"Are you sure you've got everything, Aang?" Katara bit her nails as she surveyed their luggage in the parking lot.
Aang nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely!"
"Nope." Toph walked forward and placed a cord in his hands. "You left your phone charger in the living room."
He beamed at her, ignoring Katara's facepalm in the background. "Oh yeah! Thanks, Toph!"
"It was awesome to see everyone!" Suki beamed, enveloping Toph in a large hug, much to her discomfort. "I know you're busy seniors and all, but don't forget to text us, alright?"
"Okay, okay! Just let me go, you hog-monkey!" Toph yelped, squirming in Suki's grasp. She finally let go, but she didn't seem all that remorseful.
"Be sure to keep your grades up, Sokka. I don't want to find out that you flunked after all the work you put in to get here," Katara insisted, fixing him with one of her famous glares.
He scoffed theatrically. "I always keep my grades up, little sister. Now, go throw up on the way home and don't worry about me."
"Hey!" Aang piped up, indignant. "Don't hurt Appa's feelings like that! He'd never want to hurt anyone!"
"It's a car, Aang!" Toph, Katara, and Sokka all snapped in unison. Aang simply ducked inside the front seat.
Katara refocused her attention back to Sokka. "I don't believe you for a second, but I trust Zuko, so I'll think you'll be alright. Listen to everything he says, got it?"
Zuko and Suki busted out laughing as Sokka bristled. "How could you trust a practical stranger more than your own flesh and blood? I can take care of myself, thanks!" He stormed off, dragging a gleeful Zuko with him, but he still waved goodbye as the car sputtered into the distance.
Once they finally reached their dorm, Suki went back to her own, stammering something about texting Yue. Sokka made a face. "I don't need to hear all that oogie nonsense," he griped.
Suki rolled her eyes. "You're just embarrassed that you walked in on us making out. Don't be such a toddler."
Sokka went completely red in the face, and it only get redder at the sight of Zuko trying to hold in his laughter. He huffed. "Go text your girlfriend or whatever, see if I care." Suki slammed the door, and Sokka continued to drag Zuko into their dorm, their faces both red for entirely different reasons.
...
It was the first day back from winter break, and, as usual, Zuko was up and ready to go at dawn. He slipped on the red leather jacket Suki had given him for his birthday, and checked himself in the mirror. It actually...looked nice. Red was a tricky color for him to wear what with his eye.
He swung open Sokka's bedroom door, expecting to see him just about to leave, fully dressed and his bag filled with supplies. Instead, he found Sokka still tangled under the covers. His hair was down and in front of his eyes, and he groaned the moment Zuko opened the door.
"Rise and shine, Sokka!" he beamed.
His greeting was met with a shoe just barely missing his face. "Wake me up in ten years," Sokka grumbled into his pillow.
"Come on, you have a lecture in a half an hour. Mr. Pakku's going to dance on your grave if you're late to one more."
"Maybe then I can finally get some sleep."
Zuko sighed. He didn't want it to have to come to this, but he had no other choice. "Fine, but remember, you brought this on yourself." In one swift motion, he whipped the covers completely off of the mattress, causing Sokka to gasp and shiver.
"Sweet Tui and La, it's cold in here!" he shrieked.
Zuko smirked incredulously. "Don't you get a foot of snow where you live?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I like it," he snarked, gritting his teeth. He finally climbed out of bed, and that was when Zuko realized that Sokka wasn't wearing any pants, and was instead donning a pair of boxers with narwhals on them. Pink dusted his cheeks, and he took that as his cue to leave.
"If you hurry up, we might be able to get some tea before class," Zuko called as he shut the door.
"No, no, I need a coffee with a pound of powdered sugar. That's the only way I'm going to get through today."
"No way. I don't need to look after a hyperactive squirrel today, thanks."
"...I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
...
After Sokka got ready at last, they took a quick pit stop at Pao's Tea Emporium. They hadn't been in a month, thanks to Jet's bloody nose, but the staff seemed to be eager to have their business again.
"I'll have a medium jasmine tea, please," Zuko asked politely.
Sokka's face was scrunched in concentration. "What's matcha again?" he whispered in Zuko's ear, sending a shiver up his spine.
"It's the one that you said tasted like dung distilled in a cup," he whispered back.
"Oh, gross. Hey, what's that one that doesn't really taste like anything, but then you put a bunch of honey in it and it tastes amazing?" he exclaimed, not even caring to be quiet.
