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After Suki had moved abroad for who knew how long, she and Sokka had decided to split up. They still loved each other, still were friends, and still talked to each other all the time, but they decided a long-distance relationship wasn't for them.
So when Zuko was couch surfing among his friends’ apartments, not wanting to live alone or, world forbid, with strangers, Sokka had invited him to move in with him. It was the perfect solution. They could be two guys, being bros, totally not developing quickly growing crushes on each other. And they probably would have maintained that illusion, not only in front of each other, but also in their own minds if not for one fateful morning.
Sokka liked to sleep in late. “The best part of the day is when I'm still unconscious,” he says frequently. However, Zuko woke up early. He always had, and only after a few meaningful conversations with Sokka had he started questioning how much of it was his natural sleeping rhythm and how much was the result of his dad's drilling.
That fateful day, they were supposed to buy groceries early, because they had agreed to cook bún bò Huế (spicy beef & pork noodle soup) together and it had to simmer for several hours, but Sokka forgot to set up an alarm... Of course he did. After an hour of impatiently pacing back and forth, Zuko decided to take matters in his own hands. That's it— he was going to wake up Sokka.
Zuko knocked softly on the door before stepping into the room, hoping Sokka would sense the movement and wake up. He should have known better. He might be used to sleeping lightly as a feather but Sokka's sleep was like a neutron star. Zuko slowly approached the bed, almost knocking over a box labeled “robo stuff”. He once again opted for the gentle approach. He remembered his mom gently brushing a hand through his hair, whispering, "Wake up, sunshine." That was a nice memory. She always woke him up this way whenever Father was away on official business.
His hand hovered over Sokka’s head. "This is stupid," he muttered under his breath. He battled himself for a while, but then it hit him how creepy it would be if Sokka woke up to find him staring at him in his sleep. Yeah... Not a good idea. In a fleeting moment of courage, he touched Sokka's shoulder through the duvet. Sokka moved slightly, but seemed completely unbothered by the hand gently shaking him.
Zuko whispered "Wake up, asshole.” He was surprised how tender it sounded. Had his voice just cracked?? It must have been from thinking about Mom, surely that was the reason.
No reaction from Sokka. Zuko spoke again, slightly louder. "Sokka, get your ass out of bed." To his surprise, it worked, or so he thought… Sokka twisted to his side and made a grunt of disapproval. Zuko was about to give up, because the whole ordeal was a lot more stressful than he’d bargained for, but he hesitated for too long.
Sokka sleepily said, "Zuko, baby, come back to bed." That very second, Zuko was forcibly pulled into the bed next to Sokka, then anchored by an arm and a leg wrapping around him. Zuko thought that would be the end of it, but boy, was he wrong. Sokka hugged him closer, saying, "You know I love you, Zu," then kissed the top of his head.
Zuko was completely petrified. What just happened? How did it escalate so quickly? Did this mean Sokka had feelings for him?! Did he hallucinate? That last question was quickly answered by his very real roommate snuggling closer to him. There was one, even more pressing question... Why wasn't Sokka wearing a shirt? Zuko knew his best friend was definitely in shape, but it was one thing seeing his muscles through his shirt when he sat across from him in the kitchen, and a completely different matter lying next to his naked, muscular chest, being crushed by his equally muscular arms.
Zuko was not straight enough for this. After a few minutes of just laying there, he realized he had to do something about this situation because once Sokka woke up, there would be no going back. He tried to wiggle out of the bed. He was by no means weak, but when did Sokka get so strong? He thought panic would creep in shortly, but to his surprise, he felt quite calm. A lot calmer than he had any right to feel.
He looked at the clock on the wall and realized he'd been in Sokka’s room for the better part of an hour. This was getting out of control, and Zuko decided that he’d do anything to wake up Sokka or escape this situation.
Turned out he didn't have to do anything in particular.
He felt the arms around him hugging him closer, then suddenly going stiff. He turned his head, only to meet Sokka's very, very wide eyes.
"What are you doing in my bed?" Sokka asked, suddenly wide awake.
"I was trying to wake you up. We were supposed to go get groceries,'' Zuko replied.
"By sneaking into my bed?!" Sokka almost yelled. "I know I'm very lax when it comes to personal boundaries, but dude!"
"It's all your fault! You pulled me in here!" Zuko said, falling backwards out of the bed as if it was on fire.
"Then why didn't you get out? Or at least wake me up?" Sokka said.
Zuko felt heat coming back to his face. "I tried, but you didn't want to let go and... and... you know what? Forget it," Zuko said, storming out of the room.
Sokka threw on a random shirt and tried to find his pants as quickly as possible. When he looked more decent, he left his room to talk to Zuko. He found his roommate moping in a corner with his phone.
"Zuko, I'm sorry, but please understand how it looked from my perspective,” Sokka said.
