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Zuko wants to marry his best friend.
When he realizes this - when he realizes that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Sokka - it happens just like everything else in their relationship does. It catches him by surprise, stealing the breath from his lungs and he can’t help but mutter out a quiet, “Oh,” at the moment of clarity.
He wants to marry his best friend. He wants to marry Sokka. He wants to spend the rest of his life with Sokka. Of course he does. It makes so much sense.
Sokka, however, can’t read Zuko’s mind, therefore he simply fixes Zuko with a confused look from where he stands in front of the sofa and asks, “What?”
He wants to marry Sokka.
But he can’t really tell him like this. He just realized it, after all. It wouldn’t be right. Sokka deserves the best. He deserves some grand gesture, some really romantic proposal, not Zuko blurting the words from where he sits on the sofa in his pajamas.
He wants to marry Sokka, but he doesn’t tell him, at least not right away.
Instead, Zuko just repeats Sokka’s own word back to him. “What?”
Sokka, thankfully, takes Zuko’s blank stare and lack of response in stride. “I asked you if you wanted some mac n’ cheese, and you just looked at me like I told you that my dick was made of gold or something and said, ‘oh’,” he retorts, “So ‘oh’ what?”
Zuko shakes himself out of it, fixing Sokka with the most nonchalant gaze that he can muster and replies. “Yeah, mac n’ cheese sounds great.”
Sokka just snorts in response, reaching forward to ruffle Zuko’s hair affectionately. “Weirdo.”
So that’s how, two weeks later, Zuko finds himself feeling incredibly out of place in some upscale jewelry store alongside Sokka’s little sister, Katara, trying to pick out a ring.
It’s happening. It’s really happening. He’s going to ask Sokka to marry him.
If he’s being honest, Zuko has let himself foolishly daydream about something like this a few times in the past, but that was before things between him and Sokka were even serious. That was before there was even something between him and Sokka. When Zuko was just the weirdo with the big gay crush on his best friend since he was sixteen. So it’s wild to think that, over ten years after they first met and nearly five years since they first started dating, Zuko is about to ask Sokka to marry him.
It’s terrifying and exhilarating and reckless and crazy and -
It feels right.
Almost just as terrifying as the idea of asking Sokka to marry him is telling Sokka’s sister that he wants to marry her big brother. He and Katara’s relationship had a rocky start when they were just teenagers and Zuko was her brother’s moody, angsty best friend, but over the years, Zuko has developed a strong bond with his boyfriend’s ( soon to be fiance’s ) sister. Even still, it’s daunting for him to say the words out loud for the first time -
“I want to marry Sokka”
- but thankfully, Katara only responds with pure excitement and joy. So it only takes two weeks before he finds himself standing with her in some jewelry store, trying to tell the difference between fifteen different plain gold bands with varying prices, as if there’s actually something that sets them apart.
“What about this one?” Katara asks, pointing at the seventh gold ring of the afternoon.
Zuko’s head hurts. “What makes that one any different from the others?” he asks. He can practically feel the salesperson seething behind the counter, but the question still stands. The thin gold band doesn’t look any different from the ones next to it, other than the fact that it might be just a little bit slimmer.
Katara groans, stopping herself short from banging her head up against the glass counter. “You haven’t liked a single ring that I’ve picked out,” she complains, “Why exactly did you bring me along?”
“Because I value your opinion,” Zuko deadpans, which earns raised eyebrows from Katara. He sighs. “Fine. I don’t know. I need moral support, or something. I’m out of my element, here.”
“Well, I’m not going to tell you to settle on a ring for my brother,” Katara remarks, “But either you choose something here, or we go somewhere else
Somewhere else. Of course.
Zuko takes in the stuffy atmosphere of the jewelry store and wants to laugh at himself for even considering it. Sokka would hate something like this. Hell, the guy would probably prefer a ring-pop over the bland, boring bands on display in the counter in front of them, but -
“I know a place,” Zuko says suddenly, his eyes lighting up. Katara’s own eyes widen with interest and she wordlessly motions for Zuko to go on. “It’s going to sound stupid, but there’s this weird little antique shop on the other side of town that he loves -”
“Oh, I’m familiar,” Katara replies with a grin, “You wanna go there?”
