Chapter Text
Everything started thanks to a single, infuriating eraser.
Zuko, like most 16-year-olds, absolutely hated math. The class was bad enough, but the people in it? Even worse. Call him melodramatic, but going to public school with a freakish burn scar on his face didn’t exactly help him climb the ranks in popularity.
He had one close friend in his damned 5th period, though, Mai. Zuko had met her in elementary school. Even though she had been technically Azula’s friend, they always played together. Mai had been his stronghold through everything: his mother abandoning him, his father burning him, his mother finding him. Zuko was eternally grateful to Mai, his best friend. Something he was very happy to be.
Okay, so maybe he didn’t want to be just friends. Zuko might have the smallest, tiniest crush on Mai. However, he had promised himself he would bury these feelings as deep as he could. No way would he risk losing the best thing that had ever happened to him. Besides, Mai was one of the prettiest girls he’d ever met (he’s definitely not biased). She deserved better than a neurotic, asocial boyfriend.
Zuko was pulled out of his trance when everyone around him started putting away their notebooks. There was no way they were packing up; there were still thirty minutes of class left. He looked up at Mr. Pakku, glaring. Screw him and his stupid voice that always made Zuko lose focus. He saw him handing out quizzes to the front row.
Shit.
He’d forgotten about the quiz today. Welp, there went his grade.
He sighed, staring at his empty notebook, except for the doodles that were definitely not of Mai, and slowly packed it away. He looked around for his pencil, only to realize he didn’t have an eraser. He glanced to his right, where Mai was sitting.
“Psst, Mai… can you give me an eraser?”
Zuko did his best attempt at puppy eyes, but was met with Mai’s usual stoic expression. Still, his lifesaver sighed and handed one over.
“You better give it back,” she said. “Or else.”
Zuko ignored the heat creeping into his face. “Jeez, okay, Wednesday Addams. I will. Don’t worry.”
Their conversation was rudely interrupted when Mr. Pakku cleared his throat.
“No talking during the quiz.”
He was glaring straight at Zuko. Yikes.
Both Zuko and Mai turned to the papers on their desks. Seriously, who decided it was a good idea to add letters to math? Zuko didn’t even know what half the equations meant. He sighed, absentmindedly toying with the eraser in his hand. The damn thing slipped from his fingers and dropped to the floor, rolling to a stop beneath the chair of the guy in front of him.
Said guy in front of him was Sokka Kalluk, the hockey team captain. Someone Zuko had never really talked to, and definitely didn’t want to. Sokka’s friends, his hockey friends, used to make Zuko’s life miserable. They’d call him all sorts of things: scrawny, dumb, useless. They backed off after the incident that left him scarred. Zuko figured they felt too bad, especially since his father’s abuse ended up on the news.
Whatever the reason, Zuko still hated them.
As far as he was concerned, Sokka was just like the rest of them, annoyingly attractive and just as mean. Sokka seemed to have noticed the eraser and bent down to pick it up. But instead of handing it back like Zuko expected, he turned forward again, setting it on his own desk and completely ignoring him. Uh, rude much?
Zuko scoffed, irritation flaring in his chest.
“Dude, can you give it back?” he whisper-yelled, just quiet enough that Mr. Pakku wouldn’t hear.
Sokka seemed to hesitate, but eventually he turned around. The second his eyes met Zuko’s, he grimaced.
Zuko tried not to feel insecure, and failed miserably.
He snatched the stupid eraser from Sokka’s fingers and muttered a quick, “Thanks,” before gluing his eyes to the quiz, avoiding any further interaction.
Apparently, he hadn’t been as quiet as he thought, because Mr. Pakku looked like he wanted to shoot laser beams at him.
“Everybody. Eyes on your own paper, please,” he emphasized.
Zuko dropped his gaze, glaring at the eraser like it had personally ruined his life.
Then he noticed something weird.
He lifted it closer, squinting.
SK, circled with an obnoxious little heart.
SK?
There was writing on it.
What could that even-
Oh.
Zuko’s stomach dropped. Those were Sokka’s initials. Mai was so into him. His chest tightened painfully. Not only did his best friend, his crush, like someone else, but Zuko had just handed proof of it straight to the guy. There was no way Sokka hadn’t noticed. No way he hadn’t seen his own initials wrapped in a heart and figured it out. Poor Mai. She probably never meant for him to see that.
Except-
Sokka didn’t know it was hers.
Oh.
Oh no.
Fuck. Zuko’s stomach dropped. He just knew that Sokka thought he liked him. Great, now he wasn’t just the weird scar kid, he was the weird gay scar kid.