Zuko turned away, huffing slightly.
"Zuuukooo, please talk to me," Sokka added, exasperated.
Zuko turned around with an exhale. "Fine, I'm sorry, too. I know it's not the best way to start the day for you, either, but please, can we drop it?"
"I mean, I don't mind waking up with you in my bed, hot stuff,” Sokka said teasingly.
"Don't push your luck, or you’ll be the one cleaning all the meat," Zuko responded, turning away even more to hide his blushing face.
"Fine." Sokka raised his hands in defeat. "You going to get that food or am I going to wait for you all day?"
"I swear, one day I'm gonna wipe that shit-eating grin off your stupid face," Zuko muttered, crossing his arms.
"You know you love it,” Sokka said with a smirk, grabbing the keys and rushing out the door, narrowly avoiding a cushion thrown at him.
~~~
“Do you want to split up like last time or... Wait, I know this look. You have a plan, don’t you?” Zuko said when they arrived at the farmer’s market.
“Ok, so you know how the list is quite long and so are the queues? I sketched out the plan of the market, all our favorite vendors are circled in green. The ones we’ll go to if the first group won’t have something is in orange. The red line is the most efficient route. Oh and here’s what we’ll buy at each vendor,” Sokka explained, pointing at a piece of paper he fished out of his pocket.
“What are the two red circles?” asked Zuko.
“Those two banned me because some of my jokes didn’t land,'' Sokka admitted reluctantly.
Zuko exhaled (as if he wasn’t banned from a few places way back in his teenage angst phase). “What do you want me to do?” he asked finally.
“Stand in this line and grab this, and then in that line and grab shallots and garlic. Then let’s meet here,” Sokka decided, pointing to various stands and places on his piece of paper.
“Ok but today we’re getting chicken broth ready, I’m already too tired to do it myself,” said Zuko.
“Sure but next weekend we’ll make a whole bunch so we can use it for later, ok?” said Sokka.
“Fine,” said Zuko, already resigned and taking his spot in the queue.
~~~
After a few hours, they were tired but ready to start cooking.
“Where is the recipe, Zuko?” asked Sokka.
“In my head, I used to make it with mom before everything went to shit. I remember it well,” he answered.
“I told you to write it down, how am I supposed to overplan without it? Besides, relying on memory is iffy and I want to be able to make it without asking you questions every 5 seconds” explained Sokka.
“What?? You want to throw me out or something?” Zuko asked jokingly.
Sokka looked at him, offended. “My best friend in the entire world?” He suddenly hoisted Zuko into the air. “Never.”
“Put me down and get to cooking,” said Zuko with fake annoyance and blush rising on his cheeks.
“What should I do Sifu Zuko?” asked Sokka obediently, putting him down.
“First of all, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that. Secondly, we have to clean the beef shank, oxtail, and pork hocks. Also, we have raw blood so we have to cut it into 1 inch cubes and boil it for 36 minutes.” explained Zuko.
“GROSS, I can handle the beef while you do the blood and we’ll see from there,” Sokka said with disgust.
“How can blood gross you out? You’re used to cleaning up animals after catching them back at home, aren't you?” said Zuko laughing.
“But it’s natural - not all in cubes like that, it’s just weirding me out,” said Sokka.
“Ok, just leave some of the fat on there for the flavor,” said Zuko.
“Do I look like I was born yesterday?” asked Sokka, offended.
“No but you do look like you’d hyper-focus and forget to leave some on,” said Zuko.
“That’s fair,” admitted Sokka and with that, they got to work.
Zuko found himself distracted, looking at Sokka’s arms and muscular back more times than he cared to admit. He really tried to get over the memory of this morning but to no avail. Thankfully, Sokka seemed to not be aware of what exactly happened or how it made him feel. He almost got caught staring at his roommate a few times, but he brushed it off as judging Sokka’s technique and making sure he’s not overdoing it.
He decided that he should try occupying his mind with the recipe. He put the water in the pot and instructed Sokka to throw the prepared meat in there, taking a few pieces that still needed to be done for himself. He was deciding on the next steps while cleaning the meat when Sokka interrupted his string of thoughts. “Dude, look at those ligaments they look like a rabbit,” Sokka said pointing his knife at a pile of meat waste.
“Wait,” said Zuko using a tip of his knife to readjust some pieces. “Now it looks like you.”
“No it doesn’t!”
“What are you talking about? Here is the nose, here is the wolf tail, here is your chin, see?”
“Oh yeah now I see it,” Sokka said laughing.
After they were done with the meat Zuko halved some onions, prepared lemongrass, and put everything on the stove.
“Sokka, this is very important,” Zuko said, grabbing his best friend by the shoulders. “I need you to sauté the spices while I cut up everything and keep an eye on the meat, ok?” He decided that if his eyes dropped to Sokka’s lips for a second it’s between him and the spirits.