“Yeah, but -” Zuko cuts himself off as he weighs their options. He chose this day in particular because he knew Sokka wouldn’t be around the apartment and he wouldn’t need to find an excuse to go out with Katara without him. Sokka and his father were supposed to be having a dudes day hiking and fishing in the mountains, and Zuko had encouraged him to get some quality time in with his dad while he does some work around the apartment. The problem is, it was only a short day trip, and Zuko’s not entirely sure how much time they have left before Sokka gets home.
After explaining this to Katara, he pulls his phone from his pocket and quickly fires off a text to his boyfriend under the guise of planning for dinner.
“Hey, when do you think you’ll be home? I’m thinking of ordering takeout.”
It’s short, sweet and to the point, and simple enough that hopefully, Sokka won’t see through the white lie. As Zuko and Katara stand in the jewelry store, awaiting Sokka’s response, the employee behind the counter finally decides to give up on them, walking away with a disgruntled sigh. Normally, Zuko would apologize, but he’s distracted when he sees the ellipsis appear on his screen, indicating that Sokka is typing. At least he’ll receive a quick response - he was half expecting him not to have any service, if he was still in the mountains with his father.
Sokka’s reply arrives quickly, and when Zuko glances down at his phone to read it, he -
Well, he has to re-read the message a couple of times, and once he comes to the realization that he hasn’t misread it, his heart drops to his stomach.
He’s faintly aware of the fact that he’s just staring at his phone, his face probably clearly displaying the confusion and worry and - is that heartbreak? - that he feels, but he can’t help it. He can’t help the way his face falls or the way he immediately begins overthinking everything, because in an instant, he knows that Sokka is lying to him, and he doesn’t understand why .
“Zuko,” Katara’s voice cuts through his thoughts and he glances up at her with wide eyes. It takes him a moment to focus on her and what she’s saying, though, because his brain is going a million miles a minute, trying to make sense of the message that he just read. Katara’s face is creased in concern as she asks, “Is everything okay?”
“I -” Zuko starts then stops, unsure of what to say to her. He doesn’t even know how to begin to explain it. “I don’t know?”
Her face transforms from concern to worry at his response. “Is Sokka okay?” she asks more pointedly, reaching out for Zuko’s phone, “What’s going on? What did he say?”
So instead of explaining, Zuko just thrusts his phone at Katara and watches as she quickly reads Sokka’s message.
“Hey darling! I hope you don’t mind, but Katara and I are going to hit the mall really quick before I come home. Probably be back around 6? Don’t wait for me if you get hungry though!”
Maybe she’ll have an explanation. Maybe he’s reading too much into it. Maybe they made plans and Katara just forgot about them. That would make sense, right?
It’s stupid. It’s a dumb little thing to become so concerned about because Sokka has never given him a reason not to trust him. Sokka has never lied to him unless it was about something stupid like doing the dishes or forgetting to take out the trash, so surely, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Sokka appears to be lying to him right now… right? After all, he just told a white lie of his own, so maybe it’s just an honest mistake.
Zuko watches as Katara reads, then re-reads the message. Her brow furrows in confusion as she looks down at the phone, and just like that, Zuko’s fears are confirmed.
“You guys didn’t have plans, did you?” he asks quietly.
Katara quietly hands his phone back, as if she’s trying to work out an explanation as well. When she can’t, though, she just shakes her head and mutters, “No. I haven’t even talked to him since last week.”
“Oh.”
Zuko doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to think. He and Sokka - they’ve always told each other everything. Why would he lie about this? It doesn’t make any sense.
Apparently, it doesn’t make any sense to Katara, either.
