The house was almost too quiet without Sokka and Varrick around. Zuko first noticed it at lunch, when without the two of them, the meal is mostly silent. Dinner was even worse. It turned out he wasn't the only one who had gotten used to Varrick happily chattering away or Sokka telling a story over the meal. He set out too much food, used to the extra mouths and Sokka's enormous appetite.
Mostly, that first day he tried not to think too much about the way that Sokka doesn't text back after he responded to his message letting him know that he'd arrived.
When he lay in his too empty bed that night (had it always seemed so large before? With simply too much space?) he had to force himself to turn off his brain and stop thinking about Sokka long enough to get some sleep. It didn't exactly work how he wanted it to though because -Sokka's pillows- no, the pillows that Sokka had been using, smelled like him still and the scent was both too much for him and not enough. So, he'd picked up his phone hoping to distract himself and that was when he realized that Sokka had texted him.
His heart leapt to his chest when his eyes landed on the notification and he'd quickly swiped it open. It was a casual message, speaking about the food that he'd eaten but the fact that he'd texted Zuko at all seemed like a good sign.
So he'd texted him back, you would overeat just because the food was there .
Another message didn't come that night but Sokka texted him some the next day. It was casual and easy, nothing too deep or emotional but it was still contact and trading the texts put Zuko in a good mood.
The meals that day were still filled with small conversations that Izumi doesn't take part in. Zuko could tell she was missing having Varrick around by the way that she glanced toward his chair every now and again. It made Zuko's heart hurt to see that he wasn't the only one who would have to adjust to life without the Qaqqaq family.
Not wanting to stay at home longer than needed to, he called his travel agent to ask to change their flight to the next day. Uncle wouldn't mind them staying for a bit longer and Izumi doesn't have any plans before they're set to leave.
It cost way too much to switch the tickets but it was a small price to pay because when he told Izumi that they'll be leaving on Monday like Piandao she actually smiled.
"Guess I can't put off packing any longer," she noted and pulled her suitcase out of the closet to start filling it.
"Let me know if there is anything you need before tomorrow and I'll go out to get it."
"Sure thing, dad."
As Sokka had been texting him on and off throughout the day, Zuko let him know that he'd be traveling tomorrow and won't be around much.
Wasn't your flight supposed to be like Wednesday? Sokka texted back quickly.
Decided to get in some extra time away .
Rich people really will just pay out the nose for things, huh? lol
Zuko didn't know how to answer that because he'd rarely thought about his spending habits for most things. Sure, even he had to admit that paying an additional $700 per person was a bit much but he didn't care. He wanted to see his uncle and he wanted to be out of the house that seemed too big and empty.
He'd went through several iterations of a response (some mentioned how the house seemed wrong without him and Varrick but that seemed too strong, one came off way too defensive of his rights to spend his money as he wanted, several just seemed too awkward to even consider actually sending) before he settled on, it was worth it for more time with Uncle.
Sokka didn't text back for several hours after that and Zuko worried that his tone came off a bad way through text. But he tried to remind himself that Sokka is probably catching up with family. He said that they were close and he probably didn't want to be glued to his phone the whole time that he was visiting.
That evening though he got a text that read, wow that's actually super cute ❤️
And Zuko felt his anxiety be replaced by a pleasant happiness. He thought about Sokka the whole time he packed his suitcase for Japan and the kind of future that might someday come to pass if he's lucky. If things aren't wrecked forever.
Maybe someday the two of them could go together to see his Uncle in Japan and spend New Years Eve together. Maybe someday he could go with him and Varrick and meet his family up in Nunavik.
He didn't want to let his imagination run away from him though, so he reigned himself in as much as possible. After all, he didn't know what was going to happen after his trip.
As Piandao did not have a direct flight, he had to leave for the airport before Zuko and Izumi did to catch his connection in Toronto.
That morning the the Sozin family, including Azula who showed up at an unholy hour, had one last breakfast with Piandao before they said their goodbyes.
"It was a pleasure to work with you," Azula told Piandao with a firm handshake and a smile.
"And with you, Ms Sozin," Piandao answered with a smile back. "I wish you all the best with your future endeavours, though I'm sure that we will cross paths again before this deal is officially settled."
"I hope so." Azula sounded genuine in a way that probably only Zuko and Izumi could tell.
"Izumi, thank you for allowing me into your home. I know that it probably wasn't easy for you to have a house guest for so long, so I want to commend you for your hospitality," Piandao said graciously.
There had been a touch of surprise in her eyes when she gave a warm smile back. It wasn't often that people in the business world considered how their relationships effected the teen and she hadn't expected anyone to notice how much of her life had been thrown upside down by his introduction. "You're welcome," she answered. "Have a safe trip home."
"I will do what I can," he assured her before he turned to Zuko. "Mr. Sozin-"
After everything that they'd been through, it seemed that was far too formal a way to be addressed and so Zuko corrected him. "Zuko."
