Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes, Zuko just wished that it would rain.

Don’t get him wrong, Camp Half Blood’s tendency to make every day perfect weather wise was usually rather handy, but it just seemed kind of wrong on days like this. Today was move out day.

It was the end of August, and time for all of the demigod campers to make their way home and try to do their best surviving in the mortal world (emphasis on the trying part). It was a bittersweet day for most campers, saying goodbye to their friends and packing their bags, starting their countdowns for the next monster-filled summer. However, for the kids who weren’t lucky enough to have families to go home to, the year-round campers like Zuko, it was a sad one.

Zuko was finally starting to make friends here, and now they were all leaving.

He had always been sort of a lone wolf at camp. He discovered he was a demigod at the age of thirteen, when his father lashed out on him and set his face aflame. Father had always hated him, said he didn’t belong, but Zuko never quite knew why. That fateful night, Zuko had said something particularly stupid to piss Father off, and the rest was a painful blur. He remembers little of the incident, but can recall running out alone into the street, dazed and confused and hurt, and the monster sniffing him out.

It was a cyclops, big and ugly. It took a swing at him with his spiked club, knocking him out cold.

The next thing Zuko knew, he was waking up at Camp Half Blood. His protector, a nymph named Ty Lee who he had just assumed was a particularly bubbly classmate had saved him and brought him to camp. Strangely enough, the world of Greek monsters and legends didn’t seem so phenomenal to him. He could believe this, it was more tangible to hold onto than anything his father had given him in his childhood.

He was claimed his first night, the flames from the campfire dancing around his feet, alive. The mark of Hestia.

Everyone, including Chiron (the head of camp), was confused. Hestia was a virgin goddess. A forever maid. Also, Zuko had a mother. A poor woman named Ursa who had died by his fathers hands when he was ten. It made no sense. But here he was, despite it all. He prayed to Hestia every night, sacrificed her his dessert during meals, begging for an answer.

When he turned fourteen, it came.

Hestia appeared in camp one night, during the campfire sing-a-long, and proclaimed that Zuko was her true son.

“But, how?” asked Toph Beifong, a particularly brash daughter of Demeter who preferred to use plants to choke out her enemies Poison Ivy style rather than tend to them.

Hestia explained it all. Zuko’s father, Ozai, was the head of a corrupt company, Sozin Oil. Hestia had seen the harm the company was doing to the world, environmental and otherwise, and went undercover as a young secretary to try and stop the operation. Ozai took a special interest in the seemingly naive Hestia, and sexually took advantage of her. She did not fight using powers, as it was against her moral code to hurt a mortal, and Zuko was conceived.

It was why Zuko’s father hated him. He was an unwanted child, an illegitimate one. It was why Ozai had always preferred Zuko’s mortal sister, Azula. She wasn’t born out of wedlock.

After Hestia told her story, all eyes were on him. He was a product of rape, the ancient evil that was the center of so many of their stories. An scarred bastard. Unwelcome even in Camp Half Blood, a place for misfits, for kids who didn’t belong.

After that night, his anger at world got worse, and he retreated farther and farther into his shell. Over the next few years, he mastered his powers, the ability to control the flame, and spent most of his time in the sparring area learning how to throw fire-balls at everything that crossed his path.

Sometimes, he would run away from camp for months at a time. It never really mattered where he went, catching buses and hitchhiking, wandering aimlessly. The monsters always came, clawing and hissing and wounding him. But it didn’t matter. Zuko didn’t care if he lived or died.

Somehow, he always ended up back at camp. Chiron tried to get him to participate in more camp activities, but he was unwilling. It was pretty easy to isolate yourself when you had no cabin mates and sat at a dining hall table all by yourself, anyways.

When he turned sixteen, Sokka came.

Well - Sokka had always been there, Zuko supposed. A son of Poseidon, and a hot shot on camp. Sokka was a little bit different though. Unlike most of the children of the Big Three Gods, Sokka was powerless. His sister, however, was not. Katara was probably the most powerful Demigod in all of camp, able to control water with the wave of her hand. (There was even a rumor that Katara was able to control the blood in other peoples bodies, but Zuko wasn’t really in the loop enough to know if it was true or not.)

Sokka made up for his lack of power in charm, and rivaled Katara’s skill in popularity. Everyone liked Sokka, girls and boys swooning over him, everyone clamoring to be his friend.

Everyone except for Zuko, that is.

Both siblings were legends, folklore that permeated Zuko’s mind no matter how hard he tried to fight it off. They were powerful, true heroes. The camp had undergone a period of turmoil, a war against the titans, and Sokka and his sister were at the front of the line.

It also didn’t help that they were so Goddamn beautiful, Sokka especially.

Sokka had made it sort of a personal challenge to befriend Zuko, showing up at the sparring arena every day to “practice” sword fighting. He would sit at the edge of the amphitheater cracking jokes and making snide remarks, trying his hardest to push through the silent treatment Zuko was giving him.

Zuko didn’t do friends. Especially not wildly attractive friends who seemed to break down every barrier he had spent putting up for the past three years in a matter of minutes. But Sokka was relentless, and Zuko yielded.

The spent the summer growing closer, and Zuko finally felt a way he hadn’t for so long, happy. Sokka let him into his group of friends, Katara, Toph, and Aang, a son of Zeus. He was starting to learn that being alone may not be so bad, that maybe having people by your side was a good thing.

But like all good things, summer had to end.

So here he was, cursing the annoyingly bright sun shining through the window of his cabin, mocking him. He rolled over, shoving his face into his pillow. Maybe if he went back to sleep the day would pass without him.

“Hey! Fire-face! Open the door!”

Well, there went that plan, he thought miserably. “Its open,” he mumbled, making no effort to sit up.

Sokka marched into his cabin like he owned the place, plopping down on the bed next to Zuko. “Get up sleepyhead, you wouldn’t want to miss the last day of my awesomeness, would you?”

“Yes of course I would,” Zuko snarked back facetiously, looking up at his newfound friend.