“I’m sure there’s a good explanation,” she finally insists, “He wouldn’t just - I mean, Sokka isn’t the type to -”
Zuko knows what she’s trying to say. Sokka wouldn’t lie unless he had a good reason, and he certainly wouldn’t cheat on him, and the logical part of his brain knows that. Zuko knows that Sokka wouldn’t do that to him, that he’s not that kind of person - at least he thinks he’s not. But couple a shitty childhood with a few failed relationships and everything that Zuko dealt with in his last fling with Jet, there will always be a little bit of doubt there in the back of his mind, a little voice that tells him, you’re not good enough for him. It’s stupid and irrational and Zuko knows it, but on bad days, his past traumas will rear rear their ugly little heads and try to convince him that he’s not enough, that Sokka would be better off without him -
That he’d lie about where he is and cheat on him.
There’s another side of Zuko that already feels guilty about overthinking this. That side tells him that he’s being controlling and assuming the worst without talking to his partner first, and honestly, that just makes him feel worse.
Katara knows Zuko almost as well as Sokka does, so when the metaphorical storm cloud appears over his head, she’s quick to try to keep it at bay. “Hey, what do you say we get out of here and grab a bite to eat?” she asks gently, reaching out to touch his arm, “I’m sure this is just a big misunderstanding - I can text Sokka and -”
“No,” Zuko all but bites, shaking himself out of it. “Don’t - just don’t text him. I’ll talk to him. I just need to think.”
Katara opens her mouth like she wants to argue - of course she does, he’s her brother and she’ll gladly rip him a new one if he’s being an asshole - but she swallows whatever she was going to say. After a brief moment to consider her words, she finally nods and asks, “Do you want to head home?”
And with a sigh, Zuko mutters, “Yeah.”
He doesn’t know whether to be confused, angry or upset. Maybe all three? Either way, whatever he’s feeling, he doesn’t want to think about it too much, so after Katara drops him back off at his apartment - his apartment that he shares with Sokka - he decides to busy himself by cleaning. First, he does all of the dishes and wipes down the kitchen, then he moves onto the bathroom, scrubbing the sink and shower until his hands feel raw. It doesn’t make his problem go away by any means, but it helps to take his mind off of things.
At least, it does, until he makes his way to the bedroom. Zuko is usually pretty good about keeping the room clean unless he’s in a hurry in the morning, but Sokka has always been known to leave his dirty clothes strewn about the floor, only cleaning them up when Zuko gives him a hard time about it or when it’s absolutely necessary. Normally, Zuko doesn’t mind - it makes their room feel more lived in, feel more them - but right now, it just makes things worse. When he steps into their shared bedroom, Zuko can’t help but wonder if Sokka really is hiding something from him. It was an easy lie, saying he’d be spending the afternoon with Katara. Sure, Zuko has gotten closer with his sister over the years, but he rarely sees her without Sokka. It was a safe lie. Surely, Sokka wouldn’t assume that they’d be together, and as Zuko cleans the bedroom and makes their bed, he finds himself wondering how many other times Sokka has lied to him.
So maybe Zuko can’t help it when he checks Sokka’s pockets before throwing his pants in with the rest of the dirty clothes, and maybe he has a good reason to dig through his drawers for clues while he cleans. He’s never been like this, has never been the type to ask to see Sokka’s text messages or wonder if he’s talking to anyone else, even after everything he has been through in past relationships, and it feels dirty and wrong and embarrassing, but he can’t help it. He was about to ask Sokka to marry him, for fuck’s sake. Is it so wrong for him to wonder if maybe, he’s making the wrong choice?
Ultimately, the rational side of Zuko’s brain tells him that if he wants answers, he needs to ask Sokka outright. He needs to be completely honest and ask for honesty in return, and if he senses that Sokka is lying, then that’ll tell him everything he needs to know.
But when Sokka walks in the front door that evening, just a little after six, Zuko can’t seem to muster up the courage to confront him.
Zuko is taking out the trash in the kitchen when Sokka finally gets home, and when he glances up at the other man, he feels his heart sink into his stomach. Seeing Sokka after a long day apart always makes him smile, even if he had a shitty day at work or if Azula said something particularly nasty, but now, Zuko just wants to throw up. His nerves and his insecurities get the best of him, and suddenly, he wants nothing more than to run away.
Sokka, however, doesn’t pick up on that right away. Instead, he crosses the room in just a few long strides before taking Zuko’s face into his hands and planting a big, sloppy kiss on his lips, even adding a comical “MUAH” for emphasis.