"Zuko," Pinadao corrected himself with some amusement. "Thank you again for hosting me and for showing me around your beautiful city. I've greatly enjoyed my time here and I hope that we might keep in contact after all of this is finished."
After all the lying and the awkward situations that Piandao had been put into, Zuko was surprised that the man wanted anything to do with him again. Sokka he could understand, because Sokka was brilliant and he and Piandao got on like a house fire. The two of them had much in common and were clearly going to be a great team working together at the company that Piandao was soon to take ownership over.
"Of course. I'd like that." He answered despite his surprise.
The doorbell rang, alerting them to the arrival of the car that had been ordered. Zuko walked Piandao to the door, taking his luggage in his hand. Once the door was open the driver had promptly taken the luggage as Piandao got his shoes and coat on.
"And Zuko," Piandao spoke up before he exited. "Things with Sokka will work out. I'm confident of it."
Truthfully, it was a bit embarrassing to get any sort of advice or mention of his love life from the man that he'd lied about it to but then.. He was one of the only people who had seen the way that he and Sokka had interacted together for the duration of their relationship (?) so perhaps he was right to speak on it.
"Thank you." He hoped that he was right about that. "Have a safe trip."
Katara cornered Sokka to talk about Zuko two days after he'd arrived. Truthfully, Sokka was impressed with himself that he'd managed to get himself off the hook for so long. He'd known that the day was coming at one point and since Varrick was at Yue's parents house for another night, he should have seen it coming when Katara invited him over to her place.
By accepting the invitation he'd known what was on the table but he'd also known there was no stopping Katara when she was set on something, and well, he liked Katara's house. It was tidy but homey. Pictures of her with Aang and the kids littered the walls with photos of Aang's guardian and Sokka and Katara's family mixed in. There was a photo from his wedding to Yue displayed that made his heart ache in the best way looking at it. Blankets made by both Gran Gran and Katara were slung along the back of the couch and there were pieces of traditional art here and there.
"I wanted to talk to you more about Zuko," she said as she set down tea mugs and a plate of maktaaq onto the coffee table in front of the couch that he immediately gravitated toward. "Aang says that I might not have been open minded enough when you brought him up."
He raised an eyebrow at his younger sister as he chewed on a piece of maktaaq. "You think?"
"Ew, don't talk with food in your mouth," Katara wrinkled her nose, immediately onto mothering him. "I just.. I know that you're a grown up and you're free to date whoever you want. I know that but you're so far away most of the year and I still want to protect you from getting hurt but it's hard to do so up here."
"I know that," he assured her. "And I appreciate it, I do. But, like you said, I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself."
"I know that you can," she insisted. "It's just difficult, not being around and being involved. And there's a weird power dynamic if you're getting involved with your boss. I don't want him to take advantage of you."
Sokka thought of Zuko and tried to imagine him doing anything that would warrant the way that Katara was thinking. It didn't seem possible. The only thing that had happened was due to his oversight and it wasn't like it could ever happen again. "He won't be my boss for much longer."
Katara fixed her no-nonsense glare at him. "You know what I mean."
Luckily, the few days that he'd had to think more about this had allowed him to get his own thoughts together better as to what he actually thought about Zuko and the future. The problems that they'd gone through were not enough to dissuade him as to wanting to try again. He liked the other man enough that he was willing to get a relationship a shot as long as Zuko was.
"Yeah, I do." He took a drink out of the mug of tea that had been provided. "Zuko's a really good guy, Kat. I'm- I want things to work out with him. He's just… he's intelligent and sometimes funny and he loves his daughter so much and melts around Varrick and when we're together I feel happy and the loneliness goes away."
After Yue had died he wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to the feeling of loneliness that came from her absence. Like he'd been playing on a team and suddenly was pushed into being a solo player without any warning. So often he had to overcome the urge to pass and share with his teammate that was no longer there.
The days had allowed him to be part of a team again and the feeling had been amazing.
"Not that- I mean, he doesn't replace Yue and he's not trying to either," he hastened to add. "Just that, I don't know, it seems like there's someone I want around. Someone I could see sharing the same sorts of things with. Sharing Varrick with."
Katara's gaze had softened more as he spoke, reaching out and taking a hand in her own. "That's good. I don't want you to be lonely. You deserve to be happy, Sokka. And if he makes you happy I'll try and be supportive for you. Even though I've never met the man before."
"I think it's a little early to be bringing him around to meet the entire family," Sokka answered with a bit of a teasing smile. "Besides, I don't exactly know, uh, what we are? We're not technically dating or anything."
"You're not- you got all defensive over this guy you aren't even dating yet?"
