Well, today I was feeling both unmotivated and ambitious, and what better way to solve that than to commit to a giant project? Right. Well, nobody said my thought process was rational. Anyway, I've decided, in preparation for Zutara Week 2016, to finally get around to writing for every day of every Zutara week. Ever. All 9 years of awesomeness. I've written some before, but I never bothered to publish them. Most of them I've decided are either too cliché or not my best work, so I'll keep the ones I'm especially fond of, but the rest will be pushed to the back of my hard drive. Let's do this thang.

ZW 2009 Day 1: Denim

Duh, By Nim, Branch of Sokka Designs, Inc.

Summary: A couple of ill-timed accidents make for a regretful Aang, a dismayed Sokka, and a very happy Zuko. And Katara? It's too early to tell.

"Sokka, how long do I have to stand here?"

Sokka declines to dignify the question with a response, though if Katara focuses long enough, he believes she might get the impression that she'll be standing there as long as it suits him. Although, he muses to himself, given her naturally lower intellect, she might not pick up on it right away. Poor baby sister.

Even his greatest detractors cannot deny that Sokka has a certain eye for style, not even Toph, who readily admits that his bag did very nicely match his belt back in her Earth Rumble days. Sokka isn't sure why making that statement sent her into uproarious laughter, but he can't help but feel that she's making some joke at his expense. No matter. The bag did match the belt, and everybody knows it.

And so it happens that he and Katara are standing in a seamstress's shop in the Fire Nation. Katara is his lovely assistant-slash-model, and Aang, out of the goodness of his heart, is out front distracting the seamstress while Sokka works. Contrary to Katara's suggestion, Sokka most certainly is not stealing anything. Not her fabric, not her needles, not her space. It's just borrowing, and there's no reason the girl couldn't be there except that Aang's arrow is just so darn fascinating, isn't it, Katara?

Katara makes a face that reminds Sokka that his baby sister's boyfriend hasn't exactly fascinated her lately (if you ask Sokka, that's just swell) and she hasn't been much on the boy's brain either (that also suits Sokka just fine). With that happy thought, it doesn't take him long to finish the last touches on these pants he's made, just in time for the seamstress to walk in and start screeching at the mess Sokka's made of her shop.

"Run!" Aang, all-powerful Avatar, bender of four elements, bolts. Sokka and Katara exchange a glance. Even Uncle Iroh on cactus juice would be more frightening than whatever awful noise this woman is making. Katara does her thing and Sokka does his (which, roughly translated, means that Katara offers compensation and hugs while Sokka plans several methods of escape should there be any booby traps on the way out). They make it out relatively unscathed, though Katara has given up the silk skirt she was borrowing from the palace in exchange for Sokka's project. Aang, hiding in the bushes outside the shop, grabs both of them and hauls them toward the palace.

"Aang, it's okay," Katara begins.

"Katara did her magic people thing. We're all good!" With that, Aang stops running and turns to face them just as they reach the palace gates.

"You mean she's not going to send pirates or archers after us? Great!"

It's clear to the Water Tribe siblings then that Aang has spent far too much time running from his enemies and not enough time making friends (go figure, since he spent too much time making friends and goofing around during the war, didn't he?).

They enter the palace far more sedately than they arrived. "I need a name." Sokka strokes his imaginary beard and narrows his eyes at nothing.

"For what, Sokka?" Aang is bouncing around him like Momo around a peach.

"Hey, back off, buddy."

"Sorry. Just excited I guess." Sokka briefly wonders whether Aang has gotten into the cactus juice.

Sokka pats Aang's shoulder and turns to Katara, crossing his arms and looking her up and down. "Hmmmm…"

"Sokka, we shouldn't be just standing here in the middle of the hallway."

"We're not going anywhere until I have a name, Katara."

"Whatever you say, oh great heong-nim." Katara makes an exaggerated bow as she smiles through the ancient honorific.

"Wow Sokka. You must be pretty great." There's not a trace of sarcasm in Aang's words, and now Sokka is suspicious. Still, far be it from him to deny himself praise just because the source seems a bit off.

"Duh, Aang. I'm the esteemed older brother. Katara just never remembers." He flashes his sister a toothy grin. Said sister rolls her eyes. "Wait! That's it! I'll call them duh-nims. Then when people ask Katara what she's wearing she'll think of me. Get it? Like, duh, my brother made them?"

"Way to go, Sokka." Sokka does hear sarcasm from his sister, so he figures he should go ahead with the name.

"Has anybody seen Aang?" Zuko's voice echoes into the area, and Zuko himself immediately follows. "I was tired of him bugging me so I let him drink wine with his lunch- oh, there you are."

"Hey Zuko." Sokka scurries to his friend's side and slings an arm around his shoulders. "Check out my latest invention." He gestures at Katara, who scoffs and turns in a circle. "I'm calling them duh-nims. Get it? Because nim is that old word for brother and duh, I made them."

"That's great, Sokka." Sokka notices that Zuko seems dismissive. He'd be wounded, but Zuko's eyes are glued to the tight pants, which, in retrospect, maybe are too tight. Then it occurs to Sokka that maybe Zuko isn't really admiring the pants at all (suspicion confirmed when Katara turns a light shade of red).

Sokka's only venture into the fashion world after this is his foray into Katara's closet to burn the pants. Much to his dismay, that doesn't stop Zuko from staring at his sister, and it doesn't stop Aang and Katara from breaking up (sweet, harmless Aang, no, why why why would you let the wine talk about how you disapprove of Water Tribe meat eating culture). His brotherly instincts tell Sokka he's created a monster. He knows it when he walks in on Zuko kissing his baby sister in the garden. Naturally, he sneak attacks.

He tells himself the incident would have happened with or without his help. It's probably true, but even if it isn't, saying so helps Sokka sleep at night, and sometimes that's all a big brother can ask for from the universe.

AN (cont.): heong-nim is actually a Korean term for "esteemed older brother." In case anyone is curious. Hope you enjoyed this goofy little thing (but if you didn't, do tell. My ability to write humor has suffered as I've become more cynical, so feedback, whether positive or negative, is appreciated).