Sokka was wearing his orange camp t-shirt and a pair of electric blue sweatpants, clearly just waking up himself. He had an awful case of bed-head, half of his black hair falling out of his signature ponytail, his eyes bleary with morning. Zuko felt jitters in his stomach. There they were. The stupid butterflies that seemed to appear whenever he looked at the son of the sea-god. What began as a small crush had turned into an ever-present (and rather painful) one. Zuko had to constantly remind himself that Sokka’s fixation on him was just a passing fad, and Sokka would look for some other outcast to pull out of the fray next summer.

Befriending the scarred son of Hestia? It was a challenge, and Sokka had completed it. He would move on soon, and Zuko would be left alone once again. But when he looked into Sokka’s sea-blue eyes, which were currently pleading him to get out of bed so they could spend some time together, it was easy to forget.

“Dad is coming to pick up Katara in an hour. So I thought we could eat breakfast?” Sokka held up a big bag of food that was clearly smuggled from the dining hall.

Zuko just couldn’t resist. “Sure thing.”

______

They ended up eating on the beach, Sokka’s favorite place in the whole camp. Sokka had actually outdone himself with the spread of stolen food, getting waffles, bacon, and even some cups of fruit salad. While they ate Sokka rambled on about Hakoda, the man his mother had married before her untimely death. Even though he was Sokka’s step-dad, he seemed to be a constant force in Sokka’s life, and it was clear that Sokka really loved the man.

“Anyways,” Sokka took a big bite out of his waffle, “I was thinking that you should come up and visit for Thanksgiving.”

“I should what now?”

“Visit for Thanksgiving. Dad would love to have you, he likes meeting my friends. And I heard from Aang that camp Thanksgiving is pretty shitty. he came last year. This year its my turn to bring a friend, and like obviously, I want you to come.”

Zuko blinked, feeling a bit stunned. “You want me to come?”

“Uh- no shit Sherlock. You’re like my best friend here.” Sokka said it so easily, the words just rolling off his tongue. Zuko had never had a best friend before, but honestly, Sokka did fill the requirements. The past three months had been the best of his life, and most of it was all thanks to Sokka. He had someone he could talk to, laugh with, spar with. All the things a best friend should be.

(Well maybe the sparring thing was more demigod oriented, but still.)

The stupid butterflies in his stomach whenever Sokka came around were totally not a best-friend thing, demigod related or otherwise. Shit.

Zuko swallowed, trying to calm his anxiety. “I’ll think about it.”

Sokka fist pumped. “Yes! Thats practically a yes in Zuko talk. Score. It’ll be totally awesome, I can show you around Charleston! We can go to the movies, hopefully not fight any monsters but like thats wishful thinking-“

Katara’s voice from the top of the beach cut Sokka off, “Hey idiot! Dads here!” She was dressed in in actual clothes, pairing the orange shirt with jean shorts. Katara scared Zuko a little. She radiated power. She was short, but clearly strong, her buff body warning all possible enemies to not mess with her. Also, she wasn’t his biggest fan in the beginning. Katara loved camp, would do anything to protect it, and Zuko wasn’t necessarily the biggest team player. Eventually, they warmed up to each other, and Zuko held nothing but respect for the powerful young demigod.

Sokka gave him a sheepish smile, getting up from the sand. Zuko tried not to look at the other boys arms, but he found his gaze wandering there unintentionally. He couldn’t help himself.

He had to stop this, he chided himself. There was no point, no use.

Still the thought of Thanksgiving, and the with lingering echo of “you’re my best friend” still ringing in his head, he found it rather hard to stop.

“So,” Sokka said, smiling, “another summer gone.”

“Yeah,” Zuko felt himself gritting his teeth. Summers didn’t pass him by like Sokka’s did. Hell, Zuko didn’t even know if he had managed to stay here a whole summer.

“But this was a good one.”

“Yeah.”

And for the first time in his life, Zuko meant it.

Chapter Text

Zuko closed his eyes and pressed the doorbell. It was simple as that, really. Just a melodic chime ringing out, notifying Sokka and his family of his presence. It was Thanksgiving day, the day that he had promised Sokka that he would come visit.

(He had double checked to make sure the invitation was for real, of course. He asked Sokka over one of the few iris messages the blue eyed boy had sent to him, all twitching hands and shaking voice, and Sokka had just laughed, saying something along the lines of of course.

So Zuko got his trip approved with the heads of camp. He usually never did something like that, just coming and going when he pleased, but this year he was trying to make an effort, okay? Also, camp paid for his train tickets to Charleston, which was a pretty sweet bonus.)

So here he was, Charleston. Sokka’s house. Well- Sokka and his family actually lived about 15 minutes outside of the city in one of those colonial style house that reminded Zuko of the homes he saw in his history textbooks back when he still did school. However, Sokka’s family seemed to be doing a lot to compensate for that. There was a big sign outside of the house that declared that science was real And a big pride flag hanging from the doorway. This made Zuko’s heart do a small jump. He hadn’t come out to anyone as gay yet. It just wasn’t the right time. He knew his new found friends would be tolerant, but he didn’t want to be off-putting to anyone, especially not Sokka.

Sokka wasn’t gay, right?

Zuko vaguely remembered (okay- not vaguely, he paid quite a bit of attention to Sokka over the years) Sokka’s past relationships, and all of them were with girls.

His first girlfriend was Yue, a stunningly gorgeous daughter of Aphrodite who died in the war they fought against the Titans a year ago. She was well known as the nicest person on camp, even reaching out to Zuko during his worst years. Sokka had tried everything to save her, but she had died in his arms. It wasn’t really something that anybody talked about anymore, trying to give Sokka his privacy. It didn’t seem that Sokka brought up it up much either. He hadn’t mentioned Yue’s name all summer to Zuko.

After Yue, Sokka briefly dated Suki, a daughter of Aries who broke up with him after two short weeks. Allegedly, she was using Sokka as a beard, coming out to him shortly after. He had been a good sport about the whole thing, and the two of them were still close friends.

Maybe Sokka was bi? It was too much to hope for. Even if by some remarkable stroke of luck Sokka was into guys he wouldn’t be into somebody like Zuko, anyways.

His train of thought was interrupted by the front door swinging open and the loud noise of a dog barking. The dog in question ran up to him, jumping up and down excitedly before a slender hand grabbed him by the collar, pulling him back into the house. “Appa easy-EASY,” Katara cried out, nuzzling the dog. “Hi Zuko, come in, and I’m sorry about Appa, he can be a bit over friendly at times.”