"Well, if you can imagine, the situation is a bit complicated." He was not going to spill about the whole job scare thing because he didn't want Katara to be staunchly anti-Zuko forever. That was the sort of information that could come out much later into the relationship after she'd already given her stamp of approval. "I really like him but also I've been pretending to be married to him and so.. It seems like we've done things a bit backward in terms of a relationship."
She gave him a look that said she thought he was a total idiot. "This is what happens when I'm not around. You go and get yourself into situations like this."
"Anyway, we were planning on sorting all of that out once we get back to Montreal. So I have time to figure it all out."
He'd need it because he wasn't sure how to broach the subject. A few drafts of his inventiable speech would likely be needed.
"Have you thought about what happens if the two of you don't work out? It seems like Varrick is already pretty attached to him."
"And his daughter, Izumi," Sokka pointed out with a bit of a sigh. He wanted to think that if they went forward with a romantic relationship that no matter what happened he'd be able to be adult enough to like Varrick continue to have people in his life whom he'd clearly grown to care about but he knew that realistically things like that were much easier said than done. "I'll cross that bridge if I need to. Whether or not anything romantic happens between the two of us, I've accepted that Zuko and Izumi are just going to have to be part of my life for the long haul."
Katara didn't look relieved by his answer. "Are you sure that's for the best? I mean.. have you thought about maybe just cutting your losses and letting Varrick have some space to forget them?"
"I considered it," he answered honestly. "But I don't want to. He's happy, Tara. Izumi adores him and he adores her. They're both only children and it seems like they really took to one another. There's no harm in letting that continue."
"Especially since you put Varrick into that position in the first place," she pointed out.
"Thank you," he said coolly.
She raised a hand in defense. "I'm just saying."
He bit back a retort, not wanting to fight with his sister over something that had already happened. What was done was done and he knew Varrick better than she did. As much as he valued her opinion and her input, ultimately he was the one who was raising his son and he had to trust his own instincts and do what he believed was best for him. It was something that he'd learned early on in parenting, that not everyone would agree with all of his choices but the most important thing was always to take care of his child.
"You know, Varrick put on a little presentation to everyone about our culture recently," he said. "He was so excited to do it. I'm sure that while we are here he can put it on again."
Katara lit up at this, her pride in her nephew shining through. Just as he'd known it would. "Really?"
"Yeah, I think he'd love to have a new audience."
"We can set it up. I'd love to hear what he has to say," she said with a smile. THe tension present before slipping away. "Oh and Aang will be thrilled. You know how great an audience he is for these things."
Sokka laughed, happy to be onto lighter topics. "Yeah, he's ideal."
As was typical, by the time that Zuko and Izumi arrived into Narita they were both feeling the effects of the jetlag. Even with a lay flat seat that would be perfect for sleeping, neither of them managed to get any sleep at all. Which meant that by the time that the 13 hour flight was landed, they were running past what they typically stayed up toward and faced with the clocks telling them it was only 3 hours later than they'd left but a whole day later.
In short, they were each fucked up and not much in the mood to do anything, much less catch a connecting flight but they had to do so anyway. The silence between the two of them was typical and although that flight was much shorter each of them were nodding off during it.
At least when they landed in Kyoto, Uncle was waiting for them right outside of baggage claim.
"Ah, there they are," he said with a grin, pulling each of them into a large hug. He could tell how tired they were so he knew better than to push them. "I'm so happy to see you here safe and sound. Now, let's get you back to my house. I can tell the both of you are long overdue for a good cup of tea and then I'll send you to bed."
"Thank you, Uncle," Zuko offered a weak smile, mostly trying to keep his eyes from falling closed.
When Izumi had been younger at this stage she would have been sleeping and he would have had to carry her through the airport out to the car. Now she was just sort of sleepily trudging along with them.
As promised, they got back to Iroh's home and he presented them both with a warm mug of tea and sent them to bed.
Before he pulled in his phone to charge, Zuko remembered to send a text to Sokka to let him know that he'd arrived safely.
It was early when Zuko woke the next morning, but not too much earlier than his usual waking time. He felt well rested and knew that he'd probably slept like the dead for the entirety of the night as he could barely remember laying his head down the night before.
His phone indicated that he had a new text and he opened it to see that Sokka had texted back to tell him to enjoy Japan. He sent back a quick assurance that he would before getting showered and ready for the day.
Despite the early hour Uncle was already awake, seated in his meditation pose in the living room. He looked up as soon as Zuko walked in. "Ah, nephew, you look well rested."
"I am, thank you."
"Excellent. Come, mediate with me and then I'll make us some tea to catch up over."
Long ago Zuko had learned it was best to just go along with his uncle's ideas. Besides, mediation was something that he'd come to enjoy more and more the older that he got. So, he walked over and took a seat next to the older man and allowed himself to fall into the familiar breathing patterns for a time.
A little while later they were seated at the table, warm mugs of tea in front of them. "Now, Azula has already told me the good news about the sale. Congratulations, it is quite a feat. How are you feeling about it?"