“Hey hot stuff,” he says once he pulls away, a smile tugging on his lips, “How was your day?”
Oh not bad, he thinks, except for the part where my boyfriend lied to my face about where he was then pretended like nothing happened.
He doesn’t say that , though. Instead he mutters, “It was fine. How was dudes day?”
Sokka lets out a loud groan, flopping his torso over the small island in the center of their kitchen. “I’m exhausted,” he replies, “I forgot how much work hiking is, you know?”
Zuko forces out a soft laugh. “Yeah.”
And it’s then that Sokka finally cocks his head, his eyes narrowing in confusion and concern. “You okay?” he asks gently.
“Yeah,” Zuko answers, forcing a smile as if to prove it. He quickly changes the subject instead, asking, “How’s Katara?”
“Oh.” Sokka shrugs, feigning indifference and seemingly letting Zuko’s attitude slide. He moves across the apartment to take off his jacket, hanging it on one of the hooks by the door, then kicks off his shoes as well. “She’s good,” he continues with his back to Zuko, “It was nice to have some brother-sister bonding time.”
Lie.
Zuko wants to call him on it. He wants to tell him that he was with Katara all day, that he knows he’s up to something, but the words get stuck in his throat. They make him want to get sick.
Thankfully, Sokka fills the silence again. “Hey - did you end up getting takeout?”
“Oh,” Zuko breathes. Right. That had been his lie and he didn’t even keep up his end of it. “Uh, no. I got carried away cleaning and uh… kind of forgot. Sorry.” It isn’t a total lie. Cleaning, coupled with his near emotional freakout while straightening up their room made him completely forget about dinner.
“That’s fine!” Sokka replies cheerily, seemingly unaware of the turmoil going on inside of Zuko’s head, “How does pizza sound? My treat!
Zuko swallows and mutters out a short, “Sure.”
“Sweet, I’ll order something before I hop in the shower,” Sokka calls over his shoulder as he heads towards the bedroom, “Wanna pick a movie? We can try to make it a proper date night!”
Date night doesn’t really go according to plan. Neither does talking to Sokka, but that’s pretty on-brand for how everything goes with important moments in Zuko’s life. Although he manages to make it through pizza and part of a movie without any angry outbursts, the second that Sokka puts his head on his shoulder and snuggles up close to him, he feels as if he’s going to explode at any moment. It’s impossible for him to act like nothing is wrong, and unfortunately, he’s also the type to wear his feelings on his sleeve. So when Sokka scoots a little bit closer to him on the sofa, wrapping an arm around his middle, Zuko can’t help the way that his body goes stiff and rigid.
Unfortunately, Sokka notices it, too.
After just a moment, he sits up slightly, glancing at Zuko with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. “Hey. You sure you’re okay?”
No. No, Zuko isn’t okay, and Sokka’s soft, concerned tone just makes him want to scream. Every loving touch, every soft word, every little gesture, like the way that Sokka doesn’t even have to ask what he wants on his pizza or what he wants to drink, just makes Zuko even more frustrated. Because fuck, he loves this man - he wants to fucking marry this man - and he’s terrified of losing him and he feels hurt and betrayed and lied to , and the thought of touching him or cuddling with him or sleeping next to him right now makes him want to be sick with worry.
And he doesn’t quite know how to express that.
So instead of telling Sokka what’s on his mind, Zuko forces a tight-lipped smile and retorts in a short tone, “Yup. Just peachy.”
Sokka, obviously, sees right through him. He frowns, then reaches over to grab the remote, pausing the movie that they’d been watching. “I’m not going to make you talk about it if you don’t want to, but it’s pretty obvious that you’re not peachy , Zu,” Sokka says gently, and fuck, that just makes matters worse. He looks so genuinely concerned, so worried about Zuko’s wellbeing. Zuko wants to scream. He wants to tell him that it’s his fault that he’s feeling this way, but he can’t.
So instead, he just moves to stand and mutters, “I’m going to bed.”
