You once again have advocaat to thank for this one-shot. I decided to write some AtLA and she gave me the prompt: Sokka invents a new food called hotdogs, the gaang help him market it, and Zutara.

Yeah, let's do this!

Hotdogs

Zuko tried to be a good friend. He really did. He just struggled sometimes when Sokka got "ideas". Worse, when he wanted help with those ideas.

"But you're the Fire Lord," Sokka said in what he probably thought was a winning voice. "You can use your Fire Lordy powers and help me sell these so I can win the competition."

"These" were Sokka's latest invention. The boy had moved on from mechanical things to food. Of course, being Sokka, that meant everything he created involved meat. Today's was sausage in bun, with some red and yellow sauces on top. Zuko didn't see what was so great about it, but Sokka still claimed it made him a culinary genius. At least, he believed it would help him win the Manly Meals Fantastic Fire Chef competition (MMFFC for short), which was being held in the capital.

"Sokka," Zuko said a bit tiredly, "I'm not going to abuse my power as Fire Lord just so you can sell more of these—" he frowned at the bun "—what do you even call this thing?"

"A hotdog!"

Zuko blinked. "A hot what?"

"Hotdog," Sokka repeated. "I thought it would work well. You know, 'cause the Fire Nation is hot and everyone likes dogs."

Zuko resisted the urge to facepalm. "Okay, well, I still can't help you."

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but Zuko cut him off.

"Look, I'm really busy. I have to be at a meeting—" he glanced at the clock, then paled "—now. Sorry, Sokka, I've got to go."

"But the hotdogs—"

"Get Aang to help you," Zuko said, already striding for the door. "He's got lots of influence as the Avatar."

"Aang is vegetarian!"

Zuko ignored this. He simply wished the boy luck and made his escape. True, sitting through his meeting wasn't exactly scintillating, but he at least thought he'd be safe from having to deal with Sokka. He was wrong. When he emerged from the council room, a harassed-looking servant said he had been asked by Master Sokka to bring the Fire Lord to him. This time, Zuko just sighed in resignation and allowed himself to be steered to the garden where the others had gathered. It seemed that Sokka had gathered everyone for a marketing strategy meeting.

"I still think that tofu sausages would be better," Aang said.

Sokka was not impressed with this input. He said manly men ate meat, tofu was made of sadness, and he wasn't going to let his hotdogs be desecrated in such a way. Aang pouted and demanded to know why he had even been brought there then.

"You know I don't eat meat," Aang muttered.

"You're going to help me as salesman and promoter," Sokka informed him.

Now it was Aang's turn to look unimpressed. "I believe in the sacredness of life," he said flatly. "I don't want to help you sell these."

Sokka was about to respond when he caught sight of Zuko. "Finally!" he exclaimed. "Come join us!"

Zuko folded his arms across his chest. "I already told you I won't abuse my powers to help you win a silly cooking competition. I don't even know why you're taking this so seriously."

Toph flicked a piece of snot from her finger. "The prize is to win a lifetime's supply of the Fire Nation's finest moose-cow meat."

Oh. Now it made sense. In fact, Sokka looked as if he was salivating just at the thought of a lifetime's supply of quality meat. Still, Zuko didn't understand why he had to be dragged into the mess. When he said as much, Sokka got sneaky and pulled out the "you're my friend" card. It seemed he had been doing this to everyone.

"He pulled the 'you're my girlfriend' card on me," Suki confided in a low voice, though she threw an affectionate glance at the Water Tribe boy. "Anyway, I think he just wants everyone around. He won't admit it, but he's really missed you guys."

Zuko repressed a sigh, though a much more sympathetic one this time. That also made sense. He'd thought Sokka had seemed a bit clingy since he had come with Aang and the others to visit. Even Zuko could admit that he'd missed his friends. Being the Fire Lord was busy, exhausting and stressful. He was only nineteen, but most days he felt like he was going on ninety. Maybe taking a break—even if it was to help Sokka market hotdogs—wouldn't be such a bad thing.

So, the Fire Lord put his natural "this is stupid" attitude aside and took a seat next to Katara on the grass. She also didn't seem very impressed with her brother's scheme; however, like Suki, she was at least willing to humour him. Even if she did say that the cooking competition was sexist (Manly Meals? Puh-lease), and that the hotdogs seemed kind of, well, basic.

"That's the point!" Sokka exclaimed. "They're simple things of wonderousness!"