It surprised Zuko to know that Azula had already been in contact with Iroh, but then again, despite the fact that she rarely decided to come to Kyoto to spend time with Uncle she did seem to keep up with him for the most part so maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised.
"Uh, good," he answered with a shrug. To be honest, he didn't think that the full impact had fully sunk in yet. It was going to be a big change in their lives and the change hadn't started yet. There was still going to be the adjustment period to get through before he could officially step down.
Uncle stayed quiet, in the way that he did when he was letting Zuko work through things without pushing. Giving the option to add more if he wanted but not forcing him to do so.
"It'll be nice to have more time with Izumi. Even though she's graduating this year but.. I'll be around more when she has time for me."
It hurt to think that he hadn't managed to make this happen sooner when Izumi would still be at home and wouldn't be so grown, when they could have had much more time together. Then again, he was certain that she'd be living at home for her time in CEGEP at least so he had another two years of her company.
His mind flashed toward Varrick, who was still so young and had many more years of schooling to continue. If he'd been his real son he'd be able to be around more for him and be more involved in his life.
But he wasn't and he wasn't going to think about it like that. He wasn't even sure if he'd even have a relationship with Sokka after everything that had happened between the two of them. He had to let go of his fake family and focus on the one that he had.
Iroh was smiling at him. "Yes, that is a very nice advantage of not working anymore. She's gotten quite grown but I'm certain she will continue to make time and space in her life for you. You've been an excellent father to her. I am very proud of the both of you."
Something felt like it'd lodged in Zuko's throat at the words. He'd spent a lot of time in the past worried that he was dooming Izumi to a bad father and that he wasn't good enough for her. To have the outside validation from someone that he loved and respected so much never failed to make him emotional.
"Thank you, Uncle," he said, hastily reaching for his tea to take a long drink of it so that he had something other than his emotions to focus on.
At that stage, he heard the bathroom water being used and was surprised to figure that it was probably Izumi. It was much earlier than she usually woke but then, she'd gone to bed much earlier than usual the night before as well.
The teen joined them a few minutes later, her hair still a little messy from sleep the night before. "Morning," she greeted with a yawn as she slid into her cushion.
"Good morning," both adults parroted.
"How'd you sleep?" Iroh asked as he poured her a steaming cup of tea.
"Good," she answered, still in the stage of not talking much as she usually was after getting up.
"Excellent. Your father and I were just catching up but I want to hear more about you. You're in the last year of your secondary school, that must be exciting."
"It's fine." Izumi shrugged with a sort of apathy that she usually displayed when she spoke about school. "Dad told you about the fake marriage then?"
Zuko shot his daughter a look, wondering if he had Varrick's influence of just saying things at the table or Azula's influence of loving to cause a stir to blame for this predicament.
Iroh was raising his eyebrow. "You were fake married?" he asked Izumi. "For what purpose?"
"Not me," Izumi looked mildly horrified at the implication. "Him." She nodded toward her father and took a drink out of her mug.
The surprised look stayed on Uncle's face even as he turned to Zuko. "I believe he skipped over that."
It wasn't like he could deny that it had happened. So, Zuko quickly put together a brief overview of the situation with as little detail as possible and trying to minimize it.
Unfortunately, Izumi was not having it. She added a bit more detail and it would have been sweet how she described Varrick (an extremely smart, curious and likeable kid) if she didn't immediately follow it up with a description of Sokka as 'exactly dad's type'.
"It was a necessary way to make sure that we didn't seem like Azula lied straight to Piandao when she visited him," he defended, not mentioning anything about Sokka or Varrick as it was too likely to make him emotional.
"By lying to him more?" Iroh raised an eyebrow. "An interesting tactic."
"He found out because they were the worst actors ever," Izumi pointed out. "But he wasn't mad about it, obviously."
"Sokka and Varrick were not the worst actors ever," Zuko protested.
"I meant you and Sokka. The two of you acted like school kids with a crush, not a married couple." Izumi gave her dad a fixed look, daring him to argue with her. "Varrick was a great actor."
As much as he wanted to, he couldn't say anything against that because it was absolutely true and if the slightly smug look that crossed her face was anything to go by she knew it.
"Finding love is something to be happy bout, nephew," Iroh said sagely.
A heat flooded Zuko's face and he cleared his throat as he glanced at the clock. "Uncle, don't you have to get ready to go and open the tea shop?"
"Oh, no, I've taken the day off to spend it with the two of you," he answered with a warm smile. "Family is so important and now that you're here I do not want to waste a moment of time."
Since he'd been hoping that his uncle leaving would be an easy way to put an end to the conversation there was some disappointment in Zuko at the news. On the other hand, he couldn't help but feel a bit touched that the man had taken the time off for them.