He had to take the fall. For Mai, he repeated to himself, as if that would be any help. Mai had helped him through so much, and he couldn’t just expose her weird crush on Sokka. Zuko’s thoughts were cut off when Mr. Pakku announced there were ten minutes left to finish the quiz. Zuko cursed internally. He hadn’t even started the second question. Whatever. It’s not like he was going to get a good grade, even if he tried. He forced himself to focus and scribbled down some bullshit before time ran out. When it was over, he awkwardly walked up to drop his paper on Mr. Pakku’s desk.
While walking, cursing his stupid luck, he tripped. He managed to catch himself, thank God for all those taekwondo classes, but everyone still turned to stare at him. Seriously? Why did he have to be so cringe? This day could not get worse. He speed-walked as nonchalantly as he could back to his desk and packed up his stuff. Then he and Mai wobbled out of class together, heading to P.E.
“Why are you acting so weird? Weirder than usual, I mean,”
Mai scoffed, probably noticing Zuko’s red face. Okay. Now. Zuko had to play this carefully. He needed to tell Mai he’d seen the heart on her eraser without embarrassing her, all while also concealing his own broken heart and very unrequited feelings.
“I saw your heart thing… on your eraser…”
Or he could just blurt it out like that.
Mai stopped looking at him but kept walking. It’s fine, he thought. She’s probably just embarrassed.
"Are you… weirded out or something?”
Her voice was the softest he had ever heard. Guilt hit him all at once. He’d only been thinking about his own feelings, not hers.
“No, of course not! I mean, it’s not like I expected it, but you’re my best friend. I support you through everything,” he said, trying to reassure her.
He saw a small smile tug at her lips as she let out a breath he didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“I don’t know. I just didn’t know how you’d react to a relationship like this. Not that we’re in a relationship! I don’t even think they know I exist…”
Zuko had never seen Mai this flustered. It was (very) endearing.
“I mean… I just didn’t think your type was jocks. But hey, good for you! And I’m sure they know you exist. You’re like the hottest girl in our grade.”
Mai didn’t seem to notice his slip-up, calling her hot, or maybe she just didn’t care. Either way, Zuko was glad that she wasn’t upset. She wasn’t the type to express her emotions much, so he knew this was a big step for her. He was happy. He really was. Sure, he was heartbroken, and sure, he’d probably go home later, eat a tub of his uncle’s vanilla ice cream, and cry while watching 10 Things I Hate About You, but all things considered, he was happy that Mai had found someone to like, even if it was Sokka Kalluk.
“Well, I’ll see you when P.E. starts…”
Zuko nodded at her. Her face scrunched up, like she wanted to say something else but couldn’t quite get it out.
“Well? What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Zuko teased, hoping she’d just cave and say it.
“Nothing… Just thank you for understanding. And for being my friend. I’m really glad to have you in my life, Z.”
Then she walked off to the locker room without giving him a chance to respond.
On one hand, Zuko felt warm at the whole I’m-really-glad-to-have-you-in-my-life part.
On the other hand, the word friend sat in his stomach like a rock. He walked into the locker room, sulking.
Zuko didn’t really have any guy friends. Okay, that made him sound like a total loser, but it wasn’t like that. He just didn’t have a lot of friends in general! In middle school, he did some weird shit he wasn’t proud of, and at the start of eighth grade, his father Ozai blessed him with a huge scar. He had begged his uncle for plastic surgery, but they just couldn’t afford it. So, after basically being MIA for a year, he started high school as a completely new person. He got irritated quickly and didn’t talk to anyone he didn’t already know, which, admittedly, wasn’t many people. As a result, he never really had any “bros.” He wasn’t upset about it or anything. He’d much rather hang out with Mai anyway.
But he knew how these “boys” acted. If Sokka ever broke Mai’s heart, he’d have to answer to Zuko.
Sure, Sokka was taller, just by a little, and yeah, Sokka played hockey and probably lived at the gym. But Zuko had grit, okay? Zuko stood alone in front of his locker, tugging his shirt over his head, completely lost in thought.
God, if Coach made them run today, he was going to fake an ankle injury.
He tried to distract himself, but somehow ended up thinking about Sokka and his stupid blue eyes. His face flushed, and any attempt to seem intimidating around him completely disappeared as he remembered that Sokka literally thought Zuko had a crush on him. Sokka was probably so weirded out by him. Would that mess with Mai’s chances with him? Zuko didn’t even want to think about whether that should make him happy or sad.
The best way to deal with this awkward situation was obvious: ignore Sokka. Completely. Not that they ever talked or anything, but now Zuko was going to pay extra attention to ignoring him. Sokka was a busy guy. He’d probably forget about this in a day or two. It was whatever.
And then he saw him.