“Its okay,” Zuko responded, making his way into the house.

“We have a cat too, but I doubt you’ll see him around.”

Katara’s hair was in a loose ponytail, still in pajamas pants and a tank top that advertised some musical artist he had never heard of. It was weird to see somebody he regarded so highly in her own space. She may be the most powerful demigod in the entire world, but here she was, giving out dog treats and telling Zuko to make himself comfortable.

“How have you been?” She asked, “How’s camp?”

“I’m doing good. Camp is good.”

“Aang said that you’ve been helping him spar.”

“Yeah.” He has been helping train the son of Zeus for about two months now. It was rough at first, Aang hating swords and not wanting to hurt anybody, but he was rather good at it and picked up the moves quickly.

“Thank you for that,” Katara’s eyes are fixed on him, some mixture of respect and something else Zuko couldn’t quite put his finger on, “Sokka tried to help him, but they messed around more than anything.”

Zuko turns his attention the wall, feeling small under the younger girls gaze. There are tons of photos hanging, each positioned with great care. Katara winning a second grade spelling bee. Sokka winning a high school swim meet. Katara and Sokka building a sandcastle at the beach as toddlers. Them building a sandcastle as teens. His attention is drawn to a small photo of Sokka as a kid with his biological mother, Sokka looking at the woman as if she held all the answers in the world. It hurts Zuko a little, makes him miss Ursa even though she was never really his, not genetically, at least. Life wasn’t fair.

“SOKKA!” Katara yelled, “Zuko’s here!”

A loud banging noise came from upstairs. “He is? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know! It’s past noon, you should’ve be awake by now to let him in yourself!”

“I’LL BE DOWN IN A SECOND!”

A loud series of crashes and fumbling footfalls came from upstairs. Katara rolled her eyes and looked at Zuko like, can you believe him? Zuko chortled slightly. Him at Katara usually didn’t have the easiest time communicating when Sokka wasn’t there to facilitate, so he was grateful for this amicable peace that was between the two of them for the moment.

After a few moments, Sokka came rushing down the stairs. His hair was down and he was in a pair of sweatpants, pulling a worn green t-shirt that read PHS Swim Team 2016 over his head. Feeling a bit indecent, Zuko glanced away, trying hard not to look at the other boys briefly exposed chest. “Zuko!” Sokka beamed, quickly pulling him into a hug.

He could feel his face flush red. He didn’t let the hug linger, letting it last only long enough to not be weird. He couldn’t expose his nasty crush, not now. “Hi.”

“I’m so glad you’re here! It’s going to be so much fun. I have been thinking about all the cool stuff we can do! I was thinking that tomorrow we could go into the city and go to the Gib-“

“Sokka, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” Came a voice from the kitchen. A man stepped out of the doorway, shaking his head softly. “And do you ever let him get a word in edgewise?”

“Does Sokka ever let anyone get a word in edgewise?” Katara retorted.

“Fair point.”

This must be Hakoda, Sokka’s father, Zuko’s brain supplied. He was the siblings stepfather, but he didn’t look it. He had the same stance, the same strong posture that both Katara and Sokka possessed. It wasn’t one of power, this man clearly was not a fighter like his children were, but one of pride. Of assurance in oneself. It made Zuko feel small. It made him feel like he was thirteen years old again staring up at his dad before the burn came.

He swallowed that feeling down. This wasn’t the time to be having thoughts like this. Nothing bad was going to happen to him here.

“You must be Zuko!” Hakoda exclaimed, reaching out and shaking his hand.

“Yes sir,” he stumbled out.

“No need for that, just call me Hakoda. Sokka’s told me so much about you!”

“Has he now?”

Sokka’s face was now a shade of beet red. “Dad, stop embarrassing me!”

“That’s what you get for not helping in the kitchen all day,” Katara rolled her eyes.

“Hey! I baked those cookies AND the pies last night and you told me that they were inedible!”

“‘Cause they were, dip-shit. Dad and I had to go pick new ones up from the grocery store this morning.”

“Easy you two. Sokka may not be the best cook, but he did to most of the grocery shopping for dinner, and set the table last night. He did his fair share.”

“Fine.”

It was interesting watching the family banter like this. It was something so real and intimate, something Zuko had never experienced in his time living at his families old mansion. Everything was done by maids, and the only “fights” they got into were real ones, screaming and kicking and people getting hurt. This was nicer.

Sokka pouted and grabbed Zuko’s arm, “Can I show my friend to his room now that you have stopped humiliating me?”

Hakoda smiled. “Sure thing. Just all you kids be down for Thanksgiving dinner at 7, okay? And put on some real pants, both of you. I don’t want Zuko to think that we don’t have any manners in this household.”

“Sorry,” Sokka said as he pulled him up the stairs, “We don’t really have a guest room, so I got the blow up mattress and put it in my room. It’s pretty comfy though. And if you want you can take the bed-“

“It’s your bed, Sokka. You sleep in it.”

Sokka’s door was decorated with stickers and a big sign that said ‘KATARA AND DAD HAVE YOU HEARD OF KNOCKING?’ in bright green sharpie. The inside of the room had the same feel, a few clothes strewn over chairs and posters and photos covering the walls. Not to mention, a big bisexual flag hanging over his bed. Zuko’s heart skipped a beat, but he quelled his hopes.

He would never be into you, remember?

“Sweet digs, right?” Sokka asked. Zuko nodded. The room was so personal, so Sokka. It was a room to be lived in, so unlike all the rooms that he had inhabited in his 16 years.

Zuko walked over to a cork board and began to look at a ton of polaroid photos that seemed to be taken over the years at camp. There was one of Katara, Toph, and Aang pressed up together after a game of capture the flag, clearly having just won. Another one showed Sokka after he chipped his tooth on the climbing wall. Zuko’s gaze couldn’t help but notice one in the center, though. It was Sokka and Yue, heads pressed together at the campfire. Sokka was looking at Yue in a way that Zuko had never seen before. It was Love, with a capital L. He decided to brush past it and asked Sokka about a photo of him with his family that seemed separate from the rest of them.

“Oh! Thats my family from Alaska. We visit them during winter break. That’s why Thanksgiving is pretty chill here, but I get to pick a friend from camp to bring every other year, so that’s good. I think Katara is pretty PO’d that Aang isn’t here this year, but what is she gonna do about it? They like- IM, every night so she’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.”