“Sure no problem” shrugged Sokka.
“Please don’t burn everything like last time,” reiterated Zuko.
“Last time wasn’t my fault, the courier came in with a package for you and I kinda sort of forgot what I was doing. You should have picked up your own damn package,” Sokka said gruffly in his defence.
”Whatever you say, just don’t burn it, we bought just enough shallots. Oh, and if you notice it boiling before I do, let me know so I can add the seasoning.”
~~~
After many hours the soup was finally done. Sokka arranged everything in their bowls while Zuko washed the last remaining dishes. Soon they were sitting in front of each other with their day’s work between them.
“Will you do the honors and taste it officially?” asked Sokka.
“Here goes nothing,” said Zuko, grabbing his first bite of the noodles. ”Not bad, better than last week’s.”
“Really?” asked Sokka, taking a bite himself. ”Oh that’s good! You were right about letting it boil longer. I think we also grabbed a better chicken broth this time.” Sokka said, proud of their work.
”Next time we’ll make one from scratch because this one is very close,” said Zuko, nodding his head.
We can invite Katara and Aang for dinner tomorrow. She’ll like it and I can make vegan tofu teriyaki for Aang,” suggested Sokka.
“Good idea, this way we’ll have food for the next day as well.”
“Then it’s settled,” Sokka said happily. “I’ll call her when we’re done.”
Zuko smiled at the enthusiasm in Sokka’s eyes. He really misses his sister, even when they meet at least once a week.
~~~
”What’s up, Sokka?” Katara sounded in a good mood answering the phone. “I was just talking with Aang that I should call you...How did you know?”
“Oh I’m sort of amazing like that.”
“I can see your stupid grin from here,“ she laughed.
“What did you want to talk about?” asked Sokka.
“Nothing really. Remember this girl that used to go to school with Aang, On Ji?”
“The one who used to date the douche?” Sokka groaned, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, she and Aang reconnected recently and we started to hang out a lot, she's super cool. She’s been teaching me dancing from the country of her ancestors and I showed her Yuraq, you know? The dance we used to do with mom? She’s catching on quickly,” said Katara proudly.
“Nice, happy for you-” Sokka began, though interrupted by Zuko nudging him. ”- What? Oh, yeah Zuko is asking if you'll come over for dinner tomorrow?“
“Sure we don’t have anything planned... Aang?.. Yeah, we’ll come. What did you make this time?” asked Katara
“Bún Bò Huế from Zuko’s mom’s recipe. He said we’re starting to get the hang of it and he gave me the green light to show it to other people” Sokka said laughing.
“That’s the spicy beef & pork noodle soup, right? Should we bring something for Aang to eat?” Katara asked.
“No need! Your amazing brother always takes care of everything, it will be teriyaki” said Sokka. Zuko started to laugh in the background “Hey! What’s so funny? I do.” Now Katara started to laugh “Not you too, both of you would be nowhere if not for my supreme planning skills.” said Sokka, puffing out his chest with pride and bravado.
“Ok, ok thanks for saving me on more than a few occasions at uni… you happy now?” the smile was still clear in her voice.
“It will do for now, but both of you better watch out -” said Sokka, doing the I’m watching you gesture at Zuko
“We can return the favor on Wednesday,” said Katara.
”On Wednesday we’re going to spar so it would either have to be early or very late. But Thursday works for us,” Sokka said as he heard a doorbell going off at Katara’s.
“Sorry! On Ji just arrived gotta go! But Thursday sounds great. Bye,” Katara said in a rush.
”Bye, see you tomorrow,” Sokka called before he hung up.
~~~
Zuko was heating up the soup when the doorbell rang and the kitchen timer went off. “Door or oven?!” he yelled to Sokka, who just finished changing and was leaving his room, still closing the buttons on his shirt. The little peek of abs Zuko caught by accident earned him a red face, so to hide it he opened the oven saying “I'll get the teriyaki, you go to the door.” If Sokka noticed how weird his voice came out he didn't say anything.
“The roasted veggies smell so good,” called Aang, excitedly moving to the kitchen after leaving his stuff by the door. ”I’ve been thinking about your teriyaki since you called Katara.”
”We'll serve in a second, I already set the table,” said Sokka, ushering them in and swiftly moving to the kitchen, passing by Zuko closer than probably necessary.
“Do you need help with anything? “ asked Katara.
“No, I don't think so... Zu?”
“No, we're good,” Zuko said, plating the soup and passing the bowls to Sokka for final garnish. Their hands brushed by accident and Zuko thought he might have a heart attack… seriously what's wrong with him today?? He stabilized his hands and smoothed his features the best he could, going back to the soup.