Sokka was across the room, leaning against the lockers like he didn’t have a single problem in the world. A couple of guys hovered around him, talking about practice or whatever, but Sokka just nodded along, easy, relaxed. Zuko frowned.
That’s him? That’s the guy Mai liked?
He didn’t look like anything special. Just… tall. Annoyingly put together. Probably not thinking about faking an injury to get out of running. The kind of guy people liked without trying.
Zuko looked away, jaw tightening.
Yeah, okay. Sure. Whatever.
So Sokka had a problem. Usually, he wasn’t the type to get hung up on school drama. He just had two focuses: sports and good grades. He didn’t care about who was dating whom, or the insane fight that happened at Chen’s party, and he was glad, okay! He knew, ideally, from his therapist and from Katara pestering him non-stop, that being this disconnected from his friends wasn’t all that great.
It was just hard to really be the “dumb teen boy” he once was, especially after Yue.
Well, that’s not what his current problem was about. Said problem was that he was walking his laps instead of running them with his equally emo friend.
He was surprised to find that Zuko, out of literally anyone, had a crush on him. He would feel bad, considering Zuko had written his name on an eraser and surrounded it with a heart, and most certainly didn’t think Sokka would ever see it, but alas, Sokka knew how mean he was, so no sympathy for him.
Zuko knew Aang in middle school, and he bullied him. Aang, the ever-sweetheart he is, didn’t like trash-talking his old bullies, saying He got better guys, and He stopped doing it, but Sokka just knew Zuko didn’t make Aang’s life any easier.
So, what’s it called? My friend’s enemy is my enemy? That’s what Zuko was to him.
Also, a guy had never had a crush on him before. Sokka didn’t know how to feel. He wasn’t homophobic or anything, well, he used to be, but Katara and Suki beat it out of him (literally), but that didn’t mean he didn’t get slightly uncomfortable when a dude, a mean dude, liked him.
Sokka was straight. As straight as people got. He liked girls, and girls only. Not gothic ex-bullies.
At practice, he’d practically forgotten all about it. Hockey was his safe place, like it had always been through his hardest times. There was just something about hitting a puck as hard as he could that felt so comforting. He also liked hanging out with his hockey friends. Admittedly, as their captain, he should probably try to be closer to them, but still, he was doing so much better compared to last year.
Said friend, Haru, jumped on him after practice.
“Dude, fuck off. You’re gonna break my skates,” he complained half-heartedly.
“Yo, Sokka, we’re all gonna hang out tomorrow night. You should come,” Haru said.
Sokka sighed. He wanted to hang out with them, he really did, but Mr. Pakku had asked him to help tutor in math. He didn’t want to back out on his promise, so he begrudgingly told Haru he couldn’t make it. Haru didn’t seem upset, so Sokka said his goodbyes to the team and walked up to his truck. Well, technically, his dad’s truck, and he drove home.
He lived in a small cabin with his sister, his father, and his grandmother. They didn’t have much money, but he wouldn’t trade his family for the world. They moved to Quebec after he lost his mom. Before that, they’d lived in a small Inuit community in Nunavut, but his dad wanted to move for better job opportunities. Sokka had been so young when his mom died from cancer that he didn’t really remember his childhood there.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?”
Toph barked the second he walked into his home.
“What the fuck are you doing here? It’s a Tuesday night.” Sokka chose to ignore her question.
Just his luck, his grandmother was standing two inches away from him and immediately berated him for his “bad language.”
“Tsk. It’s like you kids were raised on a farm. Speak properly to your friends, Sokka.”
He rubbed his forearm where his grandmother smacked him (not so lightly) and sat down to eat dinner. Katara was already helping set up, and he knew she was just going to complain about him being no help. Before she could start chewing him out, he told his family, plus Toph, about practice.
“Is Dad working late again?” he asked, halfway through the meal.
His grandma nodded while his sister rolled her eyes. He knew she thought their dad was absent too often, but he was tired and didn’t want to argue or cause a scene, especially with Toph there.
Katara snorted. “You’re in a mood.”
“I’m not in a mood,” Sokka muttered.
“Yeah, you are,” Toph cut in, leaning back in her chair as if she lived there. “You’ve been weird all night.”
Sokka shot her a look. “You don’t even live here.”
“Okay, but I have ears,” she said. “And you are being weird. Even gran-gran thinks so. “
Sokka groaned. “Oh my god, can we not do this right now?”
Toph grinned, clearly not planning to drop it. “What, did something happen? Someone say something? Or,” she squinted at the general direction of him, as she’d just figured it out, “someone confess something?”
“Shut up,” Sokka said immediately.
Katara’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god. Someone confessed to you?”
“Nothing happened,” he snapped, a little too fast.
