"Did he really stick two fish hooks in his thumb?" Yue was laughing hysterically.
"He really did!" Suki exclaimed. "Don't tell him I told you, though. He's a little sensitive," she whispered dramtically.
Yue giggled, and it was the most adorable sound she had ever heard. Luckily, she was able to chalk up her blush to the cold.
The two of them were out on their morning walk, a routine they'd perfected over the last few weeks. It gave them a chance to talk before they went about their busy schedules, and Hahn was an extremely heavy sleeper, so Yue never got any blowback from him for it.
Yue's hair whipped around in the wind, matching the snowy scenery perfectly. "It sounds like you've known him for a long time. Did you meet him in high school?"
Suki nodded. "Yeah. We didn't start out as friends, though. He was honestly a jerk, saying things like, oh, girls can't play sports, leave it to the men, etc. Then I pounded a volleyball into his face and now we're friends."
"Really? It was that simple?"
She shrugged. "Sometimes someone just needs a good smack to the face for them to change their tune."
Yue shook her head, smiling to herself. "I don't think I would ever be able to do something like that." There was a sad tone to her voice.
"Why not? I know it seems harsh, but they will thank you for it later."
She sighed, and sat down on one of the chairs set up around the courtyard. She then gestured for Suki to sit down in the chair opposite her. Suki obliged, taking a sip of her coffee.
"When I was a kid, I used to get teased a lot for my hair. My hair isn't dyed, you know; I was born with a genetic condition. Everyone said it was weird, and that I looked like a grandmother. My parents offered to get it dyed if I wanted, and I agreed. I had it dyed several times, but it never stayed, so I was stuck with my natural color. I was also a rich girl, so some people automatically assumed that I was mean. They just..." Yue bit her lip, searching for the right words. "They tripped me up, they teased me, but I never said anything. My hair doesn't bother me as much now, but that kind of behavior had already been engrained in me. I just let people walk all over me, and I wish I had the strength to stand up to people, like you do."
Yue's somber expression broke Suki's heart, and she immediately took Yue's hands in her own, gazing into her bright blue eyes.
"You have nothing to be ashamed of. You're perfect just the way you are. You're just being empathetic, and there isn't anything wrong with that."
Yue's eyes suddenly began to swim with tears. She quickly let go of Suki's hands, tears running down her face.
She frowned in confusion. "Yue, are you oka-"
"I'm-I'm sorry!" She quickly ran off, leaving Suki to stew in her confusion.
...
"Love is dead. The world is nothing but an endless vortex of pain and suffering."
"That's nice." Zuko tapped his foot, not really paying attention to what Suki was telling him over the phone. He was standing outside a noodle shop, waiting in the snow for Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Toph, to arrive. They'd arranged a date a couple days prior, to just hang out and get to know one another. For some reason he couldn't fathom, he was incredibly nervous.
"It's not nice, it's artistic," Suki protested. "I don't understand it. She tells me her story, I comfort her, and then she runs off crying. What am I doing wrong?"
"Look, I'm really sorry Suki, but I'm going to have to call you back. You can tell me all about it later, okay?"
She sighed. "Okay." She abruptly hung up.
Zuko took a deep breath, running his hands through his air like he always did when he was stressed. He had no idea why his nerves were running so wild. He had eaten out with Sokka loads of times, he'd already met everyone else, there was no reason to be so anxious.
But he was.
Screeeech! Zuko jumped out of his skin as Appa swerved into a parking spot in front of him, leaving tire marks for miles behind it. Aang came out first, smiling and waving as he paid up at the parking meter. The other three, however, climbed out looking more than a little green.
"Aang," Katara panted, glaring at an unfazed Aang. "Are you sure you passed your driver's test?"
"Of course!" Then he noticed everyone's faces. "Hey, are you guys okay?"
Sokka rolled his eyes, shoving Toph aside as he clambered out of the car. "Besides feeling like I got sucked into space and all my insides are jumbled, I'm fine! Thanks for asking!"
Toph didn't say anything, she just punched Aang in the arm as hard as she could, which was hard enough for him to stumble to the ground.
Katara helped Aang up, then flashed her signature smile at Zuko. Zuko knew this smile well enough by now. It was a message to the others that said, stop acting so immature before you embarrass me. "I'm so sorry we're late, Zuko! I hope you weren't waiting too long."
