hello again! i bring forth yet another zutara one shot, except this has plenty of gaang interactions because i adore them all (plus my trinity ships, because why not). i hope you all enjoy this as much as i enjoyed writing it. keep in mind the characters are all in their 20s here too.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
They're late.
The watch on his wrist reads half-past one, a good thirty minutes since the previously agreed meeting time, and Sokka all but wonders if they've fallen into a ditch somewhere.
It sounds unlikely, but he doesn't discount the explanation right away. Embarrassingly enough, he's had his own fair share of accidentally falling into ditches, so he gives them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, it's currently the only thing holding him back from searching for them himself (that, and Suki is keeping a close eye on him).
But the pace of his foot tapping only increases as each second goes by, and it's only when Toph threatens to break his feet that he finally stands still.
"Where are they? The show's almost about to start," he complains with a loud huff, his shoulders slumping.
Suki glances over at him and places a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but she too is running out of patience. "They'll be here. They wouldn't cancel without giving us a heads up."
Aang nods in agreement, taking over Sokka's role in scanning the area in search of their missing friends. Yet even with his growth spurt, towering over all of them like some castle tower, Aang isn't the one who sees them coming. It's Toph, who can hear them approaching from a mile away.
"Sparky and Sugar Queen are here," she grouses, a scowl plastered on her face.
Sokka looks up to see that she's right, spotting two familiar figures scurrying toward them, the smaller of the pair dragging along the male behind her like a raging bull. He shares a glance with Suki and Aang before they simultaneously move to meet the other couple halfway.
"Where were you guys?"
He crosses his arms, scowling like a mother hen as he takes in their appearance. They're both looking quite dishevelled; in fact, Zuko's hair looks even messier than usual, raven strands poking up in different directions all over his head. It's as though he hastily ran a hand through it in replacement of a comb, and it's not as though Katara looks any better.
The braid resting on one shoulder is looser than he's ever seen it, threatening to spill out of the flimsy blue hair tie. He's half-tempted to pull it out all together if it meant she didn't look like a hurricane had just hit her.
"And why didn't you call? We thought you bailed on us," Suki scolds, her eyes narrowing at the late pair.
Apparently, it's only when Suki flashes them a stern look that they have the decency to look guilty, both of them lowering their heads slightly. He watches as the pair share a look before Katara turns back to eye the group sheepishly.
"We were sleeping."
That would explain why they both looked so unkempt, Katara especially, who he knows puts in effort into keeping a clean appearance. But still, Sokka is suspicious, and he stands by his ditch theory.
He raises a brow, blue eyes flickering between them. "The both of you?"
Zuko looks down, trying to avoid their questioning glares. "Yeah. We slept together."
There is an awkward silence that befalls the group, no one even daring to take a single breath, and then, chaos.
Toph howls.
Aang gasps.
Suki whistles.
Sokka splutters.
But Katara looks positively mortified as Zuko's eyes widen, the implications of his shortened explanation finally hitting him like an errant boulder. The girl next to him smacks his arm loudly as she shakes her head frantically, gaze darting between the stunned group.
"Not like that!" She yelps in haste, but it's too late. The damage is done.
Toph is still laughing, no cackling, to herself with a triumphant look on her face that Sokka wishes he could punch off if it didn't mean he'd get arrested. Aang, on the other hand, is sporting an embarrassed blush as he looks away, almost too afraid to look at them. But it's Suki who has Sokka wanting to scream utter betrayal as she seems almost too delighted at the prospect of something indecent happening between his best friend and his little sister.
(Did he already mention that Katara is his little sister? Because she is, and Suki, his girlfriend, shouldn't even be encouraging this, but she still is.)
"You guys slept together?" Suki repeats, glee evident in her voice, Sokka wondering if she's trying to induce another heart attack from him on purpose.
As if hearing it the first time wasn't bad enough, but now that she's repeated it, his mind runs about a hundred miles an hour. His head tries to keep up with just how fast his thoughts are going with its frequent shaking and he starts to feel dizzy.
This, this shouldn't even be happening. The thought of Zuko defiling his precious little sister is almost too much to handle. He suddenly wishes that maybe they'd (read: Zuko) have fallen into a ditch after all if it meant he could avoid having this conversation altogether.
