When Aang and Zuko's eyes met, they both blushed a deep shade of red. Everyone else at the table: Katara, Sokka, and Toph, all turned their heads towards each other in utter confusion. Then, as they seemed to figure out what was going on, a long silence fell over the lunch table. Everyone began eating their food again, and hardly a word left even a single pair of lips for the rest of the hour.
Zuko didn't know what to do. Neither did Aang.
First of all, Aang had absolutely no idea that Zuko actually might have had feelings for him as well, and now that everyone was onto their situation, it was even worse. Aang didn't want anyone to know that he had a crush on Zuko. He knew that they wouldn't accept him for who he truly was.
Katara and Sokka both came from a very conservative family and constantly threw their anti-homosexual views into conversation whenever they could. Since they had been raised in a small town by their grandmother, the information and opinions they had on topics like homosexuality came through her close-minded filter on reality. Even though they'd adapted to modern social circles throughout high school, Katara and Sokka often refused to open their eyes to new ideas.
Toph never openly discussed her opinion on whether or not she thought same sex relationships were right or wrong, but she certainly got uncomfortable whenever Katara or Sokka brought up their standpoint. In the end, she was the one that always ended up conforming to whatever Katara did. The two girls used to do nothing but argue with one another, but ever since they started going to high school, they bonded inseparably.
On the other hand, Zuko didn't particularly want anyone to know about his feelings for Aang either, starting to recall that he wasn't in very good company, but due to his badly timed glance at the boy, everyone else was aware that something might be going on between the two.
...
The next day at lunch was more or less a disaster. Katara, Sokka, and Toph all ditched Aang and Zuko and didn't come to the tea shop.
When Aang and Zuko decided that their friends weren't going to show up at their usual meeting place, the two of them walked over to Iroh's together. Both Aang and Zuko had begun to feel an extreme sense of awkwardness between each other ever since the previous day at lunch, but they managed to keep a normal conversation about the school day going while they walked.
When they entered the tea shop, Iroh said,
"Hello Zuko, hello Aang. Where are the rest of your friends?"
"I don't know," replied Aang and Zuko in sync. They both looked at each other and gulped.
"What's going on?" Iroh asked in a concerned voice. "Please sit down."
"Well... um... I guess from the fact that the guys ditched us... I'm thinking that maybe they're mad at us?" Zuko said, trying to sound convincing, but was completely showing the fact that he was one of the world's worst liars.
As they had their conversation, Aang was sitting right beside Zuko, but he didn't know what to do. He looked down at his shoes and tried not to focus on anything in particular to try to act as normal as he could, although he too was obviously bad at hiding things.
"Okay you two. I can see that you really don't want to tell me about whatever happened, but I am here to help you. Just remember that," reassured Iroh.
Aang finally spoke after remaining quiet the whole time. "We need to talk a few things over before we can really decide on what to do about our friends."
"Well, good luck," said Iroh, smiling. Obviously, he seemed unaware of the seriousness of their situation.
"I don't want to see my nephew and his friends unhappy."
...
After visiting Iroh at the tea shop, both Zuko and Aang didn't go back to school like they were supposed to. They had a much more important relationship to confirm.
"Let's walk down to the beach," suggested Aang.
They weren't saying anything, but they both knew that they were about to have a clarifying, truthful, emotional moment.
When the two of them got to the beach, they sat down in front of a tall bulkhead facing the water.
When they were both settled, Zuko pulled Aang into a close hug. As this happened, a single tear began to roll down the smaller boy's cheek.
It was a tear of relief and a tear of joy, but it was also a tear shed from all the time he had spent in fear that Zuko would reject him for the way he felt. Aang was so happy to finally be in his love's arms, even though they were still just friends. However, he could tell that was about to change.
After their powerful embrace, before either of them could even think of anything else, they both said:
"I- I think I'm in love with you," in sync with each other.
Aang looked into Zuko's beautiful amber eyes and more tears began streaming down his face. Zuko smiled warmly at the boy in reassurance that he felt the same.
Like it was a vital impulse, Aang and Zuko's lips found each other instantly. Neither of them wanted to let go. Ever.
When they finally moved away from each other, they sat down as close as they could be, and laced their fingers together.
They could hear the sea and feel the gentle waves lapping at the shore beneath their feet.
...
Little did they know, Mai was still around, and she'd been following Zuko ever since the moment she turned her back on him in Iroh's tea shop. She was sitting in a fancy car in the beach parking lot, watching the entire scene unfold.
Even after seeing how passionate they were for each other, Mai's heart was still blacker than the darkest depths of the Earth, and she truly couldn't care about anyone else except for herself.
"That fucking QUEER!" Mai was already filled with rage, but she had no idea that her 'x' boyfriend would've turned out to be gay. Learning that only made her even more angry.
"I'm going to do something about this, Zuko... Just you wait," Mai said to herself, still sitting in her car.