Still in a bit of sensory overload from the sheer chaos of Sokka’s room, Zuko ran his hand along one of the many (many) posters on the wall. It was a close up of a girls face with with a man peeking out of her open mouth. Extremely odd. He quirked his eyebrow up at Sokka.

“Oh! It’s the movie poster for Election. I know it’s kind of a silly movie, but I think it’s like my favorite teen one, so yeah. The poster stays.”

“Never seen it.”

“Whats your favorite movie?”

Zuko faltered. “Um- one time I was stranded in Albuquerque after taking one too many wrong busses and I walked into a showing of this movie where this girl was trying to plan a wedding for her best friend and they all ate really bad Mexican food and-“

“Bridesmaids,” Sokka supplied.

“Yeah, yeah. And I guess I liked that? It was funny.”

“It’s a pretty funny movie, but I wouldn't say it’s my favorite. Wait- have you like not seen many movies?” Sokka furrowed his brow.

“Um, that’s like the only one I remember? My dad only let us watch really Catholic stuff as kids, so I dunno. And we were homeschooled too so I didn’t really get to watch things at the other kids houses.”

Sokka put his hand to his chest and collapsed onto the bed. “My dear, dear, Zuko! This is TRAGIC! Wait- so like you weren’t allowed to watch Spongebob?”

Zuko shook his head

“What about Disney movies?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Sokka fumbled around until he found his laptop, and then patted the space next to him on the bed. “Come here Loser, we are watching Hercules.”

Chapter Text

“What did you guys do?” Katara asked when they came down for dinner.

“Watched Hercules!” Sokka exclaimed.

In Zuko’s opinion, the movie was okay, if not a little odd and extremely inaccurate. It wasn’t the mortals fault, though. They simply didn’t know any better.

(“They could’ve at least READ the original myth!” Sokka had exclaimed when something particularly incorrect flashed across the screen.

Zuko simply just nodded along, more focused on the fact that he was sitting on Sokka’s bed and that Sokka’s shoulder was brushing his.)

The table was filled with food. It had everything that Zuko would expect for a traditional Thanksgiving, even though he had never actually been to one himself. There was a big turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, and even a little gravy boat that was shaped like a polar bear.

“Sorry it’s all very American,” Hakoda said sheepishly, “We eat more traditional Inuit food when we visit that side of the family for the christmas holidays.”

“Not a problem, sir. I wouldn’t know the difference either way.”

Sokka’s father quirked an eyebrow. “Like I said, you can just call me Hakoda.”

“Sorry!”

“Theres no need to apologize.”

Zuko tried to cool the bright blush he knew was spreading to his cheeks. The way that Hakoda looked at him, it made him feel seen in a sort of weird way that had never occurred before. He didn’t like it, not in the slightest.

Trying to quell the anxiety raising in him like the tide, Zuko shoveled food onto his plate and began to eat silently.

“So, Zuko,” Hakoda said while cutting the turkey, “Sokka has been telling me you are a rather talented demigod.”

“He can conjure up fire with his hands! And he is the most talented sword fighter I know,” Sokka exclaimed.

Katara rolled her eyes. “I thought you were the most talented sword fighter you knew.”

“Well. After me of course.”

“You are a child of Hestia, correct?” Hakoda asked.

Zuko looked down, he wasn’t used to having this much attention on him. “Um, yeah. How’d you guess?”

“Sokka never shuts up about you, duh.” Katara snorted.

Sokka turned a bright red, saying nothing for a change.

Zuko really didn’t know what to think of that.

When everyone had ate their fill and the siblings had been exiled to do the dishes (“Zuko, you do NOT have to do the dishes, you are our guest!”) Hakoda and Zuko retreated to the living room. Zuko shifted awkwardly in his seat on the bright blue couch, feeling uncomfortable. He was alone with Hakoda. He hadn’t been alone with an adult other than the head’s of camp in who knows how long, especially not a paternal figure.

It wasn’t that he was afraid, necessarily, it was just that… he didn’t really know what to do. The last time he was alone with his own father, he ended up receiving a scar over his eye.

“Zuko,” Hakoda called out, bringing him back to reality. “I got you a present.” He held out a box, carefully wrapped in sliver paper with little penguins adorning in. “Consider it an early Christmas gift.”

Zuko took the box with timid hands. He couldn’t remember the last time he had received a real present, probably something from Ursa when he was a small child. He didn’t know how to react.  “Thank you…”

He undid the wrapping carefully, making sure not to tear the paper, inside was a red box. He lifted the lid. A bright red sweatshirt sat looking back at him. It looked big, but soft and comfortable. He ran his hand across the fabric. It was much less itchy then the camp clothes he had grown accustomed to over the years.

“I know it’s not much, but I wanted to make sure you got something. I know that it’s not easy… being a Demigod. Katara and Sokka have taught me that much,” He chuckled, giving a forlorn look. “It’s hard for them, but they have a home to come back to. I can’t imagine what It would be like to not have anyone at all.”

“Thank you, again. Nobody has really ever….”

“And if you ever need a parental figure to go to, I’m here. I know we just met, but I just wanted to put that out there. Girl problems, boy problems, general teenager stuff or even supernatural teenager stuff, I’m here.”

Zuko felt his eyes welling with tears, which he quickly blinked back.

“Okay. That sounds good.”

“Good,” Hakoda responded, warmth in his voice. “I’m glad.”

A small part of him was urging for him to hug the man, but he pushed those feelings down, shifting his converse through the shag rug. He felt as if he was 4 years old again, looking up at Ursa while she baked cookies for him and Azula, an act of pure love. Things like this came and went.

Luckily, Sokka came bursting into the room like a bat out of hell, ending the silence. “Dad, dishes are done! Zuko, I promised Katara I would go out driving with her. She’s supposed to get her permit in like a month and needs practice. Wanna come?”

“Sure thing.”

The car in question, Sokka’s (and now Katara’s too by default) was a rusty silver Toyota that took a few tries until it started, and the music that played from the aux cord had a tinny sound to it. Sokka loved it all the same. He kept referring to the car as Boomerang, and flicked the little hula girl on the dashboard when Katara pulled out of the driveway to dance along with the beat of the song.