At least Zuko is still looking as though he'd seen a ghost, mollifying him just a little as he tries to stop himself from coming after the guy.
"No!" Katara glances at Zuko, who flashes her a confused stare, and she shakes her head. "I mean, yes we did—"
Sokka lets out an unidentifiable (and definitely not manly) noise as Toph's cackling grows even louder. "I mean, yes we slept together, but no we didn't 'sleep' together."
"What does that even mean?"
He notices Zuko pinch the bridge of his nose from the corner of his eye, but he doesn't even want to look at him right now. "What Katara's trying to say is that yes, we slept together—"
At Sokka's squawk, he raises a hand. "But sleep as in close your eyes and dream, and next to each other, as in on the same bed. So no, we didn't sleep together like you're implying, Suki."
Suki eyes them both with a gleam in her eye, smiling innocently. "I never implied anything, Zuko."
He sees his sister's eyes narrow, "Suki," she growls out, and there's a moment of silent communication between the two that he can't even begin to dissect.
So instead, he pins his glare back onto Zuko, who is still adamantly avoiding his gaze.
"What were you two even doing 'sleeping' together then? I thought you said you finished work late last night, and you," he turns to Katara, "You said you still needed to finish that paper of yours, which is why we had to reschedule watching the show to this afternoon!"
"Yeah," Toph pipes up, still looking positively gleeful, "How did you two even end up sleeping together? Don't you live on the other side of town, Sparky?"
It's Zuko's turn to pin a glare on her, growling out, "Toph," to which she only cackles louder.
"Does it matter how they ended up sleeping together?" Aang finally interrupts, having stayed quiet the whole time. The group turns to him in surprise, Katara looking especially eager to use this as an opportunity to shut the conversation down.
The boy scratches the back of his neck at the sudden attention. "I mean, the point is that we're all here now, right? And we're already running late to the show so…"
Katara nods way too enthusiastically, "Aang's right. We're running late already; if we don't head inside now, they won't let us in at all."
"We wouldn't be late if someone hadn't been busy sleeping," Suki mumbles as Toph snicker in agreement. Katara glares at them both, but neither pays mind to it.
Sokka is about to intervene when Zuko speaks up, running a hand through his hair. The tips of his ears are a little red and it doesn't look like it'll go away any time soon.
"Can't we just talk about this later? We're going to miss the show," he points to the security guards at the door who are getting through the last admissions.
It's clear that there are more pressing matters at hand, despite Suki and Toph's reluctance to drop it, and deep down, Sokka feels a little relieved. It's not that he's not curious about what happened between them (as much as disliked the thought of his sister getting frisky, he's not blind), but he'd instead not think about it.
Especially not now when he's been waiting to see this play for months after numerous discussions with Zuko. In his mind, it's obvious where his priorities lie. Play first, questions about whatever's going on between his best friend and little sister later.
So he grabs Suki by the hand and leads the group wordlessly to where the guards are still waiting. Right now, they've got a play to catch.
(He doesn't miss the way Katara and Zuko share a look of relief, nor how their hands seem to linger near each other as they stand closer together than usual, but again that conversation is for after the play.)
The wait is worth it.
He leaves the theatre feeling especially satisfied as his eyes shine in delight, mind still reeling from what had unfolded right before his eyes. There had been plenty of action, dazzling effects, an engaging plotline, catchy music, and best of all, jokes that were actually funny.
He's sure Suki's probably had enough of all his gushing with the amount of commentary he'd done during the play, but she doesn't seem to show it. She still flashes him a look of adoration as she squeezes his arm, urging him to continue, and as he looks down at her, he wonders how he'd gotten so lucky.
This girl is perfect for him, undoubtedly.
Sokka is still babbling about the ending and his theories when he feels Suki come to an abrupt halt, the male almost tripping over her in surprise. He frowns at her, ready to question her movements when he notices her gaze trained on something in front of them.
He turns to follow her line of vision, and much to his chagrin, the discussion they'd been having before the play had begun now slams its way into the forefront of his mind.