“Is everything alright?" asked Aang, looking at Zuko.
“Of course,” he replied, giving an awkward smile. “The soup is done, so while Sokka finishes I'll plate your food.”
After a few minutes, everything was ready and they were all sitting around the table.
“OH. MY. SPIRITS.” groaned Katara after taking the first bite. “This is soooo good. I must look like that Emma Stone food gif.”
“You’re close, and thank you,” said Sokka, smiling proudly at his sister.
“That’s great, thanks. I know we are making progress but it’s always nice to have a second opinion,” said Zuko bashfully.
“Zu was really picky when it came to making this one,” Sokka said, placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder.
“I wasn’t that picky.” Zuko’s shoulder was burning at Sokka’s touch.
“You were watching my every move when we made it this week,” Sokka chimed in.
Zuko’s cheeks turned crimson “I just wanted to make sure you were not forgetting anything. Aang!” he changed the topic swiftly. “How’s your tofu? We used home made sesame oil this time.”
“It's really good." Aang said, swallowing quickly. ”And the veggies are perfectly cooked. Not a pulp, but not too raw. I’m sure I’ll be asking for seconds in no time, and from the looks of it so will Katara, right babe?”
“Yeah absolutely! Also, before I forget, we tried your recipe for vegan tikka masala. I left the tofu to marinate overnight and it was great. I still think you do some magic spells to your naan cos yours is like no other.”
“The secret ingredient is love and Zuko’s magical, always warm hands,” explained Sokka, intertwining their fingers and lifting Zuko’s hand in the air.
“I don’t know… my uncle also always had warm hands,” said Zuko quickly, removing his hand to pour himself some more tea, hiding his growing blush behind the steam.
“So you think it would help if I warmed up my hands before kneading,” asked Aang curiously.
“I mean it’s yeast, it can’t hurt,” Zuko said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Oh that reminds me, last week at work…” Sokka started one of his stories and everyone knew he wasn’t going to end any time soon. Zuko used the opportunity to watch Sokka and appreciate how easily his roommate can get lost in a story, especially if it involves one of his many hobbies and science related stuff. Zuko usually got lost during those tangents but he didn’t mind. It was worth it if only for that shine in Sokka’s eyes.
To his surprise he noticed Sokka stealing glances at him every now and then. He even noticed a faint blush on his cheeks after being caught, but Zuko blamed it on the spicy soup. Even after adjusting the spice level significantly and years of cooking together Sokka couldn’t really handle spice. Zuko did his best to act natural for the rest of the meal, but he didn’t believe that he’d done a very good job.
~~~
After moving away from his tribe, Sokka was looking for a new sport to pick up and had landed on Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA). Turns out his hunting trips and natural understanding of strategy give him an advantage over most opponents so he quickly started training with people who’d been fighting for years. Eventually, he reached a level where even his teacher didn't have much to offer. Zuko suggested his dao instructor, Piandao, although he doesn't specialize in HEMA - a great opponent and an amazing teacher. He also introduced Sokka to more Asian alternatives such as Jian; Sokka took him up on that offer and fell in love with it immediately. Nowadays he and Zuko often spar together in Piandao's dōjō, under his careful eye or alone just for fun. That day It was one of the latter.
Sokka's favorite longsword lay comfortably in his hand. Zuko was standing confidently in front of him with his dao.
Sokka wasn't above admitting that Zuko was hot, especially when they sparred. Seeing those muscles work with amazing grace and fluidity was like watching a masterful dancer. It wasn’t only the muscles though. The concentration in his face, his eyes plastered to Sokka, this little smirk he did when he caught Sokka off guard… yeah, Sokka was in deep. He’d known for months. It didn’t exactly help that today Zuko forgot to pack a shirt and borrowed one from Sokka; He looked great in blue. What followed was a series of very short rounds
Zuko carefully approached Sokka with one dao guarding the sword, then in quick succession he used the other to turn, spin it clockwise and dive below, slashing at his stomach and sliding between his legs. They held the position for a second, Sokka kneeling over Zuko, before it dawned on them how this must look from the outside, both quickly scrambling to re-assume their starting positions, trying to hide the blush creeping on their cheeks.
They rushed forward and Zuko held Sokka’s sword by putting his dao in an x shape. They stood like this for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes before Zuko tried moving along, keeping the pressure on to try to find an opening to attack, but one of his dao twisted too much and Sokka took advantage of his mistake and slipped his sword landing it on Zuko’s shoulder. Vexed, Zuko stepped forward looking into Sokka’s eyes until they were barely apart. Sokka swallowed visibly and Zuko disengaged, getting in a stance for the next round.
Sokka was standing invitingly in the position called the fool or Alber but Zuko didn’t take the bait. Sokka tried to attack but Zuko parried it with both his dao; Sokka slid his sword across until the weapons were held parallel to each other, sliding along Zuko’s arm as he went and used the momentum pushing Zuko forward to slash his back.