They drove around town, the music playing silently. Katara was a good driver, not needing much help other than the occasional tip from Sokka. The siblings pointed out things as they drove past, providing silly anecdotes for him to hear:

“Hey! That’s where I had my first kiss!”

“Katara your first kiss was with Jet, that HARDLY even counts as a kiss.”

“It still happened!”

And:

“Zuko look! I broke my leg playing softball over there.”

“He cried for AGES.”

“Shut it.”

Zuko pressed his forehead up against the glass, letting the trees fly by. Despite his best intentions and constant reminders, a bubble of contentment rose up in his chest. He felt at home.

Chapter Text

“It says here that she was an artist too, and her friend painted this portrait of her,” Zuko mused, staring up at the painting in front of him.

Sokka hummed, looked up from his (demigod safe) phone, and shrugged. “She looks like Rose from Titanic, kinda.”

“Never seen it.”

“Not worth your time.”

Sokka looked back down at his phone, scrolling aimlessly. Zuko wanted to shout something along the lines of: We are in an ART museum and you aren’t even looking at the ART, but he knew that would be rude to all the patrons around him. So instead he went with a simple. “Hey, if you wanted to here why don’t you want to look around?”

It had been Sokka’s idea to go. He woke Zuko up bright and early insisting that they were going to have the best day ever (Sokka’s words, not Zuko’s) exploring the city, starting with the Gibbes Museum of Art. Sokka had been buzzing the whole drive into the city, even when it took thirty minutes to find a free parking garage. But now, he didn’t even seem interested. 

Sokka averted his gaze, looking surprisingly sheepish. “Um- well. I was talking to Haru from the Athena cabin, and he was telling me how you always come into the cabin and borrow his books about art n’ stuff, so I figured you’d like this.”

This made his heart skip a beat. “You asked Haru about me?”

“Well… yeah,” Sokka bit his lip awkwardly. “This stuff isn’t really my thing per say, but some of it is cool. And I wanted to make you happy, so.”

If things were easy, if things were honest and true, Zuko would tell Sokka that doing anything with him would make him happy. But things aren’t, so he says nothing instead.

A part of him is shocked that Sokka would do something specifically for him. Going to a museum that he has no interest in just to make Zuko happy. Confident Sokka, the boy who always loudly declares that he can climb the rock wall the fastest and win capture the flag, doing something so self serving for Zuko. But another part isn’t. Sokka is so fiercely loyal and kind that it just makes sense. It just doesn’t make sense that he would do something like this for someone like him. 

“Actually,” Sokka raced right on, “I would like to see some of the Greek Statues, can we do that?”

Zuko nodded, and Sokka grabbed him by the hand and pulled him through the exhibits until they got to the small selection of marble statues on display. Many of them aren’t Greek, per say, some of them are busts of confederate solders and presidents gone by, most of which Sokka flips off rather unceremoniously, but there is a rather nice one of Psyche that captures their interest for a little while.

“I always liked this myth,” Zuko said, after a silence.

“Me too. I like the part where she sees Cupid and he gets all made and disappears.”

Zuko chuckled, of course he liked that part.

“But I also, um, like the idea of it. The idea that you would do anything for the person you love, face any challenge, no matter what.” Sokka twisted his hands awkwardly, running his fingers frantically through his hair. Zuko is suddenly very aware of two sea-blue eyes fixed on the back of his neck.

“I like that idea too.”

After the museum, the two of them walked around the city for a bit. They went to the pineapple fountain, and walked around the market. Sokka took way too many silly selfies on his phone, since Zuko didn’t have one, promising that he would print them out and mail them to Zuko so he had something to decorate his cabin wall with.

“So you can see my BEAUTIFUL face every night before you go to sleep, and every morning when you wake up! Hey! Don’t stick your tongue out at me like that mister!”

Zuko just laughed along with his antics, his chest feeling lighter than it ever had before.

They found themselves at a shitty dinner, but Sokka swore that it had the best pancakes and french toast in the entire city. Zuko couldn't seem to find a reason why he would want breakfast food at two in the afternoon, but he ordered it anyway to make Sokka happy. 

Their waitress was a tall skinny blonde girl wearing an exceedingly short skirt and a shirt that left little to the imagination. She was exceptionally pretty, except for her teeth were pointy in an odd sort of way. If Zuko swung that way, he would probably be gaping. A pit of jealousy formed in his stomach when Sokka ordered, and the waitress giggled at him as if everything he said was a stand up comedy act. Sokka liked girls like this.

Eventually she left, and the food came. And Sokka was right. The french toast was massive, covered in butter, maple syrup, and fruit compote. A heart attack on a plate. He wrinkled his nose at the sugar overload, but Sokka dived right in, getting a bit of syrup on his nose in the process of it.

“Do you like not being a year round camper?” Zuko found himself asking when the french toast is mostly devoured.

Sokka speared a strawberry with his fork and chewed it contemplatively, “There are pro’s and con’s to it, for sure. It’s easier to be out at camp, for sure. Here everyones so stuffy about sexuality.”

“It… is?” Zuko stammered. It never occurred to him that it would be ‘easy’ to be out at camp. The whole thing seemed like an uphill battle to him.

“Well… like, yeah. I mean, it’s the Greek Gods? Everyones parent’s were pretty much bi, so most of the kids are as well. I honestly can’t think of many straight kids. Maybe Toph, but I think she's asexual. And Katara is straight as an arrow, weirdly enough.”

Zuko’s eyes bulged out of his head. He spent so many years feeling like an outsider because of his sexuality, all for everyone to be gay? What an ironic twist of fate, he thought to himself. “Oh… thats cool. I’m gay too.” The words felt alien on his tongue, this being the first time he had ever said them aloud.

Sokka smiled gently, “Sweet,” Then he carried on as if Zuko hasn’t said anything out of the ordinary, “So yeah, that part of camp is pretty cool. But I also like being home a bit. It’s easier. I mean- I love Katara and all, but it sometimes sucks to be like the not powerful sibling.”

“What do you mean? You are so powerful!”