Zuko and Katara are standing closer than ever. They're busy talking to each other in hushed whispers with their eyes never once straying from the other. It's clear from the way Zuko looks at his sister, in the same way he looks at Suki, that he's head over heels for the girl, to the point of no return.
He doesn't know what they're talking about but from the way Katara continues smiling, lightly slapping Zuko's shoulder at something he's said, the feeling is inevitably one hundred per cent mutual. And apparently, he's not the only one who's noticed it as he feels Suki lean into his arm, a smug smirk on her face. Toph and Aang have joined in spectating the pair in front of them, Toph asking Aang to narrate what's happening to her quietly.
"Sparky and Sugar Queen are definitely fucking," the younger girl remarks soon, Sokka almost choking on his spit in surprise.
"WHAT?!"
He's ready to leap at her for saying such things when Suki tightens her hold on him, keeping him in place. He looks at her incredulously.
"But Suki," he whines, motioning to the short girl. "Didn't you just hear what she said?"
She hums. "I did."
He frowns, "And?"
"And I agree with her. I wouldn't say it the way Toph did, but it's pretty obvious something is going on between those two. You can't tell me you haven't noticed it either."
Suki crosses her arms as though waiting for him to disagree with her, and frankly, he can't. Like he's said before, only someone incredibly stupid, because Toph's blind and she can still see what's happening, would say that Zuko and Katara didn't have feelings for each other.
But he doesn't want to admit that out loud. Not yet.
So he turns to Aang, hoping that maybe he's got something to say (and hopefully get them out of this conversation), yet unfortunately it looks like he's fighting a losing battle here. Because even Aang can tell what's happening, and despite his doomed childhood crush on his sister, he's moved on enough to acknowledge Katara's heart is with someone else.
(That and Toph has him wrapped around her finger so it's obvious Aang would go along with whatever she says.)
"Sorry Sokka, but I think we both know that Katara's fallen pretty deep. Zuko too," he answers, gesturing to the pair in question.
He takes one more look at Zuko and Katara, who have somehow stepped even closer together as one of Katara's arms is now looped around his, and he sighs. They've been lost in their little world to even notice that no one is following them anymore, and Sokka decides that maybe this isn't so bad.
It's not like Katara can do any worse, because he's seen worse, and if he ever comes across Jet again, his left fist is itching for another punch straight to his face. And now that he thinks about it, really thinks about it, they're good for each other. Zuko's been through a lot, and he knows that despite his grouchy attitude sometimes, really the boy's like a soft puppy. He's awkward and all gooey, but he's a good guy. He understands Katara in a way even he can't, and he's glad to see she does too.
Those two, he thinks, they just make sense.
Sokka sighs, his shoulders slumping in surrender. "Alright fine, I hate to say it, but it's obvious they're in love with each other."
"No shit, Sherlock. They're absolute fools for each other," Toph interjects, unimpressed.
He rolls his eyes. "Well we know that, but do they?"
Suki shrugs. "Katara hasn't said anything, and I'm assuming Zuko hasn't either. But knowing those two, they probably don't even know the feeling is mutual."
"Zuko is pretty bad at confessions," Aang says thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "He's probably tried to confess to Katara countless times, but something always stops him, or he can never get the words right."
Toph laughs in amusement, nudging his shoulder affectionately. "That does sound a lot like Sparky. I can just imagine him saying something that Sugar Queen takes the wrong way, and they end up arguing over something stupid."
"Not to mention that Katara is pretty dense when it comes to these things. She's either unaware of her feelings for him or thinks it's not mutual and doesn't want to ruin their friendship, so she hasn't said anything yet," Suki adds, sighing.
Sokka can only frown at the observations, scratching his head. "Have they always been this dumb?"
"Pretty much," the three chorus, and he wonders how he's never noticed it before.
(Maybe he has but he's been consciously trying to suppress it.)
"So then, what do we do?"
This is the wrong thing to ask when he sees a smirk grow on Toph's lips, the girl cracking her knuckles in mischief. "We can always just grill it out of them."
"How?"
"We're curious about how they ended up sleeping together last night, aren't we?"
They nod, and she points to Zuko and Katara. "So why don't we just ask them? Duh."
"Hey Sparky, is it time yet?"