Zuko tried to intimidate his opponent by quickly swinging his dao around in a series of very flashy moves. Sokka used the larger range of his weapon to do a stecher attack and stab directly at Zuko’s chest.
Sokka swung low aiming at Zuko’s hip that was dangerously exposed but at the last second Zuko jumped back missing the tip of the blade by mere millimeters. Another attack, Zuko blocked with one dao, he pushed the sword away using the other. Taking advantage of his speed, he used the first dao to slash Sokka’s stomach.
Sokka used an Oberhau (slash from above) to force Zuko to expose his middle. Sokka was too quick and before Zuko realized Sokka’s sword had made contact with his shins. Zuko again held his opponent’s sword by putting his dao in a x shape, this time Sokka used the leverage by slicing down and forcing Zuko to twist his arms. Sokka’s blade made contact with Zuko’s head.
To get back at him, Zuko ducked under his sword using one of his dao to block it and dropping to his knees in front of Sokka he used his other dao to slash under Sokka’s arms right across his chest.
After a few rounds, one of Zuko’s dao slipped and Sokka was able to use the mishap to slide his sword between Zuko’s arms and land it right at his throat, catching at the hairs on his neck. Zuko grunted with annoyance, dropping his hands. Sokka held his sword for a second and dropped it with worry painted across his face.
“Dude, is everything alright? You're been kinda out of it for the last few rounds,” asked Sokka.
“I'm fine,“ Zuko said, irritated.
“If you want to take a break it's cool,” Sokka said approaching him slowly.
“I said that I'M FINE.” Zuko twisted away, his face getting redder.
“If you don't want to talk about it we don't have to but I can see you're not fine,” added Sokka, attempting to reach over and give him a reassuring touch, to which Zuko twisted away.
“It's all your fault!” Zuko yelled dropping his dao and throwing his hands into the air. Sokka stood there unbelieving.
“You and your stupid little "is everything alright", your stupid face and stupid head with that stupid ponytail. You're always wearing those stupid shirts you know are too small and you're stupidly confident and I just can't stand being around you anymore how are you this fucking perfect…”
Sokka rushed over to grab Zuko's face and guide him gently to look at him. “What are you sayin,g Zu?” he asked.
“Stop with the nicknames; can't you see what you’re doing to me? I still can't stop replaying everything that happened that morning, and you just seem completely indifferent. “ Zuko’s voice was going hoarse with emotion. “Did you really mean what you said back there?” it came out all weird, quiet and vulnerable, hiding his face in his hands.
“What did I say?” asked Sokka, wide eyed.
“That you lo…” the words got stuck in his throat but before he could spit them out, Sokka interrupted.
“YES! Yes, I did mean it but I was always scared I would lose my best friend,” he said almost too boldly, then caught himself. “Was I right?”
“No, me too…” Zuko trailed off. “...I mean… I like you too.”
They stood awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other and not really knowing what to do before Sokka finally plucked up the courage to ask something he’d held in for so long. “Can I?” he reached out, holding Zuko's face, eyes dropping to his lips.
Zuko nodded, looking away.
“I'm gonna need you to consent out loud, Princess” he said cheekily with a grin that made Zuko shove him back playfully.
“Yes,” he grumbled. ”And fuck you.”
Sokka moved forward and embraced him.
“You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this,” Sokka said, pulling back slightly and finally kissing Zuko.
At first, the kiss was very gentle and chaste but it quickly grew in intensity. Zuko stumbled backward over their forgotten weapons, guided by Sokka to the nearest wall. Hands started exploring what eyes mapped out long ago. Soft whimpers escaped their mouths. Kisses started to get very sloppy and hungry, full of passion masked for years. Neither of them could believe what was happening and they were scared that if they broke the kiss first it would break the spell and all of this would stop being real.
Zuko's hands grabbed a hold of Sokka's sweatpants. Sokka pulled away with all of his will power and exhaled heavily. Zuko looked petrified, thinking he just ruined everything. Yet, Sokka's expression softened immediately.
“Zu, I want that too. I want it so fucking badly, but we should do it right. You deserve to do this right. We should savor it, remember how you always yelled at me for not enjoying good food enough? Well it worked - because now I want to take my time to enjoy this too. Besides, We have all the time in the world, I'm not going anywhere.”
Zuko huffed, frustrated but understanding. “Now you're choosing to be all mature?" he asks. Sokka gives him a look."Fine, you're right, we should at least take a shower before,” Zuko added, smiling and scrunching up his nose.
“Besides, I don't think a quicky here will satisfy me, not after all this waiting,” Sokka said, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Stupid,” Zuko laughed and they both straightened up a little (in terms of position anyway).