Sokka doesn’t stop him, but the pained look on his face doesn’t do anything to help Zuko’s situation. Why does he suddenly feel like the asshole, here, when Sokka is the one who’s in the wrong? Doesn’t Sokka feel guilty at all? Does Sokka have any inkling that he did something wrong here? Is he making a big deal out of nothing?
He knows that the only way to answer his questions is to talk to Sokka about it, but Zuko can’t . At least, not right now. Not without a proper plan. So without another word, Zuko heads off toward their bedroom, hoping that Sokka doesn’t follow him.
It takes a long time to fall asleep, but Zuko thankfully passes out before Sokka comes to bed, and he’s silently thankful when, in the morning, the other man is already up and getting ready for his day by the time Zuko rises. He doesn’t, however, feel any better about the situation when he wakes up than he did the night before. Lazy Sundays in bed are kind of their thing and the reason why Sokka is already up and out of bed by the time he gets up it isn’t lost on him. They didn’t necessarily fight last night, but Zuko knows that it hurts the other man when he won’t trust him enough to open up to him.
Fuck, why does Zuko feel like the bad guy, here?
He shakes the thought from his head and when he gets up, he resolves to confront Sokka about it. There’s no use in prolonging the inevitable, and he just knows that the longer he waits, the more it’ll eat him up inside. He just needs to rip off the bandaid.
When finally Zuko steps into the kitchen that morning, it’s to the sight of Sokka sitting at the table, hair down, clad in a soft gray t-shirt, drinking a cup of coffee and scrolling mindlessly on his phone. He glances up when Zuko enters the room, but doesn’t say anything, not even a warm good morning.
Zuko sighs, scratching at the back of his neck. “Sokka,” he mutters, “We need to talk.”
The other man offers him a soft, disarming smile. “Okay,” he breathes, leaning back a little bit to give Zuko his full attention. “Are you alright?”
Zuko wants to scream. He wants to tell Sokka that no, he’s not alright, and he’s the reason why, but he doesn’t want to be so… dramatic. Instead, he reigns in his emotions and gets straight to the point.
“Where were you yesterday?”
The words sound so… controlling and confrontational when they leave his lips, and Zuko regrets the way that they come out, but his point stands. Sokka lied about where he was, then acted like he did nothing wrong. Zuko’s anger and hurt is justified. Right?
Sokka frowns in confusion, even cocking his head to the side slightly at Zuko’s unexpected question. “I was with my dad…?” Sokka’s tone of voice goes up at the end, almost like a question, as if he doesn’t quite understand what he’s getting at. “Zuko, what -”
Zuko squeezes his eyes shut, his hands clenching at his sides. When he opens his eyes again, he asks, “And after,” he mutters, “After you went hiking with your dad, where did you go?”
Sokka pushes the chair out from behind him and stands. “I was at the mall, with Katara. I told you yesterday, I -”
“No,” Zuko bites, “You weren’t.”
“Yeah,” Sokka retorts, “I was.”
“Stop lying to me!” Zuko all but explodes at Sokka. He doesn’t miss the way that the other man flinches at his sudden outburst, and he wants to feel bad, but he can’t. He wants to feel crazy, but he knows he’s not, because Sokka is lying to him, and he doesn’t know why. “I know you weren’t with your sister yesterday. Please, stop lying about it.”
Sokka takes a couple of steps forward, his hands raised in a placating gesture, “Zuko I don’t - what - how -”
“I know because I was with her yesterday,” Zuko finally bites, finally showing his hand.
And that stops Sokka right in his tracks. His eyes go wide. Zuko’s heart drops. “What?”
“When you texted me and told me you were with Katara, she was literally standing right next to me,” Zuko continues, “So as you can imagine, it was kind of alarming to -”
“Shit , Zuko I can explain,” Sokka says suddenly, all in one breath. Then, apparently just registering what Zuko just said, he offers him a lopsided, half-smile and asks, “Wait, why were you with Katara?”
Zuko sputters at Sokka’s question. How can he seem so… cool right now? “Why was I - you were - that doesn’t matter, Sokka. What matters is you lied to me.”
“I can explain,” Sokka repeats, reaching for his phone on the table.
“Then explain,” Zuko insists, crossing his arms.