“I know I have like a confident air about me, but I kinda sucks being Katara's brother. I mean, I can sword fight, but I didn’t get any of the underwater powers that she does. She can breathe underwater, talk to fish AND horses, and control water with her hands,” He then lowered his voice a bit, “also the rumor about her being able to control the blood in peoples bodies is true.”

Zuko stammered, “…Wow. That’s a lot.”

“Yeah! She's like a super-freak. I mean, she's MY super-freak and I love her very dearly, but come on. She has everything, and I got nothing. And I’m a child of the big three. We are supposed to be, like, powerful and stuff. But I’m not, I'm just Sokka.” He looked down at the now empty plate glumly.

Zuko fought back the urge to grab the other boys hand. “Sokka, you are like the bravest demigod that I know. Sure, you don’t have all the powers that Katara does, but you can sword fight like nobodies business and you are a natural born leader. You hold camp together. During the war everyone followed you. You got us through that.”

Sokka blushed, bright and red. “Thanks Zuko. That… that means a lot.”

“It’s the truth!”

“Okay, fine it’s the truth Mr. I Can Literally Create Fire With My Hands.”

Zuko flinched. “I don’t, love, fire necessarily. I don’t like to use the powers.”

“Whys that?” Sokka asked. “Sorry- I don’t want to press. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, no, Its fine. My father was abusive, I guess. He burned my face when I was a kid.”

Sokka’s face fell. “Zuko…”

He cut him off quickly, “Don’t. We can talk about it another time, promise. I also don’t love fire because… you know how I had all those anger issues when I first came to camp?” Sokka nodded. “I tried to burn everyone who came close to me. I don’t want to be like that anymore. So now I only use fire if it’s like- a life or death situation, you know.”

Sokka took a deep breath, his eyes filled with sympathy as he changed the subject, “Do you know if you have any other powers?”

“I mean, nobody knows. I’m the only living child of Hestia, so I could? If I do, I haven’t discovered them yet. I don’t think so.”

Sokka pursed his lip. “That’s a shame. Goddess of ‘Home’ and all, I was hoping you could like magically clean my room or something.”

Zuko gently shoved him from across the table, eliciting a squawk from the other boy. This drew the attention of the blonde waitress, who raised a pointed eyebrow at the check.

Sokka paid before Zuko could do anything about it, and they began to head back to the car through an alleyway by the side of the diner, laughing and joking about pancakes and something Toph had said to Chiron over the summer. The peace was interrupted by the loud cry of “Wait up!”

The blonde waitress, Leslie- her name tag read, ran after them into the alley. She pointed at Zuko with a long manicured finger. “You forgot your phone!” She exclaimed, extremely chipper. (A little too chipper- the wary part of his brain supplied.)

“Um- I don’t have a phone,” He stated.

Sokka’s eye caught his and Sokka had just began to mouth the word ‘empousa’ when the cell phone in Leslie’s hand transformed into a long sword and her previously long and smooth legs turned into one goat leg and one made of copper. Zuko had dealt with empousa’s before, they were extremely annoying but not too hard to kill. He reached down for his sword, which he usually kept on a belt around his waist, but it was missing. So stupid, he must have forgotten it this morning. He was so caught up in Sokka, nothing else really seemed to matter.

Sokka seemed to sense his alarm, and wielded his sword, jumping in front of Zuko to protect him. An evil smirk came across Leslie’s face. “How cute, the less powerful child of Poseidon coming to protect his boy-toy.”

Sokka snarled, and pounced at her. The two engaged in quick combat. Both were skilled fighters, but Sokka clearly had the upper hand. Zuko had sparred with him before, and Sokka was a true swordsman. He was light on his feet and was a strategist, thinking three or four moves ahead of his opponent.

However, he wasn’t prepared for Leslie’s next move. She retreated from Sokka, and made a move towards Zuko. Sokka yelped, trying to lunge in front of him, his sword clattering to the ground. Leslie beamed, flashing her inhuman pointy teeth. This was just what she wanted. Both of them were unarmed and helpless, their backs facing the wall. She had cornered them, her blade touching Sokka’s neck.

If he had to use the fire, he had to use the fire.

Zuko held his palms in front of him, and yelled in rage, expecting the bright orange flames he was so accustomed to shoot towards Leslie. However, they did not. What came instead was a strange red light. Fractals poured down around Sokka and Zuko creating a sort of protective bubble, and when the light came down on Leslie, she dissolved into a puddle of gold monster blood.

He looked down at his hands, the hands that had caused so much destruction in his past.

Huh.

Chapter Text

“Okay,” Haru said, shuffling through a big stack of papers, “I can’t find anything about children of Hestia having special powers.”

Zuko was sitting on Haru’s bed in the Athena cabin. There was a constant thrum of motion here, Haru’s siblings coming and going as they pleased. It was so unlike his own cabin, which just had Zuko and his bed.

It had been two months since his Thanksgiving adventure at Sokka’s house, two months since the mysterious red light had come from his hands. In his time back at camp he spent most of the days with Haru, trying to figure out exactly what it all meant.

They weren’t making much progress.

He was doing other things too. He went sparring with Aang (who was becoming rather skilled with a blade) and went on walks with Suki. He really liked them, these newfound friends, and they kept his mind off of missing Sokka.

Missing Sokka also took up a fair portion of the day.

They iris messaged once a week, both of them filling the other in on what was going on in their lives. It became a constant routine, something Zuko could always look forward too. Every Sunday night at 7pm, Sokka would be there in the shimmering portal, cracking jokes about what somebody said at swim practice that week or telling him in confidence what Katara was going to buy for Aang for his birthday.

All Zuko had to do was smile, listen, and pretend that his crush wasn’t as big as Mount Olympus itself.

Haru pursed his lips. “Can you walk me through exactly what happened that day again?”

“Sure. Um, we were being attacked by the empousa and I was unarmed. She unarmed Sokka and went to hurt him and I lifted my hands up to shoot fire at here. But instead of fire this weird red light came out and it protected Sokka and I, killing the empousa.”

“Can you make fire now?”

“I don’t know.” Zuko furrowed his brow and lifted his hand in the air, willing flame to it. Sure enough, a small fire flickered from his fingertips.

“Interesting. And you have used fire in monster attacks before?”

“Yeah- all the time.”