“Let's close the dojo and get home asap so we can establish some rules and what we want in the car,“ Sokka suggested, bending over to grab his sword and a towel.
“Ok. But I'm not promising no kissing till then,” Zuko added with a smirk.
“That's the spirit,” Sokka said, playfully slapping Zuko's butt.
Zuko pretended to be offended.
~~~
After waking up Zuko could still feel every touch and every kiss Sokka left on his body. He glanced at the clock – great, he woke up over two hours before Sokka would. He thought about going back to sleep but knew that was not going to happen. He laid there for a bit looking at the ceiling, stealing glances at his still sleeping boyfriend. It’d been over a week, but calling him that still felt weird and made him all giddy inside.
Suddenly he was hit with an idea. An idea so good, he was surprised that Sokka wasn’t the one who came up with it. They still have chicken broth from weekend cooking and uncle had sent him some ingredients recently... Yeah... he could totally make Japanese curry for Sokka. And he could make those adorable animals mom used to make for his bento box. Zuko liked this idea more and more every second.
He slowly and carefully slipped out of bed, doing his best to not wake up Sokka. That earned him a sleepy whimper from Sokka but the mission seemed successful. He quietly headed to the kitchen.
Zuko took out the chicken thighs and his favorite knife. He started slowly and methodically cleaning the meat. He couldn’t help but remember how dexterous Sokka was with a knife, his nimble fingers able to find every piece of fat, every vein, and everything that could ruin the dish.
When he was satisfied he moved onto the vegetables. First carrot into rangiri, then onion into wedges. Letting his hands repeat well taught movements, he let his mind wander back to Sokka. Right to his muscular arms that give such a safe embrace and are a treat to watch when they cook together. Setting those aside he started peeling the potatoes and cutting them into 1.5-inch cubes.
His mind returned to Sokka as he was throwing the ones that were ready into cold water. That time they drove to a lake. He vividly remembered how Sokka let down his wolf tail and the already wet hair stuck to his face, how his body glistened in the setting sun. Zuko still can’t believe he withstood the urge to tackle him to the ground and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. He moved onto skillfully crushing garlic and mincing ginger. The smell reminded him of their first time cooking together. They were still very young; it was not long after he moved in with uncle. Sokka showed him how to properly hold a knife and chop stuff quickly but he was too flabbergasted to tell him his mother taught him that but he hadn’t practiced it in years since father deemed cooking unmanly and unbecoming of the future heir to “everything he’d built”.
He took out a big pot and over medium heat, started to sauté the onions when they became translucent he added ginger and garlic. He dumped chicken on top.
Those early hours had some special serenity to them. They felt almost unreal. The whole big world seemed to cease to exist and there were no responsibilities, no deadlines, no trauma from years of abuse, no missing mother. Sokka insisted the best way to experience them is to stay up late, and he often did.
The chicken changed colour, to signify it’s the time to add carrots, broth and mix everything well. Often Sokka is the one doing that task, not because it’s difficult but Zuko couldn’t help himself not to appreciate the eye candy that is his boyfriend mixing food they made together with his big, broad motions. He skimmed the fat of the boiling stock and added his secret ingredient… an apple. To be fair Zuko has no idea how common it is to add apples to Japanese curry, but his mom always treated it like a family seacret and so did he. For years he ordered Sokka to exit the room during that step.
The first time he let him stay felt like a huge breakthrough, like a blood pact. Sokka returned the favour by showing him some tricks of gran gran’s. He added honey and salt, reduced it to a simmer and started a mental timer for 20 minutes. Sokka would yell at him if he found out - He insists on using the kitchen timer because “it’s more exact and it makes sure you won’t forget even if you get distracted”.
Sokka loves his timers; he uses them for everything, he even sets them up during work, not to forget about drinking and pee brakes when he gets hyper focused.
Zuko made him set up the one for lunch and it evolved into a repeating event on their shared calendar. Now, no matter where they were and what they were doing, they ate lunch at the same time, it felt like they ate together even if they couldn't. He took that time to cook rice and design how he wanted the bento to look. He settled on a turtleduck with shell made out of nori.
Those animals might not exist but Zuko imagined one for his friend when he was little and never stopped loving them. He added the potatoes and let them cook, while he cut out little hexagons and pentagons out of the seaweed. Sokka was always great at arts and crafts; his presentations at school always got extra points for effort and precision.
It took Zuko a long time to also embrace that part of himself, and Master Piandao was a lot of help. He readied the homemade curry roux they keep on the top shelf in the refrigerator, adding it with the remaining condiments. He let it thicken while shaping the turtleduck out of rice and adding a piece of carrot for the beak. He put everything into the box and attached a little note with a rubber band that read “Love you, I know you’ll have a presentation after lunch and you might hate them but I know you’re gonna kill it xoxo”. He even added a little heart in the corner. He wrapped it up carefully to make sure it wouldn’t spill.