That was enough for both of them.
“Oh my god, something happened,” Toph said.
Sokka pushed his chair back, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. “I’m going to my room.”
“Yeah, run away,” Katara called after him.
“Not running,” he muttered, already halfway down the hall. “Just don’t feel like dealing with you two.”
“Coward!” Toph yelled.
Sokka flipped them off without turning around and disappeared into his room, shutting the door a little harder than necessary. So, yeah, he was a little on edge. But Zuko had thrown him off so much.
Why- why did he even see Sokka that way? They had never talked. The only reason he even knew Zuko existed was because of Aang. And, okay, the fact that he had a… distinct look. A wolf cut, straight black hair with red edges, and a scar, you couldn’t really miss him.
Did he think he had a chance with him? Definitely not. Sokka was not gay. At all.
Maybe it was just some small, unrequited thing? Yeah, that had to be it.
Sokka wasn’t going to lie, this whole deal was kind of boosting his ego. Now he knew that not only did girls like him, but guys did too. His chest flared with pride. I mean, he knew he was good-looking, but this? This was making him really happy.
Still… did it have to be Zuko?
He did not want to interact with the dude, so he promised himself he’d just ignore him. It wouldn’t be that hard, since he had literally never had a conversation with the guy. Ever.
He’d ignore Zuko and just go on with his life. Easy.
The next day, Zuko wanted to die. His day started off terribly; he’d slept through his alarm. He told Azula off for not waking him up, since they literally shared a room. Then he missed the bus and had to ask his uncle to drop him off in his old-ass car. He spent the entire day cringing, thinking about Sokka. Also, his stomach was very upset with him, maybe eating an entire tub of ice cream for dinner wasn’t the best idea.
Azula made fun of him endlessly, but eventually fucked off when she realized she wasn’t going to get a reaction out of him. His uncle kept giving him sad eyes, but also went off to his room when he realized Zuko wasn’t gonna talk. He couldn’t even be emo and depressed in peace, because his uncle’s two-bed, one-bath apartment had the thinnest walls known to man. Mai, of course, seemed completely blissful about his situation.
To make his day even worse, Mr. Pakku, that absolute beast, graded their quizzes in one day.
Great.
He’d gotten a 37%.
Mr. Pakku asked him to come up to his desk after class, which was totally not embarrassing, saying he wanted to have a “talk” with him.
“Zuko, we need to talk about your grades. You failed this quiz.”
Zuko just awkwardly stood there. What was he supposed to say? Yeah, I did because I’m a fucking idiot?
Mr. Pakku sighed. “You know what? Since your uncle is a good friend of mine,” that was new information to Zuko, “I’ll drop this grade. Only if you go to tutoring after school, though, alright? It’s 4 p.m. at the library. Don’t be late.”
Zuko sighed, knowing he couldn’t escape this fate. He grumbled away from the classroom, pissed off at the world. The day dragged on forever. When dismissal finally came, he shot a text to Azula saying he’d be home late. She, naturally, left him on read. Great. He dragged his feet to the library. Who was going to be his tutor, anyway? Some nerd who probably had a god complex? Yeah… this was going to be a long day.
The library was empty, except for a hunched-over guy with some absurd neon blue earphones. Zuko squinted, trying to make out who it was. Screw his half-blind eyes. He awkwardly walked closer. His blood ran cold when he realized who it was. Tall, brown-skinned, wearing a blue hoodie with their school mascot… fuck. It was Sokka.
He had half a mind to turn around and run as fast as he could, since Sokka hadn’t noticed him yet. Just as he started to slowly back away, he whipped his head around and stared at him.
Sokka immediately grimaced. God, why did he keep doing that?
He chuckled nervously, trying to release some of the insane tension. Neither of them said anything. Zuko ended up sitting down next to him, avoiding eye contact like his life depended on it.
Zuko fidgeted with his notebook. “Uh… so… tutoring?” he said, voice cracking slightly.
Sokka didn’t look up from his notes. “Yeah. Math. You failing that quiz that badly was pretty impressive.”
Zuko blinked. “Uh… thanks?”
Sokka finally glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “You’re welcome, I guess. Anyway, what part do you need help with?”
Zuko swallowed hard. “Uh… everything, I guess?”
Sokka smirked. “Alright, we’ll start with the basics. Just… try not to fall asleep halfway through.”
Zuko laughed nervously. “Yeah… sure. No promises.”
A pause settled over them. Sokka went back to his notes, Zuko pretended to focus on his book, but both knew the tension wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He groaned quietly. This is going to be a long afternoon.
He adjusted in his chair, staring down at his notebook, while Sokka scribbled away. Somehow, Zuko knew this wasn’t just about math.