"Well, perhaps we can go in later and you can show us the remodel in person," Zuko suggested. He knew that his uncle had put a lot of effort into remodeling the past year and he always enjoyed going to the shop.
"That would be lovely. Everyone will want to see the two of you. They always ask after you," Iroh said warmly. Using the voice he only ever used to speak of his shop and family. But then, the two of them often overlapped.
Sometimes Zuko thought about suggesting that his uncle join them in Montreal again as he had years ago when he was younger and worked with his father, but Uncle was happy here and he couldn't force him to abandon the life that he'd made for himself. He often missed the older man but he wanted him to be happy and so he put up with the distance, knowing that it would make his uncle unhappy to leave it all behind.
The morning passed easily, with Iroh drawing Zuko into a game of Go that he lost as usual. It was never even close but he knew that it made the older man happy to play with him so even if he lost (which he always did) it was worth it.
Izumi watched on in between reading a book that she'd brought with her, occasionally offering up moves to Zuko to try and help him. She could have played herself but their team play had been happening since Izumi was young, back when she'd sit on his lap and help move the pieces. She often cited the fact that she liked playing with Zuko as the reason why she didn't play her great uncle one on one. Likely she would have done better if she did.
The days in Japan passed as they usually did. With the new year drawing closer, they helped Iroh to get his place clean and to address the cards that he would be sending out to his friends and acquaintances. They ate great food, explored all of their favorite spots in the city, stopped into the tea shop, and played many more games of Go with Uncle.
At the same time, Zuko and Sokka traded texts. They were casual, trading anecdotes about the days with their families. Sokka sent over a few very cute photos of Varrick out snowshoeing with his grandfathers and one of him showing off a fish that he caught while ice fishing.
In return, Zuko sent over photos of Izumi at temple dressed in a kimono and one of her enjoying tea with Iroh.
Usually, when the end of the trip started to approach Zuko would feel only a sadness that he was about to leave his uncle and not see again for a minimum of a few months. However, this time he felt a sort of gladness as well that was new.
It probably had something to do with the fact that Sokka had let him know already that he was back in Montreal. Possibly.
The night before they were set to leave, Uncle sat him down after Izumi had disappeared into the room that she used when she visited.
"Nephew, I've noticed all your texting this time around. Usually you never touch your phone while you're here. Is this about the man that Izumi mentioned you pretended was your husband?"
There was no point in denying it. For one thing, it wasn't like he had another plausible story that he had ready to go. For another, well, he did find himself wanting to be honest with Iroh about Sokka.
"Yes," he admitted. "We've been texting back and forth since I arrived."
"I figured. You've seemed happier than usual and while I figured some of that was finally being able to leave behind your father's business-" The implication of those words were far more than Zuko wanted to unpack at the moment. He'd spent enough time in therapy going over what it had meant to take over a business that everyone had associated with his father, to have to deal with people who would always compare him to the other man. Not having that in hislife anymore was a big deal but it wasn't something that he'd given a lot of thought to and he wasn't about to start doing so now. "I know it's more than that."
"I don't really know what we are," he admitted. "He was pretty mad at me when he found out that he could have lost his job and I didn't tell him about it."
Iroh made a light humming noise and nodded. "Being angry about such things is a natural reaction," he said. "But it seems that he must have forgiven you if he's willingly in contact with you."
"I hope so." He had been thinking that exact thing but he hadn't wanted to jinx himself by being overconfident about his own position. Perhaps Sokka simply wanted to be friends or that he wanted to keep a friendly relationship so that the kids could see each other again without it being awkward between the two of them.
"It seems that you really care for this man," Iroh ventured. "It's good to see you happy and getting into another relationship. It's been several years since you stopped seeing that man, Jean?"
"Jet," Zuko corrected easily. His relationship with Jet had been a while ago and the hurt from it had long since passed. Not that it had been a bad relationship. On the contrary, it had been a loving and happy relationship while it had lasted and for a while Zuko had thought that the two of them would spend their lives together.
Then, Jet had landed himself a job with the New Democratic Party and he'd gotten so busy with it and Zuko was so busy with his own job that the two of them simply were having too hard a time making their relationship the priority that it deserved to be. It'd been decided that they were better off calling it quits while they were still friendly with one another instead of letting their whole relationship go to shit and then parting ways. It'd hurt a lot and he hadn't been sure for a while that he wanted to go through that ever again but as time passed, he'd gotten over it.
He still saw the other man from time to time though Jet was busy as ever, working in Ottawa after he'd gotten elected for his riding in the last election. Zuko was proud of him and he was happy that they'd been mature enough to know when they should part. Zuko had even donated to his last campaign.
Izumi still spoke to him from time to time as well, he knew. They were Facebook friends at least and Zuko was happy as they'd had a pleasant relationship while he'd been in their lives.
"Ah yes, my apologies," Uncle said. "Still, that was some time ago. I began to think that perhaps you'd be an old single man like myself."