Zuko heard footsteps behind him. He turned around quickly. “Sokka, I made you some lunch, since I woke up before you anyway,” he said with an outstretched hand, holding the bento box and blushing profusely. “Hold it this way up.”
“Awww, thanks babe,” answered Sokka, giving Zuko a kiss on the cheek. Sokka didn't think it was possible but somehow that made Zuko even more red. He went to grab his coffee cup. “I might be coming back later today, we have a big project on our hands right now,” said Sokka apologetically.
“You said that every day this week… You have to slow down or you'll run yourself to the ground,” Zuko answered with concern in his voice.
“I'll do what I can but no promises.”
“We could watch your favorite show and relax together,” proposed Zuko.
“Ok, ok I get it, I really will try this time. If I'm not home before the show is on you have my permission to barge into my office,” said Sokka, approaching the door.
“That's better,” Zuko awkwardly stood next to him without any idea what to do with himself.
“Oh come here.” Sokka wrapped him in a tight hug and peppering him with kisses. ”I know today is your work from home day but it's not an excuse to work through lunch and exhaust yourself either, ok?” he looked at his watch. “Ok, now I really have to go. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Zuko said, still a bit awkwardly.
How did Sokka adjust so quickly? One day they were just best friends the next he started calling Zuko things like love, honey, cutie pie. It's not good for his heart, Zuko decided, but he wouldn't have it any other way.
~~~
Right after the lunch alarm Zuko got two messages:
Sokka: OMG This is co cute, I love you too
Sokka: Wait. I just opened the box, how? 😍 I love you so much. You are amazing and I need you to know this. Can’t wait to kiss you!
~~~
-a month later-
“Zu, I just got a discount to our favorite take out place,” Sokka called, closing the door and waving around a flyer after him ”What do you think? Eating out tonight?”
“I’ve been craving Kkanpungki the whole week,” said Zuko.
“Then it is decided. Come on honey, we’re going!” Sokka said, throwing Zuko’s leather jacket in his face. Shortly they were driving through the neighborhood when Sokka’s phone rang.
“Sokka?” They heard Katara’s voice through the car speakers.
“Heeeeyyy! You’re on speaker with Zu b.t.w,” said Sokka.
”Good, thanks. I’m calling to talk about a gift for dad’s birthday,” said Katara.
“Oh yeah. Zuko was looking at some dao online and he showed me a listing for an Inuit hunting knife; it looks legit and super awesome,” said Sokka.
“That’s great, have you looked at the price? Where is the seller from? How old is it?“ Katara started reeling off questions.
“The price seemed right in our budget, I don’t really remember anything else I’ll send you a link when I’m done driving,” said Sokka.
“I just sent it to you,” added Zuko.
”Thank you! It’s good to know that you can rely on someone in this relationship,” laughed Katara.
“HEY! I’m driving or I would totally send you it,” defended Sokka.
“Sure you would. By the way, do you remember On Jin? We talked about her some time ago,” asked Katara, changing the topic.
“Yeah, you were hanging out a lot,“said Sokka.
“Exactly, so it turns out that not only do me both with Aang value her as a friend but also we might or might not realized we were crushing hard and it might have been reciprocated and we might have decided to try this whole polycule thing,” Katara said in one breath.
“That’s… wow. Not what I was expecting. But congrats I guess? I would ask what your boyfriend has to say about it but we all know Aang, he just wants to share the love with everyone,“ Sokka said and burst out laughing.
“Thanks, what’s so funny?” asked Katara.
“O.M.G Katara you wish you could see Zuko’s face at the moment. He looks like his brain just thrown a blue screen, hahaha you can see the gears turning in his head,” said Sokka never stopping laughing.
“Calm dawn Sokka or you’ll crash the car,” Katara was also laughing.
“Honey please share what’s happening in this beautiful head of yours?” asked Sokka.
“You can just do that? But isn’t that cheating? What if someone’s jealous? What if….”asked Zuko still flabbergasted.
“Yeah, you can. It’s not that uncommon back at home. Dad, Bato and Mom used to be polyam,” Sokka explained.
“Oh yeah, totally, and you just talk to your partners like with any other relationship and set out boundaries, like in any other relationship, besides, upwards of 80% of early human societies practiced polygamy. At least that’s what Aang says,” added Katara.
“Ok sis, I gotta go we just arrived at the take-out place. Talk to you later, bye,”said Sokka.
“Bye” she said.
With that, they exited the car.
“Actually, I ordered on our way here; I know you hate to wait, and you said yesterday you’d kill for some Takkbokki. It should be ready already or very shortly,” said Zuko.
