#more of a ‘zuko’ awakening than a bi awakening perhaps

[firelilysky]

Zukka Week Day Five: Zuko Joins the Gaang Early | Gay/Bi Awakening

[juniperhillpatient]

Idk i went into a spiral now im thinking about Mai x Suki x Zuko x Sokka. Oh the wars they could bring (or crack). Thoughts?

Ooh, great potential!

Imagine post-war that Zuko stays close to Sokka & Suki. After all, doing a prison break together seems like the kind of activity that will leave you bonded for life. Of course, Zuko is close to the entire Gaang postwar. But, for the sake of this potential ship let's say he's spending a lot of time with Sokka & Suki, visiting the Southern Water Tribe a lot, & when they visit, the time gets lost. Mai isn't the type to act outwardly jealous, but she feels left out because she doesn't really know them. Zuko wants to make her feel more included once he figures this out (possibly after she's acting snippy for no reason & he gets mad & eventually it comes out during an argument). So, he starts arranging double dates, & pushing Suki especially to do "girly bonding things" with Mai.

Okay, apparently you're not the only one who can spiral, Anon, because I started rambling about this poly ship way too much :) More thoughts below :)

Well, Mai isn't much for "girly bonding things" but perhaps someone tries to assassinate Mai on a failed outing that mostly involved bickering. She is after all the Fire Lady. Mai can obviously hold her own in a fight, but maybe she throws all her knives & they're surrounded or something. Suki kicks ass & Mai has an "oh shit she's hot" moment that she misinterprets as starting to like Suki platonically.

Mai & Sokka are actually the ones who bond over girly things, & it's completely accidental. Mai mentions a specific goth fashionista she admires & Sokka gets all excited because he thought Mai's Look was accidental & upon discovering that she has an interest in fashion, he invites her shopping. They get mani pedis & lunch & Mai actually enjoys hearing Sokka ramble on about the Southern Water Tribe versus Fire Nation culture, & clothes, & engineering, & everything else. She's quiet, so it's nice that someone else is doing all the talking, & there's not a lot of pressure.

The four of them become good friends. Then moments start happening between Mai & Suki. Lingering glances. Hand brushes that last too long. Games of footsie under the table at supper or beneath the blankets while sitting at the beach. Zuko & Sokka start having these moments too. Zuko tells himself it's nothing because Sokka is a guy & he doesn't like guys (he tries to forget a certain rebel boy who died during the war that he kissed a couple times in secret, that was nothing, he never thinks about it, or so he tells himself). Sokka is just a good friend, who listens when Zuko talks about how hard it is to have a sister he can't be close too, & makes Zuko laugh even when he feels like crying. It's nothing more than that. Right?

Sokka & Suki are both bi & they've talked about it privately & are open to involving Mai & Zuko in their relationship, but they don't know if Mai & Zuko are up for it. They agree not to bring it up, for fear of ruining the friendship. If Zuko & Mai are into it, they'll tell them. Zuko & Mai have a talk one night, & both admit that they're having these feelings. Zuko brings it up first & Mai shuts down, & Zuko starts freaking out thinking she's mad, so eventually she explains it's just that she's having some uncertainty too.

Zuko & Mai agree to try to move past these bisexual awakenings until one night Mai & Sokka are hanging out one on one. They get a little tipsy & Sokka makes Mai laugh really hard, which never happens. She falls onto his shoulder, & when she draws away, he kisses her. She's into it for a moment, then she runs away without a word. Mai tells Zuko what happened. They agree to keep their distance, for a while, but they never explain why. Katara tells Zuko that Sokka asks about him. Zuko pretends there's not a reason for the distance.

Time passes. The distance hurts. Sokka feels horrible & ashamed. Suki tells him it's not his fault, but he still feels bad. They agree not to tell their other friends, they wouldn't understand. Aang tries to ask both parties about it, & bring peace, but they blow him off. Toph always knows that these four are lying about something, she just doesn't know what. She tries to push them, & it leads to the biggest fight she & Zuko have ever had.

Then, something big happens. There's an assassination attempt & Zuko almost dies. He'll make a full recovery, but he's got a bad injury from getting shot with an arrow. The entire Gaang comes of course. Azula comes to check on Zuko, & that's weird, & Zuko wishes desperately that Sokka was around to ask advice.

Then, Sokka & Suki show up. In her excitement to see her old friend alive, Suki full on kisses Zuko on the lips right in front of Sokka & Mai. At first, Mai is shocked. Sokka starts laughing then, & Mai is even more shocked.

Well, finally, the truth starts to come out. Zuko says something about it being a good kiss, & that breaks the tension & they start to talk. Slowly, everyone slowly realizes that they should all just be together as a foursome, actually. Activities start to ensue right there in the hospital room, but Zuko's injury stops them. They realize that they should maybe talk more, actually. But they agree to all four spend the night together, & maybe cuddle, that night.