Honestly, Zuko had begun to think so himself. "Would that have been so bad?"
"No, it's not so bad," the older man allowed. "Though, I have my tea shop and all my friends here to fill my time and make me happy. With Izumi growing up I wasn't sure what you'd have once you sold the company."
"Even without Sokka, I'll find something." The last thing that he wanted to do was become one of those people whose partner was their whole life. If Sokka even wanted to be his partner at all. "You don't need to worry about me, Uncle."
"Ah, as a father you know that I will always have to worry for you, Nephew. And for your sister," Iroh said with a warm smile.
He'd told both of them before that he considered them to be like his own children. It never stopped the feeling of warmth in Zuko's chest whenever it was brought up. He never knew what to say in response to it either.
"I just want you to be happy and well taken care of. I hope this man is worthy of you is all."
More heat came to Zuko's face. "I don't even know that he wants to date me, but trust me, Uncle, he's a great man. You'd like him a lot."
"Hopefully I'll be able to meet him some day then."
Even though it was traitorous to put such thoughts out there, even though it was probably asking for far too much that would likely not happen, he couldn't help but imagine bringing Sokka and Varrick here to meet his Uncle. Imagined the two of them teaming up to play Go like he and Izumi did, the two of them going into the tea shop and being cooed over by all of Uncle's regulars, the two of them smiling for a photo in front of .. It filled him with a want that was almost palpable.
"Maybe."
It was more than he should have allowed himself. It was what he wanted more than anything else.
Going back to his own house had been odd for Sokka and he could tell that it was strange for Varrick as well. Their home felt like home and not like home at the same time. It seemed small despite the fact that it had never felt that way before. And his family's homes hadn't seemed small either but for some reason, it did feel that way in their own duplex.
The dinner table too, felt strangely empty when it was just himself and Varrick. He hadn't bothered cooking anything that first night, ordering a pizza from a local place for the two of them. Usually, Varrick was quite happy with the pizza but that night after he'd taken a few bites he'd sighed down at it.
"I miss Gran Gran and Ty Lee's food," he confided to his father before he could even ask.
There was no denying that they'd been spoiled with their food for the past almost month. Going back to surviving on the meals that Sokka knew how to make was a letdown for the both of them. He wasn't a terrible cook but he was nowhere near the levels that either of the women mentioned had obtained.
"I know."
They finished their food in silence, Varrick not speaking much before the end of the meal at which point he excused himself to his room.
The day after he'd arrived back into Montreal he was surprised with a ringing of the doorbell, not having expected anyone. That surprise only grew when he opened it to see Azula standing on the other side.
"Azula?" he questioned wondering if he was dreaming. There was no reason for her to be there.
"Are you going to invite me in? It's cold as shit out here," she complained.
Yep, that was definitely her. Sokka stepped aside, letting her pass into the home where she shook snow off of her jacket and got out of her boots
"What are you doing here?" he asked, checking his phone to see if he'd somehow missed a message about her coming over. No, there was nothing there.
"I've got the boxes of things for Varrick in the car." She nodded over her head to the driveway where her car was now parked behind his own.
"How'd you even get my address?"
Azula rolled her eyes. "It's public information dumbass. Plus, I took a scan of your driver's license for the contract that you signed." She held out her keys to him. "Boxes are in the trunk."
Before he could protest, Varrick came running out apparently having heard the voices. "Azula?" he asked, sounding delighted at her sudden appearance.
Azula's frostiness disappeared so suddenly that Sokka wondered if he'd imagined it. "Varrick. How was your trip?"
"It was so good, I went snowshoeing and ice fishing and I caught such a big fish that it almost fed the whole family," Varrick immediately dove into his story, grabbing a hold of Azula's hand and pulling her farther into the home.
Sokka decided that there was no way that he was going to get an answer about why Azula showed up today or what she was really doing here (he knew that she'd be able to send someone else over if she wanted to) so he might as well go and get the boxes of things out of her trunk.
He'd have to text Zuko to tell him once more that he hadn't needed to give him the things that had been bought for their charade of Varrick living at the Sozin house. For now, he got his boots on and forwent a coat for how quick a job it would be.
If, after having to make three trips to the car, he was more cold and wet than he wanted to be because the snow was the sort of wet type that clung and melted quickly, that was not anything he was willing to admit to anyone.
He could almost hear Yue laughing at him in exasperation. If she was still alive she'd be waiting for him with a towel and a kiss.
Idly, he wondered what Zuko would do in this situation. Probably call him stubborn and say that he'd deserved it, but he'd probably hand him tea and a clean shirt anyway.
Varrick was still chatting Azula's ear off even after Sokka had brought all the boxes into the house, put them into Varrick's room and grabbed a new shirt that was not covered in small wet patches that had once been slow flakes.
With how happy Varrick was, he let it go on, simply sitting in the living room and snapping a photo to send to Zuko along with several question marks.