Suki scratched her chin. "What about adding some greens or healthy things to them? You know, pickles and tomatoes, and—"

"Nooooo!" Sokka shook his head. "Those things are for rabbaroos. Manly men don't eat that stuff!"

Aang hugged his knees to his chest, looking sulky. "I like that stuff."

Momo chirruped and curled himself around the airbender's neck, as if to say it was okay because he liked those things as well. Somehow, this didn't seem to comfort Aang. Zuko felt obliged to let the airbender know that he was manly enough, and not to worry. Sokka was just being dramatic.

"Thanks, Zuko," Aang said, offering a shy grin.

Toph snorted. "When you two stop flirting," she said in a bland tone, "maybe we can—"

"What?" Zuko and Aang demanded in unison. Both were pulling horrified expressions.

Toph blinked far, far too innocently. "What?" she said. "You guys are so gay for each other. Everyone can see it. Even I can and I'm blind."

"That is not—" Zuko spluttered. "I've never—why would you even—"

Aang joined him in the spluttering. His face had gone bright red and he claimed, very, very emphatically, that he was not gay for Zuko. He wasn't gay at all.

Toph just shrugged. "Could have fooled me. I mean, isn't that why both your relationships failed?"

Aang shot an awkward glance at Katara. Meanwhile, Zuko was very conscious of the waterbender sitting next to him. He shuffled a few inches away, not quite meeting her gaze.

"Who cares who is gay for who?" Sokka demanded. "We're talking about hotdogs here!"

"I bet Aang would enjoy a taste of Zuko's hotdog," Toph said in her gleeful troll voice, "vegetarian or not."

Aang made little moans of horror and tried to get the girl to shut up. No one was oblivious to the innuendo. Zuko just pressed his face to his palms and decided the world should end in that moment, because nothing else would stop Toph once she got on her trolling roll. The little brat.

"Somehow, I don't think this marketing meeting is going anywhere now," Katara said dryly. "Sokka, you might as well accept that you're on your own this time."

"But—"

Suki wrapped her arms around her boyfriend from behind. "Don't worry, I'll be your sexy assistant and help you sell them."

Sokka seemed much cheered by this offer, though he did ask Zuko for any last suggestions or pointers. "I mean, you eat Fire Nation food every day and must know what the people like."

Zuko shrugged. "I dunno. We like food on sticks."

"On a stick?" Sokka repeated.

"Yeah." Zuko shrugged again. "It's easier to eat."

Sokka rubbed his chin in thought. "Hrm, on a stick. I think I've got it!"

Zuko later wondered if maybe he should have kept that advice to himself. The final product that got sold at Sokka's "Manly Stall" were hotdogs on a stick: as in, a sausage in a bun, with sauce and cheese … on a stick.

"He's not going to win," Katara observed.

"Probably not," Zuko admitted, "but he seems to be having fun."

Katara turned to face him, and a hint of a smile curved her lips. "So, you and Aang, huh?"

Zuko groaned. "Don't even start."

"But all that flirting, and—"

He leant down and kissed her firmly on the lips. When he pulled back, she was smiling.

"You know exactly why I broke up with Mai," he told her. "What I want to know is when you're going to let us go public with our relationship? I'm tired of keeping it a secret."

Katara made a thoughtful sound. "I tell you what. If Sokka wins the Manly Meals Fantastic Fire Chef competition, I will agree to go public with our relationship."

Zuko's eyes sparked with a determined fire. Needless to say, Sokka won a lifetime's supply of the Fire Nation's finest moose-cow meat that day.

OMAKE

"You know, I think I've thought of new way to market hotdogs," Sokka said.

Suki raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"We'll angle them as a romantic thing. Like those little Pocky Sticks. I eat from this end, and you eat from the other end, and eventually we'll meet in a kiss."

Suki's eyebrow arched a little higher. "Erm—"

"Let's just try it!"

So they did. And got a mouthful of hotdog.

"You know what," Sokka said, once he was finally able to swallow. "Let's just kiss."

Suki agreed and tossed her bit of the hotdog away. It wasn't like hotdogs needed to be romantic. They were, after all, just simple things of wonderousness.

THE END

For those who don't know, I am a New Zealander and am utterly confused by the concept of 'hotdogs' by itself just being a sausage in a bun. To me, 'hotdogs' are literally a battered sausage on a stick, but I was told the rest of the world don't agree with me, so I had to go the American hotdog way to fulfill this prompt. Boo.

Anyway, the "hotdog" on a stick scene was my way of satisfying my NZ heart. You silly people with your corndogs. Psssssh.

(I'm kidding … kind of)