Sokka grabs his phone off of the table and begins quickly scrolling through it as he crosses the room and approaches Zuko, a smile suddenly playing on his face. The sight of it just makes Zuko want to be even more angry, because how dare he smile at a time like this, and -
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Sokka starts, looking down at his phone as he talks, “But you know how our friendaversary is coming up?”
Normally, Zuko would snort at the mention of their friendaversary. Normal couples celebrate anniversaries - and they do too - but Sokka always insists on celebrating their friendaversary, as well. The first time he brought it up, it was just after they started dating, and he had insisted that the way they met and became friends - Sokka had accidentally knocked Zuko out while he had been playing with a fucking boomerang in his front yard - was way more exciting than the way they started dating. (It happened gradually, after being friends and pining for one another for five years). Over the years, though, Sokka has gotten a little sappier about it, admitting that he knew he was in love with Zuko from the moment he saw him lying unconscious in the street.
Right now, the last thing on Zuko’s mind is their anniversary or their friendaversary, but he still nods in response to the question when Sokka looks up at him.
Sokka holds his gaze for a moment, as if searching for something in his eyes, then glances back down at his phone. “Right,” he continues, “So uh… I kind of wanted this to be a surprise, but this is what I was actually doing yesterday, after my dad and I got back into town.”
Sokka thrusts his phone at Zuko, who takes it wordless and finds himself looking down at a photo of -
Well, it’s a selfie of Sokka, a wild grin on his face, holding... a bearded dragon?
Zuko glances from the phone, to Sokka’s nervous smile, then back to the phone.
“I don’t -” he starts, but doesn’t get the chance to finish.
“Feel free to scroll through them,” Sokka says quietly, “There’s a lot of photos, cause I had a hard time choosing, but Mai said -”
“Mai?” Zuko asks incredulously, looking up at Sokka again. Sokka, who just offers him another smile.
“Yeah, I know, bet you’d never imagine us hanging out together,” Sokka says with a nervous chuckle, “I uh… I kind of asked for her advice, since she has reptiles and all, and she offered to come with me, but I figured that would be less believable than me going to the mall with Katara, so I lied, but only because I wanted to surprise you.”
Sokka is rambling, and Zuko hears him, but he’s also distracted as he scrolls through his boyfriend’s camera roll, which is filled with countless pictures of snakes and lizards and tortoises and even some exotic looking fish. Even Mai, his ex-girlfriend who Sokka has never really cared for, makes an appearance in some of the photos, sometimes holding one of the baby sand boas or even just standing in the background, looking unamused as always.
As he swipes through the photos, a question bubbles up in Zuko’s throat, and for a moment, he forgets everything he’d been mad about when he asks, “What were you going to surprise me with?”
Sokka swallows, and god he looks so giddy and nervous and thankfully not mad, and oh fuck, Zuko already knows that he’s going to have some apologizing to do, because Sokka had lied, but not for the reasons that he thought and -
“So, you know how you’ve always loved reptiles but your dad was a grade-a asshole who never let you have anything that brought you any joy as a child?” Sokka asks, which earns an eyebrow raise from Zuko. “Well, I uh… I thought we could make up for lost time. I narrowed it down to a couple, so we’ll have to go together to make our final decision, but... surprise, we’re gonna be lizard dads!”
Zuko… doesn’t know what to say. For a moment, he just stares at Sokka, dumbfounded and embarrassed and surprised. He doesn’t know what to say, so instead, he does the only thing that he can think to do.
He laughs.
Zuko laughs, but it’s not at Sokka’s incredibly thoughtful and heartfelt friendaversary surprise - it’s at the situation that he just got himself into by assuming the worst and not talking to his fucking boyfriend like a grown adult. He laughs, and in return, it earns a nervous, breathy chuckle from Sokka, who quietly asks, “So… do you like it?”