"Ginseng?"
Sokka snapped his fingers. "That's the one." He turned to the server, who had been watching their exchange with bemusement. "I'll have a medium ginseng with all the honey you've got."
He nodded, and rang up their orders. "That will be 10 yuans."
Zuko put his money on the counter before Sokka could say anything, much to the others' dislike. He quickly cut off Sokka's series of protests. "You've insisted on paying the last three times we've been here, it's my turn. We're not having another daily debate over who pays."
His companion pouts. "But I like to watch you get all riled up about politeness and etiquette."
"Well, I-" Zuko's can't even form words. He can barely remember what he was about to say through the redness of his face. "A-at least one of us has to," he managed to stutter.
"Yeah," Sokka chuckled awkwardly, pink dusting his cheeks.
A moment of silence.
Just at that moment, the server reappeared at the counter, clutching two steaming hot cups of tea. "Have a nice rest of your day!" he smiled.
Zuko smiled back. "Thanks, you too." He took both cups and handed the one labeled ginseng to Sokka, who took it gratefully and immediately began chugging it. Unsurprisingly, he started hacking a second in and tried to soothe his burning tongue.
He laughed as they left the tea shop. "Come on, we don't have time for you to go to the emergency room, we have to get to class."
...
He had been doing so well.
Things had been perfectly normal between him and Zuko for several days. He didn't have any weird outbursts, or sudden blushing (except for that one time he walked in on Zuko taking his shirt off, that didn't count), or trying too hard to show off in front of him. He effortlessly held up both ends of the conversation, like they were just two friends hanging out together.
So why, in the name of Tui and La, had he said that?
It wasn't even flirtatious, it was just weird. What does I like it when you get riled up about etiquette even mean? Thank the stars the server had shown up right then, or he would have had to bury himself in a hole for all of eternity. There was just something about Zuko that made him unable to form coherent words, or just, you know, function. He'd start a sentence and then he'd get lost in his bright golden eyes, his raven hair, the porcelain of his skin...
Nope. Okay. He is going to leave that train of thought right now.
The best conversation they'd had yet was on Zuko's birthday, when Sokka asked him a series of questions about him. He is now a certified expert on Zuko 101. His favorite color is red (shocker), he lived and traveled with his uncle all over the world, until they eventually settled just outside Palace City in the Fire District, where they're originally from, to start a tea shop. It's called the Jasmine Dragon, and they lived in an apartment above it, with Zuko working as a server every day. He loves books, particularly play scripts, and his uncle was the one who taught him how to play pai'sho.
Perfect. Easy peasy. So why did it feel like he still didn't really know him at all?
For one thing, there's something about Zuko that just screams rich boy. He doesn't know what it is. He's seen several designer items in his closet (not that he's dug through there or anything), and he probably has to have a good amount of money to travel as much as he says he has. Now, Sokka doesn't know anything about tea shops, but they don't seem lucrative enough to warrant those kinds of expenses.
Then there's the scar.
He hasn't asked about it since that first day, as it seems like it's a particularly touchy subject. Zuko's clearly ashamed of it and will stiffen if anyone mentions it, stubbornly refusing to say how he got it. It's very large and stretches out to his ear, but it doesn't look recent. It's not red, really, it's more of a dull pinkish color. He doubts that a hot pot of tea could cause that. But he won't ask, because Zuko doesn't want him to. What he has to make sure he does, however, is let Zuko know that his scar is a part of him, and isn't something to be ashamed of. He can't imagine him without it, to be honest.
"Mr. Woda!"
Every thought in Sokka's head instantly fizzled out. "I'm sorry-what?"
Mr. Pakku cleared his throat and gave him an icy stare. All at once, Sokka was suddenly in the large campus hall, with two dozen other students dozing off to Pakku's world history lectures. Zuko was still sitting beside him, just like he had been thirty-no, was it forty-five minutes ago that class had started?
"Um, sorry, could you repeat the question?" he stammered.
Pakku gave a long, exasperated sigh. "I said, who was the first group to discover the Misty Palms Oasis?"
"Uh, that would be Earth District explorers, led by Kyoshi in the early Lava Age," Sokka replies, secretly beaming with pride. He actually knows this.
Pakku blinks. Then, his face breaks into a surprised smile. Huh. He thought Pakku only had one possible emotion. "That's correct, Mr. Woda. Please pay attention, though." He sweeps off to continue his lecture.