He shook his head, fighting the urge to burst out laughing. "No, only a few minutes."
"Why are we all chit-chatting? Let's get out of this cold and get some food!" Toph whined, shoving everyone out of her way and making a beeline for the restaurant. Aang and Katara hurried up to catch up with her, while Sokka stayed behind to wait for Zuko.
Zuko snickered at the whole affair. He joined up with Sokka and whispered, "I'm really glad I decided to drive myself here. I don't know if I would've liked to endure a near-death experience."
Sokka bust out laughing. "When Aang made that u-turn, I actually thought I was going to die. I made a will and everything, look!" He handed Zuko a crumpled up napkin from his coat pocket, and Zuko unfolded it. It read, WILL- I'm not giving away any of my things after I die. They're mine.
Zuko pouted, trying his best not to laugh. "Not even your pai'sho set?"
Sokka paused. Then he flashed a grin that could light up the sky. "Okay, well, maybe you can have my pai'sho set. I owe it to you, after all. Come on, let's get inside, it's freezing!" Sokka grabbed his hand and started to run happily towards the shop, not even noticing Zuko blushing furiously.
It's just the cold, Zuko reasoned. That's why my face is red.
They were all happy to get inside and away from the snow, where a perfect aroma of spices and the hum of chit-chat awaited them. Tiny restaurants fascinated Zuko; because it was so small, he could see the entire process of the noodles' preparation from where he was sitting. He could watch the chefs work for hours, but he wasn't here for that. He was here to socialize.
They all stepped up to the counter, and Zuko knew immediately what he wanted to order. "I'll have a Fire Flake ramen bowl with extra hot sauce, please."
Aang whistled. "Phew, you must have some stomach, Zuko! I'll have the vegetarian udon bowl, without the sauce, please."
Sokka and Katara promptly ordered 5-flavor ramen bowls, and Toph ordered something called the Dragon of the West, and when Zuko asked her what was in it, she shrugged.
"It'll be a surprise," Toph said flatly. "Besides, I've always wanted to eat a dragon!"
Zuko decided it was better if he didn't ask about that last bit.
He slid into the booth, facing the window, and Sokka slid in beside him. Zuko furiously fiddled with his napkin, trying to ignore his racing heartbeat. Sokka, apparently, didn't seem to notice his distress, and chatted with him without a care in the world.
"We all met in Kyoshi High, you see. It's an Earth District school, but it's right on the border for the Water District, so Katara and I got zoned for it, and so we became friends with Toph, Suki, and Aang," Sokka explained.
"Sokka and Suki were seniors, and we were all juniors. A fact that Sokka reminds us of every. Single. Day." Katara glared at Sokka, who chuckled nervously.
"That's not true, I would never," he said hurriedly, but he was really only talking to Zuko.
Zuko laughed, and shoved Sokka lightly on the shoulder. "Oh, I'm sure. The Sokka I know would never do such a thing."
They all laughed at Sokka's embarrassed expression.
"Ah, I missed the good old days when I could have Sokka as my personal punching bag. It gets old just trying to rile up Aang and Katara. They're too mature," Toph griped, her feet propped up on the table, much to Katara's disgust.
Before Sokka could say anything to that, the small buzzer on their table started beeping, and Aang hurried off to get their food. A minute later, he returned with a full tray of individual noodle bowls. He gently set them on the table, and everyone peered over to find theirs.
Katara instantly handed Zuko's bowl over to him, smirking. "I'm guessing the one that looks like it got murdered by a chili pepper is Zuko's?"
Normally, this would've made him embarrassed, but he felt comfortable with these people. He shurgged. "Fire District cuisine has a lot of spice, so I suppose I'm used to it."
Sokka suddenly choked on his water, his face heating up like crazy. Odd.
Katara raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Are you okay, Sokka?"
He continued to cough, but he waved them off. "I-I'm fine!" His coughing fit subsided, and he straightened up his jacket. "I mean, it's okay, as long as it makes Zuko hot-happy! Happy. I meant to say happy."
No one knew what to make of this, especially Zuko. "Um...thank you?"