Is that my sister at your house?
Sokka was glad that he wasn't the only one confused about this turn of events.
Yes. She brought over the stuff of Varrick's but now she's just sitting here talking to him?
What's that about?
Unfortunately, Zuko was no help because he'd only texted back a shrugging emoji.
Sokka sat on the sidelines for another half an hour of Varrick and Azula talking. Mostly Varrick though he sometimes asked Azula questions about what she had and hadn't done before (snowshoeing, ice fishing, regular fishing, hunting, ice sculpting and skiing were all on the list) that she answered.
Then, finally, Azula spoke up unprompted. "Varrick, it's been so fun to catch up with you but is it okay if I speak to your dad alone for a little while?"
That caught Sokka's attention and he was suddenly sitting up much taller, wondering what in the world this was about.
Was she going to ask for some of the money back? No that would go against the contract.
Was she going to berate him about the whole LinkedIn disaster? That didn't seem likely either because, after all, everything had worked out for both of them.
Varrick looked a little put-out but only for a moment. "Okay, I'm gonna go empty the boxes of things. Thanks for bringing them, Azula."
"You're welcome, Varrick."
Sokka watched his son as he ran off, probably already planning on how to rearrange his room to incorporate his new things.
"Are you planning on dating my brother or not?" Azula's voice cut across the silence, direct and to the point.
Sokka turned to look at her with surprised eyes. "Uh, wow, you aren't wasting any words here."
"You're stalling for time," she accused, her eyes narrowing.
Maybe he was, just a little. He'd never admit that to Azula. "No, I'm just surprised. I would have thought there'd be some niceties here before you just dove into the heavy hitting questions."
She fixed him with an unimpressed look. "I've been here half an hour already and your son has filled me in on everything that you did while you were away. No need for niceties."
"You could have at least asked how I'm doing," he argued. "Or let me ask you how you've been. Why didn't you go to Kyoto with Zuko?"
"I'm not here to talk about me." Azula didn't even appear to entertain the idea of answering him. "I'm here to talk to you about what you're planning to do with Zuko."
"I knew you weren't here to deliver boxes." He felt validated in that at the very least.
"Sokka. Answer the question."
"I don't know, we haven't exactly worked it out yet, okay?" Being honest seemed like the best policy here. Azula was one of those people who seemed to read others in an effortless way and well, he didn't know what she knew already from talking to Zuko. Giving conflicting information probably wouldn't make him appear very well to her. He had a feeling she didn't like him all that much to begin with.
She gave a sort of unhappy sigh. "Of course not. The two of you are hopeless."
"Hey!" He was a bit offended about this. Sokka didn't think either of them were hopeless. They were in a complex situation that most people probably couldn't relate to. It wasn't like there was a clear guide path for this stuff. He didn't think that they could be blamed for their lack of certainty.
"You know it's true," Azula waved a well-manicured hand his way to quiet him. For a moment she was silent and then she seemed to resign herself to do something difficult before she continued. "Listen, my brother… he's a good person, okay? And if you don't want to be involved with him, figure it out now instead of dragging him along because he doesn't deserve that."
It clicked together then, what Azula was actually here for. She was here to give him a shovel talk. Here because she was Zuko's sister and she cared about him and wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to be hurt by Sokka.
It was the first time that he'd ever been on the other end of one of these talks (he'd given Aang quite an impressive one if he said so himself, but that had ended with Katara chewing him out afterward about him trying to scare away her boyfriend and she'd withheld all the best snacks from him for a week after it so the end result could be argued for its efficiency) and he had to say that Azula was quite intimidating.
Sure, she was smaller than him by a lot but she had the sort of 'don't fuck with me or I will kill you' attitude that couldn't be faked.
"I'm not dragging him along. It's just.. Well we've been halfway across the world from one another so it's been a little hard to sort out what is happening." It didn't seem like it was the sort of thing that should be done over text.
"That's not an excuse," she argued, her voice hard. "I mean it, Sokka. If you aren't sure about him let him go now because he doesn't need to get more attached to you if you're just going to leave."
"Who said I was going to leave?" he demanded, a bit annoyed now. "I get what you're trying to do and I think it's very sweet-"
"Sweet?" Azula demanded looking disgusted at the implication. "You think I'm being sweet? Let me put this another way. If you hurt my brother, I will chop your penis off and feed it to a stray cat."
There was something deeply unnerving about the steel in her voice as she said it. And more that she said penis instead of any other crude word that could be used. It somehow made it worse.
"Duly noted."
Azula got to her feet and fixed him with a glare. "Don't fuck it up, Sokka."
She left after that, not needing him to show her the way out and he fell back into the couch trying to figure out how what his relationship was going to look like with Zuko and how to go about having a conversation about it.
"Any ideas, Yue?" he asked, looking over the picture of his wife on the side table.