“ You’re an angel.” said Sokka, kissing him.
There were no free spots, so after picking up their food they decided to eat it in the car before it could get cold.
They were listening to the radio, talking, and eating. Suddenly Iris by Goo Goo Dolls started playing. Sokka immediately recognized it and started playing an air guitar. Right when the lyrics were about to start he looked at Zuko and sang with the singer :
”And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be”
Zuko rolled his eyes.
“Shut up you dork,” he said, throwing a napkin in Sokka’s face.
“You know you love me,” grinned Sokka
“Fuck off,” said Zuko.
They both laughed, pushing and shoving each other lovingly. Zuko blamed Toph for teaching him this way of showing affection.
~~~
Zuko woke up first, as always but this time he was wrapped in a strong embrace; he rolled around and brushed Sokka’s hair out of his face. Sokka slowly opened his eyes and smiled.
“Morning sunshine” he said voice all raspy and low.
“Morning,” answered Zuko.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I dreamt about us having a picnic together, ” said Zuko dreamily.
“Mmm, we should do that sometime. What happened on that picnic?” asked Sokka.
“A big red dragon flew in and started to fawn like a cat,” said Zuko.
Sokka snorted. “Haha I can get you a cat but a dragon might be difficult.”
“To be honest I always wanted a cat but my dad never allowed it, and then my first apartment didn’t allow pets and then I kinda gave up on the idea. How about you?” asked Zuko.
“I never thought about having a cat, we had a dog at one point but mom was allergic and she couldn’t stay with us,”
“I meant what did you dream about?” laughed Zuko.
“Oh, I don’t know, something about the ocean and the moon and then I was solving our new problem at work and I think that idea might actually be useful,” said Sokka.
“Write it down then,” said Zuko, grabbing Sokka’s phone from the nightstand.
“Great idea, thank you, I have an idea for what to do after I do that though,” he said, typing on his phone.
“Like what? Finally getting out of bed and doing groceries?” asked Zuko.
“No, something much better,” he said putting down his phone and inching towards Zuko. Zuko moved forward for a kiss but at the last second Sokka ducked under and started viciously tickling Zuko.
“Stop! No! Sokka, that’s enough!” said Zuko, dissolving into giggles. After a moment his wish was granted and he found himself gasping for air.
“Ok, now we can go get groceries,” said Sokka.
“Asshole,” said Zuko, lovingly.
Sokka responded by blowing a kiss to his boyfriend as he crawls out of bed.
After they both put on clothes and ate breakfast, they found themselves at the food market again. “Do you want us to split again?” asked Zuko.
“Never again,” said Sokka, bringing their intertwined fingers to his mouth.
~~~
“I hoped there would be some seal meat to make seal Suaasat but there never is any. said Sokka ,frowning.
Zuko kissed him on the nose and said ”You can always ask Hakoda to send you some again, or I can ask Mai, since she works as a chef maybe she knows a place where they sell it.”
“Hmm, that might be a good idea, but I’ll ask dad anyway since it takes forever for anything to ship here,” said Sokka.
“So what are we making today?” asked Zuko.
”Chicken Suaasat, not as good as seal but we do what we can,” said Sokka, taking the recipe out of a binder. “For the record, this recipe is better with reindeer meat.”
Zuko rolled his eyes with an exaggerated fondness. “Ok, show me the ingredients and tell me what to do for a proper mise en place,” Zuko said excitedly. “You know exactly the way to my heart is through organization” Sokka said, giving Zuko a smooch.
After they chopped the meat into ½ inch cubes, diced the vegetables and measured out the spices, as well as barley and millet, they were ready to cook. “Will you do the honors?” asked Zuko.
“Absolutely,” said Sokka, putting everything in the big pot. “So that was fast, now we have an hour to waste, you know what that means?“ Sokka wiggled his eyebrows.
“You gonna get owned in smash bros?” said Zuko grinning widely.
“Na ah, you gonna be destroyed,” Sokka said lifting Zuko into the air against his protests and bringing him in front of their TV.
.
~~~
"Zuko! I just talked to Suki and you'll never guess," Sokka grinned with a sparkle in his eyes.
"What?" asked Zuko, smiling at his boyfriend’s enthusiasm.
"Suki is coming back! She's finally coming back! And for good this time!" Sokka explained hugging Zuko and jumping up and down.
"Good for you. I haven't seen her in ages. Do you know where she's staying?" Zuko asked, genuinely happy for him."
“Here's the thing. She asked if she could crash here for a bit. Since your old bedroom is free. No pressure though, she can stay at Katara's if not," Sokka said with hope.
"As much as I would love to let Aang handle a guest cause everyone knows he'd love that, I think I'm gonna have to say yes," Zuko said with a smile, never breaking eye contact.
-The End-
Tune in next time for:
Zukki