Toph marches over to the pair, the other three right on her heels as Zuko raises an eyebrow in confusion. It's obvious he hadn't even noticed the others had lagged so far behind from the way he startles at her words, but his quick reflexes allow him to regain composure not long after.
"Time for what?"
"Don't tell me you forget what you promised earlier," she teases, and he turns to look at Katara in bewilderment.
"Do you know what she's talking about?"
She does, but it doesn't look like she'll be willing to budge any time soon, so Katara shakes her head and smiles at them innocently. "Nope, I have no clue."
"Oh, come on Katara. We're not stupid. The show's done, and we've got plenty of time to spare. So tell us the whole story of how you two 'slept together'," Suki interrupts with air bubbles to quote, smirking triumphantly at Zuko and Katara.
Katara's eyes narrow. "We did sleep together, literally," she emphasises, scrunching her nose.
"We know that, Sweetness. But what we want to know is how," Toph says, and Sokka is once again filled with the urge to punch her from all the innuendos she insists on making. Sure he's accepted the thought of them, but he still wants to uphold his dignity as Katara's older brother. He has a right to make Zuko squirm at least.
"It was late at night, Zuko came over after work, and we fell asleep. End of story; you happy now?" Katara huffs, raising a brow at them.
But that does little to appease any of them, Toph wagging her finger. "Ah, ah, ah, you left out why Zuko came to your place instead of going home."
"And what else you two did before you fell asleep," Suki adds with a snicker, sharing a fist bump with Toph.
"Is that really so important? We just fell asleep together, why do you want to know so bad?"
"Uh, Katara," Aang pipes up, watching the interaction nervously. "Maybe it's best you just answer the question upfront. They're not going to leave you alone until you do."
Katara turns to the younger boy in surprise, her eyes wide. "Not you too, Aang," she groans, Zuko reaching over to squeeze her shoulder gently.
This action doesn't go unnoticed by any of them, Sokka eyeing them in slight surprise. It's a gesture he's seen Zuko do to Katara plenty of times before, but he hadn't realised the extent of its effect on Katara when he sees her instantly relax in his grip, almost leaning back into him. If Zuko had been standing any closer, he's sure he would've wrapped her in a hug from behind.
"Listen to Aang, Katara. You guys did promise you'll tell us everything after the show's over."
Zuko and Katara shift their attention to him, both their eyes wide. "Sokka?" Zuko rasps out, a twinge of nervousness in his voice, and he inwardly smiles. It's already working.
He watches as his sister's eyes flit between both of them quickly, a hand reaching up to card through her hair before she scrunches her nose in irritation.
"But there's nothing to tell! I finished my paper early and asked Zuko to come over after work. He agreed, and we fell asleep after talking to each other. That's it, guys. There's nothing else to it!" Katara explodes, ignoring the pairs of eyes that turn to look at them. They're suddenly the centre of attention, and Sokka regrets ever going along with Toph's plan.
The devil in question snickers quietly to herself, somehow satisfied with this result. He still can't see how Katara snapping is something to celebrate, especially now that they're about to become a public embarrassment.
Zuko sighs.
"Look, guys. I don't know what you all want from us, but if you must know then yeah, we are in a relationship. We've been dating for the past three months, and this is exactly why we didn't want to tell you. So us sleeping together, both ways, is pretty standard, right?"
It's Zuko who ends up confessing to it all, and it's Zuko who confirms what they didn't think would happen just yet. Because who could believe that these two had managed to keep their relationship under wraps for a few months? The very same two most painfully obvious with their feelings, and with a known history of dancing around each other?
For the second time that day, chaos erupts.
Toph gasps.
Aang gapes.
Suki shrieks.
Sokka faints.
And Katara looks positively horrified as she turns to Zuko in shock, smacking him in the shoulder.
"Why did you tell them that for?" she hisses, scowling at him. She's sporting a furious pink blush on her face, decidedly ignoring their friends and their dramatic reactions (especially with her brother on the floor).
But Zuko can only let out a surrendered sigh, looking at her hopelessly. "Waiting till the six months mark to tell them is too long, Katara. They were bound to find out."
"You weren't going to tell us for six months?!"
Katara looks at her best friends, a sheepish smile on her face. "Surprise?"