Of course, she didn't answer.
Traveling back to Canada was just as bad as traveling to Japan. Though at least Zuko did get some sleep on the plane this time and he was pretty sure that Izumi had to. Or at least she'd laid down because at one point when he'd looked over to her pod he couldn't see her head.
The time zone difference had them both messed up again as it would always. They'd left later than the time they'd arrived back into Montreal and it was still the same day. TIme was fake. It was fake and Zuko was still tired.
Going through customs was the same as it ever was and by the time that he'd picked up his baggage he was already ready to get into a car and go back home to his own bed. Not even worried about how empty the house might feel or what it'd be like without Varrick and Sokka to greet them.
He knew that Izumi was going to be in the same mood, she was leading them out of the secure area and he was following the cart with their luggage on it when she suddenly stopped out of nowhere.
"Zumi, what's going on?" he asked, confusedly. There didn't seem to be a pileup of people in front of her.
"Dad, look." She pointed and he followed the direction.
Standing on the other side of her finger, just behind the barricade that kept people out of the way of those entering was Sokka and Varrick. Varrick was holding a posterboard sign that read 'Welcome Home!' and Sokka was waving as he stood behind him. Both of them were smiling widely.
Zuko wondered if he was dreaming still. Was he still on the plane? Imagining the welcome party that he wished that he'd have to greet him at the airport?
But no, Izumi was already moving over and Varrick ducked out from under the little barricade so that he could run and hug her. She was hugging him back and Zuko could hear the happy way that he was greeting her.
His mind was working hard trying to process what was happening but he was behind, unable to grasp it all. Too much was happening and he didn't know how to sort it out. Why was Sokka here? He hadn't said anything about it. The two of them had texted back and forth a lot but he was sure that if Sokka had mentioned meeting him at the airport even his sleep-addled brain would have remembered it. No he definitely would have because he'd have been freaking out about it the whole trip back.
He was frozen for a moment before he heard someone behind him grumble, none too quietly. " Câlice de tabarnak , bouge toi! "
Not bothering to apologize, he did move and started toward the area where he'd actually be able to go around the right way. It was harder here to find Sokka and the kids but they made their way back through the crowd of others waiting to join with their families and friends.
Sokka looked a bit hesitant as he made his way over. "Hey," he said.
"Sokka, what are you… I didn't expect to see you here. Not that I don't want you here I just.." He was doing a bad job of trying to explain.
"Kind of the point of a surprise," Sokka teased, that easy smile taking over his face and making Zuko's heart skip a beat. How was it possible that this man was so attractive? And what was he doing smiling at him like that?
"You surprised us all right." He managed a sort of wild chuckle. He couldn't look away from Sokka and his white smile and dark skin and sparkling eyes. They were surrounded by people and yet he couldn't think of any of them right now. Barely he recognized that Varrick and Izumi were standing back together.
"I had something that I realized that I forgot before I left," Sokka said. "I was wondering if it was okay with you if we got that taken care of?"
It shouldn't have been surprising that Sokka had forgotten something at the house. They'd been there a while and there'd been a lot of stuff. He couldn't help but feel disappointed that this was the real reason that he was there. It'd probably been Varrick's idea to meet them at the airport and Sokka, being the good father that he was had agreed to make him happy.
"Of course," he said with a feeble smile. "I'd be happy to get you anything you forgot."
"I hoped you say that."
Then, against all logic, Sokka pulled him in and pressed a kiss against his lips. It was soft and careful, his lips moving gently against Zuko's in a sort of deliberate sweetness. All of his brain function stopped, not having expected this. It had to be some sort of dream that he was having. No way that this was happening.
Zuko's breath was completely taken away, but when Sokka pulled back looking a bit anxious he pulled the other man back in after he realized that he'd not responded at all to the kiss. He gave the same sort of purposeful kiss, full of the feelings that he had but soft and slow and like he had all the time in the world.
By the time that he pulled back, Sokka was the one looking at him in a sort of breathless wonder.
"Yay!" Varrick's voice cut through the seriousness of the moment and Zuko turned, flushing to see the two kids looking at them. Varrick seemed to be genuinely excited and Izumi was looking unimpressed but there was a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.
"Are the two of you quite finished?" she asked.
"Yes."
"No."
Zuko turned to Sokka who gave a shrug. "Well, I'm not."
"Perhaps this is not the place," he suggested to the other man.
"Well luckily, I've got a car and I know where you live," Sokka grinned. "Come on, let me take you home."
Zuko thrilled at the words and nodded, reaching for the luggage cart only to be nudged out of the way by Sokka. But before he could complain Varrick was reaching for his hand and he was talking about how his trip had gone.
On the drive home, Zuko sat in the passenger seat and listened to Varrick and Izumi talk, looking over to see Sokka in the driver's seat and he thought that he'd never want to come home in any other way ever again.