Haru looked down at the book helplessly, as if he was trying to get it to give him the answers. Then, suddenly his eyes lit up. “Wait, was this the first time you were using your fire to protect somebody?”

He thought back to all the times he had conjured flame in the past. It had always been an angry action, a self-serving one. Killing monsters and lashing out at people trying to encroach on his space. “Um.. yeah,” Zuko stammered, “I think so.”

“Well then that’s it, I think. Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and home, so when protecting friends and family, your home, I would assuming Hestia is giving you magic. Helping you keep what you love.”

Love. Zuko loved Sokka. It was a hidden truth, one he would not readily admit. He constantly assured himself that this thing with Sokka was just a crush and that it would go away eventually, but no. It was love. And Zuko knew it.

“Yeah.. I guess so.”

“Well,” Haru shut the book with a flourish. “Case closed. I would love to see what else you can do, but I’m not going to wish bodily harm on any of your friends. It’s a handy tool, and really cool as well. I’m going to write it down in the camp records at the big house. Also, do you want to borrow any books this week?”

Zuko felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. He loved Sokka. He was in love with Sokka. It was almost a good thing that Sokka wouldn’t be back until the beginning of June, he would have time to grapple with his feelings and make them less obvious. “Um, no thanks. I’m good. I’ll see you Haru,” he blurted out before dashing out of the Athena cabin.

After a long walk around camp, Zuko found himself as Zeus’s fist. The large rock had become a staple of his time at Camp Half Blood, a welcome place to sit and think with (usually) no interruptions.

Sokka. Sokka just had to have those big blue eyes and that infectious laugh and Zuko just had to be in love with him. What a nightmare. Despite all his kindness towards him, Zuko was sure that Sokka just thought of him as a friend, unfortunately.

He groaned, placing his head in his hands.

“Hey!” A voice called out, “Mind if I join you up there?”

He looked down to see Suki, daughter of Aries. She was in a light pair of jean shorts and a camp t-shirt that was damp with sweat, evident of her recently coming off of the climbing wall.

“Yeah, sure.”

Suki clambered up the rock and plopped herself directly next to Zuko, their shoulders brushing ever so slightly. Usually, he would shy away from the touch, but he had become rather fond of the girl over the past two months. She never pried to much, she was just always there to lend a kind word or share a laugh with. Zuko liked that.

“Whats up?” She asked, shading her eyes with her hand to block out the sun.

“Nothing much, just came from trying to figure out my powers with Haru. I needed some time to… think.”

“Any progress?”

“Yeah, actually. We think it’s a ‘home’ related power, I guess. I can protect those I feel safe with.”

She gave him a sort of bemused smirk, her eyes filled with mirth. “So, like Sokka back in Charleston, then?”

He sighed. “Yeah, exactly like that.”

The silence that comes next is not uncomfortable, per say, but not pleasant either. Suki opened her mouth to say something, then closed it promptly. Then opened it again, “Hey, Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we talk about something?”

“Sure.”

She turned to face him. “So, Sokka. You care about him, yes?”

“Yeah, I- I- Suki. He’s my best friend. The best friend I have ever had.”

Suki smiled, “I’m glad to hear that. I just wanted to say, um, that when Sokka and I were dating it wasn’t the best for either of us. I mean, I’m gay, so obviously that was a problem, but he- he was suffering quite a bit. With Yue. “

Zuko felt his heart sank, a mixture of empathy and jealously. Poor Sokka, nobody deserved to go through a death like that, but he couldn’t help the inkling of jealousy that bubbled up in his chest. He was still in love with her. Gorgeous, forever young Yue.

“He was grieving,” Suki continued, not seeming to notice the tidal wave of emotions Zuko was experiencing, “He couldn’t date me properly. It was for the better, obviously, I love that kid to death as a friend. However, it was still really hard to see him have to go through that. When Sokka loves someone, he loves them with his whole chest. But I saw him this summer, hanging out with you, and it was like that weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Like he was fully happy again. Thank you for that.”

“It’s no problem,” He mumbled, feeling like he was at the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim.

Suki looked him deeply in the eye, then laughed. “You really are clueless, aren’t you? You’ll figure it out eventually.” She got up, dusted the dirt off of her shorts, and began to climb down the rocks. “See you at campfire tonight, doofus.”

And then she was off, as if she had said nothing at all.

———

It was late on a Saturday night in March, and Zuko just couldn’t sleep. In a month and a half, Sokka would be back at camp. Sokka would be here, with him, at camp. He couldn't push back the excitement rolling around like a tightly bound coil in his stomach.

Even if he couldn’t have him as something more, he would have him here. And that was enough. He had decided he would rather suffer with his crush in silence than not have him at all, it was for the best, anyway. Sokka wouldn’t want someone like him anyway, he would just weigh Sokka down.

A faint twinkling sound came from the corner of his room, and Zuko bolted up, his hand landing on his sword. It was his iris message portal, buzzing to life. He walked over to it, and sat down, feeling wary.

Who would call him at this hour on a Saturday night? The only time he ever really used the portal were his Sunday evening calls with Sokka.

Suddenly, Sokka appeared in the mist. He was stumbling around his room, trying to pull a sweatshirt over his head. He tripped on a pair of jeans that was strewn across the floor, and face planted.

“Sokka?” He asked, “Are you okay?”

Sokka finally managed to pull his head through the hoodie and sprung to life. “Zuko!” He beamed, coming up to the mist. “I thought I caaaallled youuu!”

Zuko was suddenly aware of the fact that Sokka was really, really, drunk. Alcohol was a bit hard to find at camp, the Hermes campers being able to occasionally smuggle it in for a party or two, but it was much easier for teenagers to get it in the mortal world. He had never seen Sokka drunk before, but this was just as he expected it, bumbling around and tripping over his words like an overexcited toddler.

“How do you feel?”

“Sleepy. Veeeerrry Sleepy. Sokka go sleepy now.” Sokka jumped onto his bed and laid down like a starfish, closing his eyes. Then, he jolted up. “Wait! I wanted to talk to you about the party I went to. It’s super duper important.”

“You can always tell me during are call tomorrow,” Zuko chuckled. Gods. Why did Sokka have to be so damn cute?

Sokka shook his head. “No, its important.”

Zuko smiled softly, simply enamored with the drunk boy in-front of him. “Okay, go ahead.”