“Oh my god,” Zuko breathes, composing himself enough to pull Sokka in for an apologetic hug. The other man returns it by wrapping his arms around his waist. “Fuck. Yes, of course I like it, Sokka. I’m just - I’m such an idiot, I didn’t -”
“You’re fine,” Sokka breathes against him, “In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have lied, but I didn’t expect you to be with Katara and -”
Sokka pulls back at that, suddenly narrowing his eyes in confusion. “Wait,” he says, voice taking on a playful, yet accusatory tone, “Why were you with Katara? You told me you had work to do around the house...”
“I -” Zuko starts then stops, unsure of what to say. He didn’t plan this far out. He didn’t actually anticipate that this conversation would go well, which is embarrassing to say the least. He didn’t give Sokka enough credit. He has known the other man for over ten years. He should have known that he wouldn’t intentionally do anything to hurt him, but he wasn’t thinking.
He also wasn’t thinking when he told Sokka that he’d been with his sister, because Zuko and Katara rarely hang out one-on-one, and he didn’t come up with a good excuse or cover story before confronting him and now, he has no idea what to say.
Naturally, Sokka quickly catches on.
“Oooooh shit,” he says, a teasing smile spreading across his face, “I knew it! You and Katara are having a secret affair!”
“Sokka,” Zuko bites in a pleading tone that tells him that now is not the time to make that joke.
Sokka lets it go, but his teasing doesn’t subsite. “Oh! Were you shopping for a friendaversary gift too? I knew you’d eventually come around to the idea!”
“Sokka -” Zuko repeats in an attempt to beg him not to press this. He’s a terrible liar and he’s not sure how long he can keep denying or making things up before Sokka sees right through him.
But if his boyfriend is anything, he’s relentless when he thinks he’s onto something. He should have been a detective rather than an engineer, although he supposes that’s a good trait to have in both fields.
“Okay,” Sokka continues, “You made me spoil your friendaversary gift, so you have to spoil mine. Come on, give me a hint.”
“I swear to god -”
“It’s gotta be something good if you had to involve my sister” Sokka continues to prod, reaching forward to grab Zuko’s hips as he teases him relentlessly. “Come on, Zuko, I told you my surprise, you gotta tell me yours…
“Sokka, I -”
The words catch in Zuko’s throat. He doesn’t know what to say. This certainly isn’t how he envisioned it when the idea first crossed his mind, and part of him hopes that Sokka just backs down because he wants to do this right.
But he knows his boyfriend. He has known him for ten years, and not once in those ten years has he ever seen Sokka give up on something, even if it meant annoying the truth out of the other person.
“I’ll ask Katara,” Sokka threatens suddenly, a wild grin taking over his face, “Ooooh yeah, I’ll ask her, and she’ll have to tell me because I’m her brother and - no offense, Zuko - but she loves me way more than she loves you and -”
“She won’t tell you,” Zuko insists. He knows that Katara wouldn’t. Sokka might be right - she might like her brother more than she likes him - but there’s no way she’d spoil the surprise. She’d just call Sokka an idiot and hang up on him. He knows it.
Unfortunately, Zuko just digs himself a deeper hole with that admission, because Sokka’s face positively lights up at it. “Oh, so it’s a really good surprise,” he assumes, pulling Zuko impossibly closer. “Come on, Zuko, just tell me what it is. You know I hate surprises -”
“You actually love them,” Zuko argues, “You ask for a surprise birthday party every year.”
“Yeah and you have yet to deliver, but stop trying to derail the conversation,” Sokka shoots back, “Come on. Please? Is it better than a lizard? You have to tell me. If you love me, you -”
“I was gonna ask you to marry me,” Zuko closes his eyes and says quickly, all at once, against his better judgement. He says it so fast and so quietly that part of him thinks that Sokka might not hear it, but judging by the silence he receives in response, the other man definitely heard him.
Zuko freezes, his entire body going rigid despite the fact that Sokka is still holding onto him. For just a moment longer, he keeps his eyes closed until he can’t take it anymore and cracks one open.
When he does, it’s to the sight of Sokka standing before him, eyes wide, mouth agape in absolute shock.
“You what?” Sokka asks softly, after what feels like an eternity.