All the tension in his body breaks, and he turns to his right to see Zuko flashing him a thumbs up. He smiles back and turns to his abandoned notes, a giddy feeling in his chest.
...
"You know I could have whipped something up for us, right?"
Sokka took a seat at the dining table, setting down a large bowl of tortilla chips and two small dishes of salsa and guacamole. "Well, yeah, but study sessions are made for snacks, not gourmet meals." He gestured to the dish containing salsa. "This is probably much milder than what you're used to, cause it's from the Earth District, but it's still really good."
Zuko gave the dish an appraising look. "I might just have to try that," he replied, scooping some onto a tortilla chip. His eyes widened as he sank his teeth into it. "You're right, it's super mild, but that's good."
His roommate visibly brightened at that. "Awesome! I remember when I was in the checkout line at the grocery store, the clerk pointed at the salsa and told me-"
"Sokka, you're doing it again." Whenever they had study sessions, Sokka had an unfortunate tendency to go on tangents about topics that were completely unrelated to what they were studying, and Zuko could never tell if it was intentional or not.
He had the decency to blush, at least. "Sorry, sorry. Let's get started."
"Alright." Zuko propped open his World History textbook and scanned the table of contents. "From what could I tell at the lecture today, you seem to know exploration pretty well. However, your knowledge of leaders and politics could definitely use some work, particularly between Chin the Conqueror's rule and the creation of Kyoshi Island. It would probably be beneficial if I put together a study guide-what?" He looked up from the book to see Sokka staring at him with an odd expression.
He quickly turned away. "Oh, sorry. It's just...I don't know what I'd do without you helping me."
Zuko scoffed. "Come on, Sokka. If it wasn't for you, I'd have failed Engineering a thousand times over. Professor Piandao loves you."
"But Professor Pakku hates me!
"Does he like anyone, though?"
"Yeah, you."
Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Of course he doesn't-"
"Yes, he does! When he hands back our projects, everyone gets a grunt, and you get an excellent work, Mr. Meiyo!" Sokka made his voice go crackly as an imitation of Pakku. Then he appeared to flame red. "I mean, it's not anything against you, you deserve it, of course. You're so smart, and organized, and hard-working..." The boy let out a long sigh. "I'm sure my professors are checking if the acceptance rosters made a mistake right now."
Zuko slammed the textbook shut, causing Sokka to snap out of his train of thought.
"Sokka Woda. Your mind is one of the most versatile, creative things I've ever seen in my life. It doesn't work like everyone else's, and that's what makes you Sokka. You passed the test with flying colors, and you're working every day to try and keep your grades up, so you just need to stop talking like the the most prestigious university in all four districts made a mistake."
Sokka blinked.
All of his confidence from a second ago vanished in an instant. "I-um-sorry, was that too much? It's just how I feel, I guess-"
Sokka started laughing, cutting off his ramblings. "Zuko, you really are something." His blue eyes seemed to melt and swirl like the sea as their gazes held, like sunlight clashing against water. He wondered briefly what it would be like if he took Sokka's hand in his, his thumbs close to his wrist so he could feel his heartbeat-
Brrriiing!
The pair snapped out of their trance instantaneously, and Zuko glanced down at the table to see a big green button on the screen of his cellphone. His stomach plummeted as he saw the number. "I'll be back in a second, I just have to take this."
Sokka waved him off casually, his cheeks dusted pink. "No problem. I'll just be here with this textbook to keep me company."
Zuko snorted, and sped off to the bathroom and locked the door. He sat himself down on the toilet, took a deep breath, and pressed the button.
"About time you picked up, Zuzu."
"I was busy," he bit out. "What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing. Father just asked me to check on you. He's awfully worried about how you might sully his reputation while you're there, considering he's paying for your tuition."
"Well, there's nothing to say. Is there anything else?"
"Let me think...oh, yes! That crusty old tea shop of yours closed down."
Zuko felt the wind being knocked out of him. He wasn't sure if he could even form words. "What...?"
"Mmhm! Apparently Uncle had been behind on the rent for the last few months. Oh, Zuzu, did he not tell you? This must be quite a shock. Well, I'm happy to hear everything's going well on your end, and make sure not to disappoint everyone too much. Buh-bye!"
The call ended.
"Hey, Zuko? I'm sure you're having an invigorating conversation with the toilet right now, but is everything okay in there?"
He stood straight up and swung open the door, startling Sokka. His heart was racing like he'd just sprinted a marathon. "No. I need to call Uncle."