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It’s not like Sokka had a crush on the Blue Spirit, per se. He just had a healthy appreciation for mysterious vigilantes, thank you very much!
Every time they stopped in a new earth kingdom town, he looked forward to reading local accounts of the Blue Spirit and his exploits. Even when they reached the Fire Nation, there were wanted posters and more rumors, albeit biased, of things the Blue Spirit had gotten up to. It wasn’t really clear if it was one person or if more people had taken to following the symbol, but Sokka was determined to meet to original someday. It was perfectly normal, no matter what Katara said.
“I’m just saying, Sokka.” Katara rolled her eyes as he handed over a copper piece for the gossip rag that claimed the Blue Spirit used to work as a tea shop waiter. “It’s nice to see you so excited about someone like this. Next you’ll be going on a date with Hei Bai.”
Sokka crossed his arms and folded the paper into his bag. “He’s not an actual spirit Katara. Plus, I’m just thinking strategically! Someone who believes in the greater good and moves without being seen would be nice to have on our side!”
“So that means I’m supposed to pretend I didn’t see you making heart eyes at the wanted poster you bought from that guy in the last town for a silver piece?”
“It had two swords in it! Two!! I was studying the design to imagine his fighting strategies!!”
Katara just rolled her eyes and kept walking. “Keep telling yourself that.”
After the day of the Black Sun, it didn’t seem to matter as much. Losing their men, his dad, Bato? It put a damper on the few rumors of the Spirit that reached them in their hideout at the Western Air Temple. Katara must have been concerned because her teasing about his totally-not-a-crush scaled down, and she even tried to bring back rumors and little articles from her trips into town.
When Zuko arrived, burnt Toph, fought Combustion Man, and generally caused more trouble than he thought possibly, it was nice to focus on a threat he could watch instead of the people he’d fail to protect. Of course, Zuko had to ruin it all by being too stupidly well-meaning to make fun of. After his “life changing field trip” with Aang, his thoughts drifted back to his dad. It was hard to keep pretending like Zuko was enough of a threat to justify pushing away the guilty feeling he had when he thought of all of the water tribe warriors who were likely in prison or worse because of him. Katara kept looking at him with these concerned, motherly looks, and he knew he had to get his act together before she worried too much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Katara had made another supply run into town after Aang and Zuko returned from learning their firebending dance, but he guessed it was just an excuse to cook good food for Aang. Sokka knew she was still convinced that disappearing anywhere with Zuko was a death sentence, so he decided not to push the plate of rice and stew she put together that looked like she was expecting visiting dignitaries.
Of course, the pieces of roast pig-chicken that she’d managed to track down were more likely an effort to cheer him up. Tui knows, that wasn’t for Aang.
“Sokka…” Katara was grinning far more than she should’ve been, and alarm bells immediately started sounding in his brain. “I brought you a gift from town. I didn’t get you anything when you went ice dodging with Bato, so consider this your present.”
Katara passed over a very lumpy paper bag, and he was almost relieved when it didn’t immediately burst into flames or start singing.
“…….Is this going to humiliate me or bite me if I open it?”
Katara rolled her eyes. “You’re being a wimp. I promise it won’t bite you, embarrass you, or in any way resemble a prank.”
“Okay, but if it stains my clothes weird colors like time you tricked me into messing with Gran Gran’s fabric dyes, I’m not doing laundry for a month.” Sokka held out the bag and slowly reached in with a healthy amount of skepticism to pull out-
Oh.
Oh Tui and La.
Staring back at him was a deep blue oni mask that Sokka had practically memorized after collecting so many wanted posters and newspaper articles.
“How did you get this?! Where? How?” Sokka turned it over and almost reverently ran his hands over the black cloth straps that were used to secure the mask.
“I saw it in town. Apparently the play that the mask is from is being performed by a traveling troupe. They had these on sale.” Katara grinned. “I knew this would cheer you up if the way you look at those wanted posters was anything to go by.”
“The way you what at the what?” Zuko’s face had turned an alarming shade of red, and Sokka leaned over Toph to swat at him with the paper bag.
“Listen here! I know the Fire Nation is all anti-Blue Spirit, but he’s a great guy! He helps people! He’s daring and courageous and way better at protecting others than the Fire Nation rumors give him credit for.
Toph grins and pushes Sokka’s arm away from her face. “Sorry, Sparky. You haven’t been here long enough to know about Sokka’s massive crush on the Blue Spirit. Personally, I don’t see the appeal of a man who runs around in tights, but to each his own.”
Sokka’s face turns red and he crosses his arms. “It’s not a crush! I just think he’s cool!! He uses two swords, Toph, two!!”
Toph scoffs and leans back on her hands. “It’s like you people forget I know when you’re lying.”
Aang looks up at Toph before looking back at Sokka. He looks mildly confused and Zuko is shaking his head until-
“So Sokka has a crush on Zuko?”
All hell breaks loose. Toph starts cackling, Katara looks murderous, The Duke and Teo exchange coins, and Zuko looks like he’s trying to drown in his stew.
Sokka practically shrieks and points the Blue Spirit mask at Aang accusingly. “That’s not what I said, what Toph said, whatever! Even if I would hypothetically feel that way about the Blue Spirit what in the name of La does that have to do with Zuko?!”
Aang looks even more confused and looks at Zuko, who is still staring at his bowl like it’s a lifeline. “I told you the Blue Spirit saved me from Zhao?”
“Yeah? Before the reports of his other rescues and stuff popped up? That’s why we knew he was for real and not just a weird spirit myth,” Sokka replies in a tone of voice that’s absolutely not two octaves higher than normal.
Aang looks around the circle and grins sheepishly. “I guess I forgot to tell you that I saw his face. I could’ve sworn I mentioned that the Blue Spirit was Zuko.”
Sokka sat down slowly. This was fine. He was fine! He could totally appreciate the Blue Spirit and absolutely not have a massive crush on him.
He looked over at Zuko, almost against his will, saw the blush that was high on Zuko’s face and the way he was biting his lip and that there was what almost seemed to be a smile on his cute-
Spirits, Sokka was fucked.