“I was at this kid Jet’s party, he is a mega dick by the way, and this girl came up to me. She’s my partner in chemistry class- which is like a stupid subject by the way I would rather take physics because then I could build shit- oh wait, I can talk about physics later! Physics is fun. I want to tell you about Sophie, the girl. She was like totally flirting with me and has been all year. ”

Zuko nodded, already feeling his heart break.

“And she asked me to hook up, right? But I said no. Because I like somebody else right now. I really like this boy from camp.” Sokka grinned dreamily, “And I just called because I wanted to tell you that, yeah.”

He laid back down on the bed, giggling, and in a matter of minutes he was sleeping soundly, leaving Zuko still swimming in the deep end of the pool with his emotions.

Chapter Text

The days leading up until June went slowly for Zuko. He thought of Sokka’s return pathetically at least once a day, wanting his friend back.

He couldn’t wait for summer.

Sometimes the thought’s of Sokka’s crush that he had confessed on Iris message that night in March came encroaching at night, making Zuko’s stomach churn.

Who could it be?

He knew it was a boy, but that didn’t really help much. It couldn’t be Aang, Sokka would never do that to his sister, so then who? The only other boys in Sokka’s circle were Haru and Teo, a quirky son of Hephaestus, and it didn’t really seem like Sokka harbored any romantic feelings for either of them.

There was a pesky itch in the back of his brain that was telling him that HE was Sokka’s illustrious crush. That HE was the boy that made Sokka reject that girl at the party. It was a horrible thought, making him hope for something too good to be true.

But still, he couldn’t help remembering what Suki said to him that day on Zeus’s fist, and the pointed look she had given him after it.

When Sokka loves someone, he loves them with his whole chest, she had said.

What if that someone was him?

-

Summer finally arrived with its mirthful cool breezes and sunny days, and the whole camp seemed to get lighter, year rounders finally getting to see their friends.

Move in day was chaos filled with suitcase mixups (really? who sent the pink glittery suitcase to the Ares cabin?), loud music, and cheerful reunions.

In all the commotion, Zuko didn't get to see Sokka until dinner that night. He was sitting across the dining pavilion at the the Poseidon table, eating a hamburger and laughing loudly at something Katara must have said.

Zuko felt his heart skip a beat. Sokka had gotten a nose ring in April, and while it looked good over iris message, there was something about seeing it in person. It was so…

He shook his head, willing the inappropriate thoughts about his best friend away. This was not the time.

He took one glance back at Sokka, just for good measure, and their eyes met. Sokka beamed, waving his hand furiously to say hello.

“Hi,” he mouthed.

“Hi,” Zuko mouthed back, feeling a warm heat on his neck.

Gods, why did everything have to be so hard?

As soon as Chiron had declared dinner was over, Sokka bounded over to Zuko’s table, and gave him a bone crushing hug. “It’s been so long! I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you earlier but dad dropped us off late and all we really had time to do was drop our stuff off at cabin three before dinner and-“

Zuko chuckled. “Sokka, it’s fine. I’m seeing you now.”

The son of Poseidon gleamed, “Heck yeah you are! So, how was the long and terrible year without me?”

“Sokka, we talked like every week, you know how my year was.”

“Yeah. I just wanted to hear you admit that you missed me.”

Zuko chortled, “No. Didn’t even notice you were gone, funny now that you mention it.”

Sokka pouted, giving him big puppy dog eyes.

“Fine! Fine. I missed you. Happy?”

“Very.” Sokka smiled at him for a moment, and then took a pause. “Hey, I kind of wanted to apologize for that night a couple months ago, when I IM’ed you drunk after that party.”

Zuko bit his lip. Why would he be apologizing? Did he not want Zuko to know about his crush? “Huh? Theres nothing to be sorry about.”

Sokka ran his fingers through his hair nervously. “Well- I mean, no? It’s been very nice of you not to bring it up and all but I still admitted that I had a crush on you in a very inebriated state which wasn’t the best thing to do. I get that you don’t like me back and all, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

Zuko could feel the gears in his brain stop turning. Sokka had just said what? All that he could utter out of his mouth was a poorly enunciated “Huh?”

“Sorry for bringing it up again I just-“

“You never told me that you liked me Sokka, you just said you had a crush on some boy at camp. You like me?”

“Oh my god’s, I didn’t?” Zuko shook his head. “Um yeah, Zuko, this definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to tell you but- I like you. I just assumed you didn’t like me back because you never brought up the call again- but I, um wow.”

He didn’t really know what to say to that. Sokka liked him. It was like a dream come true, except his incredibly anxiety about the whole thing was keeping him frozen, not responding.

Sokka sighed, “So, yeah. That’s that. If you feel, like, uncomfortable or anything I can just leave you alone…”

Just as Sokka was about to get up to go, Zuko blurted out, “No! I like you back Sokka. I like you a lot.”

The relief on Sokka’s face was instantaneous. “You do?”

Zuko furiously nodded, feeling the blush on his face already.

“Okay, um, I’m no good at this but like- can I kiss you?”

“Y-yeah.”

Sokka leaned in and kissed him, and Zuko feels like he is going to explode. It’s soft, and hesitant, everything a good first kiss should be, but there is so much more. He could smell Sokka’s deodorant and feel the way that he smiled into the kiss. It’s perfect, and Zuko never want’s it to end-

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Suki was standing there, wearing a shit-eating grin on her face. With her was Katara, Haru, Teo, Aang, Toph from Demeter, and a few other demigods.

“Took you too long enough!” Katara cheered, running up to give Zuko a hug. She whispered in his ear, “I’m glad it’s you,” making Zuko feel even more flustered than he already was.

“I think these two lovebirds need to cool off,” Toph laughed.

Suddenly the group (sans Teo, of course) picked the two of them up and carried them to the lake. Sokka was laughing, and reached out to grab Zuko’s hand. He acquiesced and couldn’t help but laugh along.

Even when he hit the water, Zuko was sure he had never felt happier in his entire live.

Zuko doggy paddled over to Sokka, who was swimming quite gracefully in the lake, and kissed him square on the lips. Sokka gave him a wink, and pulled him under the surface.

They didn’t have much time before they had to pull up for air, but yeah, it was the best underwater kiss of all time.