Sokka looked like he wanted to crawl underneath the table and live there. "Welcome," he mumbled.
Katara passed him his 5-flavor ramen, staring at him quizzically. "Don't choke on this, alright?"
Toph broke the silence by laughing hysterically. "Oh, Sokka, forget what I said earlier! You're your own punching bag! I can't believe you said that!"
Zuko, sensing that Sokka might die of embarrassment if this continued any longer, changed the subject. "Have you tried your 'Dragon of the West', Toph?"
She stopped laughing and started paying attention to her bowl. "Nope. Guess this is my first taste of dragon!" She extended her chopsticks and took a bite out of the noodles. She frowned as she swallowed it.
"Well? How is it?" Aang asked.
"I dunno. It doesn't taste as scaly as I imagined."
Katara stifled her laughter, but a small snort still came out. "If you ask me, that's a good thing. I wouldn't want to eat scales."
Toph kicked Katara from across the table, irritated by her sarcasm. "I know it's not a real dragon, Sugar Queen. I just wanted to, you know, imagine. I still want to eat a dragon."
"You should try komodo chicken, then. It's almost the same thing, really," Zuko piped up.
Toph whistled. "I like the sound of komodo. Next time, get me some of that, okay? I'll give you my rock collection for it."
Zuko smiled. He wasn't really interested in her rock collection, but it was nice to have Toph's favor. According to Sokka, that was a difficult feat.
They sat there for a couple of hours, chatting about school, stupid things Sokka did in his youth (which Sokka did not appreciate), and whether or not a sky bison would win a fight against a dragon. No one asked about his scar. No one acted like he was different than anybody else. They barely knew him, and they were treating him like they'd grown up together.
It felt...nice.
As they swept out of the shop, Aang grinned and pointed over to Appa, which was spurting gasoline. "Let's do shopping around town, guys!"
Zuko scratched his neck nervously. "Um...I was actually going to head back to my dorm, I'm kind of tired.
The following second seemed to last an eternity, but Aang just smiled at him. "That's cool! What about you, Sokka?"
Sokka shrugged. "I wouldn't mind watching some Captain Boomerang reruns back at our place. You guys can go ahead!"
Toph scowled, scrunching her nose away from Appa. "What fun."
They all waved goodbye, and Zuko led Sokka to where his Beetle was. Zuko hopped into the driver's seat, and Sokka claimed shotgun.
Before Zuko could start driving, Sokka turned to him with a tired smile. "Thanks for saving me back there. I thought I was going to die from mortification."
Zuko smiled back. "Well, I didn't really understand what you said, but you're welcome anyways. I know a thing or two about being embarrassed."
Sokka perked up and stared at him. "You didn't understand what I said?"
Zuko shook his head.
He sighed in relief, then noticed Zuko staring at him quizzically, and he cleared his throat. "You didn't miss much, it's nothing. Everyone else just thought it was funny."
"I'm...not going to ask. I couldn't just let you flail like an elephant koi, though. I've had too many moments like that." What on earth happened to your face? You look kind of frightening, dude. How did you get that scar?
Somehow Sokka could read his mind, and his expression softened. "I'm sorry I asked about your scar when I met. It is beautiful, you know."
Zuko didn't know what to say. Not even his uncle had told him something like that.
Sokka could tell that he didn't really believe him, so he inched forward and before Zuko could react, he stroked a gentle hand across his scar. It felt...good, actually. "I noticed that you didn't touch it, even if you spilled something on it. But I don't think you'd be the same without it, and I mean that in a good way."
Sokka leaned back and sat in his seat.
During the entire ride, not a single word was spoken. Zuko was trying his hardest not to spontaneously combust from the gesture. He could feel his heart trying to murder him the more he thought about it.
When they finally arrived in the parking lot, Sokka was already climbing out of the car, but Zuko stayed inside. "Are you coming?" Sokka asked.
Zuko waved him off. "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute, don't worry about it." Sokka shrugged and headed back to the dorm, leaving Zuko screaming internally about everything that had just happened. He could still feel Sokka's hands gently rubbing across his scar, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. It made his heart feel warm, like he was about to explode, but not in a bad way. It was all very confusing.
Zuko sighed. He'd have to think about it later.