Zuko doesn’t want to repeat himself. He doesn’t want to say it again, terrified that Sokka might reject him, but that’s the small, irrational side of his brain talking. That was also the voice in his head that told him that Sokka was hiding something from him, when he absolutely was not. So Zuko choses to listen to the rational voice in his head that tells him that Sokka is still holding onto him, and that he sounds happy.
Zuko swallows hard. “Yeah,” he mutters, “I uh… I asked your sister to come ring shopping with me, yesterday. I didn’t want to tell you I was with her, cause you’d know something was up, and I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Zuko…” Sokka breathes, his voice sweet and soft. The smile on his face and the wetness in his eyes is unmistakable.
At least this isn’t going bad.
Zuko offers him a small smile in response and shrugs. “So… surprise?”
Sokka doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. Instead, he reaches up, grabbing Zuko’s face between his hands and kisses him, messy and rough and passionately. And Zuko would be damned if he doesn’t kiss back. He wraps his arms around Sokka’s middle, pulling him impossibly closer, and allows the other man to kiss the life out of him.
When Sokka pulls back, it’s only to look into Zuko’s eyes for a brief second before placing another series of quick, rapid fire kisses on his lips.
“Fuck,” Sokka breathes once he manages to gather himself. He keeps kissing Zuko sporadically between his words and Zuko just lets him. “Oh my god. Your friendaversary gift definitely tops mine.”
Zuko laughs against him. “I don’t know,” he mumbles, “A lizard -”
“Is nowhere near as cool as a proposal,” Sokka finishes, pulling back far enough to offer Zuko a wide, happy grin.
“I haven’t actually proposed to you, yet,” Zuko retorts, and god, even just those words feel amazing to say.
I haven’t proposed to you yet.
Yet.
Sokka wants to marry him.
Fuck.
“Okay, well, whenever you feel like it. Anytime is good,” Sokka says with a laugh, “I don’t think my answer will surprise you.”
Zuko chokes out a laugh as well, shaking his head at his boyfriend’s - fiance’s - words. “I don’t even have a ring, you idiot,” he says affectionately, “I don’t know if you missed the part where I thought you were cheating on me, but I kind of left the store in a hurry yesterday.”
Sokka doesn’t appear to take any offense to Zuko’s words, and instead, he just presses another kiss to his lips. “Fuck a ring, do it anyway,” he retorts, “We’ve never been conventional, why start now? I promise I’ll never lie to you about shopping for reptiles again. I’ll put it in my vows.”
God, Zuko loves this man.
So he doesn’t argue with Sokka. Instead, he begins to drop to one knee on their kitchen floor.
He opens his mouth to speak, but Sokka cuts him off. “Yes!”
Zuko laughs, “Sokka, I haven’t even -”
“I don’t care, the answer is yes,” Sokka says with a laugh. Zuko doesn’t miss the wetness on his face, nor the shimmering in his eyes. Zuko knows he’s on the verge of tears himself.
“Will you at least let me do one thing properly here?” he asks teasingly, which earns another laugh and a nod from Sokka.
“Alright.” Zuko takes a deep breath. He had planned on taking some time to write out a proper speech, then rehearse it to himself and revise it countless times. This isn’t how he planned for things to go, but somehow, Sokka always manages to thwart all of his careful planning. That’s one of the many things he loves about him. So he decides to take a play from Sokka’s book and decides, fuck it.
“Sokka, I love you so much -”
“Yes,” Sokka breathes, a playful smile dancing across his tear-streaked face.
Zuko chuckles, but continues. “I never thought I’d say this back then, but I’m incredibly grateful that you that you violently forced yourself into my life ten years ago -”
“Yes,” Sokka repeats.
“- and sometimes it’s still mind-blowing to me that I get to wake up to you every morning. I know I’m not as poetic as you, but if I could, I’d fill an entire book with everything I love about you -”
“Shit,” Sokka breathes, “Yes.”
“And I hope to continue adding to that list as long as I live. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” Sokka all but exclaims, “The answer is yes. Fuck yes. Please get up here and kiss me, you gorgeous, amazing, brilliant -”
Sokka doesn’t get the chance to finish his thought before Zuko is quickly standing and pulling him forward for a searing, long-awaited kiss.
And god. Zuko is going to marry his best friend.