gentle, concerned. It's the voice he uses for fragile things. For a second, you hate it.

You stand up abruptly, and the arm that was around your shoulders drops. Steve looks confused. "Yeah. Just remembered I told my mom I'd help with dinner."

Before you can even take a full step toward the door, Steve is on his feet. The movement is quick, almost urgent.

"Whoa, hey, hold on," he says, his hand gently catching your wrist. His earlier amusement is gone, replaced by a look of soft, aching concern. "I'll drive you."

His other hand comes up to brush your hair from your face, a gesture that would normally make you melt. Now, it just feels like he's trying to smooth over a crack he doesn't understand. "You sure you're okay? You got real quiet all of a sudden."

You can't look at him. You can't look at Nancy, who you feel watching this unfold with that quiet gaze of hers.

"I'm fine," you murmur quietly. "Just a headache. I'll walk home."

"No way," he insists, his voice firm but gentle. He's already grabbing his keys from the counter, his jacket from the back of the couch. He's in full Steve Harrington Babysitter Mode now, the mode that fixes problems and drives people home.

The mode that's a substitute for understanding.

"C'mon. I'm dropping you off. End of discussion." He throws a glance at Nancy. "See ya, Nance."

"Bye, Steve."

The silence in the car is a thick, heavy blanket. He keeps glancing at you as he drives, his brow furrowed.

"You wanna tell me what's really going on?" he asks softly, after a full minute of quiet. "Did I... did I do something?"

The ugly thing in your chest twists.

“You laughed,” you say, the words so quiet they’re almost swallowed by the rumble of the engine.

He glances over, confusion etching deeper lines on his forehead. “What?”

“You laughed with her.” You finally turn your head from the window to look at him. The streetlights wash over his profile in intervals—light, then shadow, then light again. “You have a different laugh for her.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it. The confusion doesn’t clear. If anything, it deepens. “What, with Nance? ...Sweetheart, it was a joke about a bet."

"It's not about the joke," you whisper, hurt welling up in your chest. "Or the bet. I don't care about that. It was the sound."

You don't even realise you've started crying until you realise Steve's pulled the car over to the curb a block from your house. He turns fully in his seat to face you. “What sound?”

“Your laugh,” you say, your voice breaking. “You have one for me. And one for Robin, and one for Dustin. But the one you have for her… it’s real. It’s the you that existed before I ever showed up. And I can’t ever get to that part of you, because she was there first, and I’m just… I’m just the one who gets what’s left over after you’re done being real with her, and it sucks!"

Steve stares at you. For a long, terrible moment, he says nothing. The confusion on his face slowly melts away, replaced by something so sad it steals your breath.

“Oh, baby,” he breathes, the words full of heartache. “No. No, no, no.”

He reaches out, his hands cradling your face, his thumbs brushing away your tears.

“Okay,” he says, his voice low and a little rough. “Okay, listen. Let’s… let’s talk about this.” He takes a deep breath, but his thumbs keep stroking your cheeks, a gentle, constant motion.

“That laugh,” he starts, his eyes searching yours. “The one you heard back there. You wanna know what that was? That was me being a total dipshit. A clueless idiot. And it’s the sound of Nancy Wheeler being right and me being a thousand percent wrong about something that was right in front of my face the whole time.”

He gives a little, helpless shrug, his eyes never leaving yours. "She gets that laugh. But you... you get the me that's trying not to be dumb anymore. You get the guy who has to think about what he says before he says it, 'cause it matters so much more with you."

Your breath hitches, a little, but he's not done. "The laugh I have for you... it's quieter 'cause I'm holding my breath half the time. 'Cause I still can't believe you're here. With me."

Steve tugs your head closer, just enough so he can press a kiss to the top of your head. "I'm sorry," he murmurs into your hair. "I'm so sorry I made you feel second to a... to a memory of me being a jerk. You're first. You're always first."

He inhales sharply. "I'm yours, okay? You get me. The real me, the one who's terrified of screwing this up with you."

A wet, shaky laugh finally escapes you. "You're not screwing it up."

He pulls back, just enough to look at you. A slow, wobbly smile touches his lips. "Yeah? Good. 'Cause I was gonna have to, like, write you a whole speech or something. I'm not good at speeches."

"You're doing okay," you whisper.

Steve lets out a breath that's half a sigh, half a laugh—his your laugh. "Okay." He brushes a final tear from your cheek. "C'mon. Lemme walk you to your door. Gotta make sure you get inside safe. Rule number one."

He gets out, comes around, and opens your door. His hand finds yours, his fingers lacing through yours automatically, like they were made to fit there. The walk to your porch is quiet, but it's a different quiet. Softer.

At your door, he squeezes your hand. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay? First thing. We'll... I dunno. Get ice cream or something. Something that's just us."

He waits until you're inside, the lock clicking behind you. Through the window, you watch him walk back to his car, his hands shoved in his pockets. He doesn't drive away until your bedroom light flickers on.